Month: May 2020

Mini Makeup Collection Declutter

beauty

Hi friends,

One of my favorite YouTubers, Jessica Braun (Insta: @itsjessicabraun), has a really curated makeup collection full of things that she loves after doing multiple declutters. Her intentionality with quickly getting rid of makeup that doesn’t work for her or is expired has motivated me to look at my own collection in the same way. With that being said, for makeup that didn’t work for me but is in good condition and can easily be sanitized, I do put aside for donating to Project Beauty Share, which is a fantastic non-profit in Washington State that provides beauty products to women in need.

Check out my quick, mini declutter below, explaining what I’m getting rid of and why:

Wet n’ Wild MegaLast Liquid Catsuit Lipsticks: A couple of years ago these were all the rage, and I obviously tried multiple colors out. However, I quickly realized they aren’t the best formula and even at the low price tag aren’t worth it in my opinion.

Tarteist Glossy Lip Paint (Shade: Orchid): I do not love this formula, (and especially not in this shade). Very patchy.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil (Shade: Strawberry Milk): This honestly is just pretty meh. Not the best formula and I’ve decided I just really don’t use eyeshadow sticks.

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivid Matte Liquid Lipstick (Shade: Rebel Red): Definitely not the best liquid lipstick formula out there. This stuff gets EVERYWHERE.

Ruby Kisses by Kiss Ultra Matte Super Rich Lipstick (Shade: Nude Rose): Even though this is very budget friendly, this is just another meh product. Save your money and avoid the very drying texture.

KVD Vegan Beauty – Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks (Shades: Lovesick and Santa Sangre): Aside from these being quite a drying formula, I just don’t need anything from the formerly Kat Von D brand in my makeup collection (these were made pre-re-brand).

MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Eye Shadow Colour Stick (No longer in production): Not creamy at all, very difficult to apply.

MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque (No longer in production): Not pigmented at all. One of my least favorite products I have ever purchased, but I didn’t want to get rid of it because of the heftier price tag. But now, BYE BYE.

And last, but not least, a bunch of nameless samples from my former ipsy subscription that I popped into my magnetic palette. I honestly loved my ipsy subscription and had it for multiple years, but I ultimately decided that I wasn’t going through the samples quickly enough to justify the cost.

If you’ve done a recent declutter (and not just in your makeup collection), due to quarantine or otherwise, let me know in the comments below!

Love y’all,

CEW

Lubbock Travel Guide

travel

West Texas will forever be one of my favorite places on earth, especially my beloved Lubbock, Texas. Lubbock is the home of my alma mater, Texas Tech University, and is the backdrop of the three years that brought me lifelong friends, cherished memories, and a fantastic education. I will try not to go on and on about Lubbock and my time there, but it is such a gem of a place that you absolutely need to visit, regardless of if you’re attending a Texas Tech event or not. With that being said, you most likely will be visiting campus at some point if you do go to Lubbock, since it is a college town (it is also the home of Lubbock Christian University and South Plains College in nearby Levelland), so I hope you enjoy its beauty if you do.

Buckle up tight, folks. I hope you’re ready to see some vintage Carly photos and get a glimpse of my favorite things to do in the Hub city:

Visiting Texas Tech Campus (Oh how I love & miss you): If you are curious about becoming or are planning on being a student at Tech, please, PLEASE feel free to message me! I was involved in a lot of student organizations that are near and dear to my heart, including being a recruiter for potential students, so this is a subject I’m very passionate about. You’ll see some of my favorite campus traditions below, but here is a list to learn even more about Texas Tech’s traditions and history.

Sporting Events: We love us some sports in the LBK. If you have the opportunity to attend a game at Jones AT&T Stadium or the United Supermarkets Arena, GO (and then drop me a message about how amazing your first tortilla toss experience is).

Favorite Restaurants, Coffee Shops, Bars & Wineries:

  1. Triple J
  2. Capital Pizza
  3. Pancake House
  4. Orlando’s
  5. Thai Pepper
  6. Caprock Cafe
  7. Funky Door
  8. La Diosa Cellars
  9. Cafe J
  10. Twisted Root
  11. One Guys
  12. J’s Creamery
  1. J&B Coffee (What I wouldn’t give for a Caramel Cowboy right now)
  2. Yellow House
  3. Sugar Browns
  1. Chimy’s
  2. Cricket’s
  3. Blue Light
  4. Library
  5. McPherson Cellars
  6. Llano Estacado
  7. Adelphos Cellars

Things to Do:

First Friday Art Trail

At’l Do Farms Corn Maze

Texas Tech Museum

Buddy Holly Center

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

American Windmill Museum

Ceta Canyon

Places to Shop:

T.C. Elli’s

Chrome

Piper

Malouf’s

West End Center

The Weather: Lubbock is famous for its dust storms and wild weather in general. When somebody tells you to be prepared for the temperature to fluctuating drastically four times in a day, they ain’t lying to you, I promise. You can see some of my own dust storm experiences below, but if you don’t believe me, check out this Washington Post article.

Love and miss you forever, Lubs.

CEW

My Current Foundations: The Good, The Bad, and The Meh

beauty, makeup

Hi friends,

How are y’all doing on this Monday? As I stared at my makeup collection earlier (as I got ready today for a dear friend and co-workers’ social distance, drive-by birthday parade), I thought it would be fun to do a run-down of the foundations that I’m loving, the foundations that I don’t like but am trying to get rid of, and foundations that are just okay. Here is a look at my current foundation collection (from left to right), as well as my closest shade matches (down below):

*L’Oreal Infallible Fresh Wear – As my #2 favorite foundation, this one is such a gem. Lasts so well on my oily skin, has a true satin matte finish, and the shade below is a great match for me that blends in without making me look as ghostly as I actually am.

Estee Lauder Double Wear – A cult classic. I used to love this one so much more, and I’m glad to still have it in my collection for special events, especially in the summer, but it can look heavy really quickly.

Milani Conceal & Perfect – I wish I liked this one more. It is definitely one of my “meh” foundations. It’s not my favorite texture (it is a thicker liquid and leaves a film-like feeling on your face), and is not a good shade match.

*Wet n’ Wild Photofocus – This is one of Tati Westbrook’s favorites, so I obviously had to have it for my own. While it doesn’t smell great, this is a good foundation. Not great, but good. And it is definitely a good shade match for me.

*NARS Radiant Longwear – My all-time favorite foundation that I love so dearly (and of course is the most expensive I’ve ever purchased). I will repurchase this over and over again. Also the best shade match for me that I’ve found.

Maybelline Superstay – So many people love this, but I quickly found out it isn’t my favorite. This most definitely forms a film on your skin post-application. And lemme just say, if you are ultra fair, you may actually want to give this a go, because this shade is one of the palest that I’ve ever seen.

*MISSHA BB Cream – This is a recommendation from the amazing Jessica Braun. I am in love with this one. It is so easy to throw on and gives you a low-medium coverage that’s perfect for every day. It will be interesting to see how this does on my skin in the summer, because it is GLOWY, but I really enjoy how healthy it makes my skin look.

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25HR – Another one on my naughty list. I’m just trying to mix this in with either the NARS Sheer Glow or the Dior Backstage to use them up, as this is the lightest shade, which is ridiculous, because it is me in my tannest dreams.

Dior Backstage Face & Body – This is another meh for me. I don’t love how fragranced it is and it isn’t a good shade match for me, but I do think it can look pretty on my skin.

NARS Sheer Glow – Bad bin. Not worth the price, terrible shade ranch, and clings to all of my dry patches.

Wet n’ Wild Cushion – It looks like this one may be going out the door for Wet n’ Wild, which is sad, because I do like this product. It is so great to give you a light layer of coverage if you’re trying to quickly run out the door to run errands.

What are some of your favorite foundations? Or what should I steer clear of? As always, I have products that I love from all of these brands, but for anything that didn’t work for me, it just wasn’t meant to be!

Love y’all,

CEW

What I’m Loving Lately: Quarantine Edition

About Me, home

Hey y’all,

I don’t know about you, but these past two weeks have been the hardest of quarantine for me. I feel like I am in a constant loop of exhaustion, anxiety and guilt, and I cannot stop thinking about the stress of work, the loneliness of isolation, and the worry I have for family, friends, and the rest of the world. All of it is just swirling around in my head. So, I’m going to work on focusing on the positive right now instead, and share with you some things I’m loving lately:

Trader Joe’s Everything: Tyler and I are now firmly Trader Joe’s converts due to COVID-19. We’ve always enjoyed Trader Joe’s, but have historically avoided shopping there because of the crowds. However, for some reason, our Trader Joe’s here in Memphis has been the most calm, organized and clean grocery shopping situation we can find, and we have shopped nowhere else since quarantine started. My favorite purchases in particular have been the Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Charles Shaw Shiraz, Mac & Cheese Bites, Tomato Basil Soup, Chicken Spring Rolls, Bacon Ranch Dip, Southwest Chopped Salad, and a bunch of flowers each week to brighten up the house. My favorite quarantine meal has been to heat up the mac & cheese bites and put them in my tomato basil soup with a piece of french bread. YUM.

New Podcast I’m Loving: We all know I’m a podcast lover (linking my favorite podcasts post here if you haven’t checked it out yet). My sweet friend Jade turned me on to All Crime No Cattle (@allcrimenocattle), a Texas crime podcast based out of our beloved Fort Worth. The husband and wife duo behind the magic are so fantastic and feature various crimes committed in Texas throughout history. I have listened all day every day for the past two weeks and can’t get enough.

Instagram Accounts I’m Loving: @thehomeedit for all of my organizational needs, @heatherkmcmahan and @unforettable when I need a laugh, @tanksgoodnews when I need to be reminded of the good in the world, @juliaroseboston when I need to dream of handbags I someday WILL buy, @tuckerbudzyn and @taroandzippo when I need adorable, baby nugget goodness, and @lisafrank when I want to wax poetic about my childhood.

Enneagram Instagram Accounts, In Particular: All of these accounts, (@chalkandleaves, @cathartic_word, @letterbyhan_, and @enneagramashton), are just the tip of the iceburg when it comes to awesome creators who integrate the Enneagram into their design work. If you don’t know what the Enneagram is, take a look at Alyson Haley’s post here.

My Peloton: I’ve owned my Peloton for a little over a year now, but it just now during quarantine has really become a source of stability and motivation for me. If you have ever considered purchasing one, I HIGHLY recommend that you do so. And if you do, you should ride to Cody Rigsby and Cody Rigsby alone. He is a gem of a human. Even if you don’t have a Peloton, follow him on Instagram @codyrigsby.

Long phone calls: I hate talking on the phone when I could be texting, unless the phone call is an hour-minimum catch-up session. Those are my bread and butter, and my quarantine time has been full of them to stay connected with loved ones.

My sloth coloring book: I’ve spent a LOT of time coloring. I’ve tapered off over the past few weeks, but it’s time to ramp up again while I hang out on the couch with Tyler and watch tv for the ninth weekend in a row. 🙂

TV shows, comedy specials and movies: My favorites aren’t surprising, but they are golden: Forensic Files, Bob’s Burgers, Onward, Frozen II, Chris D’Elia: No Pain, and Bert Kreischer: Hey Big Boy. I also can’t wait to watch Jerry Seinfeld’s new special, 23 Hours to Kill, with Tyler this weekend!

Hope y’all have a fantastic weekend wherever you are in the world,

CEW

California Travel Guide: San Francisco and Monterrey

travel

I have been to California three times now and I fall a little more in love each time, particularly with San Francisco. Having traveled to San Francisco for both work and for pleasure, I can say that both experiences were a ton of fun, so make time to see as much of the city as you possibly can, no matter the circumstances. And, if I could live anywhere in the U.S., Monterrey now sits pretty high up on my list after our trip there in May to visit Pebble Beach during the U.S. Open (our 50th Birthday surprise to my Dad!). Below is a look at some of my favorite memories and locations in each area:

Downtown San Francisco:

I love walking this city. The views are stunning, the hills give you the best workout of your life, and there’s an endless supply of delicious restaurants to stop in whenever you are exhausted from said hills (but hey, no calorie guilt!). On my first trip to SF, I was attending the week-long Salesforce Dreamforce conference (worth a Google if you don’t know what either of those two things are lol), for work, and man, let me tell you, what an introduction to the city! Our hotel was directly across from the iconic Nordstrom at the Hilton in Union Square (swoon, y’all), and other incredible shops, so I was in absolute heaven. While staying with my family last summer, we stayed closer to Fisherman’s Wharf, which was an equally amazing time.

Some of my favorite restaurants and shops that we’ve been to so far:

Restaurants: The Codmother Fish & Chips, Sotto Mare, Altalena Vinoteca, Super Duper Burgers, Johnny Foley’s Irish House, Portico Restaurant, Illy Cafe

Shops: Ghiradelli Square *everything*, Patagonia & Nordstrom

Views of the city

Alcatraz: I can’t recommend enough. Seriously. Learned an incredible amount of information and saw some stunning views of the city as well.

Monterrey Bay Aquarium: We lived our best Finding Dory life. The aquarium is perfect for anyone at any age, although there are a lot of kid activities. We loved it so much!

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park: Such an underrated park in my opinion. We walked through the park on our way down to Monterrey from San Fran and the surroundings were breathtaking.

Pebble Beach: Ah, the true reason for our trip: the 119th U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. My dad played this course religiously throughout our childhood, and it is genuinely his favorite course in the world. My mom equally loves the resort as well, (her favorite spa EVER). Experiencing the course I have heard about my entire life during a Major with my dad for his birthday is a memory I’ll cherish forever. Also, we saw Tiger freaking Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Ricky Fowler, and so many more incredible players up close and personal. The course itself is stunning no matter the circumstances, and if you are also passionate about golf, is worth every penny to either play or visit.

Let me know your favorite California spots in the comments below! I’ve also briefly visited Orange, Fullerton and San Diego on a separate work trip, but would love to visit that area much more.

Love y’all,

CEW