What I'm Loving: May

I finally got connected to the internet in this house! Yay! Hopefully I'll be able to do some posts while I'm here. Like I mentioned before, starting next week I'll be living in between my mom's friend's house and my boyfriend's for a month. So sorry again if posts are sparse!

I figured since it's almost the end of the month I needed to do a What I'm Loving post for May! Hope you enjoy. By the way, any thoughts on how I've been doing these kinds of posts lately? With the numbered pictures and then a description underneath? I figured it makes it easier for you lazy people who don't like to read a lot but do love visuals. Anyway, if you are one of those people who actually read the blog post let me know what you think :)

Click the picture for info on products

1. Essie Mint Candy Apple- To me, this color looks a little more blue in real life than in the picture. But that is perfect because I love kind of blue-ish green colors, especially during the summer. It's kind of a Tiffany Blue color, but not as spot on as China Glaze's For Audrey is. Anyway this is my favorite summer nail polish (even though I can only wear it for like, 2 or 3 days at a time because we can't wear nail polish at work! Sad face).

2. The House of Night books- Reading before going to bed is one of my favorite ways to de-stress. I'm currently reading the House of Night series, and I'm on book 2 (Betrayed). It's such an interesting series and great if you like vampire books (which I actually don't. I hated Twilight). I lost my first copy somewhere in the move and had to buy another, unfortunately.

3. Nivea a Kiss of Moisture- My favorite lip moisturizer/balm used to be the Yes to Carrots one (which I still use and love by the way!), but this one is just a notch higher on the list. It glides on super easily and isn't as heavy as the Yes to Carrots one. Plus it has SPF 4 in it. I put it on every night before I go to bed and every day before I do my makeup. Then I take my Yes to Carrots with me to moisturize throughout the day.

4. Extra Strength Tylenol- Moving has definitely been stressful, and I get awful headaches and migraines, especially when I'm stressed. I actually have one right now but I'm just too lazy to go downstairs to get my Tylenol. I don't always use extra strength but for migraines I definitely need it.

5. Mac Prep + Prime Skin- I didn't realize how much of a difference this primer made in my makeup until I ran out of it. I noticed that it helped my makeup apply a lot smoother and evenly. But once I ran out, I also noticed my makeup wasn't lasting as long and my face was way more oily at the end of the day than normal, even if I apply powder throughout the day.

6. Moleskine notebook- These journals are kind of expensive, so I wouldn't normally buy them but they were on sale at Target and came in cute bright colors, so I just had to :) I got a pack of 2 pink ones and they are the perfect size to write down blog ideas, to-do's, reminders, monthly favorites, etc. I take one with my in my bag and leave one at home beside my bed to refer to while blogging or to write down random thoughts.

7. Maybelline Falsies- This is my favorite drugstore mascara at the moment. I've tried the One by One and I love it for lengthening, but I need some definition in my lashes as well and this gives it. I also love the curved want. Mac Haute and Naughty is my other favorite mascara, but it's more budget friendly to buy the Falsies.

8. Mac paint pot in Painterly- This has been so necessary in my summer makeup routine. Sometimes I don't even worry about eyeshadow and just wear this with some eyeliner and mascara. It matches my skintone and it evens out and covers any discoloration around my eyes and on my eyelids, which I have a lot of (bye bye veiny eyelids!) It helps with the whole "no-makeup look" I like during the summer.

9. John Frieda Frizz-Ease Secret Weapon Flawless Finishing Cream- This was mentioned in my How to Fight Summer Humidity post, and has been a favorite of mine for years now. It makes my hair just look more "done", and tames the frizz and helps keep it not frizzy throughout the day. It also smells pretty good. Love love love this stuff!

That's pretty much if for this month. Let me know if you are loving any of these too, or what your favorites for this month are! And let me know your thoughts and the whole "picture with description under" thing I've been trying out. And yay 90 followers! Closer to the 100 follower giveaway! :)

Apology in Advance

We are moving today! Nowhere really new or special, just another house. But our new place won't be ready until July so I will be living in between my mom's friend's house and my boyfriend's house for a month, so it will be kind of hard to do blog posts all the time until I get settled. So in advance, I'm sorry for the lack of blog posts!

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Also, we are super close to the 100 follower giveaway! That will still be happening I promise but I might have to wait until I'm settled to do the actual giveaway. I hope you all understand! Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

How to: Fight the Summer Humidity!

Living in Charleston, I've definitely learned how to fight the humidity when it comes to my hair. If you've ever visited Charleston, especially in the summer, you know that the weather is two things: hot and humid! These are my tips for keeping my hair un-frizzy in the summer!

click the picture for product information

1. Moisturizing Shampoo: Frizziness if often caused by dry hair that is "reaching out" for the moisture in the air, at least that's how my mom always explained it to me. Pick a good moisturizing shampoo that will replenish moisture in your hair! I use Joico Moisture Recovery Shampoo (it's a HUGE bottle so it lasts such a long time)

2. Conditioner: Conditioner will also add moisture to your hair and keep it smooth. I used to use the Herbal Essences Dangerously Straight conditioner, but since they changed it to the Touchably Smooth conditioner I've been using that. (Tip: the Hello Hydration shampoo and conditioner by Herbal Essences is great for moisturizing your hair, I just need to use this conditioner up before I get that one).

3. Leave in Conditioner: Another great step for leaving your hair silky, shiny, and smooth. The Garnier line has great anti-humidity and anti-frizz prodcuts. I really love their leave in conditioner because it smells AMAZING and it leaves my hair very smooth.

4. After you've styled your hair (I recommend using as little heat as possible and if you do use heat, use a heat protectant spray!), use a finishing cream that will set your style and get rid of fly-aways. I've been using the John Frieda Frizz-Ease Secret Weapon cream for years and it is still my favorite! This is probably my favorite product for non frizzy hair. I definitely notice a difference in my hair on the days when I do use this vs. the days I don't.

5. Hairspray- I straighten my hair on most days so I always use a flexible hold hairspray to keep the humidity out while still letting my hair flow freely. My absolute favorite is the Garnier Fructis Anti-Humidity Hairpray, because it is formulated to fight humidity, it's flexible hold (they also have stronger holds if you prefer those), and it also smells so good!

That's about it! Pretty easy. And my main tip would be when in doubt, use the John Frieda finishing cream! It's so amazing. Leave your own tips for fighting frizzy hair in the summer below!

P.S. my followers seem to have disappeared, anybody else having this issue?

Updating blogroll and tag!

Helloooo! I'm going to be updating my blogroll this weekend because it's kind of outdated. So if you would like me to look at your blog to possibly put on my blogroll, just leave any comment below. Also I would greatly appreciate if anyone would add Breakfast at Gracey's to their blogroll :) sharin' the love!

Also, Berniice from Things happen just LiveLaughLove & Learn tagged me in a tag post, so it's tag time!

The Questions:

1. What is your name and the name of your blog?

2. What is your blog url?

3. Write: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog

4. Favorite Quote

5. Favorite Song

6. Favorite bands/singers

7. Say anything you want!

8. Pass it along to a few other bloggers

The Answers:

1. My name is Gracey and my blog name is Breakfast at Gracey's

2. http://breakfastatgraceys.blogspot.com/

3. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog

4. "Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." -Christopher Robin. Gotta love Winnie the Pooh! :)

5. Favorite songs...ah they change so much. Pretty much all Lady Gaga songs and right now I'm loving Lights and Starry Eyed by Ellie Goulding.

6. Favorite bands and singers also change a lot! Ummm obviously Lady Gaga and Ellie Goulding, Bassnectar, Chiddy Bang, Pretty Lights, the Glee Cast, Mimosa, LIGHTS, Sam Adams...and I'm just gonna stop because this could go on forever :P

7. You're beautiful! :)

8. I tag anyone who wants to do this tag!

And because I'm OCD about having at least 1 picture in every post:

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I love Reese Witherspoon! Anyone seen Water for Elephants?

Wedding daydream

I don't know why I started thinking about weddings during work today. It was really random. But you know how people, little girls in particular, dream about their perfect wedding dress and everything? Well, I've always dreamed about my perfect ring. The Tiffany round brilliant ribbon ring!

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I've been obsessed with this for so long, like ever since I saw it. You know how when you're wedding dress shopping, (well I wouldn't know because I've never been wedding dress shopping. But I watch Say Yes to the Dress!), and there's that one dress that you see and you love, and nothing else seems to compare to it? I feel like that with this ring! No idea why though!

Ever since I saw Allison from La Dolce Vita's post on the Tiffany themed wedding, I've been dreaming about something similar, only not so big. The blue is such a nice color for wedding things in the first place. You can see all pictures via Martha Stewart.

via Marth Stewart

So I think I'm going to start a wedding themed series. Not exactly sure what I'm going to include, since none of my friends really get married since we are still in high school. But I'll figure it out :)

What do you think? Do you dream about your wedding? If you're married, did you get you're dream wedding? Do you know what dress, ring, cake, venue, etc. you want? Let me know :)

Summer 2011 Wishlist

(click on the picture for information on the items)

1. Tommy Hilfiger Tote- I love nautical colors and themes for summer, and this tote would be perfect for going to the beach or any type of summer event. Here's what I don't understand though--it sells for $78, and it was on sale for $20 at TjMaxx and I DIDN'T buy it. What is wrong with me?!

2. Floppy sun hats- I've never been much of a hat person, but my scalp always seems to get sunburned no matter what I do. I try to put sun screen up there, put my hair in a pony tail, but I still get burned. These floppy summer hats are great for accessorizing AND protecting the old scalp from being burned. They have sort of a Holly Golightly feel to them, in my opinion. Just tie a white ribbon around it and you're in business :P Although Miss Golightly's was not quite so floppy, but still.

3. Peaches!- A few weeks ago I was obsessing over cinnamon, this week I'm onto peaches. I would absolutely die if I could soak in Philosophy's "fresh peaches with cream" bubble bath/shampoo/shower gel. And it's a good thing that my work always has something to satisfy my cravings. When I was on my cinnamon kick, they had the cinnamon crumb cake ice cream. Now that its peaches, I can munch out on the Georgia peach ice cream! Heck yesss!

4. NARS The Multiple in Orgasm- It's been on my wishlist for so long, I don't know why I keep forgetting to buy it! Such a wearable color. Need I say more?

5. Chunky summer wedges- I'm thinking that I can possibly pull off a maxi dress IF I get some super cute wedges to give me some height and just add a bit extra to it. I love these wedges because they have the pretty turquoise detail on them!

6. Big statement necklaces- I have one statement necklace, and it definitely makes a statement. The only problem is that it isn't too wearable for everyday, it's very flashy and diamond-looking. I want one that I can throw on with a t-shirt or a cute simple dress to add some WOW to it. I'm definitely loving coral jewelry lately so this one from Simply Soles is perfect!

7. Breezy dresses in summery prints- This dress is perfect for a few reasons: 1. It's a one shoulder dress. Totally loving those right now! 2. It's in one of my favorite shades of blue. 3. It has a super cute summer print. It looks kind of like palm fronds. I want it sooo badly!

What do you think? Are you lusting after any of these items? What's on your summer wishlist right now?

New Camera & Mini F21 Jewelry Haul

I asked my boyfriend if I could borrow his camera for graduation pictures since mine is awful, and he said yes. I told him later that night after I'd played around with it that I loved it and I wasn't giving it back, jokingly of course. But he said I could keep it because he never uses it. So yay! Thank you boyfriend! <3

Anyway, I seem to get the best lighting in my bathroom during the day, but I'll be moving soon so I'll have to re-adjust to my new place.

Ok, now to the haul. I've spent the last, I don't know how many paychecks on beauty and makeup things. I noticed that I really needed to go shopping because my clothes and accessories were looking kind of drab. Here are a few of the accessories I got at Forever 21, the clothes haul will most likely be coming soon too.

The 3 amigos. Told you it wasn't much. Just 2 necklaces and a bracelet :)

I love this color for summer! I Don't really wear orange clothes but in accessories I love the color! They also had an aqua blue one that I wanted to get and I might go back and get. I rarely buy bracelets because my wrists are TINY and they never fit me, but this one seems to fit pretty well :)

UPDATE: I went back today to get the blue one, and it didn't look very aqua the second time around, just basic blue. But I still got it :)

^tiny wrist :P

I couldn't get a full shot of this necklace because it is super long. The website says 56" approximately. But it is so cute and I love wearing it with the orange bracelet.

And last but not least, this little baby. It is just so cute and pretty! Nothing too flashy but it would add a little something to an outfit, even if it's just a t-shirt.

Hope you enjoyed it! This was kind of a test run for my camera (Nikon Coolpix in case you were wondering). It's not the best camera in the world but it's definitely better than my old one.

And finally, I can say: All pictures taken by me. haha :)

Lucy Loves Feathers

Don't want to permanently (well, semi-permanently I guess?) have feathers in your hair?

I love Lucy Hale's take on the "feathers in hair" look!

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She wore a big feather earring in one of the episodes of Pretty Little Liars. Only 1 though! I'm pretty sure this one is by Owlita. A bit more expensive than feather extensions, but you can take them in and out whenever you want!

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She is on the cover of the current Seventeen issue sporting the same look, except more colorful! The one she is wearing here is from Edge of Urge. I like these because they are a bit smaller, cheaper, and have some cool colorful options!

This is a great option if you like to change your look a lot and don't want to commit to having feathers in your hair for long periods of time, or if you don't want to wear them to work or something where they would not be appropriate. I'm definitely going to get some of these!

What do you think? Do you like the look of feather extensions? Would you get extensions or buy the earrings? Let me know your thoughts :)

Beginning of Summer Playlist

My favorite songs for the beginning of summer :) I don't own any of the songs or the rights to any of them.

By the way, Lady Gaga's new album came out today. Have you listened to it? Thoughts? What are your favorite summer songs right now?

Teehee

images from flyingkimchisoup.co.nr

Haha, funny stuff. Should be packing, but, I'm not. Oh yeah I'm moving by the way!

If You Could Spend a Holiday Anywhere in the World, Where Would You Go?

I'd go to Ibiza, Spain.

It has basically everything I need for a vacation, beautiful beaches, awesome sunset views, and insane clubs and parties to go to.

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Ok the shopping could be a bit better, but just a boat ride away from the mainland of Spain and you'll be good to go. And it's a bit Jersey Shore-esque, I know, but I think it would be so fun to go for a summer.

Where would you go?

Free as a Bird: Feather Inspiration

I don't know why, but lately I've been loving feathers. I got feather hair extensions about 2 months ago and I loved them, but they fell out so I have to get them put back in at my next hair appointment. So, here's some feathery inspiration :)

Of course I wouldn't wear this all at once, that would be a bit of feather overkill! But individually, I would DIE to have these pieces!

I think part of my love for feathers comes from my jealousy of birds. They are so free, they have no boundaries. I decided a few months ago that when I turn 18 (5 more months), that I want to get a tattoo. I couldn't decide of what or where, but I've decided on a feather on my neck behind my ear :) Something similar to this, even though I hate that it's on a foot. Bleh.

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Lastly, I found this really cute top at Forever21 yesterday that I am obsessed with. It's a little big on me, but I love wearing it as an off the shoulder slouchy tee kind of thing. And it will be perfect for summer to wear to the beach over my bathing suit with jean shorts!

Hope you all enjoyed this inspiration post! Do feathers and birds inspire you? What else in nature do you find inspiration from! Let me know what you think :)

Stylish Blogger Award

So I've been meaning to do this post for a while now but I just keep forgetting. Fail on my part! But metroswimgal from Beauty, Brains, What Else? awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award, so thank you very much girl! Your blog is awesome!

The rules are:

1. Thank the person who gave it to you and link back to them

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Award it to recently discovered bloggers

4. Contact the bloggers and tell them about the award

Ok, well my 7 facts are:

1. I HATE feet. I don't know why, I just do.

2. I could eat sushi forever and ever

3. My favorite colors are pink and aqua blue, or more like a Tiffany blue color.

4. I spend most of my paycheck every two weeks on clothes and beauty things, which doesn't help my credit card debt

5. I like to read, but it has to be a choice read. I hate reading for school, unless I can pick the book.

6. Dr. Pepper is my favorite soda

7. I love blogging :)

Oh gosh, the hard part. Hmm...crap. Ok well, I award it to:

Ramz

Cafe Fashionista

The Fashion Spot

...but I'm mentally giving it to all of you because I LOVE reading everyone's blogs.

More posts coming this weekend, because I'm done with school TOMORROW...after 2 finals :/ bleh.

How to be work-ready after the beach!

I have been absolutely dying to go to the beach, so my boyfriend, his friend, and I decided to get up early one day and go. I had to be at work at 2, meaning I had to be downtown at at least 1:30 to make sure I could find parking. We got to the beach around 9:30 or 10 and stayed until about 12. I was worried that I would look like a mess for work, since I didn't have time to go home and shower. But, doing these things really helped me look more polished and work-ready. My boss came up to me and said "Wow you look pretty! Did you come from Church?" ummm nope. My best friend who I also work with said "Wait you came straight from the beach? You don't look like you did!"

So, I guess these little things I did really worked! Here are my tips :)

1. Find some way to rinse off

For me, this was using the hose at my boyfriend's friend's house (his name is James). Just to make sure I get all of the sand off me, and especially out of my hair. I had my hair in 2 braids at the beach so it wasn't that messy.

2. Face Wipes

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My favorite are the Yes to Cucumbers Natural Glow Facial Towelettes. After the beach, my face is usually pretty...un-pretty. Especially after applying sunscreen multiple times to make sure I don't burn (my face ALWAYS burns. I use spf 100+ on it). Throw some face wipes in you're bag and use these to get a clean, glowy face. Not to mention, all that sunscreen, sand, and saltwater can be harsh on your skin and clog your pores. It's best to get all that gunk out ASAP!

3. A Tinted Moisturizer

I use MAC's Studio Moisture Tint, it evens out my skin tone pretty nicely and gives me a little bit of color, because my face just does not want to tan. So it looks pretty odd when my face is white and the rest of my body is tan. This is easy because you can apply it with your fingers and it isn't too heavy. Sometimes I set it with a powder since my face tends to get a little greasier when I work, because of the humidity. But this step is optional.

4. Eyeliner

Nothing too heavy, just a thin line of brown or black eyeliner. I used the Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Sparkle Liner pencil in Cosmic Cocoa. I love the Beauty Rush line because there is always the 4 for $20 deal going on.

5. Mascara

If nothing else, at least apply a coat of mascara to your lovely lashes. Mascara makes a HUGE difference in your makeup look, it makes your eyes look bigger, brighter, and more awake. You've probably already heard that a million times though. I have so many mascaras, so I don't use the same one every day. They are all drugstore (except for MAC Haute and Naughty mascara. I love it!), and I think on this day I used Maybelline's One by One mascara, it's a great lengthening mascara. The only thing I don't like about it is that it has a strange smell. I don't know if I just got a bad one, because I haven't heard anybody else say anything about it.

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Optional steps:

1. Before I applied my tinted moisturizer, I applied a light daily moisturizer under it so that my skin wouldn't dry out from the salt water and sun.

2. I used MAC's Paint Pot in Painterly to even out my eyelids and make them look less veiny

3. Hair is kind of a tricky thing to do. At work, we have to wear hats and have our hair up so I just took mine out of the braids and put it in a pony tail. There are other cute updo's that you could do that look more polished than a ponytail, like a bun or something. Here is a good tutorial from Missglamorazzi and one from Macbarbie07.

4. I don't think this needs mentioning, but a change of clothes is also necessary. So I guess this shouldn't really be under "optional steps"...oh well :P

Well that's pretty much it! Hope this helps :) Leave your own beach beauty tips below and let me know what you think!

Oh, P.S. I've been OBSESSED with TjMaxx lately! Usually when I go there it's hard to find anything I like, but lately I've found sooo much stuff! I don't know if I'm just looking harder now, or TjMaxx is stepping up there game or what. But I'm not complaining!

Oh and P.S.S we're getting closer to the 100 follower giveaway! I have some great prizes in mind :)

Update

Hey guys! I know I've been slacking again but school has been crazy, it's almost exam time and teachers are cramming as many projects/tests/papers they can. But once summer starts I promise I'll have more time to blog!

I don't know why, but lately I've been OBSESSED with cinnamon! I've always liked it, but for some reason I've just been absolutely craving it. Hot Tamales, cinnamon rolls, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, the cinnamon crumb cake ice cream at work...oh my gosh I'm addicted.

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Those are actually SOAPS! They look too good to be soap!

And we are 30 followers from my 100 follower giveaway! I'm soo excited to do my first giveaway :)

Hope you all have had a great week and weekend!

Embracing Your Imperfections

Every day at school, I constantly hear girls criticizing other girls for things that they don't like about them. They don't like someone's hair, makeup, shoes, weight, smile, etc. I'm working on embracing my own imperfections, and other people's too.

I'm really insecure about 2 big things--my weight and my teeth. I'm not overweight AT ALL. I'm pretty much the exact opposite. I can eat and eat and no matter what I still haven't hit 100 lbs. People always mistake me for a 12 year old, and I used to think clothes looked weird on me because I couldn't fill them out like everyone else. Now I realize that I need to enjoy it while I can, because my mom was the same way, she didn't start gaining weight until after she had my sister and I. I'm not going to be able to eat like I do forever, so I'm going to start enjoying it instead of hating it.

Second, my teeth. I've always had bad teeth, and I went through the whole braces thing. They were supposed to take my braces off for about a month or two, see how much my teeth moved and then put them back on. They didn't give me a retainer, so my front teeth stick out really far and are really spaced out. My dad has been in a bad financial situation so I haven't been able to get braces back on. I'm still not 100% comfortable with my teeth yet, but my boyfriend has really helped me a lot with it. He thinks they're "cute", even though he kind of has to say that since he's my boyfriend. But I think they make me unique, and I'm kind of coming to terms with them.

I love it when celebrities don't try to fix every little imperfection they have. Take Abbey Lee Kershaw for example. I did a blog post on her in June last year, and she inspires me because her teeth aren't perfect, but she rocks them and looks great!

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So, what are some of your imperfections that you've started to love? How'd you do it? Share!

What I'm Loving: April

It's the end of April, which means time to share my faaavorites!

1. Books

This month I've started reading the House of Night series. I just finished the first book, and I must say, it's got me hooked! I think I'm going to go pick up the second book today or tomorrow. My other favorite book right now has bee Shoo, Jimmy Choo! as I mentioned in a blog post. Sooo useful!

2. Garnier anti-dark circle eye roller

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There's been a lot of hype going on around this product, so I'm sure you've heard good and bad reviews on it. I really loved this thing. When I use it in the morning, it feels so nice under my eyes, and it has a tint to it so it covers my dark circles wonderfully. They also make the anti-puff eye roller or something but I have more problems with eye circles than puffiness.

3. Berry Vanilla scent from Bath and Body Works

I was drawn to this originally because I loved the color of the bottle, but when I smelled it, ohh my gosh. It is my favorite scent for summer right now. If you like sweet and fruity scents, try this one out!

4. NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder

(via walmart)

I needed a new bronzer, and this one was only like $3 so I decided to pick it up. At first I was disappointed because when I swatched it, it barely showed up on my skin and I thought it was a dud. But when I used a brush, it bronzed my face beautifully. It's a matte bronzer and doesn't make me orange, so I don't look like an orange disco ball. Definitely check this out if you want a cheap, effective bronzer.

5. Zestii.com

If you shop online for, well, anything, you need to check this site out. When you want to buy something online, search for the website on Zestii, and if they have it, click the website link through the website and you will get a certain percent of how much you spend back on your Zestii account. You can redeem it for cash or choose from their list of gift cards. And I think right now if you sign up you automatically get $5.00 added to your account!

6. Yes to Cucumbers Natural Glow Facial Towelettes

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This is one of those products where when I run out, I don't really know what to do with myself until I get more. I had to wait until I got paid to buy some more, and I noticed that even though I was washing my face at night with my regular cleanser instead of these, my face just didn't look as good. It wasn't until this week that I realized how much these towelettes make the redness in my face go down. I think I'm going to switch cleansers to the Yes to Cucumbers cleanser to see if it will make my redness go down even more. Bottom line, these things are AMAZING and great if you have sensitive skin and/or redness.

7. Chocolate covered Peeps

Peeps are cute and delicious, chocolate is delicious, so chocolate covered Peeps=amazing! Too bad Easter is over :/

Well that's about it for this month. Be sure to link me to your favorites post or let me know your favorites :)