About my blog

I just wanted to take a minute to write a quick post about my blog. I started blogging a little over a year and a half ago. I was starting a baking business and event party planning company. I wanted a way to show off my work and write about the products I loved using for my events and baking. I later started surfing on pinterest a lot and got big into crafts and refinishing furniture so I started blogging about that. Then being a woman I am always sampling beauty products, gadgets and home decor/products so I started writing about my favorite products, deals and sales I would come across.

I started this blog specifically for beauty products like hair, makeup, nailpolish and nail techniques I found on pinterest. I also always had people asking me where did you get this or what is that scent in your home. I realized a lot of people just like me google about products and read reviews. Also that many love to try out new products etc.

I am always signing up for sample programs like Birchbox, glossy box, qvc test tube, julep nail club etc. I love to try new products and share what I love and then also let people know what I don't care for. It's all opinion bit I enjoy sharing and reading other blogs also.

I love to share sales, coupons and deals with others cause I love to get a tip on something I can get for below retail or free sometimes. Being a stay at home mom with no full time income of my own I am always searching for sales and deals. I rarely buy anything for full price or without a coupon or code. Even when I order something or purchase something my kids need I hit the Internet and look for deals, coupons or Internet codes to save even if I just get free shipping that saves me money which then excites me lol.

It is hard to start a blog and gain followers. I started my baking blog and even after almost two years I get lots of views but have a handful of followers. One day I would love to have a successful blog that is followed by many. It is a work in progress for me but I am always looking for followers and I am always getting new products to sample and review. I would love for people to follow my blog and recommend more things you would like to see or how to get more interest in my blog. I follow a lot of fellow bloggers and I really enjoy reading about others experiences with sales, products etc.

Hope that everyone stays tuned to my blog. I am in the process of redesigning my layout and getting more of my reviews, photos etc posted. I promise lots to come in the future and please fellow bloggers follow me, I will be sure to follow everyone who follows me support is well appreciated.:) xoxo

Meli.

Some sample photos of polishes I posted in previous post

I painted two coats of each polish on one nail so everyone could see how they look and so I could try to decide which one I want use for my weekend manicure:) Let me know what you like or think

Sally steals on sale

This week started back to school for my girls so in the am I'm up super early and dressed to drop them off. I drop off my youngest at 9 so I have till 11:30 to pick her up and that means time to kill so I have been going around browsing stores.

I have found some amazing deals at TJ Maxx, Marshall's and Sally's this week and a cool find at the Dollar Tree to share.

Starting off with Sally's, Tuesday morning I ran into Sally's waiting for TJ Maxx to open and they have a ton of China Glaze, Orly and other brands marked down. Some are 3.50, 2.49 and 1.50 then you get 50% off that price plus I have some Sally's credit and points. Tuesday I got a gorgeous green figured since fall is coming stock up on some darker fall colors. The color is Agro and has a metallic sheen to it. I did a mani that day using that color and Nicole by OPI Not a Gold bigger. Look good together:)

Today I decided to swing by the Sally's by my house cause they always have a huge selection and mark down newer colors too when they have been on shelf awhile. This was an ultimate score and where I used my Sally's credit. I got For Audrey, one of my top favorite colors cause it is a Tiffany blue and what girl doesn't love the color blue on the Tiffany's box:). It was 1.50 then 50% off so .75! I also got china glaze Harvest Moon, great fall color a metallic rust color, Stone Cold a dark Gray with silver metallic shimmer, I love darker colors, Luxe and Lush which has iridescent flakes looks like snow:), and one of my new favorites Full Spectrum this one has multi colored sparkle and glitter. I also got a small bottle from Finger Paints in hip hip hue ray which is a solid white with skinny brush for nail art:)!

Earlier in the week I scooped up two packages of nail art 8 mini bottles that have glitters, flakes and even shapes in them for added little accents. I have seen these at beauty stores and on the beauty nail aisles for a few packets well over 5.00 up to 12.00. For eight mini bottles it is a dollar! I ran by the dollar tree by my Sally's this am to grab the rest cause they have six different packets with different styles and of course they were all sold out but decided to run to the dollar tree by sedanos they always have what I'm looking for and picked up the rest. You know what this means? Lots of nail photos from mani and pedis to come:)

Posting photos of beauty finds and then my quick mani I did with the green and gold:) Enjoy and I will be posting some cute purses, clothes and other deals I found at TJMaxx and Marshall's shortly:). Hope you have a great weekend and excited my birthday is Monday can't wait:).

Melissa

Perfume review, fruity and fresh floral scents

I recently was looking for a new scent to add to my perfume collection. Some of my favorites that I wear are Issey Miyake L'eaud Issey, Hanae Mori Butterfly and I love Bath and Body Vanilla Brown Sugar.

I normally prefer body spray. I have horrible sinus and allergy issues. I tend to get migraines, stuffy nose and watery eyes from a lot of scents. Also I get skin irritation by a lot of products with scent from shower gels to laundry soap. Can be frustrating but I have had this since I can remember and learn ways around it, like applying sprays to hair and clothes, finding products that don't give me a migraine or make my allergies go crazy.

I am a scent maniac. My house is a fine example. I have tons of candles, plug ins, air freshners etc. My all time favorite home scent is a oil that you burn in a soap stone oil burner with a small tea light. I will write about this more in a future post but the smell is amazing:)! Smells like oranges and has a sensual, fruity smell. Everyone who comes into my home asks me why that amazing smell is. Literally EVERYOnE loves it:). I should sell it.

Back to perfume I wanted to try something new and after going to Marshall's and seeing the amazing prices they had on some perfumes I always wanted to try decided to go to Ulta so I could sample the fragrances before committing. Usually this is a long process for me. I smell it on a card first then narrow down four scents. Then I spray those four scents on my body. Yes for that day I smell overwhelming lol but I have to try on skin to see if it irritates then also over the years I haw learned a lot of American made perfumes do not last long. I like a scent that I only to apply once and lasts all day.

I tried many scents. I am open minded. I started with the ones I saw the amazing prices on at Marshall's and did not care for any of them. I fell in love with this product Pink Sugar hair perfume. I love anything you can spray in the hair to make it smell good. Back to perfumes now lol, my favorite was the new Ralph Lauren perfumes that are numbered 1-4. All four scents smell amazing and they have a body spray. The body spray does not last as long and seems more diluted but the perfumes all lasted decent for rl product and three out of four I would wear regularly. Only one I was not fond of. My favorite was #2 the pink bottle cause it had a fruity but clean light floral sweet smell:). Second favorite was True Religion Hippie Chick, this scent lasted awhile and at first opened up with a fruity scent but as I wore it the scent got this soft floral, sweet smell that I really enjoyed. Last of all was the summer scent that Juicy came out with Viva La Juicy La Fleur this one is stronger like most Juicy scents are. I love JC but their perfumes tend to e a little harsh and strong for me. A couple of them are kind of old lady smelling to me and remind me of my grandma. This shocks me cause juicy is targeted more towards the younger ladies. I do like the original viva la juicy and the peace love and juicy. Both are bearable and I like how they smell after awhile of being on the body but at first spray migraine central and eyes water up. Was sad bought a large bottle of juicy couture perfume at Marshall's for 34.99 retailed for 85 at high end stores had to return it cause I rashed out on wrists and had a headache within several minutes. Had to shower to remove it. The Viva La Juicy flower scent is a lot like the original just lighter and more floral:). I could wear this if applied to clothes and hair.

I think it is funny how my two favorite scents are from Paris and not made in us but I love smells and scents so I am open to anything trust me if I find something I love I will apply I clothes hair etc if it irritates my skin. If it smells good I will wear it:).

Just for reference I like fruity, apple, pear, orange, strawberry, berry scents vanilla of course, lemon, caramel, floral scents and anything sweet, light and delicious smelling:) hope this helps.

Let me know your suggestions I always love to hear what others like and what you recommend for the taste I has in scents. Also keep an eye out going to write a post about home fragrance you don't want to miss. I use to sell party lite candles and like I mentioned earlier on I am a fragrance addict I have a lt of tips and products to die for of you love home fragrance like me. Also some inexpensive tips to achieve these methods and scents without breaking the bank:). Have a great evening.

Wen review

While I was away on vacation my best friend came to visit me for a couple days. When she came to visit she brought me a Wen starter kit. Included the conditioning cleanser, conditioning mask, and styling Creme. I was super excited cause I am sure like many of you I would be up late, unable to sleep and watch the infomercial always wanting to order it. I read up on the product and after reading many reviews had heard about a product carried at Sally Beauty called Hair One. I have had the Brazilian Keratin treatment done several times and with this you can only use sulfate free shampoo and products so I tried the hair one since it is, like Wen sulfate free I was skeptical cause I have. Rey course hair and always have used a shampoo and conditioner. Two in ones don't work well with my hair.

I already only wash my hair once a week if that, I know may sound gross but this is much healthier for your hair and if you are lucky like me, unless I am working out daily I do not get oily greasy hair. My hair actually looks its best after a couple days of no washing. I also try to never use shampoo that dries out or strips the hair which is what most shampoos do. A lot of people don't like sulfate free shampoo cause it does not suds up like regular shampoo. I hear a lot of people say it doesn't feel like it is cleaning it cause they associate suds with cleaning. Not the case, the bubbles don't clean your hair lol.

Anyhow on to my review, the hair one product worked well, I used the olive oil mainly. A couple times I got the tea tree oil one which is good for dandruff or any irritation you may get also keeps the scalp very clean. My main complaint was I needed something additional to condition my hair. I started doing masks every other week or deep conditioning treatments which worked well but after awhile and when my bkt washed out I would return to trying other products. (I love bed head products).

I used the Wen the first night after she gave it to me. Started with the conditioning mask, then the conditioning cleanser cause that is what the directions told me to do first time. After the shower I used a dime size drop of the conditioning cleanser for a leave in conditioner then let air dry. I did not use any other products or the styling cream. My hair dried amazing. Usually I blow dry my very course, thick, curly, frizzy, damaged hair but I have been laying off the bleach, flat iron and blow dryer as much as possible tryin to get my hair healthy again. I was amazed my hair was so soft, no frizz or puffiness like usual and best of all my curls looked the best they have in years. After coloring and damaging from straightening my hair usually looks like a bad perm or wave not nice curls like I had as a kid. Wen changed that. The rest of my vacation I left my hair natural and one day used the styling cream which helped make it look more defined and shiny.

My kids, mom and husband all noticed right away the difference in my hair. Wish I had some before and after photos but honestly it works. I also used it in my toddlers hair, which knots like crazy cause she has ringlet curls and texture like my hair. It worked amazing. I doubt I would continue to use in her hair cause it takes a lot of product each shampoo and I wash her hair every two to three days depending on her activities etc.

Since I returned from vacation I have the wen worked into my schedule. I was my hair every 4-8 days using the condition cleanser first. Usually use 8-10 pumps and massage into hair for 2-3 minutes then splash some water into the hair and scrub the scalp, ends etc for awhile longer. Then I comb it thru and clip it up while I wash up. Then I rinse thoroughly with cool water. Making sure there is no product left. I then follow with the conditioning mask or a deep condition treatment I use (will write about that in later post) massaging the mask into hair then combing through. I usually then will shave or will wrap in warm towel and rinse later. I leave in mask or deep conditioner sometimes 15-20 minutes and some times I leave in for 30-45 minutes rinsing in sink later. After I will use a small dime size amount of the cleanser as a leave in conditioner then let air dry or style using the styling cream. When blow drying straight I use the product for leave in conditioner then my bed head after party or straightening balm. So far I give this a major two thumbs up. My hair smells good, feels healthy and is much more manageable. Has really helped my hair a lot.

I use a lot of hot tools, products, color, bleach and bad things in my hair. I change my color often, experiment at home with different color and dying trends then to top it off bleach, and flatiron often. So my hair needs lots of tlc and I have to say this product works amazing:).

Will write another post soon to reveal some other amazing products I use like conditioning masks and treatments, toners, purple shampoo/conditioner for keeping blonde white and no brass, hair perfume for fresh scent, dry shampoo and baby powder for absorbing oil between shampoos erc. Trust me it is not easy to get use to not washing your hair daily but I have to tell you it is amazing how it changes your hair especially when you have my type of hair. I don't recommend this for teens or for girls who have the thinner hair cause your hair tends to get greasy after a few hours imagine after a few days. Even with this type of hair though if you use some of the products I have discovered even some who normally have to wash daily can go two to three days with some good products and tips:).

Make sure to check out the wen products and I will be posting some photos of my hair along with some more photos of the product.

Mani for fun on rainy day.

Had one of those gloomy rainy Florida summer days and decided to play with some of my new nail colors I found at Marshall's and TJ Maxx:).

Colors I used were

Nicole by opi Too Rich For You

Accent finger glitter by Hot Ticket Disco Ball

Nicole polish was 2.99 and Glitter was 3.99 @ TJ Maxx:)

Also helpful hint my daughter loves glitter nail polish and so many times I have gotten so mad or frustrated trying to remove this stuff. I have tried acetone and gone through lots of cotton balls and the thick cotton pads for makeup. I have a great trick I use found on pinterest. Take a cotton ball or cotton pad apply nail polish remover place over nail then take a small piece of aluminum foil and cover finger tip, make sure to wrap entire tip of finger leaving the cotton with remover on the nail, do this to each finger and leave on for 2-4 minutes. After a couple minutes take the foil and twist a couple times running the cotton inside across the nail then press down on foil where the cotton is and pull off. Polish should be completely removed, you may need to wipe a couple more times but no more scrubbing and scraping. Great tip figured I would share:).

Amazing finds nail polish

I was back to school shopping for my daughters when I stumbled upon some amazing new colors and a couple brands I never saw at of all places, TJ Maxx and Marshall's:)! I have bought OPI and Nicole by OPI several times there for 2.99-3.99 a bottle, this day I found Essie and Deborah Lippmann! Was very happy:).

My color collection has grown a lot cause my almost teen daughter is also obsessed with nail polish, like mother like daughter I guess:). I use to buy her inexpensive cheaper brands but they would stain her nails and also she would have to repaint them all the time. Back a little over a year ago I was looking for some bed head products and perfumes, that is when I stumbled upon the nail polish at Marshall's then realizing tjmaxx is associated with Marshall's decided to check there. If you are looking for some new colors for your collection or inexpensive polishes for younger kids this is the spot. Also they have an amazing selection of hair products, flat iron and curling irons and brand name perfumes of course none are new products but if you are like me I wear a lot of perfumes and colors that have been out for awhile so why not save save save:).

I was bored and went ahead and painted my nails this opi Nicole color and used the Deborah Lippmann color for an accent nail added a perfect little shimmer almost iridescent look. Will post the name of the colors below:). Doing my best to catch up on posts and add photos since I got so behind on vacation. Lots more to come so stay tuned

Did a clear base coat Sally Hansen

Two coats of Nicole by OPI Girl Talk

On ring finger Deborah Lippmann Oh! You pretty things (juicy couture collection)

Top coat Sally Hansen insta-dry

Lot's to update on

So sorry I have been super busy the passed couple weeks and then we were on vacation for 10 days in TN so I have not been able to blog.  I have so many things to write about.  I was planning on doing a back to school deals and savings blog, but since school has already started in some areas and is going to be starting on Monday here I think I am late on that one.  I have lots of reviews on beauty products, things from our trip to TN, deals and steals from back to school shopping, some amazing steals on beauty products I found the passed few weeks, then so much more.  I have to play catch up, but since school is starting I should be able to catch up.

I also have some great photos of vacation, products and more.  I promise this week I will get caught up on things and next week I will have lots of things to blog about and get ya'll caught up on things=).  I also am trying to figure out a way to connect all my blogs.  I have two other blogs, one is for my business Dliteful Creations and Designs, then my furniture rehab and vintage furniture blog.  I want to somehow get them all connected so that way everyone can read about all the things I do and that I love.

Sorry this is so sloppy and quick but just wanted to get on here and make sure that I posted something so that everyone knows I have not gone mia.  We had a great vacation and I really am considering moving out of Florida soon.  Hoping we can move in the next year or two.  I really need a change and loved being in the mountains so much.  

Off to finish laundry and my shopping list to finish up getting last minute things for my girls for back to school.  Can't believe how fast this summer flew by.  Stay tuned, can't wait to share all the amazing items I got the passed few weeks and super deals I came across.  I have tons of new nail polishes, beauty products, samples, and more.  Also signed up for birchbox beauty samples monthly shipping club and want to share that with you as well.  It is really amazing and you get to sample some great beauty products monthly for only $10 a month.  It is pretty cool and can't wait to tell you more=).  

Enjoy the rest of your summer for those who have are still in summer mode, for the rest congrats on back 2 school for your kiddies and hope they all are having a great first week.

xoxo
Meli