lovely lashes

my go-to, five-minutes-to-get-ready, take-to-a-deserted-island makeup item has always been mascara. It has the ability to leave you bright eyed and bushy tailed when you have had less than enough beauty rest and pulls together your entire face. I've been known to shell out a pretty penny to get fabulous lashes- my favorite mascara being a toss up between Make Up Forever Smoky Lash $22 and DiorShow Mascara $24.50. But, that isn't to say that I'm a snob when it comes to finding drugstore dupes for my favorite designer makeup.


these four are the MVPs, the mascaras I've found to work just as good (if not better) than the high end brands I've tried and loved.

Maybeline the Colossal Volum' Express Mascara: Great volume, nice big brush to really grab your lashes, reminded me a lot of my beloved Dior mascara but for a fraction of the price :)

Maybelline One by One Volum' Mascara: My new Holy Grail of mascara. Gave me the lashes I'm sporting in this posts picture. Doesn't clump, literally separates each lash from one another. The reason behind this entire post, I love it so much.

Rimmel the Max VolumeFlash Mascara: An old favorite with a big brush to give you full lashes, without clumping everything together. Dries out kind of fast though, bummer.

Covergirl Lash Blast Fushion: Found this mascara and thought that I was done trying new brands forever. Leaps and bounds above the original Lash Blast which I hated with a passion. Thanks Drew Barrymore for steering me wrong. Fortunately, this little beauty made up for any wrong-doing. Great length and definition, but also gave full lashes that everyone loves.

Just a couple options for mascara that won't break the bank, but also make you look like a million bucks :)

xx,
Marissa

fried ends? fake it til you make it.

ever take a bit longer than you should between your trips to the salon I'm just rounding out the 10th month since my last haircut, and while I know what I need is a good cut, one too many nightmares in the past makes me nervous about taking the plunge. Add sun damage from the summer's rays, salt water and chlorine from swimming and you have a recipe for fried ends. No self respecting girl likes to go out with raggedy hair, you put in the effort to look nice, you don't need your hair to ruin your ensemble! My favorite trick? Curl just your ends loosely with a big barrel curling iron. It smooths and seals your ends, and gives your hair a finished look. Even after they start to fall out, which they will between the humidity, weight of your hair and the loose curl that you gave them, you'll still look polished and put together. Exactly the look you were going for :)

xx,
Marissa

my love affair with D.C.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I had planned a trip to DC to visit my best friend who had just graduation from George Washington University. The trip was a gradations present from her family, and a kind of two- for-one treat for the both of us. Having never been to DC before I wanted to see some of the sights, but we both agreed a relaxing/mellow visit was just what we needed. Just a sprinkling of tourist, but mostly spending time with her and enjoying her life down there.


Our first night out in Adams Morgan- the bar and club area of the city. Full of crazies, but so much fun! Highlights included 4am pizza that was larger than my head, running away from creepers at the bar, her roommate stepping on a baby walking the streets at 4am, biker gangs and a group of weirdos speaking in accents for no reason and saying they were on the Boston Real World. It was crazy.


Walked the GW campus. For four years I've been on the phone with Kaitlin as she walked from building to building having no idea what anything looked like. It was nice to finally have a layout and visuals to put everything together. But the true highlight of the campus was seeing the hippo statue that I had heard about for years. According to Kaitlin, the former president purchased this statue for his house, and when his wife told him to get rid of it, because who in their right mind would want this thing in their house, he donated it to the school. However, the sign below said nothing of the sorts. Good lie Kaitlin, good lie.


Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes! After what seemed like centuries of hearing this cupcake shop get rave review, I finally was able to sample them for myself. After waiting line like the rest of the tourists and cupcake groupies, we finally made it inside and were faced with the impossible task of choosing our flavor.





Lucky for us, they give you a menu listing all the different cupcake flavors that they carry, and which ones are available that day.





First bite! So much build up for this. As a cupcake connoisseur, Kaitlin was scared that I would be disappointed.


Worrying was completely unnecessary. Literally, the greatest cupcake that I have ever eaten.



Then we left Georgetown and headed downtown to check out some of Washington's sights.


Typical tourist White House picture was totally necessary. Frame worthy shot right there ;)


And finally, while continuing my quest for the perfect iPad case, I made a completely impromptu but absolutely perfect purchase to serve as a moment of my trip. Because honestly, how many oversized city t-shirts and name-sake shot glasses do you need? At least this will remind me of my trip every time I wear it, which lately has been a lot.

Good job D.C. for having me for the weekend, making me fall in love with you and ending our love affair just as soon as it started. But no worries, I'll be back soon.

xx,
Marissa

- Posted using BlogPress from my

Location:Washington, DC

perrrfect manicure

I'm definitely a girl who prides myself on having nice nails. To me, it's just a part of life as a lady. While the average woman may paint her nails once a week, or even longer, it's hard for me to wait more than a couple days. My constant need for manicures has led me to the perfect step-by-step process that can take as little as 10 minutes and be done right before bed.




Start with clean nails.

Use cuticle clippers to trim any hangnails, or cuticle around the edges.
Push back cuticles around the base of your nail- I use my pointer nail instead of an orange stick or nail tool. One less thing to have in my nail drawer!



Clip your nails to the perfect length for you. The best for me is just a bit below my finger tip. Make sure you only file in one direction, going back and forth in a sawing motion makes your nails weak and split super easy.

My go to shape is the "squ-oval", an almost square shaped nail with rounded corners. This shape is the best for preventing chipped corners since you don't have any corners to snag on.

To get the smoothest surface possible before you apply your polish, use a 4-sided file to even out and buff the surface. This makes your polish stay on and really have something to bond to.

Right before polish, use a fresh cotton ball to fully clean the surface of your nail. Paint your nails using three smooth motions; one in the middle, then one on either side. It's best if the first coat is thinner, while the second can be a bit thicker to make sure your polish is totally opaque.






The top coat that I swear by is Seche Vite Dry Fast Topcoat. It gives nails an almost-plastic, perfect look that I love. But the reason that this is my holy grail nail product is that it honestly stays true to it's name. I can paint my nails and they're completely dry within 10 minutes. Love, love it.




And of course my perrrfect manicure wouldn't be complete without a glitter nail <3

xx,
Marissa
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

dressed to the nines

so I'm what many people would consider a complete girly girl. I hate leaving the house without something on my face, will not be caught dead outside in bumish clothes and have panic attacks whenever my manicure isn't perfect. now being a girly girl should not be confused with being high maintenance, even though most people would consider the two interchangeable. as a card carrying girly girl I'll take a few moments to explain the difference.

high maintenance girls take forever to get ready because they need to look perfect, in an effort to impress anyone and everyone. girly girls take just enough time to make sure they look nice before leaving the house. your outward appearance is an expression of how you see yourself. If you look like crap, then you see yourself as .... well you get the message.

high maintenance girls expect people to do everything for then, especially their significant others and male friends/family. girly girls are fine with doing things themselves, as long as it won't get them dirty or be too hard, then the help of someone is always appreciated, but not expected :) and a sweet girly girl will always say thank you!

high maintenance girls must have the biggest and best of everything,since according to them, they deserve it. designer labels and name brands will only do. girly girls don't require the best of everything, as long a it's pretty, they're good.

see the difference? ;)

one way I help to keep my girly girl points up is my consistent rotation of dresses within my wardrobe. now I've always been a dress girl, how could you not be! one step, one piece and your dressed and good to go! airy and breezy, they help to keep you cool while looking cute.





my dress of the day- cutie patterned dress from target. I've gotten so many great dresses there that I always get tons of compliments on whenever I wear them! I love the bottom part of the dress. you can just see the top section scattered with tiny rosebuds, but there are also skinny candy pink stripes and little posies on the bottom. too cute for words <3

xx,
Marissa

ps. the comparison between high maintenance girls and girly girls was just for fun. remember, there's no crying in blogging; or wait was that baseball... hmph I guess we'll never know.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

too witty for words

how perfect are these coasters. totally look like something you'd see in urban outfitters home section. must find and purchase in large amounts. great hostess gift or the perfect little something for a friend moving into their own place. well, actually perfect if your friend has a good sense of humor. if not, invest in some new friends?






xx,
Marissa

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

perfect little present

I've always wanted to be one of those people who can wake up one morning, decide you want to go somewhere, and make it happen. However, the sad state of my bank account at the moment makes that virtually impossible, but I always love when it when my friends are able to just pack up and go. One of my best friends and her boyfriend just got back from a spur of the moment trip to Vegas. She had been talking about going one Friday night when we were out, and that Monday they left. Awesome right?

I was able to live vicariously through her with constant picture updates via text and got to experience a teeny tiny piece of what Vegas has to offer. Now I know when I go, the Beatles Love show will be my #1 priority since she said, and I quote "Marissa- it is the reason I was born. To see that show. It was the greatest moment of my life. I cried". Now how's that for buildup?

And besides the constant updates on what Vegas has to offer and being the amazing friend that she is, she came back with perfect presents for both me and my roommate, but also our other best friend. Remember that picture from graduation? Yup, that's us. :)




Considering that her and I are basically the same person, of course I loved her little memento from Vegas for me. I mean how couldn't you? It's just adorable. And you know me, throw sparkles on anything and I'm sold.

xx,
Marissa
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad