July: "According to My iPhone" (08.06.13)

Hi Everybody,

Today I thought it would be fun to have a look back over the past month "According to My iPhone!" (thanks to Jade over at Gracious Silhouettes for the series title). I've seen several bloggers do these posts and I always find them so much fun to go through. I'm a huge photography geek and I love the story a picture can tell. How they can capture a distinct moment in time and forever remind you of how you were feeling and where you were that day. 

My iPhone goes absolutely everywhere with me and I'm forever whipping it out and snapping pictures (much to the disdain of J). Here are some of my favourites from July.

/1. Top and skirt from H&M

/2. Bus ride selfies  

/3. Dreaming of far off places *Cool Fact: I actually bought that hat whilst on vacation in Bermuda 

/4. Gorgeous rose bush outside work 

/5. Sunbathing on my front step watching the world go by

/6. This shirt barfs sparkles like a drag queen

/7. Early morning. Wet hairs.

/8. Epic sunflare

/9. Picking the boy up from work after a week away

/10. I have never seen J so happy in all my life. Pulling pints for his favourite independent brewery

/11. Orville in the bathtub 

/12. Orville chillin' like a villain in the tub 

/13. Snuggled on the couch with my baby watching "New Girl" (my legs, his head)

/14. Buttercups and photoshoots

/15. Evening reflection

Well that's everything for the month of July. I hope you enjoyed this post and having a cheeky peek inside my phone. I did post some of these pics to Instagram, so be sure to follow me there for all the lastest and greatest: @erinbulger

I have a few "OOTD's" and reviews planned for some upcoming posts, so stay tuned for that!

Until then,

FOTD #2 (07.26.13.0)

I'm back with another "Face of the Day" for you all!

This look makeup look started with the eyes. I wanted to use a shadow that I hadn't used in a while. While I do use MAC "Satin Taupe" quite often, I typically only use it in the crease. However, it's really such an amazing all over lid colour! It has the ability to catch the light in such a way that it looks like several different shades all in one! A fantastic multipurpose shade and I would HIGHLY recommend it if you're looking to pick up a MAC eyeshadow. 

Inspired by the smokey simplicity of my eyes, I chose to pair this look with a red lip. Normally I would think this lip too dark for summer, but it has been raining all day long (seriously, I'm waiting to see someone float down the street in a boat) and the darkness of this lip made me feel cozy. I have several reds in my collection and today I chose Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss "11"

 For my cheeks I used MAC blush in "Well Dressed" and highlighted my cheekbones and inner eyes with Benifit High Beam. I opted to skip foundation and went for some Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer under my eyes and around my nose.

I thought it would be fun to throw in a little "Outfit of the Day" along with this post, so I snapped a few quick pictures while I was at work. Sorry for the quality, iPhones can only do so much. Like I said it was a rainy day, so I went for something cozy. I really LOVE this feather pattern peasant top. I always feel awesome when I wear it. Then just some simple black skinny jeans from AE and black flats.Working girl!

Now if you'll excuse me I must run! J just came home and now we're off to the pub for drinks with friends! 

Love you all,

Erin 

xx

Face of the Day "FOTD" #1 (07.22.13)

Hey Lovelies,

Just thought I'd pop in with a really quick "Face of the Day" post. I really liked how my makeup turned out this morning so I wanted to share! It's a chill day around the house and the boy is at work, so I wanted to keep my makeup really simple. I chose to keep the focus on my eyes and fresh rosy cheeks.

(Bought his Zebra scarf last year in Bermuda, and I seriously still can't get enough of it.)

 For this look eye look I smudged Kat Von D Autograph Pencil in"Napolitano" across my upper lash line. I then took MAC eyeshadow in "Patina" to set the eyeliner and brought that right up into my crease. To deepen my crease I took MAC eyeshadow in "Mystery" (the same colour I used for my brows) and blended that out. To finish the look I applied a couple coats of Maybelline The Falsies Mascara in "Black Drama"

(I really need to take a class in "How not to look awkward with your eyes closed". This is the best I could get.)

I wanted to keep the rest of my face looking really soft and fresh. To achieve this I used CoverGirl Cheekers Blush in "Classic Pink" with a little NYC Brozer in "Sunny" to add some colour. On my lips I used one of my current favourites, NARS lipstick in "Catfight". 

I love how this look came out and it all took less then 10 minutes! Minimal products and minimal time. No complaints there! Standout products for me are definitely the Kat Von D Autograph Pencil and the NARS lipstick.

 I'm dying to pick up and try more of these Kat Von D pencils. The consistency of them is delicious, the way they just glide on with zero pressure. They're so gentle on the eyes and they pack some HUGE colour. There is a peacock blue that I was eyeing on my last visit to Sephora... I think that may be the next addition to my collection. As for the NARS lipstick, this is a colour that I've had in my collection for a long while now and I have only recently picked it up and started using it again. I don't know what ever made me stop. It's the perfect dusty rose nude shade that goes with just about every look. I love that it is a matte so it's got that effortless quality to it that makes it almost look like it could perhaps be your natural lip colour. But the thing that really makes this something special and unlike anything else I have, is the micro gold and silver shimmer that it has to it. It's so finely milled that you can't feel it on your lips, but it causes the lipstick to catch the light is such a stunning way. 

Love you all,

Erin xx

Daily TidBits:

- I finally have my MacBook Pro back! I missed my baby so much these past few months! She's got a brand new hard drive in her and she's happily back in my arms. Never die on mommy again baby! Never!

-Yesterday, while walking through the VERY busy Costco parking lot, "J" decided that he wanted to carry me and promptly threw my over his shoulder right in front of a car that was trying to pass us! Haha! I didn't know what else to do so I just waved at the driver from atop "J"'s shoulder. Later on inside we bumped into the couple from the car, and we had a good laugh.

-I've been lazy in the self tanning department lately and have slowly faded back to my pasty white self. It makes me realize just how fantastic having a bit of colour on my skin makes me feel. I'm so much more confident wearing shorts if I have a bit of a tan. Is that strange? Meh.

Minty Freshness OOTD (07.09.13.)

Well helloooo there everyone,

I hope life has been treating you fine since we last spoke! The sun is shinning and the birds are singing outside my window right now. One of those days that makes you thankful to be alive.

I'm back today to show you dress #2 from my mini fashion haul via Sweet Pea Boutique. This little number is by Spicy Sugar, but for the life of me I can't find a link for it anywhere online! Grrr. So no clue what the name of this one is. This must be a rather indie clothing company, which is always nice. So I've named her myself. Ladies and gents I give you"Minty Freshness". Here she is...

 

(Earrings: Forever21)

(Duck lips for dayz)

(Sunnies: Smart Set)

(Eyes: MAC "Satin Taupe" & "Jest" Lips: Revlon Balm Stain "Honey")

There she is! She's a bit less sassy then "Nottingham" , and definitely more on the soft and feminine side. I will admit, now that I have her home and I've put her on again, I wish she was a bit longer. I'm a tall girl, measuring in at 5'10", so I often find I have this problem. There are so many cute dresses out there in the shops right now, but they're all so bloody short on me! Let's be honest here folks, I'm also carrying some junk in my trunk ... so that combined with my tall frame just increases the shortness of a garment. When I put "Minty Freshness" on in the changing room I thought she was the perfect length... I  totally forgot to do the changing room test. You know the one where you walk around, bend over and do a little dance. While she does pass most of the test, she FAILS in the bending over category. It's all good, I'll just make sure to bend my knees and squat down when I want to pick up that Lucky Penny off the street. 

Much love to you all,

Erin  xx

Daily Tidbits:

• I just got in from soaking up the Vitamin D. When you don't have a backyard you have to suck it up and lay out front. Strutting my "bikini bod"  for the world to see. 
• It has been insanely hot here the past week. It's making sleeping at night almost impossible. We need to upgrade our dinky fan to an A/C
• I've been receiving a lot of postcards lately. Thinking my next post will be a PostCrossing update from June.
• A man just walked in front of my home screaming on the phone about how "NOBODY CAN PLAY AS GOOD AS ERIC CLAPTON CAN!". Righto... righto.

Fancy Evening Out (06.22.13.)

Hello Everyone!

There aren't many times in a girl's life that she gets the opportunity to go all out and wear an evening dress. After prom, the opportunities dwindle drastically and we are reduced to staring longingly at all the beautiful gowns in the boutique windows. So you can imagine my excitement when my boyfriend came home from work last month to tell me that his unit was hosting a military ball in June! Sound the horns and break out the happy dance! 

(He NEVER smiles in pictures, so I had to squeeze his bum to get this much of a smile out of him.)

Finding a dress wasn't as easy as one would think. It turns out I had just missed the prom dress season, so there were only stragglers left on the racks at my usual boutiques, and even then they were insanely expensive. I gave myself a budget of $200 for my outfit and all the dresses I was seeing in my local shops were $500+. So to the internet I went. I ended up finding this dress on ModCloth.com for $74.99! Even with the alterations this dress was well under budget. It's called the "Receiving Line Dress" and I loved how beautiful the navy looked next to his red mess kit. This was my first purchase from ModCloth, and I was beyond impressed with the quality of the garment and their service.

(The ever classy "Bathroom Selfie")

For my accessories I kept it pretty simple choosing to wear only a pair of sparkly chandelier earrings from Le Chateau ($22.) for my jewelry (I always wear my Claddagh ring so that doesn't count). My clutch and hair comb are both pieces that I wore to my prom and I still love them now. For my shoes I wore a pair of low black patent leather strappy heels I've had for ages, my dress was so long you couldn't see them anyway.

(Work it girl! Work it!)

I was so impressed with how my makeup came out. It seems like every time I try to do something ultra glam for a night out, without fail I screw something up and it never looks like I want it to. Well this time was different. I gave myself plenty of time so that I wouldn't feel rushed or pressured. I took my time and wouldn't you know it, I didn't screw up! Here is what I used:

 

Some key components to this look for me were the Katy Perry Lashes, the Wet n' Wild palette, and the Revlon Balm Stain. 

This was my first time using the Katy Perry lashes and I was in love with them at first blink. The "Oh Honey" lashes added the perfect amount of volume and length with out looking like I was clearly wearing falsies. They were very easy to work with and stayed put all night long (I used Duo Lash Glue to adhere them).

To add a little something extra to my makeup look, I smudge some of the royal blue and turquoise shades (right column) from the "Blue Had Me At Hello" palette along the outer corners of my lower lash line. I liked how it tied in with my navy dress by adding a little pop of something special.

(Can I get a "Woot woot!" for Revlon up in here!)

I already knew I adored the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains (what a mouth full!) as I have several colours in my stash from before. These things are amazing if you're looking to rock a bright lip but don't want to worry about getting it all over the place (like your partners face) and having to reapply constantly. I picked up the shade called "Lovesick" because I really loved the look of the magenta pink with my navy dress. This stuff stayed put on my lips all night long. All through drinks, dinner, talking and smooches. Hands down a winner that everyone should own.

(Essie "Aruba Blue" and Wet n' Wild Fergie Collection "New Year Kiss")

 For my mani and pedi, I went for a blue and a silver look, using the sparkle polish in a gradient keep it more concentrated at the bottom. I loved the sparkle it added to my look.

(Totally forgot to take a picture of the entree, I had chicken!)

We had a beautiful evening surrounded by friends, most of whom were new to me. We've only just moved to Fredericton (this is our first posting) so I haven't gotten a chance to meet all of my boyfriend's  co-workers. It was so fantastic to share stories and laughs over drinks. He works with so many fantastic people, who have equally fantastic wives (score for me!). 

(I really love a pair of strong hands)

We ate dinner serenaded by a local celtic duo who played the piano and fiddle amidst the sound of chatter and clinking glasses. We ended the evening on the patio of our favourite local pub in the beautiful summer evening air. I really had such a fantastic time and I can't wait until the next time.

Love and kisses,

Erin