One Direction: Our Moment Perfume

Hello Everyone! 
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! I wanted to share with you one of my favorite gifts that I received. It is the One Direction Perfume: Our Moment. My mom keeps telling me that I am no longer a teenager but I keep telling her I have a few more months as a 19 year old so it is fine for me to fan girl over One Direction. This perfume smells amazing and I honestly think it is appreciate for a lot of ages.
Lets talk about the packaging...It is a beautiful pink tinted glass diamond shaped bottle. It's heavy which in my opinion makes it feel more luxurious. In black cursive writing, it says Our Moment with a printed One Direction underneath of it. It has a crowned shaped lip which I adore. The crown has beautiful spiky details on it. Inside the crown has a pink frilly almost tutu looking part. Personally, I think the tutu looks a bit cheap and I would've preferred it without it but I do think it will appeal to the target market of 12-16 year olds. Overall, I think it is a super cute detailed bottle. 
Lets talk about the smell... It is a perfect spring summer scent. It is a classic feminine smell of flowers, fruits and an under hint of musk. It is definitely a lighter, easy to wear everyday smell. I can definitely smell the grapefruit and jasmine. I cannot wait until March when I will be getting a lot more use out of it! 
Overall, it is a lovely fragrance. I am definitely keeping the box because all the boys are in it. Good job One Direction, you came out with a very nice perfume! 
What's your favorite gift that you received? 
Lots of love, 

Travel: What's In My Make Up Bag

  Hello Everyone! 
Finals are finally over and I honestly could not be any happier. They dragged so much this year but really.. my last one was on the 23rd! Crazy late, I know. Anyways, for the holidays, I am currently in Boston and I'm staying with my family for about a week. I thought it would be fun to share the make up I brought with me! I try really hard to minimize how much I bring because I do own a lot of make up and if I could, I would bring it all. But since it is the holidays, I brought a few more items because who doesn't love fake eyelashes and smokey eyes for Christmas?! I hope you enjoy and maybe this can give you some ideas of what to bring next time you're on a vacation or trip! I think I am also going to do a FOTD and OOTD for Christmas day. So excited! 

Brushes: 

All

Face 

Eyes

Face:  Real Techniques Expert Face Brush  Real Techniques Setting Brush  Bare Minerals Full Flawless Face Sonia Kashuk Contour Brush  Models Own Blush Brush 
Eyes:  Soho Blending Brush  Soho Angled Brush  Soho Full All Over Brush  Real Techniques Shading Brush  Sonia Kashuk Blending Brush  Sonia Kashuk Smudge Brush Sonia Kashuk Large Shader Brush  Models Own Angled Brush Models Own Flat Brush 
The Sonia Kashuk and Models Own are travel packs which is really nice because they are short! I definitely brought a lot of eye brushes but I love doing darker smokey looks so I use them all. 
Face:

Face: Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser  L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder in 320 Natural Beige  Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Medium ( On spots) NYX HD Photogenic Concealer in Glow (Under eyes)  Make Up Forever HD Powder Bourjois Bronzing Powder  NYX Blush in Mocha  Stila Convertible Color in Peony  Benefit High Beam  ELF Shimmering Face Whip in Lilac Petal 
I've actually just got the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser. It was so hard to find but I finally got my hands on it at CVS. It is apparently a dupe for Smashbox Photo Ready Primer. I am really excited to see how it compares. 
Palettes:

MAC and Sleek

MAC

Sleek

Palettes:  MAC Quad In Naked Lunch, Woodwinked, Coppering and Club Sleek I Divine Palette in Storm 
I actually did reviews on both of these in the past. You can find the Sleek one HERE and the Mac one HERE. 
Other Shadows: 

Jumbo Sticks: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in 608 Cottage Cheese Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Shadow Stick in 004 Guilty Grey
Cream Shadows:  Maybelline  24 HR Color Tattoo in 30 Pomegranate Punk  Maybelline 24 HR Color Tattoo in 25 Bad to the Bronze
 Powder Shadows:  Sephora Shadow in Black Flame  Sephora Shadow in Marie 
I love using Cottage Cheese as a brow highlight ( although I think Cottage Cheese is a horrible name). Also the 24 HR Color Tattoo shadows look great on their own and they are amazing bases. 
Eyeliners: 

Liquid Liners:  Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Intense Black  L'oreal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black 
Pencil Liners:  Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Aubergine  Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Navy Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Lionfish Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Stingray
I am a huge fan of Stila eye liners. They are actually amazing and last all day long. I got the Smudge Sticks in a lovely little set. I did a post about them HERE. 
Mascara:

Mascara:  Benefit They're Real!  Benefit Bad Gal Lash  Maybelline Define a Lash in Very Black 
Benefit's They're Real! is my all time favorite mascara. It is absolutely amazing. It lasts all day, gives amazing length and I always get compliments when I wear it. 
Eyebrows and Another Lash Things: 

Brows:  ELF Eyebrow Kit in Medium  MAC Eyebrows in Spiked  Anastasia Eyebrow Gel in Clear  LISI Brow Perfector ( I only use the Spoolie)
Other Lash Things:  Revlon Eye Lash Curler  Adrell False Lashes in 125 Black 
I am going to use the fake lashes for Christmas Day dinner. I think Adrell makes really good lashes for a drugstore brand.
Lips:

Lipsticks:  Rimmel Moisture Renew in 642 in Nude Delight  Too Faced La Creme in Cinnamon Kiss
Lip Stains:  Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in 10 Beso  Hourglass Stain in Rose 
Lip Gloss:  Benefit Lip Gloss in Inferno NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Nude Pink 
Lip Liner:  Rimmel Exaggerate Full Color Liner in 032 Innocent 
Nude Delight and NYX gloss in nude pink look amazing together! It is my "go to" everyday lip look. 

I hope you guys have an amazing Christmas and a great New Years! What are you most excited for this holiday season?
Lots of Love,

The Christmas Tag

Hi Everyone! Can you believe that it is already December?! In honor of the holiday time, I have decided to do the Christmas tag! I hope you enjoy! 
What time of year do you start Christmas shopping?  Being a poor college student, I tend to start pretty late. I will probably head to the mall and TJ Maxx at some point this weekend to start picking things up here and there. However, if I see something I know someone will love I will pick it up earlier. 
Do you have any festive recipes for food or drink you limit solely to the Christmas season? Personally, I don't but I do love all the limited Christmas coffee flavors from Starbucks and for K cups (peppermint mocha is my favorite!). 
Tell me how Christmas goes down in your home?  I go to Boston because that is where all my family lives. My university is a 5 hour bus ride from there. We don't normally do much on Christmas Eve but on Christmas Day, we have a huge family dinner with a lot of Russian food (yum!) and after dinner we all get around the tree and give out our gifts. Then we have dessert and lots of tea. It is a lot of fun to just hang out. 
Do you have any Christmas traditions? I go to Boston every year for Christmas but besides that not really!
Do you have a favorite festive coffee?  I love love love peppermint mocha and anything with cinnamon! 
Do you have a favorite Christmas song?  To be honest, I like them all but if I had to pick it would be Glee's cover of Baby, It's Cold Outside
What do you do on Christmas Eve? Not too much, we mainly celebrate on Christmas Day so we just hang out. 
What's your Christmas wrapping strategy? Do you have a strategy?  This year I made the mistake of going with wrapping paper instead of gift bags. A lot of my gifts are weird shapes( who knew that was possible) so its been hard but I've been just trying to finish as fast as I could! 
What's your dream gift this year?  I really want the One Direction perfume. It smells amazing. But if I could have any gift in the world, it would be enough money to go to beauty school and get my make up artist certification. 
Describe your Christmas tree. How tall? Real or artificial? How is it decorated?  I haven't seen the one in Boston yet but the one at my apartment at university is a little artificial Charlie Brown tree. It is super cute. My favorite ornaments are the penguin ones we have! 
Do you decorate just the tree or other areas of your house?  Well, I haven't been to Boston yet so I don't know about there but in my apartment it's just the tree. 
What do you wear to Christmas parties and what do you wear on Christmas day?  We get really dressed up for Christmas day dinner so I'll probably end up wearing a dress, tights and heels or a skirt, sweater , tights and booties. 
I tag everyone to do this tag! It is so festive so enjoy! 
Lots of Love, 

Holiday Party Look

Holiday Party Look by rena-blank featuring a matte palette eyeshadow

Organic by John Patrick cropped sweater / MuuBaa short pleated skirt / H M black hosiery/ Jessica Simpson suede ankle boots / KENNETH JAY LANE gold plated necklace / Tom ford lipstick / Too Faced Cosmetics matte palette eyeshadow

Hello Everyone!

Today I've been playing around with a few holiday party outfit ideas and this is my favorite out of the ones I came up with. I have really been into the leather skirt look lately. A great why to tone it down a bit is to pair it with a lovely knit sweater in a cream ish color. I think the two are a great look together. Also add a statement necklace, tights and black booties and you got yourself an amazing holiday look. I love this royal blue necklace because it adds a pop of color to this overall neutral look. I'd love to wear this with a smokey eye and a nude lip. I'm dying to try some Tom Ford products and I hear that their lipsticks are great!

What are you planning to wear this holiday season?
Lots of love,

Stila: Color Outside the Lines Review

Top to Bottom: stingray, lionfish, aubergine, navy, emerald

Colors before shower

Colors after shower

Hello Everyone!
Today I am going to be sharing with you a lovely little gem I picked up at Ulta the other day. It is the Stila: Color Outside the Lines Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner Set. I saw this and got so excited because it was on sale for 15 dollars! Normally it retails for 34 dollars at Ulta. It comes 5 eyeliners in stingray, lion fish, aubergine, navy and emerald. They are not full sized but they are about two thirds of the full size. The full size retail individually for 20 dollars. This is such a good deal! I honestly could not help myself. 
The colors are all beautiful and vibrant. They also last a really long time. In the picture above, you see the eyeliners right after I swatched them and look at how amazing the colors look. I took a shower right after i swatched them and the picture below is the swatches after I showered. The colors still look amazing so they are definitely pretty waterproof! 
Overall, this is a great deal and Ulta has a lot of amazing holiday deals going on right now! Go check them out :)
Lots of Love,

Sleek I Divine Palette in Storm

right side

left side

Hello Everyone!

Today, I am going to be review a palette that I have been adoring lately. It is the Sleek I Divine Palette in Storm. I got this palette in an international trade with Jade from a Style Socialite. Go check out her blog or youtube channel. This palette has started to become one of my favorites. I really wish we had Sleek products in the States because they are such high quality for a drugstore brand. You can get it online for around 10 dollars however, I have checked out their facebook page and a lot of people had issues with shipping which makes me a little nervous to order off line.

The packaging is very nice and not cheap feeling at all. It is an all black case with a huge mirror inside. The mirror is my favorite part of the packaging because it is great for traveling. It is also very skinny which makes it great for throwing in my purse. I throw it in and out of my bag all the time and it has yet to break so its going strong.

This palette comes with three matte shades (a nude, a medium brown and a black) and nine shimmery shades ( a highlight color, a light brown, a dark brown, a light blue, a dark green, a navy blue, a gold, a rose pink and a dark rose brown color).  They do not have names which bothers me a little but it's not that big of a deal. The colors are amazing for everything from an everyday look to a smokey eye to a pop of color. It is extremely versatile. The top row is great for everyday make up looks while the bottom offers more dramatic colors for smokey eyes or pop of color looks.

The quality of the shadows is really amazing as well. They are extremely pigmented and very easily blendable.  The shimmery colors are a bit more pigmented than the matte ones but the matte ones are still very nice. I wear these without a primer all the time with maybe a little bit on concealer on my lid and they tend to last me all day. Occasionally they will start creasing by the end of the day but this is only if I am wearing them for around 9-10 hours.

Here is a look I did a few days ago using this palette. I used #1 matte nude all over my lid, #2 shimmery brown in the outer corner, #3 dark rose brown in the crease and #4 a highlight color in the inner corner and a little on the brow bone.

For a palette that costs only around 10 dollars, this palette is amazing. The quality alone can be one of a higher end brand. The packaging is great, the mirror is great and all the shadows are great. If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend it!

What palette have you been loving?
Lots of Love,

Red on Red

Alice Olivia party dress / Crew sweater / H M corduroy trousers, $25 / DEPT leather skirt, $105 / Valentino red pointy toe pumps / Givenchy leather handbag / Topshop lipstick / NYX lipstick, $12 / Butter London nail polish / NARS Cosmetics nail polish

Hello everyone!

Red is one of my all time favorite colors, I even had a red prom dress in high school. I think it is such a statement color and it instantly gives you a boost of confidence. Holiday time is one of my all time favorite times to rock red from my New Years dress to a red lip at Christmas dinner. It is such a festive color that is sure to get noticed. I am definitely going to pick up some red pieces before the holiday time.

What is your favorite color to wear during the holiday time? 

Lots of Love,

November Favorites

Hello friends! 

Today, I am going to be showing you my November favorites. I only have a few things this month because I didn't buy too many new thing in November and I was still using the same things as September and October. Neither the less, there were still a couple of things that I have been loving this month. 

Maybelline Dr. Rescue Baby Lips: I have this baby lips in the color 45 Just Peachy. My absolute favorite thing about this is the minty smell. I feel like it just adds a freshness to my lips. The color is a very pretty glossy peachy pink. I love how it is super hydrating and has a great color to it. It is really easy to leave in my bag and apply whenever I need chapstick or a little color. 

Cetaphil Oil Control Foam Wash: This is probably the most boring face wash I have ever used ( it has no smell and no beads in it) however it has been really effective. I noticed that my skin was very oily when I woke up in the morning and it was driving me nuts. I decided to try this wash out and almost immediately I noticed a reduction of oily skin in the morning. I use this every night before I go to bed. 

Bourjois Bronzing Powder: I got this from my international swap and oh boy how I wish this was available in the states. Lets start of with the smell: IT SMELLS LIKE CHOCOLATE. Every girls wish right here. I also really enjoy using this contouring. It isn't only glittery or sparkling so it is perfect for contouring. I actually think I might prefer this to my NARS Laguna bronzer. 

Sleek I Divine Eyeshadow Palette: I have this palette in Storm and I love it. I brought it home with me for Thanksgiving and I was able to create so many different looks. It has 3 matte shades ( a everyday nude, a medium brown and a black) and 9 shimmer shades ( a highlight color, a light brown, a dark brown, a light blue, a dark green, a navy blue, a gold, a rose pink and a dark rose brown color). It is so easy to create so many different looks form everyday wear to a smokey eye to a pop of color. It is an amazing palette.

What have you been loving this month? 

Lots of Love,

Christmas Wishlist

Christmas Wishlist by rena-blank 

Gold dress / Short sequin skirt, $41 / TOMS canvas shoes / Zara seashell necklace / Bow earrings, $8.16 / Yves Saint Laurent lips makeup / Nars cosmetic / Bobbi Brown Cosmetics eyeshadow / Pink perfume

Happy December everyone!

Today, I decided to start of this lovely holiday season with a wish list. Some of these are specifics while others are just overall themes/ things I'd love. Clearly I am not going to get all of these this holiday season but I think it's good to know what you want. Our Moment by One Direction Perfume: I am a One Direction fan not gonna lie but this always smells amazing. Every time I go into Ulta or Sephora, I can't help myself but smell it. It is a a very fresh sweet smelling perfume. YSL Beaute Rouge Volupte Shine: I actually don't own a YSL lipstick yet! It's sad, I know. The packaging alone is worth the $34 price tag. It is so luxurious and beautiful. TOMS: I have always wanted a pair but I just never got around to buying a pair. I think it is for a lovely cause and they seem really comfortable. NARS Eyeshadow Palette in Ride up to the Moon: I don't own any NARS products besides laguna and orgasm. I really want to expand my NARS collection so I thought a palette is a great way to do so! Bobby Brown Rich Chocolate Eye Palette: Bobbi Brown is another brand that I hear raves about but I don't actually own anything from! This palette looks beautiful and great for everyday. Yankee Candles: These are probably my all time favorite candles and they come in some amazing winter smells. I think these make great gifts from your parents to your teachers to friends. Jewelry: Every girl loves a little bling. I adore chunky necklaces and cute studded earrings. Sequined/Glittery Clothing: I don't think there is a better time than the holidays to buy or gift or receive glittery or sequined clothing. A glittery dress would be perfect for New Years Eve and a sequined skirt would be perfect for Christmas! 

I love you guys enjoyed!

Lots of Love,