What are you wearing this Spring?

Hello and how are you on this beautiful Friday?  I'm now doing quite well....we just received news that my mom (who was rushed to the hospital yesterday) is doing much better.

So, what does your weekend plans hold for you?  I keep thinking that I am supposed to be doing something this weekend, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it is.  I surely hope it's not too important, because I will more than likely miss it.

Caleb and I have plans to go to the mall and spend some time together.  Barnes and Nobel has a book that is supposed to be in stock on Saturday.  It's the newest Bad Kitty book.  This is a series of small chapter books that Caleb adores, about a mischievous kitty.  I might pop into Bath and Body Works for some new home scents and I am sure that Caleb will want to wonder around the Lego store as well.

But those are our plans.  I suppose I could get into the post for today, huh?  Well, I have been doing some internet window shopping lately.  I saw a cousin of Brad's wearing this really cute, long, sheer kimono cardigan, not too long ago, and I thought it was such a beautiful spring look.  So I started my hunt for one.

Today, I wanted to show you which ones I thought were really beautiful and very affordable.

This leopard print kimono can be found on Amazon.  It's the perfect length and I love the print.  It's not so bold and in your face, leopard, it's more of a somewhat subtle leopard, and I really love that about this one.  I am not much for ripped jeans, but I would pair this with jeans rolled at the cuff and a white or black top, probably a tank top.  Although, wouldn't a deep red shirt look nice with too?

Ok, this next one is such a gorgeous one too!  It is a floral black kimono, also from Amazon.  I love the flowers on this one.  Again, it's a bold pattern, but not a slap you in the face bold.  It's stunning.  This one is on my top radar for now.  But I'm still deciding.

This next one is a touch different.  It's a long vest style kimono.  This one is so cute!! I love the blue color and the pop of flowers make this vest such a beautiful statement piece for Spring.  Don't you think?

This is one of the first ones I spotted...this sheer lace kimono is so pretty and very victorian era looking to me.  I love the lace on the bottom, but my absolute favorite part is the lace on the sleeves.  It gives it such a luxurious look to it.

This last kimono has the true kimono sleeves....they are very large and flowy.  This sheer floral print kimono has a beautiful subtle pattern of flowers on it, and the lighter sleeves takes this one a step up.

While all of these are under $35 USD each, I can't afford to get all of them so I will have to make a decision as to which one I can get.  I think I may go with this one.  I love the flowers, the length is near perfect and I really think it will look so beautiful.

What are you wearing for Spring?  Do you go with trendy pieces? Do you stick to mostly classics? Or do you mix it all up, like me?

I love affordable fashion, and while I know there are pieces that really need to be a quality piece of clothing, I also know what I can get in-expensively to accent my classics.  Well, I guess that's all I have for this week.  Let me know what you are wearing for Spring, I'd love to know!

But for now, that's all I got....I will be back again next week, so until next time, take care.

-Kim

Disclosure:  Some links may be affiliate links.  My thoughts and opinions are mine, the products were purchased by me and in no way does this link affect my judgement on the products mentioned.

Buy this, not that - Metal Cage Handbags

Happy Friday!!   Today will be a somewhat quick post...I wanted to show you something I have been eyeing to buy in the very near future....like after payday? :)

Anyways, I had been seeing all the fun bags that have been coming out for the 2019  Spring Summer fashion and one trend I have been loving is the metal cage bags.   Now I am not going to spend $2000 on a trend...that's just not my way of doing things.  But I thought I'd show you how I like to keep the trends in the budget.

One thing that I kept seeing over and over, were these cage bags.  This one below is from Andrea Neen and it retails for $675 USD.  Pricey but oh so cute!!

This next one below is from Isla and it retails for $597 USD.  Well that's a little better of a price, but still too much for what I am willing to spend on a trend.

Now we come to one that I am going to purchase.....This Metal Cage Bag is from Amazon and retails for......are you ready??? Ok, it's only $25 USD.  Yep, this one is in my cart and ready for the checkout button.  I was thinking about what drew me to these types of bags.  I finally remembered that I had one of these when I was in Jr. High School....I know it was a loooonnnng time ago.  But I still remember just how much I loved the look of it. 

Now, if you like the flower on the bag....never fear, I have an idea.  You can take an inexpensive brooch, or if you have one on hand you aren't using, you can E6000 the brooch to the front of the bag.

And here's the other cage handbag I am not quite sure but am really thinking about purchasing.  Isn't it super cute?!  I love unique and fun bags like these. 

Well, that's all I have for today....this is kind of like one of those "Buy this and not that" type of post.  In fact, I might just make that the title. 

Well, I am really busy at work and my lunch break is going to be cut short.  But I wanted to show you my little fun find.  I will talk to you all again really soon....next week I have a "gimmick or great" post coming for you. I can't wait to show you the product.

But until next time, take care.

-Kim

Please note that the links are affiliate and I will be compensated if you purchase from them.  But it doesn't determine my thoughts or actions regarding the products. 

Maybelline City Mini in Blushed Ave Tutorial

Eeek!! I'm so excited to share with you another tutorial using the newest (to me) City Mini pallet from Maybelline.  Today's look is all done with the Blushed Ave. pallet.  I hope you enjoy.

I can for sure say that this is one of my favorite City Minis I own to this day.  These mix of purple and blush shades are so right up my makeup alley, it's just fate that I found this pallet.  :)

True to the City Mini pallets form, these shades perform just like all of the others, as in they are buttery soft and so easy to work with (except the Girls Night Glimmer, that one had terrible shadow quality).

But first some swatches to show you how beautiful this pallet is.

Ok, are you ready for the tutorial?  Let's dive in.....the first thing I did was use color F all in my crease with a fluffy blending brush.  Then I went in with color C and packed it heavily all on the outer half of my eye lid and the outer corner.  I did slightly blend it in towards the crease.

Look at how beautiful that purple C color is in the outer V....oh I am in tears, it so pretty....ok enough, let's get a move on.

Next I went in with color A and packed it all over the first half of my lid and ran it up against the C purple color on the outer half of the lid.  I lined my water line with a charcoal gray pencil liner and took color F and used it to smudge the liner out on my lower lash line.

I used the color D to highlight my browbone with....this is a perfect color match for my skin tone.  It's not the exact color as my skin, it's a bit lighter so it gives it the perfect brightness.

Then I realized that I wanted to deepen the lower lash line, so I went in with color C and ran it along my lower lash line.

Black liquid liner on the top lash line, mascara, blush  (I used Maybelline Bouncy Blush in Plum Wine) and lipstick, well lipgloss (Loreal Infallible 8H gloss in Posy) and that was all I did to create my look.

I think the look turned out beautifully and I am really happy with the end results.  I will be doing another tutorial tomorrow with this same pallet so I do hope you will come back and visit me again here at 523.

I will talk to you all again very soon.  Until next time, take care.

-Kim

Birthday Haul - Maybelline, Profusion and EmilyNoel83

Back on the 8th of September, I had my 37th birthday.  I'm not one who likes to celebrate my birthday.  It doesn't bother me to get any older, by any means, but I just don't really care about the day I was born.  I will celebrate my sweet baby cakes' (Caleb) birthday all day and everyday.  I just don't care about mine that much.  But nevertheless, I always receive money from my parents on my birthday and a gift card from my godparents.  So today I wanted to show you what I picked up, so you can get a peek of the products I will be using in upcoming posts.

Let's go ahead and take care of the elephant in the room first.....YES, I did get the Emily Noel pallet!! I am so stoked about this pallet, I can't even think straight.  As soon as the email came that her pallet went live on Makeup Revolution, I had purchased the pallet within next five minutes.  I couldn't be more excited for her.  She is a wonderful person, and so very deserving of her success. 

She couldn't have picked a better company to collab to make a pallet with.  I love Makeup Revolution shadows, they are so buttery soft and very vibrant in their pigment. I will show swatches and such all really soon.  I think I'm going to do an entire week of the Emily pallet tutorials, it should be fun. 

Next up, I found ANOTHER Maybelline City Mini pallet.  I know right?! What the heck? I swear everytime I find another one I am positive it's the last one I will need to get....but then I run across another one.

Another pallet I was excited to find was the Maybelline Soda Pop pallet.  It's laid out exactly like the Lemonade Craze, but obviously different colors.  That Cherry Cola and Grape Pop colors are calling my name so loud!

Last up, I used my Target gift card from my god parents and decided to take a chance on a large Pro Fusion pallet.  I had seen Lipgloss Leslie on Youtube do a few tutorials with some Pro Fusion makeup and rave about the quality...for only $12 I decided I really needed to try for myself.

I'm kina looking forward to trying out that Frosting shade...it looks beautiful.

Well, that's all the birthday haulin' I have for today.  I am excited because I have a City Mini pallet tutorial to do for you this week...eeek!! I can't wait to show you what that little pallet can do....but you will have to wait.  Tomorrow, I have a review on a mascara I have been using for the past month and I am ready to give you my full review and show you what it's like.

But that's all for today, I hope you enjoyed and will be back again tomorrow.  Until next time, take care.

-Kim

KA - Beauty Haul - Wet N Wild, Loreal and Milani

Beauty Haul featuring Wet N Wild, Loreal and Milani

I have a budget friendly beauty haul for you today, using my allowance that I a lot for myself each week.  I did some shopping and picked up a couple beauty items that I had been eyeing for a while.  If you are new to my blog then you can check out my introduction to "Kim's Allowance" and see just what these post are about.  I'm a girl on a budget but not willing to give up my habits.

Ready? Let's go!!

First up I got the Loreal True Match Lumi Foundation.  For starters, I have very oily skin and the thought of a "luminous" foundation will scare the pants off of me.  It probably doesn't help that I live in Texas which can be very hot and humid and an oily skin worst nightmare.  But, after watching Julie Dawn Olsen's YouTube Channel and seeing how much she raved about the Loreal True Match Lumi foundation, I couldn't help but want to try it out.  I want the glow-y, healthy, luminous look on my face, even if I risk the outcome of being a grease-y oil slick.

$10.97

As far as the luminosity, well I can't really tell that just yet.  The "glow" that I thought I'd be seeing isn't there.  But, to be fair, I have never had any sort of luminous foundation before either, so I am not quite sure what the "glow" should actually look like.  However, I have been having a hard time setting it for some reason.  It keeps wanting to rub off and not dry down. But I am going to play around with this for a period of time and then I will share my review on a separate post soon to come.

Next up I bought 2 Wet N Wild color trios in "Walking On Egg Shells" & "I'm Getting Sunburned"
I don't need to do a separate post on this one because I LOVE THESE TRIOS!!!  Let's talk about the Walking on Egg Shells first.  I cannot believe that I had never picked up this trio before.  I am amazed at how dark this middle brown shade can get.  I have been working on my 10 minute makeup face (more to come later) and this little trio has been the star of the show.  I will be showing a tutorial in a later post on this pallet, I have a few ideas I am wanting to try with it.

On to the I'm Getting Sunburned pallet.  This one has the same quality as the previous, with very soft pigmented colors.  I have not used this one yet and when I do I will show a tutorial on it.  I actually think that they would make a gorgeous smokey look if you were add both of the pallets together.

$2.93 each - Total:  $5.86

Lastly on my shopping trip I purchased the Milani Rose Blush in Blossomtime.  It is supposedly a dupe for Nars Orgasm but I will have to test that out later.  I have plenty of Nars Orgasm "dupes" in my collection and did not need another, but how can you pass up a gorgeous blush in the shape of a flower? Not I, said the fly.

$6.97

I had fun picking up some new stuff and am in the midst of trying this foundation out so I may be able to do a complete, informative review on it. After all, when you spend $11 for a foundation at the drugstore it had better be pretty good.  At least, in my opinion it should be.   So my total allowance spent with tax (can't forget Uncle Sam) is $25.76.  That left me with just enough money to get a tall cafe mocha from the Starbucks that sits right outside my Walmart.  I just can't deny that makeup shopping and Starbucks are the perfect combination for this girl and made for a super fun filled day.

I will talk to you again soon!

-Kim

Introduction to "Kim's Allowance"

Hey Everyone,

In a few days I am going to be posting my first "Kim's Allowance" post and I wanted to kind of give you a little info as to what this and future post will be like.

First off, as much as it sounds juvenile, the word "allowance" is used very lightly.  No this is not a set amount my husband gives me to spend, this is my own doing.  I feel as a mom and caretaker of the majority of the house, I have a right to be rewarded just like Caleb is rewarded with his allowance.  Caleb, Brad and I each have a set amount that we budget to spend for each month.

Even though it is a set amount (that is set my me), there may be things that I am needing or wanting or such that goes beyond that.  I try to keep such purchases for gifts that my family may give, such as higher end makeup pallets or clothes.  I budget myself $30 per week for things that I may want to get like drugstore makeup, a shirt, accessory, or even some sort of home decor item I am wanting.  If the item I want goes over that amount and it's not necessary to purchase it, then I will wait until the next week or however long it takes to save my money.  Sure I could spend more and not be in trouble or turn my budget into a downward tailspin to depletion (well it depends on how much over I spend).  But I try to be responsible with our finances and being that we are saving up for a travel trailer, I want to do my part in the saving.  Plus if I have to wait two weeks to purchase something more expensive it will allow me the time to really decide if I want this item in question.

Now, for the fun stuff...I love to shop, its a hobby, passion, obsession, whatever you might call it.  I love new makeup, shoes, accessories and clothes.  Along with fashion and beauty I also love home decor items.  My style is "semi-chic, comfy, classic mom", and that not only goes for my personal style but also my home.  I want it to be semi-chic, but comfortable and relaxing with some added fun pops of color and some specs of girly-ness thrown into it all.  I am the only girl in the house so I am very aware of the main living areas of the house need not be too frilly, but all bets are off on my personal spaces in the house and my personal style of fashion and beauty.

My "allowance" post will be budget friendly in all ways humanly possible, being that I only have $30 a week to spend, I don't have much choice.  LOL.  I enjoy the challenge of seeing things that are high end pricing but finding a very similar item at very low end pricing.  Dupes, if you will.  I will share with you my thoughts on my goodies and if needed (like makeup reviews) I will make a separate post on things that require a little bit of using to find out if it was worth the price steal.  That's all I have for now, talk to you again soon.


-Kim