Fashion Thursday: Need Some New Leggings?

I have been hitting the JACKPOT when it comes to good leggings. Seriously good leggings. I'm used to buying a couple of pairs of leggings a year from Express only to have them thin out, fade out, and ultimately develop a hole in some inopportune area that makes it impossible to hide. SO, conveniently enough, as I was browsing some of the YouTube girls videos that I follow, there was a discussion of who has the best leggings. So I copied off of what another girl bought and loved. One pair I purchased was from Macy's and they are the INC "Ponte Knit" pant which is more like a legging/pant than a legging which is great because you don't have to feel so concerned with making sure your entire butt area is covered. They are nice, they are soft, they are thicker than a typical legging and they wash very well. What more could you want? I purchased them for $49.50. I'm not totally in love with that price but I will get over it. And buy them in another color. Or two.

Macy's INC Ponte Knit Pant $49.50

So one pair of great leggings wasn't enough. I bought two more pairs and this time from Nordstrom by the label "Zella" and they are their "Live In" leggings. I bought a pair of black and I bought a pair of denim for $52 each. And each pair is reversible! But with the black ones, they only reverse over to another pair of black ones. So, you know, in case you didn't feel like wearing black.. you could reverse them and wear black. Ha! But the denim pair reverse into a lighter greyish/bluish denim that may be cute. They are soft and comfortable and so lovely and they have no itchy tags because tags would kind of get in the way of the purpose of being reversible. What is cute is that the tag is kind of hidden in this little mystery pocket in the waist band. I mean, you can't totally forgo the tag because you need the wash instructions, right? Last thing I want to do is to decide for myself which is the best way to wash and dry them because then they may end up fitting my five year old. But she would be so totally cute in them.

Nordstrom Zella Live-In Legging $52

I can't decide which brand I like better because I love them both. I will say the INC brand I purchased look a little dressier because they have a seam that runs down the middle to kind of set them apart a little bit. And the fact that they are more like a legging/pant rather than a traditional legging. On the other hand, the Zella's are more casual, thinner, yet totally soft and cozy and can function as a work-out pant or a going-out pant. Either way, its a win win for me. 

YouTube Makeup Guru Alert! Check Her Out!

I am an avid watcher of YouTube makeup gurus! I love watching haul videos and getting product recommendations and I am an absolute sucker because I am easily persuaded into buying products that some of my favorite girls recommend. A couple of the girls I watch said that they have just started to watch this "samanthaschuerman" and that she was absolutely delightful. And she is! She is very funny, quirky, bubbly, and obviously not afraid to be herself. She is someone who us gals with kids can relate to but she is also someone that I think a lot of women would enjoy watching. I think many of you will enjoy her because she is the kind of girl that talks about a lot of affordable and easily accessible products and she is brutally honest about her likes and dislikes. I have recently subscribed to her but have watched a ridiculous amount of her videos already. I thought I would pass the information along just in case you are in need of a little pick me up one day because Sam is truly a ray of sunshine. She also makes family videos with her and her husband and baby boy that are very funny and so relateable. One thing I like about her family vlogs is that many of our lives are so crazy busy, stressful, and in my family, we are just plain serious all of the time. Watching her family interact with one another just being silly and happy is a good reminder to take time out and just enjoy the moment that you are in because at the risk of sounding too cliche, time flies and life is short. Stop and smell the roses! And OMG, she does these weekly favorites videos which was the first video of hers that I watched and she was talking about her obsession with these Mary Kay skincare products, Age Rewind cleanser and moisturizer. She was so convincing that she had me buying them off of Ebay before her video was even over. Well, SHE didn't have me buy them but her passion for the products was infectious. What can I say, I caved. I'm weak. Weak. Weak. Weak.

Samanthaschuerman on YouTube Link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/samanthaschuerman

And her recent favorites video if you're too lazy to seek her out on YT all on your own:

 

Mascara Must-Have: Mally Beauty Volumizing Mascara

Everyone who knows me knows that I am over the moon obsessed with Benefit They're Real. However, I have found a very close second that you must know about. And for something to be almost as good as They're Real, it has to be pretty perfect. But it gets better, its not only almost AS amazing but it is more affordable. Not drug store accessible but price-wise, its pretty good. And its Mally Beauty Volumizing Mascara. Why is it so great you ask? Read on..

Mally Beauty Volumizing Mascara: Mally Roncal is a drop-dead gorgeous and super vivacious and energetic makeup artist to the stars (Beyonce to name a biggie). She can be seen bouncing around QVC with that million dollar smile presenting some innovative and great products plus sharing some of her tips and tricks. When it came to mascara, Mally could never find the perfect one to suit all of the components of what makes a great mascara. So she used to go through a very arduous process to get the right mascara look. First she would use an Italian made mascara, then coat the lashes with Japanese black pigments (that she actually went to Japan to buy), then use a Parisian diamond-cut lash comb to separate the lashes. She would repeat the process in order to achieve the right look and this took forever. So she came up with her own mascara that did everything she wanted in one tube. It volumizes. It separates like nobody's business. It lengthens. It's very buildable, and beautifully glossy black black in color. I love it! You can put coat after coat after coat after coat and you're lashes just keep on growing and they don't get crunchy. Now, there is a point in any mascara application process where your lashes can clump if you apply too much, but I find with Mally's mascara, you can go for quite a while before clumping comes in to play. I bought mine on Ebay for less than $15 but they are sold in duo's through QVC for I believe 2 for $28? Something good like that... take a look at the beautiful Mally in action..