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Blogger Link Love Friday #15

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Blogger Link Love - StorybookApothecary.com

Happy Blogger Link Love Friday!

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week and look forward to an even better weekend!

I’m just so happy I finally transferred my blog over and I am super busy with more updates to the design, special offers, some specially selected affiliates, and more so stay tuned for those!

For those in the USA, I hope you have a lovely Father’s Day!

…And Onto the Links!

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Anne Vyalitsyna By John Russo For Harper’s Bazaar Arabia | June 2013 – MisseyChelles

I really loved these photos from a Harper’s Bazaar shoot with Anne Vyalitsyna. She is so stunning, but more than that, the location and clothing are incredible! I especially love the swimsuit in this photo. Check out the post for more images from this shoot!

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Mac Honey Jasmine blush review All about orange collection – LatinoLook

I really love the LatinoLook reviews and this was no different! This blush from MAC – Honey Jasmine – looks so natural and suitable for nearly any skin tone. I’m definitely putting this one on my list for later!

DIY TINTED LIP BALM IN A LOCKET! – Beautylish

Beautylish has some really great posts to check out, but this one really caught my eye. It’s a DIY tutorial on how to make tinted lip balm inside of a locket! It’s such a cute, fun and stylish way to keep lip balm on hand! Definitely a tutorial worth checking out.

Sunshine Picnics – Amy Antoinette

So, I recently watched Safe Haven (which was really awesome!) and this outfit on Amy Antoinette really reminded me of Julianne Hough in the film. I don’t really know why, but I think Amy really kind of looks like JH in general and the style, the water, it all just FITS for some reason! Anyway, since I’m currently obsessed with all things “lakeside/beachside romance” themed, I had to share this one and what a lovely fun post – do check it out!

Routines Cheat Sheet – Beauty Mouth Caroline Hirons

I’m sure I’m not the only beauty addict out there obsessed with Caroline Hirons from Beauty Mouth and with good reason! This woman is an absolute skin genius and she really knows her stuff. This recent post on what your skincare routine should look like (both AM & PM) really opened my eyes. As fleshed out as I would consider my own routine, even I was missing some steps! I definitely recommend this as one to check out – it was really eye-opening!

What Can Numerology Tell You About Your Life Purpose?

What Can Numerology Tell You About Your Life Purpose? – GalaDarling

This is technically from last week, but seeing as I had a bit of a fascination with the concept for the entire weekend, I wanted to share it with you all so, you too, can become obsessed as well! The idea is that we each have a number (determined by our birthday + adding/ subtracting numbers) and the number determines our life purpose and some of our character. Based on what? I have no idea. The point is that it’s a lot like astrology and though it has no real grounds in reality (in my opinion), it’s a lot of fun to read up on your number…a bit like playing MASH actually!

Sephora Nail Wraps – DollyDowsie

I really love Dolly Dowsie! Her beauty and lifestyle blog is really a fun read for me personally. If you enjoy beauty and life posts, definitely check it out! This post on Sephora Nail Wraps was fun and informative and she does tons of review posts on beauty products that are quite thorough as well.

That’s all for this week’s blogger link love – I hope you enjoyed and found some new blogs to follow!

What Blogs & Articles Are You Loving This Week?

Have a Lovely Weekend!

♥ Tianna

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Suntegrity’s 5 in 1 Natural Moisturizing Face Sunscreen in Light

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*Please note – I was sent a sample of this product for review from Beauty Habit.*

Suntegrity is a brand I had never tried until recently when Beauty Habit kindly sent me a few samples for review. I was quite surprised at this product’s multi-tasking effectiveness because it does seem to work really well for a number of purposes AND it’s certified organic! I haven’t seen too many products out there which are both natural and offer many skin and cosmetic uses similar to BB creams and the like. It seems like a lot of mainstream brands have jumped on the BB/CC/DD cream bandwagon, but natural brands are coming out with these at a slower pace.

I know Suntegrity doesn’t exactly brand this product as a “bb cream” per se, but that’s what I’m calling it because it works just like one, only with less coverage than the O.G. Korean BB creams I prefer to use. What I do like about this product is that it goes on really smoothly and helps correct skin tone imperfections without being very heavy. It does seem to also help prime the skin for makeup nicely. Aside from that, it has loads of beneficial ingredients in such as green tea, aloe, pomegranate, cucumber, jojoba, and sunflower for hydration, anti-aging, sun protection and anti-inflammatory benefits. I love that, unlike some other so-called natural brands, this one doesn’t use chemical sunscreens. It uses simple, but effective zinc oxide and there’s no white sheen left on your skin at all! It doesn’t feel greasy or heavy and there’s no nasty preservatives or ugly ingredients in the formula to feel guilty about ( EWG Rating is 1 ) and none that will clog pores.

Overall, I really enjoyed using this product for all of it’s 5 uses – hydrate, protect, treat, prime and cover – because it really was nice to use on days when I preferred to skip makeup altogether, but still wanted a finished look. It has a way of making the skin look polished without putting in any actual effort to slap on a full face of makeup. You simple pop this on and go and I love the effortlessness of it!

The only thing I do wish is that the product had a bit more coverage because I’m not a big fan of tinted moisturizers. I just feel like I’d rather rock Korean BB cream because they do all of these functions, but with more coverage. Other than that, if you don’t mind low coverage, this is fantastic for calming and correcting redness, treating skin issues while slightly covering imperfections, evening the skin tone out and smoothing the surface, and of course, protecting you from damaging UV rays. This is fantastic as a makeup product with skincare benefits so, if you’re looking for a multi-functional type product, this is a really lovely one.

You can learn more about it on Beauty Habit – here.

What Do You Think of Multi-Function BB Creams or Makeup Products with Skincare Benefits Added In?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

♥ Tianna

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Get A Natural Glowing Makeup Look With Alima Pure’s Delicious Summer Collection!

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Delicious Summer

Alima Pure Delicious Summer Collection

I was super excited when I received some press samples of the new Delicious Summer Collection from Alima Pure the other day for review.

This collection seems to be a bit more simple than other collections, but, somehow, it’s my favorite one yet because of the lovely colors included in it!

Included in this Collection: 

  • Milkshake Eyeshadow is almost-matte, but the creamy beige is punctuated with scattered silver sparkles.
  • Coffee Frappé Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow is a medium golden brown, loaded with golden shimmer.
  • Strawberry Lemonade Luminous Shimmer Blush is a peachy-pink with a whisper of shimmer.

Swatches of the Collection:

 

From Top to Bottom: Coffee Frappé, Milkshake, & Strawberry Lemonade.

What I really love about this collection is that all the colors are very natural looking and I think they would be super flattering on any skin tone or type. They’re very soft pigments and the 2 neutral eye shadows – Milkshake and Coffee Frappé are both very natural looking, yet the colors have a lot of dimension to them so, together, they actually give eyes a lot of depth and shape. The colors look great during the day or at night as well and you can easily keep the colors very natural during the day and then layer some of the Coffee Frappé shadow a bit heavier for a more smokey night makeup look.

The peachy pink blush, Strawberry Lemonade, looks very glowy and soft, but not glittery. I’m not a fan of too much glitter or overdone sparkle. In the swatches, the blush looks more matte than it actually is on the skin. On the skin, it looks more glowy and soft as opposed to matte, even though the color isn’t super shimmery. Alima Pure have a way of doing just that right amount of shimmer in their blushes to create the perfect look that everyone wants in a blush. It doesn’t look overwhelming or plastered on – it just gives a natural flush to the cheeks which is quite lovely.

I was going to post an Instagram photo on here of me wearing all these in a makeup look, but I can’t get it off instagram for some reason so, if you want to see that look, check out my Instagram page – here.

Overall, this collection is really beautiful for Summer, especially if you want that very natural, subtle glow makeup look. It’s great for those who like the “no makeup” makeup look or anyone who enjoys glowing skin, neutral eyes, and colors that will suit anyone really well.

You can check out this collection on Alima Pure – here.

What Do You Think of This Collection?

Have You Tried Any Of the Alima Pure Seasonal Collections Before?

If yes, which is your favorite of them?

If no, what are your favorite makeup items to use in Summer?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

♥ Tianna 

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Happy Mid Week Inspiration & Fitspo!

This week’s post is all about allowing yourself to reach for the success you truly deserve. I was thinking about this a lot the other day, especially in terms of my own life and success, and I realized that it actually is really difficult to feel like I deserve what I want. I’m not sure why this is. Is it from a lifetime of the world trying to convince me I am unworthy through media imagery and millions of must-have products or a more innate and ingrained feeling of  inadequacy caused by something closer to home? I’m not so sure where it comes from, but I know it’s something a lot of us, men and women, deal with. We feel less-than all the time and why? It’s not serving us to be less than our full potential nor is it serving anyone else or the world. So, today, I am trying my very best (and I hope you will all do the same) to just give myself what I deserve. This goes for any area of life whether it’s the proper care for my physical and emotional states or working toward the job I really want instead of settling for one I don’t want.

So, that’s the theme for this week – Give yourself what you truly deserve whatever that may be for you. You DO deserve it! 

…And Onto the Fitspo & Inspiration!

From Reasonstobefit.tumblr.com via Pinterest

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From BusyBeingFabulous.typepad.com via Pinterest

The last thing I wanted to share are some fun 30 fitness challenges that anyone can do. If you have trouble fitting in time to work out and want to get fit, relieve stress or just improve your day in a small way ( yep I’m Dr. Seuss now! LOL ), definitely try these challenges out. Everyone has time to do at least one challenge a month. The workouts per day will take you 5 minutes or less.

Here Are Some Of My Current Favorite Challenges: 

Have A Great Week Lovelies!

♥ Tianna

 

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Hi Lovelies!

I just wanted to take a moment to let you guys know that, in a few days’ time, I will be self hosting my blog via either hostgator or network solutions.

I’m a little nervous about transferring over, but also excited because it means I will finally be able to join some affiliate programs for websites that I really love so, yes, I can make a bit of money from blogging and which, in turn, also means I can offer more exclusive discounts and deals to all of you!

Aside from that, I’m tired of the wordpress ads running on my blog, especially the ads that have absolutely NO relevancy to anything I post about here.

Some other things I’d really like to be able to do are offer ad space, do more posts on travel as well as my usual topics ( fashion, beauty, fitness, etc.), and expand to a YouTube channel.

Anyhow, one really sad thing that comes with transferring over to self hosting is that I’ll be losing all of my followers who follow via wordpress. I hope you can all go on over to Bloglovin’ and follow me there so I don’t lose any of you! I really value all of your opinions and thoughts, valued support and uplifting comments and I hope you will continue following my blog! If you prefer to not follow via bloglovin, make sure you’re following me on Twitter and Facebook so you can still get post updates and once I’m all transferred over, you can come back and re-subscribe via email.

To follow me via Bloglovin, go to my Blog’s page and click the “Follow” button – here.

Thanks so much and I can’t wait to share more posts with all of you – I have tons more lined up so stay tuned!

♥ Tianna

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NEW Stila Cosmetics – Illuminating HD Bronzing Beauty Balm, Glowing Lip Color, and More!

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Lovely NEW Beauty Items from Stila Cosmetics! - Storybookapothecary.com

Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Illuminating Beauty Balm with SPF 30, Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Bronzing Beauty Balm with SPF 30, Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Beauty Balm with SPF 30, Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner – Periwinkle, Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner – Turquoise, After Glow Lip Color – Rave Red, After Glow Lip Color – Vivid Violet, & After Glow Lip Color – Party Pink.

I’m super excited about these lovely new items from Stila Cosmetics! They’ve recently come out with 3 new BB creams – an illuminating one, a bronzing one, and an HD type which I think is meant for photos. All of them are meant to be long lasting for all day wear. I love BB creams, but these seem especially nice for those who are going for specific effects on their skin whether that be glowing skin, bronzed skin or even picture perfect skin. I like that they are tailored to specific beauty effects as opposed to just being called “BB cream” or whatever.

A lot of cosmetic companies seem to be just re-branding their tinted moisturizers as BB creams and calling it a day which I kind of find irritating. I don’t think they really understand the meaning and purpose of Korean BB creams so they’re just trying to ride the BB fame tailcoat without fully comprehending the point, but that’s just me. I like that these BB creams have deviated from the typical western brand imitation pattern. I definitely think it makes these stand out from the massive wave of BB’s, CC’s & even DD’s that have come out recently.

Next, they’ve come out with 2 really lovely tinted waterproof liquid eye liners that are super whimsical and look like they’d be tons of fun to wear this summer! I love that both colors are very bright and that the eye liners are liquid and waterproof so they will last longer than typical color liners. Many colored liners that I’ve tried in the past usually have super light pigmentation, crappy color payoff or otherwise, they rub off in a few seconds so you can never get any good wear out of them. I’m hoping these have better pigmentation and the fact that they’re long lasting AND liquid ( will last longer on that alone ) sounds quite promising!

The last new items from Stila are the After Glow Lip Colors in Rave Red, Vivid Violet and Party Pink. What’s really fascinating about these is that they contain fluorescent pigments so when they are exposed to UV lights (aka black lights), they glow! They also claim that the colors will also be brighter in normal light due to the special pigments in the formula as well so that’s lovely! Other benefits include long lasting and super pigmented color pay-off that’s buildable, oat extract and sunflower oil to calm and hydrate lips, vitamins C & E for antioxidant protection and benefits, and delicious cherry flavor. I’m pretty excited for these lip colors because I love the 90′s rave girl look, personally, and I am really enjoying neon colors at the moment so this definitely appeals to me!

What New Beauty Products Are You Excited About?

When New Products Are Released, Do You Get More Excited for Skincare or Makeup stuff?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

♥ Tianna

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Image Source: TravelBlahBlah.com via Pinterest

Summer is right around the corner so I thought I’d share some posts I’ve done recently (and some not so recently) to help you prepare for this super fun season!

Some people buy new clothes and makeup for summer while others get super fit for “bikini season.” Others do nothing at all and simply enjoy the weather.

How Do You Prepare for Summer?

What’s Your Favorite Part of Summer?

♥ Tianna

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Blogger Link Love Friday #14

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Blogger Link Love - StorybookApothecary.com

Happy Blogger Link Love Friday!

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week and look forward to an even better weekend!

For those in the USA, I hope you have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend!

…And Onto the Links!

Anna Sui Fall 2013

Anna Sui Fall 2013 – Coco’s Tea Party

I love Coco’s Tea Party! This fantastic fashion blog posts on everything from fashion magazines, runway fashion and more. I really love her new runway fashion features like this one featuring Anna Sui’s fall lineup. I love the knee high socks! They’re bringing Clueless fashion back haha!

Not Just For Sleeping: Strength-Training Moves Using Your Bed – FitSugar.com

I really love FitSugar for all things fitness and health. I don’t agree with everything they post, but they post on some fun workouts, creative fitness ideas and tons of healthy foods and recipes! I really enjoy reading the articles like this one which shows how you can do strength training moves in bed! It’s perfect for people like me who get lazy and love to sleep ;-)

MAC Strobe Liquid Hydration

MAC Strobe Liquid Hydration Review – Cosmetic Candy

This review for MAC Strobe Liquid Hydration Lotion sounds promising! I love the reviews featured on Cosmetic Candy as they’re always really thorough and detailed. Plus, I find really fun ideas for new products to check out on this blog, especially makeup. This bronzing liquid from MAC looks surprisingly natural and lovely.

Infinite – BeautyCrush

I really enjoy the BeautyCrush YouTube Videos, but this is from her blog which is just as fun to browse! She features tons of beauty, style and fashion posts. I love her “lookbook” type posts like this one where she models an incredible leather jacket! She’s so beautiful and classy. Definitely check her out on her blog or YouTube.

Before And After Fat Loss Pics Tumblr

I am pretty obsessed with this Before & After Fat Loss Pics Tumblr Blog  because they upload so many before and afters daily and this one in particular I found to be really inspiring. This girl went from weighing 200+ lbs to weighing 162 lbs and she looks AMAZING! It’s funny how much we focus on the scale when people can build muscle and look this incredible. Anyway, there are not really any text posts on this blog; just simply before and after pics with the occasional little blurb about how the person lost the weight, what their starting and ending weights were, etc. I find it really motivating to see these men and women change their bodies and lives for the better!

The Best Juice for Healthy Skin

The Best Juice for Healthy Skin – Shape Magazine

I am pretty obsessed with healthy smoothies and juice for beauty (and body) purposes. Not only because I really enjoy eating healthy and feeling my best, but also because juices and smoothies, in particular, can have a really positive effect on the skin. I have seen my skin look brighter, clearer, and more youthful when I drink juices and smoothies than ever before. This post by Shape Magazine has a bunch of healthy juices for a variety of health purposes, including your skin.

That’s All for Blog Links, But Check Out Giveaways & Sales Going on

Right Now! 

Lina Hanson Global Face Serum

Lina Hanson Global Face Serum Giveaway – Organic Beauty Talk

Win MAC RiRi Woo Lipstick! – Cosmetics Aficionado

Get 15% Off Tarte Cosmetics This Weekend Plus Free Shipping – Beauty Au Natural

For more giveaways and sales, check out my Giveaways Pinterest Board!

That’s All for Link Love Friday - What Links Are You Loving This Week?

Please share them with me in the comments!

♥ Tianna

Check Out More Great Blogs on Past Link Love Fridays! 

Blogger Link Love Friday #1

Blogger Link Love Friday #2

Blogger Link Love Friday #3

Blogger Link Love Friday #4

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You won’t believe what I’ve been using as an all natural deodorant!

It’s not any particular product you can buy because, despite how much I like natural deodorant in the winter, they are not effective enough to use in the hot California summer.

I’ve been using lemons! I know the photo is of limes, but that’s because my BFF (AKA best friend FOH-EVA) recommended that I try limes. The thing is, I only had lemons on hand so I used those instead and they work just as well.

How Does This All Work?

Easy!

You simply cut a small slice of lemon or lime, whichever you have on hand, and rub it lightly in your under arm area. Let it dry for a few seconds and then go on your way!

That’s LITERALLY it and it TOTALLY WORKS!

I didn’t believe it either when she told me, but suspend your judgment until you try it for yourself.

It’s super cheap, eco and really surprisingly effective! 

The natural benefits of this are that the citrus absorbs all of the bacteria in your under arm area ( which is what makes you smell bad, by the way ) so you don’t have a particular scent, but you definitely don’t smell AT ALL.

I wore this for literally 10 hours and did not smell in the least. Then I went to the gym after work for an hour and did intense circuit training and, despite being drenched in sweat, I STILL did not smell!

This definitely works and some other benefits you will see over time are lighter under arms  because the citrus will lighten the discoloration conventional deodorants have caused you over time, clear pores and smoother skin in this area, and a cleaner shave because of your smoother under arm skin!

The price of this deodorant method is less than $1 so definitely try this out – You can afford it!

Definitely let me know in the comments if you’ve tried this insanely effective and surprisingly simple “DIY” deodorant method or try it and let me know how it goes!

What Do You Think of DIY Deodorants? 

♥ Tianna

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nominate me
EDIT: I found out this is only open to UK bloggers so I think I’ll sadly be disqualified. I missed that somehow in the Terms/Conditions so I feel a bit incompetent at the moment – sorry to disappoint you guys, but thanks for the support from those of you who responded to me with supportive messages!

Hi Loves :-)  

I noticed sooo many blogs out there posting on this and asking others to nominate them or vote for them and I honestly thought, “No, I think I’ll pass on that,” because I just didn’t want to fuss over it and I don’t much enjoy shameless self-promotion, to be honest. I hope that my blog will speak for itself in that I post interesting content that you guys (hopefully!) really enjoy and find helpful, but alas, I have caved. I shamelessly nominated my blog for “Best Lifestyle Blog” in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards and I hope that, since I rarely if ever annoy you with favors and requests, you could all please click on over and vote for me!

I would appreciate it more than you know and if I win, I promise you all that I’ll do a massive celebratory giveaway!

Thanks so much for reading my blog, commenting and generally always showing your love and support.

♥ Tianna

Read more: http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/blogs/cosmo-blog-awards-2013/enter-the-2013-cosmopolitan-blog-awards-nominate-now#ixzz2U8eRkQMY

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