my holiday gift tags... in action!

Just a few shots of how they turned out.  :)

And if you missed my printable FREE holiday gift tags the first time, get them here!

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beauty haul // Sephora VIB 20% off Event

Once a year, Sephora offers a 20% off sale to its' VIB members.  I've been a Beauty Insider for several years now, which also offers many perks, but this year I gained VIB status. (Check out how to become a part of Sephora's rewards programs here).  Many of the things at Sephora are quite costly, so I decided to take advantage of the promotion and get some things I've been wanting to try...for less!

Over the summer, while searching for wedding makeup, I dabbled in Tarte Cosmetics and became hooked.  If you've been following me, then you know I have a passion for natural beauty products and Tarte seems to fit the bill.  They claim to be 'high-performance naturals™, formulated without parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate and gluten.  Well, I don't know what took me so long to try this line, 

but I'm glad I did.

Here's a bit of background on the brand, from their website...

 

"Today Tarte is a leader in healthy, eco-chic beauty, offering cruelty-free cosmetics infused with skinvigorating™ ingredients like superfruit and plant extracts, vitamins, minerals, essential oils and other naturally-derived ingredients. But it’s not just about what’s in our powerful formulas; it’s what’s not in them that really sets us apart! All of our products are formulated without parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, triclosan, synthetic fragrances and gluten, just to name a few. Ingredients are absolutely important to me, but so are formulas that perform.

We [also] care about the environment, so we continue to support cooperatives in the Rainforest and develop sustainable components that can often be re-used to help reduce environmental waste. "

Love it!

Everything I bought during the VIB sale was from Tarte, except for the Beauty Blender (that'll be another post!).  

 I snagged Tarte's The Tarte of Giving set, Thoughtful Treasures set, Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 and the Maracuja Creaseless Concealer.  I've already been using the BB tinted moisturizer and concealer (reviews to come), but thought that getting the two sets would be a fantastic, and cost effective, way to try out some of their other products.  

Below is a preview of the Tarte of Giving set.  I'll be posting a Review & Swatches of it in the next week or so.  Unfortunately, I can't find this on Sephora.com or Tarte.com, but there may still be a couple in your local Sephora stores, if they haven't been snatched up yet!  Either way, I'll still review it becasue the products inside are still available.  :)  And awesome!

I've already been using these gems in my daily routine and so far.... I really love it all!  

I can't wait to share all of the details.  :)

DIY // FREE Printable Holiday Gift Tags

Last year, I ran out of time to do any special wrapping or create my own gift tags, so I ended up using these cuties from Domestifluff.

 This was all fine and dandy, but this year I wanted to have a try at creating my own designs.

Well, I just finished and I think they turned out to be pretty snazzy... I know they are navy and red, and not green and red, but I plan to use them with some brown craft wrapping paper that has navy pin stripes on it.  I still think it's quite festive!  Sort of a vintage Americana Christmas.  I had so much fun that I think I'll be making this a permanent holiday tradition.  :)

I wouldn't dream of not sharing, so if you love them too, click here to download the printable version of my gift tags! (1Mb PDF)

I haven't started my wrapping yet, but when I do I'll post some images of the finished product.  :)   (Update: I did, check them out!)

Happy Holidays!

 
 
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1 Year!

Woah.  

With all that's been going on, I hadn't realized that I past the day that I began this blog last year.  What is that in this realm... a blogiversary?  Now, I know I had a 6 month hiatus in there, so I've technically only been blogging for 6 months, but still... a whole year has gone by since I decided to start ♥thejourney and I think that is amazing (and a little scary, ah!). 

Anywho, I have some great stuff planned, including some new features and series, for this next year... it's gonna be great.  For realz.  

So let's all raise our cupcakes and toast to a fun year 2!

source

Happy Blogiversary to me!  ;)

P.S. - Who else really wants a cupcake now??  

Review & Swatches // 100% Pure - Natural Beauty Set

Okay!  Remember this? 

I know, I know...I'm a tad tardy on the review.  But better late than never, right!?  ;)

Just to refresh your memory,  I got this Natural Beauty Set when it was a 100% Pure weekly special. I actually saved $30 on products I'd been wanting to try, just by buying them in the set. 

If you've been following me for a bit then you know I've been a user of 100% Pure products for over a year now and I LOVE them. If you missed my first 100% Pure reviews, you can check them out by clicking on the links below:

100% Pure Cosmetics - Part 1

100% Pure Cosmetics - Part 2

100% Pure Cosmetics - Part 3

Now on to today's set of products! 

PACKAGING

Again, I love that they use frosted glass, recycled paper & metal and BPA & phthalate free plastic for their packaging.  Everything feels sturdy with no possibility of falling apart... even the cardboard trio palette.  I have no complaints here.

PRODUCTS
 
PRETTY NAKED: NEUTRAL FACE PALETTE

A side note -- I was browsing the 100% Pure website a few days ago and I did not see this palette anymore. I did purchase it back in April, so it's possible they sold out and do not have it anymore or are just indefinitely out of stock.  I did find one on ebay, though.  Sorry about that guys.  I promise to not wait as long to review stuff!  Anyhow, I guess you can just take this palette review as a general review of a 100% Pure product.

From left to right, this face palette includes a .14oz blush (Blushing), and two .07oz eye shadows (Naked and Bare, respectively).  The palette is a nice size, especially for travel or if you don't have a lot of storage space.  It has a magnetized closure so it won't pop open unknowingly in your best bag (becasue we know that always happens).  

Blushing is a natural rosy flush color... Like what you get naturally after briskly walking in cold weather.  It has a nice matte finish and it isn't too pigmented which makes application easy. No worries thinking you might look like a clown.  Because of that, I think it would not show well on darker skin, so it would probably work best on light to medium skin tones.  I like to wear this on quick makeup days.  Two swipes on your cheeks and BAM! you're good to go.  :)  It doesn't have the greatest lasting power, but it doesn't streak, it just fades naturally.

Naked is a slightly frosty ivory color... and it's SUPER POWDERY.  This is probably my least favorite thing so far from 100% Pure. It has so much fallout and if you can get past that it just looks like flour on your eyes.  Really terrible.  It's also not buildable.  No matter how little you try to apply its too much.  The pictures above really don't show this well... but believe me.. Terrible.

Bare is a bit of another story.  It is a soft purple-mauvey taupe with a hint of grey.  It's a bit more buttery in texture with less fallout than Naked.  It's also extremely buildable.  I applied several applications in the swatch above so you could really see the color, but you could definitely keep this very light for a softer look.  I like to use this in the crease and outer V and pair it with a different ivory shadow on my inner corner. Sometimes I'll add a little warm brown in the outer V to deepen the look. I have blue eyes and it complements nicely, but because Bare has some purple it would especially look great on ladies with green eyes. I definitely have to use a primer with this shadow as it will crease on it's own by the end of the day.  Again, maybe because they do not contain any chemicals to help it "stick" to the lid... just my opinion.  :)  Comparably, I do think that the individual eye shows are better in quality overall than these two in this palette (esp Naked...).


SHEER LIP & CHEEK TINT  .26oz

This is the color Sugar Plum, which is a magenta red in the twist-up packaging.  Once blended into the skin though it's very remnicent of the Blushing blush from the palette above...maybe with just a bit more warmth.  It can be applied very sheer to pretty intense, so I suggest starting with a light touch.  Just swipe the tint with two finger tips and blend on cheeks. For a more intense look you can apply straight to cheeks, then blend.  These tints contain moisturizing shea and cocoa butters so they are very moisturizing.  Good for dry skin peeps like me.  I find it lasts a good 8 hours, maybe more depending on what you do.  I also like to use this on my lips from time to time, it's like a tinted balm and leaves only a hint of stain, nothing crazy. 


BLACK TEA PIGMENTED GEL EYE LINER  .12oz  & CRUELTY FREE EYE LINER BRUSH

Let me start off by saying I am not a fan of the brush in this set.  I love that it's cruelty free, but the shape is not a fav becasue I can't get a consistent line with it.  I much prefer a small firm angled brush. You can see below, the line on the left is with their brush and the one on the right is with an angled brush.  The right one is much more uniform.  I waited about 10 seconds after applying both and then rubbed my finger across.  You can see that the uneven line smeared more because there were clumps that didn't dry fast enough.

I received the gel liner in Black Tea, which is their darkest shade.  I really like the look of this liner, it's rich and has good staying power as long as you use a primer underneath (and get a thin uniform line).  I also like to set it with a black or charcoal shadow and this helps keep it in place even more.  Best of all, it doesn't make my eyes itch.  Yay!!  That's a huge issue for me and other non-natural liners.  I'm not big on wearing dark liner, but when I do I reach for this.


FRUIT PIGMENTED MASCARA  .24oz

 This is not a new product for me, as I already own it in the color Blackberry,  but it is a new color, Black Tea.  That's basically, just black.  This one also smells fantastic & separates and lengthens my lashes really well.  But again, I found that the formula can't handle more than one coat or it tends to flake off a bit during the day.  I'm really not a fan of cookies and cream under eyes.  No thanks.  Not my all time favorite, so I'll keep this as a one-coater on casual days.


PRICING

$$ out of $$$

The prices are a bit higher than I'd normally pay for regular cosmetics, but again, I feel it's worth it to get a natural product.  Plus, the packaging is more thoughtful than other companies.  Buying these items in sets and ordering while they have a free gift special will save you some money, so look out for those.  If you sign up for their emails, they will let you know when those occur.


PURCHASING

Right now, you can only purchase 100% Pure cosmetics online or in there stores in California.  Ulta stores do carry some of their skincare.


CONCLUSION

Overall, again I loved more than I didn't.  But I'd choose the lip & cheek stain and the gel liner as the winners of the bunch.  I am always impressed with the fact that these products are colored with antioxidant and vitamin rich fruit pigments instead of icky synthetic dyes and chemicals, and that honestly means most to me.    :)

I was not, in any way, paid for this review, by 100% Pure or any other affiliate. 

I purchased every product myself and decided to share to help others find a bit of direction in their own natural beauty journey.

I'm BACK!

It's been just about six months since I decided to take a blogging break to plan my wedding, 

and now as I'm writing this post... 

I realize that I really missed it!

Anywho, I'm so excited to share all of the things I've been up to, things I've found and things I'm loving (and loving not so much).  

Let the fun begin!  Here are some shots from the last 6 months.  :)

 

 

 

Europe... and a short hiatus.

Well.  I don't know if you've noticed, buuuut I've been a little absent.  :}

I've debated back and forth if I should write this post, but lately, it's really been weighing heavily on me so I thought I should.  Between a full time job, life in general and the wedding planning I don't have time for much else right now.  When I do, I try to fit in more wedding DIYs or spend some quality time with Brian, family or friends.

I've decided (in order to keep my sanity) to take a short break from the blogging world.  Don't worry though!  I'll be back with more natural beauty, recipes, product reviews, DIYs, etc. after the wedding. That's not to say that I may not make a few random posts during this time on things I just can't not share, who knows!

I thought I'd [temporarily] go out with a bang and share some pictures from my trip to Europe earlier this month...another reason I was MIA.  :)

I hope you enjoy, and I'll see you, mostly, in about 5 months!

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

LONDON, ENGLAND

 

 

"Skål!"  :)