Well, it’s been a while.

I’m bound to start posting again soon.  Stay tuned.

Drug Store Favorites!

I’ll admit: I’ve been really crummy at blogging lately.  I haven’t purchased anything monumental, and we haven’t gotten anything post-worthy at flea markets because we’ve been oddly busy.  Plus, I’ve been trying to plan things to do and places to stay on our Canadian road trip this month[!!!].  Okay, enough excuses… let’s talk drug store favorites.

I buy most of my “drug store favorites” at Target.  Like any other person, I can walk into Target needing just one item and I walk out with five.  Damn you, pretty displays and endless aisles.

Here are some of my favorite products that I’ve either recently discovered or have used for quite a while:

• e.l.f. Daily Brush Cleaner – This is great for those days you’re not doing your heavy-duty brush cleaning session.  It’s quick and it surprisingly takes off a decent amount of makeup.
• Milani Brow Fix Brow Kit – I’m lucky that I have eyebrows that don’t need a ton of product, but I recently discovered that once in a while, filling them in make them look pretty rad.  At first, I was afraid of looking like those girls with such heavy brows that you can’t help but stare, but this powder is light enough to prevent such a horrific sight.  It comes with two different colors so you can make your own shade (if you so wish).
• Simple Micellar Facial Cleanser Water – I’ve been wanting to try micellar water for quite a while.  I remember when I went to Portugal last year, I almost picked up the Garnier Micellar Cleaning Water and I regret that I didn’t… until this came out. This thing takes off waterproof mascara and other eye makeup like it’s nothing.  It’s also good for removing any last bits of lipstick.
• CoverGirl LashBlast Clump Crusher – I’ve been using this waterproof mascara for the past few years.  It lives up to its no-clump name, it lasts all day and it makes these stubby lashes of mine look relatively decent.
• NYX Born to Glow Liquid Illuminator in Gleam – I’ve been using Benefit’s High Beam under my blush for a while, and wanted to find a dupe for their Sun Beam highlighter for the summer.  I read a few things about this and picked it up a few weeks ago.  It gives just enough color on the cheeks, and it’s not too overpowering when you put blush on top of it.
• Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstsick in Fire & Ice – Revlon lipstick will always remind me of my grandmother for some reason, with that black and gold packaging.  I’ve grown fond of lipstick over the years, but don’t wear it nearly as often as I should.  This lipsticks lasts quite a long time with some lipliner underneath, and you truly can’t go wrong with a solid red color.  Having a crap day?  Throw some red (or whatever bright color you want) lipstick on.  You’re welcome.

Have you tried any of these products before?  What are some of your favorite drug store products?

New Summer Fave

I recently picked up the Bobbi Brown Beach rollerball from Sephora, and I have been obsessed with it every since, but I have to admit, it wasn’t love at first smell for some reason.  I first tried it at that area of ultimate temptation: loads of products while waiting in line to check out.  The name immediately caught my attention, as the older I get, the more in love I am with the beach.  I put it on my wrist, smelled it… and really didn’t like it.  I kept saying, “I just want to take it off!”  Maybe 15 minutes later while a friend of mine and I were having dinner, I gave it another whiff and fell in love.  I picked it up a week later and haven’t shut up about it ever since.  It smells EXACTLY like your hair and skin smell after a long day at the beach: salt water, sand, little hint of sunscreen [not in an obnoxious way].  It’s truly perfect.  Even when you can’t spend your day at the beach, you can smell like you did.

[Last] Friday Ice Cream Party

Obviously summer’s around the corner, and you know what that means: ICE CREAM.  Okay, so maybe I’m that person who eats it year-round, but there’s something about ice cream when it’s warmer that makes it that much better.  Ellie and I went to Little Baby’s last Friday after grabbing dinner.  I’ve been there a few times, but it’s been a while.  There were so many awesome flavors, but in true indecisive spirit, we decided to go for the sampler(!!!).  We chose some, but then let the guy working there pick the rest, which I would highly suggest if you’re up in the air and want to play ice cream roulette.  Here’s what we got:

1. Early Grey Sriracha
2. ReAnimator Coffee Red Eye
3. Speculoos
4. Chocolate Chocolate Cookie Dough
5. Lychee Lemonade
6. Cucumber Dill

All of these flavors were fantastic, but there was one that I just couldn’t get over: Cucumber Dill.  It was amazing, light and perfect.  The dill wasn’t overpowering, but just enough to give the cucumber a little hint of something else.  I definitely recommend it if it’s available.

Flea Market Haul… Kinda

This past Sunday, Pedro [my boyfriend] and I went to the Columbus Flea Market.  We’re huge fans of flea markets, especially this one.  I always look for quirky items, Russian nesting dolls, and “little shits” [as I like to call them] that I don’t need, but are too adorable to pass up.  Pedro always looks for anything Volkswagen-related, which I started to eye up myself (old advertisements, etc.).  I thought, I just started this blog… what a perfect topic for a blog post!  I’ll get fun stuff, things to photograph, but what did I end up getting?

Four tiny little succulents for $2.  No cute antiques to photograph the hell out of.  No fun accessories to wear and obsess over.  Plants.

I refuse to let this flea market post turn into a total dud.  Let me show you some of the things I’ve picked up over the years along with a random political cat, because people/animal watching at flea markets is always fun.  I’m hoping this weekend will be more promising!

Also, let me know what you think!  Do you go to flea markets?  What do you always look for?  What’s your best find?

This Weekend’s Beauty Haul

This Friday, my friend Ellie and I wandered around Center City, one of the reasons being I wanted to go nuts at Sephora and and Ulta.  Note that a lot of times, I’ll say I want to buy a lot of things, and I’ll walk out with one item like a one-use face mask or something.  This time, I meant it!

Living Proof Instant Texture Mist – I have been curling my hair lately, but this fine, straight hair needs some help to hold a curl.  I liked how it didn’t leave my hair too crunchy, but gave just enough texture to get the job done.

Boscia Exfoliating Peel Gel –  After watching an Essie Button beauty haul video where this peel was mentioned, I was intrigued.  I have never used a peel before, but was nervous since sometimes my face reacts to new/semi-abrasive products in strange ways.  I just used it before working on this post, and I gotta say, it’s oddly-yet-disgustingly satisfying to see dead skin ball up as you are rubbing this product into your skin.  My face was left feeling really soft, but I’m curious to see how this works the longer I use it.

L’Occitane Cleansing and Softening Shower Oil with Almond Oil – I’m a sucker for anything almond-scented.  I was surprised how much this oil sudsed up in the shower.  I wish the almond scent was a little stronger, but as far as the moisturizing aspect of it, I loved it.  My skin has been dry lately, and this is the first time in a while that I looked at my skin in the light and it didn’t look dry.

Essence Longlasting Lipstick in Coral Calling – I sometimes like to go bold with my lipstick (bright red, pink, etc.), but I like how this is a little more subdued.

NYX Cream Blush in Tickled – I have another color of this blush (Orange), but I couldn’t say no to this blush.  Although it looks orange in the photo, it’s more on the pink side with some golden undertones.

I used the lipstick and the blush at a wedding I went to the next day, and these two really work well together:

Introduction

All good blogs start with some intro, right?  Well, here it goes. My name is Darlene, live in Philly, grammar nerd, flea market junkie, beauty product fanatic, etc.  I wanted to start this blog as an outlet for writing, which I don’t get to do much of beyond work. This will also be a place to post about what I do, places I go, useless but awesome things I buy, flea markets and other things. Maybe it’ll become somewhere that can generate conversation through comments. Hell, you never know.

Why the blog name? I drink lots of coffee and the thought of decaf blows my mind, hence why I am always sans decaf.

That’s a pretty short and to the point start to all of this. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments!