Happy New Year [And Resolutions]

Who else is having a hard time believing that it is almost 2013?! Just the thought of having to write '13 on my papers seems so crazy! The year truly did fly by.

Today is actually a two part post! First, I wanted to give you all an idea that I am going to do in the new year and I hope you do as well! Then, I'm going to talk about my resolutions!

If you frequent tumblr or pinterest you will have definitely already seen this idea as it is huge over there! If not, maybe this will be the first time you're seeing it and I hope that it inspired you to go out and do it with me as well!

The big idea that I'll be doing starting this new year is that I bought an empty glass jar and will fill it up with good things that happen throughout the year. It's that simple! I think it's really a cute idea and it was so cheap, I purchased my glass jar at The Container Store for only a few dollars and will use just regular white computer paper and a black thin sharpie I already have. The idea is to start off with the empty jar and have it filled by the end of the year, at which point you can empty it to look through all of the good that happened!

I'm all ready to start!

Fill the jar with good events that happen throughout the year!

I hope that I've inspired a few of you to actually go out and buy your own jar as I really think that it'll be fun. It's one of those things I'd usually see and think was cute but never actually go out and do it, so I'm happy that I did!

And now onto....

MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS!

Ah, New Years Resolutions. Half the time they're a laugh because you know you will never stay true to them and then the other half they're so cliche because everyone picks the same ones! However, I'm determined to beat that and stick to my resolutions this year! Instead of making a whole bunch that I know I'll never keep I'm making a few modest resolutions that I'm going my hardest to keep.

1. The ever-cliche exercise and eat better! I had a really great exercise routine this year, but as school started and life became crazy in September/October it's just gone all down hill, so I want to pick it back up! I'm not going to say exercise 6 days a week/an hour a day because that will definitely lead to failure! I think I'll be happy with just a few days a week and eating a bit more healthy to balance it out.

2. Be happy and positive! Instead of looking at negatives, I want to try my hardest to simply look at the bright side of things. I'm not saying I'm a complete pessimist in life, but I definitely fluctuate from being happy-go-lucky to doomsday downer. I want to try to remain positive and uplifting this year!

3. Do what I enjoy! Instead of wasting my time doing things that I'm not passionate about, I want to fill my time with what I love. Blogging, being with friends, going to lunch with my sisters, and volunteering are all examples of things that I love to do and I want to continue to do them in this year, even when times are crazy and stressful with college right on the horizon. 

Right now, I think that's what I'm going to stick with! I could say I want to try to properly start a YouTube, stop spending so much money on makeup, etc., but I want to stick to just the basics this year. Everything else that is meant to happen will happen!

I won't have another post until the New Year, so I hope that everyone has a great New Years Eve and starts the year off right! Do you have any resolutions? I'd love to hear them! 

Be sure to enter my Naked Basics giveaway here which ends today!

NAKED Basics Palette

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

Hi everyone and a big hello to all of my new followers! I hope you all are enjoying my blog and excited about my giveaway! As promised, I wanted to share my opinion on this palette as I am giving it away to one of you! These swatches are from my own palette as I obviously did not want to touch the one I will be giving away!

The Naked Basics palette is advertised as the matte baby of the other Naked palettes. This one lives up to its name and is very basic: no fancy packaging, very simple, and tiny as a button! There are a mere 6 shadows in this palette, but it is still 6 full eye shadows and it's a perfect essentials palette for anyone and everyone, from someone just starting to wear makeup to a makeup-crazed beauty blogger.

W.O.S - Foxy - Venus

Crave - Faint - Naked 2

The first three colors of the palette are all white-beige, perfect for the base. The very first color, Venus, definitely has some shimmer in it so it's perfect for a highlight under the brow bone and in the corner of the eye. The next two colors, Foxy and W.O.S. are perfect for on the lids and mattifying (is that even a word?) your whole eye. The next three are where the fun comes in and you are able to blend in the crease and dramatize the look.

One important thing to note in this palette is that 4 of the 6 shades are BRAND NEW! Ah, it definitely made me happy to know that I wasn't wasting my money here. The 2 old shades are Foxy and W.O.S. (Walk of Shame), which are such great shades I really don't mind to see them in this palette. Anyone who does not own the Build-Your-Own Palette is definitely in for a treat as W.O.S. was previously the exclusive shade for that palette.

Overall, I'm extremely happy for Urban Decay to have finally released this palette and I personally have been reaching for it everyday since I bought it. For only $27, you are getting 6 full-sized eye shadows that are perfect for the neutral eye lovers like me.

Be sure that you enter my GIVEAWAY to win your own Naked Basics palette! It's something you do not want to miss out on. 

Holiday Beauty Gift Guide

Happy Sunday, everyone! I honestly cannot believe that it is already December. This year has truly flown by and I've been ready for the holidays since... the beginning of November, actually! Now, though, it's socially acceptable to be excited, so my Christmas excitement is now just bursting beyond belief! As I'm sure everyone is now shopping for presents, I wanted to create a little bit of a gift guide for everyone to share! These are some personal beauty favorites of mine that are on my Christmas list and maybe they could be on yours as well!

Taylor Swift Wonderstruck Enchanted Perfume: The follow up to Taylor Swift's incredible Wonderstruck perfume, Wonderstruck Enchanted was just recently released and smells absolutely amazing. The bottle comes in the same great shape with charms draped around the top and is red, perhaps in honor of her new album. 

NAKED Basics Palette: As a follow up to the infamous NAKED and NAKED2 palettes, Urban Decay has just released the new Naked Basics palette! This palette features 6 completely matte eyeshadows, whether you want a light day eye or nighttime smokey look. This palette is also very small! In pictures, I've seen it compared to the size of an iPhone, yet it has 6 full eyeshadows! I'm dying to get my hands on this for the winter!

Ciate Sequin Manicure Set: Ciate has truly been the "it" brand for nail polish trends this year, in my opinion. Beginning with the caviar manicure back in the spring, they have come out with some great manicure kits. (I actually did a post on the caviar nails here) The latest in their trends is the sequined manicure kit, which looks amazing. Your nails literally sparkle and shine!

Chanel Lipstick in La Caline: This lipstick is part of the Chanel Winter collection and I went out to swatch it today. Ah, it was amazing! I don't like a lot of color on my lips, so I tend to always go for more nudes and pinks, but I've been obsessed with the oxblood trend this year. Chanel came out with a very dark, deep oxblood lipstick, but I'd never be able to brave that and this color is just as gorgeous and following the berry trend, just a lot more muted. 

NARS Kiss Mini Larger Than Life Lip Gloss Coffret: Available at Sephora as a part of the NARS/Andy Warhol collection, this mini lip gloss kit comes with 5 different glosses. Not only do the lip glosses look amazing, but the tin it comes in is absolutely amazing and definitely reusable. 

What is on your wishlist this year?! I'd love to know!