New Year, New Blessing, New Challenges

Happy New Year everyone! Doesn't the arrival of a new year always feel like a chance to start fresh and new? A way to start with a clean slate? Let's just shake off the heeby jeebies of last year and kick start the new year five pounds lighter shall we?

A few phone calls and unforeseen blessings has given my family a chance to relocate to Florida. *looks out of window at the fresh snow that blankets my yard... Suck it Connecticut!* Three moves in as many years have taught Mr. Brown and I a thing or two about moving. You'd be surprised a how many things fall into the "I don't really need that after all" category when space in the moving truck becomes scarce or you just simply don't want to be bothered with taking down or up a flight of stairs.

Since we have a few months before the actual move takes place, I figured this would be a great time to get into that "use it or lose it" mind frame. It's time to use up the fifty-leven bottles of half used shower gel and conditioner that takes up valuable moving truck real estate. I won't open or purchase any new skincare products. I won't purchase any new cosmetics. My entire makeup and nail polish stash must fit in my Helmers. All of my random beauty items (brushes, sponges, etc), perfumes, skincare and haircare products must fit in one modest sized plastic tote. I will adopt the "If you haven't used it in a year then toss it" mentality with somethings like lotions. That rule in general has always been hard for me. I always end up looking for it two month later. I will toss all of my mascara before the move. By that time it will all be at least three months old so theoretically I should be tossing it anyway. When I finish something or get rid of an item, I will post pics to track my progress. Wish me luck!

Any tips on moving and purging? How did your last move go?

B.B.

A Little Porn Makes the World a Better Place

I have gotten a few emails asking me about makeup organization and stash pics so I figured I would show you all how I keep my beloved pretties organized (I use that term in the loosest sense possible)

These are my Helmers that I got from Ikea. Ikea is one of my favorite stores ever! It's full of quirky and stylish furniture and doo dads. Plus the food is awesome. The Swedish meatballs make you want to slap somebody. The one on the right has makeup and left has nail polish, hair and body products. The sterilite drawer set has miscellaneous tools and what not.


Drawer #1- Foundation, Concealers, Powders

Drawer #2- Blush
There are three MAC blush palettes there. The one on the top has the insert removed and contains blush pans that came with the NYX Rep Kit. F.Y.I Jane, NYX creme, and MYX Mosaic blush all fit MAC blush palettes. My palettes are a mix of those and MAC. I think that lone Cargo blush may be the beginning of a love affair. It is Cable Beach and it is glorious! But that's another post.


Drawer #3- Mascara, Liners, MAC Pigments- The mascaras and liners are in interlocking trays similar to these. The liners are supposed to be separated by color. Blues, greens purples in one. Everything else in the other. My creme liners are tossed in there.


Drawer #4- Shadow Bases and Pigments - This photo does not have my Mehron Paradise Palette in. I just sit that on top of the eye crayons and keep it moving.


Drawer #5- Eyeshadow Palettes - There are a total of 7 MAC palettes that have a mix of MAC Milani, Jane and what ever other brands that I bought that fit MAC 15 pans. In the back of the drawer are my NXY Rep kit eye shadow tester pans. The container on the right has has HIP duos that I haven't depotted. MAC Mineralize shadows, Ulta singles and a Lancome Shadow that I love and I don't want to misplace. The big black palette in the first picture is an 88 pan palette like the ones the Coastal Scents sell. It just sits on top of everything.


Drawer #6 Lipstick and Lip gloss- I am still working out the kinks on this drawer. It's not an ideal way to store lip products because I still have to dig around to find what I am looking for. It will work for the time being though.

I keep my loose eyeshadows in this handy dandy storage tower.


This is what it looks like open.


Well... That's about it. I didn't show brushes, lashes and few other miscellaneous tools because they're kinda boring. Once you've seen one you've see 50-11. I keep those items my top dresser drawer. Let me know if you have any questions on individual items or anything.

B.B.

Now There is Room For More

L'Oreal H.I.P eyeshadow duos quickly became one of my favorite cheap indulgences when they were introduced. Who else has highly pigmented, dirt cheap eyeshadow that goes on sale practically once a month?

As my collection grew, so did the space it took up. It's funny how storage space never enters one's mind when shopping for new goodies. You don't realize just how much space those multicolored pots of happiness really take up.

I enjoy depotting MAC, Milani or what ever else fits a 15 pan because it makes things so easy to get to and takes up far less room. Finding storage for the H.I.P. proved to a problem though. The pans are dang big!

It took some work but I found a palette that fit these over sized pans. It is a Japonesque blush palette. It costs $12 and can be purchased here.


B.B.

Show Me Yours, I'll Show You Mine!

Tell the truth...

You would rather look at pictures of your coworker's stash than their overpriced vacation to the baseball hall of fame, the family dog that is so old he doesn't even know why he's still here, or their funny looking, cockeyed chillens.

Some days, nothing puts a smile on my face like some good ole' stash porn. So spread the smiles ladies. Send in pics of your beloved stash and I will feature them as part of a new series. No stash too big or too small because we all know it's not the size that matters, it's the performance! lol!

To give some inspiration, here's old pics of my eye drawer and the silverware organizer that I used:



Be bold and beautificated!

B.B.

I Was Living Rather Viking-esque

I needed to be beat. My makeup area was a big ole' bowl of hot mess. Brushes just laying about all willy nilly. Random pans of shadow thrown to and fro. The beloved stash had begun to get, dare I say - overwhelming. It was shameful madness ya'll! I know. I know. Don't make no sense! In my defense though. This is NOT my bedroom. No one sleeps in here. My closet and dressers are in here along with a toy box. My men don't even go in "Mom's room".

But no longer! Triflin Tricia has left the building! I swallowed a dose of "act like you know" and purged.

(Sorry for the sucky cam phone pic. The digi cam was acting all wonky)

Shout out to my sisters, Bubbalicious and Chocolate Olvaltine. Your goodies are on their way! This is the my dresser so fresh and so clean! Note the drawers that close all of the way! The drawer on the left is the "eye" drawer and the drawer on the right is that "face" drawer.


I have to say... Though it may be hard, purging does feel good. So how about ya'll? Is there anyone else out there that needs to purge? Anyone else whose stash has become unmanagable?
Let me know!

Be bold and beautificated!

B.B.