My Favorite MAC Lipsticks of All Time

If you've been reading the blog for a while, and even if you know me well, you know I could talk about lipsticks all day. I could go on and on about my favorite shades, finishes, and even dupes if it comes to that. And if you aren't careful, I'll talk you into trying a new shade or two. There's just something about trying a new lipstick that empowers me (and empowers me to empower other women as well).

One thing I haven't talked about in a long time in this space here, however, are my favorite lipstick brands. After gushing over my all-time favorite lipstick on National Lipstick day via Instagram, many people asked me about lipstick suggestions via DM. In fact, a few of you guys even asked me what some of my favorite MAC lipsticks were. And since MAC is one of my favorite beauty brands when it comes to lipsticks, I decided it would be cool to share my favorite MAC lipsticks here on the blog, too.

Not only do these high-quality lipsticks come in so many shades, there's a finish to suit everyone's fancy-- 7 to be exact. Everyone can find a shade that compliments their skintone. And MAC lipsticks always meet the criteria for what I'm looking for in a lipstick: great color pay-off, long-lasting, and great scent/flavor. So without further adieu, here are some of my favorites from the brand.

Serving Face: How to Create a Signature Beauty Look

Over the years, I've had so much fun experimenting with makeup. I can't describe the joy I get from finding a foundation that matches my skin tone or a lipstick that looks amazing on my lips. And though I've had my share of bad beauty experiences (shaved eyebrows, ghostly foundation, you name it), I've enjoyed the journey to finding beauty products that work for me. One of the most rewarding things about this journey is creating a signature beauty look that ensures my makeup is fresh and polished for any occasion.

"What is a signature beauty look?" some of you may be asking. For me, my signature beauty look is how I wear my makeup on most days, complete with my holy-grail beauty products. Having this look as a part of my beauty routine helps me to do my makeup as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you haven't yet created a signature beauty look for yourself but are considering it, today's post is for you. Read below to find out why you need a signature look and how to create one of your own.

5 Ways to Show Love to Your Girls

If you've been around here for a while, you know I take self-care very seriously. I truly believe that the way we care for ourselves directly affects everything we do- how we care for others, how we receive others, how we interact, how we love, how we heal, and essentially how we thrive. But one important factor I failed to mention in partaking in self-care actually involves those closest to us-- our girlfriends.

What do your girlfriends have to do with self-care, you ask? Actually, it has so much to do with self-care. For us women, having a tribe of women to celebrate your wins with, cry over losses with, and just share life in general is wealth to our well-being. It is essential. Not only that, it makes perfect sense that once we have taken care of ourselves we pour that love and care into our sister tribe. Am I right? The first step in self-care is always filling yourself with the utmost care and nurturing. The next is to pass that love and care on to others, whether it be your friends, family, and/or your community.

So what have you done for your friends lately? When is the last time you've shown your best girlfriends a little love? If it's been a while for you (and I'm totally not judging you, sis-- it happens to all of us) here are a few ways to get back into the groove of showing your friends a little love.

3 Keys to Creating an Effective Self-Care Plan

We're two weeks deep into 2017 and I hope everyone has been doing well so far. Along with creating new goals and resolutions for the new year, I also hope you have added self-care to your calendars and planners! And if you haven't, no worries. We're gonna take a moment to discuss creating a self-care plan right now. We're also going to make sure that plan is effective for you and doesn't just take up space in that cute new journal you bought a few weeks ago, too (I know I'm not the only one who's been grabbing up lots of pretty stationery for the new year, am I?).

The easiest thing would be to write down a self-care plan and through that alone, our healing comes right on through. Instantly, we're taking better care of ourselves and those around us. And before we know it, our skin starts glowing out of nowhere, too! But that’s just not the reality. Sometimes it’s all we can do to wake up each morning and look ourselves in the mirrors. We might be dealing with self-doubt, grief, remorse, loss, broken-hearts, you name it. But having a self-care plan in place and being intentional about following through in the best way that we can does help. Because when "life" happens, we often forget to take care of ourselves. Having a plan to refer to will help us take actionable steps on how to get on by.

Below are three major keys to creating an effective self-care plan.

Working in Progress: Improving While Embracing Self

When is the last time you took a moment to embrace all that is authentically YOU? When is the last time you took inventory of all that you are and, instead of making lists of things to improve, simply acknowledged yourself as you are? Maybe it was the day you decided to embrace that thigh gap or that gap between your teeth (raising my hand to both). Or perhaps it was the moment you realized your slow southern drawl wasn't going anywhere no matter how often you tried to polish your dialect (raises hand once again). Sometimes we get so caught up in improving ourselves that we forget to fully embrace the essence of our beings and our presence. In these times we have to get naked for a moment to rediscover ourselves and fall in love again. You know, fall in love with the self we are before the world starts convincing us we may need to alter and modify things.

Ode To The Beautiful Dreamers and Creatives

We're quirky, and cutesy, and witty, and we're proud of it. We make no apologies about who we are or what we love. We use our virtual spaces and faces to share loud voices and passions with the highest of frequencies. You may know us as bloggers, vloggers, entrepreneurs, mompreneurs, and (my favorite word) creatives.

Magical Things Happen When You Binge-Read These Jenny Han Novels

When is the last time you read a good young adult contemporary fiction series? If you would have asked me this a couple of years ago I would have stared at you blankly, wondering how long it had been since I had. As someone who mostly kept up with urban fiction as a young adult, I barely paid attention to the YA genre. But as I have gotten older, my tastes in books have expanded to various genres. And every time I need to find a sweet escape within the pages of a book, I find myself immersed in YA Fiction.

7 Ways I Practice Self-Love Weekly

Dear Wonder Woman, how many hats are you currently wearing today? Are you the nurturer among your friends and family? Are you a mother, sister, wife, friend, confidante, employee, employer, and or entrepreneur? Chances are you have answered yes to several of these roles.  And as a woman who serves many roles in relation to others, you must make caring for YOU a top priority. A while back on the blog we discussed self-care and how important it is to have a self-care plan. But did you realize that a key component of your self-care plan involves self-love? The ways in which you practice self-love are a direct reflection on your emotional health and well-being.

So what is self-love, exactly?
Self-love is defined as the "regard for one's own well-being and happiness, chiefly considered as a desirable rather than narcissistic characteristic."

And why is it so important, again?
In order to be our best selves for those who need us most, we must take care of ourselves first. If you're running on empty, it's impossible to give a single thing to someone else.

As a WAHM, I sometimes catch myself slipping when it comes to making my emotional well-being a top priority. So for my sanity as well as my family's, I make sure to do these seven things each week to stay in-tune with self.

Just to Get By | A Playlist for the Hopeful

Hello friends! Have you ever had a string of never-ending, not-so-good, kinda-bad days? Not so terribly bad that you couldn't function, but just days where you felt like you couldn't get right? You know, those blah types of days when you get out of bed feeling like something is missing but you aren't sure what. You have a hope and a dream for something greater, but have no clue how to get to that something. Or it seems like no matter what you try to do, nothing works out in your favor. You might even feel yourself giving up on your hopes and dreams. But then one morning, things turn around for you.