My 15th Birthday....

I turned 15th on May 30th, and it was one of the best birthdays I have ever had. The older I got, the less birthday parties I had just because my friend circles got bigger from multiple schools and multiple volleyball teams. My birthdays lately had just been small gatherings, small sleepovers, and family dinners. That's why I was so surprised when my friends joined me at dinner and I was just on cloud nine the whole time.

In my life I had participated in multiple surprise birthday parties from when I was teeny tiny to just this past year. I have the type of personality where I like to be spoiled sometimes. I have always wanted to have a surprise birthday party of my own even though I would have never admitted it. And I knew that even though I have the most loving mother in the world, she is not the best at surprises. So I just kind of felt like it would never happen, not because my mom didn't love me absolutely so much, but because stuff like this is not her cup of tea. The smile on my face was from ear to ear when I walked into Japon's (a hibachi place) to a table of my friends. It meant so much to me and I just felt so loved and special for the day.
Top: Old Navy
Shorts: F21
Shoes: Jack Rogers
Necklace: Juicy couture
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff

Not only did my friends and parents plan the most amazing surprise evening for me, I also got the most amazing presents as well. I was not expecting any presents from anyone and it just made me feel even more loved. The day was just magical to me, I felt like a princess, I got my permit, and I was showered in love and presents. I thought I share these presents with you guys because I am so in love with this memory and want to document it.
From my parents my biggest present was the pink mirrored Raybans. Expensive little babies I know, but for $200 they were totally worth it. The green mirrored aviators are extremely popular among my friends and on pinterest and when I saw the pink ones I just had to have them. I got them full price at the Sunglass Hut and I am so in love. They are the flash pink mirror lenses with silver. Those were my big presents and I was not expecting much else but my mom absolutely surprised with the "Go topless!" Wildfox jumper. I had been eyeing wildfox sweaters since the sixth grade and never justified $100 on a sweater. But my mom secretly bought it for me and I was so happy when I pulled this soft pink jumper out of the barbie gift bag. I also recieved the Vineyard Vines seersucker hat, as well as their new Neon Pink tshirt and a pack of the whale stickers. I also got the Kate Spade ipad mini cafe scene case as well.
From my friends I got so many amazing things I was not expecting. My two super close friends gave me the coach crossbody saffiano leather bag in the pink gingham as well as the matching phone case. I was so shocked because this bag is beautiful, not one of the cheap bags from the coach outlet but a legit bag from the actual coach designer store. I also got a pack of rose quartz bracelets from my friend who'se mom is a jewelry designer. My other friend gave me this adorable Kate Spade patent leather polka dot wallet. I love it so much and have been using it like crazy. I also recieved a VS perfume set.
I also got my double piercing on my birthday at Claire's and picked up a couple of sets of earring.
I had the best birthday and will always remember this day...
Xxx Girl with the Pink Bow

My Current Bedroom + Update Plans

Warning, today's pictures contain a lot of bright pink, zebra, and crazy contrast. It's a lot to see, and a lot to take in. Keep in my mind, this has been my room since about third grade when I was crazy about gaudy hot pink and zebra. And it's finally time for a redo, I decided to stay in my current room and not make any major changes (keep my wall color). It's just too much work to move into two "jack and jill" style rooms with a connecting bathroom in another part of my house. I was planning on making one into a closet and one into a bedroom but that would require moving all my furniture, repainting my room, painting two new rooms, and lots more. I decided to update my current room since I will be going to college in three years.

| White drawers, desk, and bookshelf: Ikea | Chair: Amazon(?) |

| Small Canvas: Hobby Lobby | 

| Lamp: PBteen (old) |

| Shelves: Ikea | Mirror/Jewelry organization: QVC | Clock: Hobby Lobby |

| Paintings: DIY |

| Flowers: Hobby Lobby |

| Mirror: Target |

| Umbrella: Disney Epcot |

| View from My Bed |

| Crosses: Hobby Lobby | Decal: PBteen | Shoe shelves: Target |

| Bed: Ikea | Bedding: Macy's | Nighstands: Ikea |

| Lamp: Weir's |

| Zebra dresser: Homegoods |

| Vanity: Ikea |

| Jewelry organizer: Amazon | Mirror: Amazon |

| Chair : Ikea |

| Lamp: Macy's | Fan: Amazon |

As for my current room......

Yes, the walls are a bright hot pink, and yes the theme is pink and zebra. Most of my furniture is from ikea and I will be getting rid of most of it except the Alex 9 drawer set, the jewelry storage mirror, and the big mirror. The bedding is from Macy's and the sheets are from dillards. The shleves are from ikea as well and my lighting is random from my house. My hot pink chair is from ikea and the chair with the yoga ball is from amazon. 

This room has had some great memories, and at the time, I was obsessed and completely in love with the colors and theme of my room. This is where I grew up, from a tiny little 4' girl to the 5'8 teen I am today. This room has held me through crazy memories, great laughs, thousands of sleepovers, and let me cry into its floors and pillows. As excited as I am to change it up, I will admit I am sad to see it go. But I will keep ya'll updated on everything I do!

The plan is to remove the desk and bookshelf and put in a couple custom wardrobe PAX systems from Ikea. Then I am making my own tufted headboars, getting new bedding, and new nightstands. I also found a gorgeous vintage vanity but the placing of all my furniture will probably still be the same. I am going for a shabby chic, super girl, yet glam mix look.... if that makes sense. 

Xxx Girl With The Pink Bow

Recent Makeup purchases

I am willing to admit I just might have a shopping problem. My room is filled with shopping bags and my clothing has taken over two rooms and my closet. But what can you do? Buy more stuff of course. I just can't resist a new makeup item every time I dash into a drugstore for a diet coke, or diet arnold Palmer. This is a small section of the makeup i've recently bought and an even smaller section of all the items (clothing and beauty) I've recently purchased. I like to keep these small so I can do individual reviews along with these little "haul posts".

| no flash |

| flash |

| blush swatched |

| top left: flower lipstick | top right: NYC concealer | bottom: Milani blush |

1. Milani matte baked blush in 10 Deliciozo Pink: a beautiful candy pink color. It is extremely pigmented so the smallest bit goes a long way. Milani markets these blushes as matte, which compared to their usual super glittery blushed I guess it would be. But it does have a pretty satin finish which in a way, is better than a matte blush because it gives you a little something to the skin so it's not just flat on your face. For my super yellow and light medium skin tone it really warms it up and keeps my face from looking too sickly yellow. The consistency is very smooth and not powdery and it keeps the smooth effect on my skin. I think this would work for both pink and yellow skin tones from light to medium skin tones. For darker skin tones it might be a little bright and fake looking but I am not quite sure because I am obviously not that skin tone. Overall I would recommend it to medium or lighter skin tones if you dont already own a candy pink color. The most similar blush I have to it is Elf Pink Passion which is way more neon and bright.
2. Next up is the NYC concealer. I believe this is only available in one shade and is only sold at CVS for around $5. It's a wand-type concealer in the lipgloss type tubes. The color (in medium) is really light for a medium, my skin tone is pretty light and it matches me perfectly. The texture is nice and creamy and ideal for under the eyes or highlighting. It gives the skin a nice, dewy look but is also full coverage. Sadly, for me its not light enough for me to highlight under the eyes and down the nose. Overall if it's your right color, I'd scoop it up because the texture and finish are beautiful.
3. Flower Lipstick in Morning Glory. This is a gorgeous light mauve-y nude color. I'm used to a super light lip which some might not like, but for me the paler the better. So for me, this is a little dark but for most it will still be a very light color. I like how it has a pinky mauve undertone so it gives my lips a little bit more color. The texture is super creamy and non drying but not creamy enough that it will slip off. It's pretty opaque but not completely opaque because it does have a little bit of sheen. Sometimes you do want a lipstick that's not completely opaque so it allows room for a little bit of mistake in application.
Xxx Girl with the Pink Bow

Elf under eye setting powder review

Let's be honest, nobody gets a lot of sleep. Our generation, the age of Netflix, youtube, and Pinterest, keeps us up all night endlessly scrolling through out twitter TLs. Sleep seems to get put on the back burner and unfortunately our eyes are not the only things that suffer from lack of sleep. Sleep is good for you, it allows the body to rest, and helps regenerate and fuel it for the next day. Despite the knowledge of this, I don't tend to get a lot of sleep and my dark circles have paid the price.

| $3 | sold at Target |

| top: no flash | bottom: flash |

| top: no flash | bottom: flash |

Recently highlighting under the eye with a light concealer has become extremely popular. I am a big fan of this because I think it illuminates and adds some brightness to the face. Because concealer is such a thick, creamy product due to its pigmentation and dense concentration, it tends to crease in fine lines or smudge throughout the day. We set liquid foundation with powder, so why wouldn't we set our concealer, which is just a more concentrated form of foundation with powder as well? The answer is we would set it, because that's what makes sense. Typically I would have just used my face setting powder and dust it under my eyes, but setting powders have been all the rage lately. Brands like Laura Mercier and Bare Minerals have come out with specific powder just for under the eyes. They claim to further brighten, and add more coverage, highlighting even more. When I saw this ELF version at target for only three dollars I had to scoop it up.

| what it looks like opened |

| size comparison to my hand, it is quite small |

The texture of this powder is extremely fine, similar to the HD setting powder which I love. It blends seamlessly into the skin and takes away any extra shine without drying out my already dry skin. It is a white color which pretty much shows up translucent on the skin. However, this powder has a slight glitter to it, not a shimmer or a satin, I'm talking a straight up glitter. The glitter is fine, but it's definitely glitter particles in there. I don't notice it doing anything crazy to my under eye concealer, it sets it just as well as my HD powder had. The glitter does not transfer to much to the skin and it's definitely not super noticeable. It does do a beautiful job of setting the under eye area and prevent it from creasing throughout the day but I do not notice this product doing anything to overall brighten my complexion. This product, in my opinion, is a great powder, but is no different from the elf HD setting powder which is an all time favorite of mine except its sparse glitter particles. I will continue to use it as it doesn't look cakey and gets the job done, but I might not repurchase if I already have the Hd setting powder. 

Xxx Girl with the Pink Bow

Victoria Secret Semi Annual Sale 2014 picks.... (haul)

If you read my store steal post on Victoria Secret, you saw my tips and tricks for getting the best deals at an all time favorite store: Victoria Secret. We all love their loungewear, bikinis, bras, undies, and beauty items. And, from my experience they offer the best deals during the semi annual sale. And the one held at this time of the year in the summer tends to be my favorite out of the two because Victoria Secret just reminds me of summer. All of their items are brightly colored and they just give off a summer-y vibe. Their swimsuits are the cutest and great quality, and their scents epitomize the feeling of a sandy beach and coconuts. So, of course I checked out the sale online, and thought I should share what I ended up getting.

This bralette was one of the first items in my cart. It's cut kind of reminded me of the free people ones, without the complete halter around the neck. For a fraction of the price I thought it was a good deal. I got the color fuchsia in a xs. $14.99

front

back (not really sure why you can't tell that it's cinched at the butt but it is)
I had been eyeing the VS cheeky bikini bottoms for a while. I think that they are so cute for summer and very flattering if you are lacking a little in that department. I got a xs in the neon pink color and the swimsuits were BOGO 50% off so it ended up coming out to $7.

Of course, I had to get a matching top, I personally only like wearing matching tops and bottoms. I feel like it's more flattering and it elongates the body because it draws the eyes long instead of just random blocks of color. This was is a halter with a ruffle which is adorable. I do have a ton of neon pink bikinis that match the bottoms however, so I am contemplating keeping it. I got a 32A in the matching neon pink. $21

I also went for the 7 for $26 underwear deal which I am not going to show you, but if you did do that deal, then you could pick up one of their old bralettes for $5, so I just got this baby pink one.

For full details on getting good deals at Victoria Secret, I go into detail in a previous post.
Xxx Girl with the Pink Bow

Summer.....

Today was my last day of school and it is finally summer. Two whole months of stress free relaxing and I'm determined to make this the best summer yet. I can't wait for late nights and warm days. I'm excited for long days full of light and cute shorts. For the smell of sandy coconut and ice cold diet cokes. For cold watermelon and salty water. For waking up on my own time, not to an alarm and endless weeks of sleepover. I am going to make this a great summer and take risks, and step out of my comfort zone. I can't wait to develop better habits and overall become a better person. I do know a couple of things that I will be doing this summer that I will share with you guys.
1. I will be redoing my room! I actually am moving to two bedrooms on another side of my house because my closet in my current room is just not big enough and I want a room dedicated to my clothes and makeup. The two rooms are smaller than my current room but they are a jack and jill style. Which basically means that they are connected by one bathroom. I will be taking ya'll along the journey and posting decor updates.
2. I am going to New York.  I am SO beyond excited to go the city. New York has the best shopping and I'm just overall excited to get out of the town I live in for a week and just go expierence something out of the ordinary.
Xxx Girl with the Pink Bow