...Your favorite ice cream flavor after a long day!

...BUBBLES!

...Cute penguins!

...A long bath with your favorite music playing in the background!

...Sparkles!!

...A fuzzy kitten waking you up from a nap!

...Gelly Roller Pens!

...Freshly made brownies!

...Finding your old favorite toys from your childhood!! Remember old school Polly Pockets??

...Butterflies!!

...fruity chapstick!! My favorite!!

...shabby chic!!

...Feeling like this at night and waking up feeling completely refreshed!

...A warm cup of your favorite tea!

...Chocolate chip cookies made by your best friend!

...Having someone to hold you when you are feeling down.

...When the swings are free!!

...Freshly made cinnamon rolls!! Yum-zilla!

...This fuzzy face!!! 

♥!

 

Hello Starlight!

Positivity is a BIG deal in my life. It is something that I am constantly striving for and searching for. I attack my problems with positivity and resolve my mistakes with a positive attitude. 

I wanted to share my top 11 ways to be more positive!! I would also love to hear what you do to stay positive!

  ★ Spend some time taking stock of all the influences in your life. This includes friends, family, television shows, magazines, blogs, etc. Think about which aspects of your life motivate you and push you to live positively for yourself. Think about those aspects which pull you down and drain you of your positive energy. Spend less time around the negative influences and more time around the positive!

  ★ Set aside more time for yourself where you can be alone. Sometimes it is easy to become depressed and grumpy when you give all of your energy to others. Having scheduled "you" time will guarantee that you  will be able to pamper yourself and participate in your favorite hobbies.

  ★ Try changing your perspective about situations. Sometimes that is all it takes to turn a crummy day around. I try very hard to find something positive that will come out of the crappy things that daily life deals us. It doesn't always happen naturally, but it gets easier when you push yourself to see the good in life.

  ★ Have friends and family in your life who can cheer you up and encourage you to be positive when you fall down. It's inevitable that you will have a bad day, stress attack, or an emotional melt down in the future. It happens. The difference between you and a negative person is that you have the courage to get back up and keep going. We all need to be reminded that life really can be amazing if we take the time to see things positively.

  ★ Fill your space with reminders of how wonderful your life is. Write your favorite encouraging quotes on colorful post-its and paste them around your home.

  ★ Write letters and cards to your close friends and family with positive wishes and joyful greetings! Spreading positivity helps you feel positive in general!

  ★ Encourage the people in your life who take on pessimistic attitudes to be more positive. If those people are not willing to hear you out, limit your time around them. Negativity is very draining and you can only be around it for so long before it takes over.

  ★ Get excited about the little things that make you happy!

  ★ If you are feeling down and depressed, own your feelings. Don't deny that you are grumpy. Accept that you aren't feeling 100% and give yourself time to just be.

  ★ De-clutter your life! Get rid of things that you don't love, things that you never use, and things that aren't sentimental to you. Clutter can weigh you down and fill your life with unnecessary negative energy ! Make room for new things that you adore!

  ★ Channel your inner child every so often. Do things that the child within you would love! Blow bubbles, ride the merry-go-round, drink chocolate milk, play hop scotch, color, take photos of random objects, play dress-up, etc.

"Surround yourself with positive people and situations, and avoid negativity" -Doreen Virtue

Wishing you a day filled with sunshine =D

♥

♥ Cups of warm tea! Especially on rainy days!

One of the questions many people email me about is what type of beauty products I use. While my blog isn't strictly beauty related, I thought it would be fun to post what products I'm using and loving right now!

I'm very excited to post some of my very favorite beauty products!

BEAUTY AWARDS: MAKEUP EDITION

♥ Favorite Concealer: MAKE UP FOR EVER Professional 5 Camouflage Creme Palette No. 1

Now, I have used many different types of concealers including the Lise Watier Concealer Portfolio Wheel and Clinique's All About Eyes Concealer. I prefer this Creme Palette above all the others that I have tried. It is just the right amount of creamy and with many different shades of salmon/flesh to chose from, it blends very well with many different types of skin tones. It also looks wonderful alone, under mineral powder, and under liquid foundation. In my opinion, the best way to apply concealer is to apply a small amount of concealer to the area with a concealer brush or your finger and lightly press all over the area continuously with said brush or a makeup sponge which works to blend the make up. Apply a light powder over the concealer to keep the makeup in place. 

♥ Favorite Liquid Foundation: Clinique's Even Better 

I don't wear liquid foundation everyday, but I really love Clinique's liquid foundations. I tried many of the different types of foundation they offer and was pleased with all of them. My mom has never worn liquid foundation before so I picked out Clinique's Repair Wear Anti-aging for her. She loves it and her skin look so healthy and even!! The reason I love Clinique's foundation is because it looks very natural and doesn't feel heavy on my face like many of the foundations I have tried in the past.

♥ Favorite Mineral Powder: Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Matte 

I wear this mineral makeup almost everyday! I can even wear it over liquid foundation and it looks amazing! I love their Matte foundation, but their regular bareMineral powder also works wonderfully. 

I have tried many different types of mineral makeup including many drugstore brands and Clinique's mineral powder. I have yet to find anything that I like more than Bare Escentuals. They sell a starter kit for those new to mineral makeup which includes brushes and some of their other products. I started out with one of their kits and I loved it. They even include a tutorial on how to apply the makeup.  I was a little scared of the price when I first started using this makeup, but the containers of makeup last for a very long time. It's definitely worth it, in my opinion.

♥ Favorite Powder Blush: NARS Blush in Orgasm

Their color names really make me blush! But I love this blush so much!! I have also tried NARS DeepThroat, LoveJoy, and Super Orgasm. I found that Orgasm and Super Orgasm look amazing on anyone! I've applied this blush to many people with different skin tones. I also use Estee Lauder's blush, but I don't like it as much as NARS.

♥ Favorite Creme Blush: Maybelline's Dream Mousse Blush in Pink Frosting

I'm not the biggest fan of creme blush, but this is my favorite brand. I only wear creme blush when I'm going all out with my makeup. It looks really dewy if you apply it under a little powder blush. 

♥ Favorite Eyeshadow: Estee Lauder's Pure Color Eyeshadow

I adore this eyeshadow! This is probably my favorite Estee Lauder product. I wear this eyeshadow in Honey Drop quite a bit. The quality of this makeup is superb! They have so many different colors to choose from and they all come in a very cute little compact case. I also like Revlon's eyeshadow for everyday wear.

♥ Favorite Mascara: DiorShow Mascara

I wear several different brands of mascara, but my favorite is DiorShow and DiorShow Waterproof. I think that mascara is really all about personal preference. My mom hates this mascara because it doesn't lengthen her lashes. I love it because it give my lashes full volume and holds a curl. It just really depends on what you need your mascara to do. I also really love Maybelline's XXL Pro's Extension mascara.

♥ Favorite Pencil Eyeliner: Estee Lauder's Double Wear Stay-in Place Eye Pencil

I probably only wear eyeliner once a week or so. I don't think it looks very good on me. I've tried lots of different brands of eyeliner and this is my favorite. Estee Lauder also has their Writer pencils, but I don't like those as much. This pencil stays on like liquid eyeliner so it doesn't smudge when I accidentally rub my eyes. I'm sure there are lots of other brands of eyeliner out there that are just good. I just don't wear eyeliner enough to really know what is the ultimate best.

♥ Favorite Lip Gloss: Smashbox Limitless Longwear Lipgloss

I'm constantly finding different lipglosses that I like. This is my current favorite. I wear it in Forever and Infinite. I also like Lancome's Juicy Tubes, Lip Smackers, and Cover Girl's Wetslicks!

I would love to hear some of your favorite makeup products!!

I will post another installation of Beauty Awards later on!!

♥