sunday funday #1

typically my ideal sunday funday would consist of a blood orange mimosa, or five. i guess beggars can't be choosers. however, i've decided to make sundays here at sunshine styled devoted to some of my favorite things from the week. they will be a mix of pictures taken by myself, as well as items/photos i have found from around the web. the first rule of sunday funday is that are all bets are off. 

spending a day relaxing at the beach. i still can't believe i live here again! before i moved to boston, i never truly appreciated living in this type of environment. considering the amount of times i've been at the beach since being back, i know i will never make that mistake again.

the color of the week. i received this color in my julep maven march box and just tried it out for the first time this week. the shade is called margaret and i loved it. it is a great color for spring and summer, even though i usually tend to prefer lighter/minty-ier (is that a word? now it is) blues.

(source)

as spring/summer approaches - well in florida, summer is basically in full-effect, but i digress - my weekend travel is going to be increasing in full-force. i am loving this nautical inspired weekend bag from stylemint. just looking at it makes me feel like i am about to pop over to a new beach for a weekend break.

(source)

i still have an undetermined amount of time before i move for the new job - hopefully only a month or two more - but i have been planning the decor of my new place for months. a little excited is saying it lightly. i found this DIY tutorial for vintage industrial letters over at lollyjane and fell immediately in love! the theme i am aiming for in the apartment is "rustic country chic" and this DIY is perfect to spice up one of my future walls. 

how was your weekend? i am off for the next five days to miami to start doing some work in marketing. it is sure to be a busy week.

ipsy march 2014 review

my ipsy bag finally arrived in the mail today! i have been really looking forward to receiving this month's bag since i had to cancel my february one due to moving states. if you aren't familiar with ipsy, it is a beauty subscription service that curates 4-5 deluxe sample/full-size products tailored to you, and sends them in a different make-up bag every month! ipsy retails for $10/month to US residents and i believe canada has an extra shipping cost. out of all of the subscription services i have tried so far - ipsy, birch box, julep maven, graze - ipsy is by FAR my favorite one. there are always more beauty products than anything else and they are always items i enjoy seeing. if you are interested in signing up/learning more, please use my referral link located here, as it allows me to earn loyalty points!

in my excitement, i will admit that i peaked at my glam room early as well as looked up other ipsters reviews. as much as i wanted it to be a surprise, i also was just way too excited to see what kind of things i was going to receive! a lot of people seem to have mixed feelings on the bag this month but i honestly really like it. i am definitely going to re-purpose it (and i will be posting what i am doing with it on monday or tuesday!) but i think it's unique and i like the fact that it is more rubber than fabric, as it will bode better for travel purposes.

there has also been a lot of talk this month about the fact that ipsy sent out 4 products, rather than the usual 5 (although they DO promise 4-5, not always 5). for me, this is not a big deal at all! the products this month were great and i would rather receive 4 things that i actually will use, rather than 5 products where i only will use 3. PLUS - i received 3 full size items this month. three! if that means i only receive 4 products, that is fine with me!

anyways, here is what i got... 

pixi flawless beauty primer | $9.00 

nicole by OPI 'roughles' | est. $7.00

bareMinerals marvelous moxie lipstick | in 'get ready' est. $7.00

be a bombshell eyeshadow quad | in 'bora bora' $16.00

total estimated value: $39.00

the pixi primer is smooth and has a very pleasant shimmer. i would definitely categorize more as a highlighter or illuminizer, but i will definitely be getting a lot of use out of it! the nicole by opi nail polish may end up being gifted, i have not decided yet. on one hand, i really love the color of the polish, it is perfect for the upcoming beach season. however, i am not a big fan of textured nail polishes, which might make this a hard polish for me to use. i have still yet to figure out if i will be opening this. the bareMinerals lipstick is GORGEOUS! i am a huge lipstick fanatic and the shade is a perfect, creamy dark pink. it will definitely be getting a lot of use this upcoming spring. and last but not least, the be a bombshell quad is also great. the colors are all gorgeous and perfect for summer, and will really accent my blue eyes. i swatched only the blue color but it came out highly pigmented and had a nice shimmer.

all in all, i am SO pleased with this month's bag! i received 3 full size products and one great sample from bare minerals. the value was almost 4x the price of the subscription and i even enjoyed the bag! my only comment would be that i had peaked at every body who received the chella eyeliner and i was a little bummed i did not receive that item. it looked so great! can't win em all i suppose. anywho, like i said, i have already decided on what i am going to be re-purposing the bag for, and will be posting this week on how to make a great ____ kit. look at that blank space. i am really great at building tension. the highlight of this post, wouldn't you say?

what did everyone else receive in their ipsy bag this month - were you as pleased as i was?

product review: boots botanics ionic clay mask

back in february i received the boots botanics ionic clay mask in my j'adore voxbox from influenster. if you haven't heard about influenster before, it's a cool program that allows you to fill out product surveys or review products on their website. the more you do on the website, the higher your score can climb and allow you to qualify for special programs, such as a voxbox. you can find my initial review of the j'adore voxbox here.

when i first received this item in my box, my first reaction was that i would try it once and then never use it again. i have a confession, i am not an avid skin care enthusiast. i use an exfoliant daily in the shower but that tends to be the end of my routine. i have been pretty lucky my entire life with skin that did not require a lot of maintenance. since becoming so interested in beauty blogs however, i'm beginning to find my attitude changing as i learn more about skin care and the types of products out there. i decided to give this product a shot as a result.

the boots botanics ionic clay mask shine away says that it "activitely removes impurities and deeply cleanses". the description on the back reads "oceanic minerals help draw out deep-rooted impurities and oil without overdrying. skin is left clearer, softer and smoother." let's see.. 

if you read my initial j'adore voxbox review, i mentioned that it seemed as though the consistency was a little funky. that was fixed simply just by shaking the bottle for a good minute. when you first apply the mask, it comes out as the darker green color you can see on the right of my face. it's a little lighter than i would have taken it to be, but it begins to dry within 30 seconds of touching your face. 

wow! i had not realized how much my skin had needed a treatment like this until i had finished applying the mask to my face. now i should preface it by saying that about a week ago, i had a pretty bad sunburn on my face that dried it up quite a bit. i had been using my daily face cleanse but clearly this was something that i had really needed! just those blackheads alone- yikes!

after about 8-10 minutes, i washed it off with hot water. i have to say- i am VERY impressed! my skin is noticeably softer and clearer, especially in the nose-area which definitely needed it. my face still feels a little tight but honestly i'm enjoying the fresh feeling it's providing me. i will definitely be adding this mask to at least a monthly skin care routine.

now while i received this product for free from influenster for testing purposes, this clay mask retails for $9.39 and can be found at target. i think this is a good price considering the amount of product it comes with and how little you truly need to use each time. you can also check it out here on the boots' website, and according to the other reviews of the product, i am not the only one who loved it!

has anyone else had a chance to try this mask? what are some similar products you are loving right now?

glimpses into life

things have been pretty quiet on the home front lately. i've been mostly relaxing and looking into taking a part-time job on the beach before i make my permanent move in a couple of months for the new job. i have a couple of promising leads at the moment -great thing- as not moving a lot tends to make me go a little stir crazy! i thought i would share a couple of pictures i have taken in the past few days while galavanting around town. we have been blessed with beautiful weather lately, making it a pleasure to be running errands.

taking a stroll in the historic downtown area of naples

waterfront restaurant eating on a residential bay- what a view!

one of the many outdoor and italian inspired shopping & food centres

a simple, island inspired salad i put together for dinner one day (the goat cheese was an experiment, which i ended up liking, but would most likely pick a sharper cheese next time)

like i said, things have been pretty slow lately but i am doing my best to enjoy the down time from a 40 hour work week. it can be hard to appreciate the lulls when they last longer than usual, but i truly can't complain! i have a lot of things to look forward to, including my march IPSY glam bag! i may have peaked at my glam room already (oops), but i am so excited to receive it and will definitely be posting pictures and a review when it arrives! 

what are y'all most excited for this time of year?