Baby Name Buzz

It's official, I've come down with a serious case of baby fever. It's been over four years since I've been pregnant, and up until recently I haven't really missed it. It seems that everywhere I look someone is getting pregnant, I even have a new baby nephew in the family who has definitely added to my condition. I'm not sure when we will start trying again, but I'm hoping for sooner rather than later. 

Anyways, one of the major "symptoms" I've been experiencing is obsessing over baby names. I've always had a pretty healthy interest in them, but I think that was because I didn't like my own name growing up. So, I've been researching baby names. I like looking at the history of a name, the meaning, and it's origin. The meaning isn't something I'm overly concerned about, I mostly find the history and popularity of a name over time most interesting. So, naturally I've made a list of my favorite baby names for boys and girls. Here they are.

Girls:

Leia Pronounced Lay-ah, like from Star Wars. Although that's not the main reason I like the name, I just love how it sounds. I am afraid it would be mistaken for Leah too often though.

Ava Unfortunately this one is a little too popular for my liking. I still might consider it though, just because I love it so much.

Avery Another popular one, I just love the sound. (I also like it for a boy)

Eva A cute alternative to Ava, but pronounced Eve-a.

Anastasia It's quite long, but totally beautiful.

Leila Pronounced Lay-la. This is another one I go back and fourth on.

Madelyn I love the traditional french spelling, but I feel like this way is more simplistic.

Boys:

Adrian This is my top choice for boys right now. I love names that have been around forever.

Tristan This has been a long time favorite of mine, I could definitely see us using this adorable name.

Evan- I'm a big fan of names ending with the an sound- this one fits right in!

Silas Short and cool sounding.


Grayer This one is quite different, but I love the nickname Gray.

River  I think this would make a great name for a boy.

Elijah This one is quite popular, but definitely usable. 

Colin Short and sweet, and goes well with my daughter's name Cora.

I like names that are quite simplistic and easy to say. That was one thing I didn't like about my name growing up, I felt like it didn't roll of the tongue nicely. I always longed for a nice simple name that didn't need to be repeated. If I had a baby right now, I'm not sure which name I would choose! In a year or two I might not like any of these, but it's just fun to think about. 

xo

Bare Minerals Review

I remember seeing infomercials for bare minerals years ago as a teenager. Like most infomercials they made it seem like a magical life changing product, so naturally I've always been curious about it...but a bit skeptical. On a recent trip to Ulta I spotted a table full of trial sized box sets and figured I would pick one up and see what I've been missing out on.
 
It comes in eight different shade options from fairly light to golden deep. I went for the fairly light shade, as the box claimed it was best for light skin with neutral undertones, while the next one up was suited for olive undertones. I like that there are a variety of shades and it customizes to different undertones. (although the lightest shade was still too dark for me)
This is a 30 day trial box so the containers are fairly small. The price of the kit is $20.00 with a $76.00 value, so it is a good deal if you've been wanting to try it.

It made sense to start with the original foundation, so that was the first one I tried. I used the little brush that it came with and was quite surprised to see it actually covering up my redness and imperfections just as well as a liquid foundation would. I happily buffed it into my skin, then used the concealer under my eyes and finishing powder to set it. It felt really nice and light on my skin, not like a liquid foundation that can sometimes feel heavy or cakey.

Just a few hours into wearing it, I noticed my T-zone looking rather oily, and my skin is usually on the normal to dry side. The color wasn't a great match for me either, it's a little too dark and yellow toned for me, and with it being the lightest shade I can't exchange it for another color. The concealer seemed to have a slight shimmer in it and did not cover my under eye circles as well as I'd like.

The matte Formula wasn't much better for me, the color just isn't right and by the end of the day my skin looked blotchy. I even used a primer when I tried the matte formula hoping it would reduce shine and improve staying power, but unfortunately it didn't. Another con to this foundation is that it can be a bit messy to apply since it is loose powder.

Final thoughts...I was surprised at the initial coverage of these foundations, but the color match and staying power just isn't there, and that's a major issue for me in a foundation. If you can get the correct color match, and don't have super oily skin, I think you can make these work. They could be especially helpful on days when you don't have a lot of time to get ready. I would say if you're curious about bare minerals this is the perfect kit to pick up.

xo

Miranda

Butter London Nail Polish- Teddy Girl

With summer officially here in all it's glory I find myself gravitating toward my bright and pastel summery nail colors. Teddy Girl by Butter London is my most recent go-to polish and it satisfies my need for a lovely pink summer manicure. Butter London nail lacquers are more of a higher end polish, compared to drugstore brands like OPI or Essie. These polishes retail for $15.00 a bottle and can be found at Ulta. If you're lucky you can sometimes (not very often) find them on a BOGO free deal. 

 I would describe Teddy Girl to be a light yet bright creamy pink, I absolutely love the color. Unfortunately, it takes about three coats to get that nice opaque color. I am someone who wants the nail process to be over as soon as possible, as I'm sure most people do. It's not easy to do things with wet paint on the nails! I more often than not end up needing to redo a nail or two because I've used my fingers before the polish is completely dry. So applying three coats of a polish along with a layer of top coat isn't my ideal, especially when the polish is so pricey. There are definitely dupes out there for this color, so I can't say this is an entirely unique shade. If you like this creamy barbie pink color, but don't want to spend the extra money you could easily find a dupe in almost any drugstore brand. 

I took the pictures outside to get the best lighting, and the color is coming off very true to life. I hope this was a helpful review and I plan to do many more like this in the future, so check back! Have a great day :)
-Miranda