Alrighty now!  Life is winding down to normal.  The excitement of Oona’s engagement still lingers and work is still mighty busy but it’s so good to be able to sit down on this Saturday and get back to what’s important.    The blog!!!

You mean, can’t BLOG–I’m working too much!

I feel as though I’ve been neglecting my baby for a few weeks.  Summer has a way of doing that with the activity and long days.  So now……it’s back to business!

Summer has a way of making me a bit lazy…..

I’ve been shopping and luckily the shopping was done before the engagement because now I’m on a strict “No Buy”.

Bonaparte put his French feet firmly on the ground and placed me on a “no-buy”.  Thankfully I purchased everything I need! Just call me Spanky!

Even though Oona and Sam are paying for their wedding, there will still be expenses with travel, clothing and other items in connection with the “big day”. Quite honestly, I’ve got enough clothing to last until the cool, crisp days of Autumn and enough in my winter wardrobe to get me through the mildest or most frigid ones!

Mommy of the Bride is hoping they go for a Chocolate Cake!

Anyway, there have been tons of ads on Instagram for Thrive Causemetics.  Note— “Causemetics” is the key word.  Makeup Artist Karissa Bodnar created Thrive after the death of her best friend, Kristy, to cancer at 24 years old.

Karissa Bodnar, right.  A young woman with a purpose!

For every purchase made, Thrive Causemetics donates a product to a woman in need.  In hospitals and such.  I, in good faith, couldn’t pass up a purchase or two.

What I ordered was the mascara and the eyeliner that I’ve heard and read so much about.

Both products are excellent.  For the most part, the Infinity Waterproof Eyeliner, which I use in my top water line, doesn’t transfer to my bottom lid until late in the day—and the transfer is very slight.  The liner stays put, though, on my top line.  It’s definitely worth the money.

Infinity Waterproof Eyeliner.  And it most certainly is waterproof!

A streamlined and slender pen/pencil, there is a twist turn end that allows you to regulate how much product you want.  I don’t put a lot of product because I’m petrified of breaking.  The other end has a little rubber tip for blending..

I feel really bad that I couldn’t get a decent photo of my applying this to my eyes, but I already have one blind eye.  I don’t want a second!  I swatched on my wrist and this doesn’t come off at all!!! I like the control of this liner too.  You can’t mess the application up on it!

This was the best I could do with the liner. I also added some liner to my bottom water line and under my lids for you to see.  Oh dear–from this angle it looks like I have a French nose! LOL!!!

The Liquid Lash Extensions mascara though, is my favorite of the two.  The wand is especially a delight to work with.  It gathers plenty of mascara without getting clumpy.  The funny thing is that I’m a fan of clumpy mascara, but this is different.  It really gives the illusion of longer lashes. And it doesn’t flake or smudge.  It stays put.  And in the summer heat and humidity—it’s a great trait.

This mascara though!  Wow!

It’s excellent..

….and this mascara brush is great!  Separates the lashes like nobody’s business!

This is with one coat.  I used two coats because, as you can see, I missed a spot –the lash primer is visible!

It really does give the lashes some length and it is not going anywhere either!

The free makeup bag that you receive as a gift with purchase is really good too.  It’s large enough to carry enough stuff for a weekend trip.  I stuffed it for our trip to New York City last weekend.

This makeup bag is so cute…

See how deep it is?

Here it is today but last week when we were in NYC, this held a ton of stuff!!!

Realistically speaking though, this is not going to make pro-aging lashes appear so thick so that it looks like you are wearing false lashes.  Let’s face it.  Part of the aging process is that we lose the lush lashes that we once had.  But this mascara is excellent.

At the price point of $24, the mascara ain’t cheap and the $22 eyeliner isn’t cheap either.  However, the quality is there.  The products are also vegan and I’m leaning more and more toward vegan products these days (except for food and shoes).  But just knowing that by making a purchase of these Thrive Causemetics, it makes me feel good to be able to give back to women.

I give both of these products an A.  And I give the company an A+ for empowering women who need to be empowered!

Oy.  Thank God I’m on a no-buy because I swear, Instagram can put one in debt!  One of my favorite IG’ers,  @turtlelovesbeauty, posted a photo with some products from Per-fekt and it brought back memories for me.  Some years ago—oh geez, it was around the time when primers were coming onto the scene I purchased a skin perfecter of sorts and it was pretty darn good.  Back then the $50 price tag was very steep, but I was making good money at the time so I went for it.  Then I lost my job and forgot about the brand.

It was a good thing for me that I reconnected with this brand.  Thank you TurtleLovesBeauty!

Well, I headed to the site and with the discount code that Turtle had, bought two products.  Liquid Gold and self-tanner.  I couldn’t resist another self-tanner.  Both costs less than the original product I purchased many years back. Really. I paid $30 for both! And that included tax and shipping.

I can’t wait to try this on my pasty white legs.  It’s sold out so I’m guessing it’s pretty decent!

The tanner hasn’t been opened yet.  I’m waiting to go through all the tanners I have before opening it but I’ll be sure to review it once I do use it.

The Liquid Gold?  Despite the awful packaging, the product is fantastic!  I don’t even know how to describe this.  The flimsy thingy that it comes in is so questionable and quite clumsy.  The product can also be used on your hair—I would keep away from that.  But on skin it is terrific!  Gives such a subtle and slight glow. Not overly illuminating as so many of these illuminators tend to be.  It’s lightweight and if you prefer, can be used in place of foundation.  I’ve applied this to my shoulders and knees too and I just love it.  In fact, when I went to re-order, I found out that the product is sold out.  Just my luck!

This is a tough call. I give the product an A, but I give the packaging a D+.  Still, I tried to repurchase for the sale price and it’s sold out!

This packaging is horrific but I’m guessing that it may be…

….eco-friendly.  If it is though, couldn’t you come up with something better?  

But my friends, it’s what’s inside that counts.  Take a good look. It doesn’t look like an illuminator.  It’s so subtle and feels nice gliding on the skin…

I‘m wearing the Liquid Gold in this photo.  It is so subtle –almost invisible but gives off the prettiest and slightest glow. This is a winner! I’m also wearing the Thrive eyeliner and mascara! (And my Jamison wig by Estetica Designs!)

And finally, another look at the Thrive mascara and eyeliner in action. 

Another purchase that I made upon the completion of my “How to Wear Camo….” post was this scarf I found on Amazon!  It cost eight dolliz and sixty-nine cents!!!!!!  What a steal!

A perfect all-season scarf! Lightweight for the summer and a treasure for A/C office buildings!

It dressed up this lbd with an edge!

One of the best Amazon purchases I’ve ever made!!

The scarf is lightweight and the colors are vibrant and not faded looking.  Overall it measures 35.4″Wx70.9″.  A great length.

If you are unsure of going full-on camo with clothing, this scarf is the perfect way to introduce camo into your wardrobe!  Here it is on my Amazon Page IDEA LIST Camo Scarf!

Well, the bread has been baked and I’m making Lemongrass chicken for dinner tonight.  And after dinner, it’ll be back to blogging!!  Stayed tuned for more reviews and goodies!

With Amazon Prime, I’m able to download (or is it upload?) tons of music to my iPhone.  I was so happy to get Warren Zevon on my phone. I loved this guy. What a shame he’s left us.  Remember this song?