Best friend tag!

So I would've made a Youtube video of this but oddly enough my point and shoot AND computer are having camera technical difficulties! So, I shall type it out! Enjoy.



Question #0: What is her/his name?
Sarah Shinn

1. How and when did you meet?
   Hmm...let's see. 7th grade?! Oh man. We had a mutual friend I think and maybe one class together? But we didn't become best friends until 10th grade
   
   
2. What is your favorite memory together?
   Too many to count...is what you would think I would say! But, I think one of my favorites was when she and 2 other friends drove 5 hours to see my high school graduation :) To this day I can't be more grateful
   
3. Describe  in one word.
   Understanding
   
4. What's their dream job?
   Musician
    
5. What's your favorite makeup brand?
   I honestly don't know.
   
6. What is something that annoys you about the other person?
   Nothing haha oh other than have incredible musical talent! But it's only "annoying" because I'm jealous. You go girl :)
   
7. If you could go anywhere in the world together, where would it be and why?
   Somewhere in Europe? England!
   
8. What is your favorite inside joke?
   June bug. Rolled up napkin.
   
9. Who takes longer to get ready?
   I don't know. Seems like an odd question.
   
10. Favorite season?
    FALL!
    
11. Favorite song?
    I don't know. I know she likes The Wanted, Landon Austen...and a few others
    
12. What’s it like being friends with someone who’s obsessed with youtube?
    I wouldn't say she is obsessed. She makes videos of songs she has written. More like dedicated to keeping a dream lit
    
13. Heels or flats?
    Flats? Sarah please correct anything I am wrong on.
    
14. Pants or dresses?
    Skinny jeans last time I was told (3 years ago...)
    
15. Favorite animal?
    Dog?
    
16. Comedy, horror, or chick flick?
    Comedy or chick flick.
    
17. Blackberry or iPhone?
    Iphone. That's a given haha
    
18. Favorite movie?
    THE PROPOSAL
    
19. What is something weird that you eat?
    Egglant! That stuff is so weird looking omg.
    
20. Do you guys have anything matching?
    We bought the same shirt once. From Forever 21 I think or wet seal
    
21. What's your favorite TV show?
    Friends I think. I am just going of social networking posts she has made haha

Woo. Well I don't think I have ever doubted myself more than right now! If you have a friend you want to do this for go ahead. I tag everyone :) 

Homemade cinnamon chai tea with milk

Hello! So first off, I cracked my computer screen. I accidentally dropped my laptop and it just cracked. It's not like I've never dropped it before but whatever. 

Anyways today I want to make a quick post about how I make chai tea with milk. I guess it would be a latte then? 

Well lately I've been on a huge tea craze! I've been going through 5+ cups of tea a day. Mainly just green tea and black peach tea. Today though I decided to make something a bit different. 

Homemade chai tea with milk:

-one bag of chai tea

-hot water. I just use my coffee pot to heat water. Yay for being a college kid.

-milk. I used almond milk. But use whatever you have, there is no specific type of milk you need to use. Also I just poured till I got a color I liked. Like tea darker? Use less milk. Like tea lighter? Use more milk. 

-sprinkle on cinnamon. Again, use however much you desire.

-optional: sugar. I didn't use any because I don't like chai sweetened but add it for a sweet kick

For you tea lovers I hope you enjoyed this quick recipe! Leave a comment if you made it or have your own recipe! 

E.L.F cosmetics haul!

Make up haul time! So I got this bundle of fun about a week ago and have finally had the time to sit down and tell you about it! I love when I actually can blog about something. Sometimes I get such a bad writers block that I just sit at my computer and cannot think of a single thing to talk about. It's a pain in the...well anyways. A few reasons why I love E.L.F is because they are cruelty free and they are super budget friendly! If you haven't heard of them I suggest you go check them out!
Let us get into it shall we?

E.L.F cosemtics

I only got four things. But they are four wondrous, marvelous things! I got:

• Mineral infused mascara
• HD mattifying cream foundation
• Under eye concealer and highlighter
• Baked eye shadow in NYC

This is the mascara. It is in black and it is the typical wand. Of course my camera didn't focus on the words so much as the dust...
This stuff is really great!

This is the cream foundation and it is in porcelain. It comes with a mirror and sponge.

Alas, the under eye concealer. I need this so badly. I have the worst under eye circles and this is a life saver! It is in fair.

This is what I was most excited for! I'm a huge eye shadow junkie. I love the colors on this palette so much! They are so pretty and I just don't want to ruin them. They are great colors for everyday wear or a night out! This is the NYC palette. 

What is your favorite E.L.F cosmetic? 

Wedding chaos

Oh my gosh. Have you ever planned a wedding? If not, it's insane. I haven't even really got into the middle of it all but what I have done so far is already stressing me out. We are doing a very simple wedding, but I still need cake ideas, dress ideas, venues, etc. There is a lot to plan. One of the biggest things I have struggled with was keeping people updated on our plans. I know, that's just not okay. But it is what it is. I plan on creating a wedding blog because that's the only way I can keep people updated. I will make blog posts on wedding hair styles, cake fun, and lots of other great things! Not dress shopping or my final dress because Skyler can't see it before the big day :)

How to start becoming cruelty free part 1

The cruelty-free life

This post isn't to shove my views down your throat. This post is explaining what my life style is and what is really happening behind factory doors

Why did I choose to become cruelty free? I used to have a bunny. Her name was Snickers.

Isn't she a cutie?
She actually passed away recently. But she was one of the soul reasons why I decided to go cruelty free.
I had conscious knowledge that there was possibly testing happening. I didn't really look into it though. Plus I thought testing, probably wasn't that bad. I'm sure we all have had that same thought. Then when I was on tumblr I had seen a post (given that the source was so incorrect) it was a girl showing what it was like for animals to be tested on. Of course they weren't actually hurting her in the same way they do to animals but it is quite graphic. Then in 2012 I had discovered Lush. You know, that lovely bubble and bath place. And they told me that they were the ones who had done the campaign I had just mentioned. Lush is completely cruelty free. They don't test, parent company doesn't test or third party company doesn't test. They are the goddess...god of being cruelty free.

Why does testing happen? It happens because companies want to make sure that the chemicals they use aren't going to cause an issue to a human who will use it. Or if it does cause an issue, they can put a warning. Can we think about this for a second? It's 2013...by this point we should be developed enough as a civilization that we should know what can and cannot be put on us and we should have other methods of testing on not a living creature. Plus, if they have a need to test their products, what does that say about their ingredients?

Who is victim?

Mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs and many other animals. There are products (maybe not cosmetics) that are tested on dogs and monkeys. Animals we see as companions are being subject to cruel treatment. They are forced to have chemicals in their eyes, nose, ears and mouths. These animals are tested on and then carelessly tossed. 

There are many companies that claim the leaping bunny seal of approval. Therefore, research is highly required. What I mean by "they claim" is that their parent company tests or a third party tests. If the parent company or third party is testing, then the product isn't cruelty free.

There are many companies that test, many that you may purchase from currently. L'oreal, Maybelline, Covergirl, Garnier, Bobbi Brown, Smashbox, Estee Lauder and a lot more!

This website has a good list. 

What companies could possibly be cruelty free in that massive list?
The leaping bunny has a very reliable list, go check it out! There are many budget friendly brands out there that are 100% cruelty free. The website does put icons by some companies about whether or not they have a parent or third party that tests. 

Some helpful websites that you can look at are:
Leaping bunny

Peta (I personally don't use them as a resource)
Google

Apps:
Buycott 

(Though out time I will continue to add to these lists, if you know of any, leave them in a comment)

I plan on making a few more posts about cruelty free things. I plan on putting lists of budget friendly companies and high end companies.
I also plan on finding websites and resources on how to help and make a difference. 

Luvocracy

Hey, how are you? It's been awhile. But I wanted to make a quick post about the website luvocracy. :)

If you haven't heard of this website I suggest you go check it out. It's like Pinterest and amazon collide. It's a great plus to hear about products from people who aren't being influenced. It's also a place where if someone buys something off of your board you get website credit! How cool is that? So if you have an account or plan on getting one head over and be sure to find me! My username is tori3jensen 

Hope to see some of you over there :)

Major writers...block.

So I've been racking my brain trying to think of what to write about or review. Sadly, I have yet to come up with much. Between work, my rabbit having pneumonia and preparing for school (Spring) I have been going non stop. I've had no energy and no "me" time. I apologize for my blog becoming boring. Hopefully soon I'll be able to come up with some new, fresh ideas! :)

Wanderlust

“All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

I know that lately a few of my posts have not been related to beauty. But the point of a blog is to talk about whatever you want. It doesn't have to be one thing, unless, of course you want it to be.
Something that I've always wanted to do was travel. Even though I may have a "small" fear of planes. But, I want to see the world. I have never been outside of the United States. I really want to go to many European countries, such as: Ireland, England, Denmark, Switzerland, etc. Also, I want to go to many Asian countries as well. I love culture and understanding why each country has it's own uniqueness es. I love the difference in food, music, language and just about everything else. I feel like in America there isn't much of our own culture and any culture we do have (from people bringing their own countries culture over) is smothered by the America life style. Someday I hope to move out of the country. But that is a huge thing for someone who has never been out of the country before haha. If I ever do get to travel I don't want to live and be like a typical tourist. I want to do what the locals do and mingle with them. It's a future goal of mine and I plan on achieving it :)

Halloween costume

I love Halloween. Ever since I was an itty bitty tot and tripped in my ghost costume when I was 5 whilst trick-or-treating. I love dressing up and of course the candy aspect. I think I may be (unknowing) a secret cosplayer to some extent. I love being someone other than me. I love getting into costume and putting on the make up. It's exciting! This year I plan on being either Sailor Moon or Misty from Pokemon. I'm leaning more towards Sailor Moon because I like her costume more.

I love it so much! I also plan on learning how to do the make up for her. I will try my hardest to do it to the best of my abilities and put up a tutorial on how to. I plan on using ELF cosmetics for all the make up aspect. So it'll be a simpler anime make up and budget friendly. Halloween doesn't have to mean $500 worth of stuff. It can be very wallet safe ;)
So check back for updates on the make up! Also, what do you plan on doing for Halloween or dressing up as?

Youtube cover song of the week

I love going on youtube and finding songs I like and finding covers of them. There are so many people out there with amazing talent. I like all kinds, vocal, instrumental or both. So I decided I wanted to do a weekly blog post on my favorite cover or covers of the week! (Hence the title) :)

The covers will be from a wide range of genres. But mainly alternative/folkie sound.

This is an instrumental cover of Dropkick Murphy's song State of Massacusetes. It's quite impressive! Dropkick Murphys have a very Irish sound to them.

Pompeii by Bastille cover

For some reason this one won't post as a video. But this is a instrumental and vocal cover. And it's amazing!

Julep Maven October box 2013

First off, I tried to make a video of the unboxing and my computer decided it wasn't going to use any sound even with the microphone on. So I don't even know what to do with this computer sometimes.

On to the contents and goodies hidden with in the magical Julep box. October, October, October (mentally create some chant with the word October) This months box is by far my favorite. I didn't put any add-ons there are a lot of people who do. I've seen some boxes with 10+ nail polishes in their them! I'm a college kid so rent is more of a necessity. I got the standard box. Mine is Boho Glam, which is very much my personality. :)

Yes, I organized it to look pretty. First look inside the box.

"Don't ask permission" -Joan Jett

Candy corn! I know this is a huge no-no candy to except from strangers but one, it's cealed and two, is Julep Maven a stranger anymore? (it also came with a ingredients list for anyone who could be potentially allergic to anything in it. It has no high fructose corn syrup. 3 for you Julep Maven, you go Julep Maven) I also saved this from my Fiance for you guys to see.

And of course, the nail polishes! I adore both of these! At first when I saw the one on the right online I thought it was more gold than yellow. I'm not a huge fan of gold, but in person it is definitely more yellow! I have some serious nail art "halloween inspired" plans with these colors so stay tuned through out the month :) My nails are bare in the previous photo because I plan on doing them today.

And my favoritest thing of all. A duo eyeliner pencil with sharpener. It's like the Julep god's heard my silent prayers of wanting a good eyeliner pencil. One side is black (good for up lid) to help tighten upper water line to get a more flawless, fuller lash line. And the other half is brown great for bottom water line. I don't wear much on my bottom water line because it makes my eyes look dark and my dark circles under my eyes even darker. (I have so horrid dark circles. Comment if you know of any really effective undereye concealer)

That is it for the October box! I loved everything and it was such a nice surprise yesterday when it showed up. (I've been crazy stressed because my bunny, Snickers, has pneumonia.) If anyone get's any other Julep box or even Boho Glam tell me what you thought of this months box!

See you later!