Tag Archives: sami

My current beauty faves: winter 2019

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Hi, babes!

Now that I am prioritizing Sparkle and Shine the way that I used to back in college (I mean, remember when Sparkle and Shine even took on YouTube?!), I decided to write one of my favorite blog posts to read – current beauty faves! With the winter in full swing now and a full arsenal of beauty products under my belt over the past few months, I’m specifically breaking out my current winter beauty faves. Check them out below!

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Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel // With the weather changing at the drop of a hat here in New Jersey, my skin gets so crazy dry in this cold weather! To ensure my skin looks and feels healthy in the winter, I am super anal about making sure to moisturize every morning and night. A lot of moisturizers always make my skin look super greasy after I apply it, but this Clinique Gel never does. Instead of a looking like I haven’t washed my face in days, my skin looks super soft and hydrated — so much so, I have barely been wearing face makeup recently. My skin is glowing!

EWC Renew Me Restoring Serum // While my above moisturizer helps combat my dry skin, I also need to combat the redness of my very pale, Irish skin in the winter. Whenever I get my eyebrows waxed at European Wax Center, they always put their Renew Me Restoring Serum on the area after they are done to remove redness. After reading the bottle and talking to my amazing wax specialist, Vanessa, I learned that this product can be used everyday all over the face to help fight redness from irritation and stressed, thanks to its powerful antioxidant formula. Whenever I am feeling like my skin is a bit blotchy, I apply this before my moisturizer. Not only does it take away the redness, but it’s helping fight various aging factors. Major win!

Hempz Original Herbal Body Moisturizer // While I’ve already talked about the importance of moisturizing the face, it’s just as important to moisturize your whole body! Dry, flaky skin is so not cute. Plus, who doesn’t love the feeling of applying moisturizer all over after a warm hot shower? So relaxing! Recently, I’ve been using the Hempz Original Herbal Body Moisturizer. The product contains, you guessed it, 100% pure organic hemp seed oil, one of nature’s richest sources of essential fatty acids and key amino acids. My skin feels so healthy after I apply this all over. Plus, for the gals who spray tan like me, this moisturizer helps your spray tan last longer!

Jergens Natural Glow Instant Sun Moisturizing Mousse // Speaking of spray tans, let’s be real, one of the worst parts of the winter is not being tan. I just feel much more confident and happier with a tan! Knowing the harmful effects of tanning beds, I always spray tan. Sometimes it’s so hard to find the time to go frequently to get spray tanned while commuting in and out of the city (and pricey). I’ve tried tons of self tanners over the years, but this Jergens mousse is by far my fave! I’m never streaky, it’s very easy to evenly apply, and it feels so light on my skin when I am applying it. As an added bonus, this is available at major drugstores — I grab this right at CVS!

What are some of your favorite beauty products right now for the winter? Comment them down below or tweet them to me at @sparkleshinesam! 

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My First Birchbox: Unboxing & Review

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WOW WOW WOW, Happy Monday!

I’m super excited to be back on Sparkle and Shine and even more excited to share that my first post back is all about my first ever Birchbox! For my 23rd birthday, three of my best friends got me a three-month subscription to  the monthly service. Thanks to Amber, Julia, and Hope, each month I receive 4 or 5 samples of high-end beauty, haircare, and skincare products- delivered right to my front door!

I was like a little kid on Christmas morning the first time my Birchbox came. I always love trying new beauty products after watching other bloggers and vloggers rave about them or finding new products on my own. With commuting into the big apple for work, the amount of time that I have to go shopping and spend hours browsing through Sephora, Ulta, and even a local drug stores, are very limited. Now, I don’t need to worry about finding new products – they are delivered right to my door!

Check out below to see what I had received in my box and my ~honest~ opinion on what I thought about it all!

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  1. Catherine Malandrino’s Romance de Provence Eau de Parfum: An ode to Provence, the timeless scent mixes fruity and floral nuances with vanilla and patchouli. If there’s one makeup product I am always nervous to try new of – it’s perfume. I’m not a fan of super strong scents. Clinique’s Happy is my go-to because of it’s super light scent. This perfume was a little stronger than my liking. With hot summer days coming up, where I spend my mornings underground on the NYC subways, a strong sample size of this perfume will be perfect in my bag. Quick spritz and the oh so fabulous (not) smell of the subway will be gone. 
  2. Beauty Protector’s Protect & Detangle: This best-selling elixir locks in color, protects from heat damage, and adds silkiness to each stand. During my freshman year of college, I became obsessed with straightening my hair. Later classes, compared to early morning for high school, meant more time to get ready and I would spend each of those extra minutes frying- yes frying- my hair away. Four years later and I am still trying to fix the damage I caused to my hair. I only straighten my hair in certain situations and when I do, I make sure to use heat protector. This is by far my new favorite heat protectant! I usually only straighten my hair once a month, so April was the first time I got to use this product and I loved it. It didn’t have a lingering scent and did not need to use a lot of the protect for it to work. Plus, my hair looked so smooth and silky. If only I had a selfie to show it off! 
  3. Real Chemistry’s Luminous 3-Minute Peel: Apply this acid-free peel to clean, dry skin for luminous results. Massage in a circular motion to exfoliate, then wash skin with a mild cleanser to remove. I always love trying to find new face masks and exfoliants – it’s my favorite. I love how fresh and clean I feel after deeply exfoliating and cleaning my face. As I’ve mentioned, commuting in and out of the city for work takes a lot of my time. By the time I get home, from 15+ hour days, I just want to shower and go right to sleep. I love that this exfoliant didn’t add extra time- no need to wait for it to dry then wash it off. I just simply scrubbed the peel on and it three minutes – I could clean it off. I’m able to use it right in the shower, not waste time, and get super clean skin. Winner, winner!
  4. Manna Kadar Cosmetics’ Lip Locked in Sienna: A primer, lip stain, and gloss in one, this innovative product ensures that your lips stay lusciously hydrated and smooth all day while delivering rich, long lasting pigment. I am OBSESSED – not just with the color, but with how long this lasted. I used this ultimate lip product when going out for Paul’s birthday in Hamden- knowing between sweat, drinks, singing, and who knows what else, my makeup look would take a beaten. At the end of the night, for post-going out Dominos, my lip color was still in tact as if I had just put the lip stain on. From now, if you follow me on Instagram, you’ll be sure to see this lip color quite often!
  5. Dr. Lipp’s Miracle Balm: The natural formula completely rehydrates skin and lips, soothes sunburn, tames unruly brows, and nourishes thirsty cuticles. Apply to dry lips and other areas of the body as needed. Not going to lie, I haven’t used this one yet. Since I do PR for Aquaphor and Eucerin (#client), I have plenty of products to rehydrate my skin and lips at my fingertips. I was super excited when I read that the product helps soothe sunburn. Summer is right around the corner and if you know me in real life, you know that I have a bad tendency of getting sunburnt. I’m excited to use this balm when that day rolls around – which will be soon. Sorry, Gram!

Do you have a subscription to Birchbox? Thinking about it? Comment below and let me know! 

 

Celebrate Galentine’s Day with Bryan Anthony’s

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Happy Hump Day!

One week from today, Walgreens and CVS will be putting their Valentine’s Day on half price. Until that glorious moment, you’ll be bombarded with “What to Get Your Boyfriend” and “Non-Flowers and Chocolates Gifts for your Bae this V-Day” (trust me, I know this, I work in PR).

But aren’t really seeing is gifts for your pals on Galentine’s Day!

I’m a big believer of Galentine’s Day- the day before Valentine’s Day were you celebrate your go-to ride-or-dies, those kick-ass friends who are by your side no matter what. My friends and I have even done Galentine’s Day gift-exchange parties to celebrate how much we love each other – something I definitely recommend!

Though it may be too last minute to plan a party, there’s still time to shop for some goodies for your BFFs! My current favorite? Bryan Anthony’s!

What I love most about the jewelry site is that all of their pieces tell a story – whether it’s about your best friend being your soul sister, or you’re following your heart despite the odds, or connecting the dots of life when the going gets tough. There’s something for each of the moments – and that something is a gorgeous piece of jewelry.

I recently purchased the soul sister ring set for my soul mate of a best friend, Lauren!

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Lauren and I call each other other our soulmates, in honor of the infamous Sex and the City quote, “Maybe our girlfriends are our soulmates and guys are just people to have fun with.” After three hour long coffee dates, long drives with the music blasting, and late night FaceTime sessions, we realized more and more how true this was for us.

So for her 21st birthday, I knew that the perfect to celebrate her birthday, our friendship, and distance not coming between us would be these soul sister rings.

It really is a great reminder of how amazing our friendship is even though we are states away.

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Now go celebrate your amazing friends, like Lo, this Galentine’s Day by going to Bryan Anthony’s and ordering from their different collections.

Happy shopping!!

Have you checked out Bryan Anthony’s before? Are you going to now? Comment below and let me know!

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Eating My Way Through Instagram: DO

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Hey, readers!

As I explained last week, I follow so many cool NYC food places on Instagram. Now that I’m working in the city, I try to explore as much as possible and see, do, and eat all that I can (like 10Below).

My most visited place? DO, a cookie dough confections shop!

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DO was originally located right around the corner from my office on 2nd Ave. Whenever my work friends and I were feeling stressed, we would always head on over to eat our feelings! And TRUST ME, the delicious cookie dough and all the different toppings had done wonders for our stress.

Whenever we would come back from DO, our co-workers would always ask how we could be eating raw cookie dough. Well, DO saves you from the garbage talk about not being able to eat raw cookie dough. They make their cookie dough with ingredients that are made to be eaten raw- making it 100% safe for you to eat! You won’t be hearing anyone tell you about how you can get Salmonella from DO‘s cookie dough!!

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DO is now located in Greenwich Village (unfortunate for my stress eating habit, but very, very fortunate for my waist line). At the new location, DO offers a complete experience- think Cups meets cookie dough! The cookie dough scoop shop lets you completely customize your bowl of cookie dough and then enjoy it.

Don’t live close to the NYC area, but still want to try this super delicious, super safe cookie dough? DO offers nation-wide shipping!

Are you going to try DO? Been to their new store-front? Follow them on Instagram? Comment below and let me know!!

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Let my gal pal Casey teach you how to properly put on your makeup on her YouTube channel

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Happy Friday, babes!

SO one of my bucket list items for 2017 (since I don’t believe in a “new year, new you” mindset) is learning more about how to properly do my makeup. I watch tons of YouTubers and buy so many different products, but I just don’t know how to always put it on. To be honest, I’m pretty sure the brush I put my eye shadow on with this morning was a concealer brush. WHOOPS!

I always fake it til I make it when it comes to makeup- pretending I know how to properly blend and contour, knowing what my 20 brushes are for, and that I can do a great smokey eye.

But I don’t. Let’s be honest, the closest I get to a smokey eye is on Sunday morning brunch when I didn’t take my makeup off the night before.

For all you girls like me out there, let me introduce you to my friend and sorority sister, Casey!

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Casey and I had gotten really close during my senior year and is someone I still talk to now that I have graduated and am doing the whole adulting thing.When I saw that she started her own YouTube channel of makeup tutorials and lifestyle content, I KNEW I had to find out more and share about it on Sparkle and Shine.

Check out what Casey had to say about starting her own YouTube channel:

I am extremely passionate about film, makeup, and laughing – so I thought creating a lifestyle & beauty YouTube would be the perfect combination of the three!! If I can make videos all the time, show the world how to do some kickass makeup, or put a smile on someone’s face, I’m ecstatic.

LOVE IT! I love supporting my friends when they start new projects, like when Lianna started blogging.

Now enough about Casey and more about her makeup tutorial! I’m starting to adapt techniques from her “Makeup for Dummies” video so I know what I’m doing – like starting with light eye shadows and building up to the darks.

But enough of me explaining – why don’t you just watch for yourself?!

Check it out: 

Have any good makeup tutorials and tricks for a girl like me? Comment below and share them…then go watch more of Casey’s videos and subscribe!!

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Eating My Way Through Instagram: 10Below

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Hey, readers!

Time for a little fun fact- one of my favorite activities in NYC, when I’m not in my cubicle at  work , is to explore NYC. There’s so much to see, so much to do, and so much to EAT.

I follow so many (probably too many) food Instagram accounts that feature all of the fun, cool food places to eat around the City. Every so often, I try to cross one of them off of my food bucket list.

The most recent destination? The ice cream shop 10Below in the East Village!

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On Sunday, some of my sorority family members and I went out about in NYC. I got to show them where I work, take Lauren to Times Square for the first time, and so much more- all of which you saw on Snapchat!

One classic trait of our family, the Bad Girls Club, is loving ice cream! We love catching up over ice cream, so I knew that trying 10Below would be perfect with Amber, Lauren, and Emily.

What makes 10Below so trendy and popular on Instagram is that it is NYC’s original hand rolled ice cream! Each person’s Thai-inspired ice cream rolls are made right in front of them, with ready-to-order ingredients. This means that the ice cream has no preservatives or stabilizers.

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 10Below turns liquid cream into ice cream in under two minutes, thanks to a cold plate that reaches temperatures below 10 degrees! Then, the ingredients start to get mixed together, flattened out, and then rolled up,. Put your toppings on and ready for you to eat. SO COOL!

 I posted tons of videos on my Snapchat, but if you didn’t get to experience them yourself, here’s a Cosmopolitan YouTube video showing the whole ice cream rolling process at 10Below:

The ice cream was so yummy! It tasted lighter than most ice creams, making it feel less heavy in my stomach after I ate it (turns out that was because it didn’t have all those extra additives).

10Below has tons of locations, besides the one in the East Village that we went to! Their original location is in Chinatown, but they are also in Flushing and the Lower East Side. Not in NYC? They’re opening locations in LA and Philadelphia soon.

Stay tuned for more posts in my new Eating My Way Through Instagram series!!

Have you been to 10Below? Seen it on Instagram? Would you go? Let me know below!

 

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Full-time big girl, part-time blogger & am ready for 2017!

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Happy Thursday, babes! It’s time to add a little Sparkle and Shine to the start of your holiday weekend and find out more about my blog hiatus.

I mean helllllllo, my blog presence is a present!

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In the past few weeks, I’ve posted about College Fashion Week and shared my Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide, but those were my first posts since September. I disappeared. Call me Carmen Sandiego because where in the world did I go?

I know it’s only a little over a month, but it feels like an ETERNITY. I have never, EVER taken a break that long from blogging or from Total Sorority Move once I started contributing for them. Yes, life got stressful when I was at school – tons of school work and extracurriculars, but never to the point that I just completely stopped. Dropped down to only a few posts a month? Yes. Absolutely. But to just disappear out of the blue – never.

And the reason? Because I’m now working in the real world!!

If you don’t know, I graduated in May from Quinnipiac University. Since then, I’ve become an Account Coordinator at the PR firm Access Emanante. I’ve been doing PR for Philips Zoom, Philips Norelco, Philips Sonicare and assisting with a few other beauty consumer brands. I’ll be continuing to expand my consumer beauty/grooming niche in 2017 by adding NIVEA Men to my list of clients.

A little fun fact I wanted to share – I got interested in PR because of Sparkle and Shine. Over the years, tons of different companies and influencer programs have reached out to me. I love getting to know the brands that I am working with, finding out their goals, and helping them achieve their goal. It absolutely I’ve always seen one side of the realm, but wanted to see the other – see the decisions behind working with certain influencers, crafting the program, and activating it. After interning, I was hooked and knew that this was what I wanted to continue to do for the rest of my life. And now, here I am, living out my dream!

I’ve always dreamed of working in the city – that Sex in the City magic in the air, the lights, the people, the hustle and bustle. So landing a gig here was a dream come true. Except, the wonderful hour-fifteen minute commute was not something that got factored into the dream. I’ve traded in my noon classes for 5:30 AM alarms, yoga pants for business casual, and am on NJ Transit more than I am in my own car.

And in all these changes and getting accustomed to my new lifestyle, I had to put Sparkle and Shine on a little hold. I had to focus on myself and my future in the PR world- making sure I’m eating right and sleeping enough hours, finishing and starting tasks on the train to the office, and so much more. Many mornings, I would wake up and say I would start a blog post on the train or would say that I am going to answer blog e-mails. Then after showing the conductor my monthly train pass, I would shut my eyes, open my Nook app, or start answering all the text messages from my friends I was too tired to respond to the night before. Before I know it, I would by at Penn Station and ready for the work day. No blog work done and another promise to push it off later. Later, later, later – but wouldn’t happen.

So here I am now – December 22, 2016. A full-time PR professional, a part-time blogger, and ready to revamp myself as a blogger, re-finding myself in the blogging world, in 2017.

This is more than just an update on where I have been and it is definitely not a PSA about less posts coming in 2017. Instead, this is my promise to you for 2017. I’ve begun thinking about my content calendar, channeling in work strategies to Sparkle and Shine, been in touch with brands, and drafting posts.

Sparkle and Shine may have gotten but on the back burner, but for 2017 it’s the full course Thanksgiving style meal on the front burner.

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Get ready for the holidays with Sparkle and Shine & my ULTIMATE gift guide

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Hey everyone!

Every time I get to write a blog post anymore, I am over-the-moon ecstatic.But when I’m surrounded by Christmas lights while listening to Jessie James Decker’s Christmas album, I don’t think I could be happier.

And with Christmas lights and Christmas decorations surrounding me, that means it’s time to Sparkle and Shine’s gift guide!!

This year, I’m not going to do my gift guide a little bit differently. As you know, life has been crazy since I started my full-time job (and I promise I’m working on a post about it!) – leaving me little time to review a bunch of different products for you.

SO, I’ve compiled some of my favorite posts and gift guides together to give you the ULTIMATE Sparkle and Shine gift guide! Check it out –

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For your sorority family…

Letters from Greek Streak

Dirty Rush novel

Reasons Why I Love You mason jar craft

Make your own canvas

New letters from Designs by Di

Jewelry from College Standard

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For your best friend…

DIY bejeweled photo collage letters

Concert tickets

Monogram sweatshirt from Gone Greek

DIY Sharpie Mug

Photo collage frame

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For your on the go friend…

A Vera Bradley duffle bag

An at home iced coffee machine

Wearsafe

On Location tours

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For your favorite fashionista…

A collection of trendy chokers

Skinny Coffee subscription

Rocksbox Subscription

A Lilly Pulitzer dress in her favorite print

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Don’t forget these perfect drug store beauty finds – perfect for stocking stuffers and white elephant grab bags!

Make sure to follow me on Pinterest, so you can pin some of your favorite crafts to your DIY board or pin your favorite gift to your wishlist board!

Happy shopping & happy holidays! 

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WHAT’S IN MY BAG?! {NEWEST VIDEO BLOG}

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Happy Saturday, everyone!

So I know on Twitter, I keep mentioning that I’m going to do a video blog. Every time I planned to film, something ended up happening. BUT this week, I made sure that nothing stopped me from filming and editing a vlog for you.

To start my kick back (is that a term?) into vlogging, I decided to do one of my favorite videos to watch other vloggers do….

So head on over, subscribe to my channel, and find out WHAT’S IN MY BAG?!

 

Comment below with what some videos you want to me! I’m thinking about doing a “Chit Chat Get Ready With Me (#GRWM)” video about some exciting news. Let me know if you would want to see that!

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Head into the weekend with my current playlist

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My weekend playlist

So confession time… I usually mooch off of two of my best friends’ Spotify playlists. Why make my own when Paul has the perfect country and going out playlists and Lo has everything I need when I want to drive with the windows down or cry over a boy with a giant container of chocolate icing?

However, I finally decided to make my own playlist for going out in the summer and I can’t.stop.listening.to.it. Even if I’m not going out, whether it’s in the car, the shower, or going for a run, I’m blasting this playlist!

I’ve added and adjusted to it, making it the perfect playlist for you to jam out to this weekend when you’re getting ready to go out with all of your friends (shoutout to everyone who’s back at school with their friends, I’m having serious graduate FOMO).

Here are some of my top picks for your pre-game playlist this weekend:

Closer by The Chainsmokers and Halsey // Girls Like by Tinie Tempah // My PYT by Wale //

How I Want Ya – Dawin Remix by Hudson Thomas // Bad Intentions by Niykee Heaton //

Does Ya Mama Know? (Dance Like That) #HEYNOW by 99 Percent // Sex by Cheat Codes 

Grove St. Party by Waka Flocka Flame // Say My Name by ODESZA //

R U Crazy – Radio Edit by Conor Maynard // Cold Water by Major Lazer and Justin Bieber //

I Can’t Stop Drinking About You – Chainsmokers Remix by Bebe Rexha //

Don’t Mind by Kent Jones // Mamacita by Travi$ Scott // White Girl by Shy Glizzy //

And of course my go-to jams that I’ve talked about in the past.

Check out the rest of the playlist here.

What songs can you not stop listening to this right now? Comment below and let me know!

 

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