Monthly Archives

June 2017

Beauty

My Favorite Drugstore Mascaras

June 27, 2017

Hi guys!  I’m glad to see you back on the blog!  A couple months ago, I shared with you that I wanted to start doing more beauty-related blog posts so here I am today to share my favorite mascaras!  I think mascara is an important staple to any makeup routine, whether you go all out or just throw a few products on so let’s get started!

My absolute favorite mascara I’ve ever used is Benefit’s They’re Real! Lengthening mascara.  I wanted to try this for a long, long time before I actually made the purchase because it’s a pretty pricey mascara.  Before this, I had always used inexpensive mascara from the drugstore but I got a free little trial size when I bought a different Benefit product and that’s when I knew I needed to buy the full size as soon as possible.  It’s amazing!  It lengthens and thickens and looks great even when you wear it without eyeshadow or eyeliner.  Totally worth the money!

The next mascara that I’m going to share is Maybelline’s “The Rocket” mascara.  This was the mascara I was using for YEARS before I switched to the Benefit one, and it’s still the one I use when I don’t necessarily have the money to be spending a ton on higher end brands.  The mascara itself is very natural looking and doesn’t smudge but what drew me to this mascara in particular was the wand.  The wand has a lot of little bristles that spread and define your lashes and that makes all the difference!  Before using this mascara, I’d never used a wand like that and it’s incredible!

The last of my favorite mascaras is one from Pixi and it’s called the Lower Lash mascara.  I just came across this product recently and I can’t see myself getting rid of it any time soon!  Putting mascara on your bottom lashes is hard sometimes because the wand is so big and your lashes down there are so small and this mascara is the perfect remedy for that issue.  The wand is tiny so the mascara doesn’t clump and it’s just so cute!  I’d definitely recommend getting this product if you have the same issue I do with applying mascara to your bottom lashes.

I hope these recommendations helped you out if you’re on the hunt for a new mascara.  They’re my absolute favorite and I know you’ll love them too!  Have a great holiday and I’ll see you next Tuesday!

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Fashion

Sunny Day Essentials

June 20, 2017

Hi everyone!  Welcome back to Allison in Wonderland!  In honor of the first day of summer coming up, I thought a summer essentials post was in order!  I’ve put together a few items that you won’t catch me without during the next couple months; enjoy!

The first item is my big, floppy, straw hat.  I’ve wanted to get one of these for a few summers now and I’m so excited I finally got one!  It’s perfect for so many occasions – going to the beach, walking around downtown on a hot day, or to wear while you’re lounging by the pool!  It’s super lightweight and protects your face and neck from the harsh sunlight.  I love it!

The next item on the list is adorable sandals!  I own a staple black pair and a staple brown pair and I, of course, wear them almost every day!  Since I typically carry black or brown bags when I go out, I wanted to have two pairs of shoes that I can wear no matter what bag I’m carrying and it’s worked out amazingly.  My black ones (pictured above) are from SheIn and my brown ones are from Target, so they’re both extremely affordable and cute!

Another item you won’t find me without is my keys and what comes with keys?  Cute keychains!  I got the cactus keychain that’s in the photo above on my recent spring break trip to Arizona and it’s such a sweet memory to think back on every time I see it.  My friend that I went on the trip with got the same one and it’s nice that we both have the same souvenir from our trip!  If you haven’t read up on my posts about that trip, check them out here!

Those are a few of the items I’ve been loving lately now that the weather has finally gotten warm!  I love reading all the comments I get from you guys so please leave me a comment if you’d like to see another essentials post, like maybe what my beach essentials are!  Anyway, have a great week and I’ll see you next Tuesday!

Things I'm Loving Right Now

The Soundtrack of My Summer

June 13, 2017

Hey, I’m Alli!  Thanks for visiting my blog!  I hope your summer is going wonderfully so far.  I’m here today to let you know what songs I’ve been loving recently.  I absolutely love listening to music, especially in the summertime!  It’s so fun to roll your windows down and listen to your favorite playlist and these are some of the songs that have been coming through my speakers over the past couple weeks!

The Night We Met by Lord Huron  I first heard this song when I was watching the Netflix show “13 Reasons Why” and it’s just incredible.  It’s a sort of indie/rock combination and it’s a really soothing ballad for driving at night!

100 Letters by Halsey  Halsey’s new album Hopeless Fountain Kingdom just came out and it’s insane – this song is one of the best ones!  Halsey is an incredible artist and her first album, Badlands, is one of my favorites of all time!  Go check out her new one!

How Far I’ll Go from the Moana Soundtrack  This song has been one of my favorites lately because it’s so catchy!  Obviously, being from an animated Disney movie, it’s going to be good, but usually I can’t listen to those type of songs over and over.  This one I can.  It’s so inspirational!

Issues by Julia Michaels  I was hearing this song over and over on the radio and every time I heard it, I thought to myself, “I need to look this song up,” and I’m so glad I finally did!  Julia has such an interesting and unique voice – I love it!

All I’ve Ever Needed by AJ Michalka  I first heard this song at my sorority retreat this past semester and have been hooked every since!  It’s from a movie called Grace Unplugged, which I’ve never seen, but this song definitely makes me wanna have a night in and rent it.

Love by Lana Del Rey  In high school, Lana Del Rey was one of my absolute favorite artists and I’m stoked she’s coming out with new music again!  This one has a little bit of a different feel from Summertime Sadness but it definitely holds it’s own!

Octa Hate by Ryn Weaver  I’ve included this song on my playlists for years and it never gets old.  Ryn Weaver just has a neat, retro sort of vibe to her music and it goes with any mood!  Definitely worth the dollar on iTunes for a cool, summer jam!

Thy Will by Hillary Scott  My roommate played this song for me a couple months ago and I’ve been listening to it non-stop ever since.  It’s worship music and it has a beautiful, contemporary twist to it and it’s the woman from Lady Antebellum!  How amazing!

Colors by Halsey  This isn’t a new song by any means but it’s my favorite song of all time!  Colors tells such an intricate story and it’s relevant for everyone!  Halsey is going on tour soon and I can’t wait to see if she’s coming to a city near me!

Those are my top songs of right now!  Do we have any of the same ones?  Let me know – I’ll see ya next time!

Travel

Being a Tourist In: New York City

June 6, 2017

Hey everyone and welcome back to my next “Being a Tourist in…” post!  I added to my list of summer trips by going to New York City with one of my best friends this past weekend and I’m so excited to share with you what we were up to in this incredible city!  Let’s get started!

My friend lives about an hour outside of New York City, so we spent Friday night in her area and then took a transit bus from her town into the city on Saturday morning.  We left around 8:45am, so we arrived at Port Authority, which is right near Times Square, at about 10am.  When we went to the city together a couple years ago, we ended up walking a ton more than we thought we would, so this time, she had the wonderful idea of getting tickets for one of the double-decker, hop-on hop-off buses!  We used a Groupon, so the tickets were only about $18 per ticket and we were set for the whole day!  The only walking we had to do beforehand was walking from Port Authority to the Visitor Center to redeem our tickets and our feet were thanking us for that.

Basically, the bus makes a huge loop around the city, taking about an hour or two in total!  If you take the downtown loop, it hits all the touristy areas, like Soho, the Empire State Building, and China town.  We got on and rode until we were near Chelsea Market and the bus driver made a special stop just for us so we’d be a little bit closer to where we needed to be!  Once we were off the bus, we walked about eight blocks or so to Chelsea Market.  It was so cool!  They have all sorts of food vendors and there are even some little shops inside with books and cards and toys.  After Chelsea Market, we went up on the High Line.  I had heard great things about it, but I’d never been so I was thrilled to see what it had to offer!  Essentially, it’s an elevated space where a train used to run, but it’s been renovated to be a walking space above the street with greenery and great views.  We were there on such a beautiful day so it was a perfect spot to hang out for a bit!

After we left that area and grabbed a quick lunch, we headed back to a bus stop to hop back on the double decker.  Our next stop was the Top of the Rock!  In all the times I’ve been to the city, I’ve never done the Top of the Rock so that’s what I was most excited for during this trip.  The tickets to get to the top were around $35, so not a terrible price to see such an awesome sight.  At the top, it wasn’t super crowded, especially for a Saturday afternoon, and two couples got engaged while we were there!  It was cute to see that in person – I’m sure they have proposals happen there every day!  When it was time to go, we decided to walk back to Port Authority through Times Square instead of taking the double decker because it wasn’t too long of a distance.  When we were walking through Times Square, there was a Christian band playing and it was just incredible to see the love they were sharing in the middle of such a high-traffic, busy area!

We made a quick stop at the famous Magnolia bakery to get a few cupcakes and then we were on our way!  We made the transit bus back with about two minutes to spare and couldn’t of been happier with our day.  I love New York City and I’m so thankful that I am able to take day trips there!  If you’ve ever been to the city, let me know what your favorite thing was that you did during your trip.  See you next week!

 

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