Monday, August 26, 2013

Introducing… Kurt Hugo Schneider

Today I want to introduce you all to another fabulous man on YouTube, Kurt Hugo Schneider. 

Kurt is a Yale educated music producer (mainly), who is currently producing and working with Sam Tsui on his current album, “Make it Up.”  His YouTube channel has over three million subscribers (yes, I am one of them), and he deserves every last one of them.  His personality shines through in each and every one of his videos, and they never fail to bring a smile to my face.  I highly recommend checking him out!

Here are some of my current favorite videos of Kurts, and below is his personal channel link:

“Can’t Hold Us” Cover (Max Schneider & Kurt Hugo Schneider Cover)

“Radioactive” Cover (The Macy Kate Band & Kurt Hugo Schneider)

“Kiss You” (Not Another Boy Band Cover)


Kurt’s YouTube Channel


I was lucky enough to meet Kurt at the last Alex Goot concert I went to where he performed along with Sam Tsui.  Such an amazing performance!



So see my concert experience, click here:

Sunday, August 18, 2013

“No Buy August” Update and Progress!

Hey everyone!  Hope you are all having a fabulous August!  SO SORRY that my posting has been sporadic the past few weeks.  I’ve been having major writer’s block, and have been working crazy hours, and it’s just been hard finding time to write and film for my YouTube channels.  Hopefully in the next week or so I can get back on track. J  That being said, if you have any video or blog request please let me know!  It would be an immense help!

So for today’s post I wanted to update you all on my “No Buy August” progress.  And for those of you who are participating along with me – I hope you are all doing well.  Overall, I’m extremely well.  I haven’t bought one single makeup or clothing item, though the temptation has been extremely high, being that I work at Target and am around those items constantly.  And now that it is tax-free week for back to school and there are amazing sales going on it is even harder.  But I’ve kept my eye on my goals and have resisted. 

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been working crazy long hours.  Which is interesting because it puts me in more contact with the temptation items, but wears me out to the point that I just want to go home and lounge around when I am not working – so the shopping desire is ultimately eliminated.  So working has been a great tool. 

Now that we are halfway through the month (how on earth did that happen?), I’m looking toward the future.  In the upcoming months, I know that shopping for me will resume.  I can’t not shop forever.  It’s part of me, and I love doing it.  So I need to set a strict budget and continue to coupon and look out for awesome sales and deals more so than I did previously.  I’m hoping that by doing this I can spend more wisely and not break the bank as I have done in the past.  Not that I wasn’t doing these thing before, but I can definitely step up my game.  Especially in the budget department.

How do you set a shopping budget each month?  Or do you set it by year?  What are your spending tips?  Let me know in the comments below!  I’d love to get your advice so that I can better plan my finances for the future!

Talk to you soon!  And happy saving!

Allison

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

My Makeup Essentials

So we all have those essential, ‘must-have’ items right?  You know, those items that we can’t live a day without?  Well, today I thought I’d share which 15 items are my absolute ‘must-haves’ in my own personal makeup collection.  I also included links to all of the products so that you may take a closer look at each product if you’d like.

1.     Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation: (shade 110 Ivory) By far my favorite foundation, the Colorstay foundation is a great full coverage foundation that doesn’t feel heavy on your skin.  While I use a primer with this foundation, it really does have a great lasting power, like it claims to.  If you’re looking for a full coverage foundation with a great lasting power and a wide range of shades, this is the one for you.

2.     Clinique Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder: (shade 02 stay neutral) My all-time favorite powder to use, this powder keeps the oils on my skin at bay, while not giving my skin that cake-y look.  While Clinique’s products aren’t as affordable as say, Revlon’s, this powder is well worth the extra cash.

3.     Covergirl FreshComplexion Concealer: (shade creamy neutral) An awesome, awesome concealer, this product has been in my collection (and replaced many, many times) since I first started wearing makeup.  It has great coverage, and looks really natural on the skin, provided you don’t glob enormous amounts on.  Plus, it’s super affordable, and CoverGirl products often are on sale and have coupons out.  Who doesn’t love that?

4.    Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush: (shade Rose Petal) I absolutely love these blushes.  Not only is the texture super fun to play around with, but the colors are beautiful, and the pigmentation is amazing.  Rose Petal happens to be my most used color in the line because it is the most ‘basic’ color for me personally, but I also own a few others that I love as well.  If you’ve never tried any of these blushes, I highly recommend them!

5.    Maybelline Great Lash Mascara: (clear) Now I know what you’re thinking. Clear mascara?  But, I don’t use this on my lashes.  I actually use this as a brow set.  Yup.  Instead of paying a load more money on brow gel, I pay a few bucks and use this as a super inexpensive brow gel.  And it works just as well as any of the fancy selections out there.

6.    Nars Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base: An absolutely incredible eye primer for anyone with super oily eyelids, the Nars primer is definitely worth spending the extra cash on if you want to keep your eye makeup in place all day long.  I used to have a problem with my eyeshadow just falling off or creasing after about 30 minutes on my eyes, but not with this stuff.  Now it stays on all day.  And yes, I know that sounds like a commercial, and no, I’m not being paid to advertise for this product, but it’s just that amazing.  Go try it out and see for yourself.

7.    MAC Eyeshadow in Satin Taupe: This eyeshadow holds a special place in my heart as it’s the first product that I ever bought from MAC.  That being said, I love this color – it’s absolutely gorgeous when paired with purple eyeshadows and a purple liner.
 
8.    Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze  & Inked in Pink: I love absolutely both of these color tattoos and could not just pick one.  Both of these are subtle enough for the day but can be amped up enough for nighttime.  The formulation of the product itself is incredible, and I highly recommend checking out the color tattoo line if you have not done so yet.


9.    Maybelline Master Drama Eye Studio Eyeliner: (Vibrant Violet) I love wearing purple eyeliner, I think it compliments brown eyes beautifully.  And this particular one has got to be my favorite – and believe me, I’ve tried a lot.  It doesn’t smudge or run, has amazing color pigmentation, and has great lasting power.  Basically, it has all of the things you’d look for in an eyeliner.  I will definitely be trying out some of the other colors in this particular line in the future.

10.  Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner: (navy) I have been wearing navy blue eyeliner ever since I started wearing makeup.  But, once I ran out of all my high-end makeup that my Mom initially bought for me and it was time to purchase my own makeup, I had to find a brand at the drugstore that worked for me.  And that’s where the Revlon Colorstay comes in.  After several fails with other products, I found this gem.  This eyeliner doesn’t smudge, run, or anything like that.  It has amazing lasting power and pigmentation, and overall is just fabulous.  I’m in love with this product, and is the only navy eyeliner that I will buy.  If you’re looking for a good navy eyeliner at the drugstore price, I highly recommend checking this product out.

11. Maybelline The Falsies Volume Expressed Flared Mascara: A great mascara that was all the rage on YouTube when it first came out, the Falsies Flared, as it is known, quickly replaced the CoverGirl Lash Blast in my collection.  To me personally, I’m not super picky about my mascaras – I just want my lashes to look bolder to complete my eye look.  And maybe that’s what people mean when they throw around words like ‘volume’ and ‘definition’ but to me, bold is bold.  And this mascara does just that.

12.  Revlon LipButter: (Berry Smoothie) I absolutely LOVE the formulation of the Revlon LipButters.  They are super moisturizing, soft and luxurious, all while adding a great amount of color to your lips.  My overall favorite color from the line is Berry Smoothie, a, you guessed it, berry color, that is perfect all year round.

13.  Maybelline Baby Lips: (Peach Kiss) If you’re looking for a great tinted lip balm, then head over to check out the Baby Lips.  I personally am loving the Peach kiss scent/flavor/tint right now, but I also love the Pink Punch one.  Both smell and taste amazing, and give you great color pigmentation with only a small amount of product application.

14.  NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss:  (Nude Pink) First off, besides this color being a gorgeous light pink color, the formulation of the NYX lipglosses is just so amazing, I just had to put at least one of these products in my essentials list.  The smell of the product literally smells like some sort of fruity summery drink, which is amazing, and it tastes like one too.  They are super silky and creamy on your lips, and are not sticky by any means.  I absolutely hate sticky lip glosses, so this is a major plus for NYX.  If you’ve never tried any of these, I highly recommend heading out and picked some of them up!

15.  Soap & Glory Hand Food: This is by far the most amazing, incredible, wonderful lotion and hand cream I have ever, ever, ever used.  Words can barely even describe it.  It doesn’t make my hands oily, it is super moisturizing, especially in those long and dry winter months, and has a light weight formula that doesn’t weigh down my skin immediately after putting it on.  If you’ve never tried it out, you can pick it up in a small travel size to test it out before going out and investing in the full size product, which is what I did to be sure that I liked it. 




Friday, August 9, 2013

AllisonWatches OnceUponATime Episode 14

Awwwww!!!!!!!  Grumpy’s birth/hatching!!! Hahaha how cute!

This Kathryn disappearance is so freaky!!! I can’t believe her clothes are still in the car!!!

Awwww! No wonder Grumpy is so grumpy!!!!! How sad!!!  Aw they’re whistling! How cute!!!! Eeek!!!

Leroy is such a trooper! Haha

Aww is this how Grumpy/Dreamy meets his love? 

Ugh.  I don’t understand why Emma trusts Sydney.  And why wouldn’t she have gotten the phone records on her own?  I feel like that call was fudged.

Baaaaah I’m not gonna jump I could hit someone I’m solidly built. Hahahahaha. 

Awwwwwwwww. His name changed.  How sad!!!!! 


WOW.  Such a great ending.  Overall, a really good episode.  Much better than I had thought it would be.  Heigh-ho!

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Project “No Buy August”: Thoughts Before Beginning

For those of you who are unaware, for this month (August) I have decided to challenge myself to a “No Buy August.”  This essentially means that I’m not going to be shopping, particularly for clothing, accessories, and most importantly, makeup.

I decided to embark upon this journey after spending quite a lot of money the past few months on the previous mentioned items.  While some things like clothing, were essential after my weight loss (I obviously needed clothes that fit), things like more makeup, aren’t needed.  While I still have many, many things that I want, I recognize the difference between wants and needs.  So, I’ve challenged myself, and I highly encourage you to do so.  Your wallet will certainly thank you!

Here are my basic rules that I’ve developed for myself:
1.     No purchasing any unnecessary goods at any time. (including but not limited to jewelry, makeup, clothing, snacks, Starbucks)
2.     Continue to clip coupons weekly in order to save money when I do start buying again
3.     Build up a Birthday wish list (my bday is in September) instead of going out and purchasing unnecessary items

So there you have it.  That’s the general gist of what will be in store for me this month.  Those rules may completely change and develop over the next week or so as I really get into the ‘no buy,’ but for now, these are the basics that I’m going to live buy.

Currently, the only exception that I may have to make for the challenge is clothing.  And this is only because I may need to purchase more interview and workplace appropriate clothing as I get more job interviews and hopefully start working.  However, this is a more practical and needed purchase so I think it can be justified within my guidelines – as long as I look for deals and don’t go overboard.

So what will I be doing in the meantime?  While I don’t spend a ton of time shopping, I do tend to build up a generous list of things I crave to own.  So, to prevent this list from getting to big and in order to keep my mind off of temptation, I’ll be throwing myself harder then ever into more productive things.  What does this include?  I’ll be writing and posting more on my blog (so keep checking regularly!), working on YouTube videos, and most importantly, pushing harder than ever to finding my ‘big girl job.’  I want to increase my photo and video editing skills, and learn to make those super cute banners and backgrounds that everyone seems to have on social media sites.  I’ll be using my social media a lot more in the coming months, starting now, so be sure to check me out!

That being said, if you have any requests for YouTube videos or blog posts that you’d like to see, please leave me a comment on a video, blog post, or tweet me and let me know!  I’d absolutely love to make some of your ideas happen!  And if you’ve forgotten or do not know my social media links, here they are:

My main channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvYW93dheSu1IbKcy2YL8cQ
My Vlog channel: allisoncomments
Blog: http://constantcomments1.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/allisoncomments
Instagram: allisoncomments
Tumblr: http://alagonigro91.tumblr.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/allisonlag/
Keek: @allisoncomments

I’ve gotten rid of some of my older media outlets, but have added some new ones (Keek, Wanelo) so if you are on those platforms, follow/subscribe to me!  I’m in the process now of revamping all my social media so expect some great changes!

If any of you decide to participate along with me in ‘No Buy August,’ or decide to do the challenge during another month, let me know how it goes!  I’ll be updating you guys regularly on YouTube and on my blog so you can all see my progress.

Thanks for reading and checking out my blog, and as always, have a fantabulous day!


Allison