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The Hunt for Blog October

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Blog? What are this?

Oh, hi.

So I took a break from blogging. Oh sure, I thought about stuff I might blog about, but it didn’t really happen. I didn’t take a break on purpose. That just kinda happened by itself. I just wasn’t feeling it, I guess? I am not going to get in to the nitty gritty of what/why etc. I will just say this — I needed a break! It was deeply personal, and the details I choose to keep between friends.

I took a seasonal job at Bath & Body Works. Working at Bath & Body Works was exhausting at times, but it was also really fun. November in general tends to be a tough month for me, historically, I don’t even know why just…November is a “shit happens” month. December is omgchristmas and January is when trade show season starts. My game plan once I decided that yes, I really am on a break, was to come back this month for the trade show season and ease back in to things.

But then I missed IMATS this year for the first time in like 4 or 5 years. Bummer. I was totally going to go, but I got Martian Death Cold from Mr. Boyfriend and was way too sick to have enjoyed myself. Still a little bitter, because there were lots of people I wanted to see there. However, it’s probably a very good thing I stayed home rather than giving  my fellow blogging colleagues my germs. :) “Hi, nice to finally meet you… *sneeze/hack/sniffle*” just isn’t the best impression to make on a new friend.

BUT! Never fear! ISSE Long Beach is here! And by here, I mean practically literally. Long Beach is basically my back yard, and ISSE is this coming weekend. So I will be going to that this weekend. When you’ve been out of the beauty realm for a couple months, a trade show is a superb way to plunge back in.

So yes, I’m back. Missed you.

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New Blog Feature – Events Calendar

bigbighairI didn’t really have a visual for this, so here’s a picture of some big hair that I really like. ;)

The beauty world and blogger world both have TONS of events going on, so I am introducing my new EVENT CALENDAR feature. It details all of the events where I will be so that we can meet up and connect! Whether you’re a brand, a reader, or a fellow blogger, I welcome you all to check it out and take a look!

Here it is ———-> EVENT CALENDAR

That’s all for now! :)

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Milestones & Coming Soon…

glosslogosleekwpQuickly and quietly, without any hubub, The Gloss Menagerie turned five years old this month. I am now going to say all the clichés people expect, that I couldn’t do this without all of you, and how happy I am for all of your support– but I really mean that. The people I have met and things I have been able to do both personally and in my career just because of running this site are completely beyond my imagination 5 years ago. I’m not one of the most successful bloggers by any means, but I have been able to achieve a simple dream that I think anyone can relate to. I can honestly say I love my career. If you didn’t know or realize, I work for Allegro – a division of Conair. Yup, that Conair. And I truly can say I love nearly every minute of it. ;) I never would be where I am if I hadn’t started this website five years ago, and I certainly wouldn’t have kept on doing this if all of YOU hadn’t been there for me. I feel blessed and grateful. Thank you.

As a present to myself, and to all of you, I recently began working with a designer to redesign the site. Many of you have probably already seen some changes from other bloggers due to the new FTC guidelines (*joy*), and I haven’t rushed in to do them just yet because I want to incorporate them into the new design that is coming up soon. :) I just wanted to give you guys a heads up in case you see anything wonky with the site over the next few weeks, because it probably means we’re pulling on wires behind the scenes. I appreciate your patience. It’s all for the better! ;)

In the meantime, as I am doing this redesign, I’m curious to know what your favorite / least favorite features on beauty blogs are! Hit up the comments with your likes/dislikes.

And to those of you who were Google Reader followers, my condolences. I want to remind you that you can still keep up with the blog via Twitter, Facebook, Bloglovin’, and the RSS itself is linked above. If I get enough requests to add the feed on to any other services similar to Bloglovin’ I may do that too so just let me know. There is also the “old fashioned” method of having it emailed to you (I actually prefer that for blogs I love!). Let me know what you guys like and I’ll do mah bestest to make it happen!

xoxo,

Alyson

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New Blog Feature – Blog Sale Page

Yeah I gots mad MS Paint skills. For what it’s worth, I really do know how to make shiny pretty graphics…but sometimes I’m just too lazy to wait 10 minutes for Photoshop to boot. Derp. Anyway, so … [Read more…]

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Blogging Tips – The Essential WordPress Plugins

Before I get in to this post, I just want to point out that the above clip art not only looks like a plug, it also looks like a smiling frog balloon! And for those of you who are new to WordPress customization and think this is a little bit scary, just smile and look at the balloon mkay? Kay. I have been blogging for over a decade (god that sounds like forever), so let me drop some knowledge on you. [Read more…]

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Bye Google Friend Connect

Oh yeah. It’s come to this. N Sync references.

But that’s what I think of when I think of “bye bye! (bye)”.

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The Birthday Breakdown

Hey all! I am back! I had to take a brief “break” just due to being insanely busy in the days leading up to and following my birthday, which was on 8/22. I’m 25 now! Hooray! Thank you all so much for the happy birthday wishes on Facebook & Twitter. You guys rock! :) I have the sweetest readers & online friends in the world. Fact.
By the way, the photo above is me with my birthday tiara. My boyfriend got it for me last year on my birthday and I wore it all day (even to the grocery store) last year. I decided to continue on the tradition and wear it all day this year too. The nails are one of my FAVORITE polishes ever  – Zoya Phoebe from the Mod Mattes collection. I have topcoat over it though making it shiny instead of matte because unless I do that these chip like mother you-know-what. Sigh. :P
Other than birthday & family festivities, some other exciting news is going on too! As some of you know, I not only blog for The Gloss Menagerie, but also for iEnhance.com (a PlasticSurgery.com site). Well, starting this week, I am also going to be blogging over at MyStyleBell as well as managing the blog/social media! I am very excited for this and hope you will all show your support by checking MSB out and subscribing. The blog is mainly focused on all things hair-related, so enjoy!
Wearing my tiara out to dinner, which was a ton of delicious Indian food. YUM!!!!! I felt like a prom queen.
Sorry the pic is grainy, but this is my birthday makeup look. It looks cakey but that’s the grainy photo quality, not the makeup.
For face I don’t really have much to cover now so I’m just wearing Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse BB Cream with some powder. The smoky eye is a combination of MAC Patina (lid), Clue (crease), and Kid (to blend) with WnW Creme Brulee as my highlight. For eyeliner I wore MAC Brun applied basically into the upper and lower lash lines. The mascara I’m not wild about but I’m using it up. It’s L’Oreal Voluminous in Carbon Black (waterproof). This stuff is so not waterproof by the way. I have another mascara that I will post about soon that I like way better, but I didn’t have it handy.
It’s hard to see because it’s subtly applied, but I have Rock ‘n Republic blush in Spank on my cheeks along with TheBalm Mary Lou-manizer highlight. Lips are MAC Hue, an old stand-by favorite. 
Tired, and full of Indian food, but REALLY happy. :)
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May Favorites & How’s My Driving?

June is bustin’ out all over (any musical theatre geeks wanna tell me where that reference comes from?), and that means it’s time for my May Favorites post! Because of my Top Picks posts, I have been talking about my favorites pretty much all month. To re-cap those so far:

Moving right along! Favorites for the month of May! Favorites aren’t necessarily new things, just what I’ve been grabbing for the most.
Makeup

I’ve been keeping things pretty minimal in the makeup arena lately because it’s warm, and if I’m doing makeup it’s usually just to go to class. My classroom for Spring Semester was a hot, crowded, unairconditioned room. Yikes! Glad that’s over! I’m taking a class over summer online from the comfort of my house.

For my face, lately I have been loving the combination of Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Illuminating Serum, (click for full review) topped with powder and concealer. It evens me out really nicely but doesn’t cake on a ton of coverage I don’t need. It also doesn’t break me out in the slightest. Hooray! The powder I’ve been reaching for is MAC Studio Fix in shade N3. I’m almost finished with it so I’ve been digging the last bits of the powder out of my compact before I toss it in the Back 2 MAC pile. I do really like Studio Fix, and I have already repurchased it so I have a new compact to start as soon as I give up on this one. ;)

Recently, I have rediscovered a favorite cheek combo – NARS Sex Appeal and Doceur. I use Doceur to ever so slightly contour, and then Sex Appeal on the apples of my cheeks. 

My lips have been super dry ever since the weather warmed up, so my favorite lip product right now is medicated Chapstick. Really. It smells gross and has no color but boy does it make my lips feel better when they are this chapped. What’s your favorite product for really chapped lips? We have tons of honey around the house (seriously, I have no idea why one household of four people needs so much honey?) so I might start using it as a lip treatment. Honey is a natural humectant!


Hair


WHY didn’t I pick up Not Your Mother’s Beach Spray sooner? It’s about $6 and it’s AWESOME. I gotta thank @omgbren of So Much Pretty for that recommendation. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a styling product that contains sea salt. If you spray it into damp or dry hair it gives you matte texture and wave just like a day at the beach. My hair has a lot of natural wave/curl to it, so I have been loving just washing it, and then when it’s about 90% dry I spray some of this in it and I’m good to go.
Tip – The beachy waves also look really cute pulled into a loose, low side pony tail.

Skin Care


I have definitely been loving my Vitamin E skin care from The Body Shop, as I mentioned in my recent review. But I have also been really loving my CVS brand cleansing/makeup removing wipes (the ones that are a knock-off of Ponds Clean Sweep wipes). The original kind are really nice, softly textured, and do remove the light makeup I’ve been wearing really well. I also just tried the exfoliating wipes and they are SO refreshing and really do scrub well.
Tip – Store your wipes upside down to keep them moist longer.


Those are the products I’ve been reaching for the most this past month! I have some fun reviews coming soon, so keep an eye out. ;) And don’t forget you still have time to enter my NYX Giveaway.

It’s that time again, when I pick your brains. MMM BRAINS! Here’s a little “How’s My Driving?” quiz. I want to know what you want to see more of from the blog! Do you want to see…
– More product reviews?
– More videos?
– Collection posts/overviews of certain categories of product?
– Tutorials? (Requests anyone?)
– Hauls? (I’m always reluctant to post hauls. I don’t know if you guys want to see them. Do you?)
– Or…? I’m open to suggestions! This is my blog but it’s also for YOU guys, so let me know!
– Also, anything you want to see less of? I like constructive criticism too, so I can take it so long as you’re nice about it.
I would also love to answer more of your questions. Don’t be shy! :)
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Stylish Blogger Award


I was awarded the Stylish Blogger Award! How spiffy! I was given this award by Nancy-Lee of fashionCHICsta! Thanks hun! I am supposed to now…

1. Thank and link back to the person who sent the award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award recently discovered bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award
After all, it would be a shame if they didn’t know!

Alrighty! So. 7 things about me.

1. In addition to being beauty obsessed, I’m also a classically-trained singer. I’ve been singing since I was in the 3rd grade.

2. I don’t know how tall I am. Well, I think I’m 5’2″. I’ve always thought I was 5’2″. But it seems every doctor’s office says either 5’2″ OR 5’3″. So I don’t really know for sure. 

3. I was in girl scouts from daisy to junior but after a particularly frustrating camping trip it was suggested that I “find another troop”. Something about being insubordinate. 

4. I hate peas. Hate them hate them hate them. 

5. I’m a published, award-winning poet.

6. Until I started high school, I was really, really painfully shy. I was not popular, and in jr high I got picked on/bullied and harassed. Switching school districts for high school was the best thing that ever happened to me.

7. I once met Ray freaking Bradbury at a party, and the only thing I remember is that he looked like Santa.

Okay and for the people I’m awarding..!

Kimberlee
Em
Abby Marie
Miss Tat
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Now on Youtube

Hey everyone! Just a quick update to let you know I am now working on a youtube channel! I have a few videos up (not all of them are beauty-related but they’re fun haha). I’d love for you to subscribe or favorite vids you like! I also really want to know what videos you’d like to see! Reviews? Hauls? Tutorials? Stash organization? Collection videos? It’s really up to you! I want to know what you want. Also, if you have a particular product you want reviewed, or tutorial request, etc. I definitely want to know! Either comment below, or hit up the “Contact Me” button on the toolbar and I’ll get on it! 
I know my videos are kinda rough, but hey everyone starts somewhere. I’m working on getting used to talking to the camera (it’s harder than people make it look without being awkward!), not saying “um”, etc. haha. I’m also still getting used to actually using my camera and editing etc. So if any of you experienced youtubers have any tips or tricks you want to share, that would be so appreciated as well.
Also, a special shout-out to Kelsey and Em for their support as I try to figure this whole youtube thing out! :) Thanks guys! <3
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