Beauty Like A Boss

Officially finished with the fall semester of my junior year! Definitely one of the hardest in terms of time management with a busy sorority schedule and taking 3 engineering classes plus an accounting class. I am very grateful I was able to come home this morning, and have been home laying on the couch all day! Definitely some much-needed relaxation.

Excited for tomorrow to bake some gluten free Christmas delights all day in preparation for my parent's Christmas party on Friday! They keep saying I need to make some "regular" desserts too, but I'm hoping mine are so good, we will not need gluten-filled desserts!

Now to the point of this post, my Christmas List for 2017! This year, I want to downsize on my items, but I feel a complete change in my style. This is proving very hard to try to be less of a hoarder. When moving back home for this semester, I brought home a HUGE suitcase from my sorority house room just for donations.

Butttt, of course, I do have a Christmas wishlist! Here are my top 5 items below:




1. Fitbit Flex 2 Bracelet and Sports Bands
I LOVE my Fitbit flex 2. I love how slim it is, how it can wake me up with a subtle vibration on my wrist (so nice with roommates!) and how it tracks my sleep and movement. I want some new bands though, one that's a bit fancier so I can wear it with cuter clothes. I also need a replacement sports band because mines breaking.

2. "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"
I love the idea of minimalism, but I tend to be a bit of a hoarder and claim everything has sentimental value. I have been wanting to read about the Konmari method for a long time, and this year I decided to add it to my Christmas list.

3. New Powerbank
Power banks are SO nice. I take them to football games, Disneyland, every day in my backpack, anywhere because I am always playing some game on my phone while I am waiting. I have been doing lots of research and decided to place this one on my Christmas list.

4. Erin Condren Life Planner
I am super into my planner. I use stickers and decorate it every week. Check out my instagram @monicabossplans to see my weekly spreads! For the past two years, I have used an Erin Condren Life Planner. This year, I was debating on switching to a personal planner or getting an Erin Condren again, and honestly, due to this snow leopard-inspired cover, I decided to get an Erin Condren for the 2018 year. I have asked for the neutral vertical one!

5. International Makeup Artist Trade Show Ticket
2 years ago, I went to the IMATS show in Los Angeles with my best friend. I had such an amazing time. This year, I am asking for a Saturday ticket to meet up with Andrea again and attend!

As a college student, I am trying to constantly find where to save money, and boy have I found a great discount. As many of you know I LOVE the Makeup Forever HD foundation, and I have found a drugstore dupe! I honestly think it has even more coverage! (:
The Wet N Wild Photofocus foundation is a total dupe for the Makeup Forever HD foundation and I have been loving it. It's lightweight, delivers full coverage and makes your skin look matte but not dull. At $5.99 (on amazon!) you can't go wrong with trying this foundation. I have also worn it through a full day of classes and gone out that night and the foundation stayed perfectly intact! I would 100% recommend this to anyone and it has such a large variety of colors!

I love reading and watching morning routines. A lot of the time I will find myself in a deep hole of blogs and youtube videos just watching people's morning routines. Today, I wanted to dive in on every part of my routine that makes me more productive and ready for class in the mornings! Some things about my schedule, I have class at 9am every morning Monday - Friday. I also only follow this on the weekday mornings, I have a whole different schedule for weekends! Let me know if you'd love to see it!

Happy Holidays! I have officially completed the first semester of my sophomore year as of 10 am this morning!!! I am so ecstatic for this semester to be over. This has been the hardest semester for me ever.... peep at my last blog post. (: I thought I would show you all my Christmas wish list to hope to help you if you're stuck with finding last minute gifts!

Silhouette Cameo

High Top White Converse

'Diamond' Studs 

Nice Jacket

Glam Glow Supermud Clearing Mask

Tarteist Pro Glow Highlight and Contour Palette

Unfortunately, this semester ended up being a lot busier than I ever thought it would be. I decided to put up a quick update post updating you all about how my semester has been and my new promises for the rest of the semester/ the next year. With everything, I always want to try and give my 110% and sometimes I have to give up something in order to get 110% in everything else.

Studying

Extra Curriculars

Life

Subscription boxes are fabulous, it's like Christmas every month or quarter. Around the time that my Sephora Play box comes every month, whenever I get a text from my school's mail system, I am running to the mail room. I have had Birchbox in the past, I loved the points system but found it was too much hair and skin products, with a lot of repeats of the same type of product. I have been getting Sephora play for the last 3 months and it is definitely a box for me as it includes a more diverse amount of products and big focus on makeup. When browsing all the boxes, a new one has come to the top of my list.


This year I have had the opportunity to be an ambassador for Fab Fit Fun. They send boxes 4x a year filled to the brim with makeup, fashion, and lifestyle products. Being an ambassador for the brand has been an amazing experience, I have learned a ton about marketing, social media, and representing a brand. I received the fall box and I have enjoyed testing out all the products!

As a fall themed box, I was extremely excited to receive both this super soft scarf from ModCloth and the tumbler. The coffee tumbler is so cute, although I'm jealous I didn't get the other saying that's offered with this box. I found the tumbler to be a little bit cheap, though, but still a very fun and functional item. The scarf is amazing quality and I was super impressed I got a scarf in this box along with all of the other things.



For the fit part of this box, I received the toesox. Honestly, I am a little bit scared to wear them to yoga in fear of judgment, but I think they are an extremely cool concept, especially since I struggle with my feet always slip during downward dog. The browgal clear brow gel was a product I was super excited about. I have been using the Anastasia Clear Brow Gel for a couple of years and I am always excited to try something new! Although I have not had a chance to try it out yet, I can't wait for my brow gel to run out so I can crack into this one!

For my crazy midterm weeks, I love that they included a coloring book and colored pencils. A perfect way to relax and destress! I find that this box is all about making sure you take time for yourself so you can truly feel the best you can be. The Pure Cosmetics Nude Collection Eyeshadow palette is extremely impressive quality. It reminds me a lot of the naked two, except with shadows that are more buttery and with more pigment! For me, this was the 2nd best part of the box. They also included a coupon for their website and I am extremely excited to try more of their products! The baby deodorant was a sponsored item and provided on top of the rest of the items in the box. I love travel size deodorants to throw in my bags and it was a well-received bonus!

The Skin Laundry Restoring Night Serum has been a godsend to my skin. I have never tried a product that works so well. It is slowly lightening my dark spots, tightening my skin, and doing all sort of wonders. I have extremely sensitive skin which I have documented on this blog before and I am always scared to try new products. This has become a staple in my skin care routine and I truly see a difference in my face. I would 100% recommend this to anyone and it has truly made my skin look amazing. This is my favorite product, and it is full size at 1 fl oz and worth $50! Currently, I am saving the Spongelle loofah with body wash for a special spa day. I am excited to try something that has such a unique concept to it! The only thing that concerns me is a number of uses you would get with it for the price, one of the reasons I'm saving it for a rainy day. The body oil is wonderfully scented, and perfect for the fall and winter time coming up! The bonus Cottonelle wipes is a nice add on!

I thoroughly enjoyed this box, and will definitely continue to get them. I think it's a fabulous way to gift yourself four times a year. I like that the products tie in with a larger theme, focusing on ways to take care of yourself! The brand has a great motto and foundation of empowering women.

If you're interested in ordering a box I 100% support, be sure to use my code: GIRLBOSS to get $10 off of your 1st box!

Disclaimer: As an ambassador of Fab Fit Fun, I do get items sent from them, including this box. My code is also an affiliate code, and I do receive a commission from the use of the code. As always all opinions are my own and I will always tell you the truth when I review an item.

I recently posted this video of some back to school inspired hair and makeup I posted onto my channel! I have been super busy with the start of my classes and with all of the recruitment I had to do with my sorority, but I am excited to have some time to dedicate to my blog and youtube channel! If you're interested in a quick and affordable look, definitely check this video out!