for the first time n my life, i'm finally tired of social media. i've grown weary of endlessly scrolling through tweets on twitter, liking posts on facebook, and double-tapping pictures of people who look perfect on instagram. i want to be free from it all, so i'm deleting the apps from my phone. will my accounts still remain? absolutely. will i ever look at them? probably not. i want to live a life that's better than submitting images and posts for the world to view and judge. i don't want the opinions of others to dictate how i feel about myself or how i want to be.

i deleted all the apps from my phone, and it felt SO GOOD. i'm so ready for this kind of change. as of now, i will only be checking my blog, occasionally snapchat, and pinterest because let's be honest, who can resist that website?

so for now, bye bye bye social media. i'm not going to miss you.

-A

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Today's post is about the company e.l.f. This is a cosmetics company that you can find at your local Wal-Mart or Target as well as online and other stores. This brand is super affordable with most of their products costing between $1-$6. This company is totally affordable for people on a budget. The best part is that e.l.f. actually has some really good products. A lot of their makeup is long-lasting, high pigment, and really comfortable on the skin. I've tried many products from e.l.f., but these are some of my all-time favorites. Alright, let's get started!

P.S. All of the items are linked so if you click on the name of the item it'll take you to it on the e.l.f. website :) okay, now let's get started!

BRUSHES:

1. Small Tapered Brush - $3

This brush is amazing. I saw this brush when I was at Target, and knew it would be a great multi-use brush. On the website they describe using this for contour or highlight, but I actually use this for my blush. The bristles are so soft, and give my face a flawless blush application. The brush is easy to blend with, and is just an overall great tool to have. I find myself reaching for this brush more than any other brush I have from the drugstore.You can't go wrong with this brush.

2. Contour Brush - $3

This brush is going to change your eyeshadow game. This brush is so easy to use, and it blends eyeshadow beautifully. I use this almost every time i do eyeshadow. I love that this brush is synthetic. The bristles work so well to make your crease look great and your eyeshadow blended. My brush is like weirdly crooked, so let's pretend it's not ;)

PRIME & CONCEAL & SET:

3.  Mineral Infused Face Primer - $6

I have to tell you, when I got this product, I did not have high hopes. I'm super picky about primer, but I'm SO glad I took a leap of faith and tried this primer. I get the Brightening Lavender one, and this product helps keep my face perfectly in tact all day. I really like the consistency and the formula of this product. It's super comparable to the Smashbox primer that is like wayyyyyy more expensive. After trying both, I'd much rather stick with the more affordable one!

4. Glitter Primer - $2

It's so hard not to start off every mini review with a "this product is amazing." Honestly though, this primer works really well with any type of glitter. Whether it's loose pigment, a glittery eyeshadow, or even glitter liner, this primer helps to make sure there isn't a lot of fall out. This primer rocks at keeping all that sparkly amazingness on your lids!

5. All Over Cover Stick - $1

For $1, you can get a pretty good concealer! I'm the shade honey (light), and this product does a really good job of hiding my blemishes and making my skin look perfect. The formula is really smooth, and you can apply this to your skin with a brush or finger, and it blends out nicely. There isn't a ton of product in the packaging, but you're getting this for a dollar...you get what you pay for. 

6. High Definition Under Eye Setting Powder - $3

I love baking my face. That sounds so weird, but I like setting my concealer with powder for about ten to fifteen minutes before wiping away the powder. This technique makes your face look brighter and your makeup will not budge. I have really dark circles under my eyes, and ever since I've used this product alongside my concealer, my eyes have never looked better! The powder is really easy to use, and it's a great little powder to have for the price.

7. Translucent Mattifying Powder - $3

I rediscovered this product when I was organizing my makeup, and I'm so happy I found it! The packaging on this is everything. I love the sleek all black rectangle. This powder is nice to set or touch up spots where you may be oily. Throughout the day, my skin starts to get shiny and not the pretty kind where you're glowing to the heavens.. I dab this on my oily spots, and my makeup is as good as new. 

EYES:

8. Smudge Pot Cream Eyeshadow - $3

This eyeshadow pot is so cool. It has this really smooth formula AND it's super high pigment. I was so impressed with this eyeshadow. I got the shade Cruisin Chic. The color pay off is great, and it's really sparkly on my eyes. I get lots of compliments every time I wear this eyeshadow. It's a must have.

9. Eyebrow Kit - $3

This eyebrow kit in the shade medium is such a cool idea. I love that you get the brow gel and powder in one little package. The brush that's in the product is okay, but I prefer to use my own eyebrow brushes. The formulas are pretty nice, and it's a great little product especially for travel because you get the products and a brush!

LIPS:

10. Lip Exfoliator - $3

This lip scrub is so neat (who says neat anymore?) because it looks like a lipstick. I love my lip scrub from LUSH, but this is so much easier to use because you just apply it like you would a lipstick. After using this, (i LOVE the mint one) my lips feel so moisturized and smooth. This is perfect for when I want to get my lips ready and hydrated to put on matte lipstick.

11. Hyper shine Gloss - $1

This lip gloss is a great dupe for the Stila lip gloss! I was so happy with this product..and for $1?!? That's a great deal. This lip gloss is sticky, so it's not my favorite gloss of all time, but I think it's great for the price. It's pretty sheer, so it's perfect for those no makeup-makeup days!

12. Matte Lip Color - $3

I have two colors of this matte lip, Wine and Tea Rose, but Wine is definitely my favorite. I didn't swatch this color for you guys, but the color is pretty true to the little sample color ring at the bottom of the lip color. The formula of this product is nice, and it is pretty pigmented. I really like this crayon type matte lip!

CONTOUR & HIGHLIGHT:

13. Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder - $4

I bought this little duo because I heard that the blush color was supposed to be an exact dupe for the NARS blush in the shade Orgasm. While I didn't find that to be completely true, (the e.l.f. blush wasn't as pigmented) I still think this is such a great deal. The bronzer is super pigmented and this is perfect for travel!

14. Shimmering Facial Whip - $3 ($1 right now!!)

Finally! We're on to the last product!! This post is so long I apologize. This creamy highlight is such a great little multi-use product. This is basically designed to add shimmer wherever you need it. I like using it as highlight on my cheeks the best, but it can be used for eyeshadow as well. I have the shade Pink Lemonade, and it's definitely something I reach for when I want to glow like no other.

That's it! I hope you enjoyed this post, and hopefully you were able to discover some really good products from this brand! Do you have any favorites? Let me know! I'm always down to try new products. I'll be posting more about high-end makeup as well, but I thought I'd start with this. 

Have a great day!

-Ally 

I'm back! It only took me almost nine months to post again, but that's neither here nor there. I'm so ready to start talking about all things beauty and fashion again :) I'm going to be posting a lot more, so make sure to subscribe/ keep checking my blog regularly. Exciting things are happening to Dutch Braids & Lemonade, so stay tuned!

halloween is the perfect holiday to show your creative side. i chose to be a leopard because it's feline, and i'm an ally cat. get it? ;) for the look, i went super heavy on the bronzer on my cheeks all the way up to my forehead. i used matte highlight in the middle of my forehead as well as my cheeks. basically, this look is going heavy on the makeup you already do, with the exception of the nose and the leopard spots. so, i used thick eyeliner, dark eyebrow pencil, and black/brown eyeliner to create the spots around my temples. this look is super easy to achieve as long as you can find or make ears and a tail. happy halloween :)

happy tuesday!

i'm finally writing about a trip i went on over the summer right before the fourth of july!

this trip was extra special because it was my first time going camping. a pampered city girl roughing it outside of payson, arizona for two days = a major adjustment. my dad being such a boy scout jumped at the chance to go camping. he LOVES camping. my take is, why spend money to deprive yourself of the amenities that you could have if you rented a cabin instead? we've always stayed at my grandparent's home just outside of flagstaff, but i suggested we do something different this year.

luckily for us, we went when it was still pretty cool up there, and it RAINED BOTH DAYS i was in heaven. so much lightning, so much rain, so much darkness at night. it was a lot to take in. looking back, it was actually a pretty cool trip after i got over the whole bathroom situation and the massive population of bees in the area. my dad and i played horseshoes & i won the first time ;) my mom cannot throw to save her life it's kinda scary to be honest.

it was so cool watching my dad make a fire, sitting in the tent reading & listening to the rain, and just enjoying the cool weather with my family.

i'd go again for sure :)

so american

our pinterest attempt & possible success?? 

my dad was jealous i was so good

action shot

nice shoes

nice hair

my mom is so cute

my dad is so photogenic wow

september 26, 2015 & october 24, 2015

highland high school & brophy college prep's homecomings

IT'S SO FREAKING CLOSE!?!?!

anthony finally asked me & in the cutest way ever so i thought i'd share.

just for reference, when we first started dating / talking, he used to play the guitar and sing for me over the phone all the time. it totally won me over because i love people who are musically talented. lucky for me he plays piano, saxophone, and the guitar. he used to play angel by jack johnson for me all the time, but he hasn't done that much recently.

we were hanging out on friday when we stopped at the park for a minute just to figure out what we were going to do next when he tells me to turn around and close my eyes. i have no clue what was going on, but i was super excited because he told me earlier in the day that he had a surprise for me.

he tells me to turn around, and he's holding these pieces of paper that is shown below, and the full sentence reads, "will you be my angel at hoco?" HOW CUTE IS THAT?! me, thinking that was all, go and hug him and say yes, but he was NOT done. i'm forced to turn around again, and when i finally get to peek he's holding his guitar and starts playing angel. i was so surprised and confused because i definitely did not see the guitar and was so confused as to how he got it to the park from my car without me seeing it.

so, yeah, that's how i got asked to homecoming & i'm so excited to spend two really great nights dancing and celebrating our last homecomings together :) :) :) :)

love my life

so....i got accepted into college last week.

did i actually just type that?!?!?!

actually, i got accepted into TWO colleges. i'm definitely moving up in the world.

NAU (Northern Arizona University), and GCU (Grand Canyon University) accepted your home girl for their honors programs & for the major of business management.

naturally i freaked out because i'm so extremely happy that this is all real and happening. so many years of tests and studying and anxiety attacks has finally paid off.

grand canyon university is a private christian college just outside of downtown phoenix. i will be a part of the jerry colangelo school of business as well as the honors institute. i got accepted into the school based on my high gpa (weighted and unweighted). i'm hoping to continue my education and focus my efforts on business management as well as furthering my understanding and learning of the spanish language. i'm so so so excited to start this journey into college, and hope you'll all stick around to hear my stories about getting prepared for college because i'm sure they'll be interesting and somewhat entertaining ;)

ps i registered for grand canyon university yesterday i'm really going there i'm stoked!!

pps their school color is purple...it was meant to be. go lopes.

just for kicks here's pictures of my acceptance letter from NAU :))

have a blessed day fam