M A Y// May's Monthly Favorites!

Goodbye May and hello June! Its sad to say goodbye to one of my favorite months but at the same time I am happy to welcome June and all its wonderful and summery offerings! This month was very exciting my milestone 21st birthday happened on the first of May. Shortly after the school semester finally came to a close, my sister graduated from law school and I hosted a party towards the end. Plus my best friend Brittney and I bought our tickets to California. This month was sweet indeed! Now its time to get into my favorites this month!

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation 

I think this is my third time mentioning this foundation. The first was when I just had the bitty tester, the next when I first purchased it and now after it has been apart of my makeup family for a while. Initially, I was drawn to it because of what I had heard about it in the blogosphere. The pros being that it felt lightweight and amazing on the skin, buildable coverage and all around a great foundation to have in your beauty arsenal. I happen to agree with all those claims and it has been all I have been reaching for foundation wise all this month. 
L I N K

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

To go along with this foundation I have been using the Real Techniques Blending Brush. Slowly bu surely I have been collecting these brilliant brushes done by Sam + Nic Chapman. All this month I have been defaulting to this brush in particular for all my base products: my foundation and both my under-eye and regular concealer. It just does the most amazing job of seamlessly blending products into the skin. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a cheaper alternative for a brush. I mean that is probably the most impressive selling point of this brush. It's so high quality and yet its so affordable so that anyone can have it. 
L I N K 

Hourglass Ambient Light Blush- Diffused Heat

 After waiting weeks upon weeks for this blush to be in stock at my local Sephora it finally came and I nabbed it as quick as you can say "hopscotch" ( good thing I did because the very next day, I kid you not they were sold out again.) This little beaut is a mix of Hourglass's famous Ambient Lighting Powder mixed in with a gorgeous array of blush shades which they have created a marbled effect within. I think it is just gorgeous to look at. No blush has the same pattern, it's all unique. I chose the shade Diffused Heat because I am still always drawn to dramatic things and this color stood out to me compared to it's subdued (but equally pretty counterparts) This blush looks absolutely  beautiful on the cheeks but can quickly go overboard so I always opt to go a little lighter. 
L I N K 

Dove Purely Pampering Pistachio Cream with Magnolia Body Wash  

I don't often include a shower product in my monthly favorites ( I am not sure if I ever have.) Regardless, I have been loving this body wash from Dove. It is honestly just one of the best smells one could slather on their body. Its just yummy and I sort of wish they had a hand cream or something that smelled like this so I could have the scent linger on me a little bit longer throughout the day. 

L I N K 

Cropped Polka Dot Button Down - H&M 

Anyone who is close friends with me knows that at the moment I am having a love affair with clothing that has either stripes or polka dots. I am not sure why this obsession has come about but out of all my recently acquired pieces of "dotted" clothing this cropped button down is my favorite. I have been wearing it all the time. The fabric is so comfortable for the warmer weather and I even wore it to a job interview because it had that balance of being formal because its a collared button down with a twist of hip & chic because of its pattern and the fact that it is cropped ( but not unprofessionally cropped.) 

"I Could Pee On This + And Other Poems by Cats" 

  A birthday gift I received from a friend. He knows I love a good coffee table book and also "silly cat related things" ( who doesn't now a days) It might have a crude title but hey cats can be rather crude in order to get their point across. The poems in here are simple but ridiculously funny and true if you have ever owned or have lived with cats. I myself, do not have a cat but my best friend Brittney has two of them and I have stayed at her house long enough to see the relatable humor in this book. 

( one of my favorites) 

If you have a friend that loves or owns cats I highly suggest you get this book for them as a gift. Or as a gift for yourself! It's a really fun book.
L I N K 

My last favorite which is not pictured above is my new phone. A white Samsung Galaxy S5. My old phone was not doing so well and so it was time to get a new one before my trip so that way I can be ensured a working phone. I have yet to be an I-phone girl I have stuck with android for a while and have no complaints other than not being able to buy phone cases by Rifle Paper Co. This phone is HUGE compared to my last phone. Almost as big as my face! I wasn't sure if I was going to get used to it but after having it a little over a week I am completely used to its largeness. It takes amazing photos and the battery lasts 2X longer than my old phone which seemed to always cop out midday. I have been getting along with it rather well. I thought the transition would be hard because I can be a little too sentimental with things like this but this phone is so amazing the transition was almost easy. 

That concludes my favorites for this month! 

What are your favorites this month? Let me know in the comments below! 

Connect with me on Twitter @AllegraShortill

Instagram : morbidcupcakes

See you all soon! 

                       - A 

I Love Spring Tag!

Hello my dears I decided today even though I was not tagged to do this I really wanted to do the " I Love Spring Tag" Because let's face it, I have blown off the handle a bit in anticipation for Spring to finally be here! and now that it is here I want to relish it. 

Anyone who reads this and wants to do this tag is welcome to do so! Consider yourself   officially tagged! 

Let's get cracking!

1. Favorite spring nail polish?

I think spring nail color palettes are my 

favorites of all time because I love wearing 

light and 

milky nail colors. 

My Current favorites are: 

Essie -- Bring Me An Oasis- a really milky 

light blue color.

Sally Hensen Hard As Nails -- Mint Sorbet- 

"minty fresh!"

Nails Inc-- Porechester Sq.- Beautiful

neutrel taupe with a light hint of purple. 

2. What is your must-have lip color this spring?

I may have mentioned this before but my standard is usually a red lip no matter the season. However then Revlon came along and brought me their matte balm stain 

in a light mauve color called--Sultry. 

Which I think is so beautiful on the lips and a little more toned down in comparison to red. 

My other favorite that I have been wearing a lot is the Sephora Collection Rouge Infusion Lip Stain in the shade -- Red Essence 

which I lightly apply on my lips and it gives them a really pretty hint of color. 

3. Show us your favorite spring dress!

I recently got this dress from Ruche, after having it open in a tab for weeks and weeks on end! and I know I featured it in A "Fancy Friday Findings Post" as well. 
Even though I think where I live this dress is best worn in late spring, early summer I think its the prettiest dress I own at the moment. 
( And I own quite a few pretty dresses.) 
The quality of the fabric is superb and hangs beautifully on the body. I also love the "trapeze" cut at the bottom of the dress that makes me look extra ethereal. Whenever I look at this dress and I feel a wave of warmth come over me as I dream about wearing this on a really warm spring afternoon. 





4. What's your favorite flower?

ohhhhh... ( hummm!) this is one is a toughie because I love all flowers so much! But I suppose it comes down to three..favorites.

1.Lilacs

2. Hydrangea's

3. Peonies/Gardenias

I notice that all of the flowers I chose have really big or multiple blooms. Does that say something about me? I am unsure but Lilacs are my favorite scent in a flower. Last year I went to a lilac festival just so I could stick my nose into their heavenly scent. Also, whenever the lilacs start blooming I get extra excited. I make a gutteral whisper "LILACS" and press my hands against the car window because usually I see them while driving somewhere. My girlfriends find it fairly amusing.

5. Favorite spring scarf/accessory?

I am quite fond of wearing my homemade 

flower crown~

I wanna make one!

6. What spring trend(s) are you most 

excited about this year? ( makeup, 

fashion or both!) 

FLORALS FLORALS FLORALS!!

( did I mention florals?)

I am aware that comes as a surprise to no one. 

When spring comes everyone is about the floral prints. 
However, I have come a long way. A couple years back all I was sporting was " all black everything all year long" that was my motto and I was stubborn about it. 

Although, I still love being shrouded in black, this spring in particular, I have gone madfor floral's and fashion pieces that play to my girly and whimsical side. 

In the makeup world I have been excited everything. All sorts of launches have come out this season and since I still feel like I am just emerging and growing as a beauty blogger--( thus a #beauty hoarder) every new makeup product that I swatch or read about or buy is SUPER exciting to me. Though I am really fond of glowy skin in the warm weather. 
Which is when I pull out my glowy staples 
--Mary Lou-Manizer from The Balm and Girl Meets Pearl Highlight by Benefit and pop that combination on my face for glowy and dewy skin. 

7. Favorite spring candle?

I would say its pretty obvious, I bet if you read my blog just often enough you would be 

able to guess right off..

If your guess was Bath and Body Works Peach 

Macaron Candle you would be right! Even 

though I have not burned this extra I ranted 

in one of my previous point about how this 

scent was limited edition. I plowed through 

the big one I had and now I only have this 

extra to savor and perhaps never burn!

( but that would be rather silly of me 

wouldn't it? I will burn it eventually but

for now I will just savor its warm, sweet 

scent.



8. Favorite body spray/perfume for spring?


I have been getting quite a bit of use of my 

mini perfume from NEST in the scent Midnight 

Fleur and I also have been using Tokyo Milk's 

La Vie En Mort a whole bunch. I like both of 

them equally. Been in the market for new 

scents though. Leave any suggestions in the comments!~

9. What is spring like where you live?

In Maine, often we call Spring " Mud Season" it's funny but sadly true. After our massive amounts of snow melt and the ground unfreezes often yards and fields flood over and we start gaining new "lakes" where I have witnessed ducks swim in before. 

It also takes forever to warm up and sometimes we get a few more sneaky blows of snow. It does not really feel spring like till right now in late April. 

April, is the magical month where in Maine you can walk outside without a coat, pull the windows down and finally watch the flowers blossom and hear the peepers emerge. 

Sometimes, I feel I am not really suited to live in Maine forever because Winter is too long to bear, but, once it finally warms up here. It almost feels worth it because it is so serene and beautiful.

10. What's your favorite thing about spring?

- My Birthday is in Spring ( May 1st!! This 

Thursday! EEK!) I love pretty much everything 

about spring. The colors, the world livening 

again I just feel so happy when the spring 

finally arrives! 


I hope you all enjoyed reading through my take 

on the " I Love Spring Tag" 
Remember! IF you read this and want to do this 
tag you are here by tagged! 
and you can send me your answers via the comments or tweet them 

to me! 
@AllegraShortill  

I hope you all are having a happy Sunday! 

See ya later.

- A 

Show and Tell : Collective Haul

  

Whenever I see or watch a haul, my mind harks back to elementary school when we had show and tell. I think that was one of my favorite activities besides story time. I think we all like sharing a part of ourselves with others. The things we buy have reasoning behind them and are catered to our likes and personality. So, I see hauls as a very interesting and positive sharing experience. 

The weather gave us a nice, warm reprieve from snow storms this past weekend.

( aka : opportunity to get outside and also shop around!)

The first batch of things I got are shown in the picture above.

Boater Hat --- Forever 21

"Hipstery Glasses"--- Claires

Tokyo Milk Dark: La Vie La Mort Eau Du Parfaum --- Sephora

It's been a while since I have picked up accessories for myself 

I am pretty sure those glasses have changed my life! 

( I kid! I kid..)

I just really loved how they look on me. No matter how "hipstery" they look I just feel so good and cute in them. They are plastic lenses so they do get dirty quickly but I just never want to take them off my face!

Not soon after, a trip was made to Bath and Body Works where I took advantage of their famous two for $22 deal. 

Raspberry Peach Macaron

&

Renew and Refresh 

( Just two more beautiful smelling beauties to add to my ever growing candle collection.) 

      And lastly, I got two fashion bits!
        These are new stretches for my wardrobe and I love             the two pieces together and separate.
         
    ( Also the burlap bunny garland is also new~ -- Target) 
      
    Navy Polka Dot Cropped Top --- Forever 21
 Grey Striped Button Up ---Target


The end of February is near. 
I can feel some spring like energy underneath the ground and in the air. Birds chirping, warmer winds and a bit more blue sky than normal.
Its all rather exciting!
Hurry up spring! 

I hope you are all doing well.
Have you made any recent and exciting purchases lately?
Let me know in the comments! I would love to hear from you.


-A

  

An Ode to Summer

An Ode to Summer

Summer after all is a time where wonderful things 

can happen to quiet people. 

In those few months you are not required to be who everyone thinks you are

And that cut grass smell in the air 

and the chance to dive in the deep end of a pool give us the courage we don't have the rest of the year

You can be grateful and easy

with no eyes on you

and no past

Summer just opens the door 

and lets you

out

This winter seems never ending. 

Just this afternoon, we are due in for another winter storm. 

I itch at my winter skin, wanting to shed it off in place for my lighter spring and summer skin.

Every time I taste a strawberry I feel the warm seasons promised return on the tip of my tongue and smothered across my lips.

I watch Kinfolk's Ode to Summer often these days.

The imagery allows me to escape and feel inspired for what I want my summer to be like. 

I hope you guys are all doing alright in this bitter weather where ever you are. 

I am looking forward to seeing the flowers bloom. I can just feel it coming soon!

- A

Out and About: Tea Time at Jacquelines~

Hello my dears! I hope all of you had a Happy Valentine's day.

As a happily single person I spent the day relaxing with my best friend and it was quite pleasant.

However, yesterday morning was more special than Valentines day because I got to go and have "Cream Tea" at one of my favorite places in the entire world.

Jacqueline's Tea Room

 Basically, this tea house is a romantic paradise.

There are girly touches everywhere and of course,

breathtaking tea finery.

Jacqueline, has created an extensive tea menu with simply delightful flavor combinations.

( My favorites: Garden of Eden White Tea, Mad Hatter Green Tea, Pumpkin Spice, Chai.)

She also has featured scones of the month. 

Two new flavors every month!

This time she offered us: Strawberry Cheesecake and Caramel scones and they were bloody delicious.

A day is truly magical when you fill yourself with scones and about three pots of tea!

I love coming here, not only for tea and delicious scones but the atmosphere is to die for. I could spend all day in there looking at everything..

( and consequently, wanting to buy everything because this tea room is also part gift shop. That's right, all sorts of beautiful tea ware, books, decor, stationary, soaps, candles and gift packages all at your fingertips to buy. It's quite dangerous.) 

So, if you are hankering for a beautiful tea service. Walk ins for "Cream tea" ( tea,scones with Devon creme and jam.)

Or a traditional " Afternoon Tea"( Unlimited tea selection, four course meal that includes: soup/sorbet, finger sandwiches, scones and dessert.) Come here! I recommend it highly!

Find out more:

Jaqueline's Tea Room

201 Main Street, Freeport Maine 04032 | 207.865.2123

        I hope all you dears are all having a lovely Sunday!

Do you like tea houses? Tell me your favorite!

I am also curious to know if you like tea what is your favorite kind of tea? 

Let me know!

- A 

Out and About : Crema

Today, I had a delightful coffee date with a friend I had not seen in a long time.

I was due in for a little excursion from my usual routine. 

That brought us to a quaint little place called Crema, located on Commercial St in Portland, ME.

The atmosphere was so moody, ( in a good way.) and that really vibes well the the industrial chic aesthetic.

That was when I was introduced to that lovely big cup with the staple latte art painted in frothy milk foam.

I felt that when I properly documented this masterpiece, it was almost like completing a rite of passage when it comes to blogging and being in the world of Instagram and the VSCO community. 

Every, " popular instagrammer" that I tend to follow will have at least a dozen or so photos of their latte art. Usually, with props like; books set to the side or a nice and buttery looking croissant. 

Now, I can say that I crossed that line! And have posted proudly!

(Huzzah!)

Silliness aside though, that caramel latte was wicked delicious and I would majorly recommend going to this establishment if you are in the area and wanted some really great atmosphere, great coffee, good looking food, and a local venue besides your run of the mill Starbucks or DD.

(Don't shun me Starbucks! I still love you!) 

 I have a big giant list on my agenda coming up and one of them is a post about the new Sephora Air Perfection Spray Foundation. I hope you all are looking forward to that for next time!

- A