New Year's Resolutions

It is time to say goodbye to the year.

This year has been so good to me. I have gone so many new places, met so many new faces, and the blog has become a real thing. We finally have quite a bit of content, which is great. I just wrote a page in my journal about reflecting on the year and using that to create new resolutions. I came to the realization that most of my regrets for the year were about missed opportunities and times I just said no. So, my resolution for 2015 is to go for it. Take a chance and trust my gut. Who wants to live a life where you just sit there, drifting through your comfort zone, around in repetitive circles of familiar faces and places? 

That is all I have to say for today. What is your New Year's Resolution?

Good luck and best wishes for the new year,

~Ella

DIYmas FAIL.

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I, Ella, have failed.

One year, I will do all 25 days! I thought starting to write in November would give me enough time, but obviously not! I will have to change my approach next year. However, I did produce quite a lot of content this month and I swear I worked really hard. School is a lame excuse, I know, but it is truly my reasons. Finals for me are the last three days of school, which means stress and studying doesn't stop until the afternoon of the last day of school. I carry a ton of stress with me at all times and it makes it really hard to focus, which is the one thing you really need to make 25 days of beautiful content. I also had problems with the platform Blogger not publishing and crashing all the time. I am truly sorry for this. In the end, it is all my fault and I should of taken steps to ensure this would not happen.

Here's to a better year in 2015,

~Ella

Christmas Playlist| December 16th

Whilst decorating my room, I created a christmas playlist with some of my favorite tunes for the season. I have come to listen to it all the time and thought I would share it with you!

Here it is.

I hope you enjoy! Music sure makes wrapping presents so much easier :)

~Ella

Cloudy Skies Nails| December 15th

Today is about some nails I did when I was feeling really creative the other day. My inspiration was the cloudy skies outside, and the OPI nail polish that came in my ipsy. I took some quick photos to show you guys. What do you think? If you do them yourself, post a pic and share it with us! I would love to see.

Hope cloudy skies don't keep you down today!

~Ella

fashion friday| December 12th

I was going to post a cute outfit today, but I had this idea. Since it is spirit week at my school, I chose a silly outfit to post for Fashion Friday! Behold, the ugly christmas sweater/vest. Yes, I actually stole this from my Grandma. I wouldn't call it stealing, since she refused to wear it (my Grandma is a very fashionable lady). Take note of the jewelled detailing of the snowflakes and eyes of the snowmen. The buttons are embroidered with Holly. A button fell into my egg this morning and I was very upset, but that is beside the point.

Do you have an ugly sweater?

~Ella

DIY Joy Box| December 11

Hello! Today we are using the word of the season: Joy. I saw in a living store a cute box with words lit up inside and thought that would make a great project. Why pay $50 when you can spend $1?

 You will need a cardboard box with the front cut out, a sharpie, a pair of scissors, and some strands on lights. ( I used 40 lights, or two packs)

 First, cut the front off of your box.

 Next, write out J-O-Y or some other word you would like to use. Puncture holes for each light. Count your lights to make sure you poke enough holes.

 Insert your lights Into the back of the box. Make sure you keep outlets in mind when arranging the lights.

Plug it in and... Boom! A cute word box! Only keep it lit for an hour or so to prevent a fire hazard. LED lights really reduce the risk for fire.

Keep the Joy of the season close!

~Ella

DIY Jewelry Holder | December 10th

Are you sick of stacking your perfume under the sink, your earrings in that rainbow holder that could be considered an antique, and your necklaces off your bed? Learn how to make your own cosmetics tower!

 You will need: (all from Dollar Tree!)

Two short candle holders

a package of small plastic plates

2 plastic serving trays

hot glue and hot glue gun

start by hot gluing the votive to the bottom of a small plate. Then, Hot glue the bottom of the votive to a serving plate. Hot glue the other votive to the bottom of the serving plate, and hot glue the structure to the largest serving plate.

Annd there you have it! Super easy, and only $5! 

Happy Diy-ing!

~ella

Finals Stress Relief | December 9th

Along with the holidays come Finals testing. The holidays shouldn't be stressful, so I made a few tips to relieve stress for tests!

 Drink tea! The healing powers of tea can help you relax, which reduced stress. Find some holiday ones, such as peppermint or sugar cookie, and make relaxing festive!

 Get some sleep! If you are well rested, you will be more alert and less flustered when taking your tests.

Finally, eat well! Bananas have a lot of potassium and will stay with you, unlike lots of carbs in cereal and waffles.

Good luck on your tests!

~Ella

Night Routine Part 2| December 8

Part Two is here! This is more of the non-beauty side of my night routine. my routine normally takes me 30 minutes without a shower, and 50 minutes with a shower. No, I do not take 20 minute showers. I store my towel and robe in my bedroom and my shower supplies under my sink. Now to the pictures!

 The very first thing I do is feed my fish. I know it is gross looking, but I can't seem to keep the rims of the tank clean!

I then get it into some comfy pajamas. I got these cookie monster pants on black friday for $7!

To make my mornings go as smooth as possible, I hang my outfit up the night before.

Finally, I get into my bed and read my book until it is time to go to bed.

Good night!

~ella

Fashion Friday| December 5

Daily Holiday Fashion? Count me in!

Today's outfit is for those of us who don't get ten feet of snow, and have at least three days of 60+ degree weather. It can easily become warmer with thick tights or leggings, undershirts, and more.

Happy Holidays!

Night Routine Part 1| December 4th

Today is part one of my winter night routine! This is what I do to wind down on cold evenings after school. Part two will be coming soon!

 first I wipe off my makeup with my walgreens brand sensitive skin makeup removing wipes. I do not like them as much as the yes to brand I am used to, but I wanted to try out some new products.

 I then brush my teeth with my spin brush and my sensodyne pronamel toothpaste.

 To cleanse my face of all the dirt and allergens, I wash it with my trader joe's face wash. It is perfect for sensitive skin, and not made of toxic chemicals.

 After cleansing, I make sure to moisturize my face with my first aid beauty daily moisturizer.

The last step is to moisturize my hand with my Rose Berry hand cream. The dry air ( the radar said 1% humidity the other day!) really damages the skin of my hands, so I have to constantly apply lotion.

I hope you enjoyed part one of my night routine! I will make sure to get part two up as soon as I can!

It is hard to balance blogmas and school, but I will make it work!

~Ella

Pinspiration: Christmas in a Jar | December 3rd

Today is a little DIY pin-spiration project i found on, you guessed it, pinterest. It is called " Christmas in a jar" and cost me $3 at The Dollar Tree. See a trend?

Here is a very similar link, as I could not find the original.

The only difference in that I flipped the jar and did not make it a snow globe, but I still love it!

I think it is so simple yet chic, and can be placed almost anywhere! I put it on my shelf in my room. 

If you do this, please send us a pic!

Happy holidays,

~Ella

DIY Holiday Wreath for $6| December 2nd

Today's project is all about making a Do-it-yourself holiday wreath with supplies you can purchase at the dollar tree from $6! I am hanging this above my bed, and I have gotten so many compliments and people asking me where I purchased it. There is some kind of pride when you tell somebody that you made it all by yourself (with a little inspiration from pinterest, of course). Let's get into it!

WAIT! Make sure to have parental supervision when cutting and handling a glue gun!

Okay, now we are ready.

 So to start you are going to need a foam wreath shape and five or more fake fig plants in the colors of your choice. I purchased all of my supplies at the Dollar Tree.

1. cut the plants so that you leave about 2 or so inches of the stem and wire. This is really important to be able to stick them into the foam. You may need wire cutter for this step. I improvised with some scissors, sawing back and forth until I could break it with my hands. Don't throw away the stems or leaves! We need them later.

 2. Stick the plants into the foam wreath. I went white, red, white, red around the entire wreath, then just filled in the sparse spots. Fill the top before you move to the sides.

 3. You now have this totally awesome looking creation! You could stop here, or take this in a totally direction by adding ribbon, a bow, or maybe ornaments! Let your creativity flow.

 4. Take the leaves off of the stem. You can now do whatever you want with the stems! Maybe save the wire for future projects.

 5. Spread out each leaf and put a strip of hot glue down it. Stick it on so that you could cover all of the outer border. I don't like the look of the foam and I wanted to cover it.

 6. Now line the inside of the wreath the same way.

 7. finally, fold the leaves together and put a dot of glue on top of the fold and stick it in the sparse places between the plants. 

Now you have a super awesome holiday wreath! Hang it in your house or give it to somebody as a gift. The possibilities are endless! See you tomorrow,

~Ella

Welcome to the Holidays| December 1st

Our theme has changed to green and red, I have hinted at something big in each post of November, and I have stayed up late many nights. Today is the day you become informed! We, here at Two4beauty, are doing DIY december! We will be posting outfits, diy's (obviously), music, and so much more for everyday except weekends in December. Today is a short intro post but much more is yet to come! Get excited, and have a happy holiday season.

~Ella

Ella's October Favorites

Hello!

October has passed and November wasted no time coming! It feel like I was cheated of October because it went by so fast! How was your Halloween? I know I really enjoyed mine. We had some chili but barely any trick-or-treaters! Anybody else experience this? Here are some of my October favorites.

Essie continues to be my favorite brand of nail polish this month with "cashmere bathrobe" (such a weird name???). It is a dark grey color, perfect for fall. I am not a fan of the black polishes, but this is a dark I can deal with. I have had it on my nails since September and love it!

My second October favorite is a B&BW lotion. What are the holidays without them? This is a new scent, called "pumpkin latte and marshmellow comfort". It basically smells like pumpkin cupcake and marshmellow christmas scent had a child. I kept getting asked if I had lotion or if I had just been to culinary class. I also got asked if I had Starbucks..... sadly, I did not. Just amazingly accurate lotion.

This Favorite is new to the drugstore. It is the maybelline nudes pallette. On the back, there is a guide on how to combine the colors for many natural looks. I have been using the middle four the most on a daily basis. It is also very convenient for travel.

I love this mascara! I got it in my ipsy and have used it every day! It does not clump and really defines lashes.

Finally, I love this face sponge. I saw Ingrid nielsen using this and picked one up at ulta for $1. It exfoliates and makes my skin shine! I was having problems with a breakout and this saved my life!

Sorry this is up on the last day of November. I thought I had posted it 2 weeks ago, but I must've forgotten to click publish! Sorry about that. Check back tomorrow for the exciting announcement!

~Ella

3 Fall Outfits

Fall is my favorite season, mostly because of the clothes I can wear. It's a mix of crisp breezes and the sun gently laying over the fallen leaves that make you want to wear your longer shirts and sweaters. It's not so cold that you just give up and wear three pairs of leggings and what feels like 50 pounds of sweaters, undershirts, scarves, and jackets, or so hot you also give up and live in the pool so you don't have to wear anything other than a swimsuit. And bath and Body works, but that's another time. Here are 3 fall outfits; one formal, one kind of formal but still okay to wear to work or just to dress up a bit, and a casual outfit. The best part about these outfits is that the are perfect bases for layering! You can add as many undershirts, scarves, and jackets as you would like.

 this is a good outfit for work or a lunch out with friends. A fitted cardigan with a sparkly shirt, skinny jeans, and heels makes a casual look a little more dressed up. swap skinny jeans for leggings and you are basically wearing fashionable pajamas!

This is a formal look. The dark royal blue dress paired with the gold statement necklace looks really, really nice. You could add a blazer and tights for a cooler day, and switch the necklace of for a nice scarf.

This final look is very casual. I paired my american eagle blouse with my skinny jeans and riding boots for a laid-back yet put-together look. I think this outfit would be good for the cooler fall days, or for apple picking.

I hope you got some inspiration from these three outfits! Look out for cool, new things coming to the blog VERY SOON... :)

~Ella

Ella's August Favorites

Hello!

It seems like just yesterday that it was April, and I was getting pumped for summer nights and a week away at the beach. While I am bummed that I cannot go back and spend the rest of my life on Tybee island yet (yet is a very important word), I am ready for the beauty of fall. It is hard to believe it is fall, however, when you are still praying that it only reaches 100 degrees outside on the daily. One day, I will experience fall. One day (unless my plans to live on Tybee in a cottage for the rest of my life go as planned. I'd take it, though.) Also, another important event happened over the long weekend of labor day: August ended. So now, it is time, for.... (drum roll please)....(waiting for that drum roll)....(nope? that's cool.)... ELLA'S AUGUST FAVORITES!! Let's jump right in to it.

 My first August favorite would have to be this B&BW candle in the scent leaves. It is the perfect fall scent, and the mini size is great for your bedroom. I put this on my bedside table and light it while I read my library books before bed. It is very relaxing and gets you in the mood for fall. B&BW, you are doing it right.

 My second fave are these Moravian cookies from a Moravian bakery in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I have some family there and we always go to this tiny little bakery to get cookies. Ginger cookies are a good autumn cookie (as weird as that sounds, it is true!). These cookies are incredible, and would make good christmas gifts. You can purchase them here.

 My next favorite is this nail color from Essie in the shade ladylike. I saw a similar essie shade while browsing the fall nail trends of 2014 a few days ago, and immediately thought of this shade I had worn a long time ago. It is a pale purple color that is just the perfect touch for fall .It isn't as loud as a deep red or maroon shade, so you can make a statement with a chic scarf or statement necklace instead. Although you will be seeing my favorite essie polish ever, Berry Naughty, sometime between now and christmas. Hopefully.

 If you read my makeup collection post, you would know i was using Maybelline's new pumped up mascara. I didn't really like it, as it clumped easily and the brush design was strange (and ineffective. Adding a twist to a stick did nothing, despite their clever packaging.) I threw it out once I had used it for 2 months, and purchased The Mega Plush Volume Express mascara. Not only is the brush awesome, it doesn't clump!

 This is the best lipstick I have even used, and I say that very confidently. This is a Revlon lipstick in the shade "Wild for Pink". It is not too terribly bright, and matches the natural shade of my inner lip. The only reason I use it is because my lips are really weird and are two different shades, so this evens them out. Tip: to make your lipstick last, put a tissue over your lips after applying your favorite lipstick and brush your face powder over the tissue. It sounds weird, but it really works! I do it every morning before school because I don't have time to reapply my makeup throughout the day.

My final August favorite is this deodorant. It is all natural and has no scent. I don't really know what to say, other than it is natural, has no active ingredients, and is perfect for sensitive, um, armpits? We've just entered a whole new realm of weirdness. 

I hope you enjoyed my awkward August favorites! Please follow us so you know what's up. Also, it helps us out a ton when you comment and +1 our posts.  We thank you for your support as we come up to our big 1st anniversary of two4beauty! See you later, gators :)

~Ella~