Quick & Easy Spring Makeup Tutorial with EVER

Hey Girl Hey!

That spring heat got ya feelin’ lost in your current makeup routine? I’ve got you covered, Babe.

Tonight on Blush & Bourbon I’m sharing all about a new skincare line I’ve been trying the last few weeks called EVER! I’m so excited to share everything you need to know about EVER SKIN + I’m sharing a step-by-step 5 minute makeup tutorial that will have you out the door & looking beautiful in a breeze!

Thank goodness the sweetest angel named Diana reached out about her EVER skincare products on Instagram because, ya’ll! I had NO idea what I’ve been missing!!!!!

By the way, you’re gonna wanna go check Diana out on Instagram: @diana_lofstead.everskin – give her a follow! 🙂 While you’re over there, be sure to browse through Diana’s EVER website, too!

I actually hadn’t heard of EVER until Diana and I connected on Insta. Shouts to Insta for helping us connect with people we otherwise never would meet, work with, or even just comment AKA randomly converse with! Insta, for all the frustrations you bring us, you’re pretty darn cool.

Anyway, I can’t stress enough just how much I didn’t know what I was missing out on until I tried EVER products. Not only is the packaging beautiful – tbh, I’m a sucker for packaging – their formulation philosophy is something I can get behind:

“EVER products are consciously developed with the health and beauty of skin in mind. We think globally when choosing an ingredient and go beyond “can we use it” and aspire to “should we use it” based on global regulations and emerging scientific studies. Only those ingredients that meet our strict performance, safety, and sustainability standards go into EVER products. Our products are dermatologist tested, hypoallergenic, clinical grade, gluten free AND we never ever test on animals. This is the EVER Conscious philosophy.”

EVER products are formulated without ingredients banned from cosmetics use in the EU or US, and the packaging is crisp and beautiful. Oh, and by the way, the product results are absolutely beautiful, too.

Did I mention the product packaging has rose gold accents? I’m obsessed.

My favorite product hands-down is the “Out The Door Cheek & Eye Palette” because it comes with everything I need to get that beautiful Spring glow quick, fast, & in a hurry!

Ya’ll, I feel like I’m always in a hurry. Good LORD help me! But honestly, even if you’re not in a hurry, who wants to spend more than a few minutes doing their makeup during Spring or Summer?! My makeup melts, cakes, or washes down my face depending on what I’m doing during any given Spring or Summer day. Farmer’s markets, lake days, road trips, ice cream runs . . . they sound hella fun, but they get HOT. That’s why my goal for the hottest seasons is to always keep it light & fresh.

Unless it’s a special occasion, or something, of course! 😉

More lipstick, less eye makeup.
More bronzer, less foundation.
More highlight, less of literally everything else.

These are my Spring/Summer makeup mottos.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to get that gorgeous Spring glow in under 5 minutes using some of my favorite EVER SKIN products!

QUICK & EASY SPRING MAKEUP TUTORIAL:

Brush the deep cheek tone “Graceful” from the “Out The Door” Palette to contour.
Sweep the vibrant pink cheek color “Cheerful” on your cheeks for blush.
Add that summer glow, girl! Add the golden shimmer “Flawless” to highlight.
Brush “Fierce” the bronze shimmery eye shadow all over your lids.
Accentuate your crease with “Polished” until you’ve got that depth between the two colors.
Finish off your bronze smokey eye by accentuating your outer lids and under-eye line with the deep brown eye shadow color “Mesmerizing”.
Kiss those eyelashes with some “Whiplash Speed Volumizing Mascara” and swipe on some “Flash Lip Gloss” and you’re READY TO GO!

That’s UNDER 10 STEPS in UNDER 5 MINUTES, Babe! And you. look. GORGEOUS!

How absolutely beautiful are these EVER products? Comment your thoughts down below + feel free to ask me any questions you have! If you’ve tried EVER SKIN I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments, too! I received EVER SKIN products complimentary, but ALL opinions are 100% my own.

What’s your favorite makeup product right now, Babe? What tutorials are you loving! Slide into my comments or DMs and let’s chat!

Thanks for stopping by Blush & Bourbon tonight, and until next time . . .

Cheers!

xoxo,
Elle

Are we best friends yet?!

May 15, 2018May 17, 2018

Tasty Mini Thai Tacos with Mighty Spark Food Co.

Hey Girl Hey!

Sooo glad you stopped by Blush & Bourbon tonight because the hubs and I are sharing all about our NEW favorite – and LOCAL to CLT! – meat products:

Mighty Spark Food Co.

#BiteBackHunger #SparkAMovement #WinWin

(CLICK HERE to visit the Mighty Spark website to LEARN MORE!)

This post is sponsored by Mighty Spark Food Co., but all content and opinions are 100% our own! Thank you SO much, Mighty Spark!

A few days ago we received the COOLEST delivery – pun intended – of Mighty Spark Meat Co. products, right to our front door! The Styrofoam cooler had dry ice packages inside and was “smoking” like a witch’s cauldron when it arrived! Literally, SO COOL!

We received the following Mighty Spark ground meat packages to try:

Sweet Thai-Style Seasoned Ground Chicken
Bruschetta Ground Chicken (seasoned with sun-dried tomato and basil)
Bacon-Bursting Ground Turkey Blend

How amazing is Mighty Spark for sending TWO of each flavor for us to try, ya’ll?! Customer service like that combined with the top notch delivery – opening up that cooler and feeling the products were still frozen hard as a rock – is so important because it means a lot. As consumers the hubs and I have really grown to care about the quality of the food products we buy, from the sourcing to the treatment of animals and every health grade or chemical ingredient in between, and that’s a good thing. That’s why it’s always incredible to learn about a brand that exceeds our expectations, even down to the details beyond taste.

But the taste, though . . . . .

Probably no surprise for two bourbon-loving Southern attorneys, but the Bacon-Bursting Ground Turkey Blend is hands-down our favorite of the three flavors we were sent! It is melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and to be perfectly honest with you: Thomas and I BOTH thought the Bacon-Bursting flavor was made of ground beef! That is, until we read over the packaging while cooking our second container of the flavor to prepare to write this blog post for ya’ll. It’s just that juicy and good!

I honestly can’t believe we both just forgot we were eating ground turkey and have been assuming these are ground beef sliders for days. Well done, Mighty Spark.

Our second favorite flavor is a close call – I mean, they’re ALL SOOO GOOD! – but it’s the Sweet-Thai Style Seasoned Ground Chicken for both of us! We love Thai food ever since we tried it together a few years ago and we had so much fun creating these Tasty Mini Thai Tacos for Taco Tuesday tonight!

Tasty Mini Thai Tacos Recipe:

1 container Mighty Spark Food Co. Sweet-Thai Style Seasoned Ground Chicken
Mini taco shells (hard or soft, up to you!)
1 package Asian salad mix*

BOOM! That’s all you need to make these incredibly Tasty Mini Thai Tacos! The best part is this recipe takes UNDER 15 MINUTES to throw together and is absolutely delicious!

*Pro Tip: Look for these bagged salad mixes in the fresh veggie/salad mix area of your local grocery store! Want a bonus tip? Look for the kind that comes with a container of crunchy won tons and Sesame Ginger dressing you can use to top your tacos! Hello, money saver and flavor creator!

You might be wondering why you literally only need to buy taco shells and a bag of basically lettuce to create mouth-watering flavorful Thai tacos, and that would be because you’ve not tried Mighty Spark products, my friend. Mighty Spark’s meat products are so fresh and full of flavor . . . just packed with seasoning and juicy sauces. That’s why they’re perfect for anyone like us living a fast-paced, busy life while trying to stay healthy and enjoy what we cook!

What You Need to Know:

Mighty Spark products are available at your local Publix!
- Mighty Spark is offering a $3 off coupon at Publix through May 21st, so be sure to check out their various flavors and stock up! CLICK HERE FOR YOUR $3 OFF COUPON!
Also available at the Charlotte Regional Farmer’s Market this summer! YAY!!!!!
- Mighty Spark actually started at the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market and will be available at BOTH the Charlotte, NC AND Daytona, FL markets this summer!

Be sure to head on over to @MightySparkFood on Instagram to see what they’re up to and give them a follow!

If you’ve tried Mighty Spark products, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Also, help a girl out with some recipe tips for the Bruschetta Ground Chicken flavor! I never know what to do when it comes to Bruschetta-inspired recipes and I’d love to hear your go-to’s!

Thanks for stopping by Blush & Bourbon, and until next time . . .

Cheers!

xoxo,
Elle

Are we best friends yet?!

May 1, 2018May 12, 2018

Families & Felines: How to Ready Your Home Cat’s Home for House Guests

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FreeAndCleanLiving #CollectiveBias

Hey Girl Hey!

I’m SO glad you’ve stopped by Blush & Bourbon Blog tonight because I’ve got a very special post for you (& your feline friend)! As I write this I’m taking a break from a little late night house cleaning because you already know from my Instagram post . . . my in-laws are staying with us this weekend! And they’re ARRIVING FRIDAY MORNING!

*cue the dramatic music*

Now ya’ll already know I’m obsessed when it comes to planning things out and getting down to the details. So of course I’m freaking out because this is the FIRST EVER TIME we’ll have house guests since we moved in to our FIRST EVER HOME together.

It’s absolutely no presh at all, and I’m completely fine. *gulp*

The in-laws will be staying in our guest bedroom, of course, which just so happens to be where we’ve been conveniently keeping our kitten Belle’s litter box since the move-in. We put some strategic thought into this location, which works pretty much every day (except when we’ll have house guests) . . . . .

Now, I personally don’t like to admit my children’s character flaws – which are few and far between I might add on their behalf – BUT TRUTH IS: Our chocolate lab/pit bull mix, Cambria, has an affinity for eating the litter box. When we went from living in our tiny apartment to our two-story farmhouse, we made a “No Dogs Allowed Upstairs” rule for sooo many reasons that make sense for our family:

Downstairs is entirely tile/wood floor, but the upstairs includes some carpeting
We have 3 giant furry pups (& our 2 goldens especially shed like crazyyy!) that are so much easier to sweep up after than vacuuming
Litter box stays upstairs . . . doggies stay downstairs . . . mama stays happy!

Ya’ll, I’m a total kiss-my-dog-in-the-mouth kinda girl, but there’s absolutely no way I want anything to do with them when they come up to me with litter caked on their mouths & noses.

One reason we’ve been absolutely loving New Purina® TIDY CATS® Free & Clean™ Unscented Clumping Litter we bought at Target while we prepare for our house guests all week is that there’s FINALLY no kitty litter smell permeating the entire house! I was so worried that the guest bedroom would reek of litter no matter how many candles I lit or room spray I unleashed because that’s where we’ve been keeping the litter box this whole time. I had NO idea that the reason I’ve been smelling cat litter all these years is because I’ve been using the scented kind . . . call me super basic, but I just assumed the scented kind would eliminate the smell of Ammonia, not just cover over it with a fake perfume-y smell.

Aside from the fact that it’s TARGET, AKA Heaven on Earth, we love shopping at Target for all our pets’ needs because Target offers everything we need as a family . . . it’s truly our Sunday “one stop shop” because we’re able to grab everything we’ll need for the coming week, from our groceries, to clothes, to pet supplies, to snagging my prescription medication from the pharmacy & grabbing an iced latte from Starbucks on the way out the door! I also can’t help but be obsessed with the Target dollar section . . . with prices like $3 – $5 for all kinds of adorable goodies – and Tidy Cats Free & Clean Unscented on the shelves – I’m guaranteed to have an incredible shopping experience (and probably leave with a little somethin’ somethin’ for myself) every time.

Thankfully, moving Belle’s litter box into our bedroom has been a breeze, and a change we honestly haven’t noticed in the least bit. I am so relieved knowing I won’t be miserable smelling cat litter in our master bedroom all weekend while our guests enjoy their privacy in our spare bedrooms. I even expected the change of litter box location to be a bit of an adjustment for Belle, but I she took to both the new litter box locale AND her new Tidy Cats Free & Clean Unscented litter amazingly well! There’s no dust, no scent (of either fake perfume OR Ammonia), all the clumping power, and . . . DARE I SAY IT?! . . .

We’ve had absolutely NO problems going into the weekend!

It’s funny how figuring out one little thing – like how to NEVER smell cat litter EVER AGAIN! – can make you feel confident in SO many other areas of life. Who knows, now that I’ve settled on what is hands-down the BEST cat litter I’ve ever used, I may just give gardening a serious go.

If you’re in need of a switch in the litter department, the hubs and I would highly recommend giving Tidy Cats Free & Clean – and its powerful activated charcoal – a try! Thankfully, Tidy Cats® knows powerful odor control is at the top of my list of litter must-haves, and I had no idea that sometimes added fragrances and dyes just aren’t the best solution to odor control. Free & Clean combines the odor-absorbing power of activated charcoal plus TidyLock® Protection to lock away odors—giving Belle the clean she deserves and needs completely free of the stuff she doesn’t!