2015 already?

It's already January 21st 2015. How did this happen? 

Life has been so crazy and chaotic that it some how slips through my fingers. 

But here we are almost done with this first month of 2015, only 11 more to go.

Since I last posted 10 months ago ( FOREVER... I know =/ ), things have changed quite a bit.

I'm officially a California resident again. 

My husband and I moved back last July and have been loving every moment of it. 

We've already moved twice but now found a place I think we'll stay in for quite awhile.

Being back in the Bay Area, close to all our family is amazing.  

Back in Portland it was just my husband and I so we had all the time in the world.

Now it seems like I never have any time, not that it's a bad thing. 

I'm just trying to figure out how to manage my time better to get everything done in a day.

Hence why it's taking me so long to blog.

I'm trying to blog at least once a week on actual fashion and beauty stuff.

Bare with me though. I'm also trying to get my jewelry site up and running again.

On the plus side I'll be starting Cosmetology School in March and I'm excited and nervous.

I wish I would have started school months ago, but hey life happens. 

I'm also starting to get into freelance makeup once again. 

It's been almost 2 years so I'm out of touch.

 I'm trying to rebuild my portfolio, luckily my husband is a photographer

 and together we are working as a team.

A lot on my plate right now but life is good. 

Can't wait to see what 2015 has in store.

xoxo   

Love, Elle

How to: Make Homemade Blackberry Lemonade (or Any Berry Flavored Lemonade)

I know, I know, this is a beauty blog and I'm over here showing you how to make lemonade.

The truth is I have a lot of hobbies and I wanna share them with you. Not just beauty related things.

So here goes my first non-beauty related blog post!

This is a recipe I sorta made my own. 

A couple years ago I was looking up different ways to make lemonade and like most recipes, I picked a bit of each of them than mashed them up into my own recipe. 

I warn you, it's a fairly simple recipe just time consuming. In my own opinion it's totally worth it,

but maybe I'm just being biased.

P.S.  You can make this recipe with any type of berry, so get creative.

What you'll need:

Ingredients 

• 5 or 6 large juicy lemons
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 lb of fresh berries
• 10 cups of water

Non Ingrediants

• Zester
• Measuring cup(s)
• Fine Strainer and/or cheese cloth
• A potatoe masher
• Large Pot
• A pitcher
• Lemon juicer

 Step 1)

Zest five lemons than stir zest into 1 cup of sugar.

Set aside for a minimum of 30 minutes.

 Step 2)

Juice your lemons to make between 3/4 cup and 1 cup of lemon juice.

Set aside

 

Step 3)

Bring 10 cups of water to boil than remove from heat

 

Step 4)

Stir in the lemon juice, 1 cup of sugar ( not the one from earlier) and the berries of your choice

 Step 5)

Stir everything together than begin mashing the berries. 

The more mashed the better

Step 6)

Let this mixture seep for at least 30 minutes.

You want the mixture to cool down slightly. 

 Step 7)

After 30 minutes of seeping,  add your sugar zest mixture and stir thoroughly

 Step 8)

We strain. 

Any fine strainer will do. 

The finer the strainer, the less pulp in the final product.

I prefer a cheese cloth since I'm not a fan of any pulp.

If you do go with the cheese cloth it will take a lot longer

 As you're straining, use a small spatula  the press the zest into the cloth or strainer

this allows you to get the most juice

 If using a cheese cloth, you're able to squeeze the zest inside the cloth

but it does get a little messy

Step 9)

Let your lemonade completely cool and you're all done.

Super simple and super yum!

The perfect thing on a warm Spring or Summer day!

 

Thanks for reading!

 XOXO

Love, Elle

 Before you go:

• Let me know if you decide to make this!
• What is your favorite lemonade flavor?
•  Do you want to see more recipes from me?

 

Influenster : Colgate Optic White VoxBox

Let me introduce you to Influenster, if you haven't heard. Influenster is "free-to-join community of trendsetters, social media masterminds, and educated consumers who live to give opinions of products and experiences" according to their website. In order to join you need to be invited, but invitations are limited. You connect all your social media and than you're able to review products you've tried, give advice, take quizzes and surveys. The items on Influenster range from beauty products to pet products and everything inbetween.

Every once in a while, depending on your activity, you may get a VoxBox to try out.

 VoxBoxes are free products sent to you to review. Who doesn't love receiving free items in their mailbox?

This time I was chosen to try out Colgate Optic White Toothbrush + Built-In Whitening pen.

 Inside the box was Colgate's new toothbrush and whitening pen along with a travel size of their Optic White toothpaste.

The toothbrush itself is pretty standard, nothing special by just looking at the actual brush head. The cool thing about this duo is the whitening pen and the fact that it stores inside of the toothbrush's handle. You simply pull it out, than slide it back in when you're done.

Pretty awesome if you ask me.

 The whitening pen is really cool.  After brushing normally you simply apply the gel to your teeth, and you're good to go. No need to rinse or wipe it away.   It's suppose to whiten your teeth in 2 days, if you use it twice a day. So far I've only used it one time so the jury is still out.

 

As I mentioned I've only tried the whitening pen once but already there are some things I both like and don't.  I like the taste of the gel, its very similar to that of whitening strips. Not the most pleasant but not at all bad. The consistency of the gel is a little thick and grainy. when you polish it on your teeth it seemed like there was just soo much gel. And I only used the recommended 2 clicks of the product. There is no need to rinse or wipe away but I felt the need to want to . After a couple minutes, the gel sort of  absorbed and the sticky feeling was gone. 

I really like the idea of this product and will continue using it before doing an in depth review.

Stay tuned!

 

Love, Elle

XOXOX0

Video Dilemmas

I want to post more Yutube videos but I can't figure out what I want to post. Every time I work on a makeup tutorial,  I'm never quite satisfied with the lighting or the way the video looks. 

Figuring out how to capture what I'm doing on video but also being able to see what I'm doing in the mirror is tricky. I always end up moving out of frame or the mirror is blocking the camera. 

I think I need to get a giant mirror to place behind the camera, but in doing that I block the window.

Oh the dilemmas.

Do you have a favorite way to film your makeup tutorials?

 Maybe I need to research more and see different set ups. 

 Is it better to have a set up with three point lighting?

 My husband, being a photographer, has all the lighting just seems like such a hassle to set it all up every time I film. Many because I know the lighting won't fit in my makeup room with everything else I have in there.

Video ideas?

Besides tutorials what kind of videos does everyone like to see? 

I don't want to do the same videos I feel 100's of other girls are doing on Youtube.

I need to sit and brainstorm some creative ideas. 

XOXO

Elle

I'm Having a giveaway on my Love, Elle Jewelry Facebook Page so be sure to enter.

Winner gets a custom double wrap bracelet!

All you have to do to enter is LIKE my facebook page Love, Elle

AND

LIKE or COMMENT on the status linked below

Post by Love Elle.

That's it!

the contest stays open until Sunday when I will be randomly selecting a winner

best of luck

xoxo

Love, Elle

What's in My Purse- Lip Product Edition

A couple days ago I was cleaning out my purse, like I do every 5 days or so, 

and I was surprised how many lip products I had in there.

10 items to be exact. That's like 2 items a day.  

Here's my picture I uploaded to Instagram

Here's the breakdown (from top to bottom of course) -

L'oreal Colour Caresse Wet Shine Stain in Coral Tattoo

EOS Lip Balm Sphere in Summer Fruit

Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Flash in 464

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in 225 Berry Allure 

Almay Color+Care Liquid Lip Balm in 500 Pink Pout 

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso 

Maybelline Color Whisper in Pinup Peach 

Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Hibiscus 

Lip Balm in Peppermint 

Urban Decay Super-Saturated lip Color in Glinda 

Crazy how many lip products I go through in a matter of days. I can't be the only one who hoards. DO you find yourself hoarding lip products in your purse?  I really should get into the routine of emptying out my purse every night but that would take too much effort. Besides, you never know when you might need to change your lip product.

XOXO

Love, Elle

Did you see the new header? Thoughts? I know it's simple but I like it simple and it's way more "complicated" than the old one which only had a couple words.

SO let's give this another go.