Kora Fitness (ACTA wear)

I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but I love supporting/buying from companies that give back. The first one I loved and supported was TOMS. If you aren't familiar with them, for every pair of shoes purchased they give a pair to a child in need. One for one is their motto. They have also added sunglasses, and for every pair bought they give a pair of prescription glasses or cataract surgery to someone in need. There is a company who does something similar called Diff Eyewear, but I will talk about them in another post.

For this post I am want to talk about another athletic wear company, Kora Fitness. (Now ACTA wear) They have men and women's activewear. Shirts, sports bras, shorts, leggings, and hats to name a few items. The pair of leggings I have are the sculpt leggings in black and they shape you in all the right places. They are pretty high-waisted to help hold in your tummy if that is a problem area. These leggings are also squat approved, so they do not get thinner while exercising. They are very comfortable too. They run true to size, so just get the size you normally wear in leggings. A few reviews say they run bigger so I sized down first, but ended up exchanging them for my normal size. Click any of the pictures to shop my leggings. You can also shop my tank here from Muscles and Donuts. How cute is it?! Definitely me, haha.

Besides having cute workout apparel, Kora is partnered with 4 different charities, and for every purchase a portion goes to one of the charities. The best part about that is you get to pick the charity you want your portion to go to when you check out! The charities they are partnered with are charity: water, which provides clean water to communities in need, Action Against Hunger , who takes action against the causes and effects of hunger, Operation Underground Railroad, who rescues children from sex trafficking, and Anxienty and Depression Association of America (ADAA) which helps with mental health. Almost all of their clothing has 4 dots to represent each of these charities. They hope that the dots can remind their customers that becoming a great person is just as important as becoming a great athlete. For me it is a reminder of the charity I contributed to and that I helped make a difference, even if it was a small one.  

I will say they are a little pricier, but I actually have a coupon code for y'all! It will get you 15% off your order and it is aliciabice15. Whenever you check out there will be a place to add a coupon code and you will just type it in that box. The prices are around $30-$85, depending on what you buy. Definitely check them out. Even though their prices are a little higher, just remember you are helping out a charity of your choice too. If y'all have any other questions just let me know!

"Blogger Dress"

Today I thought I would show y'all the Free People dress I got at that wonderful "aren't we all though" store. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, long story short, I told the girl when I was checking out that I was a fashion blogger and she goes, "aren't we all though." I have the whole story on my instagram here if y'all want to see it. It is pretty funny.

Anyways, the dress I got from said store, which I won't name, was originally $128, then marked down to $48.99 I think. The store was closing so everything in it was 50% off the lowest ticket price, so I ended up getting this Free People dress for about $26. If it hadn't been that good of a deal I probably would have left because of her comment. She may have just been an awkward person and not meant anything by her comment, but it still bothered me because bloggers put a lot of time and effort into their business, myself included. I actually have an entire post on blogging and what all goes into it if y'all want to check it out. I will link it here. 

I still can't believe I got this dress for that cheap. I think it is a great transition piece since the sleeves are longer. Plus, it looks super cute with booties. You can actually wear the sleeves two different ways by pulling them up or down. It looks cute either way. The back is so pretty too! It has three buttons on the neck and the back is open. The tank top underneath has adjustable straps which I love because it doesn't have to be low cut. I can also wear a regular bra, which y'all know I am all about. I once again have a nude one so you can't even see it.

 You are able to buy this dress on sale, but not as good of a sale as I got. I will go ahead and link it for y'all if you did want to see it. You can click on any of the pictures to shop it and the shoes. The shoes are on sale and are from Old Navy, so they are a good deal. They are super comfortable too! I bought them over the summer so I haven't been able to wear them much, but I did a lot of walking around in them for my photoshoot and they were so comfortable for that. I can't wait to wear them more. They are the perfect color too, a nice neutral so they will go with so many outfits!

Have y'all found any really good deals lately? I'm always looking for deals and sales, so let me know!

Sleeves down

Sleeves up

Greatest Romper Ever

Y'all, I am OBSESSED with this romper! This is definitely my favorite purchase from the Nordstrom sale. This actually might be my favorite purchase ever! I was a little nervous about buying it because I ordered it online, so I didn't get to try it on. I normally have a hard time finding rompers that fit right because honestly, my booty usually hangs out, haha (#bigbootyproblems.) This one is a little shorter in the back, but since it has the lace overlay, that helps it look longer and it covers a little more.

I usually try to post items that are affordable for y'all, but this was a little bit of a splurge, and definitely worth it in my opinion! It helped getting it during the anniversary sale because I saved $28. I have noticed quite a few people also bought it, but I don't even care, it's that cute! I really wish I would have had this last year, because it would have been perfect for my wedding shower. Oh well, I will still wear it anyways. The only bad thing is it's about to be fall, so I won't have much longer to wear it. Thankfully I am going to the beach next month, so I will definitely be wearing it there. 

In case you can't tell by the pictures, it has a nude lining in the front and the bottom part in the back, and the top of the back is just the lace. I love all the lace! I also just wore a regular bra with it. It was a nude one and you can't even see it. That is another thing I love about it because I hate strapless or special bras. It is no longer on sale and a little pricey, but if you want to check it out you can click on any of the pictures to shop the look. The shoes I have worn in another post, but they are from Target. I think they are a staple shoe because you can wear them with so much and they weren't expensive either. You can also shop them by clicking the pictures. Besides the few pair I got from the Nordstrom sale, I have been getting most of my shoes from Target lately. They are good quality and affordable!

Are y'all loving Targets new brands? Where is yall's favorite place to get shoes?

Tema Athletics

A few months ago I learned about an awesome athletic wear company that I wanted to share with y'all. I am a very active person so I love athleasure wear, and let's be honest, I love wearing it even if I'm not being active. If you follow me on instagram you may have heard me mention them before, but I wanted to go a little more in depth and tell you just how truly awesome they are.

The company is called Tema Athletics and they are a Seattle-based company ran by women, who support ALL women. Their mission is to support the growing movement of body positivity and health at every size! They promote women's empowerment and pride themselves on creating activewear for all women, regardless of shape and size! They offer sizes XS-3X. 

There are a lot of reasons I love this company, but one in particular is that they put little inspirational mantras inside their clothing. I think that's awesome because sometimes it is hard to power through a run or workout, and looking down to see that is sometimes the little boost you need to finish strong! I am also all about spreading self-love and body positivity, so it's amazing that is their main mission! I love supporting companies that have the same values as me! It is so awesome to see companies supporting ALL women, especially in todays world! It helps send a powerful message, especially to the younger generation to love yourself the way you are. Tema genuinely practices their mission by posting women of all shapes and sizes on their social media accounts! Definitely give them a follow on instagram here. 

If you want to check out their website you can take a look here. They are actually having a sale right now on their leggings! If you use code HEATWAVE you will get 50% off leggings! There are some super cute ones called the leaf leggings that I love and will have pictured below. I will include a close up so you can really see the detail. You can click each picture to go to the item. All of their items are really good quality and the leggings do not get thinner if you bend over. So many leggings do that, so you worry the whole time you are at the gym if people can see your butt or not. You will not have to worry about that with these leggings. So definitely check out their website, because it's too good of a deal to pass up! It ends on Sunday, August 5, so hurry to get yours!

I hope y'all loved learning about Tema Athletics. Let me know if you will be taking advantage of the sale! Also, if you do be sure to tag them in your posts or stories for a chance for them to share you!                                                                                                                                

All About Those Brows

I always get so many compliments on my brows and so many people think they are microbladed, so I thought I would do a post on how I do my them. I have seriously thought about getting my them microbladed, but I am way too picky with my brows. I would much rather do them everyday than have them not look the way I want. Also, I'm not sure how true this is because I haven't had it done and I don't know anybody personally who has, but I heard that it leaves little marks on your skin if you quit doing it. I definitely would not want that either, so I'll just stick to doing them myself.

I'll start out by telling y'all about my three favorite brow products. The first one I think would be best for beginners because it is so easy to use and it only comes in one color, so you don't have to worry about getting the right shade. It is a universal color and you can make it darker or lighter by how much pressure you apply. This product is the Arch Architect Brow Pencil by Tarte. I use this product whenever I am doing a quick or more natural look. Before I use any product I will take a spoolie and comb through my brows to get off any foundation and to put my brows in place. With the pencil I start out by outlining the bottom of my brows. When I fill in the front of my brow I will turn the pencil sideways and make hair-like strokes to make it look more natural. After I fill in the front I will outline the top of my brow, then fill it all in. Once I feel in both brows I will go in with a spoolie and comb through them again to make sure there are no harsh lines. This will also soften the color if you made your brows too dark. A spoolie is a blending brush for your brows, so that is my biggest tip for doing your brows is to get one. Most brow brushes will have a spoolie on the other side, but if you don't have one you can by a spoolie by itself from Target or Walmart.         

The next two products are very similar. One is the Amazonian Clay Waterproof Brow Mousse by Tarte, and the second one is Ka-brow by Benefit. They are both a creamy-gel like texture and super easy to work with. The Tarte one is waterproof, so it stays on all day and does not smudge. It is easy to take off though, unlike a lot of waterproof products. It also comes with a full size brush. Most products like that you have to buy a brush separate. The Benefit one is not waterproof but still stays on all day. Sometimes I do have a problem with it smearing though. One cool thing about Ka-brow is that it comes with a brush inside the lid. The only downside to that is you have to be careful when placing the brush back in the lid so it doesn't get messed up. The brush is also a lot smaller too. I will say though, the Benefit color matches me perfect. I am in between colors in the Tarte brow mousse unless I just got my brows tinted, then the medium brown is perfect.

Whenever I use either one of the cream products I fill my brows in very similar to the pencil. The only difference is the front of my brows. I still start out by outlining the bottom of my brow, and when I don't have much product left on the brush I will sweep it up in the front. Whenever I outline the top, I don't start all the way at the front of my brow, I start a little further back, then once again when I don't have much product on the brush I will go all the way to the front. After I have outlined the top and bottom I will fill in the rest. The last step is the same as with the pencil, go in with my spoolie to blend everything out and soften any harsh lines.

In case it is hard to envision what I am talking about I also did a youtube video showing how I fill them in with a cream and with the pencil. I talk about each product in my video as well. I will post my video down below if you want to check that out too. You can also shop each product by clinking either one of my pictures here in this post. 

 I hope y'all enjoyed this post and it helped you out if you are new to filling in your brows. If you have any questions I didn't answer you can comment them down below or you can ask it in my contact tab.

Nordstrom Sale

I've been trying to decide all week if I was going to do a Nordstrom sale post or not. Obviously I decided I would. Since this is my first Nordstrom Anniversary sale as a blogger, I decided to just do a small post and a more realistic post. For those of you who aren't familiar with the sale, once a year Nordstrom will have a huge anniversary sale and the items that are discounted are brand new fall pieces. Most of the items are just now coming in store and they are at a huge discount. July 20 is the first day it is open to everyone. The sale opened early for those that have a Nordstrom card. Don't tell my husband, but I signed up for one so I could get early access. I probably won't use it I just wanted to get a couple of things before they sold out, haha.

So I honestly have mixed feelings about the sale. It is awesome that all these items are at such a huge discount, but at the same time everybody will be wearing the same things all fall. I saw a lot of super cute chunky cardigans that everybody is buying, but I can probably find them way cheaper at Target or Forever 21 not on sale. If that is what the fall trend is this year, I'm sure you will be able to find them everywhere. The best thing to get at the sale in my opinion would be basics. There are a ton of cute simple tee's on sale for around $11. If you wanted to splurge on a designer item, now would be a good time. There are a lot of high end or more expensive clothing brands on sale too, so if you want something designer I would grab it.

PSA: I didn't get anything fall like you're "supposed" to do. I ended up only getting 5 items and I didn't need any of them. I saw two super cute pairs of tennis shoes on sale, a pair of Adidas and the other pair is Nike. I can always use more tennis shoes for running and for my dance fitness class, and tennis shoes don't go on sale too often. When I first ordered the Adidas I got an email the next day saying they were canceled because they were out of stock! So I ordered a different size, and I just got the email saying they shipped!! I was pretty nervous, especially since the sale opens to everyone in a few hours, but they will be here the 26th is says! Also, I just wanted to let y'all know, if you see something on sale that you absolutely can't live without, get it! Nordstrom is awesome with returns, so even if you know it isn't your size or if you aren't sure if it's your size, grab it and then you can always exchange it when your size comes back in stock. Most of these pieces will not be on sale again, or at least not this big of a discount.

Nike Free TR8 Training Shoe White/Metallic Silver

Adidas Edge Lux Clima Running Shoe Clear Orange/White

Since I just ordered today and yesterday I will have to post stock pictures to show y'all what I got. I will definitely add pictures of me wearing the items to this post and on my instagram once I get them, which should be the 24th. Hopefully it will all come sooner! You can click the pictures to shop all the items or you can click the name of the items as well.

The next item I got that I am probably the most excited about is a white lace romper from the brand Socialite. I saw this romper on a blogger I follow ( Katey McFarlan Hellman) and I screenshot it so it would go to my liketoknowit app and I would have the info on it. The other day I was showing a friend how to use the liketoknowit app and clicked on the romper to show her and saw it was part of the sale! I was so excited. Then I got even more excited because my favorite youtuber Alexandrea Garza got it for her sale picks! I will add her video here so y'all can check out the rest of her picks and see the romper on. She is my favorite!

Socialite Lace Romper Ivory/Nude

The only other clothing item I got was a pair of leggings. They are from the brand Zella and I have heard good things about them. One person that has talked about them a lot is Alex Garza, haha. I love leggings though and you can never have too many. Since I have been wanting to try them out I thought now would be the perfect time because they were a really good price. Lastly, I got yet another thing I did not need, an Impressions Vanity Co rose gold lighted makeup mirror. Out of everything I ordered I probably needed this the least, the main reason because I already have a mirror like this. It isn't this brand but it does the same thing. Honestly, the main reason I got this is because it comes with a lighted compact mirror, and maybe because it is rose gold too. The mirror I already have doesn't get real bright, so maybe this one will. It was almost $30 off.

Zella Live In High Waist Leggings Black

Impressions Vanity Co. Touch XL Dimmable LED Makeup Mirror with Removable 5x Mirror & Compact Mirror

So there is everything I bought from the sale! I thought about adding some other items that y'all might like, but I didn't want to put a whole bunch of random stuff that I wasn't going to buy myself. I was very close to buying one of those super cute chunky cardigans, but I didn't because EVERYBODY is going to have one. Actually I feel like everybody already has one from early shopping. The romper I ordered will probably be on everybody too, but I don't care about that one. It's too cute to care if everybody has it. 

Are y'all going to shop the Nordstrom sale or do you not even care about it?? Let me know in the comments!

Summer Makeup Look

If I'm not working I usually don't wear much makeup, unless my husband and I go out to eat, to the movies, or something like that. If I am just running errands or teaching my Dance2Fit class I will wear very simple, more natural makeup. A no makeup, makeup look. This is the makeup look I live in during the summer. I also have a YouTube tutorial on how I get this look. I will post it below.

Most of the products are Tarte Cosmetics. One reason is because tarte is my favorite brand, and two because they have an athleisure line which is great for summer/workouts. I start out using the tarte amazonian clay BB tinted moisturizer. It has an SPF 20, so it gives you that sun protection and it keeps you hydrated. I have oily skin and I still love this product.

I have talked about this before but I have terrible dark circles, so I always use concealer no matter what kind of makeup look I am going for. Shape tape is hands down my most favorite concealer of life. I have been using it for probably about 2 years or more and I have never used the same product consistently for that long.

Since I am going to use powder products I set all this with a translucent setting powder. I feel naked without my brows so even with a natural, simple makeup look I have to do my brows. I love the tarte arch architect brow pencil. It is super quick and easy to use and has clear brow gel on the other side. I love multipurpose products! So if I am just running errands or running short on time I will do my mascara and go. For this look I love the lifted mascara also by tarte. It is sweat-proof and a brown-black so it is more natural looking. If I have somewhere else to go and want to look a little more put together I will add some bronzer, blush, and highlight. 

For bronzer I have been loving the tarte amazonian clay waterproof bronzer in the shade park ave princess. It has a little bit of a sheen so it's beautiful for summer. Next, I add some blush in the shade glisten. This is also by tarte, their amazonian clay 12-hour blush. Everything with tarte made with amazonian clay is going to last for 12 hours or more. The blushes are my favorite because the color does not fade throughout the day like some other blushes do. Highlighter is probably still my favorite makeup product and this is the only product I'm using for this look that isn't tarte, champagne pop by Becca and Jaclyn Hill. It is the perfect champagne/gold color and it definitely pops.

You can use pretty much anything you want to for lips. Normally I will just throw on some baby lips chapstick. You could add a color lipstick if you wanted the look to pop a little more since you have simple eyes. That's the good thing about this look is you can customize it however fits you best. Definitely check out my tutorial to see more. I show you the look stopping with the mascara and I show you what it looks like adding bronzer, blush, and highlight. Let me know your favorite go-to summer makeup products!

Top 5 Favorite Tarte Products

I feel like I have talked about this before, but in case I haven't my all time favorite makeup brand is Tarte. That is actually why I wanted to work for Tarte, because I love them so much for so many reasons. Since I'm doing my top 5 favorite products I'll list my top 5 reasons I love Tarte Cosmetics.

1. They are very philanthropic. Tarte is always giving back and even have an anti cyber-bullying campaign called Kiss and Make Up. 
2. They are cruelty free, even PETA certified. That means all the way down to the manufactures they don't test on animals.
3. The quality of the products is great. Great pigment and the products last on your skin all day.
4. They always have the cutest packaging!
5. It is a good price point for prestige products.

Now that I have told you a few reasons I love Tarte, let me show you my top 5 favorite products I'm loving right now.

1. Shape tape contour concealer is hands down my favorite concealer of life! I have been using it since it came out and will continue to use it until something better comes out, which will probably never happen. I am pretty excited about the new packaging of the maracuja creaseless concealer though.
2. The tarteist lash paint was my favorite mascara, but now it is the Maneater mascara. I still love lash paint, but to get the drama with that you have to put several coats and with Maneater I just have to do one coat.
3. My new favorite palette for summer that I have been using almost everyday is the Be a Mermaid and Make Waves palette from the limited edition mermaid collection. Once again Tarte killed it with their packaging. That may be another reason I love it so much because it's in a sea shell. The colors are so pretty too. There are some neutrals along with some pops of color.
4. I have also been loving one of the newer shades of the chrome paint shadow pots in the shade frose. It is pink with some gold in it too. The best part about the shadow pots is you can use your finger to apply them, so they are super quick and easy to use.
5. I love a good orangey-red lipstick for the summer, so when they came out with new bright shades in the rainforest of the sea color splash lipsticks I was so excited. My new favorite color is called Sundaze. It is the perfect orangey-red!
6. Ok, so technically this is 6, but I thought I would share my all time favorite palette, Tartelette 2 in bloom. It is a permanent palette, so that's why I wanted to share that one too. I actually wore it for my wedding, so that's how much I love it.

Next time you are in Ulta or Sephora check out these products if you haven't already! You can shop any of these products by clicking on any picture or under my shop tab, What is your favorite Tarte product??

ABH x Amrezy Highlighter Dupe

This weeks frugal Friday I am going to share a makeup dupe. Sadly I’m not the one who discovered it, my friend Christina @glitz_n_glam found it and I wanted to share it too! Y’all have to go check her out on Instagram and YouTube! She is an amazing makeup artist! Anyway, she was doing a live video on Instagram and I saw her swatch the dupe and it was sooo similar I had to get it and try for myself. The “high end” product is the Anastasia Beverly Hills x Amrezy collab highlighter which retails for $28, and the drugstore dupe is the L.A. Colors strobing illuminating powder in the shade champagne which retails for, are you ready for this.............$3!! I found mine at Dollar General! So if you can't find the Amrezy highlighter or if you don't want to spend $28 on a highlighter, definitely get the one from L.A. Colors. I think that brand is at Walmart as well. I took a picture of the swatches side by side, so hopefully you can tell in the picture. If y'all try it out you will have to let me know what you think!

May Brushes

Do you ever wish that you could get makeup brushes sent to your door every month? Want me to let you in on a little secret? You can! Morphe brushes has a monthly subscription called Morphe Me. It is $20 a month and they send you 3-8 brushes every month valued at $30+! Sometimes they even send you brushes before they launch on Morphe's website. I actually just canceled my subscription because I have been doing it for over a year and I feel like they send a lot of the same or similar brushes. Especially since I had been doing it for so long and I buy brushes too, so I was getting quite the brush collection. I think it is great though for people who are just getting started with makeup or don't have many brushes. It is definitely a great way to start your collection. You also get points and you can redeem them for different products as well, so that's pretty cool.

Anyway, since May is the last brushes I will be getting I thought I would go ahead and share them with y'all.

1. The one I was most excited about was the fan brush. It is the R12 deluxe highlight fan. I love using a fan brush for highlighter. It is pretty fool-proof and you can sweep it over your blush too. This brush retails for $7.
2. The next brush I think I'm really going to like is the R35 deluxe blender. It has a domed tapered tip perfect for your crease. It retails for $8.
3. The last brush that I'm not that excited about is the R1 deluxe pointed powder. I probably need to give it a chance because it has a lot of uses, but I am just particular on what brushes I use for what and don't change that often. You can use this to set your under eye area, contour, blush, and highlight. So you can do a lot with it so maybe I need to try it out. This brush retails for $15.

Each month varies on how many brushes you get, but this month even though there were only three it equals out to $30 if you bought them all separate. I think I just wasn't that excited about the pointed powder because I feel like they have sent a few of those. I guess I just need to get out of my brush comfort zone and try new ones. Like I said if you are wanting to build your brush collection this is a great way! You can cancel it any time, the only thing about canceling is you loose your points. So before you cancel see if there is anything you can get with your points and use them all. Other than that I would definitely recommend it. If you want to sign up you can click here.