affordable, beauty, diy, dollar tree, easy, helpful, hint, hobby, how to, lipstick, make up artist, makeup, nail polish, swatches, tip, trick

DOLLAR TREE DIY: Make Your Own Swatch Book

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I’ve got a helpful DIY that you can do this weekend while you’re watching Netflix, TV, or YouTube.

I just posted a video on my YouTube channel. (find it here). That video is all about how you can swatch your beauty products and organize those swatches in a book. This is a great way to organize your makeup and know exactly which shades you have or don’t have. I like to take this lightweight book with me when I go shopping. When I see a lipstick I want to buy I can instantly check my collection to see if I have that shade. How great is that?!

This is also good to have if you are a makeup artist. Your clients can easily see which shades they have to chose from.

Additional tips:
~Cover each swatch with clear tape to keep the product from transferring onto the plastic covering of your photo album pages.
     ~You could also laminate the swatch sheets
~Swatch anything you want! You can swatch lipsticks, nail polishes, eye shadows, or blushes.
~You could handwrite each product name but I think it’s best to type up the names. Then again, I have bad handwriting. Haha
~Share your swatch book with a friend so they can see swatches of products they might be interested in purchasing.
~Another option is to print out photo swatches from the internet of your products.
~Instead of swatching items on your hand in-store; bring a blank sheet of paper to make swatches. You can add a category in your book which has swatches of products you would like to buy in the future.

Check out my video below:

Let me know if you have other  video or post requests. Thanks for stopping by!

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beauty, bublble wand, curling wand, curls, easy, hair, hair style, haircare, how to, quick, style, tutorial, waves, youtube

Bubble Curls: Quick and Easy Hair Tutorial

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Today I combined two of my Black Friday finds to create a hair tutorial for you all.

If you follow me on Instagram (courtney.val) then you may have seen my new camera (yay!). I spent all of yesterday taking photos of my rabbit so today I thought I would branch out and give the video function some love. I also found a new hair curling device at a Black Friday sale yesterday and after I tested it out I was so happy with the result I just had to *try* to film a hair tutorial. This is my first tutorial so I hope it is easy to follow and you all enjoy it! 

Let me know if you would like to see any other types of tutorials and I will do my best to film them. 
Watch here:

Have a great weekend! 
Other places to find me:
Instagram: courtney.val
Twitter: @courtneywval
YouTube channel: Click Here
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all natural, clean eating, coconut, coconut flakes, dates, delicious, diy, easy, food chopper, fully raw, health, how to, medjool dates, nutrition, quick, raw, recipe, snack, treats, Vegan

Date & Coconut Treats

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Aloha!

Today I have a quick treat recipe to share. I was inspired to make these after I saw some delicious looking coconut macaroons in the bakery case of a local coffee shop. These are my version of those macaroons.

What You Need:

  • A food chopper or processor
  • 3 Dates with the seed removed
  • 2 Tbsp of unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1 Tsp of sweetened coconut. Alternatively you could add in 1tsp more of unsweetened coconut along with a little sugar or stevia.
  • Spoon

Directions:

  • Add in ingredients 
  • Pulse the food chopper in slow bursts at first to break up the dates and then let it blend until you reach a consistency that looks like this:
  •   Then spoon out a little of the mixture and roll it into a ball or form into a cookie shape, depending on what you prefer. 
  •  Place the finished treats into cupcake liners and enjoy immediately or place in the fridge to enjoy later. 
Here are what my finished treats look like:



Close up:

These are a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth without overdoing it. They are vegan, gluten-free, and all natural. You can’t get much better than that!

Have a date day…I mean great day! 🙂

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all natural, beauty, beet, bene-tint, blush, budget, coconut oil, diy, easy, face, food chopper, glow, how to, lip tint, make-up, moisturize, rosy, Vegan, vegetable, veggie

DIY: Make Your Own Vegetable Make-up!

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Hola!

A few days ago I posted a video on my YouTube channel demonstrating how I made some all natural, allergen-free veggie make-up. You can check it out HERE or watch below.

If you want to follow along with the video here are ingredients you will need:
~ 1-2 slices of beet
~Food processor or food chopper.** I got my little food chopper at Walmart for about $8.
~2 tbsp of water
~A small mixing bowl and spoon
~1 tsp of coconut oil heated to a liquid
~Small container to store your product
~Freezer

**You could also juice some beet if you prefer.

This product gives your lips a really nice rosy tint similar to the Benefit Bene-tint. I love it! It is also really moisturizing. It works best on your cheeks if you dab it in the area you want and blend QUICKLY. As is the case with most liquid/cream blush products you don’t have a lot of time to work. If you get a too much on or the color spreads where you didn’t want it, you can always go over that area with your foundation or powder brush.

Ok, and now for the final test….before and after!

Before:DSCN0598.JPG

After:

 

DSCN0600.JPG

Ta-da!  I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you try this yourself.

Have a great weekend!

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afforable, banana, budget, bunny, bunny toys, chew, diy, how to, pets, pine cone, rabbit, rabbit behavior, rabbit toys, small animal, toys

Meet My Rabbit + Making Chew Toys

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Hey there! Today’s post is for all you rabbit lovers out there. If you don’t have a pet rabbit then share this post with someone who does! 🙂

If you have a pet companion of any kind then you know how costly buying pet toys can be. I love my dear bunny so I don’t mind shelling out some cash for her toys but I do love when I can make her toys for FREE.

This is my lovely pet rabbit, Luna.

Luna is a 7 month old female Havana rabbit. Her likes include bananas, chasing towels,head rubs, and chewing on anything that doesn’t move.

Rabbits have a natural instinct to chew so it is very important to provide plenty of chew toys to keep your rabbit happy. This will also keep them from destroying your furniture. About a month ago I bought a toy pine cone from a pet store for around $4. Luna enjoyed the toy so much I decided to search my local flora for more bunny toys.

Here is my method to prepare pine cones from your local pine trees to use as rabbit chew toys. This might also be a toy option for hamsters, guinea pigs,or other small animals but I would check with your vet first to make sure it’s safe.

Before you start:
Make sure you are choosing pine cones from a tree that has not been sprayed with pesticides. Pesticides can be very dangerous to your little bun.  Also make sure the pine cones are completely free of sap.

Step 1: Soak the pine cones in a solution of white vinegar and water. If needed use a toothbrush to remove any dirt.

Step 2: Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Step 3: Use nail clippers to clip off the sharp points from the scales. Also clip off any prickly points on the top and bottom. Rub your fingers all around the pine cone to make sure you have removed anything that could potentially hurt your pet.

Step 4: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange the pine cones on the sheet.

Step 5: Bake the pine cones for 30-40 minutes or until the scales start to open a bit and the entire cone is dry. Let the pine cones completely cool before giving them to your rabbit.

Step 6 (optional): For an additional treat you can brush on a little mashed banana right before giving the toy to your bunny. Bunnies love banana.


Additional Tips:

  • If you are concerned your pine cones have bugs place them in an air-tight bag for a few days. When you remove them from the bag use a toothbrush to clean in between the scales to remove the dead insects.
  • Do not store pine cones with banana on them. They will mold and ruin your chew toys. 
  • If you notice mold growing on either prepared or unprepared pine cones throw them away and do not give them to your rabbit.
  • If you are unsure about whether or not this toy is right for your specific rabbit consult your vet. 

I really hope you and your furry friend have enjoyed this post! Let me know if you would like to see more pet related posts.

Have a great day!

Other places to connect:
Twitter: @imperfectperla
Youtube Channel: www.youtube.comTheImperfectpearl or click here

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