Outfit of the Day | Relaxed

I know I'm not the only one who spends a lot of time browsing Pinterest for outfit inspiration. I always find myself pinning images of women with the most effortless and relaxed styles in hope that someday I'll be a little like them. Well, it has happened! At least I think it has... Yesterday while running a few boring errands in the harsh San Diego heat, I pulled out this casually cool ensemble. Not only was it extremely practical for running around but it also looked very effortless. And to top it off, I had a great picture day! This was probably the best I've ever felt while posing for outfit of the day pictures, and it's definitely because of the healthy lifestyle choices that I've been adapting.

February 2016 Favorites

I have a confession to make, February wasn't a very exciting month for me. February for me tends to be an awkwardly short month that just doesn't really stand out, and this year was no exception. Beauty-wise I mostly used my holy grail items, so there weren't too many outstanding discoveries to rave about. This video is much shorter than other favorite videos, but I managed to compile a decent selection of affordable items. There's also a few music favorites for you since I surprisingly got many comments and messages after last month's music favorites.

Random Favorites #1

In case you haven't heard, my vlog channel got a little bit of a re-branding and is now my lifestyle channel called Bonus Laura. Apart from posting an occasional vlog, I will also be using the channel to share my other interests such as food and pop culture. Since my regular favorites videos focus so much on makeup and beauty products, I've decided to start sharing my lifestyle and food related favorites over on my second channel. My first favorites has a lot of healthy food options and a little natural remedy that has helped me establish a much more healthy sleeping pattern. And there's also a little cameo from a little dog that wanted some attention while I was filming.

Review | Derma E Purifying Daily Detox Scrub

When it comes to natural skincare brands, I've been quite a fan of Derma E since last summer. I find that their products are very effective for oily skin, while also being quite gentle. I've never had my skin react negatively due a Derma E product and nearly every product I've tried has given me excellent results. Recently I put their Purifying Daily Detox Scrub to the test so I can review it for you and let me tell you, this stuff is great! The scrub contains charcoal, seaweed, apricot seed powder, and menthol. If you don't know charcoal is a fantastic skincare ingredient for oily skin since it's able to remove toxins and impurities from your skin.

Shop Miss A Makeup Review

This is the long awaited Shop Miss A review! I finally sat down and reviewed all the products that I've hauled on my channel. Shop Miss A is a Texas based online store that offers makeup, accessories, jewelry, and hair items for just $1. They offer brands like E.l.f., Kleancolor, Beauty Trends, L.A. Colors, and Starry. I knew going in into my two purchases that not everything that I purchased was going to be a hit, but you know what? I was pleasantly surprised with some of the items. There's definitely some great gems that are only a buck!

Thin Tea Review | Does It Really Work?

You've probably seen a lot of these detox teas on Instagram in recent months, I know I certainly have. I've tried detox and weight loss teas long before the Instagram trend, so when I was reached by Thin Tea to try their tea out I agreed to give it a try so I could compare my experience with the other teas that I've tried. The Thin Tea products are all-natural and quite different to other teas that I've tried in the past. Do I think these work miracles? No, but I will talk about my experience with them and what I've done in order to help these teas to perform better. This isn't a "get thin fast" scheme whatsoever, so I will be discussing my experience and lifestyle changes that will hopefully help me for the long run.

Review | NYC Lovatics by Demi Lip & Cheek Tint

After posting my review about the NYC Lovatics by Demi Eyeshadow Palette a few weeks ago, I got asked on YouTube and Snapchat if I had any plans to review the Lip & Cheek Tint. Well here's that review! When I first saw the NYC Lovatics by Demi Lip & Cheek Tint it immediately reminded me of the TONYMOLY Delight Tony Tint and Benefit's iconic Benetint, so I will be making some comparisons to see if this is potentially a dupe. I will also be showing you how you can use it on your lips and cheeks since it is much different to a powder or cream blush.

The Easy Way to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Just like many of you, one of my goals for this year was to change my lifestyle and eating habits. After being a yo-yo dieter for the majority of my life, this year I promised myself that I wouldn't fall for those "get slim quick" schemes. Instead I want to focus my energy into making small changes that will allow me to have a healthier relationship with food. Some of the changes I've been implementing into my lifestyle has been finding healthy alternatives for foods that I enjoy, such as pasta. Having pasta once in awhile isn't bad for you, but having too big of a portion is. A way I've avoided the temptation of overeating pasta has been by switching it with spaghetti squash, which is a much healthier alternative. For my very first cooking video I'm going to be showing you how easy it is to cook spaghetti squash at home.

First Impression | Paul Mitchell StyleWand

It's no secret that I suck at styling my hair, hence why I don't really film hair tutorials. I'm just hair incompetent by now and the best I can ever do is using a hair tie or clip to keep my hair up. I'm quite minimal when it comes to hair, I just like applying some product and hoping for the best once it air dries. Recently I received the fancy looking StyleWand Thermal Styling Brush by Paul Mitchell and I knew I had to try it out on camera. I had never used anything like a thermal styling brush before but I mean, how hard could it be? (Just kidding, wish me luck because I need it.)

Neiman Marcus Spring/Summer 2016 Trends

Last Wednesday several San Diego based bloggers and stylists got together at Neiman Marcus in Fashion Valley to see the upcoming trends for spring and summer. We were served a delicious meal and got to see some incredible pieces on the models. As someone with more of a tomboy style, I got super happy to see blazers and bomber jackets get some attention. Apart from seeing all the upcoming trends for women, we also got to see a few for men which was new for me since I honestly don't know much about male oriented trends. I tried my best to capture the looks both in picture and video, so I hope you enjoy my fashion recap.

Best Planner for Bloggers and Vloggers

One of my goals for 2016 was to become more organized since I do have a lot of my plate in my online world. I currently have and run three YouTube channels, a bilingual beauty blog, and four Instagram accounts. On top of that, I do have other social media outlets to worry about and of course my private life. Last year I found myself a bit overwhelmed with balancing my personal and blog life at times, so I made it a goal to learn how to organize my life better in the new year. I've been an avid planner user since my days in elementary school, so I've tried numerous planner throughout my life. Although I was more than content with my cheap planners, I decided to give a more expensive planner a shot in 2016. The planner that I ended up picking up is the Family/ME Planner by a local company called Plum Paper Designs.

Outfit of the Day | The Midi Skirt

It's not often when a skirt catches my eye since I'm hardcore jeans and t-shirt girl, but when I saw this midi skirt from Target I knew I needed it in my life. I had been looking for the perfect midi skirt for a while now, but most skirts in general feel too short for me. I'm definitely not into showing skin, so that's why midi skirts appealed to me. This skirt not only fits like a dream, but I was able to envision a few ways to style it once I tried it out in store which is something I always have to do now that my closet is considerably smaller. I was definitely missing a more feminine pieces like this one in my capsule wardrobe but now I've filled my skirt void with this affordable gem.

Birchbox February 2016

It's time to open another Birchbox! In the month of February I found myself torn between the special curated box and their regular box. I ultimately ended up going with the regular box since one of the samples was a full-sized Color Enhancing Lip Balm by Birchbox's newest in-house brand, ARROW. The products from ARROW are designed for the woman on-the-go, so that means the products are versatile and very minimal. Look at me getting excited over a balm! Apart from the balm I still love the surprise element in monthly boxes, so that's why I went ahead and got this box. Now let's open it so you can check out what I got!

Nails of the Day | She Better Werk

Social media stars are ruling the beauty world! In 2016 Sephora unveiled the Formula X #ColorCurators collaborations which will feature three limited edition nail polish shades curated by a popular content creator. As someone who participates in the world of beauty blogging, it makes me so happy to see someone like Sephora reaching out to bloggers and vloggers for a nationwide campaign. And when I first heard that my spirit animal PatrickStarrr was chosen as February's curator, I couldn't help but to say "YAAAAAZ" out loud. Patrick is the incredibly talented and fearless beauty vlogger who taught me about the power of baking your face and having a nice bold pout. Knowing Patrick I knew that he was going to deliver three bright colors with fun names, and he definitely brought his signature sass to Sephora.

Haul | Morphe, Shop Miss A, and Ulta

I remember when collective hauls were everything among the YouTube community, but they were quickly replaced by your big hauls from a single store. Personally I'm a big fan of collective hauls, so I decided to film one for you. I recently placed orders on Morphe, Shop Miss A, and Ulta. I've heard so much about Morphe for the past year and it took me this long to place an order there. And by now you probably have heard about the uber cheap Shop Miss A site. After I uploaded my first Shop Miss A haul I went on the website and noticed that they had received liquid lipsticks, so I quickly placed another order. What can I say? I take my reviewing job very seriously.

Artis Brush Dupe

If you follow any big YouTubers or bloggers, then chances are that you know about the brand Artis. The brand is famous for their ergonomically designed brushes that look a lot like a toothbrush or a hairbrush. As much as I would love to try out one of the insta-famous Artis brushes, they're not exactly budget friendly. The smaller detail brushes retail for $35 and the bigger foundation foundation brushes are $55. One day while browsing one of my favorite cheap eBay shops I stumped upon a very affordable dupe which was less than $3. For that price I decided to buy it and test out this odd looking brush for you.

Best and Worst Aluminum-Free Deodorants

Ever since I mentioned that I use aluminum-free deodorant back in July I've received many requests to make a video about aluminum-free deodorants. I took the task of making this video very seriously and I think I may had gotten a bit carried away when I rounded up seven different deodorants to try out. I managed to get a really great variety of deodorants to try, from natural to mineral deodorants. I will be discussing their efficiency, ingredients, and any other details about them. Hopefully this will help you out if you've been thinking about making the switch from regular deodorant to aluminum-free.

Is Social Media Fake?

Ever since Australian blogger and YouTuber, Essena O'Neill, published her heartfelt video about why she quit social media there's been a conversation about whether or not social media is fake. I've seen many people discredit O'Neill's claims and experiences, but to be honest no one but her knows what she went through. To most of us social media provides us with a platform to share our interests and meet people, but we also have to be completely honest with ourselves and admit that there are aspects that are a little fake. I was recently tagged to participate in the Stripped Down Challenge, which is a series of videos aiming to prove that social media is in fact not fake. The video contains over 10 minutes of raw, unfiltered, and unedited footage about my thoughts about social media and Essena O'Neill. Unlike other people who have participated in this challenge, I will not be bashing O'Neill for her own personal experience about the topic.

Review | Pür HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation

When it comes to foundation, I personally prefer something with a light consistency and natural coverage. I really don't like the feel of a heavy foundation or seeing a lot of product caked on my face, it just doesn't go well with having a really oily complexion. The new HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation by Pür Cosmetics is a lightweight foundation with skincare properties. The foundation has a beautiful radiant look (which even I can appreciate) and it feels a lot like a serum. In today's review I'm going to be showing you how this foundation applies and swatching all five shades available.