Dental Hygienist

Click to enlarge.

I'm sure everyone has seen various versions of these things floating around out there. I just happened upon one related to my profession and found it both hilarious and realistic... so I thought I'd share!

I'd also like to explain the field of dental hygiene very quickly, since I am commonly mistaken for a dental assistant or technician of some sort. Although both of those professions are very important, they are very different from a dental hygienist. 

In the state of Oklahoma (where I currently reside and work), dental hygienists are required to graduate from an accredited university with either an Associate's or Bachelor's degree. They must pass both the written NBDHE (National Board Dental Hygiene Exam) and the clinical WREB (Western Regional Exam Board). They must also pass the Oklahoma Jurisprudence Exam. Once all of the above requirements are completed, the documentation must be submitted to the Board of Dentistry in order to receive a license to practice dental hygiene in the state of Oklahoma.

And to clarify... I don't just clean teeth! :)

Here are a few random pictures:

My Halloween costume during dental hygiene school. (My fiance helped me make it!)

Show me your teeth.

Yay! I finally graduated from the University of Oklahoma with my Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene! :) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Dixie

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Blow Pro Faux Dry - Dry Shampoo

Hello there, strangers!

Sorry it has been a little longer than usual since my last post. I keep meaning to write about a particular topic, and then something comes up. Recently I started a workout program with my fiance and it is quite exhausting. Anyway, on to more important matters...

This is blow pro's faux dry - dry shampoo.

Just a quick picture of the directions and ingredients.

I LOVE this product. I don't know about you all, but I have days when I don't have time or I don't feel like showering. It takes so long to wash, dry, and style hair. Unfortunately, I have oily skin and therefore an oily scalp. If I don't wash my hair daily, it gets greasy. Gross.

But with this product, I can make it a second day without shampooing my hair! As you can see if you read the directions, you apply the dry powder to the scalp and hair. Massage it in and brush your hair and the excess oil is absorbed by the powder. I used to use baby powder, which works exactly the same way, but I always hated having my hair smell like baby powder. This particular product is more expensive than baby powder (retails for $24 a bottle, but I got mine for cheaper on Amazon.com), but the fact that it is scent-free and easier to dispense is totally worth it to me. 

You can also use this in cases when you apply too much of an oily product to your hair. It will help absorb some of it so you don't look like you haven't washed your hair in days. If over-applied, this can tend to make your hair look a little white, but it's nothing a lightly dampened washcloth can't fix. Plus I've noticed it helps to disguise my roots a little when I'm in need of a color touch-up. :)

I didn't want to keep such a great product all to myself, so there you are!

Thanks for stopping by!

Dixie

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Liebster Blog Award

Wow. I don't have a speech prepared or anything! ;)


My very good friend, Hailey, at Baby Baker Love gave me the Liebster Blog Award. If she didn't already receive the award, I would absolutely give it to her because of her awesome blog about her sweet little family. 

Liebster is a German word meaning "dearest" or "favorite" and the award is for up-and-coming blogs with fewer than 200 followers. (Yep, that's me!)

The rules of this lovely award are that I am to pass this award on to five other bloggers with less than 200 followers. My Liebster Blog awards go to the following lovely ladies:

Dana Rae's Food Creations: Great blog about original & family recipes!

Polishography: Creative nail blog.

theboxofnerds: LOVE this fashion blog! And her hair. :)

The Wild Wild Wells: A friend's blog about her awesome family & their lovely life adventures.

Gleeful Peacock: Good blog, GREAT Etsy shop (which she links to on her blog).

You MUST visit each of these blogs! You won't regret it one bit.

Love,

Dixie

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Revlon - Velvet Rope

Hello dears.

Today I have for you a gorgeous red jelly polish. This is Velvet Rope from Revlon's newest collection. (Photos are clickable to enlarge.)

How pretty is this? I know red is boring, but I've been on the hunt for MY perfect red, and I think I finally found it. I really had my eye on Chanel's Pirate, but I have a really hard time spending $26 on a polish! I can't do a swatch comparison, but I'd say this is pretty dern close. And this only cost me 5 or 6 bucks. :)

My macro shot for you. This is with a base coat, 2 coats of Velvet Rope, and a top coat of Seche Vite. It applies neatly, doesn't flood the cuticle area, self-corrects. I have no complaints. 

And this is a picture with the flash on. You can tell it looks much lighter in this shot. The true color is closer to the photo above without the flash. It is a very deep, blood red. Perdy. :-P

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed yourself.

Dixie

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Sephora Haul

I went shopping at Sephora last week with a friend/coworker and I purchased a few things that I thought I'd share with you. 

Let me just preface this post with a few bits of information about myself. I have recently developed an addiction to all things beauty related: skin care, hair care, makeup, fingernail polish, etc. I'm trying a LOT of new things and I'm using this blog to share my adventures with you. Despite my love for makeup, I do not wear makeup every day. Not because my skin is perfect - because believe me it is far from it - but because I don't always feel like making that kind of effort in the mornings. And I'm okay with going without makeup. Most days I just apply some acne medication (Proactiv Repairing Lotion) and top it with a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen in it and that's it. No mascara, no powder, no nothing. BUT I do enjoy the occasional day when I decide I have time to "look pretty". 

Those are the days when I get several compliments on my hair or my eyes, and I vow that I will start making the effort to wear makeup more often, and thennnnn I don't. :-P What can I say? I get lazy.

Below is one of my favorite brands: tarte. I love tarte because it is great makeup, but it is natural and not tested on animals. I have yet to purchase a product from them that I am unhappy with. 

This is tarte - emphasEYES Amazonian clay waterproof liner & brush in black.

I've wanted to try this type of eye liner for a while now, but never bought any until I stumbled upon the tarte version. It applies very smoothly in a thin line with the small end of the brush, or in a thick line with the larger brush. It is easy to smudge the liner while it is still wet for a smoky look. After it dries, it pretty much stays put. It is very pigmented which makes it easy to achieve a pretty line.

This is the Urban Decay - Urban Ammo Eye Palette

To celebrate their 10th birthday, Urban Decay made this palette with their top 10 best-selling shades. I had never used any Urban Decay eye shadows prior to this palette, but I'm definitely hooked. The shadows seem finely milled and super pigmented. It doesn't take much eye shadow from this palette to make your eyes sparkle and pop. :) 

This is smashbox - Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer

I purchased this because its green tone helps to cover redness, and since I have acne-prone skin, I really wanted to try it out. So far so good, but it is definitely not a concealer. It helps with the redness, but it doesn't completely cover it. When I used my tinted moisturizer on top, that helped even more. 

This is smashbox - Camera Ready BB Cream in Fair

This stuff is supposedly magic. It claims to be 5-in-1: it hydrates, primes, perfects, controls oil, and protects. So it is basically a tinted moisturizer on steroids. I pretty much love it. My usual tinted moisturizer is Benefit - You Rebel Lite, and I've used it for at least 6 months now. I love it, but it does tend to melt away because of my oily skin. This BB Cream seems to hang on a little tighter...

That's it for now. I realize that I'm still new at this, and it COMPLETELY slipped my mind that I should swatch each product. I'm sorry, and I promise I will remember to do that next time! 

Thanks for dropping by!

Dixie

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Beauty Boxes

Picture courtesy of Cupcakes & Corsets

Because of my sudden addiction to Beauty Boxes, I've decided to compile a list of the different boxes that are available.

1. Birchbox It all started with Birchbox, which unfortunately seems to have a wait-list. As mentioned in my very first review post of Birchbox, the subscription is $10 per month with free shipping.
There is also a point system with Birchbox. When you spend money at Birchbox (this includes the $10 you spend on the monthly sample box) you get points. For every 100 points, you get $10 to spend in the Birchbox shop. Also, for every friend you refer, you get 50 points. Not a bad deal.

2. Eco-Emi I have yet to receive my first official Eco Emi sample box, but I was lucky enough to snatch up one of their "bonus boxes" about a week ago. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures to share with you what I acquired. There were SO MANY samples and I was overwhelmed. Let me just say that Eco Emi is awesome. Christine is the mastermind behind this box, and she is very passionate about being "green". Every sample in each box is natural and organic, and has changed the way I think about going green. Please visit her website to learn more and to sign up for her $15 per month sample box (free shipping).

3. BeautyFix by Dermstore  This box is definitely the most expensive of all the sample boxes at $49.99 + free shipping (sent out each season, which I assume means every 3 months). However, the price might seem more reasonable considering you get 8 deluxe samples or full-sized products, and you get to PICK which products you want. Some might say this takes the excitement out of getting a sample box, but I say it is pretty awesome. The website claims you get up to $400 worth of products, and I can say this is true based on the box I got. THE BEST PART? I found a discount code to get 30 bucks off your first box! Just click here to get it. :)

4. Test Tube This sample box by New Beauty is similar to BeautyFix in that it is sent out four times per year. It is cheaper at $29.95 + $8.95 shipping & handling. I also found a discount code for this box. It will save you $10 off your first box. I can't say much about this box yet. I signed up for it, but have yet to receive it.

5. GoGoGirlfriend  I will likely not be trying the GoGoGirlfriend sample box any time soon. Based on other blog reviews that I have read, the samples that are in these boxes are less-than-awesome. They seem to be cheap brands that you can easily get from a store like Walmart, and some boxes barely give you what you're paying in monthly fees. My suggestion before you sign up for this box is to do some of your own research first. Just check out some reviews on a couple of the boxes to see if it has products in it that you might be interested in. This box has two subscription options: Basic membership - $6.99/month & Premium membership - $12.99/month. The first option is sent every two months, and the second is sent once a month.

There are several other boxes out there that I'd like to try, but they do not currently ship to the U.S.

6. There's GLOSSYBOX, which looks comparable to Birchbox. Currently it does not ship to the US, but they are compiling a wait-list HERE for those interested when their site goes live.

7. Glymm is only available in Canada. It also seems very similar to Birchbox.

8. Loose Button's Luxe Box is also only available in Canada, but they claim to be trying to make it available elsewhere.

If you know of any others that I have left out, please let me know. I'm always interested in trying something new.

Thanks for dropping by!

Dixie

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