Entry 4: Discount Makeup Apps You'd Wish You'd Known About Sooner

It is no lie that makeup is an expensive habit to have. Growing up with a cosmetologist step mother, makeup is always something that I have been very passionate about. But being a broke college student has really put a damper on my favorite hobby. One of my favorite eyeshadow pallets alone was $50. That is $50 to cover just your eyelids. I figured there had to be a cheaper way to get quality makeup. So I took to youtube to find some discount makeup apps and reviews of them. 

App one: CUTE 

This is an app to purchase discount makeup, skincare makeup tools and much more. 
Some products are dupes made to look like high end products while some are unknown brands. They range in selection and quality but are generally very low cost. 


One brand that has gotten high reviews on the app is "The balm". They offer many different eyeshadow and face pallets at a very low price.

The Pallets Shown Here Are:

• Smoke Balm
• The Manizer Sisters
• Nude Dude
• Balmsai

Other popular brands I have seen are Anastasia Beverly Hills, Lorac, Kat Von D, and Too Faced.

I have had luck with this app, but again the products are not real. They are products made to look like the name brand ones, which is why they are cheaper. That being said this can be a hit and miss method to building your makeup collection. 

App Two: Shop Miss A 

Shop Miss A is very similar to Cute in that they are discount makeup apps. What is different about Shop Miss A is that everything is only $1. Shop Miss A doesn't carry nearly as many large pallets as Cute but it is very cost effective for single items.

I placed an order for a few things from the web app recently but they have not arrived yet so I will leave a youtube review done by Emily Noel of products from Shop Miss A below. 

If watching a 14 minute youtube video of someone talking about makeup isn't for you, she bought 33 products and of them she liked all but 3. 

Judging from Emily Noel's Review and reviews from other popular youtubers, I do not have any doubts in purchases made from Shop Miss A and I am excited to receive mine. 

Always do your research and look at reviews of products before purchasing. 

The Cute app and Shop Miss A offer a very wide range of products at an inexpensive cost which makes it ideal for makeup beginners and/or people on a budget. The apps are also useful if you are wanting to try a new look but don't want to go broke on something that you are unsure about. Buying knock off makeup is a good place to test the waters, buy dupes of high end makeup products and if you love the dupe, take a leap a splurge on the real deal. 

There is no shame in not wanting to spend a lot of money on something you are unsure about. 

Entry 3: Slants in the Media

As a young college student, I am beginning to take an interest in politics and news. I want to be informed about what is going on in the world around me. To do this, I began watching the news and noticed a pattern. This pattern being that the information presented was not true facts, but in most cases, a small fact surrounded by very large opinions either for or against something. 

This is called a slant. 

A slant is the modification of the truth to make it better suit the authors stance. This could be a minor offense such as leaving out a small detail or a major offense such as blatant lying. Slanted media is something that we as Americans encounter everyday through broadcast news, print news and social media.   

Is slanting avoidable? 

Yes, there are ways to get information without any biased and that would be through a reference book that is purely facts. Every editorialized piece of news media is going to have some level of slant or opinion. It is the audience's job to be aware of this and to be able to recognize the distinction between fact and opinion. 

To dissect some slant news media, I chose a very slanted news media station, Fox News. The video below is a compilation of fox anchors talking about marriage equality over the last ten years.

*Disclaimer- This video was chosen for the sole purpose of analyzing rhetoric. This video is not a representation of my views on the topic of marriage equality* 

Here is a list of some of the non-factual statements used in the video. 

• If gay marriage is legal "other groups will want the same treatment" 
• "Why stop there, why can't polygamists get married?" 
• "Can you marry a duck?" 
• "This case is about...attacking churches" 
• "...a dad, seven moms and thirty five children...'

While each clip in the video is only an excerpt from a whole segment or story, these non-factual arguments are still apparent. Whether the reader or viewer agrees or disagrees with the news, there needs to be a conscious understanding that there are slants in the media. 

The statements that I pulled from the video are to play pull at the audience's heart strings and to push them into agreeing with them. In the instance comparing gay marriage to polygamy or beastiality, two things that hold negative connotations, suggest that gay marriage is unethical or wrong. 

Next time you are watching the news or reading a magazine, I challenge you to find these slants and make a conscious decision of whether or not you agree with what the piece is saying. 

Entry 2: Lies Our High School Teachers Told Us About College

Think back to high school, whether you have to think back nine months or nine years, think about anytime someone asked "Why do I need to know this?" The answer was the same for every class: math, history, english and science, "We are preparing you for college." In some cases, this statement would start a conversation, or debate, over how college would be. Now if you have not started college yet, brace yourself, they are lying. 

Lie Number One: The Syllabus.

To teach students to be more self sufficient, high school teachers use the terrible tale of the college syllabus. Teachers tell their students that college professors give you the syllabus on the first day and never bring up due dates again. Yes, a syllabus is given out and you are expected to know all of the information in it, including deadlines. However, professors often remind their students of important assignments and due dates throughout the course. It is important to be up to date on assignments and due dates, but professors understand that many students have not grasped the concept of independent learning and will not leave you to fail in a 101 class. 

Lie Number Two: Late Work. 

Another favorable scare tactic amongst high school teachers is that college professors never accept late work. There is some truth to this lie. There are some assignments that can not be turned in late. Do not show up the last day of class without your final. But, for the most part, professors understand that college students are very busy people. This doesn't mean that there is no punishment for late work. But it is, in more cases than not, still accepted.
I do not recommend letting late work become a habit at a college level.  

Lie Number Three: Professors Do Not Care.

Unlike high school teachers, college professors are not graded on whether or not their students succeed in a class. This could take away the incentive to really push students to do their best in a course. However, they are still teachers for a reason. If you are skipping class and failing to turn in assignments, they may not care about your overall success. On the other hand, if you show up everyday and have no missing assignments, but are not achieving the grade you had hoped for, talk to your professor. They are more likely to help you succeed if you show interest and effort. No teacher goes to work hoping that their students fail. 

 

Do not hate your high school teachers for feeding you lies to scare you straight, they only wanted what was best for you.

Just remember that the syllabus is there for your knowledge, deadlines are important, but not the end of the world and your professors are there to help you through it all. 

Entry 1: Hello World of Blogging

The world of blogging is a big one.

Blogs about anything and everything are available to anyone with an internet connection, which today is almost everyone. Blogging is another way to keep up on the trends of anything in which you are interested. Personally, my heart belongs to makeup and fashion blogs. But there really is a blog out there for everyone. Check out some different blogs I have come across. 

Lifestyle: Life Hacker  

Makeup: Jaclyn Hill

Food: AZ Foodie

Travel: The College Tourist

Video Games: That Video Game

Life Hacker is a fun blog that shares everyday hacks to make life a little easier. Some hacks are very practical while some are more out there. The website has posts from many authors that vary is topic. My only complaint would be the organization, there is no set categorization for posts. If sporadic life hacks are something you are looking for in life, I highly recommend. 

AZ Foodie is something that I heard about on the radio and started following recently. They share everything Arizona food related from top restaurants to recipes along with pictures. Everyone needs food, why not admire it on AZ Foodie?

The proof is in the pudding that there are blogs out there about everything; however, some blogs are not as enjoyable as others. Hullabaloo is a blog I came across that wasn't as easy to follow or as visually pleasing as the ones listed above. Like anything else in life, blogging can too be hit and miss. 

Reading blogs and familiarizing yourself with different themes, styles and layouts is a great way to begin your blogging journey. 

The power of blogging is incredible for both the author and readers. 

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the world of blogging.

Entry 0: Bailee: Party of One

Hi everyone, I am Bailee. To understand the name of my blog, you would have to understand who I am and how I got my name. Originally, I was supposed to be named Stevie Nicole, after my dad Steve. Having been born in 1996, everyone made the assumption that I was named after the wonderful Stevie Nicks. Stevie Nicole, Stevie Nicks. I am sure you see the correlation. However this drove my mother insane, so she refrained from Stevie and chose another 90s route. I am now named after Party of Five's Bailey Salinger. Bailee Leininger, Bailey Salinger; how original. After doing some research on Bailey Salinger, I found the book Bailey's Journal: Party of Five and I thought to myself, "How appropriate."

That being said, this is my second semester in college and I am really enjoying it. I work full time at Red Robin and when I am not at work or school I am watching makeup tutorials or traveling. My favorite part of both of these things is the art. I have been to art museums around the world and makeup stores around the country and I can't get enough.

While I do love art, education is where my heart is at. More specifically early childhood. This is where I hope to end up in life, teaching. After community college, I will be transferring to ASU to pursue my teaching career.

But for now, lets see where this semester takes me!