meganaperez

Simple Style

Published on July 29, 2018July 30, 2018 by meganaperezLeave a comment

I’ve noticed that as I’m getting older my style is changing to more of a minimalistic style. Having some great staple items that I can wear is always what I’m looking for when I’m shopping online. I know what you might be thinking, “Dressing like that can be boring!” But on the contrary, it doesn’t have to be! Here are some tips you can use to take your basic outfit to the next level!

Bold lip color
- Something I love doing is wearing a colored lipstick or lip gloss when I’m wearing my basic black tee and jeans outfit. Normally I wear a lot of neutral lip colors so it really takes my outfit to the next level when I’m wearing a bold red or pink lip color. Here are some of my favorite lip colors from Colourpop that you can try out if you’re a newb to bold lip colors! All of which are on sale btw!!

Statement accessories
- I’ve always believed that I can change anything that I’m wearing just by the accessories that I’m wearing. A basic tee and jeans can look super dull and boring. But when you pair it with a simple necklace, some funky earrings and bracelets, you’ve changed your entire outfit! Check out some of these super cute pieces that can really take your outfit to the next level!

Shoes
- As almost every woman out there, I love shoes! Lately I’ve been into flats and fashion sneakers. But I do love wearing some cute wedges or heels for church or other events. A basic tee and jeans outfit can be totally transformed just by the type of shoe you’re wearing! During the daytime, you can rock the fashion sneakers for comfort. Than for date night, you can switch out those cute sneakers for some cute heels and you’re ready to go!

What are you favorite simple styles? What do you love to add to your outfit to make it pop? Let me know in the comments below! xoxo

Simple Life

Published on July 25, 2018February 9, 2019 by meganaperezLeave a comment

Hey Loves! It’s been so long since I’ve written a post. So much has happened in these past few months that has pulled my focus away from my blog. But now that I’m settled into my new place and new job, I’m finding more time to devote to writing and other ventures.

If you haven’t noticed, I changed my blog name to “Simple Life by Megan Perez.” Why? Because I’m finding that as I’m getting older I’m changing. I find that I’m not all about having the most expensive things or tons of materialistic items. I’m more about having the #simplelife now especially since I’m expecting my first child. Life isn’t about the “things” it’s about the experiences and growing through them. Now don’t get me wrong, I still care about fashion and beauty and what not, so don’t worry I will still have those posts here! But my goal with this is to try and help you all live the #simplelife too and to inspire your own personal growth in different areas of your life. I’m a firm believer that you can never stop growing and honestly you shouldn’t want to stop growing!

I’m working on content right now to share with you on different tips and tricks to help you live out that #simplelife! Don’t forget, you can always leave comments below on anything you’d like me to cover!

Have a great day loves!

xoxo,

Top 10 Picks from Target

Published on April 10, 2018April 6, 2018 by meganaperezLeave a comment

As I’m sure many of you know, Target has some SUPER CUTE clothes out right now!! While I was doing some online shopping (Shhhhh…don’t tell my husband lol) I decided to round up my top 10 picks!

Here are the 10 items I think are worth purchasing right now! Best part…they’re all under $30!!!! Click each picture to shop! xoxo

Happy shopping!!!!

xoxo,

Self-Care

Published on April 4, 2018February 9, 2019 by meganaperez2 Comments

Today I want to talk about self-care! Something I’m honestly not that great at. I get so busy that I honestly don’t realize I’m not taking care of myself until my body basically shuts down for a few days and forces me too. Which isn’t a good thing! I need to learn, just like you, how to really take care of myself!

I wanted to share some self-care tips that I have been incorporating into my daily life and have really helped me stay relaxed.

Drinking a lot of water: I’ve noticed that my energy levels depend a lot on how much water I’m drinking. I’ve been giving myself a goal of 4 16oz. water bottles to drink a day. I even started adding a NUUN vitamin to add some flavor and extra electrolytes. Click here to check them out. Each package comes with 12 tablets that you add to your water and they are so yummy. I don’t like buying juice at home so this is a great alternative!

Getting a good night’s sleep: I am someone who needs a good night’s sleep in order to full function the next day. I try to get at least 7 hours a night. If I can get 8, I’ll take it. If you’re like me though, your mind just continues to work until the late hours of the night. I actually received this REN pillow spray in my Bless Box last week and have been using ever since. It seriously has been helping me get to sleep quick and help to relax my mind. Prior to that, I would take one OLLY sleep vitamin. Of course, it’s completely natural. But it would also help my mind calm down enough for me to actually sleep. If you want to try the spray click here! If you want to check out the vitamin, click here!

Face Masks: Every other night I have doing a sheet mask. Mainly for hydration right now because the weather has my skin super dry. Doing a face mask helps to force me sit down on the couch with a glass of water and just close my eyes for a bit. Because I can’t do anything else with those things on my face! I really love going to Target to pick up the sheet masks they have. They’re under $3 and I can pick up different ones based on the issue with my skin I’m having. If you haven’t done this, you need to go to Target today and pick some up! Here are some of my favorites! Hint…I love them all!

Devotionals: Starting my day with devotionals has really helped me as well. I notice when I don’t spend time with God, I feel off. And I think that has been the biggest issue that I have had these past few weeks. When I sat down and really took a self-reflection of my past few weeks, I really noticed that I was lacking my devotional time. And I saw how it was affecting me. If you need some suggestions on devotionals, here are some that I would recommend! I also really love my YouVersion Bible App. I can pick a devotional off of that and do that first thing in the morning. It makes it so easy to read the Word!

New Mercies by Paul Tripp
James Challenge – YouVersion
Women on a Mission – YouVersion

There you have it! Those are the things that I have been incorporating to get myself back on track! What are some of your favorite things to do to unwind?!

Currently Obsessed With – Beauty Edition

Published on March 20, 2018March 20, 2018 by meganaperezLeave a comment

I wanted to share 3 of my current beauty product obsessions!! I use these practically everyday and I’m completely in love with each.

Kristin Ess Curly Defining Crème – So I started following Kristin Ess on Instagram a couple of months ago. Her feed seriously gives me hair envy. I just can’t even with all her gorgeous hair looks. I saw that she also had her own line of hair products so I decided to pick this one up to give it a try! So my first time using it, I used too much product. I wasn’t paying attention when I squeezed out the bottle and I got the amount of probably a quarter that I used on my hair. It kept my curl but it did make my hair feel a little too greasy for my like. When I used that much, I noticed I couldn’t go a second day without washing my hair. The next two times I used the product I kept experimenting with the amount of product to actually use to get the texture that I like for my hair in particular. It came down to using about a dime sized amount of product in my hair. Sometimes I’ll squeeze like an extra dot in there for good measure. Because my hair is on the thinner side but also curly, when I use product of any amount in my hair, I have to wash it the next day. It usually feels super greasy the next day. I still love using this product when I’m air drying my hair because it does give my curls a nice shape. All-in-all, I would recommend trying this product out.

Pacifica Dream Big Mascara – This has been like my all-time favorite mascara. I’m so glad I impulsively purchased it. This gives my lashes such length and definition I can’t even. I’m a mascara junkie and have tried A LOT of brands. I have baby length lashes so I need something that will give me some good definition and length. Added bonus – it’s vegan and under $20!! Like come on!! I can’t get more excited about this if I tried. Once you’re done reading this post, just drive over to Target and pick one up for yourself. Don’t feel like going out? Don’t worry, I linked it here for you!!

Pacifica Dreamy Youth Moisturizer – Because I loved their mascara so much, I decided to try their moisturizer. Another product that I love. This is a day and night youth moisturizer so it has anti-aging properties. It has Fleuracell complex with concentrated floral stem cells for anti-age. Plus, it deeply moisturizing my skin and has improved the overall radiance of my skin. Honestly, I feel like my face was starting to look super dull but now, let me tell you the glow that I have! People honestly think I’m pregnant because of it. And I’m not. Not even close. And I’m okay with that. Let my glow from this awesome moisturizer and nothing else please…. Anywho! Another product I would highly recommend. You can shop this brand here!

What are some of your current beauty obsessions?? Leave a comment below!

xoxo,

Life Updates…

Published on March 13, 2018February 9, 2019 by meganaperez2 Comments

Hey loves, I wanted to kind of give a life update since I realized a lot has changed in the last month or so and I haven’t really shared much. It’s been quite the rollercoaster of emotions to be completely honest. I don’t really think I’ve fully come to a place where I can say I’m no longer emotional about everything that happened.

It’s also hard to figure out how much you should share about your personal life and how much you should hold back. But what I can say is that within the last few weeks, I was recently laid off from my job. It was a crazy experience and I didn’t see it coming. I knew that God was beginning to transition us into a different season of our lives but I never anticipated that this transition could happen so fast. This wasn’t happening according to my timeline. But it turns out it was God’s timeline.

In this moment, I really needed to think about my faith and trust in God. Did I really trust Him enough to know that He will supply our each and every need like it says in Philippians 4:19?

Philippians 4:19: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

So, of course that thinking reigned in my head for a few days after everything happened. But as the days have gone by, I have started to realize that I do have that faith and trust in God. And that maybe this needed to happen in order for me to realize that I do have that faith. William (my husband) and I are coming to such a weird place in our lives. We are seeing one-chapter end and another begin. It’s such a weird feeling. Because you can see what is ahead and you just want to get to that point already and just be done with it. But at the same time, you really can’t do that. You have to see this out to the very end. Only then can Chapter 2 really begin. So, to be honest, it’s just really weird.

But it’s also very exciting. I feel like William and I are finally getting to a point in our lives where are seeing all of our hard work come to fruition. We are finally able to starting setting down the path that we have been waiting for, for so long. And it’s a great feeling. Of course, this new chapter means moving to another place, graduating and starting a new life, which is all exciting. But it’s also kind of sad to see this chapter that we are currently in end. I know that I’ve said to a lot of people how excited I am to finally be done with this chapter and move on. But to be honest, it hasn’t really been that bad. God has provided for us these past two years here and really grown us. It’s hard to see that growth while you are going through it but as you look back you can really see what has changed. My marriage has grown stronger, my relationship with the Lord has grown stronger, I’ve come to fully trust and have faith in God like I have never before. It’s amazing really.

Hebrews 11:1: “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”

I’m even more excited to see what challenges lye ahead of us and what type of growth we will experience at that point as well. For now, I’m home blogging full time and finishing my graduate degree. I’m really enjoying this time of rest and I’m trying to make the best of it by staying somewhat active. So, if you have any topics you’d like me to cover in a future post, just let me know! Leave a comment below!

xoxo,

Pixi by Petra Review

Published on March 6, 2018March 8, 2018 by meganaperezLeave a comment

I decided to post this week about my latest beauty purchase. I had a lot of questions about the products that I used in my Instagram post from a couple weeks ago about the make-up products that I used. This past month, I really decided that I wanted to move towards more cruelty-free and/or vegan makeup. My skin is extremely important to me (and it should be the same with you!) so I’m trying to be very conscience of what products that I’m using. I decided to start with my makeup. I researched a few brands of different levels of makeup there are. Of course, just like any other brand of makeup, you have your drug-store level and your department store level. I decided to start with something that was more drugstore level. One of the brands that I started with was Pixi by Petra. This brand is currently at Target.

Because I’m so new to the vegan makeup scene, I decided to look up some websites that are centered around everything vegan. One I found extremely helpful is The Ethical Elephant. On this site, you can search specific brands of makeup that you may be curious about and it’ll show you a list of products that specific company carries that are vegan. I would definitely recommend this site if you are new to this vegan makeup area just because it’s very helpful and easy to navigate.

Check out this video on the website and how I navigated around it:

Another website that I found really helpful, was actually the PETA.org website. Of course, this site has so much more information than just beauty and make-up, but they still have this information on there. Here is an example of how I navigated their website.

When I decided that I wanted to check out some new brands of makeup, of course I researched using The Ethical Elephant and the PETA website and found the Pixi by Petra brand. Of course, this brand is found at my favorite store, Target!!! So, of course, there was just an excitement in just being able to leave the house and go to Target.

So, using the information that I found on what specific items from this brand were considered vegan, (because they have a few items that aren’t considered vegan but everything is cruelty-free) I went to the beauty aisle to see what they have. I found the following items that were both cruelty-free and vegan.

Correction Concealer – I used this concealer a few times. I wasn’t too in love with the color, I think I picked the wrong color. But it was really easy to use and the consistency was also nice.
Flawless & Poreless Primer – I actually like this primer. It does give a nice poreless look. Also easy to use and I really liked the consistency and coverage.
Beauty Bronzer – I really like this bronzer. It gives a nice color. It’s not extremely bold but it’s great for an everyday look. I’ve been using this bronzer for my everyday makeup. It still gives me a nice color even though it’s not a heavy color.
Lash Boosting Mascara – This mascara is actually really great. I love the depth of color and the ease of application.
H2O Skintint – This is a great light weight coverage. It’s not a full coverage makeup but it’s great for those days when you need something quick before you head out for the day. But I do love this product and have been using it very frequently.
Lash Line Ink – I also love this product. It goes on super smooth and leaves a great pigment color.

I think through using these products, I was more just surprised that these products are vegan. They were really great quality wise and I’m really happy that I tried them!

There are some other beauty brands that I am wanting to try out that are both vegan and cruelty-free that I will be sharing in another post.

What are some beauty concerns that you have? Share them below!

Xoxo,

BareMinerals Foundation Review

Published on March 2, 2018March 8, 2018 by meganaperezLeave a comment

Recently, I was chosen to review Bare Minerals new foundation formulated just for me using their new app through Influenster. This technology is really interesting. You basically download the app and follow all of the instructions. You need to calibrate your phone camera using 5 sheets of white paper. You basically tap your phone on the 5 white sheets of paper in different spots for a few seconds each tap. Once you do that, you will do the same process except different places on your face. With those photos, they formulate the color of your foundation and personalize the bottle with your name.

Here is a preview of what the app looks like.

It’s actually really easy to use and really cool. I’m really surprised at the outcome. When it first arrived, I was surprised by the color. It seemed darker than I thought it would be. But once I applied it, it looked really great on my skin. The consistency was fantastic and the coverage is sheer to medium. But you can build upon that. It lasted great all-day long.

I would definitely recommend trying this foundation out. It’s really lightweight formula as well that has nourishing and antioxidant ingredients including green tea extract, Vitamin E and peptides as well as ceramide, chamomile and white lily flower.

If your feeling adventurous, download the app here and get your color matched foundation today! This product is reasonably priced when you think of the benefits and ingredients, and since I’m always on the lookout for great products for my skin, I thought I would share this new product with you!

What is your favorite BareMinerals product? Have you tried BareMinerals before? If so, let me know below!

xoxo,

*I received this product free for testing purposes from Influenster but all opinions are my own.

11 Things I Can’t Live Without

Published on February 28, 2018February 9, 2019 by meganaperezLeave a comment

Today I’m rounding up 11 items that I just cannot live without on a day to day basis!

Bible: It’s so important for me to keep myself in check on a daily basis. I start my day in the Word and it just sets the tone for my entire day.
Coffee: Honestly, this is another thing I cannot live without. I just love to start my day with a good cup of coffee. The caffeine helps me get focused on what I need to get done throughout the day.

Face Wash: I cannot live without my face wash. Makeup, I can do without but having the option to keep my skin clean is something I can never go without!
Moisturizer: Again, I cannot live without my moisturizer. My skin gets super dry right during the winter season so making sure I have a good moisturizer is absolutely key. I’ve been using this new moisturizer from Pacifica and I’m absolutely in love with it.
Toothbrush: Another item I can’t live without, and I’m not sure many people could live without this to be honest, is my toothbrush! I fell in love with this automatic toothbrush and have been using it for over a year now. I feel like I get a better clean for my teeth using this automatic brush. It’s easy to use and easy to clean.
Toothpaste: I started using Toms toothpaste a couple months ago and to be honest, I’m in love with it. I love that I’m getting a good clean in my mouth without harsh chemicals. It has a great taste and still has great benefits for my teeth!
Deodorant: Again, I’m not sure anyone could live with this item but you just never know! I always need to have deodorant with me. I’m very sensitive to smells so I always make sure I’m applying it every morning. Sometimes, if I feel really self-conscience I’ll apply it twice a day! Lol.

Earrings: No matter what I’m wearing you will ALWAYS see me with a pair of earrings on. No matter what. I literally cannot even workout without a pair of earrings on. I don’t know what it is, but I always think you should have something on. Anyone else agree?? Shop some super cute earrings with Stella & Dot!

Water Bottle: Keeping hydrated is an absolute must!! Especially if you’re working towards clearer skin! I always carry my water bottle with me to make sure I’m drinking enough water on a daily basis. Because my water bottle holds 16 oz. of water, I try to make it a goal to drink 4 full bottles a day. Gotta get those 64 ounces of water in!
Sneakers: My go-to foot wear. I’m a very simple woman. There is no doubt about it. Anytime I can wear sneakers with my outfit, you best believe that I will! These are my favorite sneakers right now. But I will share another post on my favorite sneakers later on!
Gum: I cannot stand bad breath. Or even the feeling that I may have bad breath. So having gum on hand is always a must!

Make sure to click on the links to shop these products!

What are some items that you can’t live without?? Let me know in the comments below!

Spring Trends!

Published on February 21, 2018February 20, 2018 by meganaperezLeave a comment

It’s hard to believe, but Spring is just around the corner! I will say that I am excited about the idea of the weather warming up. Looking through some of the new fashion trends is making me want Spring to come even more! I decided to round up some of my new favorites to share with you guys! Of course, this is from my favorite store, Target! They have such cute new Spring trends for really inexpensive. Check it out below!