It's Like Christmas! Beauty Swap Reveal.

I genuinely love participating in Crystal Cattle's Beauty Swap! My favorite part is connecting with and staying in touch with past partners.  I've had some great ones!  Thanks to Crystal for creating such a fun event and allowing me to co-host with her for the 2nd anniversary of the Beauty Swap!

This Swap I was paired with Sara Hewitt of Faith, Farming & Cowboy Boots.  Sara is a farmer's daughter, who is working on getting a Master's degree in Agricultural Education.  She's also a cowboy boot wearing garage sale lover with a passion for horses.

Sound familiar?!!?  Two peas in a pod we are!  Sara and her hubby do have an adorable little girl, Harper; while Matt and I are only parents to two fur babies!

The package of goodies Sara sent arrived while I was in Chicago for our Illinois Farm Bureau annual meeting (Another commonality between the two of us!  Sara and Mark are active in the Minnesota Farm Bureau), but I literally ripped open the box when I got home Monday night!  Inside were some great items:

Throughout the string of emails getting to know each other, we talked a lot of about likes/dislikes and products that we'd be wanting to try.  First on my list was The Detangler hairbrush, which is as fantastic as every says!  I've used it on dry hair and again this morning after my shower.  Love!  I'm typically a comb user out of the shower, but this has be seriously reconsidering.
The two lip crayons were included by Sara because they're some of her favorite steals from Ulta.  I received Love Spell and Hazy Pink, which is a matte finish.  I've got on Love Story right now and it's definitely got me under some sort of spell!

See the Brow Power up there??  It's epic.  I've struggled with whether my current brow pencil is too dark for my brow color and this little ditty rectifies that problem.  It's UNIVERSAL!  The darker you press the dark it appears and the brush that's included helps to feather for a natural look.

The It Cosmetics Hello Lashes mascara has taken some getting used to.  The applicator end is different configured differently than what I've used in the past, but I'm getting the hang of it after a few days.  

I've yet to try the Powder Play, but I do love me some big Texas hair and can't wait to 'tease it to Jesus'!  Our Christmas pictures are scheduled for Friday and plan to jack my hair!

Sara also included several sample products and I'm loving the CC+ cream by It Cosmetics.  I've used it the last two mornings and really like to look and feel.  And now a shameless bathroom selfie featuring several of my Beauty Swap items...

I can't wait to see what everyone else received in their Swap boxes and hopefully connect with some more amazing women!  Don't forget to link upyour blog posts on Crystal's page!

Beauty Swap Sign-Up

It's time for another Beauty Swap and I'm helping my gal pal Crystal out with the co-hosting duties this time around!  I started reading Crystal Cattle years ago and truly geeked out the first time Crystal commented on something I wrote!  Last year we happened to be in Las Vegas at the same time and decided to meet up for breakfast.  Despite both of our husband's thinking it was totally off the wall, it was a success!  And I actually just spent the last three days with her at AgChat in Nashville; further bonding over bright pink lipstick, vintage turquoise and a love of agriculture.  

I first joined in on the Beauty Swap because my mom quit selling Mary Kay and I was at a loss with all the products on the market!  Through the Swap, I've been able to slowly transition and try so many types of make-up.  The Swap isn't just about make-up either!  I've received hair care products and pretty nail polish too.  

The Beauty Swaps are an opportunity to meet women from all over the country (we've had some Canadian girls swap too), and get to try out beauty products that we might not necessary buy for ourselves.  I am pretty sure stock in EOS lip balm, Benefit Fakeup concealer and Neutrogena make-up removal wipes have all risen since the beginning of our beauty swaps.  Many of the gals that participate are farmers, ranchers or are in some way involved in the agricultural community... But anyone is welcome to join in on the fun!

So how does a Beauty Swap work?  Once you have signed up we’ll pair you with another beauty loving blogger (or someone that enjoys Twitter or Instagram).  You’ll have a little bit of time to get to know your new social media friend, and then you’ll send each other a gift of beauty products.  Sign up for the Beauty Swap will take place November 8-18, 2015.  We'll send out the pairings by November 22.  Get to know your partner and then be sure to get your package in the mail by November 30.  It is really important to follow these deadlines as we have had a few Beauty Swappers send their packages off and get nothing in return :(

Once you have received your box start testing out your new beauty product.  We'll host a link up on December 10.  It is fun to link up and read all about everyone else's finds.  Here are link ups from Beauty Swap I, Beauty Swap II, Beauty Swap III, Beauty Swap IV, Beauty Swap V and Beauty Swap VI.  You don't have to have a blog to participate, but we do ask that you have a social media way to communicate and join in on the fun.  Use the hashtag #ccbeautyswap on Twitter or Instagram.  Below is a list of a few rules and guidelines that we ask you stick to. 

1. Follow the Crystal Cattle blog and Facebook page, and The Purple Front Door Blog. 

2. Email your partner within 72 hours of receiving your match. If you haven’t heard from your match after three days are up, let Crystal or myself know and we’ll try and pair you with someone else.

3. Be sure to ask your partner questions about their likes and dislikes, products they like to use, skin tone, preferred colors, etc. or maybe they want to be surprised!

4. Each box should contain a min. of $20 worth of product. Please include one full size item. You may also include samples of products with your one full size item.

5. Items must be new, unless you’ve discussed this with your partner. (Perhaps she loves purple nail polish and you have bottle you know you won’t use anymore.)

6. Packages must be shipped by November 30. If possible it is a good idea to get a tracking number in case something gets lost.

7. Once you receive your package create a post revealing what you received and link up with us on December 10.

8. Since it is almost Christmas consider including your favorite Christmas treat or recipe!

9. If you do not follow the rules you may forfeit you right to participate in future Beauty Swaps. Crystal Cattle has the right to refuse participation for any reason.

10. Understand that unfortunately sometimes you may send a package and get nothing in return. This is out of our control and a risk you take. 

To sign up click here!

And if you need some ideas of what past Beauty Swap packages have looked like check out some of my previous reviews (here and here) or head over to the

Beauty Swap Pinterest page. 

Swappers Gonna Swap

Last month when Crystal announced another round of her Beauty Swap, I totally forgot to sign up and then went into panic mode thinking I was too late!  Thankfully when I remembered there was still a few days to get signed up.

I don't know if it was because Ashley and I both signed up late or what, but I got another GREAT swap partner this time around!  Crystal literally works some serious skills matching us all up!

Ashley lives and works on a dairy farm in Michigan and has a flare for home renovation, agvocating as a FarmHer and enjoys good country music!  We've even talked about actually converging on Chicago at some point to meet up and enjoy some good food and libations!!  Keeping my fingers crossed that we can pull that off.

Okay, so back to the Beauty Swap!  Ashley and I sent countless emails discussing what sort of make-up/skin care items we use on a daily basis and then went from there.  I had told her that I was needing a good bronzer and wanted to add to my lipstick collection.  For Ashley I was on the hunt for some exciting skin care products, since she works on the farm everyday she mentioned wanting some things along that line instead of make-up make-up.  You can check out Ashley's post to see what I sent and her thoughts on each item!

As for me... Ashley sent me some really rad goodies that I'm pretty much in love with!

The Kat Von D lipstick (Lovecraft) is literally like butter on my lips!  It's like the perfect no color, color!  I'm certain Ashley selected Lovecraft for me because I had told her that I prefer to accentuate my eyes when I do a 'full face'.  She totally nailed this item.  The sample of shower oil went right into my shower and is fantastic.  I also received a sample of First Aid Beauty (FAB) face cleanser.  While I haven't used this one yet, the five star reviews are plentiful!  Ashley had previous reviewed the L'Oreal Paris Pro-Last lipstick on her blog and I was so excited to see she'd included it in my box of goodies!  I used this lipstick over weekend and it literally lasted ALL day... just like she said it would!  The UD Naked Flushed palette which features a bronzer, highlight and blush is on point!  This little ditty has definitely gotten the most use out of everything Ashley sent.  And you can't forget the Lindor egg truffles!  They're chilling in the freezer for a rainy day!!!

I'll leave you today with a picture of the handsome pony and myself this past weekend at our horse show!  We're all clear I like love the color purple, right?!?!

Fall Beauty Swap

Happy Monday!!

Is that too much enthusiasm for a Monday??  I mean the sun is shining and we're supposed to top out somewhere near 80 degrees today so it should be a great day!

If that's not enough, I get to share with y'all my Beauty Swap goodies I received from my new pal Whitney and let me tell you she spoiled me rotten.  Take a look and see for yourself!

Coming all the way from...

Whitney sent me some super cute Halloween goodies!  Aren't those eyelashes the bomb.com?!?  My costume doesn't really warrant them, but I may just have to wear them just because!  And the press-on nails have such cute designs.  I'm thinking of mixing and matching! 

And because we both aren't pregnant and also to ward off any threat of Ebola...
Has anyone tried the Deep Eddy cranberry vodka?  I'm thinking Sprite or 7UP as a good mixer?!

Now for the make-up goods!!  I'm telling you, Whitney out-frickin-did herself with this box of awesomeness!

See... I told ya!  I haven't even had time to give everything a try, but I'm seriously looking forward to all the fun I'm going to have when I do!

This morning I made myself presentable to the public by using the Smashbox BB Cream, the Too Faced bronzer and mascara and the Buxom lip gloss (which it's name, YOW, cracks me up!) and I'm liking it all so far.  The lip gloss isn't sticky and stayed on through my breakfast smoothie, so that's a win!  I've never used a BB cream, heck I'm not really even sure what it IS... but I'm loving the coverage and it feels great on.  I'll have to see how the mascara holds up throughout the day, but I've already had a couple people comment on my Instagram photo about how much they love it, so I have high hopes!  I'm a pretty big fan of L'Oreal's Beauty Tubes, but maybe I'll be swayed?!?!

Wait, What?

Over the last few months I've participated in a Beauty Swap that one of my favorite ag bloggers, Crystal Cattle, co-hosts.  I've not had the pleasure to meet Crystal IRL, but I can imagine we'd get along great!  Corn. Cows.  Agriculture.  Make-up.  Boots.  The list goes on...

So last week she posted that it was time to sign-up for another round of swaps.  I immediately filled out the application to get a partner for this go-round and then waited to hear from Crystal about who I'd be paired with!

Last night after kicking some ass at our softball game (we 10 Run Ruled 'em), I checked my email and was excited to see a thread of email regarding next month's Beauty Swap!

Que the hilarity.

Whoa. WHOA. WHOA!!!  Due for WHAT?!?!

Shortly after (three minutes to be exact) the first email, this one showed up...

Bahaha!  I'm so glad the Crystal cleared up that I wasn't pregnant!  She had me worried. 

And my new pal, Whitney, she's not preggers either.  Her response to this was something like "well if I am pregnant I'd better do something about that sushi and whiskey I just consumed!" 

I like this girl already!