Great artwork for your home that you can afford!

BirdAve is your solution for affordable art for your home or office. I recently received this photo of the Chicago skyline and it's beautiful. It will fit perfectly in my kitchen. The pop of color really makes the print stand out. 

BirdAve offers prints of your favorite sports team, city, or special place you have traveled, with their very unique prints. They have over 750 prints for you to choose from with series including music, sports, children, lifestyle and different cities around the world. Not only can you choose your print but you can choose it's background color to match your house or office.

What I really liked was the fact that if you couldn't find something that you loved there is an option to customize a print for the very same price! They have 8.5 x 11, 11 x 14, and 16 x 20. I'm all about customized pieces so that your decor stands out! 

To take a look at what they have go to  http://www.birdave.com

Shop, Sip, Socialize - VIP Ticket Giveaway!

We all know I love a good event. Coming up, Sunday December 15th is another really fun Sassy City Chicks event here in Chicago. I'll be attending with a few friends to get pampered and check out all the great booths. 

I have a limited number of VIP tickets available to give out to readers of The Savvy Brunette. If you are interested in a VIP ticket for the December 15th event leave a comment on this blog and I will send you the code.

Learn more about the event here!

How To Change The World -- One Box at a Time!

Paper or plastic, is no longer a question you only have to consider at the grocery store. 

Over the summer, at Lollapalooza, I saw many concert goers drinking water out of paper cartons. I was intrigued but like all too many things I got busy and learning more about paper water cartons got put on the back burner. Just recently, I learned about Icebox, a very popular brand of water in a box. The great thing about Icebox Water is that as a company they aren't just out to mae sales but they are on a mission to change the world—and they are already making a huge difference!

Icebox boasts that it is BPA free, which until now I didn't understand. After seeing it everywhere I decided to look into BPA further. BPA is a controversial chemical used to line cans, they have found that it can even raise child's risk for developing heart problems or kidney disease. Whether or not this is a proven fact, or just something currently being studied, this should be alarming enough to make us think about what we are really letting our bodies come in contact with.

For as long as I can remember, recycling has been a hot topic. I remember going to a recycling plant in grade school seeing all of the recyclables compound together in a huge plant. Icebox understands the importance of recycling, their pressed paper carton is made from renewable resources and is recyclable. Another nice plus that you get when supporting this brand. 

As for taste, it definitely has a different taste to it. I could describe it as a clean taste. It's better than tap water than I tend to typically drink. I'd definitely start to drink Icebox and look for paper cartons. 

Learn more about Icebox Water on their website, Facebook, and Twitter. Join the conversation on Twitter and Instagram with #RefreshNaturally.

Look Flawless with TEMPTU's Airbrush Makeup Kit

 

I have always really enjoyed makeup, and trying new looks. When I was given the opportunity to try TEMPTU’s Airbrush Makeup Kit, I was beyond excited. It was coming at the perfect time with my birthday being a week from when the kit was to arrive. I had planned to have my makeup professionally done for a dinner, but with TEMPTU on its way I figured I could give it a try myself this year! I had already heard so much about TEMPTU’s spray makeup but I was always afraid to try it. It looked like a system that needed to be used by a professional makeup artist. After using it, I realized boy was I wrong! TEMPTU makeup is for everyone.

When I got my TEMPTU airbrush kit in the mail the first thing I did was read the instructions and hop online to get some tips to learn how to apply it correctly. TEMPTU has a great  How To video from their makeup artist that teaches you easy to follow tips and tricks. They also have some additional resources which can be found here. After watching the video, I felt ready to give it a try. In my kit I got TEMPTU foundation, blush and highlighter. It may have been first timers luck, but my first application was even and it looked great (see picture below). The nice thing was that the entire application process took minutes and there was no need to layer and cake on different products. TEMPTU foundation looked great and made my skin look clear and blemish free with one overall spray. I also used the blush and highlighter, which is a little hard to see in the photo because I kept it pretty light. You can layer the spray on to make it darker, but I was getting ready to go run errands so wanted that all natural look. Maybe the best part about the makeup was that it stayed ALL DAY. No joke. I looked at it later at night and it was still there, in the same place where we started in the morning. Normally my blush is gone by like 11am and the rest has started to wear off by end of day. Not with TEMPTU. Great lasting look.

The cool thing  TEMPTU’s Airbrush Makeup Kit and AIRpod makeup is that they were the first to create this easy-to-use home airbrush makeup system. They actually created this system for professional makeup artists and as the brand grew it morphed into something the everyday woman could use at home.With the Airbrush Makeup Kit you really are getting a professional grade system that you can use everyday with ease.

TEMPTU does a great job at sharing how-to tips and videos as well as great offers on all of their social media channels. I encourage you to check out their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to learn more about the TEMPTU system. While exploring TEMPTU’s social media I saw so many famous faces that used the makeup system. Some of the biggest celebs out there are using the exact same system that I have been trying out over the past week. I really enjoyed seeing different TEMPTU looks on Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry, Scarlett Johansson, Beyonce and Madonna. It just shows the diversity in the brand. It works for women of all ages and skin colors. TEMPTU is also the chosen makeup system  for artists who do the makeup for major runway shows such as Prada, Dior, BCBG and Herve Leger. There is something to be said for a stamp of approval from all of these great makeup artists who work with the top talent around the world in fashion, music, film and television.

AWESOME GIVEAWAY ALERT
I have been given the opportunity to host an AWESOME giveaway for my followers. One of you can win your very own TEMPTU Signature Airbrush Makeup Kit which includes the system, foundation, blush and highlighter! This kit starts at $149 so this really is a great giveaway. TEMPTU did not stop there with their generosity, they gave me a 20% discount offer (Code C0KA8PHK) not just for myself but to share with my readers. This would be a terrific gift for a girlfriend or anyone in your family that loves makeup. Be the all star gift giver this year and save 20% while doing it! I’m thinking about getting this spray on makeup system for my mom! She’d love it.

HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN YOUR VERY OWN 
TEMPTU AIRBRUSH MAKEUP SYSTEM! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONGRATS TO THE SAVVY BRUNETTE'S WINNER LINDA MCCONNELL. ENJOY!

Using Vimbly to make your plans

One of my favorite things about Chicago is that there are endless possibilities of things to do on any given day. The problem is always, how to choose though. That is where Vimbly comes into play. It's a new way to  book thousands of activities, classes & date ideas. These include dance, cooking, glassblowing, pizza making, wine tasting, learning to DJ, improvisation, scotch pairing, samurai sword fighting, persuasion class, and more. 

Vimbly gave me an opportunity to try out one of the activities for free to test out the ease of their site. My friend Sharrell and I chose the KOVAL Distillery tour as our first activity to try out through Vimbly. We had a blast. Easy to sign in at the event. I'll definitely continue to use Vimbly when choosing what do to in the city!

Another great thing is their customer service is exceptional. The confirmation email for the event that we attended did not make it into my inbox and my event when the event was coming up I sent a quick email over at 8pm on a Saturday night. Almost immediately, I got a response and my confirmation email forwarded to me. It's definitely worth a try! 

Don't forget to check out Vimbly here: http://www.vimbly.com/chicago

Day 10 - Google the meaning of your name and talk about how it fits or doesn’t fit you

Nycole can be spelled many different ways. Regardless of spelling, the meaning is the same. It means victorious people. Interesting. When I think of victorious I think of a winner, someone who is triumphant. As of right now, I'm not feeling like a huge winner. Feeling rather frustrated, but with that being said it only means a victory is right around the corner. I have been very lucky to celebrate many victories in my life. Have to roll with the punches to enjoy the best times when they come your way.

Day 9 - Your favorite “weird/funny single behavior”

Truckin along at a slow pace, but still doing the challenge. Day 9 - Your favorite “weird/funny single behavior”. 

I'm all about the weird. Just to put that out there. I am all about talking to myself and the TV when no one is around. Lets see, also, baby talk my dog all day long. That one might be the silliest one. I would get some laughs if people heard me. Also, walk around in nothing. Which coincidentally is weirding me out now that I have a dog lol. I feel like she knows I'm doing something weird and just looks at me strange haha. On days like today, I curse Michigan football and Devin Gardner. I've been known to threaten a quarterback during football season. Only when I'm home alone though, so that's ok right?