My Current Netflix Favorites

Hey Guys!

I just wanted to get a quick post up on my current favorite shows to watch on Netflix especially on a cold snowy day.  So lets get into some of my favorites.  Leave me some suggestions in the comment below!

1. Lost Girl, so this is probably going to make me look like a total nerd but I am ok with that.  I have loved Lost Girl since I found it last year, I am totally addicted to it.  It's the perfect amount of science fiction and bad ass girl and amazing plot all rolled into one show.

2. House of Cards,I honestly don't have much to say about House of Cards, it's absolutely perfection.  The plot, the casting, everything about the show is worthy of binge watching.

3. Mad Men, now this may just be me but I love the 60's I truly feel I should have been born then but that's a different topic.  I love the fact that it is based about both family and business in the 60's.  This is one of the few shows I will admit that I binge watched.

4. Blue Bloods, I will admit it, I have a serious love of crime shows and cop related shows as well.  But there is something about Blue Bloods that makes me watch episodes over and over even if I have already seen it before when it is on TV.  I can't decide if the family dynamic is what pulled me in or the way the plot is but there is something about Blue Bloods that has me by the heart strings.

5. Scandal, I know I know you probably saw this one coming, but you know what I am totally ok with that.  There is a reason that Scandal and even the character of Olivia Pope have such a hard core following.  Scandal is a show that keeps me guessing, it is the one show that I can never predict no matter how hard I try to.

I highly suggest that you check these shows out and let me know what you think in the comment!

xoxo

Amy

Finals Week Tips!

Hey guys!

Sorry I have not had a post up for a while I have been super busy with school and projects. With finals week approaching at my University I have come up with some helpful tips to help get me through the week before my final exams as well as the week of finals itself.  Please let me know if you have any tips of your own!

1. Make a list! I am very much my mothers daughter in the sense that we both makes lists for everything under the sun.  When it comes to papers, homework, and make study guides, or study for a test I always make a list and prioritize things by what is due first.

2. Take 10 to 15 minutes between whatever work you are doing for one class before moving on the the next thing, there is nothing worse then getting stressed out because you just keep going and going.

3. Look at how things are weighed in each class, because you never know your papers could be worth more then your final exam! (Trust me I have had it happen)

4. Get a tutor or make a study group, sometimes someone explains something in a way that just makes sense to you.  Or if you have to try to explain a topic to someone else you realize you know more than you originally thought.

5. EAT!! I am guilty of not eating enough or eating super unhealthy things during finals week because I feel like I don't have time to eat.  You need to properly nourish your body if you want to be able to stay up all night studying.

I really do hope this helps someone as you all start preparing for finals!

xoxo

Amy

Update

Hey guys!

I hope everyone has ben doing well.  I just wanted to make a short post to apologize for not having any recent content up on my blog.  At my university it is currently midterms week/weeks for myself and a lot of my friends.  I have had Bio, Psych, and PR (Oh my!) for my exams this semester and it has taken up a lot of time between all of my assignments from homework and group projects to studying for my exams.  I am very excited because this weekend I am going home because my lovely hair stylist and pseudo big sister got me a job doing makeup for a wedding.  When I am home I am planning on doing a little bit of shopping for clothes and possibly picking up a few products I am almost done with. I need to take photographs for my collaboration post with my beautiful friend Vicky J of Bronzed and Smoky. I will try my best to take photographs of the things I pick up while I am home for the weekend.  If anyone has any requests for future blog posts please let me know.  I want to end with a quote that one of my friends showed me and it is something I think every girl should remember.

"The question isn't who's going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." ~ Ayn Rand


xoxo
Amy


Follow me:

Instagram: @amyy_mcdonald
Twitter: @amy_lmcdonald
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophisticatedbeautyonabudgetwithamy
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Updates

Hey Guys,

So I have already had my first two weeks of my junior year of college which blows my mind, because I can't believe I only have two years left at my beautiful university.  I wanted to share some of the classes that I am currently taking at school as well as sharing some ideas that I have for my blog.  One class that I am very excited to be taking is an online course called "Social Media: Uses and Implications", I am very excited to see how this class impacts the way that I use social media for myself as well as my blog. One of the readings I had for my first week of the class was all about the digital divide between "digital natives," people in our generation and "digital immigrants," people in our parents and grandparents generations.  I am very excited to see what is to come for this class, if you would like to see more posts about what I have learned from the class in a future post please let me know! So on to what I have planned for my blog, I am hoping to get a blog post up about my night out makeup essentials and what I use to make my makeup last all night long, I am also working on some collaboration ideas with my beautiful friend Vicky J from Bronzed and Smoky, so far we have come up with some ideas such as how we both rock a bold lip color for day and night.  I am also working on a swap with the lovely Rebecca from The Glitter Diaries, which I will do a blog post on once we finalize everything and send out our packages.  I am thinking about doing a series letting you know what high end makeup is worth the splurge.  I was thinking of breaking it down into categories such as, lip products, foundation and concealer, eyeshadow and eyeshadow palettes, blush and bronzer, and mascara and eyeliners.  I need help coming up for a name for that series so please leave your suggestions in the comments section.  I am also planning on doing the beauty blogger tag sometime soon.  I also want to share with you that I will be going through recruitment for a sorority at my university, if you would like to see a blog post about my experience I am more then happy to do that for you.  As always you can leave any request in the comments below.

Please follow me on 

Twitter: @Amy_LMcDonald 

Instagram: @Amyy_McDonald

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophisticatedbeautyonabudgetwithamy 

Feel free to email me at sophisticatedbeautyonabudget@gmail.com 

xoxo,
Amy

What do you really need for your dorm room!

Hey Guy!

So I was asked by my lovely friend what she really needs to bring for her dorm room when moving into college.  Now even if you have to fly to your school and buy most of your stuff near you these are the key things you need.  I will try my best to find links to as many of the items as I can.  Whether you are going to school on the East Cost like I am, the West Cost, Down South, or maybe you are lucky enough to be going to school over seas these are some of the essential dorm room items I think everyone needs.

1.  Get a mattress topper, mine is a tempur-pedic one that my mom got for me.  You can find one from Bed Bath and Beyond here.

2.  Oscillating fan, these are a must for dorm rooms.  They cool the whole room down and keep it at a comfortable temperature.  Now I go to school in New England and my school keeps our rooms extremely HOT in the winter time so I keep my fan on all year round.  You can buy one at Walmart here.

3. Storage bins, boxes, or drawers.  Most of the closets many colleges provide you with don't have tons of extra storage so consider getting some plastic bins for bulky things like sweater, sweatshirts, sweatpants, and heavy jackets.  You can get some a Target in any size you might need such as thing one here

4. A comfy pillow, now I know you are probably thinking a pillow is a pillow but when you are stressed out from work you want to know you are going to get a comfortable night sleep.  I love my temper-pedic pillow from Costo which you can get something similar to here.

5. Swiffer/broom/ vacuum, things can spill or break in a dorm room and you don't want to constantly be stepping on tiny broken pieces.  You can get those just about anywhere.  If you are living in a double or are in a single you can even just get a hand-held vacuum.

6. Command Hooks, I use these for a lot of things, hanging up mirrors, picture frame, a clock.  It is always a good idea to have plenty command hooks and even the command sticky strips to hang up posters.  You can find those anywhere.

7. Medicine Box, this is my moms version of a first aid kit but better.  Find yourself a cute box preferably with a lid to it, fill it with band-aids, Neosporin, alcohol wipes, Advil or tylenol, cough drops, allergy medicine, mine was big enough that I could fit a small tool kit in it.  You can fill yours up with whatever else you think you may need.

8. Sewing Kit, for those times when you realize that a shirt that you love has a small hole in it and you want to fix it.  I have even used mine to fix a hem on a dress that I have had for years.  You can get one at Target here.

9. Mirror, most dorm rooms don't have mirrors in them or if they do they aren't full length.  I got one that I could hang off of my closet so I had more wall space.  You can get one here.

10. Brita Pitcher or Brita Water bottle, because you never know what kind of water you are getting out of the water fountain.  You can get the water bottles here, and the pitcher here.

11. Coffee Maker/ Keurig, trust me when I say this school coffee sucks! I mean it's really bad.  I have a Keurig and it is a life saver. I don't just use it for coffee, I make tea, hot chocolate, and apple cider come fall time.  You can get a Keurig here or something like it here.  You can get a coffee pot here, but keep in mind you can't just make one cup.

12. Power Strip/ Extension Chord, most dorm rooms have horribly places outlets, and if there is one close to you it doesn't help when you have more then two devices that you want to charge,  I love this power strip because its easy to pack and doesn't break, you can get it here and it comes in different colors.

Extra:
These are some things my friends suggested.

- Plastic bags to line the trash cans for easy clean up
- Shower Caddy
-Carpet
-Mini Ironing Board and Iron
-Flashlights for when the power goes out
-Speakers
-White board for your door
-Make-up Organizer
-Drying Rack



If there is anything else you would like to see please let me know in the comments or email me at sophisticatedbeautyonabudget@gmail.com


Hope everyone has a great weekend!

xoxo
Amy

Schedule

Hey guys,

So, I have been thinking about what I can do to make this blog be more interesting then just a post or two a week.  This is the plan I have so far, please let me know if you have any suggestions. I will do a full-length posts once a week. On my Instagram I will post about products I am using as my "face of the day", possibly doing outfits of the day, and what I eat in a day, or my gym playlist for the week. On my Facebook page, I will be sharing quick "Beauty Tips," a recipe I am trying out, or a quote of the day once or twice a day. If there is anything you would like me to do on my Twitter or any suggestions of something you would like me to post on my social media please let me know.

Follow me!

Twitter @Amy_LMcDonald

Instagram @amyy_mcdonald

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/sophisticatedbeautyonabudgetwithamy

As always you can email me at sophisticatedbeautyonabudget@gmail.com

Xoxo Amy 

Welcome!

Hey Everyone,

I want to welcome you to my new blog.  This blog will be centered around all things beauty; so makeup, skin care, hair care, health and fitness, advice,  and even healthy recipes.  My name is Amy and I am currently 20 years old and a full time college student with three part time jobs at the moment.  I know there are a lot of beauty bloggers out there but I am going to be different because I am going to help you understand what is truly worth the splurge and what isn't. You don't have to spend $100s on two items of makeup for a high end name brand - sometimes if you know what to look for you can find something just as good for a lot less.  I plan to help you learn how to create makeup looks that are perfect for all ages, from middle school, someone who is just starting out with makeup, or someone who has been wearing makeup for a while and just wants to change up their look.  I will post graduation looks, prom looks, formal looks, and even wedding looks.  I also want to take you along on my journey of working at Ulta Beauty, along with my fitness journey, and my last two years at my university.  I will try my best to post at least twice a week but that may change once school starts back up.  I should have a new post up about my Favorite YouTube Beauty Bloggers.  Please feel free to send in requests of products you would like me to review or any advice posts you would like to see.

xoxo
Amy

Please feel free to email me at sophisticatedbeautyonabudget@gmail.com with any questions or requests.