From My Vanity

Beauty, Skincare, and a bit of Lifestyle

An Awesome Sale and a Chance to Win Beauty Products! (Announcement)

Leave a Comment

Today I have TWO exciting announcements to share with you today. Both of these are time-sensitive, so make sure you read below ASAP to see if these opportunities are something you can take advantage of!

First off, this one actually isn’t makeup, but still too awesome a deal not to share! And this product is very important to have in your skincare routine nonetheless! With the summer here (or fast approaching, depending on where you live), you definitely need to be protecting your skin with some really good SPF!

The brand is called Supergoop! and it’s the only prestige skincare brand that is completely dedicated to innovations in UV protection. They are committed to delivering healthy, multifunctional skincare formulas free of controversial ingredients.

Right now, TODAY ONLY, Supergoop!‘s newest product — Sun-Defying Sunscreen Oil SPF 50 — is being offered as a value set! For only $26 you can receive both the full size 5oz bottle of sunscreen as well as a travel-friendly 1oz bottle. This is a 38% added value!

What’s so special about Supergoop!’s Sun-Defying Sunscreen Oil in SPF 50? It’s the first prestige SPF 50 sunscreen oil that’s what-resistant, non-greasy formula with superior broad-spectrum and antioxidant protection that diminishes signs of UV damage and prevents moisture loss and enhances skin hydration. It’s formulated with reinforcing meadow foam seed oil, potent tocotrienols, and nourishing argan oil, this spray sunscreen prevents moisture loss, neutralizes UV-induced free radical damage, and leaves skin soft and supple.

As I already mentioned, this offer is ONLY good today — May 27th — while supplies last. This offer is exclusive and only available for purchase at QVC, QVC.com, Sephora stores nationwide, and Sephora.com. If you have been on the hunt for a good sunscreen protection with high SPF, definitely check out this offer while it’s still available!

And then, as if that deal wasn’t awesome enough,  there’s an It Cosmetic‘s giveaway going on right now on their Facebook page. Anyone else out there love It Cosmetic products? Well, I sure do! Each
product I’ve ever tried from them has been outstanding!

Spread the Love: #itsgotyoucovered with complexion perfection!

They’ve been doing weekly giveaways as they work up to the release of a new product of theirs! And YOU can enter to win as well!

To Enter: Answer this Question, “How does It Cosmetics have YOU covered for the special moments in your life, and every day?” Post a photo/video on your Instagram page or their Facebook contest page showing how It Cosmetics has you covered for anything — from going to prom, attending a wedding, or any beautiful moment in your life. Make sure you use the hashtag ITsGotYouCovered to enter so that you can WIN!

Simply
post a photo/video on Instagram or upload it to their Facebook page
showing how IT cosmetics has you covered for the special moments in your
life, big or small! It can be anything from being a bridesmaid at your
bestie’s wedding, to your first day at a new job, a special date with
your sweetheart or a milestone birthday, prom, or ANY beautiful moment
in your life! Over the next few weeks IT will be giving away a variety
of IT complexion heroes, so be sure to enter. And don’t forget to use
the hashtag #ITsGotYouCovered with your entry! Check out IT Cosmetics on
Facebook or Instagram for more details. – See more at:
http://beautytidbits.com/2014/05/win-cosmetics-complexion-favorites-itsgotyoucovered-contest/#sthash.SxETWGcv.dpuf

So, there you go, TWO awesome opportunities to get some great products! Remember, the sunscreen oil deal is only available today, while supplies last!! So don’t pass up this chance to get some awesome products!

Question for My Readers: If you buy the sunscreen oil or enter the #ITsGotYouCovered giveaway, please let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

Disturbing News on the New Movie, Noah, that stars Russell Crowe

5 Comments

I know I don’t usually post on Tuesdays, but this is something important that couldn’t wait until I have an open date to post about.

You might have seen my post back in November where I announced the upcoming release of the movie Noah starring Russell Crowe. There wasn’t much information out on the movie, besides the trailer, and it looked really good.

But recently, information has come to light that is rather disturbing and has removed all my desire to go watch this new release. I wanted to share it with you all, to make sure you are aware of all the facts before you decide if you’re going to go watch it or not.

I first read Ken Ham’s post, Don’t Be Taken in by the Noah Movie’s Promotions, a few months ago. The points he brought up were pretty dissapointing, as I was hoping for a really good biblical account of Noah (my fault for even thinking Hollywood would go for “accurate”, I know). I encourage you to go read his article for yourself, but I’m just going to share one section here with you all.

Here are a few more problem areas seen in the rough cut of the film, most of which I expect to be in the final film:

1. In the film, Noah was robbed of his birthright by Tubal-Cain. The serpent’s body (i.e., Satan), which was shed in Eden, was their “birthright reminder.” It also doubled with magical power that they would wrap around their arm. So weird!
2. Noah’s family only consists of his wife, three sons, and one daughter-in-law, contrary to the Bible.
3. It appears as if every species was crammed in the Ark instead of just the kinds of animals, thus mocking the Ark account the same way secularists do today.
4. “Rocks” (that seem to be fallen angels) build the Ark with Noah!
5. Methuselah (Noah’s grandfather) is a type of witch-doctor, whose mental health is questionable.
6. Tubal-Cain defeats the Rocks who were protecting the finished Ark.
7. A wounded Tubal-Cain axes his way inside the Ark in only about ten minutes and then hides inside. Tubal-Cain then convinces the middle son to lure Noah to the bottom of the Ark in order to murder him (because he was not allowed a wife in the Ark). Tubal-Cain stays alive by eating hibernating lizards. The middle son of Noah has a change of heart and helps kill Tubal-Cain instead.
8. Noah becomes almost crazy as he believes the only purpose to his family’s existence was to help build the Ark for the “innocent” animals (this is a worship of creation).
9. Noah repeatedly tells his family that they were the last generation and were never to procreate. So when his daughter-in-law becomes pregnant, he vows to murder his own grandchild. But he finally has a change of heart.
10. Noah does not have a relationship with God but rather with circumstances and has deadly visions of the Flood.
11. The Ark lands on a cliff next to a beach.
12. After the Flood Noah becomes so distant from his family that he lives in a cave, getting drunk by the beach.

As Ken Ham says in his post (written in November), I don’t know if these are all in the final cut of the film, but then last week I read Eric Hovind’s take on this movie in his post “Why I Won’t Go See Noah on March 23rd” and was convinced that this movie would not only not be honoring the story of Noah, but was an attack on God and the Bible. Go read the post for yourself — it isn’t lengthy — but I’m just going to quote one part of his article here for you.

Facts To Consider:

1. Darren Aronofsky, the director of the film, is a “card
carrying atheist” and open about it.
2. At the opening of the Noah Movie in Mexico, Darren
Aronofsky said: ”It’s a very, very different movie. Anything you’re
expecting, you’re f—ing wrong.”
3. Aronofsky also said: “I’m Godless. And so I’ve had
to make my God, and my God is narrative filmmaking, which is — ultimately what
my God becomes.”
4. Aronofsky is not interested in the Biblical record,
fossil record, or hundreds of cultural records that testify to the Flood being
a true event. He summed up his view of the Biblical account like this: “I don’t
think it’s a very religious story, I think it’s a great fable that’s part of so
many different religions and spiritual practices. I just think it’s a great
story that’s never been on film.”
5. Paramount Pictures is the funder for this movie. They
also produced the Wolf of Wall Street which used the F word more than 500 times
at an average of one every 21 seconds and blasphemed the name of God almost two
dozen times.
6. Reason #1 in the article, “5 Reasons Why Atheists Should
Look Forward To Noah” is “Darren Aronofsky is God.” The article concludes, “So
get out there, enjoy the film and lap it up like the deity that you’ve always
wanted to be!”
7. Critics are not so thrilled about the project saying,
“Some have been bowled over by his epic take on the story of the ark, while
most others find his movie messy and ill-conceived, with the result not quite
coming together.”

While these seven reasons don’t begin to cover the
totally un-Biblical approach
taken on this Historical Account, they are enough for me to say, “No, Thank
You!” Hollywood only hears $$$$$$$, so if you don’t give it to them, they WILL
listen!

So, with all that said, I will NOT be going to see this movie, and I encourage you not to watch it, either. If you do want information on Noah, go visit NoahtheMovie.com where you can watch Ray Comfort’s Biblical view of the flood. 
I hope this post has given you much to think about. With everything that’s unfolded, I will be taking down my previous post about Hollywood’s Noah that I did back in November. And, if you profess to be a Christian, I hope you don’t go see the new Noah movie from Hollywood. As Eric Hovind said, if you hurt their pocketbook, they will listen. 

It Cosmetics’ 4-Piece Collection is QVC Today’s Special Value! Check it out!

Leave a Comment

Today I’m really excited to be partnering with It Cosmetics to bring my readers some great news — especially if you are a QVC kind of girl! 😉

First off, for those who aren’t familiar with this brand, It Cosmetics is  makeup company all about “…High Performance, Skin Loving, Problem Solutions!” The founder of this brand, Jamie Kern, suffers from Rosacea, Hyperpigmentation, and all around problematic skin. She works with a team of plastic surgeons to create her innovative, high performance makeup products that focus on helping women solve their beauty problems.

So, the excited news! It Cosmetics is going to be on QVC today!

CC Your Way to Beautiful Skin!
Available March 10 on QVC as the Today’s Special Value


Collection available at a special price for one day only!

That’s right! This great collection by It Cosmetics is schedule to be offered on QVC as the ‘Today’s Special Value” on Monday, March 10, 2014! TODAY!!!! 😀

(For those who aren’t aware, QVC’s Today’s Special Value is when they offer one time each day that is available at an exceptionally low price and only valid from midnight until 2:59AM ET the following day…or while supplies last! 🙂

So what does the It Cosmetics collection contain?? It includes…

— CC+™ Lip Serum Hydrating Anti-Aging Color Correcting Crème Gloss
— Tightline™ Waterproof Mascara Primer
— Your Skin But Better CC+™ Cream with SPF 50+ (supersize!)
— Heavenly Luxe® Plush Paddle Foundation Brush

If you purchased every product on it’s own, it would add up to about $130 (some products are new and I couldn’t find the set price yet). QVC will be selling it for only $58.98 — which is insanely low for all these high-quality products! If you do some quick math and rounding, by purchasing this on the Today’s Special Value, you’re saving $70!! Which is an excellent deal for high end makeup!

They even give you a suggestion on how to use all these products in your daily skin-and-beauty-care!

First, start your routine off right with Your Skin But Better CC+ ™ Cream with SPF 50+. Using the Heavenly Luxe™ Plush Paddle Foundation Brush, apply a smooth, even layer to clean skin or on top of moisturizer. This CC Cream combines several products in one step, including SPF 50+ UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum, Physical Only, Non-Chemical Sunscreen.  This is the SUPERSIZE Your Skin But Better CC+ ™ Cream with SPF 50+; at 2.53 FL oz, it more than twice the size of the original CC+ Cream!  Be sure to blend this multi-tasking cream all over the face, neck and décolleté to provide the look of an even, hydrating, luminous finish.

Next, prep and prime the eyelashes with a waterproof mascara primer that lasts 12 hours! Lightly and gently press theTightline™ Waterproof Mascara Primer wand along the root of the lash line to fill in the gaps between the lashes to achieve the look of full volume and definition. Move along the entire upper lash line for a beautiful and natural liner effect for lashes that appear longer and fuller.Lastly, finish off your look with hydrating vitality! Glide ultra-conditioning CC+™ Lip Serum Hydrating Anti-Aging Color Correcting Crème Gloss in the Love shade over the lips for instant color correction and a lip tone that appears even. It can be worn day or night for improved hydration and a pretty flush of color that lasts!

Again, the It Cosmetics’ “CC Your Way to Beautiful Skin” 4-piece collection will be available for only $58.98, while supplies last, for only ONE DAY on QVC! You can also get this deal on the QVC apps and at QVC.com anytime today — until they’re gone! 

So if you’re a fan of It Cosmetics or are curious about their products, I’d encourage you to take advantage of this deal! I was hoping to get my collection in time to review it for you on here today. But I have used a few It Cosmetics products and handled some of their brushes — and they’re all very luxurious and excellent quality. 
If I do receive my products before the day is out, I’ll get back on here and update this post with my first impressions of the product — so be checking back here in the late afternoon to see if I have any news for you. 
But QVC is pretty popular so these products might go really fast…so…
If you want them, go get ’em now! 🙂

I’m Back! (With Pictures! ;-)

10 Comments

Greetings everyone! I know I’ve been gone longer than I had at first told y’all…but I promise there was a good reason for it. And I’m going to explain why below. 🙂 Since it’s been over 13 days since I’ve really been on the computer, I’ve got a good amount of catching up to do — but I promise to be back in full swing next week. 🙂

So, as those of you who read my previous post (here) knew, my fiance was coming into town the first week of December. Which is why I took a break from blogging — this is the last time he will be able to visit until the wedding, so I wanted to enjoy every moment I had with him while he was here. 🙂

Because he is trying to save up leave for my wedding (and my brothers wedding 2 months after mine), he was only able to plan a 8 day trip down here. I was so excited, as you may imagine — I hadn’t seen him since August (when he came and proposed) and those 104 days between visits was VERY long!

We had a few things planned for his visit, but mostly we just wanted to be together most! And that’s what we were able to do. 🙂 During that time my friend Kait did a photoshoot with us. All the pictures turned out SO well and I really enjoyed the whole experience. Dan and I went with my brother and his fiance — lots of fun with those two!

Oh, and by the way, we also confirmed our wedding date and did a bunch of planning together while he was here. So it’s all official, I’ll be getting married…

April 26th, 2014

So, moving on, his 8 day trip went by far too quickly. Saturday morning arrived and I was gearing myself up to say goodbye to him…when he found out that his flight was cancelled!

CANCELLED!! 😀

With all the strange weather we’ve been having down here — getting warm, then cold, then warm again — the plans were iced over and a lot of flights got cancelled that day.

So, after Dan spent MANY hours on the phone that Saturday, he got another flight that left 6AM Tuesday morning.

😀

This was a huge surprise and blessing! 😀 I was stoked at the thought of getting two more WHOLE days to be with him! They went by pretty quickly — time always flies when you’re having a good time, lol!

Tuesday morning came around and I woke up VERY early with my dad to take Dan to the airport. We got there, said our goodbyes, and Dad and I drove off. I remember thinking, when we left, that I should’ve hugged him just one more time…one moment longer…

Us posing with Aaron& Rachel (June Wedding)

Anyway, so we’d almost got all the way home when Dan called us and said his flight was cancelled!

Again!!

I am not joking! So we turned around and I tried to recover from the emotional rollercoaster ride I felt like I was on as we drove back to the airport to pick him up. His new flight wouldn’t leave until Wednesday afternoon. This unexpected delay is eating into his leave time, but we are resting that in the Lord’s hands and will trust in Him to know how much leave time we need for the coming weddings. 🙂

And so, now I have pretty much caught you up to date — his flight Wednesday afternoon wasn’t cancelled and he left on time. I made sure to get in the extra hug, too! 🙂 The countdown until I see him next has begun again…

134 days to go.

Lord willing, it will pass swiftly — and in the meantime I will enjoy my family while I am here with them and start planning a wedding ceremony that will, I pray, both glorify God and honor my parents. 🙂

I hope y’all enjoyed looking at the pictures from our engagement shoot. For those of you who follow me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, you’ve probably already seen them. If you don’t follow me on any of these places yet, I encourage you to! I often post about things I don’t mention here on my blog. 🙂

Oh, and as a quick P.S. to this post, yesterday I was officially done with Cosmetology school! All I have to do now is make an appointment to go in and take my boards exam to be licensed as a professional cosmetologist in Florida! Yay!!

(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
})(window,document,’script’,’//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js’,’ga’);

ga(‘create’, ‘UA-27531411-1’, ‘katie-mccurdy.blogspot.com’);
ga(‘send’, ‘pageview’);

Don’t Miss Out on Seeing ‘Alone Yet Not Alone’ IN THEATERS!

Leave a Comment

If y’all missed my posts on Alone Yet Not Alone – the movie that just came out and is based on the true story of two young girls who were taken by Indians in 1755 after the Penn’s Creek Massacre. The original novel was written by the several-times great granddaughter of Barbara Leininger, Tracy Leininger Craven, and has finally been produced into a movie! (If you didn’t read my original post, catch up by reading this post.)

Alone Yet Not Alone was one of the first “big books” I read after I learned to read, and was the first book that I experienced that “edge-of-your-seat suspense” that you get when you read an incredible story. So, all that to say, I have a really big passion for this book. Over the course of the years, I have lost count of the number of times I’ve reread the book – and each time I am once again caught up in the adventure, struggles, and heartache that Barbara encounters. I just LOVE this book and think EVERYONE should read it!

And, hey, now that it’s in movie form, if you don’t like to read, than you can go watch it!!!!


Why am I bringing this movie up again? Because, since it did so well in theaters it’s opening weekend, it is now open for another weekend. I’d really love to see this movie excel and maybe, even, be able to get into more theaters (so people who are in little cities–LIKE ME!!!!–might get the opportunity to see the movie in their theaters).

If you’re not sure which cities are showing Alone Yet Not Alone in theaters, I’ve listed them for you below. If you live in this town and are able, go and see the movie! I haven’t seen the movie myself yet, but I know the story will capture your attention and you will not be disappointed!

If you don’t live in any of this cities, but know someone who does…call them and encourage them to go watch it in theaters! Below are several links where you can connect with Alone Yet Not Alone so you can stay informed of where the movies are showing and – hopefully! – where they are coming next!! 😀

And, lastly, make sure you watch the trailer (below) to get a taste of what this movie will be like. I’ve watched it so many times….I’m DYING to see it! So those of you who live in one of the cities named above and have that opportunity…make sure you take it!! 😀

Changes are in the Wind for LoaW!

3 Comments

For me, personally, 2013 has been a very busy and life-changing year for me. I definitely am not the same person I was just one year ago! God is so good and gracious to His people!

But, anywho, the point of this post is to inform you of some of the changes that will be coming to Legacy of a Writer. Some of it you might already have noticed, but this is going to be the official “FYI” (for your information) and heads up of what is to come.

If you’ve been following my blog from the beginning (or since around 2010) you’ll know that Legacy of a Writer was originally created to post about my own writing adventures…and then when I discovered the world of book reviewing for authors and publishers, I began posting my reviews, author interviews, and book giveaways. I’ve done that, almost exclusively, since I began blogging.

I think it was sometime last year that I started dabbling in the world of product reviews a bit. I just did a few things, here and there, like a movie review and some jewelry reviews and giveaways. The response I got from you all was really positive!

With so much in my personal life changing (if you are unaware of what those changes are, read this post…and than this post after that), I’ve noticed that the added pressure to get books read and reviewed on time have caused a lot of personal stress for me. It’s been hard to admit (because I do so LOVE to read!!) but I’ve come to the realization that I just can’t review books like I used to. I don’t find enough free time at the end of the night to read like I used to — and (maybe I’m just getting old!) I can’t stay up as late as I used to, either!

What was I to do? I didn’t want to give up blogging and interacting with you all. So, after a lot of praying and thinking, I’ve decided to give my blog a little shift in directions. While I still want to read and review books (since I do LOVE to read!), I am going to ease off of the amount of books I select to review.

What will I be posting about instead? Lord willing I will begin bringing more product reviews to you, my faithful readers. I have a lot of ideas running around in my head, and have already started getting a few in motion.

I hope that you all will still continue this new venture with me — as I said, I promise I am not stopping book reviews all together. I will definitely still be reviewing books on Legacy of a Writer! But not as frequently, I’m afraid. And in the place of that I plan to bring you new and exciting stuff! Want a hint? Well, one of them has to do with what I’ve learned the past year in cosmetology school. Yeah! Beauty-related posts! And, who knows, as I begin exploring this new direction for Legacy of a Writer, I’m sure I’ll be having even more exciting giveaways to share with you all as well!

Thank you all so much for following Legacy of a Writer – especially those of you who have been here from as far back as 2010. It really means a lot to me to have your support and to read all the lovely comments you bring.

I hope you’re all as excited about this as I am! Be looking for some awesome giveaways in the very near future. 🙂

Another Big, Exciting Announcement!

17 Comments

Okay, so I got really good at being consistent with posting on my blog…and then I disappeared again last week. There was a VERY good reason for this, however, and I’ve been looking forward to telling y’all about it! So, what’s the exciting news??

I 
AM
ENGAGED!

Yes! I am! And it’s a really fun and special proposal story….or, at least I thought so. (And I guess that’s whats important. If you care to hear the story, keep reading to find out how he did it… 🙂

He flew in and surprised me. I had no idea that he was coming into town! (For those of you who missed my courtship announcement post, my boyfriend is in the military and had to move across the country a few months ago.) So we had talked the night before and everything sounded normal – I didn’t suspect a thing.

The next day – August 10th – my older brother left to have lunch with an old friend that was passing through town on his way somewhere. I had known this for a while, and so thought nothing of it when they told me that he was going to have the friend stop by the house to meet the family before continuing on his way.

So, since somebody was coming over, I got semi-ready and presentable (because I figured, why get all prettied up when my boyfriend was two thousand miles away, right? :-P) and continued on with dinner preparations like normal.

As we were just finishing up with dinner, Aaron got home. My chair at the table was facing away from the door and so when my brother said, “Hey Mom, come meet Adam.” I turned around and was SHOCKED to see Dan walk into the room.

SHOCKED!

He walked up to me and immediately got down on one knee and proposed to me. 🙂 It was the most AMAZING moment ever and one that I couldn’t believe was happening at that moment. Of course I said “YES!!” and my joy continued to rise when he said that he was staying for a whole week!

He left yesterday (Saturday) and while I miss him like crazy, it feels AMAZING to be engaged to marry this guy! Having his ring on my finger is an awesome reminder that, while he’s not at my side yet, there’s going to be a day in the near future (spring/summer of 2014) when he won’t leave me anymore. 🙂

So, yeah, that is why I didn’t post this past week. I was soaking up every moment I had with my fiance! I plan to continue on with my usual schedule/posts from now on. 🙂