Cariloha Bamboo Towel Review + Giveaway

I'll admit something here- I'm a cheap-skate. I just really really really hate spending a lot of money that you can get for super cheap. However, being a blogger has opened my mind and made me realize that sometimes... you really do get what you pay for.

One company where I've found that to be especially true is with Cariloha! They have bamboo bedding, clothing, and bath sets. I recently reviewed their bamboo sheets and a blanket here. RIP Walmart sheets, I am NEVER going back.

I've started to understand the benefits of spending money on things that you will use every single day. Every time I climb into my sheets at night I am instantly happy and relaxed because the sheets feel so silky without the slipperyness. So when I learned Cariloha also sells towels... I was ALL OVER THAT.

I must tell you... they are just as heavenly as you're imagining, maybe even more so.

They are SO. SOFT.

The washcloths are my favorite because I wash my makeup off every night before bed and the washcloths I've been using have felt scratchy on my face but what else would I use ya know? Well Cariloha's washcloths don't scratch at all! They feel so good on your face. When I first pulled them out of the box I just rubbed them all over my face because they felt so good and I was so excited to use them.

Here's some of the info about Cariloha's bath towels.

+ They are highly absorbent
+ They are odor resistant
+ Luxury softness in every towel
+ Bacteria-resistant  (perfect for washing your face!)
+ Hypo-allergenic
+ Snag-resistant

They sound amazing right? They are. I promise you will be obsessed with them. If the price tag is hard to swallow (I already admitted I'm a cheapo) try out just the washcloth set. It's only $24 for a set of 3. It's the perfect way to test it out without getting too deep into your wallet. So pop on over to Cariloha and get yourself some amazing new towels!

P.S. Be sure to be following @brooklynjolley on Instagram because there's going to be an AMAZING giveaway happening soon!


Cariloha sent me a few towel sets to review in exchange for this review post.

Academic Mormon Mom Planner - Review & Pictures!

A few years ago I used a Mormon Mom Planner and loved it! As a planner lover I often change planners multiple times per yer, but I always remembered how much I loved my Mormon Mom Planner from Life Organized. I reached out to the company and they sent me one of their new Academic Mormon Mom planners to review and share with you! (They are $10 off right now too!)

These planners have SO many functions! So many I would never be able to use them all! It's so nice to pick and choose which sections to focus on and which ones to not worry about. 

I keep meaning to fill this birthday chart in because I am SO BAD at remembering birthdays! It's so cute and convenient. 

There's also copies of some important LDS documents which I love having in there to read and review often.

Visiting teaching is something I'm so not good at... I want to get more into it and be consistent about visiting the women I am supposed to be ministering to. This section of the planner would be SO helpful in keeping track of those women! Remembering their favorite things, their birthdays, when you visited them, etc. SO AWESOME. 

The scripture reading charts are gorgeous too! 

Here are some views of the weekly and monthly pages.

Like I said, there are so many features in the planner I can't even name them all! Be sure to pop over to Life Organized and get your own!

Anniversary Makeup by Rachael Kiss N Makeup!

Last year on our anniversary we didn't have any plans because I wanted to save money. We ended up going to City Creek to shop and eat dinner and... we spent the whole night fighting. Not joking. LOL. So this year I told my husband I really wanted to plan something, even if it wasn't expensive, I just wanted to plan SOMETHING so we didn't end up spending the whole night fighting again ;) 

Colten ended up planning a surprise getaway! (One night at Anniversary Inn & one night at 5th East Hall). It was an amazing anniversary weekend. I absolutely love having little getaways with him. 

I wanted to do something a little special since he was doing so much for me, so I had Rachael come doll me up with her makeup powers!

She did such a good job! I usually don't wear much makeup so this was a big change for me! But I loved feeling a little more dressed up than usual for our special anniversary night. I can't believe it's been over 3 years now!!

Rachael was so amazing to work with. She had me send her a bunch of inspiration pics so she could see what I was looking for. She new how to pick colors that were good for my skin tone and she contoured my face like a boss without making me look too overdone.

She also gave me some tips along the way and I asked her a million questions. Despite being a hairstylist, makeup is something I'm just not that good at. So it was fun to learn her favorite products (Some of them are from the drug store! Holla!) and some of her tricks for making my makeup look the way I wanted it to.

She also used Lipsense Dark Pink on me and it was bold but not too bold for this Carmex-wearing gal. I'd absolutely recommend Rachael for all your makeup needs! I wish so badly I had booked her for my wedding 3 years ago. I mean, how great does this makeup look in my pictures? She was so sweet, she came to my house and made me feel pampered and pretty. So go check her out on Instagram at @Rach.KissNMakeup and see all her amazing transformations!

Rachael did my makeup in exchange for a blog post review, but you know, I only promote products & services I truly believe it. She goes the extra mile for ya!

Life Updates. Because it never slows down.

We've got a lot going on around our Jolley household so I figured the best way to inform everyone was to blog about it and share with you all the changes we are going through!

Colten is *almost* done with his Bachelor's degree. His school is on a module system where he takes 1-2 classes every 4 weeks. So his last class will finish on October 15!! I am SO beyond excited for him to be done. We've been so blessed that his education has been paid for by his work and because of his hard work to pay for his Associate's degree out of pocket before his mission, he will graduate with zero student loan debt! (Unlike some of us who have a decent amount from hair school...)

I already announced that we have decided to take the steps toward become licensed foster parents. We are so excited about this decision. We were working really hard to complete everything in 6 weeks so we could have children in our home asap, but then...

We've decided to sell our home.

Typing that feels me with a lot of fear, excitement and stress. We've prayed about it and it feels right, so we decided to look into it. The housing market has significantly increased in the area we live in and we have plenty of equity to put towards a down payment on a new home. Most likely a home farther north than we are now. A lot is up in the air right now. So for now, we are putting a hold on Foster Care until we can figure out our next steps with our home.

We are still super excited for our future as foster parents, but selling our home and figuring out where we are going next is also important.


My home salon has been consistently growing! I've been getting busier and busier and am so happy with it! I absolutely love working in my home salon. I will be sad to leave it!

I also just got a promotion and raise at my elementary school job. I'm now officially the Lead Reading Intervention Educator! It's a fancy term for being in charge of running the Leveled Literacy Intervention program and doing the benchmark testing for every single student in the school. I'm super excited! I love both my jobs and I'm not sure how I'd ever give one up.

Well hopefully that covers it. It's 9 pm and I feel like it's 3 am. Life is messy but wonderful. And.... I can't think of a clever way to end this. So peace out!

Announcing... We're Becoming Foster Parents!

Ever since Colten and I got married, we've thrown around the idea of Foster Care and Adoption. We both had a desire to do so, but we didn't feel ready for it. After I read the book "7" by Jen Hatmaker I felt even more inclined to adopt and it has been on my mind for the last 2 years almost incessantly. 

A few weeks ago we decided we wanted to take the leap and become licensed foster/adoptive parents! So we are now on the road to licensure and are so excited. 

There are a lot of steps and processes to go through, it's fairly overwhelming! But we are trying to take it one step at a time. Last week I went and got a physical and updated my vaccinations. We are also going to do an online CPR/First Aid course in the next week or two before the DCFS Foster Care courses begin. Those will be 2x a week for 4 hours. 8 classes. Man, we are going to be busy! But we are so so excited. We are aiming to complete everything by October 10th but are giving ourselves grace if it doesn't happen. 

And for those wondering, so far nothing is wrong with me to make me think we won't be able to have our own biological children. We have however been trying for the last 9 months, which has been frustrating! We are ready for that next phase in our lives and are so excited to be parents together. So we are continuing to try for our own, but also wanting to be licensed for Foster Care regardless of our situation of having our own biological children. 

I'll try to keep an updated log on here of what we are up to, but lately, I've been better at updating on Instagram, so you can follow along there at @brooklynjolley. And a big thank you to our family and friends for all the love and support! From people asking how they can help, to lending their own success stories, and offering prayers, we are so so blessed. So thank you. 

Lipsense Review (From a Non-Distributor!)

Raise your hand if you've seen Lipsense rolling around your Facebook feed. Okay, basically everyone. 

I was the same way! I had so many friends who were selling it that it kinda fell into the endless pit of Facebook noise. But the more I saw the more curious I got. Was this lipstick REALLY staying on all day? Like... really? I was hesitant to spend $55 on lipstick. When my friend from school messaged me and asked if I'd like to review it I was like, "YES!" 

And now I'm obsessed. Like, contemplating my next 10 colors I want! 

My husband hates lipstick. But the only reason is because he doesn't want to kiss me and get makeup smeared across his face. I made him kiss me while wearing Lipsense and voila! No transfer! We kissed a little more just to test it out ;) It works you guys! It literally stayed on through a campfire where I ate a hot dog, chips and 2 smores. I went inside to check my makeup and the lipstick looked FLAWLESS. I was sure it was flaking all over or smeared, but it wasn't. 

One thing I've heard people saying is, "I hear it burns when you put it on! Why would I wear that??" Ya know, when you use a menthol lipgloss and it tingles? That's what it feels like. Lipsense is actually good for your lips. It takes a few times of wearing to get used to it, but after that it doesn't tingle anymore and your lips start to get healthier. 

I'm an annoying customer. I worried about picking the right color for me and Jess was so helpful! She asked me all the right questions, took into account my low-maintenance makeup routine and suggested Aussie Rose and you guys! It is perfection!

So, I'm pretty sure my next purchases will be the Matte Gloss, First Love, Burnt Orange for fall and Beige Champagne. But there are seriously so many I want! Go check out Jess's VIP Facebook group for all the colors and her current deals! You will not regret it!

Home Salon Gallery Wall- featuring Deseret Book

Ever since opening my home salon in April, I've been trying to figure out what to put on the walls. I don't really have an eye for decoration, so as much as I want my home to look like a catalog... it just hasn't happened. But I wanted my salon to be a little different. I wanted it to look nice and professional, but I wasn't sure how to figure out what to put where. 

I was so excited to see that Deseret Book had added some Art Gallery Wall Pads to their inventory. The pads contain around 20 prints of all different sizes. I got the Life Is Beautiful Art Gallery Pad and it had 6 gold foil prints and 2 silver foil prints! They are so beautiful!

There were so many  beautiful prints it took me quite awhile to narrow it down to my favorites. I'm still hanging on to the prints I didn't use because I want to use them around my house in other areas. 

Aren't they gorgeous?? And just look at those gold foil ones below! These type of prints are easily worth $10-$20 a piece, but the whole set was only $14.99!! You get SO MANY PRINTS.

Once I narrowed it down I framed the ones I really loved and then started playing with the placement. I re-laid the prints out so many times!

I ended up with the layout below for my salon! I had my husband hang them up and they look amazing. Even though my indecisiveness made it take forever for me to choose which prints to use, the Gallery Art Pad made it so easy because all of the prints had a flow to them or a similar theme I guess you could say. I love how it turned out and I get so many compliments from my clients that they love how the wall turned out. 

Deseret Book has so many options for Gallery Art Pads. And at only $14.99 each they are a steal! Frames are not included but that just means you get to pick which frames fit your taste best. Here are all the options:

-Life is Beautiful (which I have)

-Love Collection (the next one I want!)

-Savannah

-Chalkboard Art

-Simple Quotes 

Thanks to Deseret Book for sponsoring this post! I was sent the Art Gallery Pad & Frames in exchange for a review of the product. As always, I only share products I love and use!