Showing posts with label Beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beauty. Show all posts

Friday, August 7, 2015

July Favorites

Whew! Y'all, it's been a WHILE since I've sat down to talk about my favorite things of the month. I don't even think I've written a favorites post this year. I feel like this month was a lot of rediscovery for me as far as favorite products are concerned. I came back to some old favorites and wondered why I ever stopped using them in the first place.

Everyday Minerals Jojoba Base - Guys, I found my HOLY GRAIL foundation! Takes 5 minutes to put on, looks like my natural skin, hides all of the acne scarring I have while still showing all of my freckles. It's amazing and I ordered it on a whim when trying to re-up my stash of the semi-matte I thought I loved. I really don't know what else to say about it except that I'll be buying this until they stop making it.

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Bronzer - This stuff, you guys! I bought it in a 2 pack at Ross on a whim and I'm so glad that I have 2 of them. It's the perfect shade of bronze for me, not too dark, not orange-y, not too light, and it does have shimmer, but I don't feel like a stripper or a fairy or something. And most importantly, it's such an easy application. I just sweep it on really quickly (and sometimes a little slapdash) with my Real Techniques Blush Brush (that I literally never use for blush) and I'm out the door. I'm seriously in love.

Essie Nail Laquer in Chillato - I can't even lie to you, my obsession with this nail polish was immediate. I saw the Essie Summer 2015 collection photographed online, saw this color and decided that I immediately needed it. Irrational, yes, but I don't have anything else like it in my nail polish collection and it's such a nice color for summer. It's a cross between a neon and a pastel, I feel? It's basically a pistachio color and considering pistachio is my favorite flavor of ice cream (if only I could find a vegan pistachio, my life would be made), so it's a match made in heaven. Considering I never paint my nails and I painted my nails with this 3 times in the month of July, I'd say it's a winner.

OPI Steady as She Rose Nail Polish - I think it was actually about this time last year when I first ordered this nail polish from Amazon and I rediscovered it early this month when I was in between nail colors and needed  to paint my toenails before a lunch date with a girlfriend. It's just such a quick, low maintenance color. Two coats and it's opaque. It goes well with my skin tone and it's not super eye-catching or bright so if you have to paint quickly with it, no one will notice if it's slightly out of the lines.

Sally Hansen Gel Polish in Game of Chromes - Ok, ok, I totally got this polish for the name, but after finally breaking it out this month, I have to say that Sally Hansen is doing the gel polish game right you guys. I am notorious for trashing my freshly painted nails and these babies didn't chip for at least 3. The polish is super opaque and I love the shorter brush because it makes it so easy to paint your nails and not end up with polish everywhere. 

Aveda Be Smooth Smoothing Primer - I talked a lot about this stuff when I first started this blog and as usual, in my pursuit of the best hair product ever, tossed it aside. Except this is the best hair product ever. My hair routine this summer has been incredibly simple. I haven't been using heat hardly at all and even wearing my hair natural, this stuff has been a lifesaver. It's just the best smoothing product I've ever used and I'm definitely going to repurchase it when I run out.

Urban Expressions Woven Bucket Bag - So last month, I decided I wanted to see what all the buzz about Stitch Fix was. If you don't know, Stitch Fix is a subscription service that sends you five hand picked fashion selections from a stylist that you can try out and build your wardrobe. Now I wasn't super impressed with my first box. But I fell in love with this bag the second I saw it. I'll preface it by saying that i have been looking for a bucket bag for years. Something the right size to hold all my stuff without being too big, and something that I actually would want to carry. Well, this is it. I'm OBSESSED with it and I have been since I pulled it out of the box when I got my "fix". It's the perfect size; I can fit everything I need in it and still have everything fit comfortably. I love the vegan leather, and the woven body and I LOVE the lining. It's just the perfect bag for me. I've been carrying it as my everyday bag since I got it and I don't foresee changing it out anytime soon.
Lucille's - I actually had my first encounter with Lucille's in June but I've since made Jullie Anne come back with me so that I could have a Jameson Mule and some Snickers Pie (not dairy free, but for this pie, I will risk it).  The prices are reasonable and the food is always good. I typically try to split plates with people when I go (my mom and I got the brisket the first time we went and split it and it was ah-may-zing!) so it's even more cost effective.

Moscow Mules - I already mentioned the Jameson Mule when I talked about Lucille's but I've been on a Moscow Mule kick since our trip to Disneyland. I mean...I am a huge fan of ginger already (hardeeharrharr ginger who loves ginger) but if you want to add alcohol to that, I'm all about it. Plus, you know its a good drink when it has its own cup designed for it.
Astronaut Wive's Club - When I saw the previews for this, I thought hmmmm might be another Pan Am but so far, I think I'm wrong about that. Although set in the 60's and dealing with a group of women, so far, it's been refreshingly different. I tried to watch the first episode of Pan Am when it came out and couldn't make it past the first 5 minutes. This show, on the other hand, is really good. I love the way that they show how marriages really were back in the 60's with no one wanting to admit to shortcomings of their marriages or *gasp* divorce and I think that this show is definitely different than anything else that's on TV right now.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Blogmas, Day Three: Winter Skincare

So much for Blogmas, Day Two, guys! I'm so sorry. Yesterday was just such a crazy day for me. I was planning to actually write the post about what I did yesterday....only to not take a single picture of the entire day....so I'm sorry I missed it, BUT I won't do it again, I promise :). Without further ado or apology, here is Blogmas, Day Three, in which I talk about Winter skin care. 

I don't know about y'all, but I get some really dry skin when the cold weather hits and it isn't that it feels dry, it's dry dry. 

My skin will be going along, minding its own business and the second the temperature drops below 70, FLAKES! My lips peel, I get dry skin at the corners of my mouth that cracks (thanks for that one, Accutane), the skin on my hands gets ashy and I'm a WHITE girl already. And let me just say this: I'm in Northern California. By no means am I in extreme weather conditions, at all. The cold weather comes, my skin freaks out and as a result, I have to switch out some products to help out. 

I still use all of my regular Lush products. Those aren't going anywhere, anytime soon. My Coal Face soap is a godsend for my face and the Grease Lightning spot treatment is as well. I'm also still using my Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herb and Rosewater as a toner. It's the only thing I've found that my skin actually likes so I'm sticking with it. 

In winter skincare, with cold air and dry skin, you need to make sure you're exfoliating. Luckily, I bought a Clarisonic a few years ago and I use that two or three times a week to help deep clean my skin, exfoliate a bit, and get rid of the dead skin that tends to accumulate. I only really use my Clarisonic when I wash my hair (which is like 2-3 times a week) because 1. I don't want to over exfoliate my skin and 2. it makes it a special treat when I use my Clarisonic and my Burt's Bees Soap Bark and Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream. 

After cleaning my face, deep clean or otherwise, I need to moisturize. That's a big duh, but in winter, I have to switch my moisturizer from my typical Trader Joe's SPF 15 face lotion to a thicker, more emollient cream like Alba Botanica's Even Better Night Cream for night and Alba Botanica's Good & Healthy Oil-Free Radiance Cream during the day. 

As a rule, I do use a lot of more natural products on my skin. That's mostly because I find that my skin tends to respond better the more natural the products that I'm using on it are. 

Last, but not least, I just discovered Bath and Body Works' My Favorite Night Balm (which I use during the day too) for my lips. I have perpetually dry lips and while I had been using the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask for a long time, the Night Balm is actually significantly cheaper and I've noticed better results using it than I ever did with my lip mask. 

So there you have it. Nothing too crazy, but definitely some added steps to combat the extra flakiness and dryness of winter skin.

See you guys tomorrow! Cheers!