It is the time of the year when we pause to reflect back…blah blah blah, here’s the stuff I was most obsessed with over the past 12 months. :)
October Favorites
So what it’s a week into November already…I’m doing my October favorites and you’re gonna LIKE IT. :) As usual I don’t know what to use as a picture for my ‘favorites’ post so in keeping with tradition, here’s a random fun picture. This time it’s Barack Obama holding a book. :D My favorites for October are pretty simple, because I was SICK during October. That means my favorites all kind of go along with that…read on to find out more!
Fall Favorites Tag
I love fall. In California it doesn’t necessarily mean changing leaves, but it does mean a break from the crazy heat and even some rain! Wee! So when I saw this tag being done by some youtubers I decided to steal it and do it here. Any other bloggers who want to do it please let me know so I can link to you. :D Onward!
The Best Complexion Brightening Products EVER
Much to my delight, it’s really starting to feel like fall. Or at least, the California version of fall. I love it! But it can have a negative effect of making one’s complexion look a little…dull. So I thought I’d share my top picks for the very best brighteners out there. [Read more…]
July Favorites
Seeing as how it’s a week into August, and I’m now a week into being unemployed I’m taking the time to do an actual favorites post. I can’t even laughingly call these monthly anymore because they’re so…not monthly. But I feel like now that I have the time I might as well do a favorites post. Will they start being monthly? Nobody knows. [Read more…]
April Favorites
I never know what picture to put up for my favorites posts, so I put up a cute picture of Sienna sitting on my vanity. The lovely lace train case is a Caboodles case, of course. ;)
I really need to be better about remembering what my favorites are, haha. I always draw such a blank when I begin writing these posts. *rolleyes*
March Favorites
I don’t know why, but it’s been difficult for me to find the inspiration to write my March favorites post. I haven’t really had too many products that made me go “WOW I love this!” but I have tried a few things that I enjoyed, so I will share that info with all of you of course. [Read more…]
February Favorites
Hello hello everyone! It’s MARCH, so that means it’s time to talk about FEBRUARY. Err, in other words, my favorites from February. Woot!
Favorite Hair Products
Um realistically my favorite hair product in February was my beloved Stephanie, aka Awesome Colorist, but since calling her a product is kind of rude, I’ll go with the kind that are in bottles!
Ahh the precious. I have talked about the Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Overnight Hair Rescue (long enough name for ya?) before, but it is basically like an intensive night cream for your hair. You put it in at night and then wash it out in the morning. I love it! My hair has been dry (because really I’m overdue for a trim) and this doesn’t make it go away completely (needing a trim is cured by, -gasp- getting a trim) but it really helps. Now, no lies this stuff is expensive, so it’s definitely a splurge item. ($35 at Sephora or Ulta)
Another favorite of mine recently has been the Wen Cleansing Conditioner in Winter Vanilla Mint. This scent was limited edition around holiday, so I’m sorry for talking about it now, but I just now have really been using it the past month, give or take. I already used up a bottle of the Sweet Almond Mint last fall, and reviewed it for Stylebell. I love Wen Cleansing Conditioners! They don’t weigh my fine hair down and they really make it feel bouncy and healthy. The Winter Vanilla Mint smells like candies, and if I had to point out any flaws it’s just that it makes me hungry. (Available at QVC – $29)
Favorite Skin Products
I haven’t really been doing a whole lot differently with my skin. Still using either Caudalie’s foaming cleanser or my Neaclear. I’m also still using The Body Shop’s Vitamin E moisturizers (love love love love love!). But as I’m wearing more makeup lately, I’m adding a few things that help makeup “play nice” with my skin.
I’m still learning how to deal with my dry skin. For years I had oily skin, and I’ve really only had dry skin for the past year or so. It’s a whole new experience! I took for granted that I never had the problem of my skin looking too matte. Now, even on days where I’m not wearing any makeup, I like to go over my whole face with MAC Strobe Liquid. It’s just a thin, slightly hydrating lotion that has a very pretty pearly pink luminescent quality. It gives my face that natural glow that has since left me along with my overactive oil producing skin, lol. I’ve also been using my MAC Fix+ more, as it takes down the powderiness of face powders. (Strobe Liquid and Fix+ are available from MAC for $30 and $20 respectively.)
Favorite Color Products
Wee! The fun part! Like I said, I’ve been wearing more makeup lately. I made you a collage!
These are all the things I’ve been feeling much love for over the past month. I’ve been wearing very little in the way of foundation or concealer, but I do sometimes wear a little MAC Mineralized SkinFinish Natural just to even out my complexion. Sometimes you just wake up looking a little blotchy, yanno? Yeah. And NARS Laguna is a staple product that I’m obsessed with because it adds warmth/glow without looking orange or dirty. (MSFN is $29 at MAC; NARS Laguna is $34 at Sephora)
The drugstore lip products are killing it right now, and I’ve been wearing my Rimmel Stay Glossy Lipglosses and Revlon Lip Butters pretty much exclusively day to day. Revlon Lip Butters are another one of those products that have been getting a ton of hype lately, and they’re TOTALLY worth it. I have three (Creamsicle, Candy Apple, and Sweet Tart) and I LOVE THEM. I was just saying on Twitter that I want more. :) (Price varies on these from drugstore to drugstore.)
I’ve been on a bit of a NARS Eye Shadow kick, using the heck out of my Doceurs de Paris palette and my Best of NARS palette, particularly a couple shades from the Kalahari and All About Eve duos. But as usual, I’m using drugstore mascara. Rimmel ScandalEyes is my lash of choice lately. It’s really dramatic. It’s not my absolute favorite mascara, but I like it. I will be reviewing it more in-depth soon. If you liked MaxFactor 2000 Calorie mascara but are living in the states and can’t get it anymore, try Rimmel ScandalEyes. I think you’d like it. For my brows, I still love my Billion Dollar Brows brow powder (holy grail!) but I have been really liking the new Senna Cosmetics Sketch-a-Brow pencil too. The effect is very natural-looking and it’s so simple to use. (NARS eye shadows vary in price at NARS; Rimmel ScandalEyes will vary depending on the drugstore, and Sketch-a-Brow is $18 from Senna Cosmetics)
I just realized I completely forgot another product when I was making my collage!
The Magic Hair Pad is one of those genius inventions that makes you think “why didn’t I think of that?!”. The concept is super simple– it’s a square of velcro. Really. That’s all it is. But you press it into your hair to hold it out of place while doing makeup, washing your face, doing a facial mask, etc. GENIUS. The picture shows black, but they come in pink too. I like them so much sometimes I will sport one just to hold my bangs out of place while I’m hanging out around the house. Not the most fashionable statement, but the rest of my outfit usually consists of flannel pajama bottoms and a tank top when I’m doing this, so I have thrown fashion to the wind at that point. ;) But pretty much any girl with hair needs to own these. I think that’s most of you. (Available in a pack of 2 for $7 at MagicHairPad.com)
Samples of some products mentioned here were sent by PR for consideration.
All opinions are my own, and not sponsored by any brand/company.
No compensation was received for including these products as favorites.
Disclaimers are fun to type because they are super tiny and stuff. xoxo <3
All opinions are my own, and not sponsored by any brand/company.
No compensation was received for including these products as favorites.
Disclaimers are fun to type because they are super tiny and stuff. xoxo <3
Updated: What’s In My Shower?
I don’t know if it’s the voyeur in me or if I’m just super nosy but I love “what’s in my…” type posts, like what’s in my bag, etc. I did a what’s in my shower post previously, but the contents have changed! So let’s take a look at what we’ve got, mkay?
The Storage Itself –
The corner suction basket/bucket thing and the mirror next to it are from Target. I love the bucket thing because it looks attractive, holds a surprisingly large amount of things, and also seems to be able to hold a lot of weight. It gets crap reviews on Target’s website, but whatever. I like it. I actually have another similar container that recently fell off the wall (see the lone suction cup stuck to the tile?) so I’m figuring out a solution for that…might have to get another one of these! I love that it has a hook on the corner, perfect for hanging a bath pouf or in my case, comb. There’s also a little tiny side pocket on the other side that I keep a razor blade refill in. I don’t know about you, but I never remember to change my razor blade until I’m actually in the shower. D’oh.
I really like having a mirror in my shower. I find it’s helpful to make sure I’ve removed all my eye makeup, and also helps me decide if there’s any specific areas I ought to target w/ my Clarisonic when I’m using it in there.
Hanging on the Mirror –
My razor of choice is the Venus Embrace. Not to say I haven’t tried other razors and liked them (the Schick Intuition is also pretty good, especially if you have dry skin), but I always go back to the Venus Embrace. It has 5 blades and gets such a close shave. I don’t like to mess around when it comes to shaving. I don’t wanna have to go over the same place a million times. This gets the job done!
In The Basket –
One product has remained constant this entire time– Kiss My Face Moisture Shave. I prefer the Peaches & Creme scent (SO yummy!) but I am not sure if they still make that as I can’t find it on their site. If it’s discontinued I’ll be kinda devastated (even though let’s be honest you KNOW I have like 6 bottles of it under my sink – I bought it in bulk from Amazon). However, I’ll use what I have and (in 20 years) switch to a different scent. If you have sensitive or dry skin you NEED to try this product. Not optional. NEED.
Other body-related yummies in my shower are the Bath & Body Works Supercharged Body Scrub in Coconut Lime Breeze that I reviewed previously and B&BW shower gel in Winter Candy Apple (one of my fav B&BW scents of all time – so glad momsy got me some for xmas!).
I change up what facial cleansers live in my shower (because I have lots, and also because I change depending on how my skin is acting). Right now I’m back to loving on Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser. I’ve been using it more than my Neaclear because I’ve been wearing a lot more makeup and Caudalie’s cleanser is better at removing makeup.
Peeking out in the back of the basket you can see my shampoo & conditioner of choice – Alterna Caviar Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner. Ever since I first tried Alterna in 2010 I have loved these guys. Others I have tried and enjoy very much are Redken (Color Extend) and WEN.
A couple products mentioned in this post were originally given as samples by PR, but I have since repurchased (or plan to) on my own.
July 2011 Favorites
So, it’s August. August rocks. Even though I hate the heat (I’ve been basically sweating for three months straight – TMI maybe? I’m miserable, people!). August rocks because it’s my birthday month. Duh. ;) But here’s what I was digging this past month. This month I was kinda all about hair. Being that I’m in a constant state of being super hot and sweaty and gross (this is a beauty blog, I swear) I have concentrated on my HAIR because makeup just sweats right off. In that vein, my favorites are more hair-centric.
I have been just loving Sojourn’s Thermal Protection Straightener ($24) lately. Since my hair is fine, somewhat dry, and color treated, I try to take extra good care of it when it comes to thermal protection. I’ve been straightening my hair a lot more lately since I got it highlighted. For the first time, I really feel an improvement in my hair from using a heat protector. And it smells like coconuts! Bonus! Sojourn products can be purchased from their website, or from one of their authorized salons.
I also have a continuing love affair with Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray ($5.99 @ Ulta). I think I have mentioned this in a favorites post before, but it’s worth mentioning again because it’s 1) inexpensive 2) smells nice 3) gives me fantastically beachy hair. I’ve been thinking of doing a tutorial on how I do beachy hair. What say you?
Oh yes, highlights. I got them. Which brings me to a new love I want to share with all of you So-Cal readers: Images Salon in Corona del Mar. I was invited in to Images to experience Redken products (believe it or not, I never had!) and had my hair done by the fabulous and lovely Paige Cavender. I’m in-freaking-love with my hair and it’s all thanks to her! I let her have almost carte blanche with the color, and I’m thrilled. If you’re in So-Cal, definitely give her a try and let her know you read about her here, yeah? She’s so sweet (and talented!).
No makeup, chapped lips, and recovering from oral surgery, but still feeling gorgeous with my awesome new hair… ;)
Not everything I was crazy about in July was a hair product (almost!). I am also super in love with the Essie Resort Collection this year. Check out Scrangie’s swatches since I’m a failblogger and don’t have any of my own at this time (too busy frantically swatching Essie Brazilliant and Zoya Smoke & Mirrors). I got this little mini cube of gorgeousness very inexpensively on Amazon and I love all four colors so so much. Bonus: the green color (Da Bush – stupid name) is a dead-on dupe (with a better formula) of OPI Stranger Tides – see what I mean?
Samples from Essie and Sojourn Beauty provided for editorial consideration.
