Month: May 2017

MAY FAVES

It is the end of May, and almost my favorite season, SUMMER!  Hooray!  In fact, my kindergartener’s last day of school is today, and I feel just as excited as she is for summer break!  I have a few faves to talk about today that I have been using recently that I may have not talked about before, and they’re mostly makeup products!  Here we go 🙂



I have been using this Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Chihuahua almost  everyday!  This just the regular lipstick formula (not matte; not long wearing) and I love it!  It feels so smooth and hydrating, and the color is just my perfect shiny dusty mauve shade that I love!  The applicator on these is really cool, too.  It is a squeeze tube but has a spongey tip on the end.  It’s really easy to apply.



For my eyes, I have been wearing really light eyeshadow.  I’ve been using the NARS Kalahari Duo, and taking the deeper brown all over the lid, building it up in the crease, and then applying the lighter pewter gold shade in the center of my lid.  It gives a really nice natural look.  Super easy and quick!



Another makeup item is this L’Oréal Magic Lumi Primer.  A little bit of this goes a long way, and it reminds me a lot of MAC Strobe Cream with the pearly color, which I used to use a lot.  It doesn’t make my skin shimmery or anything, just instantly brightens up and adds some moisture to my dry skin.  I put this on underneath my foundation.


I’ve got two hair care faves, first is this Ouai Wave Spray.  I got this bottle as a sample and it’s a huge sample that has lasted me so long!  I love the way this SMELLS, but I also love how it makes my hair piece-y and beachy without being crunchy or gel-like.  I love to spray this in dry hair after blowdrying and scrunch a bit.  The effect is so effortless, yet still put together.  Also, the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo is quickly becoming my favorite dry shampoo ever!  It smells good (that’s important) and it really helps to make my hair feel clean!  My hair doesn’t get oily, but it does get a bit flat, and this perks it right up adding  lot of volume.

  I mentioned this in my Hot Pink Nail Polish post, and I’ve been wearing it so much this month!  This is CND in Pink Bikini.  It’s a perfect hot watermelon pink, and it just pops on  my nails.  I love the formula of this nail polish, it lasts so long.

That’s it for the faves!

What have you been loving in MAY?

xx Amy

NEW Essie Summer Collection | 2017

Essie has just released some GORGEOUS colors for the upcoming summer season and I just had to share them with y’all.  They came out with six new colors along with a French theme, and they all have Parisian sounding names.

Photo courtesy of Essie

How beautiful are these colors?  LOVE THEM.

Sweet Soufflé – iridescent sugary white

Baguette Me Not – light lilac creme

Blue La La – light pastel blue

S^il Vous Play – foiled lavender pinky purple

Fondant of You – shimmery apricot

Eclair of You – candy red creme

All of the colors were calling my name, but I decided I only needed two from the collection.  I have similar colors to the others.

I picked up Sweet Souffle and S^il Vous Play, and they are even prettier in person.  They were the two that stood out to me the most, and they’re both like no other colors I own.

S^il Vous Play is so beautiful.  I was surprised that Essie came out with a foiled color; I don’t recall seeing many from them before.  This color is so eye catching and icy.  Two coats made it totally opaque.  I see myself wearing this a ton, and I can’t stop staring at my nails!


I went back for Sweet Souffle because I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  I usually don’t reach for white nail color a lot- I feel like it’s harsh on me, but this one has kind of a gold iridescence to it that is so pretty!!!  It has a little bit of something extra than just plain white.  This one took 3 coats, and went on a tad streaky,  but 3 coats looks perfect.  You can’t really tell from the picture, but in person it looks like an Opal.  It is so so pretty.

Have you picked up any colors from the new collection?

xx amy

Summertime Face Base

Hello!  Today I am sharing my summertime foundation and skincare routine.  I like to wear lightweight makeup in the summer and have a nice hydrated base.

Just a (few) things to achieve the look. Haha 🙂


Let’s start off with skincare.


I always wash my face with this Purity Facial Cleanser, it doesn’t strip my skin and leaves my face squeaky clean.  A few times a week I like to use this Origins Retexturizing Mask to clear my pores and remove all of the dead skin.  I love this mask!  After that, I will use this Caudalie Beauty Elixir as a toner. I love this for the warmer months, because it is so nice and cooling.  You can really just spray this on whenever.  Sometimes I just cannot stop spraying it because it smells and feels like a SPA.  For sunscreen, I love this Dr. Jart Every Sun Day SPF 30.  I will either mix this in with my Clinique Gel, or I will apply it on its own.  It doesn’t feel greasy and it’s moisturizing.


For makeup, I start off with this L’Oréal Magic Lumi Primer.  I just apply a tiny bit of this to my skin and it makes my skin look brighter and fresh.  I then use a sponge to apply the L’Oréal Infallible Pro Glow Foundation which is so nice for my dry skin.  It is lightweight and has buildable coverage.  For my undereyes, I use the Sephora Collection Bright Future Gel Serum Concealer, and apply that with a teeny sponge.  I set my undereyes with the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder.  This keeps my concealer from creasing and also adds some brightness.


I apply this Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer on the perimeter of my face and in the hollows of my cheekbones, and then the Love Flush Blush in Justify My Love on my cheeks and sweep it back.  This blush is such a pretty pink with just a hint of gold sparkle.  I have to apply some highlight, so I used the Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator in Charming Pink.  This icy pink is chock full of shimmer and looks so pretty.  Lastly, I will set my face with this UD Chill Makeup Setting Spray.  This feels so great on a hot day, and it keeps my makeup from budging.

This routine makes my face have a pretty glow without being too overdone.  It’s lightweight and feels like I’m not wearing much makeup at all.  I love it!


Other makeup worn:

What are your must have products for summer?

xx amy

Nail Polish COLLECTION

I recently decluttered my nail polish racks, and I thought it would be fun to show you my collection and all of my favorite nail colors!

I paint my nails usually once or twice a week, and my nails are pretty much always polished- so, you know, I need options!  While decluttering, I did try to get rid of colors that were similar, but it was definitely hard to part with some!  You’ll notice I have a lot of “bubblegum pinks”, as that is my favorite color to wear.  I will mark my all time favorites with asterisks.  Enjoy! 

 

I have all of my colors organized on these two acrylic racks that are situated side by side on one of the walls in my closet.  I have had these for about four years now, and I’m very pleased with them.  They each hold about 30-40 nail polishes, depending on the size of your bottles.

Let’s start off with the top 2 rows.  These are all of my Essie polishes.  Not my favorite formula, but they always come out with the best colors.

First row:

Essie

  • Blanc – snowy white
  • Lovie Dovie – flamingo pink
  • Madison Ave-Hue – purpley pink with microshimmer 
  • Mod Square – electric pink *
  • Cute As A Button – bright coral
  • Peach Daiquiri – darker peachy coral
  • Dress To Kilt  – dark blood red
  • S’il Vous Play – foiled metallic pink
  • Go Ginza – soft light lavender
  • Bond With Whomever – lilac

Second Row:

Essie

  • Play date – soft purple *
  • Mint Candy Apple – green blue mint *
  • Virgin Snow – icy blue lavender*
  • Bikini So Teeny – sparkling cornflower blue *
  • Style Cartel – inky cobalt blue
  • Buy Me A Cameo – frosty satin mocha
  • Lady Like – elegant mauve
  • Chinchilly – sleek granite gray *
  • Merino Cool – autumn mulberry gray

The next two rows have a few Essie Gel Couture polishes (LOVE THESE), all of my Zoya colors, and then the last row is all Julep.

First Row:

Essie Gel Couture

  • Stitch By Stitch – ladylike pink *
  • Take Me To Thread – light taupe
  • Rock The Runway –  scarlet red
  • Dress Call – purple orchid

Zoya

  • Dot – pale white pink
  •  Kimber – cherry red with gold shift
  • Zara – purple with gold shift
  • Neve – frosty royal blue
  • Monet – holographic glitter

Second Row

Julep

  • Kendall – fuchsia iridescent shimmer
  • Drew – Fuchsia creme
  • Bette – Neon Purple creme
  • Cassidy – beachy blue creme
  • Paula – Persian blue with gold microshimmer
  • Elaine – silvery purple glitter *
  • Queen Anne – Lilac microglitter 
  • Missy – titanium metallic*
  • Zelda  – pink champagne metallic
  • Tania – mermaid teal glitter
  • Laken – Azure iridescent shimmer 
  • Tara – copper chunky glitter topper
  • Amira – chunky holographic glitter topper
  • Karenna – pink and blue confetti topper
  •  Hartleigh – holographic heart glitter topper

On the next rack, I have all of my L’Oréal, OPI, a few Deborah Lippmann and one Nails Inc. polish.

First Row

L’Oréal

  • Pink Me Up –  bubblegum pink creme
  • Sangria Splash – terra-cotta creme
  • Violet Vixen – purple pink creme *
  • Paparazzi Pleaser – purple creme
  • Skinny Jeans – bright island blue texture
  • Greycian Goddess – blue gray creme *
  • Sparklicious – chunky silver and gold glitter topper
  • Sexy In Sequins – dark purple with silver and gold chunky glitter texture
  • Rough Around the Edges –black with silver and gold chunky glitter texture

Sephora by OPI

  • Meet Me At The Disco – holographic glitter *

Second Row

OPI

  • Steady As She Rose – dusty gray pink lavender creme
  • Got a Date To Knight – sheer Barbie pink *
  • California Raspberry- pinky raspberry pearl
  • You’re Such A Budapest – periwinkle creme *
  • Show Us Your Tips – periwinkle shimmer *

Deborah Lippmann

  • 99 Luftballons – multicolor glitter in a red gel base *
  • Baby I’m A Star – rose gold glitter
  • Happy Birthday – multicolored glitter *

Nails Inc.

  • Brompton Place – bubblegum pink creme *

The last two shelves are random polishes, base, and top coats.
First Row

Butter London

  • Fruit Machine – lighter bubblegum pink creme *
  • West End Wonderland – gold glitter 
  • Buckie – purple frost with gold shift

CND 

  • Pink Bikini – watermelon pink *
  • Cake Pop – pale pink creme

Sally Hansen

  • Pacific Blue – bright island royal blue *

Formula X For Sephora

  • Relentless – bubblegum pink creme *
  • Free Fall – light frosty blue 

Second Row

  • OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
  • Essie Gel Couture Top Coat
  • Seche Vite
  • Seche Restore
  • Essie Gel Couture Top Coat (BACKUP)

Whew!  That’s it for my collection!  Anything else I need?  What’s your favorite nail color?

Thanks for reading! xx

Travel Beauty Essentials

Last week I posted Travel Makeup Essentials, and today I am posting Part 2 of this Travel series, my Beauty Essentials.  Let’s get into it!


I love this travel bag I found at Target by Sonia Kashuk.  So pretty, and fits a ton!



Let’s start off with shower products.

I always pack a shower cap cause let’s be honest, I’m not gonna wash my hair everyday.  I also pack this little set of clear plastic bottles that I fill with my products.  I have shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and body wash.  This is so much easier and economical than buying a bunch of travel sized things I always end up throwing away.


I also pack deodorant, my favorite Dr. Jart Sunscreen, my Clinique Moisturizer, a travel sized lotion, and toothbrush and toothpaste.


Now, for haircare, I always throw a few hair ties and pins in with my hair brushes and comb.  I pack my Bumble and Bumble Dry Shampoo Powder for a hair refresh and my Ouai Wave Spray, that you can use on wet or dry hair.  I also throw in a Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaning Spray for quick eye brush cleaning and an Elizabeth and James Nirvana White Perfume Rollerball.


It all fits!

What do you take in your travel bag?

xx amy

%d bloggers like this: