June 23, 2016

Review: Lancome Juicy Shaker

Hello everyone! It's been a while but today I bring you a review of the Lancome Juicy Shaker. When I saw these popping up all over the internet, I was so intrigued by the concept of it and how convenient it would be for the summer time.  I feel like the price tag is a little much whereas I could see these running for $18 instead of $21.



Packaging is adorable in how it looking like a little cocktail drink and I love how each color has it's correlating scent to it.

Wear Time: I feel like I only get about maybe and hour or so of wear time from this. I wasn't expecting much for wear time since it's more of a gloss. I don't find these as moisturizing as they claim to be as I feel find myself wanting something more moisturizing like a lip balm. I also wish these had more of a staining power after the gloss fades away ( I was thinking about Benefit's benetint)

Pigmentation: The color I picked up "Piece of Cake" is subtle but still noticeable which are the lip products I gravitate for in the summer and part of my minimalistic makeup routine. The color on this comes off as a warm terracotta (of course, my colors that I constantly love) and yes the smell is invigorating.



Worth the money?: I enjoy the concept and idea of this but I don't think it's worth the money for something that I thought was going to be more moisturizing and tinted.

I had high expectations for this product (especially it being my first Lancome purchase), but in the end I think the internet community over-hyped these. I still like it but I don't find myself using it as often and I don't love it enough to spend $21 on it.

Have you tired these or other colors? Are there any other lip tints that I should give a try? Let me know down below♥

June 8, 2016

Spring/ Summer Skincare Routine

I finally have somewhat of a skincare routine since I'm so drawn to using makeup wipes or micellar water for easy access especially for late working nights. But I'm getting better sticking to a routine despite how tired I may be (this includes after maybe a couple of glasses of sangria as well)



Morning Routine:

Been very curious of the Boots Botanics line ever since I saw it at Target. So when I got a Target gift card for my birthday (by the way, probably just the best gift you can give me because I'm a Target hoarder) I decided to pick these up.



The cleanser and a new addition to my skincare routine, toner, are part of the All Bright line which contains brightening hibiscus. I really like using these two products in the morning because it does help brighten up the face before applying the rest of my products for the day. The toner also helps tighten up the pores and I feel it makes my skin feel absolutely clear of any other impurities. I don't notice any long time results with these products. I just enjoy that it gives immediate brightness to the face and cleans the skin before the start of the day.

Occasionally, if I feel the need for extra exfoliation or my face is looking extra dull and tired, I'll reach for my mini Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Mask. This stuff is incredible. I might even consider one day to purchase the whole tub despite it being around $58. This is a fairly quick mask and only requires you to leave it on for 3-7 minutes. There's is a bit of tingly action when you first apply it but that's the magic working (yes I said magic). When you wash this off, the skin looks even brighter and awake and focuses to reduce the appearance of aging. And of course, I have to mention the smell because I am you're typical girl that enjoys a great pumpkin scent. The scent is spot on pumpkin pie. I want pumpkin pie as I type this because food scent related products are my thing of course.

Finally, I add my Garnier Ultra-Lift  Anti-Wrinkle Firming Eye Cream in the morning and night routine. This stuff is pretty fantastic considering it's drugstore. Not too thick and not too thin of a consistently. I've definitely noticed improvement of de-puffiness around my eye area and a reduce in wrinkles over the past couple weeks with consistent use.

Nighttime Routine: 

My Conair Skin brush is my favorite for taking off all of the makeup at night but actually giving it an extra clean removing any dirt that may have accumulated as well. I pair this with my Clean and Clear Continuous Control Acne Cleanser which helps continue to keep my acne down. I have a previous blog post on both of these products here if you're interested to know more.  And always remember to to cut up your cleansers when you "think" you're done with them. There's always so much more product in there aka more of your money. For removing eye makeup, I've been using baby oil which helps to break up all of the stubborn mascara once it's massaged in. Cheap and effective. Aren't those the best products?


If some pimples do decide to just show up, I go for the Acne Free Spot Treatment Terminator 10 . Again, this is one of those products I found that you have to use at least for a night or 2, to see the the pimple diminish overtime.

I find that my skin doesn't need a night moisturizer especially with the warmer months coming up so I mostly just stick to using my eye cream. Sometimes if I want to do a little bit of R&R, I will use one of the Sephora Face Sheet Masks. There's so many to choose from but I really been loving the Avocado and Green Tea sheet masks. It helps to give the extra boosts that the skin needs and replenishes it especially after long work weeks. Plus, it just feels relaxing and cooling. Considering that these are $6 each, it's good to treat yourself and your skin once and a while. And if it's not that great of a week, you go for 2 masks a week and a bottle of red.

Finally, a intensively moisturizing lip balm is a must. Often, I will go for the Vaseline lip therapy in creme brulee but something about the spring month's is making me use the Smith's Strawberry lip balm. Both are great thick lip balms that I personally enjoy using at night.

For the quick nights when you can't be bothered with a whole routine:

I personally enjoy using the Kirkland makeup wipes (Costco brand). I like that you get 4 packs of 30 count wipes and 2 travel size with 15-count. Is it just me or makeup wipes that have an actual closing lids are just better? The wipes are definitely great to remove makeup including mascara and they aren't too drying but sometimes I find them too harsh for my skin. When that's the case, I use micellar water in particular the Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water. I think I like using micellar water a little bit more just for the added moisture it provides to the skin whereas makeup wipes could dry out the skin.




What products do you enjoy using for the Spring? And out of curiosity what are your favorite makeup wipes and eye makeup removers? I'm always looking out to try new products for those quick nights.♥

June 2, 2016

May Favorites (and I finally finished a book)

So May has been a very hectic month for me in my personal and work life. I really missed having a blog post together every week so here I am, back and ready to share some of my favorites that have been helping me get through this month. Because spoiler alert, a great lip product will help with anyone's day.





Smith's Strawberry Lip Balm: I really didn't need to buy another lip balm when I already have so many, but the temptation was there by the registers at Sephora and I know a lot of people love them so I got the strawberry flavor because of summery reasons. I think I like this so much because it's a thin formula but provides the moisture of a thick lip balm which I think is perfect for the summer months especially with the minimal makeup.








Perfect moisturizer for the summer, Normally my cult favorite moisturizer is the Clean and Clear Morning Burst hydrating gel moisturizer. I like the 
Sephora one a little bit more because it adds the spf 20 and with the
 sunshine out everyday, it's incredibly important to use spf daily. Plus, it's a matte moisturizer which I also like using to control the oily forehead during the summer months.

Sephora X Formula Sheer Strength in Tenacious:  So confession time, I'm a nail biter. I guess it's anxiety but I've had this problem since I was a kid. So, I'm trying to focus of getting out of that habit. What I like about this nail polish in particular, is that makes your nails look polished and neat without having the application be perfect since the color is sheer. The great thing about this, is that it strengthens the nails and it can be also use as a base coat or just on it's own. It a nice soft, polished look especially for the spring or it you have to be somewhere quick and don't want to deal with the hassle of "actually polishing" your nails (left hand always comes out great, right hand always looking like a hot mess am I right?)



Ofra Liquid Lipstick in Mocha: I can understand why so many people like this liquid lipstick. This color is very similar to Lolita from Kat Von D however I like this a little bit more because I find it more moisturizing and doesn't show the cracks in my lips as much as Lolita. I could get about 6-7 hours from this color until it starts to feel a bit uncomfortable. This has been my lip color for the interviews I've been going to this month and I think it's sophisticated but not too bold. Overall, I'm really impressed with the formula and I really want to snag up some more colors during there sales. If you're interested in trying them, keep your eyes peeled on Hautelook as they occasionally pop up on there as well (and don''t forget about Ebates! All about that "cash back" life)



Benefit Hide and Sheen 01: This is a perfect little compact for travel. I found this at Sephora (once again the small goodies by the registers) and I figured I give this a shot. It comes with .04oz of the Boi-ing concealer and .04 oz of the the Watt's Up cream highlighter. I've enjoyed using this so much. This thin formula concealer is fantastic in concealing and brightening up the under eye area. The cream highlighter adds a great glow to the skin without it being glitterly.  Put the 2 products together in one compact and you have the next best thing to coffee to make yourself look like you're ready to conquer adult activities (Fool everyone. That's the motto).





Vaseline Spray and Go Moisturizer in Cocoa Radiant: I love these sprays so much! I haven't tried other brands yet but this is so fantastically quick in moisturizing the body without it feeling greasy and throwing on your clothes. I don't have the body to move exactly the way the lady throws on her clothes in that commercial but I still do the skinny jean dance so that counts as talent right?

Random Favorites:


Book: Me Before You. I wish I didn't like sappy romantic books that are being turned into movies but this book was memorable. I truly enjoyed how this book takes the perspective of 2 different people and how they discover more about themselves when they are with each other over time. Louisa, a cheerful soul becomes a caregiver to Will, a quadriplegic who has lost his interest to enjoy and have happiness in his life.

I think this book is so captivating too because it takes a concept that is still present in reality. Is it worth living if you can't be able to enjoy it? Whereas if you have the opportunity to live life to the fullest, why aren't you? It's almost as though they bring out the best potential out of each other. Such a great book with me tearing up at times and I'm so excited to see the characters come to life in the movie this Friday.


Music: The Revivalists . In particular the song "Wish I Knew You". But honestly, the whole album "Men Amongst Mountains" is perfection. I feel like it's perfect laid back music but it still carries a beat and every song seems to have a great use of horns (sounds weird but it works).

Food Related: I've been on a huge caramel coffee kick. Also how do you pronounce it? Car-mel? Car-a-mel? It doesn't even matter too much how you pronounce it, all I know is that I found my love for caramel again.

Candle: Got this candle from Target when they were doing a sale and even though it's going into summer, I still feel like for cooler mornings or nights I still like having a candle. This one just smells clean and summery and I think I paid $7 for it which isn't bad considering the size. I'm definitely going to re-purpose this glass jar after the candle is all used up, But so far I really enjoy the Target candles and they have just as much variety as Bath and Body Works without having to spend the $22 on one.



So how was May for you? Was it just as hectic or was that just me? Any new favorite summer essentials? Comment down below and send some love♥