June Favorites

This past month I found myself only reaching for the same handful of items.  None of them are too wild and out there.  For the eyes, I stuck mostly to neutral colors and for the lips and cheeks I did peachy pink colors.

This browbone shade from the 8 pan Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette I used a lot.  I would apply it all across the lid by itself for some brightness, yet simplicity, or I would sweep a bit in the inner corner.  I never actually use it on the brow bone.  I'm not a fan of shimmery shadows on my brow bone.

From the same palette, I used the other brow bone color.  It is more of a brown/taupe.   I really enjoyed this one for a slightly darker eye look without being too deep.  Even this one is quite lovely done simply.

Obviously, I reached for Wet n Wild a lot.  This is another.  This is a single pan shadow in the color Nutty.  It shows up with more brown and more warmth on my lids than it appears in the pan.

For my cheeks, I wore Sonia Kashuk Super Sheer Liquid Tint in Poppy.  It smells like amoxicillin.  HAHA, that sounds weird, but I always thought that smelled good.  I'm thinking this was their attempt at a bubble gum scent.  It isn't unpleasant, in my opinion.   But, this leaves a very nice pinky-coral flush to the cheeks. 

On my lips, I have been using another Sonia Kashuk product.  It is the Ultra Shine Sheer Lipgloss in Cheerful.  It doesn't deposit a lot of color because I have pigmented lips.  There is only a hint of color for me.  I think if you have paler lips this would show up better.  But, when I am being simple and minimal, this is amazing.  Plus, it isn't sticky and goopy on the lips.  Oh, and it has a brush applicator.  Not a doe foot.

A stand out polish this past month was Julep's Martha.  It is extremely pale pink.  I absolutely loved wearing it.  It is ultra feminine, delicate, and just all around lovely on the nails. 

This next item is going to seem strange.  I have ADORED using my aloe plants.  I will either snap off a tiny piece from the tip of the leaf, or remove the entire leaf, cut what I need, and refrigerate the rest.  I cut open the leaf and use the aloe inside on my face.  After showering and using my astringent (which I will discuss in a future natural skincare post), I will massage the aloe vera gel into my face.  It helps with redness and really soothes the skin.  It also leaves my face feeling amazingly soft.  I think everyone needs an aloe plant (or five).

I have been rotating around three different perfumes this month.  I've been loving Lolita Lempicka Coral Flower for the scorching hot days.  It is a balmy, sea air kind of perfume.  It reminds me of walking along a beach side.   The other is L De Lolita Lempicka.  I also wear this one when it is warmer.  I originally bought it to wear in the winter, but discovered it transforms to a perfect summer fragrance.  The final perfume is vera Wang Princess.  For days when I don't want anything too strong or something that could offend, I spritz this on.  It is my easy, go-to perfume. 

For a more thorough review of the perfumes, check out these previous posts:

• Lolita Lempicka Coral Flower
• L De Lolita Lempicka
• Vera Wang Princess

May Monthly Favorites

This is a rather ridiculous grouping of montly favorites.  I, oddly enough, included some food items....which I haven't done before.  I'll explain why in just a few moments.

In the top photo were the things I gathered first and then realized I left out a single make up product and the food items I wanted to include.  

I am still loving my jojoba oil.  My husband likes to tease me and say that I am slathering hobo oil on my skin.  When I'm finished washing and toning my face, I dip a q-tip into the bottle and then swipe it all over my face.  After I've distributed it with the q-tip, I massage it in with my hands.  This has been my moisturizer.  I've liked it so much that I completely stopped using my Simple moisturizer that I have sworn by for so long.  I gave my mother in law some of the oil in a sample container, too, because I am so convinced of its amazingness. 

While I have been rotating between a lot of perfumes this past month, I think I've worn Vera Wang Princess the most.  When I'm not entirely certain what to put on, I end up grabbing Princess.  It is just so easy to wear any time of day and it is inoffensive. 

Now that it is warmer, I've been spending much more time outdoors.  Because of that, I've been more diligent about my sunscreen.  I've gone back to using the Neutrogena Dry-Touch sunblock.  I not only use it on my face, but I will slather it on any exposed areas of skin.  I even use it on my little one. 

My mascaras are nothing new.  I'm still using and loving the Cover Girl Clump Crusher mascara for my top lashes and Maybelline Lash Discovery for the bottom lashes.

On my eyes, I've been wearing a lot of pinky or rose gold colors.  My main go-to is a combo of a Color Tattoo and a shadow.  I start by applying the Color Tattoo in Inked In Pink (which is just as awesome all on its own) and then applying the pinkish color in the Maybelline Eyestudio quad. They are an absolutely perfect match.  And, it looks phenomenal on blue eyes.

A lot of people weren't fond of the Maybelline Dream Bouncy blushes.  I actually really like them, though.  With the right brush, they go on bright and can definitely be seen.  (side note: the awesome brush I've been using is a synthetic pointed foundation brush by Sonia Kashuk).  The particular color I have been reaching for is Pink Frosting.  It gives the perfect flirty blush to the cheeks.

Now, this is where things get weird.  I have 3 food products here and a make up item.  However, only 2 are actually being shown for food purposes.  Okay, so the coconut oil has been in my favorites before.  Not this particular brand....  But, coconut oil, in general, is amazing.  My mother in law gave me this one.  However, no matter the brand...  I love coconut oil for removing my makeup, for shaving, for moisturizing my body, and keeping my nails healthy.  I use it every single day.  I'm convinced it has made a huge difference in the health of my nails.

The shadow sitting there is Ulta brand and in the color Milk Chocolate.  I have had this shadow for a while, but I haven't really messed with it for a long time.  I pulled it out recently and discovered I really like it for lightly filling in my brows.  With a light hand, it is perfect!

Now, onto the strange food items.  I have been really enjoying these two items.  The first is a Hidden Valley spread in the flavor Spicy Chipotle Pepper.  I replaced mayo with this on my sandwiches.  The tiniest bit goes a long way and adds a HUGE burst of flavor to an otherwise dull sandwich.  And, it is very low in calories.  Bonus!  

The last item is a little fruit pack.  I know I can easily get the fruit and chop it up myself, but the convenience of these makes them so nice!  I can just grab and go, and still easily track my calories.   There are several to pick from at my grocery.  They have the plain apples, apples with grapes, apples with caramel, citrus fruit, etc.  I just find them handy and the price isn't bad either.  I always see one of the selections on manager mark down, so those are the ones I tend to grab. 

Well, that is the end of my rather strange grouping of montly favorites.  I really love to know what others have been using and liking, so let me know what is in your list of favorites for May!

April 2013 Monthly Favorites

I'm trying to do better at remembering to post about my monthly favorites.  I think I've done okay so far, remembering the past couple of months.  HA! :-)

I'm really trying to keep my selections down to a minimum because, really, even on a product heavy month...  there are only a small handful of items I keep coming back to and really enjoying using. 

In the blush realm this month, I've busted out pretty much all brights.  There were one or two days where the weather was gloomy and I went for a more toned down blush, but for the most part, I was lusting after cheery colors.   The colors here are:

• elf: Pink Passion (square pan to the left)
• Sonia Kashuk: Sunset (round pan at the top right)
• Revlon: Flushed (round pan at the bottom)

Pink Passion and Sunset are both powder blushes and Flushed is a cream.  They all are quite pigmented so I slowly build up the color.

I tend to use my makeup brushes just out of habit and not thinking too much about them.  However, I've been using these two elf brushes like crazy since I bought them, and each day I think about how amazingly well they apply my makeup.  They cost me $3.00 and work wonders!  On the left is their flat top powder brush which I have been using to buff in my liquid foundation.  On the right is the small stipple brush which I have been using to apply my under eye brightener and concealer.  

I have been wearing a lot of brighter lipsticks this month, but one I have had in my purse and tend to top up with, or have used on its own from the get go, multiple times...  is Revlon's Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti.  It is a bright, orangey-coral without being obnoxious.

The shadows, I am showing because I have been wearing the brighter colors as liners.  While I adore fun colored liquid liners (like Urban Decay, for example), I've found that using a powder gives me a softer look, which I've been enjoying.   These are in the I ❤ Matte palette from Wet n Wild.

My skin took a turn for the worse this past month because I stopped taking one of my oral medications my dermatologist had me on.  I wanted to try and tackle my skin issues without ingesting a pill.   Everything flared up and was horrible for a couple of weeks.   I repurchased some Jason's Tea Tree oil and a gritty exfoliant to use.  The tea tree oil I have been using after washing my face.  I wet a cotton ball with cold water and then drip 2-3 drops of the oil on.  That is wiped all over my face as an astringent. Also, on individual pimples, I drop a bit onto a q-tip and use that to apply directly to the spot. The exfoliant I chose is just a cheap, Kroger brand scrub that is medicated with salicylic acid.  While this scrub is one of the more coarse kinds, I don't have problems with it as long as I'm being gentle and not trying to scrub away the flesh of my face.  HAHAHA!  The two of these things seem to have really helped.  At the very  moment, I have a single blemish that I'm treating but everything else has dried up and gone away.

I was all over the place with my perfume this past month.   The three I've worn the most are Coach Poppy, Dior Miss Dior, and L De Lolita Lempicka.  Coach is the sweetest and the one my husband commented one night and said he liked out of all of my perfumes.  This is also the one he bought for me this last Christmas.  Miss Dior is a delicate scent that makes me feel very feminine.  I wanted to save this one as more of a special perfume, but I love it so much that I've been wearing the heck out of it.   The final one (L de Lolita Lempicka) was a bit strange of a choice because it is a perfume I love in the fall and winter.  It is such a cozy perfume because it has notes of cinnamon.  However, I found that in the heat, it is just as beautiful of a fragrance.  It is different in the warmth, though!  Instead of this cozy, comforting perfume... it is a relaxing, sandy beach kind of perfume.  It is amazing how different it seems in different seasons!  I'm thrilled it works so well in heat, too, though, because this is one of my all time favorite perfumes!  This just means I get to wear it year round!