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!

Vera Wang Princess

Princess is not an unknown perfume.  It was created in 2006 by Ilias Ermenidis and Harry Fremont. It is considered an oriental floral.  While packaging shouldn't be important, let's face it, we all appreciate a lovely bottle. This particular bottle is a heart shaped jewel.  It is supposed to have a youthful, carefree feeling to it.  And it does.  Between the color of the juice (lilac), the name of the perfume (princess), and the shape of the bottle (heart), we are made to see something very young and sweet.  Lilac + Princess + Heart = SWEET!

You will notice that my bottle doesn't have the adorable little crown on it.  That is because I opted to purchase a tester bottle.  I was able to get the largest bottle available for a fraction of the price.  I'm completely okay with this because, really, very few people see my selection of perfumes outside of myself and my family.  And, at the end of the day, I'm wearing the juice inside and not the bottle. :-)

Onto the fragrance itself!  When I first spray this on, it takes a couple of moments to really come to life.  It opens, on me, with delicious sweetness.  There is a hint of zing from the mandarin, but it is swimming in a pool of vanilla. There is something floral in there that doesn't come off loud at all.  It is just enough to keep this perfume from being 100% edible.

At the 10-15 minute mark is when I, personally, detect the dark chocolate.  It isn't exactly sweet.  It actually is slightly bitter.  I read somewhere that said it is dusty and hinting at patchouli.  DING DING DING!  Spot on.  It really does have a dusty patchouli quality to it. The vanilla is also livening up even more at this point.  There is something a bit fruity tip-toeing in, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  While researching, I came across some information about guava and I believe that must be the note.  It is almost lemony citrus-like, but without being kitchen cleaner sharp.

About one hour in, something about Princess reminds me of Coach Poppy.  It has the same cozy sweetness to it. The difference is that Princess is easily detected.  In Poppy, it was there, but you had to breathe deeply to find it. This is vanilla, vanilla, vanilla, and snippits of amber.

I can definitely see where everyone says this is a young, youthful scent.  However, I enjoy wearing it.  It is playful and lighthearted.   It is just a very happy fragrance.  I'm pleased that I went with the big bottle because I've enjoyed wearing this often.

Perfume Package!

Yesterday was a very good mail day.  I have been waiting for a few perfumes to arrive and most of them did!  YAY!  I was only expecting one to arrive yesterday and others to arrive today, but luckily they all came together.  They were all in different boxes, but that is fine.

I won't be doing reviews just yet.  I will slowly start getting those out.  This is more of a heads-up of what to expect to start showing on the Vanity Table!  :-)

The first perfume is a 1.7 oz of Van Cleef & Arpels Oriens.  I'm madly in love with the bottle.  That lid is just stunning!  I have a fun little back story on it when I get to the review.

The second perfume is a 1 oz of Lolita Lempicka Coral Flower.  I've come to adore Lolita Lempicka and can pretty much blind buy any of them and fall in love.  I've yet to come across a bad Lolita Lempicka. Sad note: the "L" is missing some of its beads.  They fell out and into the box.  I can glue them back in, just haven't yet.

This next one is another Lolita Lempicka.  This is L de Lolita Lempicka and is in a 2.7 oz bottle. This is actually a tester. I was able to score a big bottle for a steal! If you aren't picky about not having the fancy aesthetics included, tester bottles are a fabulous way to go.  I have a mini of this perfume, but love it so much that I had to get a big bottle.  Now I've got a mama and baby bottle of L. 

The final perfume I got is Vera Wang Princess.  This is a 3.4 oz tester bottle.  As I mentioned with L, some of the knick-knacks aren't included with testers.  This tester bottle doesn't have the signature crown at the spritzer.  That doesn't bother me in the very least, though, because I got a giant bottle for next to nothing. Also keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with the tester bottles.  They're brand new, never used bottles of fragrance.  They just don't always come with the fancy-shmancy stuff. 

Now I just need the remainder to arrive!  EEKS!