Update & Favorites

Hi guys! It's been a while since I last updated my blog. School has been kicking my butt, and I barely had anytime to do anything. Since summer is here now, I'll definitely be updating my blog more frequently. I thought I would come back with a current favorites post. I've definitely been trying tons of new products in the past months so keep checking back for more reviews coming up!

The Body Shop has been upping their games lately and coming out with lots of amazing new releases. I recently tried out their color crush lipsticks, and I fell in love with them. Their formula reminds me a lot of the YSL sheer candies; they're sheer and very moisturizing. They have been my go-to lipsticks lately as they're super easy to put on and the color is very buildable. I prefer them over the revlon lip butters, which I found to be very greasy-feeling on my lips and made my lips peel. I have it in the color #14 and #18, and I'll definitely be picking up more in the future!

I love me some neutral, bronzy eyeshadows, especially for the summer months when I can't be bothered with my eye makeup. I've been using the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow in Rosegold all over my lids lately for an easy beachy, bronzy look, and it just gives my eyes the perfect amount of shimmer and definition. Just like the name says, it's a bronzy rosegold color. The formula is very smooth and buttery, and lasts well on my oily eyelids.

I finally discovered my holy grail powder!!! It is the Tarte Amazonian Airbrush Foundation. Words cannot describe how much I love this power, it is everything I want in a powder! It is sweatproof, waterproof, high coverage, and very natural looking on the skin. You can apply it over your liquid foundation or tinted moisturizers for a flawless look, or just use it on its own for days when you want an effortless natural look. Like the Laura Mercier Mineral Powder, you can keep layering this powder on your face without having it looking cakey. Moreover, it is more lasting than the Laura Mercier powder and gives more of a satin to matte finish, which I definitely need in the humid summer months.

Another product that's perfect for the hot summer months is the Josie Maran Coconut Cheek Gelee. It looks and feels like pudding in the pot, but once you apply it on your face, it turns into a stain and literally won't budge until you take it off at night. It just blends into your skin and makes you look like you've got a natural flush.

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Brand Overview: Laura Mercier

Laura Mercier is a brand that I have a love-and-hate relationship with. I love the brand because they make some of my all-time holy grail makeup products, but I also hate it because I can't seem to get on with some of their products that so many people rave about. I find that their products are either a hit or a miss for me.

I guess I'll start off by talking about my favorite products from Laura Mercier. If you've been following me for a while, then you'll know that the Laura Mercier Mineral Powder is my absolute favorite powder of all time. It gives buildable coverage and yet manages to look incredibly natural on the skin. Sometimes when my foundation is looking cakey, I put this on and everything just blends together and looks like skin. It is seriously the best powder I've ever found.

Another favorite of mine is the Secret Brightening Powder, which is a setting powder for the undereye area. I have super dry undereye area and I find that regular powder just dries it out even more and always makes it look super cakey. This powder sets my undereye area without making it look dry or cakey, and never settles into my fine lines. It has micro light-reflecting pigments in there to really help to brighten and illuminate the undereye area to make you look more radiant and awake.

Another favorite from Laura Mercier that I actually got after I took this photo is the Second Skin Cheek Color in Lush Nectarine. I have a lot of peachy coral blushes, but this one is definitely one of my favorites. The texture is velvety soft, and it blends seamlessly into the skin and just makes you look like you have a flush from within.

Laura Mercier Cavier Sticks are great to have if you like easy, fuss-free makeup. They're super easy to just sweep on your lids in the morning, and makes your eye makeup look amazing without having to put too much effort into your eye makeup routine. These are super pigmented, easy to blend, and last well on the lids.

Now time to talk about some un-favorites. The Laura Mercier Smooth Focus Pressed Setting Powder claims to control shine and keep the skin matte throughout the day, however it did not keep me matte at all. After the first two hours, my face started to look oily, and I really don't see the point of using this because it's translucent so it doesn't provide any coverage, and it does set my makeup but there are definitely better and cheaper setting powders out there that do the job just as well as this.

The Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer and Foundation Primer are probably two of their most well-know products and I know that a lot of people love them, but I was pretty disappointed in them. I can see the tinted moisturizer being great for people with dry skin and for people who already have great skin, but for me this didn't provide any coverage at all, and usually starts to slide off my face mid-day even when I use a primer and a setting spray. The primer is pretty average; it makes my makeup last longer but that's about it, it doesn't hide my pores and isn't as smoothing as some of my other primers.

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Current Skincare Favs #3

Michael Todd has been my favorite skincare brand for quite some time now as they use organic ingredients for their skincare products, which I find to be less irritating on the skin and cause less inflammation. I've been using their skincare products for over a year now, and there has not been anything that I don't love from them.

Toner is an essential part of my routine, and lately I've been using the Cranberry Toner, which is packed with antioxidants that help to heal the skin, while the tea tree oil in it helps to fight bacteria and promotes clear skin. This helps to balance my skin pH without making my skin feel dry or stripped of its moisture.

Another product that I've been loving from Michael Todd is the Honey and Oat Cleanser, which is a gentle deep pore-cleansing cleanser that effectively removes any makeup and impurities from the face. This is a sulphate-free cleanser, and the honey in it helps to put back moisture in my skin so my face always feels clean and balanced after I use this.

A repurchase for me is the Avocado and Mango mask, which is my favorite mask to use to put back moisture into my skin while also chemically exfoliating my skin to help to fade any acne scars. It contains mango butter which is rich in vitamin C to help to nourish the skin, as well as salicylic acid which gets deep down into the pores to unclog them and remove any dead skin cells. This makes my skin feel super soft and look visibly more radiant after I use it.

Another product that I've been using to help to fade my acne scars is the Jurlique Purely Bright Mist. Jurlique is a brand that I've heard a lot of great things from over the years, and they also use a lot of natural and plant-based ingredients in their skincare products. I've been using this in the morning as an extra step after I've cleansed and toned, and I've noticed that it really helps to calm down any redness in my skin as well as provide a bit of extra moisture for my skin. I also like to spray this anytime throughout the day when my skin is looking a little dull or dehydrated.

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Some New Hair Products...

I recently got a haircut and now that my hair is relatively short I find that I need to style it differently compared to when I had long hair. So I've been picking a few things from here and there, and somehow this has become quite a big collection of new hair products.

I picked up the Pureology Hydrate Shampoo because I've always heard good things about this line. I thought this would be good to use in the winter time since my hair always gets super dry and brittle during the colder months. This is sulphate-free, which is the main thing I look for in shampoos since sulphates can be really harsh and drying for your hair. I'm absolutely in love with this shampoo as I find that it lathers up quite nicely, which is something that a lot sulphate-free shampoos don't do and I would always end up having to use a ton of products to clean to my entire scalp. This makes my hair feel super clean and soft after I use it, and you only need a little bit to cover your whole scalp.

I also got the Bumble & Bumble Semi Sumo, and this is like a do-it-all pomade that adds a bit of texture and volume, controls frizz and adds shine to the hair. This is quite expensive, but I have to say that I like this quite a lot as I find that this helps to define my hair without making my hair crunchy, and it's also great at adding shine to my dull-looking hair.

I got the Alterna CC Cream as a sample from sephora, and I've been keeping it in my handbag to touch up on my hair throughout the day when my hair is looking a little dry or frizzy. It's a leave-in cream that claims to do 10 different things for your hair such as heat production, UV protection, smoothness, shine, anti-breakage, ect.. It really helps to hydrate my hair and keeps it looking shiny throughout the day, and it's great for people who don't want to use a lot of hair products that might weigh their hair down.

I got a small-size of the Ojon Rare Blend Oil as I find that oils like this last forever and I always get tired of using the same product before I even use it up. This has really helped to repair my hair and make it look more healthy and glossy. I also use this as a heat-protectant and leave-in before I blow-dry or straighten my hair to give my hair a little extra protection.

KMS Hair Play Makeover Spray acts as a dry shampoo and volumizing spray in one to give you that voluminous and textured just-got-out-of-bed hair. I've been using it every morning to give my hair a bit of extra oomph, and I find that it works really great to absorb any excess oil from my hair and keeps my hair voluminous throughout the day.

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Current Favorites #9

I recently got the Guerlain Terrocota Bronzing Powder as a birthday present to myself and I've using it nonstop. This is a luxury item so it's not something that everyone needs, but it is nice to have if you have the money to splurge on a high-end bronzer. It is incredibly natural looking on the face, probably one of the most natural looking bronzers I own, and blends seamlessly into my skin.

My go-to lipstick recently has been the Dior Addict Extreme Lipstick in Riviera, which is a gorgeous orangey red color. It is one of those lipsticks that goes on quite sheer to give you a natural tint, but you can also build it up to a quite bold color. It feels super creamy and moisturizing on the lips and reminds me a little bit of the the Revlon Lip Butters, except that this feels more comfortable on the lips and lasts longer.

I recently found these Smashbox eyeshadows in my local Winners for super cheap, so I quickly grabbed them because I've always wanted to try out some Smashbox eyeshadows. The single I have is in the color Minx, which is the most unique taupe color I've ever seen. It has both a purply tone and a bronzy tone depending on the light that you're looking at it under. It has definitely been my favorite crease color as of late.

The trio I have is in the color Screen Shot, which is the perfect combination of eyeshadows to create a neutral everyday look. It consists of a matte light brown color, a bronzy gold color, and a dark brown with goldern shimmers. These are super pigmented and easy to blend, and I really have nothing bad to say about them. I'm definitely interested in trying out more Smashbox makeup in the future!

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