May was an incredibly busy month. I studied like crazy for and passed my final exams, I successfully conquered a professional exam, I graduated with my undergraduate degree, I came home for the first time in months, and I spent two weeks with a horrid cold.
Inspired by #NAFW2015, which is the first Nail Art Fashion Week (started by the So Nailicious blog), I decided to play around with nail art today! A lot of what I’ve been seeing on Instagram has me feeling like I could try my hand at it, so today I finally did.
Because I wanted to experiment, I painted each of my nails a different style.
2014 was the year that I got really into “beauty”: developing a skincare routine, exploring new brands and types of products, wearing makeup much more often, and starting this blog. I put beauty in quotes, because as we all know beauty is so much more than skin-deep. Part of the inspiration for this was spending the spring in Paris — surrounded by people caring about skincare, fashion, and otherwise looking good.
Since I just recently entered the beauty blogging world, I have made so many discoveries this year — new types of products, new brands, and new ways to apply makeup. Every month on this blog I’ve also been doing a “monthly favorites” list, and I’ve been trying hard not to repeat any products. Now, here come the repeats in this compilation of what I loved most about beauty in 2014.
While this is probably not what I’m actually going to wear on New Year’s Eve, since I plan on staying at home listening to jazz and sipping champagne with family, I think it would be a suitable look for another activity! I could see myself wearing this makeup to either a glamorous holiday party or for a night of dancing at a club.
Welcome to the first #LOTD, or Look Of The Day post! I don’t imagine that I will be doing these too frequently, maybe just once a week, because the vast majority of the time I wear very similar makeup and I feel like that would be really repetitive!
Today’s look is very fresh-faced and natural. To me, it’s perfect for a lazy Sunday when all I want to do is go to a long brunch with a friend, do some grocery shopping, and then sit on the porch talking or reading in the sunshine (yes, that is what I did today).
Most days, I’m too rushed in the morning to do anything special with my makeup. I’m so focused on getting out the door and to class on time that I don’t have the presence of mind to deviate from the routine I’ve fallen into. I didn’t really devote any time to developing this in a scientific manner; it just sort of fell into place around the products I’ve been using the most in the past few months. Without further ado, here is that very simple routine (ignore the huge number of products in this photo; all will be explained!).
My morning routine has been pretty simple for my entire life. As a kid, it involved rubbing a wet washcloth over my face. In middle school, my mom gave me my first face wash. After starting college, I started paying more attention to my skin and took care to actually wash my face every morning. Now, I’m here, caring more about what products I use and what steps I take.
Recently it’s been going through a lot of changes, but I’d love to share my current morning routine with you all. In contrast to my thorough (ish) nighttime routine, which I just talked about here, my mornings are usually a rush. Sleep is a commodity in college, and I tend to try and make up for going to bed later than I would like by sleeping in for as long as possible. Therefore, my morning skincare routine gets reduced to just three steps: Cleanse, Treat, and Moisturize.
Fall is in the air! This month has been pretty stressful for me, with college midterms, a host of group projects, and some friendship troubles. These are the top five beauty products that have been getting me through each day.
For Halloween this year, I went as Princess Anna from Frozen. I love Frozen, and think there are a lot of similarities between Anna and me (although part of the reason I chose Anna is because I was able to cobble together her outfit from things already in my wardrobe!).
I’d like to share with you the makeup I did for this costume. I consulted a couple of YouTube videos to develop this, notably tutorials by Alex Poletti and dope2111.
I know it’s after Halloween, but I hope that this look is simple and everyday enough that you could wear it any day and feel like you’re secretly channeling Anna. My main goal was to create something that reflected Anna but that I would still feel comfortable wearing. Therefore, I didn’t add any makeup that I would never wear as myself. This means that, if you normally wear foundation or fake eyelashes, you should feel free to include those into this look and make it your own!
First of all, I know it seems like I’ve been doing a LOT of hauls lately. That’s because… well… I have. But don’t worry, soon I will start reviewing all of the lovely (and not so lovely) products I’ve been buying! Secondly, you should be forewarned that this post is extremely picture-heavy. Now, on with the beauty!
After buying a huge amount of e.l.f. products in August, I’ve been accumulating a wishlist of more products things I’d like to try. Over Columbus Day weekend, e.l.f. had a free shipping offer on all orders greater than $14.92. This is so much lower than any of their normal free shipping offers, and so I jumped on it!
Just A Primer 