Tag Archives: Beauty

It’s All About the Easy Breezy

26 Mar

The 100th post giveaway for a signed copy of Nidhi Chinani’s gorgeous book Everyday Love ends tonight at 9:00 pm PST! Click here to leave a comment and enter. Winner will be announced in tomorrow’s post.

I’m in love.

I know it’s a bit early for summer talk, but A and I are planning our anniversary vacation, and I’m dreaming of white sands and surf. Usually shopping is my Kryptonite, but I have always loved shopping for a beach trip. Finding makeup and beachwear that can go from salt and sand into a nice restraint by the sea is fun for me, and I’ve always met the challenge. I never want to look done up at the beach, the whole point is to look naturally sun-kissed and gorgeous, so sheer, light, extremely minimal makeup look that helps with sun protection is usually what I aim for. Before going to Hawaii last year, I went looking for a good lip balm with SPF. Thanks to a (slight) Top Model addiction, Cover Girl is my go-to for inexpensive lip wear. I ended up taking home two shades of NatureLuxe Gloss Balm and Oh. My. Lanta.

For years and years Benefit’s Benitint has been my go-to for natural-looking soft color. (To be honest, it’s still my ‘you’re stranded on a desert island and can only have one product with you’ product. Even though I should probably be practical and choose sunscreen.) Sadly, Benetint has no SPF power, which is what sent me to the isles of Target before our last vacation. Enter NatureLuxe. Even though it started out as just a vacation buy, in the last few months it has moved up to become a permanent fixture in my purse. I bought two colors, Coral and Peony. I’ve found that only their darker shades really show against my olive complexion, but the Coral is just bright enough to give my lips a glossy pop on a sunny day. Here’s how the Peony looks:

iiiiiiiii'm breezy!

Love! Sheer, yet saucy. Sweet, yet sexy. And SPF! If you’re planning a sun-soaked vacation this year, I highly suggest you fork over the $7 and try out the Luxe.

Do you have a go-to makeup for beach days? How do you find that balance between natural and over-done?

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Friday Five – Color Cures the Winter Blues

17 Feb

I love nail polish. I mean, I LOVE nail polish! You know that statistic that says in times of crisis lipstick sales go up because women want a little bit on inexpensive luxury? Well, I nix the lipstick and head to the nail isle instead. Just so’s you know how much love I’m talking about, here’s a peek into my nail polish drawer:

obsessed much? why yes, yes i am.

There’s something that’s so refreshing about painting my nails. I match the color to my mood – if I need a pick me up I go bright. If I’m feeling saucy and mysterious I go dark. If I’m feeling clean and pure, polished, I go with a neutral, either shimmer or gloss. A laughs at me because I’ll go for months without painting my nails, then I’ll go through a spurt where I change the color daily. I try my best to stick to non-toxic brands, for A’s sinuses’ sake, but boy do I love me some OPI.

I thought I’d share the colors that make me swoon right now. Some I own, some I covet, all give me a fresh shot of happy, which I really need this time of year.

I’m always on the hunt for that elusive, perfect neutral. I think Scotch Naturals may have a winner. It’s described as a tawny beige-cream, but I think it has just enough pink in it to be perfect.

heather blush by scotch naturals

Dark colors make be feel sophisticated and sexy. I love colors that are one shade off of black, and I fell in love with Honk If You Love OPI when I got my post-marathon pedicure last year. So dark, so plum-perfect, I love it.

honk if you love opi by opi

Every gray day needs a little sparkle. A good platinum never goes out of style, and this one you can layer until you get your desired level of glitz. It’s neutral enough to not raise eyebrows at work, but I wouldn’t hesitate to throw this on for a glittery cocktail party. Cheers everyone!

designer...de better! by opi

Speaking of glitter, this is my new favorite find. Coming from may favorite au natural line Zoya, this is on my toes right now and I absolutely love it. In the bottle it looks very violet, but when it’s on you get this strong coppery shimmer, backed by a lovely rosy-lavender hue. I think this will be a go-to for awhile.

faye by zoya

I’m cheating a bit with this last one, as it’s not just one color, but a collection. But I love Every. Single. One. And I couldn’t choose!

smoke collection by zoya

It’s got lavender neutrals, two unique purples (I’ll admit it, most of my nail polish collection is shades of purple. I can’t get enough!) super-hot-right-now colors of dark teal and olive. Plus, you know how I said I love dark colors? I’ve been looking for a perfect bitter-sweet chocolate brown color for years. So many nail lines have nice browns, but they’reeither too light, or have too much red, or have glitter, or something that makes them not what I’m looking for. Not anymore! The Smoke Collection includes my new nail obsession, Codie.

codie by zoya

Zoya  describes it as a blackened espresso brown creme with subtle olive undertones. Great for when you want something dark and dramatic but not black. Um, hello, yes please?!? A, my darling, my love, if you’re reading this, any of the above colors would make a great gift. I’m just sayin’.

Do you love nail polish as much as I do? What are your favorite shades right now?

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Working on #1 With Benefit

28 Nov

I’ve tried a few times to get on board with the daily sunscreen routine, to no avail. So I decided to pull out the big guns. I walked into Sephora with a specific mission: get a good-feeling daily moisturizer that didn’t make me feel greasy, had a decent spf, and was tipping towards this side of luxury so that I would feel excited to use it every day without breaking the bank. Enter Benefit.

I love Benefit, and have since high school. Since before I knew what good makeup was. I was assured by the uber-helpful sales girl that even though it was a new product for them at the time, it was already a huge hit with consumer reviews. A quick test at the counter left me with sweet-smelling, softly glowing cheeks with no greasy feeling. Quite the opposite, actually, my face felt moisturized and fresh. I took home a bottle with high hopes.

Benefit does not disappoint. I used it for two weeks straight and was complimented regularly on how healthy and ‘glowing’ I looked. My friend Lady Dianne insisted it was because of the new workout regimen we started – week two and I was glowing already! – but I knew it was due to the cream. It just made me feel better. The one downside to this cream is it is scented. I think it’s the scent that accounts for the funny taste…hold on, before you go thinking I lick my face cream, there are plenty of socially acceptable ways I can tell that it has an obtrusively bad taste.

  • Scenario one: I put it on in the morning, avoiding my immediate mouth area, and head to work. Between campuses I grab a cappuccino, and since I have a rare ten minutes to enjoy my frothy treat I pop the top and sit down to sip while perusing my favorite blogs. While sipping, some velvety foam gets on my lip, so I stick out my tongue to lick it off. Instead of creamy, espresso-ey goodness, I get a bitter, astringent flavor that totally puts me off my cuppa.
  • Scenario two: A comes home from work, and is understandably thrilled to see me. A loves to kiss my cheeks. I don’t know why, maybe I have cute cheeks. So after a big A-Bear hug, he plants one on my smooch-puff. He then gives me a big, sweet, butterfly-inducing smooch on the lips…only it would have been that kind of kiss, if it weren’t for that bitter, astringent taste. Totally ruins the moment.
So, yes, I know my face cream tastes bad. Which wouldn’t be a big deal, except that it doesn’t stop tasting bad, even hours after I apply it. In my book, it makes my skin look and feel so kissably-good that I can forgive it a little bitterness during otherwise sweet moments. I just know that I have to proceed with caution and encourage A to kiss the non-moisturized areas on my face when I apply it. So definitely worth the buy, but next time I may walk in to Sephora and specifically request a face cream that doesn’t taste bad.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Hold on, Christy, if you’ve already found a product you love, wouldn’t that mean you’ve accomplished #1 on The List to wear sunscreen? Not so in my book, my friends, not so. You see, it takes roughly 21 days to make or break a habit, longer if the habit is addictive. The longest streak I’ve ever had putting cream on every day is 16 days. I’ll go in fits and spurts, then take a few weeks off. I’m really bad about it, actually, which is why it’s on my list. So I’ll cross this baby off when I’ve got a solid three months under my belt – I figure by then that habit will be pretty ingrained. Will Benefit take me all the way? Only time will tell…

Do you use a daily moisturizer with spf? Let me know what you like, and I’ll know what to try next!

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