Lovin’ Lately

Do you ever try a product and immediately think “wow, this was totally made with me in mind!” Well, doesn’t happen to me too often, BUT when I got my hands on the Nails Inc. Mindful Manicure Collection*, it’s exactly how I felt. I mean… hello.. nail polish + mindfulness? That’s like a dream combo for me.

The collection includes 5 mood-enhancing polishes, each having a unique iridescent finish that is infused with real gemstones; “Better Together” is infused with rose quartz and it’s for friendship and love; “Future’s Bright” is infused with citrine and it’s for happiness and heart shielding; “And Breathe” is infused with tourmaline and it’s for stress relief and positive energy; “Good Vibes” is infused with clear quartz and it’s for aura enhancement and “Balancing Act” is infused with moonstone and worn for balance and wisdom. Love them all- but I still use a clear top coat with these, even with a few of these “top coat” products themselves. Balancing Act is especially beautiful when paired with other pastel colors.

You probably saw me talk about Dermalogica’s Stress Positive Eye Lift* eye mask over my on my Instagram, and I had to feature it here as well. I use it in the morning before applying my eye cream. I don’t think that I’m need of an eye lift just yet (lol), but the combination of the product + cooling applicator does help out with hydrating that delicate skin around my eyes. Since starting accutane I’ve been “suffering” from these awful bags/discoloration under my eyes (I pretty much look malnourished unless I’m wearing a good amount of concealer). I think it’s because my skin is extremely thin at the moment. It’s almost as if my under eye skin/area is sunken in (rather than being puffy) and I did notice that this mask either a) helps with the discoloration so that when combined with a brightening eye cream I look halfway decent without makeup or b) it actually makes that skin under my eyes appear fuller and healthier. Either way, I’m loving it.

Also, I really appreciate the fact that it’s fragrance-free. I recently had the “pleasure” of testing out a bunch of skincare products from a new brand that just hit the market and was really discouraged from trying the rest of the products, as soon as I used the eye cream. It was filled with fragrance and… glitter. After a few minutes I noticed that the product left a film on my skin, my eyes got very itchy and red- it wasn’t pretty. While I do use a bunch of skincare products that contain fragrance, I will never understand why so many products like eye creams, which are applied to such sensitive and delicate areas of your skin, are  loaded with fragrance, to the point where it causes irritation.

Any who, there’s another eye product I’m loving: Patchology’s new FlashPatch Restoring Night Eye Gels*. I’ve been a fan of their masks and lip and eye patches for a while and really like these new eye gels. Do they give dramatic results? I don’t have any wrinkles to attest to whether or not these reduce fine lines, but they do feel amazing to use at the end of the day at bedtime and help restore brightness to tired skin.

Two other (and also fragrance-free, yay!) skincare products that I’ve been loving are Avène Cicalfate cream (I’m on my 3rd tube and only recently discovered it) and The Ordinary’s NMF + HA. I actually like using them together (by first applying the NMF). Avène’s Cicalfate is pretty much the only moisturizing product that doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry after 5 minutes. If you have extremely dry skin, you need to give it a try. It’s also a great product to use after an acid peel or any other treatment skin-renewing treatment. I was also told that this works great with acne as well, but in all honesty, as someone with naturally extremely oily skin, I don’t see myself using this once I go off accutane, but who knows. I talked about both of these products in this post, too.

Okay, one more skincare product that I already talked about on Instagram: Colorescience Unforgettable Loose Mineral Brush-On Sunscreen*– this stuff is so cool. You can apply it on top of your makeup, which makes reapplying your sunscreen throughout the day 100x easier. I keep one of these in my bag and I know I’ll be using it all the time this summer.

Two lip products I’m loving: Burberry’s Liquid Lip Velvet in Oxblood* and Glossier’s LipGloss. I’ve been wearing Oxblood non-stop since my birthday last week and I feel like the color was made for me. I was never able to pull off such deep, burgundy colors, but I’ve been reaching for them quite often since cutting my hair short. There’s just something about short hair that makes it easier to pull off heavier/bolder makeup looks. Well, at least for me. The formula is also amazing and very long-lasting although it doesn’t wear off very pretty when there’s a lot of eating and water-sipping involved (then again, this is true for a lot of liquid lipstick products).

Glossier’s LipGloss is super pretty and hydrating but.. it’s just lip gloss. I like it, but not sure what the hype is all about. Love that it applies smoothly and doesn’t clump up like a lot of gloss products and that it actually hydrates my lips and doesn’t have a gross smell. I’m still battling extremely dry lips and have to constantly reapply lip balm, but this gloss works just as well at hydrating my lips and it’s nice to switch things up a bit. Perfect product for those makeup-free days, but.. it’s just lipgloss. Also, that part about it being non-sticky? Not exactly true. It’s not the stickiest of glosses I’ve ever used, but it’s still sticky. If you want to try any Glossier products, you can get 20% off your first order using this link (Balm Dotcom and Milky Jelly Cleanser are both ahhmazing, btw!).

One last thing I want to mention is Style Your Mind book by Cara Alwill Leyba. It’s a workbook/lifestyle guide for women/girls of all ages. If you’ve been wanting to start journaling, this workbook is a really great place to start. It’s perfect for anyone who is in need a little reboot- which is exactly why I bought it. If you feel lost or are looking for some inspiration- you will love this book. I personally feel like this was something that I really needed and I ended up buying a few of her other books after picking up Style Your Mind.

What are you guys loving lately? Books, makeup, TV Shows?