Black Friday 2015 Beauty Deals!

Holy deals, Batman! It's time to bust out that credit card and get to shopping. Whether you're on the mission to find the perfect holiday gifts, or you're indulging in a bit of personal retail therapy, now is the time to snag some serious deals on your favorite beauty and fashion goodies. I'll be on the lookout for great new deals as I find them, and will make sure to update this page as often as I can! Some of these deals are only good through tomorrow, while others last until Monday, so I tried to include the valid dates for you as well. Either way, these deals won't be here for long, so you'll want to jump on your favorite ones ASAP! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and have a great weekend ahead. Happy shopping!

Duochromatic Smokey Eye Makeup Tutorial

If you saw the haul video I posted recently to my YouTube channel, then you've already seen me rock this gorgeous duochrome eyeshadow look. I decided to pick up the Sephora Favorites Superstars Kit during the VIB sale earlier this month, and one of the first things I had to play with was the Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Lounge. It's one of the most unique eyeshadows I've ever gotten my hands on, with a green to purple duochromatic finish, and it is unbelievably gorgeous! It also gave me a little bit of inspiration to create another makeup tutorial. I thought it might be fun to try out some of the other products from the kit while I was at it, so I've also included a few little first impressions for you as well. So grab your cup of tea, snuggle up, and get ready to indulge in some makeup-y goodness!

Black Friday Preview

Black Friday is almost upon us, and while some may love the total insanity of shopping in stores, others of us may prefer to score a deal without ever having to leave our beds. As the week goes on more and more stores are releasing previews of the sales they're hosting, but for now I wanted to share a couple of exciting ones that have already begun!

Holiday Preview: Palette Envy

When it comes to the holiday wish list of a makeup junkie, there's a good chance at least one palette will make the cut. This year there are some seriously enviable options to choose from, so much so that it may be hard to pick just one! To get you started, I've rounded up 9 of the most hyped face and eye palettes on the beauty scene as well as a few dark horses that I think could very well steal the show.

Skincare Week: A Full Face Routine for Under $100

As sad as it is to say, it's finally time to wrap up skincare week. I've chatted about a lot of products, as well as some thoughts on my own skincare journey, and I thought I would leave you all with this: taking great care of your skin doesn't have to cost a fortune. While there are a lot of amazing luxury skincare products on the market, creating an entire routine out of them can easily set you back hundreds of dollars. And let's be real, how many of us can justify that kind of spending? Yes, above all else I think your skin is worth investing in, and if you want to spend $60 on an anti-aging serum I'll be the last one to judge. But if you're living on a budget, those kinds of splurges may just not be feasible.

Fortunately, with a little bit of shopping savvy, you can still put together a kick ass skincare regimen without breaking the bank. I've honestly been blown away by some of the products I've seen in the aisles of Target and CVS and truly believe that cost is not always indicative of quality. And that's why I wanted to create today's post. For less than the cost of a single bottle of Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil, you can buy these 8 products, covering every single important skincare base from cleansing and moisturizing, to sun protection and dealing with the occasional pimple. And if that alone doesn't entice you, I also made it my mission to pick products that utilized high quality, natural ingredients and would be suitable for just about any skin type. Sounds too good to be true? Just you wait and see.

Skincare Week: Tips & Tricks Roundup

As much as I've learned many a thing about skincare from trial and error, I've also got to credit many a blog post I've stumbled across on Pinterest or Bloglovin' to my current repertoire of advice. Since I can only cover so many topics in a week, I thought it would be nice to spread the love and share some great articles I've found to help you up your skincare know-how!

Skincare Week: An Intro to Facial Oils

When it comes to skincare trends, face oils are currently having a bit of a moment. It seems like every other day there's a new nut or plant or tree that's being pressed into the latest and greatest luxury oil (although I'm sure the communities where they are coming from have been utilizing them already for years). As someone who within the last decade was terrified of anything with the word "oil" in it, embracing this skincare trend was another counterintuitive step towards getting my face in check. I'm definitely still in the process of learning what differentiates one oil from the next, and if there is such a thing as a "best" oil for my particular skin.

Skincare Week: Masks & Peels for All Your Skin Concerns

Let's be real. Most of our lives are crazy busy. Whether you've got midterms to study for, kids running around, a 10 hour shift to work, or a social calendar with very little wiggle room, a lot of us understand the struggle to find a little me-time. And while the idea of heading off to the spa for a weekly facial might sound glorious, most of us don't have the time or money to indulge in that kind of fantasy. That being said, if you can find 10 minutes in your week to incorporate a face mask or peel into your bedtime skincare routine, both your brain and your body will seriously reap the benefits. Even with an awesome regime of cleansing and moisturizing, sometimes our skin needs a little extra boost of exfoliation, hydration, or nourishment to look and feel its best.

These face masks and peels are some of my personal favorites, and address a number of skin concerns, from dryness to dullness to congestion or hyperpigmentation. Most of them take less than 10 minutes to use and are surprisingly easy to make time for. As a quick aside, some of these masks and peels contain absolutely zero physical exfoliants, while others of them do. If you're currently suffering from active acne, I'd recommend steering clear of any kind of skincare product with physical exfoliants, as they can irritate blemishes and unintentionally spread bacteria, worsening the problem. A mask with a chemical exfoliant (AHAs, glycolic acid, fruit enzymes, etc.) on the other hand, breaks down and removes dead skin and debris in a more gentle way. Just remember that prescription acne treatments can sensitize your skin, and if you're under the care of a dermatologist, you may want to check with them before adding any kind of product like this to your skincare routine!

Skincare Week: Rethink Your Cleansing Game

When it comes to skincare, perhaps the most basic and essential step is washing your face. We all know that dirt, grime, pollutants, and makeup build up on our skin throughout the day, and that letting them sit there (especially while we sleep) can lead to breakouts, congestion, and irritation. That being said, how you go about cleansing can do just as much harm as good. A lot cleansers on the market contain harsh, irritating ingredients that strip your skin of essential moisture and throw it out of balance.

My fellow oily and acne-proned people will understand this struggle, as so many cleansers geared towards our skin type are the worst offenders. If you've ever felt that "squeaky clean" feeling after you've finished washing your face, you know what I mean. Your face feels dry as the Sahara for a few hours, and then the oil returns with a vengeance. It's an endless cycle, perpetuated by tricksy marketing ploys. Oils are not your enemy! Especially if you have oily skin. Your face needs sebum to protect itself from the elements. Sure it can be annoying when you've got way more than is necessary, but your skin will never learn how to regulate itself better if you keep washing all of it away.

These 5 cleansers have completely changed the way I think about washing my face. You'll notice a few common threads between them. They're gentle, suitable for all skin types, and free of irritating ingredients. They're also primarily made of oils, butters, and other nourishing ingredients that might seem totally unsuitable for an oily skinned gal like myself. But since I've made the switch over to gentle, hydrating cleansers, my skin has only been transformed for the better. I've got less breakouts, less congestion, and my skin generally gets less oily throughout the day. Each one of these formulas has its own unique benefits, while still being friendly to any skin type. Hopefully at least one of them piques your curiosity!

Skincare Week Starts Today!

Well hello there friend! I hope your Sunday is off to a lovely start. For some reason my brain was in denial about the fact that it was still the weekend this morning. Why I was convinced it was Monday I have no idea, but fortunately it is not (although I seriously just had to look at the calendar again for reassurance). The fact that it is indeed Sunday also means that it's the start of Skincare Week here on my blog! As much as I love makeup (and oh...oh I do), I've gotten really into skincare in the past year and have been making a huge effort to try and find (and stick to) a regime that works for me.

LUSH-Tastic Bath Haul

Friends. Have you SEEN all of the new bath time launches at LUSH?! Maybe it's just me being a diehard Lushie/bath enthusiast, but honestly these new bath bombs and bubble bars are truly a spectacle to behold. Between holiday themed wonders, and extra colorful and imaginative additions to their permanent collection, there was no keeping me away from my local LUSH shop. While it was incredibly hard to choose, I ended up taking home these six lovely bath goodies, all of which I've never tried before.

Beauty Blogger Burnout

So you guys may have notice that I've been mysteriously absent in the past couple of weeks. I've been feeling crazy guilty about it, which in and of itself has also been bothering me. Every so often I think I go through a bout of beauty blogger burnout. I think we all go through phases where we need to escape or change up our routine, but perhaps on different intervals. Maybe it takes a year, or six months, or maybe you're on extra crazy mode and have been feeling out of sorts every couple of weeks. Ultimately my point is that we're all human, and we all get overwhelmed. For me I think it just took one week of getting out of the groove, and I've been having a really hard time getting back into it.