Spring Fling: Glossy Lip Colors to Love

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I am SO READY to embrace all things spring. Give me sunshine. Give me flowers. And please for the love of all things good take my winter coat and bury it in the back of the closet. For me, this time of year is all about lightening up. Lightening up my clothes, lightening up my mood, and in the case of today's post, lightening up my lipstick. While I don't think the matte liquid lip trend is going anywhere anytime soon, I personally am in desperate need of a change. From sheer glosses, to creamy lipsticks I've been embracing a more cheerful, comfortable kind of lip product as per late. So if you're also craving a little springtime inspiration, here are a few of favorite lip products for channeling those vibes!

February 2017 Favorites

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Guys, I'm so excited to share this month's favorites with you I'm practically dancing out of my chair. 2017 has been off to the most amazing start beauty-wise, and it's got me more pumped to blog than ever. It's not like my passion for playing with product has ever really wavered, it's just that lately I've come across things that I'm genuinely loving so much that I find myself looking forward to doing my nightly skincare or putting on my makeup each morning. And of course, being the true enabler that I am, I can't wait to tell you about it all so you can fall in love right along with me!

New in: Hourglass GIRL Lip Stylo

Friends, it's time for a #realgirl moment. As many of you know, blogging is not my full time gig. Even though I would love to devote 8 hours of my day to all things beauty, I've got to be somewhat realistic about things like not defaulting on my mortgage. For now that means working full time and blogging in whatever other hours I can find. Most days I get up at 6 am, cram in an hour of blog work whilst chugging a cup of coffee, throw myself into the shower, and slap some makeup on before I hurriedly leave the house at 7:30. Sure I manage to make myself look presentable, but it's because I have an arsenal of products that I could probably apply with my eyes closed. On a weekday morning I am all about effortless, easy makeup. Which means that as much as I love a good matte liquid lip, ain't nobody got time for that.

At the same time, that doesn't mean I need to sacrifice luxury or feeling like a classy lady. At Generation Beauty LA I was able to take home a few shades of the latest lip launch from Hourglass, and I knew immediately we would be makeup besties. The Hourglass GIRL Lip Stylo is a hydrating, buildable lip color that reigns supreme in my no-fuss everyday makeup bag. With the perfect combination of sophistication and practicality, it's basically got #girlboss written all over it.

The Ride or Die Makeup Tag: Holy Grail Favorite Products

So today's post is a bit of an impromptu one. I'm not normally one to get sucked into the hype of YouTube challenges and tags, but considering how much I a. love Jaclyn Hill, and b. love talking about makeup, I really couldn't resist. Her energy is so infectious, and pretty much immediately after watching her video I found myself planning to film my own take on the tag.

If you're feeling a little lost, Jaclyn posted a video last week creating a "Ride-or-Die" makeup tag, encouraging everyone out there to share their holy grail, tried-and-true, all-time favorite makeup products of life. A ton of other beauty gurus have joined in on the fun (you can see Tati's video here) and it's been really interesting to see how different (or in some cases similar) everyone's responses have been.

As a word of warning, today's video is a particularly chatty one. With so many products to talk about, and so much love to be shared, I think I got a little carried away. But, if you're still curious to find out what my ride-or-die favorites are, and don't mind hanging out with me for a little bit, keep on reading!

March 2016 Favorites

Here we meet again for another monthly favorites post. As I've gotten older I think time seems to pass faster than ever. How has the first quarter of 2016 already gotten past us? Anyway, I've got a nice little collection of products to share with you all this month. For the most part my beauty routine hasn't changed a ton. Most of the products I shared in January and February are still part of my daily rotation. I've done some serious beauty shopping in the last month (Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty may be partially responsible), so I expect that April will bring lots of new and exciting things to share. Anywho, let's move on to this month's faves!

Spring 2016 Wish List

Friends, its time to celebrate. Winter is finally, officially OVER! Apparently the changing seasons find me infected with Spring Cleaning fever. I've been organizing and decluttering like a madwoman, culminating this weekend with a ruthless clean out of my closet. Seriously. Every shoe, purse, and article of clothing came out, and only the most worthy pieces went back in. While I haven't gone to the extreme of creating a Capsule Wardrobe, I've definitely downsized significantly. Anything old, battered, or unworn is being consigned, donated, or trashed. Period. I was actually surprised at how easy it was for me to say goodbye to things I've had for ages. Perhaps its just that as we grow and our styles change and become more refined, we become less attached to the things that are no longer relevant to our tastes.

Makeup, on the other hand, is always more difficult to part ways with. I know anything old or unloved needs to go, but the process is sometimes a painful one. I may have been a bit less ruthless with decluttering my beauty stash, but I've definitely cleaned it up and made some room for new and fun things. Speaking of which, spring has got me lusting after all kinds of lovely products that are hitting the shelves. So to ring in this fresh, new season, let's swoon at these beautiful sights together.

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.

Get Your Glow On: Highlighters to Love

If you've been paying any attention to the buzz in the beauty world as per late, you may have heard that "strobing" is the new contouring and seen everyone going bonkers over getting super glowy, radiant skin. Being real, strobing is just a fancy word for highlighting, which is an age old beauty technique for drawing light to the high points of your face. While I may be giving the ol' side eyes at everyone who's pretending that strobing is some kind of beauty breakthrough, I do still love a good highlighter and the way they can illuminate your complexion. Here are some of my favorite formulations, as well as a few tips for how you can get your glow on!

Holiday 2014 Wish List - Eye & Cheek Palettes

With October coming to a close, the holiday season seems to be right around the corner. Maybe it's just me, but it's never too early to start making those Christmas lists, or to stash away gifts for friends and family. If you or someone you know is a makeup junkie, you should check out these 10 amazing palettes for eyes and cheeks. They'll surely be some of the showstoppers for the holidays! And with many of them being limited edition, you'll want to make sure you grab them quick before they're gone forever!

Budget Beauty Alternatives

Beauty splurges - we all have them from time to time. Sometimes it's worth spending the extra dollar for that super-smudge-proof eyeliner, or foundation that perfectly matches your skin tone. But let's be practical. A lot of us out there have the kind of budget that is much more suited for shopping at the drugstore. That's not to say that our cosmetic bags need to be lacking in quality products. More than ever, drugstores are carrying affordable alternatives to popular prestige products. Need some proof? Here are a few of my latest budget-conscious finds that will make you think twice about dropping tons of cash on their high-end counterparts.

Fall 2013 Shopping Spree

So...I may have gone a bit crazy with beauty shopping in the past couple of weeks. Between the sales and coupons and gift cards I had, it would have been silly to resist. I'm planning on writing more detailed posts reviewing all of the products I got, so be sure to check back most likely over the weekend when I have a chance to finish that project up. In the meantime, I did a quick (okay, so maybe it's not so quick) overview of my Sephora and Kohls hauls and my first impressions of the products I've tried so far.