Ten Lip Products to Try for Fall

*Affiliate links used

As much as it pains me to say goodbye to the long, sunny days of summer, I think I'm finally ready to embrace all things fall. Yes, bring on the blanket scarves, the plaid shirts, and everything pumpkin spice. I'm a New Englander, and when the leaves start to turn its hard to not find yourself getting swept up in that autumnal spirit.

One of the first places I turn to welcome each new season is my everyday lip collection. While it's true that there are no rules in makeup, I personally find it fun to change up shades and textures at different times of the year. Which, for right now, means trading in my peaches, corals, and vibrant pinks for rich reds, warm nudes, bold berries, and rusty hues. After spending a good amount of time swatching and playing with a somewhat ridiculous number of lipsticks, I've got ten gorgeous shades to share with you. From your classic mattes to sheer glosses, I think there's a little something here for everyone!

February 2017 Favorites

*Affiliate links/PR samples used.

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!

Subscription Showdown | January 2017

Oooh snap, it's FINALLY time for a throwdown! Both of my monthly beauty subscriptions came while I was in LA for Generation Beauty, but I'm home and ready to unbox (unbag?) them both for you all. If you're new around these parts, Subscription Showdown is a series I film over on my YouTube channel where I compare my Ipsy Glambag and Sephora Play box. Both subscriptions only cost $10 a month and contain 5 deluxe-sized samples that are tailored to your unique beauty profile. Over the years I've discovered so many amazing products through both of these services, so its hard to pick an overall favorite. Instead, I just take things month by month to let you know which one is my personal victor. Curious to see which of these subs stole my heart this month? Just keep on reading!

Subscription Showdown | November 2016

Hey friends! It's time for another Subscription Showdown. For those of you not already familiar with this series on my YouTube channel, every month I sit down and unbox my Ipsy Glambag and Sephora Play box so I can show you how they stack up against one another. Each subscription is only $10 a month and contains 5 deluxe beauty samples, so I'm always curious to see whether one outshines the other. Want to see how these two beauty subs threw down this month? Keep on reading!

Fall Haul First Impressions

If you guys saw my recent fall beauty haul, then you're already well aware that I've acquired a boat load of new makeup to review. Between a trip to the new NYX store in Union Square, goodies sent from a friend in the UK, and my own inability to restrain myself, I've ended up with a whole lotta loot. Life has been a little crazy lately, which ultimately translated to the majority of my new beauty ending up in a pile waiting to be loved. This weekend finally afforded me the opportunity to get some blogging hours in, and I stared at said pile feeling a little overwhelmed with my options. Where the heck should I even begin? And then I had a brilliant idea. Why not try it all and let you in on the process? I'm all about being real with you guys and sharing my honest thoughts on beauty. So why not capture my completely unscripted, entirely unpredictable first impressions on camera? Not gonna lie, filming this video was a whole lot of fun, and I don't think the look I created in the end was too shabby. So if you're curious to see how these new goodies worked out for me, keep on reading!

One Year Z-Palette Update

Oh, the Z-Palette. I have to admit, I didn't realize how fun (and addicting) putting one of these together would be. Collectively its the most pricey makeup item I own, but it's also one of the things I reach for the most whenever I'm sitting down to create a fun new eye look. I had held off on starting a palette until last year, when I treated myself to this Extra Large Z-Palette ($28) for my birthday. A few weeks later I sat down and attempted to de-pot products for the first time with relative success, and have been adding to it ever since. Since we're about to hit the year mark, I thought it'd be fun to do a little update and share with you guys all the pans I've depotted and purchased, as well as a few makeup looks I've created with this palette. If you love eyeshadow swatches, get excited, because there's about to be a lot of them!

November 2015 Birchbox

So, I sat down at my computer last night and thought to myself, "What do I feel like blogging about?" I've got a ton of ideas for content, many of which involve filming videos and creating fun new makeup looks. But I was tired, after having kind of a miserable day, and realized that what I really felt like writing about was my super amazing Birchbox from last month. As you may know, these past few months have been a little rough for me, and it's kind of thrown me off my blogging game. I decided that the best way to preserve my sanity was to give myself permission to break some of my self-imposed rules, even if that meant blogging less, or not creating the same content that I was used to making every month. That being said, Birchbox has always had a special place in my heart, and I do genuinely enjoy sharing my thoughts on my monthly box. As much as I would like for my reviews to go up in the appropriate month, I realized that I'm way happier to actually write these posts when I've had ample time to test and try everything. So as much as there is a part of me that feels bad putting this post up over a week later than I ideally "should", there is a much larger part of me that realizes it's okay to let it go.

So, with all the good vibes being channeled, let's get to the fun stuff!

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.

July 2015 Birchbox

So, it may be super late this time around, but I can FINALLY review my July Birchbox. Apparently the flash tattoos that I ordered as my plus item this month were delayed at the warehouse, so my box was held up until the end of the month. Even though it kind of sucked that I had to wait so long to get my box, it was awesome enough that I'm not really that miffed about it. When my box was still MIA on the 17th Customer Service was really friendly and helpful and even credited my account 50 points for the inconvenience. Moral of the story, Birchbox isn't perfect, but they always handle their mistakes pretty gracefully.

Anyway, on to the box! This month's theme was Go Bold, which is pretty perfect for the summer when vibrant prints and colors are abundant in both the beauty and fashion world. I got five really excellent samples this month, and can't wait to tell you all about them!

April 2015 Glambag

Spring is the perfect season to sport breezy, funky, flowy bohemian fashion, so Ipsy is totally on point with their April Glambag theme. With all the hype around Coachella I'm sure that more people are taking trips to Free People and Anthropologie than ever. While my personal style is more "Bohemian Light", I'm totally loving this month's bag (even if I have sort of mixed feelings about the stuff that's packed inside of it).

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!

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.

October 2013 Birchbox

I'm so excited about my October Box. I got some really awesome products that I can't wait to tell you all about. This month's theme is Beauty Buzz. Birchbox wanted to share some of it's most celebrated, talked about and loved products with its subscribers.

July 2013 Favorites

Seeing now that August is a week underway, I thought it was about time to officially say goodbye to July and do a quick recap of my absolute favorite new finds from the month.

Garden Party & A Fresh Summery Makeup Look

It's Monday.

I'm not exactly thrilled that the work week has returned. I had such a lovely and relaxing weekend, and I really wasn't ready for it to end. 

A friend of mine threw a get-together on Saturday at her parent's house. They have a spectacular back yard. My inner photographer was seriously geeking out. Now, when I say spectacular, I mean complete with an abundance of picturesque plants and vegetation, a Koi pond (with mini waterfall, of course), a pergola, and an enormous vegetable garden. So, on top of being constantly inspired to take beautiful pictures, I also got to sit back and enjoy the beauty of nature with a glass of wine in my hand, surrounded by the company of good friends.

I can't really think of much else better in life.

So, without further adieu, here are some of my favorite shots of the day.

July 2013 Birchbox

My favorite time of the month is here - my Birchbox has arrived! It's always so nice to have something fun to open when I get home from a long and stressful workday. Throughout the week I've had a chance to try everything out (with the exception of the Bobby Pins...they haven't matched an outfit that I've worn yet) and I'm pretty happy with all of the products I received.