• Home
  • About
    • Makeup
    • Skincare
    • Baby
    • Books
    • Food
    • Music
    • Pregnancy
    • Style
    • Tips
    • Wedding
  • Links
  • Blog
Menu

Beauty by Kelsey

  • Home
  • About
  • Beauty
    • Makeup
    • Skincare
  • Lifestyle
    • Baby
    • Books
    • Food
    • Music
    • Pregnancy
    • Style
    • Tips
    • Wedding
  • Links
  • Blog

beauty, lifestyle, and
a little bit of everything

Shop My Shelf
Follow

No results found

Featured posts:

Featured
October 29, 2024
Things I’m Loving 10.29.24
October 29, 2024
October 29, 2024
October 22, 2024
What Was a Harder Transition: 0-1 or 1-2 Kids?
October 22, 2024
October 22, 2024
October 15, 2024
Things I'm Loving 10.15.24
October 15, 2024
October 15, 2024

INSTAGRAM: @DADMUNK

My handsome boys! Today’s post on the blog is my experience with the transition from 1-2 kids vs the transition from 0-1 - link is in my bio 💙
Do you have 2+ children? What transition was the hardest for you?
Current go-to’s 🤎
I have a new post up on the blog today and have been putting them up every Tuesday if you haven’t caught it in my stories! I’m hoping blogs will make a comeback because I really love writing about all my favorites
Medication and therapy changed my life and helped me be the kind of mom my boys deserve. Check in on your friends and loved ones, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. You are not a burden. Signed, a confident second-time mom who struggled with
What’s the feeling called when you’re exhausted but your heart is so full it could burst? 🤍 #weekenddump

The Neutral Blush Edit

September 24, 2015 in Makeup

With vampy lip season upon us, the time is now to whip out those neutral blushes that go with everything. I tend to wear these types of colors all year round, just because I don’t really like to stray from neutral territory with any of my makeup. Most of my blushes with the exception of maybe two or three fall into the neutral category, so I thought I’d take you through my favorites.

The most talked about one and the one you probably all expected when you read the title is the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Exposed. It’s just a perfect mauve-y brown-y pink shade, and since it’s matte it just never clashes with anything. It’s perfect for adding a subtle definition to the cheeks and keeping you from looking washed out when wearing a dark lip. I like to wear this one a little farther back on my cheekbones rather than the apples of my cheeks for a sculpted effect.

Sticking with the mauve theme for now, I’ve also got the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure. This is also a perfect color for the fall, and having that Ambient Lighting Powder marbled in gives the skin a beautiful, lit-from-within glow. I’m lucky in that my sister traded her Ambient Blush Palette with me for one of my other blush palettes, and this shade has been my most-worn out of the three.

I’ve also got a more affordable dupe for the Hourglass offering - the Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Nude Mauve. I’m sorry to my US readers, because I’m pretty sure this stuff is non-existent here. I got this in a beauty swap with the lovely Amy. It’s almost identical to Hourglass Mood Exposure, but it’s just a little less finely-milled and the shimmer is a little more noticeable. But for the price difference, it’s a perfect alternative.

My last mauve-y blush is much less brown than these other offerings and more pink. As soon as I saw the Milani Rose Powder Blush in Romantic Rose, I knew I needed it. It’s the perfect bridge between a neutral mauve and a brightening pink, and it just adds a lovely flush to the cheeks. For the amount I’ve used it, I’m surprised the rose pattern is still intact.

Now that the mauves are out of the way, my blush collection is absolutely overflowing with neutral pink shades - these were my go-tos in the summer to add a soft flush of color. The Stila Convertible Color in Lillium has been a more than welcome addition to my collection since I got it in April. It’s got the creamiest formula and is probably my favorite cream blush I’ve tried. Lillium is the perfect nude pink shade, and the creamy formula just gives the skin the healthiest-looking dewy sheen.

My last two are very similar in both color and texture. The Stila Aqua Glow Watercolor Blush in Rosewater is the newer addition of the two. This is very similar in color to Lillium, but the liquid formula makes it unique in my collection. This blends out beautifully on the skin and again, gives a lovely dewy sheen that doesn’t look greasy. I’ve raved about the Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Cherub a few times on the blog, and I’m still loving it. This one has a bit of shimmer suspended in the liquid, so definitely one if you’re looking for a bit more of a glow. Like I said, the color is very similar to Rosewater, but I’d say it’s a tad more peachy. I always say the name of this shade is perfect, because it just gives a healthy flush to the cheeks, like a little cherub in a Renaissance painting.

As you can see, I probably don’t need another blush for quite awhile. But I’ll ask anyway, what are your favorite neutral blushes?


Follow

Kat Von D Metal Crush Eyeshadows

September 22, 2015 in Makeup

If you've been eyeing up the "New In" section at Sephora lately, you may have noticed the Kat Von D Metal Crush Eyeshadows. My interest level went from "a tad intrigued" to "omg need" after seeing Sam from Batalash Beauty apply the shade Thunderstruck as a highlight. Reading Brooke's review a couple weeks ago only made me want them more. Once I was in Sephora looking at all the shades, I decided Thunderstruck was an absolute necessity, and I couldn't leave without the shade Synergy as well. Because I just didn't have enough highlighters and bronze eyeshadows, apparently.

Top: Synergy, Bottom: Thunderstruck

Top: Synergy, Bottom: Thunderstruck

From the moment I touched these eyeshadows I knew I had to have them. They're some of the softest, smoothest, and creamiest shadows I've ever tried. The pigmentation is incredible - the swatches above were done with only one swipe. Thunderstruck is a stunning white gold that has a bit of a duochrome finish to it. In the light it shines brilliantly with some gold, pink, and silver flecks. It looks absolutely gorgeous as a highlight, but is also perfect as one of those one-wash, brightening eyeshadow shades. Synergy is a bronze, but it's really the most beautiful and unique bronze eyeshadow I own. It's quite metallic (like Thunderstruck), but the effect isn't garish. Instead it just draws the perfect amount of attention to the eyes. It looks amazing packed onto the lid for extra impact or as a sheer wash of color for every day. My favorite look has been pairing the two - wearing Synergy on the lid and outer half of the lower lashline and then using Thunderstruck as an inner corner highlight. 

These eyeshadows promise long lasting power, but I do need to use a primer for that to be true. That being said, literally any eyeshadow will crease on me without primer, so I don't fault the product at all, just my oilslick eyelids. With primer, these easily outlast a long and tiring workday without any fading or creasing. Another bonus is the size of the product, too - you get 0.10 oz for $21, whereas a MAC eyeshadow is $16 for 0.04 oz. After falling in love with these two I really want to get my hands on the two more copper-y shades, Doce and Raw Power - they'd look stunning for a fall makeup look.

Have you tried the Kat Von D Metal Crush Eyeshadows yet?


Follow

The Glow-Giving Masks

September 19, 2015 in Skincare

My favorite kind of mask is one that promises to revitalize and brighten the skin. My skin is prone to dehydration and dullness, so my favorite time of the week is when I get to use one of these masks to really slough off that layer of dead skin and reveal the glowy new skin beneath. 

If my skin's feeling a little congested as well as dull, I'll always reach for the Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask. It's clay-based, so it really helps to de-gunk the skin. It also aims to help exfoliate the skin while it purifies, leaving you with a clean and bright complexion. I gave it a glowing (see what I did there) review here.

If my skin's really in need of a good ol' sloughing, I'll use the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive. Yes, this is the formulation for more sensitive skin, but it still packs quite a punch. This one uses natural and organic acids to really eat away that layer of dead skin. It's a really watery consistency that was at first quite odd, but it's very easily painted onto the skin in a thin layer with a flat foundation brush. I only use this one at night because it can sometimes make my cheeks a little flushed for a bit, but it leaves my skin feeling SO soft. It also totally minimizes the appearance of the larger pores around my nose, and if I've got any blackheads kickin' around it completely eliminates them. 

If I've got less time on my hands but my skin needs the same kind of whipping into shape, I go for the REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial. This one uses water-activated Vitamin C to very quickly exfoliate the skin. It's probably not one to use if you've got extremely sensitive skin, but I'm prone to redness and flushing from these kinds of things and it doesn't trigger this for me. Since it's so quick, if I wake up feeling like my complexion could use a little pick-me-up, I'll slap on a bit of this. Again, it leaves my skin bright and glowing, and it helps disguise the fact that I probably didn't get enough sleep the night before.

If my skin needs a good hit of moisture as well as some brightening, I look no further than the Glossier Moisturizing Moon Mask. This is an intensely refreshing moisturizing mask, but it also contains licorice root and lemon extract to brighten. This is the best of both worlds, giving you glowing skin by eliminating the dead skin and also by just deeply hydrating. This is definitely the gentlest of the bunch, but quite effective nonetheless.

What are your favorite masks for a brighter complexion?


Follow
Newer / Older
Back to Top

email: kdadmun92@gmail.com
copyright © 2020 Beauty by Kelsey