The New Year De-Stress

January 07, 2016

This may be a little late since we're already a week into the new year, but it's never too late to give the skin a good pamper, right? This time of year can wreak havoc on the skin, from the chill outside to the less-than-healthy food and drink consumed in bulk. That, on top of the stress of moving this past weekend, has given me a case of seriously agitated skin.

I've been employing my arsenal of de-stressing products to get everything back to normal. To slough off the dead skin and really de-congest I've been using my two favorite exfoliating treatments - the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel and the REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial. Both give very similar results, and I reach for them interchangeably, depending on how much time I have.

I've also got masks designed to soothe stressed-out skin, which are obviously perfect for times like this. The newly-released Nugg Beauty De-Stress Mask* quite cooling and extremely nourishing. It really helps to plump up the skin and return it to normal. The Belif First Aid Anti-Hangover Soothing Mask is also perfect for the task. I've mentioned it quite a lot lately but it really is an important product in my rotation - it instantly soothes my skin and really feels like it's helping it "recharge." And the ultimate blogger favorite, the Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask, would be perfectly recruited here as well. As it helps to purify as well as nourish the skin, it's ideal for stressed-out skin.

Another nice treat for the skin that I find really soothing are sheet masks. One I'm really looking forward to using is the Boscia Sake Brightening Hydrogel Mask. I've used their Deep Hydration mask recently and really liked it, so I'm excited to try this one. And lastly, to pep up those tired and dehydrated eyes I've been loving the Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Instant Eye Lift*. These are eye masks that come in two parts, the masks and the activator that you soak the masks in. When using them my undereye area seems immediately brighter and more lifted, giving the appearance of being much more well-rested than I am.

What are your go-to products when your skin is feeling stressed?

Winter Lip Favorites

January 05, 2016

I'm quite the lip product junkie year-round, but I think the shades that typically get pulled out for winter are much more "me." I'm all about those deeper neutral shades, as I'm sure you all know, which seem to be more autumn/winter appropriate. I wore them all through the year last year, but since we're in winter and my favorite kinds of shades are more on-trend, I thought I'd take you through what I've been reaching for most.

THE NUDE | I pretty much only own one or two nude lipsticks, but they're the perfect kind of nude for winter because they've got a bit of a beige-y tone to them. The one I've been reaching for whenever I'm looking for a nude lip is the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Hydrating Sheer Lipshine in Boy. It looks especially perfect layered over the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk, a combination I first mentioned here.

THE NEUTRALS | Both of the true "neutral" shades I've been reaching for most are liquid lipsticks, and they're both very, very similar in shade. The Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lolita is wildly hyped up for good reason - the formula is one of my favorites for liquid lipsticks (it doesn't dry my lips out at all), and the shade is a beautiful dusty rose. The other one is the Ofra Cosmetics Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Mocha (full review here). This one might just be a tad more brown than Lolita, and it's got an amazing formula as well - it feels super creamy on the lips, like it came from an actual lipstick bullet, but still has great lasting power.

THE BOLDS | Winter bold lips are my favorite bold lips. I'm just so much more into a deep wine or berry color than a vivid orange or coral that would be typical for warmer weather. For something more red in tone, I always reach for the NARS Audacious Lipstick in Audrey. It's a stunning wine red shade that looks perfect for the season. For the berry tone, my favorite is the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Blackberry Sorbet (14). These Sephora liquid lipsticks have another one of my favorite formulas - they might actually be my top favorite. This shade is a beautiful deep purple that's really unique but still quite wearable - it looks amazing with minimal eye makeup.

THE IN-BETWEENS | I do have a couple products that are kind of in the middle of neutral and bold. The Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Bond Girl is one of my absolute favorites, described as a "natural berry." The description is spot on - it's pretty much the color you'd get if you took a berry lipstick and mixed in a lot of brown. This lipstick is quite deep so despite the neutral tone, it takes it a little out of the neutral category and more toward the bold one. My other favorite is the Revlon Color Stay Balm Stain in Adore. I mentioned it in my Everyday Winter Look here. It's a nice red shade with a little bit of a brown tone to it (again), but because it's more of a sheer formula, it doesn't quite qualify as a bold. This one is so wearable and gives that really lovely "bitten" look to the lips.

What are your favorite lip products for winter?

My Bite Beauty Lip Lab Experience

January 02, 2016

Last Saturday my mom took my sister and me to New York City so we could go to the Bite Beauty Lip Lab, where you can create your own customized lipstick. It was really one of the most fun experiences I've had and something I'd definitely recommend.

You start by giving them an idea of the color you'd want, and then they start mixing different shades from the Bite range together. I knew I wanted my own perfect neutral because many of them show up a little too brown on me, and my sister wanted a nude. I had actually brought in my Marc Jacobs Prim(rose) lipliner as a starting point for my color, so that's something you can always do, too. You also get to pick the formula/finish from their range - I went for the Luminous Creme formula, and my sister went for the matte. Before you try the color on you're given a bit of the Bite Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub (which I went on to buy later), and the Agave Lip Mask to prep your lips. Once the color is mixed with whatever formula base you picked, you can try it on and let them know how to adjust it. After applying my first color I said I wanted it a little bit darker and a little more pink, and the second try was perfect.

Once you have your color picked out, you're led to a table with all the available essential oils to choose the scent of your lipstick. You can pick one or mix two. In the end I went for Vanilla and Wild Berry mixed, and my sister went for Citrus Mango and Cherry mixed. Then they make up your color and mix in the oils using a machine that looks like a paint mixer, and they pour it into a mold that's sitting on a cold surface to set the lipsticks. I didn't get a picture, but you also get to choose the shape of the outer lipstick tube (if you've seen Bite lipsticks before, each color family has a differently-shaped tube). Once the lipsticks have set they're put into the tubes, and loaded into boxes with the Bite Beauty Lip Lab label on them. We were able to write down our email addresses and given a card that said the amounts of each color added, so if we were to use up the whole tube, we can order another!

It costs $60 to make one lipstick or $45 each for two. It was honestly one of the coolest things I've ever done, so it's definitely somewhere to put on your bucket list if you're a beauty lover or somewhere to take a lipstick junkie you love. I'm already looking forward to going back sometime and maybe creating my perfect red - I'd want something ultra cool-toned so it would actually look cool-toned on my skin.

Have you ever been to the Bite Beauty Lip Lab?