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Beauty by Kelsey

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beauty, lifestyle, and
a little bit of everything

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Featured posts:

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

A Brightening Look with Pixi Beauty

October 15, 2016 in Makeup, Skincare

For the past couple months I've been super lucky to have been sent themed boxes of goodies from Pixi Beauty, one of my favorite brands. Their box this month centered around the #PixiGlow, and it really inspired me to put together this post. This post isn't sponsored at all, but Pixi did send me all of the products mentioned. I'm all about products to help give my skin a radiance and glow, whether it's from my skincare or makeup. I've been using this routine most mornings and have really been enjoying how "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" I look and feel.

I start my washing my face with the Nourishing Cleansing Balm.* This smells so good and really gives me a moment to relax and prepare for the day. It's one of the thickest cleansing balms I've tried, turning into a thick oily cream as it's rubbed into the skin. On mornings when I have more time, I like to massage it into the skin and let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing it off, like a makeshift hydrating mask. You'll definitely need a washcloth to wash it off - I've found it leaves a little bit of a residue otherwise. It removes makeup really well, so I like using it at night too, but for me it really shines as my morning cleanser, especially as the weather cools down.

Next I sweep a cotton pad soaked with the famous Glow Tonic* over my skin. I've talked about how much I love this product and have purchased it multiple times - it's probably my favorite skincare product ever. It's a super gentle chemical exfoliant that leaves the skin bright, clear, and smooth.

As the weather is cooling down (and as I'm coming down with a cold), I've been loving using a facial oil in the mornings underneath my makeup. I've noticed my foundation looks so much better and actually lasts longer throughout the day. I absolutely love the Rose Oil Blend* for this - it has the same beautiful rose scent as the cleansing balm, and it's one of the most nourishing oils I've tried. It really plumps up the skin and adds a gorgeous glow. It contains sweet almond, rosehip, jojoba, pomegranate seed, and rose geranium oils, and my skin just drinks it up. It's a super affordable oil (that again, I've bought myself in the past!) that feels much more luxurious than the price point would suggest.

On days that I'm feeling a little lackluster and tired, I can instantly perk up my face with a bit of mascara. I've talked about my love for the Black Lacquer Lash Primer* already, but it beautifully fans out the lashes and preps them perfectly for mascara application. On top I love using the Lash Booster Mascara* in Blackest Blue. It's so dark it still looks black when applied, but you know how blue-toned reds make your teeth look really white? This mascara does the same for the whites of your eyes. I've found it really helps me look much more awake and ready to go.

I love wearing brightening shades on my cheeks - I'm super pale, so I always need to add some sort of color. I really like the Beauty Blush Duo* in Peach Honey. The peachy shade adds warmth and life back into the skin, and there's just enough shimmer to give the skin a beautiful glow. I mix the two shades together when applying.

Lastly, I've been using the LipLift Max* in Petal Ice on my lips. It's a really lovely gloss that reminds me a lot of the Dior Lip Maximizer. It gently plumps the lips without any stinging but with a minty freshness. The Petal Ice shade is a beautiful pale pink that seems to brighten and enhance the lips' natural color. It never feels sticky or gloopy, so it's a gloss I can definitely get on board with.

Have you tried any of these products from Pixi? What are your go-to's to look more awake?

Thank you to Pixi for sending all these products for me to try! All opinions are my own, as always. Please see my disclaimer for more information.


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RMS Beauty - Living Luminizer vs. Master Mixer

October 13, 2016 in Makeup

Early on in my quest for the perfect highlight, I found the rms beauty Living Luminizer and I kid you not, my life was changed. It was my first brush with a highlighter that gave the skin an actual dewy look, and from then on I was hooked. It's got a cult following for a reason. I finally got my hands on the brand's newer highlighter, the Master Mixer, so I thought it might be helpful to do a little comparison in case you're trying to decide which one to go for.

Both products feel ultra dewy and nourishing on the skin due to the oils they contain (mainly coconut). The list of oils differ slightly between products - the Living Luminizer boasts castor seed oil in addition to coconut oil, while the Master Mixer also contains jojoba oil and cocoa seed oil. I've noticed that the consistencies are slightly different - the Living Luminizer feels more emollient, thicker, and slightly more oily, while the Master Mixer feels a little stiffer and drier. I love how both perform on the skin, but if you're exceptionally dry you'd probably prefer the Living Luminizer, while more oily skins would probably gravitate towards the Master Mixer. Since the Master Mixer has that slightly drier texture, I like using it more than the Living Luminizer on my eyes, but I like the Living Luminizer more on my cheeks. Both are lovely dabbed onto the lips, but I think the drier texture of the Master Mixer wins out a little more here - sometimes I feel like the oilier texture of the Living Luminizer can break down certain lipsticks a bit.

Left: Master Mixer, Right: Living Luminizer

The other big difference is, of course, the colors. The Living Luminizer is a pearly white shade that is good for highlighting lighter skin tones. It's more of a translucent shade though, so applied sparingly it could also give a beautiful glow to darker skintones without looking too icy. The Master Mixer is a beautiful warm rose gold shade that would look stunning and natural on medium to dark skintones. On me, it's a little dark to be used strictly as a highlighter, but I like to wear it blended down over my cheekbones as more of a glowy cream blush. 

The verdict? I love them both and wear them interchangeably, but if I had to choose, I'd say I prefer the Living Luminizer just because the shade looks more natural and dewy on my skintone. If you're someone with pale skin or skin on the dry side, I'd go for the Living Luminizer. But if you have a deeper skintone and/or want something that works well on the eyes, lips, and cheeks, I'd get the Master Mixer.

Have you tried anything from rms beauty before? Would you choose the Living Luminizer or the Master Mixer?


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NARS Neutrals

October 11, 2016 in Makeup

I've always had such a love for a neutral lip - just something in between pink and brown that looks quite like my normal lip colors, just a bit more enhanced. Lately I've been so into NARS lip products, probably inspired by their newly-released Velvet Lip Glides, that I've noticed how many of these neutral shades I have from them.

Anita, Audacious Lipstick | The Audacious Lipsticks have one of the loveliest formulas I've ever tried. They're so incredibly pigmented, they glide onto the lips with ease, and they set to a satin finish with good lasting power. My favorite shade is Anita, a neutral rose-y shade that's a definite "my lips but better" shade for me - the intense pigment still lets it be known that you're wearing lipstick.

Rikugien, Satin Lip Pencil | The Satin Lip Pencils are my favorite of their three lip pencil formulas. They go on with more of a glossy sheen but set down to a more luminous matte finish that lasts well. Rikugien is another neutral rose shade that lets a bit more of your natural lip shade show through, making it such a pretty choice for every day. This one keeps more of its sheen as it dries down than the other two Satin Lip Pencils I'm going to mention, so it doesn't have quite as good of a longevity. It's still one of my favorites.

Bansar, Satin Lip Pencil | This is probably the best brown for my skintone that I've tried. It's got quite a pink tone to it, making it look like an incredibly natural shade of "my lips but brown-er." I can definitely see myself wearing this one down to a nub and repurchasing.

Het Loo, Satin Lip Pencil | I bought this one strictly because of Emily Weiss from Into the Gloss - in her Get Ready with Me video, she smudges this on her eyes. It's a warm red-brown, perfect for that '90s look. It really does look lovely smudged onto the eyes, although it does crease. This one is really pretty when smudged and worked into the lips - the subtle red tone leaves a "bee-stung" look.

Bound, Velvet Lip Glide | I can't even tell you how much I love this new formula. I tried this shade once and immediately hopped online and ordered another shade. It glides on like a beautifully thick and pigmented gloss, and as it sets the gloss wears away and leaves a velvety stain. The shade Bound is a nice mauve-y shade that works really well with my skintone. They have a couple warmer-toned nudes if this one's too cool-toned for your liking, but it's just beautiful. 

Area, Velvet Lip Glide | This one is a little dark to be considered a neutral, but it's a true brown shade so I figured it could still count. The shade Area isn't quite as pigmented as Bound, so it's easy to wear more sheered out and add just a tint of brown to the lips. I'm sure some people wouldn't be too happy about this, but I love that it makes it more versatile - it doesn't get gunky or cakey when layering for a stronger look. 

Top to Bottom: Anita, Rikugien, Bansar, Het Loo, Bound, Area

NARS has some of the best lip products out there, and I think I've started quite the obsession with the pencils. I definitely need to get a few of the matte ones next - I've had Bahama and Walkyrie (as well as Dragon Girl but that's not a neutral) on my wishlist for ages. 

What's your favorite NARS lip product? Have you tried the new Lip Glides?


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