Five to Try

I'm still making my way through the piles of new beauty products I received last month (not bragging - most of them were bought by me because I majorly fell off the spending-ban wagon), and I'm gradually finding new favorites. Rather than put together a massive monthly favorites last week, I decided to split them up and pop up another "Five to Try" post.

Cover FX The Perfect Light Highlighting Powder, 'Moonlight' | I'll start with my favorite of the products here. I first added this to my wishlist because of Amelia, and then when my sister bought it and vouched for how good it was there was no stopping me. I surprisingly haven't used any highlighter except this one since I got it. You can layer on a little bit for a really natural, lit-from-within glow, or you can pile on more to give a more intense sheen. The formula is really lovely and buttery, and the shade Moonlight is perfect for my skin. If you've been looking for a champagne highlight that doesn't lean too warm/gold, this is the one for you.

Saturday Skin Rise + Shine Purifying Cleanser | I mentioned how much I loved the mist from Saturday Skin in my November Favorites, but their Cleanser is pretty great too. It comes out as a thick cream that gently foams up as you massage it over your skin. It's not stripping at all, though. It leaves my skin feeling thoroughly cleansed but not at all "squeaky" - this makes it perfect for sleepy mornings.

Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask | I'm kicking myself for not trying this mask sooner. It has a thick, jelly-like texture that's easy to smooth over the skin. It sloughs away all your dead skin with pomegranate enzymes, French pink clay, and willow bark, and it leaves the skin glowing and smooth. This one has instant results, so I love using it in the morning - it doesn't leave my skin red or irritated at all.

AmorePacific Color Control Cushion Compact | I can't get enough of good light bases - even though I have so many foundations and tinted moisturizers I love, I can't resist trying out new ones. For more minimal makeup days I've been loving this cushion foundation from AmorePacific (rumor has it they're the ones that actually came up with the whole cushion foundation thing). It's super easy to apply and gives the skin a juicy, even appearance. It gives a decent amount of coverage and layers nicely without getting cakey. It has a bit of a fragrance that takes a little while to go away, but it doesn't smell like sunscreen despite being SPF 50. Speaking of the SPF, that's why it's my new favorite base for everyday. (Also if, like me, you're thinking the price is a little steep, it comes with a refill!)

Marc Jacobs Under(cover) Perfecting Coconut Primer | I picked this up in the Sephora VIB Sale, and I could not be happier with my purchase. This beautifully smooths over the skin - it gives such an even canvas for makeup application. I have noticed my makeup lasting longer when using this and not getting patchy. Since it's a hydrating primer, it keeps my skin from drinking up all my foundation. If you've been on the fence about this one, just bite the bullet and GET IT, it's beautiful.

What new (to you) products have you been trying lately?

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Get to Know Me | A-Z

I've seen this kind of tag post going around (I last saw it on Cindy's blog), and I thought it would be a nice way for you to get to know me a little more. I've been writing on Beauty by Kelsey for over two years, but the personal posts are few and far between. This is going to be a bit of a doozy, with 26 categories to get through, so do grab a snack before proceeding.

Audrey Hepburn | For a good portion of my life, I've adored Audrey Hepburn. When I was around eight years old, my great-aunt gave me My Fair Lady on VHS for Christmas, and I've been obsessed ever since. I've now seen most of her films (my favorites are Two for the Road and Funny Face), and I pretty much always live my life by "What Would Audrey Do?"

Brett | I've been planning on writing this post for about a month, and at that point the B was going to stand for "Boyfriend" - luckily his name also starts with a B because he's now my fiance and I already had something written for F (insert sunglasses emoji here). Brett and I have been together for almost six and a half years now - we lived down the street from each other all our lives, became best friends in high school, and started dating the summer after we graduated. He apparently started liking me from the first day I got on the bus freshman year, and I started liking him midway through freshman year when he actually got hurt pretty badly during a baseball game - he had a pretty gnarly black eye that our geometry teacher would always make fun of and he'd always come right back with a super funny remark. 

Chemistry | I LOVE chemistry. It was my favorite subject in high school (and science was always my favorite before it became more specific), and it was my major in college. I like organic chemistry the best, but I'm pretty sure it's because I really liked drawing all of the molecules and mechanisms. My dream job would probably be either a cosmetic chemist or art conservator - I was so so interested in art conservation, but there's really no opportunities out there.

Dance | My first love. My mom signed me up for dance classes because I was horribly pigeon-toed and doctors said ballet might help. I ended up doing ballet for almost twenty years of my life, only stopping when I graduated from college two years ago. My dance studio did two big performances per year - The Nutcracker every December and another show in the spring. My favorite roles were when I was the Soldier Doll in The Nutcracker (it had seriously been my dream since I was 7), and a Sea Monster in The Little Mermaid.

Ears | Can you tell I couldn't think of anything for E? I only have one piercing in my earlobes and then one in my cartilage on my left ear, but I'm dying to get more. I just want earrings climbing up my entire ear.

Family | Kind of a cliche one, but my family and I are very, very close, and I couldn't be more thankful for that. I wish I lived closer (and I'm only an hour away), but I have to call or see my parents every week. My sister is away at school, but it makes me so so happy when all four of us are together. I'm also very close with my extended family, too - especially my grandparents. My sister and I make sure to give them a call to get together whenever we're back home - it's always the highlight of our weekend!

Glossier | I swear I won't self-promote here, but I wanted to mention Glossier not only because it's truly my favorite brand, but because it's really what inspired me to start thinking of my beauty collection as more of a "curation."

Homebody | I'm probably the world's biggest homebody. My favorite place to be is cozied up on the couch with a fall/winter candle burning. 

Irish | I also didn't know what to do for I, but I thought I'd mention that I'm a big mishmash of nationalities and while I don't know any percentages, I do know that I'm mostly Irish. My dad and I battle for umbrella space when we go to the beach, and I'm affectionately known as "vanilla soft serve."

JD Salinger | Another cliche, but The Catcher in the Rye is my absolute favorite book. After reading it in high school, I just wanted to devour all of Salinger's work - I love Franny and Zooey, and I read "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" at least once every few months.

Kelsey | An obvious one, it's my name! I actually really like my name - I've only met a handful of Kelsey's in my lifetime, so I'm thinking it's a bit of a unique name. I wish I had a cool story as to why my parents picked that name, but I think they just liked it.

Lilo | I wrote up a post about Lilo here, and I really could not be happier to have her in my life. She keeps me company when Brett isn't around during the week and she definitely keeps me from going crazy from loneliness. She's such a good cat. She's slowly but surely getting more cuddly, too.

Moon River | I could have mentioned this under Audrey Hepburn, but the version of Moon River she sings in Breakfast at Tiffany's is my favorite song ever. I want to get the line "there's such a lot of world to see" tattooed on me eventually, and I think instead of walking down the aisle to the traditional "Here Comes the Bride" song at my wedding, it will be to this.

Nails | I'm a hardcore nail-biter. I'm absolutely horrendous about it. My nails will be in the most disgusting shape ever, unless I keep them painted. 

Old Hollywood | Like I alluded to in the Audrey Hepburn section, I love Old Hollywood actors, actresses, and films. I love reading all about them, watching new movies, and finding new favorites. If you're a fan of Old Hollywood too I'd recommend listening to the You Must Remember This podcast.

Pocahontas | Bit of a weird one, but ever since I was little I've been wild about Disney movies. I chose to use Pocahontas to share this because I have a funny story that I love to share - when my mom was pregnant with my sister (who's almost four years younger than me), she asked me what I thought we should name her, and I responded without hesitation, "Pocahontas, so she can sing the Colors of the Wind song!" We have it on video and everything. 

Quiet | I'm a super quiet person. Even when I'm around people I know and am comfortable with, I tend to prefer sitting back and listening over talking. 

Ryan | Ryan is my middle name. People always think it's really weird because "that's a boy's name," until I explain to them that it was my Great-grandmother's maiden name. There's even a street in my dad's hometown named after her family (Ryan Road obviously).

Sister | I blabbed on and on about how close I am with my family, but I wanted to include an extra section for my sister Taylor because she is my best friend. We can talk about anything and we horribly enable each other when it comes to buying things. I can text her anything totally random at any time of the day, and she'll just know exactly what I'm thinking and where I'm coming from. We definitely have a weird bit of telepathy because we often will show up somewhere wearing the same outfit if we don't consult each other first.

Tattoos | I feel kind of poser-y using this when I only have three tattoos, but I'm planning many more - the lily of the valley on the back of my arm is the beginning of what I want to be a half sleeve of nothing but flowers. I'm getting peonies on my shoulder in February! The one on the back of my neck is for my Grandmother and Great-Grandmother (who both died when I was very young), the lily of the valley is my mom's favorite flower, and the cat is for my two childhood cats - my mom, my sister, and I all got this one after we had to put Tabby down last month.

Ukulele | Brett got me a ukulele for my twentieth birthday, so I taught myself how to play it. The only song I can play without looking back at the chord progression is "You and I" by Ingrid Michaelson, but I still really enjoy playing it. I especially love playing Christmas songs, so expect a few sneaky Instagram Stories showcasing my shoddy strumming and horrible singing.

Vision | I'm basically blind as a bat. When I'm not wearing my glasses, I can't decipher anything unless it's about four inches from my face. My eye doctor has basically forbidden me from wearing contacts now, so I'm 1) looking for a new eye doctor and 2) saving up for Lasik.

Wall-E | My modern-day favorite Disney movie. If I'm having a bad day, I can just pop in Wall-E and immediately feel better.

X-ray | I couldn't think of anything else for X besides xylophone. Besides the dentist, I've only had one or two x-rays I believe. I feel like I may have gotten one when I was really little, but I know I got one on my ankle when I was having tendinitis issues and couldn't dance.

York Beach | My happy place. My family has gone to York Beach in Maine for a week in the summer every year since I was around six or seven years old. It's so comforting going back every year. Not much changes except us.

Zoella | I thought I had to use Zoella for Z because she's the reason I got into this whole beauty blogging thing. I was trying to figure out how to put my hair in a messy bun when my sister pulled up her messy bun tutorial (this was probably in 2009 or 2010), and after that we always watched Zoella and Fleur deForce together.

Thanks so much if you stayed until the end, and I hope you learned a little more about me! Let me know if you do this tag, or just pick a letter and leave one thing about yourself in the comments, I'd love to read either!

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Breaking Beauty Rules: Lipstick as Eyeshadow

Lately in my quest for quick and effortless makeup, I've been using the same lip product on my eyes, lips, and cheeks, hurriedly smearing it on with my fingers before running out the door. I was really inspired by the Bite Beauty Multisticks (review), which I'm still loving, but since those are actually designed to be used on the eyes I didn't want to be redundant. I do want to put a little disclaimer in saying that most lip products are not tested for their safety on the eyes, so do proceed with caution. Don't say I didn't warn ya.

The shades I tend to reach for with this techniques are the more brown tones - they work everywhere. I first tried using the Glossier Generation G in Leo on my eyes after Amelia suggested it, and it's such a beautiful hint of color. The new more moisturizing formula lends itself well to the eyelids actually, making it super easy to blend. The other sheer brown (that I also happened to mention in my Everyday Brown Lip post along with Leo) is the Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Lip Colour in Milky Way. It's a nice cooler-toned alternative to Leo.

For a bit more pigment, I've been going for the NARS Satin Lip Pencils in Bansar and Het Loo. Bansar is a rosy brown, while Het Loo is a warm brick-red brown. They both make good bases for more eyeshadows or look great on their own. I especially like topping Het Loo with Extra Bitter from the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Palette. Again, because of the creamier formula, they're really easy to blend onto the lids with a finger.

I also have been loving soft pink shades - I promise they won't make it look like you have pink eye. For just a hint of glossiness and sparkle, you can't go wrong with the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in Boy. It's a classic for a reason, and it actually looks just as pretty on the eyes as it does on the lips. And the BareMinerals GenNude Radiant Lipstick in Strip makes a perfect "no-eyeshadow" eyeshadow color with its rosy beige tone.

Because these are all quite creamy, they do tend to crease, but I'm kind of into that look lately. I like that it looks a little grungy and worn in - it makes it look even more effortless. I think I've probably just been reading too much Into The Gloss.

Have you tried using products in the "wrong" places before?

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