• 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

Featured posts:

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

Rewriting my Hairstory | Hairstory Review

May 12, 2017 in Hair

I don't talk much about my haircare routine on the blog, and that's because historically I've pretty much been a mess when it comes to my hair. I just can't really get it to do what I want, so over the years I've simply given up and just let it do what it wants. I have a lot of hair, but it's quite fine, so it tends to get oily and weighed down quickly, while the ends get frizzy and dry. Hair products never really excited me all that much, until I was contacted by Hairstory and read up on the brand.

Hairstory is a haircare line and salon started by Michael Gordon, who also founded Bumble and bumble. The whole ethos of the line is to educate people on how shampoo is actually incredibly damaging to your hair, and all the products we use afterward is to correct and hide that damage. It makes sense to me! Hairstory's hero product is the New Wash, quite literally a new way to wash your hair, and their remaining products form a capsule collection that covers any and all bases. For a low-maintenance gal like me, it seemed like a match made in heaven.

When Hairstory contacted me, it was to take part in their campaign #TakeAShowerWithUs, where you would replace your regular shampoo and conditioner with New Wash for 30 days - I dedicated myself to this and replaced all my other usual hair products with Hairstory's line, too. After a month, I couldn't be happier and can't see myself switching back anytime soon.

The New Wash* is their revolutionary way to clean hair - rather than using detergents, it cleans the hair with aloe and essential oils. As you can probably imagine, it smells amazing. It feels like a a conditioner right from the pump, and if you're used to using shampoos that lather up like I was, it'll be a bit of a learning experience. I've found the perfect amount to use for my hair is about 4-5 pumps. You slather it through your hair and spend some time massaging it into your scalp. It doesn't really feel like there's much in your hair at this point, but it's amazing once you rinse it out - it immediately feels like you've already used conditioner. With the New Wash, there's no need for conditioner or masks. My hair went through a little adjustment period with this - it wasn't used to being cleaned so gently, so it was a little oily for my first few washes. But after sticking it out, I couldn't be happier. My hair feels so healthy and soft, and it really brings out its natural wave and texture.

I was super intrigued by the Hair Balm* because it's a leave-in product to tame frizz and enhance texture, and it's meant to be used when airdrying your hair. That's pretty much the only thing I do to my hair, so this was right up my alley. This really brought out my waves, and it even turned them more into curls. I've never been comfortable wearing my hair down right after washing it, but the Hair Balm turned it into my ideal messy-ish waves with no frizz or puffiness.

I love a good texturizing spray, and Undressed* is now my new favorite. It doesn't leave my hair crispy, weighed-down, or sticky, which are problems I often had with other texturizing sprays. This can be used on wet or dry hair, so I usually spray a bit in my roots after I've just washed my hair, and I'll spray a bit more through the lengths on my second-day hair. I've tried using salt sprays that just dry my hair out, but this doesn't at all. My hair is getting quite long, so it can easily weigh itself down and flatten out at my roots while air drying, but spraying this through the roots really helps them stay lifted and gives great volume without being too much.

The last product I got around to trying, but the one styling product that's become my favorite, is Dressed Up.* It's meant to create body and control in the hair, usually when blowdrying. It's a super lightweight lotion texture that spreads through the hair easily. I usually avoid blowdrying my hair as it just puffs up and gets tangled, but using the Dressed Up cream really helped - even with my mediocre blowout skills, my hair didn't end up a huge mess and looked like I knew what I was doing. I've even been using this when I airdry my hair, as it's more lightweight than the Hair Balm, and it works just as well - it doesn't create as much texture as the Hair Balm does, giving it more body and movement instead.

I'm over the moon and totally in love with all four products, and I'm already calculating when I'll need to order a new New Wash. I'm completely converted.

Have you tried any products from Hairstory before?

*I was very kindly sent all four Hairstory products, but all opinions are my own. This is not a sponsored post. Please see my disclaimer for more information.


The Best Bronzers for Pale Skin

May 11, 2017 in Makeup

This post was meant to go up last Thursday, but I didn't get around to writing it. But this works out nicely because I feel like it's a good followup to my review of the Glossier Invisible Shield from yesterday - they just did a post about bronze-y looks yesterday on Into the Gloss, too.

If you've met me/seen a picture of me, you'll probably know that I'm super pale and also quite pink-toned (those Irish genes though). If I don't put some kind of color on my face, I tend to look sick/dead, so I always make sure to use a blush or bronzer or both when I'm wearing makeup. I feel like it's been easier to find flattering shades of blush (especially when I've got my favorite Glossier Cloud Paints to play with), but bronzer is a different story - it's too dark, too orange, too yellow, too muddy. I've finally found a few that I love and that mimic the look of catching a little bit of a tan without even needing to go out into the sun.

The Warm Ones

I have to be careful with warm tones - if I go too far, it's really easy for me to go into Oompa-Loompa territory. A super blendable formula that's not too deep is perfect here, because you need the ability to add just a touch of warmth without going overboard. I've loved the Guerlain Terracotta 'Joli Teint' Bronzing Powder in 00 since I got it last fall. It's a nice shade that adds just a touch of color to the cheeks, and I love swirling the blush shade into it, too, to add a bit of a flush. A stunning and spendy option I couldn't resist was La Mer The Bronzing Powder - it's quite a bit warmer than I was expecting, but it doesn't cross the line into unwearable for me. This is one of the most stunningly blendable powders I've ever tried. I love that there's different sections to mix together - sometimes I avoid mixing in a lot of the second shade to tone down the warmth. If you've been wanting to treat yourself, this is a must for sure. Do be aware though that both of these options are quite fragranced, in case your skin is sensitive to that.

The Neutral Ones

Because of my cool tones, neutral bronzers are the easiest for me to wear. They still add warmth in comparison to my skin, but it never verges on orange. I'm always drawn to cream products, so the Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer in Baked is one of my favorite bronzers. It melts into the skin and blends out super easily with fingers or a brush, so it's perfect on the go. A new addition is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Nude Bronze Light - this is their new shade meant for fair/light skintones. It adds such a lovely luminous look to the skin, so it's the one I always reach for in a rush. It really eliminates the need for extra blush and bronzer, and it just makes the skin look "done" in one swipe. A foolproof option is the Make Up For Ever Pro Bronze Fusion - they're quite sheer, so it's virtually impossible to go overboard. They have so many shade options, too, so it should be easy to find a good match. I have the shade 15I, which is the lightest luminous one, and they have matte choices as well (they have an M in the shade name).

The Red Ones

Hear me out - you'd probably think you'd want to steer clear of red tones, but if you're pale like me, you might tend to go a little red rather than tan. So a bronzer with more of a red tone is really the most natural-looking option. I've been singing the praises of the Urban Decay Beached Bronzer in Sunkissed since I got it last summer - not only is the compact beautiful, but the product inside is as well. This is the one that turned me on to red-toned bronzers. It gives my skin the most beautiful, just-got-back-from-the-beach flush. My favorite of them all, I think, is the Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder. Again, there's many shades in the line, but I have Elvis Duran. This is also specifically formulated with red tones to emulate the most natural tan. Again, it's actually super flattering on my skin and leaves me looking sunkissed rather than sunburned. The formula is beautiful, pigmented, and blendable as well.

What are your favorite bronzers? What kinds of shades are you normally drawn to?


Tags: bronzer, milk makeup, guerlain, make up for ever, la mer, urban decay, bobbi brown, hourglass

Glossier Invisible Shield is Here!

May 10, 2017 in Skincare

The moment we've all been waiting for (for 2 years!) is finally here - Glossier has officially launched their everyday sunscreen, Invisible Shield. I'm sure everyone has heard how important it is to protect your skin from the sun and other aggressors every day, but how many of us actually do? I'll admit I would only wear sunscreen if I planned on being out and about - since there's not much daylight where I work, I tended to just forget about it on a day to day basis. Plus I could never find a sunscreen I liked that didn't make me too greasy or chalky. But Invisible Shield is here to solve all those problems.

Glossier Invisible Shield is a lightweight, clear (!!) serum sunscreen with SPF 35. It not only protects against the sun, but also against pollution. The secret to this formula is microcapsule technology - tiny spheres packed full of UVA and UVB filters burst upon application, helping to preserve the ingredients from degradation while in the bottle.  This is a chemical sunscreen (this formula would be pretty much impossible using physical blockers), but fear not - it feels super gentle on the skin, and I haven't had any irritation issues with it. The formula also fights free radicals with a powerful antioxidant complex of Vitamin E, Vitamin P, Broccoli, and Aloe Leaf Extracts, and it keeps out harmful pollution particles (which are 20x smaller than your pores!) using a fermented yeast and vegetal extract matrix. It manages to pack all these ingredients into a lightweight gel formula with no damaging alcohol as well.

Each purchase will come with the Zine pictured, filled with facts about the damage your skin can face from the sun and pollution. Did you know the windows in your car only filter UVB rays, but not UVA rays? UVB rays are the ones that cause sunburns, but UVA rays penetrate deeper into the skin and cause premature aging, and in extreme cases, skin cancer. And did you know your skin is still susceptible to damage when in front of the computer? A study conducted by Unilever Skincare Research showed that four days in front of the computer is equally as damaging to your skin as 20 minutes in direct afternoon sunlight. So protect yourself, even in the office.

I've been using the Invisible Shield every single day since I got it, and it's truly become just another part of my routine. It's so easy to apply and spread over the skin, so adding this extra step doesn't slow me down in the mornings. It has a super light, citrus-y scent (with just the faintest hint of a sunscreen smell) that is great in the mornings, too. The Invisible Shield should be applied after moisturizer and before any makeup. It immediately sinks into the skin just like water would, and it leaves such a smooth finish that's perfect for putting makeup on top. It doesn't leave a whitecast whatsoever, and you really cannot feel it on the skin at all. I've never used a sunscreen that works so well with makeup - there's no pilling or caking here. 

The most important thing here is that you need to protect your skin. No matter what brand of sunscreen you prefer, you really should be using one daily. If you've had a hard time finding a good formula that doesn't disrupt your normal morning routine, then Glossier Invisible Shield could be the one you've been waiting for. 

Invisible Shield is available on Glossier starting today, $34 for 1 fl oz/30 mL. You can also shop through my rep page for 10% off!

Have safe sun, guys.

*Invisible Shield was sent to me early to share with all of you, but all opinions, as always, are my own.


Tags: glossier, glossier invisible shield, invisible shield, sunscreen, glossier sunscreen
Newer / Older
Back to Top

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