Post-Workout Essentials

I know what you're thinking: Me? Working out? Ever since I stopped doing ballet a few years ago, I've struggled to find a form of exercise I liked enough to stick to it. Finally last month, Brett and I started taking cardio kickboxing classes at a studio down the street from our house. And I've fallen in love with it! I look forward to every class even though they're extremely challenging and tiring. Since my skin hasn't been used to all this extra activity (and sweat!), I've had to pick out a few products to use after class to keep it in tip-top shape. 

Cool That Skin Down

I have quite a bit of redness going on in my skin anyway, but when I'm exercising, I go full-on tomato face and my skin feels hot to the touch. After class I make sure to cool my skin down to prevent further irritation. I love using a face mist for this - the Herbivore Rose Hibiscus Face Mist is my favorite because it actually feels cooling without having to put it in the fridge. I think it's the coconut water. It feels so refreshing and like it's actually hydrating my skin. You know how some mists just feel like water that leave your skin feeling even tighter afterward? This doesn't do that. If my skin is feeling puffy as well as hot and red, I slather on a bit of the Milk Makeup Cooling Water. Again, this somehow feels cold on its own and also contains caffeine to depuff. 

Clean It Out

I always make sure to thoroughly cleanse my skin at night, but I take even more care after working out because of the extra sweat. I like mixing the Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser with a few shakes of the Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Cleansing Powder for a really deep clean that doesn't make my skin feel stripped. I definitely feels like this washes everything away. I also will take the time to do a clay mask if my skin isn't feeling too irritated - the best one is the Glossier Mega Greens Galaxy Pack because it makes the skin feel super clean, but it's gentle and doesn't suck all the moisture out of your skin. 

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

My skin is often dehydrated, but I make an extra effort to really pack in the hydration after class. I like to follow up the Greens mask with the Glossier Moisturizing Moon Mask, applying a healthy layer and just letting it sink in for awhile. It really plumps up the skin and delivers the moisture my skin so desperately needs back. After washing it off, I love using a hyaluronic acid serum like the Jordan Samuel Skin Hydrate Facial Serum. It feels light and gentle, but it's like drenching your skin with water. It feels so nice. (I'll of course follow up with a moisturizer, but I've been too flaky to stick to one lately to include in this post). Eyes need love too, and the most hydrating and plumping one I've found that I've been using religiously is the Belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb. It adds some much-needed moisture back to my undereyes, making them look more awake and plumping up fine lines.

What products do you reach for after a workout?

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New In Beauty | Christmas Additions

I had said I wasn't going to write a "what I got for Christmas" post on my blog, but then after (unsurprisingly) spending all of my Christmas money on beauty things, I thought I'd pull together all the new beauty bits I'm trying out - from the ones that were gifted to me by my parents and sister to the ones I went out and bought myself with giftcards after. 

Maison Margiela Replica By The Fireplace Candle

Do candles count as beauty? I'm not sure, so that's why I'm starting with it. I got this from my sister after we both had been pining for the perfume but were unsure of how it would actually smell on us. The candle is absolutely beautiful - the scent still fills a room when lit, but it's not overpowering. The scent is exactly like a fire - cozy, warm, with equal notes of smokiness and sweetness.

Pat McGrath Labs Permagel Ultra Lip Pencil, 'Bare Rose'

This was also a present from my sister - she bought herself one back in the VIB sale and was constantly saying how good it was, so I of course needed one too. She got me the most "me" shade of the bunch, Bare Rose, which is a lovely nude pink that goes with everything. They really do feel like a gel on the lips, rather than feeling dry or waxy, and they stick around for so long. They actually remind me of the Marc Jacobs lip liners, which are my other favorites.

Lilah b. B. Merry Divine Duo Lip & Cheek Set

I've been so into lilah b. lately. I had had my eye on their Divine Duos, and this set seemed like the perfect way to try them out. My parents got me this, and I was super excited to open it on Christmas morning and try them out when I put on my makeup for dinner that day. It comes with a beautiful wine shade that sheers out to a perfect flush on both the lips and cheeks, and a subtle rosy highlight that's perfect for more minimal days. The formula is creamy and super easy to blend - it's quite effortless.

Lilah b. Divine Duo Lip & Cheek, 'b. true'

I loved the formula of the Divine Duos in the set that I spent a giftcard on this beautiful neutral pink shade. I haven't used it on my lips yet, but it's probably the most perfect blush color on me. I'm already hooked, and I can already see myself getting very into collecting all these beauties.

Essie Nail Polish, 'Mooning'

I also got this from my parents Christmas morning, and I'm so excited because I was getting tired of rotating through the same few nail polishes over and over. All I really own are nudes and neutrals, so this lovely toned-down blue will be a perfect break from that. Essie polishes are some of my favorites and tend to last the longest on me. I'll be sure to post it on Instagram when I use this on my nails!

Cover FX Natural Finish Foundation

I haven't needed a new foundation, but I've been on the hunt for one anyway. I always want something with lighter coverage (or that can be sheered out) and a glowy finish, and this ticks all the boxes for me. It feels quite thick coming out of the tube, but it spreads so easily on the skin, and a little goes a long way. It can definitely be built up to a full coverage, though I prefer wearing it more toned-down. It has the most beautiful finish - it's dewy, but it looks so natural and skinlike. I haven't worn it for a full day yet, so I will report back on wear time. I have the shade P10, and it may just be the most perfect foundation match I've ever found.

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Oil-in-Stick Lipstick, '44 Nude Lavalliere'

I 100% got this because of Allana Davison, and she's right - it's the most perfect nude. Every time I've featured it in an Instagram photo, people have asked for the shade name, so I guess it's an all-around crowd-pleaser. YSL lipsticks are some of my favorites and are just beautiful - I had never tried the Oil-In-Stick lipsticks before, but they feel so creamy, comfortable, and moisturizing on the lips. It doesn't last incredibly long on me, but wearing it over the Pat McGrath lip pencil makes it last longer and makes a perfect pair.

Lancome Matte Shaker, 'Rosemantic'

I wasn't planning on spending a Sephora giftcard on this, but I saw they were on sale (I guess they're reformulating them?) and Sephora had an extra discount on sale items. I had one shade and love the formula, so I went for Rosemantic, which is a deeper, cool-toned rose shade. It's so beautiful and will be perfect in this cold weather! 

Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow, '757 Dream Matte'

This was another sort-of impulse buy, and although I have way too many eyeshadows (and often don't even wear eyeshadow), I just couldn't pass this up. I've heard great things about this formula, and the collection of cool, purple-toned shades in this little palette had me head over heels. I prefer cool-toned eyeshadows, and I didn't have anything quite like this. The shadows feel so creamy to the touch and are quite pigmented, so I'll report back once I actually use it on my eyes.

Herbivore Pink Cloud Rosewater Moisture Creme

I had my eye on this since they first announced its launch, and honestly it was mostly for the color and packaging. I'm a sucker for anything blush pink. But this cream is quickly becoming one of my favorites - I'm still in the early stages of testing, but so far, so good. It's a light, almost air-whipped texture that still drenches the skin in moisture. It feels like almost nothing on the skin, and yet my skin feels completely hydrated - usually I need to feel like I smeared a stick of butter on my face to feel like I'm moisturized, but this one does the job while totally sinking into the skin. I've used it both day and night and it's lovely either way. It plumps up the skin so much that is perfect to use before makeup.

What beauty bits have you picked up recently?

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2017 Favorites | The Makeup Edit

I'm back with my makeup favorites of 2017 - if you missed it, you can find my skincare favorites here. Like my skincare post, I pulled together everything that stuck out to me as a favorite rather than choosing one product from every category. My look for most of the year was quite minimal, glowy, and with an unexpected focus on blush.

Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder Foundation

I rotated through foundations/tinted moisturizers like crazy this year, but the one that stuck out the most was this beautifully glowy foundation by Charlotte Tilbury. I had tried the formula before, but last year I actually bought my correct shade and was able to wear it a lot more. This smooths over any imperfections, gives a perfect light-medium coverage, and really amps up the glow. If you like dewy foundations, this is one to try for sure.

Milk Makeup Flex Concealer

I truly didn't expect to fall in love with this concealer as much as I did. It's now pretty much the only one I reach for - it has a very natural skinlike finish and isn't drying at all on my skin. I can use it both under my eyes and on blemishes, and the Fair shade is a perfect match for me. Concealer used to be the one product I changed up the most, but I've used this consistently since it launched.

Glossier Wowder

I'm so not a powder person, and yet again, Glossier converted me. This sets the skin beautifully and takes away shine without dulling your glow. It's finely-milled and doesn't appear powdery on the skin, and I've found it really blurs out your pores. I can't use pore-filling primers because they break me out, but this is a nice alternative. I use this for everything - setting under my eyes and down the center of my face where I get a little bit oily, and also recently to set the NARS Soft Matte Concealer on my eyes instead of using a dedicated eye primer - and it works even better!

Glossier Cloud Paint

If I had to choose just one makeup favorite from the entire year, it would hands-down be Cloud Paint. I wasn't even that into blush before these came out, but they really made me embrace that fresh, flushed look. I've gotten lots of use out of all four shades and they all look incredibly beautiful on the skin. They blend out effortlessly and are pretty much impossible to overdo. My favorite of them all is Puff, but I also love mixing different shades together for a custom color.

BECCA Sunlit Bronzer

I've always been a bit of a bronzer fiend, and I was totally in love with this one for the better part of the year. When you look at the pan it looks ultra-shimmery, but on the skin that translates to the perfect amount of sheen. It's not shiny, but just adds a sunkissed glow. It's super smooth and easy to blend, and their selection of shades is quite impressive.

Lilah B. Bronzed Beauty Bronzer Duo

The first half of the year was all about the BECCA Bronzer, and the end of the year saw me obsessed with this beauty. First of all, I love the packaging so much. It's so heavy and feels so nice to hold. The shade is also perfect - not too warm and not too cool. It also has a teeny bit of sheen, though not as much as the BECCA. 

NUDESTIX Nudies All Over Face Color in Illumi-Naughty

This year was all about the glossy highlights for me. Illumi-Naughty is pretty much a face gloss in a stick, with a bit of a pink shift to it. It looks absolutely beautiful on the skin and gives a healthy glow. It's quite lightweight and not sticky at all, despite it not setting down on the skin.

Glossier Haloscope in Quartz

I think I mentioned this in my 2016 favorites, but it was certainly still my most-used of the year. I went through a whole tube of it. It's still just my all-time favorite, it gives the skin a huge dose of sheen while still looking quite natural. 

YSL Touche Eclat Glow Shot

Yes, another highlighter. This was an impulse buy, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. It gives a beautiful glassy shine to the skin, and it sets down so it's easy to layer with other products.

Tom Ford Nude Dip Eyeshadow Quad

I didn't wear much eyeshadow in the past year, but when I did, it was almost always this quad. The shades look so chic, and I love that they're a little more cool-toned. The formula is beautiful - if you like in-your-face pigment you might want to give these a pass, but they build up so nicely and are really easy to use. I haven't decided what makeup I'll be using for my wedding this year, but I'm really leaning towards this for my eyeshadow.

Wander Beauty Unlashed Volume + Curl Mascara

This is definitely second to Cloud Paint as my "favorite product of the whole year." I've never found a more perfect everyday mascara. It separates and fans out my lashes and also gives them the perfect amount of volume and length, making them super fluttery. Despite not being waterproof, it also holds a curl well and doesn't smudge on me at all throughout the day. A true win!

Glossier Generation G Lipstick in Like

This was probably my most-reached-for lipstick of the year. It gives the perfect flush of pink to the lips, and the sheer matte formula makes it look super natural and like it's just your real lip color. This is a wedding lip contender for sure.

Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb

2017 was the year of Fenty Beauty, and the Gloss Bomb is hands-down my favorite product I tried from the line. It gives a glassy sheen to the lips, adds the perfect amount of shimmer, and the rosey nude shade looks beautiful on everyone I've seen wearing it. It's a thin, comfortable formula that isn't sticky or goopy, and it lasts extremely well.

NUDESTIX Gel Color Lip + Cheek Balm in Pulse

This was my other most-used lipstick of the year. The formula is lovely and balmy as the name suggests, and the shade Pulse is a really pretty plummy nude. It's a perfect "my lips but better" shade for me. 

NARS Powermatte Lip Pigments

I didn't bite the bullet and try these until the fall, but I quickly fell in love with the formula and ended up with five shades in about two weeks. It's one of the most comfortable liquid lipstick formulas I've ever tried - I was over the whole liquid lipstick trend, and then NARS pulled me back in. It's a super thin, yet pigmented, formula that moves with the lips rather than cracking and flaking off. My favorite shade that I have is Save the Queen, which is a super pretty mauve.

Byredo Rose of No Man's Land

2017 was the year I finally got into wearing perfume consistently, and it's thanks to this beauty by Byredo. I'm just a sucker for rose scents, and I bought this one without smelling it just because the rollerball of the perfume oil was so pretty, and the notes sounded like my perfect perfume. It has the rose notes of course, but it also has a bit of fruitiness and sweetness in there that keeps it out of the powdery, cloying floral territory.

Glossier You

I was hooked on this from the first sniff. I love that it sits close to the skin, so I'm not walking around blinding people in a cloud of scent. The musk notes make it seem like a more natural skin smell, so a lot of people don't even realize I'm wearing perfume. I get lots of compliments when I wear this, but it's never "Your perfume smells good," but rather, "You smell good." I've worn this every single day since I got it, and my bottle is still going strong!

What were your favorite products of 2017?

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