A Beauty & Travel Blog
A blog for beauty, travel destinations, travel tips and personal adventures, lifestyle and all roads in between.
As I've gotten older and fallen into minimizing certain areas of my routine into a more French Girl-like approach, like every day makeup, it made sense to do the same with my hair. Here are some of the hair secrets I've pick up through extensive research aka Googling "French Girl Hair Secrets" and through my own trial and error.
Read MoreOh Deciem. Oh Brandon. Just why? To say I'm disappointed by the very public social media actions of Deciem founder Brandon Truaxe and him firing his co-founder and the company CFO is putting it quite mildly.
Read MoreFor when a shortie over size 12 needs more wardrobe options...oh look! There's an app for that.
Read MoreI put my hair stylist in the hot seat while I was in the chair recently to answer my questions on how to get gorgeous hair, what products she loves and her best hair tips.
Read MoreIn my twenties I was a full coverage fan; the thicker, the less of my real skin showing, the BLOCK EVERYTHING the better. And my skin still probably hates me for it. And looking back, it wasn't that I always needed the cake I just let my self-conscious, low-esteem riddled brain think so. You could swipe a finger down my face and have enough to conceal spots. I would have made NikkieTutorials proud.
Read MoreThe SPF 50 Skin Shielding Primer intrigued me on one my last pilgrimages to Target, so I picked it up. At $12, it's a bit steep for the usual e.l.f. pricing. Does it give the bang for its buck?
Read MoreI got inspired as most things happen these days, in the bathroom sitting down and staring at my shelves aimlessly. As I noticed that I have a tendency to line up my skincare there fairly neatly (one of the only times I'm that organized with my home), I thought it would make more a neat Instagram photo. Then I thought, "well, I need more blog content so why don't I do a sporadic bathroom shelfie series?"
Read MoreI love me some ColourPop, with their super affordable range and quality cosmetics. I've loved their Super Shock shadow formula that's like squishy meets powder, but sometimes you just want a standard pressed shadow. And ColourPop delivered with a range of pressed shadows that I can only assume will keep growing.
I picked up 7 of them, 3 singles in a custom kit (Secrets, Take a Break, Labyrinth) and 1 curated palette called Blow Me Away. How do these eye shadows stack up? Keep on reading!
Read MoreThe weather here in the Bay Area has gone from rainy and a bit cold to the ever ubiquitous sunny overnight, and as we traverse more into Spring and the air is beginning to dry more so is my face. I don't have dry skin per se, more combo leaning midway, but enough where as I've entered my 30s I've learned to appreciate the need to treat dehydrated skin more and more.
Read MoreIs there anything more vexing as trying to attain perfect, flawless skin? Okay, maybe running out of coffee. That is up there in the realm of things being "the worst." But here's the thing I feel compelled to get out of the way off the bat- perfect and flawless skin that looks literally like porcelain is more the work of Photoshop than beauty products, and it's a standard that is nigh non-existent in reality. Nothing in a bottle will actually turn back time, despite how clever or catchy marketing is.
What you can attain, however, is improving what you have to work to a more reasonable standard, ie- giving dull skin more glow, finding ways to tackle acne, improving hydration, etc.
Read MoreIf you hang around the YouTube beauty community, you probably have heard the name Kathleen Lights. Kathleen is one of the most popular beauty gurus currently on the site, charming viewers with her bubbly nature, adorable dogs, and candid chats about her life and anxiety issues. I personally think she's great and has had a great track record curating collections and colors in her brand collaborations. And as things seem to go lately with the big name YouTubers, Kathleen launched her own brand in recent months, a nail polish brand called KL Polish.
Read MoreFor many of us with a job who like makeup, it would be great if said makeup lasted throughout the work day, wouldn't it? And some makeup sure likes to say it does but I'm here to put it to the test.
Read MoreHello world, it's me, I was wondering if Q1 would ever let me breathe. What was supposed to be a month off turned into two, such is life with a demanding day job. And what better to wipe away stress along with several coats of mascara than a good double cleanse?
Read MoreWhat's the skinny on the L'Oreal Infallible Super Slim Liquid Eyeliner?
In the ongoing quest for perfect liquid eyeliner pen I move along to L'Oreal, who previous let me down with the awful Matte-matic eyeliner pencil. While that one sucked, I do love the Silkissime eyeliners and the Infallible gel eyeliner pencil that's super super pitch dark deep as pitch black. I was originally looking for their dupe of Lancome's Art Liner (since L'Oreal owns Lancome and YSL it's easy to find L'Oreal versions of a few things from each brand) but couldn't find it, and this one ended up catching my eye instead.
Read MoreIs 29 by Lydia Mondavi an affordable Caudalie alternative?
Read MoreSo far, I really like Pixi as a brand and wish I hadn't overlooked them all these years. Pixi H20 Skin Tint is amazing, their Endless Silky Eyeliners are awesome, a lot of their Skin Treats lines are faves so I was coasting on high hopes for the Lash Line Ink Liquid Eyeliner pen to be the stuff of liquid liner pen dreams.
Alas, you can't always get what you want.
Read MoreMost Youtubers I watch seem to have one thing in common- a massive love for using MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot as an eyeshadow base. NikkieTutorials and Sharon Farrell in particular are two big fans who come to mind, and after not totally getting the ardent affection for it I decided to pick it up and try it for myself.
I understand now why it's so beloved.
Read MoreThe Ordinary, one the the skincare labels under the DECIUM umbrella, certainly has the beauty world talking over how it's disrupting the skincare market with quality ingredients at super affordable prices. A good retinol for shy of $10? Vitamin C for $5.80? Cold pressed rosehip oil at a price that doesn't press your wallet hard? Is it too good to be true?
Read MoreNuxe Paris Cleansing Milk with Rose Petals is a cleanser meant for normal to dry sensitive skin that might react poorly to harsher soaps and needs a gentler hand in getting clean without being too squeaky clean and stripping the natural oils of your face. Does everything come up roses with this cleanser?
Read MoreA beauty, travel and lifestyle blog featuring beauty reviews, travel tips & featured places, destination guides, lifestyle posts and more. Let's explore together!
