Here are my favorite beauty products for the month of September! (well…technically they were going to be for August. But I had a baby instead of posting this, so we are calling it my September picks!)
Here is why I love each of these products…
REDKEN PILLOW PROOF: I started out with just a tester of this product, and had to buy the full bottle. I use a lot of different product on my hair before I blow it dry, and I notice a huge difference when I don’t use this spray! I spray it on my hair when it is wet, comb it through, then blow dry like normal. It honestly shortens the time of my blow drying (can I get an ‘Amen!’?!) and makes my hair soft and smooth, even before I straighten it. And it smells heavenly. This stuff is liquid gold!
CHANEL LIP GLOSS ‘SUPREME’ : Such an amazing burst of color! Its a dark fuchsia and works really well on blondes especially. The color is very pigmented, so a little goes a long way!
ESSIE POLISH ‘JUMP IN MY JUMPSUIT’: A similar dark fuchsia to the lip gloss. It has a slight nod to red, but is a bit more on the fin side than really dramatic red nails. A great fall transition nail color!
HAND SOAP : I wish I would have gotten a years supply of this soap. It’s one of my very favorite scents from Bath and Body Works and I wish they carried it in their wall flowers scents as well! You can never go wrong with peonies, really.
Make sure to check out my past Monthly Edits if you haven’t gotten a chance to!
I’ve rounded up all of my favorite products for the month of June for my Monthly Edit. Here is what I have been loving the month of June:
AERIN PERFUME ‘WATERLILY SUN’: I absolutely love this scent! It smells like jasmine with a little bit of a musk undertone. It is clean and gorgeous. I have worn it almost every single day since I got it.
TRESemme GET SLEEK POLISH: I used to hate my hair on the first day of washing it. I would straighten it, but I still felt like it got too poofy. This polish takes care of any fly aways and makes my hair super silky. I just lightly spray it on my ends after blow drying, and then I straighten it. It’s become a regular part of my hair product arsenal.
ANISTASIA EYEBROW GEL: I shared a few of my favorite eyebrow products last month, and this gel is a new addition that is fantastic. It keeps my brows in place all day!
OPI POLISH ‘MOD ABOUT YOU’: This has become my favorite pink polish. I got this same color in a shellac a few months ago and fell in love with the perfect blush color. I was so happy to discover that it is also available in normal nail polish too!
TOPSHOP LIPSTICK IN ‘WHIMSICAL’: I will replace this color the second I finish this tube. Its a great matte coral-pink. Nude lip colors tend to wash me out, but this one has just enough of a coral in it that it doesn’t. I also love doing a dark pink lip liner all over my lip, and adding Whimsical on top of it. It mixes so well with other colors.
Make sure to check out my past Monthly Edits if you haven’t gotten a chance to!
Each month I do an Elle Apparel Monthly Edit of 5 products that I have used over and over and that I love. As I have said before, my main criteria for a product to make it into The Edit is that I would buy the product again if it ran out/got lost/etc. Here is what I have been loving for the month of May:
Anastasia ‘Dipbrow Pomade”: I had been using a brow pressed powder prior to this pomade, but wasn’t totally in love with it. This eyebrow pomade is much better! I wear the light brown which I like a lot better than the blonde color, and I apply it with this angled brush. The blonde was a little too light for me. This shade is easy to lighten or darken up. A little goes a very long way, and I actually feel like I can mold and shape my brows with it. It’s also waterproof, so it stays on all day and doesn’t smudge off…even during my daily naps. (daily? yes. daily)
Philosophy “Renewed Hope in a Jar”: I included another one of Philosophy’s lotions in my March Edit, and I had to add this face moisturizer as well. Its a simple smooth face moisturiser that leaves a silky powder-like feeling on my skin. Not greasy or heavy at all, but it locks in the moisture. It doesn’t have any SPF in it (and I wear SPF every day), so it pairs nicely with my summer foundation that has SPF 30 (this was also included in my March Edit).
MAC Lipstick in ‘So Chaud’: I have raved about this color for years (I wore it in this post). I like to call it more of a Poppy than a red. I have a pink complexion, so the right red lip can be a bit of a challenge. This color doesn’t make my face look too white or washed out. It is highly pigmented and a little goes a very long way. Usually I fill in my lips with a red lip liner (it doesn’t really matter what color) and them dab this lipstick over it and press my lips together. The color lasts all day.
Anastasia ‘Brow Wiz’ Mechanical Brow Pencil: I use this along with the Brow Pomade. I’ve used each separately, but they work best when used together. I use the pencil mostly at the beginning and end of my brows and I always blend it with the brush on the opposite end of the pencil. It makes the brow look so much more natural. I get this in light brown as well.
DITTO Endless Eyewear Monthly Subscription: I love me some designer sunglasses, but I have always had a hard time spending the price tag for them. I’ve been using DITTO’s new monthly sunglasses subscription for a few months now and I can honestly say it is one of the monthly subscriptions that I actually use and really like (I know there are a lot of them out there now). For $19 a month I can pick from hundreds of designer sunglasses (these Karen Walkers are my current favorite). And when a new sunglasses trend comes along, I just swap them out for a new style. I also get good feel for which ones work well with my face and can test drive them before making a purchase. You can get your first month free with this link as well (it’s all month to month, no obligation to stay for a certain amount of time).
Make sure to check out my past Monthly Edits if you haven’t gotten a chance to!
Nothing like the last day of the month to bring you my Elle Apparel Monthly Edit! If you aren’t familiar with this, it is where I round up 5 of my favorite products and tell you all about why I love them. These are usually products that I have used for a very long time. In order for a product to make my edit, it has to be a product that I would buy again once it runs out.
Since summer is around the corner and we will be spending most of our days at the pool and beach, I thought I would dedicate April’s Edit to my very favorite tanners/bronzers. My days of tanning in the sun are pretty much over. I’m too busy with my kids now to actually lay out. Also, I’m a lot more health conscious than I was in college. I used to go tanning all the time trying to get “the perfect tan”, but the reality is…my skin just doesn’t tan very well. I’m more fair skinned and burn easily. I wished so bad that my skin wouldn’t burn, but I’ve actually grown to be really confident in my own…well…skin. I think fair skin is beautiful! And with so much damage that the sun can cause, it just isn’t worth it to expose your skin unprotected. But I prefer to have a little color on my skin. I’ve tried and tested so many tanners and bronzers over the years, and keep coming back to these 5 tanners. I love LOVE them! And here is why:
FakeBake Flawless: This sunless tanner is fantastic! There is so much that I love about it. It comes with rubber gloves and a mitt to help get even coverage. I put on the gloves, then the mitt on one hand (the tanner can soak through the mitt, so don’t skip the gloves). The bottle is a spray bottle, and I spray the tanner directly onto the glove, and rub it in circular motions on my legs, arms, etc. The color that develops has a slightly green undertone, which might sound weird, but makes for a very natural looking tan. I apply this at night (it dries in 5 minutes), sleep on it, and then shower off the bronzer in the morning. It does get on my sheets and pajamas, but doesn’t stain, so I always do it the day before we wash our sheets. It doesn’t streak! It is such great coverage and the best part is that it’s only around $15 on Amazon! The tan lasts about a week and comes off very evenly as well. I use this every Saturday night. I don’t always use it on my face, but when I do I don’t break out. I just spray a very small squirt into my nighttime lotion, mix it, and apply. I always apply it an extra day before an event, because my face is pretty tan the day after applying it, so I like giving it one day to fade a bit.
Coppertone Gradual Tan Sunless Tanning Moisturizing Lotion: I couldn’t love this lotion more. If you’ve read my blog for a while, I have referred to this lotion a handful of times. In college I wanted a body lotion that would give me some color that I could just wear as my normal lotion after getting out of the shower. So many gradual tan lotions stink…and I tried a lot of them! This one has a clean fresh scent and develops a nice subtle tan. I just apply it with my hands and then wash my hands. I use it every morning after I shower. The longest I’ve gone without using it in about 7 years is maybe 2 weeks. Have I sold you yet? They stopped carrying it at Target, so I usually just order 4 or 5 at at time online so that I can get free shipping. I do go through bottles pretty quickly since I use it every day.
Physicians Formula Bronze Booster Pressed Powder: A good face bronzer is such a must. I’ve tried more expensive bronzers, but this one works great and is reasonably priced. It’s not too dark, which I like. If I want a darker tan, I just use a little more than normal. I use this to contour (below my cheekbones, sides of my nose and forehead), then go over my whole face lightly with a big fluffy brush to help even it out.
Norvell 360 Eco-Mist Sunless Spray: This is another sunless tanner that I really like. This one is closer to $20 and is a spray, so you get more of an airbrush effect. I used this once, and then didn’t use it for a while, because it does get all over when you apply it. I stood in the shower to spray it on, and it was all over the shower walls when I was done. But I have just started applying it with my mitt instead, and that is much cleaner. I love the color that develops, nice and dark, but still very natural, and it lasts close to two weeks!
Physicians Formula Bronze Booster BB Cream: This is a liquid face bronzer. Not the kind that develops overnight, just makeup that you apply in the morning. I love to use this when I want a dewey effect on my skin and don’t want to use too much of my pressed powder. I apply my normal concealer, and then this darker concealer to contour. It is very concentrated, so a little goes a long way! It absorbs fast, so work kind of quickly. Sometimes I will add a bit to my normal concealer and put it on that way.
Shop all of these tanners below. And if you haven’t seen my previous Monthly Edits yet, make sure to check out my February and March Edits for more reviews of my favorite products!
Happy Monday everyone! Today I’m excited to kick off a new series on my blog. I’m calling it “The Monthly Edit” and every month I’m going to break down 5 of my current favorite products. They might be beauty products (ok…they will probably be mostly beauty products) or they could be favorite scents, electronics, whatever I come across that I absolutely love. The most important thing about The Monthly Edit is that I will only include products that I really really love. Ones that I have tested for a while and know that they are worth it. Ones that I will buy again without hesitation once they run out. I am constantly discovering new products and want to share the really good stuff with you!
Urban Decay Perversion Mascara: I’ve tried a lot of different mascaras that claim to lengthen lashes, and this one is my current favorite lash lengthener. It is fairly thick in consistency, but is really creamy, so it doesn’t cause any clumping. It’s also great for adding multiple coats of mascara. My eyelashes are naturally…I wouldn’t call them straight. Worst than straight. They point straight, down, left, right, everywhere. So I always have to curl them. Any mascara that isn’t waterproof pulls my lashes down and doesn’t keep them curled, so I always add a layer of waterproof mascara, let it dry, and then apply this lengthening mascara on top of it. That way my lashes stay curled, lengthened, and not clumpy.
Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxi Gloss in ‘Smooth Talker’: I always have some kind of lip gloss in my bag. I am usually drawn to a pink/coral color, but adding that shade of gloss to a lighter pink lipstick can sometimes wash me out in pictures. This color is a darker pink than I would normalls choose, but I love it because it is the perfect shade to add on top of a light pink or coral. It also has a little hint of gold shimmer which is really pretty, and not too sparkly.
Bremenn Clinical Miracal Cream: I can’t say enough amazing things about this face lotion. I’ve been using it for over a year now, and it is my favorite night face cream. A little goes a very long way, I use about a pea size every night. It it named very appropriately. I feel like I can tell a difference in the firmness of my skin in the morning after wearing it all night. I apply it after my toner and benzoyl peroxide lotion that can really dry out my face. This night cream is thicker and adds a layer of moisture to my skin that stays put, isn’t greasy, and visibly firms. I love this lotion with all my heart.
Duo Eyelash Adhesive Dark-Tone: This is a really simple, really inexpensive product, but makes a huge difference in my opinion when putting on false eyelashes. Clear eyelash glue doesn’t always dry “clear”, and I can tell when clear glue has been used. This dark glue dries black and blends in perfectly with your eyeliner.
Phytomer XMF Pionniere Reset Eye Fluid: Amazing night eye cream. You only need a very very tiny amount to add to your eyes, I usually add any left over to the area in-between my eyebrows. This is a little more pricey, but because it required so little, it lasts for a very long time. It creates a kind of film around your eyes and feels like it is sealing any fine lines or wrinkles around the eye area. It is a really high-quality product. I’ve use a lot of Phytomer’s products and you can tell that you are getting a great luxurious product. I also notice a difference with the firmness around my eyes in the mornings after I use this cream.
