June 2015 Favorites

Let's get this out of the way, shall we? Where the hell has 2015 gone? I'm having a really hard time figuring out how we're now in July, but regardless of that it's time for another favorites video. I feel like I've been making these videos for such a long time now but they're still so enjoyable for me to record. I know I've talked about a couple of the products that I'm going to mention in this video before, but that just goes to show that they're truly some of my all-time favorite products. And just like always there's always some new discoveries that I want to share, and a product that really disappointed me. Seriously, don't buy the fail product that I'm going to mention in this video.

Sally Hansen Pearl Crush Nail Colors

A few days ago I showed you the new Sally Hansen Insta-Ombre nail colors and now it's time to show you their other summer release- Pearl Crush. The Pearl Crush nail colors come in eight shades that will give your nails an iridescent look that's perfect for summer. These nail polishes are composed of a sheer nail color, tiny glitter particles, and large iridescent pearl-like particles. The Pearl Crush nail colors sound amazing in theory, but to they work? I have to say as excited as I was to try them out, these left me quite disappointed.

Buster's Bite | Merrick Backcountry Grain-Free Hearty Beef Stew Canned Dog Food

You were introduced to Bowie's Corner a few days ago, and now I'm going to introduce you to Buster's Bite. Buster is my 12 year-old chow chow, so you can rest assured that he's the best candidate to test out dog food. He's a picky guy too, there's been a few times where my family has purchased food for him that he has flat out rejected. Out of the food that he's tried out, his favorite is canned dog food that has chunks of meat and gravy. I was not expecting Chewy to send out a bonus item in my review package, but when I saw the case of Merrick Backcountry Grain-Free Hearty Beef Stew Canned Dog Food I knew Buster would be the best candidate to try out new dog food.

June Boxycharm Unboxing

It's time for another Boxycharm video! If you don't know about this. Unlike other subscription boxes, the majority of products sent by Boxycharm are full-sized products. Products included in this box range from high-end to affordable, and they even include some vegan and cruelty-free options. This is one of the pricier beauty boxes but I've really enjoyed this service so far. This month's box includes 5 summer-ready products and spoiler: they're pretty great.

Bowie's Corner | KONG Squeezz Ring with Handle

If you follow me on Snapchat, then you know how my three dogs are my best friends. I previously had two dogs: Buster, my 12 year-old chow chow, and Francis, my 4/5 year-old rescued Yorkie. Back in January we welcomed another rescued dog to the family, Bowie. Little Bowie is a 6 month-old maltipoo (maltese poodle mix) who was rescued from a puppy mill by one of my friends who volunteers in an animal shelter. He wasn't in the best condition when he arrived into my home, but he immediately stole everyone's heart- including Buster's and Francis'. If I had to describe Bowie in three words, I would say that he's kind, frolicsome, and (very) silly. Chewy, one of the biggest online pet shops, reached out to me to see if I would be open to share dog products on my blog and of course I had to say yes. I'll use absolutely any excuse to share pictures of my dogs, plus I think it would be nice to incorporate more pet-friendly lifestyle posts. Since Bowie is the only one out of my dogs that enjoys playing with toys, he'll be the one in charge of reviewing them on my blog. In this blog post I'm going to share Bowie's experience with the KONG Squeezz Ring with Handle, as well as some adorable pictures of him.

Fitness Haul

During the past year I've been seeing my health decline due to my unhealthy decisions which stemmed from my previous job. I would sleep in and skip breakfast, eat a very fast (and often unhealthy) lunch, and then I would return at 10:00PM to eat my dinner (aka the heaviest meal of the day). All of those decisions (plus not working out) contributed to my weight gain and my overall lower self-esteem about my body. This past month I've been slowly but surely changing my eating habits and portions, as well as working out at least 4 days a week. In order to motivate myself I decided to treat myself to a few fitness clothing bits. And as you can probably guess, many of them are really plain and basic. What can I say? I can never resist anything that won't go out of style.

June 2015 Ipsy Bag Opening

It's that time again! It's time for me to sit down in front of my camera and open yet another Ipsy bag. As simple as these videos are, I really enjoy filming them. I love how casual they are and I have to admit that I enjoy getting surprised by the products in the bag. This month's theme is "Swim Into Beauty" which is meant to include waterproof and summer-ready products. Will the bag live up to the greatness of the May bag? There's only one way to find out!

Sally Hansen Insta-Ombre Nail Colors

Every summer I look forward to Sally Hansen's nail releases. I always find that they come up with very interesting effects and fun colors for summer, and this summer is no exception. Ombre is a trend that doesn't look like it's going anywhere and Sally Hansen created an effortless way to get the trend without any of mess. You won't need any makeup sponges or stamping techniques to achieve the gradient effect that you're looking for! The new Insta-Ombre Special Effect Nail Colors are available in eight different glitter shades which allow you to achieve the look in three very easy steps. In this blog post I'm going to share four of the shades with you and you have to trust me when I say that they're amazing! These are definitely not your normal glitter nail polishes. 

Will the Superstay Better Skin Concealer Become the Next Cult Favorite Concealer?

If you're a beauty addict like myself, then you most likely own at least one Maybelline concealer in your stash. When it comes to drugstore concealers, Maybelline just gets it right. The Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Treatment Concealer is one of the most hyped about under eye concealers in the beauty community. Then we have the Fit Me Concealer which often gets compared to the pricey NARS concealer by bloggers and happens to be one of my holy grail concealers. Even their FaceStudio Master Conceal managed to gather rave reviews due to the fact that it has great coverage and a lightweight consistency. Now Maybelline is welcoming yet another concealer into their already amazing lineup. Will the new SuperStay Better Skin Concealer become Maybelline's next cult concealer? I have to say that this concealer has some pretty steep competition.

Review | L'Occitane Pivoine Sublime CC Cream

There's nothing I hate more than wearing a heavy foundation in the summer. I don't like the feeling like you're wearing a thick mask, and then you have to worry about how your foundation is going to look throughout the day. When it comes to bases for the summer, I always favor those with light/medium coverage since they tend to feel much lighter on the skin. I've tried a fair number of BB and CC creams in the past, but I have to be completely honest and say that I haven't been that impressed. I rarely see the skincare benefits and the most of them have lacked in coverage. When I first heard about the L'Occitane Pivoine Sublime CC Cream, I became very intrigued to see a skincare company's version of a CC cream. This CC cream contains peony extract which has skin perfecting qualities that are supposed to even skin tone and make it appear more radiant. In this blog post you'll find both my first impression review, and a more in depth review which includes comparison pictures.

Marc Jacobs #Instamarc Light Filtering Contour Powder vs. Wet n Wild Color Icon Contouring Palette

Welcome to the very first Beauty Battle! Facing off in this battle is the very luxurious Marc Jacobs #Instamarc Light Filtering Contour Powder and the affordable Wet n Wild Color Icon Contouring Palette. How will they compare? Will they easily blend out? Will they look natural on my skin? What about the texture? There's a lot of thought that goes into comparing a drugstore product to a high-end one, but you can't deny that they look very similar. In this battle you'll see me apply each product on my face, and at the very end I will be crowning the first winner. Do I have anyone who's willing to place a bet?

Posh Party Round 2

Let's start this evening blog post with a little story. A little over 2 years ago I was starting out this blog, I didn't know anyone who was also a blogger, and I would still get very anxious meeting new people. When I saw that Poshmark was going to be having an event, I decided to build up the courage to go to the event alone and meet other bloggers. Little did I know that I would meet some incredible people that night. Well Poshmark came back for round 2 and you know that I wasn't going to miss out on another Poshmark event. The best part of all? I got to enjoy the event worry free with my blogger friends! And I even got to meet some new faces too!

New Maybelline Lip Products | Swatches + Review

It seems Maybelline has been hard at work rolling around new products for the summer. This past weekend when I went to Walmart, I noticed a few new lip products from the brand which made me very excited. I got so excited that I began Snapchatting in front of the Maybelline displays at Walmart so I could share all these new products with my followers. Among the new releases are 10 brand new shades of their very popular Color Sensational Creamy Mattes lipsticks. The Baby Lips range also welcomed their first non-lip balm product in the United States in the form of the Baby Lips Moisturizing Lip Gloss. And finally Maybelline released the Color Blur by LipStudio Cream Matte Pencil & Smudgers, which is inspired by the reverse gradient trend which is incredibly popular in Korea. In this blog post you'll get to see Maybelline's brand new lip product releases, swatches, and also get reviews on each product!

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipsticks

By now you all know what a huge lipstick addict I am. I easily have over 100 tubes of lipstick in my collection, and there's definitely no sign of stopping any time soon. Lipstick is the one makeup item that makes me feel like I can take over the world, and the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipsticks certainly make me feel that way. These lipsticks have been available in the UK for some months now, and most recently were released for a limited time back in April in the United States. But don't you worry because the lipsticks will become permanent in North America come September and they will also become available at Nordstrom. I think it's time to start saving your pennies, because once you buy a Matte Revolution Lipstick you'll definitely want a few more.

Get Ready With Me: Casual Summer Afternoon | Collab with Mika Chan Sailor

It's been a while since my last Get Ready With Me video but they're back! This video is in collaboration with my very creative friend across the Atlantic, Mika Chan Sailor. She is an incredible DIY enthusiast, fellow Lord of the Rings fan, and one of my best YouTube friends. I'm always blown away by her creativity, so when she asked me if I wanted to collaborate I said YES! In this video you'll get to see how I did my makeup, hair, nails, and I'll also show you my very casual outfit. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did putting it together.

10 Ways to Use Argan Oil

I feel like I need to start this post by saying: I LOVE argan oil! I legit feel like Goldmember whenever I see or use argan oil, my obsession is that bad. Argan oil is produced from the kernels of the argan tree in Morocco. In Morocco the oil is mainly used to drizzle on couscous or as a dip, but here in the United States it is predominantly seen in skincare. If you enjoy pure vitamin E oil, then you're going to fall in love with argan oil. Argan oil is often referred as "liquid gold" (hence why I feel like Goldmember) because it's rich in vitamin E, fatty acids, and proteins. Apart from having amazing components and skin benefits, this oil is incredibly multipurpose. In this video I'm going to share 10 ways I use argan oil and I'm going to be using my favorite argan oils from ACURE Organics.

Gift from Ulta

A few months ago I was fortunate enough to work with Ulta on two makeup tutorials. I drove to one of the newest stores in San Diego, met with a manager, and then got my makeup done. The whole experience was a gift in itself and then I got a little box from Ulta in the mail.  If you've seen my unboxing videos, then you know very well how excited I get over new makeup. All but one product was brand new to me, and many of the things I had actually never heard about. You've seen a few of these products pop here and there on Instagram, but here's an overview about what I got and whether I like them or not so much.

Generation Beauty Haul + Review

On Saturday I was able to attend Ipsy's Generation Beauty event thanks to Pacifica. I got asked if I wanted to attend and of course I said YES! I was so excited to drive up to Los Angeles and see what the event was all about. There were so many brand booths and products to check out, it was like a makeup lover's paradise. In this video I will be sharing a mini vlog about the event, so you can see what it was like. I will also show you all the products that I bought and received at the event, trust me there was a bunch of makeup being handed out. And finally I will also share my opinion about the event, just in case any of you are interested in attending next year's event. Warning: This is a long video so grab yourself a drink and snack!

Review + Giveaway | Pacifica Alight Multi-Mineral BB Cream and Purify Coconut Cleansing Wipes

If you watched my May favorites, then you know how I've been adding a lot more natural and cruelty-free products into my makeup and skin routine. A brand that makes shopping for natural products incredibly easy and affordable is my beloved Pacifica. I was first introduced to Pacifica in my very first Ipsy bag that I received around 7 months ago and I've been hooked to the brand ever since. I've tried everything from body washes, nail polishes, concealers, and even fragrances. Fast forward to May of 2015 and Pacifica was the one who invited me to attend Ipsy's Generation Beauty event, it's funny how things work out sometimes. In this blog post I'm going to share my thoughts on two very summer-friendly products by Pacifica and one of you will get the opportunity to win them both!