Review | 3 Milk Makeup Products

Seems like you guys really loved the Milk Makeup Holographic Stick review that I uploaded a few weeks ago, so I'm back to review three more Milk Makeup products. In this post you will be learning more about the Cooling Water Stick, the Concealer, and the Lip + Cheek Stick. All of these products are cruelty-free, vegan, and formulated with moisturizing skincare benefits. So far I've been incredibly impressed with the practical innovations that Milk Makeup has come out with and I'm incredibly stoked to see what they come up with next. They're definitely a brand that's marching to the beat of their own drum and I personally really admire brands that are breaking barriers.

MAC Star Trek Comic Con Experience

Last Friday I was invited by MAC to experience their Star Trek event outside of San Diego Comic Con and let me tell you, it was out of this world! The 4-day event was free to the public and consisted of four separate experiences inspired by four women in the Star Trek universe. There was an area where you could check out the whole collection and swatch your heart away, two areas where you could get a makeover, and there was also an area that resembled the Enterprise where you could purchase the collection weeks before it officially launches. Not only was I able to get my hands on a few things but I also got a intergalactic makeover by local MAC MUA Brad Crespo.

Outfit of the Day | Trying to Stay Cool

I may be all smiles in the picture, but inside I was trying not to melt. The weather in San Diego recently has been completely unbearable. We've reached the point that we are having 90ºF+ heat with a little humidity, and that is one horrible combo. While some people try to wear as little clothing as possible, I try to wear loose clothing that will not be sticking to my skin. I can get away with showing some skin every once in awhile, but most of the time I rather protect my skin while trying to stay cool. Can anyone feel me on that? Does anyone get red super easily? I feel like some of you might get me. During the process of finding items that will keep me cool, I've come to learn that mom jeans keep me much cooler than my standard skinny jeans.

What's In My Bag? | Everlane The Twill Zip Tote

Today I decided to film one of the YouTube beauty guru classics, a simple "What's In My Bag?" video. It's been over a year and a half since the last time I filmed one, so it was time for me to show you what I'm now carrying inside my bag. I also have a new everyday bag which is practical, simple, and very minimal. I personally don't like carrying something that has the brand's name or emblem splattered throughout the whole bag, it's just not my cup of tea. My new everyday bag is the Everlane The Twill Zip Tote, which is roomy enough for all my belongings and built very well. This is by far the most comfortable handbag/tote bag that I own, and I love knowing that it was made ethically.

Easy No-Sew DIY Solutions with Scotch™ Essentials

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WardrobeSolutions #CollectiveBias

Let me fill you in on a little secret... I absolutely suck at sewing clothes. Whenever I need something hemmed or repaired, then I'll either ask my mom or get it done at the dry cleaners because otherwise I don't trust myself with a needle and thread. There's a few items in my closet that I haven't even worn because I find the fit very unflattering, like this maxi skirt. I know many people love maxi skirts, but they're just not my cup of tea because they make me look a bit frumpy. If you're someone that isn't the best at altering clothes, then you're going to love this easy and very affordable solution that I found at Target. This requires absolutely no sewing skills and it will only take you a few minutes to do. Plus this is a great way to update your wardrobe without feeling the need to purchase more clothes.

MAC Star Trek Collection

You have no idea how excited I got when MAC first announced their Star Trek limited edition collection to commemorate Star Trek's 50th Anniversary. Being the geek that I am, this collection was like a dream come true. The collection was inspired by four strong women in the Star Trek universe: Uhura, Deanna Troi, Seven of Nine, and Orions. I was lucky enough to have been able to attend the MAC x Star Trek experience outside of Comic Con and get to see the collection in person before the official launch (more about the experience in a few days), and when I came back home I received a very generous package from MAC. In this post you'll be seeing a comprehensive preview of the Star Trek collection. I made sure to share important information about the collection, product reviews, and swatches. I basically have all my fellow geeks completely covered in this post!

3 Ways to Wear Red Lipstick

The 3 Ways to Style videos got a little beauty makeover. When I started brainstorming the "3 Ways to" video series, I always knew that I wanted to take that video concept and adapt it to makeup. I feel like many people will purchase something that is out of their comfort zone and rarely wear the product or always wear it the same way. For example, I still get so many questions about how to wear red lipstick since it's so bright and in your face. I understand that people can get intimidated by such an intense shade, so my goal for this series is to show the versatility of a specific makeup product. I'm starting out this series with a classic warm red lipstick, which has become somewhat of my signature look. I also teamed up with my friend Will Cook for this video, so you'll be seeing a total of 6 ways to wear a red lipstick.

Inglot Freedom System Palette

Inglot is one of the beauty brands that instantly brings me back to the time when I discovered YouTube. I remember that pretty much all the beauty gurus had their own Freedom System Palettes back in 2009/2010 and I wanted to get my hand on one so bad. Back then Inglot wasn't the easiest brand to track down, but nowadays many Macy's stores have a big Inglot counter and the Inglot website has also massively improved. My dreams of owning my own Freedom System Palettes finally came true a few weeks ago as I prepared to participate in the Inglot and Dubdub makeup tutorial contest. And now I get to tell you my opinions about the Inglot eyeshadows, as well as their famous Freedom System Palettes.

Outfit of the Day | Babouche

One of the "it" shoes of 2016 is the Moroccan babouche. Yes, those pointy and flat slippers are in and you know I'm all over that trend. I'm a fan of any type of flat shoes, especially if they resemble slippers! You have Acne Studios selling a babouche for $490 and Everlane selling a modern take on the babouche for $145. I don't know about you, but I personally don't have the budget to be spending over $100 on a pair of shoes at the moment. And that's when my thrifty instincts kicked in and I started searching for a way to try the trend and save some money. Luckily I was able to find a new pair of handmade babouches from Fez, Morocco on Poshmark and I purchased them immediately! My dad may not like my new "Aladdin" shoes, but now I can say that I'm obsessed with the babouche trend.

Review | Milk Makeup Holographic Stick

I know highlighters are having their moment right now, but I honestly feel like I've seen it all by now. There's subtle highlighters, metallic highlighters, rainbow highlighters, cream highlighters, pencil highlighters... I can honestly keep going on and on, but leave it up to Milk Makeup to create something new and exciting. When I first heard about the Holographic Stick I nearly lost my shit and had to order it right away on the Milk Makeup website. I mean, who wouldn't go crazy over holographic highlighter? I'm sure some of you reading this post might even consider yourselves holosexuals (I know I do, thanks to Simply Nailogical). You might have never thought of owning a holographic highlighter, but maybe this particular review will change your mind.

Q&A #3: Travel, YouTube, & My Teenage Years

It was about time I did another general Q&A on my YouTube channel and you guys asked some amazing questions. They were so good that I would often burst out into story mode and that's how this video ended up being 24 minutes long. Sorry about that! I just felt like this video wouldn't had been the same with very short answers, so I hope you all enjoy getting to know me a little bit better. Also stay tuned till the end of the video for a little surprise.

Birchbox July 2016

Birchbox honestly keeps getting better and better! I feel like I just keep repeating myself month after month and at this point I know that I sound like a broken record, but I am really happy with Birchbox so far. This month's box not only looked incredibly adorable, but they sent some really great hair samples for curly hair. Now I've received many hair related samples in the past, but this was the first time I've ever gotten something specifically for my hair type. I also got an extra item in this box and a full-sized item! A bonus item AND a full-sized item? Birchbox is going to give this girl a heart attack.

A Few Things I Picked Up From Lush

My life took somewhat of a crazy turn recently and let's just say that the stress and anxiety have been creeping on me. It's very easy for me to get consumed by my thoughts, and that's why I always try to be proactive and do something before my anxiety becomes worse. This past week I decided that I wanted some retail therapy and boy did it feel amazing to just go to the mall for hours. One of the stores that really called my name that day was Lush, which is kind of strange for me since I'm not really a Lush-aholic. The Lush scent just lured me in and then I went a little crazy trying out and sniffing almost everything! I swear that all the products in the store sounded really appealing to me that day and I ended up buying some cool and some unusual things that I want to share with you.

5 Makeup Removers to Check Out

Let's talk about the one skincare item that I really can't leave without- makeup removers. As much as I love the convenience of a good makeup removing wipe, there's just something about seeing your makeup melt away that's so incredibly satisfying to me. And I've tried almost every type makeup remover you can think of: cleansing butters, creams, micellar waters, cleansing oils, and even biphase products. In this post I'm going to be telling you about the five makeup removers that I really enjoy using to take off my makeup after a long day. There's quite a nice variety of consistencies, brands, and even price ranges in this post. And I even included some international brands in this roundup which might really intrigue some of you who want to try something new.

Review | Benefit Gimme Brow vs. Essence Make Me Brow

I know everyone and their mothers loves Benefit, but in the past I've been very underwhelmed by their gimmicky products in cute packaging. Despite that I was still excited to test out the cult favorite Gimme Brow after hearing so much about it on YouTube over the years. Recently Benefit relaunched all of their brow products, so now all the products come in art deco inspired chrome packaging which is really eye catching. After I received the Benefit Gimme Brow in my May Birchbox I got so many requests to review it and compare it to my favorite drugstore brow product, the Essence Make Me Brow. Both of these products have a very similar name, formula, and even the packaging is reminiscent of the old Gimme Brow packaging. So I put these two brow products to the test for a few days and I'll be letting you know whether it's better to splurge or save your money.

Review | Redken Curvaceous

If you've followed my blog for a while, then you probably know that I'm completely obsessed with the Redken Frizz Dismiss products. Although they're not specifically for curly hair, I've found that the products work amazing at taming my frizzy curly hair. Because of that I had really high hopes for the newly relaunched Redken Curvaceous range. If you're a Redken fan, then you probably remember that the Curvaceous previously came in blue bottles but recently those were switched for these fun lime green bottles. I honestly had really high hopes for all the four Curvaceous products that I was sent, but unfortunately things didn't go my way this time around.

Outfit of the Day | Faux Suede

I know suede is a very popular material but I honestly really never thought much about it. I usually would associate suede with fringe festival wear and very short suede skirts, but then I found this amazing faux suede skirt in the Target clearance section. I know what you're probably thinking, is Target even ethical? Surprisingly the Target brand clothes are in fact ethical and made in a sustainable way (source). I will be dedicating a full post on this issue very soon, but this should be great news to people who are looking to buy sustainable clothing at an affordable price. Target still has some work to do in order to become more transparent, but their environmental and sustainability efforts are definitely not going unnoticed.

Review | Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Vinyl Couture

As I'm preparing to type up this review, I went on Sephora.com and noticed that the Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Vinyl Couture is no where to be found. I even went to the YSL Beauty website and nothing. This leads me to believe that the Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Vinyl Couture has been completely discontinued less than two months after its big launch which included Cara Delevigne as the spokeswoman. And you might be wondering why I'm even bothering to review this, but I think that this will prove to you that price doesn't always equate to quality. I think a lot of people (including myself) often think that high end products will always perform well because of their high price tag, but that's certainly not always the case.

Long Lasting Makeup for Summer

Wearing makeup during the summer can honestly be so damn annoying. Am I right ladies? I really dislike the feeling of having a thick layer of makeup on my face, and what's perhaps worse is having that makeup literally melt off your skin. I've had makeup sweat off my face and look patchy way too many times before, it's just one of the things that comes with having oily skin and living in a hot place like San Diego. In this latest video I'm going to be showing you my easy and natural looking long lasting makeup that will survive any hot summer day or trip to the fair.

3 Ways to Style An Oversized Shirt

Here's a little story about this oversized men's button down. It was Record Store Day 2014 and after doing a little record shopping, I stumbled upon the Buffalo Exchange Earth Day sale. First of all, I had no idea it was Earth Day and back then I was literally the worst at thrifting (even at a place like Buffalo Exchange). They had around 5 cardboard boxes outside the store full with $1 clothing items. And I won't lie, most of the stuff in the boxes was pretty horrible but then I managed to dig up this blue button down from the bottom of one of the boxes. At first I didn't think much of it but I decided to get it because I really loved the royal blue color. Now 2 years later I couldn't be happier that I decided to pick this $1 shirt up because it's one of the most versatile pieces I own. I wear it casually, a little edgy, and I even dress it up once in awhile.

POPSUGAR #MustHaveBox June 2016

If you haven't heard of the POPSUGAR #MustHaveBox, then let me tell you more about this very unique box. This is a beauty, fashion, lifestyle, home, and health box with over $100 worth of products. Traditionally the Must Have Box has retailed for $39.95/month, but recently POPSUGAR launched the Must Have Mini which is only $18.95/month. Two years ago I was able to unbox my first Must Have Box and to be honest it wasn't my favorite box, so I gladly signed up to be able to give it another shot. This time around the Must Have Box definitely exceeded all my expectations and I actually had so much fun unboxing this.