2015 Beauty, Fashion & More Favorites: Makeup

Makeup

Brushes, Tools and Sponges-
Revlon Eyelash Curler- This is a really good eyelash curler if your eyelashes are straight and have no curl! I also love the Laura Mercier eyelash curler, however the handle came off of mine so it doesn't work anymore. The Laura Mercier one will curl your eyelashes instantly up with one press.

Sponge Wedge- I got this sponge wedge from CVS in a big pack. They pretty porous, so they can be squished a lot, and they give a nice dewy finish.

Brushes- The first brush is a kabuki brush from Claire's that is extremely soft and perfect for blending and packing on powder. The next 3 Sonia Kashuk brushes came in a set of 11 brushes that I got at Target. The first on I use for powder, the second for foundation and the third for contouring. Then I have two eyeshadow brushes from Lancome and Essence of Beauty that I really like using on my eyes.

Face-
 Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact in Bronze- This product gives a beautiful glow and adds warmth to your face. I apply it to the high points of my face, like my cheeks, forehead, nose and chin.

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer in Mineral- This is a good primer if you're using a mineral powder foundation. This primer nourishes and adds vitamins to your face.

Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer in Almond- I really like this tinted moisturizer. It gives light coverage, but you can add more product to areas where you need more coverage. Also this product has SPF 20, so it will protect you from the sun, and it's oil free so it prevents your face from getting oily and shiny throughout the day. 

Pur Minerals Correcting Primer- This primer is great for smoothing out your face before applying foundation, and will allow make your foundation stay on longer and look smoother. 

Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder in Translucent- This is the best look setting powder your will find! It makes your face look matte and will keep your face makeup from moving around during the day. You can apply it in the places where you get more oily so it will absorb the oil. I love setting my makeup with this!!!

Eyes/Brows-
POP Beauty Eyeshadow Palette in Picture Pop- I got this eyeshadow palette when I first started wearing makeup, and I still really enjoy it. It is a really versatile palette, which browns, grays, purples, blues and more! I usually use the gold and brown colors.

Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow Palette in Pastel Brights- This palette is really pretty, and perfect for Winter! It has cooler shadows with matte and shimmer shades.

Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant Mascara in Black- I got the travel size version of this mascara as a Sephora birthday gift and fell in love with the volume and length it gave my lashes. The brush is pretty big, which I like since I have very short and thin eyelashes. It's easy to apply, and costs only $12 at Sephora, which isn't much more than a good drugstore mascara.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Ebony- I like that this product has a spoolie brush at one end, and the pencil at the other end. If you use this pencil properly, your eyebrows will look very natural and pretty.

Lips-
Carmex Lip Balm- I like to put this on my lips when they are really chapped, which is usually during the Winter.

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Rikugien- This lip pencil moisturizes your lips and can be used like a lip liner also. I love the color, and I got it as one of the Sephora birthday gifts. It's travel sized, so you can fit it in a clutch of purse!

Pomegranate Rose Scented Lip Gloss- This is a really pretty Winter lip gloss, that adds a pretty color the lips. You can wear it by itself or over a lipstick.

Jordana Moisturizing Balm Stain in Terra Crave- The color of this is dark and really pretty. It looks like a dark peach color, and it definitely moisturizes your lips. Since it is a stain, it stays on for a long time also.

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: All thoughts, opinions and photos are mine.



2015 Beauty, Fashion & More Favorites: Skincare

Hello everyone! Today, I am going to be sharing with you my favorite things from 2015! I have quite a lot, so I have split this up into multiple posts based on the type of product. These are my favorite skincare items of 2015. I hope you enjoy! 


Skincare

Just for reference, I have combination skin, which means it gets oily and dry.
 Coconut Oil- I love using coconut oil on my face! Coconut oil has many benefits, and can be used on your hair and skin. I put some of the coconut oil in a plastic container in my bathroom. Then, at night I put some in my hands, which instantly liquefies it. Next, I rub it all over my face, which takes off all my makeup! I like using this, because it doesn't hurt when it gets in your eyes, and it will take anything off, including waterproof makeup. Since it is an oil, the makeup and oil will stay on your face until you rinse it off with water... so you may look like a raccoon until you rinse your face! Another cleansing oil I love that is more on the pricier side is the Laura Mercier Purifying Cleansing Oil. I used to use this product all the time, but coconut oil is a cheaper alternative!

Clarisonic Mia 2- I use my turquoise Clarisonic Mia 2 about every other night to exfoliate and cleanse my face. It gets rid of dirt and oil that build up on your face throughout the day. I got my Clarisonic as a present from my family, and I have noticed a huge difference in my skin! I use it with whatever face wash I am using at the moment, and it drastically reduces or gets rid of any breakouts the next morning. The only downside to this product is that you are supposed to change the brush heads every 3 months. I haven't gotten around to buying a new one, so I've been using the same one for almost a year now... my bad. It still works fine though.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream- My face gets really dry in the Winter, so this moisturizes and nourishes my face over night. I put this on my face right after I use my Clarisonic, so it will sink in and hydrate my face. 

Bobbi Brown Hydrating Face Tonic- This toner is great, because it takes off any makeup that may still be left on my face, and it balances out my face, so it's not too dry or too oily. I love using this at night on a cotton pad, because it ensures that my face is perfectly clean and happy!
Predire Paris Argon Oil Facial Peeling Gel with Vitamin E- I really like using this product after washing my face when I'm not using my Clarisonic. It's not messy and it's really easy to apply over your face. You use it like a face mask and keep it on for as long as you really want.

Deep Sea Cosmetics Sensual Dead Sea Body Salt Scrub- This salt scrub smells really good and works wonders on your skin! I usually put it on my hands when they get dry or crusty, and once I wash the scrub away, they feel so soft and smooth. You can also use this body scrub on your legs or arms to make them look shiny and feel amazing. I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who needs a good exfoliating scrub!


Thanks for reading! 



Disclaimer: All thoughts, opinions and photos are mine :)





Travel Journal: London Days 6 & 7

December 28, 2015


My sweater is from American Eagle, my plaid scarf is from Gap, my jeans are from Joe's Jeans, and my boots are from G.H. Bass. We woke up early to look inside Westminster Abbey. My mom stayed behind and slept more. There was a really long line to get into Westminster Abbey, so we ate breakfast first. We ate breakfast at another Fuller's restaurant. I had a bacon sandwich and orange juice. 

Here's a picture I took of Westminster Abbey. You can see the London Eye in the background. 

This was the map that we got while we were waiting to get tickets to get inside Westminster Abbey. 


These pictures are of the front of Westminster Abbey. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside. We got audio guides so that we would understand what we were looking at and better understand the history. We saw where Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth I, Henry VII and his wife, Anne of Cleves and many other members of the royal family and famous historical figures were buried. 



We were allowed to take pictures in the Chapter House. 
Meetings were held here for the House of Commons.

This is a picture of Britain's oldest door! It was most likely built in the 1050's for St. Edward the Confessor.



These are pictures of the inner courtyard. After we walked around the courtyard, we walked back to the hotel to meet up with my mom.

We took a cab to the V&A, or the Victorian Albert Museum. The V&A is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design. We ate a quick lunch at the museum cafe before looking around. We looked at the Buddha exhibit, the fashion exhibit, the medieval Europe exhibit, photography exhibit and more. Once we were done looking around the V&A, we took a taxi back to the hotel. My mom and I walked around Buckingham Palace and went into the shops near the palace while the rest of the family rested.

After, we got dressed for the theater. My dress is from Virtue (a boutique I shopped at when I was in Asheville) and my boots are from G.H. Bass. We ate dinner before we left for the theater at the hotel restaurant Bistro 51. I had spaghetti bolognese. We ate quickly because we didn't want to be late for our play. We ended up having to pay and leave before our dessert was ready. We also had to wait a few minutes for a cab, because the cab stand was empty. 

We had tickets at the Garrick Theatre for the two plays All on Her Own and Harlequinade. Zoe Wanamaker was in both plays and Kenneth Branagh was in Harlequinade. 


The Garrick Theatre is an old fashioned theater in London, and it was full with people once the play began.

All on Her Own was about a widow who is talking to herself, because she fears that she drove her dead husband to killing himself. Harlequinade is a very comedic play about a theatre company performing the play Romeo and Juliet. The plays were both very good, and it was an exciting experience to see a play in this beautiful London theater. The play was an hour and a half, and I definitely wished it was longer. We went back to the hotel and packed our suitcases, because we left London the next day very early in the morning.


December 29, 2015

We left London today. Our flight was early so we left the hotel at 6 a.m.  

My outfit was a flannel from American Eagle, jeans from Macy's and I wore my ankle boots from Forever 21. It was raining a lot when we took the taxi to the London Heathrow airport. In London, they don't show their gate number of your flight until about a half hour before boarding as a safety precaution. We ate breakfast at one of the restaurants in the airport. In the airport there was also a Yo! Sushi restaurant. My mom and I spent the rest of our pounds at the airport. They had a huge duty free store. I bought a skirt at Zara. Then we went to our gate and boarded the plane. The flight was about 8 1/2 hours, which was 2 hours more than our flight to London. I watched a lot of movies and TV shows. It's been pretty hot where I live, so it was a huge change from being in chilly London. Overall, this was one of my favorite trips and I hope I can go back some day!

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: All thoughts, opinions and photos are mine!







Travel Journal: London Day 5

December 27, 2015


Today, a bunch of museums were actually open! We had a busy day of touring and sight-seeing.

Today was pretty chilly so I wore a vest, as well as my North Face. My long-sleeve shirt is from Ann Taylor, my jeans are from American Eagle, my scarf is from Target, and my vest and boots are both from G.H. Bass. We ate breakfast at the Pret a Manger, and I realized that it is a fast food restaurant but there food is handmade and natural, unlike other fast food restaurant chains. Also, the food that they don't sell at the end of the day is given to the homeless. We took a cab to the Tower of London after.

The ticket line was actually pretty long for the Tower of London, because it was the first day it had been open for 3 days. The Tower of London is where traitors were taken to be tortured and executed.


These are the pictures I took while my mom waited in line for the tickets. They actually put an ice rink in front of the Tower of London for the holidays.

I took this picture while we were waiting for our Yeoman tower guard to give us a tour. The bridge in this picture is the London Bridge. The Yeomen Warders/Guards, also known as Beefeaters, are the ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. We had over 200 people in our tour group, so instead of doing an hour long tour of the Tower or London, we just went inside the Church of St. Peter ad Vincula, and the Yeoman Warder talked to us for 15 minutes about the Tower of London. In this parish church, many famous people were buried, including 2 of King Henry VIII's wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, as well as Thomas More, the lord chancellor. In front of this church was the scaffold site, where many beheadings took place. 

We went to the Crown Jewels exhibit next. The entrance is located under the clock. Some of the royal regalia is still used by the Queen. Many of the old royal regalia before 1649 was melted when Oliver Cromwell established the Commonwealth. In 1660, when the monarchy was restored, King Charles II replaced the crown jewels at a very high price. They tried to get the items returned and recovered. This is a very popular exhibit, so they have moving walkways, to keep the flow of traffic moving. Then we walked along the walkway on top of the towers and went inside Beauchamp Tower. There was graffiti all over the walls. Many prisoners had carved their names, written other things, or had drawn pictures. 

This is a picture of the White Tower, which is one of the oldest towers, built by William the Conqueror. It holds the royal armor and arms. We didn't go inside this tower. We walked over to where they kept the ravens. They keep the ravens very well cared for, because there is an old legend that says the kingdom and the Tower or London will fall if  the six resident ravens ever leave the fortress. After looking at the ravens, we went into the gift shop and then into the cafeteria. We have found that the cafeterias in museums in Europe are quite tasty! They had a variety of different food, but I just got a sandwich since we were going to a fancy restaurant later. After lunch, we went to the Torture at the Tower exhibit, where they show the different equipment that was used to torture people. One of the torture devices was the rack, which would stretch and dislocate the prisoner's joints and and snap their bones. I'm definitely glad they don't use those anymore!

We left the Tower of London and took a taxi to the British Museum. This museum is huge and has artwork that was stolen by the British dating back thousands of years. They did have good reason to steal all this artwork though, because at the time, any of these artworks were being destroyed in war or attacks. The British Museum provided a safe place for these valuable works and kept them preserved.


The British Museum uses mostly natural lighting and is shaped like a dome. The exhibits circle around the center, which is the huge store. We went into the Ancient Greek art exhibit first, which had the Rosetta Stone and pieces of the Parthenon facade. 

We walked around in this exhibit for awhile, but my sister and Dad got split up from my Mom and I. My mom and I were searching all around for them, inside and outside of the museum, but we couldn't find them. About an hour later we decided to keep looking at the rest of the museum. The artwork that we looked at first was the Lewis chessmen, a group of 12th century chess pieces, in a glass case. On the other side of the glass case was my sister and Dad, looking at the same artwork! It was very funny. We split up again and decided to meet by the information desk later. My mom and I looked at some of the Enlightenment exhibit and the Chinese Jade exhibit, and then went to the shop and bought a few things. After we met up with the rest of the family, we ate some snacks at a nearby restaurant while we waited for our dinner reservation at the Mint Leaf Restaurant & Bar, an Indian restaurant. We walked over to the Mint Leaf, using Siri as our guide. Once we got there, there was an elevator that took us downstairs to the restaurant. It was a huge space with dimly lit rooms and a spotlight on the center of the table. The ordered a lot of food and it was delicious- probably the best meal we had in London. I had the chicken biryani. Then we took a cab back to the hotel.

Thanks for reading!


Disclaimer: All thoughts, opinions and photos are mine.






Travel Journal: London Day 4

December 26, 2015

Today was Boxing Day, which is a holiday celebrated in England.  FYI, it has nothing to do with the sport boxing!! Traditionally servants would get the day off and receive a Christmas box, or Christmas present, from their master. Many museums in London were also closed today, but the shops were open! 

This is my outfit of the day. I am wearing a sweater from J. Crew, jeans from Macy's, and ankle boots from Forever 21. We ate breakfast at the Pret a Manger... Big Surprise!! Then we took the Tube to the closest stop to Shakespeare's Globe.

We walked the rest of the way and saw this cool building that's shaped very oddly. We weren't exactly sure how to get to the Globe, so we had to use Siri a few times. I'm pretty sure she took us the back way, because we ended up walking in alleys and parking lots...but eventually we made it!

We bought tickets to get a tour of Shakespeare's Globe, which was a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre. The Globe Theatre was a famous playhouse, during the Elizabethan era, where Shakespeare's company performed many plays.

Shakespeare's Globe is putting productions on today. We did not get to see a play performed in this theater, because there were none showing whilst we were in London. Back in the Elizabethan era, only men would participate in the plays, so often men had to act out women characters. Our tour guide told us that they have experimented with only male actors for some of their plays, but they decided to stick with female and male actors. 

3,000 people can fit in this theater. Some people stand on the ground in front of the stage, while others sit around the stage in the seats. The groundlings, the people who stood on the floor, paid a tiny amount to see the show back in the Elizabethan days. There was no covering over their heads. People sitting in seats had to pay more money to see a play, but they of course had a covering over their heads and were probably more comfortable. 

 There are two trap doors on stage. There is one on center stage right in the middle of the floor. The other is from the ceiling. The tour was very interesting, and there was also an exhibit about the Globe in an adjacent building that we looked at.


After the Globe, we planned on walking to the shopping district again. We passed by St. Paul's Cathedral and found this Japanese sushi restaurant called Yo! Shushi. It was really cool, because they had a conveyor belt that wrapped around the whole restaurant along the tables. People ate at a high top counter along the conveyor belt, which moved food in little bowls of different colors. Each bowl color had a different price, and once you finished eating, they count up your bowls and the prices. People just take off the food that they like and eat! You could also order Sumo bowls, which were large bowls of a food of your choice. Then for your drink, they had water and fizzy water spigots, or faucets. I wouldn't say this was the most sanitary restaurant (many of the bowls didn't actually have coverings and would keep circling the belt if no one wanted them), however the food was delicious and the idea was very Japanese. 

We went shopping at H&M and Topshop, and we bought a few things. Then we walked to Leicester Square, which is in the theater district. We were hoping to find a theater that was showing the Mockingjay Part 2, because we never watched it back at home, but the only movie showing was the new Star Wars movie. This is a picture of a little carnival in Leicester Square.

The carnival had a ferris wheel and a merry-go-round. We then walked through Soho and Chinatown, before ending up in the shopping district. We were tired by this point, so we took a cab back to the hotel and rested for a bit. After our rest, we walked around our hotel, looking for a place to eat, and we found a nice pub restaurant called The Albert. I wasn't too hungry, so I had a pesto orzo salad. Then we walked back to the hotel and went to bed. Museums were open tomorrow, so we had a lot of sight-seeing to do in the morning!

Thanks for reading!


Disclaimer: All photos, opinions and thoughts are my own :)








Travel Journal: London Day 3

December 25, 2015


Many things were closed on Christmas, so we mostly walked around London and hung out in the hotel.


My parents made this string banner at the Charles Dickens Museum yesterday. We strung it up in our hotel around the lights, and hung out Christmas stockings by it. We woke up late this morning and opened out stockings. Since we woke up so late, we skipped breakfast and had lunch instead. The only place that was open for lunch was Pret a Manger, which was crowded with tourists, since it was the only food place open.

We walked around London after lunch. We walked past Westminster Abbey, the Palace of Westminster and the Jewel Tower. Then we walked over a bridge across the Thames river, to the other bank. We just looked around at things, and then walked back across the bridge that is right next to the Palace of Westminster. A lot of tourists were walking along this bridge and taking pictures.

When we got back from our walk around town, we dressed up for tea. We made reservations at the Kensington Close Hotel for high tea. My dress is from J. Crew, my sweater is from Nic+Zoe, and my shoes are from Kelly&Katie. 

We took a taxi to the Kensington Close Hotel. When we got there, we realized that we were the only ones having high tea, and that they had it set up near the bar. I think British people usually have their tea earlier. Everyone else around us was having bar food and hanging out. I'm usually not a tea drinker, but I decided to get earl grey tea. I had two big cups, which is probably the reason that I kept waking up that night and couldn't fall asleep! We also had a 3 tier serving tray with a wide variety of finger sandwiches, cookies and mince pies. Once we were done, we were going to walk around the area, but it was starting to drizzle, and we didn't want to walk around with our fancy clothes on.

We took a cab back to our hotel, and came in through a different entrance than the main one. This entrance brought us to the courtyard, where there was a work of art that was all lit up for the holidays. It was very pretty! We watched Bridget Jones' Diary, which is a British-American romantic comedy. I had already seen the movie a few times, but I still enjoy it and find it hilarious! 

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas or whatever else you may celebrate! Thanks for reading!


Disclaimer: All thoughts, opinions and photos are mine!




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