Review - Vincent Longo Lip and Cheek Gel Stain: Keeping It Fresh and Light for Summer!

Once it starts getting really warm around here (aka real summer), I have to start being a little more tactical about my makeup.  I can't just throw on any old product and expect it to last throughout the day, so my most long-wearing and fuss-free makeup comes out to play during this time. 

Although a post is coming up featuring some summer/hot weather essentials, I wanted to dedicate this post to the Vincent Longo Lip and Cheek Gel Stain in My Sunshine.

Keep reading to see my thoughts on it and how I like to wear it!

Catching up FOTD (again) and One Last Smoothie

This past week was a whirlwind of trying to finish my final for my online class and packing to move back to DC.  Just these two have left me with barely enough time to do anything else, but things should be calming down soon.

Now that I'm leaving home, I won't have my VitaMix, so my smoothie making will have to become more simple and basic, but I managed to make one last smoothie:

Keep reading to see my most recent FOTD and what I used for this cleansing smoothie!

SOTD and some unusual combinations

I know you all want to know what's in this:

I didn't have any bananas around so I modified it a little bit, and the result was a great protein packed post-workout smoothie.

You're probably also wondering what silver looks like over brown, and what teal glitter looks like over pink lipstick.

Read on to see what I managed to do! 

Travel Makeup All-Stars

I hate being in one place in too long.  More specifically, I want to be everywhere.  I love traveling, whether it's a two hour drive to another state or across the world.  But this means that I'm always unpacking and repacking, and I don't think I'm actually ever fully unpacked.  I still haven't unpacked from when I moved out from my college room in December, and I'm beginning to pack to move into an apartment next week!  

However, for my vacations and weekend trips,  I always have a pretty good idea of what makeup I bring with me.  Every trip needs slightly different makeup depending on if I'll be in a city, on a beach, or in the mountains, but I always have some necessities.

Since I was going to Maine this time, I knew I would be spending a lot of time outdoors doing something active (biking all day, everyday!), while strolling through town after going to dinner.  This meant I could pair down all the products I brought to the essentials.  I usually end up bringing a huge makeup bag, so it was refreshing to just bring a little actual travel-size bag this time!

A lot of these products are products you see me using in my everyday FOTD's, and they are my favorites, so of course they would make it into my travel bag!  It's also why you see a massive amount of pan in these..

Keep reading to see why these made the cut >>

SOTD and no-bake energy bites (aka peanut butter heaven)

I'm now happily in Maine, where I've gone for vacation countless times.  It's the first vacation I ever remember going on, and I used to come here every year until I became too busy in high school.  We started coming here again last year, and I am glad to be back at my favorite vacation spot. 

But, before we came, I had to prep lots of food for healthy snacks for the road trip up an hiking.  I started out with this to get my day started:

Continue reading to see what I used and other food noms..

Quick FOTD and update!

 Road trip prepping is hard work. I despise eating fast food and will do anything to avoid it when I'm on the road. This led me to prepare snacks and easy car meals (i.e. zucchini pasta) for the better part of the night last night. Chopped peppers, celery, no-bake energy bites (pictures of that coming soon), zucchini pasta, and fruit galore! As a result, I didn't start packing until midnight, after which I was already half asleep and could not bear the thought of typing up my intended post of my favorite travel items. On another note, if you follow my instagram, you'll see that I got my haircut...finally. Instead of my normal you-can-barely-tell-i-got-a-haircut trim, I chopped off about 5 inches and had it thinned out a bit, something I haven't done in awhile. I think this length suits me better, but its not as effortless and requires a bit more thought and styling sometimes. Gone are the days where I can just let it be free and completely natural, but I really only need a styling cream in addition to my leave-in conditioner now, so I shouldn't be complaining. I don't have to style it, but it does look better straightened or curled. I'm kind of excited to curl it again, as I didn't like my longer, thicker hair curled before, but I generally hate styling my hair.. I have NO idea how I used to do it everyday in high school, and I haven't actually used heat on my hair for almost two years now unless its a special occasion. As a result, my hair has been visibly healthier, shinier, stronger, and split-end free, so hopefully I can still keep the heat styling to a minimum.

Now that I've blabbered on, here is my FOTD with a picture of my new length. Its quite similar to my old cut, but there are more layers, angles, and its been thinned out a little.

Since my makeup was already packed, I used completely different products today, and also tried out the Physician's Formula Eye Booster Liquid Eyeliner, since my favorite Maybelline Eye Stiletto is running out.

First Impressions: Is this supposed to be Ultra Black? I had to go over the lines multiple times to make it as black as my Maybelline liner. Maybe I just got a dud, but the color payoff is not impressing me. What is impressing is the fine tipped brush that makes it really easy to draw a thin line.

Products Used-
Face:
Revlon Colorstay Mousse Foundation (discontinued) mixed with a little bit of MAC Face and Body for color
Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Coral Reef
Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer
Sonia Kashuk Barely There Loose Powder
Physicians Formula Healthy Wear SPF 50 Light Bronzer
Sugar Gingerbread Blush (discontinued)
Benefit SunBeam highlighter
ELF Golden Bronzer


Eyes:
NYX HD Eye Primer
L'oreal HIP Eyeshadow Stick (discontinued, color name rubbed off)
Sonia Kashuk Perfectly Neutral palette: champagne shade and brown on lower lid
Physicians Formula Eye Booster Eyeliner
Max Factor False Lash Effect WP


Lips:
Neutrogena Moisture Shine in Nectar (discontinued)
Vincent Longo Lipgloss in Dolce


Posts on my energy bites (or the new crack, this stuff is amazing), travel makeup, and pictures of my favorite place in the world (or at least the US) coming soon!

The 'Shop Your Stash' Project

So, last week I started something new. Although I've been going through my stash and rediscovering new things the past month, I wanted to find a way to use them all on a consistent basis.  This isn't a new concept - taking out a few products that haven't been used very much or in a long time, but it isn't something I've tried in awhile.

Here's what I'm trying to do: I took out 21 products for the month of June and my goal is to use each product at least twice, just so I can get some use out of it and be creative about the way I use it.  I've had this going for about two weeks now and I'm really pleased with how its going.  I certainly am enjoying products that I either haven't used in a long time or haven't used much at all.
I have a total of 5 face products, 7 eye products, and 9 lip products to use before June is over.  Some of these will undoubtedly end up in my June favorites, while others may just be average products - we'll see which ones make the cut!

To see what products I'm using, as well as tons of swatches, keep reading!

SOTD, NOTD, and dinner

Okay, last food post before I post something beauty related, I promise!  I tried out a new smoothie again, wanting to add some extra protein.

Presenting, a thick protein smoothie:

In goes avocado, a banana, cocoa powder, protein powder, kale, and frozen blackberries!

Continue reading for my newest recipe, nail polish love, and dinner!

Crazy for Pineapple and Some More Food

Looks like I'm getting domestic...I've been on a whirlwind of cooking and baking lately.  I think it's the boredom of being at home and having nothing better to do, but my family's certainly not complaining!

Starting with some cupcakes - we had some extra pineapple on hand and wanted to get rid of a box of cake mix so I added them together for some pineapple cupcakes.  Super simple, and no one can get boxed mix wrong.

Continue reading for some more food deliciousness!

Crazy for Chia Seeds! + A New Highlighter to Love

Chia seeds have quickly gone to the top of my list of foods to be eating everyday.  I add them to everything - tea, milk, oatmeal, granola, smoothies.  Its omega-3 and fiber content make it a great addition to everything, especially because of its mild flavor.

I had previously heard of chia seed pudding, but never tried it out until yesterday.  I didn't get very creative, and I only followed a recipe from Peanut Butter Fingers, but it was DELICIOUS anyway!  I can't wait to get more fruits to incorporate into it. 



I used the same recipe, but added slightly more of everything. A little mishap also caused me to add more sugar than intended...I meant to only add 1 tsp, but it ended being around 2 1/2.  It wasn't too sweet, but it didn't quite make it into a low sugar dessert like I planned to.

Chia seed noms.

 Continue reading to see my recipe, and a new highlighter that gives me a perfect glow!

FOTD: ...And the Color Finally Arrives!

This wasn't the look I had originally wanted to do - the one I had planned was actually an all blue look, but at the last minute, I decided to add in a neutral gold on the lid instead.  I remember now why I don't usually play around with color anymore - it takes so much time to find all the right tones to go together!  When I only have 20 minutes to get ready, it can be hard to find just the perfect shades, and I haven't quite gotten to the point where I can naturally figure out what shade should come next.  Hopefully I can figure that out this summer!

Read on for more pictures and the products I used:

Smoothie of the Day: the ugliest looking, but fantastically delicious smoothie

I'm back with another smoothie today and it is not pretty, but it turned out surprisingly delicious.  I featured blueberries this time, and it shouldn't be a surprise that blueberries and spinach will not look nice together, but I did not expect my smoothie to be a green/grey sludge.  However, once I tasted it, I was in love!

almond milk, blueberries, apples, bananas, and spinach. Yum!

Doesn't this look appetizing?

I was craving something smooth and soothing, rather than tropical and citrusy, and this definitely did the trick.  Here's what I used to make about 4 cups worth of this smoothie:

1 1/2 c. blueberries
2 c. unsweetened almond milk
2 bananas
1 large apple
4 c. fresh spinach
1 T honey
1 T flax seeds

I probably could have done without the honey, but it added some extra sweetness that I for some reason wanted today.  I'm excited to try more greener, more fiber rich smoothies again this week to detox after my week full of little "treats."  That's right, it's back to work!

A Fashionably Late May Favorites! + some updates

I meant to have this post ready last week, but I seem to have a habit of getting distracted and forgetting to actually post what I want to post, but alas, my May favorites are finally here.

Most of these products probably aren't a surprise, as I've talked about them at some point this month, but I did add in a few unmentioned favorites.

Read on to see my thoughts about these products!

It's Bright Lip Season....

Actually, who am I kidding...every season is bright lip season, but I don't always wear bright lips during the day.  I try to reserve it for nights out, but yesterday seemed like the perfect day to bust out my bright pink lipstick.

I also wore Covergirl's Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation on its own yesterday, hoping to check out its wear and full coverage on me.  I would say that was a fail since I ended up being outside for an hour, stomping around a park with one of my friends, but I am pleased with what I see so far.

It has a nice almost gel-type consistency, and it spreads out to a nice medium coverage.  I needed concealer to cover up some of my darkest spots, but it covered everything else up perfectly.  My shade is in 857 Golden Tan, and it matched pretty well, but it seemed just a smidge too pink.  It's not enough to really notice unless I don't blend it in well enough.  I would say that this also photographs pretty well, even in flash:

Read on to see more photos, as well as my most recent read:

Nail Polish Pick of the Week

I'm posting on the go today to give you all a quick update.  I've discovered an unlikely summer nail polish favorite from Catrice.  I bought this shade a few months ago because it was a unique shade and didn't imagine I would wear it until the fall, but I pulled it out a few days ago because I wanted a darker color on my nails.

I was surprised to see how much I loved it, and how suitable it was summer, especially since I have a slight tan right now.  The color is a unique mix of maroon and brown with a little bit of gold glitter that's barely noticeable on the nails.  When I'm indoors it even looks like a dark purple.  I've never seen a shade like it, but call me obsessed! 

Catrice nailpolishes don't last as long as Essie or OPI polishes, but this is my 3rd day of wear and only two fingers have minor chips in them.  I used the Seche Vite base coat and topcoat and I know they definitely prolong the wear of my polishes.

The shade name is 23 The Monkey Gets Funky.  Unfortunately, Catrice is Europe only, but if any of you can get your hands on it, please do!  They were only 2,75€ (around $4) and worth every Euro!

Also added a bonus picture of me wearing my sneaker wedges from Urban Outfitters.  They look great with everything!  I pulled a casual look today with just a slouchy tshirt and some denim shorts.  I'll be home soon for some monthly favorites so stay tuned!