108 Sun Salutations for the Autumnal Equinox

Tags

Autumn, Charity Miles, engaged, Fall, Fall 2015, Fitness, Health, Lifestyle, national yoga month, September, Wedding, wedding planning, Wellness, yoga

If you’ve been keeping up with my Instagram lately, you’ve likely noticed it’s taken a slight, okay sudden, turn from nail polish and beauty to fitness and health. Earlier this year, I got engaged and instead of it being this super duper happy bubbly experience I thought it was going to be, it turned out to be ridiculously stressful. As a result, I threw myself into fitness to alleviate the stress and while it’s helped immensely with stress, it also led to focus more on my inner and outer health. Things have calmed down thankfully, not fighting with my mom and fiance helps a ton although the Catholic church is being hugely annoying so there is still stress coming from that ugh, I’ve found a really productive way to channel that stress and deal with it: yoga.

I’ve always taken at least a weekly yoga class at the gym, normally Saturday mornings, as a way to decompress from the week and used to do a couple of sun salutations every morning as a way to wake up my body and stretch a bit but I’ve gotten deeper into yoga and its benefits over the summer. I took it beyond the gym and went in search of studios that specialized in yoga and offered a wide array of different yoga based classes. I took my first Bikram class back in May and have really come to enjoy it. It seems delusional that someone would enjoy being in an 105 degrees Fahrenheit room for 90 minutes but if you’ve never taken it before, I promise you it’s not that bad and although it’s not for everyone, I urge you to give it a chance. Hot sculpt yoga with weights has come to be my favorite forms of yoga and if there’s a Core Power Yoga near you, I strongly suggest you get in there and take some hot sculpt classes, they’re amazing!

Charity Miles getting in on the Autumnal Equinox celebration and reminding me to go for a run. Funny enough, when they sent this I was already on my run! I strongly recommend listening to Wale while exercising by the way.

The studio I normally go to for barre classes (they also specialize in yoga, TRX, and Spin) offered a 108 Sun Salutations for the Autumnal Equinox in honor of National Yoga Month and I immediately signed up because I thought it sounded pretty cool! Also all the proceeds went towards charity and that is something I can always get behind. I’d never heard of 108 Sun Salutations however it’s pretty cut and dry- it’s literally a class dedicated to 108 sun salutations in order to usher in the seasons, namely Spring and Fall, and while it seems pretty simple, it was more than that. I

After my run waiting for class to start. 108 Sun Salutations? Hmmm…can’t be that bad right? Guess we’ll find out!

I’ve never counted the number of sun salutations I do in a typical yoga class however I am fairly certain it is nowhere near 108 and halfway through the class in a puddle of sweat (no the room wasn’t heated I just sweat like a heathen) I started to think “Lord how am I going to get through this?!” When the instructor told us we were only at the halfway point I was like “HOW?!” She did warn us beforehand that the class would be challenging but we would get through it, all we needed to do was draw ourselves inward, breathe, and focus. Just connect our breath with our body and movements and focus on that. After a while I found myself centered, at peace, and flowing through my vinyasas with ease of mind and before I knew it we were done. Small breaks in between helped!

Trying to show off for Buddha, he was unbothered like “yeah girl, go ‘head!”

I’m really glad I went to the class. I always have thought to bring in the changing of seasons with different wardrobes or nail polishes, and that hasn’t changed, but I do think this class was a cool way to usher in the Fall and say goodbye to summer. I also feel more connected and aware of what this season will bring. I’m Catholic and there are 108 beads on the rosary so in some interesting way, I’m looking at this experience as a Rosary Prayer intention for a good and blessed Fall. I hope to tap into that same focus and peace of mind I felt as I take continue to blog, plan this wedding, change careers, get my Spin certification (something I’ve been wanting to do for a while), and take one all the wonderful and unexpected things life brings! Hopefully you all did something to welcome in the Fall and say goodbye to summer, whether it was grabbing drinks with your girlfriends, going for a run, saying a prayer, pulling out your Fall wardrobe, or doing 108 Sun Salutations!

Manicure Monday: butter LONDON & Allure Arm Candy Collection

Tags

Allure, Arm Candy Collection, Autumn, Butter London, Fall, Fall 2015, It's Vintage, Lust or Must?, manicure, Manicure Mondays, nail polish, nail polish review, nails, Sponsored Post, Statement Piece

butter LONDON & Allure have teamed up to create the Arm Candy Collection which I have to say is to die for. There hasn’t been a single collection that’s come out in a long time where I’ve been gaga for every polish! Even though the collection came out earlier this summer, I personally felt all the colors were more appropriate for Fall and with the Autumnal solstice making it’s debut in 2 days, I think it’s time to bust these babies out!

I’ve split my review of the Arm Candy into two parts: dark polishes and light polishes. This review will be covering the dark polishes so be sure to stick around for the light polishes review!

Statement Piece from the butter LONDON & Allure Arm Candy Collection

The Arm Candy Collection is comprised of vibrant and trend-setting colors that make your nails pop and Statement Piece immediately caught my eye. In my personal opinion, it truly is the statement piece of the collection but I have seriously fallen in love with red nail polishes and they’ve become my go-to color so I’m biased. Statement Piece is an opaque orange red creme that pops! You’re quintessential red, no it’s nothing to write home about but with just the slightest bit of orange to it, it definitely stands apart from other reds. The formula was a bit on the thick side so I thought I would have near full opacity with one coat but after two coats you could still see the whites of my nails just the slightest bit. This polish is dries quickly and the creme finish looks beautiful with a nice shiny top coat. Despite Statement Piece being a highly pigmented red, I encountered very little nail staining.

It’s Vintage from the butter LONDON & Allure Arm Candy Collection

It’s Vintage stood out to me when I first saw it because I encounter very few polishes of this hue. It’s an opaque rust creme that I wasn’t sure was going to look nice on me even though I liked the color itself. Well I was wrong about that one! And the formula? Amazing! It’s super easy to work with and goes on very smoothly despite it’s thickness! It’s Vintage was opaque with just one coat but as always I use two coats for good measure. I was able to get to bottle color with one coat but I used two to bring out that nice deep richness of the polish and of course to accentuate the creme finish. I can definitely see myself wearing this throughout the Fall!

Lust or Must? from the butter LONDON & Allure Arm Candy Collection

Last but certainly not least of the darks in the Arm Candy Collection is Lust or Must? an opaque charcoal brown creme. This polish is an absolute MUST! I would be lying if I didn’t say that right after Statement Piece, this was the polish I was most eager to get my hands on. In the cold months, my favorite polishes are those almost but not quite blacks and Lust or Must? is just that as you can see! Despite the color being very deep, the polish was super thin and it took three coats to get to a point where I was satisfied with the overall finish. Two coats was enough for bottle color but there were some streaky and thin spots on some of my nails that didn’t even out until I applied three coats. Although this is a creme polish, after I put on a top coat it looked more like a jelly and created this gel manicure look which I absolutely adore! I love the sleek look of gel manicures without the damage.

I hope y’all like the darks because you are going to love the lights! Which one of these were your favorites and which ones could you do without? Normally I’m really sad about the end of summer but this year is different. I’m really excited to usher in Fall and I think it’s because of some of the changes that I’ll be encountering in my life over the next year and Fall seems to be the start of it all. So summer, you were really good to me and I’m always sad to see you go but I’ve gotta admit, I’m really looking forward to the change. I say this now but watch as soon as the temperature drops below 70, I’ll be begging summer to make it’s way on back to me!

butter LONDON Keen

Tags

Butter London, butter LONDON Keen, engaged, engagement, Keen, nail polish, nail polish review, nails, summer, summer 2015, Wedding, wedding planning

43 days. That’s how long it’s been since I last blogged and while it doesn’t really feel like it because that month and a half flew by so quickly, I’ve missed blogging so much. This has been a busier summer than normal and I can’t believe it’s coming to an end but on the one hand I’m glad things are slowing down! Work has consumed my life and if you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see that working out and wedding planning have been taking up what spare time I have when I’m not at work. I’m not exactly “sweating for the wedding”, I just find that working out a lot helps alleviate some of the unanticipated stress I’ve been experiencing when it comes to wedding planning. At a picnic this past weekend, my aunt, albeit jokingly and lovingly, asked me if I was pregnant because I look “happy and fat in love” so even though I’m not getting married until next September, I guess maybe I should start sweating for the wedding.

I thought being engaged would be one of the happiest times of my life and while there have been a lot of happy moments, it has also been really stressful. Between coming up with a reasonable budget, trying to find a balance between my fiance’s vision and my own, near weekly arguments with my mother, feeling like my decisions and wants aren’t being respected, and trying to find a venue that won’t leave me bankrupt, it’s been tough. Painting my nails has always been a great stress reliever for me but it wasn’t quite filling that void so while I’ve really thrown myself into working out but I miss my nails, blogging, and chatting with you guys. Even if it’s once a week, I promise to never check out like I did again. Now let’s get to some nail polish!

butter LONDON Keen

butter LONDON Keen is a peach creme that isn’t exactly a summer bright but a neutral that can be worn year round. And y’all know I love my neutrals! Keen was fairly difficult to work with. The formula was thick and goopy despite me putting it in the fridge for about 15 minutes before I applied the polish. The color payout however made working with the formula worth it. Keen was fairly opaque within two coats and I was able to get to bottle color with two coats however I experienced a bit of streakiness so I used three coats just for good measure. The finish with a top coat was nice and shiny however because of the thickness of the polish, it took a bit longer to dry. Overall I’m pretty satisfied with Keen but I could do without how much of a pain it was to apply and dry.

What have y’all been doing with the summer? The most exciting this I’ve done so far is head to NYC for a spur of the moment 3 day weekend getaway and it was way better than New Years! Later this summer I’ll be in New Orleans so if any of y’all have suggestions for places I must see while there, I’m down for some recommendations!

NOTD: Deborah Lippmann Painted Desert Summer 2015 Collection – Earth Angel

Tags

Deborah Lippmann, nail polish, nail polish review, nails, NOTD, Painted Desert, Painted Desert Collection, shimmer, summer, summer 2015

While everyone released their Summer 2015 Collections mostly comprised of bright crèmes and neon jellies, Deborah Lippmann was like “Imma let y’all finish but…” and dropped her line of rich and earthy polishes, The Painted Desert Collection, for the summer. Florals for Spring? Grounbreaking. Earthy tones for Summer? Unheard of! I looked at the Collection online a few weeks ago and thought “nice but not really what I’m going for right now” and didn’t purchase any of the polishes. The other day I was walking through Sephora, take my paycheck already why don’t you, and came across Earth Angel.

Deborah Lippmann Earth Angel from the Summer 2015 Painted
Desert Collection

All of the press releases I saw for the Painted Desert Collection only had 4 polishes, Desert Moon, Love in the Dunes, Terra Nova, and Shifting Sands, none of which really caught my eye but at Sephora I saw Earth Angel and I swear I heard that “heavens opening up and the halo of an angel descending” music play in the background. Okay that’s dramatic and I believe it was actually a Jessie J. song playing but follow me, I’m trying to set the scene. Anyways, I don’t know why this polish wasn’t featured with all of the other press releases because if it was, I would’ve been more enthused when I saw this collection weeks ago!

Earth Angel – dusty rose with a subtle shimmer

Earth Angel is a dusty rose with shimmer. The shimmer is fairly subtle and is mostly visible when it catches the light a certain way. Deborah Lippmann describes at as “full coverage” and full coverage indeed, this polish is definitely a one coat wonder! I was able to get to bottle color and full opacity with just one coat which is pretty rare! I used two in these pictures however because I wanted to see if that would pull just a bit more shimmer but it didn’t, not  that I mind though; I was mostly drawn to the polish because I cannot tolerate super-duper shimmers outside of the holiday season.

Deborah Lippmann Earth Angel

This formula is great because it dries very quickly, there’s no streakiness, and you can get full coverage with just one coat however man is this polish thick! It almost verged on the point of goopy but that could’ve been partially my fault as I walked around with it in my purse in the heat for close to two hours then immediately stuck it in the fridge when I got home for an hour before applying. I’m sure, at least I’m hoping, it’ll have thinned out just a little bit the next time I wear it. Earth Angel isn’t in keeping with the brights I’ve been wearing for the past couple of weeks however I like that it’s a bit different however doesn’t evoke Fall or even worse, Winter! These polishes are Sephora Limited Editions so if you’re looking for a Summer Collection that isn’t taking the same beaten path as every other brand, definitely get your hands on some of the Painted Desert Collection polishes!

Happy Birthday June Babies from Julep

Tags

Beauty, Birthday, Gemini, Happy Birthday, Julep, June, June Birthdays, Maven, nail polish, nail polish review, nails

Today’s my birthday, YAY 28, however this post is more so a gift for all of my fellow June babies and Geminis! Julep is having a fabulous June birthday box giveaway.

Happy Birthday June Babies

If your birthday is in June, you are eligible to receive a birthday box of three nail polishes and one eye pencil! The nail polishes are geared towards our gem stones, pearl and alexandrite, and they are so beautiful!

All of the polishes in the June Birthstone Box

The Gel Eye Glider that comes in the June box is Smoky Taupe Shimmer, which is quite literally and basically a smokey taupe eyeliner with a slight bit of shimmer.

Gel Eye Glider in Smoky Taupe Shimmer

This eyeliner glides on smoothly and lasts long without smudging. I am normally a black eyeliner girl so I stepped out of my comfort zone with this one!

Julep Smokey Taupe Shimmer Eyeliner

Thankfully the shimmer is very subtle so and went well with my skin tone! The only downside about this eyeliner is that there isn’t a built in sharpener on the other end of the pencil but I recognize this is my own laziness and I have been spoiled by eyeliners that have this simple but remarkable efficient feature.

The first polish in the June birthday box is Shelly.

Julep Shelly

Shelly is a wintermint crème which I am guessing is to supposed to invoke the Pearl/ Moonstone gemstone for the month of June.

Julep Shelly – a mint creme

Shelly applied very smoothly as the polish was very easy to work with and I didn’t experience any smudges or goopiness. I was able to get to bottle color and full opacity with two coats. Shelly is a bit of a trickster though. It went on a tad darker than bottle color and was pretty difficult to capture. Although this looks mint in the bottle, I’d say it’s more of a baby soft somewhat green leaning blue.

Shelly is a keeper!

Ming is a sheer wild orchid. It has a jelly finish and while the color of this polish is really pretty, it was a pain in the butt to work with.

Julep Ming

I don’t have a color like this in my polish collection that I recall so I was very excited when I opened the box and saw this; y’all know I love pinks! Application however was not as great as the color. This polish is a double whammy of difficulty, sheer AND jelly, so I was prepared for a bit of annoyingness but after a while I was ready to give up.

Julep Ming, pretty but a pain!

Because Ming is so sheer, I used three coats which was enough to somewhat get me to bottle color however it took forever to dry between coats. The polish is sheer so you’d think the formula would be on the thin side but nope, Ming marches to its own drum! The formula was thick and goopy so try as I may to apply thin and even coats, I ended up with thick coats on nearly every nail and could literally see the layers of polish building up on my nails. And at the end of it all I did have pretty nails to show for it but I also could still somewhat see the white tips of my nails.

Now for the pièce de résistance of the box, we have Heidi. Heidi is the Alexandrite of the box and the signature June color from the Birthstone Collection.

June Birthstone Collection -Heidi

A purple and blue duochrome, Heidi is named for no other than Heidi Klum who was born on June 1.

Heidi, purple and blue duochrome

Okay this polish is beautiful, actually beautiful is an understatement. It is gorgeous, striking, and radiant, just like the gemstone it was created in honor of!

I think Heidi Klum would be quite proud to have this polish named after her!

Heidi is very easy to work with because of its nice thin formula. I actually could’ve used one coat and been alright with that but I used two to get the truth depth of this duochrome and get a richer finish. Although you can see there are two distinct colors, purple is the predominant color that shines through. The little blue I did see what difficult to capture and only came through at certain angles. Nonetheless this is the color I’m rocking on my 28th birthday, 28 and feeling great!

Happy birthday to all of my fellow June babies, if you haven’t taken advangtage of this awesome offer, I suggest you head to Julep right now! Also more incentive – there’s a 50% off coupon in the box! Yeah yeah, thank me later 🙂

Essie In the Cab-ana

Tags

brights, Essie, nail polish, nail polish review, nails, Resort Collection, summer, summer 2015

The weather is perfect and although I don’t care one way or another for the beach, right now I want to be somewhere tropical where the sun is shining and there’s not a cloud in the sky. Unfortunately I don’t see that happening anytime soon so I’m going to my usual escape on this one, my nails, and am rocking Essie In The Cab-ana!

Essie In The Cab-ana, Resort 2013 Collection

In The Cab-ana is a bright blue crème from the Resort 2013 Collection, of course, that Essie describes as “self-assured aqua azure.” Aqua azure indeed! This polish reminds me of a clear pool on a summer morning or those beautiful photos of the ocean that have got to be Photoshopped because there’s no way they can be real!

Too blue to be true!

In The Cab-ana is very easy to work with as the polish is very smooth and doesn’t streak or clump. I used two coats to get to bottle color and for full opacity. Perhaps my favorite thing about this polish is the crème finish which makes the polish look so rich and radiant with a high gloss top coat. Also a plus, this polish dried very quickly and stayed without chips for days! The only downside I’d say is that even with a basecoat, I experienced a slight bit of staining which was surprising since I normally encounter that with darker or cheaper polishes.

Essie In The Cab-ana, definitely a summer bright!

I don’t normally go for bright blues as I know I likely won’t get much wear out of them since they’re not the most office friendly polishes but I couldn’t resist! In The Cab-ana also goes with the summer brights theme I’ve been rocking lately so I’d say I can make an exception for this

Manicure Mondays – Ciaté London Amazing Gracie

Tags

Amazing Gracie, Ciaté, Ciaté London, Ciaté mini, Manicure Mondays, nail polish, nail polish review, nails, NOTD

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I haven’t done a Manicure Monday post in a while! I’ve been hitting you guys with brights left and right since Spring has gotten underway in preparation for Summer however I’m going to give you guys something light, delicate, and sweet – Ciaté London Amazing Gracie.

Ciaté London Amazing Gracie

Amazing Gracie is a super sheer classic ballet slippers pink nail polish. This shade is very classic, just perfectly beautiful, and I’ve reviewed several polishes similar to Amazing Gracie however it is completely different from the others. Because it is sheer, several coats were required for opacity and to get to bottle color. Two coats were enough to get to bottle color however I used three coats for full opacity and to get rid of any visible nail line. Because Amazing Gracie is a sheer polish, I expected the formula to be on the thin side however to my surprise, this formula is actually pretty thick! That made it a bit difficult to work with and I expected it to take forever to dry and drag as well however the polish dried fairly quickly and there were no drag lines or imperfections; Amazing Gracie also leveled itself pretty well. My nails are shorter than they’ve been in a while but I prefer nubs to long nails when it comes to sheer nail polish especially this shade; I just think they look better and create more of a polished and chic look.

I cannot stop staring at my nails and love this color so much. Apparently Ciaté liked this color on me as well because to my complete surprise they featured me on their Instagram page, talk about flattered, so if you’re on the app, head over and check it out! What color are you wearing today?

OPI Hot & Spicy

Tags

bright, coral, Hot & Spicy, nail polish, nail polish review, nails, OPI, summer, summer 2015

OPI Hot & Spicy is HOT HOT HOTTTT!

OPI Hot & Spicy

Hot & Spicy is a coral crème polish that seriously verges on orange but isn’t exactly orange. The true color of this polish was very difficult to capture, even in the same lighting. Y’all know I love a good coral and I have many shades but this is the most orange leaning polish in my collection; it almost looks neon! Hot & Spicy is opaque with two coats and you can get to bottle color with just two coats however I used three. The formula was pretty easy to work with but I used three coats because even though this polish isn’t sheer, I noticed a few streaks by my cuticles which was a bit annoying so for uniformity I applied a third coat. Hot & Spicy dried pretty quickly and with a shiny top coat, the crème finish pops!

OPI Hot & Spicy – very orange looking here!

This polish is a great addition to my summer collection for sure and since the weather is still being weird here, it’s nice to look down at my nails and see something so bright!

ps- for my readers in the United States, today is National Donut Day! Dunkin Donuts is giving away free donuts with the purchase of a beverage and Krispy Kreme is giving them away for free. Hope everyone gets can get their hands on one because the only thing better than a donut is a FREE donut. Happy Friday 🙂

butter LONDON Ladybird

Tags

Butter London, Ladybird, Lolly Brights, nail polish, nail polish review, nails, sponsored, summer, summer 2015

Nail polish is always a go to pick me up on yucky days. Much like bright clothes, bright nail polish can lighten up even the cloudiest day. If you’re anywhere near the DMV, the weather we’ve been having lately has been so incredibly craptastic that I fear we’ll never see the light of day and summertime won’t come back. Okay I know that’s dramatic but still, it’s been really gross out. Thankfully though, summertime calls for bright nail polish regardless of weather and today I’m rocking butter LONDON Ladybird, a serious summer bright!

butter LONDON Ladybird

Ladybird, from the Summer 2014 Lolly Brights Collection, is a fiery tomato red crelly (crème jelly) that jumps off your nails! I would’ve never guess red to be a summer bright but this polish is extremely pigmented and looks almost neon in the sunlight. Ladybird is a bit on the thin side formula wise so although I got to bottle color with two coats, for full opacity I used three coats. I can see a hint of my nail line which y’all know is a big pain for me, I’ll get over it someday, but I attribute that to the jelly sheerness of the polish. Ladybird is incredibly easy to work with as are most butter LONDON polishes because of how well the polish levels out on the nails and dried quickly.

In the year and a half that I’ve been blogging, y’all have watched as I’ve slowly warmed up to reds, which I mostly saved for the Fall/ Winter. The fact that I’m wearing red during the summer is something that I didn’t think would happen but Ladybird is bright and beautiful so how could I not? Hopefully the weather follows suit and stops being miserable because seriously, I need some sun in my life!

Unboxed: May 2015 Birchbox

Tags

Beauty, Birchbox, Birchbox Review, conditioner, English Laundry, Living Proof, May, Naobay, Notting Hill Femme, Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer, Photo Finish Primer Water, Restore Instant Repair, Shampoo, shoppables, Smashbox Cosmetics, The Expressionist Bio Extreme Mascara, W3LL People

My Birchbox came unusually late and this was a busy month for me so here’s bringing you this May Birchbox review at the eleventh hour to round out the month of May and prepare you for June!

May 2015 Birchbox – Cupcakes and Cashmere

The theme of May’s box is Cupcakes and Cashmere, the name of the guest curator of the box Emily Schuman’s second book which focuses on simple products that have a profound impact. I’ll say! Looking at the contents of the box this month I was a little underwhelmed but after using all of the products I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the majority of them. All but one and it’s safe to say that of all the boxes I’ve received this year, this is definitely my favorite! Let’s get to it ladies and gents!

English Laundry Notting Hill Femme

Oh la la, where do I begin? English Laundry Notting Hill Femme has a soft, airy, scent about it. A blend of lemon, wood, peppercorn, and bergamot, this perfume is to die for! A very classic scent that lasts throughout the day, this is perfect for summertime as it isn’t overwhelming and you can catch the fragrance throughout the day which is a big deal for me because I’m a sweat factory!

Living Proof Restore Shampoo and Conditioner

Living Proof Restore Instant Repair

I’ve heard a lot about the Living Proof line however I’ve never been inclined to try it. Two words: Jennifer Aniston. The show Friends has always irritated me because seriously how do you have a show set in New York City yet none of the main characters are black and none of them seem to have any black friends. Even in the coffee shop you rarely see any black people or any diversity for that matter and I’ve always found that to be very annoying. Also I think Jennifer Aniston is sort of an overrated actress so seeing that she was the face of Living Proof I was kind of like “ehhh, I’ll pass.” If Birchbox didn’t send me Living Proof samples I would’ve never given them a try and my hair would be sad. I didn’t care much for the shampoo. The shampoo is sodium lauryl sulfate free, aren’t all shampoos these days, so good right? Well ehh, the shampoo left my hair feeling really stripped and dry. The sample size was enough for me as I don’t use too much shampoo. I did however like the conditioner, well what I was able to try of it. As usual, the sample size wasn’t enough for my giant head of hair so I had to mix it in with Aussie 3 Minute Miracle which is hands down the best conditioner ever! My favorite of all three Living Proof products however was the Restore Instant Repair, not just because of the generous sample size but holy moly talk about a product that delivers! I put a dime size amount in each section of my hair along with the products I normally use and blowdried. My hair was so soft and smelled amazing! Even my fiance commented about how soft my hair was and when your man notices your hair, you know you’ve got an A+ product in your line-up! I still won’t ever like Friends or care for Jennifer Aniston but this product I definitely can see myself purchasing!

Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer

The skin care product of this box, I looked forward to trying Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer as I had recently run out of face moisturizer literally the day before my Birchbox came. The Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer, say that three times fast, contains avocado and olive oils and is a 98% natural cream that hydrates the skin. Olive oil is a little too heavy for even my hair so I hesitated to put this on my face despite the fact that avocado oil itself is pretty light. The cream itself is very moisturizing but it’s not lightweight enough for me to want to use as a face cream, as least in the morning however I like it as a night cream.

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water

When it comes to brand loyalty, there are very few that I’m 100% Ride or Die for, especially when it comes to makeup so when I say I’m loyal to Smashbox, that’s a big deal! The Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water is electrolyte infused water that you spritz on your face before and after makeup application. This is one of those “I don’t really need this” products however it makes you feel fancy and like your makeup is going to last so much longer so you buy it anyways. Y’all remember how I said I’m a sweat machine right? Well I found that spritzing a bit of this on my face about 5 minutes after I applied my makeup really helped to set my look and minimize the appearance of sweat. I don’t know if that makes any sense but basically I looked fresh faced and dewy instead of sweaty. It didn’t make my makeup stay on any longer and it’s totally an unnecessary extra step but hey if you’ve got the extra ten seconds to spritz this on your face then why not?

W3LL PEOPLE The Expressionist Bio Extreme Mascara

Last but certainly not least in the May Birchbox we’ve got W3LL PEOPLE The Expressionist Bio Extreme Mascara, an all natural pro-grade mascara that lifts and lengthens your lashes without chemicals or dyes. I like that this mascara doesn’t have all those dyes and chemicals as it made removal a cinch however the mascara sort of rubbed a bit, especially at the end of the day or when it’s very humid outside. I am always skeptical of those mascaras that claim to lengthen your lashes but W3LL PEOPLE’s actually delivered; my lashes looked so long and pretty and didn’t clump which was even better!

May’s box was great and minus the shampoo and conditioner which barely made it one wash, I’ve used all of these products multiple times and have liked them all. Here’s hoping June’s box will be just as good!