April Favorites [Beauty/Fashion]

I have a lot of beauty favorites this month since I’ve been rebuilding my ‘beauty collection’, but these are at the top right now. What are some of your favorites right now? Feel free to share recommendations in the comments, I’d love to hear your suggestions.

 

Makeup Favorites

MAC Fix+

I’ve been using this everyday (both before and after applying my makeup) to keep it lasting all day. It also does an amazing job at removing the ‘cakey’ look that can appear when using powders.

 

Tarte Clean Slate Poreless 12-Hr Perfecting Primer

I used to use the Smashbox Primer, but I like this one SO MUCH better. I use it in the T-Zone, not all over, to prep areas where my pores are more visible.  After applying makeup, the pores are nearly invisible, it’s AMAZING!

 

L’Oreal Magic Anti-Redness Primer (I think they’ve renamed the product to Studio Secrets Anti-Redness Skin Primer Liquid)

Drugstore find of the month! Don’t let the color scare you off, if you have any redness or ruddiness, I would recommend this product. I have redness particularly in my cheeks and chin, but this green liquid balances the color perfectly. I use a VERY tiny amount and pat it on the red areas, just blending enough to blur the edges. It will leave a slight green cast, so you definitely want to use some sort of foundation over this primer.

 

Z-Palette

I just started using Z-palettes this past month, but I’m really impressed with their versatility. I have a bunch of small eye shadow quads & single blushes, that take up a lot of space. With the Z-Palettes, I’m able to de-pot the shadow quads and put them all in the palette. I have one palette for blushes, a second for eye shadows, and a third for bronzers (not shown). 

 

Skincare Favorites

Trader Joe’s Coconut Body Butter

I may start an uproar with this statement, but…this beats The Body Shop Coconut Body Butter, HANDS DOWN! The smell is amazing, the texture is perfect. As long as I can get my hands on this stuff, it will be a favorite. Bonus: while it’s cheaper if you buy it at Trader Joe’s, you can also get it off Amazon! Great for those that don’t have a Trader Joe’s locally.

 

Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum

An excellent, hydrating serum if you struggle with dry skin. It is pricey, but I think it’s worth it. It’s not heavy or greasy, and it soaks in quickly making it easy to top with my night moisturizer right away. I’ve used it morning an night and haven’t had any problem with breakouts due to this serum.

 

Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion for Hands, Face & Body

Speaking of night moisturizers, I’ve been using Skin MD for the past month since my skin has been SO dry. I usually use really thick night creams, thinking that it was necessary for dry skin. This lotion is not thick or heavy at all. In fact, it seems a little more on the watery side, but it does it’s job. I have found the 4oz size for about $10 it at only one Walgreens (not all locations), or I buy the 8oz size at Amazon for about $15.

 

Sephora Precision Pore Cleansing Pad

I can’t even pretend to hide my love for these. I’ve actually been using these more than my Clarisonic [GASP!], and I no longer use a wash cloth which can often feel very abrasive. I use two of the ‘scrubbies’, one on each hand, when I wash my face. They are made of soft silicone so it has a ‘massage like’ feel and are not scratchy at all.  I actually love these so much, and am afraid Sephora will stop carrying them, so I’ve bought 2 for my sink, 2 for my shower…and I may have a few tucked away for travelling as well. Just in case.

 

Nail Favorites – Colors

Harmony Gelish Sizzling Summer Nights Collection

By far, these are my favorite Gel nail colors. If you follow me on Instagram you’ve probably seen these on #manicuremonday. The Sizzling Summer Nights Collection has four colors: Sunrise in the City, Big City Siren, Showstopping, and Shake Your Money Maker. They are amazing color shifting glitters. Big City Siren & Shake Your Money Maker are solid is 2 coats. The others are a bit more sheer, but can be built up.

 

Essie – Beyond Cozy

The best White Gold micro glitter polish. Great as an all over color or as just an accent nail. 

 

Butter London – All Hail The Queen

When I get tired of the bright spring colors, I reach for a neutral. This shade is a great neutral polish with a subtle shimmer.

 

Nail Favorites – Treatments

Mavala Cuticle Cream

I used this Cuticle Cream in college when a very pushy sales person talked me into buying it. I’ll admit, she was right. When my local beauty supply shop stopped carrying it I was bummed. But I recently found this at both Ulta and online via Amazon so I’m back in love. It’s a thicker cream, and can be a bit sticky, but it’s amazing stuff. I use this every night before I go to sleep.

 

Gelish Basix Kit

I overpaid for this kit by buying it at Sally Beauty, you can find it cheaper online. In fact, I’m a bit bummed that I didn’t just buy the Full Size kit on Amazon since it was the same price as I paid fo the mini. While I’ve used other brand gel colors, I’ve only used the Gelish brand kit so far and it’s been great. I’ve done 4 full manicures so far and haven’t had a single problem with peeling, chipping, or tip wear. I’m SOLD.

 

Haircare Favorites

Tangle Teezer

Regardless of what shampoo and condition I use, my hair is incredibly tangled out of the shower.  At first I thought this was simply an over priced comb, but it’s no joke. It works really well at getting tangles out of wet hair with minimal effort meaning less damage to my hair while it’s wet.

 

TIGI Bed Head Manipulator

I used to use this product when my hair was super short. When I grew it out, I stopped using the ‘manipulator’ because I thought it wasn’t useful on long hair. I’ve held onto it because, truth be told, I really like the scent. Long story short, I started using this recently on dry hair, just at the ends. I only use a very little bit, but it completely removes any static or frizz.

 

Organix Coconut Oil Weightless Hydrating Oil Mist

I don’t like using oil serums on my hair because of the mess it leaves on my hands. The Organix spray is a fine mist that I add to the ends and comb through with my fingers. It has the GREATEST coconut scent and is completely mess free.

 

L’Oreal Evercreme Cleansing Conditioner

I’m no expert, but my guess is that this cleansing conditioner is L’Oreal’s version of Wen. I’ve never used Wen so I can’t compare the two, but I love the L’Oreal version (and it’s so much cheaper). It really conditions my dry hair without feeling heavy or greasy. I use it about 2 times a week as opposed to every time I wash my hair.

 

Fashion Favorites

Sequin Clutch (Rose Gold/Smoke)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these clutches. I picked them up at DailyLook in both Rose Gold and Smoke because I love them that much. They are padded so they work great as a Tablet case which is what I use them for, but I’d happily swap out my tablet to use the clutch as an evening bag.

 

MIA Floral Wedges

I love these wedges for spring! I couldn’t find them online anymore, I think I bought them at DSW a few years back. Now that the temperature has warmed up (at little too much at 105 yesterday), I’m breaking in the spring/summer shoes. These are great because with the colors, they go with so many outfits and the wedge style is so versatile.

 

Rose Gold Jewelry (DailyLook, Henri Bendel, Fossil)

Silver has always been my favorite type of jewelry, but lately I’m seriously warming up to gold…rose gold at least. I’ve already talked about the clutch, but I’ve also been collecting some beautiful rose gold jewelry. The necklaces are from the Fossil outlet, the bangles and ring are from Henri Bendel, and I found the chain link bracelet at DailyLook.

 

 

*Some links contained within this post are affiliate; however, none of the products were provided to me, nor was I asked to review them.

March Beauty/Fashion Favorites

I’ve done some ‘favorites’ posts in the past, but not quite like this. I’m going be doing two posts each month (usually earlier in the month), one that covers Beauty/Fashion and a separate post for Home/Food/Fitness/Books, etc. This is not a sponsored post, I purchased everything with my own money. I simply love reading and watching these types of posts/videos because I always learn about new things, and I wanted to share some of my favorite items with you guys.  If this type of post is not your cup of tea…no prob…the next post is not beauty related. I have some Decor/DIY posts that will be up soon. 

I want to hear about your favorites too. So if you have a favorites post, or any items you recommend, leave them in the comment section!

 

Makeup Favorites

Kiehl’s Scented Lip Balm – Mango

I’m a lip balm kind of girl. I don’t wear lipstick very often because it makes me feel very made up…it’s just not a comfortable feeling for me. But I ALWAYS have lip balm on and I love Kiehl’s #1 balm. It’s moisturizing, with  just enough shine to work for me as a gloss. Mango is my favorite so far, but I’ve also enjoyed the Cranberry scent. I hear they have Coconut and Pear…can’t wait to try those. They run $9 a tube, but lately I’ve been able to buy them on sale at Nordstrom’s Rack.

 

L’Oreal Infalliable Gel Lacquer Liner 24 Hour

Since I don’t wear lipstick, I always put the focus on my eye makeup. By far my favorite style is lightly winged eyeliner, and I can’t get the cleanest line using a pencil. I also prefer to use a brush, so I tend to avoid the pen style liquid liners. In the past I was using the Smashbox cream liner, but I have a new favorite (for so much cheaper!). I picked up the L’Oreal Gel Lacquer Liner at Target a few weeks back and have since picked up 2 other colors. It’s incredibly easy to apply and lasts all day on me. I don’t know about 24 hours, but 12 hours have been no problem. I also love that it’s easy to remove with regular eye makeup remover. I have Espresso, Dark Slate, and Navy…and each package comes with it’s own little brush! They run about $9, but they often go Buy One, Get one 50% off at Walgreen, CVS, and even ULTA.

 

Elf Studio Endless Mini Eye Shadow Palette

I’m such a chicken when it comes to wearing colored eye shadows. I usually stick with my basic browns with maybe a grey thrown in from time to time. But I’m trying to step outside my comfort zone a bit, so I picked up this ELF palette at Target last month. It only cost $6, and has 32 different colors. I haven’t been brave enough to try those bright purples, but I’ve played around with the greens, pinks, and blues. The colors are pretty sheer so they are easy for me to use without feeling too crazy. Surprisingly my favorite color is the brightest pink in the palette. I never thought I would wear pink on my eyes, but it’s such a sheer wash of color that I find it so easy to wear.

 

Skincare Favorites

Fresh Rose Marigold Floral Water

Growing up I had Combination Oily skin, but over the past few years my skin has shifted to Normal/Dry/Very Dry. I use the Rose water morning and night, any time I need some added moisture to my skin. I always apply this before toners or lotions. It smells so good and it’s a big bottle which has lasted me a long time. It’s a very refreshing way to start and end the day.

 

Clinique All About Eyes Serum

I’ve been a loyal All About Eyes customer for years, the regular product is great. I use it at night, but this roller ball serum version is perfect for mornings. It has a metal roller ball applicator which does a great job at ‘de-puffing’ the eyes and the formula is very light. I go through it really quickly, so anytime it’s at the Cosmetic’s Company Outlet (CCO), I stock up.

 

Pacifica Purify Coconut Water Cleansing Wipes

I’ve tried a lot of facial wipes to remove makeup. I had the Pond’s brand recently, but the smell was so overpowering that I ended up throwing them out. On a whim, I picked up the Pacifica brand at Target because I’m sold on anything with coconut. I’m almost out of the package pictured and already have a new package on hand. The smell is a subtle coconut scent, not too sweet, and the wipes are very gentle. There is no exfoliating side, so if you like that texture, you’ll want to try something else. This is a gentle wipe that has worked great for me at taking off makeup before I wash my face.

 

Nail Favorites

OPI Original Nail Envy

If I had to pick one overall favorite (of all time), it would be Nail Envy. I know there are a lot of reviews out there on this product, and it’s not anything new, but I only tried it recently. I’m a lifelong nail biter so my nails were naturally thin and very damaged. Without the nail envy they are nearly flat and break VERY easily. I wear this under everything except a gel manicure. It’s truly the only product that I’ve found that has actually transformed my nails.

 

Essie Apricot Oil

As a nail biter, my cuticles were also a mess, so I started keeping cuticle oil at my desk. I’ve used others, but I like Essie’s best right now.  It smells pretty good, not quite like Apricot, but I like that the scent is light and doesn’t linger for too long. I also really like this oil because it soaks in quickly. I find that a lot of oils feel greasy for a long time, and can be messy. Not so with this one. I keep it at my desk and put it on a few times a day. I go back to typing immediately and I haven’t found it messy at all.

 

FoodScience Biotin

So this isn’t really a ‘Nail’ item, but I feel like taking this supplement has made a massive difference to my nails. My regular multi-vitamin does has Biotin, so this is in addition for me. Of course you’d want to research any supplement that you choose to use, but this works great for me. I like that the FoodScience brand doesn’t have all those crappy additives that you find in other supplement brands. This one also has Calcium and Vitamin C so those are an added bonus. I’ve only found them at Vitamin Shoppe so far, and a 30 day bottle costs about $10.

 

Hair Care Favorites

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

I purchase my coconut oil from Trader Joe’s and I use it for a ton of things, but my favorite use is on my hair. Several times a week, I coat my hair in coconut oil before I work out. It acts as a deep conditioner mask during my workout, and washes away clean when I shower. There is NO greasy/oily residue and it makes my hair incredibly soft. After using it for several months, my hair looks so much healthier, and doesn’t break nearly as easily as it used to. Granted, the biotin probably has something to do with that as well, but the feeling is amazing after using the coconut oil. 

 

Clairol Natural Instincts Hair Color [Egyptian Plum & Medium Brown]

I used to get my hair colored in a salon, but my colorist is about 90 minutes away and super expensive. So about a year ago I stopped going and just let me natural color grow back in. Since it’s still growing out, the bottom was a bit brassy, and I was starting to see some grays that needs to go away. I didn’t want to commit to the upkeep of a permanent color, so I picked up Natural Instincts at Target. It’s a demi-permanent so it will wash out in about 28 shampoos. I mix two colors [Egyptian Plum and Medium Brown] and I’ve been thrilled with the results. It’s a little darker than my natural color, but it has the great plum/burgundy highlights that you can see when I’m out in the sun. Bonus…I don’t have to worry about the brassy grow out since it will just fade in a few weeks. Love this stuff!

 

Dove Invigorating Dry Shampoo

I love this dry shampoo for a few reasons. One, I’m totally brand loyal to Dove, I’ve been using it for years. Two, the smell! It smells great, not too strong or perfumy. I also don’t have any problem blending it into my hair. Some dry shampoos have left a white cast on my dark hair, but this has worked great for me. Extra bonus…it’s CHEAP! I think I paid with a coupon and scored a few cans for about $2 each.

 

Fashion Favorites

Gapfit GFlex Pants

I workout 6 days a week since I’m trying to lose weight. Ok…let’s be honest…I wear these around the house even if I’m not working out.  They are thicker and hold you in all over, but are so comfortable…not ‘spanx like’. I also love that they come in the long length which is perfect for me. I’m 5’7, so not that tall, but I fall right between the regular and long length in GAP pants. Most workout pants are just too short for me, but these are perfect. I have a couple of pairs, and pretty much live in them.

 

Twin Buckle Handbag (Burnt Orange)

I feel like I should be using this in Autumn, a rust color bag feels a bit out of place right now. Oh well…I love it! It’s big, so it can hold all my stuff…and I have A LOT of stuff that I carry around. I never thought I would have an orange bag, but it works surprisingly well as a neutral color. I picked this bag up at Daily Look on sale, but it’s fairly inexpensive even when not on super sale.

 

Roxy Women’s Pier-Fur Slip-On

Slippers!! I buy new slippers every year and Roxy is always my first choice. They usually have a few styles that look more like shoes, and I love that style. This version has a thicker sole so I can actually wear them outside. In fact, I don’t think they sell these as slippers, they promote them as ‘fur’ lined shoes. I don’t wear them as ‘shoes’, but it’s nice that they hold up if I want to wear them to put out the trash or grab the mail on a cold (and lazy) day.

 

 

 

 

*Please note that several of the links contained within this post are Amazon affiliate links. The items were purchased by me and the opinions are 100% my own.

Back To Blog – #InstaCatchUp

Hey everyone, Happy Sunday!

It’s been a while, a long while, since I put up a new post. I don’t have an exciting excuse as to why I disappeared, it was just due to work. We’ve gone through layoffs AGAIN, and we lost someone on our team. So I’ve taken on more work, and I’ve gone from treading water to full out drowning each day. It’s been tough to steal a few hours away to blog and do house projects. But I miss it and you guys, so I’m going to try and make a stronger effort to blog a few times a week again.

I’ll keep it short today and just share a few instagram pics that I’ve taken lately. You can click the link below to follow me on Instagram.

Follow @addisonshaw 

My little bug had a episode of tremors (a very mild seizure) a few weeks ago. There is nothing that makes me feel more panicked than realizing my pup is in trouble and I have to carry all 95 lbs of him down three flights of stairs and rush him to emergency because he’s can’t walk. It was terrifying. Of course by the time I got to the doctor, he was fine so I just looked like the crazy dog lady. They ran tests and he’s perfectly healthy, so hopefully it was a one time thing.

I’ve recently become ADDICTED to watching YouTube beauty videos when I can’t sleep at night. I love the shopping haul, monthly favorites, and empties videos so I can see what other people are buying and recommending. I love beauty products, but I haven’t invested much time into myself over the past few years. Apparently that’s over! I’ve been on a HUGE beauty binge lately. This was a recent Sephora, MAC, and Papyrus haul. That’s not even the half of it folks! Seriously, someone needs to stop me.

I also tried gel nails for the first time recently. I did these myself at home using a Gelish Mini Basix kit that I bought from Sally Beauty. I don’t know why I waited so long to try gel nails, I LOVE them! I took this picture after about 4 days, but they are still on my nails and it’s been nearly 2 weeks. I did do a little fill after a week to hide the grow out, but otherwise it looks amazing. The coolest part is that the silver polish you see in the French tips is not gel polish, it’s just regular Sally Hansen Xtreme Polish in Celeb City. Knowing that I can use my regular polish in a Gel Manicure has me totally hooked. I might do a tutorial on how I did the manicure in a future post, so let me know if you’d be interested in that.

Pretty flowers I found on Easter Sunday. They made me smile.

More beauty stuff…told you I was addicted. I scored a great deal at House of Lashes recently so I stocked up since they are my absolute favorite full lash strips, especially their Au Naturale collection.

Boredom ensued while I was waiting for my eye appointment last weekend. I don’t take pictures of myself very often, but here ya go.

Ok…I swear this is it for the beauty stuff…for now. I joined Julep Maven which is a monthly subscription box of nail polish…I mean, really…like it took much to pull out my credit card for that one. I do love that you get to preview the box each month before it ships. If you don’t like what’s in your box, you can swap boxes for a different one, or you can skip it completely and save your money that month. I used coupon code, JULEPVIP, to get my first box for just a PENNY! If the code no longer works, check out RetailMeNot for current promotion codes.

Alright, that’s it for today. I have a few furry houseguests right now, so I have to go hang out with my little doggie entourage. I hope you all have a great weekend, talk to you soon (I promise!).

DIY Nail Polish Storage

I’m a little obsessed lately with nail polish. I’ve always like a good manicure (which I do myself), but growing up an avid nail biter meant my nails always looked awful. However, last year, I took a month to battle my bad habit, and things are still doing well. Now that I have longer nails, it’s much more fun to keep them polished.

However, breaking the nail biting habit is costing me a fortune! I love polish now. 

My collection before was housed in a plastic shoe box. It quickly outgrew the lid and was starting to spill over the sides. Not only was this messy, but it was awful when the only polish I wanted just happen to be on the bottom of the box (which was always).

So in an effort to organize my linen closet, I used some scrap wood to build some nail polish storage boxes. The structure was as basic as it gets, and to make them quickly, I only used nails to hold everything together.

I built 3 basic boxes, like the above, and one slightly special box that holds tools.The tool box was split into two compartments, one side for tools and the other for clear polishes and treatments (i.e cuticle oil, base coats, top coats, etc). I reach for this box most often since I keep all the files in there so I made the front a bit lower to make it easier to identify and remove from the shelf.

Since I used scrap wood, some of the boards were bowed and knotted. Each box needed quite a bit of wood filler. I set the nails and filled all the seams.

After a heavy coat of wood filler, I spent a day sanding them. As you can see in the picture above, many of the seams were very uneven. This didn’t really bother me since I was making these out of scraps for free, but it required a lot of sanding to clean them up.

After wiping them free of dust, I applied 2 coats spray primer and 2 coats of white satin spray paint. Since it’s likely that polish may leak, I also applied several thin coats of Satin Poly. It won’t help if a whole bottle spills and dries in the box, but it will help me clean up a quick leak. I also like the sheen of satin poly on a project like this.

There is a 4th box, but it was still drying when I took these pictures.

The last step was to add some label holders. I purchased 2 packages of chrome label holders from Staples, Martha Stewart collection. Unfortunately I can’t find a link to the product online, but I found plenty of them in store. They come is a brushed chrome color and I used my magic ORB spray paint to darken them. They attached with double stick tape, so there is no hardware to deal with.

…and ORGANIZE!

I split the boxes into color families to make it easy to find any polish. I have a Red/Pink box, a Blue/Purple box, the Tools box, and an Other box.

They easily stack in the linen cabinet and actually look pretty nice. I also like that there is space to add more boxes in case my collection continues to grow.

 

Project Cost Breakdown (for all boxes):

Wood/Nails (Already Owned/Scrap Wood) = $0

White Spray Paint, Spray Primer, Spray Satin Poly (Already Owned) = $0

Labels (Martha Stewart @ Staples) = $8 (I think they were about $4 a package and I bought 2)

ORB Spray Paint for Labels (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $8

What I Want Now – Winter Skincare

Living in Southern California, winter is mild. Having lived near the beach most of my life, I had never really experienced a dry skin winter, but things have changed. Moving inland has hampered more than my love for an ocean breeze. I also have some serious dry skin during the winter and it took me the entire cold season last year to figure out the perfect winter skincare routine for me.

In reality, the winters anywhere in So Cal are mild in comparison to other parts of the country. I don’t deal with snow or below freezing temperatures. I never use to be the type of person who changed their skincare routine with the season, I’ve been very lucky to only deal with an occasional breakout. Maybe it’s because I’m almost 30 or maybe it really has something to do with the move inland, I’m not sure. What I do know is that this works for me.

 

I’ve been washing my face with Cetaphil for years and it’s never let me down.If I don’t have Cetaphil then I’ll use Dove, they are my favorites. I also use a Clairsonic face brush year round, usually only at night. After washing my face, while my skin is still damp I use the Bio Oil, it’s the only thing that stops my face from getting too dry. I also use this year around, but I use it twice a day during the winter months. During the summer I use a lighter sunscreen, but when I need something thicker I always go for Clinique Superdefense, it’s thick but soaks in without feeling greasy.  The only other thing, not listed, is Clinique All About Eyes. I don’t always use it everyday, but I always keep it in my medicine cabinets for the puffy eye days.

1. Clinique Superdefense SPF 25 Age Defense Moisturizer Dry Combination $44.50

2. Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser $9

3. Bio Oil Scar Treatment $11

Once a week I use a face scrub in the shower, Khiel’s Pineapple Papaya Scrub is my absolute favorite. It’s very gentle and works miracles. You don’t need a lot to do the job, so usually lasts a long time. I tend to jump from body lotion to body lotion, always looking for a new favorite, but always come back to two. For super dry days I use Vaseline Intensive Rescue; but my usual ‘go to’ winter lotion is Lubriderm Daily Nourishing. I could say it’s for the great formula, but really it’s because the smell reminds me of summer and it isn’t greasy. For the days when I need a little extra moisture for hands or face, I use Josie Maran Argan Oil Stick. It’s easy to carry around, smells great, and works like a charm. I also keep lip balm with me 24/7, but I don’t have a favorite brand. I have them all over the house, and in every purse, so I’ll use whatever is within reach. 

4. Khiel’s Pineapple Papaya Facial Scrub $28

5. Lubriderm Daily Nourishing Radiance Lotion (with Shea  and Cocoa Butter) $9

6. Josie Maran Argan Oil Moisturizing Stick $22

 

What are your winter skincare favorites?