Summer Skin Care

As much as I love summer (which is a lot), it's just so hard on my skin. From all of the shaving, sunburns, and sand, I feel like it is a hopeless nightmare sometimes.  I have round up some of my summer skincare tricks and favorite products to keep my skin looking great all summer long, to share with yall.

Importance of cleaning your face well// As a young women I did not fully understand the importance of washing your face EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT. I can not stress this enough. I purchased my first Clarisonic a few months ago, it has made such a huge improvement in my skin in its texture, color, and helping heal acne scaring. I have used the cleanser that came with the Clarisonic, it was okay, but I recommend this cleanser from Bare Minerals. 

Getting the best shave ever// I hate shaving my legs, and unfortunately I have dark brown hair and have to shave on a daily basis in the summer. First step to getting a great shave is exfoliating your skin well first. Then I use coconut oil (from Walmart) instead of shaving gel, it helps you get a close shave, and leaves your skin hydrated for the day ahead.

Protecting your skin from the sun// Ladies please listen to me when I tell you to please use sunscreen, please. I know we all want to be tan, but our health is the most important thing we have. We owe it to ourselves to protect our skin so please use SPF and apply regularly, I recommend a spray for your body and a cream for your face. Also after a long day in the sun it is important that you rehydrate your skin try this body oil and lotion.

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Spring Beauty

Spring is a time for bright and fun makeup so I want to share my favorites with y'all today.

Face// This is my all time favorite foundation, I wear it every day and it lasts all.day.long. This is a great foundation for when you want a little coverage but you also want it to feel light on your face. I always set my foundation with this setting powered. If you have any red spots or blemishes I recommend this concealer.

Blushes// This is my all time favorite blush no mater the time of year. Also during the spring I usually use a highlighter to give me a sun kissed look.  These are my two favorites: powder, liquid.

Eyes// I use my naked pallete on a daily basis whether it's a day look or going out. It has everything I need to get my eyes done. I also recommend this eye primer. Now let's talk mascara, I LOVE mascara, I think I can easily say it is my favorite piece of makeup, this is my all time favorite, and it never clumps.

Brows// I have decent brows, but I really enjoy a nice full looking brow and this is my favorite brow filler and it is super easy to use. I also find it is key to highlight below your brow to really complete your look.

Lips// I have several favorite lipsticks, I am not generally into lip-gloss though because it always gets stuck in my hair. This new lipstick from MAC is super creamy and feels amazing on my lips. I also love my YSL lipstick.

Stocking Stuffers

What are you hopping for in your stocking this year? Here are a few of my top picks for what I hope to see in my stocking. I try to always put cute little girly gifts in stockings, and also things that I feel they can use with in the next week to keep the Christmas spirit going. Things like makeup, and other beauty products are always great because it is usually something they wanted but wouldn't normally teat themselves too. Socks, and gloves are also good stocking stuffers because lets face it, it's getting cold out. And one of my favorite, festive pajamas, but sometimes I gift those the night before so they can wear them Christmas morning. What are some of your stocking stuffer ideas or suggestions?

Fall Beauty Giveaway

I have been given the opportunity to work with another fabulous blogger Emma the blogger for itsemmaelise.com who is hosting a fall beauty giveaway and has invited me to join in on the fun. Here is what all the giveaway entails: Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick, in Agatha | Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick, in Hexagram | Benefit Cosmetics They're Real! Mascara Mini | Benefit Cosmetics Fine One One | Urban Decay Super-Saturated Ultra Intense Waterproof Cream Eyeliner, in Perversion. Enter in bellow to win these goodies GOOD LUCK !!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can also check out my post of my makeup routine to see a few of my makeup fav's and products I swear by. 

My Makeup Routine

I get asked a lot what makeup, specially foundation, I use and today I am going to dish about all of my beauty secrets. I have tried a lot of things over the years and this is what I have come to as my quick daily makeup routine. I am going to talk you though, step by step, what I do every (most) morning. 

Before I start any makeup I look to see if my eyebrows need a little tweezing which they usually do, I haven't had mine waxed in years (I thinks since senior prom haha) I use and love the tweezerman tweezers they work great for me and have had them for years and are still great.  It's not a secret that I love big lashes so the first thing I do is put on a coat of mascara I got a free CK One mascara from ULTA for my birthday and have really been loving it. I also love this MAC mascara. I clean up any mascara that got on my skin and then I move on to my foundation. I use double-wear from Estee Lauder and it is a the most amazing foundation I have ever used it will cover anything, and it still feels light and wearable and lasts all day long- I apply with a brush. After that I put on a light coat of mineral veil from Bare Minerals just to keep everything in place and looking consistent all over my face.

Now I move onto my cheeks, I start with bronzer on my cheek bones and during the summer I will ad some to my temples to give my whole face a sun kissed look. Also a great trick for if you are wearing a low or strapless top dust a little bronzer on your collar bone it really brings it out.  Then I apply a little highlighting powder on the top of my cheek bones, sometimes in the fall and winter I don't do this as much because I am looking for a winter look apposed to a summer glow look. Then I use my favorite amazing blush orgasm from NARS I just love that stuff.

Now time for the eyes, I usually just wear a little shadow one maybe two colors I don't get supper fancy, I don't even wear eyeliner (but I wear extra mascara to make up for that). I love sparkly gold colors that I feel will brighten my eyes, I have a whole set of shadows from Bare Minerals and change up the colors some though out the year. Then after all of that I add another lighter layer of mascara just to make sure they look nice and black still after applying all of that makeup, these two layers really makes them look big and bold all day.

We are almost done, I usually fill in my eyebrows a little just to make sure they don't fade away especially when your taking pictures. I love a powder Bear Minerals makes called well rested and I add a little of that bellow my eyes and a little under my brow which helps make me look.. well rested. Now it is time for one of my latest discoveries NYX finishing spray I use dewy finish but it also comes in matte finish and it really helps your makeup look flawless all day and is supper cheap. Wait a minute for that to dry and then I apply my lipstick in the pictures I am wearing Chanel 145, I also love MAC lipstick it stays on really well. Pink is my go to for summer and spring but I try to go a little darker berry in the fall my new favorite that I just got is rebel from MAC. Now I am done with my makeup, please feel free to ask me any questions.