April Favorites
I am so excited about this month’s favorites, I can’t even explain it! We have been having beautiful sunny and warm weather (for the most part) and it has me so excited. I couldn’t wait for the winter to be over and now I am finally able to wear shorts and sundresses again, or just throw my bathing suit on and head out for a day in the sun. It just makes me so happy! To go along with all the beautiful weather, I’ve been enjoying everything spring related and have all kinds of goodies to share with you. Not too many since most of my days have been in the sun and makeup has been on the minimum, but they’re all really good stuff!
I’ve been seeing these gold bar necklaces everywhere lately and thought they were so cute. I love how simple they are, and of course, I’m obsessed with anything that’s gold! I found this necklace at Icing for under $10 and have been wearing it constantly. It goes with almost everything, is an easy accessory that doesn’t require much thought, and even looks cute when it gets a little crooked around the neckline.
I’m a huge scent person and automatically get put in a better mood when things smell good. But I can also be really picky with my scents and get tired of them quickly, which is why I always buy the travel sizes. These are some of my most recent purchases and I’ve been loving them! They’re both from Bath & Body Works. The lotion is Golden Pineapple Luau and smells like a piña colada sunscreen. The body spray is Tiki Mango Mai Tai and it smells like a delicious sweet blend of fresh fruits. If you haven’t gotten in the spring spirit yet, these two scents will definitely take you there!
I currently have three undereye specific setting powders in my rotation that I’ve been trying to work my way through and I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the bareMinerals Mineral Veil powder that I included in my February Favorites. While I do still think that’s a good powder, I realized I needed to put some of the other powders to use too and had completely forgotten how good the Elf High Definition Undereye Setting Powder is. Not only is it incredibly smooth to conceal all fine lines, but it also has the slightest yellow tint that helps correct undereye circles. Since I haven’t been wearing much makeup with this fresh spring weather, two-in-one products like this have been my go-to choices.
Okay, so I’m sure we all know by now how much I adore my Smith's Rosebud Salve and use it every single night before I go to sleep. But when I was in Bath & Body Works, this lip balm caught my eye and for whatever reason, I decided to give it a try. I’m actually really impressed! It’s by the brand C.O. Bigelow and is called My Favorite Night Balm ($7.50). It’s a really smooth formula that doesn’t feel sticky on the lips at all. Sometimes squeeze tubes like this can be difficult to get all the product out of when you get towards the end, but it’s been a nice change from my rosebud salve. It stays on the lips even after getting eight hours of sleep and provides a lot of moisture and nourishment. I definitely recommend it!
I’ve talked about trying to find a great hair cream a few times now and I have always been disappointed with every product that I’ve tried. I wasn’t willing to spend tons of cash on a high-end product, so I decided to see what I could find at TJMaxx. I should’ve known they wouldn’t let me down. I walked out with a $20 (4 oz) bottle of Oliology Smoothing Keratin Oil 7-in-1 Treatment for $5. It had all the same claims that other leave-in creams have such as moisturizing, preventing split ends, controlling frizz, strengthening, etc. But what was interesting to me about this one was that it is paraben and sulfate-free and contains keratin oil. My only complaint is that I think it smells like a man’s lotion, but it does the job and makes my hair incredibly smooth, soft, and strong.
If you follow me on social media (links are on the right side bar and at the bottom of the post), then you’d already know my story with this Lorac Riesling Romance Palette. Ulta included it in their 31 Days of Beauty sales and had it for $15 one day. When I got to the store, I was lucky enough to grab the last one they had. If I was just ten seconds later, I would’ve lost it to the three other girls that came in behind me asking for it as I was checking out. So I feel like I should add it as a favorite just because of that, right?! But seriously, the quality in this is amazing and I love the neutral tones. I’ve been reaching for this palette constantly because it has everything I need to create an entire eye look.
I was also lucky enough to find a three pack of these discontinued Wet n Wild six-pan palettes at a discount store. It came with Vanity, Greed, and Lust, but Vanity has been my favorite because of the shades. I didn’t realize this until now, but the shade range is almost identical to the Lorac palette. It’s a shame Wet n Wild discontinued this because it’s amazing quality and something I think would be highly desired in the drugstore. The three matte colors on the left side have been my favorites.
Usually I go out shopping for a new bathing suit every year to make it fun and mix it up, but this year I don’t have to. I am still obsessing over last year’s picks. I found this neon peach top at Target and the bottoms are from Victoria’s Secret. They don’t have the same exact top this year, but do have something very similar. It did come with removable straps, but I like the bandeau option so I don’t have tan lines and the lace part is just the right style to flatter a small chest.
I’m not one to show a lot of skin in a bikini when it comes to the booty area and do you even know how hard it is to find a bikini bottom that does just that without looking like a granny? Let me tell you, it is incredibly difficult! But I found the perfect ones at Victoria’s Secret and was very surprised when they weren’t crazy expensive. This is their Knockout style and it covers everything that should be covered. I couldn’t find this exact pattern online, but I was almost positive I saw it in stores. Either way, they have plenty to choose from and they’re all amazing. I even went back in picked up one in black too!
Since the weather has been so beautiful, we’ve been taking the gheenoe out on the river but sometimes it can get a little chilly on the water. I found this bathing suit cover-up at Walmart for under $10 and it is perfect!! I love that it has the hood on it and the strings bring so much more style to it. It’s incredibly lightweight, so it’s not too much if you’re a little hot. But the long-sleeves really help when the wind starts picking up! I think they had two other colors also, but I’ve been obsessing over mint green lately.
With all this spring talk, how can I not include the beautiful bright sun as a favorite?? Sunshine not only brings some much needed color to my pale winter skin, but just puts so much happiness in my day when it’s sunny outside. It feels good on my skin and makes me want to get out and do all kinds of things. As I explained in my post about dying my hair blue, I’m in an incredibly happy place in every aspect of my life right now and waking up seeing the sunshine come out every day just adds so much more to be thankful for.
Look at those roses!! I’m not sure what did it, but these roses have just popped out of nowhere. When we moved into our house last fall, I had no idea these were going to be blooming like they are. And since it’s our house and our responsibility to keep these alive, it makes me so proud to see that they’re doing such a great job. This is what I mean by sunshine making me want to get out and do things. Even something as simple as admiring the rose bush brings me so much joy. Keep your eyes out for a landscaping post coming within the next couple of weeks so you can see exactly what we did to prepare our yard for spring blossoms.
I told you I had some really exciting things to share with you this month that I truly have been enjoying so much. I can’t wait for this beautiful weather to continue and to see all of the May flowers begin to bloom. I hope you enjoyed this post and found it useful or inspiring. If you have any questions on anything I mentioned, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments. I’d also love to hear what some of your favorite products of this month were and hope you have a fun weekend! :)
~Christina~
