February Favorites

February 27, 2017

February Favorites

I know there was only 28 days in the month, but I really feel like February flew by. I’ve been so busy lately that I’ve gotten horrible at remembering what day it is. That can be a good thing and a bad thing. We had a lot of fun this month, 2017 has continued to treat us amazingly well, and I can’t wait to see what else is to come. I do have quite a few new products that I’ve been testing and loving this month. I’m really excited about it, so let’s just get straight to the goods!

If you read Part 1 of my new series, Setting the Wedding, or if you follow me on Instagram then you might recognize this first item. This is The Wedding Planner & Organizer by Mindy Weiss. It has everything inside that I could’ve possibly thought of, and even more. It has a timeline for staying on track and telling me what to plan next. It’s been such a help already and I’m so happy that I’ll have this to look back on years down the road. I did look through the pages of this in local bookstores, but of course found it cheaper on Amazon and just ordered it there. Seriously, what would we even do without Amazon Prime?!

This winter has been pretty nice in Florida, honestly. We had a few days in December and January when it got super cold, but then it went right back up. Thank goodness! I’m always cold no matter what, though, and I had been wanting a jacket that was a little bit more loose than the ones I have. I actually found this one in Burlington when we were walking past the men’s section and it was only $10. Hello!! You can’t even tell it’s a men's jacket and the inside is so warm. Definitely wouldn’t have found anything this soft in the women’s selection, that’s for sure! And it definitely wouldn’t have been $10 - not on clearance either! Burlington is quickly becoming one of my new favorite stores.

I know I’m not a very big person and that I don’t need to lose any weight, but I also know when I’ve been lazy too long and need to get active again. That’s something I’ve been doing a lot recently and working on toning my muscles back up. Not only because summer and my wedding are coming up, but also because I like to keep my body in shape. Pilates has been my favorite! To get myself feeling even more active, I bought some sports bras - something I didn’t own one of! I like the way the pink one fits (it’s by Kenneth Cole), but I also like that the strappy back of the black one (by Pro-Fit) allows more air flow. One of my biggest pet peeves is trapped sweat in my clothes. Gross!

I’ve been having the hardest time finding a good purse lately, I don’t know what it is. I was really enjoying the Tommy Hilfiger one that I featured in my Black Friday Haul, but it started getting difficult and uncomfortable to hold on both my arm and my shoulder. The structured style of it was nice at first, but became a burden when carrying it after a while. Target always pulls through, though! This one from Mossimo was only $30 and it’s perfect. It’s super soft and lightweight, it’s easy to carry and maneuver wherever I may be walking or sitting, and I love this color.

I’m bringing the scrunchies back. I haven’t worn these in years! It’s seriously been so long that I can’t even remember the last time I saw a scrunchie around my house. I just haven’t been happy with the other alternatives that I was trying to use, so I decided to go back to what I know will work. They might not be the cutest, but they keep my hair in place and don’t damage it at all. Another pet peeve of mine is having my hair in my face, especially when I’m trying to relax at home. As soon as I walk in the door, the hair goes up! Anyone else?

Skincare is another big thing I’ve been paying a lot of attention to recently. Making sure my skin is in a good place has always been a big concern of mine, but I know I need to start making bigger improvements to it so it can be as flawless as possible on my wedding day. We are still eight months away, but clear skin is a long journey! The Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair night moisturizer made it into last month’s favorites also and as I continue to use it, I keep seeing even more improvement in the texture on my cheeks. I use this every night and my skin hasn’t had any sensitivity to it.

I’ve also been testing out the Nip & Fab Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads. These are to be used after washing your face both morning and night. Some of its ingredients include glycolic acid (obviously) which works to retexture and resurface your skin to create a brighter and more smooth complexion. It also has hyaluronic acid to moisturize and witch hazel to tone. I can’t even remember the last time my skin has been so smooth!

The Mario Badescu Drying Lotion has great reviews and I don’t recall ever hearing many negative things about it. I finally decided to pick up a bottle a few months ago and have been dotting some on the second I see a breakout starting to form. It does actually work! I’m really happy with it.

For face makeup, I’ve been lovingggg the Garnier BB Cream! If you haven’t seen my last post where I explained all about this product and the reasons why I love it, you can catch up on those details here. It’s so amazing, I haven’t been reaching for anything else. Although it does stay in place all day and I don’t have to worry about it, I still like to set my makeup if I know I’m gonna be having an extra long day. I don’t think I’ve talked much about it before, but I do really like the L’oreal Infallible Setting Spray. It sprays out in a very even mist across the face and keeps my makeup in place longer throughout the day while also containing some of my oil.

Would it really even be a favorites post if I didn’t mention at least one Makeup Geek product?! I love everything I’ve tried from this brand, including the blushes. But my favorite recently has been the shade Covet. It is a little darker than what I would usually reach for, but that makes it super fast to apply. I only need a very little bit and it blends out beautifully. It does have a tiny amount of glitter in it, but nothing too noticeable. And the packaging on these is just completely amazing. I love everything about it!

I did it. I caved! I couldn’t not have this Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Palette any longer. It needed to be in my collection. I’ve held off for such a long time on buying a high-end eyeshadow palette and I’m so glad I did because anything else would have been a waste of money. This palette is just complete perfection. Every shade is matte, they’re all incredibly pigmented, and it includes every nude shade I would ever need. It was worth every single penny!

This is just a tease with the swatches to give you a quick example of what I’m talking about with the pigmentation. They’re not so buttery where you have to be careful applying them, they have the perfect texture. As far as the colors, you get plenty of each shadow and there’s a great selection of neutrals, cool tones, and warm shades. I could stare at this palette and play all day. Keep your eye out for that full review within the next two weeks!

Here we go again with the lip products. I don’t know what has gotten into me, I’ve never been so impressed and obsessed with so many lip products at once! In the picture from top to bottom, we have: Tarte Tarteist Lip Paint (Birthday Suit), Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick (Pasadena), Real Her Cosmetics Moisturizing Lipstick (Sorry, Not Sorry), and Elf Cosmetics Lip Stain (Pink Petal).

I’ve mentioned the Elf Lip Stains quite a few times before, so I won’t spend much time on those. They are my favorite for when I need some color on my lips all day long without needing to reapply and this pink looks so natural. The Real Her lipstick was included in February’s Boxycharm, so I haven’t had it for a very long time. But I already know I like it because the formula is really comfortable to wear and the color is beautiful.

The Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick came in my April Boxycharm last year and although I was never opposed to the color, it was the texture that made me not be able to wear it. It’s sticky for a very long time. But I took it out recently just to play (because that’s what I do in my spare time) and fell in love with the color. The longer you leave it on, the more the sticky consistency goes away.

The Tarte Lip Paint is part of the Sephora birthday gift this year and I love the consistency of it. It’s just a little bit tingly on the lips when first applied, but very comfortable and flattering especially for being matte. These two look very similar in the swatch, but Birthday Suit is just a little lighter in person and when applied on the lips.

That was quite a lot of favorites! But they’re all products I’ve been so obsessed with, especially that eye palette and BB cream. I’m so happy to have products that are making a difference on my skin and you better believe when I get a solid regimen down, there will be an updated skincare routine coming at you!

~Mani Monday~

I’ve been kinda over the darker colors recently because, like I said earlier, it hasn’t been feeling much like Winter in Florida. I’m not complaining, though, we’re having beautiful Spring weather and I’ve been loving it!! I was obsessed with my white nails last week and this week I decided to go with something a little more subtle. I’m wearing Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure polish in the shade Shell We Dance. Although I’m not a big fan of the quality and wear time of this line, this is still one of my favorite almost nude polishes. We’re doing a little something special for the wedding this weekend and I thought this is a perfect bridal color. It’s so soft, feminine, and classy. I love it!