products I used + liked in 2015.

1. Purity by Philosophy // 2. The Body Shop Grapefruit Body Scrub // 3. Tarte Brazilliance Self-Tanning Face Towelettes // 4. Lush Karma Kream // 5. Dermalogica Precleanse // 6. The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion // 7. Co Bigelow Lemon Cream Body Wash // 8. Urban Decay All-Nighter Makeup Setting Spray // 9. Revlon Lash Potion Mascara // 10. Oscar Blandi Dry Styling Heat Protect Spray // 11. Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer // 12. The Body Shop Aloe Protective Serum // 13. Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Hairspray

I used a lot of products in 2015. For whatever reason, I started to save the stuff I used up in a box, and in cleaning out my entire room this past weekend, I found it. These products are definitely not the only ones I used and liked this past year, but they're all awesome, so I thought I'd recap, even though I'm sure I've written about some of these in my favorites before.In terms of skincare, the precleanse is amazing. It's a first step when washing your face at night to remove excess oil and breakdown your makeup — highly recommend. I like the purity wash to get any of the leftover makeup after that, and to wash my whole face. The aloe protective serum was a really light moisturizer that I liked using during the day under makeup, and the tea tree night lotion was a bit heavier but kept my skin clear and moisturized.

The karma kream is a delicious smelling all-over body lotion, and goes on like a dream after exfoliating in the shower with the grapefruit body scrub. The lemon cream body wash was an awesome winter choice in the beginning of the year, because during those months it's impossible for me to moisturize "too much." If you're looking for an extra boost during the pale months, the Tarte self-tanning towelettes are amazing, and don't turn you orange. I used them mostly to keep the tan dream alive in September, once my natural tan started to fade.For makeup, the Too Faced bronzer is an everyday staple, and I can't stress enough how great it smells and looks. The lash potion mascara was definitely not the only mascara I used this year — if you read this blog, you know that all too well — but it was for sure a stand-out, and something I want to repurchase now that it's on my radar again. The setting spray is another daily staple. It makes me feel like I'm not wearing any makeup, and anything I put on stays put for the entire day (or as they suggest, all night).

Lastly, the two hair items were both ones that I've continued buying over and over since the first time I used them — the dry heat spray is perfect for days you're using a hot tool but haven't washed your hair (um, most days?), and the argan oil hairspray smells like strawberries and provides a light-to-medium hold (my favorite part is that it doesn't feel sticky or crunchy and I can still run my fingers through my hair no problem).

All that this post has done is made me want to repurchase half of these items. That backfired.

august beauty favorites.

1. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette // 2. Burberry Runway Blush and Highlighter // 3. Real Techniques Flat Contour Brush // 4. Rimmel Wonderlash Mascara // 5. Becca Ultimate Full Lash Perfecting Mascara // 6. Frank Body Balm // 7. Korres Lip Butter in 'Wild Rose'It's been a while since I did one of these, because to be honest I haven't had that much changeup in my beauty routine. But now that my work bestie is a beauty editor, the recommendations are flooding in and it's almost as if I started watching youtube beauty vids again but with personal tips, therefore more desire to try (and buy, ugh) things. Mascara has always been my favorite, so I tried out two over the last month and a half, and they're both awesome. The Becca mascara has a thick fiber brush, so it coats and volumizes, and the Rimmel separates and lengthens. Together they're the perfect pair, but they're awesome separately, too.The highlighter palette is amazeballs. The middle shade, Incandescent Light, is a great brow and inner eye highlight, and Radiant Light is the perfect highlight for my summer skin right now. The left shade, Dim Light, is a little bit too pink for my skin, but over blush it works.The contour brush is something I've been looking for a while now, and I love it — the hairs are very packed, but real soft. The blush looks scary, but it's actually pretty light, and took me forever to even get it to show on camera. The lip butter is the perfect amount of color for everyday, but because it's a butter it rubs off pretty easily — it's so beautiful though, it's worth the constant reapplying. And finally, the body balm is really just a good lotion, but it smells delicious and keeps skin smooth for a while.

five on friday: mascaras.

1. Urban Decay Perversion // 2. Revlon Lash Potion // 3. Tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes // 4. Buxom Mascara Bar // 5. Dior DiorshowMascara is the one thing that I can never leave the house without. Obviously I've done it before, and I'll do it again, but if there's one thing I have time for, I make it mascara. It opens up my eyes, makes me look more awake, and I'll go even further to say I feel like it opens up the rest of my face and makes me look more put together than I probably (definitely) am. The Tarte mascara (#3) is my current favorite, and my absolute obsession. I have pretty long lashes to begin with, but this stuff makes them insane, and isn't too voluminous (unless you really go at it), just very natural. The Urban Decay (#1) is more of a volumizing formula, but also gives the length as well, so I usually use it at night, when my makeup might go a bit heavier than normal.The Revlon Lash Potion (#2) is just a really good everyday formula that both lengthens and volumizes, doesn't rub off or run, and is good in one or two swipes. The Diorshow (#5) is definitely a great mascara, but it's obviously on the pricier side. If I hadn't gotten this sample, I probably would have lived without it forever, but now that I've had a preview of how nice it makes my lashes look, I might have to be awful and purchase the full-size when the sample is empty (which is soon, ah). Lastly, the Tarte Mascara (#4) is another one that I got as a sample, and to my knowledge, is kind of a do-it-yourself mascara when you buy it in store. I think you can choose between a bunch of different wands (this leopard print one that I got with the sample is great for length and subtle volume), and different formulas (I have the plain old black mascara, and it's great, but they also make a waterproof). I have been rotating through the five of these for months now, and haven't been unhappy with my lashes even once.

ipsy glam bag review | february.

China Glaze Nail Polish 'Marry A Millionaire' (similar) // ModelCo Blush 'Peach Bellini' // JOYA Composition No 1 Parfum // Medusa's Makeup Safari Eyeshadow 'Headhunter' // Mitchell and Peach Fine Radiance Face OilThis month's ipsy bag was another meh one. I was not impressed with the coloring of both the blush and eyeshadow, nor was I really partial to the nail color. I do love china glaze polish, and there's a chance I'll be feeling glitzy and fancy and purple all at the same time and this will get used, but I would have preferred a solid color. The perfume is just alright, it smells nice but it's not exactly my style (update: passed along to mom, who loves it).The face oil though, that's probably the only thing that I'm excited about. I haven't started using it yet because I don't want to switch from the one I'm using now, but it smells delicious and I read a few things online about it that seemed really positive. I keep threatening to cancel my service after mediocre bags like this, but I am a weak and lazy individual, so that hasn't happened yet. For ten dollars, it's still kind of worth the risk.

five on friday: facial cleansers.

1. Philosophy Purity One-Step Facial Cleanser // 2. The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash  // 3. Lush Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub // 4. Dermalogica PreCleanse // 5. First Aid Beauty Red Clay Deep CleanserI feel like I've finally found the perfect combination of facial cleansers that has left my skin clear and hydrated (most of the time #dryskinprobs). It definitely all started with the Dermalogica PreCleanse, which is a cleansing oil that unclogs the oil on your face with oil (mind blown, right?!), removing the excess but leaving enough in your skin that you don't get over-oily to compensate. I use that at night to remove all of my makeup, then after rinsing I alternate using the Red Clay cleanser and Purity, which both leave my skin soft. I like to use the ocean salt scrub every few days in the morning to exfoliate my skin, followed by the tea tree cleanser, which is a literal miracle worker, though sometimes I alternate with Purity because it's more gentle after rough exfoliation. If I had to choose just one of these products, it would have to be Purity because it's a makeup remover and gentle cleanser all in one, but luckily there's absolutely no reason I have to choose. Boom.

ipsy glam bag review | january.

1. La Fresh Eco-beauty day moisturizer // 2. Velvet 59 Lip Gloss in 'Nude Cocoa' // 3. Elizabeth Mott All Over Shadow Brush // 4. Pacifica Coconut Eye Shadow in 'Etheral' // 5. Hikari Cosmetics Mechanical Eye Liner in 'Storm'.This month's bag was meh. It was the kind of bag that made me go into my profile settings on ipsy and re-answer the questions that help them to create a personalized bag because I'm tried of getting products that are not a color I would use, not the type of product I like, or very similar to another one that I've already gotten. The eye liner was another crappy formula that isn't going to get used because I feel like I would have to push so hard on my eye to get the color payoff that it would pop out of its socket. The eye shadow is similar to another Pacifica eye shadow that I got a few months back, and the formula is so chalky that I don't know how I would ever get the color to stay on my lids. The lip gloss is just. Ugh, I hate lip gloss. It's sticky, it's hard to spread on your lips, and this particular lip gloss was more like a nude colored glue. Pass. The brush was awesome, because I love getting new brushes, and shadow brushes are ones that don't need to be as perfect as a face brush. As long as it gets product on, which is does, I'm happy with it. Finally, the moisturizer was just okay. It was definitely moisturizing, but I have other creams like I like way more. Also, the smell (a bit like kale green juice) was totally not for me.

I'm going to see how next month goes with my new profile question answers, but it may soon be time to try out another beauty service and switch things up a bit in the future.

january beauty favorites.

1. Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara // 2. Fresh Black Tea Age Delay Eye Concentrate // 3. Philosophy Time in a Bottle for Eyes Daily Serum // 4. Dior Diorshow Mascara // 5. Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask // 6. Duri Rejuvacote Nail Growth Top/Bottom Coat // 7. Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki // 8. Benefit High Brow Highlighter in 'Champagne Pink' // 9. Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in 'Rose`'Because I never did a November or December favorites, I had a bunch this month (some of which I'm pretty sure might be repeats, but they made a reappearance this month, so I'll pretend that I didn't) that are either new favorites or have been since November.

Firstly, I have become quite the mascara sample hoarder over the last six months or so between Sephora gifts and ipsy bags, so the last few months in lashes has been incredible. This month I loved the Tarte mascara, and purchased the full size because it's really great for both top and bottom lashes. The Dior mascara is something that I don't think I would necessarily purchase because of its price tag, but the sample has done wonders for volumizing my lashes. With my lashes looking good, I've been keeping the rest of the eye area simple except for a bit of the Benefit highlighter under the brow bone and in the inner corner of my eye for some brightening.

While on the subject of the eye area, I've been using two sample eye cream/serums, the Philosophy Time in a Bottle during the day because it's really light, and the Fresh Age Delay overnight because it's a lot thicker. My under-eye area is definitely much smoother, and I've noticed that my makeup seems to go on smoother as well, which is a plus. As for the aging benefits, I'll get back to you in twenty years. Hold.I am not sure if I've talked about the Sigma F80 brush, but man, I remembered I had it now that my skin needs a little more help in the morning (#winterstruggles), which means a little bit more concealer to apply. This brush spreads makeup like room temperature butter on a slice of toast. It's super soft, doesn't eat your makeup, and is generally a delight to use.

I know that I've talked about the agave mask from Bite Beauty, but now that winter has rolled around again, I've been using it on my lips almost every night. I always wake up with smooth, hydrated lips, and can't stress enough how delicious it tastes (like vanilla). Also for the lips, I've been keeping my chapped lips at bay during the day with the Fresh Sugar lippy. I have the original one, but the rose` one adds a tiny bit of sheer color, which is fancy.

The Duri top coat could possibly have been mentioned before as well (it's been a while, oops), but I wanted to throw it in here because I am the laziest person in the world and haven't been making any effort at all to keep my nails done. I throw some of this on them, and it dries really quick and keeps me from biting my fingernails. It is a growth and strengthening formula as well.
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ipsy glam bag review | december.

1. Big Sexy Hair 450* Blow Out Heat Defense Spray // 2. Cailyn Just Mineral Eye Polish in "Orchid" // 3. Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara // 4. NYX Butter Lip Balm in "Marshmallow" // 5. BWC Aromatherapy Facial CleanserThis is the last glam bag of 2014, and it was definitely the type of bag that had really great things, and a couple of unexpected goodies. The NYX butter lip balm would have really served me better in a more vibrant color, because I hate nudes, but it smells so good and is really nourishing, so it might get some good use. The mineral eye polish is the one thing I'm iffy about, but it's a nice color and it's supposedly really good ingredients, so again, it'll probably get some use. The facial cleanser smells delicious, and it's a cruelty-free product, which I like. I'm sure it cleans faces the way it's supposed to, but I don't know if it will replace Purity in my line-up. The heat defense spray is probably awesome, because BSH is a reputable brand, and even though I can never tell if heat spray is actually working because my hair is in awful shape to begin with, it doesn't hurt to use. And this one smells like absolute heaven.The winner of this bag though by far has to be the Tarte mascara. I had this in my hand at Sephora before the holidays, but decided to be good and not spend on myself. In the true fashion of a Christmas miracle, ipsy sent me some, and I could not be happier with it. It's seriously awesome, and it makes my lashes so long that my manicurist asked me if I got eyelash extensions. WIN. If ipsy did one thing right this year, it had to be that they sent over the most amazing mascaras in almost every other bag throughout the whole year. Keep 'em comin, ips!

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ipsy glam bag review | november.

1. Starlooks Gem Liner Pencil 'Ultra Orchid' // 2. Be Delectable from Cake Beauty Lotion // 3. J.Cat Wonder Lip Paint 'Mad Splatter' // 4. Be A Bombshell Cream Eye Base 'Submissive' // 5. Glamglow Powermud Dualcleanse TreatmentThis month's bag was mostly exciting for me because any time I get to try a Glamglow product for free, I'm pumped. They're the most expensive products ever, but everyone raves about them. I haven't tried it yet, but based on reviews, I think I'm going to love it. The lip paint is definitely darker than anything I would ever wear, but because it's like a gloss, I think applying it with a brush could make it thinner and less dark. The cream shadow base is pretty good, definitely would work on it's own as well. The lotion is well, lotion. It smells delicious, like strawberries, and does what a lotion does. The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the eye liner pencil because I probably won't ever have a time to wear that purple color. It's an okay pencil though, and a nice color in general.
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october beauty faves.

1. Buxom Full and Fabulous Mascara // 2. NARS Creamy Concealer // 3. Peter Thomas Roth Laser-Free Resurfacing Eye Serum // 4. Urban Decay Perversion Mascara // 5. BITE Beauty VIB Rouge Luminous Créme LipstickBumble & Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Primer // First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser with Red Clay // Tend Skin Liquid Skin

My usual makeup look - concealer, bronzer, and mascara - definitely upped its game this month. I got two sample mascaras from Sephora that are both awesome. The Buxom mascara has a plastic wand and really separates and elongates the lashes. The Urban Decay wand is thick and helps to really volumize the lashes. Both are awesome alone, but together they make a bomb combination.The NARS concealer is something I've been meaning to try for a really long time, and I wish I had jumped on the bandwagon sooner. It's just an all around amazing formula and does exactly what you need your concealer to do: hide the fact that you haven't slept in days and not crease so you look cakey and disgusting. The lipstick is a sample I got for becoming a VIB Rouge member at Sephora (aka I spend way too much money in there and now there's a label for it), and it's so nice. It's definitely a lip liner red because it doesn't stay put the way you need it to when a color is that bold, but it is so beautiful. I got the Peter Thomas Roth eye serum at an event (where I met him and he touched my face!), and it's the coolest stuff ever. It comes out as a red gel (see below), and it soaks into your skin like a dream. I had never used a product specifically for my eyes before, but I feel like the area is softer and a little bit brighter since I started slathering this stuff all over my eyes every night.I'm obsessed with the B&B primer oil, and it's the first thing since this stuff that has really detangled my hair, made it feel soft and smell good, and even though it's kind of impossible to tell if UV protection is working when your hair is already in bad shape, I like to think it's working. The face wash was another "should I hop on the bandwagon" purchase, but again, past me, what were you thinking?! It's such a nice gel wash that makes your face feel clean and also removes makeup. I usually like to remove my makeup with an oil first, and then use a cleanser, but I'm sure that this stuff would do the job in one step if necessary. The tend skin helps in preventing and treating ingrown hairs and razor burn, which I feel like most girls I know have issues with, so I'll just keep it brief here and say that it works wonders.

ipsy glam bag review | september.

pacifica eye liner pencil 'gun metal' // cailyn art touch tinted lip gloss 'basic instinct' // nyx hot singles eye shadow 'addiction' // crown brush infinity shadow/crease duo brush // alterna hair care caviar cc cream 10-in-1 complete correctionThis month's bag was kind of a rocker chick theme, which worked out in most ways for me though I wear simple makeup. The eye liner pencil is a really nice gun metal grey color (hence the name), which I think will look really great smudged out as a top liner, and it's super creamy so that should be easy to achieve. The lip gloss isn't exactly my color but it's a nice formula so I'll probably find some way to wear it, possibly over top of something else. The CC cream smells delish and seems like it will be a good hair mask/leave in based on what it claims it does (locks in moisture, heat protects, softening, anti-breakage, etc.), which are all things that my poor, thin hair needs. The brush is a welcome addition to my collection because it's dual sided, soft, and you can really never have too many shadow brushes, especially when you're too lazy to clean them often (watch this video to see how I clean mine). And finally, the NYX shadow is the only thing that I'm a bit disappointed in. I don't love the shade at all, which annoys me because I've done the ipsy profiling thing a million times and there's no reason why they should be under the impression that I'd ever put a coppery purple eyeshadow on myself, but in general, the NYX shadows aren't even that great. They're buildable, but kind of chalky and not very pigmented. An okay bag all things considered, but I'm starting to feel like my ipsy love may be coming to a close after almost a year of monthly bags.

brush cleaning routine - my first youtube video.

I've been throwing around the idea of a YouTube channel for quite some time, and to be honest, I've always put it off because I thought I would start it when I moved out. Well, the waiting has made me doubtful about ever starting one, so I'm going with my gut, and even though I think the videos will be pretty average in the beginning, this is something I'm very excited about. My new channel, AlessiaMariee, has one video so far, which I edited for too long, stressed about too much, and overthought quite a bit, but I'm glad it's up and it was the first step of many to get this off the ground.Makeup brush cleaning is a tedious job, but it has to be done if you want to keep your brushes bacteria free, which means your face is bacteria free as well. I use Dr. Bronner's Organic Almond Castile Liquid Soap to wash my brushes as of late, but any mild soap will do the trick (I used to use this stuff, and loved it). Watch my first ever YouTube video to see how simple it is to wash your brushes at home (and please subscribe to my channel here. Thank you!)

ipsy glam bag review | august.

1. Absolute New York You're The Bomb Lip Balm // 2. Coastal Scents Forever Blush Duo in 'Fresh' and 'Elegant' // 3. Lord & Berry Silk Kajal Kohl Pencil (black) // 4. Dr. Brandt's Pores No More Pore Refiner  // 5. Urban Decay Perversion MascaraThis month's ipsy bag was an interesting one. I was excited to see another Urban Decay product, but kind of disappointed with the quality of the other products that seemed like they could have been really awesome. The Urban Decay mascara is amazing, as I suspected. The only issue I have is that the brush holds so much product, so I really need to scrape it off on the edges before I use it on my lashes. The blush looked like it could have been good, but the formulas are chalky on the skin, which is disappointing. And though I understand that the whole point of ipsy is that everything is in a sample size, I find it really difficult to get a good blush brush into one half of the packaging they came in. The pore minimizer is okay. I have really huge pores on my cheeks and have yet to find a primer that will cover them up. I may not be the best judge on how well this product works for people with normal sized pores, but I found it to be kind of greasy and since it didn't really do too much for the visibility of my pores, I'm not sure how much I'll use it, but I will probably give it a few more tries.The eyeliner was a total disappointment. It said on the website that it is awesome for smudging and blending and the color payoff is awesome, but I disagree with most of that. To get the swatch on my wrist (below), I had to press harder than I ever would on my eye to get the color payoff that I did. The pencil drags, it's not a creamy formula, it's waxy, and I didn't try, but I can't imagine that after what it takes to basically scrape it on that it would blend or smudge in any way. In fact, to get it off my wrist with makeup remover took a lot. So at least the staying power is good if you're looking for a bright side. Finally, the lip balm is just alright. I am kind of a lip balm hoarder, so I will probably use it. I was concerned at first that the giant sparkles I noticed in the formula were going to transfer to my lips, but that actually wasn't the case. The balm smells like grapes and is pretty moisturizing, so it'll probably get thrown into my car or a bag and get used from time to time.

august beauty faves.

1. Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette // 2. The Body Shop Grapefruit Scrub // 3. Bumble and Bumble Sunday Shampoo // 4. The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Solid Oil Lips // 5. The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder in 04 Deep Matte // 6. The Body Shop Colour Crush Lipstick in 140 Make My Heart Gleam // 7. Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation  // 8. Dr. Bronner's Organic Almond Castile Liquid SoapThe favorites from this month are a combination due to my splurge at The Body Shop as well my hair and my makeup brushes needing a nice deep clean every once in a while. I spoke about the Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette already, but to be brief, it's still the bomb dot com. I got a free sample of the Ole Henriksen face cream when I bought the palette, and I have actually been loving it. It's really thick, so not sure if I would recommend it for oily skin types, but I have dry skin and my face has loved it up real hard this month. A repurchase of the full size may accidentally happen. I've been washing my hair once a week with the Sunday Shampoo instead of my regular shampoo, and man does it leave my hair clean. I don't know what kind of magic is in that bottle, but after using it my hair is soft, silky, and just clean. Suuuuuper clean. The Dr. Bronner's soap has had similar effect, but on my makeup brushes. I have heard that the peppermint and lavender scents are more popular, but I went for the almond because I go nuts for nutty scents. My brushes feel so fresh & clean and my face is happy about that. I paid a little visit to The Body Shop early in the month, and while I only went in to pick up another grapefruit scrub, you know how it is. That being said, it's possible that the grapefruit scrub has been in a post before, but I cannot stress enough how great it is. It's exfoliating, it smells like heaven, and the tubs of it honestly last forever. I have been wanting to try the honey bronzer for a while, so I picked one up in 04 Deep Matte (it's not very deep at all if you ask me, my medium toned skin with a bit of a tan is actually a perfect candidate for the shade. I think once my tan is faded it will still be great, as long as I seriously tap the excess). I saw the wild argan oil range right up front when I walked in, and immediately gravitated to the solid lip oil. I love a good lip balm, and this is perfect for day to day, or if applied a little thicker, it's a great overnight balm. If you think that the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask is too thick, or you like it but don't use it all the time (like me) because it's a little too much for every night, then definitely try this solid oil. Lastly, I picked up the Colour Crush Lipstick because in store the swatch on my hand looked great, but to be honest, after taking the photos for this post (organized blogger fail) I wore it a few more times and decided that the color is a little bit too shimmery for me, and because it's a very sheer lipstick, eventually all that's left of it are the little shimmers, and I hate that. I like the formula though, so I think next time I'll give the a matte one a try.

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packing a beauty carry-on for a long-haul, overnight flight.

1. eye mask // 2. Clinique Moisture Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator // 3. La Fresh Travel-Lite Facial Wipes (spoke about them here, but much prefer these wipes after using them) // 4. Bite Beauty Agave Lip Masque // 5. The Body Shop Almond Hand & Nail Cream // 6. Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil // 7. Elizabeth & James Nirvana White // 8. Advil // 9. Fresh Sugar Lip Polish // 10. Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment // 11. Revlon Lash Potion Mascara // 12. Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip TreatmentFirst off, this post is not sponsored by Fresh. I got a giant sample pack from Sephora before I left for contiki and everything except the full size lip treatment was in it and I fell in love with everything. They're the exact type of products you want to take on a long-haul flight. When flying overnight, it's important to make sure your skin is taken care of before you doze off. I always bring a hand cream, and the body shop almond hand & nail cream is amazing. It's not the type of cream that will stink up the whole area around you and irritate other passengers, it's just super moisturizing. If you have makeup on from the day or just because you wanted to look cute in the airport, bring some wipes to take it off, an oil to put the moisture back into your skin, and then a moisturizer (not pictured, but I ended up bringing this one). In between the serum and cream I did use the sample packet I got of the Clinique moisture masque, and I left that on for a whiiiiiiile to hydrate my skin while I was eating dinner and watching a movie. I wiped off the bit that remained before applying the serum and sleeping. I have a hundred lip products with me at all times, but the real life savers on this trip were the bite lip masque because it kept my dry lips smooth and hydrated while I slept, and then the lip treatments were good for quick application and for something not as heavy. I always bring advil or another headache medicine just in case, an eye mask (which I never liked before but have found really help! I'm obsessed with this one on my wishlist.) and mascara to swipe on before landing so that I don't look completely blank. And that's all! A quick and easy skin regime for thirty thousand feet above the earth.*some links are affiliate.

too faced natural eyes palette.

While I was away in Europe I kept saying "I wish I brought a palette instead of all of these single eyeshadows", and then I thought, I don't really have a palette that can "do it all" in terms of my go-to looks and style, which is also small enough to not be a hassle to carry around. So upon returning home, I went to Sephora and ended up with three palettes in my hand to choose from. First I saw the Bobbi Brown Surf and Sand palette in 'Sand', then the NARS And God Created The Woman set, and finally, the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette. I first put down the NARS palette because even though I liked that it came with a brush and a couple other things, it wasn't a "do-it-all" palette for me despite the beautiful colors. So I was between the Bobbi Brown and the Too Faced, and honestly it came down to the price. For $29 less I could have nine eyeshadows instead of eight with the same beautiful color payoff (according to my messy in-store swatches), and the colors were so similar, that I knew it'd be a better choice. The packaging on the Too Faced also seemed a little better - smaller, metal, tighter magnetic closure.I used it this past weekend, and man, do I love it. It's small enough to bring around with you, there are enough neutral colors to do a bunch of different looks with (and the palette comes with three cards for particular ideas), and they wore well both nights, not rubbing off and with little to no fallout on application. There are perfect blending shades, like 'heaven', 'nudie', and 'cashmere bunny', and the most perfect metallic lid shades. 'silk teddy' is very similar to Stila's Kitten eyeshadow, which is one of my faves, but a standalone shadow that broke on one of my trips because it is such a fine formula #saddestnightever.The colors are all really beautiful (see swatches above, all except for 'heaven' because it wouldn't show up particularly well on camera) and I'm really happy with the purchase so far. If you're a neutral gal like me (and you obsess over a great champagne color), this palette is for you my friend.

ipsy glam bag review | july.

1. Bare Minerals 5-in-1 BB Cream Eye Shadow - 'Divine Wine' // 2. Be fine Daily Moisturizer // 3. WHet Nail Polish - 'Facetious' // Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm - 'Unique Pink' // 5. Hang Ten SPF 8 Tanning OilThis month's ipsy bag came while I was away on my trip, and man could I have used some of these minis while I was gone. But they're all awesome nonetheless and will get used at home. The moisturizer is something I'm holding off to try because I'm just about finished with my current daily moisturizer, but it smells great and feels like a good consistency on my hand. The nail polish is pretty cool as well, a very similar color to Essie's Butler Please, just a bit darker. This is something else that I'm waiting to try, but the formula seems okay after being given the quick "drip, drip" test (for those of you who don't know what that is, or really all of you because I made it up, the drip, drip test is something I do to see how thick the polish is, if it seems watery, or if I can just tell that it's going to be streaky and non-opaque. Sometimes the drip, drip test works like a charm, sometimes it's totally off. I realize that this is not helpful whatsoever). The hang ten oil smells delicious and will be put to great use this weekend at the beach. I like to wear oils over regular spray or cream sunscreen with about 30 SPF because SPF 8 really isn't enough coverage for the sun, and oil attracts the sun to your skin. You still get a great tan with the SPF 30 underneath, promise.The Bare Minerals BB Cream Eye Shadow is actually a very cool product. It's brand new, and it's basically a cream base shadow. The color I received is a darker brown that I usually use on my eyes, but it's kind of blendable if you work quickly. And that swatch on my wrist was only there for about five minutes but wouldn't come off in the sink without some scrubbing. Hopefully that means that the staying power is great. And finally, the Pixi tinted balm is something I've seen in Target before but never picked up, and to be honest I kind of have a love/hate relationship with it right now. It's very moisturizing, but the color barely shows up, which you can see on my wrist above. I pushed that sucker into my skin and barely got a sheen. So it seems like it is just a nice lip balm, not something you're going to reach for if you want a bit of color.
*I apologize for the dark photos, the time of day just was not right. Some above links are affiliate.

july beauty faves.

1. Essie 'Sew Psyched' Nail Polish // 2. The Body Shop Aloe Protective Serum // 3. Barry M Nail Paint in Black // 4. Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief // 5. Blossom Lychee Hydrating Lip Gloss // 6. The Body Shop Grapeseed Glossing Serum // 7. The Body Shop Hemp Lip Protector

Because I was in Europe for most of July, I didn't really spend a lot of time testing out new beauty things, so pretty much all of these products were either samples I got and took with me, or from a little Body Shop splurge before I left. The grapeseed oil has done absolute wonders for my hair. It makes it soft and silky after I blow dry it, and I feel like it seals in my (very) dead ends really solidly. The aloe serum has been great for when I don't want to use an oil based serum on my face. It feels more like a moisturizer than a serum, but it's so light that your moisturizer you top it off with doesn't feel heavy or thick. And the hemp lip protector combined with Bite Beaty's Agave Lip Mask (talked about here) kept my lips in check on the plane and through my travels. I also used the Blossom clear lip gloss on the trip because my friend Jenna had one, and I became quickly obsessed with how simple the product is. It moisturizes your lips, but makes them look glossy and beautiful for when you want that little bit of extra oomph. I bought one immediately upon returning regardless of the bad place my bank account and I are in right now. The Clinique mask was something I got from Sephora as a sample before I left, and I would love to purchase the full size. I used the sample on the plane because planes always dry my skin out, and this mask was like a cool drink of water for my skin. I was having some womanly breakouts at the time as well, and rather than get worse on the plane, this mask in combination with my Josie Maran argan oil light (talked about here) calmed that all down and made my skin baby smooth. Though I'm not a huge nail painter anymore because I can never seem to find the time, I am literally obsessed with this Essie color that I got in gel version at the nail salon. I've never gotten so many compliments on my nails when they were a simple solid color, but this color is just awesome + one of my favorites these days. The Barry M black polish is something that I don't think is sold anywhere in the US, but I got it in London a while back and am so in love with this company's formula. Even though it's summer, I wear black on my toes a lot and have been loving this one. If you can get your hands on Barry M polish, DO IT.

*some of the above links are affiliate. see sidebar under "fine print" for more details.