February Favorites 2014

Beauty

Simple Cleansing Wipes: I've been using the Neutrogena ones for the longest time but I absolutely hate the residue it leaves behind! And I'm not sure if it's my imagination but it sort of stings my skin?? Anyway, I have heard lots of amazing things about this brand so I thought I would give their makeup wipes a try and I really like them! I won't one is better than the other but I will say that the residue it leaves behind isn't as... Hmm... Thick as the other ones, plus it doesn't sting my skin. (I wash my face in the shower and I only use makeup wipes to wipe away any extra mascara that didn't wash off in the hot water). 

Sonia Kashuk Concealer: I bought this back in July of last year at Target for around $10 and I really liked it. Since I am kind of a concealer freak I kind of forgot about it and started using a different one, especially when the colder seasons came around because this shade was a bit too dark for me. Since my birthday trip to Oahu, I came back visibly darker (Even though I'm brown and always will be brown, I prefer myself on the lighter end of the spectrum, however when I came back from Oahu I was really loving my tan!). I accidentally left my usual concealer jar in my friends purse so I decided to open this one up again and I fell in love all over again. It's super creamy, nice coverage, and matches me perfectly. It's long lasting (for me at least) and it covers blemishes and discolorations on my face left my pesky pimples up really nicely. Love it! I apply it using my EcoTools concealer brush. I don't have a Target on my island but next time I am near one I will definitely be picking up another jar! From what I remember there are only four shades to choose from which sucks but oh well, and if your wondering, I'm (currently) using the shade Wheat. 

Love&Beauty Beauty Blender Sponge: This is another item I purchased on my birthday trip. I was waiting in line at Forever21 to purchase some things and just for kicks I snatched it up. I had no idea I was going to love it this much! I can't compare it to other knock off brands and the actual Beauty Blender, but for $3.00 or whatever I paid I seriously love it. The color is super cute too. I use this to blend in my concealer. It's much faster this way and it's easier to hold than my usual sponge. 

Benefit High Beam: Nothing much to say about this other than I have been using this for a while and I still love it as much as I did the first day I got it. I never thought highlighters would actually do anything, I just thought it would be fun to put on, but seriously it makes your skin just look so... pretty in lower lighting and in regular lighting... Love it. 

Benefit Hoola Bronzer: This is a little sample size I received but I never used it. I recently just started conturing (just a bit... it's really fun to put on) and I actually really like the way it looks. It's matte which I love, but I do have to layer it at least twice to make it visible on my skin tone. After I run out of this sample size, definitely going to purchase the regular one! Oddly enough this travel/sample has lasted me a while! I apply this with my EcoTools powder (?) brush which is just barely tapered, and on top of that I pinch it sometimes to get a more define edge before blending. 

Benefit They're Real: Alas. Another Benefit sample size. On top of being a concealer freak I'm also a bit of a mascara freak. I bought this mascara on top of three others but for some reason I didn't like this much at first but I recently started using it (I think sometime towards the end of November) and I ended up really liking it... I don't know what I was thinking?!?!??! It's amazing?!?!!? Why didn't I like it before?!?!?!?!

Tarte Matte Lip Crayon in Fiery: Ok. I spent way too much money on this damn thing ($25 mother frikin dollars on a jumbo crayon for your lips) but I don't regret it at all. I was frantically looking around Sephora, trying to find one more thing to buy just because I'm weird and the Tarte packing is so beautiful so I was sucked in.This color is freaking amazing. It's looks like your standard red but when you actually look at the product and actually wear it, it's a bit darker than you expect it to be... I don't know how to explain it. It's beautiful. It also lasts a hell of a long time (wore it all day today. From 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM) and when you apply it... It smells weirdly pleasant... Sort of like menthol. I hope to pick up more from this line in the future. 

EOS Lip Balm: I'm obsessed with these spheres. The last two weeks of this month have been brutal to my lips so I've been applying this every night before I go to bed and I love it so incredibly much. It's sort of... A dry texture, if you know what I mean. I have some chapsticks from Blistex that just feels like I'm applying an oily layer to my lips, whereas EOS is more on the... I don't know... Dry side? It's so hard to explain but I like the product and how it feels on my lips. Bottom line; love it. Going to use it tonight again. Not entirely crazy about this particular scent (summer fruit) but you can barely smell it. 

Dot by Marc Jacobs: This was the birthday gift I received from my best friend and I couldn't have been happier with the scent she chose! To be entirely honest, It doesn't really smell like anything special in the bottle (it's just a nice scent), but I feel like it mixes in with your natural body chemistry, producing something really just... Pleasant. That's all I can say. It's nothing spectacular it's just something that you enjoy smelling and you want to be around.

Miscellaneous

Rings: I love rings in general but this month I found myself gravitating to these two. I don't wear them on the same hand, but on the opposite. I purchased these in a set of three rings from Pacsun for around $10. I originally got it specifically for this horseshoe ring, but sadly I lost it. I think it went down my friends sink drain but not entirely sure and to be honest I'm too lazy to dig for it. 

Grey Aero Hoodie: I am not the type of person who likes clothing that has the brand name plastered everywhere (cough, Aeropostale, cough) but I went in there because my friend fancied some jeans (WHICH LOOK AMAZING ON HER THEY FIT HER PERFECTLY AND THEY WERE ON SALE FOR $9 EACH) and while I waited for her I came across these half priced PLAIN hoodies. For some reason I really wanted to get it in large (so I did) and I practically lived in it. It's so soft and cosy and it goes past my fingers and ughhhhhh. Loveeeee. It's actually been really cold here and this keeps me nice and warm. But on the other hand it's not super thick so I can use it on regular days without overheating (like today. It was sunny but had chilly winds and I wore this with some shorts and slippers). What I really like about it is how tragically basic it is, but what I love even more are the details that make it special. The first one being the hot pink little... Plastic ends of the drawstrings (does anyone know what those are called?) and the tulip cut sides. Little details like that make me happy. 

Forever21 Tee: Another utterly basic piece. Black charcoal tee shirt, crew neck, loose, front pocket, cuffed sleeves, semi burnout, soft. I wear it all the time. What I don't like about it is that the dye is like... Running? Especially around the areas where it's sewn. Thinking about buying some dye and just fixing it. 

Paper Towns by John Green: I don't want to ramble too much but I enjoyed this book a lot more than I anticipated. Had some suspense and really opened my eyes to how people and friendship work. Definitely recommend checking it out! I mention it to everyone I meet! 

Bath & Body Works Candle in Peach Bellini: They were having a sale on the mini's (3 for $10) so I couldn't pass it up. I somehow winded up getting both a soap and candle in this scent but seriously I'm not even upset this thing smells amazing! Almost halfway done! It smells so yummy and fresh and just frikin fabulous. Go and check it out next time your near a B&BW.

Music Favorites:

1.  She Looks So Perfect by 5SOS. 

Holy frikin crap I love this song. It makes me smile and want to dance and Calum's solo makes my heart melt. The music video is fun to watch as well. Michael (my bae) makes me swoon ughhh he's so cute. 

2. Somewhere in Neverland by All Time Low

Ok I had a really hard time with this second choice. Tbh it's sort of a tie between Love Like War, Get Down on Your Knees and Tell Me You Love Me, The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver, and this song but I decided to go with Somewhere in Neverland simply because the lyrics are so incredibly sweet. 

"Wendy we can get away

I promise if you're with me, say the word and we'll find a way

I can be your lost boy, your last chance

Your "everything better" plan

Oh, somewhere in Neverland"

3. #GETITRIGHT by Miley Cyrus

Thanks to an amazing website called Spotify, I'm easily able to listen to all these albums I'm just really lazy to Youtube or listen to the previews on iTunes. I prefer just starting from the first song and just having the album as background noise as I clean or... Use the inter webs. Anyway, Bangerz was one of those albums and seriously this song (although a bit risqué if you listen to the lyrics) is sooooooo fun to dance around to. I find myself humming it all the time. 

That's pretty much everything I have been absolutely and unconditionally loving this February. This was really fun for me to write, and hopefully this is the first of many monthly favorites posts to come!  Please let me know if you would be interested in me continuing this! 

And please be sure to type me a comment telling me something you've been loving as well! I'm curious! 

xoxo,

                                          

                   Kelly