Travel Beauty Must-Haves

The other day, while packing for a weekend trip home, I was inspired to blog about some of my travel must-haves. I've been coming home so often that I've become a little bit of an expert at quick packing at the last moment. Here I've listed some of my absolute must-have "need to bring with me" beauty items. Of course I bring more things than these home, but these are just my beauty, makeup, hair products I bring every single time I go somewhere.

Here is my beauty bag. It's this beautiful royal purple bag I got a couple of winters ago from Victoria's Secret. It was one of their special holiday gift sets that came with perfume and stuff. I was on the market for a new makeup bag and this definitely fit the bill (and came with yummy perfume goodies!). I love using this as a makeup bag because it's really the perfect size. It's large enough to hold all of my essentials, but still fits comfortably into my duffel bag, backpack, gym bag, suitcase, etc. Plus, it's gorgeous and hard to miss while digging in a stuffed bag.

Here are my essential makeup items. Some of this items are staples in my travel bag since I bring them every single time. These include my bareMinerals Correcting Concealer, UD Eyeshadow Primer Potion, LUSH Bubblegum Lip Scrub, and Clinique All About Eyes Rich Eye Cream. And then I always pack an eyeshadow, mascara, blush, nailpolish, and a couple lip products that vary with my mood and season. Now I've been tame here and only packed one blush, eyeshadow palette, and two lippies. Usually I manage to somehow cram like 4 or 5 of each into my makeup bag. I've been getting better though and only packed a few things this time (wooo self control!).
I chose to bring my W&W Eyeshadow Palette in Comfort Zone (it's bulky I know, but I am on the lookout for a nice compact neutral eyeshadow duo or trio) since it has a nice mix of neutrals and vivids. For blush, I brought my mini sized BareMinerals Loose Blush in Golden Gate because it's tiny, natural, and very versatile. Mascara is my usual L'Oreal Voluminous Full Definition. Definitely need a mascara popped in there. Ah and then my lip products -- I usually pack at least one lip gloss and one lipstick/tinted balm since I can never predict what I'll be in the mood for. This week, I chose my new obsessions -- Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait and Benefit Ultra Plush Gloss in Coralista. And lastly, I usually bring one nailpolish in case I have some downtime or get bored and want to paint my nails. I chose one of my new polishes, the Revlon Parfumerie Nail Polish in Apricot Nectar since it's super bright and puts me in the spring mood (and also smells like spring in a bottle!).

And lastly, some non-makeup beauty items. These don't go in my makeup bag, but rather somewhere in my duffel bag.

I literally only pack two makeup brushes when I'm going home or somewhere closeby -- one flat eyeshadow brush since I usually just do a one-color eye look when I go home, and then my blush brush. If I'm traveling for a weekend getaway or something longer, I obviously pack more eye brushes (a crease brush, liner brush, eyebrow comb) and multiple face brushes. I used to just throw them in my makeup bag, but I thought that was kinda unhygienic, so I now stow them in this little brush carrier I got during a Black Friday sale at Sephora last year. Super gorgeous and sparkly...and convenient of course!

I also make sure to pop some of my ultra hydrating Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Cream for my forehead area, which gets really dry in the wintertime. For body spray, I'm obsessed with my Pink body sprays. I usually end up bringing along my Warm & Cozy scent because it's just so delicious and cozy! Lastly, I always have to bring my staple hair products -- Organix Argan Oil of Morocco Spray and the Organix Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum. These two products combined ensure that I'll have soft, touchable hair all day. Oh, and I try to remember to bring some sort of jewelry in case I have an impromptu event I need to go to or need to look nice for some reason haha. 

So that's about it! Like I said, what I pack in my beauty bag really depends on the occasion, but these are just some of the essentials I always bring along on 75% of my trips (usually just back home to visit my parents for a few days). 

Refresh Button

So yesterday I pretty much hit rock bottom and decided it was about time I hit the refresh button on my life. I've been killing myself working nonstop for like 18+ hours. For some people, that works out just fine, but not me. Especially since I'm on my computer most of the time when I'm studying, either looking stuff up or making tables/flashcards.
I figured that it was about time something changed. The constant go-go-go thing had me eating junk food every night, migraines daily, insomnia, and overall just an incredibly high amount of stress. Not good at all, for my waistline and for my mind. I had been getting about 3-5 hours of sleep per night, which just left me dysfunctional in the morning.

So, this morning is the day I hit the refresh button. I went to bed a little earlier than normal last night after taking 1 Tylenol PM to ease my headache and lull me to sleep. The result = I got a glorious 7 hours of quality sleep. I woke up really refreshed and reviewed some Pulmonary stuff. Now I'm eating cereal and blogging. So far, a pretty nice day. No headache, stress, or anything.

The real test is going to come later today. It's a long day for me, since I have my ICS class from 8-10 and then another long class from 1-5pm. That and I'm behind on my studying schedule by about a day. I'm going to try my very hardest to work in between those classes and get at least the FA section of Musculoskeletal/Derm annotated, read, and finish making tables/flashcards. Sounds easy but it's a pretty tall order. I also want to get the Fungi section of Microbiology finished, but it's only 3 pages so that should be fairly easy. All that and I want to be in bed by 12pm sharp. That means leaving the library around 11:30pm and being in bed by 11:45pm. Whew, tall order I know. We'll see how it goes.

Also, as the second part of my refresh phase, I want to start eating healthier. Enter, LC's 7-Day Skinny Jeans Re-Boot. Basically, it's a week of clean eating. Drinking lots of water, exercising 30 minutes per day, eating cleaner food. And that should take a lot of water weight off and leave you fitting into your skinny jeans. For me that means:
1. 8-12 glasses of water a day (or around 3-4 bottles of water in my lil' Love Pink tumbler)
2. Less than 2000 mg of sodium per day (bonus points for under 1700!)
3. Exercising 30 minutes a day (whether that means pilates, elliptical, walking, whatever...just workout!)
4. Only 2 cups of coffee per day! One in the morning and one in the afternoon is ideal
5. Oh and also, EAT REGULARLY. I feel like this is 50% of what contributes to my headaches. I skip meals and then once the evening hits, my head is pounding and I get cravings to eat junk food. I'm hoping eating regularly and eating well really helps with this.
6. Lastly, sleeping 7+ hours is crucial. I'm hoping to sleep at the very very very least 6 hours, but 7 hours would definitely be ideal.

I'll be sure to post the results of my 7-Day cleanse :) hoping to fit into my Aero dark wash skinny jeans!

NOTW: Maybelline Color Show Brocades Lavishly Lilac

So while painting my nails the other day, I had a genius idea and figured I'd start doing a "Nails of the Week" kind of post every week. I usually paint my nails once a week or every other week if I get lazy, so this would be a great way to show some of my recent polish picks.

For this week, I decided to use the nailpolish I received this past Christmas. It's actually really really really gorgeous! I literally cannot stop staring at my nails. Plus the color is so unique. It says it's meant to be a lilac, but it seems more silvery with a touch of purple to me. And it has pretty good staying power as well. I painted them on Saturday and it's still looking great right now, even without a topcoat. 

Plus, this is the first official spring nailpolish I've used this season, soooo bring on the brights and pastels! :D

March "Must Use" Products

So I was going through my makeup drawer the other day and realized that there were SO many products I had accumulated throughout the past few months that I really needed to start using more. So I figured that for the month of March, these should be my new kinda "reach for" products. Of course, I'll probably still mix and match with my old faves (Tarte Dollface blush, heellllooo could never give that up) but I really want to try using some new things this month. With spring around the corner, I figured it was time to use more colors and it's just an excuse for me to start wearing bright shades and clothes. Although the weather has been clearing up a lot more, it's still a little chilly and so I probably won't be breaking out my spring clothes for at least a couple more weeks. But you can clearly see that my makeup routine will be significantly brighter this month since nearly everything in my stash for this month is pink or purple.

So what's in my "must use" stash?

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette 
I got this palette back in December, on the day that it was released to Sephora stores. Sooo December 6th. I actually haven't been wearing it at ALL since I figured it was a more appropriate palette for spring and summer. And boy am I glad I saved it for this season. The colors are all very pink-toned or mauve-toned, which I knew, but the amount of pink/purple undertones in each eyeshadow make it kinda hard to use it on an everyday basis. At least on my skintone, the colors definitely look pink or purple. I still love the palette though because I love wearing colorful makeup, but for everyday this palette  most likely won't be the one I reach for. I do want to use it frequently this month, maybe for days I go out or want to jazz up my eye look.

BareMinerals Eyeshadow Duo in The Flashback
This product is another eyeshadow palette I bought a while back and haven't been using. The reason is mainly because the shadows are SO pigmented that the silver kinda makes me look a bit washed out. I used to love silver eyeshadows when I was younger, but since my color is warm-toned, the strikingly metallic cool-toned sheen of the eyeshadow make it hard for me to use. But again, it's gorgeous and I'm sure I can tone down the color by dusting it on with a crease brush rather than patting it on with a dense brush. I may even try using it in my crease? We'll see, but the palette is definitely beautiful so I want to use it more frequently this month.

Clinique Chubby Eye Stick in Portly Plum
It's probably been a year since I got this and I've been looking for an excuse to wear it, but I've unfortunately been neglecting this little beauty for a while now. It's such a beautiful royal purple color and it looks gorgeous on the crease. I initially got this for an all-over color and it does work well for that if you sheer it out, but still I think it would be more everyday-friendly to wear on the crease.

Tarte Mineral Bronzer in Hotel Heiress
I use this not really as a bronzer, but rather as a highlight/blush. Probably sounds crazy but I really love the glowy, fresh, and awake look it gives me. I used this a lot last fall but I want to start using this again since Step 1 studying exhausts the crap out of me.

BareMinerals Loose Powder Blush in Golden Gate
Recently got this and tried it a few weeks back and fell in love. Super pretty coral-peachy color blush and it would look great this time of the year! It has to compete with my Tarte Dollface, which is slowly becoming my new obsession but since this blush is so beautiful it actually has a fighting chance! Just takes a bit more effort to apply this baby, but it looks so natural and lit-from-within that it's totally worth the extra minute.

BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Smooth Talker
Not really my favorite lip gloss, but I figured since I shelled out money to buy it, I should use it at least a little bit. The main reason I don't like it is because it has gold glitter in it, but I think layering over a lip butter or another lip product will make it stand out and look a lot more better.

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Strawberry 
This lip product was featured in my monthly favorites, but I really want to wear it more this month! It's the perfect balance between sheer-natural and crazy pigmented. You would think it's super pigmented based on the tube, but you can really sheer out the color to make it look like a more natural pink color on the lips. Love love love this gloss! Just wish it smelled like strawberries too! That would be absolutely amazing.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Sugar Plum
One of my lipsticks from this fall, but I want to wear it some more this spring because it hasn't been getting much love from me recently. Super pretty color though and definitely an everyday plum color :)

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait
Last but not least, I'm so fricken excited for this!!!!! I got this lip butter for the spring and I opened it the other day and omg I'm already in love with this. It's SUCH a pretty color! It's natural and I can wear it every single day if I wanted without looking like I'm wearing a lot of makeup. It fits in perfectly with my skin tone and looks like a MLBB kinda shade. My previous favorite lip butter shade was Pink Truffle, which was a more rose-pink-brown color but this is probably going to be its replacement for the spring at least. It's a MLBB peachy shade. It has pretty sparkles in it that make me look super glow too. It would look beautiful with a golden blush and a shimmery eye. Super excited to wear it this month and possibly even do a makeup look with this soon :)

Springtime Decor!

Woo spring is finally almost around the corner! I took this morning off to sleep in, clean my room, catch up on some organization, and put out my springtime decor! I'm definitely glad I did so, because I feel so much more relaxed now and ready to tackle another rough week of school! There's just something about cleaning and organizing that refreshes my brain. I love coming home to a clean, organized room and get more studying done when my room is tidy. 

I also love spring because of all the colors. While fall and winter are usually full of darker, toned down colors, spring and summer are so vibrant and I have an excuse to brighten up my room even more! I will admit, I have a hard time decorating my room for fall and winter because everything is so bright and pink, but it makes it really easy to decorate for spring/summer. 

I put out some new items I picked up from JoAnn fabrics over the past few weeks and re-organized some stuff on my desk and especially my dresser. I definitely love the changes and compliment my decor even more. First thing I'm most excited about is my new pitcher with daisies, lavender, and bright yellow stems. I found the pitcher on sale (from the Valentine's Day clearance section) for only like $5 I believe. I've wanted a decor pitcher for SO long now and was super happy that I was able to finally get one! It definitely looks very polished and spring-appropriate. I filled it with hot pink daisies and other little stems I found. It looks like spring in a little can! Love love love. Definitely brightens my room up a lot and cheers it up (if that makes any sense). I also want to try growing my own plants this year so we'll see how that goes. Maybe a little later this month or in April.

Next, I moved my little Hello Kitty picture holder from my dresser over to my desk. I had it picture-less for a really long time, but I decided to put some pictures up. I put up one from my trip to Paris a couple summers ago, a picture of me and one of my best friends from high school, and a picture of our trip from NYC. I'm going to replace the middle one with a picture from my birthday dinner last year, but I have to get it developed first. Again, the colors in the base are so bright and pretty, I love it. And I love that whenever I glance up, I see pictures of some of my favorite people and favorite moments of life. Oh! And I also got a little ceramic bunny from JoAnn. Thought it added a little kick of Easter :)

Next, my dresser. I totally re-organized it. It doesn't look like it, but I shifted nearly everything around. For one, I put the pitcher of flowers on the opposite side, so they're not getting crowded and forgotten in the corner. Next, I condensed my makeup brushes to fit into my "Macchu Pichu" cup my friend got me a while back. And then my jewelry lady is in the other corner where my flowers used to be. I'm really liking this change because now all my jewelry is together and my flowers are more viewable than they were before. And my little bottles of daily-use products (deodorant, body spray, eye cream) are front and center. I might get a little dish to hold those in the future, but for now I think they look fine as they are.

Not much changed on this side, except I removed the hearts on my closet door and replaced them with some random butterfly, flowers, and hearts stickers I found at JoAnn. They look lame from far back, but they look nice up front. Not sure if I'll continue to do that for the next season though, I might revert back to putting magazine cutouts there instead since they look better in my opinion. But hey look, my floors clean!




Oh and lastly, I picked up a bunch of sweatpants from Walmart! Yeah not the chicest place to shop, but they had sweatpants on sale for $3 each....hard to resist. I have one pair I bought last year and oh my gosh they are SO comfortable! Definitely had to pick up a few more for this next brutal month of studying. Gonna be so comfy in the library! :) Oh and the pink sweatshirt on the right was also only $3 and looked really comfortable. So I snagged it for days I felt a little lazy and wanted a cozy bright sweater.

So that's about it. I did change some stuff around in my living room (added yellow daisies to replace the Christmas poinsettias that were initially there), but nothing that exciting. I'm definitely loving the new re-organization and decor and it's just all so happy and pink! :) Probably will be keeping most of these up all the way through summer, so probably wont' be decorating as much these next few months until fall :)

Sunday Baking: Egg White Muffins

So since I have recently been doing nothing but sitting in my cave for Step 1 studying, I've been really missing doing fun stuff like cooking, baking, decorating, SHOPPING, etc. I even have been neglecting watching beauty videos and keeping up with my fav beauty gurus! Crazy, huh? 

So this Sunday when I was feeling a little stressed, I decided to make the most of my snow day (I was stuck at home) and do some baking. Instead of making something sweet like last week (made chocolate chip muffins!), I wanted to make something more savory this weekend. So after perusing Pinterest and deciding that I needed a grab-and-go hot breakfast option, I ended up to making egg white muffins with turkey sausage, spinach, and cheddar cheese. And boy are they delish! However, there is much room for improvement and I can see ways for improvement and variety next time I make these.

For starters, I used frozen chopped spinach which in retrospect I shouldn't have used because it was liquid-y once thawed. I think that's why my egg muffins turned out a little liquidy/slightly soggy. Next time, I will definitely be using fresh spinach to remove that liquid factor. Next, I chopped up some turkey sausage and put them into each muffin cup. Definitely glad I did so because they give it a little zesty flavor and add more protein. Since this dish was a last minute decision, I didn't have very many other things to put into my muffins except some shredded cheese. Once I poured the equivalent of roughly 1.5 egg whites into each cup, I sprinkled on some cheddar cheese on top of each muffin cup. 

Like I said, definitely impressed with the way they turned out but I already see some things I can improve on next time. For one, I plan on using fresh spinach instead of frozen spinach to remove that liquid-y ness. Second, I cooked these for 20 minutes this time and they were a little bit undone (but still good enough to eat), so next time I will leave these in there for a full 30 minutes. The turkey sausage is definitely a keeper, but I want to add some onions and peppers next time to give the muffins a little more flavor. I also want to somehow tweak this recipe so that it has less sodium. Right now there's about 230mg sodium per muffin, which isn't too bad but I can only eat one at a time. Ideally I would like them to have less than 150mg sodium per muffin. On the bright side, each little muffin packs only 75 calories and a whopping 10 grams of protein! 

Definitely love this recipe though because these muffins are SO easy to make and because they make a portable delicious hot nutritious breakfast on busy mornings! And they're super versatile. The options are endless with these -- adding more veggies, different cheeses, different meats, sauces, etc. I will definitely be making more of these in the future, possibly even as early as next weekend! :)

Oh and I'm also considering making each Sunday evening a baking/cooking adventure to destress a little bit and to prep meals for my busy, busy, busy weekdays!

February Favorites! ♥

Ahh I've been SO bad at posting this month! Things have gotten a little crazy busy with Step 1 studying. I've pretty much been wearing my "no makeup makeup" look nearly everyday, which is basically just concealer and maybe some gloss or blush. And then studying 10-12 hours per day which has literally left me with no time to do anything fun.
Anyway, I have discovered some new products this month that I've been using on the days when I haven't had to rush out of the door in the mornings. I love them all mainly because they look so natural and sheer when applied. And a lot of non-beauty favorites this month, too!

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface

Photo credit = www.jessbeez.blogspot.com

NYX Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel 

Photo credit = www.missnattysbeautydiary.com

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Strawberry

Photo credit = www.wieniawski.blogspot.com

Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Spray

Photo credit = www.reikouken.blogspot.com

ELF Eyebrow Brush/Comb

Photo credit = www.swirliciousbeauty.blogspot.com

Helios

Photo credit = www.boomkat.com

Bath & Body Works Stress Relief Body Wash in Sandlewood Rose

Photo credit = www.mybathhouse.com