summer style guide | beauty essentials

I love summer because it means stripping down to the bare basics for both make-up and clothing! Layers are fun but it's nice to take a break and just let your skin breathe. The items below are beauty products that I'm either currently obsessed with, have newly discovered, or plan to pick up in the very near future. What are your summer beauty essentials? xo.

1. Essence Sun Club Matte Bronzer. I've been using this bronzer for several months now and have been loving it! I actually prefer the one for blondes, even though I'm brunette, because my skin is so fair that I can't rock the darker bronzer.

2. Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray. Whew, say that five times fast! I'm obsessed with this spray. It's perfect after a dip in the pool to give you those natural beach babe waves. Plus, the travel size version is perfect for toting around.

3. Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch. This is such a beautiful, sheer pink. A little color and spf go a long way in the summer! Lip color makes me feel "put together" without getting too done up.

4/5. Essie 'Neon Collection' Nail Polish in Disco Fever (4) and Bottle Service (5). I'm so in love with these bright summer polishes I couldn't pick just one. One for my fingers and one for my toes, please.

6. Revlon Lash Potion Mascara. I saw this new product in the Target weekly ad recently and knew I had to try it. I mean that bottle... so pretty! It was love at first swipe. This mascara is fantastic and lengthened my lashes like a dream! It also comes in waterproof--perfect for afternoons at the beach or pool!

7. Neutrogena Fresh Cooling Sunscreen. My current supply of sunscreen is just about used up, so I'm on the market for more. I'm interested in trying out this cooling mist sunscreen because a) I like mists--less mess; and b) cooling? Sign me up!

8. Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream. Though I have only ever tried this one BB cream, I am already almost done with my second tube and am still loving it! This cream provides a touch of sheer color with a good dose of SPF 30. It's a great beauty essential in my book, especially in the summer.

9. Sephora Bali Bon Voyager Soft Traincase in Ikat. This adorable bag just screams summer to me. With weekend trips and vacations around the corner, I need a pretty printed bag to carry all my beauty products!

P.S. Stay tuned for my summer style essentials!

put some grey in it

"Greige" [grey/beige] was a huge nail trend last year. If you ask me, I don't think it's going away anytime soon. In fact, I am seeing lots more of this non-color mixed with other hues like blue, green, and purple. The combinations are truly endless! From a gorgeous, true grey to a dusty blue, here are my top five picks from the web. xo.

1 - Timeless / 2 - Trustafarian / 3 -  Merino Cool / 4  - Greycian Goddess/ 5 - Evvie

leave-in conditioner review

Although I limit my heat styling, get frequent hair trims, and shampoo my hair every other day, it seems like my hair is perpetually on the dry side, especially the ends. I've tried many many hair treatments to correct this problem but to no avail.

Enter John Frieda Daily Nourishment Leave-In Conditioner.


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I used this several months ago and remember having success, but after it was gone I never bought a replacement. I guess I wanted to try out other products to compare it to. Well, I recently bought another bottle at ULTA and after one use, my hair was noticeably softer. I can't stop touching it!

The scent is fabulous, too. Just spritz liberally on clean, damp hair and once your hair dries it will be good as new. I can't say enough good things about this product and wish I hadn't wasted the past few months exploring other products. This is definitely going to be a staple in my haircare routine.

Have you tried John Frieda Daily Nourishment Leave-In Conditioner? Do you have another favorite hair product that keeps your hair healthy and soft? Let me know! xo.

*This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

bare eyes + bold lips

My latest beauty obsession is bare eyes and bold lips. Sure, I love playing up my eyes. But when time is of the essence [which, let's face it, it usually is], I love a quick swipe of eye liner on my top lids, some mascara, and pretty pink lips. Lately, my color of choice is Revlon's Raspberry Pie Lip Butter. So what are you waiting for? Bust out your favorite rouge and give this beauty trend a whirl! xo.

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What do you think of this trend? Will you try it out? Let me know!

dirty hair bun

I wash my hair every other day, so on the "dirty hair" days, I try to come up with cute styles that keep my hair up and out of my face. Washing hair too frequently can strip off its natural oils and cause it to be dry and dull, so give your hair a break and try out this cute 'do. No one will be able to tell you didn't wash! xo.

You will need a hair tie and some bobby pins. If you need extra volume like I do, you can use a teaser comb or brush to tease your roots. I also tease the rest of my hair just a little for extra volume all around so my bun looks bigger.

Before styling, you can apply dry shampoo or baby powder in your roots to eliminate some of the oil in your hair and give it some extra texture.

To style:

1. Gather your hair loosely in a low ponytail at the nape of your neck. Lightly smooth out any weird bumps with your comb or fingers, then start twisting your ponytail around itself into a bun and secure with a hair tie.

2. Massage the roots at the crown of your head, pulling the hair up gently so you get some extra volume at the top. You can also massage your bun a little to loosen it up and make it look more messy.

3. Using your bobby pins, pin some of the hair on the part of the bun closest to your scalp to the rest of your hair to close the gap and hide the hair tie.

4. If you have bangs or shorter face-framing layers like I do, twist or braid them and pin them back behind your ear. Lightly brush out some "wispies" around your face to soften the look.

Done!

lip balm review

I'm a big lip balm fan so when I heard about Maybelline's new Baby Lips tinted lip balm I was so excited to try it out! I bought the purple one called "Grape Vine," which is a delicious, non-medicinal grape scent. Even though the balm is purple, it leaves a lovely berry flush on your lips--perfect for fall! Other flavors include Cherry Me, Pink Punch, and Peach Kiss, which would be lovely spring/summer hues [Peppermint and Quenched are both clear.] I definitely recommend checking this product out if you haven't already--it's amazing!

I also recently purchased the Revlon Color Burst Lip Butter in "Raspberry Pie" and am seriously loving it! It is not as balmy as the Maybelline Baby Lips is, but the product still glides on smoothly and the color is gorgeous. It is extremely pigmented so I usually dab it on and finish with my Baby Lips on top to blend it together and get the balmy effect.

Overall, both products are excellent but Maybelline's Baby Lips is much more of a lip balm than Revlon's Lip Butters. I think the Baby Lips keeps my lips softer longer during the day, but I've got my eye on a few more tinted lip balms to try before reaching a final conclusion on my favorite.


Let me know if you have tried either of these products out or have any different recommendations for tinted lip balms! xo.

face wash review

I'm by no means a product hoarder. I try to use up what I have before going out to buy something new. So when I recently ran out of my Clean & Clear Morning Burst cleanser, I felt it was time to try out something different. I knew I wanted a product with as many natural ingredients as possible.

I considered Aveeno [which I have tried before and liked], Yes to Carrots, and Simple. Ultimately, I  chose Neutrogena Naturals, which I hadn't heard of before but stumbled upon while looking at the other cleansers.

I've been using it for a week now and love it! There are very few ingredients and I like that the back label explains where each is derived from. The scent is heavenly--very subtle and herbal. I noticed right away that my skin did not feel dried out like it does when I use other cleansers.** The price was right which was also a plus. Overall, this one is a keeper!

What skin cleanser do you use? Do you have any recommendations for natural skin care products?

**Note: I would describe my skin as "normal", meaning it is somewhere in between oily and dry. Everyone has different preferences to skin cleansers so I am not sure how this cleanser would work on a different skin type.

I am not being paid to endorse this product. I purchased this product on my own and my opinions are my own.