Little Notes // 1

Hello everyone! I just wanted to quickly post about my day. I just finished my first book of the summer, Mindy Kaling's "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" and it was brilliant. I'm sad that I finished it so quickly and now have to find something else to read on the plane. I also ended up making Pad Thai for my family today after much begging from my younger brother. Being home from university really has it advantages since I finally have a kitchen and I can burn candles once again! I'm sure all of you have heard of Bath and Body Work's 'Market Peach', but if you haven't have a sniff when you can! I hope everyone is having a lovely day!

Essie Collection

Since the 1990s, oh yes I researched this, Essie has grown to become one of the most well-known brands worldwide. Since I stick my toe (more like half my body) into the beauty community every once in a while, I have ended up with a few bottles of my own. Unfortunately my swatching does not do these colors justice, but since I have six different colors and I didn't want to paint my nails and have four piggies feel left out, I had to settle on this display. Essie is not my favorite brand, but it is still damn good. My favorite for the warmer months has to be 'Absolutely Shore', a very milky mint green, and for the fall/winter months 'Bahama Mama' is an essential. To be completely honest, I only bought two of these full price and the others are from TjMaxx or Marshalls. Great place to find discounted Essies! What are your favorite colors? I'd love to add to my collection.

Peek Into My Bag

During the process of photographing for this post, I came to the conclusion that I am in desperate need of a larger bag. This is the stuff I carry around on a daily basis, but Friday I will be flying to California and my carry-on will look quite different. Here is the miniscule amount of things that I am able to stuff into my Mini M.A.C.: 

1. My wallet takes up most of the space but it has many compartments that hold things like photos of my friends and more than one fortune cookie fortune... 
2. Lip balm, lip gloss, perfume sample, and mints. I attempt to be semi-attractive and hygienic on the go.
3. Not the best smelling hand sanitizer but I have to stay clean! 
4. Very big compact mirror from F21. I used to touch up my lipstick by using the reflective powers of my phone screen but now I have this baby. 
5. My huge bundle of keys that unfortunately I cannot leave at home. And yes, that is a rape whistle. Better safe than sorry. 
6. I have broken every pair of sunglasses I have ever bought. This is my latest victim: a pair from H&M that folds up into the most compact little thing in the world. Hopefully this means they are less likely to break. 
7. Last but not least, my Android. It's handy for taking pictures on the go and communicating but I'm more attached to my laptop. 

What do you carry around? 

April Favorites

Left to right: NYX 'Tea Rose', Revlon 'Flushed', Revlon 'Pinched

Benefit Stay Don't Stray Primer

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation

In the warmer months, I tend to wear less and less make up. I find myself gravitating towards creme blushes, lighter coverage foundations, and more shimmer! This month I have replaced my Revlon Color Stay foundation with it's dewy cousin, Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation. I am in the shade 'Shell' at the moment. I use my Real Techniques Buffing Brush with this product and the coverage is light but buildable at the same time. For the cheeks, I have been using the Revlon Photoready Cream blushes. Cream blushes are ideal for the summer because they give you a flushed look but are subtle. The two I have in my collection are Flushed, a bright rose pink that looks dangerous in the jar, and Pinched, a light shimmer filled coral. I am not a big lip gloss girl, I usually go for a moisturizing lip balm or a lipstick, but the NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Tea Rose has stolen my heart. It is not sticky, adds color to my lips, and the lip gloss smells like cherries! I'm tempted to lick my lips when I'm wearing it. My final favorite is something I have used for almost a year: Benefit Stay Don't Stray Primer. Benefit recently changed this product's packaging a bit; instead of having a pump to dispense the product, there is now a brush to put the primer on your eyelids. This eyeshadow primer is the only thing that will cover up my icky eyelid veins and keeps the eyeshadow in tact. What have you been loving this month?