EOS and Chapped Lips?!

Hey guys!!
So my lips have been chapped lately, which is really weird for me. My lips usually never get chapped or dry, even in the middle of winter. I make sure to exfoliate them and always wear a lipbalm. No matter what I always put on a chapstick or something before bed. Lately I've been using and EOS lipbalm and my lips are chapped. I've heard of this happening to some other people. Has this happened to you? What did you do about it? Do you continue to use EOS? I know a lot of people really like EOS lipbalms, but I don't want to continue to use it if it's making my lips chapped. I was using Maybelline BabyLips in Quenched before this and had no problems with that...hmmm. Let me know what you guys think!!

Kate xo

Benefit They're Real! Mascara Review

Okay guys, I know this mascara is super popular, but I do not like it! I never wear waterproof mascaras because I don't like the way my lashes feel, they're hard to get off and they pull out my lashes when I try to remove them. It seems like no matter how gentle I am waterproof mascaras pull out my lashes. This mascara makes my lashes feel the same. They feel super hard and stiff and it's a total pain to take off at night. I don't like it! I got this mascara as a sample from Sephora as my birthday gift, so I'm really happy I didn't purchase it with my own money. I will say, however, that I do really like the wand. I feel like it deposits a good amount of mascara and I like the shape.  Also, the other part of the gift was a sample of Benefit's Watts Up! highlighter, which I am loving at the moment. Have you guys tried this mascara? What did you think?

Kate xo

My Makeup Look of the Moment!!

So I thought I would tell you guys all about the look I've been wearing lately. I've been wearing this look every day lately. I think it's great for summer and also great for days when you're in a rush because it can be done super quickly and still look good :) I've been wearing a shimmery gold eye with black liquid liner & mascara (obviously) and pale pink lips (have you seen the post on my fave lip combo of the moment?!) with a basic face (foundation, concealer, blush, bronzer & hilighter). So here is a list of my products and how I use them! In order:

1. Cover FX mattifying primer (or Rimmel Fix & Perfect with the blue cap)
2. NARS Sheer Matte in Mont Blanc (or Revlon Colorstay for combo/oily skin in the lightest shade)
3. Concealer where needed
4. Maybelline Color Tattoo in 45 Bold Gold used lightly all over the lid
5. Maybelline Line Stiletto in Blackest Black to line the upper lash line (no flick/wing!!)
6. Benefit They're Real! mascara on top and bottom lashes
7. ELF HD Powder in translucent to set the foundation
8. Physicians Formula Happy Booster Blush/Bronzer Duo. Use bronzer in the hollows of the cheeks, the sides of the forehead, hairline, under the jaw & on the sides of the nose (optional!!). Use blush on the apples of the cheeks and pull up.
9. Benefit Watts Up! on the cheekbones, the center of the nose, under the brow bone & on the inner corners of the eyes as well as a small amount in the center of the forehead and the chin. 
10. I use my kabuki brush to blend the bronzer, blush and highlighter together so they look more natural and blended and less shimmery
11. Maybelline MasterShape in Blonde to lightly fill in the brows
12. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 668 Primrose & Bonne Bell Liplites in Strawberry Parfait for the lips.
13. YOU'RE DONE!! 

This makeup is super quick and pretty! Do you own any of these products? What do you think of them?? Also, if you have any of these or something similar, try this look out and let me know what you think!!

Kate xo

My Favorite Lip Combination of the Moment!!

So lately I've been loving pale pink glossy lips. I think they're great and fresh for summer. I also think they go with a ton of different looks. So here's the combo I've been loving for pale pink, delicious summer lips:

1. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in number 668 Primrose
2. Bonne Bell Liplites in Strawberry Parfait

Okay, I know what you're thinking. Bonne Bell lipgloss? Really?? Isn't that stuff for kids?! Nope. It's not. This is one of the best lipglosses I've ever owned. It's a beautiful pale pink color and it's not sticky AT ALL. Its sheer enough to let a little bit of your natural lip color show through, but opaque enough to actually give you color. It also smells and tastes amazing!! And on top of that, it's less than $3!! As if all that isn't enough-- this lipgloss is a dupe of NARS lipgloss in Turkish Delight. Which is the one Kim Kardashian wears (wore? I hear she's into matte lips lately?) And no matter what you think of Ms. Kardashian as a person, who can deny those luscious lips?! So what's your fave lip combo? Do you own either of these products? Let me know!!

 

Kate xo

NARS Sheer Matte Foundation-- My thoughts!

So I was at Sephora the other day and I got a sample of the NARS Sheer Matte Foundation (my color is Mont Blanc- don't make fun of me, I'm pale! :P ) because I didn't want to spend $42 on a foundation if I didn't love it. So I've tried it out a few times and here's what I think: It's an absolutely beautiful foundation, but it's not for me. It would be amazing for someone who didn't have a lot to cover up, but there wasn't quite enough coverage for me. Yes, I'm aware that it's called SHEER matte, but on YouTube someone (I think it was Wayne Goss?) said in a review that it wasn't exactly sheer enough to warrant that name, so I thought I'd give it a go. While I don't have a lot of blemishes to cover up, I get VERY red around my mouth, and this foundation was not able to cover that well enough for me. I'm fine with having to use a little concealer in those areas, I usually do, but this just wasn't cutting it. It was barely covering the red at all. So even with concealer it still looks darker and shadow-ey, which I don't like! On the plus side, this foundation does keep me matte for most of the day, even in the summer. Which is amazing since I have pretty oily skin and usually have to touch up multiple times throughout the day. Although I will say that I have been using the foundation with a mattifying primer from Cover FX so I'm not sure if the Sheer Matte would perform as well on its own. Anyway- hope this helps if you were considering this foundation! It was nice, but I'll be going back to Revlon Colorstay for the moment. What are your favorite foundations??

Kate xo

I love to read...

Hey everybody!
So today I wanted to talk about books! I love to read and I'm looking for some book recommendations! So everybody feel free to comment below telling me about your favorite book! :) It's a bonus if they're available for Kindle. I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas last year and I love it! It's so much fun and convenient to read out of. I love that I don't have to carry multiple heavy/bulky books with me, I just have them all on my kindle. And I have a really cute green case for it that I love! (My sister has a purple one and loves hers too!) So I thought I would talk about some books that I've loved in the past and books I love now :)

1. If We Kiss by Rachel Vail-- This is probably my most read book. I reached for this book constantly throughout middle school and the majority of high school. This is what I loved to read on nights when I couldn't sleep. It just made me fell all warm and fuzzy inside. It's an awesome book for girls especially in the middle school-early high school age group! I loved the relationship the main character had with her mother and her best friend. She was so relate-able for me, especially back then that I absolutely loved and connected with her character. I really should go back and re-read this book, I think I'll still love it just as much. 
2.  North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley--  I only read this book once (or maybe twice?). But I remember loving it. I don't remember too much about it except that it was a real feel good book. The beginning and middle aren't as uplifting as the end, but it's emotional and touching and I loved it. I think this would be a great read for girls in high school and the beginnings (or end!) of college.  It has a great emphasis on loving yourself that I think a lot of girls in that age group need to hear, but it's wrapped up inside an amazing book that doesn't make it feel like you're getting a lecture. I highly recommend this book :)
3. If I Stay and Where She Went both by Gayle Forman-- I absolutely adored both of these books. I read them both in high school and really want to re-read them now. Sadly, I seem to have lost the first book If I Stay  which makes me really sad, and I'll probably end up buying another copy since I loved it so much. These are both amazing books and I would recommend them for women and girls in high school and up! They are absolutely amazing books.  It tells a love story from a different perspective and it was so amazing. These books really made me feel. I was so emotional while I was reading them both.  I highly, highly recommend them if you are looking for a book to read and you don't mind crying a bit.
4. Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley-- I really liked this book. I think I have read it twice. It's about a girls life after her parents are killed in a plane crash. Her mother writes her a message in lipstick on the plane and the main character sets out to find out what the message means.  This is a really great book.  Again, I think it would be great for anyone in middle school-college. It's a really great book and it flies by. 
5. All of the books in the Mates, Dates series by Cathy Hopkins-- I read every single one of these books in middle school and the beginning of high school and I loved them all. They're really great fiction that I could really relate to.  I felt like all of the characters were different parts of myself. I really loved that about these books. And since I was reading the books at the same age as the characters I really related to what they were going through since I had/was having a lot of the same experiences. I felt like I really bonded with the characters and I wanted to be part of their group.  I also adored all of the beauty, decorating and relationship tips sprinkled throughout the books. I think these books would be great for girls in middle school and high school.
6. MissMatch, ReMatch and MatchPoint by Erynn Mangum-- All three of these books were equally amazing. This is the romance I knew I wanted for myself as soon as I started reading. Lauren and Ryan's relationship is perfect in my eyes and I loved reading all about it and imagining myself in Lauren's shoes. This is perfect for girls who like romantic and uplifting novels. I think any girls from high school up would really enjoy these books. 
7. Pulling Princes by Tyne O'Connell-- This is another book that I read in middle school and re-read in high school and think that I would enjoy again now. It's about a group of girls living in an English boarding school. As the title says, one of the girls ends up having a relationship with the Prince. This is another book that's so relate-able especially for girls in middle school and early parts of high school. I adored it and read it multiple times. 
8. Jinx by Meg Cabot-- Meg Cabot wrote the Princess Diaries series, which I also liked, but this book is a bit more grown up.  It's has to do with the supernatural and curses. But don't worry, it's not scary!! Jinx simply has bad luck due to a curse. It's more magic than ghosts. I really liked this book. Again it was very easy to relate to and great for girls in middle school and high school.
9. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien-- I had to read this book for my English class in 11th grade and I loved it so much that I bought a copy for myself. It's a classic and I would recommend it for anyone high school and older. I find it enchanting. 
10. Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult-- I have read this book so many times that it actually split in half. It's an amazing mystery and romance rolled into one. In this book, the main character, Delia (I love that name!) learns that her past wasn't exactly the way she thought it was. I've read quite a few books by Jodi Picoult and I've loved every single one. Be warned though- her books have quite an emphasis on the legal system. So if you aren't interested in that or you don't feel that you would understand it (although I'm sure you would!!) then these books might not be for you. My mother has also read this book and loved it. I think this book would be amazing for anyone from the middle of high school and up.
11. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series by Stieg Larsson-- I have read the first 2 books and I'm almost finished with the 3rd. These are amazing books. Just amazing. They can be a bit vulgar though, so if you don't those things make you uncomfortable then I DO NOT recommend this book for you. There is quite a bit of swearing, violence and sexual situations so be aware of that before you decide to pick up these books. That being said, I think they are very well written books and the story line is incredible. I've never read anything like it before. I love mystery books so these cater to that, but they also have a lot of relationships and some romance which I also love to read about. There is only one thing I didn't like about this book. The author was Swedish, so there are lots of Swedish names in the book which are hard for me to pronounce  and some of the names are very similar, which can be confusing at first. Overall, I loved these books and I think that if aren't bothered by vulgarity then you should definitely give them a look!
12. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald-- This is another book that I read in high school and loved. I loved it so much that when I got my Kindle, this is the first book I purchased. There is a lot of hype surrounding the movie right now so if you liked the movie or think you might be interested in the book, definitely read it. This is another classic that I think is simply amazing.  Especially the ending. I think the end is the very best part of this book!! I think anyone from high school up would love this book! (I also can't wait to see the movie!!)
13. And My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You  by Kathi Kamen Goldmark-- I don't know what to say about this book. I just loved it. I loved every part of it and you should definitely read it!

SO those were my favorite books, now here is the list of books that I have waiting to be read: 

1. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson-- Like I said above- I'm almost done with this one and I love it!
2. Cousin Bette by Honore de Balzac
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
4. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
5. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
7. The Collected works of F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
9. A Room With A View by E.M. Forster
10. Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol
11. Wraith by Angel Lawson
12. The Deepest Cut by J. A. Templeton
13. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
14. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
15. Emma by Jane Austen
16. Nothanger Abbey by Jane Austen
17. Persuasion by Jane Austen

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What books do you recommend??

Kate xo

I'm Obsessed...

with Candles!! I love the way they look, I love the way they smell (for the most part), and I love the element of cozy-ness they add to a room. I just found one called Gardenia, I'm not sure where it's from, I found it in the basement. It smells so good!! What are your favorite scents for summer? Where do you like to get candles??
Kate xo