This week I have two favorites! Colourpop's highlighter in Spoon and Clinique's Turnaround Overnight Revitalizing Moisturizer. I have just recently started using these this week and so far I am loving both.

Clinique's Turnaround line is new for Spring/Summer 2015. The line includes an oil, peel, daytime moisturizer, etc. I was really intrigued by their claims, "plumped, renewed, lit from within skin". Anything that will make my skin look glowy, illuminated, or lit from within I need. Sephora had a rewards set of everything so I spent 500 points and picked it up. So far I have only tried the overnight moisturizer and I have to say the first night I used it, I woke up the next morning to baby soft skin. I also feel like my skin is brighter. I can't say what the long term effects are but if you want something instant this is definitely something to check out!

As for Colourpop's highlighters, so much glowy goodness! I ordered two of them after seeing how gorgeous they looked in photos. For $8 you really can't go wrong. Spoon is so gorgeous! They describe the shade as "A light silver champagne with multi-dimensional silver flecks, that is sure to get you forked." Gotta love their descriptions! I would say the description is accurate. I can't wait to try more colors. 

This week I found myself reaching for my Chanel Bronze de Soleil pretty much every day to give me an effortless glow in just a couple minutes.

I love how seamlessly it blends into my skin. I was a little nervous when I first used it because I had never used a cream bronzer before. Well I had nothing to be nervous about. It is basically foolproof, just blend. It's really the perfect color for my NW20/NC15 complexion which makes it that much more fabulous.

The quality doesn't surprise me because the product comes from Coco Chanel, who first made being tan popular in the 1920's. Thank you Miss Chanel.

It's been a while since I posted about a Friday fave and this week, it's a long time love of mine. I find myself always going back to this product.

BareMineral's Original Foundation is a powder. It's light textured but offers a great amount of coverage if needed. It's definitely buildable. When I use this as my foundation I like to apply my face moisturizer, my Garnier BB Cream, and then this powder. It gives my complexion a super flawless finish but doesn't look cakey in any way.

I never find myself breaking out from this formula and I love that the original formulation has the glowy minerals in it. They aren't necessarily glitter but more of a super super fine "shimmer" but that might not even be the right word. The finish is glowy and never flat. I love the finish. They have a matte formula as well but for my drier skin the original is perfect. But it all depends on if you like a little shine or you prefer matte. The shade I use is fairly light.

Lately I've been obsessed with Starbucks' green tea soy latte (I order it hot & unsweetened). It is a cup of soothing deliciousness. Sweet even though I order it unsweetened, Starbucks says their macha powder comes sweetened. I'm not sure with what exactly. It's not overpowering but just a hint of sweet that makes the drink a nice treat but also relaxing. I'm not sure exactly how healthy it is because of the sweetness (macha - the green tea it is made from is super healthy though!) but I am in love and you should definitely try it if you are tea fan.

green tea unsweetened double blended soy frappe

Stila has always been a favorite brand of mine from their amazing liquid liner pens to their bb creams. I have recently fell in love with their bronzing BB cream. It is an easy way to add glow (no shimmer) and warmth during your quick morning routine.

I really love how it treats my skin and find that it does help improve my skin's condition over time. It is pricey at $38 dollars but you only need the smallest amount of product at a time. This week I've been mixing it with my morning moisturizer and then going on my glowy way.

Tarte's BB Tinted Treatment 12-Hour Primer with SPF 30 (wew a mouthful!) is a new found favorite of mine. I love the mousse-like texture and the silky feeling on my face. It has build able coverage so it can be worn as more of a BB/tinted moisturizer cream but also doubles as a primer underneath your everyday foundation.

While away on vacation I found myself wearing this by itself with just my Mac Mineralize Natural powder on top to finish. It gave a "my skin but better" finish and I didn't feel like I was wearing any makeup.

Tarte states that it is also a skin treatment (like BB creams usually are or are supposed to be) and I do think it has been helping my skin look clearer. If you have been looking for a BB cream this is definitely a great option.

I don't think it lasts 12 hours but I think it does have some staying power especially underneath foundation or a powder. I can see this being a great product in the winter time as well as summer because the texture is light but also moisturizing.

I'm not sure if someone with oily skin will like this or not because it can feel slippery but those of you with normal/combo to dry skin will love it.


Here is the breakdown from Sephora's website:

What it is:
An innovative BB treatment with multiple skincare and makeup benefits in one eco-chic tube. 

What it does:
- This state-of-the-art BB cream offers numerous benefits for smooth, youthful-looking skin 
- Features SPF 30 sun protection 
- Comes in five shades 

Indulge your skin with this powerful multitasker that works as a primer, moisturizer, light foundation, antiaging treatment, and sunscreen to give you a youthful-looking glow. Worn alone or as the perfect base for makeup, this 12-hour, age-defying, oil-free primer offers light-to-medium, buildable coverage that helps even skintone and other skin imperfections while diffusing light to minimize the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and pores. The creamy, silky formula goes on smooth and blends easily, leaving you with a natural-looking, flawless finish with a broad-spectrum, chemical-free SPF 30 that offers ideal protection from the sun’s harmful UVA/UVB rays. 

What else you need to know:
Beauty Balms or BB Creams were originally developed as a perfect post-procedure cream used to treat, hydrate, prime, protect, and camouflage the skin. Great for all skin types including those with sensitive skin, these versatile “five-in-one” formulas are designed to do it all: treat with high levels of active skincare ingredients; moisturize and smooth dehydrated skin; prime and perfect skin’s surface; camouflage and color correct the skintone; and protect skin from the sun with SPF. They can be used as a last step for their skincare benefits or used on their own as an instant beautifier.

This product is powered by tripleB complex, a proprietary blend of natural diamond dust, plants, and lipoamino acids that diffuses light and minimizes the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and pores while improving the appearance of skin luminosity. 

Research results:
In a consumer panel study:
- 100% of women immediately saw an improvement in the surface texture of skin for smoother makeup application 
- 97% of women saw and felt smoother, softer skin 
- 91% of women said fine lines appeared minimized 
- 94% of women said pores appeared less visible after 4 weeks

In starting to get into doing my own nails again and have been on the lookout for a great nail file, well I found it! While perusing Sephora's sale section last week I saw they had a crystal file for $5 and decided what the hell... Now I am so glad I spent that $5. 

Lately I have been very into the color gold. Anything from my phone case to my nail polish. Below are some of my favorite gold things. :)

Santigold

Mac's Mineralize Skinfinish Natural is a fabulous powder that has nice coverage but also lets your own skin shine through. It's has a light airy texture. I love to use this powder in the summer because of the light feeling and the glowing smooth finish. They also have a line of Mineralize Skinfinish for highlighting but we'll get into that another day. ;) Definitely check this out if you like powders. Mac has bronzers in this line too but I find them too orange for my skin. I just use a darker shade to bronze.

On Sunday I had my yearly Keratin treatment done and I just have to tell you guys how worth it it is. The first time I had it done I had the express or keratin blow out and I saw results with just that but I think the full on treatment is much more worth it. Speeding up drying time, shiny hair, and smooth texture are just a few benefits.

It is a pricey thing ($200 - $300) but for my hair and the way it used to frizz out and just poof like crazy, I can't do without it. I save up all year and then I get peace of mind that I can go to the beach, boardwalk, etc. and have frizz free styled hair.

This company has tons of styling products. I think you would even see a difference just using their Intense RX which gives your hair a 25% keratin boost and cost only bout $40 in comparison. Their products also smell amazing! Using the serum, shampoo and conditioner has helped the treatment last a whole year rather than about 6 months like they say.

The past month has been full of good books from Stephen King to Lynne St. James...

This favorite is for my hair. It is a drugstore gem that I love and usually go back to a lot. Aussie's 3 Minute Miracle is really a miracle. It makes my hair super soft, smells like heaven (the scent lasts too which is amazing), and it's a quick fix! I just had my hair dyed reddish copper so my hair needed some deep conditioning. I used it twice this week. Every time I shampoo I throw it in my hair and just wait for a few minutes and wala - soft and lovely scented hair! For $4, you can't beat it!

This week is yes, another mascara. I had a 100 point sample of Tarte's Lights Camera Lashes Mascara and it is really great. It actually surprised me. Usually the more traditional mascara brushes don't impress me but this one was different. Maybe it was the way the bristles were spaced or the material they were made of or maybe it was just the formula. I don't know what it is, but it works! It feathers lashes out beautifully and gives a great fringy (not a word? lol). This mascara is also one of the first ones I've tried where I can actually say that it curls my lashes. No eyelash curler needed.

Other blog posts featuring this mascara:
Violet Smoke & Fringe
Moody Blues
04/10/14 Makeup of Day
04/11/14 Makeup of Day

photo: Sephora.com