L'Oreal Pistachio Dream

Like most people, mint green is one of my favorite colors for the spring and summer. This is L'Oreal's Pistachio Dream from the Versailles Romance spring 2013 collection. It is a cream polish that does not streak and is opaque after two coats.

There is a subtle shimmer to the color, and it has a slight blue undertone. Although I love this color, if you're looking for a true mint green, I would purchase Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Xtreme polish in 340 Mint Sorbet. I own this color and compared to everything else I've seen/tried, this is the best minty color out there. It's also inexpensive!

Nautical.

It's a bit rainy in the Nation's capital, so I thought I'd wear some color to brighten up an otherwise dreary day!

I love structured dresses like this one from Gap. They are the most flattering for my body-type (all of my weight is in my stomach area). This dress ran true to size, but on the tighter side. My go-to stores for dresses this season are Gap and Loft. They have so many cute dresses, practically all of my spring dresses are from these two stores!

I don't normally wear black and blue together, but I find that it's becoming more acceptable and not so much of a faux pas, just like how people are starting to mix gold and silver. It's a very simple look, especially because I'm not wearing any jewelry, but the black and blue striped mix makes it more trendy.

Dress: Gap

Heels: Coach Factory Sue Patent Pump

Sweater: J.Crew Factory

Check out these other adorable dresses from Gap and Loft (some of which I own)!

LOFT striped dress / LOFT embroidered dress / LOFT dessy twist dress / LOFT stripe dress / Gap poppy dress / Gap tall dress / Geometric sheath dress | Gap

7 Little Things (April 2013)

I found my new holy grail foundation: Hourglass' Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation. Seriously, this beauty product is awesome. If you have oily skin, go out and buy this now! I have combination/oily skin, leaning more on the oily side, and this foundation keeps my face matte the ENTIRE day. 

via Sephora 

My color is sand, which is described as, "medium with pink undertones." This product is definitely all that it's marketed to be. It lasts all day and mattifies better than any foundation I've ever owned. At first I was hesitant to use a liquid to powder formula, since I had never even heard of this type of foundation before. BUT, it's phenomenal.

I would say this is medium coverage, but it can definitely be built up, or toned down. One pump gives me moderate coverage, so half a pump provides a tinted moisturizer-like finish, and more than one pump makes it full coverage. 

The downside of this product is that it's expensive, about $55, eeek! However, in my opinion it's worth the money to not have to touch up throughout the day and worry that I look like I just went swimming.

A product that goes hand-in-hand with my foundation is face primer. The Smashbox Photo Finish Light primer is my favorite because it doesn't break me out.

via Sephora

I bought the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette a few months ago, but I didn't really start using it until this month. That was a mistake because I'm *loving* it. The combination of Naked 2 on my lid and Faint in the crease is my perfect nude eye. Naked 2 is essentially my skin color LOL! Sometimes I will mix it up and put W.O.S on my lid and Naked 2 in my crease if I want a more subtle neutral eye. Either way, I've used this palette almost every day this month.

via Sephora

I ran out of my go-to Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes liner earlier this month and decided it was time to try something new. I've heard a lot about the Benefit BADgal waterproof liner, so I thought I'd give that one a shot. I'm so glad that I did. Although, I love MUFE aqua eyeliner because it's water proof and doesn't smudge on my tightline, the Benefit eyeliner is definitely better. It's creamier, which makes it easier to apply, yet it doesn't smudge! The consistency reminds me of the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On liners, but those smudge on me. The Benefit liner lasts longer on my upper lash line and my 'wing' than the MUFE liner did.

via Sephora

Blush has become one of my favorite beauty products. My blush collection is almost the same size as my eye shadow collection! I usually use a bunch of different blushes in any given month, but recently I've only been reaching for my Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour blush, specifically in the color Tipsy. This is a true coral color; not too pink and not too orange. The Amazonian Clay blushes are super pigmented, and they last forever (I'm not sure if it's actually 12 hours, but it's a long time). I really need to invest in more of these!

via Sephora

I've been getting pretty chapped/dry lips from allergies this spring season, and the Maybelline Baby Lips have been my saviors! I love that they provide a good amount of moisture AND a hint of color. I own quite a few, but my favorites are Melon Mania, Twinkle and Coral Crush. Of those, my most reached for one is Coral Crush. It's a corally-orange shade, that is sheer but can be built up.

via Seventeen

Another lip product I've been obsessed with is my Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya. Surprise, surprise, it's a coral color :) I love how the lip butters apply to my lips. They're soft and smooth, and this color is beautiful!

via Superdrug

Pop of Color

It's finally spring!! I'm so excited about the change in weather and all of the bright colored clothing that's coming out in stores.

The warmer weather also means I can start wearing dresses without tights! 

Loft dress / J.Crew Factory Clare Cardigan / Coach Factory Sue heels / Stella&Dot necklace

The shoes and necklace are recent purchases; can you tell I like coral!?

These are the Sue patent heels from the Coach Factory online store. I bought them when they were having a 50% off sale. The way the factory online store woks is you receive an email when the sales are happening, so you can't just browse the site whenever. Also, you only receive emails if you sign-up/become a member.

I'm wearing the Stell & Dot Spring Awakening necklace. I'm kinda obsessed with it and have to keep myself from wearing it too many times during the work week. It is pretty expensive ($138 eeek!), but I actually got it for free. My friends and I hosted a Stell & Dot party and enough jewelry was purchased that the credit I got for hosting the party covered the cost of the necklace!

Minnie.

Doesn't this outfit remind you of Minnie Mouse? Classic Minnie is known for her red shirts with white polka dots, and I think I was able to pull off her look pretty well :)

Minnie Mouse via Google Images

The shirt was a hand-me-up(?) from my younger sister. She is tiny compared to me, but she likes her clothes to be over-sized  and I like mine to be more fitted. So, a la "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," we fit into the same shirt! I'm not sure where she bought it, but I think it was at a store like Marshalls or TJ Maxx.

J Crew Factory Clare Sweater / Nine West Rocha / Rag and Bone Coal Skinnies

This necklace is from Tom's Accessories. I've been seeing this style necklace everywhere. I chose to purchase it from Tom's because it was the most inexpensive, and after wearing it a few times I can say the quality is great for the price. Unfortunately, it's not available anymore, but Baublebar has the same necklace in three difference colors: orange, mint and black. Also, I'm sure you can find something similar on Etsy or ShopLately!

Chanel Lip Gloss Review

I purchased my first Chanel lip gloss a few weeks ago, and honestly, I'm not too impressed.

via Chanel

via Beautylish

I bought the Chanel Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer in color 165 Volupté. In the tube, it is a creme coral with minimal shimmer. A color that is totally me!

When I swatched this on the back of my hand the color came out exactly how it looked in the bottle. However, when I applied it to my lips, there was barely any color! Talk about disappointment. Instead of the gorgeous opaque coral shade that I swatched, the color on my lips was sheer and had only the slightest tint of coral.

I also wasn't impressed by the staying-power of the gloss. I had to re-apply it at least five times throughout the work day. I know it's not marketed as long-lasting, but after paying $29.50 for a gloss, you'd expect it to have a pretty good wear time.

On a positive note, I love the glossiness of the formula! The packaging is also really pretty (the tube and box), but these do not justify purchasing an almost $30 lip gloss.

I'm not sure if the color sheerness only applies to this color, but I am not purchasing another to find out.

Does anyone else own this type of Chanel lip gloss? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!

7 Little Things (February 2013)

How is it seriously the end of February already!? I know this month is shorter than the rest, but it FLEW by. Anyway, here are my favorites from the month!

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow / OPI Malaga Wine / Palmer's Cocoa Butter Chapstick / Benefit They're Real! Mascara / Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner / Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette / Urban Decay Smoked Palette

This is my first Benefit creaseless cream shadow, and I really like it! It doesn't crease on my lids, as the name suggests, and I love the color. To be honest, I don't see much of a difference between this and my other cream shadows, so if you're looking for an inexpensive alternative, definitely stick to Maybelline's Eye Tattoos :) However, I really like this pinky mauve color, and don't own any other cream shadows, or regular eye shadows, like it.

OPI's Malaga Wine has turned into one of my favorite nail polishes EVER. It is a cream finish, and goes on so nicely. The color is darker on the nails than it's showing up in the picture. This is perfect for the season, and also very office appropriate.

My lips have been super chapped lately, so I decided to buy this industrial sized chapstick. Seriously, this balm is twice the size of any I've owned before. It was also inexpensive, so a great deal for the size. The balm is very moisturizing, and is actually a multipurpose product. It can be used on dry and rough skin, although I just use it on my lips.

The They're Real! mascara has literally changed my eyelash life. I may be exaggerating a little, but this mascara is amazing. I've mentioned before I have short, asian eyelashes, and this mascara helps lengthen them like nobody's business. I wouldn't say this is the best voluminizing mascara, but if you need length, then you should invest! Also, I find this doesn't clump and actually separates my lashes really well.

I go through random phases where I get bored of the type of eyeliner I'm using at the moment (either gel or liquid) and want to switch to using the other kind. Well, it's about that time and I'm ready to start using gel eyeliner regularly again. Bobbi Brown is my go-to gel eyeliner because it's long-lasting on your lids, and in the pot!

Along with my chapped lips this month, I've also had a few breakouts. Nothing major, but there has been a lot of redness. The green square in the Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda palette is perfect for counteracting anything red on my face. I just put a little of the green on the red spot, and then cover it up with my normal concealer, and the acne is instantly less noticeable.

Lastly, I only got the Smoked palette halfway through the month, but I love every color! This is the perfect palette for creating going out/nighttime looks, and it even comes with a booklet to teach you knew eye looks. I also like that it comes with colors, unlike Urban Decay's neutral Naked and Naked 2 palettes. Another perk of this palette is that is comes with a full sized eyeliner and a mini primer potion in original.

Mixing Prints

I normally don't like to mix prints, but I was feeling a little adventurous today :) Plus, I've heard that animal prints should be treated at neutrals!

J Crew Sequin Stripe Tee / Tory Burch Tumbled Leather Revas / Express Leopard Infinity Scarf / Joe's Jeans

I love this particular style of Joe's Jeans because they are super comfortable and stretchy, and they are mid-rise. I hate anything that is low-rise, which is why most of my jeans are from Rag & Bone or J Brand since they offer a variety of mid-rise styles. The color of these jeans (bordeaux) is less red and more purple than in the picture.

I also wore this black cardigan because my office is freezing, even in the winter!

J Crew Factory Classic Crewneck Cardigan

My favorite part of this outfit are my Tory Burch flats. These are new, and I got them because I wanted a pair of all black flats, but that weren't plain and boring. I like that the 'medallion' is in the same fabric/texture as the rest of the shoe because it doesn't make the brand so obvious. These flats are very comfortable; however, it does take a few wears to break them in. I found the scrunched back kind of bothered my heel on the first day, but after that it seemed to stretch out, and now they are perfect! I got these in my normal size 8.

Here's the jewelry I wore today (but took off to photograph before taking the picture of myself...oops!). I kept it really simple  because the sequin shirt doesn't need anything to compete with!

Jewelmint Traffic Gem bracelet