• about
  • essays
  • life
  • moments
  • subscribe

just another lifestyle blog

  • my favorite estee lauder products right now

    October 5th, 2021

    Here are the top Estee Lauder products I’ve been using recently. If you’re looking for a new moisturizer or perfume, you’re in the right place.

    DayWear Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant 24H-Moisture Creme SPF 15

    I love this moisture creme the most for wear right before applying makeup, mostly because my regular moisturizer I use is very thick (I’ll write another blog post on my regular skincare routine and link it here later!). It applies in a thin layer but still totally moisturizes your skin, giving you a nice glow right before applying your primer and makeup. I’d wear this moisturizer every day but unfortunately, it is pretty pricey – I save using it for when I am doing a nice face of makeup for a night out. 10/10, definitely recommend!

    Beautiful Belle Eau de Parfum

    This is my favorite perfume scent. I am going to pull the description from their website to give you an idea of how wonderful this perfume is, because I don’t think my own description would do it justice: “Fall head over heels for this irreverent blend of Lychee, Mimosa, Rose Petals, Orange Flower, Gardenia and Marzipan Musk. Romantic, carefree and irreverent.” Again, this product is pretty pricey, but nice to have when you’re going out somewhere nice. 10/10 for perfume.

  • charlotte tillbury makeup haul

    September 21st, 2021

    Charlotte Tillbury is one of my favorite makeup brands to purchase from. They have a wide range of products to choose from and their products last a really long time. They also give away free samples with every purchase! Most makeup brands do this but I still get excited over the free samples. On top of that, they have a foundation matching feature on their website that allows you to upload a photo of yourself and match your makeup to find the perfect shade of foundation… we love.

    PILLOW TALK PUSH UP LASHES! MASCARA

    I bought this product for two reasons: I needed new mascara, but I also tried a sample of their mascara and loved it. After purchasing it and trying this mascara out, I realized it was actually not the same one – The sample mascara I tried out was called Legendary Lashes Volume 2. I really loved the sample, but I didn’t fall quite as in love with the Pillow Talk one. Although it has amazing reviews (and TBH is a super nice mascara!), I don’t think the wand shape suits my lashes. The wand is a thin brush with thin, short brush pieces on it (why is this so hard to describe?!), and I have short, thin lashes that really need a bold wand to apply mascara correctly. Otherwise, the mascara is not noticeable unless I do multiple coats (ESPECIALLY when I don’t curl my lashes, which I’m trying to do less since I saw on TikTok it’s bad for your lashes). I give this mascara a 5/10 – It’s a solid buy but not the type of wand I was looking for.

    MAGIC FOUNDATION (4 FAIR)

    To put it simply, I LOVED THIS FOUNDATION. Mostly for the color match which I mentioned earlier, but really, I loved this product! It matches perfectly to my skin and gives me a super even, nice glow. It works even better if you use a primer and setting spray (duh) and holds up pretty well through an evening of drinks. It’s more coverage than I’m used to, as I use a bb cream typically, but if you’re looking for a glam look, this is a perfect purchase for you.

  • the best starbucks order based on your mood

    August 31st, 2021

    If you’re feeling…

    Unproductive

    Cold brew is going to be your best friend. You will sit down and tune into whatever you need to get done for the day once your cold brew kicks in. This is one of the best Starbucks drinks because of this reason.

    A craving for something sweet

    An iced caramel macchiato, because it’s super sweet and anything with caramel is divine.

    Caffeinated, but you still want Starbucks

    An iced chai tea latte is perfect for this mood because it is low in caffeine but still feels somewhat like drinking an iced coffee. This is one of my absolute favorites for this particular mood, which makes it one of the best Starbucks drinks.

    Healthy

    An iced matcha latte, because it feels super healthy while you drink it (I truly am unsure of how healthy it actually is but refuse to Google it. Ignorance is bliss.)

    The Monday blues

    An iced vanilla latte is a classic. It is also one of the best Starbucks drinks for when you’re feeling down on a Monday morning because, well, it’s Monday. Again, one of the best Starbucks drinks.

  • good reads

    August 24th, 2021

    Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns

    Feeling Good is an interactive book that’s designed to help you overcome anxiety, guilt, pessimism, procrastination, low self-esteem, and depression. If any of these apply to you, this book is a good starting point for good books to read.

    Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

    Flow is all about having the optimal experience. If you’re feeling stuck in your day-to-day, unsure of what makes you happy, or looking for a new hobby or passion to pursue, Flow is one of the good books to get your life together.

    Love 2.0: Creating Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection by Barbara L. Fredrickson

    Love 2.0 is a great book for finding better connections within your day-to-day life. This means better connections with the grocery store clerk, your family, your friends, your personal trainer, etc. If you’re feeling disconnected, this is one of the best books to get your life together.

  • the glossier product that changed my life

    August 10th, 2021

    I did not believe in the Glossier hype at first. Everyone I knew was posting their orders to their stories on Instagram, acting like they were a Kardashian receiving a PR package from JLo. I just didn’t believe that the products were that good. I told myself for a while they were overpriced, overhyped products that weren’t worth it – until I tried Cloud Paint.

    Cloud Paint is a buildable cream blush that is sheer but capable of layering. It gives you a very natural look that appears like you simply rolled out of bed glowing. After reading more about the product on their website, I’ve learned that they use ‘special blurring pigments’ which basically gives you a softer look when using Cloud Paint, basically, again, just glowing in all the right ways. Overall the product is very dewy, natural-looking, and makes you look like you’re glowing.

    This product changed my makeup routine for the better. I’ll make another post and link it here soon on my makeup routine and what products I use, but for now, just trust me when I say that my makeup routine has vastly changed because of Cloud Paint. I only have one color as of now, but I’ll be ordering more soon – as many as I can get my hands on (and that my bank account allows).

    Here is their website if you’d like to check out more of their beauty products. Given my experience with Cloud Paint by Glossier, I truly doubt any of their other products will disappoint. I highly recommend trying out some of their other products – I will definitely be reviewing more in the future.

  • 10 small habits to do when you’re depressed

    August 3rd, 2021

    Here are 10 small habits I’ve picked up over the years that help me have better days. Although some of them are very small daily changes, they can have an immense impact on the rest of my day and subsequently lead me to have good weeks and good months. Keep reading if you’re looking for some tips on how to make your day better!

    1. Wake up at the same time everyday. This goes without saying that this is super helpful in training your brain to wake up. When I get into a routine of this, I wake up without an alarm. Albeit weekends are harder to stay on schedule, but as long as you stick to a loose bedtime wakeup time on weekdays, it will make all the difference in your work day. I highly recommend this as one of the 10 small habits you adopt in your daily routine.
    2. Write down one thing you like about yourself each morning. This exercise really helped me with my self esteem. Identifying things that I like about myself in the morning trains me to choose positive thoughts rather than negative ones and has continued to set a good tone for the rest of the day. This is one of the best of the 10 small habits listed here – it’s small but very effective.
    3. Do something nice for yourself before your day starts. Another item on my list of 10 small habits is doing something nice for yourself before your day starts. My thing is running or being active in the morning before I log onto my computer, but yours can be whatever you want that is healthy and doesn’t take too long – and helps you get out of bed excited in the morning. You could even switch this up each week or each day, but try to do something for 10 minutes every morning before you log on or start your day focused on other people beside yourself.
    4. Make your bed. Making your bed also made my list of 10 small habits. This is literally so overdone by everyone but it is really helpful in feeling like you have your life together (even if you don’t). Also then your room just looks cute which is a necessity for someone like me who works from home in my room.
    5. Close your laptop during lunch and put your phone away. This is one I struggle with – I’m such a workaholic so it’s hard for me to unplug when working, especially when working from home. Closing my laptop during lunch has helped me separate break time from work time – putting my phone away during lunch allows me to fully unplug and not go back on my computer right away if someone inevitably pings me for something.
    6. Read one page of a book a night. You will most likely end up reading more, and if you don’t, you then get to feel accomplished in reaching your goal of one page! Often we set grand goals in hopes to change our lives overnight, and sometimes it’s better to set smaller goals than you expect, to help get your motivation momentum going & start gaining some small accomplishments. Then you can tackle the bigger ones.
    7. Write down one happy moment from the day before bed. This exercise is so fun to me. I started doing it in 2020, and I love looking back on all of the happy memories I created – especially during such a hard year. I decided to carry this habit over to 2021 and further, because it helps remind me that there is always at least one happy moment you can reflect on each day, even if every other moment was less than ideal. It also helped me identify what really makes me happy (i.e., i started seeing my morning run being my happy moment during quarantine, so i made that a priority habit moving forward. Optimizing your time so you don’t have to think about your schedule & doing more things that bring you joy are key!)
    8. Drink water before you drink coffee or eat anything else. I always forget to drink water, so making the cues easy (like a glass right after I wake up) is a good way to get ahead of my daily midday dehydration (working on that). This is an easy one to put on this list of 10 small habits because it’s fairly easy to do and to remember.
    9. Eat one whole fruit or vegetable a day. Eat an apple for a snack. Eat a whole meal of veggies in a salad for lunch. Whatever it is, make sure you eat one piece of healthy food a day. This has helped me replace what would have otherwise been unhealthy snacking or meals to increase the amount of healthy foods I eat, while not feeling overwhelmed or restrained on a diet.
    10. Remind yourself you’re okay. For being such an anxious person, I have to do this one multiple times a day. Reminding myself that I am, in fact, okay, in this very moment, has helped me talk myself down from the ledge of overthinking sometimes and let go of whatever worrisome thoughts I was spiraling into. Easy to do but very effective for me.
  • social media detox 101

    July 31st, 2021

    Instagram is both my favorite app and the app I loathe the most. It simultaneously connects me with people I care about and makes me feel more disconnected than any other moment I am not scrolling my life away while my thumb cramps. This is why I recommend everyone try to do a social media detox every once in a while.

    I’ve never understood why instagram is so addicting. Especially in comparison to other apps, but I’m too scared to figure out why. You could delete page permanently (which means you basically don’t exist in the world and will never be able to use dating apps again). I do a monthly-ish Instagram detox where I delete the app on my phone and/or deactivate my page. It’s hilarious, too, that it feels so monumental to me, when really nobody else even notices my page is gone. Like, they have one less story view, one less follower, but it’s not detrimental to their life in any way to not be updated on my day-to-day. It’s not like I even post on there that much! Anyways, it is very addicting and very hard to do an instagram detox. Here are my best tips for success and making the process slightly less miserable for yourself.

    Do it at The Same Time as Your Friends

    Nothing is more boring than hanging out with your friends while they scroll instagram. You sit there looking at your phone that has zero exciting apps to scroll, refresh and repeat on while the one notification you got that day was the iOS update, okay? Forcing your friends to detox with you not only makes it easier to not look at your apps or feel major FOMO when they are, it also means you don’t have to look nice or take any pictures when you hangout (because who’s gonna see them? nobody). A 7 day social media detox is something you can convince your friends to do with you.

    Download Other Non-Social Apps

    Delete your social media apps, but download other harmless ones to mindlessly scroll when you get really desperate. This is literally so embarrassing but I downloaded this ‘word of the day’ app just because I am so addicted to notifications. But it worked! I loved seeing my phone buzz and getting a notification but this time not from an app where I’m constantly comparing myself to girls who weigh 30 lbs less than me. It did its job for the course of my 7 day social media detox.

    Find a Hobby (that’s not on a screen)

    We wake up five days a week and stare at a computer screen, only to get off work and spend the next few hours staring at a smaller screen, being our phones. Imagine doing a 7 day social media detox and finding yourself not staring at a small screen after staring at a larger one all day. It sounds like something everyone should experience every so often. But before you do this, make sure to find something to do that is not involving technology when you finally decide to detox – it will make the detox that much more gratifying and effective.

←Previous Page
1 2

Blog at WordPress.com.

 

Loading Comments...