Monday, October 29, 2012

winter-ish wishlist

winter-ish wishlist

baroque metallic skirt - 3.1 phillip lim leather tote - bobbi brown moisturizer - aesop parsley seed masque - diptyque candle - obsessive compulsive cosmetics lip tar - monica vader jewelry

Another wishlist to get me blogging again.. I'm obsessed with baroque, though not sure it really suits me. I am always drawn to the leather tote and I'm not really sure why. I really want to try some extra moisturizing skincare items soon, as winter is getting so cold on my poor dry skin. Everyone and their mothers has talked about diptyque candles but here I am, just saying that I need to smell them soon. I love the lip tars from obsessive compulsive cosmetics lip tar. I threw in this lovely little ring that I felt would go very well with a nice jumper and a cuppa tea.

A week off from blogging due to a death in my family was well needed. Excuse the absence, I plan to be back soon.

xx

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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Instagrammed #5

001. Post-Two Door Cinema Club grossness.
002. Bloody nails! Post on this here
003. Noah Gunderson with Motopony.
004. Excited for Christmas, freezing for TDCC.
005. The hottie from St. Lucia.
006. Boo headache :(

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Halloween Nails

Essie 'Grow Faster'
Essie 'Head Mistress'
Revlon 'Quick Dry Top Coat'
Thought I'd pop a post up before I head to Seattle for yet another concert. This time it's Two Door Cinema Club, which I'm rather excited about but also excited for the sunday after because that means I will have so much more free time. This month has been both really exciting and exhausting. Nearly no time to myself, getting sick, trying to continue school work and the blog has amounted to a very exhausted Blair. But no worries, everything will alas be back on track soon.

I felt very excited for Halloween has it's coming up quick, so I threw on some nails inspired by it. It's quite a simple step by step process. Start with a base coat, follow up with a stripe of red at the end of the nail and then gloop on a few blood like looking stripes down to the bottom. End with a top coat and let it dry. This took me all in all probably 15 or less minutes to do. Super simple.

Do you love Halloween? Hate it? Let me know in the comments below.

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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Skin Rescue Masks







Origins Out of Trouble Mask
Known for being a 10 minute mask to rescue problem skin, this mask does exactly that. On my dehydrated-dry skin, it becomes a bit tight after washing off but with a spot of moisturizer, all is well. My skin feels noticeably clearer the next day and I’m always incredibly amazed by that fact. This mask was designed to, “sop up oily-shine, slough off sticky, dead cells and sweep away irksome debris.” I tend to use this mask for 5-7 minutes instead of the full 10 because I don’t need as much sopping of oils (as I lack them). With my skin type, it gets a pleasant kick from the calming Camphor and tough Salicylic Acid.

REN Clearcalm 3 Acne Treatment Mask
The claim to fame for this mask is that it is the ultimate acne-fighting mask. My first reaction was that it felt quite soothing, and a bit like a thick layer of moisturizer. My skin felt very dry again after this one, but nothing a little moisturizer (and Argan oil) couldn’t fix up. Some of the ingredients include: Sulfur, licorice extract, zinc gluconate, willow bark extract, calcium carbonate, kaolin, and essential oils. One of the things that drew me to REN was their natural yet also pharmaceutical way of reinventing skin, if that makes sense. Some brands such as Origins strike me as all natural, but this seems to combine the two in the perfect manner.

Origins Clear Improvement
I see the most opening of my pores with this mask, so I find it’s a great way to let later products sink in as much as possible. I apply all of my masks with an old foundation brush and find this one works easiest using this technique. The Charcoal in it acts like a magnet to draw out the nasties that clog your pores. White China Clay absorbs the environmental toxins and lecithin dissolves impurities.


I’m in the market for some Ultra Moisturizing Masks. Any ideas? Leave in the comments below.

Xx

Monday, October 15, 2012

short jacket / long skirt





leather jacket: urban outfitters
skirt: topshop
handbag: aldo
Wow, this suddenly seems like a post that was directly sponsored by urban outfitters but I promise you it wasn't. I begged my mom to take this pictures before the storm came, but we still got rained on. Anyways, I ventured into top shop and managed to only come out with this skirt (might be because I had no more money for anything else). I'm really in love with it. Hopefully my maxi dress comes in the mail soon (cough top shop shipping sucks cough). 

Hope you've all had a good start to the week.

xx



Sunday, October 14, 2012

Instagrammed #4

001. Reunited with best camp friend Kate.
002. First stormy day in a while, see this outfit in tomorrow's post.
003. Swimming Rama from Thai Tom's in Seattle.
004. My newest obsession.
005. Obsessed with this.
006. No zoom, this was how close I was. Macklemore was incredible!
007. Traditional kissy face with best friends.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil




Yes, thats right. You have heard everyone and their mother's talked about this product but it's my time to shine, so just lay off for a bit wouldja?

I am in love with this product. I'm not even going to lie to you, it has become a savior. While dealing with my ever persistant acne, I have in turn dried out my already dehydrated face. Good going, Blair. But I asked the lovely lady in the downtown Portland Sephora about her recommendation and she gave me this. I've read about it but wasn't completely sold. I bought it in the smaller than full size size because I didn't want to dish out $96-$48 on the full size. But I am completely blown away by this. I'll apply my regular moisturizer each night, maybe a serum, whatever else I like to slap on there and then I finish with this. It does feel a bit thick on your skin at the beginning but it completely sinks in and by the next day, while my skin would wake up begging for moisture, my skin feels refreshed, clean, and smoother. It claims that it works as, "a daily moisturizer, a treatment for your split ends, a conditioner for your cuticles, a body moisturizer, a soothing product for rough patches (such as on your knees, elbows, feet) and as a bath oil." I have only used it as a daily moisturizer and a conditioner for my cuticles but I've really liked it for both. I can really see myself repurchasing this. A little bit goes a long way which is nice because for .5 fl oz/15 mL, it'll cost you about $14.

What are your fall beauty favourites? Let me know :)

xx

bloglovin'

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Hair Saviors



These two bad boys are my absolute hair saviors, on any day that I want any style. I have quite fine hair that has a naturally wavy texture. I use the it's a 10 Miracle Leave-in Product every single day, without fail. It has saved me from tears, seriously. If you have very tangly hair, i would definitely suggest giving this detangler a whirl. I spray it about 5 times all over my head, then brush through it and it honestly makes brushing my hair way less of a struggle. After using this, I sometimes use the Aveda Smooth Infusion Style-Prep if I'm going to attempt to straighten my hair. I use about one-two pumps in my hand, then through my hair. I brush my hair out and then blow dry it. My hair won't be completely straight but this eliminates most of the frizziness I would usually get from blowdrying it.

The it's a 10 retails at $38 for the 295.7 ml (bigger bottle) or $37 for the 120 ml (smaller bottle) and can be located at most drugstores (i.e. Target, Walgreens, etc). The Aveda Smooth Infusion retails at $24 for 100 ml/3.4 fl oz. While the prices are quite steep, my hair essentially would not be the same without either of these bad boys. They have completely reworked my thoughts on my hair. These products both tame and nourish my hair in the most wonderful way.

xx

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Monday, October 8, 2012

Clarisonic Mia Review



I may be jumping on this train slightly late but I wanted to get a full trial with my Clarisonic before giving it a proper review. To help you decipher my skin type, I have slightly acne prone, very dry/dehydrated skin. I almost never get oily and my T-zone is usually normal. I purchased my Clarisonic from Macy's, they are available in Nordstrom and many other shops.

My first reaction to the Clarisonic was how clean it made my skin feel, if even a bit tight in certain places. It felt very relaxing and is really nice to not have to do much while giving my skin a deep clean. I started using it once a night and sometimes do it morning+night because I adore the feeling it gives my skin. Unlike it's younger sister, Clarisonic Mia 2, this only has one speed. I'm not too upset by this as I think it would create more complications on my part by trying to figure out the perfect speed. I had quite problematic skin when I first started and this cleared a bit of it up within the first week. I was really attracted to it after that because of the initial results. After using it for about six weeks, I've found that I have fallen more in love since the beginning. It's so easy to use, very compact, and refreshing.

It retails at $120 which is steep but if you think you'll get a good use out of it, I'd say it is definitely worth every penny. My sister and I share one while switching brush heads and between us, we've probably used it nearly 170 times I'd say. Another side to consider is that my sister who has used it just as consistently as I have, has quite different skin from me (oily) and has gotten really nice results as well. The kit I purchased came with a charger which attaches magnetically to the little bump under the power button, a cleansing facial wash, and the cover. I'd love to purchase the travel case as it helps keep water from splashing all over your counter, clothes, makeup bag, etc. While it has the translucent cover over the brush head, the bristles do remain wet after one use and in the evening, if I've used it in the morning, it is often still wet. I'm not sure if this is a turn off, just thought I'd mention it.

Have you tried the Clarisonic? Tell me what you thought in the comments.

xx

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Instagrammed #3

#1. Really good Thursday with a beautiful sunrise and music.
#2. Passenger (or Mike) killing it in Portland!
#3. On our way to Portland on Friday night.
#4. Only a portion of my makeup collection... Obsession?
#5. Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brulee and three layer chocolate cake
#6. Bath time.
#7. Meeting Olympic medalist Lopez Lomong.
#7. Ed Sheeran rocking in Seattle. 06.10.12
#8. Another gorgeous sunny day here.
#9. One of my favorite fall outfits thus far.
#10. The lovely Selah Sue :)
#11. Ed Sheeran in Portland. 05.10.12
#12. The line for Ed Sheeran in downtown Seattle on Saturday.
#13. A beautiful site. SephoraStarbucks.

Hopefully have another post up soon. Sunday's are double days. See you all soon.

xx

Friday, October 5, 2012

fall essentials



OPI 'Kenne-bunk-port' (NL N09)
OPI 'Colour So Hot It Berns' (NL Z13)
butter London 'Come To Bed Red'
Essie 'Head Mistress'
MAC 'Lovecrush' Sheertone Shimmer Blusher
NARS 'Douceur'
Rimmel London Kate Lippie (01)
Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream 'Monte Carlo'

In true autumn inspired spirit, I hope to pop in a pumpkin pie soon and pop on some of these deeper, darker reds. This is genuinely a guide for the scarlet lovers amongst us, but these each are wearable one way or another. The nail varnishes are some of the best formulas I have tried and have stellar wear time. MAC's Lovecrush blusher is beautiful on fair skin, such as mine, and brings the most natural flush of colour to your cheeks. NARS Douceur is my go to contour shade (although I'm debating buying a few new ones) and has treated me wonderfully for the last several months I've worn it. It is quite sheer, so it may work best with pale skin. I love the Kate lipstick. It has such great wear time for a drugstore lippie. I wore it in this look and did a review on it here if you want to read more about it. My newest purchase was Nyx's Monte Carlo but I can already tell that it will be one of my favourites into spring. Easy to apply, not too expensive and again, really excellent wear time.

I will be (excitedly) driving down the coast to Portland today and then back up tomorrow to see Ed Sheeran, twice. You heard that right. I'm seeing him twice in one weekend. And the thing is... I've already seen him live once before. Eddiction? (Geez, someone take the Internet away from me...) Hope you all have a stellar weekend, will chat soon!

xx