Luxury Skincare Wishlist

I go through phases where I literally cannot get enough of making lists of beauty products that are way out of my price range. Anyone else have this problem? I think it partly comes from watching videos on YouTube of people like Tanya Burr and FleurDeForce who have vast collections of nice things.

So. Jealous.

I particularly love the skincare items. Yes, high end makeup is nice, but for me that seems more within the range of something I would be more inclined to buy since in some cases there are obvious differences between high end and drugstore products. Nice skin care products, though, remind me of fancy spas and pampered people. Buying and using those is so glam.

Here's a list of the luxury skin products I would absolutely love:

1. Bioderma Crealine H2O Micellare Water

This stuff looks like a dream. I like how it can be used as a makeup remover as well as a light cleanser. Plus, all the fancy beauty industry people appear to use it. And it's from French pharmacies, so it must be great, right? Am I being superficial/materialistic? No.......haha, just kididng, of course I am. Anyways, it actually isn't too expensive for the value, so maybe this will be something I'll actually get! It's on Amazon for about $18 for the 250ml size.

2. Laura Mercier Body Creme in Almond Coconut Milk Souffle

I actually first heard about this on Louise's (sprinkleofglitter) channel. I've used Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer and concealer in the past, so I know that she makes quality products. The mere description of this scent sounds lovely. Almond and coconut are two of my favorites. This is a little steep at $55 a pop, but maybe I'll put it on my Christmas list, haha.

3. Perricone MD Face Finishing Moisturizer

I actually once owned this! A few years back I went on a medication for acne that severely dries out the skin, and so my mom was super nice and went to Sephora one day as a surprise for me. I think she just went in and asked the sales lady what their nicest and most moisturizing cream was, and also which one would work with acne-prone skin. This is what she came back with! The best things about this product for me were: the scent is of roses, which is amazing. The consistency is light and creamy. The product actually feels cool on the face when applied. Finally, it works! I never experienced the flaking, tightness, and redness associated with the medication. This is $69, but it is just so nice I think it's probably worth that much, to be honest.

4. Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

At first, the idea of these cleansing milk type things was kind of odd to me. Eve Lom makes one, and so do several other brands. Since my skin has sort of evened out and become less acne prone in the past two years (see the note about a very strong acne med I took above), I have decided it wouldn't hurt to branch out a bit. Right now, I literally have just started using LUSH Ultrabland, which is similar in that you apply it to dry skin and then wipe off with a hot cloth. I'll post a review of that soon, but eventually I will want to try out this one too! 3.3 ounces with muslin cloths retails $24.50 on the Liz Earle site.

5. Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream

Eye creams that eliminate puffiness and dark circles are right up my alley. Because I inherited large, rather deep set eyes, I also inherited the circles that come with that. Right now I use a nice little eye cream from Simple, but I would love something more refreshing and effective. I've heard great things about the GinZing line from Origins so I am sure this is a must-try. It's $30 at Sephora.

I better stop before I get carried away! Making this list was fun in itself. 

What are your wishlist skincare products? Do you own any of these? How are they?

xo Rowan

Summer's Bounty: Farmer's Markets

Ever since I was little I have literally LOVED the farmers market. All the colorful veggies, fruits, and even just the cool other stalls have always enthralled me. Sunday morning my mom and I stopped at a popular farmers market in Arlington, VA for some fruits and veggies to stock up.

Juicy, fresh peaches in their cute little crate!

Nothing like delicious heirloom tomatoes!

I thought the colors on these nectarines were just so vibrant!

We also picked up some homemade salsa from our favorite local company, as well as the best sweet bread from a local bakery! When I got home, Clark came over and we made some yummy BLAT's with the new stuff.

I really wish I had taken a few more pictures but I was having a serious coffee withdrawal. I thought the gourmet coffee stand was going to be there and it wasn't *sob* so I was walking around like a zombie and forgot to take more photos. A quick stop at Starbucks on the way home brought me back to reality.

Do you like farmer's markets? What is your favorite thing to make with all the fresh produce?

xo Rowan

New Makeup: LORAC Pro Palette + more!

Hello! I hope this Sunday is treating you well and that the weekend has been nice and relaxing for all. Here, it was about 100 degrees so while I would have liked to spend time outdoors, I didn't really. Not bad though because....

I treated myself to some new goodies at ULTA yesterday! I've had my eye on the LORAC Pro Palette since I saw Rachel on YouTube raving about it like a year ago. All the matte shades looked amazing and the shimmer ones looked great as well! They had to go into the back storage room to pull out a palette for me because there were no more on the floor! Glad I asked them to check because otherwise I probably wouldn't have attempted to look.

Isn't it gorgeous?

I particularly love how the names of the shadows are there on the box, just like the Naked palettes. I had heard that these shadows were extremely pigmented, and this is so true! The color payoff is amazing.

That was after one tiny touch on the color!

I have experimented with the palette twice since buying it, but I'll post a makeup look with it once I have really gotten into the groove of using it.

I also decided to get a few Revlon Lip Butters after surveying my modest makeup collection and deciding that what it is lacking is more lip products and blush/bronzers. I had never tried the lip butters, which is insane considering how raved about they are. They are totally worth the hype! 

I got Pink Lemonade (left) and Peach Parfait. The Pink Lemonade is a really nice "bare but better" color for everyday. The Peach is a bit darker and pinker but still fairly natural looking. The formula is super moisturizing and the pigmentation is very nice as well! I hope to add to my collection soon.

Pink Lemonade

Peach Parfait

The last thing I got was more of a skincare product. ULTA was having a sale on Mario Badescu products, and I thought this Seaweed Cleansing Lotion looked nice.

It's a massive bottle that was $13, marked down from $26. It is supposed to be used as a toner after cleansing skin and before moisturizing. I have used it twice so far and I really like it! It feels gentle and light, has a fresh and clean scent, and hasn't done anything crazy yet to my skin. We'll see how it goes with this!

What makeup products have you recently purchased? Any luck with any of the items above?

Thanks so much for reading!

xo Rowan

Midweek Musings

Hello! I am starting a series in which I'll leave you readers, if there are any of you out there at this point, with some inspiration, thoughts, ideas, recipes, and anything else I've been enjoying from around the web! None of these are affiliate links or anything like that, just genuine recommendations that I have recently been enjoying. Hope you like them!

Hope's Boutique Maxi Dresses

Mine All Mine Maxi Dress from shophopes.com

I discovered Hope's through Pinterest, and I am so glad I did! They have the cutest dresses, tops, jewelry, etc ever! Check it out! I also ordered this exact dress so when I wear it I will post an Outfit of the Day for you all.

Grains Guide

Broken down for you from Greatist.com

I have been a longtime fan of Greatist, a healthy lifestyle blog/website about food, working out, general health, new studies, and the environment! This cool infographic describes like a million different types of grains, some of which I had NEVER heard of (Freekeh?). For each grain, they give the basic nutrition facts, the more unique elements in each one that are beneficial (like manganese), a fact, and how to prepare them. Talk about a ton of useful information!


Productivity

HackCollege has some of the best articles for students.

Any students out there? I think I can't be over-prepared in terms of knowing how best to function in college classes, and so this article introduced me to some interesting apps. I already have one, Evernote, and I love it, but the others were intriguing! Check it out :)

FitnessBlender Workouts

fitnessblender.com has so many options!

I don't know about you, but sometimes the daily workout grind can get a little....boring. FitnessBlender is an awesome website created by a husband-wife personal training team, and they have a HUGE variety of free workout videos to try! For each video, they list the workout type, average calorie burn, and fitness level. I've done a few videos from here and I am really loving it recently!


That's it for this Wednesday! We're already over the hump, so just a few more days until the weekend. What are you doing to keep your spirits up midweek?

xoxo Rowan

Nannying tidbits + mini donut recipe!

I just wanted to post a few photos of what I've been doing on lazy summer days with the girls that I'm nannying on weekdays.

This was the fishing dock at a nearby lake. While we only brought three tiny nets and went along the shoreline instead, I still thought this was a pretty nice view! The girls ended up catching one teeny tiny baby fish and carrying it home in a plastic bag filled with water. They were super excited to put it in a bowl at home, assembled some rocks inside, and let the fish swim freely.

.....and then 5 minutes later the poor fish died. After trying a few home remedies that one of them apparently researched online, like adding table salt to the water (??) the fish was definitely dead. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

We made mini donuts! Straight out of an American Girl crafts book that I dug out of the depths of my bookshelf while desperately searching for ideas.

They're actually quite simple to make:

You'll need

-plain Cheerios

-powdered sugar

-chocolate chips

-sprinkles in any color

Steps

-Divide Cheerios in half. 

-Place powdered sugar in a small Ziploc bag and put one half of the Cheerios inside. Shake it up!

-Place chocolate chips in microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave.

-Take the other half of the Cheerios and carefully dip one flat side of them into the chocolate, then lay face down on sprinkles. 

-This is easiest with fingers but toothpicks, etc can be used to hold the Cheerios also.

-Pick them up from the plate and put in the freezer for 5 minutes. Assemble your donuts however you like; it looks cutest in a little mini box!

College Prep Series: Bags

Hi there! I thought I would start a series of posts about various things I am purchasing in preparation for college. It's approaching very quickly-only two more months! This series will feature product recommendations and reviews of the items I'm getting.

First up: bags.

I knew I needed a new backpack for college as the one I used in high school is ripping and filthy. Also, when I was getting my new Macbook Air, the man at the Apple store strongly suggested a backpack with a laptop pocket in it, and I agreed that it would be really useful. That being said, I'll probably also purchase a laptop sleeve for days when I am traveling light (without a backpack).

I checked out the bags from Timbuk2 because my mom has a few bags from there. Their bags are built for students, commuters, urban dwellers, and people on the move. They come in neat colors, are sturdy, and have a lifetime guarantee! I was pleasantly surprised. I chose the Jones Laptop Backpack.

This bag comes with a few organizational pockets-perfect for organization freaks like me- and a padded laptop compartment inside the main pocket. The back has cushions and ventilation. I loved this cute color! It so far has been really comfortable, functional and also seems to hold a lot more than it looks like it would.

I also decided to get a small cross body bag for going out and just for having as a small purse/travel bag. I chose the Minnie Rae Shoulder Bag.

This bag has replaced my little wristlet that I was trying to jam pack all of my things into...the seams were ripping. It's light, matches tons of different outfits, and holds sooo many things. Check out these organized inner pockets.

In case you can't tell there are two small ones and two large ones. My iPhone barely fits into one of the thinner pockets and I have a pretty low profile case, so if you have an OtterBox or something like that it probably will not fit there. No big deal, though, because there are many other pockets!

This has been my first experience with Timbuk2 products and I really enjoyed it! I'm not getting compensated or anything for this, I just really found that these were nice and wanted to recommend them :)

Review: LUSH R&B

I'll admit it shamelessly: I'm a Lushie! LUSH offers the best products that are environmentally conscious, with tons of variety, amazing scents, and overall great results. For anyone new to LUSH or interested, check out their website.

Today I'll be reviewing a hair product from LUSH called R&B.

Don't feel like reading a long-winded review? Scroll to the bottom of the post :)

The product description labels this as a hair treatment good for "frizzy, flyaway, African American, or curly" types. Personally, as someone who has recently decided to embrace my wavy/thick/coarse hair and stop straightening it into oblivion every day, I feel like I have been on a never ending search for the right product. I went through quite a few sprays, gels, creams, and mousses before I tried R&B. I got a sample at LUSH, put some into my hair the other night after  shower, scrunched a bit, and went to sleep. To be honest, I was really only expecting it to condition my hair and make it smell nice. I woke up to shapely, wavy, and not frizzy hair! I was very surprised at how well this worked. And the waves survived a workout, a shower (tied up into a bun on the top of my head), and a full day, which usually would find my hair really flat and just gross.

To apply it, I find that the product is best used in really small (like dime sized) dollops worked through the hair. I ended up using about 2 of these dollops, but my hair is down to the middle of my back. I lightly scrunch, then let air dry. The most important step for me is after this: leave it alone. That's why I find I get the best results from sleeping on the damp hair; if I apply in the morning to wet hair instead, it dries with ever so slightly less body. Either way, it still yields great waves/curls!

After about 20 minutes of air drying

In conclusion: R&B is a great moisturizing product for those with naturally wavy/curly hair looking to add some definition and shape to their style. It is light, smells lovely (like jasmine and spices and citrus all in one magic pot), and works wonders! Minimal frizz, soft yet shaped waves, and ease of use. Apply to wet hair, scrunch, air dry.

Price: $22.95 for 3.5 ounces...a little pricy but seriously a little goes a long way and compared to many salon quality products it actually isn't that expensive!