two words: living proof.  I have fallen INLOVE with this line of hair care, and honestly I don’t know how I ever had a good hair day before it.  it was a recommendation of a friend to try out the living proof dry shampoo and an awesome recommendation at that!  I can get three really good days out of using this product just once the morning after a wash.  THREE days.  thats worth every penny!  I’m also loving the living proof 5-in-1 styling treatment.  its sort of like a hair lotion that you comb through your hair while its still wet.  I have gotten so many compliments since I started using this stuff I can never bring myself to stop using it:)  I also have their root lifting spray and volume mousse– but I’ve found that GUTS10 and the 5-in-1 styling treatment work best together for my hair if I am blow drying it straight after washing.  the mousse stands alone as a great styling tool and I like the root pump for when I am washing my hair at night and sleeping on it wet.  gives me the extra volume I need in the morning after sleeping on my hair all night.  they have so many great products I literally want to try them all!

I’ve tried just about every skin care regimen on the market and no matter how good its claim to fame may be- my face can always find something wrong with it (enter rolling eye emoji here). I have never  really bothered with anything anti aging (ever) but I’ll be *ahem* halfway to my mid-thirties this year, and geez its starting to show!  I got the philosophy anti wrinkle cream as a sample and started using it just as my daily moisturizer.  while it might have the anti aging benefit I noticed just after a couple weeks of use that my pores are smaller and my cheeks are smoother.  using this in combination of the philosophy microdelivery face wash I have also noticed that my notoriously dry skin on my nose has diminished.  what is with the constant dry flake?!  

I use the microderm face wash every morning with my clarisonic mia 2 and I just feel like my face is really clean and refreshed.  at night I use philosophy purity face wash and it cleanses my face and eye makeup great!

speaking of makeup.. some of the essentials in my makeup drawer..

there was a time when I didn’t care at all about a makeup brush- I was fine using the regular old sponge applicator that usually came with the eyeshadow or even the foundation wedges.  again with the samples.. but I got a small sample brush kit as a gift several years ago and I never looked back.  brushes are so important!  this foundation brush applies my favorite full coverage foundation evenly and without causing build up in one spot.  tarte full coverage foundation is the bomb (oh, hey 2001). when my favorite foundation was discontinued (why does that always happen?!) I was on the search for something different.  I have dark spots and some acne scarring and this covers better than I have ever used before- and believe me when I say that I have run the foundation gamut at the makeup counter.

another brush thats important is the style of blush brush you use. this brush in particular doesn’t shed and it blends into my cheeks really well.  spending money on makeup brushes can feel silly and not important, but using a quality brush can make all the difference in how your finished makeup looks.   

maybelline has always been a standard go-to of mine since I was in high school.  I started using the fit me line of foundations and concealers and the maybelline fit me concealer is awesome!  and really affordable.  I get asked a lot about the brand of mascara I use and its the regular old maybelline volum’ express falsies – black drama gives me lots of volume as well as height without having to curl my eyelashes.. who has time for that?!  I wish I did..
and when I want to splurge? urban decay big fatty mascara  is where its at.