Must Have Beach Essentials

When I'm getting ready for a weekend on the beach there are certain items that I just HAVE to pack and wouldn't even consider going to the beach without.  They are my must have beach essentials! Some are items that I've been loving for a long time and others are recent discoveries that I'm excited to add to my must have list this summer.

Now just hand me a piña colada and I'm in heaven!

Spring Nails

Spring nails are oh, so fun! I love to play around with all the pastel colors and literally change my nail polish more times then anybody should.  These four colors have been my go to so far this spring - I'm in love!

Essie "Truth or Flare"

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Purse - Watch - Ring - Midi Ring - Bracelet

OPI "Do You Lilac It?"

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Purse - Ring - Midi Ring - Bracelet

OPI "Funny Bunny"

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Purse - Watch - Ring - Midi Ring - Bracelet - Chain Bracelet

Essie "Fashion Playground"

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Ring

Lipstick of the Moment - MAC Retro Matte All Fired Up

I love a funky colored lipstick and this one by MAC was just the perfect hot pink color for spring and summer.  Wear it with subtle eye makeup and golden tones and you are good to go. The lipstick is very matte, but stays on beautifully! You don't even really need to re-apply it -  I do just because I love it when the pigmentation looks super intense.  This long lasting lipstick isn't like most since it won't leave your lips super dry. It's a must have for the season.  I love it!

Retro Matte All Fired Up by MAC

This Look -

Lipstick - Retro Matte All Fired Up by MAC

Face - Dior  Hydra Life BB Cream

Mascara - Dior Diorshow Extase in Black

Eyeshadow - Stila Eyeshadow in 14k

Blush - Nars Blush/Bronzer duo Sin/Casino

Favorite Things - Beauty

So I recently put together my very first video and it's all about my top 10 favorite beauty products, not including makeup. These products are all must haves that I just can't live without or am completely obsessing over lately!  Some I have been using for years and others are recent favorites.  I'll later be doing a video about my favorite makeup items and a last one on my favorite fashion finds. Hope you guys like it! Sorry for the blurriness and how dark the video is…next one will be perfect!

- Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo

- Jason Thin to Thick Spray

- Chi Shine Infusion

- Kérastase CrisTalListe Masque

- Klorane Clarify And Shine Rinse

- Soap & Glory the Righteous Butter

- Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser

- Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum

- Glamglow Supermud Clearing Treatment

- Smith's Lip Balm in Minted Rose

The lipstick I'm wearing in the video is - Chanel Rouge Allure in La Favorite

Lipstick of the Moment - Hourglass in Canvas & Rose

I've been searching for the perfect nude lipstick for months now, they are always either too pale or not nude enough for me.  It's such a tricky color and I've always felt like I looked a bit 'dead' when wearing it.  Well, on one of my last trips to makeup heaven, Sephora, I found the perfect nude.  Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Canvas! It's the perfect mix of nude with  a little undertone of rose, which makes it look more alive than most nudes.  I fell in love, bought it and love to wear it with my eyes a little more done up so it brightens up the undertoned lips.  After a few wears I just fell even more in love with the wear of the lipstick.  Its super long-lasting, and after it dries it has that awesome matte finish which is great for  nudes colors and is super in style now.  So, I went back to Sephora and tested out the other colors from line and ended up finding the perfect daytime, everyday color for this time of  year.  Spring is almost around the corner and a rose lipstick is just the perfect everyday/daytime color.  The Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Rose is super fun but subtle at the same time, and stays on all day long! I'm in love.

Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Canvas

Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Rose

… in case you are wondering these incredible earrings are the Maya Earrings from Accessory Mercado.  Gorgeous!!

Lipstick of the Moment - Bite Beauty in Grape

As you probably know I’ve been super obsessed with the Bite Beauty line of lipsticks. They just have an amazing variety of colors, the textures are incredible and they are super long-lasting.  My latest obsession is the Matte Creme Lip Crayon in Grape! I honestly never thought I’d be able to pull off a color like this, but the shine and texture that this lipstick has makes it look so effortless I just couldn’t pass it up.  Winter time we always tend to go towards the dark reds or the super popular plum, but I was honestly getting really sick of the same old colors everyday. This color has a blue undertone which still makes it a super appropriate color for winter and its bright enough that will be great for spring as well.  I’m in love!  Hope you guys like it.

This gorgeous color from Bite Beauty is available at Sephora for $24.00

Beauty Trend - BB Cream

Hi SF ladies,

So we have all heard of foundation (duh!) and moisturizer (double duh!), but some of us haven't heard of BB Cream...so here I am to tell you all about it!

So what is BB Cream? Very simple actually.  BB Cream stands for Blemish Base Cream and essentially its an all-in-one facial product, and my must have, go to, favorite thing, now item! By all-in-one I mean it  replaces your serum, moisturizer, primer, foundation, and sunblock! Phew! Can you believe it?!  Seriously, that's the magic of it.  BB Creams are almost like a tinted moisturizer, but imagine your tinted moisturizer took steroids, was dating a VS model and bought a Ferrari...then it could join the BB Cream clique.

Of course if you want a super intense look you might still want to pick up your primer and foundation, but for everyday use BB Cream is just incredible.

For an everyday look I tend to still moisturize my face (just because I am a moisturizer freak) before applying the BB Cream, and for more intense looks I tend to also apply serum and primer.  I don't apply foundation just because I don't tend to use it, but if you do then I would apply a little extra as the BB Cream is not a full coverage product.

I've tried tons of different brands until I've found my current favorite.  I am completely obsessed with the Dior BB Cream as the foundation is a bit more pigmented making it a medium coverage cream. Plus, once applied it doesn't look as shiny as some of the other ones I've tried, it has more of a matte look which I prefer.

Here are my favorites...and remember...for some of these you can ALWAYS take a little trip to Sephora and ask for samples before you make a purchase - especially since some of these creams can be a bit pricey. So try them out first before you take the big purchasing step.

Beauty Trend - Lip Stain

Lately I've been completely obsessed with lip stains. Not only are they super easy to use and long wearing but they can easily double as other products that you may not be carrying in your purse.  If you don't know what lip stains are, they literally do what the name says - they stain your lips, cheeks or wherever you might choose to put them.  With all the different brands now offering stains the color options are literally endless! I usually pick a color that's a little more towards red, that way I can use the stain not only for my lips but also for my cheeks - allowing me to leave my blush at home.

Here are the brands I've used and am in love with! Believe me, this will be your next must have!

Beauty Tips - Face Brushes

Brushes are super important during a makeup routine.  You can have the most amazing cosmetics and expensive products, but if you don't know how to apply them...well...they become pretty useless.  I just recently went shopping for new brushes at Sephora and found myself extremely confused by all the different types, sizes and styles of brushes.  So I decided to do a little research, and found a great article on brushes by The Beauty Department.

The first post will be about face brushes, I will then have two more posts coming up this week about cheeks and eye brushes.  Once this little series is over you can run to a beauty store near you and grab all the brushes you've never known what to do with before but secretly always wanted! Just like I did!

Here's what each brush is for:

Beauty Review - OCC Nailpolish

This past weekend I attended the Makeup Show Convention here in Orlando, Florida.  The show was very interesting featuring great brands such as Make Up Forever, Smashbox, Stila and OCC.  My favorite discovery on the show definitely came from OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics), the brand behind the amazing Lip Tar, which I will be reviewing soon!  I honestly didn't know much about OCC and definitely didn't know they made nail polish.   On their stand I found a very large variety of bright and super fun colors, I honestly could have purchased them all, but since I couldn't try them on and didn't know much about them I only got 2 colors - which now i desperately regret!