Bobbi Brown Holiday Collection 2014

What can I say I'm a sucker for holiday collections and cute packaging. The Bobbi Brown 2014 holiday collection caught my eye immediately with the tortoise packaging and nude shimmery colors. This will definitely be one of the things I ask for as a holiday or birthday gift. I've heard great things about Bobbi Brown makeup for years but still have never bought any! 

Mini lip & eye palette

Mini brush set

Warm glow eyeshadow palette

Warm eye palette

Highlight powder

Holiday lip trio

Deluxe eye and lip palette

-Lauren

Recent Favorites

A quick post today to share some recent favorites. I finally made it over to the Bare Minerals outlet near me and picked up this Marvelous Moxie lip gloss in the color "heartbreaker." Absolutely love these lip glosses and it was a great discounted price. I've been using my Tory Burch bag (similar) yet again, it's just perfect for fall and looks great with darker colors. Lastly, my mom and I both got this cute Calvin Klein circle scarf (similar) at Marshall's the other day. They really do have the best scarves!

Happy hump day!

-Lauren

Festive Sweet Treats to Try

Halloween Bark, Candy Corn Cookies

Cherry Almond Granola Bars, Apple Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Oatmeal Bars

Just sharing a list of some of the great recipes I've found recently on Pinterest. I'd love to try some of the Halloween-themed ideas and pumpkin recipes as well as the classics like delicious oatmeal cookies. 

Please share any festive recipes you've found recently!

-Lauren

Weekly Wish List

Old Navy Tweed Jacket

Benefit World Famous Neutrals Palette

Madewell Coated Jeans

JCrew Factory Turtleneck

The weather has been a bit chillier and rainy this week so I've been bringing out some of my sweaters and tunics. I love this JCrew Factory turtleneck, it looks so comfy and cozy and would be perfect with these coated jeans from Madewell. On the beauty front, I've been making a list of my favorite neutral palettes. My sister just bought this one from Benefit and I'm really interested to see how it looks! Lastly, I'm obsessed with this Old Navy tweet jacket that I saw on Oh So Glam. Who knew Old Navy stuff could look so luxurious?!

Happy hump day!

-Lauren

Makeup Gift Sets

Sephora Lash Stash, Smashbox Try It Kit

Too Faced Cause a Scandal Kit, Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Box O' Blushes

Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Magnificent Seven, Bare Minerals Up Close and Beautiful

I love trying out new makeup but it's hard to commit to a new product when you haven't really tried it. This is why I love makeup gift/value sets. It's the perfect way to test out new things in the trial sizes to see if you want to buy the full size. It's also a great way to discover new things, since you may not buy things included in the sets on a regular basis. These are some of the sets that have caught my eye. 

I actually just bought the Bare Minerals Up Close and Beautiful kit and I'm loving it so far. This is the first time I've tried the Bare Minerals foundations and powders and I'm really surprised at how well they work and how natural they look and feel. This kit has the foundation, finishing powder, concealer, primer and two brushes. Great value for $20.

-Lauren

Recent Favorites

Bite High Pigment Lip Pencil (in velvet) - Ok so this is pricey for a lip pencil, but it is truly an amazing product. The color lasts a really long time and the texture is really smooth and creamy. I also really like the matte look because it doesn't look dry or cakey, it actually moisturizes a little bit.

Sweaters with attached shirts (JCrew and ShopBop) - I just found one of these sweaters with silk shirts attached at Loft and I absolutely love it. I had always tried to wear sweaters with collared shirts underneath and it never looked quite right, so I'm a huge fan of the one-piece attached look. 

This is Where I Leave You - So I wanted to read this before seeing the movie that came out this month. So far it's really funny, even though it's a story of a family coming together for the father's funeral and sitting shiva for a week. 

Gone Girl movie - Normally I am a very tough critic of books being made into movies, but Gone Girl was very good. It stayed true to the book and portrayed the important monologues and passages sufficiently enough. Rosamund Pike was amazing; she was perfectly creepy and mysterious. Warning: I highly, highly recommend reading the book first!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

-Lauren

Black on Black: Mixing Textures

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

Black on black is one of my all time favorite looks, so easy and always looks good. I've been loving how people have been mixing textures this season, with leather, sequins, fur and more. Here is some inspiration on how to mix up your black on black looks.

-Lauren

Splurge vs. Save: Rag & Bone Nicole Tee

 

The Rag & Bone tees are very popular and I love the look of a great-fitting basic shirt like the Nicole tee. However, I've never understood why people will pay over $100 for a t-shirt. This Old Navy one is a steal for $9.95 and has the same heather gray look and fits a bit loose. The only thing it's missing is the open back...but who wants an open back in a long sleeve shirt anyway? 

-Lauren

Weekly Wish List

A lot of what is on my list this week are basics for fall. The Pixie pants from JCrew have been on my wish list for a long time and I finally tried on the newest version the other day and I really like them. They would look perfect with this gray cowl neck sweater from Loft's new Lou & Grey line. On the beauty front, I'm really interested to see what the Smashbox primer is all about - I've used Porefessional and Baby Skin but am looking to try something else. Lastly, I love my Gigi NY clutch and now the mini Taylor tote is on my long term wish list. 

Happy weekend!

-Lauren

Mascara Favorites and Unfavorites

I've been on kind of a beauty kick this week, evaluating my current makeup and picking up a few new products to try. Mascara is probably my favorite product; it's the thing I'd put on if I was running out the door and didn't have time for a full face of makeup. So, I thought I'd share my mascara favorites and unfavorites of the moment. 

Favorites:

1. Bare Minerals Flawless Definition - You can tell right away from the brush that this mascara is good. It makes really thin, defined lashes and is never clumpy.

2. Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme - This is your classic mascara for medium thickness lashes. It's just really, really good. 

3. Buxom Lash Mascara - I just got this in a sample size from Sephora and so far I love it. It makes really clean, defined lashes and the black isn't too intense.

Unfavorites: 

1. Almay Intense I-Color - I liked this one in the beginning but then it dried out way too quickly and was unusable. 

2. Mac Zoom Fast Black Lash - This one was horrible from the start, totally clumpy and the brush didn't work well at all. Totally regret buying this one, which is weird because generally, I love Mac makeup.

3. Rimmel ScandalEyes - The brush is kind of an hour glass shape, which didn't really work well for me. I just couldn't get clean looking lashes with it. 

What are your favorite and unfavorite mascaras? 

-Lauren

Current Makeup Routine

Maybelline Dream BB Cream, Benefit Porefessional, Benefit Dallas Bronzer, Benefit Coralista Blush

Mac Mineralize Eyeshadow, CK Mascara, Benefit Watt's Up Highlighter, Benefit Benetint

It's been a while since I've shared some of my favorite makeup. I'm still using some of the same products but have rotated in a few new ones like the BB cream and Benetint. I love seeing what other people use in their daily routine so please share your suggestions in the comments below!

-Lauren

Recent Favorites

JCrew swing sweater - After trying on this sweater a few times last season, I like the fit this season a lot more. I got it in light purple and have been wearing it non-stop with leggings and jeans. I already want to get it in another color!

Acrylic lipstick holder - I picked one of these up at Marshall's the other day and it looks great on my vanity and organizes the many lipsticks and glosses that I have. 

Covergirl Lash Blast Volume - After trying a bunch of expensive mascaras, I'm back to the drugstore ones. I've concluded that they work just as well and in some cases, are better. I love the Lash Blast brush because it creates really defined lashes. 

How to Get Away With Murder - I love this new show on ABC! It's about four students chosen by their law professor/defense lawyer to work on her staff. They tackle a new case each episode and there's also a flash forward thread that runs through each episode, showing the students trying to cover up a murder. 

Happy Monday!

-Lauren

Slip-On Sneakers Under $100

1. Report, $48

2. Dolce Vita, $69.95

3. Sam Edelman, $80

4. Gap, $49.95

5. Sam Edelman, $88

I scored a cute pair of slip-ons at Marshall's the other day and now I've been noticing them everywhere. They are super comfy and don't look awkward with jeans like some sneakers do. Above are some wallet-friendly options in lots of cute patterns and colors.

Happy almost Friday!

-Lauren

Smartphone Wallpaper

Ashley Brooke Designs, Lilly Pulitzer

Tory Burch, Lauren Conrad

Thought I'd share some fun smartphone (and computer/tablet) wallpaper today. I've found a few festive wallpapers recently and each website listed above has new ones for every month or season. 

Enjoy!

-Lauren