Philosophy Miracle Worker

With the arrival of the cold weather, my skincare routine is one of the first things that I change along with my clothing and makeup. My skin is naturally on the drier side and the frigid weather only makes it worse. This year, for the first time I tried out Philosophy's Miracle Worker Anti-Aging Kit (trial size) which retails for $40 and includes the moisturizer, serum and a two week supply of retinoid pads. I must say that I am in love! My favorites are the moisturizer and the serum. I like the retinoid pads but I doubt that I will repurchase. Not because they aren't good but more so because I don't think I need them. The kit sizes are as follows: the serum is 7.5ml/0.25 oz, the moisturizer is 14g/0.5 oz and 15 retinol pads.

I have dry/combination skin and I am always hesitant to try new moisturizers because they always seem to be too heavy for my liking or they leave behind an oily residue which I absolutely hate. I was looking for a great moisturizer, preferably with vitamins and/or antioxidants that sunk into my skin and did not leave anything behind. Thankfully, I have now without a doubt found my new true love! My skin happily drank up all of the products up and they left my skin feeling soft, smooth and looking radiant. I have a few tiny smile lines and I could definitely already see the difference after just a few uses. This is definitely a holy grail product and now a permanent staple in my routine.  

The retinol pads arrive dry with the solution in a separate bottle to mix once purchased. I will admit that I was at first a bit confused on whether I was supposed to pour the entire bottle onto the pads or put a small amount of solution onto a pad once I was ready to use it. After some quick research, you are to pour the entire contents of the bottle onto the pads. The pads are to be used first, after you cleanse your face you take a pad and wipe it all over your face and the back of your hands. I do like these pads because they don't leave an oily residue but I don't think I will repurchase.

The serum is to be used next. I really LOVE this product. My skin drank it up immediately and like all three of these products, did not leave a residue. The serum is clear.

The moisturizer is used last, this is my absolute favorite of the trio. It's very light and kept my skin soft and hydrated. I used a pea size amount with both this and the serum, a little goes a long way!

Much love xo

October Birchbox (Goop Edition)

Hello lovelies! This month Birchbox partnered up with Goop and offered a special collaboration box. I opted in for the goop box and to be quite honest, I like the box I received but i'm still pretty on the fence about it. There is nothing wrong with the products per say outside of the fact that 3 out of my 5 samples are just about too small to even use properly. I would have really loved to receive the Essie polish or the BeautyBlender I've been dying to try but, you win some and you lose some. The items I received are:

1. DDF Brightening Cleanser, i'm really excited to try this because I have some dark spots and acne scarring on the sides of my face. I really hope this works because if it does I will definitely be buying the larger size. The sample is a very good size at 4.5 fl oz (133ml). The full size retails for $38 USD

2. Orofluido Hair oil 0.17oz. I already use argan and olive oil on my hair so I really have no use for this but I will definitely try it. Who knows, I could really love it! The sample is good for a few uses but not many. The oil itself has a very odd, sweet scent that i'm not in love with. Full size is $29.99

3. Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum 0.06 oz. The sample is entirely too small to get enough uses out of. Like the hair oil above, this product does not have a very pleasant scent. Full size is $79

4. Perfekt Beauty Lip Perfection Gel in color "Melrose" The sample is a RIDICULOUS 0.002 fl oz (0.05ml) I have personally gotten this very same sample for FREE. It honestly angers me that this would be considered one of my "deluxe" beauty samples. It's things like this that seriously make me reconsider my subscription.

My lifestyle extra was a 3 variety pack of Mighty Leaf teas. I'm excited to try these because tea is my favorite drink. The teas are very fragrant and they smell wonderful, the tea bags themselves are well made little cloth bags versus the usual paper tea bag material.

Overall, this was a good box. The cleanser alone is worth the box price so everything else is just a bonus to me. Although i'm a little cheesed over the ironically named Perfekt sample, it will nonetheless be put to use.  I'm especially looking forward to using the teas and the DDF cleanser and will be trying these out immediately. My only gripe this month is that even though the box is supposed to be a Goop collaboration box containing products special Goop picks, I have the feeling that these items are really just leftover Birchbox stock because every last one of these items have been featured in past months, it's a little too coincidental for my liking.

You can use my referral code to sign up for your birchbox here: https://www.birchbox.com?raf=afsw7

Happy birchboxing lovelies! Much love xoxo

Marilyn Monroe M.A.C Collection "Scarlet Ibis"

Like many others, I absolutely adore Marilyn. So of course, once M.A.C announced this collection I HAD to have a few items from it. Unfortunately, I didn't get around to purchasing until this Saturday 10/6 and because of that almost everything was sold out. But, just by sheer luck I was able to get the exact lipstick that I had wanted, which, at the end of the day is all that matters right?

Let me present Scarlet Ibis from the Marilyn collection (it is actually a re-promote from a collection earlier this year) I absolutely ADORE this shade. It is a beautiful reddened orange. The color itself is entirely opaque and can be worn full on or sheered out for an absolutely gorgeous tint. The color is matte, and because of that leaves a stain on the lips which lasted on me even after eating, drinking and taking a little nap (no joke here) I've come to find that less is more with this shade and seems to last incredibly long when used sparingly. The only downside for me is that I only purchased one so I almost don't want to use it!


What I love about this collection overall is that to me, it truly speaks Marilyn. Everything in the collection is actually like what she wore in real life. All of the colors are very subtle, very neutral and natural with just the right amount of glam.

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring" - Marilyn Monroe

Update: The absolute PERFECT lip liner for this is NYX Slim lip pencil in the color "Pumpkin"

Fixing Broken Makeup

Mac Blot Powder in Medium Dark

Makeup wearers unite! We all have that sad, sad day where one of our powder compacts just completely shatters and you're left wondering, "how do I move on with my life?". Kidding of course but seriously we all hate when this happens. If you're like me, way back when I had absolutely no knowledge of what to do in this situation. Do you throw the product out? Maybe give it a tearful goodbye or do you try and put it into another container? While both of those are options that you can do, I suggest trying out this ultra simple trick before you let your broken compact go.

Start by taking a baby wipe or an alcohol towelette and cleaning your compact, wiping away all of the debris. Next, take a clean spoon or a makeup spatula and break up the chunks, it should look something like this





After your makeup looks like the picture to the left, get out your clear rubbing alcohol (I used 50%) and add a couple drops directly to the makeup. Depending on what size your compact is it could take more or less. I used about half a teaspoon, maybe a little less. There should be no excess liquid. Now, take a spoon and smooth out your makeup as if you were putting icing on a cake.

Finally, get a round object (a coin, glass, can) and sanitize it. Take a clean piece of tissue and lay it directly on your makeup, followed by your choice of object (I used a one dollar coin) and now we just press! Apply firm but not overbearing pressure for a few seconds at a time until your compact is smooth and flat. Remove the tissue, close the compact and allow to dry for at least a day, I let mine dry for 3 just to be completely safe. Now your beloved compact is as good as new! Sadly, on mine the coin I used wasn't large enough to create a completely smooth surface but it's usable!

TIP: If you are worried about the alcohol staying inside the product, don't be! The alcohol will evaporate, which is why I suggest leaving it alone for a couple of days. The higher the alcohol concentrate, the faster it will dry. The odor will also dissipate and leave nothing behind.

I hope this helps some of you lovelies out there, I know it definitely helped me. Much love xoxo

Hiatus no longer.

Hi my lovelies!!!

It has been WAY too long but I am finally back to posting blogs! I am so so so sorry for the incredibly long hiatus but as you know already I had to have emergency surgery back in April. As it turns out I ended up needing to have another surgical procedure done about a month after the first so since then I’ve just been at home trying to heal and feel like myself again. Thankfully, now I’m all healed up and ready to get back into the world and continue my blog and fashion journey.

During my healing time I did manage to get out and go on a few shopping trips so I will definitely be posting reviews and blogs very, very soon. So please just stay tuned because I have so much new content coming that I hope you all will really enjoy. I just wanted to post and give you guys some sort of update because I know it’s been so long. I love you all and I miss you all and I’m beyond excited to be back.

Much love