All posts in: Bare Minerals

07 Jan 2018

The Beauty Products We Couldn’t Live Without in 2017

2017 felt like the year that I was not only collecting products, but educating myself on them more than average. I was constantly talking with my friends about what they were using and getting feedback via Instagram and Instagram Stories on what was working and what wasn’t. In 2018, my hope is that I do the opposite. I learn to live with less! How can I become more creative and resourceful with what I already have to avoid spending more money – another New Year’s resolution that we’ll get to soon? One thing that I learned about myself this year is that I no longer need to have a facial once a season. I used to convince myself that this was what I needed because seasons in the Bay Area were so harsh on my skin and so different that I needed to restart and refresh my routine with a facial. Turns out, I was lying to myself and didn’t need it and making excuses. You can create your own facials at home and you can moisturize and exfoliate your skin without breaking the bank. My favorite products in 2017 did JUST that. They looked like they could’ve been more high-end, but were affordable and did the job and more.

Glossier Boy Brow – $16

2017 was the year that I discovered that I could do something with my eyebrows! While services like Vancouver Microblading are available readily in various beauty clinics, I wanted something temporary. I don’t know what took us so long, but just like everyone says, Boy Brow really is a game changer. A few swipes of this across my brows keeps everything together and more importantly, natural looking. I also learned how to fill in my own eyebrows this year as well, but it’s not something that I feel like I can pull off as an everyday look rather than more of a day to night. Boy Brow gives me that everyday feel, but also cuts down on my getting ready time. For $16, you’ll be happy with this purchase, I promise.

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04 Jun 2016

Beauty for Breakfast Pt. 26

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Going home for the holidays means a lot of things, but one of the best parts is acquiring all of the beauty products that Mom could do without. What would she do without me? Everything would just go to waste! To be honest, in our mid-20’s I still don’t know what I’m doing with most of my products, but I think it’s all pretty good for experimentation and I’m sure someday I’ll find a use for it. The good thing about my mini haul from this past December is that I use all THREE of these products all of the time.

I know that tube of Lancome mascara is small and very clearly a sample, but it’s gotten me through some tough times and is still functional 6 months later… though I think that means we’re close to the end with this one.

I purchased my Bare Minerals lipstick on the right solely for our holiday party last December, but still am very much in love with it. The color is perfect for a night out and glides on so smoothly. I’ve previously found that I get pretty bored with most of my lipsticks, but not this one.

The palette in the middle is also a sample from Lancome. It features powder for contouring, blush, and a highlighter and since this was my first time using it, I definitely had to look up a tutorial online for how to incorporate the three when using it. I still don’t even know if I’m doing it quite right, but A+ for effort…? I usually save this for an evening look, but there are times when I find it to be daytime appropriate. This shade of blush is a very pretty coral pink and ideal for any sun-kissed glow. The highlighter…well, we’re still trying to figure that one out!

Lancome Definicils Mascara in Black – $27.50

Lancome Blush Subtil Palette in 126 Nectar Lace – $43

Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Live Large – $18

14 Dec 2015

What We Wore: Holiday Party

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Now that my company’s holiday party has actually happened, we can finally write this post! It was about a month ago that I was facing my holiday party dress dilemma having no idea what I would wear this year and it was just a few weeks ago that I wrote our Holiday Party Dress Guide for 2015. When I wrote that, I had just found my dream dress (this one above!) When you know, you know. The minute I put it on, I not only knew it was the perfect dress, but I felt it. Oh gosh – imagine what I’m going to say when I write about how I find THE dress someday. When you have found the dress and you’re excited about it, you’ll try it on every few days…and that’s exactly what I did. Out of the three holiday parties that I’ve celebrated with my company, this is by far, my favorite look.

Mandi and I had separate holiday parties to attend that night, but we figured, why not get ready together? She told me that for holiday parties she usually likes to pamper herself and go all out. I hadn’t done that in the past two years, but I thought why not? My makeup and hair should match exactly how I feel about my dress. Our first stop? Dry Bar for our very first visit!

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Our visit was to the Dry Bar in downtown SF. $45 gets your hair blown out and a shampoo wash as well. I had taken a look at the menu beforehand because I’m such a planner, but the style that I wanted wasn’t exactly what I had seen so naturally, I came prepared with a photo. I told my girl that I wanted very loose waves and all of my hair to one side to match the look I was trying to go for with the dress. I felt like I was done in about 15 minutes! Honestly though, she did such a great job and I feel like this rarely happens, but I got exactly what I had asked for. The shop is super cute; it actually looks like a little bar with the set-up and while I would totally go back for another special event, I don’t think I can justify going every day before work like some people actually do. Isn’t that a little bit much?! I thought so too. Mandi and I were in shock after we found out that this is a daily thing for some people especially because shampooing and blow drying your hair is something that I learned at like age 5.

From there, her and I headed over to Bare Minerals where we had our makeup done! I have to admit, this was the one part of the day that made me really nervous especially because I used to get my makeup done for formal dances in high school at various counters. Back then, I always felt like everything was a bit overdone. The MAC counter will do that to you. However, at Bare Minerals, I felt like I was leaving looking exactly like myself, but a little bit better 😉 Bare Minerals has always been a pretty natural looking brand though so I was very impressed with them and ended up purchasing two products that I’ll most likely feature on a future “Beauty for Breakfast.”

Some last thoughts:

The back of this dress is really what sold me. Make sure you click the link for the extra details. I kept telling Mandi that I couldn’t wait to wear this dress and to get ready with someone else so that they could help me button up the last three buttons that I couldn’t reach when trying it on. I also am not big on accessories so I didn’t have a lot that would match with this dress and I knew it too. After I had secured the dress at the store, I did that thing that I do when I’m shopping and get too comfortable by roaming around and asking everyone working there to help me find the perfect necklace. I love this choker. I haven’t worn chokers in a very long time, but it’s a trend that has made its way back this year and it was so so pretty, but also didn’t take away from the lace detail on the dress which made it perfect.