All posts filed under: Beauty

Discover Natural Beauty Brand URB Apothecary

Published by lauren

Since I’m such a big natural beauty lover I get excited when I come across new sources. My latest find came via Instagram. When I was searching down some random skincare hashtag I came across URB Apothecary‘s stunning designs and alluring ingredients lists. The line was started by Leyna Allred in Northern California with the desire to reconnect with simple chemical free ingredients. The line reflects that with being free of parbens, preservatives, and chemical additives. Each product seems carefully crafted to include an ingredient list of powerful herbs and is cruelty free. Leyna was very generous and sent me both the Prickly Pear Elixir and the Cactus Face Polish. I’ve pretty much used them both all up and they are indeed stellar. The Prickly Pear Elixir is a gorgeous blend of Pomegranate, Rosehip and of course Prickly Pear. All three oils have high amounts of skin nourishing antioxidants, something I desperately need here in Los Angeles. I’ve been a huge fan of both Rosehip and Pomegranate oils and can now include Prickly Pear on that list as …

Autumn Makeup Updates: New Loves & A Couple Of Duds

Published by lauren

With winter just around the corner, and it now being December… (so basically winter), I thought it was high time I talked about all the Autumn makeup I added and tested out these past three months. I’ve got several new loves I’ve been rocking in these colder days but also some guys I’m still trying to get the kinks figured out of. And sadly there’s even a couple of duds I tried, but just couldn’t fall for… (Like that seasonally themed pun? Yeah, me too..) I’ve heard a lot of lovely things about the Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer, and seeing as my beloved Make Up For Ever one is near the end of it’s life, I figured I’d try something new. It’s supposed to be great for covering spots, redness and pretty much everything… not so sure about that yet. This is one of the products I am still working the kinks out of. As you can see it comes with two color so you can mix it to be your perfect shade. I’ve heard …

A Mini K-Beauty Haul from Peach & Lily

Published by lauren

There’s no denying that I’m a lover of skincare, I love testing, researching and most importantly, the ritual of it. Also there’s no denying that I’m a lover of deals. That’s why sales, promo codes and Black Friday’s become a true excersize in restraint for me… and not always something I’m particularly good at. I went with a sort of theme this holiday shopping season. That theme being K-beauty websites. There’s so many great curated ones out there right now, they ship the best and most interesting bits from Korea right to our doorsteps! I’ve got some items coming from OhLolly, SokoGlam! (mainly makeup that you’ll see in post and video form real soon…) and this lot from Peach & Lily that I’m sharing with you today! I haven’t tried any straight up K-Beauty moisturizers yet. Sure I’ve slapped a few essences and toners on my face but I wanted to test out something rich but gentle for this upcoming, probably dry, winter season. Aromatica’s Calendula Juicy Cream so far has been fitting the bill. It’s a lovely …

The Favorites | September to November

Published by lauren

It’s been a tumultuous Autumn to say the least. For those of us here in the States, whatever side of the political aisle you find yourself on, we can agree on at least one thing- this election season has been fucking rough. Personally I was hoping the stress would diminish after election day, but for me, it’s only gotten worse. But let’s not go down that road right now! On to happier things! Favorites! They have been a small beacon of shinning light for me these past months. Remembering to stop and enjoy the little things, however frivolous, makes my day move forward. I think I took Retail Therapy a little to seriously judging by the massive influx of lip products I’ve accumulated recently. The main three I’ve been rocking in the most consistent rotation have got to be the Bite Beauty Multistick in Biscotti, Kat Von D Studded lipstick in Cathedral and Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick in Kathryn. I know they all look basically the same in the picture and in the video… But I SWEAR they’re …

Nourish Your Skin with Brooklyn Based Skincare Line Lyeska

Published by lauren

Recently, I’ve been super lucky to test out a number of amazing brands, one of my favorites has to be Brooklyn Based skincare line Lyeska. Centered around the richness of Siberian Cedar Nut Oil, Lyeska makes responsibly produced, all naturals product out of Brooklyn New York. The brand was founded by Russian born Katya Hegg. Katya grew up around the women in her family utilizing the ingredients found naturally in their gardens and forests to nourish their skin. I’ve been using the Moisturizing Facial Lotion and Facial Cleanser these past two months, and love the gentle hydrating formulas. Both products are packed with Siberian Cedar Nut Oil which contains strong amounts of Vitamin E and lots of essential fatty acids. The Facial Cleanser is rich in Vitamin A from plenty of Apple Extract and Rose Oil making it a great healer for aging or parched skin. It contains lots of antiseptic/anti acne ingredients like Burdock Root, Rosemary, Willow Bark and Blood Orange Extracts. And to calm the skin there is plenty of Aloe Vera and Calendula. This is a very …

Affordable Ulta Beauty

Published by lauren

Sadly when things get labeled “drugstore” or even “affordable” a slight distrustful sheen covers over them. Like they are at the onset dubious in quality. I’m guilty of assuming the worst when it comes to drugstore brands, and it’s not with out justification. I’ve burnt many a dollar on products I couldn’t return that were utter duds. As I travel deeper into the hole that is the beauty world, I keep unearthing more and more gems at dirt prices. I think this is where Ulta becomes a god send- lots of brands, occasional testers and a glorious return policy. I had a therapeutic shopping day at the front end of October (I know- it takes me forever to get posts out) and here are my results: I’ve really been wanting to up my nail game at home. I picked up a few colors from China Glaze, as well as a multitude of tools from Sally Hansen, Soap & Glory, Essie and Tweezerman. I’ve used the Cuticle Remover several times by now and it is so …

Monochrome Makeup with Bite Beauty Multisticks

Published by lauren

I’ve written about makeup in past favorites posts, but this is my first time dedicating one to the act of actually wearing it! I’ve really been branching out from my usually no-makeup makeup looks with a bit of color this season and Bite Beauty’s Multistick has been my guy! The Bite Beauty Multisticks are pretty much all over youtube and the blog world right now. All the cool girls have been showing off their high fashion monochrome makeup looks for fall and I wanna be a part of the club! The cream to powder formula on these guys makes them a great all around product. You can apply it super opaque straight from the bullet or shear it out to make it into a gorgeous light flush of color. This isn’t the longest lasting formula but it’s ease as a multi functional product makes up for that by being super travel friendly. I’ve been enjoying the color Biscotti as my go to look for a solid 2 months now. If you wanna see how I created this Autumn ready …

November Empties | My Beautiful Trash

Published by lauren

I love me a good empties post or video! It’s definitely not as glamorous as a haul- where everything is shinny and new and you’re so damn excited about all of it because you’ve only just become acquainted. But it’s much much more honest, and you get the real scoop on whether something is actually crap or not. I’ve been feeling the guilt of over consumption looming over my head like a blackened rain cloud these past weeks. It’s made me determined to get through the bulk of my stash and get myself to a manageable amount of product for one person. I’ve got a slew of post dated hauls coming forth but considering I only made my way through about a third of my saved empties in this video… expect a bundle of them in the near future. As you can tell from the video I am a bit of a fan of face mists (Pixi being my main girl in that category) but between mists and cleansers, which surprisingly only one made it in this video, …

A Sephora Haul From Ages Ago

Published by lauren

Yup, The title is correct. I’ve got a Sephora Haul from way back in the summer, that I finally got around to filming mid September, and am just now uploading at the end of October. Can you tell I’ve got zero time management skills? I was given several Sephora gift cards for my Birthday back in August and put them to darn good use buying items I normally wouldn’t spend that much money on…. Ah, The glory of gift cards! I’ve had my eye on Korean Beauty brand Neogen Dermolagy for a while now, and got SUPER excited when I saw Sephora stocking an assortment of their items online. I opted for the Lemon Bio-Peel as my intro product to the range. I’m about out of my Pixi Glow Tonic and have been wanting to explore other acid toners. So far I’ve really been loving it. It’s great for hyper-pigmentation, and I had a few cystic type ass hats growing on my forehead that it helped kick to the curb. I think this is the beginning of a …

5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

Published by lauren

I’m a bit of an over sharer. Now I don’t mean in the emotional, life story sense… usually a bit of a closed book in that regard. But when it comes to things I am passionate about whether that falls under advice or recommendations, I know I can come on a tad strong. I’ve fully witnessed, on several occasions, peoples eyes glaze over by the assault of information I was throwing at them. I’ve momentarily run out of people I know in real life to annoy with my current obsessions, so I’ve come to you! The Internet! Here are Five Things I just can’t shut up about lately! I’ve been wanting a new perfume in my rotation for a while, and while heading to my favorite coffee shop I took a small detour to the stand alone Diptyque shop near by and treated myself to a roller ball of Philosykos. I’m one of those annoying people that likes to celebrate their birthday all week long, so this small perfume was a perfect tiny present to gift myself. This …