Things I'm Loving

1. NYX Glow cream blush

I've gotten very lazy with makeup as of late. I'm trying to give my skin a break after nearly two years of caking on products every day. Finally, I can go days without feeling the need to put foundation on. I'm not working retail, there's really no reason for me to get all dolled up. Even when I do have to put on foundation, it's either a light layer just to even out the redness and the dark spots or it's for a short period of time. I think I've only worn a full face of makeup twice since I moved back home, for The 1975 concert and for Kiss the Summer Hello on Sunday. You know, just incase I meet my future husbands in one of the bands. Just kidding (but you know I'm not).

Where was I? Oh yes, I've been taking it easy with makeup as of late. I haven't set my makeup in a while because I don't want to lock all of that product in. Since I'm not using a lot of powder products, I've been playing around with my cream products again. I love the cream highlighter that's in my Sleek highlighter palette and my favorite blush at the moment to pair with it is this cream blush from NYX. It looks insanely bright in the pan because, well, it is. It's a super pigmented product so you need to be careful when you apply it. I lightly dab my Real Techniques stippling brush into the product and tap it off into the lid of this product. I lightly apply it towards the outer edge of my cheeks, closer to the sides of my face instead of the apples of my cheeks. Sometimes, if I find that the pink is too dark, I'll go over it with my beauty sponge that I used for whatever foundation or concealer I was wearing for the day.

NYX has quite a few colors and while this isn' the most natural of the options, it gives my skin a really nice flush. I find that it's a really flattering color for my skin tone, which is fair with slight hints of olive. Like, if I got a tan, I would look olive skinned. But I don't tan because I don't go outside, so therefore I am as fair as fair can get. This color puts a little life back into my skin when I don't want to load on the makeup or use too many powder products!

2. Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous foundation

I've gone back to using my tried and true foundation. For years this was the only foundation that I would buy. I'd have three shades on hand, just incase I got a tan (very rarely did I). I enjoyed trying out my high end foundations and while there are still tons I would love to try it, I'm also starting my drugstore beauty mission. Since I plan on moving to New York in the fall, I really need to start cutting down on my expenses and future expenses. There's no way in hell that I'm going to be able to keep up buying all of my necessary products from Sephora, especially since I go through things like foundations and concealers pretty quickly because I have terrible skin and an all around big face. This foundation is like, ten bucks max and it lasts me longer than most of the other foundations I've tried.

The coverage is incredible (I need about two pumps to cover my face at the moment with minimal concealing afterwards), it doesn't cake around my nose (a problem with foundations for me most of the time), and it doesn't break apart from sweat or water. I feel like the most important thing though is that it doesn't break me out. It's a really great product from the drugstore and applies nicely both with a beauty sponge and a brush. I wish it came in a larger color range, but maybe that's something Covergirl will work on. It's a really great full coverage foundation for a fraction of the price.

3. Laura Mercier Nude tinted moisturizer 

I never thought I'd be able to wear a tinted moisturizer. I mean, I still can't really. My skin has the occasional good day where I might be able to get away with just wearing this, but I can dream, right? I got this deluxe sample from Sephora a couple of weeks ago and I love using it. I hope there's a day where I can both afford to wear this financially and pull it off with the condition of my skin. I understand why everyone raves about it. It's so lightweight that it feels like nothing is on my skin. It doesn't have the heavy feel that some tinted moisturizers have, where they're almost bordering on thick. I prefer to apply this with my beauty sponge still instead of my fingertips, just to give a more natural looking finish. This is definitely light coverage, but still has stay power and actually does mask some of the redness on my face, which is a lot. It usually takes a few layers of foundation and concealer to cancel out the redness, so as far as I'm concerned, this product is doing a great job.

4. Melodrama by Lorde

My Lorde and savior, Ella...thank you for this album. I needed something to make me mega emotional now that I'm semi-numb to Harry Styles' debut album after listening to it basically on repeat for the past month. "Bet you want to rip my heart out," she sings on "Hard Feelings/Loveless" and honestly, that is me to Lorde right now. YOU JUST WANT TO MAKE ME SOB ENDLESSLY, DON'T YOU?

I love and adore Lorde. I love her interviews, her attitude, her music, her lyrics, her hair, her everything. She is so much smarter and talented than I will ever be and I can't even hate her for it or be even the slightest bit jealous. I'm happy for her. It's like she's my sister and I'll love and support anything she does. Unfortunately, she is not my sister and I just have brothers who probably love me less than I love Lorde (that's probably not true and I'm sure my mom will be mad at me when she reads this). Where was I? Oh yeah, this album is amazing.

I was reading her Rolling Stone interview last week and I found it really interesting. I don't personally know the pressure to create a follow-up record to an iconic and unique debut album. I mean, Lorde added her own twist to pop music when her first EP turned LP came out. The article touches on how she disappeared, how she was unsure of what to do after her first album absolutely dominated and changed the landscape of pop. How do you follow that up?

Melodrama is a dream of a second album. It's eleven songs, eleven perfect tracks that showcase Lorde's writing abilities to its fullest extent. It's more upbeat than the last album, more danceable, yet the words cut through you like a knife. If Lorde isn't one of the most talented artists at the moment, I don't know who is. If you're looking for a new summer album that will make you shimmy while tears fall down your face, give Melodrama a listen.

To listen to: Literally every single song. All of them. There is no bad song on the album. My favorites are "Writer in the Dark" and "The Louvre."