10 Things In My Shopping Cart

Happy Monday! Today I am sharing ten things in my shopping cart- but if I’m being honest, there’s way more than ten things in my shopping cart! I picked out the top ten items that are truly at the top of my list, items I’m really excited about. It comes as no shock that seven out of the ten items I’m sharing are beauty products. I’ve been watching so many best of beauty videos and learning about all of these fabulous products, and of course I need want them all! Two of the other products are dupes for products I’ve been dying for, and the other one is highly recommended by one of my dearest friends. Let me know what’s in your shopping cart or if you have any of these products. Enjoy!

Kiehls Skin Care

I think every beauty blogger uses some type of Kiehls product. I want to try the starter kit to see which product I like the best. I’ve heard amazing things about their serums.

Dior Foundation

This is definitely a pricier item but this is a highly reviewed foundation. I tend to wear medium to sheer coverage but there’s nothing wrong with a full coverage flawless finish, especially when I get some blemishes.

Charlotte Tilbury Contour Stick

I contour everyday with the NYX cream palette, which I absolutely love, but I am running low and want to try something new. This contour stick looks so creamy and blends like a dream. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Charlotte Tilbury makeup so I think it’s time I add some of her products to my collection.

Tarte Foundation

Anyone who has the tarte shape tape concealer is probably itching to get their hands on this foundation. I’m really excited to try the hydrating formula, because I love and can’t get enough of the dewy finish on the face.

Burt’s Bees Blush

I had no idea Burt’s Bees even made blush! I saw this in Kathleen Lights' best of beauty video and was instantly attracted to the color. I have been looking for a brown blush - I know that sounds odd but I’ve been wanting something darker for my cheeks. The shade toasted cinnamon looks like exactly what I have been looking for.

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish

Recently I have been setting my face with a damp beauty blender and a translucent powder. If you haven't done this, try it. My makeup stays put all day and looks so flawless. The only negative is that it makes me look very matte, which I don’t necessarily love. This Charlotte Tilbury powder will give the same look but the radiant glow will show through. I really want to try this!

CliniqueFIT Post Workout Wipes

When I work out I tend to sweat, a lot! These wipes would be perfect for after the gym for a quick refresher! Clinique has multiple FIT items, I kind of want to try them all! Have any of you?

Pink Crossbody Bag

I absolutely adore the Chloe bags. They are so chic, but their price tags are not. I was so excited to find this bag online for a much more budget friendly price. I will definitely be purchasing this for spring.

Peep-Toe Booties

These look exactly like the Vince Camuto peep toe booties but again are a fraction of the price. I must have these for spring. How cute would they look with step hem jeans?!

Gymshark Leggings

My bestie raves about Gymshark athletic clothing. There are so many different leggings and sports bras. I have my eye on these high waisted leggings. Don’t they look so comfortable?

I hope your Monday is beautiful! Xo.

Daily Makeup Routine

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We had a snow day here in CT so I had the extra time to do another blogpost this week! My morning consisted of making waffles, watching Live with Kelly and Ryan, and doing the dishes. I’d say that it was a successful morning in my eyes. I just started reading the book The Couple Next Door, so you can guess how I will be spending my afternoon. I’ve always loved reading but I never put it as a priority to do everyday (I know, blasphemous because I‘m a teacher!). My best friend Leah and I decided that we would start our own book club to hold ourselves accountable for picking up a book each day and having some quiet time. Leah and I now live 8.5 hours apart (insert weeping emoji) but we try to stay as connected as possible. We talk everyday about married life, makeup, and the next best skin care we can try; and now we will talk about books too! All things that are very important people! Anyone else have a long distance best gal?

Today’s post is dedicated to my everyday makeup. This is the stuff I literally use everyday and that I cannot be without. All of these products I love, and most of them I have been using for a while. I have lots of makeup, see this post for a reference, but I don’t talk about all of it because some things I buy I don’t necessarily think are worth talking about. We’ve all had that experience when you walk into Target and you see those little red clearance stickers all over the makeup aisle -  can we talk about how they changed to yellow as of recent, really hard to pick those out Target! I digress. We impulsively pick up things that are $2-$3 even if we don’t need them. There are things I use here and there and maybe I’ll do a post all about a peek into my glambox, but for now you get the things I’m loving and my staple products.

I’m going to walk you through the products in the order of how I apply them to my face. Enjoy!

1. L’Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer. For a long time, about two years, I was using the Becca backlighting primer. I loved this stuff and I still do but I wanted to try something new. I was watching a makeup video at the gym, seriously do this on the stair climber and the time will go by so fast - thanks Leah! Anyways, I was watching a video all about drugstore makeup and I saw this primer. Anything with illuminating power is my best friend. I love a dewy makeup look because it looks so fresh and radiant, which in turn makes your skin look plump and gorgeous. I am really loving this primer and for $12 I was sold!

2. Maybelline Fit Me Foundation. This comes in matte+poreless and dewy+smooth, so obviously I got the dewy version. I have repurchased this product twice already and it is safe to say I will repurchase it again. The light coverage helps to cover any redness and leaves your skin feeling buttery smooth. I wear shade 120 classic ivory.

3. Tarte Shape Tape Concealer. If you only purchase one thing from this post purchase this. I repeat PURCHASE THIS. I got this for Christmas and I don’t honestly know why it took me so long to try this product. This concealer conceals dark circles and leaves your under eye looking bright and light. Tarte just came out with the shape tape foundation this week so you can probably guess what foundation I will be talking about in a very future post. What I love about this concealer is the wand. It’s not small like most concealer wands and the bottle has a good amount of product. Definitely worth the money. I wear shade light sand.

4. Maybelline Fit Me Translucent Powder. This powder I did purchase in the matte+poreless because I only use this to set my under eye concealer. This is also a great compact size to throw in your purse and touch up any oily spots on your face throughout the day.

5. NYX Cream Highlight & Contour Palette. I love this palette! It is the perfect cream contour and blends like a dream. Clearly mine has been well loved and I am in need of a new one very soon. I use the darkest contour color to carve out my cheek and I use a little on the forehead by my hairline. If you havent tried to contour, this is a great product to use because you can build up the color. I purchased the light palette but there is a dark palette as well.

6. Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in shade Paaarty. I received this as a birthday sample from Ulta and I have been obsessed with it ever since. The color is a nice mix between pink and peach. What I love about this color is that it is more subtle but buildable so you can have a nice light pink glow or add more for a brighter pink cheek!

7. Stila Heaven’s Hue Highlighter in shade Kitten. Highlighter is one of my favorite products and I have a lot in my makeup collection, but none are quite like this. When you open the package it looks like your typical powder highlighter but once you touch it, it feels like butter. It is so creamy and the color, oh that color! I am almost positive it would work on any skin tone. It is a cool shimmer with hints of gold. I love to apply this to the top of my cheekbones, nose, and cupid's bow.

8. Tartelette in Bloom Amazonian Clay Palette. I talked about this palette in this post and how much I adore it. Typically when I get ready for work I used a bronzer on my eyelid and a highlighter to top it off. Really a great and easy look but once I bought this palette I became quite obsessed with it. I have been using it almost everyday and I love to play around with the colors. This product does last all day and blends with ease.

9. L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara. Clearly I love this product because I use the base, original, and lash paradise in my daily makeup routine. I use the base and lash paradise on my upper lashes and the original on my lower lashes. I like the wand of the original on my lower lashes because the brush is much finer and can coat those baby lashes much easier than the bigger brush of the lash paradise. If you haven't tried a base or primer on your lashes, I highly recommend it. My lashes definitely look fuller when I use the base and more product seems to stick to my lashes.

10. Maybelline Brow Precise Fiber Volumizer. Filling in your brows can be scary and when I first started doing it I felt so self conscious, like everyone was staring at my brows. Trust me when I say I got over that very quickly and you will too. It is so important to use the right color and try different products until you find one that works for you. I have tried powders, gels, and pencils and some of them I have loved and some I look back on and think What the heck was I thinking?! What I love about this product is that it works like mascara. It only sticks to your eyebrow hairs and creates a really natural look. I wear shade soft brown.

11. Nars Audacious Lipstick in shade Raquel. I have been wanting to try a Nars lipstick for a while now but I couldn’t justify the price. Jay got me a gift card to Ulta for Christmas, he knows the way to my heart, and I knew I wanted this product. I generally gravitate towards mauve colors for my lips but I really wanted a nude color that I could wear with any look. Raquel was exactly the color I never knew I needed in my lipstick collection. Swatching it on my hand does not do it justice and you really just need to go into Ulta and try it out for yourself! Nars formula is so smooth and the lipstick is very long lasting. I would purchase another Nars lipstick for sure.

I hope this post was informative without being overwhelming. If you have any questions or makeup suggestions I would love to hear from you! Stay beautiful!

*Most products can also be purchased at your local drugstore. I tagged all products at Ulta because they have a wide variety. All opinions are my own!*

Bento Box Lunch

Happy Tuesday! Having a three day weekend was just what I needed to catch up on housework, errands, and quality time with my family. Today’s post is all about how to prep an easy breakfast, lunch, and snack for the entire work week! I don’t do this often, but when I have time I will. It makes the work week so much easier because I loathe packing lunches. Anyone else?

During the week I typically eat breakfast on the way to work or at work. I have been loving oatmeal because it is easy to take on the go and it is super simple to make. I buy the lower sugar oatmeal and mix it with diced apples. The apples give it more texture and a sweet bite.

But by 10:00 I am starving. I will either grab a clementine or a Larabar. These bars are made of dates and cashews and then flavored with other natural ingredients. I’ve made them before and you can find the recipe in this blogpost. They are really good homemade, but I can’t home make the lemon ones. These are my favorite!

For my lunch I created my own bento box, which makes it much easier to store in the fridge. Too often I will prep meals, let’s say for dinner for the week and my fridge is full of different sized containers and bags of chopped vegetables. What’s nice about prepping lunch is you can use one larger container for your entire lunch! That saves so much fridge space and makes it much less intimidating.

I started with the vegetables first. I knew I wanted cucumbers because they have so many health benefits, especially for the skin. I bought a huge cucumber, it was about 10 inches long, HUGE! I sliced it up thinly and packed five slices per container. The next vegetable of choice were carrots. I was deciding between carrots and celery, because I knew I wanted to dip them in hummus, but I ultimately chose carrots. Like cucumbers, carrots have a lot of health benefits such as maintaining a healthy heart and helping with digestion. I put five in each container and added two tablespoons of roasted red pepper hummus. Hummus is low in calories but provides protein to keep you full. I added a handful of grapes to my bento box, and voila! I know you’re thinking, Kayt that is NOT enough food to keep me full all afternoon. I know, I hear you, so I added a hard boiled egg on the side. I have a love hate relationship with hard boiled eggs for two reasons. One, I detest the yolk. Two, I hate peeling the shell off. Usually I scoop out the yolk (less calories for me!) and peel the egg shell off at home. If I wait to peel the egg at work, I spend half my lunch trying to get the darn shell off and by the time I’m done I don’t even want to look at the thing! Too dramatic?

I hope this helps if you’re looking to save time when it comes to preparing food! Do you prep your meals for work? I’d love to know! Happy eating!

It's All About the Eyes

I’ve shared before that one of my guilty pleasures is watching makeup tutorials. Specifically I love to watch eye makeup tutorials. There are so many fun looks from cat eyes to smokey eyes and everything in between. Even though I personally stick with hues of pinks and browns, I get sucked into videos with glitz and glam and lots of deep, rich colors. I try to recreate a lot of the looks with more muted colors but with the same glam feel. My favorite Youtubers are Jaclyn Hill and well...that’s it. HA! I guess I need to expand my Youtube makeup artists. But you know how it is when you find someone you like and that works for you. I also get a lot of inspiration from some of my favorite bloggers, Katey McFarlan, Courtney Shields, and Emily Gemma. Seriously go follow these women, they are all about the glam!

Today I am going to be sharing three eye makeup palettes that are super versatile and can be worn more dramatic or subtle. I tend to do my eye makeup very light and occasionally I'll do a brown smokey eye, which I adore. I love how all the colors melt together and create an ombré affect on the eyelid. Often times I’ll reach for two or three palettes to achieve the right look, anyone else?

My first go to palette is the Naked3 by Urban Decay. If you're a makeup lover, chances are you have one of their palettes. What I love about the Naked3 is that the colors are mostly light browns, pinks and mauve tones. Every time I take out this pallete I get giddy inside - it's too gorgeous! While the colors aren't super pigmented, they do last all day. If I'm being honest I don't particularly care for the brush it comes with, I much prefer my amazon brushes because they pick up much more product and blend easier. My cousin got the Naked palette for Christmas and I am eager for a makeup play date! Anyone else love to play with makeup with girl friends?

Another palette I have been loving is The Blushed Nudes Eyeshadow Palette by Maybelline. It is of course a palette full of blush colors. The colors in this palette are much more pigmented, especially if you use a lid primer, like this one.  What draws me to this palette is the variety of shimmer and matte shadows. You can create a really pretty and girly look with this palette. This Fall I was really obsessed with creating an all matte eye look. I want to get my hands on this palette to try it out! Any of you gals have it?

The last palette is the newest to my collection. This palette is definitely a splurge, but oh my goodness this is the most buttery eyeshadow I have ever used. The Tartelette 2 In Bloom Clay Eyeshadow Palette by Tarte has been my go to for the past two weeks. The colors are very rich and the shadow lasts all day- even without eye shadow primer! My favorite colors, and the colors i have been using on repeat are, funny girl, smarty pants, and sweetheart. The colors just blend and melt together on the eyelid, I really can’t say enough about this palette. If you are looking for a neutral good quality palette, you need this one! There is also a matte palette that looks so dreamy.

What shadows are you reaching for lately? What do I need in my makeup drawer? Stay beautiful!

New Year Goals

Happy 2018! My oh my, did this year fly by! This past year has been great and I enjoyed every moment with my friends and family. My best memories of 2017 happened during the summer. Many of you know I am a teacher, so the summer is my vacation. I got to spend so much time with my husband on vacations and we made some wonderful memories. As we head into 2018, I know it will be amazing. I have some pretty lofty goals this year but I am super determined to reach them. I thought it would be fun to share my goals and I would love to hear yours!

Patience. Being a teacher I have a lot of patience. All day I am patient with my 20 sweet students, but once I get home it’s like a switch is flipped. It’s as though all of the patience I had has been sucked out and none is left once 3:30 hits. I often feel guilty when I lose my patience with my husband so this year I am really going to try to work on it. I saw this quote and it really resonated with me. Patience is more than simply learning to wait. It is having learned what is worth your time. My husband and I have the utmost respect for each other, so of course he is worth my time. I’ll let you know how I do with this!

Save money. I am so lucky to have a job that I love. There’s never a day I dread going to work, with the exception of the day after vacation, but who doesn't?! Fresh out of college I did not have much money, so when I got my job it seemed as though I had won the lottery. So naturally I did what every girl does and shop and shop and shop. Three years later I’m still shopping as though I am fresh out of college with no responsibilities. Now that I am 25, I have been thinking a lot more about my future, and saving money is key to a comfortable lifestyle. This year I really want to be more conscious of how I allocate my money.

Healthy lifestyle. In 2017 I did the whole30 twice and tried really hard to workout. I was doing the Beachbody workouts, which were awesome. They really helped me become stronger and it was nice that I could workout at home. However, because I could workout at home I often found other things to do and lots of excuses not to workout. This past week my husband and I joined the gym near us and we LOVE it. Everyone there is so nice and it is so close to our home. Eating out is definitely one of our guilty pleasures. This year we are going to try to minimize how often we go out and cook more meals at home. Obviously I love to cook so I don’t think this will be hard to stick to!

Quality family time. Since moving into our own home, it has been difficult to see our family as frequently as we used to. I have a little sister who I absolutely adore and I want to spend more time with her this year. We were having sister dates once a week for the past couple of months and it was so nice spending some QT with her. My husband and I also have a godson who is around my sister’s age . Our goal is to spend more time with the two of them. They are at such a fun age, 8 and 9, and they are two of the sweetest kids we know - we’re not biased or anything!

Write. This summer I really committed to my blog. I was writing a post 5 days a week and I really enjoyed sharing about beauty and food. Once school started back up, I found it really hard to balance everything so I stopped blogging. I have realized that I really miss writing and sharing with all of you. My goal during the school year is to publish one post a week and then I will pick it back up again in the summer!

Peru. This is my biggest goal for 2018. My husband and I want to visit Peru. We are eager to visit Machu Picchu, which is one of the seven wonders of the world! We are aiming to go in August. With all of the house updates we have made around here, we have put vacations and traveling to the wayside. This year, I really want to focus on us and doing things together to make more wonderful memories!

I hope my goals inspire you to do some soul searching and come up with some goals of your own. I’d love to hear them! Stay beautiful and healthy!