Hello, hello!
I have finally finished the MONSTER of a book I have been reading for the last month. It will not surprise you to know that it was Tudor related. *Cue eye roll* This one was the Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George.


Looooong story short, this 900+ paged book is supposedly (fiction, of course) the journal of Henry that he has kept while on his sickbed, remembering his life from when he was just a boy of nine. It recounts his experiences with his parents and siblings, his brother Arthur getting sick and dying, his father dying and himself ascending to the throne, and everything afterwards. I've personally never read something from Henry's point of view. It has always been from others and I have to say, it was very interesting to see how he really felt and reacted to the things around him. Especially when it came to the reformation of the church and England breaking from the Sea of Rome. All those big important things effected how we live now so I love reading about the thought processes. Even if they are fiction!

You can always keep up to date with what I'm reading on the right hand column of this blog! Currently, I've picked up Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige and can't wait to get into it!

What are you reading?
♥

Good morning all :)
I woke up pretty early for work today and I've found that I have so much energy. It's weird because I'm not a morning person. But I'm typically so rushed in the morning that I don't get to do my usual routine. I.E. washing my face. I know, it's a terrible thing to do when it comes to proper skincare, but I usually just brush my teeth and slap on some foundation and I'm out the door. I do the rest of my face on the train.

Today I actually had some extra time to do the entire skincare routine, as I woke up earlier to compensate for time. Long story short, I'm attributing my alertness to being able to properly wash. One of my favorite scrubs that I've recently acquired would be this beauty here, from Garnier's new + Clean line.

There is no counting how many blackhead scrubs I've used. I've never seen a big improvement until this. I absolutely love this stuff! It's almost like a clear, light gray gel, with little beads. These beads burst a bit, in my experience, so they're not so so bad for the environment. (I've been reading how bad those things are lately). It doesn't smell too bad. It definitely doesn't have a perfume-y scent, but... I'm not quite sure how to describe it. It's not a terrible smell, to put it simply. The scent doesn't linger and it foams up quickly and leaves my skin feeling so soft and clean!

The blackheads on my nose have definitely gone down and I know if I continue to use this every day (in the morning too!) they'll be gone before I know it!

What have you been using for blackheads?

♥

Happy mid June lovelies!
How has your month been so far? Mine's been busy and, from what you can see, I haven't had much time for blogging. But I have a little review here for you! I've been switching up and playing with my skin care routine and I found an exfoliant that I've really been loving.

So I purchased the Olay Fresh Effects based on other reviews that I've seen from the line. I went to my local store searching for the facial wipes, but since they didn't seem to have them in stock, grabbed this instead. I'm going to be honest, I've never used a 'swirled' product before and never really knew what the purpose was, but don't worry, I figured that bit out.

I really like the design of the Fresh Effects design. I went to college for graphic design, so packaging really affects how and what I buy. And yes, I'm being completely honest. I will try things at least once if it's in a well designed package. It's part of the reason I'm usually buying random things that I may or may not need. (Whoops).

This particular one is called Out Of This Swirled and has a lovely grapefruit and green tea scent to it. An exfoliating face wash was just what I needed and usually I tend to stay away from them. I hate the plastic beads and they both hurt my face no matter how lightly I scrub and do bad things to planet once they wash down the drain. So this is perfect because it doesn't have any of those plastic menaces and it's such a gentle scrub that it doesn't even feel like it's scrubbing all the icky stuff off your face. My pores have never looked and felt better and the black heads that were on my nose have completely vanished!

What is your favorite from the Fresh Effects line?
♥

Hello all! June is here which means that summer is finally upon us! Hot days and sunscreen is in my future, but for now, I have all my favorites from May to share with you! I haven't done this since March, but I really like seeing what other people have liked throughout the months, so I thought I'd pick it up again.

Off topic, do any of you have issues setting pictures and text alignment in blogger? So annoying! Anyway, my first favorite for May was this MAC Studio Fix powder foundation. I've never been a super fan of liquid foundations. I don't like the way they feel on my face and when I was younger I never was able to master the whole color picking technique. I always got the wrong color. Thankfully, I've gotten better since then and have slowly moved into the liquid foundation stages, but I have never completely committed. Studio Fix is the perfect powder foundation because it gives great coverage and lasts a long time. And, of course, it feels like you're not wearing foundation at all!

L'Oreal Paris's Magic Lumi is the second primer I've ever owned. I always thought primers were kind of a scam because... really, what's the use of it? However, this primer is something else. It really helps give your skin a pretty, dewy glow no matter what foundation you're wearing. I don't use it all the time, but I definitely gave it some good use in May.

My third favorite is again from MAC. It's their perfume, Turquatic! This is the scent from my high school days! (And I don't feel that old saying that, though I kind of do, haha). I love the packaging and I love the scent and I just can't get enough of it. I got the rollerball bottle so I can bring it along with me in my bag and it has gotten some major use!

This is Benefit's Lolli Balm. I got this little sample in my Birchbox subscription and it has been living in my makeup bag ever since. It smells like roses, leaves a light pink tint, and my lips always feel soft and hydrated after using it. The container is pretty cute too!

I'm still kind of weary when it comes to lipsticks, but I always go out and buy one or two when I'm feeling like I need to start wearing them more often. This is from Maybelline's Vivid collection, 910 Shocking Coral. It's definitely a lot brighter than the colors I normally wear, I tend to stick with neutral colors and nudes. But I really have been loving this color!

For the last thing that I've been really loving this past month is the Drops of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask from The Body Shop. I use this as the very last step of my skin care routine at night. It's fun to play with, which means I make finger prints in it before I put it on, and it always leaves my skin feeling silky and smooth. Literally, my skin feels brand new and you don't need to use a lot at all. I seriously recommend this!

And those are all my favorites for May!
What did you love last month?
♥