in my head: Beauty Bloggin'

Hey, y'all.

With times as crazy as they are now (actually, when are things not crazy...?) I feel like doing a totally fluffy post.

In my life, nothing says "indulgent" and "wasting my time but like in a fabulous kind of way" like browsing Pinterest or Tumblr or any other number of websites and reading makeup/beauty posts. Y'know the ones. They list off the "hottest makeup trends for year ****" or "the top twenty products you've been missing out on" or my personal favorites, "My top *** products". I love seeing the products or regiments people couldn't live without. It's absolutely fizzy and mindless but whatever. I've found some amazing products that I now use on the daily all thanks to those little babes. I love them so much that I actually did one myself a couple of years ago, read the post here! Forgive the really crappy quality of the pictures. And the rambly descriptions. But hey, if you're reading this you obvi don't mind my rambling, stream of consciousness style of writing. Check it out!

Anyways, I think it's time to do one again. Here's what I've been loving recently! The products range from Walgreens to Sephora to Whole Foods! Mhmm. Enjoy, betches!

My Top Eight (Because I Didn't Feel Like Doing Ten) Beauty Obsessions...Lately...In No Particular Order...I'm Starting Now

1.LIPPY Liquid Lipstick

In my last post I updated you all on the long trip to Lubbock to find ourselves a new home. Amongst the pictures and the details of how difficult house hunting could be...you probably just glazed past the whole "six hour car ride sitting in the back seat of my parents' truck" part. Let's go back to that.

After downing a giant red bull, berating myself for forgetting to bring a pillow, playing a level or two of candy crush and catching up on all of my social media sites....I was bored. What does Kelsey do when she's bored? She puts on makeup. Like yeah, I wear makeup pretty much every day any way about it...but when I'm bored I get like...into it. Like I'm auditioning for a MAC makeup girl position kind of into it. So I began digging through my giant Betsey Johnson makeup bag and applying various products (some that will show up later on this list!) I realized...shit...I had no lip gloss. See, I'm not normally a lip gloss girl, I'm a red and/or wine hued lipstick wearer. Solely. But MAC KELSEY decided that my 1,000 variations on the aforementioned two colors just simply wouldn't do with the palette I had so tediously crafted. So what did MAC KELSEY do to solve this lip gloss fiasco? She made her mom hand over her purse and she ransacked it. That's when MAC KELSEY found and stole this little beauty.

Stolen Color: Queen Vic

Y'all. Not only is this color like as fresh as a spring bouquet from like a really, really overpriced farmers market...but this stuff feels so great on your lips. Coming from a pretty anti-gloss gal like me...that's saying something. When this company coined it's name "Butter"...they weren't kidding. Not only does this gloss miraculously avoid the icky stick, it glides on like...well, like butter...and it's richly pigmented. Plus, it's has great staying power, too! This guy's price tag reads $18.00, which for some may be ridiculous to pay for lip gloss, but I must say it really is worth it. Also, it's easy for me to say that. Because I stole mine from Deb.

2. Activated Charcoal Capsules

If you have a Pinterest account then you've probably already heard all about these little wonders in a bottle. I won't go into all the details, y'all got google, but basically Activated Charcoal is the shit. It is good for pretty much everything. The reason it landed in this diva's house is because my mom heard from my sister in law who is as beauty obsessed as I am that it was a great natural teeth whitener. Deb bought some for herself and reported back that it made her teeth feel like she had just gotten back from the dentist. I was like..."okay well obviously I want some now" and true to Deb's giving nature (remember the lip gloss scenario?) she got me some and brought it over. Her instructions were as follows:

-Open up one capsule on a plate

-Wet your toothbrush and place it in the little pile of charcoal

-Brush your teeth for about 2-5 minutes

Simple enough, right? I, of course, went right to work. I was eager to see if this rando health food store item could really do anything that my toothpaste didn't already do. I followed the steps and...I'll be honest...I looked pretty scary doing it. The charcoal turns your whole mouth a goulish, Walking Dead extra worthy, dark black. Have no worries though, a few rinses with some water and you're de-zombified.

What?

So...was it really as cool as everyone's been saying? Y'all. Ask Tyler. I was amazed. I wish I would have taken before & after pics so I could show you. I mean the change isn't like BOOM WHITE TEETH HEY GIRL GET IT....but dude my teeth were at least a shade whiter and felt...true to Deb's words... like I had just gotten a thorough cleaning from the dentist. I was obsessed so I immediately went to Pinterest to see what else I could do with my new little miracle product. Apparently you can use it for all kinds of helpful, non-beauty related things because it naturally draws toxins out of the body. It's used for spider bites, for food poisoning, and all kinds of other health remedy stuffz. Though I thought all that was pretty awesome, I was on the prowl for another beauty use. I found about a zillion different charcoal face masks. I tried one yesterday and another one today. Though I didn't see any real noticeable results, my face did feel great! I encourage you all to go read up on this handy little product!

This is the one my mom ordered online. For like $4.64. Yep. Less than five bucks. GET IT!

3. Taylor of London Elegant Rose Luxury Talcum Powder

I found this festive little product when I was browsing through a local TJ Maxx (I'm a total Maxxinista.) and it triggered a memory of a passage from "To Kill a Mockingbird" that I'd always loved. Here yah go:

"Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum."

Something about it always felt so old school southern to me, y'know? I don't know, maybe I'm weird. It just always felt kind of lovely to picture a bunch of belles fanning themselves on their giant front porches, pale white with powder to keep them fresh and cool.

Long story short, I bought the damn powder in a Harper Lee driven impulse. I've got to say, what was originally purchased on a random literary whim has really become a favorite of mine. I keep it on my bathroom sink and pat some on any time I think of it. I pat some on my neck to add its soft and feminine rose scent to whatever perfume I'm wearing that day. I get a little on my hands and rustle it through my hair to dry up any oil and add a little hint of rose to my tresses. Sometimes when I get out of the bath or shower I'll just dust some all over my body to lock in moisture. Also, to feel like the before noon-bathing ladies of yesteryears.

Basically, it's a rich and silky powder that adds a little touch of floral to your life. Plus, as much as I've used it the past couple of months, I have still barely put a dent in it! Longevity and nostalgia in a cute girly tin container? I love it.

Though my Maxxinista price was only about $4 or so, I found it online for a mere $13!

4. it Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Powder Brush

I got this little dude through a beauty mail service called TestTube. (It's basically a way more expensive but also way better quality version of BirchBox. Which I also get.)

This brush quickly turned into an every day must in my beauty routine. My whole makeup-wearing life I've never used a foundation brush. I just always felt like my makeup looked best when applied with my own fingers. Sure, I've experimented with using various brushes throughout the years (see: the disaster of 7th grade's Bare Minerals foundation trend. AKA- a bunch of 11 year olds with no concept of proper blending techniques attempting to wear a completely powder based, pretty pigmented foundation.Though some mastered this craft...I never did. It was a rough, blotchy year.) I've just never been sold on the whole brush thing. But with this brush...I'm a total convert. It's got the head of a basic kabuki brush but it feels like effing velvet on your skin. The dense, soft bristles allow for an almost airbrushed finish. It's amazing. I love it. Thank you TestTube. XOXO.

At $48, this guy is a little pricey. However, when it comes to makeup brushes...you really do get what you pay for and it can make all the difference.

5. Vaseline

Yep. That's right. The stuff that, if you were to open any grandparent and/or parents pantry like in the whole world, you'd find. It took me years to figure out why our elders coveted something as nasty sounding as "petroleum jelly". I guess it's that whole "with age comes wisdom" crap or something, I dunno'. Any way about it, they were right to be obsessed. It does so much. Dry skin patches? Vaseline. Want softer feet? Vaseline. Shinier eyelashes? Vaseline. Highlighted cheekbones? Vaseline. Keep hair dye from staining your skin? Vaseline. Keep nail polish from getting all over your fingers during a manicure? Vaseline. Remove stubborn eye makeup? Vaseline.

You getting the picture? Join your grandma, your mother and yours truly as a member of the Vaseline revolution! It's like six bucks and some change. Just do it.

*insert a chorus of angels singing harmoniously*

6. Mally Eye Shadow Stick

This was another TestTube win! TestTube is pretty expensive, I think it's around $40 a month...but man have I gotten some truly awesome loot out of it. The coolest part is that unlike BirchBox or other companies like it, TestTube will send you full sized products as well as the standard samples.

The Mally stick was one of my full sized product wins. Basically, it is what it says. It's eye shadow in the form of a stick. Though that isn't usually my kind of thing, I prefer the cathartic act of choosing shades of shadows and pairing them with appropriate brushes to get a lovely blend of carefully applied eye makeup, I must say it's come in handy. I am a girl that, as I'm sure you've noticed, really enjoys the art of makeup...but even I have days where I'm like "just don't look like vomit and we'll call it a win". Okay, sorry for the vomit visual, but you know what I mean! The days where you get up and the birds are not chirping for you they are screaming at you. The days where leaving your bed feels like it would be a real case of abandonment and neglect to both you and your mattress. The days where you look in the mirror and you're like "I AM NOT TRYING TO DEAL WITH THIS TODAY". On those days...my Mally stick is great. The hue I got was a soft violet. On my "eff it all" days, I reach for my pretty purple shadow stick and in one swoop my lids are handled. All I have to do is throw on a little brow highlighter and mascara and I'm done. I just saved myself an extra fifteen minutes. Saving those fifteen minutes bought me a spare ten minutes. I cash in those spare ten minutes at Starbucks and voila! Espresso in hand and I can now conquer the day! Hell, maybe I'll even add eyeliner at some point! Or not! Whatever! Thanks Mally!

$25 bucks can equal a trip to The Bux. I'm just sayin...

7. Clean & Clear Deep Action Exfoliating Scrub

This has been on my "top whatever" lists for years now. No matter how many fancy, high end face washes I buy...I always come back to this product. It's no muss, no fuss. Sure, there are days that I decide I'm gana be all spa-ey and I bust out the nicest foamy face wash I can find and pair it with my amazing Clarisonic and I do the whole exfoliation thing up right. Mostly though, I find myself reaching for my tried and true drugstore favorite. Throughout the years I have sampled just about every drugstore face wash they crank out. I figure "Hey. It's like four dollars. Why not?" In fact, that's how I stumbled across this particular face wash! But unlike it's fallen brethren, it has staying power. Why? Simply stated: my face feels clean after I'm done using it. I know, what an absurd thought! Face wash that washes your face! Good heavens! But like really though. I can't tell you how many times I'll use a face wash, despite whether it was from Sephora or Dollar Tree, and I still feel grimy afterwards. It's such an annoying, defeating feeling. I am a believer that a good face wash can turn your whole day around, so for me...I find it infuriating when the wash is a wash.

This face wash is tingly, but not too tingly. Scrubby, but not too scrubby. The smell isn't overpowering but it is kind of rejuvenating, almost like a spearmints second cousin that lives in Brazil, y'know? If you have combo-but-mostly-oily skin like me, I highly recommend this dude. The best part? Not only does it slough off oil and dirt with it's little micro beads....but it does so in a way that's so gentle that you can literally use it every day! YAS!

Head over to your neighborhood drug store and find this little lovely waiting on the shelves for under $6 bucks! Give him a good home, he deserves it.

8. Coconut Oil

Like its friends Activated Charcoal and Vaseline, Coconut Oil can be used for so, so, so many things. It is a natural way to: moisturize both skin and hair, soften hard cuticles, treat chapped lips, remove eye makeup, repel bugs, shine shoes, etc. Minus the hair masking, basically anything Vaseline can do, so can coconut oil. Plus much, much more. Where Vaseline can only multitask your outsides, coconut oil steps in and multitasks your insides as well! You can take a spoonful of it daily to help boost your immune system, you can cook with it, you can use it as a natural toothpaste, you can oil pull (google it, it's pretty amazing) and all sorts of other things! Seriously, just type in "coconut oil" into any search engine and you'll fine lists upon lists of things it can do and uses it has! When something has the abilities to do as much as this power product...why not invest?