January Favorites

In the spirit of it being the month of one of my favorite holidays, Valentine’s Day, I have decided to formulate February’s content around love. Self-love, relationships, products I love, etc.

That being said I’m kicking off the month with my January favorites to show y’all everything I loved this past month!

Beauty favorites:

• Winter Beauty Favorites – All of my January beauty favorites are essentially covered in this post.
• Fenty Beauty Universal Gloss – I’ve been on such a lipgloss kick. I guess since I work a desk job it just stays on longer than usual? I don’t have to worry about the wind blowing my hair into it! Anyways love this universal shade, and it will look even better headed into the summer months.

Fashion favorites:

• Lululemon Define Jacket – I actually found mine on sale, but I’ve linked similar ones. They have so many amazing colors in store right now! My favorite is the color Quicksand. This jacket is the perfect weight, great for running aorund and is super flattering. I have even started my workouts in it to warm up my muscles. I can’t say enough about it.
• Loft Wrap Sweater – This is on major sale right now and, again, I can’t say enough about it. We had a few cold weeks here in Texas last month, and the cold CANNOT penetrate this sweater! I didn’t even need a jacket with it. Plus it looks adorable layered over camis. AND it’s on major sale right now.
• Monogram Necklace – Ben got me this necklace with my future initials on it for Christmas, and I love how dainty it is! Plus I wear a lot of rose gold so it already goes with a lot of my pieces. Rose gold is out of stock right now, but gp;d and silver are still available!

Food Favorites:

• Jalepenos – I realize this is not particularly relevant, but I am obsessed with jalepenos right now! Idk why!! I put them on my salads at work with Italian dressing and it makes me actually crave salad. Who knew?!
• Starbucks order – I’ve been trying to make smarter swaps this year with the wedding approaching, and I’m so excited about my new Starbucks order! Instead of my usual Bacon Gouda breakfast sandwich, 370 cals… I’ve either been ordering the Sous Vide Egg White Bite, 170 cals + pure protein, or the Classic Oatmeal, 160 cals. I never even liked oatmeal, and I think both are amazing!

Entertainment Favorites:

• In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware – This is the book I read this month and I loved it! I previously read The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware, but personally loved this one much more! If you’re like me and like thrillers this one is worth a read,
• Riverdale – Recommended to me by some friends and they weren’t wrong. Ben and I got hooked on this on Netflix last month!
• Oscar Movie Noms – I have become the biggest movie buff! Probably because my weekends are no longer consumed by homework… This year I’ve seen quite a few of the Oscar noms. My picks are: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Shape of Water and Get Out.

That’s all the favorites I have this month!  January was cold and right after Christmas so shopping was kept to a minimum. Let me know if you had any favorites this month in the comments below! -xoxo

Foreo Luna Review

With the promise of bringing you more beauty and goal-setting content than ever this month, I give you my last beauty blog post of January!

Today I’m going to be reviewing te Foreo Luna facial-cleansing device. I have pined after this gadget for months and finally received it for Christmas. Without making this more drawn out than it needs to be, let me first tell you why I’m loving it.

• It’s made out of silicone. AKA can’t grow bacteria like other facial cleansing brushes can.
• You don’t have to replace brush heads every two months.
• It’s charge lasts FOREVER. I haven’t charged it since Christmas.
• It has a couple different speeds and different sized silicone nubs on the front and back.

Click on image to shop:

The main reason I wanted to try this product was because of how clean it is. I hated replacing Clarisonic brush heads and was slightly grossed out when I discovered how much bacteria they hold.

THAT BEING SAID, does it make my skin feel as clean as the Clarisonic? Not sure. I wanted to try it for a few weeks before writing a review too make sure nothing changed, but tbh I haven’t noticed a huge difference.

I do find it hard to finnesse when cleaning my nose. It just doesn’t get in lines and crevices the way a brush does. And I believe you cannot use an exfoliating cleanser with this device, as the beads will get stuck in between the silicone nubs. (Not an issue for me and my Cetaphil cleanser, but worth noting).

I will say, after my first use, I noticed my skin was incredibly soft and smooth (Ben has one too and said the same). And I haven’t noticed any major breakouts since I’ve been using it!

I will always continue to use a facial cleansing device to get off excess makeup and this does just that (with the added perks of a super long battery life, bacteria-resistant bristles and no more replacing brush heads!)

All that being said, I do highly recommend the Foreo Luna facial-cleansing device! Do you use a facial-cleansing device? I’d love to hear your recommendations! -xoxo

My Current Hair Routine

Happy Monday y’all! As promised, today I am bringing you my current hair routine ft. products from Ouai and L’Oreal!

I was lucky enouch to get this Ouai travel kit in my stocking this Christmas, and these products have easily turned into my new go-tos.

Shampoo + Conditioner:

I wash my hair about every two to three days. I have super long hair and I do like to blow dry it, so I try not to wash every day! To help with oiliness,  I’m currently using  L’Oreal’s Extraordinary Clay line. It comes with a pre-shampoo hair mask, shampoo and conditioner. The mask is designed to be used on dry hair before shampooing to soak up excess oil. And I have found it does help me stretch my hair washing to every three days!

Smooth:

Since I do blow dry my hair frequently, investing in a quality smoothing product is so important to me! The Ouai smooth spray is the best smoother I have found in a long time! It is light enough to not weigh down my hair, but still does the job of controlling frizz.

Style + Finish:

After blow drying my hair, I have been using the Ouai Texturing Spray to give my hair some extra volume. This is probably my favorite product in the line! It is like a dry shampoo and hairspray in one product, and gives my hair the extra oomf it needs to look great all day.

I also have been really enjoying the Ouai dry shampoo between washes. The one thing I love about this is it doesn’t leave a white film on your hair. I don’t feel the need to wash my hands right after.

Also it’s worth mentioning that all of these Ouai products smell GREAT!

I love trying out new hair products, so if you have any favorites let me know in the comments! -xoxo

 

 

Winter Beauty Favorites

This month I have decided to write two types of posts for you guys: beauty + goal-setting. I have had sooo many beauty favorites lately (bc I was gifted so many for Christmas!), and of all months do goal-setting content I figured January was perfect.

With that being said! Instead of doing a monthly favorites this month, I have rounded up my recent winter beauty favorites! Warning: it’s a long post.

I’ve grouped them into makeup, skincare and fragrance. I will have a seperate post for hair products and will be reviewing a couple of other products later 😉

Makeup

1. Naked Heat Palette – TYSM Ben for this Christmas gift! Never in a million years did I think I’d get this from him lol. But I’m so glad I did! I am using every color in this palette and the brush is really good. The colors look especially great with blue/green eyes, but I’d imagine look good with all skin types.
2. Marc Jacobs Lipstick in Slow Burn – Currently using a mini size of this bc it was my free gift from Sephora. I will definitely be going to buy a big size. This lipstick WON’T come off. I ate and drank several things while wearing it and it lasted hours. The color also is a perfect match for the Urban Decay Heat Palette! OBSESSED.
3. L’oreal Mascara Primer and Essence False Lash Effect Mascara – If you follow me on Instagram @thetrendytoast, then you know how much I am obsessed with this duo. I’ve talked about the primer in a monthly favorites post, but it’s even better paired with this mascara. Y’all, this is probably the cheapest thing on this list FOR BOTH! You have to try it!
4. It Cosmetics CC Cream – I’ve been using this foundation for years, but I had to include it. It’s great coverage, and I love that it has lots of SPF. The illuminating version is great for the winter time + dry skin. 

Skincare

1. It Cosmetics Miracle Water – My mom ordered this intially but ended up giving it to me and I love it! It’s like a micellar water but better bc it has anti-aging properties. I use this after I cleanse my face and it gets all the extra dirt off. It also recommendeds that after applying, you rub the remaining product into your face.
2. Neutrogena Hydro Boost Cream – Another oldie but goodie. I have to mention bc I;m convinced this is the product that SAVED my skin this year! I’ve never had dry skin until after I moved out of my college town. Once I started using this product, I haven’t had a break out for over 4 months!
3. Jergens Sunless Tan Mousse – This is my favorite self-tanner, and during the winter I need it desperately. You have to apply this with a mitt, but if you do it’s really hard to mess up the application!

Fragrance

1. Maison Margiela Replica “By the Fireplace” – This perfume smells like the Fireside candle from Bath and Body Works mixed with men’s cologne. It’s a unisex fragrance but I love the woodsy smell. There are several other men’s colognes in this Replica line that are all supposed to smell like different places – very cool.
2. Commodity “Gold” – So my travel size of this recently broke and I was devestated. This was my scent of the holidays! The notes were vanilla and creamy musk – it is an elevated sweet scent. Would love this in a full size!

 

That rounds up my winter beauty favorites! If you guys have any favorites or have tried any of these products let me know in the comments! -xoxo

Practicing Gratitude + How I Get My Hair to Hold Waves

Hey y’all! I’ve recently discovered how I can get my fine hair to hold waves and I had to share my process.

1. Start with dirty hair. Yes I know this is gross, but it really helps getting the curls to hold.
2. Spray with hairspray BEFORE curling. Here’s my favorite. This will make your hair sticky and help them hold.
3. Spray dry shampoo on roots for volume and grittiness.
4. Use the right barrel. I use a 1.25 in. barrel for my hair – the smaller the barrel the tighter the curl, but the more it will hold!
5. Brush out with a wide tooth comb very gently for wavy effect.
6. Spray with hairspray again!

I know I’ve mentioned this in past posts, but I am really disappointed in how I let October slip away from me.

I spent so much time with my head in the future, that I didn’t take the time to enjoy the present. That’s why this month I’m focusing on practicing gratitude. Gratitude can help your mind and body in more ways than people realize. People who practice gratitude frequently experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and even have stronger immune systems! (What! Flu season, hello.) And I don’t know about you, but after October flew by, I’m ready to live this November like there will never be another. And what better month to practice gratitude than the month of Thanksgiving?

So here’s what I plan to do.

I will go to bed every night counting all the things I was grateful for that day (I’ve already started doing this and it puts me to sleep so fast, lol). But seriously it’s such a good thought to end the day with.

I will also be spending the start of my morning commute doing the same thing. Before I turn on the radio or invite any other distractions into my thoughts that morning, I will think about all of the amazing things I have been blessed with.

Lastly, I plan to share my grateful thoughts with those I love. I really am most grateful for the people I care about, so this month I plan to let them know how important they are to me and hopefully get them engaged with their gratitude as well.

I invite you all to practice gratitude with me this month! Do you have any favorite ways you like to count your blessings? Do you journal? Let me know what you’re grateful for! Maybe I’ll do a recap post at the end of the month so we can all see what we were thankful for!