This post is loooong overdue. The end of July and beginning of August were a bit of a whirlwind for me. I went on a family vacation to upstate New York (which included a visit to
Niagara Falls), wrapped up a full-time internship, packed my things, and arrived back home in Florida last week for a bit of R&R before the school year starts back up again. Attempting to keep up a blogging schedule was definitely difficult with a 9-5 job, but after navigating through my internship this summer I know I’ll be that much more prepared going forward, especially come college graduation and full-time employment.
Now that I’ve had some time to unwind, I wanted to share a collective haul of some of the new fashion and beauty things I’ve accumulated over the past month or so. I’ve had a chance to wear or use most of these items, so I’ll include some first impressions as well.
FASHION
I’ve been loving J.Crew Factory this summer. I ordered
this adorable lobster sweater online, knowing it would be a perfect New England staple and layering piece. I also picked up a few items from my local factory store when I arrived home last week, including
this white tank,
black pants (the bow belt is what sold me),
leopard flats, and
cute sunnies. I’ve mentioned this before, but J.Crew Factory is
always having sales and promotions, so be sure to check them out if you’re ever in the need for a quality wardrobe addition at an affordable price point.
I also popped into LOFT a few days ago to browse a sale (40% everything!) and came across this cute
drop-waist dress and this insanely soft
cowl-neck tank from Lou and Grey, an athleisure line that LOFT carries. I couldn’t get over the quality of the Lou and Grey materials- I’m definitely interested in ordering a few more pieces online before school starts. As a college student, you really can’t go wrong with comfortable (yet chic) loungewear.
The last thing I picked up from LOFT was
this classic LBD. The store didn’t have my size, so I had to order online (fingers crossed it fits perfectly). It would make a great outfit for numerous occasions, I’m obsessed with the keyhole neck detail, and truthfully I don’t think you can ever have enough little black dresses.
Moving onto swimwear, I couldn’t resist
this bikini when it went on sale at Bloomingdales a couple weeks ago. It reminded me of the KINI suits, but I like how both the top and bottoms have ties so you can adjust the fit as needed. It’s definitely been on heavy rotation during these last few weeks of summer.
In terms of shoes, I just picked up
these blush sandals from DSW yesterday. They’re so comfy and don’t require any breaking in (bless), and I think they serve as a good alternative to
these Jack Rogers I’ve been eyeing. Not to mention they’re a fraction of the price (I paid $19)!
I wanted to wrap up the fashion section of this post with an extremely exciting announcement…well for me anyways. I FINALLY found my perfect pair of jeans! I discovered
these 7 For All Mankind jeans at Nordstrom Rack and am convinced they were made for me. They’re just a simple, mid-rise jean that I purchased in a
medium and a
dark wash, but they fit my athletic legs perfectly and hit right above the ankle. I also want to add some bonus points for comfort
and for the fact that they don’t stretch out throughout the day. I’m sure you’ll be seeing them in a post or two (or ten) come autumn.
BEAUTY/SKINCARE/HAIRCARE
I don’t have any new makeup discoveries to report of, as I tend to wear less makeup in the hot summer months (on a typical day, concealer, powder, bronzer, and mascara are my go-tos). However,
this SPF 40 face lotion I discovered on Amazon has worked absolute wonders as a primer. I was totally shocked when I applied it for the first time, as I expected it to be slightly heavy and greasy like most high SPF face lotions. Instead it felt just like a makeup primer, smoothing over my pores and mattifying my skin before I applied my makeup. On the days that I wore this product, I didn’t have to touch up my face makeup or whip out my blotting sheets. I could not recommend it enough, especially to anyone out there with oily skin!
I have also been using and loving
this Origins night cream that I picked up from Sephora a few weeks ago. It’s lightweight yet extremely hydrating, and it almost has a slightly cooling sensation when applied to the skin. Not to mention it smells amazing! I haven’t experienced any issues or breakouts, and when I wake up I find my skin looking plump and refreshed. No complaints here!
While I didn’t purchase any new makeup, I did get
this travel brush set from MAC last week. It comes with 3 of their most popular eye brushes, and considering the full-size MAC eye brushes cost around $25, I think $29.50 for this set is a total bargain. I already use the 217 brush whenever I’m doing an eye look because it’s simply the best- if you’re only going to get one eyeshadow brush, it should be this one. It’s super versatile and works great at applying lid colors, crease colors, and for blending. The 224 brush is also a great crease/blending brush to have on hand, and I’ve been loving the 266 brush both for eyeliner and for filling in my eyebrows.
And finally, the very last product I want to mention is the
Macadamia Deep Repair Hair Mask. This product got a ton of buzz from the YouTube beauty community back in the day, so when I saw it available at TJMaxx for only $16, I had to check it out. First of all, it smells amazing- slightly perfumey, but very nice and not overpowering. And more importantly, it does an amazing job of conditioning my heat-styled hair and keeping my ends looking fresh. I just use a tiny bit of it as my conditioner after I wash my hair (which I tend to do only 2-3 times per week), and it leaves my hair softer and more detangled than ever. If you have thick or coarse hair I would highly recommend trying this product to help fight dryness and frizz. My hair is on the finer end, so I have to use it quite sparingly so it doesn’t become too weighed down, but when I use the right amount, the results are fantastic.
Thank you so much for reading and catching up with me! I’m looking forward to posting more consistently now that my schedule has settled down a bit. I hope you’ve all been having a wonderful summer.
xoxo
Lizzie
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