Beauty Routine: Makeup

A little delay, but finally the last installment in my daily beauty routine. If you missed the previous posts, here you go: Part 1 - Skin Care, Part 2 - Hair.

And now, on to Makeup. Here's a peak at my go-to routine.

1 - On a daily basis, I use this Revlon face powder. I apply it with a brush and it provides just enough coverage to mask any shine moisturizer left behind. It is so lightweight. On days where I need a little boost, I'll apply Olay's CC cream first to add a touch of softness to my skin. The CC cream does a great job of smoothing out any discoloration.

2 - Next is eyeliner. I apply it all the way across my upper eyelid and only half way across the bottom (outside edge). I'm a big fan of this Maybelline one. It's smooth and not too thin, just enough definition.

3 - Once I've applied eyeliner, I swipe on a neutral, highlighting eye shadow. Something to brighten up these tired eyes during the week! The Mary-Lou Manizer is the brightest one I tend to use, on those real tired days. Other days I opt for Clinique's sunset gold which is a little more neutral. Lastly, I've had fun with this Smashbox eyeshadow sampler I recently received from Birchbox. Swipe across the top, dab on the inner corner, dab on the outer edge of the lower eyelid. And then smooth out any excess shadow that may have fallen below the eye with a pinky.

4 - As a last step to my eye makeup, I finish up with mascara. I'm a huge fan of this Clinique mascara. The comb works amazingly at lengthening those lashes! But I ran out of this mascara recently and Birchbox stepped in, providing Smashbox's full exposure. It is awesome. It has worked well thickening and lengthening my eyelashes. Definitely doesn't lengthen as well as the Clinique one does but the thickening characteristic is fantastic. And on the plus side, they both stay in place very well. I hate when I look in the mirror and there is mascara under my eyes.

5 - J stuck this rosy lips Vaseline in my Christmas stocking this year and I must say, it is fantastic. It smells amazing, adds a touch of color, and keeps my lips healthy in these cold, dry months. It's just enough sheen to finish off my daily routine.

What's your go-to makeup product?

If I only put on one thing, on weekends for example, it's mascara. Just a few swipes really seems to brighten up my face.

Monday Updates

Well, I really had intentions of getting this post up on Friday...and then work blew up. Woah it's been a week. I'm hitting my work busy season burn out bad this year. I don't want to use this pregnancy as an excuse, but I don't know - I am tired!

On a brighter note, I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day!

Here are a few things my mind has been able to sort through this week/weekend other than work.

1. This post is absolutely, positively amazing. And oh so important.

2. Our Valentine's Day plans were up in the air up until 6 pm Friday night when things cleared up at work and I sprinted out the door before someone could change their mind. Honestly, we've both been putting in extra work hours this month so a go with the flow, no reservations needed night was necessary, and it was amazing. A trip to Chipotle, followed by a stroll over to Coldstone. Home by 8:30. Just perfect.

3. Confession - I haven't really been into the Winter Olympics this year....part of it is definitely due to work. But otherwise, I feel like they keep showing the same events OR they spoil the results for you earlier in the day before they show it! I have to say though, the USA v. Russia men's hockey game Saturday morning was awesome! We had ordered a new dog ID tag for Tucker recently and it finally came in on Friday. Tuck was psyched to sport it for the big game Saturday.

4. Also, not really into this snow anymore. I've had just about enough of it and commuting to work. I've resorted to online "window" shop for maxi dresses and maternity bathing suits (how unsexy does that sound...) to calm me down. I need a beach vacation stat!

5. The bright side to being snowed in this past Saturday? I finally made Giada's turkey, kale, and brown rice soup. I had originally seen the receipe on Natalie's blog and knew it would be a hit over here. I've yet to make a Giada recipe we didn't love...highly recommend it!

6. Oh hey, I spent a few extra minutes and ran a curling iron through my hair one morning this week (on a dry shampoo morning).

7. Glimpses like this still make me smile. Boy has this home come a very long way.

8. J thought this sign was perfect for my mom. I think most ladies/dog-moms can relate to this sign from time to time. :)

Happy Monday!

Baby C - 16 weeks

It's time for another Baby C update.

While the first trimester seemed to go by rather slowly, it's crazy that it's already been 4 weeks since my last set of bump pictures (here). Baby C is starting to grow at a faster rate and pants are starting to fit a bit snugger! 

Symptoms: Feeling great these last couple weeks! Week 14 hit a rough patch with some serious morning sickness but knock on wood, no issues since then. No headaches and no fatigue beyond just being tired from long workdays thankfully. I do not have time for fatigue these days.

Workouts have been great too. It felt amazing to hit 4 miles on the treadmill last weekend! Yes, I stopped to snap a pic. I was so pumped to feel so good. I made sure to use the foam roller on my hips once home to help prevent/reduce some of the soreness I've been experiencing from running on a treadmill. 

Food aversions: None really! Which is great. It feels great to be incorporating fruit and veggies into my daily diet these days. Don't get me wrong, I realized this past Sunday I didn't eat a single veggie...but I wouldn't say there were any aversions, it just sort of happened.

Food cravings: Recent cravings have included burgers from B.Good (only once but omg so good), bagels (still), Chopped Italian salad, ice cream, iced coffee.

I'm up to about 4-5 lbs in weight gain which is totally fine by me. Making sure our little love is growing!

I don't know the last time I slept through the entire night. The say the urge/need to pee lessens in the second trimester as you start showing and the Baby moves outward a little bit, away from the bladder. Still waiting....I swear Baby C was sitting on my bladder the other day at work! It was a bit ridiculous.

Lastly, I've been struggling to figure out how I want to document my pregnancy beyond the occasional bump pictures. This is definitely the younger child in me, but I want to make sure that whatever I do for baby #1, I can do for the rest of the children we choose to have. I found this journal recently and thought it would be perfect. Allowing me to capture small snapshots of each day throughout the pregnancy and well into the Baby's first years. I also plan on putting together a baby book once they are here, but this quick snapshot journal is much more realistic for me to keep up with. It's been fun!

Stay tuned... pregnancy wardrobe updates and nursery ideas to come over the next few weeks! And of course, more Baby updates.

Beauty Routine: Hair

I loved the feedback on my skin care routine, thank you! So I thought it only best to keep this series going.

Let's talk about hair care. As I've mentioned, for an Italian girl with curly hair, may hair is actually fine. So something that does not work wonders for me? Moroccan Oil. I tried. I tried desperately to use it and wanted so badly for it to make my hair even healthier. But all it did was leave me with oily, stringy hair. Lovely.

So over the past year, well actually more specifically the past 6 months, I've learned what works best for me.

Shower

I'm not sure why I started buying the Clear brand shampoos, I am a sucker for good packaging. But from the first use, I've really loved it. Not only for my hair, but my scalp. Oh my scalp. It can get so uncomfortably dry in the winter. And the Clear shampoos have seemed to clear this right up. J also has a dry scalp and has had luck with this shampoo.

And since I was enjoying the shampoo so much, I recently decided to switch over to their conditioner as well. No complaints. This shea butter one definitely makes my hair feel even softer.

Lastly, this Neutrogena anti-residue shampoo was recommended to me by a hair stylist this summer. As you keep reading, you'll see that I kinda/sorta use a few extra products to style my hair. So about once a month now, I'll use this Neutrogrena shampoo to get rid of any residue the styling products have left behind. My hair feels so light and soft on those days! 

Wet  Styling

My after shower hair process is a bit more in depth...

1. Spray in a volumizer. I got sucked into buying the Oribe one at the salon at one point. I can't complain though, I love the smell and it definitely helps. It's pricey though so I did find a more affordable option that I now use during the week. The Organix brand works just as well really for me. All I'm looking for is a bit of a boost in volume and thickness. I swear the Organix one makes my hair grow a little faster too with the Biotin in it...

2. Brush/comb out my hair and then add mousse. If money wasn't an issue, I would use the Redken mousse daily. Redken products in general are just amazing. But, I use a decent amount of mousse everyday and J uses it now too. So we'll stick to our $4 bottle for now. It's the best "cheap" mousse I've used for sure.

3. Curl cream. Just a little something to add some softness to my curls. Mousse can leave your hair rather stiff if you let it dry naturally. Plus, I need something to fight frizz on rainy or humid days. I absolutely love the Miss Jessie products! Both I've been able to use thanks to Birchbox and just now need to purchase one as my samples are finally running out. Boo. But where I use less than a dime size amount daily, I don't mind spending a bit more money on this product.

4. Blow dry with a diffuser. For my curly hair, using a diffuser is absolutely necessary. It works its magic to fight frizz.

Dry  Styling

On those days where I give my hair a break from shampooing, I rely on dry shampoo. If you're a brunette, you know how frustrating dry shampoo can be when it's not tinted. Or maybe it's just me? Either way, the brown tint to this Baptiste dry shampoo is fantastic.

And on those (rare) days that I use a curling iron on my hair, I rely on Spray Wax. This is a new find as of this summer and is amazing. Apparently regular hair spray is a no no on fine, dry hair as it dries your hair out even more. Oops! I had my hair washed and styled for a wedding this summer and learned so much from the stylist. She used spray wax on my hair and it held all night. I then came home and asked my normal hair stylist about spray wax and she also raved about it. Sold. I bought a can on the spot and have been using it since. Be careful though! A little goes a long way.

Night Before

And lastly, as I mentioned in my tips last week - spray in some dry shampoo the night before. I've been buying the Psst brand for a while now and love it. My only complaint is that it's white. So I now use this one at night when I know I have a few hours for it to soak in.

What hair products can you not live without?

Definitely mousse for me! It's probably the one product I've been using for more than 15 years, well that and shampoo/conditioner....but besides those. Some days I'll use only mousse. It's the saving grace for these curls.