lipsticks I love

Today I come here to share one of my personal obsessions: lipstick. It is probably my favorite piece of makeup. Sure I love glowing with highlighters, layering up the mascara, and of course using my essential concealer and brow pencil or gel. But lipstick helps me feel complete. It can make even the simplest makeup pop, and can easily compliment whatever outfit I'm wearing. I'm a lipstick addict, and I'm okay with it. I'm constantly staining mugs and utensils, but it's just a part of life now.

I've been a complete convert to liquid lipsticks for the past 2 years because they're just so much more convenient! They stay really well throughout the day, and honestly I really like the matte look. I stayed away from matte lipsticks for so long because my lips tend to be on dryer side. However, I find that liquid lipsticks aren't overly drying, especially because I'm so adamant about staying hydrated and using chapsticks. 

Catnip by Anastasia Beverly Hills 

I think the highest compliment I can give this lipstick is that it's nearly run out and I desperately need to repurchase! I love Catnip; it is a perfect go-to everyday look for me. It's described as a "soft plum" and I find it a really muted blue toned pink. Slightly on the cool toned side, but it really works with most of my neutral gold toned makeup. This brand lasts all day, although I reapply after eating, which I do with every brand, frankly. It can be a tad drying, so definitely apply chapstick beforehand! The color selection is also incredible! I'm certainly interested in picking up more shades! When I bought this, I was debating between this color and Dusty Rose. Ultimately, I thought Dusty Rose really washed out my pale skin tone, and I think that color would look great on people who aren't the shade of porcelain!

Bend & Snap by Too Faced

It's time to be frank: Too Faced Melted Matte Liquid Lipsticks are my absolute favorite. The formulation is absolutely perfect - it goes on so beautifully! Bend & Snap is my favorite of the (embarrassingly) many shades I own, not just because it was the first I bought from Too Faced! This is a "deep raspberry" and it stands out as so bold, which I adore. I love a good statement lip. If you're in a more professional environment, it might be best to keep this for the weekend, but I love wearing this all day everyday! My grandmother's aide also loves this color that my mom ended up buying it for her for Christmas (also featuring my new frames!). Side note: I took this photo for my instagram and not to feature my lipstick, hence why this is the only one where I'm smiling!

Queen B by Too Faced

Ah yes, another Too Faced! I got this as a mini with a little Too Faced gift set from Ulta after I spent enough money (yes, yes I have a problem). My old roommate actually adores this color, and now I can see why! The light in this photo makes the shade look more pink, when it reality it's more of a light purple-y brown. I actually read a review calling it a "frosty mauve" which seems fitting. It's a very neutral shade for everyday looks, but it stands out enough that it doesn't look boring. I'm sure my mini will run out rather quickly, so I'll definitely need to restock!

Lumiere 2 by ColourPop

This was a color I totally ordered on a whim after I read it was a dupe for Kylie's Posey K. I don't own the Kylie shade, but since my old roommate wore it a lot, I saw it's rather fair! This is not a color I would have every picked out in a store but I really love this! It's a cool toned purpley mauve, which sounds similar to Queen B, but this one is a little darker and feels slightly bolder. Honestly this lipstick looks amazing with a super simple makeup look that has a lot of highlighter, and it's my favorite way of wearing it! ColourPop is super cheap (and supposedly comes from the same manufacturer as Kylie), and I find it a bit more drying than the other brands mentioned. It also comes off rather easily when eating, but frankly I always reapply after meals.

Lady Balls by Too Faced

My final Too Faced certainly has the worst name, but it's a perfect red. I LOVE a red lip, and this one is just so perfect. It's described as a "true red" which feels very fitting. It's not too cool or warm, too light or too dark. It's the Goldilocks of red lips - just right! I will say, this is the most dangerous of the lipsticks I've shared in this post. I have a tendency to smear this one the most or get in on my hands or face, but I feel like this just says a lot more about me than the lipstick. 

There's are just some of my go-to favorite lipsticks and the ones I wear the most - in fact I'll need to replace Catnip and Bend & Snap very soon! I own a lot more lipstick and both Ulta and Sephora have discounts this weekend so the collection could potentially grow very soon... I've been trying to branch out and try some different shades lately

A big thank you to my porch for being the best photoshoot location a girl could ask for! And shoutout to my neighbors for keeping their judgements about the amount of selfies I take to themselves! By the way, these were all shot on different days, even Queen B and Catnip, I just love my new cardigan, and my blanket scarf is the perfect thing to wear with this ever changing weather!

how lucky we are to be alive right now

When I came across the list of 25 things I wanted to do before age 25, I laughed at how ridiculously optimistic I'd been. There were so many things I couldn't possibly do. Visit a new country? Visit a new continent? See Hamilton? I was so naive about how little money I'd have.

Unless... unless? That's right. I accomplished one of these goals. That's right. I SAW FREAKING HAMILTON.

the look of pure bliss on our faces

Here's how it happened: my roommate had to travel to Chicago for business and joked about me joining her so she could get to explore the city during the weekend past her business meetings. I joked along with her, but then she mentioned looking into the cost of Hamilton tickets. Suddenly, neither of us were joking anymore! She found some decently priced seats, and all I had to do was buy a plane ticket! The hotel would be covered by her work. The tickets for Hamilton were decently affordably for one of the most difficult shows to see in the world.

So last week, I flew out to Chicago to meet my roommate who had already been there a day. Everything about the whirlwind weekend was so much fun. Every meal we had in Chicago was excellent. We walked through Millenium Park and saw the Bean! We went to the Art Institute! We wore these ridiculous leopard print robes the hotel had and looked like 1970's pimps. I flipped off Trump Tower!

And then... we made it to the room where it happened. It's hard to put all my thoughts into words but the experience was INCREDIBLE. The actors were phenomenal; truly, every last person in the ensemble was superb. I cried at least 5 times, and sobbed through the finale (which was completely predictable). The staging was absolutely beautiful. The turntables were used so effectively, and the lighting had squares! It was so freaking cool!!!

Since listening to the soundtrack back in 2015, I've been obsessed with this show, and I didn't know when I'd have the chance to see it live (although it's coming to Pittsburgh in early 2019, so fingers crossed I can see it again!). It turned out to be way more than I could have possibly hoped for! It was brilliant and wonderful, and my life has completely changed! I kept joking after we left the theatre that I had transcended the human experience and was now pure bliss, which frankly wasn't quite off! I was holding close the feeling of being in the theatre and watching this show all last week when I had quite a few annoying experiences trying to bring me down.

The rest of our weekend was really fun. We went up to Willis Tower which was super cool, but also terrifying when we stepped out onto the glass and saw straight down 1450 feet. We straight up panicked. We also walked over to Greektown, since my roommate is a ridiculously proud Greek American.

smiles on the outside, panic on the inside

I'd just like to say a big thank you to Lin-Manuel Miranda for writing this amazing show, which I can now confidently say is one of the best shows I've ever seen - if not the best! Thanks also to the Chicago cast for an AMAZING performance. Afterwards the cast asked for donations to Broadway Cares and I donated a ten dollar bill - gotta give back the Hamiltons!