New York Botanical Garden

 

 

About a month ago I visited the beautiful New York Botanical Garden. It was an oasis full of beautiful perennial gardens like the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden in the photo above. A beautifully designed landscape filled with over 600 varieties of roses was absolutely breathtaking. We also visited the azalea garden, the native plant garden, the forest, the conservatory & so many other gorgeous areas of the NYBG. They have tours all day which make it easy to visit all the different exhibits and the tour guides go through all the history of the NYBG. I highly recommend it as a relaxing "day at the museum" if you love the outdoors. They offer so many stunning varieties throughout the year...you almost have to go every season. 

Bare Minerals Bare Skin Foundation

Bare Minerals has become one of my favorite makeup brands over the last year. Their mineral based products are a delight to my slightly sensitive skin. However, during the winter months (when my skin is a little drier than normal) I longed for a liquid foundation that would give me a nice fresh face of makeup, but Bare Minerals didn't have one. So when I heard that they were launching their first liquid foundation May 1st I made sure to be the first in line to purchase one.

The foundation is a brightening serum foundation that looks natural & flawless on the skin. The formula is super light weight with buildable coverage. It's free from silicones, oil, parabens & fragrance (which of course my skin adores). They sell 20 different color variations so choosing the right color match is simple. I've used a little powder on my face just to make it slightly more matte as it is summer and my skin tends to get a little shiny, but I don't think that will be necessary in the colder months. 

Let me know what you guys think? Have you purchased this foundation?

XOXO

Jessica

YSL rouge volupte shine

For ages I have had my eye on the YSL Rouge Volupte' Shine lipsticks...so...on a recent trip to Sephora I decided to have a splurge. After covering my hand completely with swatches of many, many different colors (there were so many to choose from) I decided on two different colors.

The first color I chose was Nude Beige, a beautiful pale pink/nude color. The lovely woman in Sephora who helped me said that YSL are known for having beautiful nude colors and I think this lipstick proves that. I love the pigmentation, they have great color pay off. And I love the shine...not too shiny, but super moisturizing similar to a revlon lip butter.

       

The second color choice was definitely influenced by the upcoming Spring and Summer Seasons. This one is called Extreme Coral, however not very extreme. Just a subtle Coral/Peach/Orange combo.

 (Below are the swatches from left to right)

 

Let me know in the comments what your favorite YSL lip color is?

XOXO

Jessica

Spring Nail Polish Favorites

Spring is around the corner, and with the recent warm weather, I'm gearing up by breaking out all of my gorgeous spring nail polish! Nothing says Spring like beautiful pastels and gorgeous bright colors. 

In this category my two favorites are 'mint leaf' from Tea Beauty and 'mint candy apple' from Essie (by far my favorite Essie nail polish). These babies may have the word 'mint' in their names, but they are definitely in the blue family. 

I love a good Lilac. This lovely color really stands out against my skin tone and I personally love the Loreal 'sweet lilac' and Models Own 'lilac dream'. 

Mint green a cult trend a few years ago it has become a favorite for many beauty lovers including me. In this category my favorites are Sally Hansen's 'mint sorbet' and Revlon 'minted'.

And last, but never least everybody's favorite color for Spring coral!!! I love this color for Spring and Summer...it is such a staple color that to me, never goes out of style...at least not on my nails. My two favorites are Barry M 'papaya' and Sally Hansen 'coral reef'. Now I won't deny that in this category the Barry M papaya is more orange than the Sally Hansen, however to me it is still one of my favorite "corals" for Spring.

So there you have it! My list of favorite Spring nail polish. 

Let me know what your favorites are in the comments below!!

XOXO

Jessica

Physicians Formula Nude Wear

As a follower of Physicians Formula on Instagram, I couldn't resist purchasing some of the products from their new 'Nude Wear' line. They have recently posted several gorgeous pics of this new line and it's adorable packaging. So this week I went out and purchased the Nude Wear Glowing Nude Bronzer and the Nude Wear Glowing Nude Blush. The bronzer itself comes in 2 different shades light bronzer and bronzer (being a bit darker). I chose 'Bronzer' and the color 'Rose' for the blush. 

Surprisingly, the bronzer has a very warm and almost peach tone which I wasn't expecting. I almost think it would make a better blush color than a bronzer on my skin tone. But on fair skin it would make a gorgeous bronzer. The blush color is a very pale iridescent pink. I think it's a lovely color against my skin tone and I love the way it shines. The texture of both of these is very soft like a pressed pigment, but the pigmentation is obviously better on the blush. 

Let me know what you guys think below??

XOXO

Jessica

NYX Butter Gloss

After literally passing by these NYX butter glosses hundreds of times at the drugstore, I finally decided to try them out. As you can see I was quickly hooked. Unlike the NYX mega shine lip glosses, these butter glosses add a little more moisture to the lips when applied. They are very well pigmented and come in a wide range of beautiful colors. And they're not sticky!!!

This has to be my favorite of all. Strawberry Parfait...a gorgeous shade of magenta without being too overpowering on the lips. 

Creme Brûlée is a lovely nude shade that I thought would be too pale, but I think it's just perfect!

Maple Blondie is like a mix between a pink and coral not too orange not too pink, but just right.

Eclair to me is the most beautiful shade of pale pink I own. I love how subtle it is, I find some pale pinks can make your lips look like a ghost. 

So there you have it...these are just a few of the beauties from this collection, but I'm sure I'll be collecting more in the future. 

XOXO

Jess

Urban Decay Naked 3

As the latest installment of the Urban Decay Naked family, the Naked 3 is a rosy gold wonder. This palette has a collection of beautiful rosy pink neutrals. And the packaging is nothing short of gorgeous!

The palette contains 12 stunning mostly shimmer colors with a few matte sprinkled in.

Colors

From left to right: strange, dust, burnout, limit, buzz, trick, nooner, liar, factory, mugshot, darkside & blackheart.

It took me a little while to decide whether or not to buy this palette because I'm not really a fan of neutral pink colors or rose golds...at least not on me. However, after dipping in time and time again. I filled my hands with swatches & thought it would be fun to try something different. I love all the gorgeous colors & even find myself loving the rosy pinks swept across my lids. I still however think the Naked 2 is my personal favorite.

What are your thoughts?

XOXO,

Jess