Beat the Heat: Best of Summer Beauty (Pt. I)

Bring on the pool parties, beaches, and barbecues! But first, you've got to do your most basic preparation: making sure your skin is healthy and beautiful. Gone are the days of heavy coats and scarves, as are the days of heavy creams. Summer calls for a lighter, more refreshing skincare regimen. Get your summer glow on with some of these skincare essentials!

1// Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser
Personally, I have fairly sensitive combination skin. This cleanser doesn't irritate or dry my skin, but it still feels like it really cleans my skin. I've experimented with a world of different cleansers, but I always come back to this one.

2// Simple Soothing Facial Toner
Toner might be an often overlooked or controversial step for those without oily skin, but it is so important! Toner restores the natural pH of your skin after exposure to all sorts of dirt, oil, and pollutants. It can even help with redness or other sensitive skin ailments, you just have to know what to look for. This particular toner is alcohol free and water-based, so it won't dry out your skin. It also contains chamomile extract and panthenol, which are both great ingredients to help your skin retain moisture and prevent your makeup from looking cakey.

3// Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion
 For whatever reason, I definitely prefer this to the Cetaphil Daily Moisturizer. The moisturizer seemed a bit heavy and didn't absorb with a finish I liked (quite honestly it sometimes even stung my skin at times). However, this lotion is for all skin types and it's lightweight, perfect for summer. Heavier creams can cause breakouts when you sweat more, and even though it's advertised as a lotion, it's non-comedogenic and fragrance free, so it shouldn't break your face out.

4// St. Ives Green Tea Scrub
This product does double duty as an exfoliant and a blackhead treatment. I don't use it every night because I don't want to dry my skin out, but I use this 2-3 times a week. The green tea extracts are gentle and actually calm redness, which is always a concern with my skin. The reason this is perfect for nighttime especially is because it removes your dead skin cells right before bed, and when you sleep your skin heals and repairs itself.

5// Freeman Cucumber Peel-Off & Dead Sea Masks
Both masks are featured here because a) I can go on about different masks forever (See Fresh Faced & Ready to Go), and b) everyone has different mask needs. I love the Freeman masks because they are both inexpensive and effective. The Cucumber mask is great for clarifying, and will even act as a milder version of a Biore strip when you peel it off. The Dead Sea mask is wonderful for soothing, especially after long days in the sun.

6// Almay Longwear & Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover
I've mentioned this product before in my Top 10 Under $10 post, so it's an oldie but goodie. It really will get everything off without requiring scrubbing and tugging. So no need to panic about encouraging premature wrinkling by taking your makeup off like a good girl... (It can't just be me.)

7// Clarisonic
While there are a host of Clarisonic models to choose from, my pink, polka-dotted Mia 2 is my trusty partner. On the nights I don't use a scrub, I use it with my Cetaphil to deep clean all of the makeup and grime from my skin. However, I only use it at night because using it both morning and night can over-exfoliate your skin. I also use the Sensitive brush head.

8// Coola Mineral Face SPF 30 Matte Tint
I will forever be grateful to Birchbox for introducing me to this product. We all know how important sunscreen is and how easy to forget it can be. The SPF in your makeup doesn't cut it. This mineral sunscreen contains both Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide, two crucial sunscreen ingredients to look for. While it is tinted, it doesn't really provide much coverage at all. It does, however, leave the most amazing, soft mineral finish that works as a phenomenal base under your makeup. Home run.

9// Philosophy Pure Grace Satin-Finish Body Oil Mist
We can't forget the rest of our skin in our routine! Once you get out of the shower and you're still just damp, all you have to do is spritz this all over your body, and voila. It's so fast and simple, it smells good, and it keeps your skin soft and hydrated. Thank goodness for an alternative to slathering on cream right out of the shower. YUCK.

And there you have it. That was my summer skincare routine, what's yours? Stay tuned for Part 2, where I'll spill all of the details of my favorite summer makeup. Happy pampering!

The Bedside Garden + DIY

Hello and Happy Wednesday! I hope this glittery camel graphic cheers you on as you power through your week.

Aside from my hump-backed friend though, I've found a new hobby: gardening. When I say gardening, I don't mean spending a peaceful afternoon outside with floppy hat and miniature tools (as fabulous as that may sound). My "garden" lives right on my bedside table.

Because an actual pet wasn't an option, I've been exercising my green thumb. In a dorm my resources were fairly limited, so I had to keep it small and preferably simple. Here are a couple of pretty, low-maintenance options to spruce up any space!

It all started with these guys (Christian and Lacroix). Long story short, I was looking for a funny gift for my boyfriend's birthday, and I stumbled across these. As a kid, I was fascinated by Venus Flytraps, so I naturally had to have these. And paint a small portrait of them, obviously.

Whether or not you're into carnivorous plants--potentially useful pest control--an upcycled tea tin is the perfect place for a small plant. Another cute alternative to this could be any variety of herbs! Plus, who doesn't want an excuse to pick out an adorable new tin of tea?

My next target became this little collection of cacti and a succulent. They're colorful, small, and incredibly low maintenance, AKA the perfect new pets for the busy bee.

Initially, I kept them in this cake stand. However, it turned out that the contents were too heavy, and the glass broke: cue temporary distress. After a quick trip to TJ Maxx and an absurd amount of sweeping, voila! A new, much more stable little plant home was created.

The smaller opening made replanting a bit more difficult, but it was manageable. Here are a few tips for creating your own terrarium:

• Add a layer of small stones at the bottom of your container if it doesn't drain like a conventional pot. This will drain the excess water away from the roots. (But be careful to not get carried away, they get heavy and can take up a lot of room.)

• Next, cover the stones with a thin layer of potting soil to place the plants on top of.

• If you're planting in an enclosure with a small opening like this, place the plants in back to front. Pack dirt around each individual plant before moving on to the next.

• Garnish if you'd like! The stones I had left from the bottom of the container I placed around the top to add more color contrast.  

• And of course, when you choose to combine different plants in the container, make sure they have compatible needs in terms of light and water.

Though these plants may not wag their tails for me at the door--and they are certainly not cuddly--they bring a fresh breath of air into my space. Next on my list is a little bonsai tree from a local nursery. Any other suggestions? Comment below and let me know ☺

---Madison

Hit the Ground Running

Hello and good morning to all of your lovely selves! I'm back from my longstanding hiatus, and I come bearing a wallpaper to help motivate you to hit the ground running this week. I don't know about you, but personally, I think that this semester has been the longest, weirdest semester of my life. But fear not, the finish line is fast approaching before the sweet relief of summer.

Maybe you don't roll out of bed beaming, thrilled to sit in a cold auditorium for three hours secretly wanting to bang your head on the desk (if only you had kept up with the "assigned" reading before finals week, am I right?), but that's nothing a good cuppa coffee and determination can't help. It is what it is, and you can only give it your best. Keep your heads high and grind it out!

Through the laughs, tears, love, loss, and everything in between, it's been a hell of a journey. Like any transition period, I've had my share of growing pains. I have learned so much about myself and those I choose to surround myself with, and I don't regret a minute of it. My wish for you all is that you can take your experiences for what they're worth and see the beauty through the ups and the downs. Finals may be stressful, but a number on a piece of paper doesn't define you. What you make of the obstacles and rewards thrown your way define you.

The fight isn't over yet, and it's time to end the semester with a bang--as all fabulous people do.

Fingers crossed and lots of love,

Madison

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