Year in Review | Twenty Nineteen ♥

January 5, 2020

Happy twenty twenty, everyone! What an incredible year to be alive 💕

I used to be a hardcore journaler growing up but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found less and less time to journal as much as I once did (there’s also probably less of a need for it since I no longer have the teen angst I once did!). Nowadays, journaling for me takes on a lot of different forms. Saving plane tickets, to-do lists, and taking loads of photos are just some of those forms. Today, I decided to take a trip down memory lane to review all the photos I took and the things I experienced in twenty nineteen. I was struck by all the things I’d done that I’d completely forgotten about! Below is my year in photos — the many slow, simple moments as well as the big, very exciting moments in between.

did a little traveling to visit both new and familiar places

spent much of the year studying and frequenting coffee shops

had lots of adventures at home in madison ♥

turned 26 - cake by my talented momma :)

and took way too many pictures of cats - if there is such a thing as too many pictures of cats :)

I hope you all enjoyed this little review of my twenty nineteen ♥

thanks so much for reading along with me this year ♥

Ipsy Glam Bag Review | November 2019

November 24, 2019

Ipsy Glam Bag is a monthly beauty subscription box that gives you a personalized bag of full-size and sample size beauty and make-up products for $10 a month. All of their products also come in a cute, handy little make-up bag!

Bareminerals: Bounce and Blue Blush in Mauve Sunrise | Full-Size $29

L.O.C.K. Color Boundation in 5 Medium Buff | Full-Size: $14

TheBalm Cosmetics: Mary-Dew Manizer | Full-Size $14.50

IT Cosmetics: Confidence in a Cream | Full-Size $16

Veriphy Skincare: Power Trip Facial Serum | Full-Size $105

Faves:

IT Cosmetics: Confidence in a Cream - Honestly, in my eyes, IT Cosmetics can do no wrong! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every product I’ve ever tried from IT Cosmetics and just find all of their products extremely effective yet not too heavy or “make-up-y” on the skin (if you know what I mean!). Plus, I’m always pleasantly surprised by their price points for how clean and effective their products feel.

Flops:

L.O.C.K. Color Boundation - This product was a huge bummer for me because I actually got to pick this product! Ipsy recently started allowing subscribers to pick one product out of every bag and in an attempt to try a new brand, I selected this BB Cream. Unfortunately, this BB Cream was a huge disappointment. The shade was a little dark for me but on top of that, it came across looking like a pretty heavy foundation rather than a light BB cream. I only use a small pea-sized amount of foundation usually and even with that amount, this BB cream looked super cake-y and heavy after half a day. I might keep this in my office make-up bag for emergency touch-ups but other than that, I don’t think I’ll be using this product much.

Shop Products:

Overall, this month’s Ipsy was a bit of a dud for me - especially the product I chose! I love that Ipsy is now allowing subscribers to choose one product for each month, but from here on forward, I’ll plan to choose products from brands I’ve actually heard of. Although Ipsy has a lot of well-known brands in its bag mix, it often throws in brands that are relatively unknown - and unfortunately, might not turn out to be so great. What did you think of your subscription boxes this month? Let me know in the comments!

BeautyFix Review | November 2019

November 24, 2019

BeautyFix is a monthly skincare, makeup, and haircare subscription box created by Dermstore. A monthly subscription is $24.95 per box and a one-time box purchase is $34.95. Most items in the box are either full or deluxe sample size products.

Glytone: Mini Peel Gel | Retail $64

Sanitas: Detoxifying Scrub Mask | Full-Size $68

Dermalogica: Intensive Moisture Cleanser | Full-Size $69

Neostrara: Bionic Face Cream | Full-Size $60

Arcona: Magic White Ice | Full-Size $62

Sachajuan: Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner | Full-Size $28, $31

Herbivore Botanicals: Coconut Body Oil | Full-Size $36

Emma Hardie: Cleansing Balm | Full-Size $49

Box Faves:

Herbivore Botanicals: Coconut Body Oil - I’m usually not a huge fan of coconut scented products (I often find them to be a little too strong) but this body oil was a pleasant surprise! The scent on it is very faint and not overpowering at all - plus, it’s been perfect to use on the dryer areas of my skin now that winter has hit Wisconsin.
Emma Hardie: Cleansing Balm -

Box Flops:

Sachajuan: Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner - This isn’t a knock on the specific product as much as it’s a knock on this product category - I don’t love receiving shampoo and conditioner products in my subscription boxes because it’s not really an area where I’m interested in discovering new products - I’m pretty set in my ways as far as shampoo and conditioner goes!

This month’s BeautyFix was unfortunately a bit of a flop for me overall - While I did really enjoy a couple of products, there was nothing I was absolutely dying to try (which is usually the whole reason I go for subscription boxes in the first place!). What did you think of your BeautyFix box this month? Let me know!