Friday Faves

Today is another mix of favorites, do you guys prefer a theme or just whatever? I've done themes in the past and I do like that it's cohesive, but sometimes a series of products won't line up with what I want to share. If you prefer themes though, I can definitely make it happen! I have a ton of beauty buys that just came in (did you see my IG story?? Yesterday was a good mail day!!) that I'll be reviewing soon!

What I Packed: Toiletries & Beauty

One thing I think everyone hates doing is packing. I mean, unpacking is the absolute worst, but packing is just terrible. At first it's fun and you think about cute outfits you're gonna wear, and items you bought specifically for a trip or pieces you don't get to wear enough, and then the doom sets in. Can I bring just two pairs of shoes and make them work for everything or do I really need to pack all four? How can I pack such and such without ruining/wrinkling/breaking it?

A few weekends ago, I started this blog post for my beauty items and just didn't get it finished in time to post before we left.  I thought about scrapping it altogether, but I always like to see beauty and travel posts and went ahead with it. Full disclosure, my beauty/bathroom bag tends to be larger than my clothing! Since we were gone for just less than two weeks, had a full agenda including a wedding, I thought out what I’ll be packing that will get me the most use and be versatile. When I first seriously started thinking about what I wanted to pack I promised myself that I wouldn’t overpack and paid attention to which products I used most often and which I could leave at home.

Friday Faves

Happy freaking Friday everyone!! I felt like it couldn't come fast enough. I don't have any crazy plans this weekend, I have to work a few hours tomorrow and then we're heading to a family birthday party for my niece. Then Sunday is NOTHING. Nothing. I can't wait! We're just going to head to church and do stuff around the house. Most importantly will be napping. Lots of napping... Who am I kidding? The only one in this house that naps is Emma, and if Ellie even thinks that I'm napping she likes to come over and pat my face, shower me with kisses, and sing me songs. All of which is very, very sweet, but does nothing to help or keep me asleep.

For today's post, I wanted to share with you guys some of my recent faves. There's some amazing shops, lipsticks, and beauty finds I've found and need to share. I've been posting about this stuff on my Instagram, but haven't had a chance yet to share it here. So this will be kind of a round up of some super awesome stuff that you should check out. Just some items I want to shout from the rooftops to anyone who will listen.

First up is this beautiful jewelry and if you follow me on Instagram, you'll already know that I've been living in this Mia and Mac necklace and earrings. This year will be our fifth wedding anniversary, and I wanted something special with our wedding date and this vertical bar and circle charm is perfection! It's so simple, chic, and feminine, I have literally worn them every single day for weeks now. The gold bar earrings are also on repeat. Enjoy 20% off your order with "Kristen20" at check out too! I also love these infinity earrings and necklace and these heart earrings are adorbs!

Ever since Emma started teething, she has started drooling non-stop. It’s crazy! She has 0 teeth, but I feel like she’s been teething for months! Ollie and Olina sent me these gorgeous bibs and I absolutely love them! My first thought when they were delivered was how well made they were, they’re great quality! They’re nice and thick, really soft, with a terry cloth backing, and I just love the sweet designs and prints. The bibs also have two snaps to grow with your child so you can use them for longer. She also makes matching quilts and burp cloths that are to die for! They would make the sweetest gift for any expectant mommy, just beautiful and special pieces that would last a lifetime.

L-R: Showy // Long Legged & Fabulous // Tokyo // Silly

Now that spring is here, I’m all about the pink lipsticks. Ha ha ha I’m joking, I always love pink lips! Thanks to late night feedings and Target, I’m now the proud owner of four new lipsticks. You know, because you can never have enough. Silly and Long Legged & Fabulous are both from the MAC Flamingo collection, Silly is a fabulous matte shade while Long Legged and Fabulous is the perfect pale Barbie pink. Revlon’s Balm sticks are seriously the best! They are super creamy and smell amazing! They’re really moisturizing and this color in Showy is so fun. Then, as if I needed another pink, I also went and bought NYX Matte Lip Cream in Tokyo. I love NYX makeup, it is really a great quality and Target just expanded the line at their stores which makes is much easier to shop!

You guys, you need to RUN and buy yourself this Real Techniques Blending Sponge! Run! It is so amazing and I swear my makeup looks flawless now. It’s so soft and squishy and blends your foundation and concealer beautifully. I run it under water and give it a good squeeze 2-3 times and then use it to blend my makeup in and I seriously love it. I don't think there's another sponge that could possibly be better. The shape offers different sides and shapes that really help to blend perfectly in tough spots.

Those are my gems guys! These four things have been used and worn daily in the Lawler household and because I'm a loud mouth, I just couldn't help but share them with you guys. Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a wonderful weekend!! What are some of your recent faves? Have you found anything that you just couldn't live without?

Product Review: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette

Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette // Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette

Another palette win with Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette! This is my first blush palette and I am seeing stars! It’s nothing short of beautiful and has something for every day. If you missed my UD Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette review, I mentioned that I was in the market for a new eyeshadow palette and a makeup artist suggested I check out the Gwen Stefani collaboration. She also mentioned, that the blush palette was amazing and I needed to have it too. So as I wandered over to check it out, she couldn’t have been more right! I wasn’t in the market for a blush palette, but thought the colors in the Gwen Stefani palette were gorgeous! I immediately fell in love with Easy (a deep rose with gold shimmer, middle top row), it’s a beautiful shade and I loved the flush look it would give. I didn’t think I needed the palette, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it at the same time.

That night, Matt and I had dinner reservations by the mall and had some time before so I ran into Macy’s to check it out again. I loved the palette, but again, Easy was so pretty and really stood out to me so I asked if it was exclusive to the palette or if it was a permanent shade that was renamed for the collaboration and it was an exclusive color. Their makeup girl was so sweet and she was just raving about how great it was and that she had to apply some on me so I could see for myself. She did and I was sold!

Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette

All of the colors are new to Urban Decay and are exclusive to the Gwen Stefani palette. In total there are six 0.09 oz shades- four blushes: Cherry (light pink satin), Easy (deep rose with gold shimmer), Angel (champagne-nude shimmer), and Hush (medium pink with gold shimmer), a bronzer Lo-Fi (soft bronze matte), and a highlighter in OC (soft pink with peach shift). The colors are very pigmented and you need to dust off the brush before application. They blend really beautifully and layer very well together.

Typically, I use Easy as my blush with a bit of Hush layered on top and Angel as a highlighter. Angel is a perfect highlighter and looks lovely down the bridge of your nose. For me, OC is much better as a blush than as I highlighter and looks beautiful with Angel layered as a highlighter on top. Cherry looks much more pale pink in the pot than in real life and gives a very subtle, natural pink hue to the cheek. All of the colors have shimmer, except the bronzer, so if you’re not into shimmery blush, this is not the palette for you. I personally love shimmer for blush, but it’s not a must-have for me. I’ll usually layer a shimmery highlighter over my blush anyways so it’s not a deciding factor for my blush choices. The only color I don’t really care for is the bronzer- it has too much of an undertone for me to use it as a bronzer and is better as a blush for my skintone.

My final thoughts on the blush palette is that the value is definitely there for the set, I use five of the six shades regularly and if you’re into blush or are looking for a nice range of blushes and highlighters, I would definitely recommend the palette. It doesn’t offer a wide variety of shades or finishes, so if you’re looking for something more versatile I would skip this. I’m very happy with my purchase and I think it complements the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette beautifully, but you don’t need to purchase both to be satisfied. I love the entire collaboration so far, they sent me some samples of the lipsticks so don't be surprised if you see a review for that coming up too!

Product Review: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette

A few weeks ago, I posted about wanting a new eyeshadow palette and at the time I was checking out this and this one, but a makeup artist at Ulta suggested skipping them both in favor of the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani palette instead. I had heard about this palette and I didn’t consider it because I thought it would be a lot of bright colors, lots of glitter, and shades that I wouldn’t be able to get a lot of use from. I’ve been in love with Urban Decay Naked palettes (I have One, Two, Three, and the first Basics and they all get a lot of use), so I wandered over to check out the Gwen Stefani collaboration and I was floored, it was not what I expected at all! All of her collection was stunning, the palettes, lipsticks, all of it. The eyeshadow palette had beautiful, neutral colors with three jewel toned ones. The colors were gorgeous and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it!

A big difference with this palette is that there are fifteen shadows 0.04 oz (the Nakeds have twelve 0.05 oz shadows), twelve of which are new and exclusive to the palette and three that are from their permanent line and renamed for the collaboration. In the set, there’s a nice range of matte, shimmer, and pearl finishes. The shape is also different, it’s a large rectangle instead being slim. I do prefer the slim Naked cases since their shape makes them easier to travel with, but the Gwen Stefani set comes with a giant mirror which I really love.

Since my Gwen Stefani palette arrived, I’ve been using it non-stop and I didn’t expect to be using it every single day. I haven’t even picked up another shadow since it came and I’m so in love with it! The colors are gorgeous and blend beautifully, I’ve created different eye looks that are very natural and perfect for work using the top two rows and the first pot in the last row. Punk (a reddish brown matte, last shade in the first row) and Baby (a metallic rose, first shade in the second row) are two of my favorite colors. Punk blends beautifully with the other colors into the crease and Baby is a gorgeous transition color. For some extra shine, I’ll use Pop (a pale coral with iridescent sparkle, first shade in the third row) in my inner lid and blend out to the middle, although I do get a bit of fallout from this shade. Admittedly, I have not used the bottom right four shadows, I just haven’t had a use for them yet. I think Danger (a deep metallic blue, middle of the bottom row) and Blackout (a black matte, last shade in the third row) would be gorgeous blended into the outer lid or as a bottom liner.

Overall, I’m very happy with this collaboration, it really is gorgeous and I love the mix of shades and finishes. I think if you’re on the fence about the shadows, I would suggest going in and testing them out. I thought a lot about this palette and checked it out in person twice before purchasing. I wanted to be sure it offered something different than what I already owned and would be a versatile product to add to my collection. The quality is exactly what you expect from Urban Decay- long lasting, pigmented, and buttery. The colors really outshine my initial expectations of a Gwen Stefani collaboration. I think it offers colors and combinations you don’t get from the Naked collections and provides more than a generic nude, smoky, or bronzed palette. The colors really are so beautiful and make your eyes pop, and I know I sound like a broken record saying that, but the more I play with the palette, the more I love it!

Our Weekend

Happy Monday and happy February! Where has the time gone already? I can't believe we're already in the second month of the year! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, we had another great family weekend full of pizza, cuddles, and play-doh.

On Friday after work, we decided to go out for dinner instead of cooking at home. Ellie loves pizza and playing games so we went to a local family pizza place near our home. It was kind of late, but it was so much fun! The pizza was great and Ellie loved playing all the games. She even won 50 tickets playing some game and the look on her face was priceless! Now our diaper bag is full of useless "prizes", but she was so proud of herself and took her time picking out exactly what she wanted.

Bronzer // Mascara // Brow Pen // Lip Balm // Beauty Sponge

Saturday the girls and I ran some errands and did some chores around the house. I picked up some goodies at Ulta. I went in to check out some eyeshadow palettes, I'm torn between the Tarte Matte, Tarte Bloom, and the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani sets.  The blush palette from the Gwen collab is truly stunning and I think I'll have to get that too. The colors are so gorgeous! Do you have any of these palettes? Let me know what you think of the sets! While I was there, I picked up the brow pencil and beauty sponge after Meg recommended it and I'm really happy with them both so far, I'll do a full review soon. I also grabbed the lip balm in Honey after Veronika posted about her favorite pinks, I love the color and how it feels on my lips. I want to buy more shades! It has a nice minty smell too. The clear mascara and matte bronzer are repeat buys for me.

Booties (old from Old Navy, similar) // Jeans // Top (sold out, still in stores) // Purse

That night Matt and I went out on a double date for dinner to Lucille's BBQ (their peach lemonade is my favorite). It was so much fun to have some adult time together! We really needed a break, the terrible twos have kicked in and this week has been a power struggle about everything will Ellie. We had a great time talking and laughing and it was nice to have some time just us.

Chalk Sign // Letter // Family Proclamation // Window Frame

Sunday it rained all day so we stayed home in our pajamas and worked around the house. Our front room walls have been bare since we moved in (although we put up a giant framed Santa at Christmas time) and I've just gone back and forth about how I want to decorate it. I finally got sick of the plain wall and hung up a few things we had to make the start of a gallery wall. I like it and I'm so glad we have something up. It's not my favorite and I'd like to add on to it, but it's a start!

We ended the night with some delicious chicken enchiladas and white sauce Matt made (he's amazing in the kitchen) and some cuddles on the couch with the girls. Another simple and great weekend for the books! Now a full week of work and the start of a new month! I can't believe January is already over!

Hope you all had a great day and today starts off your week and month to a wonderful start!

Wishlist Wednesday: Easy Gifts Under $25

Prep & Finish Set // LORAC Palette // Too Faced Lips 

Headband // Studs // Cuff 

I've been all over the internet on the hunt for some gift ideas for my sisters and thought I'd gather some ideas for anyone else looking for something great for a good price!  I saw these items online and thought they'd make perfect gifts.

Makeup: Everyone can use some primer and setting goodies to help their makeup last through the holidays. I've been OBSESSED with my LORAC palettes and this one is a steal with some truly gorgeous shades that are perfect for every day. It's a small case so it would fit nice in a makeup bag. The Melted lipsticks have been on my radar for a long time- I think it's time to test run them!

Accessories: I love the basics! Simple pieces you can wear daily, you can't go wrong with studs. I love the vintage styling on the sides of these ones! The bangle is gorgeous and would pair perfectly with a watch and mixed with other metals and bracelets. The headband is beautiful and would really make a statement with a simple hair style for the holiday parties!

What do you like to gift and get?

My Black Friday Buys!

This year, Black Friday was a huge success! At least I think it was, I did the majority of my shopping online so I’ll be waiting to see how it goes once my items are delivered. I’m most proud of the fact that in all my Black Friday hustling years, this is the year I've shopped the least for myself. Now I definitely got myself some nice goodies, but I’m going to wait on some of what I snagged for myself and have Matt wrap it for Christmas. Most of my buys were clothing for the family, everyone really needed some cold weather items for the season. We did buy a few things for the house and a couple of gifts for the little ones in the family too. I’ve linked everything below- including a few items I picked up earlier in the week and items that were not included in the sales.

For myself:

Cocoon Sweater // Lightweight Sweater // LORAC Palette // NYX Lip Set // Pajama Bottoms and Top // Vest

For Matthew:

Henley // Sweater // Jeans // Plaid // Button Down

The Little Ladies:

Gray Set // White Hoodie Set // Pink Hoodie Set // Jumper

Peplum Top // Hooded Zip Sweater // Sweater Dress

Toys:

Disney Magiclip Princess // Play-doh // Lego Dimensions // Kitchen // Bow and Arrow

Doll // Matching Game // Book // Octoplush // Textured Balls

For the House:

Wood Frame // Silver Frame // Appetizer Dish // Pastry Board

Phew! Such great stuff, I really hope everything is just as awesome in person as it was online! I did end up going out around 9pm on Thursday night to get the few things that weren't available to buy online or were sold out. The shops were nearly dead!! I didn't wait in line to check out at Target or Toys R Us and it was so weird. I really love to shop Black Friday, but part of the joy for me is waking up in the middle of the night and being a zombie with my family and girlfriends. I'm really glad that this year so many places had deals that went all week- it was nice to shop without any crowds.

Did you do some shopping? What did you get?

Fall Beauty Faves and Purchases

I've found some new beauty products and rediscovered some older ones and wanted to share what I've been using and loving lately. I have something for nearly every part of the face- eyes, lips, nails, face, I have it all covered!

Peekaboo Neutral // Stockholm // Istanbul

NYX is quickly becoming one of my favorite beauty brands, they have a ton of products, they're a great price, and they have a ton of dupes for higher end brands. I picked up their Matte Lip Cream in Stockholm and I'm loving it for fall. It's a great shade, really neutral, and super easy to wear. I liked it so much, I went back and bought Istanbul too, although I don't think this shade looks as great on it's own, I think it needs a gloss or some balm over it. It's definitely harder to pull off matte lip color with lighter shades (at least in my humble opinion and experience).  I also scooped up their lip liner in Peekaboo Neutral which according to this and this pin is a dupe for MAC's Boldly Bare. I'm absolutely liking this shade, it's so blendable and works great with a number of lipsticks and glosses I have.

Lorac Skinny Palette from Nordstrom Sale, similar here

This palette is amazing! I've been using it a ton the last 2-3 weeks, nearly everyday and it pairs perfectly with my favorite MAC shadows (All That Glitters, Naked Lunch, and Satin Taupe). I really like that this palette is small enough to carry in my makeup bag and has such versatile shades. I mostly use the far left ones, and only the second one over has shimmer in so I love to use one of my MAC shades in the crease or the middle of my lid. These shadows last all day, have amazing pigment, and I totally have my eye on their Pro Palette next! 

Highlighting Concealer in Nude

This concealer has been sitting in my makeup drawer unused for months, months!! I'm not sure why I brought it out because I initially wasn't that impressed with it, but I'm so glad I did. It really helps to cover up and brighten my under eye area a ton. My biggest complaint is that you don't get a whole lot of product like you do with my HG Maybelline Age Rewind, but I think this definitely brightens up the area more. I'm going to do some more comparisons, but I'm happy enough with this concealer to buy it again, but this time I bought a shade lighter (Ivory) since we're heading into the cooler months.

Pore Eraser // Primer Spray

It may be November, but until this week, we've had blazing heat and I have to keep my makeup from melting off and disappearing. On days where I need my makeup to last all day and into the night, I've been using the primer spray first, then the pore eraser on top and my makeup has lasted like whoa. WHOA! My sister got married at the end of September and it was ridiculously hot and crazy humid and this combo really helped my makeup to stay spackled onto my face.

Essie Polish

Looking for the perfect red polish? Run over and pick up Essie's Shall We Chalet?, it's great for all the upcoming holidays. Red can be such a hard shade to find that works for you (especially lipstick!) and this one is a bright true red without any hint of pink. This is such a fun color and I only had to use one coat (with their gel topper).

Brave

On my first night out without the babies, my girlfriend and I headed to the mall and stopped in at the MAC counter to pick up some lipstick. I really had to hold myself back from buying several, and even took pics of my lipstick stash at home before heading out to remind myself to not go crazy. I'm using "crazy" as a very loose term, I totally bought the girls some Christmas outfits while we were shopping. Anyways, I tested so many lipsticks and kept picking up shades I already freaking owned (which I promptly dug out of my lipstick drawer and put them into my overflowing makeup bag) and then was torn between Syrup and Brave, which I mulled over for way too long. I ended up getting Brave and I'm super happy with it. It's pretty similar to Stockholm above in being a deeper neutral shade that pretty much goes with everything. Brave also goes great with the Peekaboo Neutral liner too!

So that's my recent beauty purchases and favorites lately. I have a few things on my wishlist that I'm going to wait on for Black Friday shopping and Christmas. What are you ladies loving lately? Have you added anything new to your makeup bags that you're loving? Rediscovered a long lost product?

Recent Purchases: Mama and Ellie

Being home on maternity leave means I have way too much time on my hands for shopping. We go to the mall weekly, the grocery store and Target way too many times each week, and my nightly nursing shopping habits have returned. Oh my goodness, don't even get me started on how much I want to demo my house thanks to HGTV. Here are a few things I picked up the last couple of weeks I wanted to share for the Eleanor and I:

 
Chambray Shift
I picked up this dress for Ellie for when the weather drops a bit. It's has a nice thickness to it making it more fall appropriate and I can't wait for her to wear it with some cute tights or fun printed leggings this year.  I also loved this dress, but they didn't have her size so I'll have to pick it up online.

 

  These tees were too cute to pass up and I would love that Home one in my size. She has a pair of black and white striped leggings I think will pair really cute with the Happiness top.

Frozen Hat // Polka Dot Jeans
Ellie has been wanting a hat lately and when she saw this she fell in love. She was so excited about it that I had to get it for her. She also needs some new jeans for the season and I love how cute these polka dot ones are.


Heart Leopard Dress
How cute is this dress?? It even has pockets! It will be so adorable on it's own, over tights, or with leggings.


Kitty Shirt
 LOVE this kitty shirt for Ellie. In the back it has a little open area with a bow detail that's absolutely adorable.


Bunny Shirt
We all know my obsession with Alice in Wonderland and this shirt just sings to it. I love the colors, the tea cups, and the bunny. My little bunny just had to have it. 

Plaid Tunic

I'm mad for plaid every fall season and this tunic is so cute and I love the cut. It's a bit more "dressy" and will be perfect paired with leggings and boots. I saw this one at Target that I want to go back for, it's super cute.

Striped Tee // Necklace

I love a good striped tee and would like to find another one that's more fitted and have stripes closer together to also add to my closet. This tee is super soft and is so easy to just toss on to run some errands and was the perfect top for the weekend. One thing I definitely need after my major closet clean out, is some just basic tees for the weekends and this fits the bill.

Essie Ballet Slippers // NYX Lip Primer // NYX Narcissistic Illuminator // Maybelline Primer

For my sister's wedding, I picked up all these goodies. For my nails/toes I wanted a lighter pink than my usual go-to Essie Fiji and was all out of Ballet Slippers so I picked up a new bottle. Of course, I left it at the salon so I had to go back. I didn't want to have to buy another bottle when I just bought one! Sheesh.

For my lips, I also needed a primer so my lipstick and gloss would stay on. I would be talking all night with everyone and didn't want to have to keep reapplying my lips and this primer was the bomb!! I really like it a lot and gave my lipstick some major staying power!

 I was on the hunt for a new highlighter (did you catch my highlighters post last week?) and really wanted to check out Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator and Becca x Jaclyn Hill Shimmering Skin Perfector, but they were sold out of both at the mall! Ugh. I didn't have time to order it online so I snagged NYX Narcissistic and it's amazing. It has a light peach sheen to it that looks fantastic in the sun! I still want both those highlighters, I've heard so much about them from everyone.

Finally, after Meg's post, I picked up this face primer as well. My sister's wedding was outside and it was going to be a hot and humid day and I could just picture my makeup melting right off my face. Since I've only used this once, I can't do a full review, but so far color me impressed. Meg never steers me wrong though! My makeup looked amazing at the end of the night still and I had cried like a freaking baby. I really like the texture and how it feels on my face and once I've used it more I'll definitely be doing a full review! 

What goodies have you seen lately? What are you on the look out for? Any suggestions for my makeup bag or closet? Hope you're all have a fantastic week!