Lovin’ Lately

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I’ve never been too crazy about sweet and floral fragrances- at least as far as perfume goes. Woody, kind of leaning towards the masculine side or, warm and spicy and what I once referred used to refer as “grandma perfume” is what I usually reach for.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t sometimes reach for those more delicate scents, although there was only one that I actually loved enough to repurchase a few times- Chanel’s Chance Eau Tendre EDT. Yes, it’s sweet, but also fresh and crisp. The only thing that I didn’t love was that it doesn’t last on me. As in, it’s literally completely undetectable after about 5 minutes. Of course, being an EDT you do expect it to be much lighter, but unlike other EDT sprays I used, Chance Eau Tendre seemed extremely delicate. A few weeks ago I picked up the new Eau de Parfum and immediately fell in love. The EDP is just a little bit more intense, with floral and fruity notes and hints of cedarwood, musk, and amber.  Chanel call it an “enhanced interpretation” of Chance Eau Tendre and I think it’s a perfect way to describe it. It has everything that I loved about the EDT, except that it’s a little more intense and actually is long-lasting, while also being delicate. Definitely a beautiful scent for spring and summer.

It’s been SO long since I’ve used MAC’s Fix + which once used to be one of my makeup bag must-haves. Urban Decay’s All Nighter is still my absolute favorite spray for setting makeup, but I love using the Fix + when prepping my skin. As soon as I saw the new Boom Boom Bloom edition, I knew I wanted to try it. Yes, I got sucked into buying it because of the packaging, but my impulse beauty buying habits are still much better than they were just a few years ago. Pretty packaging aside, I like this version just as much as the original. It feels the same on the skin, very refreshing and slightly hydrating. The fresh cherry blossom scent is very delicate and nice and most importantly, doesn’t cause any irritation for me.

Another MAC product I’ve been loving lately and wearing nonstop- Midimauve lipstick. It’s a rosy, mauve color with a Lustre finish. It’s a really pretty everyday and “office-friendly” kind of color.

I don’t love any of my foundation brushes as much as I love my Beauty Blender. Even though I feel like the newer versions are not as durable or work as well as when it was first released, it’s still my go-to tool. One of the reasons is that it’s just so much easier to care for and clean after each use; you don’t have to wait for the bristles to dry or bring out a whole army of products and tools to clean it (rubbing alcohol, soap, towels, etc.). For the longest time, I was using a good old baby soap, then I switched to the Liquid Blendercleanser, then went back to soap. My sister loved her solid cleanser so I got one for myself and, what can I say? Sissy knows best. The Blendercleanser solid is perfect for traveling, it also comes with a little custom grid to help deep-clean brushes and dry the blender. It works much better than soap (as in it gets the job done faster, no need for endless rinsing and soap lathering) and it keeps the blenders happy.

While I’m on the fence about the Skin Tint, I’m really loving Glossier’s Stretch Concealer. It has a really great formula that feels like skin, is flexible and provides a really decent amount of coverage.

Here’s one of the most interesting things featured in this month’s lovin’ lately: Kairetool by Selfkaire.* This little guy is both a beauty and wellness tool. It’s a battery-free massage device made out of surgical grade steel. You can use it on your face- along with your favorite serums, masks or just bare skin, and on your body (can be used on bare skin or over clothing) for a little deep-tissue massage. I’ve been using the Kairetool* almost daily, but mostly as a wellness tool, but I’ll get to that in second.

Kairetool has these special pins designed to target acupressure points. It can be used on your forehead, cheeks, smile lines, under eyes, jawline, and chin. I love the cooling and de-puffing effect it has and I find that it’s a bit less awkward to use than my jade rollers- it just fits very comfortably in my hand and feels very natural. I actually like to flip it over and use the smooth side on my face.

Now, when it comes to using this as more of a wellness and self-care tool- I mean, I don’t even know where to start. I can’t believe that such a small tool can be so powerful. Kairetool has a nice weight to it, it’s very sturdy and the pins really do an amazing job at hitting all the right spots. I use this to massage my legs, arms, neck, back and I can’t recommend it enough, especially as someone dealing with muscle pain and weakness every single day. The best thing is that because of how heavy it is, you really don’t need to use a whole lot of pressure to release tension from your muscles. This means that it’s very easy to use yourself, although having someone else use it to massage your back is even better. I’ll talk about it in a little more detail in one of my upcoming posts where I’ll be featuring more the tools and products that help me make living with chronic pain a little more manageable.

Two Dior lip products that I’ve been using for years now: Addict Lip Glow and Addict Lip Maximizer. I’d always get these in the original pink colors. Both are those kinds of products you love and repurchase time and time again. When the time came to stock up,  I picked up the Lip Maximizer in Beige and Lip Glow in Matte Pink. The Maximizer in Beige didn’t really seem much different, still a beautiful, slightly plumping lip product. The Lip Glow in Matte, however, was a different story. I mean, glow and matte, how does that really work? Well, it seems that it does as you still get the hydrating aspect of the good old Lip Glow and a pretty, pink matte finish.

I already talked about Rimmel’s Stay Glossy lip glosses in my makeup bag post, but I like them so much, I just had to feature them here, too. They feel like a hybrid between a lip balm and a lip gloss, without that stickiness that just gets everywhere.

MAC Midimauve, Rimmel Stay Glossy in Dorchester Rose and  Claridge’s Ruby, Dior Lip Maximizer in Beige, Dior Lip Glow in Matte Pink and Glossier Stretch Concealer in G11.