Spring Skincare Essentials and Favorites

Currently there is snow on the ground as I write this but eff it, I’m talking about spring today!

So you might have noticed that I’m slightly obsessed with skincare so when I think spring, I think of vibrant and refreshing skincare products to try so I thought I would share with you my list/wishlist for this skincare products!

Cleansers

1. Noxzema Classic Cleanser—It tingles in the best way possible! I bought this about two months ago, and I use it almost every morning, and it’s amazing!! :)

2. Aqua Glycolic Facial Cleanser

 (58 reviews 4.4/5 Stars on Drugstore.com) 

photo from drugstore.com

3. Aveeno Foaming Cleanser, Ultra-Calming 

(108 reviews 4.2/5 Stars on Drugstore.com)

photo from drugstore.com

Exfoliants

1. St. Ives Blemish Control Green Tea Scrub—I have this! I love it and it’s so refreshing and leaves my skin feeling refreshed!

2. Boots No.7 Total Renewal Micro-Dermabrasion Exfoliator

 (34 reviews 4.8/5 Stars on Drugstore.com)

photo from drugstore.com

3. Tree Hut Body Scrub, Brazilian Nut—This looks/sounds so luxurious!!

(60 reviews 4.9/5 Stars on Drugstore.com)

photo from drugstore.com

Moisturizers

1. The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion

2. Vanicream Moisturizing Skin Cream 

(128 reviews 4.8/5 star on Drugstore.com)

photo from drugstore.com

3. CeraVe Moisturizing Cream 

(600, SIX HUNDRED!! Reviews and 4.7/5 Drugstore.com)

photo from drugstore.com

I hope you guys liked the post!!

MM

Spot Treatments: Face Masks

Let's be honest, Benzoyl Peroxide is basically hit or miss....I think it works but it's more of a subtle and eventual overall effect rather than an over night effect.

What does have an overnight effect?? Face masks. Specifically clay based ones.

Freeman Feeling Beautiful Facial Clay Mask, Avocado & Oatmeal

Acne Solutions Oil-Control Cleansing Mask

With those particularly annoying breakouts that seem to pop up at the most inopportune moments, I just apply a dab of the mask right on top of the pimple and let it dry then I go to bed.

What it does: It dries out the pimple and noticeably shrinks it! Not to the point where it disappears ( hahaha it's not magic!) but I think it tends to work better than BP on an emergency basis.

But I also use this very rarely since it is so drying...I wouldn't want to use it repeatedly and then have negative effects.

What do you think about Benzoyl Peroxide?

That's it for today, Thanks for reading!!

MM

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Friday Delights: Zaytinya

This Friday my best friend Selin and I went to Zaytinya, a highly rated restaurant in Washington, DC for a little end of spring break fun :)

I didn't take too many pictures but Selin the instagram addict of course had to shoot all the food!

It was delicious and the food was amazing so definitely go if you live in the metro Dc area!

Also legit every time I try to spell Zaytinya I spell it Zayntinya...hahaha I may or may not think Zayn Malik is beautiful.

I also saw Divergent and LOVED it! I don't want to watch the next two because I cant handle it! But isn't Theo James PERFECT?? #addicted

And here's my face! :)

I hope you guys enjoyed this post!

 It's a bit different but I think it's fun!

MM

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Spring Shoes: Wishlist/ Obsessions

Put a spring in your step!

I’ve yet to blog about my shoe sickness—which is shocking if any of you have seen my shoe board on Pinterest—but as part of my excitement for Spring...even though winter is clinging on *rolling my eyes*...I've decided to share some of my favorite shoes with you guys!

I loooove Polyvore, and I have for a while now but if you check out my page you'll notice that I just recently published my first couple sets..and it was to share with you guys!

I had a great time making these, and they're all under $50 because let's be honest, normal college sophomores can't afford $100 shoes...as much as I would love to blow my paycheck, I'm trying out the whole responsibility thing and yeah so far...it sucks! :(

hahaha enjoy the sets guys!

Sandal Favorites for Spring by marilynmarinad featuring toe thongs

Cute Athletic-ish Shoes for Spring by marilynmarinad featuring flat oxfords

Pump Favorites for Spring by marilynmarinad featuring pink pumps

Flats for Spring! by marilynmarinad featuring ballet flat shoes

Spring Wedge Favorites! by marilynmarinad featuring cork wedge shoes

I hope you guys liked this! It's a bit of a different format than usual and it took me all morning! 

Comment with your favorites!

Have a great week!

MM

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Mini Haul: NYX/BH Cosmetics

Hey guys! How was your week??

Mine was filled with a 6 page paper on medieval lit, and waiting for my NYX and BH Cosmetics orders to come in! I love shopping online, but I hate paying for shipping, and waiting to receive the items...hahaha so basically I just love paying for things online!

So a week ago..or two at this point I can't even remember when I made the order! I bought these lovelies from both websites:

Sex Bomb Pallette

Adorable Palette

Jumbo Lip Pencil in Maroon

Slide On Pencil in Gun Metal

10 pcs Pop Art Brushes

88 Color Tropical Matte Palette

I had to play with the lighting a bit to get capture what it really looks like!

Slide On Pencil: Total dupe for the Urban Decay 24/7 liners! and about half the price!! I want them ALL! It's super smooth and glides on easily. The gray color is beautiful and creates a nice softer look with spring coming up! It's not overly metallic so it's perfect for daytime with just a nude eye and some mascara. Or even on the bottom waterline with a smokier lid!

Sex Bomb/ Adorable Palette: I love these little palettes! I bought the

Smokey palette in December and his has this wonderful dark blue that I love so I also got these two! Sex Bomb caught my eye because of that red! Unfortunately I swatched it and it was very peachy :( Oh wells it's still a pretty color! Adorable just looked super natural and cute because of that pink which I haven't swatched but I'm scared because pinks do not tend to work on my skin....fingers crossed for that one!

Jumbo Lip Pencil: so lately I've had this like intense want to have super dark lips. So I ordered this pencil (It's actually a pencil and lipstick in one) and holyyyy is it MAROON! It's a dark browney-red but it still looks very much like a red lip. It would look great and dramatic with smokey eyes and a bit of lip gloss in a similar shade. 

Pop Art Brushes: They're so cute!! This is obviously super first impression, but they're really soft and seem sturdy! The colors are absolutely gorgeous, but they're definitely small brushes so don't expect a giant fluffy powder brush (In fact, the brush with the lightest pink handle is the powder brush). I with they were bigger bigger but their adorable!

M-Tip: Wash you're brushes before using them! You don't know where they've been....well unless you do then go for it! ;) haha

Tropical Matte Palette: I have been wanting this palette foreeeever! I just think it's such a good mix of colors for day and night! Some of the colors actually seem a bit shimmery already so I don't know if I'll be purchasing shimmer version. Pigment; BEAUTIFUL! My sister purchased a palette from Ebay because we'd heard that they're basically the same thing but every color came out white..no matter how much either of us packed on so either she got a particularly horrible product..or there is a difference with the brand names..

Sorry I don't have swatch photos! Dorm lighting+not so great camera= not very much color pickup

That's it for today! What are your favorite NYX and BH Cos. products? 

Happy Sunday!

MM

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Acne Journey: My Acne Triggers

Long time no see!

Today I want to talk about the different things that cause acne for me and my family members. So one Google search will tell you that scientifically there's nothing to say that the things you eat has an effect on acne.

Well, according to my face, my mother's face, and my brother's face, that's so not true it's funny!

M-Tip: A HUUUGE part of the journey to healthier skin is recognizing what causes your breakouts and staying away from them.

Now obviously, you can't avoid all triggers (premenstrual and hormonal breakouts) but learning what your controllable triggers are and keeping an eye on them will save you and your skin a lot of grief!

I have found that my diet (daily eating habits) has an enormous impact on my skin, different foods affect me differently and sometimes not at all.

Dietary Trigger: PEANUTS! Not nuts in general, just Peanuts specifically.

 Now I don't know why this is (as with most  of these things), but I'm guessing I may have a very mild allergy. I figured this out because my mom kept talking about how much she loves peanuts, but they used to make break her out a lot. I, of course, was like "Yeah whatever the internet said food doesn't affect acne!" That was until I ate a bunch of peanuts as a snack one day in high school and my skin was honestly bumpier than a mountain range! It was crazy and I definitely have stayed away from them. At first I thought it was all nuts but I've done some experimenting with Almonds and Walnuts I didn't get any more breakouts that than usual so Nutella and Banana Nut Muffins are always on the table!

I also eat peanut butter only when my cravings are thiiiiisss close to killing me. I'm thinking about trying almond butter...thoughts?

Cosmetic Trigger: FRAGRANCE

credit: gograph.com

Almost everything I use on my face is fragrance free because 1. I get migraines preetttyy easily, and 2. Fragranced cosmetics for me are like asking for a round of acne that will take months to clear up....NO THANK YOU! Scented lotions, and scrubs are an absolute no no.

Skincare Product Trigger: SPF

credit: amazon.com

In my attempts to keep my skin looking nice and prevent new scaring, I bought the Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer with SPF 35 and wore it every day under my makeup. WORST IDEA EVER! My face went crazzyyyyyy and I knew it wasn'y anything because it was the only new product I was using. I've had this experience with a lot of SPF facial products except for the Covergirl Queen All-Day Flawless Foundation. I've been using it since September and so far so good!

**I actually need some recommendations for a moisturizer with SPF that wont break me out, so help plz!?

Lifestyle Trigger: DEHYDRATION

I have to drink water more than anything else, plain and simple! I feel like water clears out my system and my skin always looks a little less gray and rough when I've been keeping up with my water intake.

Extra triggers from my family:
Washing your face too often, Butter, Processed cheese (Easy Mac), and STRESS

That's my schpeel for today, I have a NYX Haul coming up soon!

Sorry about last week, I had two midterms, which I think should be called quarterterms but anyway, and life kinda got crazy but I'm back!

Have a nice day/night and I will see you next time!

MM
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