Mr. Incredible

Fam, it’s about time I introduced you to someone special in my life. He smooths things out when life goes awry, he untangles my messiest messes and he smells like he walked straight out of Heaven. He totally lives up to the hype and brightens my mornings. He’s not your average “too much talk and not enough action” - he’s the complete opposite, sis. Meet Mr. Incredible, the ultimate leave-in conditioner.

Drybar has outdone themselves once again. I thought I’d never find a replacement for my beloved It’s a 10 Leave in Miracle Spray, but I just may have! Mr. Incredible not only leaves me feeling ready to conquer the day after I’ve used it, but sets up my hair for major success.

Let me explain. If you’re as sick as I am of winter having its way with your hair and creating a hot, frizzy, static’y mess, then friends, I’ve found the answer.  After just a few sprays of this magical potion, my hair was super easy to brush through and kept it tame and conditioned throughout the day (and my messy morning commute!) All that’s great, but what I especially love are the hair strengthening ingredients it has like acai, coconut milk (which I would add to literally everything if I could) and Biotin!

If you’ve been in struggle city with your hair this winter, do yourself a favor and head to your nearest Drybar to pick up Mr. Incredible. Or you can shop it and other Drybar faves below!

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KITA skincare

Winter is here and so are the ugly skincare issues that come with it. Dry skin, turtleneck rashes (now that I think about it - maybe I’m allergic to wool?) and chapped lips. It’s all getting too real.

Thankfully, with a newly revamped skincare routine, things are really improving for my skin this year, even with the dropping temps. Thanks to my Schon Skincare products, NUDE skincare essential oils, Kiehls face wash and my latest addition, KITA Skincare. Here’s the lowdown on my latest obsession, the KITA moisturizing serum complex.

KITA personalizes their skincare to you
Just like Chinese philosophy (my favorite topic in my college psychology class), KITA focuses on what natural element you are to bring you the best results. I took this short quiz and learned my natural element is wood. Which totally makes sense given my love for being out in nature, choosing birchwood for our wedding centerpieces (the SAME ONES featured in this post) and the overarching theme of my Instagram page…

It helps you relax
Can I just say how much I love this function of the serum. In the box, it includes a massage/pressure point routine (and an online face map) for helping you relax. And YES it works. I do this nightly to help my mind wind down from all the craziness of the day. To me, it’s so cool that KITA is so much more than just about the product - it’s about your overall well-being. Remember, it’s is all about balance.

It’s also a primer
Hello, beautiful product that also helps my makeup stay on. What’s the point of having makeup if it’s gone by mid-morning?

It has a smooth, silky texture
This is not like any facial lotion or product I’ve used before - goes on silky to my skin, leaving it nice and smooth. Plus, it doesn’t have a strong scent, and the one it does have is pleasantly and subtly earthy.

It has the most amazing ingredients
This is one of the biggest reasons I love KITA. The ingredients are amazing - my wood serum is infused with organic cactus elixir, Lake Klamath algae, acai oil, gotu kola, and jade micro gems (YES, GEMS.)

Aside from those things, KITA's serum also re-balances your energy, receives stress, restores natural collagen, improves skin elasticity, and renews your skin cells. They don’t currently carry at any US stores, but you can order online here if you want to check it out for yourself! XO!

New Skincare Routine with Schön

As someone who dabbles quite frequently in skincare products, I’ll admit - I wasn’t always so savvy. Growing up, thanks to my dad’s advice, I used a bar of DIAL SOAP to wash my face. Yes, I can hear you laughing through the screen and I certainly would be too. MYYY how things have changed!

And while I really love trying out products, I was sort of doing so blindly. Face brightening? SURE. Eye mask, why not! So after a lifetime of playing the guessing game, I decided to visit a leading cosmetic dermatologist, Dr. Nicole Hayre over at The Cosmetic Dermatology Center in McLean.

My experience with Nicole was amazing. Within minutes and without any invasive testing, she was able to tell me what she could do to help my skin. Since I’m prone to dry skin and redness in the winter, she recommended a few key items from her skincare line, Schön (meaning beautiful) to help my skin reach its full potential. Here’s what she recommended:

MORNING ROUTINE:
Calming Cream Cleanser
This creamy face wash is the first I’ve tried that doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry. It has no scent (great for my sensitive skin) and really helps with the redness I’ve been experiencing lately.

Essential Eye Complex
As I’m getting older, I’m starting to notice laugh lines and dark circles popping up more prominently. To remedy this, Dr. Hayre recommended this eye cream. After cleansing, I massage this thicker lotion around my eye area. It’s only been a month and I have already noticed less darkness under my eyes!

Intensive Hydrating Balm
This stuff is like my skin shield. I feel like I’m giving my skin a gulp of cool water when I use it - not only does it hydrate your skin, but it helps reduce redness, reduces the amount of oil production and improves skin tone with the Vitamin B in it. Even after a busy day commuting in the harsh winds, my skin is STILL supple by the end of the day.

Sheer Signature BB Cream
I’ve been on the hunt for a BB cream for a while now and finally found one I really love. This tinted BB cream is the perfect skin protector and is filled with anti-oxidants and SPF. It blends into my skin perfectly and really evens out my skin tone.  It also prevents premature skin aging (yes please!) This might be my favorite item Dr. Hayre recommended.

EVENING ROUTINE
Cleanser
Essential Eye Complex

Advanced Anti-Oxidant CE Ferulic Cream
My last step before going to bed each night is using this super hydrating cream. The Vitamin C and other anti-oxidants both brighten and smooths the texture of my skin. I always feel like I’ve just come back from the spa after I use this and my skin is SO SUPER SOFT in the mornings. I almost feel bad taking a shower because I don’t want to wash it away haha!

TWICE DAILY
Complexion Brightening Pads
Funny story - I never noticed that I had skin discoloration until I walked into a skincare shop and the sales lady offered to show me where the skin discoloration section was. I was SO offended! But I forgot about it. Fast forward to my trip to St. Lucia - I was talking a selfie with some macaroons (as one casually does) and it was THEN that I saw it. My tan had amplified the darker skin tones above my lip! THE HORROR. Even though I’m semi-mortified admitting something like that to the world on this blog, I’m obsessed with the results I’ve gotten with these complexion brightening pads. I thought I was basically doomed forever, but by using these once a day in that particular area, it’s evened out SO much!

ONCE A WEEK
Weekly Retexturing Treatment
Sunday is typically my beauty day. I do my nails for the week, treat myself with a Drybar hair mask and exfoliate my skin with the retexturing pads. It helps improve my skin’s texture (something that became not-so-great after all the holiday treats…) and smooths everything out. It's amazing.

If you’re looking to improve your skincare or develop your own skincare routine, Dr. Hayre’s office (The Cosmetic Dermatology Center) is located in Tysons at 8405 Greensboro Drive, Mclean, VA. You can call to make an appointment at 703-827-8600.

Thanks so much to Dr. Hayre and Schön Skincare for partnering on this post and helping me develop healthy skincare habits. As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

Holiday Lip Shades

I have this vivid memory from 5th grade - I’m sitting in my mom’s car waiting to be dropped off for school. I clumsily threw my hair into a half pony tail (my signature style back in the day) and swiped on some brown lipstick. Next, I got out my blue eye shadow (YES BLUE) and swiped a bit over my eyelids.

How my mother let me out of that car I’ll never know, but such was the start of my obsession with makeup. While I would not (I repeat - WOULD NOT) sport blue eye shadow ever again, brown lips are certainly coming back into style.

This holiday season, I wanted to share three fun lip shades that I’m loving at the moment!

First is this super cool relish brown lipstick from Erwin Gomez (in SAB), a local makeup artist and salon owner. In the tube, this looks sparkly and red, but it’s totally not. When I wear this, I’ll typically forgo blush and strictly stick to bronzer for contouring. It’s such a bold color and I’ll be honest - I wasn’t sure if I’d love it on me…but one swipe and the 5th grader in me was in heaven.

This gorgeous red color seen above is called "Serrano" from Makeup Meltdown. This is your red if you’re not committed to looking like you placed used a red crayon on your face (which is not a bad thing, but not always the look you want!) It has just a touch of pink in it too, which I really love. I only did one coat, but for a deeper, darker red, apply a couple.

Finally, the greatest bright pink shade ("Grenada" by Makeup Meltdown.) This color is not for the faint at heart. It's bright and it's beautiful. This tint would look great with a black holiday dress or even a casual light grey sweater and jeans for brunch out with the girls. I also just did one coat on this one, but if you’re looking for a brighter look, go for round two.

What makes the last two shades so special is that $5 from the $20 retail price of each lipstick will be going The Beauty Bus Foundation, a non-profit that provides "Bags of Beauty" to the terminally ill and their caretakers nationwide.

Hesitant to purchase before trying? You can try out the last two shades by Makeup Meltdown next week at Kendra Scott in Mosaic District on December 10!  And 20% of all Kendra Scott and Makeup Meltdown sales from that evening will go to benefit Active Minds! Hope to see you there!

Wearing Sophie Blake earrings, Everlane tee and Calvin Klein coat (similar)

NUDE Skincare

With the weather dipping into the 30s around the DC area, I’ve really been amping up my skincare regimen. In the summers, it’s easy. A little toner and a dab of moisturizer and I’m good to go. But like the geese fly away to warmer temps for the winter, so did my hopes of moisturized skin.

That is, until I was introduced to NUDE Skincare. GAME CHANGER, you guys! You know when you’re so in love with a product you feel like a crazy person telling everyone you know? This is NUDE Skincare for me.

When I first opened the package, I was kind of shocked to find rescue oil. OIL? FOR MY FACE? Stop. I can’t put OIL on my FACE?!

Or so my naive self thought.

Now I use their rescue oil every morning right after my shower (before my moisturizer) and it keeps my skin super hydrated and soft ALL DAY. Yes, you read that right. All freaking day. And it doesn’t stay oily - it soaks into the skin for a happy, healthy glow. It’s filled with tons of great stuff like botanical complexes, organic rosemary extract, and tons of vitamins, omegas 3s and other antioxidant-rich ingredients.

And the overnight repair mask? Literally the most luxurious stuff I’ve ever put on my face. When I’m feeling too lazy to wash my face before bed, I just think about this mask. I’ll be honest - sometimes it’s the only reason I wash my face.

Another reason I love these products? They’re all-natural, vegan and cruelty-free. A lot of people don’t know this, but I’m a vegetarian because I love animals…so it’s very important to me that my makeup and facial products are kind to animals too.

If you’re looking for some facial rejuvenation and a way to protect your skin this winter, I would highly recommend these. You can shop these and more NUDE Skincare products below.

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NUDE Skincare Progenius Omega Treatment Rescue Oil and NUDE Skincare Advanced Renewal Overnight Repair Mask c/o