Makeup Bag Extras

Sometimes the things that make us feel the prettiest are not the best looking things in and of themselves.

Today (well yesterday, I'm behind this week.) I want to talk about all the not so pretty things in my makeup bag that make me feel extra good some days. 

Capsule|Extra Glow

Now I love me a good highlighter. All year long but especially lately and, despite my laziness in the mornings, I have been making time to add a touch of shine to my daily face.

Especially because the warmer weather has made me extra uh,,,social...which means I am extra dehydrated.

Don't drink and make up.

Come Correct

As a makeup junkie with hereditary dark under-eye circles and years of concealers and correctors under my belt it gets very hard to find things that do anything new for you. 

On my "to buy" list for this year's Spring VIB sale was a product I had heard so much about but just could not commit to the insane price tag.

It is so worth it.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Giorgio Armani Master Corrector.

Seasonally Appropriate?

I love a bit of nail polish. A few months ago now I did a little post on all of my favorite spring nail colors and since then I feel I may have changed by tune a little.

Now don't get me wrong those are all lovely and beautiful colors but part of me has had a really hard time feeling spring-y due to some of the ongoing awful weather. Now that the cold seems to be more or less behind us my days are thrilled but my nails haven't really gotten the memo. 

So this is my rather seasonally inappropriate selection of shades.

Stepford Alien

I feel like every year I share a new pair of sunglasses on the blog. Last year it was a badass pair of colorful, mirrored aviators and this year we have June Cleaver meets Judy Jetson.

Now these are "inspired" by the Tom Ford Nastasya sunglasses that I first saw on Dara's YouTube Channel.

Now I love Dara and her recommendations but Tom Ford and my wallet are just not on the same page these days.

I think the number of selfies on my Instagram may have grown by 5,000% since I got these.

I am in love.

The Hydration Step

Guys Spring has Spring and I can take pictures outside again!!!

So the one "Hirons Approved" skincare routine step that I've always sort of...skipped (shhhh don't tell) was the hydrating toner. Generally applied post exfoliating/acid toner I had spent what felt like AGES (but what in reality was like...8 months.) looking for one that I thought really did anything.

Low and behold a little over a month ago whilst perusing the Sephora website I found something I thought might work. 

Since then I've revisited a handful of other spritzes and toners so I figured I share my thoughts and conclusions.

Ed Note: Summer Hydration

Every year as the weather starts to warm up I like to briefly reevaluate my nighttime moisturizer situation. In the colder months I love to slather as many of the emollient and creamy products on my skin as it can handle but, when the weather starts to warm up I find I like something that sinks in a little more quickly and lets me lay down with a nice hydrated and not-sticky face. 

The newest addition to the Summertime moisture lineup is the Kate Somerville Nourish Daily Moisturizer. 

Impulse Purchasing 101

If there was going to be a blog post on how not to shop responsibly this would be a good place to start. 

Do you know when you see a product and you go...eh, it's ok, and then you look at the name and everything changes. 

Well when I saw the name on one of Marc Jacobs Beauty's newest Le Marc Lip Creme's I knew I had to have it. Even if it is a member of the color family that I admit I almost never wear. 

That Contour Thing

I don't know about you but this whole "sculpted face" contouring thing that's taking over lately has me a little confused.

Now don't get me wrong, I like a bit of shape just like anyone else. As you can clearly see my collection of products and tools for the purpose is certainly not lacking. I'm just not certain that I need a palette of shades that may or may not work for my skin or a collection of cream colors that can be mixed.

I am not a makeup artist and therefore do not need to make my contour work for all kinds of people...just me. 

So what do I reach for when I want to carve out a little space on my face?

Wishlist | Sephora Spring VIB Sale

Another VIB sale; another wishlist. Full disclosure I have actually already made a sale purchase but I'm pretty certain one more is on the way before the event is over. 

All things considered my wallet is not too sad.

There were some things I wanted that the store I went to did not have and some others I didn't realize I wanted until I saw them in store over the weekend but, I thought I'd take a second to share what I was considering. 

My Favorite Way to Smell Like a Man

I love a really strong fragrance. Not only do I like a strong fragrance but I love a masculine scent. Nothing overly "cologne-y" just with a strong wood, moss or, spice factor. 

This could be because after trying to wear them for years I realized all of those fruity and candy-like saccharine scents just didn't work on my skin. Maybe it was because I moved to New York at 18 and decided, among many other things, that I needed a "grown up" scent. 

I'm not sure what it is but one thing is for sure for all the strong, earthy, sexy smells I love the only one I go back to time and time again is Fresh's Cannabis Santal. 

The Repurchase|Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm

I have been repurchasing quite a bit lately. 

It's a good thing. It's been a long time, I feel, since I've had a stash of good products that I could rely on without over thinking it. 

This Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm really rocked my nighttime routine when I first used it about 8 or 9 months ago. 

The Foundation Chronicles| Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide

 I have been using and loving my Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua for nearly a year now and as much as I do love it I've been itching to try something new. As I get older I start to like base products more and more. I'm not sure why that is exactly but the mission for the base that lets just enough imperfection show through to remain believably skin-like while showing all of my color products off to their fullest potential.

Not a tall order in the slightest.

I will say though, the Flawless Fluide is the closeset to perfect I've come yet. 

Brown Lips | An Eperiment

 I first saw this lip color on YouTuber Erica Fae who does some of the most beautiful and simple editorial beauty looks I've ever seen on the internet and the minute she put this shade on I knew I wanted it in my collection.

The color is Maison from the NYX Matte Lipstick line which, is a formula I have often sung the praises of. The shade is slightly more grey toned than it appears here and I the minute I got it home this look just sort of came to me. So with the afternoon to myself  I started to play and I love how it turned out. 

Much to my surprise I think I might even wear this one out. Maybe even to work.

#FBF: Zsa Zsa Ltd. Beauty Gift With Purchase

I have been dying to show you guys this little gem for weeks! I wanted to film a little video about it just to talk through what it is and what you get.  You can watch that HERE but I also wanted to include a little photo diary of this little vintage beauty gem. 

This is a Zsa Zsa Gabor branded beauty gift with purchase. The company emblazoned on all of the product is Zsa Zsa Ltd. but a google search of said brand turns up nothing. It's just pictures of the woman herself caked in good old fashioned slap.

Check out the goods for yourself after the cut and if anyone out there remembers anything about Zsa Zsa's beauty venture please let me know. I am SO curious. If I had to ballpark this date wise I would say early eighties maybe late seventies. Ask your parents lol! 

About Face: The Golden Daytime Smokey

 This is a kind of look that I often go to. It's sexy and smudgy but not particularly dramatic or difficult. I love a good messy eye look. I've said it before but I think some of the best looking makeup is makeup that looks "well worn". 

It looks effortless in a slightly more thoughtful way I guess.

I've been using about 5 minutes and six products to go from clean and simple to badass bitch, even on a Wednesday morning.