Everything You Need for a Summer Glow

I love Sephora's Beauty in a Box sets because they're an awesome value and contain an array of products you actually want to own. The new limited edition exclusive set is Too Faced Endless Summer Beauty in a Box set, which literally contains everything you need to create a gorge summer glow, plus a how to guide. 

The set contains:

• 0.11 oz Shadow Insurance
• 0.17 oz Eye Shadow Quad in Lovey Dovey (sable brown with gold micro-glitter), Honey Pot (warm gold shimmer), Heaven (matte ivory) and Neptune (turquoise shimmer
• 0.33 oz Sun Bunny Bronzer (satin suntan/ rich satin bronze)
• 0.12 oz Glamour Gloss in Plush (candied coral)
• 0.4 oz Lashgasm Mascara in Black
• 1 oz Tanning Bed In A Tube

I am a huge fan of both Sun Bunny Bronzer and Tanning Bed In A Tube because they both create the perfect, natural looking tan. Scoop up this set at Sephora and Sephora.com for only $45.

How To: Wash Makeup Brushes

So I had been neglecting my makeup brushes for quite some time and I finally gave them a good wash and it was literally like a whole new world applying my makeup (cue Aladdin theme song).

I couldn't believe how soft they were, how smooth my products went on and how true to color they were. It seems obvious, but chances are you don't wash your makeup brushes often enough, or properly.

• Wet your makeup brush with lukewarm water
• Pour a small amount of brush shampoo, baby shampoo or any other gentle shampoo (I personally like Peter Lamas Wheatgrass Purifying Shampoo because it's all natural) in the palm of your hand
• Swirl the makeup brush in the palm of your hand and repeat the process until the suds are clear
• Rinse with lukewarm water and squeeze out excess
• Reshape and lay flat to dry on a paper towel

You really should be cleansing your brushes once a week, but if the whole process is just too tedious for a weekly routine, only wash key brushes this frequently, like your foundation brush, that are bound to collect lots of grime and bacteria. I also like to freshen up in between washes with Bare Escentuals Quick Change Brush Cleaner to make sure I'm not mixing my bronzes with my greys.

Quick Summer Update: Peach Lips

The sun is shining, the weather is warming up and it's time to update your makeup look for spring and summer. One of my favorite two second updates is adding a peach lip. Peach warms up skin better than pink, but isn't as extreme as coral or orange. It also looks amazing with warm tones on eyes like gold and bronze or cool tones like gray. Check out my two favorite peaches below. 

NARS lip gloss in Giza is my ultimate peach because it's pigmented, shiny and isn't too orange. It warms up skin and shows a tan (no matter how slight). It's the perfect complement to a bronzy look, yet is neutral enough to not overpower smoky eyes. It's definitely a spring/summer staple for me.

DHC Moisture Care Liquid Lipcolor in OR06 is a moisturizing peach gloss with a subtle shimmer that is sheer enough to work on pretty much any skin tone. Plus I love that the brush is long and helps define the contours of the lips.

Test Drive: John Frieda Anytime Volume Refresher

Friends, have you been loving this new mass market dry shampoo trend as much as I have? It seems drugstore hair care brands are finally getting the memo here and while Klorane will always hold a very special place in my heart, I love that I no longer am condemned to a life of buying $18 cans of dry shampoo every two weeks. I recently tried John Frieda Luxurious Volume Anytime Volume Refresher - read on for the scoop.

The Experience

At first I thought this can looked mighty small - and skinny - but then I realized my beloved Klorane was 3.2oz and this is 3.5 so maybe this is some sort of optical illusion. I tried Anytime Volume Refresher two different ways: on clean hair when I wanted to inject some volume and texture and on actual, unwashed, dirty hair. First thing I noticed and absolutely loved is the complete and total lack of white powdery residue. If you're a dry shampoo vet you know what I'm talking about - the whitish cast on your roots that makes your hair look gray in pics. There was none of that here people. 

When I used this on dirty hair I was really impressed that it absorbed the greasies sans aforementioned white residue, and it definitely injected some life into my locks. This is the perfect dry shampoo to perk up second day hair, but I'm not sure I would use it on say, 4th day hair (but by that point, let's just wash shall we?). 

A quick spritz on freshly washed hair added some texture, volume and hold, so if your strands are baby fine like mine, you'll definitely be reaching for this even if you just shampooed. 

The Verdict

For under $7 this is really an amazing dry shampoo. It houses a lot of product (even though it looks like it doesn't), gets rid of the greasies, adds volume, and, say it with me, leaves NO white residue behind. I highly recommend getting into a relationship with Anytime Volume Refresher stat.

Red Carpet Recap: 2011 Met Ball

Nothing can resurrect my lack of posting quite like a red carpet event and the 2011 Met Ball didn't disappoint! There were some celebs who shall remain nameless with, er, some questionable choices, but a few majorly stood out in my mind. See below for my faves:

Taylor Swift

I have to admit I am usually beyond bored with TSwift's red carpet choices (same curly/wavy/crimpy looking hair left down, same short, sparkly dress) but I thought she looked phenomenal! It's unexpected (for her) and I love the texture and one shoulder. 

Kate Hudson

I know from experience it's pretty hard to look glamorous when you're this pregnant, but Kate Hudson pulls it off nicely. Love the champagne hue of the dress, subtle sparkle, and beach goddess hair and makeup. 

Blake Lively

Blake is probably the celeb whose beauty and fashion choices I most covet (side note: didn't she have red hair like 30 seconds ago? How is it blonde again already?) because she always looks perfect, polished, amazing. This dress is majorly daring and Blake pulls it off perfectly.

Dianna Agron

This dress stood out to me for its effortless simplicity - I love that Dianna didn't just throw on a sequin dress and call it a day. The neckline is interesting, the color looks great on her and the simple accessories and hair and makeup perfectly complement. 

Sarah Jessica Parker

I'm not one of those rabid SJP super fans who thinks she can do no wrong, but I definitely give credit where credit is due - this dress is perfection on her. Love the fact that she's almost totally covered between the elbow length sleeves and high neckline, but her body looks amazing in this. 

Love it or Leave it: Feather Hair Extensions

Last year it was glimmery tinsel that looked like you plucked it straight off of your Christmas tree, this year it's feathers hair extensions as the craze du jour as seen here on Jennifer Love Hewitt. I'm sort of in between on how I feel about these.

On the one hand I think they look cool, but would I ever do it? Absolutely not. Maybe if I was 24 again working at a Soho PR firm I would do subtle feathers a la Hillary Duff, but not at almost 29 and six months pregnant.

What do you think? Would you sport feather hair extensions?

Drugstore Gem: Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque

Drugstore Gem is a series uncovering the best drugstore products that you might not have otherwise tried. 

Chances are you've seen or heard of Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque (it's been around for literally 75 years), but maybe you didn't pay much attention to the big bottle usually hanging out on the bottom shelf of the drugstore. It was one of those products I was always sort of intrigued by but just never tried until Mr. M's cousin's wife recommended it to me when I was having some pregnancy-related skin issues because it helps clear acne without any of the big no no's (salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, retinol). 

I now use it religiously twice a week and it totally keeps everything under control. It's minty and refreshing (hence the name), sucks out pore-clogging impurities and leaves skin super clean without that dry, tight feeling. The best part? A huge tube is less than $5 and you can find it at any drugstore.