Larabar Taste Test ♥ Fitness Friday

The other day while I was shopping at Target I found something amazing! As you guys know I'm a huge fan of Larabars. So when I saw these new Limited Edition Larabar featuring some cake flavors I kind of freaked out! Today I'm sharing my thoughts on these new flavors and whether they are worth buying or not.

Larabars are my favorite because they are gluten free, non-gmo, vegan, soy free, dairy free and contain less then 9 ingredients. I use to eat energy bars as snacks but I noticed that they started making me slightly bulky (because that's what they're designed to do) so I switched on over to Larabars, which aren't an energy bar so they are the perfect treat cause they do not make you beefy.

Larabar Coconut Pineapple Cake:

This bar contains six ingredients including, dates, dried coconut, dried pineapple, almonds, cashews, and dried lime juice concentrate. It does not taste like coconut pineapple cake but I knew I wouldn't taste like cake. What it does taste like is like pineapple and nuts! There is a slight sweet coconut aftertaste. If you enjoy tropical flavors you will this!

Larabar Strawberry Shortcake:

Ingredients contain dates, macadamia nuts, cashews, dried strawberries, dried cranberries, pecans, vanilla extract, and dried lemon juice concentrate. It tastes like berries mixed with nuts and a kick of lemon. You can definitely taste the rich tart flavors and lemon! But it also doesn't taste like strawberry shortcake.

What's your favorite Larabar flavor?

5 Skincare Mistakes ♥ Skincare Tips

Since my previous skincare tips post was really fun for me to type up, I'm back with some more skincare beauty tips! I really enjoy reading up on the latest skincare and beauty news and since I'm pretty educated on skincare already I feel like I need to inform as many people as possible. Today I am talking about five skincare mistakes you may be following. *I'm no dermatologist or skincare specialist just a skincare junkie who enjoys reading about skincare on her time off.*

Using The Wrong Products

You may be using the wrong skincare products! Finding the perfect skincare routine is an adventure so be patience and find out what products work and don't work for your skin. Also, find out what skin type you have because that is really important! You may even want to keep a skincare journal to jot down all of the products that work (and don't work) for your skin.

You Use Cleansing Wipes
There is nothing wrong with using makeup/cleansing wipes to remove your makeup. However, it should never be the only thing you use to wash or cleanse your face! These wipes do not take off all of your makeup and other gunk that is stuck to your face. You do not want to sleep with that! It's alright to remove your makeup with those wipes but follow up with your skincare regime.

Exfoliating Too Much

A lot of us use facial scrubs to exfoliate our skin but try not scrub too much. In fact, we should only be exfoliating once a week or 1-3 times a month! Why? Because scrubs can be too harsh on your skin (even the gentle ones). Even though scrubs make your skin feel and look radiant! Over-exfoliation can lead to dry patches, redness, dehydration, itchiness, irritation, and much more! So calm down on the scrubs and try to use non-abrasive exfoliants.

Rushing Your Routine

In order to be get good at something you have to practice and take your time. That includes your skincare routine! I know you are tired at night from a long day at school or work but you can't just simply rush your routine just because you are too sleepy. If you want amazing skin then you need to take your time. It really only takes 2-5 minutes depending on your regime, you probably have enough time.  

Air Out Your Skin!

It's really important to let your skin breathe out! Try not to wear makeup every single day especially when you are having a bad skin day (you know those day, pimples/breakouts). Wearing a bunch of makeup for a long time can be really bad for your skin. So as soon as you get home remove your makeup with a wipe then follow up with your skincare routine at night.

What are some of your skincare tips?

Etude House Give Me "Salted Caramel" Chocolate ♥ Beauty Review

This is a long awaited review! Etude House released three eye shadow duos in the beginning of Spring called the Give Me Chocolate line. I'm not the biggest eye shadow junkie. I usually just sweep on a single color over my eyelid and finish off with eyeliner and mascara. That's why the salted caramel eye shadow duo intrigued me because there are only two color so I don't feel bad for not using a bunch of colors like most other palettes.

The packaging is so adorable!

The duo was a lot smaller then I thought it would be but it's the around the same size as most drugstore duo eye shadows. There is obviously only two eye shadows and they stunning! Both the eye shadows are super shimmery! The coral pink color contains more glitter then the other color. The caramel brown eye shadow looks like a shimmery copper once applied. But it has a slight pink glow from the other color, which I don't like. Both of the colors glisten on the eyes. I especially love the coral shimmer color because it's absolutely gorgeous!

The only downside is that I wish the copper eye shadow didn't have that coral glow from the other color. If you apply just the caramel copper color on your lid you can definitely tell that there is another color mixed in even thought there is not. If there hadn't been the one con I would've adored this palette even move!

You can purchase the Etude House Give Me Chocolate here

Have you tried this palette yet?

Hair Care Routine ♥ Favorite Hair Products

I know I just recently shared my skincare routine so let's keep the routines going! Today I will be sharing my favorite hair styling products. These are the products that I use to style my hair either after a shower or on slightly dirty hair. I typically only use a hair styling product until it runs before I try something new but I feel like all these products are amazing and have been making my hair smell and look amazing!

Shea Moisture Coconut + Hibiscus Hold + Shine Moisture Mist:
This is the newest member to my hair care family. It's a shine spray that smells like a coconut! I'm not someone who likes shiny hair because I think it makes your hair look greasy. However, on days when my hair looks dead I spray this on my ends and my hair look polished!

Got2B Beach Trippin' Waving Spray:
I've tried many different beach waving sprays and this is one of my favorites! I spritz this product on my waves to give that sea salt beach wave texture.

LUSH No Drought Dry Shampoo:
This is my favorite powder dry shampoo! I don't wash my hair that often (like twice a week) so I use a lot of dry shampoo to make my hair look flawless! This dry shampoo is a powder unlike most dry shampoo's so it's going to last you a long time and it has a strong citrus scent!

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush:
Batiste has some brilliant dry shampoos. I have used a few different scents before but the blush scent is my absolute favorite! It smells like roses and has the cutest packaging! Spray some on your roots and massage in the product to "magically" clean your hair.

Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls:
After I shower I use this curling gel on my damp hair to hydrate it. I focus on the ends and then use a wide tooth comb to evenly coat my hair with the product. I really love this curling gel, it's fantastic! This gel makes my curls soft and not crunchy like other curling products I've tried. I also highly recommend Miss Jessie's products if you have naturally curly hair.

Got2B Guardian Angel:
When I use heat styling tools on my hair I use this product. I'm currently using a the heat protectant from Got2B. It's suppose to protect your hair from heat as high as 425 F. I spritz this a few minutes before I start curling my hair to protect my hair from the damaging heat.

Conair Instant Heat Curling Iron:
This is my trusty curling iron. I've been using this iron for years and it still works! I believe it's a 1 inch curling iron, but don't quote me! I only curl a few sections of my hair, like the frizzy strands!

As every curly haired girl knows, we never brush our hair! If we do, our curls become a huge ball of frizz! However, I do use these two brushes to prevent knots. I use that wide tooth comb to distribute product evenly through my hair on slightly damp. The the brush on the right a tangle teezer that I got from Forever 21 last year. It's great at removing tangles! I just run this through my hair when I see knots and they disappear!

What are some of your favorite hair styling products?

Three Greens ♥ Nail Polish Roundup

Lately I've been obsessed with green colored nail polishes. It all started back when I saw Lim Kim's music video "Awoo". She worn a bright neon green (slight teal) nail polish in the video and I had to find an exact copy! I went through three polishes until I found the perfect match but I think I found it and I'm going to share it with you all in case you're interested in getting that nail polish.

OPI You Are So Outta Lime

The first polish I decide to buy to see if it matched Lim Kim's nail polish was this OPI polish. I thought it would match perfectly but when I applied it on my nails it wasn't as neon as I thought it would be. In fact, I wouldn't call this a neon at all! It's more of a grassy green color and it's sheer too! You need two coats maybe even three!

Color Club Twiggie

The second polish I tried was "Twiggie" from Color Club. If you search this color online there are many different versions but I bought it thinking it would be a bright light green cream polish that I saw first. However, it's not as bright as it looks like some of the swatches you see online. It's pretty similar to the OPI nail polish but the formula is a bit different.

China Glaze Treble Maker

This was the closest shade I could find that matched Kim Ye Rim's nail color in the video. At first I thought it would be too green but I think its a perfect copy! This is from the new China Glaze Electric Light's collection that just came out so I really do believe it could be the exact nail polish Lim Kim wore, because usually artists wear new clothes and accessories in their music videos to promote those items. After two other tries I finally found the polish I was looking for! I'm so happy!

What's your favorite green nail polish?

15 Days Of Yoga ♥ Fitness Friday

As you know in the beginning of the month I decided I would take the 30 day yoga. Well today marks the 15th day that I've followed the 30 Days of Yoga challenge, that's halfway through! I wanted to share my thoughts on the challenge so far and share my experience of performing yoga everyday. Now I'm no yoga newbie. In fact, back when I was 13 I rented a yoga for teens which introduced me to yoga. As the years went by I would practice a few yoga videos on here and there. But this is my first time that I practiced yoga everyday for a month.

Before

So when I first started the 30 Days of Yoga with Adriene I felt like it would take forever, timewise that is. In the playlist (which is linked down below) you can check how long every session is. I usually workout for about an hour to an hour and half depending on what I'm working on so adding another 30 minutes I thought I would be very tired afterwards. I still do the scheduled workouts that I have planned for each day but just add the yoga video in the end of my workouts.

So far
I was sick the first week of May so I doubled up a few days a week so that I could get caught up with the videos. My body looks and feels so much leaner then before. I also feel stronger. One thing that I notice is that I'm more flexible then I thought I was. I'm pretty flexible as is but I never thought of myself as yoga level flexible. Adriene provides many different variations on some moves so I try out all that she preforms and I find myself sinking in with some flexible poses. However, I still can't do certain moves but hopefully by the end of the 30 days I will be a little bit closer. I'm also not as impatient as I was when I first started.

Ending my day with yoga has been really relaxing. It calms my brain from the daily stress and makes me more sleepy. So far I've really enjoyed my 15 day of yoga. I highly recommend anyone who's interested in starting this yoga lifestyle to go ahead and enter with an open mind.

Join the 30 day yoga challenge down below!

Do you practice yoga?

My Skincare Regime ♥ Morning/Night Routine

The last time I updated you guys on my skin routine was two years ago! Now, I use completely different products so I thought I would share what skincare products I am currently using. I've used this skincare routine for almost two months now and I've seen a huge improvement in my skin. My skin responds really well to all the products I use and I haven't gotten any bad breakouts or pimples (aside from the curling iron burnt mark I got over the weekend) in weeks!

I didn't realize that I used that many skincare products until I took pictures. It may seem like a lot but when I'm washing my face at night it really doesn't seem like a lot. I was going to share what masks and scrubs I use as well but I didn't want to make this a super long post and I pretty much use the same mask/scrubs that I used in my last skincare routine. My morning and night routine are pretty similar so I thought I would let you guys what I do down below. I use a scrub and mask once a week.

Morning Routine:
Tone > Moisturizer > Emulsion > Essence > Sunscreen > Eye Cream

Night Routine:
Make Up Remover > Cleanse > Tone > Moisturizer > Emulsion > Essence > Oil > Sunscreen > Eye Cream > Eye Serum

Botanics Micellar Cleansing Solution 3-in-1 All Bright:
First step, if I am wearing makeup that day then I remove my makeup with this micellar cleansing solution. I pour some makeup remover in a cotton pad to gently remove my makeup. The only downside with this product is that it doesn't remover waterproof mascara that well.

Ahava Rich Cleansing Cream:
Next, I dab a dime size amount and massage the cleanser on my face for 3-4 minutes. You can see my full review here (it's an old post).

Thayers Alcohol-Free Toner Rose Petal Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera:
To balance the ph levels on my face I tone my face after cleansing. I pour some of the toner on a cotton pad and spread along my face. Then I pat in the rest of the toner so that it absorbs into my skin. I love this toner because it is alcohol-free and doesn't harm my face like other toners I've used before. here (also an oldie).

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Anti-Aging Moisturizer w/ Frankincense + Myrrh Extracts:
I've had a difficult time trying a find a moisturizer suitable for my skin but I finally found one! It moisturizes my skin and even has anti-aging properties, which is wonderful!

Missha All-Around Safe Block Essence Sun with SPF 45:
To protect my face from the strong sun rays I use the Missha safe block sun essence sunscreen. I only use this in the mornings after I've applied my emulsion and essence to prevent against sun damage.

Secret Key Snail+EGF Repairing Emulsion:
After moisturizing I move onto the hydrating part of my routine. First step, is the emulsion. I adore the Secret Key Snail+EGF line! Their emulsion helps improve damaged skin, elasticity, brighten and moisturizes my skin. I gently pat this on my face so that the emulsion can fully skins in.

Secret Key Snail+EGF Repairing Essence:
Next is essence time! I first spread on the essence and then pat it in, since this is a lot thicker then the emulsion. Like the emulsion it helps damage skin. It heals and repairs scars and wounds and also brightens and hydrates the face.

Paula's Choice Resist Moisture Renewal Oil Booster:
To nourish my skin I apply this oil on my face after I applied emulsion and essence. It's suppose to be for dry skin but I got a sample size in a Birchbox and my skin loved it so I decided to get the full-size. It hydrates and softens my normal to oil combination skin.

Boots Expert Sensitive Hydrating Eye Cream:
I dab a little bit of this eye cream under my eyes. It hydrates and moisturizes my eyes and slightly whitens the under eye area.

SheaTerra Organics Argan + Green Coffee Around-Eye Beauty Serum:
Finally! The last step to my skincare routine is eye serum. This is an extra step that you can follow if you want to protect the eye area. I apply this oily serum underneath my eyes and massage to the side of my eyes.

How many skincare products do you use?