I have a confession to make. I am OBSESSED with anti-aging products. Unfortunately for me, I grew up using tanning beds at a very early age. I actually had to force BEG my mom to sign off to allow me to go into the tanning beds before the age of 18. To make matters worse, I would go in for a full 30 minutes and then go into the face tanner after that!!! Around the age of 25 I started to notice how badly my skin was damaged and have been trying to reverse the damage ever since! So when a friend of mine introduced me to SMD Cosmetics, I could not wait to give it a try! SMD Cosmetics is a Korean Skincare line that uses herbs and natural ingredients instead of harsh chemicals to exfoliate, hydrate and regenerate your skin. I was MOST excited to try their Snail Serum. YES, SNAIL SERUM. Don’t worry though…it does not harm snails and no snails are in the cream. LOL. For the past thirty + days I have continued to use my usual Dove Beauty Bar to cleanse (Gasp! I know…bar soap…but it works for me!) followed by SMD Cosmetics Inhyunjin Essence Age Defining Serum and then the Saromae Quintessential Snail Serum Concentrate. The hugest change I’ve noticed is the actual brightening of my overall skin tone. And definitely less flaky dry skin! My skin is usually way drier in the winter because I am always in the house next to a roaring fire or have the heater going. But I truly believe that the combination of these two products has helped keep my skin moisturized. I use the Inhyunjin Essence in the evening and in the daytime and the Saromae Snail Serum only at night. The Essence absorbs immediately and does not interfere with my makeup application at all. I never took before photos but I did share a pic of me (below) with zero makeup and only my SMD Cosmetics products on my face right before bedtime. Have any of you tried a snail serum yet? If not, I highly recommend this one!

P.S. For anyone wondering what an “Essence” is…I would say it is like a serum (with all of those wonderful anti-aging ingredients) but it is a much lighter formula so as I mentioned above you can wear it day and night!

Disclaimer: I was gifted these products for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

I feel like I need to preface this post with the fact that I am not an expert at makeup application. I do not wear eye shadow on a daily basis, but I follow a ton of beauty bloggers and am always in awe of how talented they are! So before I tested out my brand new Maybelline 24K Nude Palette, I scoured YouTube for a few good tutorials. I even pulled out my trusty old makeup bible…Kevin Aucoin’s “Making Faces“, which I’ve had for almost 20 years! And then wouldn’t you know it…I ended up sticking with my “go-to” look…a smokey eye and nude lip. For this look, I went with the rose gold and white shimmer and the flat black and shimmery/glittery black shadows. I found it easier to apply the shadow with my own brushes than with the little sponge applicator so I could blend better. I prefer a natural makeup look and the Maybelline 24k Nudes palette has everything I need to create the perfect eye look! I also used the Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Liner and the Colossal Big Shot Mascara. BTW, I am a HUGE mascara snob and have used the same mascara for years. Colossal Big Shot Mascara is amazing straight out of the gate. My tried & true mascara needs to dry out a bit before I like the consistency. But this mascara was AWESOME on the first try. I feel like a lot of mascara’s are either great at lengthening or they’re great at thickening…but this mascara does both very well. The eyeliner was also very easy to use and the fine tip made it easy to create the perfect line without smudging.

Outfit Details: Free People Metallic Sweater, Minkpink Dress, Bracelet & Ring c/o LAGOS Jewelry and a Brixton Hat (similar).

A little more about the Maybelline products I used:

Maybelline Colossal Big Shot Mascara: A volumizing mascara that lifts and separates in just one coat for full and undeniably bold lashes. The fully-loaded brush contains five wells filled to the brim with wavy bristles to maximize the delivery of the formula to lashes, coating even the tiniest of lashes. The unique design of the bristles gathers more formula, boosting length and volume beyond belief. With this collagen-fueled, long-lasting formula, your lashes won’t smudge, clump or dry out!

Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner: Featuring a breakthrough hyper sharp 0.4mm tip, Master Precise gives full control to create smooth, even, perfect lines with no skipping. The ultra-thin tip supplies a continuous flow with no excess, while the exclusive ink technology keeps pigment saturated for the boldest of eye looks. It’s so thin, you can have fun and create artistry on your own eyes.

Maybelline 24k Nudes Palette: All about gold, this new palette features sultry, shimmering shadows in 12 magnificent shades of gold, bronze and copper to create your signature eye look. The silky texture blends easily for soft, high pigmented color that lasts. The long-lasting formula ranges from light to dark shades with both matte and shimmery finishes for optimal customization.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Maybelline. All opinions expressed are my own.

Is it just me or do you guys also feel let down after the holidays? At least we still have an 80’s themed New Years party to look forward to! I am going to dress as Madonna and my husband picked up THE MOST amazing bolero jacket and MC Hammer pants! I will definitely be sharing pics on Instagram so be sure and follow here. How about you guys…any fun New Years plans?

P.S. Happy birthday Mom! xoxo

Outfit Details: Free People Tunic Dress (similar), Old Navy Sweater Vest, Kendall + Kylie Felicia Booties, Pamela Hannon Necklace, Fedora via Swirl Boutique, Anthropologie Clutch

I purchased this blazer a while back during the Shopbop “buy more, save more” sale and I am in love with it! I also bought these matching (ish) shoes to go with it but sadly they had to go back. They just felt like they were too wide and would slip off while I was walking. So a funny story…my husband said he wanted to get me a few surprise little gifts for Christmas and asked for the names of my favorite shops in a shopping mall close to us. This is quite brave since we still talk about the worst birthday presents he ever got me (back when we were dating YEARS ago). It involved cat figurines just to give you an idea. I love my cat but not really a big cat figurine collector…LOL. I still have them BTW. Anywho…apparently he walked into one of the stores and asked what the one must-have item would be and told her my style was “HOBO-ish”. LOL. The girl said, “You mean BOHO-ish”??? I can’t wait to see what he ended up with!

Outfit Details: Free People Velvet Blazer c/o Shopbop (currently sold out at Shopbop but a few sizes available here and here), Madewell V Neck Tee, J Brand Jeans (very similar), Justfab Booties, Inpink Tassel Necklace, Nasty Gal Crossbody Bag, Marc Jacobs Oversized Sunglasses

*linking up with The Pleated Poppy for WIWW.

Ahhhh…you guys…has the flu season hit your house yet? My whole family gets a flu shot every year, but somehow I still ALWAYS seem to catch at least one bad cold/flu every Winter. And unlike my husband who gets better in 2-3 days at most, I am out of commission for a MINIMUM of a week. What I thought was just a cold, turned into a stomach bug and now I just feel downright worn out. It probably doesn’t help that it’s the busiest time of the year so I just haven’t had much time to rest. Ok…no more whining! But can we talk about this Garnet Hill sweater for a minute? Well, it’s actually a matching cable knit sweater and scarf! I ended up sizing down (XS) because they were out of my usual size (S) and I am kind of glad I did! Cable knit sweaters can sometimes feel a little bulky on me and the XS fit perfectly. My booties are also from Garnet Hill. The metallic gold goes with pretty much everything but they also come in black/taupe suede!

Outfit Details: Dimensional Cable Knit Sweater Set c/o Garnet Hill, Alessandra Italian Ankle Boots c/o Garnet Hill, Madewell Denim Jeans (similar), Michael Kors Runway Watch, Nailtiques Nail Polish in Milan

P.S. Now through December 24, you can get cozy for a cause! Snap a pic of yourself showing off your mittens (or gloves and/or winter gear) and upload it to Instagram with #StJudeMerryMittens. Garnet Hill will make a  $10 donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (up to their goal of $15,000) for each pic submitted! You can also upload your pic directly on their campaign landing page.