Last weekend my good friend Megan and I went to scope out the Cinco de Mayo scene at Soma StrEAT Food Park. This was my first year without work or studying in the way of a little fun on May 5th, so I was thrilled to sample tacos from each of the various trucks and enjoy a few Mexican beers right in my neighborhood. Fun fact: I used to be a Dos Equis promo girl, and while I have represented many different beer and spirit brands, Dos Equis was my favorite! Not only is it a fun brand, but a delicious beer; both the Lager and Ambar! And who doesn’t just adore The Most Interesting Man in the World? Please pay no attention to the conflicting Corona branding that is draped over him in the photo below. I would never allow a competitors’ branding to get in the picture if I was on the job.
As the crowd and food truck lines grew, we decided after a few tacos and drinks to wander over to the Mission for some thrifting and a late afternoon pick-me-up at Bi-Rite Market. We bought some of the best strawberries yet this season, a yerba mate for a much needed caffeine kick, and the obligatory scoop or two at Bi-Rite Creamery. Weekends were meant for splurging, right? One of my favorite things about San Francisco is that anything is essentially walkable if you have time to kill. I think I clocked in at least two hours of walking on our little excursion, enough to work up and partially work off my ravenous tendencies.
It’s the first of the month, so that means I’m due for another monthly favorites round up. I let myself buy a few new makeup treats last month but I also shopped my stash, so I have some new and returning favorite products. The weather really picked up this last month so I found myself returning to my favorite longwear foundation with SPF and a new fresh lip product. There’s nothing I love more than a flawless face and a bright lip; it just screams spring to me.
Here’s the skinny on all the products I mentioned in the video:
MaybellineColorSensational Color Whisper in Cherry On Top This is a beautiful lip color that is unbelievably comfortable to wear. Cherry on Top is the perfect pinky red that can be either worn sheer or bold, depending on how you layer it on the lips. With a few layers this will even stain your lips for a few hours well after the product slips off. The idea behind the Color Whispers is that they are a barely there sheer lip butter that is no fuss. They’re comparable to the Revlon Lip Butters, although I prefer the Color Whispers because they feel even lighter on the lips.
MAC ‘Pro Longwear’ Concealer in Nw20
I tried out this cult favorite MAC concealer after recently picking it up at the Paragon Outlets. This is a fabulous concealer for the undereye area that lasts all day. I like layering it over a color corrector such as Benefit Erase Paste or a brightener such as Benefit Eye Bright for total dark circle cancellation. It doesn’t cake, flake, or crepe under the eyes so I’m really impressed so far. Pro tip: buy this at the Cosmetics Company Outlet store and save about $5 off full retail price.
Diorskin ‘Forever’ Fluid Flawless Perfection Foundation
I recently featured this on OMGbuymeTHIS after nearly a year of use. I know this foundation well, and the only reason I cut back on using it was to test our other foundations for review on my blog and YouTube channel. While Dior is obviously pricey, the Diorskin Forever is my favorite foundation because it meets all of my various skin needs. It covers well, lasts a long time, and is super comfortable to wear. It packs SPF 25 PA+++ and wears beautifully. It works fantastically on my oily to combination skin because it’s semi matte and is very forgiving on my occasional dry patches. This is just a brilliant foundation.
MAC Paint Point in Painterly
If you try one product from MAC, let it be this one because you will use it everyday. This is a neutral cream eye shadow base that will work for every skin tone and for every color of eye shadow. I apply a thin layer from eyelid to brow bone everyday, no matter what eye look I’m going for. This product helps your eyeshadow stay on all day and not crease. When I travel this is the only eye base or primer I bring.
elf Studio Blush in Pink Passion This is an oldie, but a goodie, that I just finished up today. This is a cool toned matte pink that makes for a lovely blush shade. It can be worn subtle or dramatic depending on how much you apply. Although I’m sure the ingredients are pretty poor due to the $3 retail price, I just can’t hate on this product. It’s really pretty and you can’t beat the value.
MAC Fix+
Fix+ is an amazing makeup mist that is your powder’s best friend. Ever apply too much? Simply spritz your face lightly with Fix+ to eliminate any powdery build up on your skin. Fix+ is great too for end of day touch-ups. If I have a dinner or event after work, my touch-up routine usually goes like this: blot t-zone with blotting sheets, powder face with a powder foundation, then spray all over with Fix+. Your face will look instantly better and ready for the evening.
What did you absolutely adore last month? The weather is really starting to shape up around here so I’m excited to start experimenting more with skin and nails. I’m also taking a trip at the end of May so I may do some exploring in the world of self tanners.
Like these favorites? Be sure to get the scoop on my March, February, and January faves also on the blog.
Prolific YouTuber and style blogger Dulce Candy celebrated her 1 Million YouTube Subscribers milestone with Benefit Cosmetics and hundreds of her fans at Macy’s Union Square this past weekend. Dulce is someone I’ve been subscribed to for the past three or so years, so it was great to check out a local event to celebrate her success!
As an aspiring blogger and vlogger, I absolutely had to check out this event. Not only am I a huge fan of Dulce, Benefit Cosmetics is one of my favorite makeup brands. In addition, my sister, Caitlin, is now a freelance makeup artist for Benefit and she happened to be working this event on Saturday. While I decided not to wait in line for the meet and greet with the hundreds of other girls — the line wrapped around the block — I got my fangirl on observing all the madness and lurking Dulce from afar.
I nibbled on custom-made Benefit cupcakes from Kara’s Cupcakes, two stepped to the house tunes the DJ was providing, and eyeballed the adorable goodie bags everyone but myself got their hands on. I also helped answer questions for lost tourists who were confused by this event dominating the ground floor of San Francisco’s largest department store. “Who is she?” they asked. “Is she a Victoria’s Secret model?” they probed. I giggled and replied, “no, she’s a blogger.” And then it hit me — the average person finally gets it: blogging is a serious profession. Five years ago that might have not been the case. At any rate, Benefit had a great setup for the meet and greet, including a custom branded step and repeat, custom tote bags, an event photographer, and printer for people to get their pictures right away from. They owned this event head to toe, and I have to applaud their marketing and PR team for a job well done.
I love these kind of events because they’re not only fun to attend; they reignite my passion as a blogger. Dulce is a really talented and dedicated blogger who deserves all the success she’s earned. Be sure to check out her style blog, dulcecandy.com, and her YouTube channel to get to know her better! You can also lurk the whole event by the #DulceDay hashtag on both Instagram and Twitter. Shout out to Benefit Cosmetics for hosting and Macy’s for facilitating! Here’s to another million subbies!
