Spring Favorites -- Beauty, Fashion, & Random

Spring this year has been quite the busy season. From getting the opportunity to work a beautiful production of Guys and Dolls at my school, to coming home, to now being a design intern working on the world premiere of Robert Lopez's new musical (If you don't know who he is, look him up. This opportunity is pretty freakin' amazing), spring has kept me incredibly busy! I've also been traveling a lot in the spring, since I drove from North Carolina back home to California in just four days. My favorites for this season have been staples to keeping me going, and I suspect I'll continue loving them through the summer as well!

Physician's Formula Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil. I came across this stuff in a Walmart, and was shocked by the price. Normally, argan oil is pretty pricey, but this 1 oz bottle from Physician's Formula is only $15! It works just as well as the expensive Josie Maran oil, and leaves my skin feeling hydrated. After working underground in an air conditioned theater for three weeks, then driving for 12 hours a day coming back to California, this stuff has saved my skin!

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado. The water here in San Diego is much harder than the water in North Carolina, and it makes my skin feel crusty and dry. Cute, right? For a few weeks after arriving back home, I couldn't help but scratch and rub at my eyes because of the dry desert air and the hard water drying out my skin. So I finally caved and purchased this eye cream, which I've heard rave reviews about for months, and I don't think I could ever go back to anything else! The best thing about it is that it isn't overly creamy. Usually, eye creams are too much for my skin and give me milia, but I haven't had that problem with this yet!

Maybelline The Falsies Flared Mascara. This mascara makes my lashes look thick and long, and the shape of the wand gives my lashes the perfect winged out lash look! I love the look of thick, fluttery lashes, and this mascara achieves just that. Because I usually wake up at 7 AM and don't get home till around 6 PM, I need my mascara to really hold a curl and stay put without flaking or smudging. The waterproof formula of this mascara does exactly that!

Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Leave-In Spray. I blow dry my hair almost every single time I wash it because I get the best results that way. Blow drying my hair prevents it from appearing greasy or stuck to my scalp, and it gives me a nice lift of volume! I recently got a trim, and after trimming my hair, I decided I needed to get a good heat protectant so I wouldn't have to be fighting off dead ends anymore -- especially since I'm trying to grow my hair out. This heat protectant spray has worked beautifully at keeping my frizzy split ends from returning and I use it every single time before using any kind of heat on my hair! Plus, I really love the way it smells.

US Acrylic Lipstick Organizer. I'll admit it. I have a lipstick problem. However, this lipstick organizer keeps my lipstick problem under control. I recently ran out of space for my lipstick in my makeup storage (I know...first world problems), and I had an Amazon gift card, so I decided it was time to purchase one of these nifty lipstick holders! Now, my most loved lipstick formulas stay put on top of my makeup storage, while the others fit much more easily inside!

Faux Gem T-Strap Sandal. I purchased these sandals at Forever21 to wear to my school's end-of-the-year celebration, and I am obsessed with them. I wear them all the time now! The t-strap design is elegant and the faux gems add just a little bling to amp them up. These sandals are perfect for a warm night out or just for a casual lunch date, and they're a fantastic alternative to the traditional flip-flop sandal.

Refurbished MacBook Pro. So part of the reason I had to stop blogging for a while was because my old HP laptop died on me. I had predicted it would die out for a while, and finally, it did. That's when I started looking at new computers, and asking friends for advice. All of my art school friends told me to just invest in a MacBook Pro, and that I wouldn't regret it. However, I didn't really have any desire to dish out $1500 on a new laptop that didn't even have a disk drive. When I found the certified refurbished store on the Apple website, I knew I had found a perfect compromise! I saved $600 purchased a refurbished laptop, it has everything I need, and works like new. I also got this super cute Tiffany blue case-and-keyboard-cover set on Amazon for super cheap!

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge. I can't even begin to explain this book to you. It's so incredibly good! If you love dark fantasy, this is such a phenomenal read. I reminds me a lot of A Wrinkle in Time, which is one of my favorite books of all time, and when I first purchased this book I couldn't put it down! Because I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to finish it, but I seriously can't wait to have some free time and find out how it ends.

I hope you all are having an amazing start to your summer!

- D.