Spring Beauty with Charlotte Tilbury

Published on by blonde rosie1 Comment

There is just something about those first few warm summer days when I get a pep in my step and want to spend every minute outdoors. In the mornings, I have been getting dressed in cute outfits that have been neglected in my closet for too long and putting on some makeup even if I don’t leave the house. I’m most excited about using my Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter. It’s a new to me product and I’ve had some time to play around with it. Great for those barely there makeup days… which is honestly, most days! Applying it doesn’t take much time and is an easy way to get glowing skin that makes me look awake like a highlighter but a more natural glow. The Hollywood Flawless Filter is designed to use under your foundation to blur imperfections and get glowing skin. While looking at reviews, it seems like everyone is in love with this flawless filter and is ideal for barely there makeup days.

Most days I apply it sparingly on my face with a damp beauty blender. With just a little bit on my T Zone and cheeks, I’ll blend it out until it leaves a light layer of product on my face leaving a luminous look with good coverage without a full face of makeup.

Since I want to get ready in under 5 minutes, I love using the Flawless Filter because it gives me good coverage without a lot of product on my face and the eyeshadow pencil is a game changer to add some color to the eyes without any eyeshadow blending. The Charlotte Tilbury Kim K W lipstick has a cult following for a good reason because it’s that good! A bit pricey but I’ve noticed I always grab this lipstick over the dozens of drugstore options I have because it is such a natural great lip color and lasts a long time. I wore it for my passport photo recently and it photographed so nicely without looking like I had a bold lip color on. It’s such a timeless lipstick!

SHOP THIS POST

Hollywood Flawless Filter // eyeshadow pencil // lipstick // Magic Cream

How to start working out again… when it’s been a while!

Published on by blonde rosieLeave a comment

Summer is around the corner and I’m looking forward to warmer days and spending my time outdoors as much as I can. However, my body is not ready for those little shorts and cute tops so I’m committing to getting a bit more toned to feel more confident. After wearing leggings or pajama pants all day this past winter, I didn’t realize that I was slacking on my personal fitness goals until it was too late. While my body is not ready for a high intensity work out class, I am giving my body some grace and going to take things slow to get back into the routine.

First, get those workout clothes out of storage and put them in one place that you can easily get to. I try to always change into workout clothes before working out because it’s a way to tell my body that it is time to MOVE. If I can, I will put on leggings and a workout tank first thing in the morning so it’s a reminder to get my body moving throughout the day. If you need some new workout clothes to get you inspired to sweat, buying new leggings or shorts has been shown to help motivate working out!

Right now, we have a routine where Jake and I both do a quick workout as soon as he gets done with work so we can get it out of the way and enjoy our evening. Some people prefer working out before work but we prefer to do it at night because we are not morning people! Whatever works for you, try to do it the same time every day so your body gets used to it and starts to expect some sweat instead of dreading it. Also helps prevent life from getting in the way and forgetting a workout when you plan ahead.

Plan for a 20 minute workout so it doesn’t seem like a bigger task than it is. I’ll put on a playlist I created on Spotify and just start. 20 minutes a day doesn’t take too much time out of your day and I have less reasons for excuses when I remind myself it’s like listening to 5 songs.

Now that you are dressed and ready, the next hurdle is usually, “now what?” I created a board on Pinterest where I save workouts that I can actually do, nothing too high level or intense to look at for inspiration. While scrolling on Instagram, if I find a workout that looks fun, I also save it to a folder on Instagram. To keep the workout moving, I like to stick to the same workout routine everyday so I don’t have to think too much about what’s next so I can keep moving. When I have a workout routine, I can usually keep going for a lot longer than the “20 minute workout” I planned on doing.

Water. Lots of water. I fill up a cute Starbucks tumbler first thing in the morning every day and keep refilling it throughout the day. When I have water nearby I’m less likely to grab a sugary drink when I’m thirsty.

Try for daily walks when the weather is nice. It’s something I love to do when it’s warm outside so I try to get dressed first thing in the morning and plan my day around going on a walk when the sunshine is shining. Those days that are cold and rainy are my rest days ha!

Affordable Retinol with Olay

Published on by blonde rosie3 Comments

In the next few weeks, everyone is going to be making appointments to get haircuts, manicures, and doctors appointments. Don’t forget to schedule that dermatologist appointment too! I remember going to the dermatologist every year growing up with my mom because of my acne. I would walk out of his office with a dozen prescriptions including a prescription for Retinol. My mom told me that one day when I was older, I would wish I could get Retinol for free with a prescription because of all of the wonderful things it could do for the skin. Retinol is known for reducing fine lines, improving skin tone and reducing pore size. After a year hunched over a laptop working with very little sunshine, my face needed all of the help it could get! These days there are so many products that have Retinol in them but some can be pricey and some are just not as good as what you can get from a dermatologist. Olay is a brand I have trusted for a long time so I decided to try the Olay Retinol 24 night moisturizer and see what would happen. Since most days I don’t leave the house and when I do, it’s not worth putting on makeup, I wanted my skin to look good enough where I wouldn’t need to wear makeup. Over time, I noticed that my skin looked clearer, less splotchy and looked good enough without foundation. I. was most excited about my skin texture and my acne wasn’t as red and went away faster than usual when I was using the Olay Retinol 24 moisturizer at night. For full transparency, I want to admit that my skin is very sensitive which is why I could never use the prescription Retinol because it would irritate my skin. With the Olay Retinol 24 moisturizer, I didn’t notice any irritation, but to be safe, I alternated wearing it every other night with a super moisturizing night time cream and the Olay Retinol 24 moisturizer. It gave me the same desired affect I was looking for and was able to get more use out of the jar.

I leave the jar on my bathroom sink so I can easily apply the cream to my face, neck and chest when I get out of the shower before bed. It takes two seconds to give my skin the nutrients it needs to look healthy and looking great without any makeup!

SHOP THIS POST

Regenerist Retinol24 Night Moisturizer

Walks Around the Neighborhood

Published on by blonde rosieLeave a comment

If you have been a reader for a while, you know how much I love a long walk. The last few months have kept me indoors because of the cold weather but once we got that 40 degree weather, I was eager to get back outside. I’ll admit that my jeans were a little snug but I was excited to get out of pajama pants and into real clothes. My route doesn’t change much and with my daily walks in the fall I have explored most of our neighborhood. Overtime I watched my neighborhood go from blooming trees, lush green sidewalk landscaping and warm sunshine rays to crunchy leaves and a cool breeze. Nowadays on my walks, I see dead tree limbs, bare bushes and dirty streets caused from the never ending cycle of melting snow with a new layer of snow before the rain can clean the streets. I’m hoping that the warm weather stays and brings life back into the many gardens and trees in our neighborhood.

For a neighborhood we recently moved into, I could walk these streets with my eyes closed. One thing I got out of this lockdown was being able to get familiar with each street and block. I was spoiled living in a beach town my whole life where everyone knew everyone. In a city, it’s a big world and I can feel small living in it. Neighbors rarely talk to each other with the hustle that comes with the city life. With everyone at home the last year, I’ve noticed railings have been painted, sidewalks repaired and other home projects keeping neighbors busy. When I walk past fellow walkers, we give each other an awkward wave as we step aside to let the other person pass or a head nod as we acknowledge our fellow walker. Cities are not meant to be this empty so when I see people, we are eager to make eye contact and smile even though it’s hidden under a mask. There is this sense of grace we are giving one another; a lighthearted joke and smile as a way to communicate, “I feel the same way.” I’ve had more conversations with our mailman and our Amazon drivers before 2020. I hope when this lockdown ends and things start opening up again, we continue to give one another grace and know how far a smile goes to brighten someones day. The once invisible workers are some of our most valuable workers keeping us safe and comfortable at home. I can only hope they get the praise they very much deserve.

Walking past businesses and restaurants in Rittenhouse makes me smile to see the busy foot traffic and creative efforts to make outdoor dining safe and fun. Philadelphia is not a quiet city and it’s working hard to stay relevant and busy. This time last year I was itching to get out of our house and missing our “old normal”. I found walks to be therapeutic and a great way to get some exercise in. It doesn’t matter where you live or how much money you have in your wallet, anyone can go on a walk and get inspired.

Getting A Deeper Clean with the Bissell Powerlifter Swivel Lift-OFF Pet Vacuum

Published on by blonde rosieLeave a comment

Bissell Powerlifter Swivel Lift-OFF Pet Vacum

Since we have been spending more of our time at home, I have been vacuuming more throughout the week. Not surprising as we both work, live and eat all of our meals at home so it’s going to get dirty at times! My most needy roommate is Ed the cat, he has adjusted to us being home 24/7 so he moves throughout the house to find a comfy place to nap and often leaves a trail of hair behind. We are all adjusting to our new normal right now and one of my new routines is a new cleaning routine with some new tools!

Last year, I purchased a vacuum and when I saw the pet model and the standard model, I didn’t know if there would be much of a difference. In the end I just bought the standard version because it was cheaper and thought it would work just as well. So far it’s been great and I have had zero complaints to clean up after my cookie crumbs and dirt that accumulates in our older house. It wasn’t until Bissell reached out to ask if I wanted to try a pet model vacuum. With Ed we thought it was a good thing to have and see if there was that much of a difference between our regular vacuum and a pet model.

Not knowing when the Bissell Powerlifter Swivel Lift-OFF Pet vacuum would arrive, I did my usual vacuum routine earlier in the week. When the new vacuum arrived, I took it out of the box and wanted to see if it was easy to use not thinking it would pick up anything since I just vacuumed earlier in the week. Our guest room slash my new office is rarely used and is carpeted so I wanted to see how it worked in that room. It was lightweight, easy to push and the swivel feature let me easily get to the corners in the room without using the attachment. It’s a small room so my jaw dropped when I saw how much dirt and hair was in the vacuum.

I pushed it down the hallway to our bedroom which has a rug over our hardwood floors and when I finished vacuuming the room that I just cleaned, the canister was completely full! The Bissell Powerlifter Swivel Lift-OFF Pet vacuum is an easy way to do a deep clean around the house. I can honestly say that I am so impressed with this vacuum and it has made cleaning up very easy.

Easy Everyday Contour

Published on by blonde rosieLeave a comment

Kevyn Aucion Contour Book

I’ve been getting ready in the morning a lot more lately and having fun using new makeup products that I’ve purchased the last few weeks with all of the good sales going on. My favorite product right now is the Kevyn Aucoin Contour Book 3 and I seriously love it! I’ve used other contour kits in the past and I spend more time trying to blend the shades to make it look more natural than I’d like. The Contour Book 3 has all you need to contour, highlight, and an ombre blush giving you plenty of options. I love the powder is translucent enough to look natural and easy to layer for more color. 


I like to apply Sculpting Light below my cheekbones, the top of my nose, and then the edges of my forehead. I’ve found on days that I want to take pictures, I use the darker shade Sculpting Medium along my jawline because it gives my jaw definition and hides my double chin that likes to make an appearance once in a while! 😉 


Next, I like to apply the highlighter, shade Beam, above my cheekbones, dab the sides of my nose and make a V with my brush on my forehead. A reminder that when applying a highlighter that less is more! Sometimes when I apply too much my face can look shiny, therefore it looks oily which it’s not. 


I love the ombre blush because I can swipe right with my brush to get a natural color on my cheeks or swipe left with my brush to get a darker color. With a clean brush, I like to make a 3  on the side of my face starting at my forehead, around my eye towards my nose, and then along my jawline. I have found it does a good job of blending all of the products on my face so they look even and natural. 


This Countour Book has been so much fun to play with recently and it’s difficult to mess up because the shades are all very natural looking. On Zoom calls with my family, I like to take the extra step of contouring when I get ready because the video can sometimes wash me out. When we took our family Christmas card photo, I used the darker shades so my features would stand out in the photo. In the winter months, I can get very pale and contouring is a great way to get some definition in your face that you can lose when you don’t have any coloring. For the summer months when I have a tan, I can use the darker highlighter shade Flash and darker bronzer color without having to get a new contour palette. Instead of fussing with a ton of products, this one product does it all and makes it super quick and easy to apply.  I hope this post has helped inspire you to try contouring and realize it’s not as complicated as it seems!