A Tale of Three Primers: Cover FX Blemish Treatment, Calming, and Mattifying Primers

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Summer is here in Southern California and it's starting to rear its hot head with a vengeance. At the same time, we've been having bouts of fluctuating cooler weather and even rain (always welcome during the drought). As a result, my skin hasn't been handling the changes well and has been becoming more acne-prone, oily, and irritated.

To try to handle that, I've been incorporating a few of the Cover FX Primers into my routine. Cover FX is unique in that they try to mix both skincare and makeup in their products. Even on days that I don't wear makeup, I try to add in the primers since they're multi-tasking. I wouldn't and don't recommend solely relying on your makeup to fulfill your skincare needs, but it's always nice to get a boost from what you're already wearing.

Nails of the Day: Turquoise Stone Nail Art

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Today's nail art is inspired by turquoise stones. I saw a tutorial to create a "stone" look using black nail polish and hairspray and the effect looked too cool not to try. I like how the nail art is unique between each nail and the look feels more organic as a result! This tutorial on Nail It! Magazine shows how you can do it. It does take a few tries but it looks super fancy when you're done.

The base is China Glaze For Audrey and the black polish is a no-name beauty supply polish (feel free to use any opaque black polish). You could honestly use any base color you wanted and still get a really cool effect!

Are you wearing any nail polish today? If so, what color?

Life's Entropy Lip Theory Liquids: Swatches and Review

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Another product from Life's Entropy is their Lip Theory Liquids, their take on the OCC Lip Tars. These take the concept and dial it up to 11 by offering empty gloss tubes to custom mix colors and also a clear lip theory that lets you to mix any of their or your lip safe eyeshadows with. I appreciate how the concept really lets you customize the gloss you do want. These are a vegan product too.

I got a full size and four samples of the lip theory liquids to try out.

The Triple Threat to Tackling Dark Circles

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As Benjamin Franklin said, "Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes" but it's worth adding dark undereye circles to that list.  While dark undereye circles can be exacerbated by certain factors (lack of sleep, dehydration etc), it's often hereditary in nature. However, the look of dark circles can be conquered with a three tiered system: Eye cream, Peachy corrector, and Undereye concealer. Here are my budget and splurge picks for all three items.