When my friends gifted me the Jaclyn Hill Palette for my birthday, I couldn't help but be immediately drawn towards the shade "Twerk". It was bright, vibrant, daring, different. Totally not up my alley in terms of my usual makeup look, but I was having so much trouble just settling on a soft brown in the crease and a metallic inner corner highlight; I eventually ended up doing the look you see above.
Lots of orangey tones in the crease with that bright pop of blue carried across the lid. All the shadows I used were from the JH palette; the oranges in my crease consisted of Butter, Pukey, Hunts, Roxanne, Jacz, and a little Creamsicle near the very top of my crease to blend everything together; I thought it added a fun little sunset-y vibe. Then the fun part came, packing that cobalt blue shade all across my lid. I sprayed my brush with a little Fix Plus by MAC to really get that pigment before I went in. After I applied Twerk, I went in with Chip, a chocolate brown, and applied the shadow where the orange and the blue met to create a smoother transition. I finished off with Obsessed as my inner corner highlight and voilà, my look was complete! 
Now to share some of the pros and cons of this palette. Although I love the shades and the formula, this palette has a TON of fallout - like, so much fallout. However, that didn't hinder he blendability and the pigment packed in each shadow. Despite the fallout, I do recommend testing out this palette for yourself because not only will it have your usual color scheme but it'll also you give you the opportunity to play around with shades you haven't experimented with yet. Overall, I'd give two thumbs up to Jaclyn Hill and Morphe!

     I have super sensitive skin, so once I find a product that works for me I really stick with it. I also have pretty dry skin, but in the summer, I try to keep things lighter. The following products are what I’ve really been loving for the summer:

Bliss Makeup Melt is my all-over makeup remover. It doesn’t sting my skin and does a solid job of taking my makeup (minus waterproof mascara) off. It’s cruelty-free and relatively cheap, so I definitely plan on keeping it in rotation.

Pacifica Sea Foam Cleanser is the only facial cleanser I’ve used that doesn’t irritate my skin. It’s a little pricier for drugstore skincare, but because it’s cruelty-free I don’t mind spending a little bit more. The face wash doesn’t do much more than cleanse, but it’s enough for me.

Pixi’s Glow Tonic is hands-down my favorite new skincare discovery. To me, it has a mildly rosy scent, but the real kicker is the absolute magic it does for my skin. I’m not even sure what exactly it’s intended purpose is, but within a few days of using it, my skin was significantly more radiant and even-toned.

CeraVe’s Moisturizing Cream is the only product whose cruelty-free status I’m unsure of, but after a long winter it did wonders for my skin. Alternatively, though, if I want something light I opt for an avocado or almond oil in place of a traditional moisturizer.

     I recently realized that almost every eyeshadow color I owned looked awful on me. Because I have dark brown eyes, rather than making my eyes pop, coral-y and orange-y colors made me look like I had just finished crying. So, for a while, I just stopped wearing eyeshadow entirely.



However, this changed when one day I purchased some purple eyeshadows, “Daddy” and “Issa,” on a whim. I’ve bought several Colourpop eyeshadows in the past and I absolutely love their formula, but these two shades are like nothing I’ve ever used. “Daddy” is slightly paler, more Easter-y purple, which is something I would usually shy away from, but when I put it on my eyes I was absolutely stunned. “Issa” is a deep, warm-toned plum color with a blueish glitter reflex, and it looks absolutely gorgeous in combination with Colourpop’s “Hammered.”


 I actually did a look with "Issa" for a banquet party about a week ago. I applied it over the lid with some deeper purples from an old L'Oréal palette. My outfit consisted of a purple-y color scheme with hints of emerald green throughout the details. Since "Issa" already has somewhat of a blue-greeny reflex, as I mentioned earlier, I decided to take "Donna" (also by Colorupop) and lightly tap it over my lid in order to intensify that green hue, and I absolutely loved it! Both of these eyeshadows are my new favorites and have paved the way for a long love affair with purple on my eyes.

For the longest time I’ve been searching for cruelty-free haircare but after trying Dr. Bronner’s shampoo, which essentially turned my hair to straw, I was a little skeptical to try something new. But, the last time I was at the mall, I decided to give Lush’s shampoo a try. After getting some help from the employees at the shop, I settled on Montalbano. I’m a huge fan of anything lemony, so I was sold on the scent right away, but I was also pleased with the recommendation for oily roots. Even after making the purchase though, I was slightly nervous as to how my hair would react to a solid shampoo. Despite my skepticism, I was pleasantly surprised! While in the shower my hair felt a little sticky, but as soon as I stepped out it was completely fine. I love the smell of the shampoo and it genuinely makes my hair feel clean. And, as a plus, I learned from the Lush employees that because a shampoo bar lasts about 90 washes, it’s the equivalent of about 3 bottles of shampoo. By using a shampoo bar in place of a traditional liquid shampoo, you can significantly cut the amount of waste you leave behind. This, combined with the way the Montalbano makes my hair feel truly has converted me to the way of shampoo bars.

Some poems my phone and I wrote.

1. Your body is much more than something to be sexualized. A few months ago, I was lucky enough to watch a woman give birth, and it truly solidified the truth that lies in the magic of the human body. 
2. Not everyone is your best friend, so don't expect undying devotion in return for all your aching. (And you are not defined by the people who do not love you.)
3. You will never get anything out of being unkind to people; I have never looked back and wished I had been less kind to people, but I do wish often that I had really done more to be good to people. 
4. But, on that note, you also have to prioritize who to be kind to. I used to think that it was unkind to call out people who said inappropriate things, but I have over the past 14 months come to realize that I am doing a great injustice and unkindness towards people I love when I fail to reprimand sexism, homophobia, or racism. 
5. You have to take care of yourself first. Nobody benefits from being saved by a lifeguard who can barely stay afloat themselves. 
6. The truth will set you free, but first it'll piss you off — let yourself be angry, and then make a change.
7. Only you can feel what you feel; don't try to prove your feelings to anybody else, your feelings are real simply because you feel them.
8. Some people just will not respect you, so don't try to please them in any way. Don't force yourself to be any quieter, louder, more or less intelligent, chill, or blind in the hopes that you will finally appease someone, because you won't.
9. Sometimes cutting people out is not the way to go. Everyone messes up and more often than not they deserve a second chance.
10. Travel keeps you sane.
11. "There is no boy at this age that is cute enough or interesting enough to stop you from getting your education"
12. You are not your weight/your GPA/your followers; you are not a number
13. Change is okay and should be fostered, not shamed
14. Make the most of what you have; you'll look back and wish you still had it
15. Value your time enough not to waste precious moments on things you hate
16. Don't invest your entire being into one person/hobby/thing; it's never not lead to heartache
17. Si vis amari, ama. (if you wish to be loved, love.)