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October 15, 2015 — 2 Comments

What to Read: October 2015

I’ve been reading some books recently that are all over the genre spectrum. Here are five very different books, one of which is sure to inspire you to pick it up. I’ve linked them all to purchase on Amazon, but if you can, support your local bookstore and pick them up there instead!

Modern Romance | Aziz Ansari
This book is hilarious. Aziz Ansari is known for discussing his navigation of the dating scene in his stand-up, and this book really takes it to the next level. It’s definitely not your typical comedian-wrote-a-book read. The book is filled of extensive research and data (Ansari worked closely with a social scientist), but it never loses his voice or humor. As a 22-year-old fully immersed in this exact dating scene, it’s a fascinating but lightweight read.

Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without A Date | Katie Heaney
The frustration of having a crush on a cute stranger has never been captured so perfectly. Heaney’s descriptions of her friends, herself, and her ill-fated crushes are intelligent and relatable. This memoir is surprisingly insightful and just tremendously fun to read.

Anna and the French Kiss | Stephanie Perkins
I have to confess, I love cheesy romance novels, and this has all the potential to be just that–except there’s a pleasantly surprising amount of substance to this one. This young adult novel focuses on Anna, an American spending her senior year of high school abroad in Paris, where she meets the perfect guy–who, of course, is already taken. The characters are smart, likeable, and most of all, believable. But the best part is that it’s the first of a trilogy, focused around the same school and the different characters within it, and Anna and St. Clair get to make cameo appearances in the subsequent novels as well.

How Dogs Love Us | Gregory Berns
If you love dogs, you will love this book. Gregory Berns is a neuroscientist who had the idea that in order to figure out what his dog was thinking–a question all dog owners can relate to–he had to scan the dog’s brain with an MRI machine. He and his team face all kinds of technical, legal, and behavioral obstacles in their quest, but find some amazing results.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) | Mindy Kaling
One of the best comedic books in my opinion (and one of the best titles), Mindy Kaling’s collection of essays covers everything from what makes the perfect best friend to what is the perfect amount of fame. Kaling’s voice is so honest and conversational and just so great, I want her to be my best friend. And her new book Why Not Me? just came out a few weeks ago, so if you read this and want more Mindy (and you definitely will), it’s a great follow-up.

What are you reading these days? Let me know what I should pick up next!

Published by Alexandra Adams in Books, Lifestyle

October 12, 2015 — No Comments

Beauty Haul: October 2015

I hadn't purchased any makeup in a while, and I've had quite the list of products I wanted to try and things I was running out of, so I took a trip to Sephora and Ulta and got some exciting new things!

FOR YOUR FACE

First things first: primers. I got two travel sizes of Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primers, one colorless and one color correcting. The color correcting formula really helps balance out the redness on my skin, and both help my foundation stay on extraordinarily well. A little goes a long way, and it really helps smooth out and soften your skin without getting oily.

Next up: foundations. I got two new ones, NARS Sheer Glow in Montblanc and Sephora 10HR Wear Perfection in Light Delicate Beige.

The NARS foundation blends so beautifully and is really buildable, so the coverage is really up to you. The only thing I regret is that it doesn't have a pump, it's just an open top. You can purchase one to add onto it and I opted out of it at the time, but I might go back and get one just because I think it'll help me use less product and make it last a little longer.

The Sephora foundation is great for my skin; it doesn't stick to any dry patches and definitely lasts all day. I will say though that the skin ID system Sephora uses matched me with a much darker and yellower foundation than I could ever wear. I'm super pink and usually use the lightest color foundation available, so we had to test quite a few to finally get to a color that matched my skin. But once we did, it worked out well, so it was all worth it in the end. I will say though to not be afraid of telling the employees what you know about your skin! You know your face better than anyone, and it can definitely help you find your perfect match faster.

And lastly, highlighter. I got Too Faced Candlelight Glow Highlighting Powder Duo, and I love it. I have very fair skin, and this adds the perfect glow to my cheekbones without being overly glittery. It looks really natural and reflects light so well. A little goes a long way, so don't be too heavy-handed with it, but it works well on the cheeks as well as on your brow bone and the inner corners of your eyes.

FOR YOUR EYES

I only got one new eye product, Too Faced Shadow Insurance Candlelight Primer. I meant to get the Champagne color but ended up with Candlelight. Too Faced's Shadow Insurance line is incredible; it's like a magnet for your eye shadow and never, ever creases or emphasizes any lines. The Candlelight color is a shimmery gold, and honestly works well alone as a base shadow. Talk about a great lazy day product. That being said, if you just want to use it as a primer, it's easily covered up by whatever eye shadow you want to put on over top of it. Highly recommend! When this runs out, I'm eager to try the Champagne color–it has a little more pink in it, which is great for me.

FOR YOUR LIPS

I got three new lip products this trip–which honestly is me showing restraint. I love love love trying out new lip colors, and I always want to try all the colors available. But for this haul, I got the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lovesick, Sephora Luster Matte Long-Wear Lip Color in Petal, and Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Blackberry Sorbet.

Clearly, I'm on a liquid lipstick kick, and I love these colors. I have several Sephora lip products, and they've exceeded a lot of my expectations in terms of having great staying power and pigmentation, and not transferring onto everything my lips touch. The Petal color is the perfect pinky-nude for my lips, and the Blackberry Sorbet is a great dark fall berry color. Love them both!

The Kat Von D liquid lipstick was a little disappointing, if only because it's been so incredibly hyped up recently. I found it to be more drying than other matte lipsticks I've tried, and the color didn't last as long as I wish it had. The color and pigmentation is gorgeous, however, so I do love it–I just have to make sure to keep an eye on it to make sure it stays on all day. This color did make me feel a bit like Kylie Jenner at the beginning of the day, which I kind of liked–take that for what you will!

FOR ALL OVER

Last but not least, I got some brushes. I'm still super hesitant when it comes to the nicer, more expensive brushes, because I'm not an expert on my favorite kinds of brushes or the best ones to get. (If you have any must-have recommendations, please let me know!) I tend to stick to the Real Techniques brush line because they're inexpensive but still of great quality. They never shed and they're dense enough to hold and distribute product without absorbing it into the brush. This time around, I got the Core Collection Brush Set, an Angled Foundation Brush, and a Setting Brush. They've proven valuable additions to my makeup routine and are all great for a variety of purposes, which I love.

Let me know what new things I should try or what products to get next time! What are some of your new faves or all-time holy grail products?

Published by Alexandra Adams in Fashion, Hauls, Lifestyle, Makeup

October 1, 2015 — No Comments

Top 5 Tips for Working from Home

I started this blog in June, and had all these grandiose plans of jumping in and having tons of fun DIYs, recipes, and thoughts on current design to post. I clearly did not know very much about blogging. I'm not usually even a big DIY-er or baker, so I'm not sure why I thought that because I started a blog, I would magically become this creative stay-at-home mom stereotype.

In addition, I don't have a ton of time or resources to devote to full-time blogging right now. Having graduated in May, I've been working toward truly beginning my graphic design career. Job hunting and blogging both take a ton of time and effort, and I feel guilty for not doing both constantly. I need to stop putting such pressure on myself and just do it! I've been keeping in mind the classic "start before you're ready" thought process and am really starting to just go for it.

I registered X•Height•Ment at the beginning of September, and have been working hard on that side hustle, designing stationery items and working on different projects. Adding that to my plate has been exciting, and really getting into the vibe of making things again has been incredible for getting my creative flow moving.

Something I've had to fight the whole time I've been writing is perfectionism. It's so easy for me to get caught up in trying to make everything I post the best thing I've ever written or the coolest thing I've ever done. Shorter posts are okay! People just like updates! And let's be honest, not everyone on the internet really has that long of an attention span anyway. I can't tell you how many drafts I've saved without posting because it didn't feel like 'enough' for a full post. So I've been trying to remember: An imperfect, published post is better than a perfect, unpublished draft.

All of that being said, here are my top five tips for working at home!

Get dressed. This is key for me. I love to lounge around at home, but I always get dressed when I leave the house. When working from home, getting dressed really helps put me in that productive mindset. Plus, if I have to answer the door or run out to get something, I'm already ready to go.
Set a schedule. I like to plan out my days, even by the hour. It really helps me set a pseudo-workday and plan my time effectively so that I don't feel like I have to be working on something 24/7.
Make lists (so many lists). I'm a list junkie. I make them for literally everything in my life. I have this perfect notebook that's long and skinny, and I make lists in it every. day. Listing helps me stay organized and helps give me that sense of accomplishment of checking off the box when I complete a task.
Take breaks (especially to eat)! I always make sure to include lunch on my daily to do lists, because otherwise I'll get wrapped up in my work and won't make time for it until like 4 pm. Short breaks help me come back to a project with fresh eyes and keeps me from getting too frustrated with a project after working on it for several hours–or even just help my body stretch and move around a little bit after sitting still or staying in one position too long.
Don't work in bed. Go to the library or a coffeeshop if you have to. When working from home, it's super tempting to just cozy up in bed with my dog and browse the internet all day. Moving to my desk or going somewhere else is beneficial for lessening that temptation and putting me in work mode.

If you have any more tips for being productive while blogging or working from home, share them with me in the comments or on Instagram/Twitter!

Published by Alexandra Adams in Lifestyle

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