In-flight beauty!

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Hey, everyone! I just got back home from a trip to visit some relatives abroad. It wasn't a crazily long flight - it was around six to seven hours - but it wasn't short and it was overnight. I don't know about all of you, but whenever I go on airplanes, my skin gets awful. I have combination skin, and all of the problems with my skin get emphasized even more when I fly. My T-zone gets super oily while my dry patches get even dryer. Not cute!

While I was applying a face mask (the White Clay Treatment Mask from Salma Hayek's Nuance line for CVS) to try to get my skin back to a decent state, it occurred to me that I could use a flight to pamper my skin instead of letting my skin get damaged and then trying to do damage control. I hardly ever give myself facials or anything like that because I don't have that much time, but on an airplane, I just sit there for hours without doing anything but watch in-flight movies. Why shouldn't I take advantage of that time and turn an airplane into a spa?

Basically, these are my ideas for products to use and things to do on the plane to keep my skin from getting so nasty - and maybe even do it some good!

1. Breath of Fresh Air from LUSH. I haven't tried this product, but I've been meaning to do so and have heard great things about it. Plus, as you guys will know if you've read my review of Lush's Ocean Salt Cleanser, I've been meaning to get more Lush products. This is a refreshing toner that contains nutrients from seawater, which makes it seem perfect for damage control, because it's supposed to hydrate your skin and tighten your pores at the same time. Plus, I love anything that smells like the sea.

2. Drink Up Intensive Face Mask from Origins. Any hydrating face mask will do, really, but I love this one. Nothing sucks the moisture out of your face than a long flight, so I plan to keep my skin hydrated and refreshed with a mask. Of course, I will run the risk of looking like a crazy person, but that's the price of beauty. I would just put a little of this into a travel container so that I don't get busted for having too many liquids in my carry-on luggage.

3. Hand cream. Sometimes airlines will put hand cream and moisturizer in the airplane bathroom, but this isn't a guarantee, so I plan to bring my own hand cream because dry hands are a pet peeve of mine.

4. Moisture goggles from Tranquileyes. Basically, these prevent the dreaded puffiness and dryness under your eyes, keeping you looking bright-eyed despite having been on a red-eye flight. Plus, they seem like they would shut out some light, too, which would make it easier to get some beauty rest, which is always difficult for me on a flight.

5. Popcorn Lip Scrub from LUSH. Another Lush product! I've heard so many amazing things about their lip scrubs. Out of all the products, I'm the most excited to try them because they seem to be one of their most raved about treatments. Anyway, my lips get really chapped and rough and painful on flights, especially long ones, so hopefully this lip treatment will keep them nice and soft.

I'm not sure if I'll do all of these things on my next flight, but I'm definitely going to try to do at least one or two things to keep my skin from getting as gross as it usually does. Do you guys do anything on flights to keep yourselves fresh? Let me know in the comments if you do!

Liebster Award!

Imagine my delight when I woke up this morning to find that Jenna from Northern Beauty nominated me for a Liebster award! Thanks, girl <3 Basically, a Liebster award is a nominated award from Blogger to Blogger. I'm kind of new to Blogger, but I'm going to nominate a couple of people so I can pass this award on! I'll also include the rules to continue the chain. Once again, thanks, Jenna!

1. Why did you start your blog?

I'm a very opinionated person, and I've always loved writing. I've done some blogging before, but those blogs were highly personal and not really meant to be shared with the public. This blog is still personal in a way, but more of a way to share my thoughts to others and build new connections. I was inspired to start blogging by YouTube beauty vloggers/bloggers like Tanya Burr, Essie Button, Elle Fowler, and many more.

2. What is your favorite thing about yourself?

This is a tough question! I guess my favorite thing about myself is that I'm open to new things and experiences.

3. What is your favorite type of fragrance?

Anything that smells like roses smells great to me.

4. What is your favorite blush?

Right now I've been loving Milani's Luminoso, but I just bought MAC's Dainty and I'm really excited to try that out.

5. Who is your style icon?

Ugh. There are so many. I don't really have one person in particular whose style I identify with, but I'm inspired by the style by many ladies, including: Audrey Hepburn, Lana del Rey, Marilyn Monroe, Mila Kunis, Beyonce, Leighton Meester, Lea Michele, Lauren Conrad, and more!

6. Where is your favorite place to shop?

For clothes, I love Forever 21, Topshop, H&M, Charlotte Russe, department stores, and consignment shops like Crossroads. For beauty, I love Sephora and MAC.

7. What's your go-to mascara?

Either L'Oreal's Telescopic or Maybelline's Falsies.

8. What's one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

Be yourself. You don't need to try so hard for other people. You'll attract the right people for you by just being yourself.

9. What's one of your must-have skincare products?

I love the products from Salma Hayek's line, Nuance. I swear by the walnut body scrub. It leaves your skin so soft and it smells amazing! I like my Lush Ocean Salt Scrub better but I tend to use that when I need to look especially great or when I feel like I need pampering or deep cleansing rather than on a regular basis since it's expensive.

10. What decade/era's fashion inspires you the most?

I'm really into casual, comfortable basics, so my style is mainly modern with a timeless twist. I also love old Hollywood type looks, though, from the 50's and 60's.

My Nominees:

Kerry from Dosage of beauty and fashion 

Kimberly from Caffeinated Book Reviewer 

Rules:

1.  Link to the Blogger who nominated you
2. Answer the 10 questions given to you by your nominator
(I would like to use the same one's as above)
3. Nominate 10 new bloggers for the award
4. Make up your 10 questions or reuse the 10 from your nominator
5. Leave a comment on your nominee's blogs about their award

Bloglovin'!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hey guys! I just wanted to let you know that you can now follow my blog with Bloglovin' if you want to stay updated on my posts! I'll be posting at least once a day, so I hope you do follow me. Do any of you have blogs I should follow? Comment below with them and I'll check them out!

Shade Spotlight: MAC Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Tempting

 

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I just went to MAC and got a few new products, but I already know the one I'll be using the most. MAC's Tempting eyeshadow is one I've had my eye on for a while, and now I finally have it. It's a rich, warm brown shade with a gold lustre finish. The best thing about this shade is that it's very versatile. If you use a light hand, then it can easily be used for the daytime, but it's also easily layered for a smokey eye. My absolute favorite look to do is a neutral, brown smokey eye, so this shade is perfect for me. It can also be worn all over the lid, through the crease, and/or as a liner. It's the perfect eyeshadow for when you want to do a single color look, which is often for me because I'm often in a rush when getting ready.

As always, MAC hits the jackpot when it comes to quality. Not only is the shade itself gorgeous, but the color is very pigmented and the eyeshadow goes on very smoothly. It has a very soft consistency and looks great on the eye. However, I do have to say that this isn't as pigmented as some of my other favorite MAC eyeshadows. However, it certainly is more pigmented than most of the shades you'll find in the drugstore or even most other high-end brands. This perhaps is not the best of MAC's eyeshadows - honestly, I quite prefer Woodwinked, which is also a shimmery brown color, but has a different finish and is more gold - but it is still a great shade and I know that I will be getting a lot of use from it.

If you're on a budget, though, there are some dupes for this shade. If you live in the UK, Sleek is an amazing drugstore brand that has great quality eyeshadows. I don't live there myself, but I do have their original palette. The second shade from the left on the bottom row is an amazing dupe for Tempting. Also, if you have Urban Decay's Naked palette (my absolute favorite eyeshadow palette ever), then Smog is a great dupe for Tempting. Also, for those in the US who are looking for a drugstore dupe for this shade, the crease color in Wet 'n' Wild's Walking on Eggshells trio (which is, incidentally, one of my go-to's for an everyday look) is very similar to Tempting. While these are all great substitutes for this shade, though, I still recommend that you get the original because of the quality and because none of these are exact dupes of this gorgeous shade.

Review: Lush's Ocean Salt Cleanser

 

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Whenever I pass by Lush in the mall, see pictures of Lush products, or see advertisements for the brand on the Internet, I'm instantly tempted to purchase something, anything, from the store. Not only does the store smell amazing, but their products also have the cutest packaging. That said, their products are on the pricey side, and I usually don't like to spend that much money on scrubs or soaps. I usually buy from the drugstore, since I find that drugstore products usually work just as well as more expensive ones do on my hair and body. However, a couple of months ago, I decided to splurge on my first Lush product, partly to see what all the fuss was about and partly because I am weak. And I have to say, it was worth it.

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, I decided to purchase Lush's Ocean Salt Cleanser, which is a scrub that you can use on your face, body, or both. That in itself is a great reason to buy the product, since you can use the same product for both your face and your body. According to the container, the scrub contains lime, coconut, grapefruit, sea salt, and vodka, among other ingredients. The container also says that this scrub is "for a complexion that glows," which is exactly what I look for when I buy things like this, since I'm obsessed with getting glowing, dewy skin.

I have to say that this scrub does accomplish everything that the package says it does. It feels a little rough on your skin while you're scrubbing it in, and the ocean salt and lime can cause an almost stinging sensation, but I actually kind of like how that feels. It really feels like my pores are being completely cleansed when I use this product. It also feels very refreshing and really wakes me up in the morning, which is great. I haven't yet used the Lush Ocean Salt Cleanser on my face, but when I use it on my body, my skin feels incredibly soft afterwards. It also does make my skin glow like the container says it does. Another great thing about this product is that it smells absolutely amazing - it always makes me feel like I've just stepped off the beach in the best way possible.

The only bad thing I could think of to say about this product is that it is on the pricey side and doesn't have quite as much of the scrub in the container as I would have thought it would, considering the price, but I honestly think that you get what you pay for because of the quality. I certainly have never been able to find something this great in the drugstore. It cleanses more thoroughly than anything else I've ever used, and it also leaves my skin looking and feeling soft and refreshed. I definitely recommend this product to people of all skin types (I have combination skin and it's worked perfectly for me, and I think it will work equally well on oily, normal, and dry skin types). I'm also really looking forward to purchasing more Lush products! If they're all as good as this one, then they're sure to find a loyal customer in me.

Welcome to The Pretty Alternative!

First of all, don't be fooled by the title of my blog. I love pretty things. I will blog about pretty things. Excessively. Pretty things make me happy.

However, this blog isn't just about pretty things. It's about ugly things, too, and all the things in between. Essentially, this blog is about one real girl's perspective on all sorts of things. Mainly, I'll be posting about beauty and fashion, but also about books, movies, music, and other things like that. There will be a lot of opinions, and they will all be mine. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading about them as much as I will enjoy writing about them.

Pull up a chair. Have a cup of hot chocolate. Maybe put some marshmallows in it, just because. Welcome to The Pretty Alternative.