NMM: Beauty Beginnings: Summer Besties Tag!

Whether you’re feeling the recent summer heat and rejoicing or hiding, this tag will lend you some inspiration for the coming months! Started by MacBarbie07 on youtube last month, this tag has really gone around, and for good reason. I've definitely gotten some new items on my wish list due to this tag, but was hesitant to do it myself until the heat was here to stay. Now that the heat is unrelenting (and I’m driving in an air conditioner-lacking car to boot), I feel its time to really bring out all the summer gear.

Favorite summer....*
1) Lip product
2) Blush
3) Nail Polish
4) Liquid face product
5) Powder face product
6) Eye product
7) Self Tanner (or any tanning item)
8) Fashion accessory

9) Clothing piece

10) Book

*I did change this tag somewhat to better suit my preferences.

1. Rosebud Perfume Company strawberry lip balm

Fantastic formulation. Smooth, glossy, & just the right amount of pretty pigmentation. Smells wonderful. Does wonders for chapped lips. What more could you ask for?

2. Benefit Sugarbomb boxed blush

Benefit’s highly celebrated boxed blushes are great, and the most talked about would have to be Sugarbomb. The “rose, shimmering pink, soft plum, and peach blend” gives the perfect summer flush.

3. OPI Mermaid’s Tears nail polish

Marvelous! This sea foam green, from OPI’s most recent Pirates collection, is unlike any color I’ve seen. So pretty with sun-kissed skin. This new release should be every girl’s holy grail summer polish!

4. Nars sheer glow foundation

I actually began using this in the middle of winter, when I was having a hard time finding a liquid foundation to suit my dry skin. Now that my skin is no longer quit as dry, it gives a great dewy glow to the skin and just the right amount of coverage. Also, Nars foundations have an outstanding color selection!

5. Benefit Browzings

This is a staple product for me, but the powder (as opposed to the gel) is especially useful for giving your brows a neat shape while keeping it looking quite natural.

6. Mark make it big mascara in espresso

Never tried this mascara before, or a brown mascara either, to be honest. Now comparatively, I love that this formulation is far from wet, making it easier to give a “fluttery” effect, and the expresso color gives definition while keeping them looking naturally gorgeous.

7. Bath and Body coconut mango spf30

I don’t believe I know anyone who really enjoys the smell of sunscreen. While we’re all fully educated on how beneficial applying sunscreen regularly is for the aging of our skin, the smell doesn’t exactly lend to enticing us sometimes! I love this product because it does its job with the added bonus that it smells delicious and summery while being ridiculously easy to apply.

8. round sunglasses

What accessory could be more important in the summer months than sunglasses? In my mind, the thought “round sunglasses” goes hand in hand with Chanel and the Olsen sisters, which makes them all the more glamorous, right? This season I've seen many companies making this trend more wearable for diverse face shapes with beautiful designs and detailing.

9. burnt orange

Not necessarily a “clothing piece”, as I’m not currently finding many pieces I’m loving for summer yet. What I do know is the color I’m being most drawn to is a unique burnt orange that looks perfect with a tan while avoiding being to flashy. It’s a great mixture of being bright and feminine.

10. Influence by Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen

Thus far, this my absolute favorite read! I originally bought this book not knowing what it was about, but being a rather large fan of the Olsen sisters, I felt I had to have it. I was expecting some sort of auto-biography, but this went above and beyond any previous expectations. This book is a compilation of interviews with many people who influenced their lives in some way or another, and people they hope will influence our generation. With interviews with Diane Von Furstenberg, John Galliano, Christian Louboutin, Bob Colacello, and Karl Largerfeld, how could this book not hold your attention?! This book gave me new-found respect for the Olsen sisters and all the wonderful people who shared bits of their knowledge with them.

And that about wraps this tag up! I hope you enjoyed & possibly got inspired to try something new for the next few months. Feel free to share what you’re using now that summer is in full swingJ

Check out just afew of my favorite “summer besties” videos: