my daily make-up routine for 4 AM wake-up calls

As a creature of habit, I tend to use the same make-up products over and over again - that's why I've been using the same eyeliner and powder for over 8 years now! But I'm definitely open to experimenting here and there, and have found some amazing new products that I really love. My big goal when I do my make-up is to have dewy skin and brighter eyes - when you get up around 4 AM most days, I need a few extra products to look wide and awake when I may not be! Here's what my current make-up routine looks like - the ones with the * are my favorite "brightening" products!

1. *Becca Backlight Primer // I've had this bottle for about two years, and keep coming back to it. It just provides the prettiest dewy skin as a foundation for the rest of your make-up. It's great for those of us with drier skin!
2. Touch In Sol Primer // I do struggle with enlarged pores, especially around my nose, so I use this mostly in that region to help blur out those imperfections. 
3. Dior BB Cream // My friend Amy started using this BB cream last year and raved and raved about it, so I finally bought it last summer, and have been wearing it every day since then! I apply about half a pump to my skin with my fingers. It's the perfect medium coverage I was looking for, and a little goes a long way! Highly recommend this if you're lower maintenance but want a beautiful medium coverage BB cream. 
4. *Becca Under Eye Corrector // This is one of the newer products I've started using. I have fairly dark circles under my eyes (I've had them ever since I was a kid). This brightens up that whole area underneath your eyes. If I was less lazy, I'd also use concealer, but I try to have a speedy routine in the AM, and this I can just dab on with my fingers. 
5. Smashbox Powder // You guys already know this is my holy grail item. I've tried a bunch of different powders over the years, but none compare to this one. It's the best. 
6. Charlotte Tilbury Bronzer // I bought this on a whim last March, and have used it every day since then! I'm just now getting to the point where I need a new one. The "sculpt" side is the perfect color for light contouring and bronzing - I use this under my cheekbones, along my forehead, down my nose, and at my jawline. It just adds the perfect amount of glow to your face. As soon as I'm all the way done with this, I'm going to buy this kit, as I don't use the highlight side as much as I'd use a blush. 
7. Dior Blush // This blush is so darn pretty - it's one of those that makes a "custom" color or whatever with your skin tone. I don't really buy that - it's just a pretty pink color! I've had this for at least 9 months, and still haven't hit pan. A little goes a long way!
8. *Nars Eyeshadow // I don't have time in the morning for a lot of blending and all the things that come with a lot of eyeshadow. I have this in All About Eve, and it's the perfect lighter colored eyeshadow to bring some light to your eyes without looking like your eyeshadow is that white eyeshadow we wore in 6th grade (or was that just me?).
9. Stila Eyeliner // HOLY GRAIL, please never stop making this eyeliner! I always have at least two back-ups in my collection because I refuse to even try anything else. 
10. *Smashbox Eyeliner // I use this in the pale color for my lower waterline. It's a little trick to bring more brightness to the eyes, and this eyeliner is waterproof, so it lasts all day!
11. Anastasia Brow Pencil // Looooove this brow pencil - the thicker edge means it takes less time to color in my brows. I use this in taupe.
12. Anastasia Brow Gel // A quick swipe of this across the brows keeps them in line, and more defined. It also helps keeps them "on" for longer!
13. Urban Decay Primer // Another item I keep buying over and over again. I've tried several different eyelash primers at different price points, and this continues to be my favorite. I use two light coats, and I never have an issue with mascara flaking. It's my secret for thicker and longer looking lashes!
14. Chanel Mascara // I started using this after receiving a few samples, and fell in love with how long my eyelashes were looking. I previously never liked that kind of brush for mascara, but when I combine this with another mascara, it gets the perfect "long and lush" look I want. 
15. Lancome Mascara // I bought this a few months ago, and am getting towards the end of this tube. It's okay, but I like my Bobbi Brown mascara more, so I'll be repurchasing that once the Lancome one runs out. 

I shot a quick video of my make-up routine. Please forgive the horrible lighting - this was early in the AM, and I just finished a work out, so I'm still a bit flushed from that as well. 

top three [03.04.18]

got wedding decorations on the mind

medical tidbits //

• Bruxism: excessive teeth grinding or clinching. Botox is a form of treatment that can help with that!
• Speaking of botox, it can also help with certain urinary complaints, like interstitial cystitis and overactive bladder incontinence. It involves using a small scope, and injecting 100-200 units into the bladder in 1 ml portions. 
• And since we're on the botox topic, botox can also be used to treat torticollis. Botox: not just for your laugh lines!

I've got my eye on... //

• Everlane's newest tote - the red version is giving me major Mansur Gavriel vibes (the tote I always wanted but never actually went after). 
• A possible contender for my rehearsal dinner dress. I love the florals and the neckline!
• A new pair of clogs for work (in watercolor patent). I can't do the original Dansko clogs, so I'm looking for something with a little more arch support!

on the internet //

• I thought Allie's post about botox was really interesting. I personally have zero issues with Botox (and have been getting botox every 9 months or so for several years), but I found her thought process interesting and think she looks great either way!
• As a girl with a mostly neutral closet, Audrey's tips for incorporating a bit of color into my wardrobe is necessary. 
• How long does it take for your skincare routine to work? 

ask me anything //

• I remember a while ago you posted about compression socks for work. What brand do you use? I am looking for a pair or two!
• I wear these Sockwell socks. I now have like 9 pairs of them, and I wear them to work every. single. day. It's the only reason I'm able to be on my feet for so long! I wash mine in the washing machine, but air dry them so that the elastic doesn't wear out. 
• Do you tweeze/shape your eyebrows or is your shape natural? My eyebrows are blonde but thicker/denser than yours, and I have always been afraid of ruining their shape by tweezing.
• I used to get them threaded about every two months for probably 6 years. When we moved for residency, I moved too far away to see the lady I was seeing throughout medical school, and I didn't really want to find someone knew, so now I just let them be, and tweeze stray hairs here and there! 
• I've been searching for months now and can't find what I'm looking for, so tell me, is there a thing that exists that is more structured than a cardigan but not a blazer?  
• Yes! What you are missing is a ponte or knit blazer. It has the structure of a blazer, which adds a bit more ...well, structure! But when it's made in a knit or ponte fabric, rather than the traditional wool, it's as comfortable as a cardigan. Old Navy always has several styles of this type of blazer (here in black). Topshop has this amazing boucle blazer that I'm now adding to my cart because I love it. It's the perfect mix of structure and comfy that I think you're looking for!

quick sales to mention //

• Old Navy's 35% off everything: I just placed an order! I ordered a new pair of workout pants (they are my favorite brand for workout gear, and basically all I wear!), a new sportsbra, and this amazing striped dress that I really hope works on me!

this week I... //

• Did not go down to Florida as originally planned. My best friend and I planned a little three day trip down to the Florida Keys. I rearranged a bunch of my schedule so that we could make it happen. Unfortunately, my flight was cancelled and couldn't find a new one that worked for our tight timeline, after she had already been down there for 12 hours! We were both super bummed that it didn't work out, and that she had to spend the weekend alone. My take away: never flying Jet Blue again, and never flying on a trip separately! 
• Decided that next week, I'm going to restart BBG - the first round of BBG is 12 weeks, which makes the last week of the program the week of my wedding. Anyone want to join in on the fun? I'm already forcing my sister to do it "with" me even though we live in different time zones. I love spinning, but I need some weights to tone up these arms! 
• Start L&D days again - it's been a few months since I was on the day shift! This is my last time on L&D days as an intern, which is hard to believe we're already nearing that point! Excited to be a part of the crazy again! 

wedding planning: the decorations

Our wedding day is in exactly three months! I can't believe how quickly it's all happening. When you have a longer engagement, you think you have all this time, and then it's 13 weeks away and you're like...omg, what things do we have left to do?

A lot of decisions were really easy - once we chose our venue, it locked a few things into place for us. We have to work with the catering company they partner with, and they provide all of the food, drinks, and linens. Our venue supplies all tables and chairs. That's a lot of planning we didn't have to do! Then a lot of other parts fell into place - we booked our photographer, I bought my dress, we figured out what our bridal party is wearing (more on that in a future post), and re-booked our DJ (our first one flaked on us after having committed to us over a year ago...). 

I had talked to a few florists, and picked the first one I really talked to as I liked their work...and honestly, it's difficult to plan a wedding in a city you aren't from or currently live in, so sometimes you just have to go off "vibes". We had a long discussion about what our (mostly my) vision was for the day. Although we are doing a barn wedding, I did not want to go with anything too rustic, so no burlap, actual barn items, or anything like that. I also feel like "wedding colors" aren't a thing as much as they used to be - I feel like 10 years ago, everyone had very specific wedding colors, and everything from the bridesmaids dresses to the napkins to the invitations to the flowers were all in those two colors. Now I feel it's a lot more fluid, and more about the vibe of everything going together rather than everything sticking to two exact colors. So our colors are really just about being soft and pretty - lots of whites, blushes, gold, and navy. 

So I started pinteresting away, and since nothing we are doing is crazy out of the box, of course there is a ton of inspiration out there. So here's what we're thinking!

For my bridal bouquet, and for the flowers for my bridesmaids, I asked for a mix of blush and white flowers, with a mix of bigger flowers. Peonies will be at the end of their season, so lots of ranunculas, english roses, a tiny bit of baby's breath for sentimental reasons, and then lots of green! My florist's instagram has several of these types of bouquets, so I have a good idea of what it will look like, and I can't wait! The men are going to get simple boutonnieres with probably an english rose. 

All the fingers crossed that the weather cooperates and that we will be able to have an outside ceremony. Our venue supplies the chairs, and has an arch at the ceremony site. Our florist is making a floral piece for the arch (something like the one above, at least that's the picture I sent!), but then I'm a bit lost on what else we should do! I don't want to spend a ton of time buying and making things just for down the aisle, so I'm thinking getting flower petals, and having them be scattered down the aisle. When I brought that up on Instagram stories, several people said that makes it hard to walk down the aisle, so maybe we'll do it like the flowers in the right picture, where they are denser along the chairs. Just a little something to make it pretty, but doesn't require much work (or transport, because we're getting married 5 hours away from where we live). Any ideas? 

The only other real outside directions we are planning on is a welcome sign! I love the style of the one on the right, especially because we could hang it in our entry way at our house! But, we desperately need a sign that says the things on the sign on the left, so...we might have two? Maybe the welcome sign right by the parking area, and then the second one closer to the ceremony? Our guest list is very unbalanced (I have 10 family members coming, CR has 65...), so we need to sit scattered. I also really want the ceremony to be cell phone free, so looking for a polite way to express those requests. My mom and I will be making these, so I'm already looking forward to a little crafting season!

The Christmas after we got engaged, CR's brother made us this amazing set of cornhole. He stained them a beautiful dark wood, and we just love them. It gave me the idea of having several other lawn games at our wedding during happy hour! I just think it would be so fun for our guests. I think we're going to get some of these decals for the cornhole boards, and then make giant jenga and yahtzee, and staining them a similar color. Again, fingers crossed the weather is nice!

For the reception, we are doing long tables instead of round tables. I love the idea of everyone being a bit closer and being able to talk to more people. I feel when you're sitting at big round tables, you can only really talk to your date and the person on your other side, and this way, you're directly in contact with 5 people! So instead of doing a large center piece, our florist is making long green garlands with flowers scattered throughout. I'm a bit nervous about this, as I haven't see my florist make one of these (although they say they do them all the time). My big sticking point right now is that our venue doesn't allow any flames, so I can't have real candles. I still want the pretty light though, so we're currently trying to find some kind of votives to put little fake candles in. I don't want to see the fake flame, but I do want to see the flickering light, if that makes sense! On the edge of the tables, we will have some kind of simple way of displaying the table number. 

The last couple pieces are for displaying the seating arrangement, dinner, and drink menu. I don't want them to look just like the other signs, so we will have to play around with this for a bit. 

Gah, writing all of this out makes me realize we actually have a lot more decisions to make, and projects to do! Hoping that my off-service month in May gives me the time to finish all the little things :)

What are some things you loved about your wedding, or weddings you have been to? Anything I'm missing?