Renpure's Keratin and Argan Restorative Shampoo

September 7, 2019Cruelty-Free, Beauty, Beauty ReviewKristenComment

Hello, my angels! I’m coming at you live from Long Island, New York, where I’m surrounded by boxes and piles of my belongings. Things are coming together slowly but surely, but I’m still overwhelmed!

Today, I’m writing about Renpure’s Keratin and Argan Restorative Shampoo. I found it in Target earlier this year and decided to buy it because it had great ingredients and my hair needed some serious restoring at the time. Since then, I’ve chopped a chunk of my mane off (which you’d know if you were following me on Instagram ;) ). My hair feels so happy and healthy!

Anyway, I’ve been trying to use more natural, clean beauty products lately. Renpure stood out to me in the beauty aisle because of this shampoo’s two main ingredients: argan and keratin. I knew that keratin makes hair straighter and smoother, and that argan oil has a ton of healing properties. I’ve learned from Renpure’s website that argan has lots of vitamin E, antioxidants, and fatty acids, which hydrate and refresh your hair. This shampoo was made with berries, apples, and desert lily, so it smells super yummy, which is really important to me all the time, but especially in the shower.

All of Renpure’s products are free of sulfates, phthalates, dyes, parabens, gluten, propylene glycol, and, my favorite, “bad vibes” :) Renpure donates personal care products to homeless shelters and people affected by natural disasters as well.

As much as I love Renpure’s mission and practices, I wasn’t the biggest fan of this shampoo. There was nothing wrong with it, but it definitely fell short of my expectations. I’ve been using it for a while, and I saw no difference in the smoothness of my hair or in my split ends, which I had lots of before I chopped them off. With such great ingredients and mission, I really expected more. I wouldn’t be against trying them in the future, but I probably wouldn’t go nuts to buy them again.

Have you tried Renpure’s products? Let me know what you think in the comments!

summertime sadness

August 28, 2019Style, Outfit of the DayKristenComment

overalls (similar). top (no longer being sold by Forever 21). sneakers. sunglasses (similar).

Hey cuties! Sorry I’ve been so MIA here lately, I’m packing my apartment up and moving my life back to New York! A lot is changing, which is really overwhelming, but they’re all good changes, so I’m getting excited. But first I’m gonna be sad about leaving the city I’ve spent the past four years in!

Today’s look is cute and bright, which is a bit different for me. I actually just donated these overalls because they don’t fit me too well anymore, but I loved the way they looked with this adorable crop top I got at Forever 21 years back. I chose my red Converse to match the pops of color in the top, and my sparkly sunglasses because a fun look requires some equally fun eyewear.

I’m getting so sad that summer is ending, but I know I have so much to look forward to in the fall. Comment your favorite summer memory!

bath and bodyworks' sleep black chamomile pillow mist

August 22, 2019WellnessKristenComment

When I was almost done with a bottle of Bath and Bodyworks’ “Sleep” lotion from their Aromatherapy collection, my best friend Kennedy, who worked at Bath and Bodyworks, informed me that they were discontinuing the line. I almost cried.

Flash forward to October 2018, when I received a bottle of Bath and Bodyworks’ Black Chamomile Pillow Mist in my College Fashion Week goodie bag. I then learned that Bath and Bodyworks revived their Aromatherapy line. Once again, I almost cried.

I’ve been using the pillow mist ever since, and I’m in love. I’m a big fan of aromatherapy, and this pillow mist is made with essential oils, so it’s right up my alley. The chamomile scent is so relaxing and almost transports you to dreamland. I love being enveloped in this scent as I fall asleep.

I’m really looking forward to trying the other products in this collection now that I know how much aromatherapy helps me! If you have trouble sleeping, or if you’re just a fan of essential oils and aromatherapy, I highly recommend giving it a try.

glossier's milky jelly cleanser

August 6, 2019Beauty, Beauty Review, Cruelty-FreeKristenComment

Hello, beautifuls! I hope you’re enjoying these reviews, because I love writing them so much. I have a lot more coming for you, so stay tuned!

I’ve been paying attention to Glossier for a while now (you know, like everyone else on the planet), and have been wanting to give them a try, but I wasn’t sure which product I wanted to get. Then, I watched an Instagram story that compared a regular makeup remover to Glossier’s Milky Jelly Cleanser, and I was so amazed. I knew I needed to get my hands on a bottle right away.

Basically, I’m famous for getting my makeup… everywhere. I’ve been using the same cold cream cleanser to take my makeup off since I started wearing it (just like my mom!) and even though I think I’m getting all my makeup off my face, I soon find tan blotches all over my towels and boyfriends’ shirts. Obviously, this plan has not been going well.

Then, I met Milky Jelly, and it was love at first cleanse. I use this to wash my face every night before bed, whether I’m wearing makeup or not. I’ve never found a face wash that makes me feel so, well, cleansed! My skin just feels so squeaky clean and silky soft. This cleanser makes me look forward to washing my face!

It also does a phenomenal job of taking off my copious eye makeup. I usually pump a little onto a wet tissue and rub it on my eye. It takes my makeup right off. I feel like it actually slides off my eyes. I don’t have to rub as much, so my precious baby lashes can live. And my eyes feel cleansed too. Did you know that your eyes could feel cleansed?

Since I saw the Instagram story advertising Milky Jelly, I’ve wanted to try the same experiment. So, I put on a ridiculous amount of makeup and took off one half of my face using Pond’s Cold Cream Cleanser, and the other using Glossier’s Milky Jelly Cleanser. I used two white towels to take my eye makeup off, and another two towels to wipe my face after I was done washing it.

The towels that I used on my eyes looked relatively similar. Though the cold cream towel looked darker, I found that I had more left on my eye than the Glossier side. The difference between the face towels, however, was pretty staggering. It’s nice to remind myself how much better, cleaner products are really helping me and my skin.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m Milky Jelly’s number one fan. I’m looking forward to trying more of Glossier’s products!

Her Campus' College Fashion Week Fall 2018

August 5, 2019Fashion ShowKristenComment

sweater. turtleneck (similar). skirt (similar). tights. shoes.

Hello, loves! Back in October, I attended Her Campus’ College Fashion Week at Boston’s Revere Hotel. I had the best time! The event had a ton of great sponsors, like eos, Almay, and Ulta. I was given a literal ton of merch from a bunch of other amazing companies when I walked in.

The bar looked so fun, but I was still 20 at the time, so I couldn’t enjoy one of their cute cocktails. I made a cute pink sparkly pin that says “You’re Doing Fucking Great.” It’s still pinned to one of my bulletin boards :’)

Then, I entered the main event space, where I was met with, essentially, a beauty wonderland. The first thing I noticed was a pool of purple eos lip balms that people were taking pictures in (which was held together by Velcro, fun fact). To my right was a huge Ulta Beauty Studio, where attendees could get trendy hair or makeup looks done and show them off in their adorable photo booth.

Next to that was a delicious booth by Chloe., a new vegan fast-food chain in Boston, where I ate a bunch of yummy chocolate chip cookies! Next, I ventured to Almay’s Cosmic Café, a spacey lounge area full of Almay products on café tables surrounded by ring lights to aid in all the selfie-taking. I could’ve gotten an ice pop there, but instead I waited in line for an Almay makeup bag and some of their Goddess Gloss.

On the opposite side of the room were Primark’s fall styles in three decorated rooms for, you guessed it, more pictures! Between the Almay and Primark attractions were rows of chairs and a small runway. Most of the seats were taken when I got there, so I stood on the left side of the runway, where I had a perfect view the entire time.

When Windsor Western, Her Campus’ CEO, introduced the show, the explained that this year’s theme was The Real Runway, so none of the models we would see were professionals. Most of the girls in the show had never even modeled before! I couldn’t even tell. They all looked like they were having the greatest time on the runway. They danced, smiled, and posed while the audience cheered them on. It was such a positive experience.

The looks on the runway were SO cute too! The show was split into three sections: Modern Nomad, Printed Paradise, and Power Pose. All three featured clothes from Primark, the second featured MATTER as well, and the last included pieces from hcxo.shop, Feminist Goods, Ali & Ariel, femininitees, and Sleep Riot. To see some of the adorable looks that were featured, check out the “runway” highlight on my Instagram!

After the show, I decided to take some pictures at Primark’s and eos’ booths since the lines were starting to wind down. Since I attended the event alone, I didn’t have anyone to take my pictures. Thankfully, everyone working the event was super sweet, and they enthusiastically snapped candids of me while cheering me on.

Overall, I had the best time at Her Campus’ College Fashion Week! I’m upset that I never knew this event existed when I was in my earlier years of college. If Her Campus brings this event to your city next fall, I would definitely recommend attending.