you all voted on my instagram and decided that you wanted to see my summer beauty routine. my beauty routine for the summer is generally the same as my normal beauty routine, with a few small changes.

for this post, i have decided to highlight a few products that i swear by.

mario badescu drying lotion + rose water spray

i have been using the mario badescu rose water spray for almost two years now. i love spritzing it on my face after a day at the beach, after showering, after using a face mask, etc. it is super refreshing and it smells good too.
i just started using the mario badescu drying lotion and i am in love with it! this stuff works like magic; you put it on blemishes before you go to bed and in the morning they have shrunk significantly or they are completely gone. two of my must-haves!

i typically use both of these products every day because that's just how much i love them.

coconut oil + tea tree oil

i always have a small container in my bathroom filled with coconut oil and a few drops of tea tree oil. tea tree oil is an antibacterial essential oil so it is great for cleansing skin and coconut oil is an awesome moisturizer, that's why i put this mixture on my face before i go to bed. this blend helps with redness and also with blemishes.

face masks

as of late, i have been doing a lot of face masks. a few of my favorites are memebox disco kitten, origins charcoal mask, + epicuren chai soy mud mask.

colourpop concealer

and last but not least, a product that my friends and i call "the magic concealer." priced at only $6 this concealer is even better than urban decay, estee lauder, etc. with 30 different shades, it's nearly impossible not to find a shade for you. i have never used a concealer that covers blemishes and lasts all day, until now! i am in love with this product and i will never go back!

now with beauty routines, not all products work for everyone. so definitely try these things and if they don't work, don't feel discouraged. everyone's skin is different and needs different products. and remember, what really matters is your beauty on the inside, not on the outside!

xoxo, aubs

NH + VT

i just got back from a two-week adventure to new england and i wanted to share this adventure with you! as a lot of you know, my best friend lives in new hampshire and we try to see each other at least once a year. this year, i traveled to new hampshire for two weeks in hopes of starting fresh this summer. since my trip to new hampshire, i have decided to become a pescetarian (vegetarian who eats fish and other seafood) and i have also decided that i really need to start taking care of myself, mentally.

all of this was decided during my adventurous week to new hampshire and a little bit to vermont, in this post you will get a little more insight as to how such an environment could help me set these goals. so let's begin!

for starters, this trip to visit angela was very important to both of us, so important that i woke up at 3:30 am for my 5 am flight to boston. i barely slept on the flight because i was so excited and i also wanted to see the sunrise. God painted such a beautiful picture that morning, making known His presence with me during my trip. that day i met angela's new child (dog), bear. we mutually decided that i would be bear's aunt, so hello i am now a dog auntie.

during my trip we went to many cool places. we visited hampton, where we took bear for a walk along the beach.

i saw my other cousin, vanessa's new house and had a really fun dinner over there. angela, nicole, and i took a day trip to portsmouth for some shopping!

we went to ellis river in jackson, did some crazy hiking down the river and also swam in it. i ate some really good ahi tuna tacos while in town.

we took a roadtrip to vermont to visit some more cousins. vermont is such a calm place to be. life just seems to slow down while you are there. vermont is one of the many reasons why i would like to live in the new england region at some point in my life.

we celebrated nicole's 15th birthday by taking her out to breakfast, taking cute photos, and spending the day with her. angela and i also took photos that make us look like a couple, so typical.

we went to white lake, this gorgeous lake that is centered in the middle of the mountains. it's a state park in new hampshire, so it's pretty popular. while we were there is decided to storm for a good 35 minutes, but then the rest of the day was beautiful.

then on my last night in new hampshire (sad), we went and saw ant-man and the wasp. during the trailer for creed we all freaked out at how hot michael b. jordan is, what's new. we also took some movie theatre pics that are the real gems of my whole trip.

i'm still fairly sad that i am not currently with angela, but i know that we will see each other again soon.

thank you to jetblue for setting their prices low enough that i can afford to see my cousin more often. thank you to shipt for having a job that makes it possible for me to travel. and thank you to my relatives for taking me in for two weeks this summer. i am so grateful that this trip could happen.

till next time!

xoxo, aubs