Back Home To Atlanta

Essentials for a fabulous flight: Bridget Jones and TONYMOLY Peach Anti Aging Hand Cream. This cream smells heavenly...like peach gummy rings.  You'll want to eat your hands. Which could be bad. Southwest has been pretty badass at letting you watch inflight free live TV on your devices.

I tried to be a good girl and work out during my vacation.  My ClassPass allows me to visit studios in any participating city. This was my first time doing it outside of NYC. I took Pure Barre in Decatur. It was neat to see a view like this outside the window rather than...my windowless studios in New York.  You're cute, Decatur!

While waiting for my friends to eat dinner, I grabbed an iced coffee at the Java Monkey.  It's a fun creative joint that hosts poetry night, musicians, readings, and other performances.

We ate dinner at Makan, a Korean Chinese fusion restaurant that was oddly located inside of a Marriott Courtyard.

Pork belly bun!!! Slow roasted local pork and pickled red onions. The pecan sugar was a beautiful addition to this traditional appetizer.

Shrimp and pork dumplings: thumbs up!

The fried chicken was tasty. I wasn't blown away, but I wasn't complaining while I cleaned up my plate. The ramen was meh, and my friend's black bean noodles (Jajang myeon) was not impressive.  Stick to the dumplings and buns here!

The Amazing Sunday Riley Line Up: Luna Sleeping Night Oil and Good Genes Treatment

Beauty bloggers have been going gaga over Sunday Riley's skincare products.  I was super curious about Good Genes (major Instagram/YouTube love for this one) and the Luna Oil.  Good ol' Sephora provided me with some samples, and in just one night, I was convinced that I needed a full-size version of the oil! 

I saw immediate results. My skin texture was softer, my pores looked smaller, blackheads disappeared, and my skin tone evened out (less splotchy and faded hyperpigmentation). It was unbelievable. Usually, I have to use products for weeks before I see any results. With both of these Sunday Riley products, there was instant gratification.

Luna Sleeping Night Oil

Affordable Dupe for MAC, NARS, and Smashbox? NYX!

According to the blogosphere, NYX is famous for replicating the results of more expensive brands.  For example,  some of the NYX eyeshadows are dupes for MAC shadows. 

The NYX Studio Perfect Primer and NYX Studio Perfect Primer are supposed to be very similar to Smashbox primers.  

image via totalbeauty.com

And NYX Cosmetics Powder Blush in Pinched is a copycat of the NARS blush in Orgasm.

image via persephonemagazine.com/

I really love my NYX Matte Lipstick in Alabama.  The pigment is fantastic, and it has a nice matte texture.  I also found the color to stay put for a long time.  It is known to be a dupe for MAC's Viva Glam 1. The other night, my friend Susi was wearing the lipstick in Perfect Red, and I was amazed at how well it stayed on her lips throughout dinner!

Here's my stash of NYX products.

I really love the NYX HD Eye Shadow Base. I use it as an eyeshadow primer, and it hasn't failed me yet.  At $7, it's a fantastic alternative to the expensive guys.  I haven't used it as a concealer, so I can't comment on that.

The left eyeshadow palette is the Runway Collection.  The right is Beautiful Green Eyes. 

Here is the brush for NYX Doll Eye Mascara.

Close up of NYX lipstick (from L to R) in Perfect Red, Femme, and Alabama.

Here is my look with the Runway Collection palette and lipstick in Femme.

Before Doll Eye mascara

After Doll Eye mascara

I went for a summer glow. The Femme lipstick is a tad more orange in real life. It is super moisturizing!  The mascara has a more waxy feel that helps lift up my lashes after curling. It also contains natural oils and Vitamin E to moisturize and protect. I went a little crazy with multiple coats so I should have separated a bit more. But I was still surprised at how little it clumped.  It has great reviews on Amazon, and you can see how it REALLY pumps up lashes for people who have way more than I do.

And yay to NYX for being cruelty-free!  Thanks, Susi, for my Perfect Red and Femme lips!