Rachel Shoshanna

I’m going to start off this post with perhaps the most important favorite of The Blogger for this summer is YouTube - I’m finally following through with my desire to make videos, and so far I’m six for six on my goal of one video every Sunday! I’m really proud of myself, and even though the equipment I have available to me is limited, I’m having a lot of fun stretching a more technical part of my brain with the editing involved. Please go check out my most recent video and give me some views!

This consistent YouTubing also means I’m making some changes to the content on here - I’m going to make this blog solely a lifestyle blog. That means books, books, tv/movies, music, and such will be what you see here. Favorites will also probably be here as well, though I may do videos for that every once in a while. My YouTube will host exclusively beauty and fashion content, so if that’s what you’re looking for a highly recommend subscribing to stay updated! Now without further ado, here are my favorites from this past summer.

FASHION

If you watched the video, you should have figured out that chambray shirts, specifically this one from Old Navy, have been my jam this summer. I’ve also been living in these sandals from Old Navy. Maybe I should just say that Old Navy is one of my summer favorites.

I can probably count the number of times I’ve worn a real bra this summer on one hand. I’ve definitely been favoring bralettes in this hot weather, and this one from free people is by far my favorite one.

BEAUTY
I’ve been sticking with really minimal makeup this summer for the most part, so I’ve been using my bareMinerals Tinted Gel Complexion Rescue in the shade birch and the L’Oreal Lumi Glotion in the shade light religiously all summer. And when I feel like experimenting with my eye looks, I’ve pretty much exclusively used my Ace Beaute Paradise Collection palettes - I specifically have Classical Paradise and Paradise Fallen. Also, basically the only blushes I’ve used this summer are the bareMinerals Gen Nude Blush in That Peach Tho and the Burt’s Bees blush in Shy Pink.

I’ve also been loving a really bright pop of color - whether it’s in my clothing (similar to the one I have) or my lips. It elevates a look in two seconds and gives any outfit a bit of attitude.

BOOKS/TV/MOVIES

I read The Husband’s Secret, by Liane Moriarty, earlier this summer, and I loved it. The epilogue was one of the best things I’ve ever read in contemporary fiction. I also read the first book in the Darker Shade of Magic series, by V.E. Schwab, and it’s one of the coolest, most original fantasy series I’ve read in a while. It took me a second to get into it, just because it moved kind of slowly, but it picks up and the ending managed to completely surprise me.

All I’ve got to say as far as TV goes is Degrassi. I didn’t watch it back in the day when it originally aired, so I’ve been binging it for the last week and it’s honestly the best decision I’ve ever made.

A lot of great movies have come out this summer, but one of my favorites was Sorry To Bother You, the directorial debut of Boots Riley. I also had a blast at Ocean’s 8 and Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again.

LIFESTYLE

I started working out again this summer, and I’ve been feeling strong so that’s definitely a favorite. For days when I either don’t have the time or the energy to go to my gym, I’ve been loving the at-home, equipment-free workouts that are abundant on YouTube.

Some of my college friends and I do trivia basically every Wednesday, which is a great time and often the highlight of my week - we go to Amity Hall on the UWS, which in addition to having fun trivia nights, has great food and great drinks to enjoy with friends as well.

I’ve also been exploring New York City a lot more, and found some new neighborhoods that are really fun to walk around and find cool historical things - my favorites so far are Tribeca and the Lower East Side.

I’m going to end this favorites list here, before it gets too long. I hope you found some cool recommendations! Until next time 😁

New video is up on my Youtube channel! It's quick little tutorial on one of my favorite makeup trends this summer, just because it's so dang easy. I'd love it if you gave it a watch!

Black Friday sales are always tempting, whether or not you're someone who usually partakes in Black Friday. I'm not, typically - frankly, I think it's evil and exemplifies the worst of capitalism, but that's a post for another day. However, sometimes a good sale is too hard to pass up, and the one I let myself indulge in was ColourPop's. I got my hands on a few things from their current holiday collection, and after playing with them for a bit, I feel like like I finally have my thoughts thoroughly collected.

After watching ThatGirlShaeXO's haul video detailing the new releases, I decided on the Dusk 'till Dawn SuperShock Shadow Collection, containing six new shades, and two of the Ultra Glossy Lips, purely because of the fact that I didn't already own anything like these colors. Here are swatches of all of them.

Before I get into these specific shadows, I want to preface this with the fact that I already love the ColourPop SuperShock formula. The texture, as I'm sure you all know, is a really cool almost cream-to-powder, in that it feels sort of wet when you touch it, but blends out as easily as regular powder shadows do when it's on your lids. They tend to work best with a synthetic brush or finger - typically, I use a finger to apply mine. All in all, they are a really easy shadow formula to work with, and you can create any kind of look, from an every day one-and-done kind of deal to a super high fashion/editorial look.

That is honestly the only way I'd apply these particular shades. Feel free to pick up a brush to blend out edges once they're on, but for the best payoff of color and sparkle, just using your finger is optimal. Don't mistake this for me disliking the shadows, though. I really, truly love every single one of these shades - I think it's just a matter of figuring out how they are best used. 

I feel like this collection lends itself really well to more editorial eyeshadow looks. Any of them would look extremely high fashion just smeared all over the lid and through the crease. I don't know that they all qualify as duochrome, but all of them have a base that is one color (or not much color at all, as is the case with New Magic and Goodish), and sparkles that are one or more other colors, creating a really dimensional, reflective look. New Magic is one of my favorite shades because of this - the base is a very translucent white, with blue and green reflect in it, but all over the lid it almost has a glossy effect that is really striking (also, it can even look pink at certain angles?? I'm still trying to figure it out, it's beautiful). Another favorite for this dramatic all-over-the-lid look is Half Light - it has a maroon base, with a ton of green and gold reflect in it, so much so that it can look straight up metallic green in some lights and angles, and mostly red with a ton of sparkle in others.

However, if you're more into a classic halo eye, or some other every day , you can still come up with some really great ideas when you use these with some more matte shadows. I would classify Stargirl, Half Light, Babykins, and Slay Bells as all-over-the-lid and outer corner shades, as they are the colors with stronger bases. Stargirl is an elevated rose gold, Babykins  is a brownish red with a ton of purple and pink reflect, and Slay Bells  is a deep chocolate with red and gold reflect. New Magic and Goodish would be what I consider shadow toppers, or even inner corner highlights, because of how translucent their bases are, though where New Magic is white, Goodish is a pinkish lavender. The sparkle in them is honestly incredible and brings any look to another level.

Honestly, the only negative thing I have to say about what I got is that the glitter kind of gets everywhere, but when you use products with glitter in them, that's sort of what you signed up for. I don't regret spending any of my $$$ on these products, and I've already gotten a couple really cool looks out of them. I used them for a performance I just had, and I'm using them again next week for a Christmas party, and the excitement is real.

Until next time, and happy holidays!!