My Month In Film | February 2018

To say February was a whirlwind would be a total understatement. Work was the craziest its ever been (albeit a good kind of crazy) and I had a lot of plans for the month, which made those 28 short days feel even shorter. Despite the craziness I had a few nice weekends off to spend with friends and family. A lot of the last month wasn't documented because it was mainly consumed by work, so most of these images from my days off. However,  I have a lot of stuff planned for March so definitely stay tuned!

My Makeup Routine | Winter 2018

My makeup routine have become increasingly streamlined over the past couple of years. That is down to the fact that 1. I have become less excited about product launches and 2. I have honed in the products I really love and trust to get the job done. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a shift in how I look at my beauty routine. I think it also ties in my getting older and becoming more and more attune with myself and who I am. I know what I like, I know who I am, and I don't feel the need to experiment with different looks as I did when I was younger (although who knows maybe in a few years I'll want to pick up experimenting with my look again). 

Luckily over the past few months my skin has been really well-behaved (knock on wood that doesn't change), so I haven't needed much in terms of base products. If I'm ever feeling especially red or dull-looking I will use the Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint, which provides little to no coverage but helps even out the skin and amp up the glow just enough. Most days I just use the Makeup Forever Full Coverage Concealer, which I love especially during the winter because even though it does provide full coverage, it looks incredibly natural and works even when my skin inevitably gets dry from the cold weather. I then like to use the Bobbi Brown Corrector under my eyes and then Glossier Wowder to set everything. I then use a bit of Glossier Boy Brow in Blonde through my brows and some of the Glossier Cloud Paint in Puff on the cheeks. 

I used to be incredibly into eyeshadow, but now if I do wear eyeshadow I normally just use one all over the lid and it usually comes in the form of a cream stick (because I'm lazy). Whenever I have been using eyeshadow it is either the Burberry Eye Contour in Rosewood or Pale Copper. I've also been getting more and more into the look of just wearing eyeliner and mascara during the day. My eyeliner of choice recently has been the MAC Twist Kajal Liner in Groundbreaker, which is a rich bronze shade. I really like the look of smudging the liner into a subtle wing just to give the eye more dimension if I choose not to wear eyeshadow, and its a much softer look than using a liquid eyeliner. For mascara I've been sticking to my standard Fairydrops Platinum Mascara. 

During the winter I don't tend to prioritize lipstick because my lips are eternally dry and I also tend to wear heavier eye makeup during the winter anyways. I've been using the Laneige Sleeping Lip Mask religiously this winter, even during the day, and it has drastically improved the condition of my lips. If I do wear lipstick its usually NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Intriguing, which is easily the most flattering nude lipstick in my collection!

A Chat About Self-Love and Confidence

I know its a bit clichéd to be writing a post like this given the day this will be going live (i.e. Valentine's Day). However, I'm willing to embrace the cliché because I it's one of the most important topics I've wanted to discuss on this space. I know especially in the last few years there has been a lot about #selflove circulating throughout the internet, especially on social media platforms like Instagram. I am completely for people touting how much they love themselves on social media especially when its paired with a picture of the person looking unapologetically human, flaws and all, because we all know that we are bombarded with enough pictures of perfect looking people on Instagram (most of which are edited to the umpteenth degree). In other words, it's been nice to see an air of authenticity come through on more and more social media accounts, especially those of influencers. 

While it's great to see people flaunting their #selflove it can be incredibly difficult to be exposed to when you aren't feeling like you love yourself entirely. One of the worst parts of social media is that it breeds comparing yourself to others and I know that when I've felt at my lowest and I see someone's post all about them embracing self-love, it has made me feel like, "why can't I just love myself the way they do so easily". But that's exactly the point of self-love, it isn't easy and it isn't a quick fix. It can be an incredibly difficult thing to feel, and perhaps more importantly its a process to feel self-love. 

My relationship with myself has often been a complicated one. I have never been afraid to be unapologetically me, and I genuinely don't care what people (especially total strangers think about me), because at the end of the day I have a great family and great friends who love and support me. However, I'm also incredibly hard on myself and have often struggled with perfectionism, so, even though I may be proud of who I am, I haven't always been proud of myself (if that makes any sense). At the beginning of this summer I struggled intensely with self-doubt and feeling like I wasn't good enough, which majorly took a toll on how much I loved myself and my self-confidence. Feeling that bad about myself, made me feel like I was a completely different version of myself that I didn't like, because of that I made a concerted effort to really get to the bottom of why I didn't love myself and why I didn't feel good enough. And, believe me, its hard to be that honest and have those conversations with yourself. I have gone in waves since then of feeling great and wanting to tout #selflove on Instagram, to the next day feeling like crap. 

Self-love isn't a box to tick off on your to-do list and it also isn't something that you have to do alone. Of course, it isn't good for your self-esteem to be wrapped up in someone else whether it be in a romantic relationship or a friendship, but sometimes those closest to us can get us out of our own heads and show us why we should love ourselves.

My Month In Film | January 2018

January felt like just about the longest month ever. I don’t know if its the winter days or the fact that it was just slow work-wise that made the month feel so long but I’m so excited to be moving more and more into Spring. Despite feeling slow, January had some really good moments, especially since I got more weekends off, which left a lot of time for seeing family and spending some days out exploring the Bay Area with Brad. I am definitely looking forward to the next few months since I have some really exciting stuff planned that I want to share on the blog for you all!

The Neighborhood Diaries: NoPA

When I was planning content for this year, one of the things that got me most excited was the idea of creating content more focused around San Francisco. This gets me excited for two reasons: 1. San Francisco is an incredible city that has a ton to offer both to visitors and locals and 2. Most bloggers live in either LA, NYC, or London, leaving San Francisco out of much of the blogging world. Since I’ve lived here my entire life, I think I know a thing or two about the city and all that it has to offer. I’m going to introduce a series on this space for the next year at least called “The Neighborhood Diaries”, wherein I talk about a small neighborhood and all of my favorite spots within it, from restaurants, to shops, to outdoor spaces. First up: NoPA (North of the Panhandle), otherwise known as Western Addition. 

The highlight of NoPA is, without a doubt, the southern end of Divisadero Street. Nestled in between the Lower Haight, the Castro, and Hayes Valley, NoPA isn’t the most expansive neighborhood in terms of restaurants, bars, shops, etc., but it does have a handful of absolute gems. Combined with the fact that the neighborhood is also home to some of the most quintessentially San Francisco architecture, it makes for a great place to wander around on a Sunday. 

Eat ~ There are so many good places to eat in NoPA, and of course the most obvious restaurant pick in the neighborhood is NoPA, however I thought I’d stray a bit from the obvious and talk about a few restaurants that aren’t talked about quite as much. Brenda’s Meat & Three is one of the best places to get southern food in the city and it’s located right in the thick of NoPA on Divisadero. The whole concept is centered around picking one meat option and three sides, so to say you get a lot of food is an understatement. The fried chicken is definitely my favorite thing from the menu! Although it’s not the only location, the Souvla on Divisadero is one of my favorite restaurants in the area. All of the things on the menu are super affordable, and incredibly delicious. If you love Greek food and don’t want to be stuck in line at the other Souvla locations, this one is definitely worth checking out. There are lots of bars on Divisadero, especially dive bars, but Horse Feather is without a doubt the most innovative when it comes to mixed drinks. The whole vibe of the bar is super cool and very San Francisco, and while I haven’t ever eaten at the restaurant, I’ve heard nothing but good things.

Shop  ~ While Divisadero isn’t a huge shopping street, there are a few gems that are definitely worth a visit. Rare Device is one of the most well-known boutiques along Divisadero. They have everything from homewares, to prints, to stationary, and it is my go-to spot for getting fun cards for people.  BiRite is a grocery store and creamery and while I normally wouldn’t include a grocery store in a “shopping category”, BiRite definitely deserves a mention in this category. I don’t go shopping at BiRite for my everyday groceries (because it’s pretty expensive) but they are easily the best store in the city for specialty foods or if you are planning a really nice dinner party. Also, make sure you get some flowers from BiRite because they have some of the best seasonal arrangements! The Perish Trust is a store in a similar vein to Rare Device, in that it’s a super cute boutique, that is great for gift giving. However, the Perish Trust errs much more on the rustic side in terms of aesthetics and they are my go-to place for buying unique cookbooks and ceramics.

Wander & Relax ~  There is nothing more quintessentially San Francisco than Alamo Square Park, which is probably most famous because of the opening scene of Full House. While it is a tourist destination (which I usually avoid like the plague), it is one of the prettiest parks and because it is so big you can go to another end to be out of the way of all the tourists. Of course the view doesn’t hurt either. Sightglass Coffee is one of the best local coffee roasters and they have the dreamiest cafes right on Divisadero and Haight Street. It’s on of my favorite places to go and do work on my free days.  There is nothing more I love than a Sunday Farmers Market. There are tons of farmers markets around the city during the weekends, but the one on Divisadero is one of the quaintest and most relaxing ones. There aren’t tons of vendors but the ones that are there are great and are very reasonably priced, which isn’t always easy to find in this city.