Eye Brightening Favorites:

How's the new year going so far? I'm still wishing we were on holiday break. I spent a good chunk of my time visiting relatives, touching base with friends in town, and probably too much time indulging in Champagne. ‘Tis the season right? The best part about the holiday weekend had to be my social media detox and sleeping in almost every single day.

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Now that I’m back and feeling focused it’s time to start making moves. Usually, I mention my resolutions at the start of the year but I’ll share that a little later after thinking it through. I will, however, give you a peep of what’s going to be on there -  sleep more.

Last month, I was seriously lacking on the sleep, which comes with the territory of blogging and being a social media manager. And that lack of sleep definitely showed in my dark under-eye circles. Not a good look when out at events or early morning meetings.

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To look more fresh-eyed on little sleep, I use a couple of things: VII Code under-eye patches, eye cream, white eyeliner and concealer. It seriously makes a difference even when I slept three hours.

In full disclosure, I did receive the product for free from VII Code, but being the skincare junkie that I am – I actually have scoped this out (& bought) on Amazon. It’s that good you guys. Indulge if you can.

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When it comes to under-eye patches, there are quite a few on the market, but right now I love VII Code’s. Compared to other eye patches on the market this is more of an 8-hour overnight eye mask. VII Code recommends leaving the eye mask on for the 8-hours so your skin can help absorb the ecological plant oxygen extracts (which is an all natural herbal formula). Each eye patch comes equipped all the essential vitamins, antioxidants, proteins, peptides and essential fatty acids.

After prepping your skin for the night (see how I prep mine here) apply the patches on with the gel side on your skin. There’s no label but apply the thicker side on the outside of my eyes and the thinner side towards my inner eye/nose, as shown in the photo below.

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Upon waking up, I remove the patches and my eyes look revitalized and de-puffed from the get-go. VII Code recommends using them 2-3x a week, but I’ve been using them once 1x a week for that fresh-faced look. During NYFW I may go up to 2-3x a week.

Generally, after using these patches I don’t need much additional help in the eye area but for those incredibly early mornings I dab on eye cream (loving this K-Beauty find right now), apply white eyeliner to the inside of my lower lash line, and gently pat on concealer (highly recommend this one from NARS) with my BeautyBlender.

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For those of you looking to expand your eye care, VII Code is offering $5 off a three-box set with code RCS5-3HEX9L-Z9DYAM. The three-box set is a great starting point for those looking into a deep eye treatment.

Are there any new beauty or skincare habits you’ll be getting into this year?

Photos by Victor Cerejo.

Holiday Prep with Crest!

Ahh, the week before Christmas when everyone (me included) is trying to do a million things all at once. Should I even mention that 2016 is only a few weeks away? Yea.. let's not even go there haha.

It kind of makes me wish I was still an impatient kid wondering when the heck Santa was going to arrive. Sure the days were long but at least, I wasn't running around with my head cut off.

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Without fail, the holidays for me always turn into a mad dash to finish last-minute projects (all the coffee please!) while finishing up all my Christmas shopping. Needless to say, every minute counts.

Oh, and the holiday parties. So. Many. Parties.

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There are the get-togethers with the "in-laws", dinners with my fam, a few office parties, and then the fun boozy nights with amazing friends (these always turn into amazing nights). With enough invites to take me through the rest of a year with a gnarly hangover each day.

But just because my days are a little bit jam-packed doesn't mean I won't treat myself during the madness. It's important to keep myself sane, you know?

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One thing I really have been wanting to do is get my teeth whiten & straighten. It might be a little too late for braces, but I can whiten my teeth and undo the damage my caffeine addiction has done.

Whitening my teeth with Crest Whitestrips is pretty affordable and something I do before big events (read: all of December). It's super easy to use the strips, not messy at all, and can be worn while on the go. You can even drink water while they're on. For me personally, I love whitening my teeth and having the bright smile and bold lip. In fact, a bold lip is all I can do sometimes when so busy in terms of makeup.

For those of you that have sensitive teeth - these have not caused me any discomfort in the slightest and my teeth are super sensitive. Also, it only takes one hour of wear to get rid of years of coffee and red wine.

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Right now, Walmart is having a BOGO event for a limited time on these Crest Whitestrips which is awesome since I can give a box to my boyfriend. It's a pretty awesome deal since a box of Whitestrips can go for $57+ and these are coming out to $39.97.

Well now that my smile is covered all I have to do is make it through the season in one-piece (and get that Christmas list completed ASAP).

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DressGentle Fawn  Vest: Zara (similar)  Boots: Zara (similar)  Necklace: Custom (make your own here)  Backpack: Tumi  LipstickPlush via NYX Cosmetics

What are a few ways you prep for the holiday parties this season? Have you ever tried Crest Whitestrips before? I've been loving them since my High School days :).

Today's post has been sponsored by Walmart. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible!

Gift Giving Made Easy

Today's shop has been sponsored by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible! 
#GiftingAMemory #CollectiveBias

And just like that we're on the cusp of the holidays. How insane right? It honestly feels like we were celebrating Labor Day yesterday!

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Knowing how busy I was all summer, I actually crafted up my gifting budget along with the lucky giftees back in September. But I still have not started my shopping. With all the rushing and spending that will inevitably happen, I came up with an affordable Plan B.

Now if we're talking numbers I try to spend between $20-$30 per person. If I want to make it out of the season with my savings intact, sticking to these numbers is a must. I also want to try and get the majority of my gifts in one place to minimize the hassle of traveling all over the city.

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Year after year I'm gifted fragrance sets and personally - I love it. You can never go wrong with something that smells heavenly. Coty does have holiday gift sets that are not only affordable but can be found at your local Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS. And in case you didn't know COTY is the company behind a few mega-brands like Marc Jacobs & Calvin Klein. So, these guys definitely know how to whip up some smell-good delights.
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One of the many advantages about picking up one of their gift sets at my local Walgreens is that Walgreens is one those one-stop shops. I'm able to pick up stocking stuffers or additions to my gift, gift bags and holiday cards.

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For one girlfriend in particular, I did a little research before hand. I know she's a huge Katy Perry fan but I needed to pick the right scent that suits her spunky attitude but very feminine style. From Katy Perry's line, Mad Potion was just released, smells delish, and has great reveiws. It's a heavenly scent of Tahitian vanilla orchid, sweet peony, jasmine petals and apple musk. I also think the Mad Potion gift box looks fancy.

I absolutely know that she'll love this overall. I added in a new loofah too so she gets the full experience haha.

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See easy peasy! And now every time she spritzes it on she'll think about me. Oh, and don't forget the card.

What do you think of think of Coty's Holiday Gift Sets? Do you think it's a no-fail gift idea?
Find more ways to gift a memory this holiday season.