My Favorite Nude & Mauve Lippies!

Hello Friends and Happy Wednesday!  I LOVE NUDE AND MAUVE LIP COLORS.  This is old news, but because my collection of nudes and mauves is so extensive, I thought I'd share my top ten favorite lippies.  I've mentioned most of these lippies in previous posts, but if you want to read more about why I love each one, keep reading!  You'll soon realize that I have quite a taste for cream/liquid lippies and NYX Cosmetics lol.  So in no particular order, these are my favorites!

(I also tried to find photos of me wearing each lippie but I'm not that great at remembering to take selfies, so only a few of the colors have my face with them, but do ya really care about that?)

- NYX Lingerie in Bedtime Flirt

Described as a "red toned pink" on the NYX website, this liquid lip color has been my every day color since I got it a couple months ago.  It's pretty long-wearing, but like most lip colors, won't stand up to oily foods or big bowls of spaghetti.  I love that this lippie is a MLBB (my lips but better) color which makes it perfect for every day.  It's great for days when you want to go natural, however, the formula can be a little drying, so exfoliate them lips before you apply this!  The Lingerie line is all nude colors, so if this one isn't for you, check out the other colors they offer, because there's something for everyone!

Read more in my March 2016 Obsessions.

- NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in Soft-Spoken

The description of this color says it all - "mauve nude".  I also mentioned this lippie in my March Obsessions and I still love it.  This formula is super light and almost feels like you're not wearing any lip product.  It's perfect for the days when you don't want your basic nude lip, but something that'll make your lips pop without stepping out of the nude/mauve lines.  Like the Lingerie, it's a lasting formula but won't stand up to oily foods or spaghetti.  It's still a great color for every day and compliments any complexion.  I haven't met someone who doesn't look good in this color.

Read more in my March 2016 Obsessions.

- NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Rome

You're probably looking at the photo of Rome and thinking that it looks exactly the same as the previous lippie and you aren't wrong about the photos, but on the lips and in the swatches it's a different story.  This "medium nude with red undertones" is definitely more red toned.  I actually wore this color all day today and a few people told me they loved it!  The soft matte lip cream line is my absolute favorite because they're super soft on and every color is different.  I probably have like half of the colors.

- NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cannes

Cannes is my OG favorite.  I wore it every day senior year paired with another lippie that I will talk about later.  On the NYX website it's described as a "matte muted mauve" but I feel like it's more of a pink mauve, rather than a muted mauve.  It seemed like everyone was just as obsessed with Cannes as I was and although the rave has slowly died down, I still go back to this lip color quite often.  It compliments my light complexion well and is a really easy color to wear - it literally goes with any makeup look.

Read more in my Holy Grail Obsessions.

- NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Stockholm 

Stockholm is described as a "mid-tone beige pink" on the NYX website, but I definitely categorize this as a nude, not a pink.  It's the closest color you'll find to a "true nude" in my lipstick collection and I absolutely love it.  I used to be a huge L'Oreal Fairest Nude fan, just like everyone else, but I've only been reaching for Stockholm since I got it, when I want something more nude.  I love that this nude doesn't wash me out, because I'm already super pale.  It compliments a smoky eye like no other. If you have a paler complexion, definitely give Stockholm a try!

- Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lolita

I'm sure I've raved about Lolita multiple times already, but I just couldn't leave it off this list.  I wear it at least once a week and get compliments every time I do.  I didn't feel like this "chestnut rose" lip color worked for me at first, but once I got used to it, I wore it everyday until I got a new lip color. This lipstick never fails me.  It passes the oily foods test and the spaghetti test with flying colors every time.  The only downside is that like most liquid and cream lipsticks, it'll emphasize every crack if your lips are dry, but nothing a little exfoliating and lip balm can't fix!

Read more in my November 2015 Obsessions.

- Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in Rapture

Urban Decay's original Revolution lipstick in Rapture is one of my holy grail colors, and when I saw that they made a sheer version, I was a little skeptical.  I got this lipstick at Ulta when it was one of their beauty steals and I was taken.  I never thought I'd like sheer anything, but this lipstick changed me.  Since Rapture is one of my HG's, it was fated that I love this too.  It's a little more natural and more wearable for everyday.  It's a "sheer dusty rose" so it's on the more mauve-y end of the spectrum and y'all know how I love my mauves.  If you're looking for a good everyday lipstick that has a little more color to it, definitely check this one out!

Read more in my Favorite Holiday Lip Colors.

- Rimmel London Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss in 104

Like Cannes, I used to wear this every day of my senior year of high school and even paired the two together sometimes.  To this day I still love this lipstick so much and often find myself reaching for it when I need a lip color that will go with anything.  It's a mauve rose, two of my favorite things, and it definitely has a lasting formula when set correctly.  This lipstick is super affordable but really hard to find because so many other people love it as well.  You'll definitely find me sporting this color at least once a week.

Read more in my June 2015 Obsessions.

- NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Natural

The one and only lip liner I wear and absolutely love is this NYX one in Natural.  I pair is with most of the lippies on this list, including but not limited to Cannes, Lolita, and Kate 104.  I've worn it a couple times by myself, but I prefer it with another lip color on top.  It's not drying like a lot of other lip liners.  Natural is a "deep-tone beige" you can use it to vamp up a lighter lip shade, or use it as a base for any lip color since it's a more natural color.  If you're looking for a lip liner that you can wear with virtually any lip colors, give Natural a try!

Read more in my Holy Grail Obsessions.

Here is a cute little chart each lip color I mentioned! (Rapture and Kate 104 got switched around in the flash row, sorry!)

And those are my top ten favorite nude and mauve lip colors!  If you love any of the lip products I mentioned or have a new nude or mauve to suggest, leave them in the comments!  There's always room in my makeup collection for more of anything!

Thanks for reading!

Love, Cat <3

Cook With Cat: Mini Strawberry Cheesecake!

Hello Friends!  Like I mentioned two posts ago about wanting to share new things, I'm here with a new topic that I've always wanted to write about and that is... FOOD!  I love food and I love cooking, baking, eating, and all the other verbs that you associate with food, which I why I want to share my favorite recipes and hopefully you can try them out too!

For my first Cook With Cat, I wanted to share one of my absolute favorite desserts, CHEESECAKE! This cheesecake recipe however, isn't you average springform pan, baked cheesecake.  Nope, nope, nope.  It's a no bake, mini cheesecake recipe!  I've made variations of this recipe, but this is the first time I made this, and it turned out really good!  This specific recipe yields about 3 cupcake sized cheesecakes, but of course you can modify it based on how many you need.  I thought three was the perfect size because I'm a college student aka I don't need to make a whole giant cheesecake because I would probably end up devouring the entire thing.  It's a cute lil personal cheesecake!  It's an extremely convenient recipe because it uses ingredients that you probably have lying around.  Let's get on with the recipe!

Oh also, since this is the first time I'm writing this type of post, I'm still working on how I want to format it and working on taking better photos, hope you understand!!

Mini Strawberry Cheesecake!

Yields: 3 Cupcake Sized Cheesecakes
Cooking Time: Depends on how fast you move tbh

Ingredients:
2 Sugar Ice Cream Cones (or graham crackers, Oreos, whatever you want really)
1 Tbs Melted Butter
1 1/2 Tbs Strawberry Cream Cheese (or plain, whatever you're feeling)
1 Tbs-ish Granulated OR Powdered Sugar
2 Tbs Thawed Cool Whip
1/8 tsp Vanilla Extract
Cute AF Cupcake Cases

Directions:
1. Take your ice cream cones and put them in a Ziplock bag.  Since the ice cream cones were pretty fragile, I just slammed the bag on my cutting board until they were nice and crushed.  If there's any larger pieces you want to crush more, just take a wooden spoon and hit it a few times.  You don't want it to be super fine, but not super chunky either.  It should look kinda like this after you're done crushing them.

2. Pour your cone crumbs into a bowl and mix in the melted butter.  Mix it until its moist and crumbly.  A good way to know if you need more butter is to take the flatter side of the spoon and give the crumbs a good press; if they flatten nicely then it's probably ready, but if it seems too dry, you might need more butter.

3. Grab your cupcake cases and distribute your crumbs evenly into each case.  Using the back of your spoon or clean hands, press down the crust until it seems solid like ya I can hold up this cheesecake deliciousness.  Once your crust is ready, place them into the freezer to set.  No set time for this, just leave them in there until you're done making the filling.

4. In a new bowl, or you can use the same one if you're lazy, combine your cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until it's nice and smooth.  I used the spreadable kind of cream cheese so it was pretty easy to smooth, but if you're using that block on cream cheese, make sure it's room temperature because that block always be giving me trouble.

It should look like this

5. Once your cream cheese is all smooth, fold in the Cool Whip until completely combine.  TBH I totally stirred it in cause whose actually got time to stand there and fold things in.  At this point, you can probably taste it and decide if you want more sugar, Cool Whip, maybe more vanilla, it's up to you and how your tongue is feeling.

6. Lastly, grab your crust out of the freezer and spoon in your filling evenly into each crust.  Use the back of your spoon or finger, whatever, to smooth it out and then place them in the fridge to set for two hours or over night.  You can expedite this part by putting it in the freezer for an hour or two.

And you're done!  You can decorate them with more Cool Whip or good tasting whipped cream cause let's be honest, Cool Whip tastes like garbage, but power to you if you actually like it.  I put some cute little sprinkles on mine and forgot to take pictures of the final product because let's be real I was hungry.  Keep this cheesecakes refrigerated until you're ready to chow.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe!  I want to do more cooking and food related posts because I actually bake and cook quite often.  If you try out this recipe, tweet me photos @thecaitlynlee on Twitter and use #CookWithCat!  I'm excited to see them!

Thanks for reading! Happy eating!

Love, Cat <3

Monthly Obsessions: March 2016

Hello Friends!  For my first big post into the blogging game, I wanted to share with you all my Monthly Obsessions for March 2016!  I don't have a lot of things to share, but I've discovered and rediscovered a handful of products.  So without further ado... Let's get started!

1. Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner
When I got my hair dyed again back in October-ish, my hair stylist used this leave in conditioner after and it left my hair super soft.  It left my hair feeling like I'd just had a deep conditioning treatment and I knew I couldn't live without it.  It's kind of pricey, $17.95 for an 8.5 oz bottle at Ulta, or $5 for 1.7 oz (pictured above).  I'm a lil cheap-o so of course I bought the smaller bottle, although you get more bang for your buck if you buy the full sized bottle... Still like most beauty products, a little goes a long way.

2. Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief
When this moisturizer came out a few years ago, I tried it and FELL IN LOVE.  I had a little deluxe sample sized because I was like 15 and was spending my parents money, so I never got to have the full sized.  I tried tons a different drugstore moisturizers but none compared, until one day my aunt texted me and asked if I wanted it so of course I said OF COURSE.  This moisturizer is super light and absorbs super fast.  You don't need to wait twenty minutes for it to absorb before you can apply foundation which I love.  Again, it's on the pricey side, $39 for 1.7 oz (pictured above) or $52.50 for 2.5 oz, but I'm telling you Friends, IT'S WORTH EVERY PENNY.

3. Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Nail Polish in Babe Blue
For a while, I wasn't into nail polishes that weren't white, black, or baby pink, but I kinda started want to venture out again.  I found this nail polish and it was a color unlike any other in my nail polish collection.  In some lights, it's a periwinkle, in other lights its more blue, and it has really teeny tiny sparkles that you can only really see it you look at the bottle super upclose.  It's a super gorgeous color and it's perfect for the Spring months!

4. NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in Soft-Spoken
It took me FOREVER to get my hands on this, but once I did, it was over, I was in love.  This liquid lipstick feels amazing on my lips, almost like I'm not really wearing any product.  The color is similar to Kat Von D's Lolita, but it's exactly the same.  It's not super dark and wearable every day.  The only downside is that it has a light chemical smell, but it goes away once it sets.

5. NYX Lingerie Liquid Lipstick in Bedtime Flirt
Say hello to my new everyday lip color.  When these liquid lipsticks came out, I bought three of the colors because I have a problem, but out of the three, this one was my favorite.  It's kind of a MLBB color which makes it perfect for every day wear.  Similar to the Liquid Suede lip color, this one also has the light chemical smell that goes away once it sets completely, but it's also a little heavier on the lips.  You definitely know you have lipstick on and if your lips are a little dry, this lip color will make you feel even drier.  I really love the nude pink color and the lasting formula so much, it was easy to get over the downsides.

6. Alba Botanica Hawaiian Lip Balm in Pineapple Quench
If you don't know this already, I love me some pineapples, and when I found this lip balm in my school's little store thing, I had to have it.  This lip balm smells AMAZING.  If you love pineapples, you need to have this.  Besides the incredible scent, it's incredibly moisturizing.  I always apply it right before I go to bed and when I wake up, my lips are super soft and moisturized.  It's a couple bucks more than your standard Chapstick, but if you have some $$ to spare, pick up this lip balm, I promise you won't regret it!

7. Princess Mirror with Stand
Back at home, I have a nice vanity table with a mirror, and even though I love it, it can be difficult when you're trying to do eyeshadow or liner and need to look closer at your face.  I found this super cute mirror at Daiso Japan and it's the most perfect thing in the world.  It has a stand that's also adjustable so it you need to lean it further down to apply false lashes, it bends all the way back until it's pretty much flat.  No more having to hold onto a huge palette to get a closer look at what I'm doing, YAY! (I couldn't find a link to the actual mirror, but just go to Daiso, it's only $1.50!!!!)

8. H&M Mirrored Sunglasses
Niall has these mirrored, tortoise sunglasses that I love so much and I really wanted a pair just like them.  I found these at H&M for only $10 and they're actually really nice!  They don't look ugly on my face (thank god) and they fit really well.  Not to mention that $10 for a pretty good quality pair of sunglasses is something you absolutely cannot pass up!

9. Mini Gold Zodiac Necklace
Since December, I've been looking at Anna SacconeJoly's jewelry line and kicking myself for not having enough money to buy one of her zodiac necklaces.  I WANT ONE SO BAD so when I perusing the sale section of Urban Outfitters's website and discovered this necklace, I bought it before I could even blink once and I haven't worn any other necklace since.  It's a really dainty piece and goes great with any outfit.  The gold was brighter than I expected, but it grew on me and now I wear the necklace so much it's almost a part of me.  Because it's on sale, there's only a few of the zodiac signs left, so jump on it!!

10. Harmless Harvest Coconut Water
My one and only food obsession for March is PINK!  I love coconut water (and I've probably talked about that a lot before) so when I found this I had to try it.  First of all, it's pink and that's freaking amazing to me.  PINK COCONUT WATER?? I'LL TAKE THEM ALL.  Secondly, it tastes amazing. Harmless Harvest get's their coconuts from Thailand (I think?) and it reminds me of those giant cans of coconut water you get at Asian supermarkets.  It's the most refreshing coconut water I've ever tried and I'm pretty sure I've had like 10000 bottles by now lol.  (No link to a seller, but check out Costco or Whole Foods!)

That is all my Obsessions for the month of March!  I hope you enjoyed and I'm looking forward to getting back into blogging and sharing more fun content with you Friends!

Thanks so much for reading!!

Love, Cat <3