winter favorites! | 2019

Hey guys, how are you all doing? I hope you missed me! If you noticed (or maybe you didn't), I ended up not posting on Tuesday. I went to this business/finance event with my mom on Tuesday, and it ended up taking way more time that I thought! I didn't even end up going to the gym that day. Not only that, but I didn't really have an idea about what to write about off the top of my head. I was planning on writing a "Dear Diary" post, but it didn't end up happening...whoops?

Today, I'm going to start the weekend right, by telling you my favorites recently! I didn't realize it until today, but I actually haven't written a favorites post since the summer! If you do want to read that post, you can check it out here. Let's get right into it!

beauty

• L'Oreal Infallible Fresh Wear 24HR Foundation

Everyone in the beauty community was raving about this product. I have so many foundations that I still haven't finished, and I wasn't originally going to purchase it, but I caved.

I don't have very much self control when I know I want something and am going to get it anyways, so I got it about a week ago. Let me tell you, I LOVE it. It's a medium coverage, but it's buildable. It honestly feels like skin when you wear it, and wears beautifully. If you haven't purchase this amazing drugstore foundation, you should definitely check it out!

• Urban Decay Cherry Palette

I originally didn't really want to get this palette. While it had beautiful pink/red shades, which are my favorite. I had so many palettes, that I really couldn't justify purchasing another one so soon. In the end, my younger brother bought me this palette for Christmas.

I love this palette. It's one of those palettes I knew I was going to like, but not as much as I do now that I have it. The colors blend so well. The shades of pink are beautiful. I also love the metallics! Most of the shades in this palette are ones I don't have in my collection, so it was amazing to have! I love the palettes so much, so if you're looking for a palette with beautiful pinks and maroon-y purple-y pinks,  I suggest checking this palette out!

• Urban Decay Born to Run Palette

If you guys don't remember, I actually had a giveaway back in December giving away this product. While I thought the palette was beautiful, I didn't actually own it myself. Not only that, but I didn't think I wanted it, until I purchased one for the giveaway!

My giveaway ends, and one of my friends actually end up winning (congrats Erika!), and I ended up wanting a Born to Run palette all my own. My sister ended up getting me this palette for Christmas!

I love it. There are so many different shades and color combinations you can mix and match. Endless amounts of looks you can create. I love it.

It's probably that palette I would bring everywhere if I didn't know what makeup look I wanted to create. I really recommend purchasing this palette if you don't own it already!

• Colourpop Zodiac Palette

I didn't know I wanted this palette. It kind of just happened? I love Kathleen Lights. I watch almost all of her videos, and I've been a huge supporter of her since I found out about her (I promise, I was super late to the game with knowing who she was).

When I found out she was getting the Colourpop Zodiac Loose Pigments, I knew I wanted at least one of those. I needed to spend $50 to get the free shipping, and wanted to support her even more, so I looked through her other collaborations and ended up getting this palette.

It's an amazing palette, with some neutral shades and some fun colorful shades! It's also super affordable.

• Makeup Revolution Sophiedoesnails Extra Spice Palette

This palette actually wasn't a recent purchase. I've owned it since about Thanksgiving, so since mid-November? Don't quote me on that though. This is another one of those palettes that can create so many different types of looks. There are those oranges and reds, they have some neutral shades, and they have quite a few pops of color!

It's super affordable, and the color pay-off is pretty good. It's not so pigmented that you have to immediately worry about applying too much immediately (still always start with a little and build up!), but it's super build-able, so I love that. Seriously, another amazing palette you should check out.

• Too Faced Peach My Cheeks Blush Melting Powder

So this was a more recently purchase. I originally bought the Bronzer at TJ Maxx, because I found one untouched, and I loved the look of the creaminess of it. I completely fell in love with the bronzer. I went to a Marshalls the other day, and I found a blush in a shade I like, and it was untouched, so I purchased it too!

They have a soft scent of peaches, but it's not overpowering. It color it gives you is so beautiful. Not only that, but I love the creaminess of the formula. I don't know why they were at TJ Maxx, because they were literally so amazing, but I'm secretly glad I did, because I bought them for such a good price ($10)!

• Too Faced Peach My Cheeks Bronzer Melting Powder

There's not too much that I can add about this bronzer that I didn't already say about the blush. I honestly just love both of the products I bought from this collection! Check them out! You might even get lucky, and find them in your local TJ Maxx or Marshalls!

music

I have been using Spotify (you can find me under heyyitsmelina) recently again, and so I've been creating playlists so I can listen to all the songs I love in one section! This winter, I actually created two playlists. There are similar songs between the first and the second playlist, but only cause I haven't gotten tired of some songs yet! If you're looking for new music, check them both out!

      

tv

• Temptation Island

So you guys know that I'm a sucker for trash reality TV, and while The Bachelor has been a bit of a let down this season, they rebooted a show called Temptation Island. It's about these couples that are having issues in their relationship. They go on this island, and are immediately separated. All the males end up in a house with single females, and all the females end up in a separate house with single males. Cue the temptation. 

It's super trashy, but it's been my latest guilty pleasure. I honestly love it, and if you're looking for some new reality TV to watch, I seriously recommend checking this show out!

• Grey's Anatomy

All of my best friends have been obsessed with Grey's Anatomy for years. I thought it was an overly hyped show, and didn't really want to watch it. Then I ended up watching another one of Shonda Rhime's shows. Scandal was so amazing, and unraveled in a way that I didn't really expect, that I had to watch the rest of her shows.

Now, I'm all caught up on How to Get Away With Murder, and have gotten to season 10 of Grey's Anatomy. I'm obsessed. For those of you that don't know, Grey's Anatomy is a medical drama that follows Meredith Grey, the daughter of a legendary doctor.

It's a great show, honestly. I don't know how Shonda Rhimes keeps coming up with ideas and keeping the show fresh! 15 seasons is a long amount of time to have a show running. I still haven't finished the show, but I'm definitely loving it for the 10 seasons I have watched.

• Bob's Burgers

I always need a going to sleep show, and I've finally gone back to having Bob's Burgers in the background. Every time I watch an episode of this show, I always find something new to laugh about.

I actually own the first 8 seasons of the show, so I'm constantly re-watching them! Honestly, I've probably talked about my love for this show in the past, but I had to put this on here, because it is still a current favorite!

• Rick & Morty

This is another one of my sleep shows. This show is honestly hilarious. It's another one of those shows that I watch and I always notice something new! Whether it was a joke I didn't catch the first time or an animated detail in the background, I honestly love this show. They only have 3 seasons so far, but it's amazing!

• How to Get Away with Murder

This is another show I've been watching recently. I've been watching this live since season one, and it's amazing. The season finale of the show just happened last week, and the show is different from season one, but still amazing!

It has to do with this lawyer who teaches at a University. She takes on some students to help her  with some personal cases, and somehow ends up involved with a murder. There's so much drama and mystery, I love it!

Shonda Rhimes never fails!

It's another show I seriously recommend checking out!

• The Good Doctor

If you see any patterns here, you will know I love two things. Drama and Medical shows. There are three doctor shows in this post alone! This show is relatively new. I think it's on it's second season.

The idea for the show was originally from a Japanese Manga. It's about a medical student who is autistic. The show goes through drama between the main characters in the show. It also shows you his struggles as being a surgical student while living with autism.

Freddie Highmore (think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory & Bates Motel) does an amazing job playing a person with Autism. He actually won a Golden Globe for the Role! It's an amazing show, and another one I recommend.

• New Amsterdam

 

I promise this is the last doctor show you're gonna hear about from me for a while! This is another good one. I feel like most shows have that introductory period where they ease you into the show.

Not this one. They immediately introduce you to Max. Max is starting his first day as being the Chief of the hospital. His first order of business is to fire half of the staff. Throughout the first episode, you learn a lot about him.

The fact that Max has cancer. On top of that, you find out that him and his wife are having marital issues. She's currently living in her parent's home while pregnant with their first child on the way.

This show does things that I feel like other shows sometimes don't do justice. Right from the bat, the characters in this show seem so real. They all have issues that they are dealing with, and I secretly love it!

They are on their first season of this show, and so far it's amazing ( I know I've said amazing a million times in this post, #sorrynotsorry). Truly a great show to watch!

• The Punisher

This is the final show I'm going to be talking about in this post. If you have been following me for a long enough time, you would know that I am a huge fan of everything Marvel. Netflix created shows for lots of different Marvel Superheros. Daredevil (amazing). Jessica Jones (also very good). Luke Cage (interesting, but not my favorite). Iron Fist (my least favorite out of all of them). The Defenders (a superhero team made up of the four superheroes mentioned).

They also created a Punisher series. While I really enjoyed Daredevil, I have to say that I think the Punisher has been my favorite out of all the Netflix-Marvel original series'. Frank Castle, aka as the punisher, isn't a normal hero. He's kind of like an anti-hero (kind of like Deadpool). 

Frank Castle was a marine who fought in Iraq. After he receives his purple heart, he marries his perfect dream girl and has two beautiful kids. His life is flipped upside down when someone goes after his family. Killing them right before his eyes.

He makes a promise to himself. He will find out who killed them, and he is going to make them pay. Both seasons are amazing, and Jon Bernthal (the guy who plays the punisher) does an amazing job playing the part.

Sadly, Netflix said that they will be canceling the show, and will not continue on with a third season. I still recommend checking out the first two seasons!

lifestyle

• Peloton App

I honestly don't have much to talk about in terms of lifestyle. I decided to make this section to be a mix of anything that I can't put in the other sections, but at the same time don't deserve their own.

I've been going to the gym at least twice a week. I really love cycling and wanted to invest in a Peloton Bike, then I saw how expensive they were, and decided to invest in the app instead. I'm so glad I did.

When I go to the gym, they don't have classes, and I don't want to wait until later in the day to go to the class, and so I go to the gym whenever I want to and go through their on-demand selection of classes, and choose one where I like the music!

My favorite instructor is the Cody Rigsby. I think he's the only cycling instructor I've tried, because I'm so in love with him! He has great taste in music and just really motivates me to do my best.

The best part about the app is that they don't only have cycling classes. They do Yoga, Strength Training, Running, Meditation, Bootcamp, Walking, Stretching, and Cardio! I was worried that if I got the app, I wouldn't use it. But I've been using it consistently since October!

• UnderTale

I go on and off with phases of playing games, and moments where I rarely play anything at all. I've really been on a reading binge, and so I haven't been doing a lot of gaming at the moment.

There is one game that me and my sister bought last weekend, and have been binging, which is this one. We bought the game for the Nintendo Switch. It's an indie adventure rpg game. You're a human that falls into the floor a cave where monsters have been exiled to. You decide that you want to leave and make it back to the outside world. It's not as simple as you climbing back up. You have to go through the entire underground world. It's a lot of fun, and I really recommend checking out!

• Pokemon GO

I read a blog post recently, where someone talked about why she still plays Pokemon GO. I was stunned. I didn't know people really honestly played Pokemon GO. I love Pokemon, and was obsessed when the game first came out. Like most people, I felt like there weren't enough updates that were made to the game that kept it interesting. I lost interest and deleted the game.

After reading her blog post, I found out about all the updates made to the game and decided to reinstall it. I've had the game for about 2 weeks now and I'm obsessed. If you love Pokemon, I suggest giving this app a second chance like I did! They added a whole bunch of extra features that make it much funner.

So these are all of my favorites for right now! What are you loving as of recently? Let me know down below. As always, I hope you have a great day/night. Sending you love, strength, and positivity.

-Melina xxx