Hello lovely people! After using a ton of powders over the past couple weeks, I have found the perfect five that I absolutely love to use. Powder foundations and pressed powders are great for oily skin (like mine) and also for setting your liquid foundation. I sometimes prefer to simply put under-eye concealer on and dust powder all over my face when I don't have enough time to apply a whole face of makeup. I have a lot of favorite powders and it looks kind of weird that I have so many—I guess they just pile and pile in my makeup collection, and that's so okay! 

I am going to give you guys the full, in-depth, scoop about the best powders that I have discovered. Some are: more coverage than others, more expensive than others, and some are translucent and some are not. It just depends on your preference and that's why I'm here to share them with all of you!

Coty Airspun Loose Face Powder in Translucent Extra Coverage - This is a new find that I recently added to my collection. I heard Tati, one of my favorite beauty gurus on YouTube, always rave about this powder and I wanted to know what was up! So far I have been using it for about a week now and I really love it. I have the shade Translucent Extra Coverage so it's a bit more thick than the normal translucent. They also have a number of other shades that you can match to your skin-tone if you don't prefer translucent powders. I have really liked using a translucent powder over my makeup so I'm not like caking a bunch of makeup on. Plus, it doesn't cover any other face makeup you already put on.

With this powder specifically, I have noticed that my makeup lasts all day without getting oily at all. It's getting hotter and hotter as the months lead into summer and my skin just gets shinier and shinier. This powder prevents any speck of oil. My skin also feels incredibly smooth after I pat it into my skin. There's a little drawback and that's because it does give off a very musky scent but, I think that it adds to the whole aesthetic of the powder; it looks like something you would use in the 50s in a little ceramic powder jar! Besides that little detail, I love how it comes with a little puff! It's so helpful and doesn't make a mess at all. I really recommend this loose powder if you are looking for a great oil-free one!

Laura Geller Balance-n-Brighten Baked Color Correcting Foundation in Medium- At first, I thought this was some mosaic bronzer since it looked so colorful and gold-ish. To my surprise, it wasn't. But, since I was a little pale when I got this in the Laura Geller Beautifully Nude set, that you can read about here, I have been using it as a way to darken up my face a bit. Over the past week, I have been outside a lot and I think I have tanned enough to start wearing this as actual foundation. 

I really liked this powder, as it's my first of Laura Geller's collection, and I think it's really nice to use on those really lazy days when you don't want to bother applying a face of liquid foundation. During the summer, I kind of lay off the full foundation routine and go lighter with just a powder and this is great for that.  

Covergirl Ready, Set, Gorgeous Fresh Complexion Powder Foundation in #105-110- Covergirl has been like my go-to makeup brand ever since I first started makeup. I have loved their powders for a long time now so i thought I could include two of my favorites. This one is from their new line, Ready, Set, Gorgeous. I did a more detailed review of it a while back, here. This one is similar to the Laura Geller powder because it's not translucent and it's more full coverage. It's another great foundation powder to use when you don't want to use liquid foundation. It covers up pretty much all blemishes and keeps my skin matte for the most part!

Covergirl Clean Pressed Powder in Creamy Natural- This powder brings back so many memories from when I was in middle school because it was pretty much the only makeup I was allowed to use back then. My mom would hand down her old Covergirl powders (kinda ew) to me and I would get to use the rest of it. This is a very light powder and works to really set your liquid foundation. You can wear it without any other makeup for a really extreme natural look, which I normally have done over the past years.  

Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder in Transparent- It's a classic in the beauty guru/lover world and I have to add this to the list because it's just so good. It's another great translucent, pressed powder, and it really does what it says; it keeps you matte! It comes in seven other shades so you are more than likely able to find one that best matches your skin! This one is very easy to travel with and to use as a touch up because it's so thin and light. I think I have another one of these powders in my travel bag because I use it all the time, everywhere! 

I know I have a lot of powders but, they're all so amazing! I highly recommend these to anybody looking for a new powder to add to their collection. I use powder almost every day and it's become a staple in my morning routine now. I can't leave the house without making sure I'm all matte and oil-free! I hope this helped anyone in need of a new powder to try. I also hope you all have a great start to summer because today was my last day of final exams and I am ready to break free! Summer is finally here at last and I can't wait to see what journey it brings to my blog! 

What's your absolute, holy grail, powder? Any I need to try next?

Xoxo, Nat

Hello everyone! I wanted to do a post about something a little different than what I normally talk about. We all get caught up in everything around us and we are constantly in a routine. I always forget to remember what really matters and to stop worrying about the little things. Having a small case of anxiety, I set myself up in a trap of negative thoughts about something that I did or something that I should have done. This won't be a post about anxiety though, because I know that it's different for every person that has it. This post is going to share some things about how to make your "stressful" life a little bit better. 

I'm no expert. Let's get that known, but as all humans, I do get caught up in the whole "hustle and bustle" of things. I worry about other people and what they're doing way too much. I know that this may or may not resonate with everyone, and that's fine, but it's important for us to stray away from the things that people are doing. If someone is succeeding at their job or achieving their dreams, good for them. We can't focus on the success of others and let that guide our own futures. I want people to be proud of what they have done and not compare it to someone who has done way better than them. 

Comparing ourselves to others can become a huge issue. Especially with young girls; I see it at my own high school and in the media. Teenage girls are exposed to expectations that they have to look up to. I feel as though that some girls are pressured to live up to the beauty standards in media or at school and are forced to look a certain way by our society. For example, girls might compare themselves to models such as Gigi Hadid or whatever her name is. Doing this can be detrimental and very unhealthy because it can lead to self harm and an increased amount of body image issues. I think everybody has insecurities and flaws, but when we start to look at people who are "better" or "more beautiful" than us, we get obsessed with this ideal and begin to shut down. One step to stop comparing ourselves to others is to learn how to love yourself. Love your flaws, love your traits, love what yo' mama gave ya!

Hi friends! I hope everyone has had a nice weekend. A lot of my friends have been having graduation lately at my high school. I only have one more week left and then SUMMER! I have to keep in mind that my final exams are this week, too. How is it for you guys? Do you have any final exams? If so, please go check out my Final Exam Survival Guide that I wrote about a couple days ago if you need any help!  

I love beauty sets. I am obsessed with a great deal for makeup and whenever I get the chance to try one out, I am always super excited to review it for you guys! I bought this one this past weekend and could not wait to open it up and test all of the products. I am going to do a full review of each of the products that came in this set and also link them individually if they are sold separately. All of the products in this kit are full-size, so you really are getting a deal. I have never tried Laura Geller so I was really curious to see what this Beautifully Nude set was all about!

The Baked Balance-N-Brighten Color Correcting foundation was pretty cool to be honest. At first glance, I thought it was like a bronzer or a highlighter, but it's not! I was really interested in this type of foundation because I don't think I have seen anything else like it. Since I am still a little light from the winter, this shade is a bit too dark for me. However, I have been using this as a bronzer and it looks really nice! It's just a shade darker than my natural skin tone so I think it should be great for an all over foundation in the summer. 

This set also comes with a pretty nice sized brush. However, I don't think i will really use this because it is a bit weird. I think it would be a nice travel brush because it is double-sided. I just don't really understand the sponge tip on the other end. It's a nice thing to have, but it's kind of useless in my opinion. 

I was really excited when I saw this in the kit because it looked so pretty on the box! The Color Luster Lip Gloss was really amazing. I mean this shade is called Cookie Dough. COOKIE-DOUGH. Natalie, does it smell like cookie dough, though? Yes it does my friends, yes it does. This lip gloss is extremely moisturizing and does not crack or stick to your lips. It's not matte, so if you are looking for a matte lip gloss, I suggest you check out the Lip Pops Waterproof Lip Gloss. I'm not a fan of wearing lip gloss, but I love the natural taupe-pink shade and the feel of this lip gloss. Maybe I'll wear lip gloss more often now!

I was a bit skeptical when I saw this mascara. Because of the wand, I was a bit concerned about the quality of it. I tried it once I got home and to my surprise, it is a really great mascara! It separates my lashes and gives me a great amount of volume. I was worried because the wand was really thin and skimpy. It's actually a really nice, black mascara. There's no flaking or clumping either. You can build it up for a more dramatic look, too. 

I love baked eye shadows and when I saw that this little duo was in the set, I knew I had to get it. I don't know what about baked eye shadows I love so much, they're just so great! Maybe it's because they are creamier and more pigmented? Well, this Baked Color Intense Shadow Duo in Dolce/Raisin is beautiful! I just swept Dolce all over my lid and blended Raisin into my crease. It looks very pretty and glowy, too. I have been loving pretty champagne shades for this season; it really brightens up your look!

All of the swatches are beautiful. You can't really see the foundation...because it's close to my skin tone, but all of the others are really nice. 

A very nice thing that was included in this set was the Spackle Under Make-up Primer. I like to use pore-minimizing primers more, but I am really excited to try this one out! I have heard that it's really great for making your foundation application really smooth and to make sure it stays on all day. I read that this primer also contains Aloe Vera which is pretty great!