love is in the air

Happy Valentine's Day!

I thought I'd share a few festive tidbits of celebratory goodness.

For the witty and historically inclined valentine :

For the romantically poetic valentine :

For the literal and medically apt valentine :

via

For the movie loving valentine :

"It was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together… and I knew it." – Sleepless In Seattle

"I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you." – Dirty Dancing

"The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That’s what I hope to give you forever." – The Notebook

For any valentine, young or old :

I hope that your day of love is filled with all good things like chocolate and flowers, hugs and kisses.

pink & red & hearts

I like to pretend I'm not that into Valentine's Day, but secretly, I am. I think any day focusing on love is a great day. And because painting my nails is probably my favorite hobby/stress reliever/procrastination activity of choice, I have holiday themed them with pink & red & hearts. So here they are...

valentine's nails by riley-siddoway featuring essie nailpolish

forever yummy
essie.com

check-up
essie.com

fresh face in five

No one likes to leave the house looking or feeling anything less than their best. For me, leaving my house looking my best doesn't necessarily mean I've spent an hour doing my make-up. I've perfected my daily routine into an easy five-step process that takes maybe ten minutes each morning.

tinted moisturizer .  face powder .  neutral shimmer powder .  liquid liner .  voluminous mascara
I buy most of my makeup at Sephora but I have had success buying drug store makeup too (see L'Oreal mascara above).  

1. I start with a clean face and apply tinted moisturizer all over. I like this clinique one because it's a nice hydrating lotion with SPF, and it blends in and evens out red spots. 
2. I apply powder all over to set in the moisturizer. The bareMinerals matte finish is great because there isn't any shimmer and it's really light-weight. It never looks caked on.
3. Next I add a neutral powder or cream shadow (applied just on the lid) to lighten up my eyes. The Urban Decay pressed powder line has a really pretty shimmer to it.
4. I usually keep my eyeliner pretty thin and just on the top lid. Sometimes I like to do a cat eye, but if I need to be quick I stick to just the water line.
5. I end my routine with a quick eyelash curl and two coats of mascara. This L'Oreal mascara is my favorite kind because it goes on even and doesn't clump.

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