Everyday Melissa

Just wanted to share a small little day in the life from my weekend in the Hamptons. A few of these are spread out from over the weekend, from biking through vineyards, to lunch at a general store, to shopping around town. I tried to take a lot of pictures but really found myself just enjoying the weekend and not worrying about anything other than relaxing and being with my family. Happy Weekend!

It is Monday night, 11:33pm, and I am in bed as I write this. I wanted to do a more in-depth Photo Diary of my weekend in the Hamptons, but I am exhausted from the day. But as I went through my phone, I thought I would share a few snippets. You may have seen a few of these on my Instagram feed (here) but some just didn't make the cut. We went away for five nights, four days and yes I took three bags, let me explain... one housed all of my clothes and toiletries, one carried my laptop, cameras, iPad, a planner and a book and the book bag was for everyday use, see it all makes perfect sense! For the days that I was there I also took my usual makeup that I've been going on and on about the past couple of weeks (here and here), surprisingly though my top go-to was the Lorac Touch-up To Go Concealer/Foundation Pen, this thing is amazing. It covers nicely without feeling cakey and blends easily. Perfect! But by the end of day three I was in need a darker shade. Another thing to note is the bare face, of course there were moments where I was just not going to wear makeup to be on the beach or in the water, so parts of the day consisted of no makeup, and it felt great! I also threw in a sort of ootd, since I didn't shoot any outfits from my weekend, where we took a quick little shopping trip in town where I mainly just bought chocolate (necessities people!).

As of tomorrow I will be away on a long relaxing weekend getaway at the Hamptons. So I thought I'd share an edit of my essentials. A Bikini - Mine is from forever21, I like to buy separates to mix and match with what I have at home. Black is always a good option to have. Shorts - Zara carries some phenomenal options. I like them to be a bit longer than the norm with rips in the right places. Sandals - A good pair of sandals is always a must. These black Valentino's are a great option to transition from day to night. A Camera - I like to carry a camera whenever I go away. This is the Canon S110, love it! Skincare - two products I will definitely take with me is Mario Badescu Facial Spray and Glossier The Balm Dotcom.

As you may probably remember, I wrote a post on my five-minute drawer (here). Well, my little drawer has very quickly become my everyday drawer, as predicted. How did this happen? I actually have no idea when I started wearing less makeup, maybe a few months ago as warmer days started rolling in? But, as of right now my minimal makeup routine consists of only 4-5 products that are in constant rotation, crazy I know. Here's the breakdown of my top products: Depending on the mood I usually go for one of two bases, Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint or Chantecaille Just Skin Anti-Smog Tinted Moisturizer . Both are fantastic and give such a lovely natural glowy look to your skin. But, if you're not into a barely their base, these just aren't for you. Something to also note is that Chantecaille does give a bit more coverage than Glossier, just depends on preference. For concealer I keep it simple and use Pixi by Petra's Correction Concentrate. I've really been enjoying this one. If you have dark circles or stayed up a little to late the night before, this is your guy. An easy to blend product that brightens underneath your eyes and makes you look more awake. What's not to love? Just remember that a little goes a long way. I keep things pretty basic with the eyes, meaning I use nothing other than mascara. I love the look of just bare lids and long lashes. I have a few mascaras in my collection but the one I always go back to is Maybelline Full N' Soft Waterproof Mascara. One item I forgot to add to the bunch is NYX's MicroBrow Pencil, which is a great dupe for the Anastasia Brow Wiz. For lips I like to keep my options open, a bold, a nude and a balm. For days I want to go bold I always reach for NARS Velvet Matte Pencil in Red Square, a rich red-orange that lasts hours, unless you're eating a burrito (trust me I've tried). For nude days, ha, I go for Maybelline Color Sensational The Buffs Lip Color in Stormy Sahara, which is just a perfect pinky everyday nude. To layer underneath any lip color I've been going for Glossier's Coconut Balm Dotcom. I am loving this stuff, I originally bought it to use on dry patches and as a nice glowy highlight as it does impart a nice sheen. But I've since started using it as a lip balm and on my cuticles, I've even had the husband try it out! Well, that was quite the breakdown, can you imagine if I used more makeup? For now though, especially during these hot summer days, I am perfectly happy with a more low-key natural look.

I wanted to quickly share this new book that I've seen floating around, especially after seeing Estee's Makeup Cleanse I had to check it out. The basis of this book is fairly simple, getting your house in order, meaning get rid of all the unnecessary clutter ALL AT ONCE. It's a long process, that requires you to discard by categories (clothes, makeup, etc), but seems to be a necessary process in order to live a happily tidy life. I definitely suggest picking up the book if you're interested. I haven't gotten far in the book yet (page 30), but I'm very intrigued to see how things turn out once I tidy up my space. I'm curious to know if anyone else has tried the KonMari Method, named after the author Marie Kondo, and liked it? Let me know if you have!

I know, too many toning spritz, right? Well, I am not ashamed! I love facial toning spritz's, they are so refreshing and help revive makeup throughout the day, what's not to love? So here's my line-up of growing products: Pixi by Petra Makeup Fixing Mist (set the makeup and leaves a slightly dewy face) / Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist (luxury on the face that is left for special nights) / Boots Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz (my favorite allrounder, refreshing, natural and simple) / Mario Badescu Facial Spray (one I haven't used as much, but still enjoy using to revive makeup) /Glossier Rosewater Spray (another great simple spritz that feels refreshing especially in the mornings) Special mention goes to- Pixi by Petra Glow Mist (for those days where you want to bring on the glow)