Stuff I'm loving lately...

I told you guys that I've been shopping my little heart out. I feel like I've finally managed to rein myself in a bit, but the damage was already done. And here are the fruits of my labor. You're welcome.

These Hunter rain boots.

boots / piko dress / kimono (sold out, similar here, here, and here) / necklace

If we're Instagram friends, you probably witnessed my inner turmoil as I grappled with whether or not I should keep the boots. To be honest, if I had bought them in a crazy color, I probably would have sent them back. But since they're a classic black, I justified my keeping them (with overwhelming encouragement from you enablers) by reasoning that I didn't have a pair of black boots that I loved. And that I can get away with wearing rubber boots all year long.

And given that I've already worn them three times since they arrived last week, I feel like my choice was solid.

This IT Cosmetics CC Cream.

Y'all, I've been on a serious hunt for a cc or bb cream that matches my skin tone and also provides enough coverage. When I subscribed to Birchbox, I got several, but they either (1) were way too orange on my fair skin or (2) provided zero coverage. If I'm going to sub something in for the world's best foundation, it dang well better do the job of covering up my uneven skin tone.

I recently subscribed to Ipsy because I wanted to see what the hype was all about, and I have to say that they killed it with my first box. There were several things I loved, but this It Cosmetics CC Cream is my favorite. It's full coverage (!!) and comes in several color choices. The Light shade happens to match my skin perfectly. And it stays. I haven't worn foundation in, like, a week, and I'm perfectly okay with that.

(no foundation, just the cc cream)

This color-depositing conditioner.

This red hair, you guys. It's wearing me out. I really, really love the way it looks, but it fades faster than the novelty of a new Katy Perry song (you know you feel me... I was sick of "Firework" after the first three days). Back in the day, Biolage used to make a great red color-depositing conditioner, but they discontinued it. This version by ClayPac isn't great in terms of the quality of the conditioner, but it does freshen up my color. So I just mix it with some Pureology in between my Wen washes (yep, I still love Wen and use it every other shampoo) and get the benefit of both products. They make versions for red, brown, blonde, and even purple hair.

Keep.com.

Have we talked about Keep yet? I don't feel like we have. It's a lot like Pinterest, but better. Here's why. You know how half the time you click on a link in Pinterest, and it directs you to a super shady website that has nothing to do with what you were searching for? When all you really wanted to know was where to find the super gorgeous shoes the model was wearing in the picture you clicked on? Keep solves this problem in that it is only for shopping.

So while the concept is similar to Pinterest (in that you "keep" things in "collections" much the same way you would "pin" things to your "boards"), and the interface is even similar to Pinterest's, there's no confusion in what you're "keeping." If you hover over your "keep," you'll see the name of the product and the price. You can shop directly through Keep (you still get the benefit of whatever shipping policy of the store you're shopping from), and the very cool thing is that I've gotten several emails from offering me a certain amount off my purchase. This is a really easy way to save money on something that isn't on sale. In fact, I bought my Hunter boots directly from Keep and saved $15 on them. If you want to see if they'll do the same for you, put a few things in your cart and then leave them there for a day or two... :)

There's a social networking aspect, as well, so you can follow friends or people whose style you like (not that you'd want to emulate my style, but feel free to come follow me here anyway).

So there you have it. What have you guys been loving lately?

This post contains some referral links, but rest assured that I will only ever share things that I love with you guys and would never steer you wrong.