2017 Beauty Finds:

• Caudalie Beauty Elixir- After raving about it to me for months, one of my friends bought this for me last Christmas, and I have been a faithful follower ever since. I put it on right after I moisturize and my face feels so fresh and amazing and ready for makeup.
• Ok, so I didn't discover it this year, but it's still worthy of mention because it's made such a difference for me. This is my favorite body scrub during these dry months.....mm frankincense. My skin is so soft after I use it.
• NYX soft matte lip cream - this is my "lipstick on the go", it applies so smoothly. I'm not without the color Stockholm- it's my natural lip color, and makes me look polished in a pinch.
• IT cosmetics CC cream foundation - This might be my favorite beauty buy from the whole year ( I use shade "light"). It's the only foundation I have ever used where I can see a notable difference in my makeup. I only dab a little on my (usually rosy) cheeks and a couple other spots, and then use my watered down beauty blender to keep it light and minimal. 
• Glossier Cloud Paint- As one who naturally has rosy cheeks, I have steered clear of any form of blush until now. I love this stuff. It's easy to apply, and with my beauty blender it gives a "barely there" look. I like "beam" for summer and "dusk" for winter months.
• Glossier Boy Brow- Not to jump on the Glossier band wagon or anything, but this is another product that I'm really loving. I love the subtle texture it adds (more realistic looking than any other brow product I've used) to my thinner brows, and the color is spot on. The Blonde color does not have any red in it thankfully which is always my issue with brow products.

New(er)-to-me Instagram accounts to follow:

• Mathilde Lacombe- This French lady is so chic, and does a lot of makeup tutorials in her IG stories. The catch? It's all in French. I like her because she has great taste, has a similar complexion to myself (helpful with makeup tutorials), and gives great tips like white eye liner on the lower lash line (genius!)
• theannaedit- makes me laugh, her style sense if very similar to mine, and (I mention her later in this post) basically I want to be best friends with her.
• Jessica Anteby - makes me laugh
• Jessannkirby- love her take on New England style.
• Gaby Burger - I love her mixture of edgy and classic styles. I think I may have been following her longer than a year? 

Podcasts I discovered this year:

• "Off the Camera with Sam Jones" - interviews with actors/directors/people in the movie industry. Why do I love it? It's easy to see successful people and to make the assumption that their path didn't include failures or that they didn't second guess themselves. If you're a creative, you will love this podcast....and you will realize we are all in it together. Ps. I especially loved the episode with Jeff Daniels.
• "The Simple Show"- All about slow living, simple pleasures, and what that looks like to different people.
• "How I built This" - Popular for good reason, if you haven't checked it out already- you need to.
• "The Shauna Niequist Podcast" - Interviews that will inspire and teach you something new.

Favorite Books from 2017

• "The Curated Closet" by Anuschka Rees- Helped me to not only purge from my closet, but also more clearly define my style. I can't say enough about this book.
• "Chasing Slow" by Erin Loechner- Most interesting memoire, and so many good take aways.
•  "I thought it was just me (but it wasn't)" by Brene Brown - I know everyone is jumping on the Brene Brown wagon these days, but I literally was taking notes and am still referring back to them. 
• "The Four Tendencies" by Gretchen Rubin- Not the most grabby title, but this is such an interesting book on how different people are wired to respond to expectations. It's changed my outlook so much in how I see myself (and my failures and successes) as well as those close to me. Another one I want to keep around to refer back to. 

Blogs I started following in 2017

• The Anna Edit- Ok. My friend introduced me to her blog about a year ago, and I have been unapologetically obsessed since. I love her makeup tutorials, any and all of her product recommendations, her sense of humor and personality, and her capsule wardrobe. My only regret is that we can't be best friends in real life.
• The Vault Files - I love Gaby's effortless everyday style as well as workout looks.