Over the past year I've felt myself maturing in different ways, but one way I know for sure my frontal lobe has fully developed? My need for neutral nails. I used to love my bright, fun colors like green, blue, and purple, or on the other end of the spectrum I loved a black polish but lately I just want something simple. 

I definitely still enjoy a color...but mostly in the pink or peach family, or if it's the colder months I love a brown. However, when I want a true color, especially in the 'in-between months' I'm probably going with red.

The issue I was running into was that all my Olive & June red polishes are too dark, too bright, or have the wrong undertone. None of the polishes were a true, blue red until now.

Olive & June has admitted that they haven't had a blue-red but are not answering for their sins with one of their newer shades 'Secret Recipe' I am still on my low-buy and not indulging in as many nail polish purchases as I usually do, but I needed to restock some of my nail care items so it was a good time to place an order. 

 There are very few beauty products that have stood the test of time in regards to my favorites. As someone who loves to try new things, it's rare that I continually buy the same product time after time. Sure, I've gone through mascara and foundation phases, but usually after the second or third time buying something, I'm ready for something new.

That logic does not apply to this particular product. 

When I first found out about the Clé de Peau Concealer about 10 years ago, I knew that I had to have it. My dark under eye circles have always been my biggest beauty pain point and for that reason concealer is my all time favorite product to test and try. If I'm putting one makeup item on, it's going to be concealer, so wouldn't it just be natural for me to fall head over heels for a $75 concealer that is like a magic eraser? 

No one wants to spend $75 on a concealer but when it's this good, when it lasts you years (well past the expiration date), you do it. 

the packaging has changed recently and i'm sure how i feel - the left  is my new tube

I just repurchased my fourth tube of this magic stick so I figured it was the perfect time for a review.

This past fall I got hooked on gel manicures because of their long lasting nature and how shiny & chic they looked. What I didn't love was the cost, sitting in the manicure chair and how I felt entrapped by the color for at least two weeks. I also have realized that I suffer from sensory issues and sometimes the feeling of thick nail polish on fingers sent shivers down my spine.

How could I mitigate the cons and still keep the pros? It was like Olive & June heard my prayers and answered them in quick succession.

Right before Christmas, my favorite nail polish brand released their at home gel manicure system and I don't know the last time I pressed checkout so fast. I bought the full gel system with 6 colors-- all which I have the regular polishes for too which made it easy to choose. 

 Well friends, another year has been completed and we're mere days away from ringing in 2025. It sounds like a fake year, something you hear in an episode of The Jetsons, but believe it or not, it's real. I don't really know how I feel about 2025 yet -- I think it's going to be a great year for me personally but for the collective world, I think we're in for some trouble. I hope I'm wrong! 

2024 was an interesting year, and I need to make the time to really reflect, but I think I had a good one. My mental health was better in a lot of ways, I traveled, I celebrated, I rested and I conquered some fears. Maybe I'll do a blog post or substack about my year, but for now we're here to talk about beauty products. 

2024 was the year of hair & skin for me; I went through some struggles with both but I think I'm ending the year with a decent rotation of products. While I still hit VIB Rogue this year (and pretty early in fact), I don't think I bought a lot of unnecessary products; the products I did buy became quick favorites and I also realized that most of my favorites were in my collection all along and I didn't need to try something new.

2025 is going to be a year of less stuff, so figuring out what I love and sticking with that. I don't always need something new to satisfy a craving and I need to get comfortable with wanting things versus immediately letting myself have them.

All of that being said, let's get into the products that made up most of my 2024.

*I think it's important to say that everything that I mentioned in my 2023 beauty favorites are still used on a daily basis for me...aside from maybe the Bobbi Brown foundation stick which I still love but found something I like even more. 

Nail polish names are so fun and I think it's probably the coolest job in the world to have a part in naming them. Some names make sense...like Essie Ballet Slippers or Marshmallow; others are a bit off the cuff, like 'Not a Phase' or 'Butler, Please' and some are bizarre but make perfect sense. 

Like this new one from the Olive & June winter collection...

Ever since I was a little girl, I've dreamed of straight hair. It used to take my mom two hours to blow dry my hair when I was a kid and I used to hate doing my hair so much that I would pay my sorority sisters in alcohol to blow dry my hair for me. I never turned down a professional blow out, and I've gotten many a straightening & relaxing treatments in my day to just tame the mane that sits a top of my head. 

 Over the years I've gone through my fair share of hair tools; from blow dry brushes to a failed attempt at using the Dyson Airwrap to finally settling on my Shark FlexStyle...I still felt like something was missing.

 After a long, one and a half month Manicure Monday drought, we are back with a vengeance! Because of my busy 7 weeks, my gel manicure obsession has come to an end. I've given my nails the break they needed after removing the gel manicure myself, before it was meant to come off, and now I'm ready for polish again.

I still haven't bought the Olive & June Gel Manicure System but it's next on my list...however, we're going to be talking about one of their Fall 2024 polishes that I hadn't yet used after I initially placed my order.

After red nails for a month and a half, I was ready for something to truly put me in the fall spirit and the polish of choice was easy. Museum Date from Olive & June's most recent fall collection is so unique and truly one of a kind in my collection and probably a lot of yours too.

Retail's holiday season begins earlier and earlier every year it seems and this year it was no different with sets and collections being live since early September. 

I always love seeing what gift sets beauty brands put out for the holiday season; I love seeing the different themes, collaborations and assortments that are released but maybe that is just the beauty industry worker in me. 

This year it seems that a lot of brands are going with their hero products in limited edition shades, or best selling assortments in fun packaging. They're leaning into seasonal scents and flavors, with minimal 'holiday' packaging & using more of that winter vibe. 

With the Sephora sale coming up (more on that later this week), I wanted to highlight some of what I think are the best gift sets to give someone (or yourself) this holiday season. 

 One of the best days of the year is when Olive & June releases their new seasonal collections. I always love seeing the theme they chose as well as the shades. This year the theme was museums, which is very interesting, but I love the idea of a sophisticated, cozy fall city day roaming a museum exhibit.  

The shades released in this collection are gorgeous. they range from very light to deep, dark and glittery. I'll be honest; the first shade I used was "Sculpture Wing" which is a beautiful warm toned lavender but it wasn't the best (review coming soon). 

My next manicure is what we're talking about today and that's Patron of the Arts. It's the perfect transitional fall shade; a deep, dusty rose brown that screams pumpkin and apple picking. 

 You guessed it -- another Olive & June quick dry review! I can't help myself, I am addicted to this formula. There is nothing like realizing you forgot to paint your nails and need to do it fast, but you don't have enough time to fully dry. Having a variety of Olive & June quick dry polishes has saved me so many times and I'll never give this formula up!

One of the 'always on' non seasonal shades that I picked up a few months back was "Freshwater". It is a newer shade in their line and one that I thought would be a perfect addition to my rotation.

Freshwater is described a 'sheer, pearly white' which makes the name perfect for this all year round color. It's super shiny, a little sheer but still opaque enough to make you feel put together. 

 As the summer begins to wind down I'm trying to cram in all my fun, summer manicures. I've kept it pretty standard throughout the past few months -- reds, pinks, and a Bikini So Teeny manicure or two but lately I've been craving something brighter.

It could be that I'll be switching to darker colors soon or the fact that I have a tan so the neon polishes look so much nicer, but something in me is screaming for brightness. It's also a little weird because it's mid-August and I don't even care that pumpkin spice season is around the corner which is very unlike me.

Anyways...this week's manicure is a newer Olive & June shade called 'Guava Gloss', from their new lipgloss finish collection. When they announced a lipgloss collection, I truly thought Olive & June was releasing lipglosses but jokes on me, because they weren't.

Olive & June Quick Dry formula is such an unexpected winner in my beauty collection. Every time I use one, I'm continually stunned at how well they perform. 

During my shopping spree when I picked up a few summer quick dry shades to add to my ever growing collection, one of the colors I bought was 'Lollipop' because I needed a summer red to bake into the rotation when I wasn't in the mood for a pink or orange.

In my opinion, red nails are a neutral; there is never a bad time for a red nail. They are always chic and especially for summer, they feel incredibly right.

I told you last week that we were in for a marathon of Olive & June manicure Monday posts... and this week it's all about the new quick dry shade for summer 'Melon'. 

There are few things that feel like summer more than a bright peachy, orange manicure. It reminds me of summers when I was a teenager, the beach, and being tan. It reminds me of Florida vacations, late nights and back to school season.

I haven't found a shade that truly matches that feeling in a while so when I saw Melon pop up on Olive & June's website... and as a quick dry shade, I was immediately sold.

There is nothing I love more than a foundation stick. It's the easiest, most seamless beauty product to use and makes putting makeup on a breeze. Once you find a good foundation stick, your life will be changed, I promise that.

I've tried so many foundation sticks over the years, and while I've loved a lot I don't know if I've ever had a love quite like this.

The Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick has been around for ages and is one of their better known products (in my opinion) but I had never tried it. Months ago, I was shopping in the Company Store at work -- I work for Estee Lauder who owns Bobbi Brown and we have a store in our office that has all of our brands -- and felt the need to spend some money.

I was craving a new foundation and figured I could use a new foundation stick since I was getting bored of my Hourglass one (which I still love). I swatched the Bobbi Brown one and was immediately sold. The first time I used it on my face, I was in shock. 

The love affair with Essie Gel Couture continues! I cannot stop using the colors I have because they are so gorgeous. The polish is light, smooth and super glossy. 

I've always loved using the Essie Gel Couture top coat because it gives the shiniest, glossiest and long lasting finish but when you combine it with the actual Gel Couture nail color, the difference is astounding. These two are truly a match made in heaven.

 I'm a sucker for a collaboration, especially when it features one my favorite brands. LoveShackFancy has been killing the collaboration game lately and I've been loving them all, even if I don't indulge in a purchase. 

I saw a few weeks ago that they were coming out with another Sally Hansen collection but this time, with actual polishes instead of press ons. I was immediately intrigued and then like most things nowadays, I completely forgot about it. 

That is until I went to CVS for a few things and saw the polishes front and center in the store. It was fate and I immediately picked the shade Rosy Quartz which is a milky pink with an iridescent sheen. 

It's been years that I've been seeing this product all over social media, and I finally got the chance to try it out after receiving in PR. The PMD Beauty Personal Microderm Elite Pro is a personal microdermabrasion tool that mimics an in-office microdermabrasion treatment.

I've never been for a facial or any kind of skincare treatment but I've always been so interested in it, and I feel like this is a really good starting point for me. 

If you're unaware of what this device is, or what microdermabrasion is, let me explain. The PMD Beauty Elite Pro is excellent for uneven texture, large pores, anti-aging, and dark spots. If you're in need of something to liven up your skin, bring life back into it through radiance, smoothness and firmness, this is the tool you need. 

It's been a minute since my last Manicure Monday post, and probably almost a year since I did a post about any brand other than Olive & June. I don't know what sparked my interest in these nail polishes again, maybe a TikTok video or beauty editor, but I caught the Gel Couture bug.

My mom took notice because she included a few colors in my Easter basket and I've been wearing them non stop. There's just something about the shininess of an Essie polish that looks so glamorous and put together. Olive & June still has my heart but I've been enjoying the variation.

 It's that time of year again... the Spring Sephora sale is right around the corner and I feel particularly more excited than usual. My beauty shopping has been curt the past few months because I've mostly stuck to using my gratis at work, and have just trying to curb impulse shopping as a whole.

There have been so many incredible beauty launches recently and I'm dying to get my hands on them. I also need restocks on some old favorites that I'm running low on so the sale is coming at the perfect time. I'm not holding back anything... I'm in the mood to shop, to do a big haul and try a bunch of new things.

The sale starts on April 5th for VIB Rouge who get 20% off and April 9th for everyone else (VIB gets 15% off and Beauty Insider gets 10% off). Everyone gets 30% off the Sephora Collection until the sale ends on April 15th. 

Get your credit cards ready, it's time to shop. Below are my favorite products I think you should pick up from the sale and then everything I want to buy. I'll also link some reviews of my favorite products for you to read before shopping.

I haven't done a Manicure Monday post in a little bit because I've put myself on a little bit of a nail polish buying ban. I simply have too many polishes and don't need anymore. I recently did a clean out of my collection, reorganized and rediscovered some old favorites which inspired by this post.

As we transition from winter into spring, I've begun to transition my nail polish choices. When I was reorganizing, I moved all my fall and winter polishes to the back of my drawer, and all my light colors to the front...that is always the first sign of spring for me. 

When it comes to the colors I've been gravitating towards lately, I am standing firmly in the neutral category, especially for spring and summer. Over the past few years, I have not been loving the bright, pastel colors of yesteryears. I don't really wear or buy bright blues, greens, yellows, etc. I like the elegance that comes with a sheer pink or beige for the warm weather...expect of course, Bikini So Teeny which will never leave my collection.

Also, if you haven't noticed, I've exclusively been buying Olive & June polishes for at least a year (with the exception of the Barbie x OPI collection from last year. 

All of this being said, may I present my Spring 2024 Nail Polish Edit... all the polish colors and trends that I love for the spring.