Clinique Universal Face Primer

Isn't it funny how we can become such creatures of habit? I have been using the same makeup primer for years, and even though I've never loved it, it just never occurred to me to try something new. I kept buying the same one and kept having the same results — crazy, right?

I was in the market for a new primer last week. I did some research and decided I wanted to try out this version from Make Up For Ever when I came across an old sample I had of the Clinique universal face primer. (P.S. One of my favorite things about Nordstrom is that you get to choose three free beauty samples with your beauty purchase!)

Funnily enough, when I first put the Clinique primer on my face, my instant reaction was, "Oh, this feels awful, I hate this!" But as I rubbed it into my skin, the texture changed from a creamy lotion feel to a soft matte, smoothing out my skin and making it the softest it's ever been. I'm not kidding guys — since I've been wearing this, I can't stop touching my face!

*These photos were taken around 4 p.m., when my skin is typically shiny through my T-zone. (P.S. Wearing this Smashbox palette on my eyes and Too Faced Naked Dolly over MAC Subculture lip liner.)

I tested this Clinique primer in several ways. Now, I know that working out with makeup on is like a cardinal sin of beauty, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. So, I wore this through a cardio workout where I worked up a decent sweat. While I usually immediately wipe down my face with cleansing wipes after I exercise, this time I actually (coincidentally) forgot to do it — and in 20 minutes, my skin looked like I hadn't worked out at all! No grease, no shine — completely matte, soft and without any trace of redness. I was actually shocked.

But let's get to the best part. I have combination skin that always starts out dry and flaky in the mornings and turns shiny by mid-afternoon. There have been maybe two or three days in my adult life that my skin didn't have an oily sheen by the end of the day, and honestly, I might have only imagined them. I've never found a product that fully combats this problem or stops my skin from shining for more than a few hours, especially during the humid summer months. The Clinique primer actually keeps my skin looking matte all day. ALL DAY! Trust me, this is a real miracle for anyone with oily skin.

Suffice it to say, I will be recommending this makeup primer till the day I die.

P.S. My favorite nude lipsticks and Sephora sheet masks for better skin

...and a happy New Year!

Happy (almost) New Year! Can you believe 2016 is just two days away?? Where did the year go... 2015 has been a pretty monumental year in my life, with many transitions, new beginnings and endings. My blog hit its first major milestone, one of my outfits was featured on Lauren Conrad's blog (!!) and I finished my first year of full-time employment after college — among many other things, of course. In keeping with tradition, I wanted to share a little review of the last year here on miscelenious, so feel free to join me and keep scrolling!

Book review: 'Crazy Rich Asians'

I've had this book on my reading list pretty much since it came out last year, but I just hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. (Typical me, I know!) But I found the perfect time to do it after my surgery, which happened to be very good timing because I just found out that a sequel called China Rich Girlfriend is coming out in June. That part doesn't exactly thrill me because I like to know ahead of time that I'm getting into a series — anyone else like that? Also because I'm just not sure I can handle much more of this story...

As you might infer from the title, Crazy Rich Asians is about just that: several Asian families who are unfathomably rich. We're talking hundreds of millions and billions per family. To them, money, social status and lineage are extremely important, and anyone who falls outside of their parameters is thereby unqualified to become a member of their clan. When Nick, a son of one of the most prestigious families in Singapore, brings his American-born Chinese (not so fondly known as ABC) girlfriend Rachel to meet his family, she is greeted with a not-so-warm welcome.

That's the main story, but there are also several side stories following other members of Nick's gigantic family, as well as a couple others. This to me was a little bit overwhelming, because there were dozens of names to remember, tons of facts both relating to the family histories and the geographies of several parts of Asia. It all became a little cluttered, and I found myself wanting to get through several parts so I could get back to Rachel and Nick's story.

Jetting off to private islands for bachelorette parties, owning multiple houses and properties all over the world, a spur of the moment trip to the jewelry store that results in a multimillion-dollar purchase — and those are just a few examples. Kevin Kwan's book is apparently based on some of the real families of Singapore, so for most of the book I was in disbelief that real people could actually live and act similarly to the people in this book.

For that reason, Crazy Rich Asians became a little exhausting for me to read, which is why I'm a little hesitant to read the second one. But overall it was an entertaining read, and I ended up reading the second half in a matter of hours because I couldn't put it down. The author does a great job of building this crazy world and drawing the reader in, but it's the characters themselves that made me want to pull myself back out.

Have you read Crazy Rich Asians? If you did, what did you think? I'd love to discuss!

P.S. Reviews of Yes Please, Where'd You Go, Bernadette and Reconstructing Amelia

Book review: 'Yes Please'

Add this to the list of books that took me way too long to start reading... Yes Please has been on my list since before it came out, and it was sitting in my bedroom for a couple months before I finally found the time to devote to it — even though it only took me a couple days to read.

It only took me the first two days of my post-surgery recovery to read Amy Poehler's first masterpiece (I say first because I'm fairly certain she'll publish another one some day, probably when she's adorably old). It's been a looong time since I've read a book that quickly, but Yes Please really flew by. It was consuming and easy to read, and I didn't want to put it down. Amy Poehler is an excellent writer, which is a surprise to no one. Yes Please was fun, lighthearted and full of quirky advice she's accumulated throughout the years.

Honestly, I'm having a tough time reviewing it, because it wasn't quite what I expected — though I still can't exactly put my finger on why. Amy was candid and honest, which I loved, and she was inconspicuously motivating. I think that might be what caught me most off guard. Amy makes me want to do everything and experience everything because it genuinely seems like she has. She's such a badass lady, you know? She hasn't taken free rides to the top; she worked her butt off to get where she is now, and there's no sign of slowing down. And I think that's something we could all use in our lives, both professionally and personally.

I think everyone could find something useful in Yes Please, so I'm putting it at the top of my list of recommendations. Oh, and in case you need the perfect snack pairing: lightly buttered popcorn and mini York Peppermint Patties are the perfect complement to this book ;)

Have you read Yes Please? What did you think about it? Let's discuss in the comments!

P.S. More book reviews: "#GIRLBOSS", 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette' and 'Reconstructing Amelia'

Product review: Jamberry nail wraps

At some point in high school I started wearing nail polish regularly, and ever since then it's become a rarity to see me with naked fingernails. I think the most I've gone without polish is about a week, and even that is a struggle for me. I've always loved the look of fancy nail art — but I'm not about to pay for a manicure every week.

When all those nail wraps started coming out a few years ago, I was really intrigued. So many designs and colors. Fast-forward to now and I'm still obsessed with all the pretty patterns these wraps come in, but I've been too cheap to spend the money on them without knowing how well they actually work or if I can even put them on correctly. So when the lovely Melanie wanted to send me a sample of her Jamberry wraps, I jumped at the offer!

Movie review: 'Woman in Gold'

Adam and I went to see "Woman in Gold" last week, and I thought it was a beautiful movie. Have you seen it? It's the true story of Maria Altmann, who's fled from Austria with her husband after her family lost everything to the Nazis, including the famous painting known as Woman in Gold. The painting was a portrait of her aunt that had been stolen by the Nazis and kept in an Austrian museum. "Woman in Gold" became so revered that Altmann's case to reclaim her family's ownership to it reached the Supreme Court.

Here's a photo of the painting (it doesn't do it justice, though), which is now on permanent display in the Neue Galerie in New York City:

This movie was so touching. It showed Altmann's passionate fight for her family's paintings and flashbacks of her memories before and after the Nazi invasion. There is so much history to this story, but I think the movie focused more on the emotional history than the facts. And I think that's okay because it was such an emotional experience. Helen Mirren (Maria), Ryan Reynolds (Randy, Maria's lawyer) and Tatiana Maslany (young Maria) were wonderful at portraying all of those emotions.

I really loved this story. It left me wanting to learn more about it — so much so that I'm adding this book to my reading list.

Have you seen "Woman in Gold" yet? Will you? 

P.S. 'Horrible Bosses 2,' 8 movies for a rainy day and 9 movies to watch with your S.O.

Book review: 'Reconstructing Amelia'

Have you read Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight? I started reading it a couple weeks ago, and it is so good. It's a mystery surrounding the death of Kate's daughter Amelia. Everyone assumes the overachieving, academic superstar Amelia killed herself after she gets caught cheating at school — but Kate is skeptical.

The book goes back and forth between narrations by Kate in the present, Amelia in the weeks leading up to her death, and Kate's journal entries from before Amelia was born. The switching narrators allows readers to get in the head of both mother and daughter and see their relationship from both sides. It also shows exactly how different Amelia was compared to who her mom — and most everyone else — thought she was.

I'm only about halfway through it, but every new surprise leaves me wanting to read more. Half the characters seem suspect at one point or another, but each time I think I know what happened something else comes up and changes my mind. It's riveting, and so well written. It's hard to believe this is McCreight's debut novel, because her writing sounds like she's been doing it forever.

Between work projects and traveling over the weekend, I've had almost no time to read lately (also why this post isn't super in-depth — sorry, everyone!), but I can't wait to finish it this week. If you haven't read it, I'm already recommending it. And if you have, what did you think? No spoilers, please (!) but I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Related: Reviews of Where'd You Go, Bernadette and Gone Girl

Book review: 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette'

Where'd You Go, Bernadette was apparently the must-read book of last summer. So, naturally, I put it on my reading list and didn't get around to reading it until just now, in January. (One of my favorite things about not being in college anymore is reading for fun again. I missed it so much more than I thought!)

Everyone from bloggers to magazines raved about this book, so I knew it had to be good. I started it early last week and was surprised to find I couldn't get very interested in the first part, and I put it down for a few days. I thought it was a little strangely formatted, and I couldn't really find the storyline. (To the book's credit, this was less than 10% through — I can be a little impatient sometimes...)

But I picked it up again (thank goodness) and ended up finishing it in one day. One day! Which is a fairly big deal for me, because I'm a slow reader and I tend to get antsy from sitting and concentrating on one thing too long (see aforementioned impatient comment). But it was so captivating!

Maria Semple writes the story of the elusive Bernadette Fox through a series of communications between several different characters, with some first-person, real-time interjections from her daughter, Bee. I've never read anything quite like it before, and the switched perspectives was so well-done and fun to read. You're essentially eavesdropping on everyone's private conversations, which was a much more exciting way to see the story, plus you get each person's opinions on the same situation.

The concept of Where'd You Go, Bernadette was also so unique for a story. It kept me guessing and thinking up my own versions for each situation that came up. I loved the way Semple brought back little details woven throughout the story to become more important clues in unraveling the mystery.

It's truly a brilliant book, and Semple's writing is beautiful. This was one of my favorite quotes:

"Maybe that's what religion is, hurling yourself off a cliff and trusting that something bigger will take care of you and carry you to the right place."

Does it sound like something you'd be interested in reading? If you have read it, I'd love to hear what you thought, too! For my next book, I'm planning to join in on this book club to read another one that's been on my list for a while. What are you reading right now?

P.S. Check out the brand-new misc•eleni•ous Facebook page and "like" it for updates, links and photos!

Related: Fall reading list, coffee table books and Gone Girl.