What have you been up to lately? I have been enjoying the California summer, as the weather has been much nicer after the heat wave finally ended: I spent my free time going to the beach, eating dinner outside, visiting my friends who have pools, having too much ice-cream from Salt & Straw... You also may have seen on Instagram that I visited Porland, Oregon (I was in Portland, Maine last September!). Along the way there are a few products that have been staples in my daily routine: a retinol cream, a spray lotion, a lipgloss, a custom necklace, and one of my favorite teas. Keep reading to see them!

This post series has been inspired by Karen from Makeup And Beauty Blog! Here are a few of the things that I have been loving lately:



NEOSTRATA RETINOL + NAG COMPLEX

I'm a strong believer in retinol in skincare, because it's one of the few ingredients with a proven antiaging effect. So I try to always incorporate a retinol serum into my beauty routine, but I find it hard to figure out which is the right one. The ones with a lower concentration of retinol don't do much. Those with a higher concentration can irritate and dry out my skin.

I feel like I've found the perfect balance with NeoStrata's Retinol + NAG Complex: it contains 0.5% retinol, which is an average concentration, but I also find it super moisturizing. When I use it at night my skin feels very smooth and plump, not at all "bothered" like it sometimes does with aggressive treatments. The only issue I have is that it's pretty pricey for a small tube! But it's a tube with a pump, aka the best kind of packaging for skincare...


LE PETIT MARSEILLAIS SPRAY HYDRATANT NUTRITION EXPRESS


I bought this spray body lotion in France last year and I'm running out, which is making me very sad! I love the idea of a spray body lotion because it's quick and mess-free, and this one is the best I've ever tried, hands down. It's soooo much more nourishing than sprays from Vaseline or St Yves. It feels like a real body moisturizer, not a super light watery lotion! Yet it gets absorbed into my skin very quickly so I don't have to rub it in, just swipe to get even application. I really can't skip body lotion after the shower because I have very dry skin on my legs, and this is the perfect product to use when I'm rushed in the morning.

Unfortunately it's not available in the US, but if you live somewhere it's sold (or if you see it on vacation in France) I definitely recommend it. It's pretty cheap too, it's sold for around 5 euros at grocery stores. The one I have is the shea butter and sweet almond, but the brand also makes a rose petal spray, an argan oil and orange blossom, and an apricot kernel oil and white lily. Mine has a nice, warm smell but it's not too overpowering. Le Petit Marseillais shower gels are available at Target and Walmart carries some of their body lotions, so I'm crossing my fingers that they eventually expand their range here (they make a ton of bath, body and hair products). Please buy all the shower gels so they bring the spray lotions to the US, lol!


LANCOME PRISMATIC PLUMP GLOSS IN PASSION GLOW


I've already reviewed this gloss but I had to mention it here because that's what I've been wearing on my lips most days this summer! I love the sheer coral color with reflective shimmer that catches the light, I love how comfortable and hydrating it is, and I love the refreshing slight minty scent I get from it. Passion Glow is the perfect everyday color to pair with the super simple look I've been going for lately: a very sheer base (powder foundation or light coverage foundation), bronzer, a touch of highlighter, a beige cream shadow on the lids to cancel discoloration, mascara, and this. I also bought it in another shade when Sephora had a 50% Weekly Wow deal on it: I got Bare Glow, a beauuuutiful deep nude with golden shimmer that I also adore. Both are sold out at Sephora but you can still find them on Lancôme's website.



ONECKLACE PERSONALIZED BAR NECKLACE


oNecklace was kind enough to offer me a personalized jewelry piece from their website, and I decided to go for a vertical bar necklace. You can choose the material (I picked silver), the type and length of chain, the number of bars, and of course the text to be engraved on the bars. You can have the name of your kids, your spouse, your pets, etc, but I decided to have my nickname and the name of my blog on my bars because hey, why not? I'm pretty proud of my Lulle Beaumiroir necklace!

The necklace is exactly how I expected it to be, the engraving is very precise, and overall this is a beautiful, delicate piece. I also received my order quickly with a nice cardboard gift box, and shipping is free on all orders. If you're on the market for customizable jewelry, I can recommend oNecklace! They have some cool ideas for gifts like jewelry engraved in morse code, braille or with coordinates (I'd get 3 pendants with the three countries I lived in!).



STASH BREAKFAST IN PARIS TEA


You know my obsession with tea goes as far as to use it in my haircare products... But drinking earl grey is really my favorite way to enjoy tea. One of my all time faves, that I just had to re-order because I ran out, is the Breakfast In Paris blend by Stash Tea, based out of Oregon (unfortunately they don't seem to have a store in Portland anymore, I would definitely have gone!). It's basically a lavender earl grey: black tea with bergamot extract, sprinkled with lavender flowers. There's also vanilla and hazelnut but I can't taste those, I think they're here for a more rounded flavor.

This tea is so amazing, it's my absolute favorite thing to drink in the morning. It's got the strength of black tea with the citrusy hint of bergamot, and the lavender adds a fresh, aromatic zing. You can easily find Stash tea bags at the grocery stores but I always get loose leaves. I've been buying the one-pound bag on Amazon.




Some of the product featured in this post were sent to me by the brands for consideration. This post was sponsored by oNecklace and only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links. I receive a very small commission when you shop through those links, and the money generated covers a small portion of my expenses to purchase products for review. Clicking on those links helps ensure that Beaumiroir continues to publish reviews of new and exciting high end French products - at no cost to you!