summer 2019


New in my summer beauty bag

spf beauty products protect from sun

Summer beauty essentials from top left: straw sun hat / (The following products are c/o Elizabeth Arden) red and white canvas beach bag / Hum Glow Glow / All-Over Miracle Oil / brow pencil / cheek stain / lip gloss / SPF lip balm / eight hour daily defense SPF / Corkcicle canteen /

Are you having a heatwave in your neck of the woods? It’s been low 90’s here all week! I am seriously melting away! Since I can’t spend all day, everyday, inside the swimming pool keeping cool, I need to ensure my skin is protected from the harsh sun; especially when it’s hot, and my kids want to be outside!

When Elizabeth Arden sent me a fun PR package filled with summer beauty essentials to test out, I was thrilled! I have been searching for a lip balm with SPF, and this one is fabulous! It feels like lipstick, but it’s a balm with SPF. That is really hard to find. I am so tired of gooey SPF products for lips, or products which are drying. It’s so hard to find something in between which moisturizes, protects and feels normal on the lips. Elizabeth Arden hit a home run with their SPF lip balm. It’s my newest summer beauty addiction! I can wear it alone, or under lipstick. Either way, it performs well. Love it!

I also want to give a shout-out to this eight-hour daily defense cream. It’s an amazing facial sunscreen with SPF 35 which I can wear alone, or under my face powder; I don’t wear foundation since I am acne prone. Speaking of acne prone, this sunscreen does not clog my pores or give me acne. That’s a key feature of something I put on my face since my face loves to break out. Love!

Shop my summer beauty essentials online:

We still have two more months of summer, plus this weather will continue until October; at least here in the San Francisco Bay Area. That being said, summer beauty essentials with SPF are a must-have for right now, and for the months to come. What are your favorite SPF products for the summer season?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy

*thank you to Elizabeth Arden for gifting these beauty products, beach bag, and Hum Glow Glow. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

spf lipstick lip sun protection


Aloha Kona

sight seeing outfit ideas hawaii kona

wearing: sunglasses / pearl earrings (similar here) / summer lipstick / black v-neck tee (old, prefer this one) / woven handbag / blue floral scarf / blue bracelet / summer nail polish / black pants / black espadrille mules / gold ankle bracelet /

There is always something bittersweet about the last day of vacation. While vacations are fun, there is always a slight urge to go home by the end of the trip. Of course, you always want to make the most out of your trip.

On our last day in Kona, my son was tired, and just wanted to relax on our last day in Kona. While he was tired, my husband and daughters were ready to take on the world. So, Rob took the girls kayaking and snorkeling, while I took my son on a little walk, and some quiet time.

giant connect four game kona

We started the day by playing games by the pool. We played foosball, and he beat me three out of four times. Then we played a giant connect-four game, where he beat me on every game. Perhaps he took mercy on me when he suggested we stop playing games, and start sight-seeing.

We walked over to see Mokuaikaua Church, which was the first Christian Church on the Big Island. It was under renovation, so we weren’t able to tour the whole building, just peek through the door. It looked nice, too bad we couldn’t see more!

historic church kona hawaii big island first church kona hawaii

Then, we grabbed some ice cream before lunch. Shhh-don’t tell my hubby I gave our son sugar before lunch! Hahaha, is that a hashtag mom fail??

After our walk, we went back to the hotel to meet the girls and my husband for lunch poolside. We enjoyed fruity smoothies, and yummy food by the pool. Ah-relaxation time.

billfish poolside bar and grill kona

My son was tired, so the girls and my husband went back to the beach for more, and my son and I returned to the hotel room for a nap.

We all met back up again for dinner, this time at the historic Kona Inn. It’s an incredible building with a rich history. Although it no longer serves as an Inn, it still holds it’s historical significance as the first hotel on the Big Island; and as a place where celebrities flocked. How fabulous are these old school fans? It was quite an elaborate pulley system!

fan system kona inn hawaiikona inn restaurant kona

The view from the restaurant was incredible. If it hadn’t been storming outside, we would have had a beautiful view of the sunset, but we were OK with missing another sunset, after all,  we had already seen an incredible one earlier in the trip.

Shop my Hawaiian sight-seeing outfit:

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel in a tropical rain storm. Thunder and all! I truly believe the sky was crying because it was our last day in Hawaii. Aloha Kona. Maholo for the memories and the kindness; we will return someday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Aloha,

Cathy

outfit ideas hawaiiview from kona inn hawaii


Striped wrap dress for sight-seeing on the Big Island

dress hawaii dinner outfit idea great handbag travelwhat to wear in hawaii

wearing: sunglasses / pearl earrings (similar here) / necklace (wearing top strand) / summer lipstick / stripe wrap dress (avl in several colors and under $100) / pearl bracelet (similar here) / summer nail polish / woven handbag / ivory wedge espadrilles /

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed I eat sushi a lot! It’s my favorite food outside of pasta, so naturally I planned on a fabulous sushi dinner while in Kona. Sushi Shiono is a sushi restaurant in Kona which has won awards, and comes highly recommended by my OpenTable app. So I knew ahead of time it would be worth the half-mile walk from our hotel.

I decided to wear this fun striped wrap dress for dinner and sight-seeing on our sixth day in Kona. We walked around downtown, and enjoyed a delicious sushi meal at Sushi Shiono. It was worth all the hype! This was very good sushi. I had a Lobster Roll, and Ikura nigiri, which were both equally yummy.

After dinner, we walked over to the historical Kona Inn to watch the sunset. Unfortunately the clouds blocked our view, but it was nice to enjoy the view with my family anyway.

Shop my stripe wrap dress, Hawaiian dinner outfit:

Thanks for stopping by!

Aloha!

Cathy

dresses under $100