I'm not one to experiment with beauty (in fact, I recently touted my love for going bare-faced) but there's something seriously inspiring about these whimsical, dreamy and avant garde looks. I've got experimental beauty on the brain right now and these daring ways to do it (vivid colored shadows, holographic glitter, dried floral manicures and colorful freckles... to name a few) are really spurring on my need to browse Sephora. Sometimes it's just fun to play with makeup, isn't it?

Ah, Glossier, the cosmetics and skincare brand that spawned an endless sea of inspiration and fan girls (myself included) all over the world. There's just something about the line that always pulls me in and I'm excited to share, after a year of using these products, my honest opinions on all of the hype.

The brain child of super muse Emily Weiss and an offshoot of her wildly successful website Into The Gloss, Glossier is a range of beauty products created and tested by industry insiders looking to re-frame the focus of the beauty industry. At Glossier "skin is in" and minimalism is the name of the game. With pared down necessities (think light coverage makeup and nourishing cleansers, balms and lotions) Glossier encapsulates its ethos: skin first, makeup second.

the rundown

I've been using Glossier products for more than a year and through tropical climates and big life changes, I've done my fair share of testing them for you. A few of the items are HOLY GRAIL products and a few of them I could honestly do without. Keeping reading for my recommendations and a link for 10% off your first order!

products I've tried - ranked

1. milky jelly cleanser
2. stretch concealer
3. priming moisturizer
4. boy brow
5. generation g
6. balm dot com
7. perfecting skin tint

products I want to try - ranked

1.  cloud paint
2. the supers
3. masks
4. haloscope
5. wowder
6. priming moisturizer rich
7. invisible sheild

milky jelly cleanser & priming moisturizer - These two go hand in hand for me! Milky Jelly Cleanser is one of my all-time favorite face-washes because it's gentle on my skin and leaves me feeling completely clean. It's a great makeup-melter (does that make sense?) and I always feel like I've managed to scrub the day off when I'm done using it. Follow it up with the Priming Moisturizer (a simple, fuss free face lotion that works well but does the same thing as my beloved Embryolisse) and you're ready to go! I'm eager to try the Priming Moisturizer Rich for something a little more nourishing.

stretch concealer - I love this product and wear it every single day (some days in combination with a tinted moisturizer or the Perfecting Skin Tint and sometimes on its own)! While the coverage is light, I find it really illuminating and similar to YSL's Touche Eclat (one of my holy grail products). It's best for under-eyes but works on blemishes in a pinch. I currently have the "light" shade and REALLY need to upgrade to "medium: after our summer in the sun.

boy brow - This product is a cult favorite for a reason. Boy Brow does a great job of grooming eyebrows and giving you a clean look without using a crazy pencil for sculpting. I will say, you have to be confident in your brow shape already to use this product alone. Since my brows are kind of sparse, I often find myself filling in with a pencil and then applying Boy Brow on top.

generation g - I wish I had more of these! Build-able. Easy. Pigmented. This product is a mix between a lip stain and a lip balm. They're super creamy but colorful enough to feel like you're wearing more of a product than chapstick. I have 'Like" and "Cake" in my cart.

perfecting skin tint - Skip it unless you want to feel like you're wearing makeup without much of the coverage of wearing makeup. I think of this product as "twelve year old tries foundation for the first time".

balm dot com - Super fun and nourishing for your lips! "Birthday Balm Dot Com" seems like a flavor I need to get my hands on and overall these balms are perfect for keeping at your desk or throwing in your purse.

three things I'm getting ASAP: cloud paint in haze and beam, the supers & the moisturizing moon mask

"beauty should be fun, easy, imperfect, and personal. Above all, we believe that you give life to products - products don't breathe life into you." - emily weiss

Click here to shop with my link (and see a pretty embarrassing video with a terrible thumbnail).

inspired by glossier

* this post was not sponsored by glossier - all opinions are 100% my own and all products were purchased by me (not PR samples)

With a brief stint as a bottle blonde and some serious sun + salt damage, my hair has been through a lot this year. I recently made the switch back to my natural color and I'm taking much better care of these locks lately.

Learning to love my hair has been a roller coaster ride and at almost twenty-seven, I still haven't figured it all out. I have what I think it a pretty strange texture (I went from seriously curly before the big hormonal shift that is motherhood to stick straight when clean but wavy after getting caught in the rain) and not a lot of patience for styling. Earlier this year I bleached myself to hell and back for some pretty rose gold strands but ultimately jumped ship when I stopped recognizing myself whenever I'd pass a mirror. Add in a penchant for products that look pretty on my beauty shelf and you've got yourself a picky costumer. As a self-proclaimed hair minimalist (I very rarely use heat tools, have never actually met a brush I like and strive to do as little to my hair as humanly possible), I've been struggling to find a good routine.

Enter: Playa, the range of California-crafted products that are equal parts unfussy (making them perfect for my low maintenance ways) and effective. I've been loving the range lately and thought it might be time to introduce you to what's quickly becoming my holy grail of texturizing salt spray. Playa is made with love in a beachfront space in Venice (oh how I miss California!) by Shelby Wild, a former fashion stylist that embodies California cool to a T and Kristen Shaw. It's a "one and done" solution to all my hair care woes, smells like coconut, sea salt and all of those Beach Boys lyrics that have somehow permanently ingrained themselves into my subconscious and the Endless Summer Spray is single-handedly responsible for getting me through an every-third-day hair washing schedule. 

INSPIRED BY @PLAYA

disclaimer: While products were graciously sent to me by Playa, I was not asked to share or review them. As always, thank you for supporting the brands that make Hazel + Scout possible.