Hello everyone :) So Gold Elements reached out to me a couple of months ago and asked if I wanted to try some of their products out. After looking into their skincare line, I was excited to try out their line because their products feature gold leaves! Fun and exotic right?! So let's go through, take a look at the products, and I'll explain my experience with their products.

Let's get to the breakdown...

Disclaimer: Gold Elements sent me these products for review. They did not pay me and all opinions are my own.

Truffle Infusion Eye Serum

So I know what you're thinking... truffles?! What the heck?! First of all, truffles are a VERY pricy food that's considered a delicacy. However, when incorporated into skincare, it can help make your skin look more even by blocking the production of melanin in the skin. It also contains amino acids, which help prevent aging. 

 So let's talk about my experience with this eye serum. This eye serum has a light-weight consistency. I love that because it's perfect for layering, daytime, and the warmer months...which is when I was using this serum. It also smooths onto the skin very nicely. The serum is a beautiful gold color and almost has a bit of shimmer to it. Now let me talk about my eyes for a bit. I have SUPER sensitive eyes. It's honestly way too much to get into, but if you follow my social media or youtube channel, you've probably heard me talk about this. This serum did not irritate my eyes, which was a relief. I also liked that it kept my under eyes hydrated. I can notice when I'm neglecting my eye area (because my fine lines are more pronounced when I'm not being diligent) and which this serum, I felt that my under eye area looked more plump. It's hard to say whether or not I noticed a long-term difference, but I like this! 

 But here's the thing. This is EXPENSIVE. I actually didn't realize how much this cost (because they sent it to me in exchange for a review) until I looked up more information of this product for this review. When I saw the price, my jaw dropped. It's $699. I actually think this is a very valuable part of this review... I had no idea how much this line cost. In other words, when I was using this line, did I think this was a $699 eye serum? No. I had no idea. I thought it was nice, the packaging is nice.... but I honestly don't this is $699 nice. So takes that for what it's worth. 

Age Treatment Moisturizing Cleansing Oil

I love cleansing oils. I can't live without double cleansing my skin! I don't wear makeup everyday, but when I do, I wear a lot...so cleansing oils and balms are a must in my routine. As you can see in the picture below, it's a beautiful gold color. I love the consistency of this because it's super smooth and glides onto the skin. As for my experience with this cleansing oil, I love that this doesn't leave my skin feeling stripped. It actually leaves my skin feeling very comfortable, soft and smooth. I would say this is best for those you who don't wear a ton of makeup. As you can see below, I applied some mascara and eyeliner to the back of my hand and massaged the oil on the swatches to show you guys how effective this is. It doesn't break up the makeup as much as I'd like it to, so I save this for my no makeup days. 

After massaging the cleansing oil onto the makeup swatches. 

After I rinsed my hand. 

Intensive Cleansing and Softening Lotion

 I have very dry skin. So I've become more selective when it comes to cleansers. I can immediately tell if I like a cleanser or not just by judging how dry my skin feels after using it. This cleanser is really gentle on my skin. It leaves my skin feeling refreshed because it's a nice soft cleanser. However, again, with most of these products... I didn't realize how expensive these products were. So when I was using this, did I think this was a $129 cleanser? No, I didn't. I did enjoy using but I don't think I would shell out that much money for ANY cleanser. 

Also, I would like to note... this cleanser does not really lather! Totally a preference thing.. personally I don't mind but some of you might prefer a cleanser that lathers more! 

D'Or Facial Cream

This moisturizer kept my skin nice and hydrated. As you can see in the picture below, it's a medium consistency... not too thick, not too thin. I felt like this absorbed pretty quickly and didn't feel heavy on my skin. Overall, I feel like this is a pretty basic face cream. I didn't notice a significant difference (possibly because I always heavily hydrate my skin with LAYERS of skincare) but I like that it felt comfortable on my skin.   

D'Or Facial Peeling

Last but not least, I tried out their peeling gel. I personally like peeling gels because I feel like it's a gentle way to exfoliate and stimulate my skin without having to abrasively scrub at my skin. This peeling gel makes my skin feel SO SOFT! It does a really nice job of removing dead skin cells and my skin looks visibly brighter after using this.  

I hope you guys enjoyed my review of some of the Gold Elements products I received! Let me know if you've tried some of their products. I look forward to hearing your thoughts :) 

xoxo,

Morgan

The Travel Breakdown: London; Camden Market, Big Ben, House of Parliament

On day 2 in London, England after studying abroad in Paris, France, Michael and I spent most of our day at Camden Market. I'd say Camden Market is one of my favorite places in London because of the SHOPPING. You can find fun clothes and accessories for cheap and there's also a lot of great food to try! It's known for the "different" crowd it attracts and for offering unique items you can't find anywhere else! There also a booth wear this man bends words into wire for accessories. He makes everything from wire necklaces to bracelets to rings. I get compliments on the necklace I got made there all the time!

After walking around Camden Market for a while, we went and visited Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and St. Margaret's Church. There are landmarks we obviously had to visit because they're staples of London!

BIG BEN!

Once we had visited all these places in London, we walked along the Thames River and people watched until the sun went down. We returned to our apartment for the night and went to bed!

Have you ever been shopping in Camden Market??

xoxo, Morgan

The Travel Breakdown: London; Eurostar, London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Oyster Cards

So as promised, here's the continuation of my study abroad series! After completing our program in Paris, France (study abroad posts start here) Michael and I boarded the Eurostar at the Gare du Nord and travelled to London! We arrive in London at 12:30 pm, and took advantage of the fact we still had almost a full day left! We dropped out stuff off at the flat we were staying in (we rented a room through Airbnb! This website is great for people on a budget who don't really want to stay in hostels) and immediately hopped onto the Underground and went to the London Bridge. We just wandered around this area until we stumbled upon an organic farmers market in the area. This was fun and interesting to look at, and it was nice to finally speak to other English speakers (you almost take it for granted being able to speak English until you are somewhere you must speak another language for a prolonged period of time!) From here, we walked all the way to Buckingham Palace! (yes, lots of walking!)

London has such pretty architecture!

Near the center of London!

Buckingham Palace! As you can see, it was a perfect day to walk around because it was overcast so it wasn't too hot!

After walking all over the city, we decided to take a break and ride the bus for a while. It's nice riding the bus in London because you can do some sight-seeing without having to walk! The fact that the buses there are double decker buses make them great for sight-seeing and tourists!

Travel Tip for London: Be sure to buy an Oyster card when you get there! (I believe they cost around 10 pounds) They are reloadable cards that you can buy in the Underground (their metro system) and you use them on the Underground and on the buses in London. It makes traveling much easier and when your done using it, they'll refund you your 10 pounds! Just make sure to look up a place that will exchange the Oyster card back into pounds for you... I believe we exchanged ours at Heathrow airport?

Where's you favorite place in London?? Did you use a lot of public transportation like us? As always, I love your feedback and comments. If you have any questions, leave a comment! :)

xoxo, Morgan  

The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris; Sacré Coeur, Montmartre, Lock Bridge

On Day 27 of my study abroad experience, I slept in and then met up with Michael to visit Sacré Coeur in the Montmartre area. I'd visited Sacré Coeur before (I'd visited Paris two years prior to studying abroad in France), but Michael had never been there. It's definitely an area you should see once in your lifetime and a must-stop place if you visit Paris. We took the metro there, and walked up to the Basilica at the very top. It is seriously such a beautiful church. We sat inside for a little, just to soak up the experience more and then decided to walk around the shops around the church. There are a ton of tiny boutiques on the streets surrounding the basilica and lots to look at. Since this place is known for the painters in the area (there's actually a courtyard by the basilica that has TONS of artists painting and selling their art) we picked up two small paintings while we were here. We got a painting of the Notre Dame (one of my FAVORITE places in Paris) and the Eiffel Tower (of course!).

Day 28 was a Sunday and we went to the area around the Notre Dame for breakfast (if you're looking for places to just wander around and randomly find something to eat, this place is great for that because there are lots of little restaurants and cafes). Since it was one of our final days in Paris, we decided to climb the Eiffel Tower. We took the stairs, which was a work out, but definitely worth it for the views. It's actually pretty cheap to do as well (I believe it's about 4-6 euros per person to climb the first half of the Eiffel Tower, then less than 10 euros to go all the way to the top)

About half way up the Eiffel Tower...look at that VIEW!

On Day 29 of my study abroad experience in Paris, Michael and I had a "date night" type of thing to celebrate our whole experience in Paris. We stopped by the lock bridge by the Notre Dame, and put our own lock on it (we couldn't resist). After putting our lock on the bridge and throwing the key in the Seine (I wonder how many keys are at the bottom of that river! haha), we went to dinner. We found a restaurant by the Notre Dame and got a three course "set" meal. A "set" meal is where they offer an appetizer, main course, and dessert from a menu that offers 3-6 options for each course. You then pay a set price inside of paying each course individually... you just pay per person if that makes sense (just as an FYI, there are a lot of restaurants around the Notre Dame that offer this type of dining experience). I got french onion soup, steak and spaghetti, and a caramel custard. SO GOOD! After dinner, we had a final boat tour along the Seine River with the rest of our program. It was so bitter, sweet but nice to float along the river and admire the city at night. After that, a group of us decided to go to the Pantheon to reenact the scene from Midnight in Paris. (haha)

Our lock is the one with the huge red heart on it... I can't wait to go back in a couple years and see if it's still on there!

I forced Michael to pose with me so I could capture the moment...I'm such a girl. haha

Look how beautiful the Eiffel Tower is at night.. totally surreal to ride by it on the boat and see it sparkle!

I'll be adding pictures of Sacré Coeur soon, so be sure to check back! :) 

Also read on to my next post on DISNEYLAND PARIS!!!   

  xoxo, Morgan 

The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris; Académie De La Bière, Mummified Animals, Yummy Mussels

With only a week left, I really felt like a true Parisian. On day 24, my friends and I got breakfast and attended class and then walked around the area of Bastille (the metro stop!). I love this area because they have tons of tiny boutiques that offer unique items and they have a couple open air markets here. Of course, I can't go to the open air market without picking up cherries and peaches... for some reason, they're so much better than the ones from home! For dinner that night, a group of us went to
Académie De La Bière (In English, this means the Beer Academy) and got the moules et frites (mussels and french fries!). Evidently, this place is known for this dish and I can see why! It was excellent and they gave super large servings! They're also known for their beers, but I'm not a big beer drinker so I obviously didn't get any. A great place to eat and they're open late ;) If you take the RER B, get off on Port-Royal.. it's very close to the RER exit.

On day 25 of my study abroad experience in Paris, Michael and I visited the Louvre Museum after class. With our program, we got in for free to all the museums in Paris, and since this museum is HUGE, we decided it was a good idea to go back and explore the museum one more time before we left. We spent more time in the Egyptian wing of the museum, and looked at all the mummified cats, dogs, fish, and crocodiles! So crazy! This is one museum I could spend days in and still not lose interest...and that's saying a lot ;) After, we got coffee and dinner at a cafe near the Cité Universitaire and met up with some friends to enjoy their company along the Seine River.  

Some of the displatys in the Louvre

On Day 26 of studying abroad in Paris, it was a typical day except we got a bunch of friends, crepes (yum!), apple cider (an alcoholic version of sparkling apple juice that's super popular in France), and a blanket and hung out in front of the Eiffel Tower for the night. We stayed there all night watching the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower and the people, who were all enjoying the beautiful warm, evening weather. It was amazing being there with good company, and just relaxing, which is sometimes hard to do in such a busy city :) We caught the last metro back (the metro closes at 2 am I believe) and went to bed!

Even though it was the middle of the night, you can see how busy and lively this area is all the time! :)

 Almost done with my Paris trip! So sad :( Let me know what you guys think or if you've ever visited any of the places I've mentioned!

Read my next post on Sacre Coeur and Montmartre! Seriously so beautiful!

xoxo, Morgan 

The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris; Victor Hugo, Orangerie Museum, Club Rex

On the 15th day of my study abroad adventure in Paris, I had another lazy day. I was a little tired from all the festivities from Bastille Day (to read about Bastille Day, click HERE) so I basically went to class, visited the Notre Dame to watch a choir performance, and then made dinner back at the Cite Universitaire.

Day 16 was an interesting day because our travel abroad group visited the home of Victor Hugo, the author of Les Miserables and Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame). His home was cute and had a lot of art from Asia surprisingly!

A bust of Victor Hugo in the entrance of his home.

One of the walls in a room that was dedicated to Asian art.

A room in Victor Hugo's home that was filled with art from Asia!

Artwork in Victor Hugo's home that featured a scene from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. 

On the 17th day, the metro broke down on our way to class -__- We were almost an hour late but we were excused since it wasn't really our fault. After class, we met up with our study abroad group and we get a tour of the Orangerie Museum. This place is not a must visit if you're ever in Paris, but if you're interested in impressionist and post-impressionist art, this place is covered in it. Our group then walked through Les Jardin des Tuileries again and our professor talked about some of its history. One thing I observed while walking through the gardens was how many French people were sun tanning! They love a nice, tan complexion surprisingly! Also, lots of Parisians were out picnicking...summer in France is a great time for this activity. We finished the day by walking around the Le Marais area, which is kind of like a "Jewish" area in Paris. They have YUMMY falafel in this area, and if you ever visit this area, check out a place called L'As du Fallafel. This place is known for their falafel and it's pretty cheap too!

Day 18 on my study abroad in Paris experience was a normal day... until the sunset. This night in particular, we decided to go to a notorious club called Club Rex. It's supposed to be a big hot spot in Paris. A group of us decided to go, so we fueled up on some wine and headed out. We got to the club around 11:30 pm and were then told it didn't open till 12. We ate food while we waited and then headed inside when it opened. It was, of course, empty, so we asked the bartenders when more people would come. They told us 1 am, but when 1 am rolled around, we were still the only ones there...weird. We asked again and they told us 2 am so we waited again and you guessed it... still empty by 2 am. We left around 2:30. I have a feeling it was because we went out on a Thursday night. Here, in the United States, college students typically go out on both Thursday and Friday. But obviously that's not the case. Overall, out of all the clubs and bars I visited in Paris, I wasn't super impressed because they were just like the bars and clubs here. Not really too different... well except the nights they are busy!

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Even though we were the only ones in Club Rex, we still had fun! :) 

I will be adding pics for this post in the next day or so, so come back and check them out :) And don't forget to let me know what you think of this study abroad series!

Keep reading! In my next post, learn more about my excursion to Normandy and Brittany! This weekend was easily my favorite weekend of the whole trip!

xoxo, Morgan

The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris; Bastille Weekend, The 14th of July, Eiffel Tower

In France, their "independence day" is July 14th. Luckily, I was in Paris to experience this celebration while I was studying abroad in Paris! On the 13th day, you could tell the city was buzzing in preparation for the next day. Because of this, Michael and I had a lazy day. We got breakfast and took it over to the park off of Rue du Faubourg. Here, we watched a caribbean band play music for a while, which was quite entertaining. Later that day, we met up with our friends from the Cite Universitaire and had our own bbq! This was really fun and we just sat and picnicked for a while. This is what most Parisians do on their free time. They like to picnic, smoke, eat cheese and wine (which is excellent in France, of course), smoke, and enjoy each others' company. I love this type of lifestyle :)

After eating and hanging out for a while, we went to a local bar in Paris. I, unfortunately, don't remember the name of the bar :( but it was a typical bar. We caught a cab later and came home late!

Finally, the day was here....Bastille Day! We got breakfast at McDonald's because all the other local businesses were closed since it was a holiday. We then stopped by the CarreFour, which is a grocery store here, and loaded up on provisions for the day. We picked up wine and snacks and then took all that and a blanket over to the Eiffel Tower. In the grass by the Eiffel Tower is where everyone sits to watch the fireworks. Our teacher told us there would be thousands of people there! So Michael and I went early to get a good spot. We got lucky and got a spot that was in the center of everything! There was a show before the initial fireworks, and then around 9:30 pm or 10 pm, the fireworks started. It was one of the coolest fireworks I had ever seen! They also lit the Eiffel Tower up so it was oh so pretty and SPARKLY :D

Our spot in front of the Eiffel Tower was great! Look at the flag in the middle of the Eiffel Tower...very cool!

You can see how the fireworks illuminated the Eiffel Tower. 

They coordinated the lights on the Eiffel Tower and the fireworks with the music playing! By the way sorry for the poor picture quality again! It was difficult to take a picture with so many things going on and I didn't have the best camera at the time!

Look at how pretty the Eiffel Tower was!

Overall, one of my favorite days of my study abroad program in Paris, France. Just as a side note, if you're ever in Paris, visit the Eiffel Tower during the day AND at night. They turn the lights on at sunset, which in Paris during the summer time, is very late. Usually, the lights would sparkle at 10 pm, 11 pm, 12 pm, 1 am, and 2 am. I believe these are the times. I know they go off every hour, on the hour, after sunset. Definitely check them out because they are amazing!

Have you ever seen the Eiffel Tower sparkle? Would you ever visit for Bastille Day?

Let me know if you have any questions so far and what you think about my study abroad series! I'd love to hear your feedback :)

Keep on reading!! My next post is about visiting Victor Hugo's house (the author of the Hunchback of Notre Dame), the notorious Club Rex, and L'Orangerie Museum!

xoxo, Morgan

The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris: School, Le Louvre, Champs Elysees, Les Jardins

When the program initially started, our program had all the students go through a quick two day orientation. This orientation was helpful because they taught us the essentials of living in Paris. They taught us about pick-pocketers, the pubic transportation system, people in Paris, etc. I personally found this really helpful because I felt like it prepared me for immersing myself in the city.

They also explained the class schedule. We all had different class schedules. For me, I had class Monday through Friday (everyone had Monday through Friday classes) from 8 am-12 pm. I actually didn't mind this schedule because it got me up and going in the morning, but I still got enough free time to experience what Paris has to offer. Some other students didn't get out of class till 1 pm or 2 pm in the afternoon! That's valuable time! I also like having a schedule because it allowed me to have a routine, which really made me feel like I was actually living in Paris. My friends and I found this great bakery we went to every morning before class for breakfast called Aux Castelblangeois. You can find it if you get off the metro at Bastille and walk along Rue du Faubourg. Right next to the bakery, there's also this great park you can sit in and enjoy your morning pastry and coffee. It's also nice and cheap there :) I believe there's about 3 locations throughout Paris, this is just the one I visited every morning!

For the first couple days (1-4), Michael (my boyfriend who also came on the trip with me), just explored the city for ourselves. We walked from Le Louvre to Les Jardin Des Tuileries to Les Champs Elysees. (Some of our FAVORITE places to go. The "street" food at Les Jardin Des Tuileries is great! We love the gyros and ham and cheese crepes. They also had really good paninis!)

After class on day 5, our group went to Le Louvre. This is truly one of my FAVORITE places in Paris. I could wander around the halls forever. I also loved that there was a mix of artifacts here. You could find everything from beautiful pieces from French palaces to Egyptian sarcophaguses. It crazy to think about all the history the walls of Le Louvre hold.

A view from the window inside the museum. Look at how massive this place is!

On day 6, we visited Le Jardin du Luxembourg. An absolutely beautiful park (if you'd call it that) that offers nice scenery and colorful paths to walk along.

Michael and I towards the front entrance of Le Jardin du Luxembourg

One of the nice places to sit. Lots of people would just lay out in the chairs and tan or read books! haha

Day 7 was a Sunday. This meant a whole free day! Again, we explored and went on a boat tour along the Seine River. Going on one of these while visiting Paris is a MUST. It's also cheap... I think it was anywhere from 8-12 euros a person. We took the Vedettes du Pont Neuf tour. I also liked this boat tour company because they had the two-level boats.

On the top level of the boat tour

On day 8, Michael and I finally made it all the way down the Champs Elysees (the first time, we got too tired and took the metro back about half way down the street). Of course, we were greeted by the L'arc de Triomphe. So neat to see up close :) There's also great shopping along the Champs Elysees! I didn't buy anything because it's a little over-priced and a lot of if I can get in the United States for cheaper anyways (there's even a huge 4 or 5 floor Abercrombie and Fitch on this street!) On our way back, we also had a run in with a pick-pocketer. He tried to distract Michael with a ring he "found on the street" and reach into his pocket. However, we shoo'ed him away since we recognized what he was doing. Good thing we had that orientation lesson!

What's one of your favorite places to visit in Paris or where would you like to visit? :)

Read the next post! I talk about our trip to the PALACE OF VERSAILLES!

xoxo, Morgan

The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris, France; Why I Decided To Go

Here's part 1 of my study abroad adventure in Paris. I'll give you a quick BREAKDOWN of what the 30 day program I participated in included:

• unlimited public transport access (this included the metro system, the RER system, and public buses)
• education at The University of Paris, Sorbonne
• room and board at the Cité Universitaire
• entertainment (I'll go into more detail of activities we did in upcoming posts!)
• excursions (which I will also go over in upcoming posts :) ) 
• free entrance to all the museums in Paris

So where to start? I guess I'll start by saying I'm making these posts after my study abroad experience. It was just easier to enjoy the moment and then go back and reflect on my time in Paris :) 

One of the beautiful views I saw while climbing the Eiffel Tower!

I first decided I wanted to study abroad after my sister studied abroad in London. She had an amazing time and literally came back a changed person. She was much more "worldly" from the experience and she really grew from her experience. Since seeing how much she enjoyed London, I knew I wanted to study abroad. The first question of course is "Where should I go?" The obvious choice for me was Paris, France. 

In high school, I studied the French language and France for three years. I literally fell in love with the culture and history and the language itself is beautiful. Another reason why I chose Paris was because I wanted to experience something DIFFERENT. I wanted to go somewhere where the people spoke a different language, where the people acted differently, and where the culture was rich. For me, Paris encompassed all of this. 

The Notre Dame at night along the Seine River

Next, I had the pick the program. Luckily, I found a great program through my school. The specific program I chose is actually organized through another college, but anyone can sign up for the program. If you're interested in studying abroad, be sure to check what programs your school has to offer. If they don't offer a program that fits your needs, ask them to refer you to a program that would! I'm sure they'd be able to help! I signed up for my program about 6 months before I departed. That gave me enough time to prepare and brush up on my French (at this point, I hadn't spoken the language for more than 4 years so I was a little rusty!) 

The center of the Cité Universitaire

The particular building I stayed in

The main clock building! We would picnic in front of this building all the time!

In the next series of posts, I plan on writing about my experience, what I did, what I thought, etc. so be sure to keep checking back for those! They'll be coming out in the next week or so :) 

Have you studied abroad? Are you thinking of studying or traveling abroad? Let me know and we can chat :)

Keep going! The next post about studying abroad in Paris where I talk about my experience in school, Les Champs Elysees, Le Louvre, and Les Jardin Des Tuileries! 

xoxo, Morgan