FAVORITES: September 2014
It's that time again... and weirdly enough, it didn't feel like this month passed all that quickly. Feels like the beginning of the month was ages ago, to be honest. That said, as it gets closer to fall I'm always a little sad about the end of summer, but balanced with excitement about cozy fall fashions. I feel like that probably goes around a lot. Fall is my favorite season, particularly when it comes to fashion and beauty, because everything seems to be about warmth and comfort. For me, September was all about makeup... which is possibly why the tail end of the month saw my skin looking less than amazing, since I was focused more on the esthetics than the care... But I digress.
Keep reading to take a look at my favorite products this month... and a few extra non-beauty favorites, of course.
BEAUTY FAVORITES
This month opened with two weddings in a row followed by my birthday, which was pretty damn amazing thanks to the family, friends, and pretty much the sweetest man ever. A couple of my closest friends used my Birthday Wishlist post eagerly and spoiled the crap out of me, and then I took a couple of gift cards and some cash gifts to spoil myself a little more. Who doesn't love to buy themselves some great birthday presents, right? Anyway, I think it was that exciting beginning that drove this month to be all about makeup. And, trust me, I am not mad.
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW20
So I'm pretty sure this was recommended by everyone ever, but it took me quite a while to pick it up. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I've always felt fairly intimidated by MAC, so I haven't become a particularly voracious customer of theirs. Now, however, this concealer is worth all of the anxiety of heading up to the MAC counter or into the MAC store and probably more. I'm completely obsessed with it in a way that I probably shouldn't be over a concealer. I feel like this is absolutely perfect for my skin, and not just because of the colour match. The finish is amazing on me and I feel like it really holds on when most other concealers tend to break up on me throughout the day. Honestly, this beats every other concealer in my collection and I haven't felt the least bit inclined to use any of them since I picked this one up. Add me to the list of people recommending this concealer.
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette
I already reviewed this, so I don't think I need to go into too much detail about it... but I am completely obsessed with this in a way I wasn't at all sure I was going to be. I pretty much use this every day in some capacity, whether minimally or pretty much all over my face. I feel like there are lots of different ways to use these powders and whoever curated this particular palette is an absolute genius because it gives you everything that you need. Not gonna lie... Kinda want to shell out for the blush palette that is LE right now, even though I wasn't particularly drawn to their blushes before. I think I'm a full stop Hourglass addict.
Urban Decay NAKED2 Basics Palette
This came in the form of a birthday present from my best friend, who happily consulted my wishlist while shopping and found that the Sephora she was at had almost nothing on the list, and I literally squealed when I opened it. I had actually been to a different Sephora a couple of days earlier and it hadn't been in stock yet. So. Excitement. And it definitely lives up to my hopes. I would say that this palette probably won't be all that exciting for people with deeper skintones, but for fair skinned girls like me who love a matte taupe everyday eye look it's a winner. I am smitten. Also, the shade Primal makes a pretty dead on eyebrow powder for me and I've found that my best eyebrow days this month were when I used it. And yes, I do get really excited when my eyebrows are on point. I'm obsessed.
QUO Nail Polish in Velvety Rose
I actually got this in a clearance bin, so I'm not sure that it's still available, but I highly recommend it if you happen to see it at your Shoppers Drug Mart and like this kind of mauvey rose nude type of shade. Like the name would imply, the formula is matte, but because of the very healthy dose of gold shimmer it in, it actually gives a really unique look that doesn't feel quite matte. And that is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. It's beautiful, the application is a breeze, and the staying power is pretty damn good. Seriously, if you can find it, grab it.
GLORY Vegan Lacquer in T-015 Yanggaeng
When I got this shade in my very first Memebox, I was pretty sure I was going to be obsessed with it for fall. The base is actually a really beautiful plummy burgundy, but it's packed with gold shimmer that gives it a much warmer, almost fiery type look on your nails. And it's just gorgeous, I can't say that enough. If anyone can figure out where the hell to buy these and you can get your hands on it, do it. It's perfect for fall and the formula is just dreamy. I have a feeling I'll be sticking to these two polishes for the next while.
Pixi Shea Butter Lip Balm in Natural Rose
I remember hearing somewhere that there was a bunch of hype on these lip balms, though I haven't actually experienced the hype myself. I have to admit that I tend to take lip balm hype with a grain of salt these days, since I never seem to fall in love with any of the ones that get all the hype up, but when I swatched this in Target and got a whiff of the scent, I was sold. And, of course, this shade was sold out. So I went back twice until it was back in stock and I picked it up and I love it. It is tinted enough that it makes a real difference in the look of my lips, but natural enough that no one would actually be able to tell that I'm wearing any tint at all. Just looks like I have super gorgeous lips. I actually really love the formula as well. It's not too thick, but it manages to stick around and just make my lips feel really, really good. And the smell. It smells so damn good. I can get behind the hype on this one and I would pick it over something like the much-hyped Babylips every day of the week.
Sonia Kashuk 15th Anniversary Limited Edition 15 Piece Brush Set
I meant to blog about this set, I really did, but the number of photos just overwhelmed me and I figured it was getting blogged about everywhere so I just didn't bother. But I really, really love this brush set. Before I get into the specific brushes that win it for me, I will say that there is some shedding. I mean, a big chunk of bristles came out of one of the brushes, but I've found that that has stopped now. I think they just needed a little shed at the beginning and now they're sturdy. The bristles on these brushes are so soft, I haven't had any of the scratching that I had with one of the brushes in the other Sonia Kashuk brush set that I reviewed. The brush I love the most is the fluffy blending brush, which can be seen in the picture above second from the top. I've been using it every day and I find that it just gives a really beautiful blend. I really like the fluffy brushes for powder products, the smaller one for blush and bronzer and the larger for powder. I also really love the concealer brush, the pencil brush, and the fluffier eyeshadow brush. (They don't have names, so I'm just assigning them.) The brush that I think most people were most interested in was the contour brush and I can absolutely see why. If you're looking for a sharp contour, this brush really does it, but I find that I need to come in with another brush and really blend it out since the bristles on the contour brush are so dense and short. Still, good all around. For the money ($39.99 at Target) this set is an amazing value and if you can get your hands on it, grab it up. It's worth every penny, even with the shedding.
NON-BEAUTY FAVORITES
Rookie Photo Editor App
aka The Reason I've Been on a Craze of Selfies. I swear, I don't even know what it is but this takes better pictures on my iPhone than the on board iPhone camera. I guess it's something in the settings that's technical... I could probably understand if I felt inclined to look into it, but I don't really. All I know is that I really like the selfies that this app takes and I also really like the filters. I'm actually tempted to spend the $4.99 and get the expansion pack for more filters and textures and other various things that this app has. I'm for it.
Thin Addictives Cranberry Almond Thins
First off... I hate things that tell me that they're thin. However, I'm willing to forgive this one because they're actually thin. Like, in width. And they're delicious. I would say that these are basically biscotti slices with almonds and cranberries in them. They come in little individual snack packs that contain three cookies... I feel like that doesn't make them individual, but I can't think of another word. I digress. These are yummy and I keep a box of them in my desk for those afternoon munchies. I get pretty peckish around 3:00pm and these are a nice little pick me up with my afternoon coffee.
And last but not least....
New seasons of some of my favorite TV shows....
I don't watch a lot of TV anymore and I actually have a really hard time keeping up with most shows, but three of the ones that I will always keep up with came back this month and I'm happy as a little puppy about it!
Doctor Who Season 8 - I'm a pretty huge Doctor Who fan. I remember watching episodes of it at my dad's house when I was a kid and I absolutely love it to this day. Seriously, my lock screen is a TARDIS and my ringtone is a dubstep remix of the Who theme. I'd say I'm probably firmly in Whovian status. Now, I do hate when it's new doctor time because there's always that difficult adjustment period where you're wondering if you're going to get used to him, but I think I can say by now that I'm used to him (still missing Matt Smith, though) and I'm enjoying the tone of the season so far. I still hate Clara, definitely not my favorite companion, but the new doctor is killing it and is definitely different enough from the last two to bring a new life to the show.
Haven Season 5 - I'm so glad that this show is still around. I didn't ever really hear much about it, but I started watching it from the beginning on a whim after catching a bit of an episode while season 3 was airing and I completely fell in love. It's an interesting premise and I love that the mystery keeps unfolding in a way that is interesting and satisfying without ever feeling like I'm constantly just waiting for the answer. Know what I mean? It doesn't drag things out in a way that feels unnatural for fear of jumping the shark, instead it gives you little pieces of the story while still keeping it interesting.
Sons of Anarchy Season 7 (The Final Season) - After the way last season ended, I really had no idea how they were going to bring it around this season. For anyone who hasn't watched this show, it's amazing and the writing is 100% on point... but it's a tragedy. Its initial basis was Shakespeare and you can see it. I don't think there's going to be any happy endings to come, but I think that's kinda the point. Whenever I'm telling someone about this show, I tell them that it's about consequences and I really heartily maintain that. Everything leads to the next thing and nothing is ever really forgotten. Which makes for amazing writing... and a lot of times rough watching. I have no doubt that Kurt Sutter is going to give the story a real ending, which is what it deserves, but I have a feeling it's going to be a real rough ride to get there.
So there you have it! Another month of favorites in the can and a new month of favorites to come! Happy fall, everyone!
XO.
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