Happy New Year! I have to admit that something I'm super proud about this year was that I managed to keep up my #CBBxManiMonday posts every week for the entire year - which is a bit of a feat for me since I tend to start things with the best intentions, but don't have the best follow through. Doing this along with Jayne, Renee & Eithne has really been a motivator for me and I've been having so much fun doing our weekly posts in a shared theme. I really wanted to commemorate this and also put together one massive post that can be referenced if you're interested in finding out how I got any of the nail art looks I put together in 2019! I've been working on this post throughout the year and I really am taking a lot of pride in this - especially since I managed to keep my nails long and healthy until.... almost the very end of the year when two nail breaks absolutely broke my heart. 

To see one whole year worth of nail art with links to each individual Mani Monday post, keep reading!

I feel like there have probably been a lot of these types of posts in the past few weeks since all of the controversy started with Jaclyn Cosmetics and the... dubious condition of a lot of the lipsticks that customers received. Admittedly, I was pretty interested to watch the bonfire myself. But really, the more I thought about it, I really wanted to go into my collection and share some of my personal favorite nude lipsticks on a spectrum from very, very light to deeper and richer. I don't really want to comment on anything to do with the JC launch or any of the issues, but I did want to show you guys some of my absolute favorite nude bullet lipsticks.

Keep reading for more!

Hey guys! Sorry for the impromptu hiatus here on the blog. I got pretty sick and spent the better part of a week asleep, so the blog had to take a back seat, but I'm back! Since fall is by far my favorite makeup season - which I suspect is true for a lot of people - I sat down recently and pulled out some of my absolute favorites to not only feature here on the blog, but also to put into my everyday makeup drawers so I can reach for them easily myself. I feel like the season change offers not only the inevitably exciting new makeup releases but also the opportunity to shop your own stash and pull out products that you might have forgotten in the back of a drawer somewhere.

Keep reading for more!

When I think about Valentine's Day, specifically when it comes to makeup, I think about a red lip. Red lips, while being pretty high maintenance, are always impactful and can really bring a confidence to the person wearing them. I also feel like red lipstick can be a really personal thing, since there are so many different shades that can read differently on different skin tones and different styles. I wanted to go through my collection and pick the red lipsticks that I absolutely love and share them with you guys - even though they might not be exactly the red that you're personally looking for!

Hey guys! Welcome to my Stuff I Tried This Month post! In case you've never seen one of these posts, here's what it's about. Basically, I tend to try a lot of things that don't really warrant their own post, so for the past few months I've been gathering up these products and doing a collective post with mini-reviews of each of the products. This is often products that are deluxe or mini sized, but also products that are either quite old or even discontinued. I figure this is a good way to let you guys know what I'm trying out each month and what I think of it. So, without further ado...

Keep reading to take a look!

I have to admit that I've been feeling a little bit uninspired lately. I think it must have something to do with the weather change, which distracts me and pulls my attention away. Either way, I hope you will bear with me if my posts are a little less frequent than they have been for the past several months! Of course, as a massaive makeup junkie, I'm always looking around to see what's new and exciting on the makeup market - and let's be honest, there's ALWAYS something new and exciting - so I decided to do a new series that I will hopefully do once a month which will highlight some of the new products out there that are exciting to me and why they catch my attention!

If you're interested in seeing what I'm eyeing up this month, keep reading!

When it comes to Mother's Day, I like to let my mom know how much she means to me by making it clear that I think she needs a little pampering. It doesn't hurt that my mom's birthday is pretty much always the same week as Mother's Day - and, in fact, the same day this year! Like any other time, gift giving is such a personal thing and the best gifts are the ones that seem to call the receiver's name, but I think that gift giving occasions that are meant to celebrate the care someone has given you through your life call for the type of gift that offers that care back. That's why I decided to do a gift guide of pamper specific gifts for mom!

If you're looking for some inspiration for what to get your mom this year, keep reading!

I don't actually talk all that often about fragrances here on the blog and I'd like to start doing more of that in the future. I've obviously talked about Demeter quite a bit, having been lucky enough to get to test out their products, but aside from that and the occasional Favorites mention I haven't really gotten into the fragrances that I love to wear. I choose what scent I wear on any given day based on 2 criteria. The first is seasonal,  because I definitely associate certain scents with certain times of year and I love to change my perfumes up as much as I love the change my makeup up. The second is much more important, though, and that's my mood. I actually choose a lot of things very specifically based on my mood. Makeup, fashion, and fragrance are all very much chosen based on how I feel on any given day and what I want to put out there accordingly. I'd love to hear if you're like that as well!

I have to admit, I often pick things up that I never end up reviewing, so I decided to start a new monthly round up post where I list those products for you guys and give mini-reviews. There's a lot of reasons why I might not end up dedicating a whole post to a product, such as it being limited edition and sold out, not particularly new, or just something I don't think I can devote an entire post to. However, I think this could be a fun way to let you guys know about a bunch of products that fit those categories in one go, so I decided to give this a try. Please let me know in the comments if this is something you'd like to see in the future!

So, November hasn't been a month of particularly using a lot of stuff up. I admit, before we even get to the post itself, that this month of empties is a little boring. That said, I've got some really great products that I've used up and that I'd really put my recommendation stamp on, so I figured I should still do the post. I mean, I could have waited and put them all in next month's post, but that means keeping my trash around a little longer and who wants that? Have I done a sufficient job of turning you off this post yet? Ugh! Anyway, if you wanna see some great products that I used up...

Keep reading to take a closer look and read (very) mini reviews!

I am definitely old enough at this point that birthdays are not the celebration that they once were. Still, my birthday is a time when I get to sit down at my computer and do a little fantasy shop so that I can give the people who buy me gifts some ideas of what I want. Unfortunately, my birthday falls shortly before all of the holiday palettes get released at Sephora, but that doesn't mean that I can't make a pretty epic wish list of things that I've been coveting for my collection. 

I've gotta tell you guys, I was actually really shocked at how much stuff was in my empties bag when I pulled it all out to photograph it for you. The bag hangs on the doorknob to my office and I just sort of tuck things into it as I use them up, so I can never really remember what's in there at the end of the month until I pull everything out. There's a lot in there this month, including a few makeup items - which all of us makeup junkies know is actually pretty rare - as well as a ridiculoud number of sheet masks. The sheet mask obsession is real, my friends, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

EDIT: I originally titled this August Empties, because my brain is not working. Oops! It's definitely July Empties!

Anyway! Keep reading for a look at mini-reviews of my trash!

I know I missed a couple of weeks of WHAT I WORE THIS WEEK, because I did a little bit of traveling and keeping up with photographing my makeup every morning was hard, mmk? But I did remember to keep it up this week. I'm thinking, in upcoming posts, of trying to get selfies of my makeup every day, but I have a bit of insecurity when it comes to my unfiltered skin and I feel like filters ruin the makeup... But I'm working on it! If that's something you'd really like to see, please let me know in the comments. I'm also trying to devise a plan to improve the photo quality (since I'm generally rushing out the door and vaguely half asleep when I take these photos) so look for that in the future. If there are any products mentioned here that you're interested in an actual review of, please let me know and I'll do my best to put one together for you! Now, let's conclude this adieu and look and what was on my face this week!

Keep reading to take a look!

We're in week 2 of this experiment where I photograph all of the products I used to do my makeup every morning and I have to admit that I'm kinda impressed with myself for keeping it up for 10 days. Anyone else out there completely unreliable in that way? Anyway, I'm really enjoying this process because it's really ensuring that I know what I've really been leaning towards every month - especially since there are a few products I've  been reaching for every single day. Next week, I'll be traveling, so while there will still be scheduled posts on the blog, there will be a little something different in place of What I Wore This Week, but I'm hoping to be back to regularly scheduled posts after the 22nd!

Anyway, without any more rambling and whatnot, keep reading to take a look what I was reaching for this week!

I decided that I wanted to start something new here on the blog... though I'm not entirely sure how it's going to go over. Essentially, I want to start photographing the makeup products that I'm using each day and listing them here to give an almost real time look at the things that are getting a lot of use in my collection. I think it'll be good to have a solid look at what products are getting the most consistent use from my collection because I almost think that it speaks louder than any review can. I have a big collection, so there's a lot to choose from when I pick my makeup every morning, which means that the things I reach for the most tend to be my favorites.

Anyway, if you're interested in seeing what I wore on my face this week, keep reading!