November Favorites

It's officially December! I love November - it's so festive and gets me ready for the holidays and colder weather. I tried out quite a few new products in November and I wanted to share my favorites with you...

Beauty Favorites:

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation in "light porcelain." I mentioned this in my October Favorites but I'm still loving it! Don't let the name scare you off - this can be really nice when applied correctly (even on dry skin). 

Benefit High Beam liquid highlighter. I picked up the cutest "Cheek Me Out" set of high beam and posietint samples at Ulta. This highlighter is SO beautiful! It's a "satiny pink" liquid/gel formula, similar to their lip and cheek stains. I use this on my cheek bones and the outer edges of my brow bones as a natural dewy highlight. I have ditched all other highlighters during November because I can't get enough of this. It's super easy to apply with fingers, a foundation brush, or even a stippling brush and it lasts all day. I'll definitely be purchasing the full size when this runs out!

Sephora Collection Colorful Eyeshadow - Shimmer in No. 48 Faux Fur. This is a taupe/bronze color and it has just the right amount of shimmer. I've been wearing this all over the lid and blending up into the crease for a one-shadow eye makeup look. By blending it into and above the crease, I'm able to create the look of 2 shadows with just this one. It's shimmery but not too glittery, definitely subtle enough for a daytime look. These shadows are smooth and velvety and blend really well. I will definitely be looking at other shades in this formulation.

Sephora Collection Colorful Eyeshadow in Faux Fur

Nyx Butter Lip Balm in Panna Cotta. I included a few of these in my giveaway because I love them. Most of the time I can't be bothered with lip glosses and lipsticks and pencils - it's too much. Also, my lips get very dry so lipsticks aren't always the best option. I typically stick to simple chapsticks or lip balms, so this product is perfect. It adds color but it's super creamy and moisturizing like a balm. I went back to Ulta and picked up every shade I could get because I love these so much. I would recommend these to anyone!

Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla & Macadamia Kiss. Speaking of dry lips... this has saved mine! As you can see by the packaging, I carry this around in my handbag at all times. It's a soft and creamy butter inside the tin, and it smells amazing. The best part is that it actually works. It sinks into my lips and deeply hydrates them. I wear this all day and often swipe the Nyx butter lip balm over top for extra moisture & color. It's simple, affordable, and perfect to throw in a handbag, nightstand, desk, etc.

Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream - another handbag essential! I've almost used this tube up during November because my hands get incredibly dry. This is a quick fix - my skin absorbs this lotion immediately and it's super hydrating. It has a subtle, fresh scent but it's not overpowering or obnoxious. I keep this with me to keep my hands from drying out and cracking from cold wind, or exposure to direct heat from a fireplace or heater. It gets rid of rough patches right away and doesn't sting or burn. I love Bliss products and this does not disappoint. 

Non-Beauty Favorites:

I've been loving a new TV show this month. I don't typically tune in to CNN on a regular basis, but I've been recording this show and I'm addicted. It's called This is Life with Lisa Ling. I love Lisa Ling and the way she reports and tells stories and this show is so interesting. Unfortunately, I couldn't find this on Netflix, yet, but you can watch full episodes on CNNgo. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you're into other cultures, different ways of life, and learning about some ways other people live.

I've also been loving my Rue Violet Sleep Mask. I've always been a fan of sleep masks but this one is by far my favorite. It's super soft and lightweight, but thick enough to keep out all the light. The underside of this mask is made from terrycloth so it's comfy and soft. I have very watery eyes, especially at night, and the terrycloth absorbs the moisture so it doesn't irritate my skin. The elastic band is soft and stretchy and the patterns are really cute. The best part about these sleep masks are the price. I got mine off Easy for under $8. These are also machine washable, which is nice. A nice stocking stuffer for someone who loves their sleep or travels frequently - definitely a flying staple. 

I've been obsessed with this Starbucks Acrylic Tumbler. I drink a lot of hot tea, and in cold weather it's nice to be able to take it to-go. This tumbler is really cute, with silver beads and a pink lid. It keeps my beverages hot for hours and it's large enough to hold 16 oz. For just under $12, it's a steal, too. Great stocking stuffer or gift!

My last non-beauty favorite is actually a set - the Chronicles of Narnia Book Series and movies have kept me entertained all month. During November I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair. Unfortunately, only the first 3 have been made into movies, but I love the movies just as much as the books (for once)! The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the perfect winter/holiday movie. Young and old alike can enjoy this series. 

What were your November favorites? What made November memorable for you this year?

Fall Lips!

When fall finally arrives in Texas I not only switch up my foundation routine, but I also begin to choose more autumnal lip & cheek shades. Of course, certain trends come into play, but traditionally, fall colors are deeper, darker, and more plum or berry. And of course, a red lip is always on trend. These are my current favorite fall lip products...

Stila Lip Glaze in Majesty - I believe this was a limited edition holiday shade. It was part of a holiday set, however, it looks like the shades Berry & Black Cherry would be very similar. These are definitely sticky glosses, but the pigment lasts a really long time. Even after the gloss has worn off, the pigment remains. If you're bothered by sticky glosses, these glazes are definitely not for you, but they are very long-wearing especially for a gloss. They are also super shiny. 

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Rose Blush - This is one of my all-time favorite lipsticks. It's moisturizing and the color is a nude rose - like a your-lips-but-better nude shade. It's a deep rose color so it's perfect for the colder weather without being too dramatic. I like to dab this on if I'm sporting a more dramatic eye look or a neutral makeup look for a subtle lip color. 

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids Lipstick in Brazen Berry - I love this range of lipsticks. They're bright and highly pigmented, but moisturizing and long-lasting. This is a bright berry shade; it's perfect for a day-time autumn look. This is the most purple shade I have chosen, it's a cool tone with less red in it. 

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Blissful Berry - this is a true berry shade. It reminds me of a cranberry shade; it's reddish with just the right amount of purple. To me, this is the epitome of dramatic autumn and winter lipsticks. I love the color and the formulation is creamy, moisturizing, and highly pigmented. This is perfect for a bold lip look.

Make Up For Ever lipstick - this is in my GIVEAWAY! Check out that blog post to learn more.

NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in Soft Fuchsia - these are a cross between a lip liner and a lip crayon or chubby stick. It's part liner pencil, part lip balm, and part lipstick. These don't last for hours, but they're super easy to apply and I love this shade. This is a perfect everyday fall nude. It's a deep, dusty rose color, and you can dab these on a for a more natural/sheer look, or build it up to look like an opaque lipstick. They're slightly glossy but not at all sticky. They're very creamy and don't dry my lips out. I keep this in my purse during autumn & winter for a go-to lip color that I can swipe on quickly when I need it.

From left to right: Majesty, Rose Blush, Brazen Berry, Blissful Berry, Copper Pink, & Soft Fuchsia.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway going on now! Check me out on Instagram & Twitter.

October Favorites!

It's my favorite time of year! I love fall and the clothes, food & drink, decor, weather and everything else that comes with it. Unfortunately, we only had a few days of autumn weather in Texas, but towards the end of the month it finally started to cool down. I have several beauty and non-beauty favorites that I have been loving all through the month of October!

LUSH lip scrub - LUSH makes several different flavors of lip scrubs. This is their winter version - it's cola flavored and bright red. You apply this and gently scrub it into dry lips. It's made from castor sugar & coconut oil so you can lick it off and you're ready to apply your lip product. It has cherry & date extract, so it's a bright red and tastes like cherry cola. It will run you about $9 and I have had mine since last December, so it lasts quite a while.

Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover - This is a waterproof eye makeup remover from Sephora's own collection. I have the 4.2 oz bottle and a little bit goes a long way so this will last me a lifetime. I typically use this in the morning if I have any mascara or liners smudges around my lashes or under my eyes before I apply my moisturizer and makeup for the day. I also use this to clean the gel liner off of my angled liner brushes. You shake it to mix it up, and the bottle dispenses it drop-by-drop. The packaging hasn't ever leaked on me, so it would be a good travel makeup remover as well. I picked this up for $10.50 near the registers at Sephora. 

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation - I have been loving this lately as a tinted moisturizer. I typically stay away from matte foundations because I have dry skin, but I wanted to give this a try since it was a mousse. The finish of this foundation depends on how I choose to apply it. I sometimes dab it on with my fingers quickly as a sheer "tinted moisturizer" just to smooth and slightly blur my skin. When I want a little more coverage, I use a damp beauty blender. I make sure to moisturize well before applying this and use a damp applicator so that it doesn't look cakey or dry on my skin. It matches my skin tone perfectly and it's lightweight and easy to throw on for a quick cover-up. I don't use this on a daily basis, but its a good product to swipe on if you're in a hurry but want to look put-together. I picked this up at Walgreens for around $6.

Sephora MicroSmooth Baked Luminizer  - I have this in the shade "Stardust." It's a highlight powder with a gold shimmer to it. It doesn't have glitter or any chunky sparkle to it - it's so smooth and flawless and adds a beautiful highlight to cheek bones. I use this on my cheek bones, brow bones, and even as an eye shadow sometimes. It's versatile and compact and never looks chalky on the skin. This is a good highlight for fair skin but I think it will work for so many other complexions as well. It costs $14 at Sephora. 

Stardust

If you've been reading my posts, you already know how much I love Benefit Hervana blush. If you haven't, you can read about it here. It has been my go-to blush during the month of October.

MAC pigment in naked - I've rediscovered this! I bought this years ago and forgot about it until recently. It's slightly shimmery and it's the perfect nude. I sweep it all over the lid & crease and pop on some mascara and go. Love it. MAC pigments run around $21, which is only slightly more than the basic shadows, and you get a ton of product.

Naked

Vince Camuto Perfume - I have actually been wearing this all year round, but it's especially perfect for fall and winter. This is a slightly floral, vanilla scent but it has more musky notes like leather, patchouli, and amber. The floral notes are rose and jasmine. I always get compliments when I wear this and I can't get enough of this scent. Besides the lovely fragrance, the bottle is so pretty and looks really nice on display on a vanity or dressing table.

Glade room sprays in Pumpkin Pie & Red Apple - These smell SO good and make me really feel like it's fall. The scents linger for days and when I use these, guests always say the house smells amazing and so much like fall. The pumpkin scent smells like pumpkin spice, and the red apple is a crisp and fresh apple scent. I also bought the Glade plug-ins in the Red Apple scent as well. Glade always comes out with really amazing fall and winter scents and I always go crazy buying them up. They have recently released their holiday/winter scents and they sound amazing. Can't wait to check them out!

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte & Oprah Chai Tea Latte - I always anxiously await the arrival of the PSL, and this year it was released early. We had a few cold & rainy days early in October and I quickly made a Starbucks run to have my first PSL of the season. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, I typically prefer tea, but I'm not a big fan of to-go hot teas at Starbucks. My standard Starbucks order is usually a soy chai tea latte and I switch to the frappuccino in the summer. I waited quite a while before I gave the Oprah Chai a shot and I'm sorry I did because I love it! It isn't drastically different than the original chai, but it is a bit bolder and the flavors seem more pronounced. Also, a portion of proceeds go to Oprah's education foundation. I'm currently sipping a chai tea latte and loving that they've brought out the festive red cups!

What were your favorites this past month? What are your favorite fall staples? Happy fall everyone!

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Fearless

When I'm shopping for a blush, I usually pick up a natural pink with a shimmer or highlight. This is really different from what I would usually go for, but I love it. I settled on the shade "fearless" - it's a matte coral with pink tones. I like the idea of it having 12-hour staying power. I hate looking washed out at the end of the day because my blush has faded. The Amazonian clay blushes are baked, and infused with clay from the Amazon River. 

How cute is the detail of the imprint on the pressed powder? I also really love the packaging. It's sleek and compact - perfect for traveling or throwing in your makeup bag and it has a great mirror under the lid. This blush is bright and very pigmented - I just barely dip my brush into the powder and get major color payoff. 

You can see in the swatch how pigmented this blush is. When a light dusting is applied to the cheeks it gives a really beautiful, natural look. You can pair a highlight shade with this, or leave it matte for fall & winter. Tarte claims that this blush is good for every skin type - dry, combination, & oily. I have dry skin and this always applies flawlessly without clinging to dry patches. 

As a bonus, Tarte creates this blush without the use of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances, GMOs and triclosan. They offer a wide range of shades with matte and shimmery options. 

I picked mine up at Sephora, but you can find these online and at Ulta for $26. I would love to try more Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes - I think next time I'll try Dollface and Flush.

Tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes Statement Mascara Review

LOVING this mascara! This was the first Tarte product I ever tried and to be honest, it didn't wow me at first. I bought this at the same time I bought the Benefit They're Real mascara and I ended up using the Benefit right away and didn't use the Tarte mascara for several weeks. Now I'm addicted. I have blonde lashes so it can take several coats for me to make sure all my lashes have been coated and darkened, but this mascara is SO black and because of the brush design, just a few sweeps and all my lashes are fully coated.

I initially purchased this based on a video by Fleur DeForce - she gave it a rave review and I decided I would give it a try. I really wanted to like it but wasn't all that impressed at first. I've discovered the secret - I have to curl my lashes first (I admit I'm not a consistent lash curler) and I have to use both sides of the brush. When you apply it to curled lashes it looks amazing! It holds the curl, it's super black and manages to coat each and every lash. It also adds volume and length. I started wearing this mascara to my hot yoga classes because although I don't wear any face makeup - I usually swipe on a bit of waterproof mascara since my lashes are blonde. This mascara does NOT budge. I've been wearing this everywhere for a couple of weeks now and I love it.

Tarte also claims that it's enriched with vitamins and minerals so that it ends up being healthy for your lashes. That's just an added bonus because the truly black formula and the brush design are really great and I will definitely be repurchasing this. The brush has two sides to it - a short, dense, side that helps coat the lashes and add volume, and a longer, firmer side that combs through to avoid clumps and lengthen. I love it so much I may just have to try the Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara as well.

I purchased mine at Sephora but you can also find it at Ulta and Tarte online

PS - How cute is the packaging?!

October Obsession: Boots No 7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask

I have been using No 7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask from Boots everyday this month. I have always loved this product, but for some reason I've been obsessed with it throughout the month of October. I have the formula for dry/very dry skin and it hydrates my skin so much. I struggle with extremely dry skin especially on my face, and this mask solves my dry skin problems every time. It's meant to be a mask that you apply and then later remove, but it can also be used as a deep moisturizer. I apply a thin (actually, not so thin because I love it) layer to my skin and let it sink in overnight. When I wake up I never have any residue or a greasy feeling - my skin always drinks this stuff right up. Even if I use a cleanser for dry skin, I always feel much dryer at the end of the day after a shower or after washing my face. I apply this directly after cleansing or right before bed and it seems to cure my dry skin overnight.

I was reading through the reviews when I first purchased this product, and I noticed some people complained about the smell and about it tingling sensitive skin. I love the smell, I think it smells new and clean and it doesn't bother me at all; I don't ever find it offensive. I also haven't had any irritation problems with this. It's so silky and soothing that I can't imagine it would ever bother my skin. I would say I have sensitive skin, and I often find that certain products burn or irritate my skin, but this isn't one of them. I love the packing as well - you can dispense the desired amount of product, it stays clean, you can see how much you have left, and the pump works seamlessly. An all-around love for me!

I get mine at Target but you can also find it at Ulta and online at Boots. Your local drugstore like Walgreens or CVS may carry it as well.

September Favorites!

September flew by but I'm so happy to see October. I'm ready for fall weather, pumpkin everything, and boots! Fall is my favorite season and I'm so glad it's finally here. Here are some beauty and non-beauty items I loved during September.

Beauty:

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation - I love this foundation. I'm usually a fan of Revlon foundations not only for their consistencies but also their color range. They have a nice array of fair shades and some really light shades that match my skin perfectly. I have this foundation in the shade "ivory" and it's an absolutely perfect match. It really looks like my skin and provides just enough coverage. You could apply a light layer for sheer coverage on a "no makeup" day or you could add a thicker layer for light-medium coverage and touch up any spots with concealer. I apply this with a beauty blender.

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer - I like the yellow tones in this concealer. I use it under my eyes with pretty much any foundation. It provides good coverage so you could wear a sheer layer of foundation and cover any under eye bags or darkness with this concealer and you're ready to go. I like the packaging, I just wish it was a little larger because I run through it pretty quickly. I apply this with the same beauty blender I used to apply my foundation. I use the shade "Chantilly." This goes for $29 at Sephora.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush - This is my transition blush. It still has shimmer and a highlight to it, but it's a deeper pink so it's the perfect transition from summer to winter. At $35, I think it's priced fairly. I love the packaging and the blush is pigmented and so easy to blend. The highlight swirled in is subtle but still adds a touch of a sheen to the cheekbones. I've been reaching for this a lot lately and I think it could be used as a daytime blush during Winter as well.

Make Up Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara - I have been loving this mascara. It's affordable as far as high-end mascaras go ($24) and I love the brush. It's a soft brush that's fat at the base and tapers to a point at the end - sort of pear-shaped. It's really black and doesn't flake onto my under eye area or smudge throughout the day. My favorite way to wear this mascara is with a smoky wing. I apply gel liner in a wing and then use a pencil brush and a black shadow to smoke out the edges. This look combined with the mascara has a really beautiful effect and makes it look like you're wearing false lashes.

Non-Beauty:

Bamboo Lane Crunchy Rice Rollers - These are fat-free popped rice snacks lightly sweetened with rice syrup and natural cane juice. I like to have these for breakfast with a little almond butter. They're crunchy but light and have just the right amount of sweetness. I picked these up at Costco, but I've linked the Amazon page for them for those of you without access to a Costco.

Twinings Earl Grey Tea - this is an old favorite of mine but I rediscovered it last month and remembered how much I LOVE this tea. I take my tea with sugar and milk, but lately I've been using Monk Fruit sweetener as a sugar alternative.