October Favorites

As I am sitting here typing this, I am currently listening to my Spice Girls Pandora station with my Pumpkin Cupcake candle burning, and I have to say, it is perfection. I had to mention this because I feel it is so fitting for a favorites post, and I really think I need to include this Pandora station to my favorites. It is seriously amazing and I have not skipped one song yet...I suggest you get comfy, light your favorite fall scented candle, and put this station on while you read this post!

1. CoverGirl Perfect Blend Eyeliner- Basic Black

This has been my holy grail eyeliner for as long as I can remember. I have tried so many other eyeliners- liquid, pencil, gel, you name it- and I always seem to come back to this one. I use it to line my upper lid and wing it out, and I just love the way it glides on smoothly. It is so easy to use and especially to wing out. Some other eyeliner pencils that I have tried are too creamy for winging, but this one is perfect. Not to mention it is super pigmented and very black!

2. Bath & Body Works 3-Wick Candle- Pumpkin Cupcake

So since I decided that I would include a different candle in my monthly favorites, this month's favorite has been Pumpkin Cupcake! I'm not one of those people who is obsessed with everything pumpkin flavored, but this candle sure does smell good, so I had to jump on the pumpkin bandwagon for this one. Also...I just had a mini heart attack because when I looked up the link for this candle, I saw Bath & Body Works's holiday candles on the website....And now I'm going to the mall this weekend to buy them.

3. Clarisonic Refreshing Gel Cleanser

This facial cleanser literally makes me excited to wash my face every night. Not only for the fact that it leaves my face feeling so clean and soft, but mainly because it smells amazing. I can't even describe the smell and I don't know why I'm so in love with it... it really just smells like fresh, clean skin. 

4. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick- Anarchy

You were probably wondering what the heck this was from the picture...I got a free sample from Sephora of the new Urban Decay  Revolution Lipsticks and it came with 4 shades, one of them being Anarchy. I actually love this lipstick in general and picked up one of the other colors, but I'm soo in love with this color as well and I think I might need to buy the full size version! It is a bright pink-fuschia color, but it is surprisingly very wearable and not too crazy. Plus, it lasted all day long with one application, even through eating. 

5. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Grey Area

I really can't say enough good things about Sally Hansen nail polishes. I will probably be doing a full review on this product but I needed to mention it in my monthly favorites because, well, it's been my favorite this month! This color is so great for fall and I swear it looks just like an Essie color, except it was half the price. I painted my nails this color and it literally stayed on for almost 2 weeks. Of course it did start to chip, but not as bad as when I get my nails done at the salon.

6. OPI Natural Nail Base Coat and Top Coat
Ulta was recently having this amazing promotion for OPI nail polish where if you buy two, you get a base coat or top coat free. So obviously, I justified buying 4 nail polishes so I could get the base coat and top coat for free! I've only used them so far with my Sally Hansen polish but I would attribute some of the reason why my most recent manicure did not chip as much to using a great base and top coat.

7. Garnier BB Cream Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector- Fair/Light
I used this BB Cream over the summer in a darker shade (when I had a tan) and really liked it so I decided to try it out in the lighter shade to match my pale skin now. I will also probably be doing a full review on this product. I like the way it does not feel heavy on my skin and I have been using it in place of foundation on an every day basis since I got it.

Happy November!

September Favorites

I've always enjoyed reading other people's monthly favorites so I decided that I would share mine with you all. Here are my favorite products for the month of September:

1. MAC Shaping Powder in Emphasize

I recently started using this powder to set my concealer under my eyes. It is made specifically for this area so that your concealer does not crease and it is also meant for highlighting. I am so in love with the way this powder works! Not only does it prevent my concealer from creasing, it gives such a perfect highlight effect to my face and really just brightens up the area under my eyes. I don't want to say that there is sparkle in this powder but it is definitely not completely matte and does have a little shimmer to it to really reflect the light. I use the shade "emphasize" (I'm a MAC NC15 concealer) which is the lightest shade.  If you are very pale like me, I would say definitely go for this shade..Don't be afraid if you get it and it looks stark white before you apply it-I promise it looks beautiful on! FYI- This is a MAC Pro product so it is not sold at the MAC counter, only online and at MAC Pro stores!

2.Hempz Vanilla Plum Herbal Body Moisturizer 

I got this lotion for free with my Ulta rewards points. I forget which points bracket it is part of..I'm pretty sure it is the second to last bracket. If you are a member of the Ulta rewards program, you probably know  that there isn't much of a selection when it comes time to get your reward, so when I went to pick mine out, I wasn't really sure what to get. This lotion seemed like it was the product that I would get the most use out of so I decided to get it. I had to choose between the vanilla plum scent or pomegranate, and at first I thought that vanilla and plum was kind of a weird combination, but it turned out that I really love the way this smells and I can't get enough! My skin isn't really very dry (at least for now-winter may be a different story!) so I can't really speak to how well it moisturizes dry skin, but I definitely love the way this feels on my skin and how it smells!

3. Keratin Complex Lock Launder Strengthening Dry Shampoo

I've always loved using dry shampoos to extend the life of my styled hair. I can get really lazy with my hair and it's a pain to blow dry and straighten it so I try to milk it for all that it's worth once I do it. I recently got a keratin treatment in my hair, so that means I can't use the products that I once normally used. Also, the more you wash your hair, the shorter the lifespan of the treatment is. Considering this, I decided to get the dry shampoo made specifically for the keratin treatment that I have. I have definitely used some great dry shampoos before, but I really think that this one is a top contender. When I spray this in the roots of my hair and brush it out, it literally looks like I just washed and blew dried my hair! It looks so refreshed and I am absolutely in love with this stuff, and so happy that I bought it. 

4. Bath & Body Works PocketBac Sanitizing Hand Gel in Pumpkin Cupcake

If you know me, you know that I'm a germaphobe and always carry hand sanitizer with me everywhere I go! I get this lovely trait from my mom, so when she gave me some of this to use, it smelt amazing and I had to get my own (she bought it for me-thanks mom!) If you haven't smelt this one yet, go to B&BW right now and just smell it. You'll literally want to eat it.

5. Bath & Body Works Spiced Cider 3-Wick Candle

I have a recent obsession with B&BW candles so when the new ones come out for each season I get so excited. They always have sales (literally ALWAYS) so I try to get the candles when they are 2 for $22. I've been burning this one all through September and it smells like spices and apples and just pure fall. 

6. Clarisonic Mia 2

I added the Clarisonic Mia 2 to my skincare routine back in June, but I didn't use it much over the summer because since it is an exfoliator, I didn't want to exfoliate my face too often and lose my summer tan. When I started using it again this month, I remember why I loved it so much in the first place. It leaves my skin so incredibly smooth and gives me a nice, radiant glow that I've never had before. I do have to admit that whenever I start using it, I break out for about a week but apparently that is normal for Clarisonic users and it's worth the week of breakouts to get through to amazing skin. Even when I don't use this for one night, my skin just does not look as good the next day. I don't think I will ever stop using this thing to clean my face. 

7. Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Color in Blue Streak

I've been doing my own nails a lot recently because I just haven't had the time to go get them done. Obviously doing your own nails can never compare to getting them done at the salon, mainly because they don't look as good, but also because whenever I do my own nails they always seem to chip right away. I have a few of these Sally Hansen nail polishes, and they are the only nail polishes that I own that don't chip in a day like my others. This one is my favorite color that I own! 

8. Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Backstage

I don't wear lipstick too often, but I do love a bold lip every now and then. I think this is such a great color for fall, and right on trend with the dark, burgundy/cranberry lip colors that are so in right now. And, it's a drugstore product so it's very affordable which is definitely a plus!

9. Sigma F88- Flat Angled Kabuki Brush

This month I ordered a bunch of Sigma brushes and I love them all! This one I have been using to really sculpt out my contour with my bronzer. When I first saw it, I wasn't sure how well it would work for contouring because of how sharp and flat it is, but it works amazingly well and puts on just the right amount of bronzer for a natural look.