September 2017 Favorites

September went by so fast! I’m loving every day that it doesn’t hit above 75.  Check out my favorites from this month:

Beauty 

Essie Geranium / I wore this polish on my toes this month and didn’t want to take it off! It held up really well and brought out my tan.

Blow Drying / For the longest time I have been blow drying my hair as smooth as possible, trying to lay down the cuticle to make it shiny.  However, I realized that doing it this way flattens my hair. Of course I want the length of my hair to be shiny, but I’ve been doing a bit more of a “rough” blow dry to give myself more volume.  Not sure if this made sense but it’s been making my hair fall much more nicely.  This method let’s my hair’s natural texture come through and stay big and fluffy for longer.  80% of the time I just let my hair air dry so I’m not causing damage on these “rough” blow dry rare occasions.

Lash Paradise Mascara with curled lashes / This mascara was so hyped up, and I didn’t really understand why at first. It all made sense once I tried it with curling my lashes. I’m not sure why it made such a difference adding that step, but it made the mascara deliver volume, length, and separation.

MAC Creme D’ Nude perfume / I sniffed this scent at a MAC counter and couldnt get it out of my head. It reminds me a lot of Elizabeth and James Nirvana Bourbon, but a lot less expensive. The nude packaging makes me love it even more.  This is a really good “everyday” type scent. It is non offensive, and very different from what many people wear.

MAC Tempting & Indianwood / The most beautiful bronze colors ever! If you need a dupe of Dose of Colors Noli like I did, this is it.

Fake Bake Darker / This is the tanning product I recommend to people when they need to buy one in store for a special event. You can get it at Ulta and it is a liquid that comes in a spray bottle, which means it goes a long way.  It even comes with a mitt to apply! It provides a rich mahogany brown tan.

Acure Exfoliate / I love this seaweed scrub face wash to use in the shower on my face and legs after I shave. It is $8 and has nice ingredients.  It’s rumored to be a dupe for Exfolikate by Kate Somerville.

Pixi Nudestix / I love Nudestix, and have been wearing this comfortable matte lip pencil nonstop since I got it.  I loved it so much that I bought one for a friend’s bday gift. It’s one of those products that is a crowd pleaser, so I highly recommend it if you need a good gift for a makeup lover!

Colourpop lip liners / Their formula is just as good as higher end brands. My current go to color is Aquarius.

Banana Boat Summer Color /  This lotion smells great and actually gets me tan. I do half Summer Color, half regular lotion to make the perfect concoction. I like applying it to moisturize and extend my tan.

Fenty Foundation / I’m so basic for mentioning this foundation but it’s so great for my oily skin. Ready my full review here.  I think the trick with it is to moisturize well (you should always do this anyway!) and use your favorite skin primer.

Essie base coat / I ran out of my Sally Hansen base coat and bought the Essie one. So far so good!

Other

Pumpkin Crunch Cake recipe / Easiest cake recipe ever! It’s one of those where you just dump everything in a cake pan and sprinkle yellow cake mix on top. It tastes so delicious and it super rich.

Wedding Makeup / I had the most amazing experience doing makeup for the bridal party of my friend’s wedding this month. Sometimes I wish I had gone into cosmetology, and this pretty much was fulfilling my fantasy of doing it as a job! It was a lot of work but totally worth it. I’ll probably do a post all about the experience to help anyone out there that is a rookie doing it like I was.

Pebby Forevee Scarf / Pebby Forevee is a store that I found on Pinterest. I love the aesthetic of the brand and the owner seems like a sweetheart from their Insta story.  She messaged me when I showed the scarf on Insta, which was a great personal touch!  I ordered a headband hair wrap and a camel scarf, and they both arrived super quickly with great quality. I will definitely be making more orders in the future and wanted to specifically mention the scarf- it is the perfect camel brown color to match with absolutely everything.  The items looked exactly as nice and oversized as they did online.

Current Starbucks order / The PSL came out September 5, and I switched up my Starbucks drink in honor of the changing seasons. I get a cold brew with 2 pumps of toffee nut syrup, no ice. I also tried the PSL my bf ordered the other day and I was blown away at how delicious they are- it was literally like drinking cake lol.  Whenever I get their lattes I ruin the flavor with almond milk, half the amount of syrup, nonfat this and that… basically trying to cut calories. The real thing is too good.

Shein Tank / After hearing about SheIn for awhile now, I decided to make an order. I was a little skeptical because the clothes are so cute and cheap that it seems unrealistic, but the top I got came and was beautiful. It took awhile to ship because it comes from Asia, and the sizing runs really small. Definitely worth checking it out though if you are a small build and don’t mind the delivery wait!

Minnetonka Boots / After admiring the Minnetonka fringe boots for way too long, I finally bought a pair! I seriously have wanted these for like five years but thought they weren’t practical. Screw “practical” because I am so happy with them. I have worn them over leggings and with a dress. The past few winters it seems like short/ mid height booties have been more in style than tall ones, and I’m happy tall boots are coming back! They are definitely the focus of an outfit and bring interest when I’m wearing something boring. I got the five layer tall ones.  Along with these I have been wearing my moccasins to work almost every day.

Caramel Pumpkin Swirl candle / I was gifted this candle and have been loving it!! I’m a huge Bath & Body Works candle fan, but all the Pumpkin/ Caramel/ Latte blah blah all seemed to blend together when I smelled them in the past. I haven’t been buying them, sticking to the crisp fresh scents like Leaves and Autumn.  This one has totally changed my mind though, and I’m obsessed with this candle. It is so delicious smelling and makes me want to bake. This candle is so strongly scented that I even get whiffs of it when it’s not burning!

Nicole Renee Cutler / This girl has been my favorite youtuber for the past few months! I love her smokey eye looks that are very wearable and she uses affordable products.

Nordstrom Rack Moto Jacket / Everyone and their mom has a cute black leather jacket that they look so effortlessly put together in. When I try them on I look like a hulk linebacker. I don’t need a ton of hardware, studs, belts, chains, yada yada.  The ones I have tried are SO tight in the arms and shoulders that they feel like a restraining jacket. The ones I do like cost $500+ and I can’t swing that at the moment. I was browsing Nordstrom Rack and found my ideal “black moto jacket”! It is sweatshirt material, but has the shape of a leather jacket. I’m pretty much obsessed with it because my style is very casual and relaxed.  If I had found an ideal leather/ faux leather jacket, it would have gotten minimal actual wear because I don’t get out all that much to be honest. 

To the Bone / This is a Netflix movie that I watched this month and wanted to recommend. It follows the story of a girl struggling with anorexia. This story was serious but not depressing, and even lighthearted/ funny at times and the acting was good.  

Hope your month was amazing and have a great weekend! Thank you for reading.

-Kim