October Favorites

     Can you believe that October is already over? It's absolutely crazy that there are now only two months left in 2014! As sad as I am to see this beautiful fall month go, I am so incredibly excited for November! November is my birthday month (helloooooo, 21st birthday!!!) and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. November is also the month that I start doing all of my holiday shopping, and who doesn't love that?!
     This month I've been rocking the same look almost every day that I wear makeup. I've been following the trend that many of us have been following, and that's the Kylie Jenner big lips, cat eyes, 90's look. I am completely head over heels in love with this look! It's so effortless and absolutely everyone can wear it. To perfect my own KJ inspired look, these are the products that I have been loving.

      At the beginning of the month I finally splurged on the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette. I was a bit skeptical about spending almost $60 on a highlighting palette, but I am so glad that I did! These powders make you skin look absolutely flawless. I love using the 2nd lightest shade, as an under eye setting powder so give my under eyes a soft focus look. I like to use the middle shade as an actual highlighter on the high points of my face. This isn't your typical "in-your-face" highlighter, but it's perfect for every day. It gives the most beautiful glimmer of light to your cheek bones. I like to use the darkest shade to help kind of bronze up my fair skin.  I have very dry skin, so I am not one to shy away from glowing skin!

     For lips, I have been all about that Kylie Jenner nude lip! I can't do the normal nude lip, as it washes my olive skin out too much. I love this KIKO Precision Lip Liner in the shade 302 to line and fill my lips. It is an exact dupe for MAC's Whirl which Kylie uses. Best part? It's less than $5! Of course it's only readily available to those of us who live in Europe, but the rest of you can order it online. 

   When I placed my order for my Hourglasss palette, I also bought a number of other things, including a trio of mini Sugar Lip Treatments from Fresh. It came with a red, plum, and this translucent shade. I like to use this on top of my KIKO liner so my lips aren't quite as matte and so they stay hydrated during these colder months. 

     For eyes I've been focusing a lot on bold liner and lashes. I have never tried a gel liner and when I was growing the KIKO store, I decided to pick this one up. OMG is it AMAZING! I'm talking the blackest of the blacks, totally matte, and lasts for 14+ hours without budging. I have problems with the Kat Von D tattoo liner after about 5 hours with rubbing off. This one doesn't move at all. It's even hard to get off with my Clinique Take Off The Day makeup remover. It's so perfect in all aspects! It's also less than $5 as well. PERFECT! 

     In my September Ipsy bag I received the Urban Decay Perversion mascara. This stuff is amazing! It gives my lashes length and volume and makes them incredibly black. This is something that I will be picking up as soon as I run out. 

      

      One non-beauty favorite this month is kind of cheating, since it came out the last weekend of October, but I couldn't pass up talking about it. I'm sure you've all heard about Taylor Swift's new album 1989 by now. And for good reason! This is by far her best album to date and I already see her taking home tons of awards for it. It's so different than anything she's ever done before, and while it was a bold move, it was the best move she could have ever taken.  I was very timid to buy the album because I was concerned that it would be 13 tracks of Shake It Off, but I decided to try it anyway, and I am so happy that I did. Shake It Off is very different from the other tracks on the album. It is with all intents and purposes a pop album, but not an in your face dancey, Shake It Off filled album. My favorite tracks from the album are Style, Wildest Dreams, Clean, and Out Of The Woods. I won't go too in depth about each track since, let's face it, I'm lawful at explaining thing, but it is definitely worth your time! I have had this album on repeat since I bought it on Monday and I don't see myself taking it off anytime soon. 

     What were your most used products this month? Do you have any music recommendations for me? TV? Books? Anything? Let me know! I love hearing about new things! 

My Pamper Routine

     Over the past month or so, I've been developing a weekly pamper routine. After trying many different products, I think I've finally found what's working the best for me. This little routine currently only involves my hair and face, but I do plan on adding to it to include the rest of my body as well. This routine focuses on my dry skin and hair. As the weather is getting colder, both of those things seem to be getting dryer. These are the things I've been using to help combat that dryness.

Before I start with my face, I like to start with my hair so it's able to soak up all of the conditioning goodness of the hair masque for a bit longer. This deep repair masque is packed with oils like macadamia, tea tree, and argan just to name a few. It works to reconstruct dry, damaged hair, which is exactly what I need. I like to leave this on my hair for at least thirty minutes, but preferably an hour. This conditioner does wonders with restoring the moisture and shine in my hair. It leaves my hair feeling incredibly smooth and silky. It's a bit pricey, but it's definitely worth the splurge. 

After I've washed out and rinsed the masque, I like to finish it off with the ECRU Acacia Protien BB Cream. This cream is full of oils and amino acids to help strengthen, protect, and restore the shine to your locks. 

     For my face, I've been sticking to more natural things. I made a trip to Lush earlier this month and I picked up a few things that have turned into forever staples. I start off with the Cupcake (Terra-madre) Fresh Face Mask to help with my hormonal chin acne. I've had a lot of flare ups this month so I needed something to help with that and the saleswoman recommended this to me. The Rhassoul mud helps to deeply clarify the skin. Best part? It smells like chocolate with a bit of a mint twist!
After I let this dry for about 20 minutes, I rinse off and follow up with Let The Good Times Roll cleanser. This also smells absolutely incredible! It's so sweet! The corn oil in this helps to deeply moisturize my dry skin. It's also exfoliating, which helps to remove all of the dead skin. The masque is a little harsh and can be a bit drying, so afterwards I could definitely use the help from this little beauty. After it's all done, I like to finish off with my Eau Roma Water Toner. I like to leave this in my fridge so it's even more refreshing. The rose water and lavender help to hydrate and even out skin tone.
 
     I like to do this routine on Sundays, to help cleanse everything from the week before and start the new week with freshly pampered skin and hair. Starting the week feeling beautiful is so important and this really does the trick for me, as far as appearances go. What special things to do you like to do to help out your skin and hair? Let me know!