December 2013 Favorites!

Holy cannoli it's really 2014 already! Hopefully it'll be a good year for all of us with exciting new adventures and good changes. It's already looking that way for me. Anyway, let's wrap up the past year with the few things I was loving in December.

As you can see it's a small bit of things because, to be honest, I just didn't really get into anything new over the past month. Most of my money went to buying presents and the like. I toyed with doing my overall 2013 favorites but since I'm just a baby blogger I don't think I'm ready for that just yet. So even though this is a small list, I really truly loved these products.

 

First up is the Urban Decay Naked3 Palette. I know this is going to be an obvious choice and it's been on every single favorites list but there's a good reason for it. First of all, the colors are gorgeous. The rosy tones are very flattering on everyone and really make eyes pop. Also the range of shades made this palette ideal for pretty much every event throughout my December. A bit of the lighter and matte shades were wonderful for work and even for attending church on Christmas, then throw in some of shimmery shades and darker tones and I had a wonderful look for New Year's Eve. I'm positive this palette is going to get it's fair share of use throughout 2014 as well.

I rediscovered this Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation (whew, what a mouthful) this month because it happens to be the lightest shade foundation I own and my winter skin is in full effect. Other than the tone of this foundation, the coverage is incredible. My skin has been suffering due to weather and holiday stress and this has been a serious lifesaver. It's full coverage and seriously mattifying as well.

 

I am OBSESSED with this Bath & Body Works Snowday Candle. I've already burned through an entire three wick and am savoring my repurchase. It truly smells like winter in a candle in all the best ways. It's got a bit of pine and peppermint with a bit of creamy vanilla that is so enticing I could burn this right through to April.

You'll notice that this little guy isn't pictured above with the rest of them and that's because I loved him so much I've used him all up. This is the Lush Melting Snowman Bath Melt and unfortunately it's seasonal for Christmas and they've sold out. He seriously smells amazing – like cinnamon and clove. It's such a warm scent and not overpowering. It's soothing and perfect for a winter night. The melt itself is hydrating and leaves my skin feeling amazing. But seriously the scent nails it for me. All my clothes smell like him for a few days after using this lil buddy. I can't wait for him to come back next year.

I've also seriously been obsessed with Lea Michele's brand new single, Cannonball. If you weren't aware, Lea Michele is pretty much my favorite person on the planet. I've loved her since Spring Awakening and I, of course, adore Rachel Berry on Glee and her voice is out of this world. The single is so empowering and uplifting and makes my soul feel good. She's actually just made the video for it too and she looks gorgeous.

 

That's a wrap on my December 2013 favorites. I hope you've all had a wonderful holiday season and that 2014 is looking exciting and new for you. Thanks for reading!

Caitlin xx

How To: Saved Chapped Lips!

Winter is definitely here and while the snow is pretty and I'm loving snuggling up with a hot cocoa and watching a Christmas movie, it's that time of year where chapped lips really wreak havoc. Sometimes it's not that bad and a little swipe of lip balm does the trick but a few weeks ago I got chapped lips and I got them bad. It was seriously awful; they were cracked and peeling and just not cute or comfortable at all.

Since then I've started a little routine and it's worked wonders for me. My lips are smooth and soft and perfectly ready for any and all matte lipsticks you want to throw at me.

All you need for this is your regular everyday toothbrush, a good lip balm (I've using my Maybelline Baby Lips Dr Rescue in Too Cool, but any deep hydrating lip balms will do – I would recommend a medicated one), and a lip scrub (I've got Lush Santa's Lip Scrub but, again, any brand you like is fine). The steps are pretty simple and it's quickly become a regular part of my nighttime and morning routine.

The first thing is to use the toothbrush to buff away any dead skin. I do it right after brushing my teeth before bed. Just brush over your lips in little circles. You can change the pressure depending on how rough of a shape your lips are in. In the beginning I was really getting in there because there was so much dry skin that I really needed the extra elbow grease to get rid of it all. Now I just do a light little swipe around and I'm good to go. You just want to make sure you really are getting rid of all the dry dead skin so the lip balm can really penetrate.

Next I apply a very generous layer of lip balm – like really slather it on. The idea is that you're about to go to sleep so it's okay if you kind of get it all over. Sometimes the skin above and below your lips can get a bit red and sore so go ahead and get it all over. Don't be afraid.

Then you just get in bed and go to sleep and then when you wake up your lips should be pretty noticeably smoother. That's not to say that this is an overnight treatment, but I always find the morning after sleeping with a good lip balm on really does leave my lips feeling much softer.

After the other bits of my morning routine (face washing, tooth brushing, hair combing, etc.) but before starting my makeup, I'll pop on a decent amount of lip scrub just to polish. You can then lick off the scrub (I think most are edible) but I usually only get a little taste and then rinse the rest off with water because it is sugar and I don't want to have a sticky mouth (plus the Lush one I'm using at the moment does live a little bit of a red stain behind). 

Lastly I put on a thin layer of lip balm again. I try to do this right before starting my makeup so that after I get done with foundation and eyeshadow and blush and all the other fun stuff it's absorbed mostly because having too much lip balm on my lips when I go to apply lipstick makes the color just slip right off. You can then reapply lip balm throughout the day as needed, of course.

A few other chapped lip tips are to really try and keep yourself hydrated. I know it's hard in the cold months to really want to chug a cold bottle of water but it's so important. You can even try some teas or something (but try to stay away from caffeine). 

The other thing is to try and avoid very drying lip product when you're really suffering. If you really want some color try a tinted lip balm or anything that is moisturizing. Even with a layer of balm underneath, so many lipsticks can really affect your chapped lips, making them go from bad to worse. You can go back to your favorite matte lipsticks in a week or so but hold off while you're trying to bring your lips back to life.

That's it for my chapped lips routine! After about a week and a half of this I really did have soft and smooth lips. I've still kept up with this though, just now as more of a preventive measure than as a fixer. 

Let me know if you've got any tips or good products for beating those winter dry lips. Thanks so much for reading!

Caitlin xx

November 2013 Favorites!

Can you believe it's December already!! This month has flown by and I guess I can't really complain because December means Christmas and shopping and food!!

Anyway, let's get into the products I've been in love with this past month of November.

First up is MAC Powder Blush in Desert Rose. Oh my god, this color is amazing. I was seriously in the market for a good matte natural flush shade and this one is so so perfect. It's so great for the these months and just brightens your cheeks like you've just come in from cold. The texture is also nice and soft and blends super well and the formula is, of course, gorgeously pigmented. I'm in love. I don't know if I'll ever use another blush again (I will, probably but shh).

I know I mentioned this in my Lush haul but I'm so obsessed I had to mention Ocean Salt again. Seriously, whenever my skin is feeling gross and dull I just use this in the shower instead of my regular cleanser and I feel like I come out glowing.

How much can I gush about MAC Paint Pot in Let's Skate without sounding like a nut? I'm a huge fan of all of the Paint Pots and I use them pretty much daily as an eye shadow base or sometimes just as an allover color on lazy days. Let's Skate is a pale pink with a little gold shimmer that is so so sparkly and festive. I've been using it under pretty much all of my eye looks lately just for a little more festive fun and sometimes on it's own because it's gorgeous. And the name is so freaking cute. When they first introduced Let's Skate it was part of the limited edition Glitter & Ice collection but I'm so glad they decided to keep it around permanently because it's incredible.

A couple weeks ago I picked up the Urban Decay Black Market Pencil set and I have to say it was one of the best purchases I've ever made. I've been a big fan of the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils for a while now and I figured a little set of six colors would be perfect. I was right! I don't really think I'll use another eyeliner because these are amazing. They're so soft and go on smoothly but they don't budge once they're on. After a super long day where the rest of my makeup is long gone my eyeliner is still perfect and on point. My favorite colors have been West (a dark brown pearl, that is exclusive to this set, unfortunately) and Desperation (a taupe-gray matte that you can pick up in full size too).

Okay, there's been a whole lot of buzz over the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balms and with good reason. They're a really unique formula and combine the trends of matte and chubby lip crayons. I also really love them because they're still a balm so they're decently moisturizing (with shea, mango and coconut butter) while still giving a matte finish which is pretty nifty. They're incredibly pigmented too. The only thing is that if your lips are already chapped and/or cracked the matte finish is really going to show it, so try to keep your lips in good shape or wear a lip balm underneath. I'm crazy in love with the color Standout but I have three others that have been getting a lot of wear. Still, Standout is my staple right now because it's a pretty neutral matte red which is kind of perfect for the season.

I would be lost without this product, if I'm being honest. Maybe it's the most boring in this post but it's kind of changed my life. Maybelline Baby Lips Dr Rescue in Too Cool has been my go to this past month because I've had unreasonably dry and cracked lips. This weather has been doing me no favors. But this medicated formula has been keeping my lips beautiful. I love that the eucalyptus soothes right on contact to give some immediate relief in dire situations. After a week of using this baby, my lips look so healthy.

Who doesn't love a sparkly nail polish for the holidays! Butter London West End Wonderland is the perfect gold glitter polish and I've been putting it over pretty much every color to sparkle things up. The glitter is pretty dense too which I love, but you can also apply it lightly for sparser glitter. I've been loving it especially over Butter London Bramble, a really gorgeous bright eggplant purple. Bramble is also really gorgeous on its own.

I cannot tell you how much I love this candle. The Bath and Body Works Vanilla Snowflake Candle is just, in a word, delicious. Obviously, it smells like vanilla but it also has hints of cool mint and creamy coconut that make it so refreshing and unique. I've already picked up another 3-Wick and, since they've expanded this line into hand soaps and other home fragrances, I might need to pick up more.

As for music, One Direction's third album Midnight Memories released this month and it's so good. The sound is a lot more mature and rock-inspired and it's just really really fun. My favorite songs include Happily, Little Black Dress, and Better than Words.

I have also been obsessed with Peppermint Mochas. Honestly, I've probably had one at least five times a week since the first of November when they finally brought them back out. I realize I've jumped the Christmas gun a little bit but I can't be bothered to resist it. They're so delicious and make me feel so cozy and warm on the inside, like I should be curled up by the tree and fireplace watching old Christmas movies and wrapping presents. I could go for one right now!

That's all for my November favorites! Tell me what you've been loving this month!

Caitlin xx

Sweater Weather Tag!

Ah, yes, welcome to Tuesday already. Kristin (alittlefille) tagged me in this one last week and what a cute name it is so let's get into it!

1. Favorite candle scent?

My all time favorite fall candle is Cider Lane. It smells pretty much exactly like caramel apples which I adore and always reminds me of fall. Burning it brings back all those memories of apple orchard field trips as a kid.

2. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?

It pains me to have to pick but, being a working girl, I've got to go with coffee. I love a good dark roast or the Salted Caramel Mochas at Starbucks. Peppermint Mochas are my all time favorite, but I feel like that might be jumping the gun a little bit with this very autumnal tag.

3. What's the best fall memory you have?

Picking an all time favorite memory is really hard to pin down, but I just always cherish all the memories of going to soccer games with my family – be it my own or my brother's or for the team my dad coached. It was always a big weekend event and I'll always look back on those times fondly no matter what.

4. Which makeup trend do you prefer: dark lips or winged eyeliner?

Dark lips! Super dark vampy lips or cranberry lips have been my favorite all season long. I think they're pretty easy to wear once you kind of take the plunge and have some confidence. Winged eyeliner is always a staple but I'm so into dark lipsticks right now.

5. Best fragrance for fall?

I don't know about best but I've been pretty much only wearing PINK Warm & Cozy. I mean, I guess it makes sense for fall because it really is a comforting scent. Sometimes I spice things up with a little bit of Taylor by Taylor Swift over it.

6. Favorite Thanksgiving food?

Chestnut stuffing! I mean, I will take any and all types of stuffing you'll give me, but my aunt makes the most delicious chestnut stuffing. It's full of cranberries and chestnuts and sausage; it's incredible. You can just have a little slice as a meal and be full for hours.

7. What is autumn weather like where you live?

I live right outside of New York City, so our autumn is pretty picturesque and what you might imagine autumn would be like. It's a bit warm in the beginning and then it'll transition to very very chilly days – like today. (I'm still cold and I've been home for hours.)

8. Most worn sweater?

Honestly, my most worn sweaters are the cardigans I picked up from Target earlier in the season. They're super versatile and I wear them at least three times a week because they're so great to layer for work. My favorite sweater is a super cute grey one I got from Old Navy last year – it has sheep on it.

9. Must-have nail polish this fall?

Navy. I'm all over navy for all season and even into winter I think it's going to be so great. My favorite is Butter London Royal Navy.

10. Football games or jumping in leaf piles?

I don't really know how these compare unless they mean a pickup football game in the yard with your brother and friends or something? Either way I'd definitely pick football. Playing football, going to football games, or watching them on TV; I'm a huge huge football fan.

11. Skinny jeans or leggings?

I can't believe it, but I'm going to pick leggings. I work my PINK leggings almost every day this week, today being the first day in a long while I broke out the skinnies. And I've actually put my leggings back on as soon as I got home. They're just so comfortable and easy and they go with most outfits.

12. Combat boots or Uggs?

Combat boots, only because I don't have Uggs right now. But I am looking into getting some soon, I think.

13. Is pumpkin spice worth the hype?

Pumpkin spice is delicious and anyone who tells you differently shouldn't be trusted.

14. Favorite fall TV show?

American Horror Story! Every season has been so good and creepy and so perfect for the season of Halloween but Coven has been so so incredible. It's the perfect mix of creepy and campy fun and it's about witches! There's a lot of moments that are definitely pushing boundaries but that just makes everything so much more interesting.

15. What song really gets you into the fall spirit?

Every year, as soon as September comes around, I have to breakout Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism. I know that's a whole album but it screams autumn to me and every track is perfect. If I had to pick one song from it it'd be "We Looked Like Giants".

Thank you so much for reading and definitely do the tag if you want to! It was a fun one!

Caitlin x

Holiday Lush Haul

They are coming!!! The holidays are literally right around the corner and the air is cold and crisp and it could snow any second, so you know what that means: it's time to pop into Lush.

Now I'm pretty new to the whole Lush thing, having not really considered myself a bath person and being a little intimidated by their multitude of projects but I've decided to give it a go with a little hand-holding from my love, Kristin of alittlefille. Plus their limited edition holiday products are a little hard to resist.

That being said, I might have gone a little overboard on both permanent and holidays things. Disclaimer: the products in this post are actually from two separate shopping trips, as if that makes it any better.

 

The first thing I picked up was Ocean Salt – a great face and body scrub made from fine and coarse sea salt, lime extract, and vodka! I've been using it pretty regularly since I picked it up a few weeks ago and it's extremely wonderful. The sea salt exfoliates and brightens my dreary, dry, winter skin while the avocado and coconut hydrate. It's great for all skin types: oily, dry, or combination. Now, since my skin is pretty sensitive, I've been using it twice a week in the shower but if yours isn't quite so fussy, you can use it as often as you'd like! Plus it smells incredible! Like a tropical cocktail!

Next up, is a limited edition facial cleanser called Bûche de Noël, named for a French Christmas dessert often made from from almonds which makes sense since this thing is packed with them! In the shop, the Bûche de Noël comes as a little log and they just slice you off a tiny piece which is very cute – like you're getting a little slice of cake. Then when you get your slice home you break off a tiny piece, get it wet, and it'll make a frothy little paste to scrub over your face. So far, I've been loving it. The smell isn't as nice as I thought it might be seeing as I adore almond and almond scents, but in the end it's so effective I don't really care. The ground almonds exfoliate while the almond oil and cocoa butter hydrate and there's a little shot of brandy to tone as well. 

Another face product I picked up (can you tell I'm a little obsessed with skincare at the moment?) is the Mask of Magnaminty. I've actually only used this once so far, but I think it's pretty great. It's a clay mask made with fresh peppermint to deeply clean out your pores and it's made with vanilla absolute and honey to calm and soothe redness which I've been seriously struggling with lately. Now, because of the peppermint, if you have sensitive skin, the girl in the shop told me to only use it for five minutes but following those instructions I've been totally fine. They also say you can use it on your back (or anywhere else on your body, I imagine?) but I'm not really sure how you're supposed to apply it unless you have a helping hand.

 

Moving on to the fun stuff!! I know this one is a little bit dated but when I was in the store last week they still had a few left and they're still up on the website! This is Pumkin and isn't he the cutest little bubble bar you've ever seen!!! I picked up two of him, actually, a few weeks ago and he smells lovely – much like the Figs and Leaves soap – very fresh while musky. He turned my bath a lovely bubbly orange as well. His eyes are made of chocolate chips and he has a stem made of licorice, both of which the shop girls said you could eat, but really I don't think I'd recommend that. They both melt into a hot bath anyway.

I also picked up this FUN Christmas set. Now, if you are unfamiliar with FUN it's this play doughy like thing that you can use as bubble bath, soap, or even shampoo. And you can mold and play with it too! Now, I'm guessing it's mostly made for kids to make bath time "fun" but when you're a grownup with your own money you can do whatever you want. Since I haven't used FUN before, I decided I'd try a little bit of few of their scents with this little gift set (that I'm gifting to myself). In this one, is red (smells like mandarins), a green (smells like lemons and limes), and a bit of their limited edition gold FUN (that one smells like a honey toffee).

Now isn't this Magic Wand just precious! It's a bubble bar right on a little stick so you can cast some bubble right in your bathtub. It smells deliciously like cotton candy– just like Snow Fairy – and makes your bath water pretty and pink. It's a great bang for you buck too since you can use this for up to ten baths. The one pictured above has already been used twice!

 

The Golden Wonder bath bomb is so gorgeous both to look at and to use. The bomb itself is a little gift box coated in a gold shimmer with a cute little white bow on top. It smells like a fruity-citrus champagne and when you drop it in the bathwater it bursts with a gorgeous teal color on the inside along with teeny little stars that will eventually dissolve as well. It's probably the most fun bath bomb to use and it'll leave your skin with a faint sparkle as well.

I think the Melting Snowman bath melt is going to be my favorite of this whole haul. I've yet to use him, but he smells fantastic – like spicy cinnamon and cloves – perfect for winter. He's also a bath melt so he's got lots of hydrating butters – like Shea and Cocoa – plus some almond oil to help soften dry winter skin. Plus how freaking cute is he!

I make sincere apologies for being so awful and using up half of these two wonderful bath bombs but I wanted to mention them because I adore them. The one of the left, called So White (clearly), beautifully smells of apples which is my all time favorite scent. It looks boring on the outside but it looks a little bit like a snowball which is cute plus the inside is a purply-pink to turn your bathwater. The one of the right is Lord of Misrule. Named for the ruler of the Pagan Feast of Fools, this bomb smells like spicy black pepper and patchouli. The outside is so cute – green and specked with pink and yellow with a little inlay that mimics those little paper hats that come out of Christmas crackers (which apparently come from the Lord of Misrule, himself). The inside of this is also a lovely purple.

The Comforter bubble bar is massive! And gorgeous too! The scent really is comforting – a sweet, but not overly sweet, black current. I just want to run a bath and make heaping bubbles with this and forget about the world. Plus did I mention it's huge! You could easily make several baths out of this one, depending on how bubbly you like your baths to be.

 

 Lastly, I picked up a new lip scrub because my old Bubblegum one was pretty nasty and I was so pleasantly surprised to see they had a new limited edition flavor. Santa's Lip Scrub tastes freaking delicious, like cherry cola, and it's super cute too with tiny little edible hearts inside. If you've never used a Lush lip scrub before I highly recommend them especially for this season of super chapped lips.

That's my whole exhausting haul! Let me know if anything has sparked interest for you or if you have any other Lush recommendations! 

Caitlin x