October 2011 Favorites

October always seems to blow by, doesn't it? What with prepping for Halloween and the changing weather, it's such a dynamic month.  I, for one, was so busy I rarely had time for my trademark colorful eyeshadows and found myself primarily sporting statement lips!
Without further ado:

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder 001 Transparent $4
I never would have purchased this powder without hearing about it first from Hayley of Hayley is TCB.  She's such a makeup prodigy!  I trust products she recommends because I think she's quite the artist.  I haven't been disappointed in this matte setting powder at all.  It is an incredible bargain, doesn't make me break out or cause skin irritations, and doesn't make my skin appear paler.  It really controls oil, as well, for hours! My only complaint would be the packaging, but at $4 I'm not complaining!

Boo! Haunted powder!

Milani Lip Flash Pencils are $6.99 each, have great pigmentation and lasting power, and are nice and glittery for Halloween looks (or festive holiday looks in the coming months).  They sharpen really easily and are mostly smooth, though a bit sticky (I think that's why they last) and slightly gritty.  I bought these to be dupes of those Sephora-exclusive Urban Decay lip color pencils, but I don't own those so I can't compare.

03 Flash Light - the driest of the pencils

04 Photo Flash - really soft and moisturizing

05 Hot Flash - almost-dupe of Hourglass Siren gloss

Hot Flash topped with LE Milani Hot Flash gloss - even closer to Hourglass Siren

06 Flashy

07 In a Flash - this one is really sheer. Used in a FOTD here

08 Star Flash - difficult to cover my pigmented lips

Bath and Body Works Liplicious Lip Gloss $4 (Crazy for Candy Corn/Cookies & Scream) These are both yummy and glossy, but also sticky and I keep licking them off.  If you can avoid eating them, they last pretty long because of the stickiness.  I liked to wear them alone to feel festive or over the Milani Lip Flash pencils for extra gloss and moisture.  I blame the Muse for featuring Bath and Body Works products so often -- you can only witness so much cuteness before you give in!

NYC Bronzing Powder in Sunny $2.99 for when I don't go after Too Faced Chocolate Soleil in my Sweet Dreams Palette.  It's in my bathroom, handy for quick contouring when I'm running late (every day...), and a great bargain Stephanie C. from In Her Makeup Bag found.  Thanks, Steph!

MAC Painterly Paint Pot $17.50; best under cooler eyeshadows.  I use Soft Ochre for warmer shades, but this month I was reaching for more plum-toned neutrals when I had time to do eye makeup.

The blushes from Stila Travel Girl palettes, $14 per palette.  I have several so they're running the gamut of shades I've been reaching for to complement my bold lips.

Left to Right: Love and Empower palette hope & joy; Stila Loves Roxy palette gold coast & swim; Find Your Magic palette love & shimmer. Original review here

Ballet Flats (too cold for sandals, too warm for boots!), though it's starting to get too cold around here to skip out on fuzzy socks! For most of this month, though, I've been rotating the ballet flats collection.  It's just a coincidence that all these are a bargain, too!  I have to mostly stick to fabric shoes because I don't wear real leather.

Ballet Flats from Target and Kohl's

Do you go for comfy shoes and easy bold lips when you've got a busy month?

October Empties

People seem to really like posts like this, so I managed to rescue the above empties for a quickie review!
CVS Makeup remover wipes: I go through 1.3 packs of wipes a month. These have been in a favorites post before.  They work as well for me as MAC wipes, but without the sting.  Next up: more of these.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple 4 oz.: I realized I quite like this facewash for the morning, and was so psyched they had a super-deluxe 12 oz. 100-point perk of Purity Made Simple during the Sephora F&F.  Next up: The 12 oz. freebie of Purity Made Simple (of course).

The Cool Fix Targeted Gel Lotion: This was in a birchbox and I used it on shaved bits like my calves until it ran out. It does give a cooling feeling and light (though slightly sticky) moisturization.  I think it's nice for summer so I might seek it out next year. Next up: SteamCream

Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller: My go-to undereye concealer. I don't need very much coverage so this is adequate for most days. I feel it works almost, though not quite, as well as YSL Touche Eclat. Next up: same thing!

Givenchy Vax'in For Youth 1 oz.: Seems to smooth out skintone and lessens the look of large pores, and lightly moisturizes while smelling nice, but doesn't get rid of wrinkles or dark spots and is crazy-expensive (I got it on sale, of course!).  Next up: A deluxe sample of Lancome Genifique

Lancome Creme Radiance Clarifying Cream-to-foam Cleanser 1 oz.: This was too drying in combination with La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo (which I'm still trying out), and is very heavily fragranced.  I can't get past the heavy flower scent so I won't purchase the full-size.  Next up: The Purity Made Simple 12 oz.

Juice Beauty Nutrient Moisturizer .5 oz.: I used this as a night cream because it doesn't have SPF. It's really thick and you have to warm it up to melt it in your hands before applying. I'm not sure but that aspect made me fear it was clogging my pores. It's sticky, too.  Don't like.  Next up: Dermalogica Active Moist

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster: Sticky, doesn't do anything but temporarily tighten.  I got it in a Sephora set. I wouldn't have bought it on its own because I tried it years ago and didn't see any results.  Next up: The Genifique sample

TonyMoly iceQueen Multi Play Cream SPF30 PA++: Was Muse Approved, so I ordered it online.  I didn't care for it under makeup (but she has dry skin and I've got oily skin).  I really wound up using it when I was going to be outside without makeup (working out or yard work).  Next up: Origins VitaZing

Yes to Cucumbers Eye Love Cucumbers Soothing Eye Gel: cools and moisturizes. I really liked this over the summer but in cooler weather I need something a little more moisturizing.  I don't like most eye creams because they cause milia, but eye gels never have for me.  Next up: Avalon Organics Lavender Revitalizing Eye Gel

Bath & Body Works Paris Amour Body Lotion: Too strong-smelling for my taste, though the fragrance is nice.  Next up: SteamCream

H20+ Sea Results Eye Mender: An eye cream that actually didn't give me milia! I'm planning to buy this again but I'm going to try out the Avalon Organics lavender eye gel first.

Lancome Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover 1.7 oz.: I use this in addition to wipes when my eye makeup is being stubborn.  This is really great stuff and I'm hoping to get the Lancome Holiday Blockbuster for the full-size. Next up: hopefully, the full size!

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-usage Dry Oil 50mL: what happened?

With every use of this lovely-scented oil, the lettering moved across the bottle and stuck to my skin.  It was such a disappointment because part of the appeal of this product is the French Pharmacie-look of the bottle.  I haven't heard of this happening to anybody else, though. I bought it from birchbox so I know it's an authentic bottle.  Also, I thought it was a spray when I bought it but there was no spray nozzel on this one. *shrug* Next up: SteamCream.  It's body cream time, anyway!

I'm looking forward to empties and favorites posts from you guys :)  Did you manage to use up any makeup?

Jewelmint Wishlist: October 2011 Edition

Hi again gals :) I had such a hard time picking out this month's Jewelmint piece and here's why:

 Ganesh Earrings: These look straight out of a Bollywood movie to me, and I feel like I've never seen chandelier earrings in this exact configuration (aka, I think they're rather unique!).  They're quite stunning and can take center stage because my pixie haircut shows all.

 Versailles Earrings: They're so ornate/elaborate, and if google searches have told me anything else they are also ma-HUsive!  I could just see myself wearing these with a simple floor-length sheath to my office's swanky holiday party...

 Petit Coeur Necklace: Adorable little heart charms on a long delicate chain, I love the colors (of course) and could see myself wearing this with an every-day sort of outfit.

 Wonderland Earrings: Alice reference aside, I have manymany pairs of earrings that feature a bow and a drop as I'm mad about this look.  These are far larger than this picture suggests, and they seem to be quite detailed.  I just love Alice and that modern punk-victorian aesthetic!  This was Jewelmint's "Top Match" for me, and if it weren't for my preference for necklaces I'm sure I would have gotten these.

Bambina Cameo Ring: I'm not much of a ring-wearer, but this is one of the prettiest cocktail rings Jewelmint has featured, in my humblest.  LOVE the fleurs-de-lis!

 Yves Rings: I love that they're stackable, I love that they are multi-metal, and I LOVELOVE that they remind me of the world created by one of my favorite bloggers, Worship Blues. Yes, I say she's created a world!

 Lovers Only Necklace: I know you may be thinking I always go for the lock-and-key motif, but really what I love about this is that the keyhole is floating and the key looks antiqued. And, it's a necklace!

 Empress Necklace: A Faberge Egg necklace... WANT!

 Victorian Charmer Necklaces: I like the layered necklace look and how the shorter looks like a little perfume vial.  The longer has a magnifying glass charm, which makes me think of A Series of Unfortunate Events (haven't read the books but I think the movie is underappreciated).

Baltic Gem Earrings and Calla Lilly Earrings: I haven't done any holiday shopping just yet, but either of these earrings would be just right for my sister.  Her favorite color is purple and she prefers modern or classic jewelry and silver.  Her wedding flowers were Calla Lillies and I was her Maid of Honor <3 Don't you love it when you see something that would make the perfect gift for a specific person?

Anyways, let me just reiterate that I'm not at all affiliated with Jewelmint and I can't vouch for them as a company, but so far I'm a fairly satisfied customer and this month I was just floored by how many pieces I wanted so I thought it would be fun to write up this post to share them with you (deep breath, horrible run-on sentence full-stop)!  Have you seen any Jewelmint bits in magazines or on blogs that have made you consider joining up?

In My Mailbox Today: October 2011 Jewelmint Pick and Birchbox

Happy Friday, girlies <3 I love the feeling of possibilities the coming weekend brings!  As if Friday isn't inherently fab enough, I came home to all the dishwashing finished by the husband (SCORE!), and I was also met with the following selections:

First off, the Jewelmint piece I chose this month is the Desert Rose Necklace.  It's beautiful mesh (like the Love that Binds bracelet, which I had to return because its clasp broke :*( sad) with pave rhinestones and a pink (resin?) stone on both ends.  It is lariat-style so you can kind of tie it on in a few configurations.  After the fact I saw in my Jewelmint "Showroom" that it's also the piece that supports BCA (breast cancer awareness) this month!  In honor of Jewelmint's 1-year anniversary they also sent out a $5 coupon code (though they are always giving out $5 coupon codes), so I say if you picked out some other piece for your monthly subscription you ought to snap up this one as well for charity and because it's beautiful, hefty, and appears expensive (what you expect, but don't always get, from Jewelmint pieces).

In my October Birchbox, I got amika Obliphica hair treatment (which does smell lovely and will be the perfect replacement for my third Ojon Restorative hair serum sample when it runs out), Anastasia Beverly Hills Hydrafull Gloss in Bellini (I am so thrilled I got this after seeing Bloomin' Beauty's Danielle got it and it looks PERFECT on her!), Clark's Botanicals Intense Radiance Mask (I love trying masks and have enjoyed every one from a Birchbox so far -- this one is "The solution to dull, congested skin.  This white clay mask detoxifies pores, conquers blemishes, and even calms irritations." Just what I need right now!  Though the $72 cost of the full-size is likely to deter me from purchasing it), Laura Geller Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer in Bronze (sounds like the sample of Too Faced Primed and Poreless in Bronze I got earlier this year... not likely to see much use by me, TBH), and The Laundress Wool & Cashmere Shampoo (which is pretty funny because my wardrobe is completely vegan, so no wool in sight!).

I'm pretty psyched about all these treats! What a great month for Jewelmint (I had a really tough time choosing my piece as I also liked a bunch of others... I think I'll share in the next post <3), and a wonderful Birchbox as well!