Showing posts with label october favourites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label october favourites. Show all posts

Wednesday, 2 November 2016

Back to Beauty | October Beauty Favs!

Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the World 
-Marilyn Monroe 

A one month hiatus from this blog was far too long, but much needed. I was (obviously) in a really bad place toward the end of September and I needed the time to myself to press pause and reset. 

During that time I got back into makeup, hair & all things beauty which is a joy of mine that I had forgotten. Making the time to do my hair and makeup in the morning has become my norm again. I find it calming, enjoyable, fun, and it helps me to feel a little more confident in my own skin stepping out in to the world. 

Since taking this hiatus from beauty, I have jumped in head first and have some lovely products to share with you all today! 

Starting with skin care, I've been really enjoying the Garnier Pure Active 3in1 face wash. I use it every morning and the scent really wakes me up. I tend to shy away from products containing salicylic acid despite my acne prone skin because I find it to be really drying. However, this face wash also includes eucalyptus oil and aloe vera which make it a really hydrating and effective cleanser. Not to mention it's super affordable!
I'm not sure if deodorant really fits into a beauty product but I'm going to include it anyways! The Lady Speed Stick Unstoppable deodorant in the scent Charismatic smells absolutely amazing to start! It also keeps my underarms sweat free all day keeping me from having wet patches under my arms. What I like most about this deodorant is that it has aloe vera in it which keeps my underarms from being irritated or dry. 
Please ignore the slight chip on the tip of my index finger. I've actually been wearing this Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polish on my nails for eight days in a row now and that's the only chip I have! I think that speaks for itself on why I've been loving this polish. The whole line is fantastic but this shade, Wine Stock, has been my go to recently. Make sure you buy the top coat and use it together with the colour coat or else the polish doesn't really work how it's supposed to! The top coat is what makes the real difference. 
Anytime I've worn foundation in the past two months it has been the Maybelline Fit Me Matte and Poreless foundation. I've recently had to drop a shade from 120 to 112 as my tan slowly disappears (tear). I love this foundation! It's super affordable, covers well, lasts for ages, and doesn't break me out. It's a winner all around in my books! This is a great foundation and I'd recommend it to anyone who has normal, combination, or oily skin (may want to avoid if your skin is quite dry). There is a wide selection of shades for lighter skin tones, some with pink undertones, some with more yellow undertones, and some with neutral undertones. If you are a darker skinned person looking to use this foundation, however, you may find the shade selection to be seriously lacking.
I've been really enjoying using different lip colours to change up my everyday makeup look lately. My choice is the NYX mechanical lip liner; not just to line my lips but as an overall colour! I think they're so smooth and buttery and glide onto the lip like an absolute dream. They last all day and don't smudge or wear away while I'm eating or drinking. The five above have been my favourite shades coming into fall; 12 Dark Red, 06 Nude Pink, 02 Nectar, 08 Sand Beige, and 10 Nude. I'm sure now that November is here and continuing on into December, I will be reaching more toward the darker colours and berry tones. 
I've always stuck by my eyebrow pencils and tended to shy away from waxes as it seemed so daunting! However, I am obsessed with the e.l.f. Gel & Powder Eyebrow Kit. I got mine in the shade medium. I also picked up the dual ended brow brush. This has become my new favourite method of filling in my brows! I think it looks so natural and the colour match is perfect for my hair colour. I start by using the spoolie end of the brush to comb out my brows. I then used the angled end of the brush with the gel to shape and fill my brows, followed by the lighter powder to set the gel using the fluffy end of the brush the duo came with. This product has been a game changer!
I've been on the hunt for a good drugstore liquid eyeliner for ages. I've tried endless products by many brands and all were falling short of my expectations. In a liquid eyeliner I look for it to be a deep, opaque black, easy to use, not irritating to my eyes, waterproof, and precise. All of my boxes were finally ticked by the NYX Super Skinny Eye Marker in Carbon Black. I have fallen in love with this eyeliner pen!
Which brings me to my next favourite; winged liner! If you want a tutorial on this look do let me know as it's been my everyday makeup for about a month now!

Thanks as always for reading & thank you even MORE for being so patient with me and my lack of blog posts. Hopefully I will be able to stick with once per week. 

What beauty products have you been loving this month? Do let me know in a comment!

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

10 Favs in Month 10 | October Favourites

Another month has flown by, which means another favourites post (woo!) October was such an amazing month for me! Everything in September felt overwhelmingly new, but throughout October, everything felt refreshingly new. I pulled myself out of my shell and let myself enjoy Ottawa and experience the new life that I'm making for myself. 

Here are 10 things I loved throughout October; the 10th month:
1. Kindle Unlimited
I'm a huge book worm, but when you get through as many books as I do in a month the cost really does add up. I downloaded the Kindle Unlimited app at the beginning of the month and I've really been enjoying it. It's only $9.99/month and you get unlimited access to tonnes of books. You can access your library on any device that supports the Kindle app just by logging in. I recently just finished re-reading MockingJay in preparation for the upcoming movie!
2. Hot Cocoa
As the weather gets cold, I'm all about feeling as cozy as possible. Making homemade cocoa is one of those things that instantly puts me in a good mood (and the little caffeine boost has been helpful during midterms haha). To make my cocoa I bring 1 cup of milk to a boil in small pot. I then add in 3 heaped teaspoons of raw cacao powder, 2 level teaspoons of sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. I let it simmer over a low heat for about 8 minutes, stirring quite frequently. It's so delicious and warms not only the body, but the soul as well!
3. Body Fantasies
I won't go into too much detail about these two body mists because I did a whole review on them that you can read here. I've been wearing one of these two scents everyday this past month and absolutely loving them! 
4. Astoria by Mariana's Trench
I've been waiting for 4 years for Mariana's Trench to finally come out with a new album, and let me say: it was worth the wait! Their new album, Astoria, is absolute perfection! I especially love the songs This Means War, Dearly Departed, Who Do You Love, Wildfire, and End of an Era!
5. Personal Writing
I took a little break from writing when I first moved to Ottawa. I was so busy and uncomfortable in my surroundings that writing didn't seem like a priority. I'm still busy, but now that I'm really getting settled in and loving living here, I feel that my mind is in a good place to be writing again. I picked up this book of 300 writing prompts from Chapters to get my creative juices flowing again and it's really helped me get back in to writing. I've been whacking out short stories and poems like crazy and I feel great about it! Writing is such a release for me. 
6. Down Town/Byward Market
Coming from a small town, I've never experienced a real downtown aura. Being in downtown Ottawa from the Byward Market, to Parliament Hill, to Bank Street... I love it all! It's always busy and so full of life; there's always something going on. It's such a vibrant and energizing place to be that I can't imagine myself ever getting sick of it.
7. Bras Across The Bridge
I was lucky enough to be able to make it to the Bras Across The Bridge fundraising event on October 30th at Mackenzie King Bridge in Downtown Ottawa. This was an event to raise funds and awareness for Breast Cancer. Over 3000 bras were donated- for every donated bra, $1 was given to Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation in support of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It was such a beautiful experience to see just how many people were passionate about raising money and awareness for a cause that affects so many women (and men) around the world!
8. Thanksgiving Weekend
I was able to make the 10 hour drive home with a few friends for Thanksgiving weekend! It was so great to be able to see my friends and family since I hadn't in over a month. Being home was wonderful and I enjoyed every second of it. Can't wait for Christmas break to be able to go home for a longer period of time- 3 days just didn't cut it!
9. Once Upon a Time
I've fallen into the Once Upon a Time vortex and at such a bad time too! Midterms are getting in the way of my Rumple time! I'm still only on the first season but I'm absolutely hooked and loving every second of the show!
10. My Friends!
I've met a bunch of great people here in Ottawa, but these 3 are definitely my core group! I absolutely adore each of them- they have been such a blessing to have as friends. I feel like we're all on the same sort of wavelength for a lot of things, but different enough to keep things interesting. Definitely my favourite people that I've met so far!

What did you love throughout October? Please do let me know- if you wrote an October Favourites post, leave a link below so I can check it out!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn