Surprise Giveaway: Win an Awesome Beauty Goodie Bag!

Happy Friday, friends! I can't believe it's the last day of September. I know, I know. I say this every month. But September was especially short for me. Between traveling to Iceland and hitting up Gen Beauty my entire perception of time has been thrown out of whack. I've started to notice the leaves around these parts are starting to turn and it's just like...what the heck? When did this happen? As fast as it was, September has been a pretty great month, and I wanted to send some of the good vibes your way!

I've put together two little goodie bags filled with products I took home from Generation Beauty (as well as a few other fun things I've picked up along the way) for you to win. Want to know how to enter? Just keep on reading!

The 8 Polishes You Need to Kick Off Autumn

Friends, it's officially that time again. Get ready to bust out your boots, your scarves, and your pumpkin spiced everything. Even though I'm a summer baby through and through, fall beauty and fashion is by far my favorite to indulge in. Give me the plaid button downs, the big blanket scarves, the soft, chunky sweaters. Give me matte lips, gold shadows, and vampy nail polishes. I want all of it, and I want it on my body right now.

In the spirit of all things autumn, I thought it would be fun to dive through my nail polish collection and pull out a few of the shades I'm most excited to return to my everyday rotation. It's time to retire those pinks and corals and get a little more moody in manicure country. From sultry oxbloods, to edgy navys I'm all about going extra dark and extra chic when the leaves start to turn.

NYX Lip Lustre Try-On and Review

Fellow beauty junkies, let me know if you understand this struggle. Life lately has been kind of bananas. After being in Iceland for a week and spending last weekend at Gen Beauty, I feel pretty behind on life stuff and have had tons of errands and such to run. Needless to say, the giant bag of beauty loot I took home with me last Sunday (or should I say, bags) has been sitting neglected in my bedroom, waiting patiently for me to come and play. It reminds me of when I was a kid, and my parents made my brother and I wait until AFTER church AND breakfast to open our presents on Christmas morning.

Ugh, TORTURE.

Thankfully though, I finally got some time this weekend to stay home and dive full-on into all things blog related. One of the things I was most excited about was sitting down to film a lip swatch video of the new NYX Cosmetics Lip Lustre Glossy Lip Tints ($7). I've never done something like this before on my channel, but it actually ended up being a lot of fun! So if you want to see what the deal is with this fun new launch, just keep reading!

Skin Saviors: The Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Water-Gel Toner

I've never been one to know what it's like to have perfectly clear skin. Over the years I've battled with acne, large pores, hyperpigmentation, and scarring. My face is incredibly oily year-round, although in the dead of winter I've been known to also suffer dryness around my cheeks. Basically, since the ripe old age of 11 I've been fighting the good fight, trying to banish breakouts and helps keep my oiliness under control. My younger self was much more apt to fall for marketing ploys ("yes, you need oil-controlling everything!!"), and as a result my teenage years were pretty miserable skin-wise. I used cleansers and acne treatments that were way too harsh, skipped moisturizer, and hardly ever wore sunscreen.

Truly, it was atrocious.

Eventually, though, I woke up to the damage I was doing, and decided to put serious effort into understanding my skin and what it needed. Flash forward 10 years and my face is better than its ever been. Sure, its not as baby-smooth and flawless as my pre-pubescent self, but its finally free of constant, active breakouts. All-in-all taking a more gentle and mindful approach to my skincare has worked wonders. Which brings me to the latest addition to the Little Blushing Birdie lineup.

Sunday Riley is one of those luxury skincare brands that's piqued my interest for months. Other bloggers constantly rave about how amazing their products are, but the hefty price tags often hold me back. So when Sephora was offering a promo code to redeem for a deluxe sample of the Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Water-Gel Toner, you can bet I was all over it. From the first use I knew this was a special product, and before my sample got low I found myself running out to Sephora to pick up the full size.

Generation Beauty NY 2016: My Experience & an EPIC Haul!

You know that surreal feeling you get when you realize something you've been anticipating for months and months is finally coming to fruition? That was all of this past weekend for me. I headed out at the crack of dawn on Friday morning (legit, it was 5 am) to New York City for Ipsy's Generation Beauty event. I'd been planning this trip since March and as I was sitting on the train I almost couldn't believe it was actually finally happening.

If you aren't familiar with Generation Beauty, it's a large beauty expo hosted by Ipsy, and has grown to be a bit of a phenomenon in the last couple of years. The first Gen Beauty event was held in LA near the Ipsy headquarters, and now they've expanded to NY, Toronto, and San Francisco. Anyone can attend these events, and they usually draw in crowds of more than 4000 people. As someone who's goes day-to-day surrounded by people who aren't on my wavelength about beauty, it was kind of incredible to be in a room full of others who share my same passion.

This weekend was exhausting, exhilarating, and incredibly fun. I finally got to meet so many of the blogger friends I've made over the years in person, I got to connect with a ton of amazing brands, and I took home a stupid amount of swag. Curious to see more of my Gen Beauty experience? Keep reading!

Trending Now: Glittering, Metallic Eyes

Trying to mentally prepare myself for fall is never an easy task. Don't get me wrong. I'm all about everything pumpkin spice, plaid shirts, and being able to dig my beloved boots out of hiding. But the change of seasons is always bittersweet. Winters here in New England are brutal, and fall sometimes feels like a pretty little distraction from the impending dark and cold. But, before I get myself too depressed thinking about Connecticut mid-February, let's put the focus back on what we've got to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Fall makeup might just be my all-time favorite of the entire year. Vampy reds, lush berries, rich chocolate tones...it's basically the season for extra sultry glam. While blindingly bright highlighters were all the rage this summer, the sparkle factor appears to have transferred to the eyes for fall. Whether you're just adding a bit of shimmer to the lid, or incorporating serious metallic shine into a full-on smokey eye, there are tons of options popping up at every price point to unleash your inner MUA.

As someone who's always had a soft spot for glitter, I'm welcoming this trend with open arms. The combination of a warm, inviting fall color palette with intense sparkling shine is especially gorgeous, and has me totally inspired to create some killer eye looks. If you're as into this trend as I am, here are some product recommendations to get you started!

Kat Von D Lock-It Vox Box Review

Friends, when you're a beauty junkie like myself, there's nothing quite like the promise of new makeup to lift your spirits. A few weeks back I was having one of those epically frustrating, overly-stressed work days that can send even the most chipper of individuals into an existential crisis. Every minute closer to 5:00 seems longer than the last, until the span of time between 3:00 and 3:07 feels like an hour. Suddenly, my phone makes a little ping. An e-mail! Even if its nothing interesting, it's still a welcome distraction from the time-torture inside my cubicle. So I reach over and check, half expecting my electric bill, only to find out that it's Influenster telling me I've qualified for a new campaign!

I'm pretty sure in that moment I took the phrase "doing a happy dance" literally and immediately jumped out of my chair to share the news with my equally beauty-obsessed coworker. This wasn't just any Vox Box. I was being sent 5 (five!!) products from Kat Von D's new Lock-It range to test and review. Truth be told, I've read way more about Kat's products than I've actually experienced them first hand. Many of her products are constantly being raved about by the beauty community at large (Lolita Liquid Lipstick, anyone?), but I'd yet to take the plunge and purchase something myself.

Fast forward to a month later and I've finally got my own thoughts to contribute to masses. Did Kat's products live up to the hype? Read more to find out!

August 2016 Faves & Updates

Hello lovelies! I woke up this morning with the sudden realization that it's significantly darker out when my alarm goes off at 6 am. The long, sunny days of summer are mostly behind us, and while I'm all about fall, I'm also pretty unhappy about feeling like a zombie before work every day. Maybe I need one of those alarm clock lights that mimic the rising sun...

Anyway...you're here to chat beauty (not just to hear me lament the end of my favorite season)! I tried to reel in my shopping in August, knowing that I'm going to Generation Beauty in New York later this month. Words cannot express how excited I am to spend an entire weekend reveling in all things beauty (really though, I feel like a kid waiting for Christimas). So, in the spirit of trying to keep things under control and to make room for lots of epic GenBeauty swag, I've kept things pretty minimal in the last month. Curious to see what made the cut? Keep reading to find out!