Subscription Showdown | November 2016

Hey friends! It's time for another Subscription Showdown. For those of you not already familiar with this series on my YouTube channel, every month I sit down and unbox my Ipsy Glambag and Sephora Play box so I can show you how they stack up against one another. Each subscription is only $10 a month and contains 5 deluxe beauty samples, so I'm always curious to see whether one outshines the other. Want to see how these two beauty subs threw down this month? Keep on reading!

October 2016 Favorites

Is it just me, or is 2016 passing by at an alarmingly fast rate? Even though fall is almost two months underway, I'm still very much in denial that it's not still summer. I need to wear gloves now? Like, what? Thanksgiving is three weeks away? I...I don't understand what is happening here.

In all seriousness, these past couple of months have been a whirlwind, albeit an exciting one. I've been working extra hard in the last month to keep to my consistent Sunday and Thursday YouTube schedule, and my channel is growing beyond my expectations. In mid-October I finally hit my 500 subscriber goal, and by the 31st I'd grown to over 700. I am SO appreciative of every single person that reads my posts and watches my videos. In case you haven't noticed, I am a giant nerd for all things beauty, and knowing there are people out there who find all of my random musings and tips and tricks helpful is kind of the best feeling. So THANK YOU for being here, and for sharing my passion with me. If we want to talk about favorites, you all are really at the top of my list.

I know, I know. I'm getting all mushy on you guys. I can't help myself from being a big ol' softie. But before I derail myself completely, let's get back to the subject at hand. There were a TON of products that I fell in love with in October (several of which will probably come as no surprise) and I can't wait to share them with you!

Final Farewells: My Fall 2016 Empties

Friends, it's time yet again to go through my beauty trash. I love filming empties videos, but I also totally can see how strange the whole concept probably is to someone who isn't as immersed in the beauty world as my crazy self. Because really, who else hoards expired makeup and empty bottles?

In all seriousness, the reason I think empties posts are so awesome is that when you've used a product to the very last drop, you really know how you feel about it. It's like a relationship. In the beginning its all excitement and newness, and you're probably willing to overlook the little flaws and annoyances. But time goes on, and when the honeymoon phase is over you've either found yourself a beautiful partnership, or end up realizing that that product...er...person...isn't as awesome as you originally thought.

It's been a couple of months since my last empties round up, so I've got A TON of products to share with you guys. Did I find true love? Or was I already checked out of our relationship? If you want to know, grab yourself a snack, cozy up, and get ready for some real talk (beauty style).

Makeup Must-Haves for Oily Skin

Fellow oily skinned friends. Tis the seasons of our greatest struggles. It's funny, because after another long New England winter I was starting to believe that I could call my skin combination.

LOL...yeah no.

As soon as I start needing the AC my oil glands kick it into hyper drive, and all of my winter and spring makeup routines leave me looking like the greasiest of greaseballs. Fortunately, my years of testing and trying various beauty products have led me to a few wondrous shine-controlling bits that I always rely on come summertime. If you've ever watched your foundation separate or break up right on your face, seen your eyeshadow crease into oblivion, or notice your t-zone turn into an oil slick, these five products ARE LIFE. Even just incorporating one or two into my makeup routine makes a huge difference. So if you're ready to be enlightened in the ways of matte-ness, let's take a closer look.

February Favorites 2016

We've found our way to the end of yet another month, which means its time to talk about the best beauty products I've been using in the past couple of weeks. I'm still pretty hooked on a lot of what I was using in January, so you should definitely check out that post as well if you haven't already. Still, there are always new loves, discoveries, and rediscoveries to talk about, and I've got quite a few of them to share!

August 2015 Favorites

Hey friends! I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited to share last month's collection of favorites with you. I feel like I had SUCH a good month beauty-wise and really fell in love with a multitude of different things. Narrowing down the list to something that wouldn't make for an epic-ly long blog post was pretty challenging, but I think I've done all right. From makeup, to skincare, to some body bedazzlement, I think I've managed to cover all the major beauty bases. Come take a look!

Birthday Haulin'

When it comes to birthday presents, I'm one of the easiest people on the planet to please. If it smells nice, tastes good, or looks pretty I'm probably going to love it. And when in doubt, the gift of shopping never fails to put a smile on my face. It also so happens that by being born on a holiday weekend, there are almost always amazing sales that I can take advantage of during my self-gifting birthday binge. While I did do some serious damage at the mall earlier this month, this haul is truly a collection of all the beauty shopping I've done both since and before my birthday. After all, if I'm going to write up a haul post, I might as well show you everything new I've been trying and loving as per late. If you caught my wish list post from a few weeks back you'll probably recognize quite a few familiar things in the picture above. I really don't waste any time when it comes to making good on said types of lists, apparently. So, without more rambling from my end, let's dive right in.

Birthday Beauty Wishlist

When I was a kid I used to hate that my birthday fell on a holiday weekend, and in the summer at that. It was impossible to have a well attended party with all of my friends traveling or with busy with family plans, and I never got to have cupcakes to celebrate at school (such a travesty, I know). Now that I'm a bit more grown up, though, I couldn't imagine a better birthday. I always get a day off, either on my actual birthday, or the day after, and I get some pretty sweet fireworks to celebrate! So far I'm not entirely sure what my actual plans are for today aside from dinner with my bestie, but I'm sure that as a whole I'll have a lovely long weekend.

I'm also a big advocate of self gifting for birthdays. At this point in my life I'm mostly past parties and presents and other celebratory activities, so I usually take it upon myself to make sure I feel a little extra special. And of course, my favorite way to treat myself is almost always with a little bit of retail therapy. I've always got a pretty lengthy beauty wish list, but here are the items I'm currently coveting the most!

Catering and a Confession

Holy wow, I am exhausted. Second catering event ever tonight and my legs are feeling seriously jello-like. I didn't even work a whole shift and I'm dead. I think it's one of those things where, when you are going non stop you don't even realize it. It's only when you stop and sit down for a while that it hits you.

But before I crash for the night, I wanted to finish up this post!

I have a confession to make....I may or may not have turned "No-Buy July" into a "Buy-Less-Than-Usual July". There were a few limited time deals that were just too good for me to pass up.

Sigh.