Style Inspired Autumn 2015

 I always get inspired to up my fashion efforts this time of year. Something about layering on clothes and being comfortable without needing to leave the house wearing a sleeping bag makes for a good reason to beef up your closet. 

As always my inspiration lies in rockstars of the past and the women who loved them. This time of year groupie chic is joined by witches, cool boots, sexplotation movie heroines and well dressed trannies past and present. 

Yeah this is totally the kind of inspiration you see on a normal fashion blog. 

Three Over the Top Looks I Love

It's no secret I love a dark lip. I especially love them during the day and since we are officially in dark lip season full swing (lies dark lips forever) I thought it would be good to pair some of my favorite dark lip options with my favorite eye shades to wear with them. These are not your typical daytime looks but if you're feeling adventurous this could be a good place to start.

It can be a tricky balance to strike...too much eye too much lip, Maybe you're in my camp and think that there isn't such a thing as too much. (I mean there totally is but I do tend to like a more OTT look.)

Now that my hair is pink I have found that it's harder to get away with so much color but the past few weeks there have been three combinations I have really been loving.

Color Fever

I am no stranger to funky colored hair. I was purple for a second then I was green for a while, then purple again while I was away over the Summer. Safe to say I had become accustomed to seeing myself extra colorfully. 

Once I got home from traveling though, I started spending more time out in the sun and surf and there is only so much abuse my hair can handle. So for a while I took a break from the bleach, had a little trim and treated my burnt ends with some extra TLC. 

Well...now it's September and I'm officially over my hair color hiatus. 

Wishlist: Korean Skincare Edition

Apart from the inaugural BB Cream moment that took the beauty world by storm about 5 years ago my dabbling in Asian beauty products has been pretty minimal. I've trialed a sheet mask here and there (meh) and my love of cleansing oils began with the DHC version. 

So while my experience is minimal I have had something of a skincare revelation at the hands of a Korean brand.

So when I spotted the Sephora SoKo to Tokyo kit, pictured above, I knew this was a perfect opportunity to nab some much talked about products for a VERY fair $40 price. 

In addition to the value set; Sephora has upped their Asian skincare selection and America website Peach and Lily has been gaining momentum across the blogosphere for bringing new Korean goodies straight to the American skincare loving public in real time. 

There has never been a better time for a wishlist. 

Wardrobe Wishlist: Autumn 2015

I made a photoshop collage for you guys this week!

Fancy!

I am loving these last little tidbits of summertime but I would be lying if I said I wasn't jonsing for some cool NYC Autumn weather.

The weather and all the wonderful wardrobe choices it brings!

So today we're doing a bit of a Fall wishlist post to organize all my fashion-y hopes and dreams for the next few months. 

Holding Out for $2 Perfection

I have spent nearly a year and a half with various postcards, posters and prints haphazardly taped to walls in a holding pattern just waiting for the perfect frames. 

Yes...yes I am a little bit picky I will admit but, the last place I anticipated finding the perfect addition to the collection was the new to New York Flying Tiger flagship.

The best part?

They were 2$.

No Such Thing as Signature

I don't like to plunk for new fragrances too too often, I find that it's one of the few beauty arenas (along with mascara and face powder) that I ever really finish in a timely way. 

As I've gotten a little older my tastes seemed to have changed pretty drastically. 

My desire for variety has not.

The new baby is Bella Freud's Ginsberg is God.

It's Cheaper At Home

 I went all the way to London, trolled the Charlotte Tilbury counter at Selfidges and then came home and snapped up one of the newest shades of the Matte Revolution lipstick. 

What? It was cheaper at home.

(Under)Cover Lover

If there is one base product that I can really get excited about it's concealer. 

For years I wasn't much of a foundation girl and since beauty blogging and YouTube have become a bigger part of my life that's changed I still always keep a wide selection of concealers, my true love, close at hand. 

While I was traveling I made sure to nab one formula I wanted to try and another that I knew I already loved. 

The Warm Weather Dark Lip Obsession

I'm not sure what it is this year. Normally I am SO on board with spring this-summer that but this year it seems the only shades that have graced my lips have been in the blood red and burgundy families.

Admittedly I'm having a bit of a baby goth girl moment as my Instagram can certainly attest to.

I think there is something about a more generous makeup application that feels fun for me right now.

I have mentioned a fair few of these babies before but as they have barely left my lips in nearly a month I think it's high time they got another shout out.

Ed Note:The Negative Space Manicure

It's pretty rare these days for me to want to experiment with nail art. Once upon a time I luuurved it. These days though I just don't have the time I'd like to for it so when something comes along, like the studs from last month, I get excited to play with it.

Now this is a far from perfect attempt but I am looking forward to giving this one another go and trying out some new shapes.

Brown Lips | An Eperiment

 I first saw this lip color on YouTuber Erica Fae who does some of the most beautiful and simple editorial beauty looks I've ever seen on the internet and the minute she put this shade on I knew I wanted it in my collection.

The color is Maison from the NYX Matte Lipstick line which, is a formula I have often sung the praises of. The shade is slightly more grey toned than it appears here and I the minute I got it home this look just sort of came to me. So with the afternoon to myself  I started to play and I love how it turned out. 

Much to my surprise I think I might even wear this one out. Maybe even to work.

Some Thoughts on Colourpop

I finally placed my first Colourpop order a couple of weeks ago and when it arrived on Monday I was beyond excited to crack them open. It was all I could do to get the photos before I stuck my grubby fingers in the product. 

For the uninitiated Colourpop is the latest in a line of fledgling beauty brands that are made in the USA and pedaled by the YouTube hierarchy. 

Not that there is anything wrong with that. As a business model it's pretty genius but, from a consumer perspective it does make me hesitate before parting with my cash. 

Now that I have had a chance to play with my goodies (I ordered eyeshadows and a blush) I'm all about telling you what I loved and what I didn't love.

The Spring Series:Cheeks

The final installment of the Spring Series!

This one is going to cover all things blush. I do love a good cheek color and nothing really says springtime like a good coral pink cheek.

These puppies run the gamut from cream to powder, pink to coral and, high end to budget so if you are looking for something to refresh your look for the impending (hopefully) warm days I should have you covered. 

Beat the Winter Blues and Dye Your Hair Purple

Guys I did a thing!

A thing I practically never do. A Beauty something that really quite intimidated me for a long loooong time.

I put a crazy pants color in my hair. 

Now I realize that this is super popular right now and "everybody's doing it" but, I don't fucking care. I love it and I can't wait to do it again.

Sephora Does Your Birthday Right

This was not the post on the adgenda today. 

Whoops. I'm a day behind but, that's Ok. 

This is worth the mention.

Every year Sephora does a birthday gift for its' Beauty Insiders that they give out all year long.

Since this is my first year as a VIB Rouge I got the big daddy of Birthday treats (I'm a January baby.) and I have to say; this year they partnered with NARS and really, really knocked it out of the park. 

The gift contains two classic NARS favorites and one formulation that is new to me.

The One I Broke My "No Buy" For

 So I decided that to kick off the new year I would reign in my beauty spending until after I did my beauty inventory (coming later this month) and got rid of some of the clutter taking up space in my Muji storage. 

I can tell you now in terms of what's lacking (HA!) in my collection lip products DO NOT qualify. 

Then this past Wednesday my apartment flooded. This is not the first time it's happened but I had thought the issue was behind me. Sadly it is not and I still have some work to do with my landlord (who is handling things wonderfully might I add) to get it squared away. 

This past Wednesday was also the launch of Bite Beauty's new Lip Lab Limited Release Creme Deluxe series for 2015. 12 Limited run shades released the first Wednesday of every month all year long.

What can I say? I'd had a rough morning and I'm weak.

The Winter Bronzer

 

I rarely reach for a bronzer. It's not a product I feel adds a lot to my makeup experience and often creates more problems for me than it creates benefits for me. 

Until now.

Essiebutton of the YouTube variety has talked at length about the Body Shop Honey Bronzer in  Light Bronze and over the Pre-Holiday sales I picked one up to test drive.

The Spectrum| Silver and Gold

This time of year you are never going to see me miss an opportunity to add a little bit of metalic shine or over the top sparkle to my look. 

Hell sometimes throughout the rest of the year I will make an opportunity to sparkle. 

So today on the blog I'm going to do the rundown of all the places I like to add a touch of silver, gold or, both. 

Daytime, nighttime or, both? Well that's up to you. 

That's a lie...glitter everywhere!!!

Wear All the Sparkle (And A SALE!)

ALERT! Deborah Lippmann polishes are being clearanced out at Ulta!* Not everything but a lot of cool shades are going for as low at 3$ a bottle. For a brand that normally goes for 20$ each this sale is worth checking out!

 Tis the season to wear ALL the glitter!

I used to be the kind on beauty creature that liked to wear glitter all of the time but as I've gotten older I find myself less and less drawn to it. 

The worst part is I have a big girl job and I can still wear anything I want on my nails but I usually just stick to cream finishes.

 That is about to change.