Wishlist: Best of the Giftsets

October offers many things for beauty lovers to get excited about. 

Halloween makeup (obvs) upping your skincare stash for the cold, and last but not least the advent of ALL the Holiday gift sets. 

It's early yet but there are some really beautiful things floating out there in retail land and so you don't miss out I've compiled the best bang for your buck. 

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.

Treat Yo Self

 So ok... I know we were supposed to talk about eye things but then over the weekend I did a thing.

I bought the Burberry Lip Velvet Lipstick in Oxblood because I can't help myself and because it's a beautiful, perfect, autumnal red. 

This is not my first foray into luxury lip products but it has been a long time since I was inspired to spend more than 30$ on lipstick. 

In fact I haven't bought much makeup the last few months anyway but when I found myself with a little extra cash to spare I went right for the lipstick display. 

Oxblood is the color they used in their most recent runway show and has since been dubbed the brand's "signature color".

It's Dark In Here

 I am a little late to the Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick Party. Now that I am here I am really here. This is a fantastic formula that wears well and is comfortable on the lips. After a full day of wear it leaves my lips a little dry but it's nothing that a good nights sleep in some Nuxe Reve de Miel won't fix.

The first shade I nabbed is Vampira and it is oh so seasonally appropriate but not for the faint of heart.

Two Skin Savers from Across the Pond

 This is by far not the first product I've shared from my Summer vacation but these are the two that I have been easily the most impressed by. 

They've made my skin look the best it ever has especially through the warmer months where my skin is more prone to congestion and irritation. 

All it took was three weeks, 3,000 miles and two products to get me there. 

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.

Look Alive

 Organic and "all natural" makeup is a tricky thing. With brands constantly on the hunt to find ways of selling customers a more green angle it's hard to know what brands that claim to be organic are legit.

RMS Beauty has long been regarded as one of the forerunners in organic and green beauty products. While this isn't necessarily a huge concern for me when it comes to beauty (I'm an equal opportunity hoarder) when you hear enough about any given product it's hard not to cave and give it a try. 

So when a little coupon code incentive surfaced for DermStore last week I went ahead and finally picked up the RMS Living Luminizer. 

Quick and Easy Weekend Makeup

Quick and easy weekend makeup can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. In some cases for me it means no makeup but on some occasions I like to spiff up for a day at the park.

A couple of weeks ago I hit up Astoria Park in Queens with some friends and nabbed seven quick items to play with.

Capsule|Extra Glow

Now I love me a good highlighter. All year long but especially lately and, despite my laziness in the mornings, I have been making time to add a touch of shine to my daily face.

Especially because the warmer weather has made me extra uh,,,social...which means I am extra dehydrated.

Don't drink and make up.

Come Correct

As a makeup junkie with hereditary dark under-eye circles and years of concealers and correctors under my belt it gets very hard to find things that do anything new for you. 

On my "to buy" list for this year's Spring VIB sale was a product I had heard so much about but just could not commit to the insane price tag.

It is so worth it.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Giorgio Armani Master Corrector.

The Hydration Step

Guys Spring has Spring and I can take pictures outside again!!!

So the one "Hirons Approved" skincare routine step that I've always sort of...skipped (shhhh don't tell) was the hydrating toner. Generally applied post exfoliating/acid toner I had spent what felt like AGES (but what in reality was like...8 months.) looking for one that I thought really did anything.

Low and behold a little over a month ago whilst perusing the Sephora website I found something I thought might work. 

Since then I've revisited a handful of other spritzes and toners so I figured I share my thoughts and conclusions.

Ed Note: Summer Hydration

Every year as the weather starts to warm up I like to briefly reevaluate my nighttime moisturizer situation. In the colder months I love to slather as many of the emollient and creamy products on my skin as it can handle but, when the weather starts to warm up I find I like something that sinks in a little more quickly and lets me lay down with a nice hydrated and not-sticky face. 

The newest addition to the Summertime moisture lineup is the Kate Somerville Nourish Daily Moisturizer. 

Impulse Purchasing 101

If there was going to be a blog post on how not to shop responsibly this would be a good place to start. 

Do you know when you see a product and you go...eh, it's ok, and then you look at the name and everything changes. 

Well when I saw the name on one of Marc Jacobs Beauty's newest Le Marc Lip Creme's I knew I had to have it. Even if it is a member of the color family that I admit I almost never wear. 

That Contour Thing

I don't know about you but this whole "sculpted face" contouring thing that's taking over lately has me a little confused.

Now don't get me wrong, I like a bit of shape just like anyone else. As you can clearly see my collection of products and tools for the purpose is certainly not lacking. I'm just not certain that I need a palette of shades that may or may not work for my skin or a collection of cream colors that can be mixed.

I am not a makeup artist and therefore do not need to make my contour work for all kinds of people...just me. 

So what do I reach for when I want to carve out a little space on my face?

The Repurchase|Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm

I have been repurchasing quite a bit lately. 

It's a good thing. It's been a long time, I feel, since I've had a stash of good products that I could rely on without over thinking it. 

This Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm really rocked my nighttime routine when I first used it about 8 or 9 months ago. 

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.

About Face: The Golden Daytime Smokey

 This is a kind of look that I often go to. It's sexy and smudgy but not particularly dramatic or difficult. I love a good messy eye look. I've said it before but I think some of the best looking makeup is makeup that looks "well worn". 

It looks effortless in a slightly more thoughtful way I guess.

I've been using about 5 minutes and six products to go from clean and simple to badass bitch, even on a Wednesday morning.

The Repurchase|Kiehls Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

 Technically this is cheating.

The last container of the Kiehls Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado was a sample that was so full I had it for almost six months. It last for such a long time that I'm concerned about finishing the smaller size before it expires.

This little pot has quickly become the only nighttime eye cream I will even consider.

If you are looking for a basic, no frills and extremely hydrating eye cream than look no further.

My Blush But Better

Sometimes a product comes along that is just so basic, so pretty and so easy to use that it's place in your everyday collection is immediately secured. 

Over this past weekend I stopped at a CCO on my way home from a bachelorette party and picked up an item that has been on my list for what feels like ages.

It is just as perfect and versatile as everyone said it was and it is MAC's Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul.

Ed note|Bedside Beauty

My bedside table is usually a pretty crowded space. (ie: typically looks nothing like this photo.) I haven't successfully streamlined this spot yet but that's because it tends to house all of the things I reach for first thing when I wake up and right before I go to bed at night.

AM and PM necessities that range from beauty to tech from books to hydration and the odd tool or accessory. It's my bedroom catchall spot.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at all of the beauty bits that I keep within an arms reach.