10 Favourite Things for Autumn!

I don't know about everyone else but I adore Autumn, it's my favourite season. Late summer and early fall days are the perfect temperature for me, I love the jewel tones that start to come into play, and personally I think fall fashions are the nicest. Plus I adore Halloween. So you can easily see why I'm besotted. Plus who wouldn't want a warm drink by a cozy fire on the cooler nights?

Thus I decided to show you some of my favourite items, fashions, outfits, objects, scents and products for Autumn. Hopefully this will get you into the spirit of things :).

1) Haus of Gloi's Depravity Perfume Oil, Pumpkin Butter or Bubbling Scrub. This is so decadent and seriously my favourite scent for fall. Haus of Gloi really does describe it best: Pure corruption. Clove, nutmeg lurk amongst the sweetest offerings of coconut on a bed of rich golden amber, laden with dustings of sandalwood and spilled wine.
At first I wasn't sure I would like this, especially going off of the scent description, but blended together these all blend together to this spiced berry decadence. If this doesn't sound like something you'd like Haus of Gloi puts everyone else in the dust for their seasonal fragrances You can check out and find the perfect fall fragrance for you in the Seasonal Autumn release. Plus Haus of Gloi is completely vegan, well priced, and makes great products.

2) Wrist Warmers and Cuffs- This is the perfect time of year for walking, and if it is just a tad nippy out I love my wrist warmers. The ones pictured here are hand-crocheted but there are tons available. Leaves your fingers free to do things but much warmer. Plus I love the moss colouring of these- perfect for Autumn. The wrist cuff pictured is handmade by a local artisan too. You can check out her website here!
They have real feathers inside blown glass with soft stretchy lace- how cool is that?

Image from Something Swanky Website

3) Anything flavoured with pumpkin and spices. There are some awesome recipes online for new takes on the traditional pumpkin pie. This past week my family and I had pumpkin spice bread and pumpkin cheesecake dip. Fantastically yummy. You can check-out the super easy (and gluten-free) recipe for the dip at Something Swanky.

Some of my favourite fall shades from my stash

4) Warm, Jewel and Earth-toned Eyeshadows. Much like the changing leaves this is the time of year I love rich deep colours. If ever there is a time to get away with forest or dusk inspired eyeshadow looks it's now.
The eyeshadows shown above are: Nars eyeshadow duo in Cheyenne, Rouge Bunny Rouge Abyssinian Catbird, Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicate Hummingbird, Sugarpill Goldilux, Too Faced Poison Orchid, Wet n' Wild Color Icon Envy, Wet n' Wild Color Icon Lagoon, Wet n' Wild Color Icon Holiday palette in Bronze Goddess, Gosh Quad in Jamaica, Urban Decay lounge, Urban Decay Zodiac, Annabelle Lagoon, Venomous Cosmetics Look Your Best, Venomous Cosmetics the Walrus, Venomous Cosmetics Curse of the Werewolf, Fyrinnae Atomic Afterglow, Fyrinnae Pumpkin Fire, Fyrinnae Feisty Fennec Fox, Fyrinnae Polar Bear, Fyrinnae Bonfire Spirits, Fyrinnae Ravens and Writing Desks, Scaredy Cat Cosmetics Nevermore, Scaredy Cat Cosmetics Fomhar, Darling Girl Darling Ghoul Jack's Lantern.
The cream shadows are Hard Candy All Lid Up in Stepping Stones, and two Milani Shadow Eyez pencils in Sand Dunes and Brown Deluxe

5) Dark and warm lips- I love dark lips year-round but I feel it is easier to get away with during this time of the year. For me dark burgundy, dark plum and dark wine shades are my go to. I love Beaute liqui-gel stain in Fever for a dark red. To lighten a dark lip up a bit apply a gold gloss overtop. Completely changes the look but still has the depth and contrast. Warm firey shades are also gorgeous this time of year.
Pictured above is Nars lipgloss in Downtown a lovely shimmery plum (bottom right), Venomous Cosmetics Lip Poison (name washed off sorry!, bottom right above the Nars), Rouge Bunny Rouge Lip gloss in Rumba a rosewood pink (mid-right), Venomous Cosmetics Lip Poison in Hypnotize (middle near top). Annabelle Twist-up pencil in Cherry (top left), Beaute liqui-gel stain in Fever (top left), and finally an old gold lipgloss.

6) Rose, Red and Plum Cheeks- I love the look of flushed cheeks just coming in from the cold this time of year- especially blushes that achieve that look.
Pictured above I've got Darling Girl Darling Ghoul Blush tint in Just Bitten (top left), The Body Shop leaf patterned blush in Berry (just below the Darling Girl blush), Rouge Bunny Rouge cream blush in Cabana (coral-brown, mid-right side) and Nars Sin (top right).

7) Orange Nails- This is the only time of year I wear orange. Normally I'm not a big orange fan, but this time of year orange with a gold glitter or shimmer is just so lovely. Wet n' Wild Inferno nail polish is one of those shades.

Bum Warmer photo from Honey Bea Design

8) Bum Warmer- Yes you read that right. No it isn't nearly as explicit as it sounds. Basically here in Canada during the really cold fall and winter days any extra layer you can get away with you wear. Especially if you have to walk to school/work. These are made from sweaters with a cute flower design from Honey Bea Designs (You can check out this artisan's Facebook Page). I just slip it over my jeans or yoga pants like a stretchy mini-skirt and I am kept that much cozier while still having a stylish look.

9) The Smells- Okay I know this isn't really tangible but I have to include it. I love the scent of autumn. Woodsmoke and crushed crunchy leaves and a hint of frost. It's such a refreshing smell.

10) Sitting by the fire- On especially windy nights and chilly mornings getting cosy in front of the fire is such an awesome feeling. Top it off with a warm drink (with whipped cream!) and it doesn't get much better than that. :)

So does anyone else love this season as much as me? Excited to break out the sweaters and long-sleeved shirts? Let me know!

Stila Magnificent Metals Eyeshadows~ Swatches and First Impressions

The last time I was at Sephora I was instantly drawn to the new display for the Stila Magnificent Metals Eyeshadows. These are an insanely metallic and shiny eyeshadow formula with a sort of flake texture that is sort of sponge/cream finish. Very unique and unlike anything I've ever experienced before! I knew immediately that I needed to do swatches of the entire line for you all.

A couple things about application. From my experience (using my finger) these were easier to use the more liquid-like they were. The formula of these is identical between shades but as these come with a tiny vial of liquid primer it is reccommended to drop the liquid into the shadow pots. The amount you add the more liquidy they become. The easiest ones to use were the shades that people had added quite a bit of the primer too but not so much that the shadows became a runny goop. Also though it would be a pain due to the screw-top packaging I can totally see why they chose it because you wouldn't want to have the primer dry-out in the shadows between uses- it would be a huge waste of the tiny primer vial.

I didn't notice any other differences between shades other than the emerald shade stains like crazy. Which is sad because all the other shades were fine and I loved the emerald colour.

These retail for an insane $42 Canadian each (at Sephora) which includes one mini primer vial, one eyeshadow pot and one metal pan to mix in (which isn't really necessary in my opinion).

I swatched these two ways for you all, first on my fingers and then on my arm. Enjoy!

L-R: Metallic Cobalt, Metallic Emerald, Metallic Laurel

L-R: Vintage Black Gold, Comex Copper, Metallic Merlot

L-R: Comex Gold, Titanium, Comex Platinum

L-R: Metallic Lavender, Kitten, Metallic Dusty Rose

All together! T-B: Metallic Lavender, Kitten, Metallic Dusty Rose, Comex Platinum, Titanium, Comex Gold, Metallic Merlot, Comex Copper, Vintage Black Gold, Metallic Laurel, Metallic Emerald, Metallic Cobalt

B-T: Metallic Cobalt, Metallic Emerald, Metallic Laurel, Vintage Black Gold, Comex Copper, Metallic Merlot

B-T: Comex Copper, Metallic Merlot, Comex Gold, Titanium, Comex Platinum

B-T: Comex Platinum, Metallic Dusty Rose, Kitten, Metallic Lavender

L-R: Metallic Lavender, Kitten, Metallic Dusty Rose, Comex Platinum, Titanium

L-R: Comex Platinum, Titanium, Comex Gold, Metallic Merlot, Comex Copper, Vintage Black Gold

L-R: Comex Copper, Vintage Black Gold, Metallic Laurel, Metallic Emerald, Metallic Cobalt

As you can see from the swatches these are difficult to apply evenly. Like I mentioned before it was easier to apply these more evenly when they were wetter (such as with metallic merlot and comex platinum). All shades have the same sort of intense metallic finish, there truly isn't a difference I could see between shades as there sometimes is in ranges.

Overall I think these are really neat. I do think they'd take practise to use effectively as the flakes seem to go everywhere and a brush may be a better option than fingers- you may have to do some experimentation. At the price I'd put them as a luxury item to splurge on but if a shade really calls out to you I can see these making a statement look easily.

What do you all think? Are you intrigued?

No Bleeding Lips Review

Image from the No Bleeding Lips website

I so wanted to love this. I read a bunch of reviews about this clear lipliner and how it lasted and lasted. Plus I needed a clear lip liner. I have issues sometimes with my super dark lipsticks not staying within the lines ever-so-slightly. In addition I wanted a clear lipliner for the much raved about OCC lip tars which I am hoping to review soon. They will have to wait however as I seriously cannot use this.

The reason isn't because it doesn't work, it does but due to the ingredients and my super sensitive skin I can't suffer through wearing this for more than a couple minutes. You see the thing is it itches like crazy. I feel like I need to claw it off my lips with my nails. In fact I have to scrub it off with a face cloth. Asking some others the reason for this is due to the plethora of many evaporating ingredients in the pencil. I've listed the ingredients below if you are interested. 

Silica, Synthetic Wax, Isododecane, Hydrogenated Polydicyclopentadiene, Polyglyceryl-10 Pentaisostearate, Hydrogenated Poly (C6-14 Olefin), Hydrogenated Polydecene, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Polybutene, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Polyethylene.

On my (awkward looking) hand to show size

For those of you who don't have sensitive skin though this may work. It goes on easily and the thin tip makes it easy to line your lips. Though it looks white it is completely transparent, you can even layer it slightly to ensure you have your lips completely outlined and they say that it can help fill in lip lines. It has a nice twist up mechanism. Plus it's a good consistency it glides nicely but isn't so soft that it smooshes or comes off in chunks. No Bleeding Lips is also waterproof and said to be long-lasting.

The nicely sized tip

These are $15-$20 CND (I bought mine at Shopper's Drug mart for $20 where I can't return it and yet Sephora started selling it after this for only $15. Needless to say I'm not too thrilled.) You can check out the website here.

So for me and other sensitive skin girls this is a fail in my humble opinion. For more tough ladies (and gents) out there it may fit nicely into your make-up stash. And though it doesn't really count I don't like the name of it, all I can picture when I hear the name is chapped, sore, bleeding lips. Those hurt!

Hebridean Sprite Rating: 3/10. It does have an easy application and nice consistency but isn't a good formula for me.

Would I purchase this again? No, in fact I tried to return it but couldn't as I'd used it and I don't have the receipt any longer. Boo.

BECCA Ever Matte Primer~ Photos and Review

Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector

A little while ago I purchased Becca's Ever Matte primer in search (yet again) for a primer that would actually reduce the appearance of pores on my face and help keep me matte during the day. Primers are supposed to also improve the application and wear-time of your foundation too, but honestly I expect those things from my foundation to start with, for me I want a primer to help my skin look smooth and flawless (which if you don't know already, it's about as far from perfect as it can get sometimes).

I must say that although this primer is different than any other primer I've tried before I really like it. At first I was a little wary as this stuff is thick! There is a major trick to this primer and to get it to work. 

See how thick it is?

Firstly you need to make sure you shake the bottle before use. Then you squeeze out the smallest amount and warm the product up between your fingers so it becomes more emollient. Then working quickly spread it onto the places of your face that get oily. 

Due to the thickness of this product I don't recommend using it anywhere you don't get oily. I personally only use it on my nose, centre of my forehead in the middle of my chin and the top of my cheekbones where my pores are the largest as well. 

I wouldn't say it makes my pores invisible as it says in the name but it does reduce the look of them and best of all it keeps me matte all day. Plus you need so little this bottle is going to last me a while. 

Once it's on this feels almost powdery and satin-like. If you spread it thin enough you can barely feel it in my opinion though some people may find it too thick or film-like for them. To me it's a much nicer feeling than the oily feeling my forehead and t-zone becomes after a couple hours. Plus if you forget to put it on before your foundation it works just as well if you dab some on over-top. 

In addition to this it has a simple ingredient list and is okay for my super sensitive acne-prone skin. The only thing in it that could cause problems is Butylene Glycol (a solvent and moisturizer) but it's only rated a 1 out of 5 on the comedogenic scale, the rest of the ingredients are all zeros. Plus there isn't any silicones in this either (a group of ingredients that causes my skin trauma). 

Heres the ingredients list: Water, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Propylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylene Glycol, Enantia Chlorantha Bark Extract, Oleanolic Acid.

Unfortunately Becca is an expensive brand so if you're going to get this ( $44 CND for 1.35 oz) I recommend getting it on sale. You can get it from Sephora (they have biannual sales for Beauty Insiders getting 10- 15% off.) Dermstore stocks it as well and they occasionally have sales too. I purchased mine from Artisan Boutique online because they seem to have a 20% off weekend seemingly every other month (sometimes more). I sign-up for their e-mail to get sales alerts, so I got my Becca primer 20% off.

 Overall, though this is a bit finicky to work with I love this product. For anything professional or occasion I want to look my best I can see myself using this. It can feel a tad much for casual days, but I can see this becoming a staple in my stash.  

Rating: 9/10 This lost half a point for price and half a point for not perfectly concealing the look of pores. Other than that I really like this. Very unique, excellent ingredients, and it works so well.

Would I buy this again? Yes. I like this better than many of the other primers out there, plus it doesn't break me out which is a huge plus.