September Favourites

*Sorry to be boring and incredibly generic but I feel like if you have an extra 3 minutes and an ear for good music now is the time to go and listen to "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day*

Well, if you've taken my previous advice, then up and at 'em, everyone, September is just about done! This is my last blog post of September and man, has it been a month. This is the first time I've blogged for a full month and now I guess it's time for some reminiscing. *Sniff* I've always been a softie.

I know this idea of doing a September Favourites blog post isn't entirely original but I thought it might be a fun thing to do since I am a horrible narcissist who enjoys talking about herself and I also want to have a space to share all the things I've been loving this month. I feel like this post might start off being products but who knows where it'll end up spiraling? Hope you all enjoy!

BabyLips in Cherry Me

I recently did a post about lip products and this was included (read that here) so I won't go too in depth about this other than saying how much I LOVE this product. It is so soft and smooth and smells so great - like cherries but not the disgusting medicine taste you get in some cases, real sugary cherries. This absolutely pampers my lips and they always feel so soft and fantastic after I put this on. What's more is that it's super easy and quick for a nice swipe - no need to get out a compact mirror and apply your lipgloss or anything, just swipe this on and you're good to go! One of the reasons I also like this shade of BabyLips in particular (mind you, I do have more than one) is that it adds a subtle bit of colour to your lips so it does make a face look more complete, if you have pale lips like me. I adore this product and would recommend it a million times over.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Creme & Eyeliner in Golden Bronze

I know that these are two different products but because they were from the same company I decided to include both of them in the picture and to talk about why this brand is fantastic. The eyeliner, a really fun coppery pink, goes on very easily and stays on for a record long time, for me pencil eyeliners never stay on long but this one does! I also just adore the colour - it looks incredible with blue eyes like mine. As you can see, it is a bit worn down because I've been using it a lot recently! So, loving this product, I went back to try some more of NYX's products and with this lipstick, I was not disappointed. This is a matte cream which I have never really had any experience with before but it is wonderful. Glides on really easily, great colour, and no caking, even with super matte lips! I am definitely going back for more with this brand.



Black Radiance Dynamic Duo in 5205

 This might possibly be my favourite product in this post because, as I have mentioned time and time again, I struggle crazily with finding the perfect shade for lips that will give me a natural - ish look but won't leave me with too - bright lips when I don't want them. See what a struggle it is? Well, for that problem, this product is a God-send. It is the perfect combo of a gloss and a balm, made to treat your lips and also gives me a bit of berry colour that I think is incredibly appropriate for this time of year. Thank you makeup gods!

Coco butter thing

 This product is something I use a lot and even though it's not especially high class, I figured I would include it. I use this product for everything, my face, lips, and hands; which might end up being a little gross but I regularly scrape off the top so it's always fresh. It works as a butter for skin, as a chapstick for lips - literally everything. Also exceptionally easy on the wallet - less than $2 at CVS! A wonderful and wonderfully all-purpose product!

Sonia Kashuk Lotion - Pink Innocentia

 This lotion is not a new product for me so I apologize to anyone who wanted exclusively newly tried products. But this Sonia Kashuk lotion is actually my life. It's a blend of magnolia and jasmine smells and not only does it smell absolutely heavenly but it is super light and easy to apply. You only need a little bit to cover your hands or face and I absolutely love how it makes me smell. This lotion is such a blessing on my life so if anyone is looking for a great lotion that smells fantastic and is also nice and light, this is something you definitely want to check out.



Garnier Fructis Curl Construct Mousse

So if the Black Radiance Dynamic Duo is my favourite product in this post, this is easily my second favourite. I made a post about it here if you want to read it so I won't go too far in depth into it's wonderful qualities, I will just say that my hair curls have never been springier and my hair has never been more manageable. It's super easy to apply, just spray the mousse on your hand and apply it to your damp hair and then scrunch your hair and dry it however you choose. The instructions are on the bottle and they're super easy to follow - I just all around love this bottle, how it looks, how it works, and how cheap and easy it is. Recommend so highly!

Keds

 

This might seem like a little bit of an unorthodox item to include in my favourites, but a September Favourites list would be lying if I didn't include these shoes. I had always wanted a kind of sneaker that was cute, simple, and grey (because I am obsessed) and I figured either Vans or Keds were the way to go. I'm so glad I went with Keds. Don't have anything against Vans but these shoes are so incredibly comfortable and all-purpose, I absolutely adore them more than I can say. I wear them all the time and they literally go with everything. Price isn't too bad and I just think they're so worth it, the perfect combination of cute and wearable.

 

Parks and Rec

I know this isn't a product or anything but I just recently started watching the show Parks and Rec with Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones. I am in love with it. The episodes of seasons 1-5 are all on Netflix and each episode is usually about 25 minutes so it's easy to watch a lot in less time. Of course, this leads to the typical problem of thinking you've been watching episodes for an hour and you look up and it's been 3 hours. Whoops! But this show is so funny and I definitely had to include it in my favourites because I absolutely love  it. BTW Ron Swanson is my role model



Music

Oh my god, I don't know why, but there have been so many great music selections that I am so excited about and that I just had to share here. I'm no music expert so if I were to go into why I'm so excited about all this music it would mostly be me just going "IT'S SO GOOD JUST LISTEN" and no one wants that. So, more professionally, here are the names of the songs and links in case you want to listen to them.

• Centuries - Fall Out Boy [x]
• Everywhere I Go (Kings and Queens) - New Politics [x]
• Oh Cecilia - The Vamps [x]
• Fireproof - One Direction [x]
• Don't - Ed Sheeran [x]

Blogspot!

So, the last thing I just had to talk about on this blog is the thing I've been loving probably the most this month and that is this wonderful website. As some of you might be aware, this is the first time I've blogged regularly throughout the whole month and it has been so much fun. I've loved so much talking to other bloggers, answering comments, and having a schedule to stick to and a blog to update with whatever I wanted to! This has been a great month and I've really enjoyed being on blogspot for most of it. Thanks to everyone who helped my first full month on here so great and I am really looking forward to October!

Have a Brettastic day!

Curls, Please, and Hold the Frizz - Fashion Friday #4

It's the question that plagues the best of us and the answer that continues to elude us: how do I make my curly hair look nice without it getting all frizzy?
 

Well, if you were expecting answers, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place. I am no closer the the answer than I've ever been and since I am constantly at loathe to change my hair care routine, I will probably never figure it out. Oh well. When you've gone 17 years with crazy hair, what's another lifetime? Sobs

 

However, if I were going to gripe about my hair and not get anything done, I wouldn't have made this a Fashion Friday. Today, I am here to talk about (and yes, endorse) a product that I just recently discovered and has not, in fact, helped me tame my curls, but has rather made them run even wilder.

 

Wait, Brett, if you found a product that makes your hair look even crazier than it already does, why the hell would you tell us to use it? Aren't we trying to figure out how to make our hair wavy but manageable, curly but tame?

 

NO!

Believe me, I've tried all of that, straighteners, blowdriers, even curling my hair so the usual curls were more how I wanted them to be. But in the end, I had to face the music: my hair is a force of nature and can't be tamed maybe the way I want it to.
 

The first step in making your curly hair look as fabulous as possible is first accepting that your curly hair is awesome and deserves to be treated as such. No more heat, no more corn husk home remedies, no more straightening. It's a waste of time when it's so much better to get a curl strengthening solution and embrace your natural curls and allow them to run free under supervision, as I like to say. The nice part is that the supervision only comes into play when you wash it and add the curling product - the rest of the time you don't have to worry about it! No more holding books over your head in the rain you monster to protect your straightened hair, no more spending half an hour blowing it dry.

 

But how?

 

The answer that I have so far found to the best is the miracle product in the above picture, the Garnier Fructis Curl Construct Mousse. But I know what you're thinking.

 

Brett, why the hell would you construct your curls if you already have curly hair?

Well, we're getting into personal anecdote territory, I don't actually have naturally curly hair. My hair is naturally wavy and sometimes it decides to hate me and to make it so that it is temperamental, frizzy, decides to be wavy on one part and frizzy on the other. It's a nightmare, but I've learned how to work with it and I have found that it is best to get my annoying hair to be AS CURLY AS POSSIBLE for maximum control. This curl construct product is $4.99 at CVS (cheap, oh my god!) and it works wonders.

It's so easy to use, just apply to damp hair and scrunch it up and then one could air dry, blow dry, dry however you want to because this is not a product that defines your hair routine, it's just to add to it! What I mean when I say that is that in all the times I've changed up my hair care routine, it's been with a drastic change that has taken a lot of time or energy or even money. And none of it has worked quite as well as this product.

 

Embrace your curls! Make them as loud and bold as you want but the way you are going to look your best is if you put down those home remedies for straight hair and start finding products that let you tame your curls without letting them lose their fantastic bounce.

 

Have a Brettastic day!