October Benevolent Beauty Box

Imo, Benevolent Beauty Box is the best makeup box on the market, and it's definitely the best cruelty-free box I've ever seen. That being said, this is my favorite Benevolent Beauty Box yet. It's the last box of my 6 month purchase, and though I'm having to cancel for now, I really hate to do so after such a seasonally perfect box. This is a $30 monthly box and is the VIP version. Benevolent Beauty also offers a mini box with 2 or 3 items for $15(?) a month.

 

• Ardency Inn Eyes Like Fire Shadow in Punker, RV $21. It has a brush applicator that takes quite awhile to click up, so I may have overdone it a bit. I find the black cream too pigmented and thick to feel comfortable with, but I still think it's cool and good quality. Reviews on Sephora say it's great for creating a smoky eye, but I'm way too intimidated to try. Maybe for Halloween? 
• LaRitzy Eyeshadow in shade Iced Malted, RV $16. In contrast to the Ardency Inn eyeshadow, I think this one is perfectly wearable and had decent payoff in one swipe. I wore it to work today and it never creased or smudged. I'm glad to receive a LaRitzy product; they used to curate a monthly cruelty-free beauty box, but recently switched to sending out only their own products. This makes me less afraid of giving that a try :)
• Medusa's Makeup Maracuja Oil, RV $14. I've used tarte's maracuja oil & liked it on my skin, so I'm happy to receive this. It can be used as a moisturizer or as a hair oil. 
• Modish Polish Nail Polish in shade "No Time for Bullshit", RV $12. This is a 5 free polish in my ideal neutral shade with a title that I think is really fun - the tagline reads "No time for bullshit when you're building an empire." Love.
• Tat2u Makeup Matte Lipstick in shade "New Generation", RV $16. This is the Fall plummy wine shade I wanted the tre'Stique Belize Bordeaux to be (from this month's Ipsy).
• Tat2u Makeup Lip Pencil in shade "Hyper", RV $14. Not a perfect match for the lipstick, but I like the slightly 90's contrast. Super happy to receive richer/darker lip shades this time of year rather than the the pink or orange-reds subscription boxes seem to love. 

Thoughts of the day

• Dogs (probably) dream about their owners when they sleep, which makes Sansa's snoozes so much sweeter than they already were. 
• My mom, sisters, & I have been working through this list of horror shorts in honor of the Halloween season. We can only get through a few at a time due to the super tension condensed into every few minutes. 
• Even though my "capsule wardrobe" has ~50 pieces, it has truly helped my mindset as I go into Autumn and see all the beautiful cool-weather clothes coming out. I'm still trimming as time passes - realizing that I don't need a turquoise tee in October (though you better believe I'm eyeing the navy) or that the black platform clogs I thought about getting rid of are the shoes I reach for most often. It's a learning process, but I've been so much better about not wanting to go clothes shopping! Now, as James brought up, if I could just "capsule" my skincare and makeup... 
• I'm also committing (as of today) to start a slow process into (potential) vegetarianism. For the next 30 days, I am going to try cutting red meat & pork out of my diet. I'll still eat poultry, because ... baby steps. This also led me to cancel HelloFresh (options are too limited) but keep HomeChef. HomeChef always has at least 2 vegetarian options, and while I am continuing to eat poultry, this will be a great choice in figuring out creative ways to make meals without beef or pork or whatever else. 
• Roxane Gay lists 13 Rules for Female Friendships - full of helpful truths like "If a friend sends you like 30 crazy emails needing reassurance about the same damn shit, be patient because one day that’s going to be you tearing up Gmail with your drama."
• This election has brought out the absolute worst in so many people. I'm starting to worry that whether Hillary wins or loses, there will be ensuing violence, especially against POC & LGBTQ communities. 

Ipsy GlamBag - October

There's something about Ipsy I just can't quit. I love the process of picking which spoilers I could receive and anxiously awaiting GlamBag reveals. This month's bag was SO FREAKING CUTE; it's the cutest bag design I've gotten from Ipsy (though I'm sure my obsession with Halloween plays into that).

This month, my bag contents were almost perfect, too. My October GlamBag contained: 

• Tatcha One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil - I love double cleansing anytime I wear makeup, and I already know I like other Tatcha products. I'm always happy to get a sample of a $40+ cleanser so I don't have to waste that chunk of money if it doesn't work out. 
• Essence Waterproof Eyeliner Pen - I am overloaded on eyeliner pens right now, but I was fine with this one because it's waterproof. However, the pen tip is so long I think it's going to be hard to manipulate. 
• Kokie Cosmetics Nail Polish in Heavenly - I'm happy to receive nail polish if it's a new shade for my collection, and this fits the bill! It's a pretty, pale periwinkle.
• tre'Stique Matte Lip Crayon in Belize Bordeaux - I was skeptical of tre'Stique due to their name and packaging, but I've had good luck with their products so far & I am so glad I got the berry shade. It's bright and fun and great for Fall. 
• Pur~Lisse Daily Lip Nourisher  -This has the slightest hint of mango scent and isn't sticky in the slightest. I'm wearing it right now & it feels great on - considering the rave reviews, I have pretty high expectations for this little guy. We'll see how it goes.  

Look at the sweet baby ghost zipper on the makeup bag! I love him. 

October BeautyDNA & other early-month treats

October is the best hecking month of the year. Autumn starts to kick in, the days get cooler, the leaves get crunchier, and people are wearing all of my favorite colors. Food and beer just start to taste better in the fall. I've been looking forward to this season's beauty boxes, to see if we can finally stop receiving bronzers, self-tanners, and summery coral makeup shades (the least flattering of all products on this cool-toned girl). The first box I received this month was from BeautyDNA. They always ship promptly at the beginning of the month. After a weird September product (a hip & abdomen cellulite gel), I was happy to receive the Paula's Choice Resist BHA 9. It's a salicylic acid spot treatment that you use after cleansing & tonight and before serums & moisturizers. It'll fit perfectly into my skincare routine and I look forward to trying it! 

I love BeautyDNA's thorough quiz & the way they match the details of each product to my preferences. BeautyDNA is typically $25/month, but I signed up during a special promo & received 6 months for $80-something. I'm not sure I would pay the full $25 for the service, but I do enjoy treating myself with it. 

I also ordered a fun Halloween nail polish set from Julep (which is pretty consistently my favorite subscription box - once I realized how awesome Julep's makeup & skincare lines are, I've loved being able to curate my own boxes ... & have spent way too much money doing so). 

For just $15, I got four polishes - Sam, Scout, Brigitte, and Tatiana. I used a promo code (FALLCOLOR) to add-on a polish for free - Cameron, that pale lilac shade, which dries to a textured, "stardust" finish, and then topped off my order by adding the cuticle oil in the middle for $9. I justified it by saying that since I skipped my Julep box this month, I might as well spent the normal monthly fee to get these great goodies.

Finally, because I am an absolute SUCKER, I fell for one of Sephora's promos. They were giving samples of Sunday Riley Good Genes with any purchase of $25 or more. That's a pretty big deal since Good Genes is, oh, a mere $105 per oz. 

I ended up ordering the Sephora Favorites Beauty Sleep kit, & I'm so glad I did. The teeny extra sample of Good Genes was worth $18, so $12 for everything else feels like a steal. As a side note, I can't recommend the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer enough .... and I especially recommend ordering it as a free add-on sample when you can. The sample is a separate packet of each type of eyeshadow primer that UD offers, and each packet lasts me about a month, so that's four months of primer from each free sample. I'll take it! 

Considering a capsule

Lately I have been really intrigued by the Unfancy Capsule Experiment. As you may have noticed (I know, you've noticed), I have a real issue with impulse buying. Ever since I got my first job, taking myself shopping has been my stress reliever. I'll wake up early, get to the mall before it opens, and spend hours trying on clothes and shoes and swatching makeup. It's a whole event  for me - my favorite way to decompress. However, it also adds its own layer of stress because I spend too much. Like, way too much. And I still online shop. And I still have buyer's remorse.

I have been cutting my wardrobe down significantly over the past year. I want to be honest about colors and cuts that feel like me rather than what feels on-trend. I've also gained a lot of weight this year, so I am trying to get rid of pieces I've been holding onto for when I drop "that last 10 lbs." I want to be able to go into my closet and pick something out & know I'll be comfortable in it rather than try on 15 outfits every morning & feel a little too chubby for each of them.

So my seasonal capsule wardrobe is partially being formed by admitting that I simply don't wear chartreuse & fuchsia, but also by admitting that crop tops might not be something I feel comfortable in for a good long while. There's no point in blowing money on goal clothes. If I don't love the fit & color, I pass it down to my sisters - and I sure as hell don't buy it in hopes that it'll suit me someday. I don't know how many pieces I'll limit myself to per season, but I'll update as I figure out what works best for me.

In other news, I have found my favorite Halloween nail polish, called "Becky" from Julep. The online swatch really doesn't capture it, but no pictures I am taking do either. It's a duochrome with a satin finish that alternates between a rich wine purple and emerald green, depending on the angle. I'm wearing it now, but I wish I'd waited for Halloween week! I love it.

I have't received any October boxes yet, but I'll update again when I do!

xoxo