Beauty Bests: September

I really need to stop introducing new blog series! I can never seem to stick with them for long.

Another thing I’m struggling with is my blogging mojo. Life is busy — I work 40+ hours a week, and in the next 3 weeks I only have 5 days off of work (including today and tomorrow, my normal weekend). And right after that stretch I’m embarking on my first solo flight to visit my best friend in Salt Lake City…which I am super pumped for! And also nervous — I’ve been reading everything possible about airline travel. Not that I’m scared of flying (I actually love it) or that I haven’t flown much (I generally fly once or maybe twice a year) but that I’ve never flown without someone with me, whether my family or a big group so I hope I have everything I need. I’m traveling carry-on only for the first time too and I hope I’m not bringing too much stuff for my small bag. Do any seasoned solo flyers have tips for this newbie?

Enough travel talk (for now), let’s talk beauty. I am NOT a low-maintenance kind of girl when it comes to beauty products, but I don’t like to spend too much on makeup or hair stuff. With that being said, here are some of my favorite finds this month.

Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo (Sephora, $12)

Purple lips AREN'T weird, trust me!

This stuff is life-changing, y’all. Before trying it I hadn’t found a lipstick/lip stain that stayed put and didn’t feel too heavy. This is the answer to my prayers! First of all, it’s basically like getting two for the price of one, because it has one shade on each end. Second, the shades are perf…I absolutely love the bright magenta and fuschia hues. They’re the perfect pop of color that works for all seasons. And best of all, it stays on for most of the day. Trust me. I went for a run while wearing it (hey, it was after work!) and it barely faded. It will last through eating and drinking, too.

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara (Sephora, $10 for mini)

Minis are cuter anyway!

Another incredible product that will probably become my go-to mascara from now on. Not heavy or cakey like a lot of mascaras and it comes off easily with makeup removers or warm water. It gives me the length and volume I want without looking all spider-y. It comes in a full-size version, but I tried the mini because A) I’m cheap B) I wanted to make sure it was worth it and C) It works better for traveling (see above). I am stocking up on more before my trip!

Julep Bare Face Cleansing Oil (Julep.com)

Looks like pee, but smells great.

Full disclosure: I got this as a freebie with my first Julep box (they mostly sell nail polish). But this stuff smells good and works well. I usually use makeup removing wipes, and lately I’ve been getting into more natural brands like Burt’s Bees, but this oil is less harsh on my eyes (it’s good for contact users like me) and it makes your skin soft. You only need a little bit, which is even better. Just lather up a little on your face and wash away with warm water.

Bobby Pins (any drugstore)

You know what bobby pins look like (I hope)! These suckers are extremely cheap, since they usually come in packs of like a million, so when you inevitably lose some, it’s okay. Since I’ve started doing the top bun thing more often, they’re a lifesaver for those little frizzies that stick out. And I also use them to do that little bouffant thing with my bangs now that I’m kinda sorta probably growing them out.

Tidy Detangling Comb (Sephora, $8)

Have to buy it if it's pink.

I used to brush out my hair after a shower with an actual brush. Bad! Then I realized a comb would be better for my hair, so I switched to this because it’s bigger than those cheap-o combs they give you on picture day in elementary school and it said it would keep my texture intact, which I was thrilled about. I’m all about leaving my hair natural (aka wavy) when I can and this comb absolutely keeps that in check. Now I also use this comb to detangle my ends when they’re dry and yep, still works wonders. Plus it’s pink, which means I had to get it.

What are some of your (cheap) beauty favorites? Any solo traveling tips?

Currently: September

I’m trying to get back to a more regular posting schedule (which includes new recipes–check out my other blog for some spicy raw tacos!) but for now, I still don’t have a ton of content I want to cover, so I’m gonna go with the random and always fun ‘Currently’ post.

Current Book: This may be nerdy, but I think my nutrition textbook is really interesting. I’ve always been fascinated by nutrition & health, but before my nutrition class this semester, I never did much research into it. Now I’m finding out so many things, like how conventionally-grown oranges are often colored with food coloring to be more ‘orange’ and what those weird-sounding food additives really are.

Current Music: Sorry not sorry, but another alt song is on the list for this month. This time, it’s “Unbelievers” by Vampire Weekend. Gah, I love Vampire Weekend. It doesn’t hurt that the lead singer (Ezra Koenig) is pretty attractive…and obviously talented.

Current Guilty Pleasure: The matching mani I got done with a friend last week. Disclaimer: this is like the 3rd or 4th time EVER that I’ve gotten a mani. The first time was on my 18th birthday. I don’t get them done a lot because it’s hard to justify spending $10+ for polished nails that I could do at home for the price of a bottle of nail polish (though I can’t always get it as good when I do it myself, but at least the price of nail polish goes a lot farther). But it was fun to do it with a friend and now I have pretty taupe nails.

Perf for fall.

Current Nail Color: See above ^^^. Before this though, I was sporting Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear (my go-to brand, because it’s cheap and effective) in pink and purple, both on sale at Target for under $2 (because sadly they’re both discontinued colors).

Current Drink: Water from my freebie ‘PINK’ water bottle. It makes drinking water more fun and convenient, since I can just bring it with me to classes and it won’t spill as easily as my other water bottles did. Plus it’s gigantic, so I end up drinking more overall.

I’m loving water + Amazing Grass greens packets too.

Current Food: Lettuce wraps stuffed with spicy raw taco filling/homemade avocado-cashew dressing, coconut butter-stuffed dates, Larabars (so great for when I’m on campus all day), all-fruit softserve from the softserve food truck on campus, figs.

Current TV Show: One of my friends got me hooked on old episodes of New Girl. I won’t be able to watch them live this season because I have CTV on Tuesday nights, but I’m definitely gonna keep watching them somehow.

Current Wishlist: For the 2nd Colorado location of Native Foods Cafe to open (it’s only an hour away from my hometown!), cute and comfortable booties (preferably cheap, too), a new phone (my contract expires in December–maybe I’ll finally get an iPhone…though I love my Android too), for this nice weather to last for awhile (can we just skip over winter?).

Current Needs: I need my budgeting skills back. Over the summer, I wasn’t buying much for myself other than clothes occasionally from money I earned doing chores or from birthday cash but now that I have student loan money again, it’s been too tempting to spend some of it on fun stuff, instead of saving most of it for rent and groceries. I haven’t been going too crazy, and a lot of it has been when I’ve been hanging out with friends and we got sushi, or manis, but I need to keep my spending in check and only buy what I need, with minimal ‘fun’ purchases.

Current Triumphs: Starting to get back into the swing of school (I still have senioritis, BUT it’s motivating me to get through the next 3 months) and being more spontaneous. I’ve gotten really close with a friend I met in our newswriting class 2 years ago, and we’ve been hanging out a couple of times per week. She also invited me to join her intramural volleyball team and even though I don’t like volleyball and I’m not one for team sports (I prefer working out solo, or playing tennis with my dad), I decided to do it. It’s only for 4 weeks, 1x per week (and we’ve already made it through 3 weeks), and even though our team sucks, it’s been fun. Hanging out with friends more often has made me realize how much I crave a schedule, but it’s made me go out of my comfort zone a lot. I’ve been saying yes to Starbucks runs and yoga sessions instead of staying home and doing my regular workouts and such on my own time. It’s been hard, but really freeing.

Current Bane of Existence: This 5 day forecast. Thursday–great! Saturday–okay. Sunday and Monday–perfect. Friday just had to be cold and rainy, right? Ugh, I am so not ready for the 50s yet. I still want the 80 degree weather back!

No. Just…no.

Current Indulgence: This deliciousness. Gah. I stopped getting these so often (read: every other week) because they were a bit too expensive (not really, but definitely for a regular purchase) and I didn’t want to get burned out on them. Now that the Whole Foods by school has stopped carrying Hail Merry tarts (WHY?), I have to make a stop at Natural Grocers for them, but they’re cheaper there anyway, so it’s a total win. Plus anything mint+chocolate is just amazing.

Current Blessing: Having my family coming up to visit me this weekend. I usually go home every other weekend because I LOVE my family and it’s nice to get a break from my apartment once in awhile (even though I live alone–I need the company sometimes!) but sometimes they get to come up and spend the weekend at my apartment. Being a hostess is a bit stressful (mostly because I keep my apartment clean and having people over makes that harder to do…and also because I don’t get to keep my regular workout schedule) but I always love seeing them and having my parents treat me to dinners out is always a plus.

Current Outfit: This was actually from Monday, but it was a navy knit sweater over a mint lace bandeau, light wash jeggings, floral hair wrap and a mint statement necklace. Anybody else feel awkward wearing jeans again after a few months without them? Ignore my weird looking thighs in the photo. I’ll be used to wearing skinny jeans again in a couple of months.

This necklace was $5…gotta love Living Social deals!

Current Excitement: In the short term–this weekend with the fam. In the longer term–graduation…just 3 months away now!

What are your ‘currents’?