Fall Favorites!

Happy First Day of Fall, Glams and Geeks! Welcome to today’s blog post in which I will be sharing all of my fall favorites! From my favorite beauty products to movies and books, I really wanted to share everything that I look forward to most during the Autumn season! I hope you become inspired by this post, either finding a great book recommendation or even an awesome beauty recipe! This post is intended to be enjoyed and shared!

Here are some awesome books that are perfect for the fall and will either inspire you, or entertain you this Halloween season!

1.       Gossip Girl Psycho Killer by Cecily Von Ziegesar. If you’re a fan of the book series or the show, you will definitely love this dark recreation of the first book!

2.       Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. With eerie photos to help you visualize the characters, this story will envelope you in the world that Riggs has captured on the pages. Super creepy, but an awesome read!

3.       Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. What could be better than a classic novel with some zombies tossed in, some fighting, and gore?

4.       Asylum by Madeleine Roux. This book is written in the same style as Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, including photos of fictional asylums and its patients, adding to the feel of the story. A very dark novel that will keep you on edge!

5.       Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. If you're a fan of the show, or if you are new to this series, this book gives you a little of everything: Vampires, Love, Mystery, and Humor!

6.       Unnatural Creatures with stories selected by Neil Gaiman. This has to be my favorite book amongst the ones I have listed. Neil Gaiman has selected a series of amazing short stories about a variety of otherworldly, dark, and mysterious creatures. My favorite is the first story about the blob. :)

Because the fall season is usually the busiest time of the year (With school work and sometimes, seasonal jobs, extracurricular activities, etc.), it is so important for me to find things that help me relax and unwind at the end of the day. My favorite things that help me to relax, aside from books, are candles! And in my humble opinion, fall scents are the best!

1.       Yankee Candles Autumn Wreath

2.       Wood Wicks Damask Woods

3.       Glade Cashmere Woods

4.       Bath and Body Works Cider Lane (Discontinued)

5.       Bath and Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin

6.       Bath and Body Works Leaves

In the fall, I love to take advantage of playing with darker shades, and what better way to do so than with fun, smokey eyes? Here are some of my fave shadows to create smokey-eyed looks:

1.       Bronze- My go to for a classic bronze look is the Naked 1 palette! I love using Smog on the lid, blended out with Naked and Buck, then Darkhorse in the crease and under the bottom lash line.

2.       My all time favorite cranberry shade is from Mac’s Smoke and Diamonds collection. It is part of the Devil May Dare Warm shadows, and its the shade Sorcery, a satin cranberry red that looks great on the lid and under the lower lash line, blended out with Mac's Omega in the crease, and Vanilla shadow on the brow bone.

3.       For a nice rusty-rose look, I love my Naked 3 palette! I use Liar on the lid, blended out with Limit in the crease, then deepen up my crease with Factory, and run that along the lower lash line.

4.       How can you not love a good chocolate colored smokey eye? It compliments all eye colors and works well with any outfit, day or night! My new favorite chocolate colored shadow is ColourPop's So Quiche! Its a rich, deep chocolate shade with brilliant pink shimmers. I apply it to my lid and blend with Nooner from the Naked 3 palette. Then, I run Snakebite from the Naked 2 palette under my lower lash line and into my crease to add some depth!

5.       Gun metal smokey eyes are the best when Im in the mood for something rough and edgy! I have been loving my shades from my Naked palettes, such as Gunmetal from Naked 1 on the lid, blended out with Tease  in the crease, and deepened with Pistol in the crease and along the lower lash line, both from the Naked 2 palettes.

6.       Even though you can go for the “Golden Goddess” look at any time of the year, there's just something about fall that makes it seem so appropriate. Flower Beauty's Good as Mari-Gold cream shadow creates a great base color, topped with Mac's Sunny Daze pigment. Blend with Mac's Always Sunny Pro Longwear shadow, and run Half Baked from the Naked 1 palette along the lower lash line, and there you have it! A nice golden glow!

During the fall, there is nothing better than warm, sweet scents with hints of musk, or wood, or my personal favorite, spice. Here's my Top 5 for the fall:

1. Juicy Couture

2. Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black

3. Benefit Cosmetics Under My Spell Noelle

4. Lush Cosmetics Ginger

5. Tokyo Milk Dark Fate and Fortune Collection in Destiny No. 79

 

There is nothing I love more than the scent of Pumpkin spice during this time of year. Here are some products and DIY recipes that will help you get gorgeous while smelling yummy!

1. DIY Body Scrub

You Need:

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup of Coconut Oil

1/2 tsp of Vitamin E Oil

1/2 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice or of Cinnamon

(Optional: 1 tbs of honey and 1 tbs of lemon juice)

What to do:

Mix contents and get scrubbin'!

2. Healthy Sexy Hair Pumpkin Puree Treatment Mask

3. Healthy Sexy Hair Pumpkin Shampoo

4. Lush Cosmetics Jack O' Lantern Bath Bomb (Check to see when they become available!)

5. Bath and Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Body Lotion

6. Pumpkin Facial

You Need:

2 tbs of organic canned pumpkin puree or 1 small pumpkin

1/2 tsp of organic honey

1/2 tsp of milk (can be soy or almond milk)

What to do:

Make sure your face is clean and free of makeup and oils

Next, mix pumpkin puree with contents until it is smooth and blended

Now, apply to your face and let sit for 20 minutes

Rinse and Moisturize

Benefits:

Pumpkin is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants that can help cleanse skin, prevent aging, and promote a healthy glow.



With colder seasons comes darker colors! Here are some of my favorite lip shades for the fall!

Nude: Mac's Peachstock lipstick and Maybelline's Nude Lust from the In The Buff collection.

Red Wine: Mac's Sin lipstick and Lime Crimes Wicked Velvetine

Blue-Based Red: Mac's Riri Woo from the Riri Hearts Mac collection

Plum: Mac's Smoked Purple

Dusty Rose: Bite's Cava lipstick and Mac's Viva Glam 2

Chocolate: Lime Crime's Salem Velvetine

I think everyone can agree with me that Halloween brings on a sense of nostalgia and a craving for some childhood favorites like the ones shown above, right? Lol! Here are my faves for the Halloween season:

1. Hocus Pocus

2. The Nightmare Before Christmas

3. Beetlejuice

4. The Addams Family

5. Corpse Bride (A bit more recent, but still love it!)

6. Face Off (Not a movie, but an awesome show! Who else watches it every year?)

7. American Horror Story (My latest obsession! Who else is excited for AHS4?)

8. Repo The Genetic Opera (Great, but gorey movie!)

 

I love playing with colors when it comes to my nails, and especially love to keep an eye on nail trends from Fashion Week for inspiration. Here are my faves from the Fall 2014 Fashion Week as well as some personal favorites:

1. Metallics: I love the look of bold, edgy manicures that use metallic shades on an accent nail or for a full mani! My favorite metallics are Maybelline's Bold Gold from the Color Show line, Essie's No Place Like Chrome (Silver), and Orly's Rage (Rose Gold).

2. Deep Red: This color for me is so classic and traditional for the fall, and looks even better when wearing a matching lipstick like the photo shown above. I love Essie's deep red shade, Bordeaux. It is the perfect shade of deep red and looks just like Red Velvet when worn.

3. Gray: While white is a go-to for me during the summer months, and when black gets too played out, I love going for a nice, creamy gray! Essie's Armed and Ready is my ideal gray as its nice and dark and has a gorgeous peachy glimmering sheen to it that can only be seen in certain light!

4. Chocolate: There is nothing better than a nice, rich chocolate shade for the fall! My favorite is OPI's Suzi Loves Cowboys, a deep, milk chocolate brown.

5. Nude: When it doubt, go nude! Sometimes, you just want that clean look, and that's ok! With gorgeous nudes like L'Oreal's Eva's Nude from the Privee Collection, you can never go wrong!

6. Matte: To add a twist to your traditional mani, add a coat of mattifying polish, like Essie's Matte About You! To make it extra fun, create a French manicure, only adding the matte polish to the tips and leaving the base of your nails nice and shiny!

7. Midnight Blue: Whenever I want to be a little edgy, dark blue nails are perfect! I love Rimmel's Midnight Blue, as it looks like a dark, chromey-blue shade, and reflects amazingly in the light!

8. Black: Need I say more? Black nails are a must for fall! OPI's Black Onyx is the perfect flat, opaque shade!

9. Dusty Mauve: This is a new favorite for me and is great for whenever you want a nice clean color, but are tired of going nude. L'Oreal's Freida's Nude is the perfect dusty mauve and looks so beautiful when worn.

 

Because I live in Florida, where its summer 365 days a year, I don't get many opportunities, other than the three days of cool breeze, to wear fall appropriate clothes. But, I still try and wear some fun key pieces like the ones shown above! Here are my fave fall staples:
1. American Apparel Disco Pants in Black
2. American Apparel Boucle Shawl Cardigan in Black Natural Acrylic
3. Target Footie Pajamas
4. American Eagle Tube Scarf
5. American Apparel Black Wool Floppy Hat
6. LF Leather Ball Cap (LF does not have online store, linked F21 instead)
7. Jeffrey Campbell Stillwell's in Red
8. Tory Burch Black and Silver Reva flats

Last, but not least, my favorite fall treats!
1. Caramelized Popcorn (Make Your Own at Home!)
What You Need:
1 large bowl
1 bag of popped popcorn
Marshmallows (Add as many as you prefer!)
1 tbs of Butter (Glaze over popcorn)
1 tbs Pumpkin Pie Spice
A few pieces of Caramel
What to Do:
Place all of the contents in a large bowl (Popcorn, butter glazed over, marshmallows mixed, pumpkin spice sprinkled all over, and add some caramel!)
Put in the microwave for 30-45 seconds to allow the marshmallows and caramel to mix
Let sit for 1 minute
Enjoy!

2. Caramelized Apples
3. Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Frapp or Latte
4. Harney and Sons Pumpkin Spice tea
5. Blue Bell Spice Pumpkin Pecan
6. Pumpkin Pie!

Thank you all so, so much for reading about my fall faves! Stop by my IG account (@TheGlamGeekConfessional) and let me know what you loved most!

Holiday Gift Guide For Her: The Fragrant Friend

Hello Glams and Geeks! Today's segment of Holiday Gift Guide for Her will be talking about that particular girl you may know who just loves perfume! I have provided a variety of options, in varying price ranges listed from low to high to give you guys a few alternatives to stay within your price range.

For your Fragrant Friend- She’s the one who always smells amazing wherever she goes, her signature scent lingering around her, and getting people to ask what she’s wearing because of how great she smells! Here are a few gifts to help her indulge in new fragrances:

Get her to try something new this holiday with Tokyo Milk’s Gift Set featuring 3 of their popular fragrances: Chance, a combination of bamboo mixed with tea leaves, fresh figs, and white musk. Destiny, a blend of fresh ginger, sweet honeysuckle, davana, and midnight jasmine. Wisdom, a unique scent made up of water lily, mossy wood, walnut, and winter musk. These are scents that your friend will love wearing, as each one is so unique and stimulates the senses. The set is $12 for all 3, 0.15 oz. perfumes and is sold at Sephora stores and online at Sephora.com.

Pacifica, a 100% cruelty-free, vegan company offers a wide range of enticing fragrances. They carry floral, fruity, herb & spices, and wood & resin based fragrances. Each one is offered in either spray on, roll on or solid formulas. And if you love a scent enough, they even carry candles! Each spray-on perfume retails at $22, the roll-on’s at $12, and the solids at $9. There is also a value set that offers the spray perfume, body lotion and body wash for $30, and makes for a perfect holiday gift. Pacifica products can be purchased wherever the brand is sold, such as Whole Foods, Ulta, and Target stores, or online at PacificaPerfume.com.

These are just a few of the exotic scents offered by Lush.

Give your Eco-Friendly gal a scent that is so distinct from anything she's ever smelled, and that's made of 100% vegan, cruelty-free ingredients with Lush's Gorilla Perfumes. They offer a collection of exotic blends that will awaken your senses. The scents are inspired by bizarre aromas such as French perfumeries, the feeling of Love, and thunderstorms, and are made with a variety of enchanting fragrances. These scents are definitely far from what she's used to and will give her something to look forward to whenever she wears it. The perfumes vary in price anywhere from $3 to $50 depending on their scent, size, and availability and can be found online at LushUsa.com or at your local Lush location.

If your friend is looking for something unique to claim as her signature scent, then Benefit Cosmetics may have just the thing! For the 2013 holiday, Benefit has created a limited edition set featuring 4 of their best fragrances in Laugh with me Lee Lee, Under My Spell Noelle, My Place or Yours Gina, and Ring My Bella in 0.34 oz. bottles. The Cresent Row perfume set comes in a cute little box that is perfect for gifting! Their appealing packaging, and quirky names make these perfumes so much fun, and will be loved by anyone who receives it. The set retails at $37 and can be purchased at your local Benefit counter such as Macy’s and Ulta, or online at Macys.com.

Sephora's 2013 Fragrance Sampler Set

Not sure which perfume she’ll enjoy most? No worries, Sephora’s got you covered! With their Sephora Favorite’s Fragrance Sampler, featuring 14 mini perfume samples, she can experience a wide range of scents and decide which one she loves most. Once she finds her perfect match, the sampler comes with a certificate that she can bring to her local Sephora location, and redeem it for one full-size perfume in her desired scent! Now talk about an awesome gift! The set retails at $65 and can be purchased either in stores or online at Sephora.com.

This artwork was done by an amazing artist on Etsy, MilkFoam. These and other perfume portraits are available on their shop and would make for an awesome present as well.

Want to splurge on your fragrant friend this year? Then do so by giving her one of Marc Jacob’s irresistible gift sets! Marc Jacobs fragrances are known for their wonderful scents, so you can’t go wrong no matter which one you choose. Each of the sets come with a 3.7 oz. bottle of perfume, a roller ball, lotion, and body wash and are available in Daisy, Dot, Honey, and Lola. The sets retail between $94 and $99 and can be purchased in stores or online at Sephora.com.

I hope this fragrance guide will help you in finding the perfect gift for whoever you are shopping for this season, and do hope you'll check back tomorrow to find out what to get for the girl who just loves a good book! Thanks for reading and happy shopping!

Benefit Cosmetics Rockateur Blush Review

Here I am wearing the blush on my cheeks without any bronzer or highlighter

Here I am wearing the blush on my cheeks without any bronzer or highlighter

Hello Glams and Geeks! Today’s post is all about the Rockateur blush from Benefit Cosmetics! So, I was finally able to purchase this gorgeous rose-gold blush, and I am extremely happy that I did. Before I begin, I just want to talk a bit about the brand for those who may not be familiar. Benefit Cosmetics is a brand that started out as a small time boutique that was then called The Face Place in San Francisco, California. Over the years, the brand transformed into what now many people have come to love and know, as Benefit Cosmetics. The brand is sold at various retailers such as Sephora and Ulta, and has boutiques in certain parts of the country. Now that I’ve properly introduced you to this fun-loving brand, let’s get to it!

The Rockateur blush comes in a super cute, edgy little box and contains one applicator brush. This rose-gold blush is perfect for all skin tones as was intended. When applied, the blush goes on opaque, so one swipe is just enough. The rosy hue in the blush creates a gorgeous, flirty flush on the cheeks while the gold in it emphasizes cheek definition and creates a natural radiant glow. The texture is very soft and smooth, bringing a silky color to your cheeks. It lasts all day, so no need to carry it around in your purse for touch ups. This is perfect for day and night, for everyday use such as school or work, and for special events such as a date or a wedding. So, whether you’re in the mood to get glammed up for work or finally going on a date with that special someone, just swipe this on and wait for the compliments! This really is an essential color for your makeup collection as it is perfect for just about any look. This product retails at $28 and can be purchased at a local Benefit retailer near you or online at BenefitCosmetics.com

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you check out the Rockateur blush at a Benefit Cosmetics retailer near you! I promise it’ll be worth it!