August 2015 Favorites

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First of all, I just realized that this month marked my two years of blogging. It's kind of insane how much it's grown especially over the past year and that's all thanks to you guys! I never would've gotten these great opportunities to work with so many amazing brands if it weren't for a loyal audience who shares my passion and craft with me. I'm beyond grateful and I assure you that I will host my own giveaway one day for you guys, but with my current financial situation as a college student, I could barely buy things for myself so it'll unfortunately take some time. Anyway, this month's been pretty stressful because of finals but also quite relaxing towards the end because I had a week to unwind and finally get my mind off school after endless studying within these past 2 months. Within that vacation week, I got to really play around with some new products that I ended up really loving, so without further ado, here are my favorites of the month! 
e.l.f. Studio Ultimate Blending Brush
I've been applying my foundation with a damp "beauty blender" ever since I got the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge, and as much as I love using that method, it does sheer out my foundation quite a bit so I needed something that would provide full coverage with just one layer of foundation especially because my skin hasn't been so great these past few months due to stress. Luckily, e.l.f. had a free shipping coupon one day so I bought this highly acclaimed brush and ended up really loving it. It's extremely soft and dense at the same time, so it's perfect for applying foundation and it gives me the amount of coverage that I want. It also blends amazingly well and leaves no streak marks!

Soho Beauty Sponge
Speaking of applying foundation, I thought I'd try out other inexpensive sponges, and this one happened to have rave reviews and is sometimes dubbed as a dupe for the Beauty Blender. I gotta say, as much as I swore by the Real Techniques sponge, I think I like this just a bit more because it's a lot less porous which means it doesn't absorb nearly as much product as Real Techniques. It feels a lot rougher but it actually blends just as well and it doesn't sheer out the coverage as much. Also, because the top is a lot narrower, it's easier to blend my concealer with the pointed tip. I love using that part for highlighter as well, especially with my new Colourpop highlighter that I talked about last month, which I mentioned was quite difficult to figure out as to what method is best for applying it.
e.l.f. Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in Fiji
You guys probably know how much I love my NYX Highlight and Contour Pro Palette, but something was telling me to order this stunning blush & contour duo... or perhaps I just wanted to take advantage of e.l.f.'s free shipping deal. Needless to say, I absolutely love this palette! Both shades are completely matte and incredibly pigmented. The blush is especially pigmented as you can easily go overboard with a light touch with your brush, but it's quite a versatile shade which I think is perfect for any season. The bronzing shade is great for contouring because it's not too warm and not too gray. Both are super blendable as well with just a little bit of fallout.

L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Miss Manga Rock Mascara in Waterproof Blackest Black

One of my all-time favorite mascaras is the L'Oreal's Miss Manga Rock. I ran out of it so quickly, so I bought another one but in waterproof form. They're essentially the same except this one's very difficult to remove, so it's been perfect for these last scorching days of summer. I also find that it holds a curl better.
Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser
I featured this primer on my April Favorites, but I thought I'd give it another shoutout because I wouldn't have liked the e.l.f. brush that I mentioned as much if it weren't for this primer. Since the brush is quite dense, it packs on a lot of product, which doesn't look too flattering on my dry patches if I don't apply primer beforehand. This seems to do the job and it also keeps my makeup lasting longer.
NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Burgundy
I usually go for retractable lip liners because they apply more smoothly, but this one is quite creamy and smooth for a pencil liner. It's also the perfect base for the lipsticks that I gravitate towards the most, and I'm sure it'll last me way longer than a retractable one.

Love and Sunshine Fine Fragrance Mist
As much as I love the scent "Beautiful Day," I thought I'd switch it up once in a while. My cousin actually suggested this one and I ended up loving it! It's more on the floral side which I typically don't go for, but it's also quite sweet and fruity rather than nauseating, so it's been my go-to scent for the past few weeks. I bought the travel size because I like to carry it around in my purse since fragrance mists don't usually last the whole day.

Olay Active Botanicals Refreshing Gel Cleanser
I received this cleanser from this month's #WellnessVoxBox and it's been doing a great job thoroughly cleansing my face especially when I'm wearing heavy waterproof makeup. It's bubbly but it feels like lotion when rubbed on my skin, which makes it quite easy to wipe off any dirt and leftover makeup.
Batiste Dry Shampoo Original
My hair's been getting significantly longer lately which is probably because I've been washing my hair only about three times a week. This dry shampoo is definitely far better than the one I previously had. It smells much more pleasant and it doesn't leave white flakes on my hair.
I pretty much fell in love at first sight with this romper which was perfect timing because Boohoo was having a $30% sale. Rompers never fit me right because of my short torso and legs, so I had to make some minor adjustments. Nonetheless, I can definitely see myself rocking this all throughout fall! I absolutely love the criss-cross detailing on the front which is becoming a huge trend lately and the bell sleeves and ornate print couldn't get any more boho. I remember the first time I wore it when an employee at Brandy Melville took a picture of my outfit for product research which was pretty cool because something like this could potentially end up on the Brandy site!

Claire's Ear Piercing (Stainless Steel), Forever 21 Arrow and Horseshoe Stud Set in Antic Gold
I went to the mall with my cousin one day and we made a spontaneous decision to get ear piercings at Claire's! I know there's a whole controversy surrounding their ear piercing practice, but I've personally never faced any issues from all the piercings I got from there. This time, I decided to get another one on my lobe and I'm definitely planning to get more. My right ear only has one normal ear lobe piercing so I'll certainly get that filled up sometime in the future! Also, I finally replaced my cartilage piercing after months and months of the healing process. I would always sleep on my left side, so I think that affected the healing time significantly, but it's all better now so I replaced it with a much shinier earring.

That's all for this month's faves! Not too many things, but I think I'll make it up next month when I go back-to-school shopping for fall. 'Til next time!
xoxo,
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