Fall Favourites Tag

I’m alive!

It’s been a while and I won’t make excuses. Between moving and adopting a cat, I’ve had my hands full. Downtime seems to just disappear, but when I saw that my lovely friend April from Blushing Biddies tagged me to do the Fall Favourites Tag, I knew this would be the post to bring me back! Fall is my favourite season by far. It’s filled with so many lovely things. So without a massively long ramble session, let’s get into the questions!

Favorite Candle

I’m going to be super lame on this one and just say I don’t have one. I used to love the Leaves Bath and Body Works candle, but as we all know they turned out to not be cruelty free, and I haven’t stepped food in a B&BW store since. I would LOVE to hear any cruelty free recommendations on candles that are easily accessible. My apartment needs delicious smells!

Favorite Lip Color

I have a love for vampy, beautiful lips on other people, but I’m afraid I’m a huge scaredy-cat when it comes to pulling off a fully opaque dark lip. It’s one of those ‘good for you, not for me’ type of things. This Fall so far I’ve been loving the NARS Satin Lip Pencil in the shade Rikugien. It’s super easy to apply and lasts a really long time. It’s a rosey pink shade that’s a ‘my lips but rosier’ type of shade. Other notable mentions go to the Bite Beauty lipstick in the shade Fig, and the Bite Beauty Lush Lip tint in Raspberry.

Favorite Drink

Nothing screams Fall to me more than a Chai Latte made with almond milk. Absolutely delicious and festive!

Favorite Blush

Right when the leaves start to fall, I reach for the Hourglass blush in Mood Exposure. It’s a neutral plummy blush that pairs well with a bronzy eye and a bold lip. I also really love the Too Faced Cream Blush in the shade Sweet Pea if I’m really going for that ‘just came in from the chilly outdoors and oh my look at me I’m blushing’ type of look. Another favourite is the Josie Maran Gel Blush in the shade Berry Bliss.

Favorite Clothing Item

Ankle boots and scarves scream fall to me.

Favorite Fall Movie

Is the Nightmare Before Christmas considered a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? I guess I’ll just watch it in November and call it even? I vividly remember the first time I watched it at my babysitter’s as a small kid, and I’ve loved it ever since.

Favorite Fall TV Show

I’m about to bust out the Canada card. I always know it’s Fall when hockey season starts. It’s technically on TV so it totally counts, right? I mean I’m watching hockey as I type this right now. I have the unfortunate curse of being an Oilers fan. If you know nothing about hockey, just know they haven’t made the playoffs in just under 10 years, and have been the worst team in the league multiple times over. It’s been a long, torturous road, yet I can never seem to give up on them.

Favorite Thanksgiving Food

Canadian Thanksgiving is in October, so I’ve already had the pleasure of stuffing my face with mashed potatoes. Those are by far my favourite thing about Thanksgiving dinner.

Favorite Halloween Costume

There was a year I went as a carton of milk. It’s ironic now because I’m lactose intolerant. But I made the whole costume (with the help of my dad) out of cardboard boxes and painted the whole thing. It got pretty awesome reactions from houses I trick-or-treated at. The only downfall was that I was wearing a cardboard box and my arms were basically at a 90 degree angle all night!

If you haven’t been tagged to do this Fall tag, and want to do it, I’d love to tag you to answer these questions!

Talk soon,

Xx Brianna

The Starting Over Tag

I was tagged to do this fun little tag by April from Blushing Biddies. I thought this was a really neat tag, the premise is something like if all your make up and skincare supplies suddenly disappeared, what 16 items would you repurchase? For me 16 items seemed like a lot, but once I went through my collection I found myself getting to 16 pretty quickly. Before I get going I just wanted to say thanks to April, I feel like she really gets me. We both have a similar stance on being cruelty free, and share the same frustrations when brands let us down. Definitely go over to her blog if you aren’t already familiar with it!

1. Tea Tree Oil: The brand doesn’t really concern me, so long as it’s cruelty free, but I seriously use tea tree oil every day. Be it on a blemish, as a setting spray mixed with water, or to sanitize my pillow cases. Tea tree oil would be close to the first thing I would repurchase.
2. OGX Deep Conditioner: Again, the formula doesn’t really matter to me, all the deep conditioners from OGX are seriously great, but I use this in place of a regular conditioner every time I wash my hair and I love it.
3. Real Techniques Blush Brush: I never knew I could love a brush so much. I use this for powder, bronzer and blush. If I had it my way I’d have like 5 of these bad boys. This brush is the perfect size and density, and the fact that it will only set you back 10 bucks is amazing!
4. Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Brow Mousse: I love a neatly and naturally defined brow and this stuff is how to get it done in a pinch. I’m not a stickler for wearing a ton of make up, but one thing I’ll always do is keep my brows in check.
5. Bite Beauty BB for Lips in Flush: This is a fantastic sheer lip balm that makes your lips look amazing, has an SPF of 15, smells amazing, and is a gorgeous coral-y orange shade. Add in the fact that Bite is a Canadian brand that uses food grade ingredients and you’ve got an A+.
6. Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Stick in Rehab: This crayon is fantastic for giving your eyes some dimension and colour. Think of this as your cruelty free version of Maybelline’s Colour Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze. It’s so effortless, just apply and blend with fingers.
7. Tarte Amazonian Clay Pressed Mineral Powder: I am an oily gal and this is a great powder. It gives just a slight hint of coverage, and makes your skin look flawless when a setting spray is applied over the top.
8. Josie Maran Coconut Water Cheek Gelee in Poppy Paradise: This has got to be one of my all time favorite blushes. The shade is amazing, the formula is flawless, and it looks soooo natural on the skin I can’t even. This little pot has lasted be a really long time and I’ve still got lots of product left. I really want to get more fall appropriate shades.
9. Nails Inc Porchester Square: The formula on this polish is everything. It lasted me a solid week with only one tiny chip. I love the shade, it’s a gray mauve hybrid that I think could work for any season. The perfect neutral nail.
10. Foreo Luna for Ultra Sensitive Skin: Ever since I started using this face washing tool my need for concealer has significantly plummeted. My skin is so clear, and even if I do get a blemish, it’s really dried out and goes away after a day. The battery life is amazing, it’s so soft and easy to use. LOVE.
11. Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer: I love how hygienic the tube is, first of all. Secondly this stuff is really high coverage so you only need a tiny amount, and the shade match is pretty much perfect for me. When my skin is good I just use a little of this to cover up any redness, and set with powder and I’m out the door.
12. Jouer Anti Blemish Primer: My skin loves this stuff. It’s got 1% Salicylic Acid which helps keep any existing blemishes down, as well as helps to prevent any new ones from popping up. In addition, it’s really soothing to the skin and not drying at all, and keeps oil at bay.
13. Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm: An absolute classic. I never leave my home without lip balm and this guy is a staple in my purse.
    
14. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure: This blush has a really beautiful mauve tone to it that can almost double as a contour. I think this shade can suit any season, and it’s such a finely milled powder with just a hint of shimmer that you can make anything work with it.
15. NYX Wonder Pencil: I love using this in my waterline to make my eyes more bright and awake. This pencil is also very multipurpose. The other day I had left my Tarte concealer at my boyfriend’s, and had no other concealer on hand. I used this pencil and it concealed any and all redness, what a nifty thing to have!
    
16. Tom’s of Maine Naturally Dry Antiperspirant: Trying to find a cruelty free deodorant has been an absolute chore. I’m one of those people who just sweats for absolutely no reason, so I really need an anti-antiperspirant/deodorant combo, deodorant alone does not cut it. I eventually would like to find a natural anti-antiperspirant, as this one still has aluminum in it, but for now, this is great stuff, keeps me dry, and doesn’t smell disgusting.

And that’s about it! I like to think that I could get away with only repurchasing a hand full of things, but where’s the fun in that? Honourable mention goes to the Tangle Teezer, I love that thing so much, and so does my cat as he’s kind of taken it over.

I tag:

Kitty Approved Beauty

Courtney Shay

A Thunder Heart

Annie’s Beauty

Cruelty-Free Confidence

Talk Soon,

Xx Brianna

Fashionista Award

Guys I am feeling the love lately. I am so flattered and surprised to be nominated by 3 lovely ladies to do the Fashionista Tag. I was nominated by Cruelty-Free Confidence, Lena and kittyapprovedbeauty, so please go check these ladies out and give them some love. I find it kind of hilarious that I was nominated to do a fashion tag because quite frankly I do not follow fashion trends, or am generally into fashion. I go for jeans and t-shirts so my answers may be completely ridiculous, but I figured I’d give these questions a go.

1) What motivated you to start blogging?

I was in a course about crisis communications, I decided to focus my research into animal testing and I thought ok, I’m writing all these papers and having class discussions about how wrong animal testing is, but how is this going to help anything? So I decided to start a blog to either help or motivate others, along with myself, to only shop cruelty free and become more aware of the issues surrounding the cosmetics industry.

2) Favorite movies?

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is always one of my favorites that I can watch again and again and still laugh. Growing up the movie Mrs. Doubtfire really stands out as one of my favorites. I still have it on VHS.

3) What is you’re dream career?

To be working in PR for a big sports organization. I think it’s so interesting the go behind the scenes and try to augment public opinion and raise awareness about a sports club and all the charitable things players and organizations do.

4) Top wish list items at the moment?

Ok with my last semester of school starting up there’s quite a few things. I’ve been eying these flats from Oak + Fort but they’re stupid expensive. I always get a couple pairs of jeans from Urban Outfitters when they go on sale around this time of the year. I also have been lusting over the Tarte Rainforest After Dark palette.

5) Favorite television shows?

To name a few: The Office, Mad Men, 30 Rock, House of Cards, True Detective, Dexter until season 5, and Friends, because it’s the best.

6) What store do you find yourself shopping in the most?

If you had asked me a while ago I would have said Aritzia, but then my tastes changed to Urban Outfitters, now I like budget friendly stores like Forever 21, Brandy Melville, and good old Target.

7) Favorite fashion designers?

Honestly could not even name one. Sorry.

8) Describe your dream vacation?

Going somewhere, having no plans and just laying on the beach, swimming in the ocean, being able to go for lunch at 4pm and dinner at 11 and just going with the flow. I’m not a fan of planning out every minute of a trip, I like to just be when on vacation.

9) What are the goals for your blog?

To get the word out there about going cruelty free. It’s really not difficult and only requires some research and list making. I have a list of brands I know I can trust and I stick to those. I’m always researching and learning about new brands that are cruelty free. Sometimes I can make a misinformed purchase and learn that a brand is sneakily NOT cruelty free (*Bourjois*) but that’s just a part of life, and my intentions were good, and I was corrected and will not support them any longer.

10) If you had the opportunity to interview a celebrity, who would it be?

Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys because he’s a babe, musical genius, and has a fantastic accent. Love that man.

I’m not really following any fashion based blogs, but if you’re a fashion blogger and would like to do this tag, please do! I do want to nominate Marissa Roy because she has such lovely style, and it’d be great if everyone checked her out 🙂

Talk soon,

Xx Brianna