It’s my favorite time!!

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Even more so because it’s almost fall and I seriously flip over fall colors and shades and all things makeup. I can’t wait to break out some of my darker shades. Last month I gave a big long spiel about what I’ve been doing pregnancy wise, so I won’t go into that again. Not much has changed at ALL.

In the meantime, here is what I’m loving this month!

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First up, I think I finally found a face cream to use at night that I really love. I’ve been using andalou naturals renewal cream all month – in fact, almost exactly a month because a few of you were talking about it in the comments of last month’s post! I happened to be at whole foods that same day and grabbed it. I really am loving it so far. And you only need the tiniest bit!

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I wish it came in a pump or a tube, but this is good enough. It’s beat up because I’ve already traveled with it twice. In the morning I’m still using something with a hella lot of sunscreen. At the moment, I’ve been finishing up some coola matte sunscreen I have. Sometimes I’ll even put it over this andalou naturals. So far, so good.

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So, the thing is that I’ve barely worn makeup this month AT ALL! Between moving and vacation and running around like a crazy person, it’s been the bare minimum unless I’m going somewhere nice at night. I’ve only been using a few things on my face, and this has been one of them – the maybelline age rewind concealer. I’ve loved this for years and have raved about it. I don’t love it for long wearing makeup – for that, I use the MAC prolongwear concealer but I find that this is so brightening and moisturizing. This is the lightest shade (in fair) and I also have the brightening shade (which is pinker) – but this is what I’ve been using nearly every day.

And true story: a few years ago when I first bought it, it was after reading a review on makeup alley. The reviewer said she took her newborn to their first doctor appointment after having days of no sleep, and put nothing on but this concealer. And the doctor said she looked so awake! Ha – that sold me. Crazy enough, I guess I’ll see how that works out come December.

Long story long: I use this under my eyes and rub the excess on my lids. Sometimes I wear my tarte tinted moisturizer underneath, but if I’m in a huge rush, I don’t even do that.

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One of the other things I do and can’t live without – is my brows. This is still so new to me because even though I’ve been obsessed with makeup since like seventh grade, I never did my brows until a year or so ago. I’ve never had my brows professionally waxed or shaped (and yes have screwed them up majorly myself in the past) – but I wax them myself every two weeks or so. Now, I can’t imagine NOT doing my brows! I’m obsessed. It’s really true that they do frame your face. And it definitely takes some getting used to, and I definitely sometimes still overdo them and look ridiculous.

Either way, this is my favorite combo that I have been using for months: MAC eyeshadow in espresso, that I use with this tarte eyebrow brush that came in a set with their waterproof mousse liner. And I finish it off with the anastasia clear brow gel. I LOVE THIS STUFF. For the first six months or so I used the clear mascara from maybelline. Um, cannot even compare to this brow gel. Your eyebrows will not MOVE with this stuff on – and we are talking all day. It’s fabulous. I’ve gone through five or six tubes already. Totally worth it in my opinion – if you’re a brow person.

Additionally, I’m still using my favorite mascara (loreal voluminous carbon black) – and those three things are all I’ve been doing to my face: the concealer, the brows and the mascara. I finish it off with…

august beauty favorites I howsweeteats.com

…lips! My cousin was using this lip balm from whole foods for a few months and I’d steal it every time she was around. The peppermint is incredible – better than burt’s bees peppermint! I still love burt’s bees coconut pear and grapefruit, but their original mint was always a little too waxy for me. This mongo kiss balm is SO smooth. I adore it. And the smell is almost like vanilla peppermint. So good.

I keep this one in my purse. It doesn’t quite hold a candle in lip repair to my fresh sugar advanced lip therapy – but with how expensive that stuff is, I refuse to put it in my purse. I only use it at night and it lives on my nightstand.

While we are talking about lip balm, let me tell you about a product that I didn’t like. The past few months some of you have told me how incredible the nuxe lip balm is. I bit the bullet and bought it three weeks ago. I used it every night for two weeks and something just seemed… off. It kind of sat on top of my lips and didn’t ever sink in, no matter how little I used. But the worst part was around the two week mark, my lips started swelling and feeling all burny and stuff. At first I thought maybe it was plumped up pregnancy lips (um, hello awesome?) but they were burning and just… hurting. That was the only thing I used that was different and I don’t know if I was somehow allergic to it or something? A few days after I stopped, the issue went away. I was just so bummed and unimpressed. I bought it because it has crazy insane positive reviews! Whomp whomp. Different strokes for different folks.

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Anyhoo – these are the lipsticks I’ve been going nuts over. When I say nuts, I mean I’ve worn these constantly. Almost everyday – even when I’m wearing the concealer, mascara and brows only. I love them so much!

First is MAC relentlessly red, which is sort of like a coraly bright red? I just love it so much.

And next is urban decay native, which is the perfect shade of pink. It kinda reminds me of MAC creme cup (another one I adore) but with such a moisturizing formula. I don’t need lip balm underneath and it’s still so soft. Super pretty!

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While those are the basics, here are a few extras I’ve been loving this month. I did have to do a TV segment and some events that required just a little more makeup (well, for me, because I love it) and these things stood out.

First up, the hourglass ambient lighting powder in luminous light. LOVE. OMG. It’s so natural, not super sparkly, but gives me an almost glowy look? I totally don’t buy the whole pregnancy glow thing and think it’s something people just tell pregnant women. This powder though… totally glows.

I have the ambient trio that came out last year and left me fairly underwhelmed, besides the middle shade that I use as a brow highlight. This shade though has already got a TON of use. It’s the best one, in my opinion.

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And second, this smashbox always sharp waterproof liner in this awesome smoke gray shade. This is new for me because I haven’t strayed from urban decay 24/7 liners in YEARS. They may even have a shade just like this, but I was so drawn to this specific one in ulta that I couldn’t pass it up. I love it on my eyes. Not quite as smooth as the 24/7, but the color is awesome.

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As for nail stuff, I know this is totally a fall shade but I couldn’t help it. I even referenced it in a recipe post last week. This is zoya yuma. GAHHH. Freaking out over it. I described it as a dark blue with gold flecks before, but it’s really almost a gray and sometimes even green at times. I’ve stuck to mostly zoya polish while pregnant and couldn’t pass this up. Totally gorgeous.

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Finally, I gotta give another shout out to my favorite dry shampoo. Reason being – I have to tell you about another product I really didn’t like. I went to ulta to get a travel size of batiste and they were out, so I grabbed the macadamia oil version of dry shampoo. You know I love their regular shampoo and deep repair masque… but the dry shampoo? ICK. It did nothing. It almost felt like hairspray. I should mention that I don’t really use dry shampoo instead of shampooing – my hair doesn’t get very oily (I have dry skin) and I use it for added texture. That macadamia version was awful. It reminded me how much I love batiste… and the wild scent is definitely my favorite.

One of the most common questions I get beauty-wise is how I use dry shampoo, especially since my hair is dark. I think the key is to only use a little bit. I hold it far from my head and give a few sprays at the roots. YES it totally looks white and powdery at this point. I use my hands and rub them into my scalp and all over to disperse the product. Then I let it sit for 10 minutes or so and style my hair. That might be the wrong way, but it’s what works for me! It gives me some texture and volume at the roots. As a note, I only use it maybe twice a week or so.

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And that’s a wrap! Kinda boring but really and truly the big things I’ve been using and loving this month. You know the drill, tell me your favorites! Spill your guts. I’m dying to get my hands on the Naked Basics 2 palette and will probably buy it this weekend. The Lorac Pro 2 looks awesome and I adore the original, but I don’t think I need it. What new things for fall are you loving?

{as usual, none of this is sponsored and all of these products were purchased by me. i am not affiliated with any of the companies above, nor do i accept free products. just love to talk about what i like, makeup junkie to makeup junkie. there are a few amazon affiliate links above. thank you for being here!}