We are slowing getting a foothold in December already… and geez, I can’t believe it’s ALREADY FRIGGIN’ DECEMBER! Sheesh.

Well, if you’re reading this now, I hope you’ve had an amazing 11/12ths of the year so far. Do you guys have anything exciting planned for the holidays? Any big family gatherings, etc.?

I wanted to keep things short and sweet for this autumnal favorites session, so I only have a few things. I notice that the videos that are longer than 20 minutes tend to have NIL in the way of viewership, so I’m trying to be good and keep things somewhat condensed. Given that I don’t have that big of an audience anyways, I don’t really want to ‘miff anyone off so… heh. That’s why this one isn’t terribly long.

With that being said, I am doing my version of Vlogmas this year, but instead of doing daily vlogs, I’m lumping them into weekly videos – the first of which will be going up SATURDAY! I like the concept of daily vlogging but am overwhelmed by the content amassed by it. That and my life isn’t that glamorous and is relatively dull, but it does tend to pick up a bit around the holidays, and this week I am rocking my humble abode with just the pups as Mr. Chaos is doing work things in the middle of the country.

—– SKINCARE FAVORITES —–

FARMACY – Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm
USD 34 – Sephora, Farmacy’s website, etc…

As I mentioned in my video, this stuff is terrific for taking makeup off – no matter if it’s an everyday beat or a more intense SFX or face painted character look. I like that it includes a spatula so you can scoop out the product without dipping in the jar with your fingers. The only issue that I have, is a minor one, and that’s that the inner lid is sometimes a pain to take off… but that’s literally a TINY problem that’s not really a problem.

It is also very kind to folks who have naturally dry skin because it cleans the makeup off without overly cleaning your face to the point of it feeling tight and parched. It moisturizes it while it cleanses it – and I think that’s pretty darn cool.

MILK MAKEUP – Sunshine Oil – $38USD
Available at Sephora, Milk Makeup’s website, Urban Outfitters, and possibly a few other locations.

The Sunshine Oil is both a skincare and makeup item. I like to wear it during no makeup days as well as days that I’m rocking a full face. The only thing I recommend when putting it under the makeup is to go very sparingly as a little bit goes a long way. The packaging is similar to their Sunshine Skin Tint foundation – since it uses the same oil in the foundation. I have had issues with the oil leaking out of the rollerball area and onto the cap. So, just store it upright or at an angle, so it doesn’t leak anywhere.

This product is vegan and contains grapeseed, avocado, grapefruit peel, mandarin, and lemon peel oils – which means it smells AMAZING and is nourishing for your face.

—– MAKEUP FAVORITES —–

DANESSA MYRICKS BEAUTY – Waterproof Cream Palette in Primary – $38 USD
Available at Danessa Myricks website, Camera Ready Cosmetics (HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM!), and a few other locations.

This palette truly is a dream to work with. The palette is creamy and blends out WONDERFULLY. As I mentioned in the video, the grey shade in this palette is PERFECT for contouring. The white works wonderfully as a highlight, and the black is super inky. The primary colors are also great and mix together and apply. Reds can be notorious for staining, but I haven’t found that with the cream red in this palette.

MELT COSMETICS – [LE] GEMINI PALETTE – $58 USD
AVAILABLE: Unfortunately this palette has sold out, and I don’t know when Melt will be bringing it back. UGH! 

This palette is right up my alley with the olive and pukey greens. Honestly, that’s why I bought the palette because I probably have the warmer brown/orange tones somewhere in my collection. I will have a full, in-depth review of this palette up probably next week. I meant to post it this week, but I’ve just had other stuff going on and between that and some bad spoonie days… it didn’t happen. BUT IT WILL!

The metallics in this palette are VERY soft and creamy, but the standout from this palette isn’t the metallics or the greens – it’s BONNIE, the matte and insanely pigmented black eyeshadow.

MILK MAKEUP – Long-Wear Gel Eyeliners – $22 USD
Available at Sephora and Milk Makeup’s website (and probably some other places too) 

Heh, so I’ve just been calling these HIGHLINERS… since I bought them and fell in love. I don’t know why I was calling them that, but I was, and I feel pretty silly about the mistake. Whoops. Anyways, these eyeliners are AMAZING, and I love them. They are very soft so they work perfectly for smudging out a smokey liner or as a base for other products. They work wonderfully in my tightline and waterline, which is rare for me since most products tend to move around or disappear – but these don’t. I will also have a full blog review of these up next week. I’m trying to get my ducks in a row and all that jazz.

Again, this pencil is VERY SOFT so you should keep that in mind when you sharpen it or apply it. The only downside to it is I wish there were more product in the container. C’est la vie.

PHYSICIANS FORMULA – Butter Blush in Natural Glow – $12.99 USD
PHYSICIANS FORMULA – Butter Bronzer in Light – $14.99 USD
Available where most drugstore makeup is sold.

Everybody loves these two, myself included – duh. They are, however, kind of pricey so I recommend waiting till Ulta has them at a BOGO or “x”% off sale. They are very buildable and have a light tropical scent to them – which I find quite lovely.

The blush does have a golden shimmer to it so keep that in mind, but I do like it for a soft natural flush on light makeup days. It’s not super pigmented, so I think the name “Natural Glow” is on point. The bronzer is PERFECT for fair folks and applies beautifully with any standard blush/fluffy brush. The only issue I have with them is the packaging, which while does come with a weird brush – isn’t practical and IS quite bulky. I’m going to be depotting them soon. They won’t know what’s coming – MUWAH HA HA HA HA.

—– MISC STUFF —–

In the video, I also mention a few of the brushes I’ve loved the last few months. The first two are from Japonesque, and they are the BP-708, High-Density Foundation Brush, and the BP-725, Pointed Crease Blending Brush. The Foundation Brush is BOMB for applying foundation without getting those pesky streaks that can sometimes happen with foundation brushes. It also has a triangle shape to it so you can get right in around the nose or up toward the corners of the eye without any problem. Speaking of eye makeup brushes, the 725 brush is such a delicate and small pointed blending brush! I love to use it for the lower lash line and also if I’m doing any fancy work in the crease.

The other brush I mention is the Sephora Drawing Shadow Brush #41. It’s another eye brush that works it’s magic in the crease area or in the inner corners since it has an interesting triangle point to it. I bought three backups of this brush when it was one of the Weekly Wow products a few months ago, and I am so glad that I did. If you are a makeup artist, I HIGHLY recommend getting this brush for detailed eye work.

———-

If you were one of the lucky ones who stayed towards the later part of my favorites video you would have seen a brief tour of my happy little CHAOS HQ… aka my office/studio/creative room. I am filming a full (well, full-ish) tour of my room tomorrow during the daytime when it’s nice and sunny because I had so many people ask to see a room video. That and after watching Heather (aka @makeupmouse’s) makeup room tour I caught the bug and wanted to do one too.

My office is something that I am proud of and has been something that I’ve worked very hard on. It’s minimalist in color/design and is reasonably modular, so I, can move things around to shoot in different areas or whatevs. FUNCTIONAL SPACES ARE MY JAM!  I’ll talk more about it later but if you’re excited about the video, let me know in the comments below!

—– POP CULTURE FAVORITES —–

I didn’t mention this in the video because, again, I was trying to keep things short and sweet, but I have really been loving three television shows. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a dark twist on the familiar 90s Sabrina the Teenage Witch TV show, but it is so much more amazing and deliciously evil. Speaking of evil, the second favorite has got to go to The Haunting of Hill House. That series is brilliantly shot and while it’s a twisty storyline that can sometimes be slow at times – it’s worth it to power through and watch all the things. I also like the casting choices. Yup. Both are available over on Netflix, and I think on Amazon (for purchase).

Above those two shows, is my all time favorite for the Autumn and that is the new Doctor Who series… with the first female doctor debuting as #13! Jodie Whittaker is a great casting choice and her version of the Doctor is perfection. Personally, I love how hands-on and mechanically minded this version of the Doctor is. And her personality is such a perfect hodgepodge of all the things I loved from Tenant, Smith, and Capaldi all while making this new Doctor her own. Also, I love how she bluntly says “If I were a man this wouldn’t be a problem for you” in various ways and forms in almost EVERY episode. So true. Ugh. I love it so much, and I want to cosplay as the 13th Doctor SO BADLY!

—– other stuff —–

This season was fairly trying for me, my spoonie stuff, and my battle with those pesky depression gnargles. I’m trying to be more open with the not so fun times – so here’s to trying.

At the end of September, my paternal grandmother passed away suddenly and that threw a wrench into a lot of things, including my prep for the 13DoH. She and I were very close which I think had to do with the fact that I was the youngest of over a dozen grandchildren and spent a lot of time hanging out over at their house. I am glad that I got to spend some time holding her hand and talking with her a few minutes before she passed. It still hurts and will probably hurt for a while as I keep catching myself asking “I wonder how Gram’s doin…” quite frequently – but I know that she’s back with my Pap keeping him in line. Grief sucks, but it’s just a part of life.

The holiday season is also somewhat trying on my spoonie life – since there’s a lot of stress and things to do and all that jazz. Between the holidays and finally being back on my higher dose of chemo – I’ve had to take time to regroup and plan out my days a little more gently… if that makes sense. The 13DoH also took a lot out of me which is why November wasn’t full of posts and looks. I just needed to stop and chill and try to regain spoons.

Above are some makeup looks that I didn’t (or forgot) to take schmancy photos. I think I may attempt the pink haired, bright colored eye look again and actually film it for a tutorial sometime this month.

The end of October officially marked our first FULL year living in our house here on the outskirts of Philadelphia. It’s crazy for me to wrap my brain around the fact that we’ve lived here for a year already. I love living in a place that has Autumn WITH leaves that change.

We have several trees in our backyard, including two Japanese Maple trees and they go this bright red hue … right before they fall off the tree. It’s so pretty, and I’m happy that I snapped a few pictures of the leaves before they were gone until next year.

Speaking of weather, IT SNOWED in the middle of November. Supposedly it’s the second earliest snow day here in the Philly area (since the late 1800s), and it took everyone by surprise. Mr. Chaos was 12 miles from our house, and it took him 3.5 hours to get home since the roads were so icy and dangerous. We got about five inches total and it was gone the next day thanks to some rain we had right after all the snow moved out – but it was pretty while it lasted and I want more snow right this now thank you very much…

Lastly, I wanted to share something that was super cool that came out in October, and that is my first PUBLISHED article! It’s an IRL magazine article, and my face is on the pages. Eeek! It’s a cosplay pictorial article that was featured in the Sartorial Geek’s 3rd issue. It’s all about Cosima Niehaus, from Orphan Black, and my undying love for her nerdy locs – and how to get her signature cat-eye look! I have a video version of this tutorial that I just need to edit – including how I create my faux tattoos for cosplay and a little bit on how I built my cosplay wig. I’m so giddy that they even asked me to do an article for them. I love them a lot.

I highly recommend hopping over to the Sartorial Geeks blog and just giving it some nerdy love.

I think that I’ve thoroughly typed your eyeballs off with this article, so for now, let me just bid you all adieu! I have another blog post coming up tomorrow – if I can get everything sorted in time… but if not there will be my first Vlogmas video/post going up on Saturday! Wee!

I hope you all are doing well and that you have been rocking autumn with your awesomeness. Tell me about your highlights in the comments below.