Musings | Autumn

It's here.

Musings | Coffee Shop Loving

There's something about doing work in a coffee shop that makes me feel completely relaxed. Is that crazy?? I love sitting in the warm atmosphere, with the faint noises of laughter, clinking cups, folk music, and coffee machines in the background. I can completely get myself lost in my work without headphones and absorb myself in the smell of coffee beans. I definitely need to frequent the coffee shops at school more often because I need this zen time in my life.

I would take a really artsy picture but the people would probably judge me and let's be honest...I'm definitely procrastinating on my homework right now by writing this post so I should probably get back to it!!!



Anyone else have the best time in coffee shops??

Musings/Beauty/Wanderlust | October Favorites

Wow. October was good to me.

While I know I'm more than a week late, I've been a slow worker in compiling this list. One of the blogging/vlogging-world trends is to post about your favorite things in the past month, which can range from beauty to books to fashion, etc. I thought I'd join in on the fun and discuss some of my favorite October things/events that I've been blessed enough to have been exposed to. I kind of arranged it so I get deeper as the post goes on, so my more shallow, tangible "things" are first...but as a girl who loves makeup they're still fun and exciting!


Makeup

• Face

 Bourjous Blush Pot Shade 54- Frosted Rose

I bought this in a 3-for-2 deal with the bronzer at Boots, and I'm loving this. What a beautiful little blush pot. The fragrance is absolutely fantastic, and even if I didn't like the color I would have bought it for that reason alone. However, the shade is such a shimmery, light pink, and is such a refreshing contrast to my darker MAC blush. I absolutely love it. The only problem is the blush is difficult to transfer onto the brush, so it takes some effort to apply.

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Sample

I had actually walked into Boots to grab the full version of this, but the woman who assisted me suggested that I buy the Smashbox Trial Kit, which cost me 20 quid for samples of their bestsellers, which include mascara, lipgloss, black pencil eyeliner, and lid primer. So far, I am really pleased with every product, and I'm glad I picked it up so I know which product I want to buy in the future. And, can I just say, this primer is fantastic.

• Lips

 Nars Pure Matte Lipstick Terre De Feu

I bought this in a moment of weakness at Selfridge's (though now I can say that I bought something from there so that makes it okay, right?!) and I absolutely LOVE it. It is such a gorgeous cranberry color and is exactly what I didn't realize I was missing.

 LUSH Santa's Lip Scrub

Okay fun fact: since Britain doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, once Halloween is over, they go all-out Christmas. Just yesterday they had the official ceremony to turn on the Christmas lights on Regent's Street, and the display cases at Harrod's and Selfridge's already have Christmas themes. In addition to that, a few weeks ago LUSH introduced their holiday products for the season. In an effort to restrain myself from buying everything, I settled with a Christmas-themed lip scrub, which tastes oh-so good.

Nuxe Paris Reve de Miel

I went to Paris! And I bought  lip balm! It smells deliciously like lemon! If you're in Paris you need to get this! ! !

• Remover

Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes

So I didn't know that such a thing existed until I visited Kate and watched her with open-mouthed wonder as she completely removed all of her makeup (yes including eyes) with one wipe. So of course the next day when she press-ganged me into going to Boots I had to pick up a pack of these, and let me tell you: They. Are. Perfect. I still use separate eye makeup remover but in regards to removing foundation and bronzer, this works like a charm....and are PERFECT for traveling because if need be this can be a 2-in-1 deal.

Bioderma Crealine Eye and Face Cleansing Water

This little bottle of what looks like fancy water is the holy grail of face makeup removers, and I looked long and hard to find it. I dragged Andy and Pam through many pharmacies and makeup stores throughout London only to realize that this is pretty much exclusive to Paris. I, however, beat the system for I found this beauty in El Cortes Ingles in Spain. Ho, ho--I got you, Paris! Anyways, as is to be expected, this works wonders and successfully removes any traces of makeup on my face and eyes and I just love it ugh moving on

Drinks

• Tea

Teapigs Sweet Treat Liquorice and Peppermint

PEOPLE I HAVE FOUND MY FAVORITE TEA. EVER. Yet another recommendation from Estée, I decided to go ahead and try the tea that she has been raving about, because it is from the UK and would be wayyy less expensive to have it shipped to my dorm here than my house in the States. Holy. Crap. I was so wary because I'm not the biggest liquorice fan but I can't even taste it. The initial taste is peppermint, but then it somehow becomes sweet as you swallow it. I don't know the science of it,  but holy cow this is good tea. Plus, the company itself is absolutely adorable and they email you telling you which employee is packaging your tea and they send you little samples of their other tea and I just love them. Teapigs can you open a store in the States? Okay good thanks.

• Coffee

Sadly I do not have photo evidence of this but I have been absolutely LOVING the brasserie's iced caramel macchiato. I have been on the lookout for my favorite place to get coffee in London since August and while Starbucks and Costa have come pretty darn close, this takes the cake. And--gasp--they're not using Starbucks coffee. I know, this is groundbreaking people. I have this drink pretty much every morning and after watching them make it day after day I know exactly how to mimic it when I go home--winning.

Food

• Spain

I wrote a whole post on my favorite foods in Spain here, so I don't think we need to delve into that.

• France

 Apparently this is who I am in Paris. Sigh.

Delicious-looking seafood shop and if I had a means to cook up some seafood I would have been all over that.

The greatest you'll ever learn is just to love banana and nutella crepes and be loved in return.

• England

While I have many gripes with how my school handles food and the cafeteria, the quality has never been short of wonderful (though really...who likes lamb enough that you need to serve it four times a week? NO ONE. I repeat: NO ONE). The brasserie especially always has the cutest treats to sell--of course they're ridiculously overpriced but that's not the point-- and I loved their Halloween-themed desserts. I mean LOOK at them.

Can you get more adorable? No.

Fashion

In Spain I bought Christmas-themed pajamas. It's ironic because then it was 70 degrees outside, but I have not worn anything since except when I wash them, obviously. Basically they're perfect. They are snuggly and have snowflakes and deer and Christmasy colors on them and they match so everyone gives me a weird look in the bathroom but WHO CARES. I would have a picture for you but I'm wearing them now so....

Places

In some capacity I have talked about many of these places before, but I've done a lot of traveling this past month and have specific favorites. Also Paris is a bit of a stretch because that was the beginning of November but I'm already late enough so let's look past that shall we?

 Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England

 Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, Wales

 Toledo, Spain

 Host mother's house, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain

 Versailles, France

 The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

It's safe to say I've been blessed with wonderful travel opportunities.


People

Credit to the lovely Courtney

 Do I need to explain why they are all incredibly important and special to me? I don't think so. They consist of family, long-lasting friendships, and sisterhood, and I am grateful for them in every single way. I am so blessed. So, so blessed.


I think anyone who knows me really well is wondering why, at the end of this post, I didn't discuss books, TV shows, or movies, and all I can say is patience, my children. I've read two books during my travel periods, and I really don't think they're worth talking about. Sadly I just didn't like them. I'm currently reading The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber and Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman and already I'm loving them way more than any book I've read this semester. And the only TV show I really have to talk about is Doctor Who/Torchwood and if you're a Whovian you probably already know why I would want to wait until the end of November before I talk about it, amirite?! (psst go watch the trailer if you haven't you'll scream I promise).


Wowww  but we were really heavy on the makeup and travel, weren't we? I can assure you that the favorites categories will shift this month, but I had the best of times strolling through Paris, eating tapas in Madrid, and buying lipsticks with Kate. And that's what it's all about, right? Not the color of the lips or what city you're in, though I think they're fun and they enhance the experience, but the people that you're surrounded with. And October was really a fantastic month filled with all of those things.


Okay, let's cut the violins and move on with our lives, shall we? I know I have some homework to get started on so I shall see you next post!

xo

Any fun things happen to you in October? Let me know!!