Belated Summer Faves

I had every intention of posting this the first or second of September, but my time management skills of late have been quite sub-par. Things are always particularly hectic and overwhelming when school is first in session, and this year seemed to be more challenging than in the past. Despite all of that, I'd still like to share the tangible and intangible favorites of mine from this past summer, because there were some things that were, to a small degree, momentous and life changing.

I could be exaggerating on how life changing...

A Very Belated Post on My November and December Favorites

   Belated yes, but my feelings towards the tangible and intangible items I'm going to talk about are still just as strong. So let's get into them, shall we? This is going to be quite a wordy post, so prepare yourself.

September and October Favorites

   It's been far too long since my last post. Even though I haven't been very active here on the blog, I've been trying out some new things and rekindling my love for long-time favorite items. So without any further ado, here a my favorite things from the months of September and October. 

July and August Favorites

   As in love with autumn as I am, I'm a little bit sad that summer is pretty much over. I go back to working with the kids at school next week, and I am feeling a mixture of both excitement and anxiety over that fact. It's always fun to get to work with the kiddos, but I will be working at a new location this year and I don't do well with major change. I am looking forward to it though, as I know it will be an excellent opportunity to improve in my skills. 

   With all that being said, I missed posting my favorites from July, so I thought I'd combine both my July and August favorites into one post. Let's get into it!

June Favorites

   
   Favorites time! Let's talk about what I was in love with last month.

May Favorites

   It's June. Already. I can't even. 

   There were a few things that I was really enjoying during the month of May, mostly beauty related and a few entertainment related things. June will have many more favorites, I can promise you that. Anyways, let's dive in. 

April Favorites

   Another month long past, and it already feels like May is over as it is. Let's talk about some of my favorites from the month of April.

March Favorites

   It's that time again! A new month has begun, which means it's time to talk about my favorites from last month. I tried a few new things this month, and deepend my appreciation for continuing favorites.

   Let's get started...

January Favorites

January is already over and done with, so once again, it's time to share my favorites from the past month. Let's talk about them, shall we?

December Favorites

   Another month has come and past. Another day, not here to last.

   Okay, enough corny poetry, I'm going to be talking about the things I really enjoyed the most during the month of December and why.

   Let's get started!

My Autumn Favorites

   I wasn't able to blog about my September and October favorites, so I thought I'd just do one post about my favorites things from this autumn season (September through November).

   I didn't really stray from my must-have-every-day items this fall, even though I got a few new things. I feel that I really need to use the new things I purchased for a little longer before I can say whether they are favorites of mine or not. 

   So, without further ado, here are my favorites from this fall season! Click the link below to view...

August/Summer Favorites

   So we're already a week in to September. Time is moving by far too quickly! I am quite looking forward to fall and to some relief from the heat. I am totally a fall/winter weather girl because I cannot stand being hot and sweaty, it's awful. 

   Well, even though I'm late with sharing my August favorites, I wanted to still blog about these items because they were really favorites of mine for the majority of the summer. So, this is more of an account of August AND Summer favorites. 

Makeup
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer and Primed & Poreless Powder- I really fell in love with these products from Too Faced. The bronzer is the perfect shade for contouring and bronzing, plus it really smells like chocolate. I absolutely love the way it smells. The Primed & Poreless powder is a really fantastic translucent setting powder. It's so soft and smooth, making it feel very lightweight on the skin. This has been THE most perfect powder for setting my concealer and mattifying my T-zone. It keeps me matte for hours, which is quite a feat when it's so hot and humid. Even when I feel my grossest and sweatiest, my skin looks nice and my makeup stays in place.

Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple- This lipstick has been so nice to wear the last few weeks, in fact I've almost worn it every day since purchasing it late July. It's such a lovely shade of redish-pink, and it goes on quite sheer, so it's not too bright or overpowering. The formula is very smooth and almost hydrating as well, so it doesn't dry my lips out like a matte lipstick would. I've really enjoyed it.

Skincare
Yes to Tomatoes Clear Skin Daily Clarifying Cleanser- This gel cleanser has been really helping keep my breakouts controlled. I still get a few deep, big pimples here and there, but I think they are mostly hormonal. But as far as the typical little groupings of breakouts, those have calmed down since using this cleanser the last few months. It's very gentle as well, it doesn't dry my skin out the way cleansers with salicylic acid do. I'm hoping continued use of this with the occasion use of my new Mario Badescu cleanser will really help to control and eliminate my breakouts completely.

Boscia Luminizing Black Mask- I got this sample size mask when the Sephora at JCPenny's was having a special on skincare products. I've gotten three uses out of it so far, and I really do enjoy it. It leaves my skin feeling really clean, tight, and smooth. The smell is also really pleasant. I'm considering purchasing the full size of it.

Daiso's Facial Scrubber- I saw this interesting little rubber facial scrubber as Daiso Japan and thought it would be good to use along with my facial cleanser to help remove dead skin and really clean my pores. I love the way it feels on my skin, it's not as sharp and pokey as some brush bristles, and I really feel like I get a good cleanse after using it. 

Clothes
Cotton On's Plain Black Tee and BDG's Black and White Polka Dot tee- As mentioned earlier, I cannot stand when it's hot, so I try to wear the lightest weight things as possible. So these two tee shirts have been staples for me this summer, they are sooo sooo light weight and comfortable to wear. They are both just a touch large on me, which is so great because they don't cling to me whatsoever. 

Gap's Denim Polka Dot Chambray Button Down- I've had this button down for a while, but I have really come to appreciate it this summer. On nights where it's still warm but a lot cooler when the sun goes down, this has been so great to throw over tee shirts as almost a light weight jacket. I think it adds a lot of depth and style to a simple tee with shorts. 

Forever 21 Jellies- I've had these sandals for almost two years now and they are still going strong despite the fact that I've worn them everyday for the past four months. I'm really impressed by the quality of these. The day they break or are too worn out, I just might cry.

Entertainment
I read a few books in August, but they didn't make my favorites cut. What I've really been enjoying is rewatching House on Netflix. Even though the show gets pretty predictable after a few episodes, I just really like the characters and the banter between House and everyone else. My husband and I also watched Jurassic Park a few weeks ago, and I still react the same way to it as an adult as I did when I first saw it at age seven. I just love that movie so much, so it was a lot of fun to watch it again. 

   Those are all my favorites for not only the month of August but the summer as a whole. Now I'm really looking forward to fall weather and getting to wear big sweaters while sipping hot chai lattes. 

Love, Little Mouse

July Favorites

I went a little spend-crazy June and July, so there's been quite a few new things for me to try out. This collection of items are things that I have been really loving and reaching for a lot throughout the month of July. 

Body...

Red & White Tee-I absolutely cannot stop wearing this white and red striped shirt, I have been pairing it with as many outfits as possible. It's by Abercrombie and Fitch, but I found it at the thrift store on sale. It doesn't get much better than that. 


Argan Magic Body Butter- I picked up this body butter at TJ Maxx and it quickly became my new favorite lotion. It is really moisturizing, the texture is whipped and reminds me of Fluffernutter. The best part is that it smells like Piña Colada. It's hard not to want to eat it.

Marc Jacobs Dot- I have always believed that I was the kind of girl who would never buy perfume. That changed after I got a little sample of Marc Jacob's Dot. I really love the scent. It is so light and refreshing, it smells a little like strawberry and watermelon juice. I love it. I'm saving up to buy a larger bottle.  

Formula X polish in Incandescent- This is a really pretty shade of cantaloup-coral-orange. It's been a really good summer color. I've been using some polish with tiny flecks of gold glitter over it for my accent nail and I think it pairs really nicely.

Sinful Colors polish in Endless Blue- This is a really striking, intense shade of bright royal blue. I absolutely love it, I can't get enough of it.

Face/Makeup...

Tarte Clean Slate Poreless 12 hr Primer- I love this primer. I have tried many different primers from various brands, but I really love the way this one feels on my skin the best. It does not cause me to break out. I don't feel like I'm wearing a mask when I have it on. It really does an excellent job keeping my makeup from melting or disappearing from off my face.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Fearless- I have many colors of the Tarte blushes, but I seem to be reaching for Fearless the most. I really like the natural flush it gives my cheeks. Some of the other shades I have tend to be too bright, but this shade always looks perfect. 

Lorac Pro Palette 1- I use this palette pretty much everyday. Every shadow color is absolutely beautiful and they all work so well together. The color payoff is fantastic, and I love how easy it is to blend these shadows out.The colors I probably use the most are Sable and Mauve.

Kat Von D. Tattoo Liner in Trooper- This is my new favorite, absolute-must-have eyeliner. The price is reasonable, the formula is really pigmented, it is water resistant, and the brush applicator is THE best thing for liquid liner ever. This liner has made cat-eye flicks so much easier and precise for me. I will never go back to a felt-tip applicator.

Sephora's Mineral Powder brush (#45)- This brush is so soft and gentle, does an excellent job helping build up to really good medium-full coverage with mineral foundation. It has been so much nicer to apply my makeup everyday since purchasing this brush.


Books...

Sherlock Holmes by Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle- I started reading Sherlock in June, but wasn't able to devote as much time to reading it as I would have liked to. I only just finished it about a week and a half ago. It's quite a large book, with several novels and many shorter stories. I absolutely loved it! I started reading Sherlock expecting it to be engaging and well written, mostly due to my love for the hugely successful BBC series, with it's modernized retelling. I was not disappointed whatsoever. The wit, mystery, and characters of these stories are so enthralling and entertaining that I feel a large void in me now that I've read them all. I'm going to have to purchase the complete collection for myself to read again and again at my leisure. 


Food...

Ramen- I have been craving ramen non-stop. It doesn't matter how hot it is outside, ramen is always appropriate. 

That's quite a lot of favorites! I will not be spending nearly half as much as I did in June and July, so hopefully the list will be a bit shorter and easier to compile.

Love, Little Mouse