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...

Back to Reality

   Today was the first day of school where I live, which made it the first day of work for me. This was the first summer break that I really felt was far too short. As much I enjoyed my time off thoroughly, it felt as if the summer was packed with more things to do than the rest of the entire year was. 

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!

Bright Colors for Dark Souls...

   Once someone commented that I only like things that are black and death.
   
   At that point in time, it was semi-true. I wore all black, all day, every day, regardless of the weather or the season. I've gotten a little better, or so I'd like to think.

   Those who know me well, they know that I really do love deeper, dark colors. I very near despise pastels, brights are tolerable, jewel tones acceptable, black and gray always preferable. Despite this closely kept fact, (well, not so closely kept anymore...) I want to like colors; I want to be comfortable with bright colors. I've gotten comfortable wearing a lot of color in my clothing, but for the longest time, the only makeup I ever wore-and I mean ever-was black winged liner with red lipstick, or no lipstick. As easy as that was, I felt like I always looked the same. A few people actually commented that my makeup always looked the same. 

   Some would say to do whatever I like and not to worry what others think, but the issue is not really what others think but more of me getting tired of the same thing, and getting tired of being predictable. I guess. So over the last year, I've been experimenting with different looks and with more color, really going out of my comfort zone. I noticed that I definitely gravitate towards colors that are very saturated and highly pigmented. Pastels are still not my favorite, largely because they are white-based colors and wash out my warm-medium toned skin. 

   I have happened to become fond of a few bright shades. So even though summer is coming to an end, I thought I would share the "bright" shades that my "dark" soul is drawn to, in order to inspire others or, you know...whatever. 

Boxycharm 07.15

   So even though we're in August, I wanted to share my thoughts on what I received in my Boxycharm subscription last month. My box arrived around the 20th of July, so I've been able to try a few of the products out and have some well-formulated opinions.

    Let's get into it, shall we?

June Favorites

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

I Have a Problem...(A Confession/Beauty Haul)

   So this is beauty haul, but it's also a sad, sad confession. Clearly, I have a serious problem. I mean, did I really need eight new nail polishes and eye shadows, or two new liquid lipsticks? No not at all, and yet, here we are. Do I regret these purchases? No, not so much. Especially because this is more of a collective beauty hall; things I accumulated over the course of a few weeks. So let's shamelessly talk about my binging-beauty-shopaholic-disorder.

Boxycharm 05.15

   Yay for another awesome Boxycharm! This month's box was filled with lots of wonderful goodness, so let's jump in.

Summer's Last Hurrah

   
   I know that in quite a few places the weather is starting its transition into cool autumn. Here in sunny, Southern California however, the heat feels like it was cranked WAY up. We've been experiencing a bit of a heat wave, and it has been rather unpleasant, to say the least. 

   Over the weekend we had the opportunity to visit our friends that live out in the deserts of Hesperia. It felt a little like our last hurrah of the summer, seeing as I've gone back to work at the school and next thing we know, I'll be too busy for a social life. It was majorly hot where we were, but we were very grateful for their air conditioning. It was so much fun to get to visit our dear friends, and I snapped a couple photos to share. They are from my iphone, so they're not the best quality photos by any means. I do think they are share worthy though.
 

   

You guys, that heat. I was dying. DYING.

       Thank you to those of you who have been visiting and reading my blog, I really appreciate the support! Are you looking forward to autumn weather? What's your favorite thing to do when it gets cold? Thanks again for visiting!

Till next time!

Love, Little Mouse

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