I have to say, September 2013 will definitely be a highlight in my life. But beauty-wise, there really wasn't much. Between moving between continents and into my dorms, makeup was kept pretty simple. Which you could read as me going barefaced pretty much most of the time. 

So a lot of you guys wanted more lifestyle posts of my life in London. I don't know how long this will last, but I'm cracking my knuckles and trying to tickle the lifestyle blogger in me. 

I am known for my impulse buys. I'm the perfect customer that'll just throw all my money in your face if you're nice to me and puts effort into making a product sound amazing. So while I've done my research, I've still gathered a fair amount of 'regrets', if you may. I was hesitant to put this up as it's a rather negative post, and I feel like I need to say this but it's just my personal opinion. I'm more than happy if you're a lover of one of these products below as it means you don't regret spending those bills on something that just takes up space. 

I'm still finding my way through life in London so blogging will be on the backburner for a while now. 

Last week, Kallie from But First, Coffee tagged me for the "Crazy About Lipstick Tag". Two months ago, I wouldn't be able to do this tag. I wouldn't even be interested in this tag. But with the amount of lipstick reviews that have been popping up on my blog as of late, I'm sure you'll have realized that the "no lipstick" life has changed. 

Between moving and me just not that familiar with bronzers, I apologize for not updating this series last week. However, this week we have something really fun - blushes! 

I haven't done any life posts in the past couple months. Mostly because life started getting routine and I wasn't sure that me bickering with my sister would interest any of you. But as there has been some massive changes in my life the past couple weeks, I thought I'd embrace the lifestyle blogger that's somewhere in me and give you guys an update. 

I've been ranting on and on about Autumn coming in The Colder Weather Edit, but it's actually the first of Autumn today! Well, not "when I'm typing this post up" today, but you get the drill. I've always liked the idea of seasonal body care, but there are times when you just can't bring yourself to splurge on a yummy pumpkin body wash when you already have three other autumn-flavored scents. So when Skana contacted me about whipping up a DIY scrub that contained seasonal ingredients a couple weeks ago, I immediately said yes. I wanted to rotate around the warm, spicy smell of nutmeg so with me throwing out random ingredients, Skana managed to put together a fabulous recipe. I've yet to try this out, but it sounds very cozy and I can't wait to put this together when I've finally settled down in my new dorm. 

Exfoliating is essential for the colder months as when skin dries out, dead skin cells tend to accumulate much faster. And no one likes flaky skin. So exfoliating removes not only dead cells, but also cleans the junk and stuff that's clogging your pores. Instead of opting for white sugar, we're choosing to use Brown Sugar as the moisture in it won't dry out your skin when you exfoliate. Olive Oil not only moisturizes the skin, but also prevents the moisture in your skin from evaporating. I mean, really, no one likes the feeling of water and moisture being sucked away by the air right after moisturizing. The seasonal ingredients, nutmeg and pumpkin, are the highlights in this recipe for me. Nutmeg, other than having that beautiful spicy scent, can reduce infection and swelling around clogged pores. Which in laymen terms, means that spots are reduced and scars are smoothened. And it also help remove blackheads! Pumpkin removes dead dull cells, and best of all, it's full of enzymes, beta-carotene and antioxidants, which does wonders in nourishing the skin. 

Recipe

Brown Sugar x 1 tablespoon

Pumpkin Puree x 1/3 cup

Olive Oil x 1 tablespoon

Nutmeg x 1 teaspoon

Basically mix them all together and use as a regular facial scrub. 

Can't you already smell how lovely this scrub is? Let me know if you try it out and what you think of it! If you're ever in uptown New York and swing by Skana, let me know! 

"Skana, the Oneida word for peace, is where soothing treatments and modern amenities combine with American Indian cultural themes to create the world’s most luxuriously unique spa experience. Skana is designed to help you bring lifestyle, nutrition and fitness into perfect harmony. For more information about fall treatments and balancing remedies check out the skana page: http://turningstone.com/spa/skana/  "

Talk about a mouth full for a title. But really, with a name like that, how could I pass up the chance?

I never thought I was a pink person. And then I fell completely heads over heels with my mom's old lipstick (see here). I don't know if the Estee Lauder All-Day lipsticks are discontinued, but I know that they're not available here so I've been searching for a dupe for Rich & Rosy. Along the way, I got sidetracked by MAC Lustering. I first featured this in the Haul of Shame a couple weeks back and a couple of you wanted to see a review. Who am I to say no to a blog post justifying me throwing money in the faces of capitalism? 

I call this the weekend face, but it's mostly what I've been wearing the past week. This week, I've been scrambling around to get my stuff packed, that means my makeup as well. While it's still not snug in my luggage, it's already packed in a box that's so organized, I almost pain to rummage through it. So I've been sticking to the things that will be packed in my carry-on. 

(I think I'm more in love with this wood background, compared to the white one that I had for previous posts. What do you think?)

I was going to call this The Autumn Edit, but then I realized I'm talking about the better half of the year, in general. Hence, the title. We'll see if I come up with The Winter Edit in a couple months time. Autumn and Winter are by far, my favorite seasons. Growing up in Minnesota, a state that snows through almost half a year, I love the cold. Ever since moving back to a tropical island, I've been craving that chilly, leaves turning orange and falling off, apple cider kinda autumn. Luckily, this year, I'll be able to go through that proper weather change and I'm more than excited. I recently did The Summer Recap, looking back at the products that has served me well. Today, we're going to be looking into the future as I predict the products that'll be in rotation as the colder months come. 

Summer is still going on strong as I'm typing this up here in Taiwan, but it seems like the rest of the northern hemisphere has already entered the chiller months. I can't wait to be joining them in a couple weeks, but before then, I thought I'd look back to the most loved products for the past season and apologize as to how much I've abused them. 

Foundation is one of those things that I never thought I'd ever be crazy for. They're nowhere near colorful as eyeshadows, nor as fun as lipsticks. But as soon as I started really diving into makeup, I started realizing my mistake - foundations are freaking interesting. Seriously. It's ridiculously hard to find a holy grail that'll give you the coverage you need, the finish you want, the longevity you crave, and at the price point you want. I've been experimenting with a fair share of foundations and have narrowed things down to three that are good to start up. 

I've always had my hair long. Well, not always. I've had a few disastrous right-under-the-shoulder midlength cuts. But for the past seven years, I've always had my hair long. And while I loved it, there was that little part of me itching to cut it short(er). But alas, I have naturally wavy hair, and my stylist kept drilling "you can't have short hair unless you want to turn into a poofball" into me. Now, my stylist is a lovely person, and she's good. She's saved me from a half-dozen disasters resulting from impulse cuts suffered under the hands of rubbish stylers. But while she's good, she's not amazing.

I love everything I got in this haul. But the shame comes from the fact that I am supposed to be on a spending ban.Okay, let's back up for a moment here and let me tell you the amount of self-restraint I had for a second there that I'm more than proud of.

If you've been reading my blog, then it should come as no surprise that I am a concealer freak. I'm always on the good hunt for a good concealer because I don't think I could feel complete without it. Kinda like how life wouldn't feel complete if you could only have toast and not Nutella spread over it. 

I have so many feelings about this month's favorites. It's the last favorites I'm going to be typing up in Taiwan for a long while. I just have a lot of feels okay? (Especially since I feel like my feelings were completely shattered this morning by George Blagden and tumblr) (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, good for you. I'm too involved in fandoms for it to be healthy) August was a relatively slow month if you compare it to the amazing July that I had. However, I'm glad for the wind down, two amazing months in a row would be hectic. I officially finished my internship last week (tho I'll still be writing for them so yay!), I finally handed in my documents for my student visa, and I need to get around to finally spending time with my family while cleaning up the mess of a room. I'll keep you guys updated, but for now, we'll move on to what I've been loving this month.

It's the first of September and I thought I should post. Which better than the First Time tag? I'm not going to make the usual, "No, it's not that first time, you pervert," but seriously, it's not that first time. Tagged by the lovely Dhara a while back, I had forgotten about this tag for the longest time. I know, I know, the shame! But I'm here doing it now, so that's what counts, right? So per usual, there are the "rules" were I have to share the firsts and the story behind, before tagging 10 other glorious people to do the tag. So that out of the way, let's get cracking to the fun stuff.