I'M NOT A MODEL...BUT I TRY ANYWAY

I'm back!

Hello blog! It's been quite a long while since I last wrote a blog post or wrote anything not related to school, to be honest. :P Let's do a quick little catch up, shall we? Things have been moderately the same these past few months and that has included me struggling with my addiction on and off. I would be fine for a month and a half and then I'd relapse for a day or two and this most recent time, I nearly got kicked out of my house and my world basically came crashing down around me.

By the graciousness and love of my parents, they are giving me one more chance. ONE MORE. I have to do things right this time. I'm back in outpatient treatment and seeing a new therapist. This semester ends on Wednesday for me and I will be taking the next semester off to focus on working and just taking care of myself, mentally and physically. Some days are a lot harder than others, but I'm hopeful that things will get better as long as I work hard and stay focused. A quote that I have as my phone wallpaper has been a daily reminder; "May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears." - Nelson Mandela. I choose what my day is going to look like, where my life is going to go, if I will get out of bed today or waste away until I'm nothing.

Anyway! LOL I hope you are all wonderful and you're having a happy holiday season! As some of you may know, I was an avid participator in the 2014 Blogger Challenge and have fallen quite behind. I could just pick up with the newest topic, but I'm the type of person that absolutely has to finish everything, no skipping. With this in mind, I am going to pick up where I left off and start with the "Autumn Edit" post which will go up tomorrow. Of course, it is now Winter, but I think I can make it work. :) Below are pictures I've taken over the past few months (mainly selfies from when I've done my make up all nice LOL), I hope you enjoy!

Glad to be back! xx

One of my favorites places to be: in bed with my best friend, watching Dragon Ball Z :)

Heather and I when we tried to re-create one of Zoella's makeup tutorials LOL

Excuse my skin, I literally had only done my eye makeup!

My wonderful mommy <3

Seester <33333

How flippin' gorgeous is she??

Jaclyn Hill's '90s makeup

My half-assed Halloween makeup! HA!

San Diego bound!

My friend, Caitlyn's, cat. We were kind of obsessed with each other. LOL

I have no idea what I'm doing here, but this was my Thanksgiving day makeup :P

December Favorites

Now, I know it's a bit early to be posting my December favorites, but I'm actually leaving for Vegas with some friends tomorrow and I won't be posting much whilst I'm there. Also, some of these have been my favorites since November as well, but I wanted to wait until I got my camera to photograph them. :) All of the products below are very, very affordable so if you see anything you like, I really do suggest giving it a go. Without further a do, here are my December favorites.

(Orders of lip products and swatches)
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush, Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Black Cherry,
Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in 10, e.l.f. Lip Lock Pencil

I love the balm stain because even when the berry color fades, there's still a pink tint on the lips so there's still some color there. Black Cherry is absolutely amazing! I've worn it almost everyday since October. Zoella posted a blogspot where she had her YSL Rouge Pur lipstick and I wanted to find a similar shade and found this! I pleasantly surprised to see in her current favorites video from last month that this is the lipstick she chose for her YSL dupe. :) The Kate Moss was the perfect bright red lip if I didn't want to go to dark. Lastly, I came across this at Target and since I wear a lot of lipsticks, I thought I'd give it a go and it really does work quite well! I put on before my lipstick and it makes transfer from my lips to other things pretty much non-existent! :)

Real Techniques Buffing Brush and Contour Brush

These are by far the best brushes I've owned (granted, I haven't owned very many brushes lol)! There obviously very well known in the beauty world and I was excited to give them a go. The buffing brush is perfect for flawless foundation and concealer application and the contour brush is, as you'd expect, the perfect size for contouring. I also use it to apply powder.

L'Oreal Hydra Perfect Perfecting Loose Powder in Translucent 

I was previously using the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder and I had heard so many amazing things about it that I was quite disappointed to find that I had to keep re-applying it every 15 minutes and I think it sort of enhanced my oily spots. I was on the hunt for a new translucent setting powder and found this and it is absolutely what I was looking for! It lasts for hours and hours, it keeps my shiny-ness at bay without making me look dull, and there's loads of it so it'll last for ages!

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in Sand

 As some of you may know, I never used to wear foundation. I always just used a BB cream and maybe some concealer. However, unfortunately my skin hasn't been looking its best the past few months so I thought I'd venture into foundation. Many YouTube beauty gurus that I love (ie. Tanya Burr, Zoe Sugg, etc) have said many good things about this foundation and I am pleased to say that I love it as well! I'd say it's a medium coverage, but can be buildable, and it covers all my spots and things really well without even using a concealer. What I really love is that it's not drying; I've got some dry patches thanks to these winter months and this doesn't highlight them at all. Love this stuff!

Maybelline Fit Me Blush in Deep Coral

 When I first got this blush several months ago, I wasn't a huge fan of it. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't as pigmented as I'd hoped. However, I rediscovered it this month and I'm absolutely loving it! I don't know if the brush I was using wasn't picking up the product or what, but this month I'm loving it! Now that I wear foundation, my naturally rosy cheeks get covered up so I've been reaching for this to add some color back into my face! I'd actually like to go to the store and look at the rest of their color range as well. :)

Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express

I feel like there's not too much I can say about this as pretty much every YouTube beauty guru and beauty bloggers have already raved about it! I will say this; I have quite short lashes (practically invisible), but this does the job of making them stand out a bit more quite well! 

L'Oreal 12hr Infallible The Super Slim Liquid Eyeliner in Black

 I'm in love with this eyeliner! It's easy to use, it stays put, there's none of the fuss that I had with gel liners and it's pigmentation is pretty good! Simple as, it's amazing!

Estee Lauder Pure Color Deluxe EyeShadow Compact

(The colors I used most out of the palette) Top left - Smoky Ember, Top Right - Berry Burst,
Bottom Left - Sandbar Beige, Bottom Right - Hot Cinnamon

This is a beautiful palette that I was given by my mom and it's the one item on here that is a bit on the higher end, but it's such amazing quality! All the colors are beautiful, are highly pigmented, and blend incredibly well, but the four colors that I used the most this month are the four pictured above! My go to eye shadow palette at the moment. :)

Moroccan Sea Salt Spray - This sea salt spray does everything you'd expect it to, it adds texture and volume and it smells amazing! The one down-side I found is that it does make my hair have a bit of a weird paper-y feeling. I love it none the less, but I am on the hunt for another one. Any suggestions? :)

Tresemme Tres Two Spray - This is a quality hairspray! It holds volume and curls so well without making my hair crunchy or sticky. I curled my hair for a night out last week and fell asleep and my curls were still there in the morning.

Tresemme 24 Hour Body Foaming Mousse - This adds the perfect amount of volume for me without being greasy. Since I have straight hair, it is quite easy for it to appear flat, but when I apply this right before I blow dry upside down, my hair has a lot more life than it used to! For the price, you can't go wrong! Highly recommend. :)

Tresemme Keratin Smooth Heat Protection - Not much to say about this other than it does what it says it will and it smells amazing. Leaves my hair so smooth!

Moroccan Moisture Miracle Argan Oil - I use this after I get out of the shower when my hair is still damp and it leaves my hair so shiny and smooth! There really is a noticeable difference after using this for a few days. A plus? It smells amazing!

I've never done a monthly favorites post, so please feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments and if you have recommendations of any products you think I'll like, leave those as well! Hope you're all fantastic! What have you been loving this month? Xx