September was a fun month.  I got to visit a new city, cheered on my boyfriend in his first triathlon, and took on some fun projects at work.  I personally am obsessed with YouTube videos by beauty gurus who display their monthly faves.  I am going to start doing them here every month to highlight the beauty products and other things, that just light my life up for the month.  Since this is my first, I wanted to keep it simple and boiled down to the brand new items that really blew me away.  

1. Curate Snacks' Curate Bars:

My favorite of three that I tried is the Salted Decadence, hence, it's not in the photo--because I ate them all.  I walked in to work one day and grabbed one as a snack and fell in love immediately.  Salted Decadence has: hemp seed, marcona almonds, dark chocolate, California sea salt, almond butter, and quinoa (among other ingredients).  These are available at Target, Walmart, and amazon.com

2.  Black Opal's Deluxe Finishing Powder:

So, I like to keep things simple when it comes to my beauty regimen.  I love how much work women put in to their makeup, but it just does not work for my lifestyle.  For a while, I've been wanting to try a translucent powder and was concerned about there being a lot of ash being left behind after removing.  When I was in Pittsburgh, I realized that I accidentally left my NARS concealer at home, ran to Rite Aid, and stumbled upon this while I scanned the selection for darker skin tones.  I like it a lot and am going to purchase a new face brush soon so I can leave my bronzer brush for bronzers only.

3.  L.A. Girl's HD Pro Concealer Corrector:

Just like I mentioned above, I have a deep appreciation for women who do a whole face beat down to get the look they love.  I tried a Smashbox corrector a while ago and it really wasn't user friendly for me.  On that same concealer hunt in Pittsburgh, I wandered in to a beauty supply story and was finally able to get my hands on lots of shades of L.A. Girl concealers, including this one.  I love that there's a brush attached to the tube and suggest that you have your Beauty Blender dampened and ready to go because, unlike a NARS concealer, I don't think that the heat from the face helps to prep the color.  Instead, it seems to dry faster and be more challenging to spead the longer you wait.

4.  Patchology's Smartmud No Mess Mud Masque:

You guys.  I have a favorite makeup and skincare shop here in Chicago called Blue Mercury.  It's my luxury Walgreen's and I get all of my goodies there to try or refill.  One evening I had to run down to grab my favorite makeup remover miceller water, I spotted this mud sheet mask and threw it on the counter.  I have done mud masks before, but it was such a task (seriously, the beauty routine simplicity story is a running theme here).  To have the mix prepared and easy to use on a sheet mask is everything.  And my skin felt and looked so energized after!  I am going to do them 1-2 times a month to keep my skin cleared up from all the makeup and handling it experiences day-to-day.

5.  Benefit Cosmetics' Goof Proof Brow Pencil:

Surprise!  I was looking for an easy way to fill my brows pre- and post-sweat for my makeup kit.  I was carrying around my Browzings and a brush and a.) it was stressful worrying about misplacing my brush, b.) it was kinda gross to have my makeup brush in studio bathrooms (in my mind).  This guy deposits great color, is truly goof proof for a former tomboy like me, and travels well daily.  Mine is in shade 5.

Try these products out and let me know what you think!  See you with a fresh list for next month.

Melissa