MY 10 MOST USEFUL BLOG DESIGN POSTS

That title really makes it sound like I'm blowing my own trumpet, but I didn't know what else to call this post. Basically I just wanted to collect together my top blog design posts and put them all in one place for anyone out there looking to start a blog or do a redesign. So here they are. Additionally, if anyone has an idea for a design post that they'd like to see come to life, please let me know!

GO BOLD OR GO HOME: TRAIN BLEU

I have been lusting after the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Train Bleu for years now. I never went for it before because I lived on an island where men seem never to have heard of makeup. That's all good and well, but when you decide to actually wear lipstick and you receive about twenty comments in one day saying “huh, you're wearing lipstick,” well, you just kind of give up. However, my recent move into the city warranted a celebration of makeup. And thus, Train Bleu finally became mine.

THE NEW H&M BEAUTY LINE

I sensed some curiosity in the force. I just watched the new Star Wars trailer and I am literally wetting myself with excitement. But that has nothing to do with what I'm talking about today. I'm talking about the curiosity surrounding the new H&M beauty line. I've seen surprisingly little info on the new launch and I wanted to test out a few pieces and give you lovely people the low down.

FALL NAIL COLOURS

You're going to fall all over these nail colours. Zing. I'm a self professed non-nail-girl. Very catchy name I know. Most of the time I can't be bothered to do my nails. You know how it is. You paint your nails and then you can't dig into a bag of potato chips for at least 10 minutes. What kind of madness is that?! Buuttt, since I've started working at Sephora, I've actually had to keep my nails looking half decent and, I'll admit, it's been fun.. So here's what I've been painting dem claws with.

SWEET MOTHER OF BERRY LIPS

I was looking through my lipstick collection the other day, because, you know, that’s how I do, and I thought to myself good lord, I have a ridiculous amount of berry toned lipsticks. Well my friends, you know what that means. It’s swatchy, swatchy time. Everyone goes nuts for berry lips come fall and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. They’re sophisticated, sultry and brave.

10 MUST SEE BEAUTY VIDEOS

Youtube was my first love. The blogging world came later for me. I've been watching beauty videos for over five years now and, you know what, it feels good. Maybe I should be ashamed of my addiction, but I'm not. I love it *she inhaled with her trembling breath*. So I've seen a lot of videos over the years, as you can imagine, and these are a just a hand full of the ones that stuck in my mind.

SEPTEMBER FAVOURITES

We're well and truly in fall now. There's a myriad of gorgeous russet and soft yellow leaves lining the streets. The rain has come and the air has that crisp smell to it. I always talk about that crisp smell, but I think it has to be my favorite part of this season. September was a fun month in which I caught up with old friends, decorated my new bedroom (pictures will be taken as soon as I can get enough sunlight!) and enjoyed some great TV shows. I'll run you through it all.

GOALS REVISITED

Bonjorno. I'm back for an update! Now I know hearing about my thoroughly unexciting life may not tickle everyone's sister, but for those few that have a strange curiosity about the least interesting woman in the world (no Dos Equis for me), you're in luck? A question mark seemed to be the only appropriate punctuation there. I wrote a post about goals for the coming months back in June and some big changes have happened since then. It would feel strange not to tell you guys about any of them.

MEET ASH & KRISTOFFERSON!

Say hello to the two newest members of my fam jam! This is Ash (coco bear) and Kristofferson (vanilla bear). I'm in love. These two fellas came home with me two weeks ago. Unfortunately, as soon as Ash got back I realized something was wrong. I took him to the vet and it turned out he had a respiratory infection. He's spent the past couple of weeks on antibiotics and the boys had to be separated for the duration of that time.

5 ESSENTIALS FOR BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHY

Ahh photography. My old friend. How you challenge and frustrate me always. Photography is possibly the most difficult, but rewarding, part of blogging for me. I think a lot about how to improve my blog photos and I enjoy studying what the most successful beauty photographers are doing right. I thought a lot about what good photography boils down to. I went back in forth in my noggin many a time and finally decided that these are the five essential points.