Fall Lipsticks: Channeling my Inner Owens Woman

So now that we're all on the same page – it's officially fall! (Well not officially, but it's close enough.) While some girls flock to the church of Pumpkin Spice as soon as the temperatures take a dip, I'm more inclined to lean towards the patron saint of fall, Alice Hoffman.

This house though.

I grew up in a house where Practical Magic was pretty much a mandatory requirement, as it should be. It weaves a story of strong, interesting women and how much stronger women can be when they support one another rather than tearing each other down. Plus, the movie version has killer scenery. Who didn't want to live in that house? I still want to live in that house.

So basically, Practical Magic (and all Alice Hoffman novels) have a pretty solid influence on my life. There's just something cool about magical, sassy women. That being said, the Owens family does hold a special place in my heart, so this fall I decided to focus on channeling my inner magical feminist (is that a thing?!) with some dark lipsticks from NYX Cosmetics.

I fell in love with NYX when I was deep in the throws of a Target obsession, but I've noticed that Target has not been stocking their NYX supplies for the past few months. And I've checked multiple Targets – trust me on this. I've been dying to get my hands on two specific NYX lipsticks – the matte "ARIA" and the macaroon "CHAMBORD."  Unfortunately for me, Target wasn't coming through and my local Ulta didn't have them. So by the time I was ready to order them online, I had a 20% off coupon and they offered free shipping on orders of $25 and over.

Let me say that NYX cosmetics are definitely not pricey – so that's when things got a little out of hand. Four lipsticks, three lip pencils and an eyebrow gel (why not?) later, my stuff was set to arrive in 7-10 days.

From left to right: Chaos, Medusa, Aria and Chambord

The four lipsticks I wound up ordering were: Chambord, Aria, Medusa and Chaos. I actually already own Chaos and just needed to restock it – it's an awesome red-blue lipstick that appears super complimentary to pale skin tones. So today I'll just be discussing Chambord, Aria and Medusa.

First thing's first: CHAMBORD. I was so excited for this, I had read beauty reviews all over the place – including my beauty bible xovain. One of the general consensuses (consesi?)   about this BLACK LIPSTICK (!!!) is that it isn't super wearable on a day to day basis. This is true, I'm not going to be rocking this at work any time soon. But I was super impressed with how it applied, thick and solid – not at all patchy. I applied a couple coats and was pleased with the overall look. I kept the rest of my makeup pretty minimal because I wanted this look to be as wearable as possible. All in all, I love it! I love how it enhances my fair skin and seems to make my eye color pop. With my freshly dark hair, and uniform of all black, I feel like a cool girl who probably spends full moon nights making midnight margaritas vs. a very grumpy goth sixteen year old. I don't know how often I will actually wear Chambord, but I'd like to try and rock it on the one night per month that I wind up going out.

Cragged salt like a sailor's stubble, flip the switch and let the cauldron bubble!

Next up: ARIA. If you're on Pinterest, or follow any sort of beauty blog, you've probably heard of Aria. Think of it as an ideal MAC dupe. It's super flattering on a variety of skin tones, and it's matte style just adds a bit of edge. I definitely will wear Aria in a variety of places – the whole look makes me feel sort of like "Teen Witch gets First Office Job." It's fun goth without being too overwhelming, weird without being black lipstick, spooky but not so spooky that no one will hold the elevator for you. Basically, it makes me feel like Gilly Owens when she showed up to Back to School night and used her sassy-magic skills to make Sally the head of the Phone Tree.

"Yep, that's right, I'm back."

Finally: MEDUSA. I snagged Medusa on a whim, and also grabbed the corresponding lip pencil. I was surprised that Medusa isn't as matte as Aria, it's actually a bit lighter and a bit more sparkly. All's good though because out of all three lipsticks, Medusa is perhaps the most office friendly. It makes me feel put together while also feeling like I could turn dumb, dangerous dudes like Jimmy Angelov into frogs  – so a pretty good look for your work week.

"She's not saying they murdered him, just maybe they shook his hand, and then... he died. It's very mysterious."

All three lipsticks definitely capture the whole "adorably spooky" aesthetic that one of the ladies in my office blessed me with this summer. They definitely make me feel like a 2014 version of the Owens family – strong and in charge, confident in taking risks in my beauty routine. If you've been debating black lipstick, dark purple lipstick or whatever, I say – go for it! Why not? As Frances Owen would say, "My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."

A Confession: All I want to do is Raid Claire Beauchamp's Closet

 It seems that every Monday, I find myself calling Angelo's mom to compare favorite outfits on Outlander. Are you watching Outlander? It's one of those random shows that I immediately fell into, being a historical fiction and sci-fi lover, but luckily after being forced to watch the first four episodes, Angelo seemed to accept and enjoy it – so now we watch it every Sunday night at dinner. I'm really struggling not to read the books, and have only held out on Angelo's request that I do so, so that we can both be equally surprised when we watch it.

The coat of my dreams

That being said, since I can't read the books and spoil the whole show for myself, I basically just obsess over the clothes. Historical shows, when done right, can be downright amazing with their costumes. Think The Tudors. When done incorrectly, historical shows can annoy the shit out of history buffs. Think Reign. Outlander seems to do a great job of keeping clothes historically accurate, while still having a ton of fun with accessories and costumes. Maybe it's not entirely realistic to have Claire change her outfit five times when she's out on the road, but someone in the wardrobe department is seriously knitting their heart out – and deserves the recognition.

I would be okay with just living here, in that outfit, in all seriousness.

Claire's Scottish wardrobe is basically made up of all things wonderful – plaids, chunky knits and killer coats. When she gets her first "makeover" into 1743 fashion, I couldn't get past the arm warmers that seemed to be knit specifically for her. The next few outfits she rocked the comfiest looking cowls and then, a few episodes later, she was wearing a coat that almost killed me. Seriously. I love fall, I love cold and rainy weather, and I love chunky knits. I basically want everything she wears – except the weird corset.

That scarf and those arm warmers - I just can't deal.

It shouldn't come as any sort of surprise then that my Fall Capsule Wardrobe is slightly Outlander inspired. I wouldn't even be surprised if I turned out to be part-Scottish – I can get pretty sassy and Angelo says I'm hard to understand when I talk.

While it's still a bit too warm to rock a cowl, arm warmers and a fur coat, cold weather accessories are making their way onto websites and into stores.  I've got my eye on a few from ASOS – particularly this faux fur infinity scarf. It's super cozy and adorable, and totally reminds me of Claire's coat that I'm so in love with.

ASOS - Faux fur infinity scarf

I also have no problem with integrating plaid into my Fall Capsule. Maybe it's the 13 years of Catholic schooling, but it just seems right to throw on a plaid skirt when it's cold out. I snagged this one from @10dollardressshop and I'm in love with it. It's a vintage little Tablots plaid pencil skirt, and it makes me feel very modern day Claire Beauchamp.

Excuse the mirror pic, I'm computer-less for the next two days.

Do you watch Outlander? If so, are you as costume obsessed as I am? I mean – did you see that coat?!

August Roundup: 19 Days Left of Summer

I've been really mentally preparing for fall, but as Angelo's mom and this incredibly humid holiday weekend reminded me, there's still about a month of summer left. Maybe that's why I've been running around and busy like a crazy person recently? Stuff seems to slow down in fall and winter.

Anyways, I know I've been pretty absent from this blog, so I took a page from some of my favorite blogs and decided to do a basic August catch up post.

Reading: Audio books count as reading, in my humble opinion. And I go through about an audio book a week at work. The one that really stuck with me this month was The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. One of the things I enjoy about Gaiman's audio books are that he tends to narrate them himself, and he's a great story teller. "Ocean" is a great, short story that Gaiman actually wrote for his wife. It's got strong female characters, and paints a poignant tale about growing up – with his classic elements of spooky fairy tales. I highly recommend.

Watching: Speaking of strong female woman, after lots of reading and overlapping disappointment concerning Steven Moffat, I've been searching for a new show to binge on that offers up female characters that aren't just there for show. I think I found this in "Elementary," which I’m currently watching the first season of and am now recommending to anyone who talks to me for longer than five minutes. It's a modern day take on Sherlock Holmes, with Lucy Liu in the role of Watson. It's a really great comparison to "Sherlock," which I also love but which has a complete lack of strong female characters. Lucy Liu's Watson is smart, independent and has a great relationship with Sherlock. I'm all about it.

Wearing: I'm cheating on my Capsule Wardrobe a little bit, since I ordered these overalls from American Eagle last week, I haven't really taken them off. I just want them to be perfectly broken in by fall! I've been searching all over for a great pair of overalls, and had my eyes on a pricey pair from Free People, until Lauren alerted me to a similar (on sale) pair at American Eagle. I absolutely love the wash of the denim, and that the overalls themselves are fitted. I sized down in these, since AE tends to run a little big. I've also noticed this pair from Target popping up on my Instagram and think that they are equally adorable and flattering.

Wanting: I've got my eye on this killer fringe coat from H&M, but I'm trying to save up a little bit each week for it. At $130, it doesn't exactly break the bank, but I'm trying to be more responsible and focus on bills (and student loans, ugh) before I run off any buy this amazing coat. Seriously though, it's perfect for fall so can the weather just cool off and I can go ahead and have a need for it?

Changing: Oh, and I guess it's a change to mention – I'm back to dark hair again! After getting tired of using special shampoo and frying my hair every four weeks with bleach, I went back to dark hair with the help of my cousin, Kristina. She does REALLY AMAZING THINGS with hair color, that makes me wish I didn't work an office job, and that I didn't live states away from her. With her helpful instructions and list of what to buy, I transformed from a tired bleach blonde with dark roots to a dark brown haired happy camper. Check out her work Instagram, and if you're in the St. Louis area – go to her and let her make you fancy.

What have you been keeping busy with this August?