3 Spooky Books You MUST Read This Halloween!

Halloween is here! If you're not yet in the mood for ghosts and ghouls, or if you'd rather stay in than go howl at the moon, feel free to curl up with a nice cup of tea and one of these hauntingly good reads. These aren't just your run-of-the-mill spooky stories, by the way: these works of horror have been hand-picked by yours truly to make your skin crawl.

6 Mugs You Didn't Know You Needed Until Right Now

Mugs are personal. It's ritual, it's routine. You choose one in the morning to accompany you on your journey to wakefulness, one in the evening to comfort and help you drift off to sleep, or one for any other time of day when you need a drink. Then there's your choice of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate... full strength or decaf... and whatever flavor you're craving at the moment. Whatever you decide, the choice of mug is just as important. The above six are beautiful ones that I wouldn't mind at all adding to my collection... because your favorite drinks just taste so much better in a pretty mug. (And let's be real: mugs are one of the greatest things you can collect.)

Blogging Tools I'm Using | 2014

I love blogging. There, I said it. It started as a hobby, but it soon grew to something that I've become quite passionate about. I've found that regardless of the topic I choose to pursue, I found a love for creating content, scheduling, sharing, researching ways to improve, and oh, the productivity tools. For the curious, I've compiled a list of things I use. Let's get technical, shall we?

Lip Lovings Lately

As I mentioned in my last post, I've never been a huge fan of lip products. I don't like to touch up my makeup during the day, so I like my makeup to be long-lasting. Therefore, a high maintenance lip color was out of the question.  Recently, however, I've been drawn more and more to purchasing and wearing lip products. Upon reorganizing my makeup, I found that half of my working collection was made of lip products! I've accumulated a list of five of my most recent go-tos below, so let's dive right in:

Handpicked: Favorites in May

It's been a while since I've curated all my favorites into one post! I skipped last month's because I just didn't find anything new or fresh to talk about, but I've definitely got a handful for you this month.

My favorite Pinterest boards!

I've got a problem, and her name is Pinterest. Whenever there's real work to be done like working on my resume, writing a research paper, or trying to write a blog post (guilty), there she is, looming on the horizon like the time-killer you know you'll end up succumbing to. You know there's no way you'll ever slay her completely: you've cultivated too many recipes to try, DIYs you'll never do, and fashion pieces that you can never even hope of owning. But, the real question is... Why would you ever want to give her up? She makes you feel fancier than you already are. (Or, if it makes you feel any better, you could totally give it up anytime you wanted to. The first step is to stop referring to a website as a "she.")

Handpicked for Spring: March Beauty Favorites

Nicer weather is finally upon us! Longer days, more sunlight, and a fresh feel to the air seem to give life new meaning after the long months of winter. Bring on the sandals, bike rides, and flowers! Oh, and of course, the following recently curated beauty items.

Snowy Day Essentials ❆

Sometimes, it's really nice to wake up to an email saying that one or two (or all) of your classes have been cancelled! That's what happened to me just an hour ago. Well, maybe just one class of mine has been cancelled so far, but what better way is there to celebrate it than to stay all snuggled up indoors with a few of your warmest favorites? (None. There is no better way.) So, in case you were wondering what to do on a snow day, or if you just wish you had one right now, read on.

Top Netflix Picks!

Though I'm embarrassed to admit it, Netflix is one of my favorite things. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to have a cozy night in watching your favorite shows. It can be a little overwhelming at times, however, because there are so many different things you can watch. If you ever find yourself wondering what to watch on Netflix, you've come to the right place. Here are some good things to watch next time you're feeling uninspired:

Best Winter Scents from Bath & Body Works!

Hello, friends!

It's come to my attention that one of my most popular posts on this blog is about my Top 5 Bath and Body Works scent choices of all time. The majority of my traffic comes from people searching for the best scents from Bath and Body Works! That's exciting. However, since most of the scents listed in that post aren't very season appropriate, I decided to make another list of favorites--featuring my top five Bath and Body Works winter fragrances! Here they are:

13 Things I Did in 2013 ☆

A lot of crazy things are going to go down in 2014. I'm going to graduate college, leave all the friends I've made, hopefully get a big girl job and my own apartment and start a life on my own. But before all the madness happens in May, I'd like to take some time to reflect on how wonderful 2013 was for me. So, without further ado, here are 13 things I did in 2013:

December Life Favorites! | 2013

Hello, friends! As December comes to a close, I thought it would be a good idea to post about what my favorite things during the month were. Because why not, right? 

Here we go!

10 Things That Got Me Through Finals

Finals week is finally over! All my final papers, hating myself for not studying for exams sooner, and over-studying for those exams have finally ceased. Now that I'm on winter break until January, it's time to not do anything productive whatsoever and watch lots of netflix. Because that's what responsible adults do, right? But first, here's a look back at the ten things that helped get me through finals week the most:

Fall Favorites! | Mascara Warrior

Hello, friends!

Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. From cozy sweaters, boots, seasonal beverages, and pumpkin or apple flavored everything, you really can't go wrong!

Since I've been busy with classes, my job, and some family things, I wanted to catch up with some of my favorite things to put on my face this season.

Favorite Etsy Finds | Back to School Edition!

Hello, friends! I've been on a major Etsy kick recently. While it started off innocently enough with looking for a new, cute phone case, soon enough I found myself looking at wallets, bags, art prints, and beads. However, I found that most of what I had been admiring had a common theme... they were all things that I could use during the upcoming school year!

With my last year of undergrad quickly approaching, I thought it would be a lovely time to treat myself with a new book bag and some other essentials (and not-so-essentials). Before I placed the order that would surely make my wallet weep, I wanted to show you all what I'd been wanting to purchase! 

July 2013 Favorites! | Victoria's Secret, Benefit, & More!

Hello everyone, and happy (almost) August! How was your July? I spent most of it going to Physical Therapy (my knee has gotten a lot better!), and taking piano lessons. I've accumulated quite a few favorites this month (maybe to make up for the fact that I didn't do a list of my favorites for June? whoops), so let's get down to business, shall we?

Essentials for a Lazy Afternoon

There comes a point in the day when you just need a little pick-me-up. For me, it means cozying up on the couch in the living room in front of a big window and my favorite coffee table and taking some time to myself. I've been appreciating time to myself more and more these days, and I like to think that I've come up with a few good guidelines for a great recharging session. Here are my essentials for having a wonderful lazy afternoon of your own.

Top 5 Bath & Body Works Fragrances of ALL TIME!

I've been going into Bath & Body Works for as long as I can remember. My sister and I often went with each other and spent countless hours just smelling everything! Don't even get me started on the damage we'd do going in during the Semi-Annual sale. One of my fondest memories was driving home from the mall with my sister after we hit up Bath & Body Works and drained our wallets--we stopped at a red light and my sister asked me to take the items she bought out of the bag for her to smell before the light turned green again.

Because I've been pretty much obsessed with this company for most of my life, there are certain fragrances that I return to time and time again. So, whether you're looking for something new to try, you're curious in what my favorites are, or you're in another country just longing after what you can't get your hands on... I present to you my Top 5 Bath & Body Works Fragrances of ALL TIME! (Picture-heavy, so click through to see if your favorites made the cut!)

UPDATE 02 January 2014: Looking for more wintery scents? Check out my top winter picks from Bath and Body Works here!

Wishlist Wednesday #7: Maybelline, Benefit, Marc Jacobs

I was inspired to pick the following choices this week after combing through my makeup collection and vowing to try new things. As a result, it's another Wednesday, another wish list. You know how it goes by now! Click through to read more about this week's picks and why I've chosen them.

Are you making these skincare mistakes?

When it comes to perfecting your skincare routine, there is a lot of trial and error. The main idea is not only to pamper, but to protect. There are plenty of skincare faux pas floating around on the internet, and sometimes it's hard to know what is actually good for your skin. 

I don't mean to sound superior when it comes to skin care. I've definitely made some mistakes in my day. One of my darkest skincare moments was a time in which I washed my face in a public bathroom with that foaming soap from the dispenser on the wall just because I thought my face felt oily and dirty. What's even more shameless is that I've done that more than once. How embarrassing is that? (To be fair-I was a freshman. That explains it, right?)

Since then, I've made more of an effort to learn how to care for my skin better as well as the science behind skincare itself. So, for this blog post, I decided to tackle three skincare mistakes you're probably guilty of making as well as how to fix them.