The leaves outside are starting to change color!!

Every moment I think “IT’S AUTUMN!!”, suddenly 80 degree weather hits and I shuffle sadly back to my room to take off my sweaters and dejectedly put on t-shirts. But nature doesn’t mean it! It loves me! This is for real this time!

I digress. Fall and winter are my favorite times for berry colored lips, and I’m developing a thing for berry-toned eyeshadow (thanks a lot, Shiro Mother of Dragons). Let’s get a little closer…

The impeccable Maleah of Blackbird Cosmetics was a once again an incredible sweetheart and sent me a full size Imogen, Thirteen, Fire Pledge, and Beau (as well as a kick ass mood ring that I have been wearing all the time… I’m wearing so many rings right now!!) as a thank you for coordinating the Indie Makeup and More exchange… little does she know it was entirely my pleasure! It’s a wonderful testament to how thoughtful she is as a seller, and I had a little spaz when they arrived because I love her shadows, I of course didn’t expect them, AND I had nearly used up all of Thirteen! A big thank you to Maleah for being amazing as always. If you haven’t tried out Blackbird’s mattes yet, YOU NEED TO. Go. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Here we have Thirteen across the lid, Beau in the outer edge and a bit along the lower lid, and Imogen in the crease. Blackbird’s mattes blend really well and the earth tones Maleah has made are exquisite. I added Hello Waffle Vivaldi over Beau in the other edge and along the lower lid, and then Hello Waffle Mendelssohn in the inner edge. Hello Waffle’s shadows are SUPER pigmented and just… lush. That’s the word that’s coming to mind right now. They paired beautifully with Blackbird’s mattes (which are absolutely true mattes) and the contrast between the intense sparkle and subtle matte colors is glorious. I’ll add the same note– if you haven’t tried Hello Waffle shadows yet, believe me, they are worth the wait for shipping from Canada. Christine of Hello Waffle is a genius and you won’t be disappointed.

Hello Waffle Belle was the perfect blush today. On my skin, it was very balanced, lighter rose color– all together lovely. I’ve only just been trying out Hello Waffle blushes (I’ve already given Terra Cotta a go and will have a post with Moon Princess coming up shortly). They are nicely pigmented and blend well. I appreciate that they are easy to build to the intensity you want… sometimes you need a barely there color, and other times something that really stands out. These cater to both. Today I tried to place my blush just a little higher, to give the impression of higher cheekbones… the hubs noticed it and isn’t sure how much he likes it, but I’m leaning more toward it?

I also used Hello Waffle’s Lavender Cream highlighter, which is exactly what it sounds like: a creamy colored highlighter with a light lavender sheen. So far I’m totally in love with it.

I threw on some Performance Colors Very Berry matte cream lipstick, the formula of which is UH-MAZING. Pigmented, applies very smoothly, non-drying. I can’t speak much to longevity just yet, because I have only been wearing it for about three hours, but so far it is going strong despite the fact that I’ve been stuffing my face with prosciutto and cheese. Unfortunately it looks like this color isn’t available right now, but if it calls to you specifically, it might be worth messaging them on Etsy. In either case, go take a look. They have about a billion colors, so there will be something to row your boat (including South of France, an amazing pink that I wear in this post, and Badlands, a spot on dupe for NARS Train Bleu). Performance Colors offers affordable sample packs that allow you to test a variety at once, like this Six Purple Lipsticks for Five Dollars deal (in fact, a lot of their deals are 5 for $6, or the occasional 10 for $10). You know, in case you needed someone to enable you to try more lipsticks (who doesn’t?).

It all came together into something really girly, and I can’t think of something to better pair girly makeup with than smelling just like citrus-y cookies.

I have yet to do much with perfumes on this blog, but consider this the beginning. Leilani runs Black Violet, a perfumery that also dabbles in skincare/bath items. A lot of the indie perfumeries I have tried so far haven’t worked well with my skin much to my dismay (for example, I love how Darling Clandestine scents smell in their bottle, but once on my skin they turn into something truly awful). I had almost given up on indie perfumes until I tried Black Violet. Valley of the Temples was my first true love–upon application an addict was born and I’ve placed several orders since. In my most recent order, Leilani very generously upgraded my Yuzu Cookies mini to a full size. Confession time: I ordered Yuzu Cookies on a whim, not expecting to love it because usually gourmand scents get a bit weird on me. It took me two weeks to give it a try, and oh my god I AM DELICIOUS.

When the hubs smelled it, he gasped “YOU SMELL LIKE BLUEBERRY MUFFINS”. Now, there are not notes of blueberries in this perfume specifically (so if you don’t like blueberry, I don’t think you need to worry), however I could smell what he was smelling. The citrus combined with the cookie smell creates a pretty good facsimile for the sort of tart+bakery taste that blueberries have in comparison to, say, raspberries, which are mostly sweet+tart. The citrus notes in this perfume are sweeter, more like oranges (in fact, the note is specifically mandarin oranges, and also grapefruit), and the sugar cookie smell reminds me a lot of the sweet shortbread cookies my mom makes. The cookie scent is much stronger on cold sniff. Upon application the sweetness of the citrus really comes out. Everything blends smoothly into a perfectly gourmand treat that had me craving baked goods (a problem, considering I have been eating low carb for near two years now… it takes a lot to get me to crave baked items now adays!). I’ve been wearing this perfume all day and I would say I got about 5 hours of solid wear out of it, and now it’s softer but still noticeable.

Overall I recommend giving Yuzu Cookies a try. If you are already a fan of gourmand scents, I think you’ll love it. If you’re on the fence about gourmand scents I think it may be a good gateway drug, considering I am still a bit on the fence myself (but am working incredibly hard not to give myself a little nibble). Currently Black Violet is on a brief hiatus, but will be opening back up on November 5th. They offer minis 5/$25, 4/$22, and down from there. Their full size perfume oils, like Yuzu Cookies above, are $14 each.

So there you have it! Berry makeup, citrus cookie perfume… a truly delicious day!

Products

Palladio Herbal foundation primer

MUFE HD foundation in 110

NARS Smudgeproof primer

Anastasia dipbrow in Auburn

Laura Mercier secret concealer in 01 and secret brightening powder

Blackbird Cosmetics Thirteen, Imogen, and Beau, Hello Waffle Vivaldi and Mendelssohn

Covergirl Clumpcrushers in brown

Hello Waffle Belle blush

Hello Waffle Lavender Cream highlighter

Pumpkin and Poppy Oak Bark

Performance Colors Very Berry matte cream lipstick

Fyrinnae Hollywood Sorcery finishing powder

UD All Nighter setting spray