The first day of October saw a sudden and noticeable change in how early the evenings are closing in. This is my favourite month of the year so I'm relishing every day of it! The golden leaves staining the pavements with little leafy stencils, the watery sun bathing everything in the most beautiful glow, fresh mornings, sharp evenings, hot coffees....there isn't one thing that isn't glorious about it. Naturally the day to day items I cart around with me have been updated and the light tinted moisturiser I'd grown fond of is now a thing of the past.
As you can see I have tried to be more practical in what I pack. The headphones are by Marshall and are a MUST as I can't think properly without music and there is no way I will make it to the gym if I don't at least have a motivation playlist at hand! An umbrella because, well, London (interesting colour and print, nobody in my household has a clue where it came from!). The Verto black pebble is a portable phone charger which is amazing- probably the most useful gift I have ever received and one of those things I didn't know I'd use so much until I got it! This one is great as it comes with a range of plugs for Iphone, Samsung etc, and if you charge it for an hour or two it has enough power in for three charges!
In terms of makeup I have gone back to my fail safe Inika foundation in cream as it's a little heavier than a tinted moisturiser and doesn't show up the dry patches some of us get with the change in weather. I'm not sure if you read the post I did during spring about this foundation but honestly it is the best foundation for transitional weather. Shame they only have three shades at the moment though! Lipstick wise I have been drawn to this Kiko matte lipstick in shade 2. It's a really muted, elegant pink which stays put right through the day. My current favourite eyeshadows are the Moonshadow colour infused pens which are also by Kiko and they are absolutely lush. There are four shades: a sparkly gold, plum, turquoise and mocha colour and they are the lazy persons answer to taking you from drab to fab in moments. Nothing shows you have made an effort like a sensual matte lipstick with a little gold on the inside of your eyes and perhaps glimmering turquoise blended in there too ;) I'm going to do an in-depth post about my Kiko haul over the weekend and give you proper colour swatches. The eyeliner is Eyeko which I have a constant love hate relationship with. The nib is perfect but why oh why do they dry up so fast?! The nail varnish is Max Effect by Max Factor, it's the bronze shade and has a gorgeous shine. I feel like this is the grown up version of a glitter nail as the colour is metallic and a little playful, but still looks presentable. There is something really autumnal about a bronze metallic nail so I think I'll be wearing this a lot over the next month or two!
Of course being a lip balm hoarder there is one on me at all times! This is just pure Nutiva coconut oil. I have about five of these babies and am forever pulling them out of my pockets when I'm doing the washing!
The hand sanitizer is one I discovered in Wholefoods some months ago and I now have one for my kit and another for personal use. It's a brand called Bentley Organic and it's just a really gentle foam that effectively kills bacteria without drying your hands out. It's also alcohol free which is pretty ace, I've never seen alcohol free sanitizer before! And I sounded a little too excited there...
My sunglasses are by Pepe Jeans and are a godsend. Just when I put them away, we had an icy morning and then blistering sun during the afternoon where I honestly couldn't see where I was walking, so back out these came! I have really grown used to putting on a pair of sunnies when I'm tired, recovering from a heavy night, sad, antisocial, watery eyed from having a cold or simply wanting to people watch strategically, it was a low moment realising that they'll spend months in storage soon! Poking out from the corner of the shot is Late Fragments, Everything I want to tell you about this magnificent life, by an author called Kate Gross who was terminally ill when she penned this touching and incredibly personal book to her young children. I am almost halfway through and when I'm not writing down quotes from it in my little notebook, I'm mentally pep talking myself to not let emotions get to me. If there is ever a moment where you forget to be mindful, this book is a pull back to reality and all that really matters. I'm going to do a book review once I have finished, although I'm currently deliberately reading it little by little. That's my sensible and relatively light bag at the moment, I'm quite proud of my organisation skills these days!
Shower gels are not a product I usually get too excited about, but this little bottle is absolutely divine and my whole household enjoys using it because of how therapeutic it is. With spearmint leaf, cardamon and hibiscus flower it doesn't leave your skin feeling stripped or dry like most showers gels do. My friend who introduced me to this says she doesn't even feel the need to moisturise afterwards. Scent wise it is like sniffing a fresh sprig of mint. I have been sitting here with the bottle like some sort of shower gel connoisseur trying to work out what it reminds me of and it hit me-mojito! A little pricier than your average shower gel but if you want something that will make you feel so relaxed and as fresh as mountain dew then this well worth it. Also for any clued up men reading this, it's unisex so I'm talking to you too. You can buy it from Wholefoods and online for about a tenner I believe.
