2014 was such a whirlwind, but in the best way possible. Throughout that whirlwind, I tried many new products (or at least new to me). Some of them were fantastic and I talked about them a lot here on this blog. But of course, I have to talk about all the products I've loved this year. 

Revlon ColorStay Foundation I know this has been talked about on every beauty blog and YouTube channel ever, but it was a new discovery for me. It's what I wear to any event, on a really bad skin day or even just on a long day where I want everything to stay in place all day. It's natural and not cakey, but still gives full coverage. It's fantastic.

Maybelline FitMe Concealer This stuff is perfect for when you have lots of blemishes. It covers so well.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer This is definitely not full coverage and more light and natural, but still covers blemishes and dark circles with ease and brightens everything up.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner This is my new favourite eyeliner. It's creamy and just glides on. It's such a lovely drugstore buy.

Maybelline The Nudes Palette This is a fairly new favourite as I bought it just in November and I haven't talked about it on this blog yet. I know it's been a very contradictory palette- some love it, some hate it. I have loved it. Yes, it does not have great pigmentation and does crease after about five hours of wear, but overall is such a great natural palette. I think that Maybelline purposefully went for light pigmentation to make it more natural, which I love. All the colours are easy to wear for everyday, but you can build them up for a more formal event.

NYC IndividualEyes for Brown Eyes in #946 Best of Broadway While the shadows in this are lovely I loved the eye primer to use not only as a base for eyeshadows but to even out my eyelids and cancel out darkness either on my eyelids or under my eyes.

Covergirl Flamed Out Shadow Stick in Ginger Flame This is perfect to brighten up your inner corner or your waterline, but is also lovely worn all over the lid as a light pinky-champagne shimmery colour.

Maybelline Baby Lips in Cherry Me First of all, this tastes like cherry popsicles. Plus this is the most moisturizing lip balm and the perfect colour for my skintone.

EOS Lip Balms I finally realized all the hype around these. They really are fabulous and moisturizing and taste good and all that good stuff.

St. Ives Blemish Control Green Tea Cleanser This is a continuing favourite from last year. It cleans your skin without stripping it and lathers up so beautifully. It's exactly what my skin wants at the end of a long day.

Olay Fresh Effects SPF 15 Moisturizer I have been using Clean and Clear Morning Burst Moisturizer with Spf 15 for years and love it dearly but have not been able to find it recently. So I had to find another moisturizer and this was the only one I could find at the drugstore that was just a simple moisturizer with spf and I have been loving it just as much. And smells better.

Lush was a bit of a discovery this year. I had always known about it and bought some of their soaps but never got the hype about spending $10 on a bath bomb (a bit of an exaggeration). But now I totally get the hype. Their bath stuff is luxurious. Anything I've tried I've loved.

Body Shop Body Butters These have been my go to hand lotions this year. Currently I have the strawberry one, but I have also used the cranberry joy one from last year's Christmas collection.

Garnier Sleek and Shine Line I have loved this line ever since I started using hair products, but honestly they have everything my hair wants: straightening and blow dry creams and mists, hairsprays, leave-in conditioners, argan oil (pictured) and it's fantastic.

What products have you been loving in 2014? Let me know in the comments below! Happy New Year and I wish you all the best in 2015! Cheers!

 Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I do realize that this is kind of a weird time to do an update but that's okay.

I have been absolute crap at posting the last few months as I have been so ridiculously busy and when I have had time to relax I haven't wanted to write. Not that I've ever had a steady schedule, though I do my best to try and post once a week.

The reason I started this blog almost a year and a half ago was to have an online platform for my writing that people could check out, whether it be my friends, family or prospective editors. (I'm hoping to work at a campus newspaper when I go to university, I'm not trying to sound cocky). I enjoy blogging and I feel like I'm finding my niche. But I never started it to become just another blogging beauty guru or get a lot of followers. I started it because I genuinely love writing and this is a fun, different and creative way I can do it. In other words, I'm not going anywhere, I'm just really busy right now and I don't know what the future of my blog holds. There will definitely be times when I don't post for a month or two.

But lucky for you, because I have a lot of spare time over winter break and I will be writing up lots of posts. So you can expect 2 or 3 posts next week and probably at least 1 post a week for the month of January.

With that, I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas! Cheers!

I recently read Michelle Phan's post "What It Means to be a Feminist," and it inspired me to write down my thoughts on feminism. While I agreed with Michelle's post completely, there were a few parts I found very interesting. She talks about feminism getting a bad rap a bit: "For whatever reason, feminism often gets a bad rap. The term itself is sometimes greeted with negativity even in a society that supposedly thinks of everyone as equals – have you ever noticed that? Perhaps it’s because the women before us who began the feminist movement and fought for our equality took to the streets to enact change. The reality is that in our world, people have to be bold to create change.Towards the end of the post Michelle talks about people who don't consider themselves feminists: "Hearing people say they aren’t feminist, or seeing them roll their eyes at the term can get frustrating to say the least." As terrible as it sounds, I occasionally am the person who starts rolling their eyes when people bring up feminism. That said, I  consider myself feminist.
 I absolutely support the equality of men and women. Which, as Michelle mentions many times, is the core of feminism. So why am I the person that occasionally does roll their eyes at feminism? It is because of the bad rap but also some of the stuff I see on social media on a daily basis that makes me uncomfortable and not want to call myself a feminist. It makes me really uncomfortable when people push their opinions down other peoples' throats. Yes, I have my opinions but I do my best to always present them in an intelligent, educated and calm way so that I don't piss off other people. (I'm really hoping this blog post comes off that way). This is why feminism gets a bad rap and can make me uncomfortable when brought up in conversation. I don't think there's anything wrong with protesting for your basic rights as a woman like protesting for equal pay. But saying that someone's beliefs (unless they are against the equality of men and women) and religion are not right in the name of feminism is morally wrong. For example, a few months ago a girl I follow on Tumblr posted a text post saying that her biggest goal in life was to be a stay at home mom and how she felt uncomfortable talking about this on Tumblr because she had gotten hate about it before from feminists on Tumblr. She was planning on going to college for a certain career to support herself throughout her young adult life before she got married as well. My heart went out to that girl. In fact I messaged her and told her not be fearful. This was a girl who was fighting for and following her dreams? What in the world is wrong with that? Obviously, the feminist fight in the 1970s was to get more women working and out of the house and not be financially dependent on their husbands, which there is nothing wrong with, but if you do have a career that you can fall back on and both you and your husband have agreed that you will be staying home what's wrong with that? Why were Tumblr users hating on this girl for that? That's what makes me uncomfortable about feminism. Why would I want to associate myself with something that is so confrontational and makes everything relative to their cause? I hate being told what I must and must not do. I'm a huge rule follower but if people aggressively tell me the rules or get in my face I literally cannot take it. Instead of sending anon hate to this girl why couldn't a feminist politely message her and say something along the lines of "I'm very glad that you will be able to financially support yourself and are going to college, that's an awesome thing all women should be able to do. Let's talk about feminism and your thoughts about it...". Not only would that have been a really interesting and productive conversation but also a polite and morally good thing to do that's not going to upset a person you don't even know. Feminism shouldn't scare people or make them fearful. I see feminist propaganda on Tumblr all the time that makes me uncomfortable. Rather than turning every Tumblr post into something to do with feminism let's make feminism a respectable thing in our society. Let's all be feminists as well as decent human beings. Let's respect other peoples' religious beliefs, morals and dreams while promoting this positive idea of equality in a peaceful manner.
So am I feminist? Yes. Do I occasionally get a little angry or uncomfortable at things associated with this topic? Yes. In the end, if we all act respectfully and do our best to achieve and maintain equality then at the end of the day, the world will be a better place.

This 2014BloggerChallenge is a gift guide. Personally, I think gift guides are a little odd. How is some magazine or blog writer supposed to know what you should get for someone they don't personally know? The presents that magazine gift guides always tell me I should get for my mom and dad are always presents my parents wouldn't like. Yes, my parents are hard people to buy for, but I always find them something. Besides, is it so hard to ask friends and family what you should get the people in your life? So therefore, I'm not making a gift guide, but rather just giving you simple guidelines of how to buy good presents for people, because I feel that getting good presents isn't something that people do often.

1. Put your heart into it. Give it some thought. It doesn't have to be deep, analytical, express how that person makes you feel through a gift thought. Just make it nice.

2. It should be something they'll actually use. Thank you family members who consistently give me baking accessories I never use. Yes, I like baking. But I live with my parents and have limited space where keeping multiple cookie cutters and pans is not practical. Buy me a cookbook or a sweater please and thank you. It'll actually be used. As well, often people will say they want a certain thing but they won't use it. If you know they have a habit of this, make sure whatever you buy them, you know it will be used.

3. It doesn't have to be expensive.

4. "It should be something they wouldn't get themselves" is crappy advice. The only time this should be used is when you know a person is in desperate need of something but refuses to buy it themselves. Like underwear, PJs and socks. I love it when people buy me things I'd buy myself because it keeps me from having to spend my own money on stuff.

5. Cater it to their interests. This seems obvious, but I think is often overlooked. What do they spend a lot of time doing? Studying? Chocolate or tea. Playing instruments? Guitar picks, music, accessories for their instrument.

6. Don't make gifts repetitive. That shows that you either have no idea what to get and are just trying to be nice. It's annoying and makes Christmas boring to get the same thing year after year. Unless, there's some sort of family tradition.

7. Be direct. Some people are really difficult to buy for, even people you are really close to. Ask them directly what they want. Of course it's nice for it to be a surprise, but it will make your life easier. Some people are just difficult that way.

8. It doesn't have to be super thoughtful. Yes, put thought into it. But it doesn't have to be cheesy. There is nothing wrong with a sweater or something of the sorts.

I hope this was somewhat helpful. It might have been easier to do a simple "5 Gifts To Get for So and So" post, but this was way more fun to write so I hope you enjoyed it. Happy Christmas Shopping!

Hello everyone! I know this is late, but better late than never. This Blogger Challenge is a top five. Since I haven't done a favourites for October I thought I'd do a top five things I have been loving over the last few weeks.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer I have had a love hate relationship with this ever since I bought it. I complained about it, and loved it. Lately I have been using under my eyes almost all the time and I have fallen back into love with it. I definitely prefer this under my eyes than my Maybelline Fit Me Concealer. It brightens and is very light and lovely feeling on the skin.

David's Tea Pumpkin Chai Tea I usually avoid David's Tea as it is a little price-y and I haven't found that many teas that I really like from there. But I made the mistake of going in there the other weekend and was talked into getting some of this stuff and I do not regret it at all. The only regret I have is that I didn't buy enough as it is limited edition and I think they've already stopped selling it. It's the perfect warm, fall drink in the morning with a bit of milk. It's sweet, warm, and delicious smelling and tasting. Mmm.

Olay Fresh Effects Moisturizer I was really disappointed when I couldn't find the moisturizer I've been using for years anymore. I don't know if Clean & Clear has discontinued it or whether some places just no longer carry it, but none the less I needed to find a new, drugstore moisturizer that was oil-free and had SPF in it ASAP otherwise my skin would die. And I came across this. It's $10, I believe it is oil-free from what I understood from the ingredients and it has SPF 15. It moisturizes, it's a lovely consistency, it doesn't make me oily and the packaging is very nice.

The Piano Guys I'm not a big instrumental music fan, but I like to listen to really chill, mostly acoustic music when I'm studying. One thing I've discovered is piano covers of pop songs is the perfect combination. You can sing along, but it's calm and not too distracting. The Piano Guys are such musical geniuses. Their arrangements are beautiful and interesting and I'm always impressed, no matter how much I listen to them.

FunForLouis I've watched Louis for quite some time, but I don't watch him that often. Lately I've been going through one of my Louis watching phases and have been blown away, particularly by his India vlogs earlier this month. They were so grasping and beautiful. They are definitely some of the most inspiring, well put together and beautiful pieces of work I have ever done.


What have you been loving recently? Let me know in the comments below!

Hello all! Yes, I did miss the last 2014BloggerChallenge at the beginning of October. Life has been so hectic that blogging has been put on the back burner lately. But I am back with the latest 2014BloggerChallenge, which is supposed to be anything to do with autumn. So here are my autumn essentials.

Dark and Sparkly Nail Polish

L to R: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Matte Effect in Blue Blood, Pure Ice in French Kiss, Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in Blue It, Covergirl Outlast in Wine to Five, Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Stiletto Red, Hard Candy Just Nails Collection, New York Color in Broadway and and OPI sample.

Throughout the fall I love the berries, reds, dark blues and plums, but as the season progresses into Christmas I like to sport sparkly nails. 

Red/Berry Lips

 Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate in #107

Revlon Super Lustrous in #740 Certainly Red

I tend to like a more natural look, but I do love rosy lips. The Rimmel one is the perfect light berry colour that is more of a stain and the Revlon one is the classic bright red that every girl should own.

Warm Drinks
Of course this is an essential throughout the colder months. Hot cocoa, tea, coffee, pumpkin spice lattes.... need I go on? 

Shimmer-y, Neutral Eyes
With red lips I think shimmery golds and champagnes look best.

L to R: Hard Candy Baked Eyeshadow in Pink Interlude, Rimmel Glam Eyes in Brick Lane, New York Color IndividualEyes for Brown Eyes in Best of Broadway and Maybelline Eye Studio in Sunset Seduction. 

 I particularly like the gold and champagne colours in these palettes.

Candles
The warmth and ambiance that candles give off is perfect for chilly, relaxing nights this time of year.

Sweaters 
You can never have enough sweaters. Despite the fact I have lots of sweaters I always feel I need more.

 I hope you all are having a marvelous fall that is filled with warm drinks, nice clothes, friendly faces and lots of happiness. Have a lovely day!

As you may or may not know, I am addicted to Pinterest. (You can follow me here.) Last year, I did a Christmas Pinterest Round Up  in December. It was one of my most popular posts last year. So I decided to jump the gun a bit this year and do a Fall Pinterest Round Up. I have scoured the Pinterest and blogging world for some of the best fall DIY crafts, decorations, ideas, recipes and warm drinks. So click the pictures away to escape into a world full of fall inspiration.

Warm Drinks:
Who doesn't love a hug in a mug? Here are four I'm definitely going to try:

Real Masala Chai

This link has 10 deliciously warm drinks that are a little healthier than most. I can't wait to try the hot cinnamon coffee or skinny peppermint mocha. Oh, how sweet it is.

Decor & Other DIYs:

How cute is this greeting card? I love making cards, and buttons always look cute on them. (no link attached)

 

And yet another use mason jars....

....And another.

Baking Ideas & Recipes:

No Link

No Link

If you want to see some other collaborative and best of fall projects posts you can check
here, here and here. Happy DIYing!

It's officially fall- and the end of September which means it is time for another favourites. I don't get a lot of new products so some months I just don't have enough new favourites to share with you all, but this month, I do.

Neutrogena Naturals Acne Cream Cleanser I love the smell of this stuff. It smells very fresh and citrus-y. I wouldn't suggest this is if you have sensitive skin cause it can feel a little intense, but I really have liked this product.

Eos Lip Balm in Strawberry Sorbet I never understand why literally every girl I know owns multiple of these and are always carrying them around. Now I  understand. They are frickin' amazing! They smell incredible and feel so good on your lips.

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer In the last year, I've tried to cut down on how much foundation and concealer I wear on a day to day basis so I wanted to find a bit of a heavier concealer I could wear without a BB Cream or Foundation. And this has perfectly fit that job description. It's heavy, but doesn't feel or look heavy. It blends easily.

Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner in Brown This is the nicest eyeliner. It's creamy, stays on forever, goes on smoothly, is the perfect colour, doesn't smudge. It's just the best eyeliner.

Pumpkin Spice I've enjoyed putting this stuff in my coffee very much this month for a quick, cheater pumpkin spice latte. I also had my first psl this month and now see what all the fuss is about.

I've had the busiest and most wonderful September. I hope you all have had the best start to autumn. Cheers!

 I know, I know that I promised to change my blog name the other day, but I have been so busy and I also want to change the blog name (URL will be the same). I want to change the design of the blog at the same time I change the name. I hope you guys will appreciate the hard work I will be putting in and will love the new design. Anyway, on with the post.

While the weather has been pretty warm here, I'm still getting very excited about autumn. The idea of warm drinks, leaves, pumpkins, dark red colours, the rainy and foggy days and cuddling up is taunting me right now. And though I keep telling myself that I should enjoy this last chance at summer because in a few months the idea of cool weather and sweaters is just going to be everyday, not the magical season I seem to have envisioned. Due to my hastiness to get fall started, I did a little shopping trip and picked up some autumnal beauty gems that I am rather excited about.

I love going into the city to do a bit of shopping with friends, and this day was no exception. I wish had some cool fall pictures of the day to share with you guys but I really don't. Sad face. But I can tell you that not only did I get my first pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks that day, but I also spilled it all over myself, getting out of my car in the Walmart parking lot. Typical.

None the less, here are the lovely autumnal (I love that word) products that I bought.

Aaaahhh, fall.

NYC Kohl Eyeliner Pencil in In the Navy

 Blue eyeliner surprisingly brings out blue eyes more than you think. I decided to try out the idea of blue eyeliner on the cheap. 

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in Brown

 I've heard really good things about these eyeliners and so far, I have been really impressed. Smooth, easy to tightline with, beautiful colour. What more could I want?

Rimmel London Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in #107

This colour is amazing and very matte which makes the colour a bit more of a stain texture, which means it makes the red a bit more wearable for daytime.

Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream Skin Perfecting Tinted Moisturizing Cream in Light to Medium

I wanted to try a tinted moisturizer for school. So far, I'm not totally impressed so I might do a review in the future when I've used it more.

New York Color Long Wearing Nail Enamel in #271 Extra Shiny Top Coat

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Matte Effect Nail Color #980 Blue Blood

I did not realize this was a matte effect until I got home, but I am curious to see how it looks and I do love the colour.

Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss in #190 Wine to Five

This colour is brilliant. See what I did there? Once again, it is just one of those perfect fall colours that I can't get enough of.

This is all I bought, and I am very excited about it all. What are you beauty and fashion trends are you excited about trying or wearing this fall?
Have a wonderful day!

I like autumn. I don't love it, though. I just like it. I prefer sunshine and warmth and not always being cold. That said, when it comes to fashion, I am definitely a lover of fall fashion and beauty. First of all I love the dark, warm colours that autumn offers. Red, maroon, blue, plum, navy, emerald green, grey, rusty orange. Oh, how I love those colours! Plus, they all look good on me. Tip: If you are a fair skinned human being- don't be scared of the dark colours, you might be very surprised at how good they look on you. I also love the fact that you can layer and that you can get away with wearing many different styles of shoes- strappy sandals, boots, runners, flats, heels, booties, etc. And while I love the carefree approach that is typically portrayed in spring/summer fashion, I definitely prefer the more chic approach of the colder months. As well, the excitement of freshly bought clothes and makeup for the school year make it a bit easier to be creative with your wardrobe. 

Earlier this month I did a back to school haul, but now that fall is fast approaching I'm realizing that my collection is extremely summer-y. Since the blogging community is supposed to be a helpful and friendly community, I've decided to ask you, my lovely internet people to help a girl out with some beauty questions. While the community of beauty enthusiasts, gurus, bloggers and YouTubers alike are constantly reviewing, discussing, comparing and contrasting the new beauty product trend and every person has different tastes, needs, wants and likes when it comes to beauty products, it can be very easy to get overwhelmed and lost when you need to find reviews on a certain products or suggestions. As well, this community tends to lean towards high end products which I can not afford and don't have easy access to. Which is why I am asking you, what is your favourite...
...tinted moisturizer?
...berry/red lip stain or light lip colour?
...autumnal nail polishes?
...hairspray?
...blow dry creme?
Of course, I'd prefer drugstore products, but seriously just comment and let me know some of your favourites. I will forever love you if you do.

Now, on to the next order of business. This week (and probably the next few weeks), my blog is going under some renovations and it's appearance will change.  Also, I will be changing the name of my blog to Little Luminere. As of tomorrow this blog will be Little Luminere. I'm just starting not to feel like the name Amateur Aglow is not what the blog is anymore. I wanted something a little more girly and cute, so I'm changing it to Little Luminere. That said, I think I'm going to keep the same URL and just change my Bloglovin' username and the title of my blog. That said, we will see. These changes have yet to be made, but that is what I am intended on doing. I hope I won't lose any followers as it's still the same blog, same person sitting behind her laptop in her room, same everything, just a bit different looking with a different title.

I want to thank all of you who read this blog and occasionally comment. Every view and comment is important to me as I'm not exactly a famous blogger or anything. Thank you for reading, thank you for your support, thank you for putting up with these changes. It means a lot. I hope you all have a wonderful day and please don't forget to comment your favourite autumnal products! Cheers!

Once again it's time for another #2014BloggerChallenge. This challenge was supposed to be a tutorial, which I was a little weary about as I tend to have quite strong opinions about what types of beauty posts are better as YouTube videos or as blog posts. And tutorials/get ready with me's are something that looks better as a YouTube video, in my opinion. But as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that this didn't have to be beauty orientated and I could have done like a cooking tutorial or whatever I wanted. Silly me. None the less this post is a simple eye makeup look for school tutorial, as the title says. Also, my pictures didn't turn out as I had hoped they would. So now, I will stop my rambling and get on with this post.

For this look I will start off by using the New York Color IndividualEyes for Brown Eyes in #946 Best of Broadway. While I don't have brown eyes, this is a great, little set for just everyday. It's not super pigmented or an absolutely amazing formula, but they are just great, neutral colours that add a nice, subtle shimmer to your eyes.

I start off by using the flesh toned primer all over my eye area (even under my eyes) just to brighten and even everything out.

I then use the lightest colour in the palette which is a lovely champagne just in the inner corners and a bit on the inside section of my eyelids.

I then use the next colour, the light golden colour, on the rest of the lid and a bit in the crease. If you want to go a little darker, you can use the next shade up in the crease and outer corner, though I personally didn't.

Next, I used my NYX Eye/Eyebrow Pencil in #931 Black Brown to line my eyes. As usual, I did put a little flick in my outer corners.

And I finished the look off with my Covergirl Flamed Out Mascara.

The finished product looks like this:

This is a very typical look for me that I would wear just throughout a typical day of work and school.

What's your go-to school/everyday look? Let me know down in the comments, I'd love to hear! Have a fabulous day!

I may have done a bit of shopping for going back to school. But what would be shopping without sharing what I bought with the internet? So here I am with another haul. 

Clothes:

Shirts- H&M

 Crop Sweater- Target

 Jeggings- American Eagle Outfitters

 Purse- Target

Cosmetics:

Rimmel London Fix & Perfect Pro Primer

 Neutrogena Naturals Acne Cream Cleanser

Covergirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencil in Melted Caramel Flame

 Maybelline New York Fit Me Concealer

 L'Oreal Nail Color in Tangerine Crush

 Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation in #010 Light Porcelain

New York Color in a New York Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish in Hamptons Peach

 Eos Lip Balm in Strawberry Sorbet

LUSH Yuzu and Cocoa Bubbleroon

I hope you all have had a fabulous summer and are looking forward to the start of school and are buying tons of new things to make your school year that much better! Cheers!