this little life of mine

I'm running a bit late with my monthly favourites for September, but better late than never, right? Anyway, here's what I loved (and didn't love) last month:

My #1 favourite cosmetics item ever is the Too Faced Mascara Melt Off! It's made the list several times, mostly because it's amazing and works quickly with very little effort! You simply brush the oil-based formula on your lashes as you would mascara, let it soak a minute or so, and wipe it off. It even takes off heavy-duty waterproof mascara with ease! How I ever lived without it is a mystery!  

And, speaking of mascara, right now my favourite mascara is the Covergirl LashExact Waterproof mascara. Because my eyes water constantly (Why? I don't know. Allergies? Probably.), I have to have a waterproof mascara, and as much as I would like to try some of the exciting-looking offerings from the high-end cosmetics companies, they rarely, if ever, offer a waterproof formula. Drug store brands, however, pretty much always have waterproof mascaras, and this is one of the best, imho!

My next two favourite cosmetics items are from Benefit and are part of their new brow line: the Gimme Brow Volumizing Eyebrow Gel and the 3D Browtones Eyebrow Enhancer. My brows have gotten sparse and really pale (i.e. grey) over the past few years, and these products are some of the best I've tried for easily making my brows look darker and thicker.

Okay, on to something that doesn't have to do with make-up, but does have to do with wine: the quarterly Atascadero Wine and Art Stroll was held September 9th, and had plenty of delicious offerings to try. Some of my favourites were from Nichol's Winery, Bristols Cellars & Lone Madrone, Vintage Cowboy, Barton Family & Grey Wolf, and August Ridge. As well as the delicious wines, there were some awesome art displays, food, and as always, it's just fun to wander through some of our quirky downtown shops. I even found an awesome handmade necklace at Local Love. I can't remember the artist's name, unfortunately, but I got a discount on this piece because the necklace part had broken. I'm sure I can find something in my collection, or even just buy a strip of leather or suede at Michael's to make a low choker.

And my final favourite is maybe a bit odd (and possibly gross!), but I've been using this item for a couple months now, and LOVE it! I have been sleeping so much better, and I swear part of the reason is that I can breathe so much easier. This is the Sleep Right intra-nasal breathe aid. I used to use the Breathe Right nasal strips that stick on the outside of the nose. Those worked okay, but sometimes they didn't stick very long, and occasionally they stuck TOO well, and took a bit of skin off with it! This device goes inside your nose to open up the nasal passages so you get more air in, and it removes simply and you just clean it with soap and water.  Best. Thing. Ever!

 The one thing I didn't like so much in September was something I actualy bought in August, but didn't try till last month, and that is the OPI Put a Coat On! base coat that came in the Tru Neon Minis kit.  It might have just been my own sloppy attempt to use it, but since it's actually just a white nail polish, it shows around the edges where the coloured polish doesn't hit, as opposed to the clear base coats. I'm not explaining it very well, but basically you end up with a bright nail polish colour with a white boarder, and it just looks bad. I love OPI, in general, but I'm just not a fan of this item.

Okay, that's it for the month of September! Did you have any awesome finds last month? Or maybe find something you thought would be great, but just wasn't? Let me know in the comments! Have a great weekend! Cheers!