SEPTEMBER FAVORITES

What an INSANE month it's been. I'm surprised I have the time to breath. Or watch How To Get Away With Murder. Or Scream Queens. Alas, I've been able to, so I'm pretty amazed. Fashion week hit full force this month (as usual) in the best way possible. I met some awesome people, saw some awesome runways, and got to be real behind the scenes at BAZAAR. Overall, I'd say it's been a pretty awesome fashion month. Now, here are a few of my favorite things from the past 30 days.....

Beauty 

01. Priming Moisturizer by Glossier- Never have I ever stepped away from my all time favorite moisturizer, Benefit's Total Moisture, until now. While Benefit will always have a place in my heart, I now have a new place for this cream as well. Thick and creamy to the touch, I love the consistency of this product the most. It also does such an amazing job hydrating and its extremely refreshing. Also, come onnnnn, look at this incredible packaging. Can Glossier redesign everything I own? Please. Thank you. 

02. Mac's Everyone's Darling- Can you say OBSESSED? Cause that's basically my feeling with this product. This is a limited edition shadow (I believe) from the new Mac-Nificent collection that just launched. (The collection will be out in stores in early October, but is available online). It's a gorgeous matte burgundy (pretty much the theme of this post, as you will shortly see), which is basically THE color for fall (along with some mustard yellow and lightwash denim blue). I have been non-stop using this on my lower lashline since I purchased it, and I recommend it to anyone looking for that perfect burgundy shade. 

03. Mac's Film Noir- Perhaps my new favorite lipstick for fall! This is a deep brown, which I absolutely love using for DAY and NIGHT. It's a very buildable color, so you can wear it very lightly to work or school, and then pack it on for happy hour or going out. It's really bold, clean, and I adore it so muchhhhh. 

04. NARS Damned- Another burgundy/maroon product you say?! Are you really surprised? Like I said before, it's THE color of the season. I know I mentioned Cruella in my last monthly favorites, so you already know how obsessed I am with the consistency of these creamy velvet lip pencils. Damned is no different, and this is probably going to get way too metaphorical, but if the autumn season was a makeup product, it would probably be this pencil. So, no big deal. 

05. LUSH Sweet Lips- Not entirely sure why I haven't spoke about Lush's lip scrubs on my blog for like 2343 years, so that's about to change. Their lip scrubs are hands down, the most exfoliating, sweetest, most delicious (lol), scrubs ever. Other Lush lip scrub favorites: Popcorn, Bubblegum, and Santa's Lip Scrub (seasonal). They're all incredible. Just buy every single one. You'll thank me later.

06. Coconut balm dot com by Glossier- This product is the most magical thing I have ever purchased in my entire life, hands down. I'm a person who gets very chapped lips (yes, it sucks) and now that the season is changing, and everything is getting chillier, this means that chapped lips are starting to haunt me like, every day. Yes, it's terrible. Anyways, often times, lip balm serves as a "bandaid," shall we say, for chapped lips-- this stuff? it's the cure. It's actually a universal skin salve (in that, you can use it anywhere), but I like to use it best on my lips. Never before have I had the smoothest lips ever. It's great to apply this a few hours before you're doing a matte lipstick or an intense lip look as well, cause it acts as a brilliant primer. This will change your life. I'm not kidding.

Miscellenous

07. Soap& Glory Flake Away- Perhaps the best scrub for this time of year. This stuff is super exfoliating, and is perfect for dry skin on your legs. It's been my favorite fall scrub for a couple of years now. And every time I go back to it, I love it even more.

08. Smith & Cult No Poem- So I was introduced to this polish this month (THANK YOU NYFW GOODIE BAGS!) and I have to say, I'm super impressed. I'm not really the kind of person who ventures out when it comes to nail polish (I pretty much stick to Essie, OPI, and the occasional Butter London, Dior, and YSL), so trying this was definitely a new experience for me- and I kind of love it! The consistency is amazing: super sleek and creamy. I'd definitely go after some more Smith & Cult products in the future. 

09. These Glossier stickers- Um, HOW CUTE?! Not sure how I only discovered Glossier and it's glorious packaging and products NOW, but I'm so happy I did. This adorable pack of stickers comes with every product sold. Talk about incredible marketing skills.

10. This choker by Topshop- I got this baby in Topshop's Halloween section (lol), but I'm actually obsessed with it and have worn it every day since I purchased it. It's a little costumey (duh, it was in the HALLOWEEN section hah) but I'm kind of obsessed and I think it looks really cool. So yeah. Whatevezzzz.

FINALLY, CLIPS + LOOKS FROM THIS MONTH:

"Ambition should be made of sterner stuff."

[Julius Caesar 2.3]

Cheers, xoxoxo

SERPENTINE

All hail this incredible denim skirt from The Vintage Twin. It's lightwash- it's midi length- it's probably one of the coolest things I have in my closet right now. Oh, and sidenote, if you're looking for kickass vintage jeans and are worried about sizing, ACTUALLY check out The Vintage Twin pop-up shops in NYC, because they have magical denim fitting skills that I've legit never seen before.

This is the perfect skirt to pair with a cropped top, and now that it's getting a whole lot chillier here in Manhattan (FINALLY), it felt just right to add this adorable evergreen cropped sweater I purchased from Brandy Melville a few years ago. For accessories, I stuck with my black Jeffrey Campbell Soulman boots (a must-have fall shoe), and this kickass velvetine black choker with metal detail from Topshop. I also couldn't go without Mac's Film Noir on my lips, because like, it's finally fall, duh!

"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is 

To have a thankless child!"

[Lear 1.4]

HAPPY CLOSING OF FASHION MONTH ++

Cheers, xoxo

BIZZARE

Ah, the cliché fashion blogger photos in front of NYC cabs. I had to do it, cause like fashion month, duh. And also cause like, it's super fun to shoot. This also has to be one of my favorite outfits I've ever worn on KQ. I'm obsessed with the structure from head to toe, and it's super put together but has such a whimsical spin. I started with this adorable black denim button down skirt I purchased recently at Urban Outfitters. The trendiest of the trend, these button skirts are EVERYWHERE! As a proud owner of one, I can now see why. They simply snap on and off, and are super cute and go with just about anything. Versatile & adorable. 

To keep with this structured look, I went for this collared shirt from Brandy Melville and my gorgeous metallic vest I purchased at Zara in Florence May of 2014. I paired this all with my faaaavorite black and white Deena & Ozzy shoes, and added this gorgeous leather bag for a fun pop of color and texture. My lip color is a vampy lip gloss from H&M, and my hair is in pin-up style cause I was feeling extra old school apparently (yaaaas).

♡ Photos by Avery Bart ♡

"They say there is divinity in odd numbers, 

either in nativity, chance, or death."

[Merry Wives of Windsor 5.1]

Cheers, xoxxxo

++ HAPPY FASHION MONTH!

IMPERMEABLE

Suede and silk, perhaps my favorite combination to this date. Okay, well maybe not real silk, but this silky vest from Zara does just the trick. This look was fashion week perfection a nice combo of intricate aesthetic with really clean lines and comfort. I started with this gorgeous suede skirt I purchased at Zara as well, which has the perfect knee-line and on-point coppery color. I actually played with some color-blocking with this look as well, and decided to go with a black crop top from Forever 21. I adore the way it turned out- it really breaks up the look and plays with proportion. 

For accessories, I paired this silhouette with my gorgeous envelope bag from a little vintage store in Florence, Italy, and my strappy Jeffrey Campbell Inaba's (the perfect shoe for summer to fall transition).  And of course, it wouldn't be fashion week without some flash tattoos (kidding..... sort of).

♡ Photos by Jack Walsh ♡

"There's no art. To find the mind's construction in the face" 

[Macbeth 1.4]

Cheers, xxx

+ HAPPY #NYFW!

To keep updated on my Fashion Week happenings, check out my Twitter & Instagram!

TUXEDO

My favorite kind of tuxedo is a "Canadian" one. Okay, well maybe not. But denim on denim is a brilliant transition to fall ensemble, but only if it's done with utmost perfection. As fashion month is finally here, every outfit you see on KQ this September will be the best of the best looks, very bold, very trendy, and very killer. As in, these are outfits I will be sporting to fashion week shows and parties throughout the next few weeks (yaaaay). 

For the first ensemble in this group, I wanted to go with a daredevil take on a casual fabric. That is: denim. If you haven't already noticed, this upcoming fall, denim is going to be huge- we're talking denim dresses, to overalls, to jumpsuits, to bell bottoms (still searching for the perfect pair..). Since I haven't quite gotten my hands on a full on denim onesie (yet), I decided to start with what I knew I had in my closet. And the results? Pretty kickass, if I do say so myself. I started with my brand new favorite jeans from Bullhead Co. The trick with denim on denim is to pick the right wash of denim. (And make sure that your washes are extremely close if not the same: I'm talking navy wash on navy wash and blue wash on blue wash, don't mix, just match.) 

I've been loving this baby blue wash lately in the jeans, so I added this button down from Urban Outfitters that gave off the very same blue hue. The studded detail at the shoulders is pretty perfect too, it really edges the look up and actually soften the harshness of the blue denims together. To soften the look up even more, I added this adorable clear backpack and my platform Steve Madden Buhba's. And of course, to add a seamless detail and a pop of fun color, I added a Hipstapatch on the middle of the bag. This is a flawless ensemble to kick off NYFW, as the shapes are timeless, but the materials are in trend. 

"Suit the action to the word, the word to the action."

[Hamlet 3.2]

♡ Photography by Avery Bart ♡

Cheers, xooxox 

& HAPPY #NYFW!

 Keep updated on my Twitter & Instagram to see what shows and events I'll be attending!