Today's post is by Brittany! If you like what you read, follow her on her social media!
Instagram: @_brittanyberke
Twitter: @brittany_berke
Blog: www.brittanytalks.wordpress.com

This post is brought to you by Her Campus Media and its College Fashion Week brand partners.

You may be looking at the title and be thinking, 'But Briana, you're not IN college anymore."

That is very true, but I still consider myself of college age, and my heart will always be in the college age. I grew up a lot in college and became a different person. I made life long friends, and have memories that will last me my lifetime.

Because of that, I am always partial to college based things. I want everyone to have the experience I did, and one of those things is taking advantage of everything around you. Whether it's the free pizza at a club meeting, or an intern event in Manhattan, do everything that relates to college students. It'll make everything that much better!

On that note, I want to tell you all about a special event happening this weekend, hosted by the fabulous, HerCampus (we all know how BIG of a fan I am of HerCampus!)

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Popsugar sent me this box to try and review, but all opinions are my own

I mentioned in yesterday's post that you'd see some POPSUGAR love on the blog, and you're going to get just that.

I was lucky enough to receive the September Must Have box, and I think it was one of my favorites in a while... that is until next month because I finally subscribed to the box. It was this spoiler that put me over the edge, so I can't wait to get my hands on it.

I've said before and I'll say it again, I think, nowadays, in a market that is so flooded with subscription boxes, this is the one that is worth it. It's $40 a month, but you get lots more than $40 in value. There is a mixture of fashion, lifestyle, beauty, food, and everything in between. There's something for everyone, and I think it's a must have (see what I did there?) for everyone to try, at least once!

Use the code Shop5 for $5 off your first box, and you can subscribe here.

The theme of September is: glamorous, eye-catching, indulgent, bold, timeless, and sartorial.

Let's get into what I received:

• Jack & Lucy BiCoastal Wide Brim Hat: This is probably my favorite item in the box. I never wear hats, I never know where to wear them, but I'm so happy about this one. It's not too big, it's black, and it fits snugly on my head. It's the perfect addition to any fall wardrobe, and I think it would be great to wear for brunch (which I'm planning on in the next few weeks). It makes any outfit look more put together. Such a great addition to the box!

• NCLA Mani-ER Tool Kit: NCLA is a brand popular in subscription boxes, and while I love nail polish, I was excited to see something different but still nail related in the box. When don't you need more nail kits around? I'm always needing more clippers, cuticle sticks, etc, and the fact that it comes in this little red pouch is even better! 

• Briogeo Don't Despair Repair Conditioning Mask: I've had sample sizes of this so I'm so happy to have a full size! This tub is HUGE, and will last me a very long time, especially since I've have a few other hair masks in my stash that I have to go through. This is lightweight, doesn't leave any residue behind in my hair, and makes styling my hair a little easier. If you're in the market for a new hair mask, try this one.

• Flint Lint Roller: A portable lint roller? I never knew I needed something so much! This little guy is so handy, compact, and is platinum, so it's super cute. These are the kind of lifestyle items you may not think of buying yourself but are so handy, once you receive them in a subscription box, you can't imagine life without them. 

• Smith & Cult Lip Lacquer: UGH, Smith & Cult, I love you! I already have one Lip Lacquer from them, and it's a great lipgloss formula, so I was happy to receive this bright red shade called "The Warning". It's perfect over a red lipstick, or worn alone, and will compliment any fall makeup look. This is a great beauty product to receive in a subscription box.
• Gluten Free Bites: These dark chocolate coconut bites were not my favorite. I don't enjoy coconut flavored things, and didn't even try them. My sister & mom tried one, and they both love healthy, coconut snacks and they weren't even a fan. These will probably sit in my cabinet for a few weeks until we throw them out #whoops!

I talk about a lot of things I love on here; I rarely talk about things I dislike, expect the disappointing beauty products.  I also LOVE a lot of things; just small, trivial things make me super happy, like the first crisp fall day, wearing a comfortable sweatshirt, when the subway comes as soon as I get on the platform, or a fresh biscuit right out of the oven.

Fall is officially here, the weather is cooling off, and it was an odd week. I felt really down in the dumps on Monday but snapped out of it as the week went on. Sometimes you just have an off day; nothing bad happens, nothing goes wrong, you just feel shitty.

Those days are allowed, and they're ok. It's important to never beat yourself because you feel bad, because everyone has these days. The grass is always greener, and the bad days always end.

On that same note, this week felt long -- did it feel like that to anyone else? The days dragged on, and it feels like Monday was months ago. I'm happy to say hello to the first weekend of fall!

I can't wait for all the fun things to come within the next month -- lots of stuff on the blog, lots of fun activities in my personal life, and some new projects I'm hoping to get into play.

I truly do come alive in the fall, and I feel good about it.

This week, I was able to do something fun, for me and for the blog because #content. I was invited to the launch party for Lisa Sugar's (founder of POPSUGAR) new book, Power Your Happy.

I've been awaiting this book release for MONTHS and was going to buy the book the moment it hit the shelves, so when I got the invite to the launch party, I jumped at the chance and immediately RVSPed.







The entire event was set up so cute, decorated with copies of the book, POPSUGAR blue, and of course, some popcorn! All the attendees received the book and a POPSUGAR Must Have Mini Box (which had a gorgeous Sparklepop Necklace & Amplilash Mascara Serum & Fiber Lash Duo).






Lisa Sugar spoke, and then they had a panel of some great career ladies, including Deborah Lloyd, the President & Creative Director of KATE SPADE.

It was a really fun night, and I left there feeling completely inspired. I always feel great after events like this, maybe that's why my mood picked up?

Anyways, expect some more POPSUGAR fun next week, for now here are the links I loved:

• JK Rowling released the Patronus feature on Pottermore -- I got a Sparrow, what about you?
• The best TV couples. Let's do this.
• Cheese can be healthy? I mean, I'm down with it
• I am OBSESSED with Barstool Sports. This article doesn't even do it justice.
• Here's a quick, easy list of when beauty products expire
• A really interesting article on the red carpet and how it's gone south
• I loved reading about January Jones' beauty routine. She is the ultimate gal

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I was really excited to read Sweetbitter. It was one of those books where the cover drew me in just as much as the summary did.

It was described as a coming of age novel, a girl coming to New York and figuring out her way. It sounded like I would love it -- who doesn't love a good "coming of age novel"?

Uh, well I was surely mistaken.



The book follows around Tess, who moves to New York from I'm assuming New Jersey (not that far from home), and she gets a job at the best restaurant in town. Almost the entire book is about her working at this restaurant/wine bar and the cast of characters that comes through the doors.

Still, it doesn't sound so bad.

Well, it was.

My goodness, I really hated this book. I couldn't wait for it to be over. I listened to it on Audible and it was incredibly long. I didn't stop listening to it because I thought it would pick up and something truly shocking would happen.

It never did.

This was one of the most anti-climatic books ever, and Tess was a very annoying protagonist. She was very whiny, and I really didn't feel bad for her at any point in the book, even though she played the victim very well.

There was a lot of drugs and drinking in the book; the book was all over the place, jumping from one scene to another without wrapping up the previous scene. I felt like it moved at a glacial pace and nothing ever really happened.

I couldn't even tell you what the book was about, because none of it made sense. I think it was supposed to be a little poetic, that's what some reviews said, but it was just too much for me. I felt like I really didn't understand what was going on half the time.

I usually don't write this negative of a review of a book, but I know that this book has gotten a lot of hype, and a lot of people want to read it; if you've been reading my Book Review Wednesday series for a while, and have similar taste as me, don't waste your time. This book was all over the place.

What was a bad book you read lately?

I love going to conferences and expos; I love doing something I love, surrounded by other people who share the same passion as I do.

I didn't really know what these makeup expos were like until I started going with my job; being on the other side, I already know the ins and outs of these things.

I attended GenBeauty NYC last year with my job and I so didn't want to work; all I wanted to do was go around to other booths and see what the brands were offering.

That's why when my friend Marissa told me she wanted to go to this year's GenBeauty, I jumped at the chance. We went this past Saturday, September 17th and it was incredible!



GenBeauty is hosted by ipsy and basically, it's a huge makeup expo for makeup lovers. There is a variety of brands there and you get to visit each of them. They have fun activities, free samples, and you can try their other products.



As the beauty industry grows, so do events like these; because of that, there were SO many Youtube stars there. They were having meet ups at different brands and you could wait on line to meet them. There was only one star that Marissa & I wanted to see, and that was KathleenLights. Besides Jaclyn Hill, she is my #1 BAE and the fact that I met her was truly incredible.

But back to the beginning...

I bought my GenBeauty tickets around March, for about $70. They were the pre-sale price, and went up afterwards. My one piece of advice is to buy these tickets as early as possible. I wouldn't have purchased them for over $100.






Another tip of mine? It doesn't really matter what time you get there, you're going to wait on line until the doors open. I'm happy I got there at 10 AM because I only had to wait an hour; and they let all of us in at the same time.

This year the expo was at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal with gorgeous views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty; I will never get tired of that view.




They let us in at 11AM and Marissa and I immediately went for the Tarte booth. *Another tip: have it mapped out which booths you want to go to and at which times. We knew we wanted to go to Tarte to buy their Shape Tape Concealer (some booths were selling select products for a discounted rate) so we tackled that booth first.

Michelle Phan

The event was kind of incredible and it was surreal to be there; there were booths, products, people everywhere! There was so much to do, I couldn't focus on what I wanted to do first.

We went from Tarte, to a few other smaller booths, and checked out what they were giving out. We knew which brands we wanted to visit 100%, and pretty much got them all done.

I'd be lying if I said a majority of the reason I was there was to get free samples, and some of the booths were giving out incredible samples: Too Faced gave us full size Born This Way Concealers (which I know said didn't work for me, but I want to try again), and Tarte gave us full size Tarteist Lash Paint Mascaras.







Forget about what we actually got in a goodie bag that every attendee got; it's insane!

Some other brands we visited were: Crown Brushes, POPBeauty, Luxie Brushes, Ofra, Cover FX, NudeStix, Josie Maran, and a few others.

We went to Ofra for the sole reason that KathleenLights was having her meet up there; we waited on line for about an hour and a half but it was well worth it. I also got her liquid lipstick in Miami Fever and I'm so hyped to try it.

The event went on till about 6 PM but we left at 3... I had so much fun, but the lines seemed longer by the time the afternoon came, our feet hurt, we were hungry & thirsty (I saw no food or water at the event) -- it was just time to go. We met Kathleen, we got our goodie bags and basically saw everyone we wanted to see.

Everything about the event was a lot of fun and interesting to be on the other side of it. If you're a huge beauty addict, and want to be around other huge beauty addicts, I highly recommend checking out GenBeauty (or even BeautyCon) in your area!
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I know I said I'd have the GenBeauty recap up on the blog today, but after painting my nails with this nail polish over the weekend, I knew I had to do a Manicure Monday.

Kendra Scott is a well known, high end jewelry brand that is very popular amongst bloggers -- that's how I found out about it, at least.

I have a few pieces of her jewelry and it's definitely high quality, and I really love the items I have. That's why when I saw that she released nail polishes, I was highly intrigued.

I will admit, it was a little odd to me that a jewelry brand was coming out with nail polishes but when you think about it, it makes sense. We were jewelry on our hands, so wouldn't a jewelry company want to make your hands & look beautiful?

Well, Kendra Scott is doing just that and I kind of love it. All of the colors in the collection are truly gem inspired. You could tell just by looking at the soft, sparkly colors that they were jewelry inspired.




The packaging is stunning -- an octagon shaped bottle with a gold top (I thought it would be a little more luxurious feeling, but the top is just plastic)

The nail lacquer is 5 free, and not tested on animals. The formula is super smooth, easy to apply, and not patchy at all. It's definitely up there with my Smith & Cult polishes.



The color I have is called "Goldstone" and it doesn't seem to be available on the website right now, but its a gorgeous bronze color that is similar to Essie's "Leggy Legend".

It has already chipped on me but I don't think my nails hold polish that well anyways. Even if that is the case, I'll continue to use this polish anyway because the formula is A+ and the color is stunning.

I will say, I don't think I'll be buying any more Kendra Scott polishes for the sole reason that they're expensive, and you need to pay shipping. To me, I'd rather go to my local drugstore and buy Essie.

Have you tried Kendra Scott polishes?

Hi friends... another weekly wrap up has come upon us! I can't believe how slow this week went, but also can't believe we're half way through September. It's wild how fast the year has gone by, but like I've said 600 times before, I'm very excited for fall.

This was the first week that it really felt like fall was in the air; it was chilly, didn't hit above 85 degrees (expect for one day); I wore closed toe shoes, jeans and sweaters -- it was glorious!

I wasn't in the greatest mood this week #ladyproblems, but there are so many exciting things happening within in the next month. I have lots of ideas for fall stuff, and a few sponsored posts that I think you'll all really enjoy!

Tomorrow I'm heading to GenBeauty in NYC and I couldn't be more hyped! Last year I went with my work because we had a booth at the event, but this year I'm going as a guest. My friend Marissa & I bought tickets MONTHS ago and I'm so excited it's finally here.

I just need to get my hand on the goody bag, and see what the brands are cooking up.

There will be a full recap on the blog on Monday -- but if you want to see stuff in real time, follow me on Instagram to see my Instagram stories: @bribrilukes.

Credit

Here's what the week was filled with:

• An interesting article about Dunkin Donuts
• More and more big companies are stealing from small businesses and it's not good
• I got my hands on Victoria Beckham x Estee Lauder and I can't wait!
• Flats for fall, groundbreaking! But no, seriously, give me all the ballet flats!
• RHONY ended this week and it was lonnnnnnnng overdue
• I need to go apple picking so I can make all the desserts
• Steer clear of these credit score mistakes

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I haven't been into heavy duty books lately; maybe it's because during the summer, everything is a little lighter and "beach reads" are being advertised everywhere!

Well, Modern Lovers by Emma Straub was on my to read list and fit the description of "beach read/chick lit." I listened to the book on Audible and I'm glad I did. I could just tell it was one of the books where I would've been happier listening rather than reading.



The book is located in New York, and I can't help but love that. I'm always a little more prone to read books that take place in New York because I feel like I can relate to them a little more. Is that weird?

It follows the lives of two families who have been friends for decades, and we watch as they go through marriage, divorce, children, business, college, and life in general.

Elizabeth and Andrew are married; Zoe and Jane are married; Zoe & Elizabeth are best friends; Ruby is Zoe's daughter; Harry is Elizabeth's son.

Following so far?

The book is all about the families, who live down the block from each other, and their kids. Throw in an old 90s grunge band mixed with a Hollywood producer, and you have a recipe for a good novel.

Ultimately, the novel follows the trials and tribulations of young college friends growing up and getting old, watching their kids grow up and go away, leaving them and their spouses to discover each other again.

There are a lot of surprises throughout the book, and some predictable occurrences, as there always is in a good book.

My favorite part of the book was for sure, the ending. It was written so beautifully and the perfect ending to the book. It tied up everything in a neat, little bow -- no questions left unanswered. I do prefer that; I like to know how my characters ended up, I don't want to wonder.

It did really hold my attention the entire way through, and I just wanted to know how everything turned out. It was the perfect book for pretty much anyone; it had romance, comedy, drama, teen angst -- it really covered all the bases.

If you're looking for something light, funny, and interesting, this will definitely check those off your list. Plus, its an easy, light, quick to follow read!

What's a book you've loved recently?
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Since moving, I haven't been buying that many beauty products. I started to feel really overwhelmed, and was decluttering a lot of products. I also needed to buy other things to decorate my room, and just felt like spending/saving money instead of shopping at Sephora/Ulta.

Well, that doesn't mean I stopped shopping completely. I have managed to pick up a few items here and there, and honestly, I've been loving them all.



Some are products that I've been lusting after for a while, and others were new products that were speaking to me.

1. Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Concealer: I had been wanting this concealer for a while, and just felt like I wanted to try out one of Tarte's concealers. This had gotten rave reviews, so when Tarte was having a sale, I decided to pick it up. I do really like it, and it gets the job done. It has a very chemical like smell when you open the bottle, but I do like the serum/watery consistency of the concealer. I'd say its a medium coverage concealer, but I do feel like I need to color correct with it to really get rid of my dark circles. It's not the greatest concealer ever, but I use it and enjoy the coverage/finish it gives me.

2. Tarte Styled By Hrush Palette: I love collaborations but haven't been feeling many of them lately. I feel like the beauty market is very flooded with them recently, and they're not always amazing. When I first saw this palette, I wasn't that impressed. It had shades that I already had, and didn't care for the blush color. I don't know what changed because one day I woke up and was intrigued by it. I purchased it and have been LOVING it. The shades are pigmented, smooth, and creamy -- the blush is a soft peach and perfect for everyday. This has become my favorite palette of the moment.

3. Anastasia Beverly Hills Sweets Glow Kit: I don't have many Anastasia products, not because I don't like the brand, but because nothing has ever really spoken to me. I love highlights just as much as the next girl, but don't buy new ones that often. I have my favorites and that's about it. I didn't care to purchase the original glow kits by Anastasia, but a few months ago when the new ones dropped, and I saw the "Sweets" kit, I knew I needed to have it. It has such unique shades, and I knew the formula would wow me. I am pretty much obsessed! I think my favorite in the kit is the purple shade called "Taffy"; it's a unique, one of a kind shade that's unlike anything I have in my collection. I can't tell you how many compliments I get on my highlight when I wear this kit.

4. Sephora Brush Set: I never spend that much money on makeup brushes. I stick with Morphe or ELF and they get the job done. But, when I saw this limited edition set on Sephora's website, I knew I needed it. The reviews were incredible, and I just loved the design. It was speaking to me on a spiritual level. I ran to my Sephora store as soon as I knew it was in stock and picked this baby up. The brushes are amazing and probably some of my favorites in my collection. They are super soft, but pick up and distribute the product perfectly. My favorite brush is probably the highlighter brush; it's a slim, tapered brush that applies the highlight to the perfect spot. After I wrote this entire post, I realized it's not available on Sephora.com anymore *check your Sephora stores*, but here's a single brush that looks just as amazing from the collection.

What have been your favorite products lately?