Colors

1. Purple  Last year I was all about pink, but when I got my new glasses, the pink didn’t look as good.  Purple has been a great color this year; in fact, my hair is purple at the moment.  I can’t take credit for the purple hair thing, though, because Miss K owned the full purple look this summer.

2. Teal It’s one of my permanent favorite colors.  I waited until I couldn’t take it anymore for my hair to grow long enough so that I could bring back the teal underlayer.  It was a style I enjoyed fresh out of college, and I’ve wanted to bring it back for so long.  I just love everything about this color.  I can’t say whether it will be my favorite for 2016, but I can say I will never stop appreciating it.

Cosmetics

3. Laura Mercier Tightline Eyeliner This one is tough, because the magic comes from the activator which is discontinued.  I took a huge risk by purchasing the clear liquid on eBay and applying it so close to my eye.  It’s not something I recommend (but then again, I think I bought up the last one).  Everywhere I looked, people who struggle with eyeliner said this was the very best one, and they spammed the Laura Mercier website with requests to bring back the activator.  I tried it to see if it was worth the hype, and it absolutely is.  I have such a hard time wearing eyeliner and mascara, because it all melts to my undereye area within an hour.  And tightline?  Forget it!  It would be gone in minutes!  Not this stuff.  It’s perfect!  I hope for everyone’s sake that they bring back the activator.

4. Glamour Doll Eyes I’ve seen this advertised on many beauty vlogs, and have always admired the gorgeous colors.  I finally decided to purchase a selection of sample sizes and completely fell in love.  The pigment is so rich!  A person could go broke ordering this stuff, but wait, there’s more!  If you order a sample size and like it enough to order the full product, they will deduct the cost of the sample from your purchase.  Additionally, each month there’s a special color that you get for free with a $10 purchase.  I’m not done yet; you also get a couple random sample baggies AND a raffle ticket for the next month’s drawing.  This is the biggest temptation to me right now while I’m on a self-imposed makeup restriction.  There are so many great deals, but I’ve sworn not to buy anything makeup related until after Christmas.

5. Manic Panic I haven’t had the freedom to color my hair in several years, but there are so many great hair trends right now that it’s been hard to resist.  Harder, because I was doing them about 13 years ago.  After getting the green light at work, I have been having a blast with Manic Panic.  At this point, I don’t trust any other bleach kits (Splat gave me a bad rash).  The temporary dyes always leave my hair feeling restored after bleaching, so the whole product line really works well together.

 

Accoutrements

6. My New Glasses I’ve had my eye on some thicker frames.  I’m usually very slow to update my eyewear, and the last pair was about 8 years old.  I wore them until the nose pads fell off.  The problem with my last two pairs was the bits and pieces falling off, so this time I chose a solid design.  It’s a more feminine look than anything I’ve worn before, but that was okay this time.  The only problem is that it changed my coloring, so I’ve needed to update my wardrobe.  Colors that looked good before just look awkward now.

7. Necklaces  I’ve gotten a ton of cool necklaces in my subscription boxes, and it’s hard to decide which one to wear.  I’m trying to learn how to wire wrap stones so that I can make and sell my own, because they’re addictive collectibles.  You might look at Etsy and think “There’s so many stone pendants for sale already!” You’re right, but I’ve never gotten a necklace and said “Okay, now that I have this, I don’t need another.”  There will always be more waiting to catch my eye.

 

Food

8. Tim Tams Seriously, stop, this is devastating to my bathroom scale.  I’d heard of them, of course, but they were previously only available in Australia.  Now Pepperidge Farm has started producing them stateside.  My first pack came from BzzAgent, and you know I never manage to take a picture before food samples disappear, so I had to buy more.  Since it was still hot in Texas, my first Tim Tam Slam was taken with iced coffee.  Oh. My. God.  My boyfriend and I looked at each other and said “Shut the f@#* up.  Are you f&^#ing kidding me?”  They’re unbelievably tasty, and the texture is so unexpectedly smooth.  One thing’s for sure; if I’m going to keep eating these, I’ve got to start going for frequent walks.

9. Taco Bell Breakfast Damn it!  It started with the novelty waffle tacos, which were okay, but nothing to scream about.  The coffee was actually the best part.  Rainforest Alliance certified is a win, but it’s very good coffee in general.  They abandoned the waffle taco and picked up the California crunchwrap; bacon, hash brown patty, eggs, cheese, pico and guac.  That’s what brought me back.  Eventually, they just started putting all the guac in one corner, so I’d get a bite of nothing but.  Fortunately, you can get the same awesome combo in the Grande Scrambler, and it’s so good we make a point of waking up early on the weekends to grab our breakfast burritos and coffee.  I also enjoy their basic breakfast cheesy burrito.  If you only have $4 and you want a really good breakfast, get the cheesy burrito combo with hash brown and coffee.  Oh, I forgot to mention they serve coffee all day.  It’s inexpensive and delicious, and you can also get it iced any time they’re open.

 

Entertainment

10. Biohazardous Beauty She’s gorgeous, no?  She’s also totally creepy and awesome.  She’s an artist and she collects animal bones like me, but she does it the hands-on way (carrying home her finds in a bucket to be cured). I love watching her makeup tutorials, because she applies the makeup in such a messy way, but it always comes out looking so crisp and perfect.  She’s pale with grey eyes, and she always uses very bold dramatic colors proving that this particular coloration does not have to be limited to nudes and neutrals.  It does take some practice though, because there’s a thin line between looking glam and looking like a clown.

11. ofherbsandaltars Dorian is an adorably hyper goth singer/songwriter and general crafty person who uploads long-winded videos about living with physically and mental disorders.  I admit, I’ve kinda got a Youtube crush.  Maybe it’s the accent or the mannerisms, but probably both together.  Dorian knows what it’s like to have way too many interests and an almost crippling inability to choose one over the others.

12. Good Mythical Morning I’m going to be honest, I avoided watching these guys in the past for completely shallow reasons.  I’d seen them on a few React videos, and thought “Those are some goofy looking dudes.”  I really think Link’s hairstyle was the biggest reason I didn’t watch and I still don’t watch their music videos.  I don’t remember when I started watching or what video made me change my mind, but at this point I make an effort to watch each video the day it’s uploaded.  Sometimes I watch it first thing in the morning, sometimes I don’t catch it until I get home from work.  They’ve become a part of my day and I enjoy the goofiness now.  I enjoy the awkward moments and how they own every second.  There are no jumpcuts in their videos so every second is shared with the world, but they’ve been doing this for so many years, they know exactly how to keep the dialog moving for an entertaining video.  It’s a fun show with lots of crazy games and reactions to trying new things.

13. CHVRCHES Best new band I’ve discovered this year.  “Leave a Trace” is the first song I heard.  I was driving home at night and the song came on the radio. I loved the early 90s sound.  I know for sure I would have recorded it from the radio and played the hell out of it on cassette back then.  Another song I love is “Clearest Blue.”  It has a very Depeche Mode feel when you get to the chorus.  I love when new bands bring back new wave/synthpop style.  It’s one of my favorite genres.

Other

14. Subscription Boxes Even though I canceled my ipsy sub, it was a major part of 2015 for me.  I got excited at the beginning of each month because I knew I’d start to get sneak peeks at the products their database had chosen for me.  During the middle of the month, I couldn’t wait to get my box so I could test and photo all the things in my bag.  It was a routine that brought anticipation and joy to every month.  Right now, my only sub is Awakening in a Box, which I will continue for the foreseeable future, because I love stones and the selection is always a total surprise.  I think what I enjoy the most about subscription boxes is that it’s like sending a friend to the store with a wad of cash and saying “You know what I like, surprise me,” and then getting to try out new things I might never have heard of.

15. Karai Last year, I put Seven on my list, and she’s still one of my favorite things.  More favorite than any food or makeup or music.  My lists are for new things that have come into my life that year that have contributed in a major way to the most enjoyable twelve months.  At the beginning of the year, a coworker found out that we were looking for a black kitten, and he knew for a fact that he had three pregnant cats at home, all by a solid black tom.  Karai rolled out of the first litter with her adorable tiny white-tipped tail.  I saw pictures of her as she grew, and in May we brought her home.  Seven hated her, and was angry with us for allowing Karai to stay.  We thought they’d never get along, but as of this month they’ve been caught curled up together on the couch on multiple occasions.  Karai is feisty and clever, always ready to play, and very persistent when she wants affection.  She’s a troublemaker in ways that Seven has had us spoiled with politeness. My boyfriend didn’t want a long-haired cat, but he loves her and we always marvel at her full, silky tail.