Pajamas (Top, Shorts) – GARAGE
Everyone time someone asks me for the reason behind why I started my blog, my story always begins with my monthly “Lust Listts” and how I had shopping obsession and wanted to share my finds with an audience. Other the past year or so, those sort of posts began to diminish to the point of where I no longer published them at all. I’ve recently been toying with the idea of bringing my Lust Listts back to life in a more manageable fashion by publishing quarterly editions as opposed to monthly ones to share the everything that I’ve been loving each season. In the midst of planning the relaunch of my Lust Listts, Mel and I got the brilliant idea to shoot our fall editorials in Paris and to capture the beautiful Parisian autumnal foliage as the backdrop for which our content would be shot against. French coffee and croissants? You had me at oui! Re-kicking off my Lust Listt in a quarterly fashion is a fall-themed one to showcase and to share some amazing brands and their products that I’ve Fallin’ for… in Paris! But also back in Toronto as well.
This season, I’m all about moisture, moisture, moisture. Well not completely, but I’m loving it. Since the weather is getting cooler by the minute, my skin tends to react roughly to the change in season by breaking out in sudden fits of dry skin, and the frequent rash here and there. If you’re someone who has similar skin reactions to mine, then you’re definitely going to want to keep reading because I’ve fallen in love with a few brands that have really been cutting it for me when it comes to maintaining the proper levels of moisture in your skin.
Body Lust – CeraVe
Hands up if you’re OCD about your bodycare routine along with what you do to your body and skin immediately after stepping out of your shower? I bet some of you either actually physically put your hands up in the air, or you mentally agreed with me.
Besides my regular skincare routine, the number one thing that I absolutely have to do every single time that I get out of the shower, is to slather my entire body from the neck down in lotion. I didn’t used to always do this, but after discovering that I had an allergy to the cold about 7-8 years ago, and realizing that the secret to preventing the itch is to have properly moisturized skin, skipping my full-body lotion is just a part of my bodycare routine never happens.
This is when CeraVe came into my life. For the first few years, I used any regular lotion that I had lying around my home. And while it moderately helped, my rashes and hives never truly went away. Most of my moisturizers kept the reactions at bay for a few hours, but I was never able to survive a full day of no reactions without having to resort to taking antihistamines. I’m no fan of pills, or taking them unnecessarily, so taking Reactine or Benadryl was always a last resort.
When I opened up and began talking about my condition to my close friends and family, that’s when CeraVe was proposed as a potential option. I gave it a try and I was hooked. There’s nothing notably exemplary about the product and/or brand besides the fact that it just works. And I love the no-fuss approach that they take to their products. There aren’t any added fragrances, elaborate branding, or crazy claims. Truth be told, sometimes that’s all that you need! Here are some of my holy grails that I continue to use over and over again:
As the lotion is a lighter formula, I find that it’s best used in warmer weather. It absorbs quickly and I never find that I have to wait too long after applying before I can put on clothes.
This thicker cream is typically reserved for the drier areas of my skin and used throughout the colder months. Leave your tub in the fridge for an hour before applying for a nice and refreshing sensation!
Like I said before, if the hand cream is good enough for your scaly hands, then it’s good enough for your body. I always travel with a tube of this handcream in my back to prevent any potential emergency break outs.
I love feeling clean, but I hate that squeaky-clean feeling. Mainly because I know that I’ll end up feeling dry when I’m that clean. This bar gives you that clean feeling without the squeaky-dryness.
To give you a rough idea of how phenomenal this brand has been for me, let’s take a few moments to chat about my recent trip to Arizona, where I broke out in a heat rash. I almost always bring along a tub of CeraVe with me whenever I travel as an insurance for happy skin. It just so happened that this time I didn’t. My skin wasn’t too happy with how hot it was where and decided to break out first in a small rash, later to become an entire outbreak of hives across my whole body. Try as I might to calm it down with hotel lotion, nothing worked. Knowing that my reactions typically take up to a week to completely disappear after a full outbreak, I had little hopes of any sense of relief.
Returning back home to Toronto, I immediately ran to my bathroom where I grabbed my tub of moisturizing cream (the thickest one that I had available) and completely covered my body from neck-to-toe in CeraVe. Within 30 minutes, my entire body relaxed. My itchy spots no longer tingled and itched, the swelling of my hives went down, and by the end of the day I no longer felt irritated. No other lotion or cream has ever been able to achieve that rapid of a result for me.
And now after learning my lesson, I always carry at least the tube of hand cream with me whenever I’m traveling. If the Therapeutic Hand Cream is tough enough to moisturize your dried out hands, then it’s good enough for the rest of your body.
Skin Lust – Kiehl’s
Besides body care, skincare is also another component that I heavily focus on in the fall and winter months. I already have severely dry lips to begin with year-round, so it’s extra important that I pay more attention to them as the weather gets colder and drier. Lip masks have almost always been my default when it comes to conditioning my lips and I pretty much don’t even use any lip balms any more thanks to how beneficial lip masks have been in my fight against chapness. Keep reading to find out what some of my skincare favourites are to condition and nourish your skin this season!
I’ve been using Kiehl’s for as long as I can remember and have fallen in love with so many of their old-world apothecary rooted products. In constant rotation to my skincare routine is the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash, along with the Nightly Refining Micro-Peel Concentrate, just to name a few! With all of the traveling that I’ve been doing lately, I added 2 new products into my routine thanks to recommendations from their in-store experts.
When it comes to traveling, I love to keep my skincare and makeup as low key as possible. If I can last an entire flight without applying any makeup then I’m a happy girl. This moisturizer is infused with illuminating minerals and pomegranate (which lends it the pink tint) that leaves my skin glowing from the inside out. Paired together with my tinted sunscreen and my skin will come as close to looking like I’m wearing makeup as I can get without ever actually wearing makeup. If you are planning on throwing on some makeup afterwards, it acts as an amazing primer as well! Multi-purpose skincare products? Sign me up! In all seriousness, this little bottle is coming with me everywhere that I go! Between the travel friendly size and multi-purpose use, it’s my number one go-to for in-flight skincare.
Did someone say mask? Lip masks seem to be the only thing that my lips actually like, so I’ve begun to bring this little bad boy with me everywhere that I go. Whether or not I’m traveling, you’ll almost always find this mask in my bag de jour. I especially love applying it all over my lips before going to sleep to wake up with perfectly hydrated peckers. Did I mention that it also smells and tastes absolutely delicious? It’s hard to not lick my lips when I have this on!
Accessories Lust – Poppy & Peonies
There’s nothing better than a good bag. Wait, scratch that, there is. Two good bags. Or three, or four. What can I say, I’m kind of a bag-a-holic! A few years back, I was introduced to Poppy & Peonies and instantly fell in love. If you’ve never heard of the brand before, you’re in for a treat. This Canadian brand is run by a bad ass boss lady, Nat, who strives to create bags that are not only beautiful, but functional. Not only are so many of the bags designed to be extremely versatile (there are some fun crossbodies that can be converted into a clutch or even a wristlet), but perfectly on trend as well!
When I first posted pictures of me wearing both this pink circle bag and the Brigitte Crossbody Bag, you guys bombarded my DMs asking me where they were from! I’m so excited to share that both the Brigitte bag and The Bardot are now available online! Besides these two bags, you already know that a favourite of mine is the Brooklyn Backpack which literally follows me wherever I go. It joins me on all of my travels and is also used on a daily basis whenever I’m out and about running errands.
This is the quintessential everyday bag since it works amazingly as a crossbody bag for a casual day out, and then converts into a night bag by tucking in the straps. I was particularly drawn to this beautiful auburn shade as it matches the autumn foliage perfectly.
This was one of the bags that I was telling you about which can be worn in 3 different ways. Would you be believe me if I told you that you can wear it as a crossbody, clutch, and a wristlet? Miracles really do exist!
We got so many compliments from random strangers in Paris that it was crazy! Being that it was Paris, everyone kept asking us which designer made the bags. Surprise, surprise! It’s a local Canadian brand, which makes me even prouder to rep the bags just knowing that it’s a part of home. You don’t always need a designer bag to look this good!
We literally only wore our Poppy & Peonies bags with us everywhere that we went in Paris and they definitely proved to be the multi-purpose bags that they claimed. Shifting between a crossbody and an evening clutch, we had all of our bag bases covered without having to bring an entire suitcase full of them for a week in Paris. I can definitely foresee myself wearing these bags deep into the season.
Scent Lust – Lancôme
La vie est belle…when you’re in Paris! And it truly is. There’s something in the Parisian air that just makes you smile the minute you walk outside. Every time I travel, I have a habit of bringing a new scent along with me so that with future uses, the scent will take me back in time to remember all of the beautiful memories that I made. It still amazes me how tightly tied our memories are to a fragrance. A quick whiff of a perfume that I wore back in high school unleashes a wave of memories of my childhood as if someone decided to press play on a movie of my past in my mind.
If you love florals as much as I do, then you’ll definitely fall in love with this fragrance. And what better place to fall in love with it than in the City of Love itself? I personally found myself to enjoy the fragrance more throughout the day as the scent matured on my skin and the notes adjusted. The first spray is rather sweet (which I do love), but the deeper notes truly reveal the floral scents that exude that powerful sense of femininity.
Although I’ll always associate this scent to the autumnal vignettes of Paris, I can also foresee it pairing perfectly with a summer setting as well. The sweet and floral scents meld together to evoke feelings of happiness, content, and warmth.
Travel Lust – Bentley
With all of the traveling that I’ve been doing, there’s no way that I would be able to not share some of my recent favourite travel accessories that I’ve been using and loving. Peter and I have been on the market for a new check-in luggage for awhile since our old ones had begun to fall apart. We recently upgraded our carry-ons to ones with 4 wheels and it has completely changed our travel experiences. I don’t know why we never upgraded sooner, because 4 wheels is a world of a difference when it comes to your luggage compared to dragging around something that only has 2 wheels.
When I first got it, I babied it to ensure that there would be no scratches and dents. I soon learned that that isn’t exactly possible. Although many people may deem imperfections to be just that, an imperfection, I chose to see each scratch and dent to be a new story to tell. Each one is from a different destination, and with it comes a different memory. Similar to a fragrance, your aluminum luggage will tell a story.
I’m particularly fond of this Blackbook 28″ Hardside Influence luggage from Bentley due to the built in combination locks on it’s clasps along with how smartly designed the interior is. Most luggages that I’ve used in the past have only have a zip compartment on 1 side, and the other side is held together with straps. What in the world do these straps hold in? Every time I go to open my bag, all of my clothes fall out! Thank god that this aluminum baby of mine has compressive panels on either side to hold everything in place. Oh, did I mention that because of these panels, I can actually fit more things into my luggage now? Functionality for the win! I’m going to put together a comprehensive review of my new luggage since there’s so much more that I love about it that won’t fit into this post, but make sure to come back to read all about it if you’re on the market for a new aluminum luggage! In the mean time, I would strongly, strongly recommend this one since it’s been checking off every box and more that I’ve ever had on my long list of requirements for a perfect luggage.
And that’s it for my fall Lust Listt editorial! I hope that you enjoyed reading about all of my recent favourites and found some new ones for yourself. Each quarter/season I’ll be sharing some of my new and latest finds with the assurance that I’ve tested them all out so that you’ll know from my first hand experience if it’s a worthwhile investment on your end.
If you know of any products or new things that would pique my interest, shoot me an email and let me know! I’m always interested to know what everyone else’s favourites are as well!
Photography Credits: Mel Inspired
This post was sponsored by Dynamite Clothing, however all views are 100% honest and my own.
Oh I really need to try their skincare products!
x Lisa | lisaautumn.com
Author
Hey Lisa,
Kiehl’s has some amazing products! Hopefully you fall in love with them as much as I do!
xx