The crisp air, the leaves changing colour, the chilly mornings, it’s that time of year again—fall! I don’t know about you, but the minute the temperature starts dropping and it gets chillier at night, I instantaneously get into fall mode and break out all of my sweaters. I’ve also already begun thinking of hot chocolate, but have refrained from making it just yet so that I can hold off until it’s really colder and necessary to drink it for warmth. There’s only so much chocolate and sugar I can allow myself to consume outside of spooky and winter season! But that doesn’t mean that I can’t consume other things…like some new sweaters? Or a cute matching suit? Or invest in ultra-moisturizing skincare? Oh yes, you know what the change of season means. New season means new goodies! And I’ve rounded up some of my favourite must haves for fall to get you on track for this cooler time of the year. Are you ready? Let’s jump right in!

It’s Cash Back Season!

You know that I’m all game for a good deal, and there’s no better deal than literally being paid to shop. You heard me, yes I said paid to shop. If you haven’t read my posts before, then this may probably be new to you. But if you have, then you’re more than aware of how much I love a good cash back shopping trip thanks to Rakuten! As someone who’s job is to literally stay on top of the game when it comes to fashion and beauty, I end up spending way more money than the average person so it’s important that I find ways to save whenever I can. Sometimes that means timing my purchases for sales, but that also means always using Rakuten to make some cash back.

I’ve been using them for years (back before it rebranded from Ebates) and am constantly floored by all of the new retailers that they’re adding to their arsenal each year. It’s hard for me to not find a retailer that I shop at most of the time, which makes it even easier for me to use their site. And since I accidentally stumbled onto and installed their Chrome browser extension, my life has literally changed. In the past, I always used to forget to check if a retailer was eligible for cash back and miss out on some opportunities, but now that the extension notifies me every time I’m on a partnered retailers’ site, it’s been so easy to shop without regret! Some of my favourite retailers that are currently available to shop with cash back are:

• Amazon
• Sephora
• Indigo
• H&M
• Hudson’s Bay
• the list could quite literally go on, there are so many!

So before you dive deep into my curated must haves list for the fall season, make sure to sign up for your own account on Rakuten (if you haven’t already) so that you can start saving up for that big fat cheque of your own!

Hydration

Okay before we dive into anything, grab a glass of water. And your Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair. As the seasons change, so does your skin, and your entire body is about to get a whole lot less hydration than it did in the summer. I take back everything that I said about humidity, because I’ll gladly take it to trade in all of the glasses of water that I’ve been consuming recently. Anything to reduce the amounts of visits to the bathroom that I’ve been taking lately.

We all know when to start lathering up the lotion on our arms and legs in the fall/autumn, but what about our face? The face on your skin probably faces (pun 100% intended) the harshest conditions compared to all of the other skin on your body, since it’s the most frequently exposed to the perils of nature, so why not take care of it? I used to hate moisturizing during the day because my face always felt oily, sticky, and just overall very thick throughout the day. You know that exact feeling I’m talking about because you’ve felt it before too.

Now think of how much time you spend every night asleep. Do you think about how your skin feels while you’re deeply dreaming about what you’re going to eat the next day? Nope. I sure don’t. Which is why I tend to maximize my skincare overnight. While your body and mind are at rest, let your skincare do its work to your face. You won’t have to worry about products piling, feeling oily, or even exposing certain chemicals on your skin to sunlight. Let your mind rest and the skincare do its job.

I’ve taken it to the next level and added an additional product to my fall routine to inject some extra moisture, Estee Lauder’s new Advanced Night Repair Intense Reset Concentrate, and it has been doing wonders to my skin overnight! I literally wake up feeling like I’ve had the most intense and moisturizing facial ever. I once heard from a skincare expert that people with oily skin tend to combat it with drying agents, which in turn causes your skin to produce more sebum, which then in turn promotes the production of acne, so I’m going to be relying heavily on my moisturizing products this fall/autumn to keep my skin as moisturized as possible to prevent any breakouts.

Keep an eye out on my Instagram stories in the near future for a complete #EMPTIES review on the Advanced Night Repair Intense Reset Concentrate and my thoughts if you’re curious as to how I enjoyed using it once I’ve gone through the entire container!

Knee-High Boots

Another huge fall trend and must have are knee-high boots. Last year was the season of thigh-highs, this year is the season of knee-highs. Last year I scored a beautiful pair of burgundy ones during Zara’s end of year sale worried that they wouldn’t last me longer than one season but I’ve since then been proven wrong. I’ve literally worn them to death (I probably wore them almost everyday while we were in London) and get questions left, right, and centre as to where they’re from. Sorry guys, they’re from last year’s collection but Mango has an amazingly similar one!

Thankfully enough, Zara released the same style again this year but in a variety of other colours so if you want the same silhouette but the colour doesn’t matter, you can definitely still snag yourself a pair. I’m dying over the Jimmy Choo brown Mavis ones, but until I can convince myself that they’re worth that much, these burgundy ones will do in the meantime.

If you’re not a big fan of burgundy, because I know it’s definitely not a safe everyday colour, play round with white, black, brown, or even navy!

Styling Tip: I personally love pairing together a knee-high pair of boots with a skirt to help transition your summer wardrobe into fall, but I’ve recently noticed a trend where designers are tucking in baggy pants into boots for a nice ballooning affect. It brings me nostalgic vibes of my childhood when I would shove my pants into my winter boots, but now it’s a trend so why not ride with it?

Hands-Free Bags

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I hate having things in my hands. Literally anything. Whether it’s my phone, my bag, or my wallet, I want to get rid of it. Enter a hands-free bag. I know the concept isn’t new, but all of these new and trendy tiny bags never seem to sit on my shoulders and always end up sliding off—I end up just holding it in my hands for the remainder of the day and it’s ridiculously inefficient when it comes to life. Not only are my hands tied up and I can’t do anything, but I’m always tempted to put my bag/things down to do things and I end up forgetting where I leave things behind. Losing your phone in a department store is not something you want to have to deal with.

Ever since I purchased my Chanel Gabrielle Mini last year in Paris, I’ve been obsessed with collecting mini backpacks. I recently added Pixie Mood’s Cora backpack to my arsenal and I took it with me everywhere in London! Although it may look small, it surprisingly holds a lot! I managed to fit not only my wallet and phone, but all of my daily shopping into the bag as well. Besides just being a backpack, I particularly love how the straps are all adjustable so that you can change up the look whenever you want.

Other than backpacks, crossbody bags have been a go-to favourite style of mine over the past few years and the Cora backpack has loops on either side of the top that allows you to transform your backpack into a crossbody. Talk about functional and transformative! Plus did I mention that hands-free bags make it easier to keep your hands warm in your pockets? It is getting chillier after all and you don’t want to keep your hands out for longer than necessary.

Matching Suits

Ah the matching suit. Gone are the days when suits are only for the office. If you know me, then you’ll know of my fondness for suits. I’m all for a quick and easy outfit where I don’t have to spend too much time thinking about what looks good and a suit does that. Not only do they provide instant head-to-toe outfits, but they also triple the viable outfit options as well. I’ve definitely mixed and matched many of my suits together to create new ones (wearing a bright red blazer with striped white trousers) and now I have endless possibilities of cute outfits and am thankful that suits are still extremely à la mode for fall.

A recent favourite of mine that I’ve found to be perfect for fall are corduroy sets. There’s a linen suit for summer, and a corduroy suit for fall. Not only is the thicker material phenomenal for conserving heat in the cooler months, but it’s also significantly cozier than a simple cotton suit. There’s something life changing about corduroy that gives you instant fall vibes without even thinking about it. And if you’re adventurous enough to venture into other textures, may I also recommend a wool suit? Think Blaid Waldorf meets Serena Van der Woodsen—everything preppy but stylish and warm rolled together into one outfit! Some of my favourite retailers that frequently carry suits include RW&CO., Mango, H&M, and Zara, but you’re also bound to find them at other retailers as well since they’re trending this season.

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And that’s it! I hope that you guys enjoyed my fall essentials round up. Let me know if there’s anything that I’ve missed that you would consider to be an absolute must have. I hope that you guys have an amazing summer!

This post was written in collaboration with Estee Lauder, Pixie Mood, and Rakuten, however all views are 100% honest and my own.
Photography Credits: Mel Inspired