Makeup Must Haves for NYE 2015

I haven't done one of these in a while, and man, how I've missed it! I love sharing cute collages of my favorite things. This one is all about New Year's Eve party makeup! Now, I'm not one to say there are "rules" when it comes to makeup, but I'm pretty sure glitter (or at least shimmer) on NYE is mandatory. So I have picked out some of the brightest, shimmery-est, and most long-lasting products that I have used. I'm completely obsessed with all of these beauty gems. They're perfect for keeping the party going all night long! 

1. MAC Foiled Shadow 2. Velour Lashes 3. Urban Decay Setting Spray 4. Ciate Polish 5. MAC Lipstick in "Media" 6. BECCA Highlighter in "Champagne Pop"

What are some of your favorite holiday makeup products?

Brooks Wilder: Ten Months

Holy cow, my tiny baby boy is ten months now! Actually, since I'm a couple weeks late on this update, he's ten and a half months! Oh my. Where did the time go? When people ask how old he is, I really have to think about it for a second because I want to say four or five months until I realize... oh wait.... yeah, he's double that. *sniff*

I do love the age Brooks is now, though. He's becoming so much more interactive and playful. A couple weeks ago, he took his first wobbly steps. Now, he can take several steps, fall down, then get back up and take a few more! 

This little dude is so curious about the world around him... which means we really need to finish child-proofing our house. He loves exploring and getting into EVERYTHING. Some of his favorite things to do right now are opening drawers and cabinets, pulling stuff out, and putting anything and everything in his mouth! No matter what it is, if it's on the floor... it's going to end up in his mouth. I can't even tell you how many tiny objects I've fished out of his little chipmunk cheeks!

Currently //

Length 29 inches

Weight 20 pounds

Says "Mama", "Dada", and "hey".

Loves being tickled, bath time, and dancing.

Hates having his diaper changed and when the Seahawks score and Daddy and his friends start yelling and cheering (it terrified him and he started screaming).

Learning to walk, wave at people, and self feed.

December Style

I've been sick for the past week. Actually, all three of us in the house have been passing germs around. Brooks and I are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but poor Cody is still trying to find his way out. 

Since I'm feeling better now, and the weather is so nice, I decided to get out for a little bit. Speaking of the weather, how is it December and I'm still able to wear a dress without forty layers under and over it?! Crazy. I'm definitely not complaining though!

Hat - Zara (similar) // Dress - H&M (similar) // Necklace - Rocksbox // Shoes - Dolce Vita (similar)

Overtone Overview

Changing my hair color and keeping up with the maintenance is no big deal for me since I'm a hairstylist. Other than time, it really doesn't take much for me to keep my hair bold and beautiful. However, having that time these days is very hard to come by. Between work at the salon, work at home, and general baby sustainment, when do I have any time to refresh my color?? The answer is.... every time I shower! That's all thanks to my Overtone extreme blue daily conditioner! Holy cow, this stuff is a life saver.

Price - $18

Smell- It's packed full of organic plant oils so it smells kind of minty or tea tree-ish. Soooo good!

How to Use - Replace this with your regular daily conditioner. Leave on for 5 minutes, then rinse. Use as often as you want to keep your color from fading OR to add color to your natural or pre-lightened hair!

Likes - It's EXTREMELY pigmented (hence the name "Extreme Blue"), keeps my color vibrant between root touch ups, and smells fantastic.

Dislikes -  It stains my hands a little bit, but goes away after a couple hand washes. 

If you have unicorn hair, you NEED this conditioner in your color maintenance regimen! It will save you time and money between salon visits. Overtone also comes in just about every color and the pigment intensity ranges from pastel to extreme.

Brooks Wilder: Nine Months

Nine months in, nine months out! This post is about a week late, but little B is nine months old now. This past week has been so hectic. I just haven't had the time or energy to even look at my blog. I was actually starting to have withdrawals. *twitch*

Brooks is growing like a weed and becoming hard to keep up with! He's crawling a lot faster, pulling up on furniture, and cruising around the room. He has even started to stand up without holding on to anything for several seconds at a time. I know he's getting extremely close to walking. That is both exciting AND scary!

Currently //

Length 29 inches

Weight 19 pounds, 6 ounces

Eats almost anything he can put in his mouth.

Loves pancakes, clapping, waving, and being tickled.

Hates the vacuum, hairdryer, and when Mommy leaves his sight.

Learning to high-five, make one syllable sounds, and drink from a sippy cup.

Teething hasn't been easy for our little guy. He's gotten four teeth in the last two months. The fussiness and sleepless nights were almost too much to handle for all of us! He also wasn't drinking much of his bottles, which was making me really start to worry. All of this misery settled down after our friend got Brooks a little gift. A baltic amber necklace. I've heard good things about these necklaces and even had a client at work swear by it. She said she had her child wear it 24/7 and saw a noticeable difference after just a couple days. She wasn't lying!

Brooks has been wearing his for the past few weeks and I've definitely seen a difference! Instead of waking up every hour at night, he usually only wakes twice. He even finishes all of his bottles now! He hasn't fussed or whined in pain at all like he used to. I don't know if it's all a coincidence or if the amber necklace actually works, but I'm leaving that thing on him!

Just so you know, this necklace is very safe. Brooks even sleeps while wearing it at night. It's fitted enough that he doesn't see it and want to pull on it, and loose enough that it doesn't choke him. Also, for it to work, it has to be touching his skin at all times so it stays nicely tucked under his clothes.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween, everyone! I'm so excited for little Brooks to have his first Halloween. I couldn't resist putting him in this adorable monkey costume. He wasn't too thrilled, but it's just one of many costumes I will force him to wear so I can take pictures of his insane cuteness. Maybe he'll understand one day.

B is not quite old enough to trick or treat yet, so we're planning on taking him to a pumpkin patch and hay ride. I know he won't remember it, but I think he'll enjoy it at the time. 

At work yesterday, we all wore fun costumes. Danita was the Chesire Cat, Krissy was a panda. We also had a scarecrow, fox, cat, and skeleton! Of course, I had to be a unicorn. No surprise there. I'm soooo in love with my costume. I'm honestly tempted to just wear it every day. I feel like I am my true self in it. A majestic unicorn. 

AVEDA Thickening Tonic Review

Since I have such fine textured hair, I'm always on the lookout for volumizing and thickening hair products. I posted my regular hair plumping regimen a few months ago. If you haven't read it, you can here! I still love that product combo, but I have recently started using AVEDA Thickening Tonic. I typically pair it with the Volumizing Tonic even though it's amaaaazzzing all by itself! This thickening tonic coats and expands each strand without feeling dirty or sticky. That's not easy to find!

Price - $28

Smell - Like every other AVEDA product... a heavenly arrangement of foliage.

How to use - On damp hair, spray from roots to ends in sections and comb through to evenly distribute. Blow-dry and style as desired.

Likes - It's very light so it doesn't weigh my hair down. It makes my hair look and feel super thick.

Dislikes - There's nothing I don't love about this product.

Needless to say, I definitely recommend this product for all fine-haired folks! By the way, *shameless plug* if you live nearby, we sell it at our salon so ask me about it at your next visit!

OOTD Featuring Rocksbox

I got my second Rocksbox jewelry set and I've been looooving it! This time, I got a gorgeous statement necklace by Sharp 9, an adorable arrow ring by House of Harlow, and a Gorjana gold V necklace (not pictured in this post). I'm obsessed! Prior to having this Rockbox subscription, I was going through a "no jewelry" phase. Aside from my wedding ring, I just had no interest in wearing any accessories with my outfits. Normally that's not like me, but I guess I was just in a rut. A rut that Rocksbox has pulled me out of! 

So far, they haven't sent me any pieces that I haven't absolutely loved! This is in part because I got to show them all the types of jewelry I like by adding them to my "wishlist" after signing up. Then a stylist from Rocksbox picks out three pieces that she thinks I'll like and makes sure that at least one of them is from my wishlist. These pieces are all lent to me so I can wear them for a while, and when I'm ready for new pieces, I just ship these back and wait for more! Also, if I like any particular piece, I can buy it at a discounted price. It's pretty neat stuff... And I'm not just saying that. I'm thoroughly into it. 

If you want to try it out, use my invite code AMYBFF653 and for 1 free month, you can also use my discount code amynhickmanxoxo!

Boots - Urban Outfitters (similar) // Pants - Target (similar) // Top - Old Navy (similar) // Sunglasses - Target // Ring - House of Harlow (via Rocksbox) // Necklace - Sharp 9 (via Rocksbox)

I had to add these photos because how cute is my family?! Daddy and baby are all matchy matchy and adorable. I just couldn't leave them out!