Hello friends!
I don’t know about you, but August has been quite a month for me this year – both good and bad.

But mostly good 🙂
Before I jump to sharing the 5 things I love this month, I wanted to just quickly give a heads up about a slight change in posting schedule here on the blog.
Minor Blog housekeeping
Most of you who are regulars may be aware that I publish a blog post every other week day, 3 times a week. I’ve done my best to keep to this schedule as best I can, for a few years now, as it’s one that works to keep up with my content material, commitments and efforts.
However, some personal matters have come up very recently, that have necessitated me to slow down a little on this schedule, to focus on other areas and people in my life.
You may notice a slight reduction in blog posts, to 2 a week, hopefully on a Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. If there’s something interesting or if I have the time, I will bump it back up. But for the foreseeable future, this will be the posting schedule going forward, as it’s a schedule I am comfortable to commit to, to allow me to maintain the quality of blog posts and product reviews I publish here on MWS 🙂
I do understand that it’s my blog, and I can post whenever I want. But I felt it was only respectful to you, as the reader, to let you know what’s happening 🙂
So, onto 5 Things I love in August for me! 🙂

What I love – Makeup
Last month, I told you about how I rediscovered the Guerlain Meteorites powders. The love has continued through this month. But there is also another makeup item I’ve been wearing a lot in this month.
It’s the Bobbi Brown Crushed Liquid Lip in Mango Mood. You can see me wearing it in this montage on my review post.

I don’t usually wear pink lipstick, but Mango Mood is a coral-pink that is very pretty, brightens up the complexion and is bright without being too bright.
It allows me to get away with fairly minimal makeup, which is great for me, as I haven’t been putting on a full face at the best of times. But what is great also, is that it doesn’t look too made-up, if you get my meaning.
It’s a lovely bright lipstick, that isn’t one you reserve for the evening, or to make an impact, the way you do with most red lipstick. It’s light enough to pull off in the day, yet bright enough that you look pulled together.
I kept it in my bag the whole month, and was using it so often, I didn’t realize it till I was doing this round-up. Absolutely one to get – trust me on this one! 😀
RELATED READING: If this bright colour doesn’t quite push your buttons, try one of the other 14 colours of the Bobbi Brown Crushed Liquid Lip Colour available – swatched and reviewed READ HERE
What I Love – Life
Well, that’s just it – Life 🙂
In July, I had a sense of a weight lifting off my shoulders. And this has continued through August. When you learn to let go of baggage, it only helps you feel better and lighter about yourself 🙂
On balance, August has been very good to me, with new experiences, perceptions, lots of laughter, a little adventure and camaraderie, tempered by generous lashings of surrealism LOL
It’s been also a learning process for me. Learning to trust, to open myself up to others, to ask for help, to appreciate companionship, and to not try to take on the world all by myself.
Things did take a turn for the hectic towards the last few days, but everything is looking up now, so I’m ending August on a high note.
LIFE : It doesn’t always give you what you ask for. It gives you what you really need.
And sometimes, what we need isn’t necessarily what we want. But it turns out far better 🙂
What I Love – Bags
I am a self-proclaimed bagaholic, which never quite boded well for my finances LOL! But in recent years, I have slowed down significantly, and most recently, have quietly retired 😛
I’ve stopped eyeing up every new bag in the market, be it a classic or an IT bag. I’ve reached that stage where I am happy with what I own and have no real desire to accumulate more.
What I have been doing however, is shopping my stash, and rediscovering what I own. The most recent rediscovery is the Fendi By The Way bag.

I bought this for my birthday a few years ago. While I’d eyed up the Fendi Peekaboo bag for the longest time, I’d not splurged, because it looked and felt impractical.
The Fendi By The Way however, weaseled its way into my affections.
It comes in 2 sizes – Small and Medium. I got the small one, which isn’t that small and is perfect for my current lifestyle. I don’t carry many things around with me anymore.
It fits my wallet, mobile, an eco-bag, lipstick, and some other bits and bobs. It even fits my planner, that I carry out when I go for meetings. The inside has 2 compartments, separated by a zipped compartment, which keeps things fairly organized although that isn’t a real concern for me.
What is the most fun thing about the Fendi By The Way is the various ways you can carry it. The top-held handles fold flat when not in use, which I love! When you carry it by the top-handle, it looks a little more formal.
However, there is a detachable adjustable strap that you can use to carry it on your shoulder, or cross-body, which takes the bag from formal to fun.

With the small version, you can even carry it like an oversized clutch which is also fun. The fold-flat handles allow you to transition it at will which I think is very clever.
All in all, I think the Fendi By The Way bag is very underrated, and one to keep an eye on, if you want something understated, practical and fun 🙂
What I Love – Finishing Skincare I’m not Crazy About
Ever realised how LONG it feels when you’re using a product that’s just alright, but you’re not exactly crazy about it? LOL!
I felt that way about the Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum and the B-Hydra Intensive Hydrating Serum. I got them in trial sizes of just 8ml bottles, but they were really long lasting!

RELATED READING: What did I think about my first experience with Drunk Elephant skincare? READ HERE
I used them for just over a month! While I’m not crazy about them because of the pricetag-efficacy ratio, they are an excellent way to try these very popular products for yourself, to see how you like it, before throwing lots of money away on the full sized product.
I was soooo pleased (and relieved!) to finally be able to toss the empty bottles into the trash LOL! 😀
What I love – Food
Cheetos! 😀
OK this one’s quite hilarious. A friend was visiting from the USA and asked if I might want anything from there. I had the pick of beauty products, but only one thing came to mind – Cheetos.

Yes, the radioactively bright orange, crunchy snack that is so popular!
I had the impression it wasn’t available here (It is) and that it is prohibitively expensive if it is (It’s not that expensive), so I asked if she could bring me a bag.
I received a bag of crunchy Cheetos, which I promptly devoured! It was very good. The texture is reminiscent of that of Twisties, but much tastier. Later, another online friend gifted me with a bag of Cheetos puffs! LOL 😀 I love my fellow snackers 😀
Gifts of food are truly the best gifts I can ever receive – HINT! 😉
What are 5 things YOU loved in August?
Feel free to nick my categories – makeup, life, bags, finishing skincare I’m not crazy about, and food. Or pick your own! Go on, share it with me! 😀
Paris B
August Favourites:
1. Watercolour painting
2. Caran d’Ache pens
3. NARS Climax mascara – love the mini
4. Micellar water to clean makeup brushes – I buy the cheapest from the drugstore and boy, it does a way better job than makeup brush cleanser!
5. Stand firm by my principles and voice them out – very high risk in my case as I can lose my job. But I don’t give a s*@t for now…I still believe in integrity and honesty.
I love the red of your Fendi By The Way bag! Yes, you tempted me with the BB Mango Mood lipstick but I’m resisting because I NEED to finish what I have. 😉
Micellar water to clean makeup brushes?? That’s an interesting concept. Do you just swish your brushes through them? I usually use the Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap but it might be interesting to try micellar water! 🙂 And well done you for standing firm in your beliefs despite the challenges to the contrary in your job!
Yes, you must try it. If Micellar water can remove makeup, it should clean makeup brushes, so I thought I should give it a go and it works. So much easier than those mambo jumbo brush cleansers. Just twirl the brushes in Micellar water and voila. LOL.
When I was reading your post Paris, my eyes kept wandering towards that bright orange bowl of Cheetos in the picture 😛 I was thinking….no, it cannot be. She can’t be loving and eating THOSE , yet still have such good skin ! No worries there, I am more fascinated than having the Snow White evil queen type of envy 😀
My 5 most loved in August, 2 of which are inspired / educated by you Paris !
1) drinks — I tend to finish whatever my daughter can’t, that includes yakult and bubble tea. I haven’t had those in years….I must say I don’t mind finishing them. Bubble tea is sooo bad for health
2) my daughters growing progress — my elder daughter chose to perform on stage and trained for it. My baby is actively eavesdropping and attempting to talk/sing (?)
3) sunscreen — I decided to be more vigilant with my sunscreen application (thanks to reading your blog Paris). I have never applied sunscreen at home, only when i am out to swim or beach. My fav still Sigiskin but it’s starting to feel dry (my hormonal change?). Tatcha has great texture and thickness but only spf30 and pa+++
4) Mist — again thanks to your post, I use mist Very frequently. Tatcha dewy mist and Whamisa rose mist my fav, I discovered Caudalie beauty elixir too (but the smell, oh dearrr, it reminds me Chinese medicine shop visits)
5) enhancing the rule of 3 — my rule of 3 means I never buy anything if I don’t use it within 3 days. In my discovery of make up or certain skincare, I ended up buying more than I can finish as I used it within 3 days then move on to others. So now my rule of 3 includes no more than 3 items from the same brand / category. That means I can’t buy both crushed lip series from Bobby Brown anymore :p and no more Meteorites…dang!! I was just getting started
ROFLOL!! Yes, I eat junk food, Adrienne – I LOVE crisps! But I have to slow down because well, it’s not helping my waistline is it? 😛 I like your Rule of 3! It is such a good way to keep things under control, and I hope it’s still serving you well. Oh, and I Hope you’ve tried the BB crushed lip products since! Lipsticks can be a pain to finish up LOL! 😛
Hi Paris,
1. I also have been loving the Bobbi Brown Crushed collection and recently added the liquid lip in Big Apple to my collection (which already includes five of the lipsticks and one more liquid eeks). Anyway I’m not a fan of the transfer buuuut I do enjoy the formula otherwise so have found myself reaching for it again and again in August…
2. I also delved into the realm of talc-free powders with two Cover FX purchases – their loose powder and the new blush duo. Love both and have been using them super regularly. And it’s probably all psychological but I *feel* like they must be better for me cause… No talc? I don’t know. What’s your opinion on talc?
3. Sheet masks! I had a really bad outbreak in July so have been spamming sheet masks to help my skin recover.
4. The Mindhunter series. Season 2 came out and it was my binge of the month.
5. National day and long weekends!
Hmm I don’t really have an opinion on talc per se. I know there are lots of opinions that say that it is bad, or even that it causes cancer, but I don’t use a lot of powder, so I guess I haven’t given it a lot of thought. That said however, if you think it works better for you, I don’t see why you shouldn’t continue with it! 🙂 Oh interestingly, I watched part of Season 1 of Mindhunter, but wasn’t very drawn in for some reason. I should have another go! 😀
The red Miu Miu wallet looks gorgeous! LOL. You must have bought it sometime back?
5 things I love in August? Hmmm….
1. Spending quality time with my hubby
2. How adorable and talkative my 4.5 year old boy has grown to be this year all because he started attending kindy in January this year
3. A much more relaxing schedule at work in August compared with how crazy it was for the first 5 months of 2019
4. Cold pressed juices – craving was so crazy that I need to have it every week
5. I could finally see the finishing line to my pregnancy as I passed the 37 week at the end of August 🙂
Well, I’m terribly late with my replies to comments this time around, but congratulations on your little bundle of joy! He’s growing up so nicely, just like his big brother! 😀
1. Poldark. I am a SUCKER for period dramas that are romantic lol! And it’s well made – the Brits know how to deliver on a seriously good period dramas <3
2. Working from home. Work has been crazy for me for the past month or so, but I am SO grateful I can work from home, otherwise I'd struggle with life-work balance.
3. Kind strangers. When I bust my tyre, a kind older Maltese man helped me change it (and taught me how to change it myself next time!).
4. I got a raise at work! It was a long time coming and I've changed roles which is hard (still getting used to it) but Septembers payday should be good lol
5. Siblings. I won't say this often LOL … Buuuuut, my siblings have been a help to me this past month. My mums been away and taking care of the house and all the animals we own is hard (coupled together with work ramping up). They have helped however and I am very grateful for it.
I actually find writing 'gratitude lists' hard. I think it's because it takes me a while to think of meaningful things to write, otherwise I feel like it's pointless and superficial. They don't need to be big things, but something important to me. Maybe I'm also very impatient and that's why I don't usually bother and I give up. Maybe I should work to change this though 🙂