Kiss Breast Cancer Goodbye This Month With Ulta

October's already here and it's breast cancer awareness month! I love a good party for a purpose, so I hit ULTA Beauty's Donate With a Kiss event last week with my girl Lindsay. The party was held on the rooftop of the Nomad Hotel and hosted by Spring Breakers star Vanessa Hudgens, who was wearing a black vintage dress she bought that day in Brooklyn and bright pink Alice + Olivia heels to support the theme.

We've been having amazing fall weather here in NYC so it was the perfect night to enjoy the warm temps on their beautiful roof and sip cocktails for a cause. Throughout the entire month, Ulta's covering their stores with kisses, which customers get by making a $1 donation that benefits The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Vanessa unveiled their mobile Kiss Cart in NYC and it'll also be traveling Chicago, Dallas and Seattle. And get this: if you donate $10 in store on Sunday, Oct. 13th, you get a FREE shampoo and haircut or Microzone skin treatment and 100% of your donation will go to the BCRF! Looking good while giving back is a beautiful thing, right?

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Ready to Rocktober: Pumpkin, Ponies & Playing Dress Up

Fall is in full swing and October is already here! I know, I know, it's sort of sad that summer and Hamptons season is over but there's so much to look forward to this month. In no particular order, here are a few things I'm excited for:

1. All pumpkin everything: About this time of year, my kitchen becomes a pumpkin party. Over the weekend, I bought Dunkin Donuts pumpkin coffee, pumpkin pancake mix and even pumpkin flavored Greek yogurt at Trader Joe's. If fall had a flavor, it'd be pumpkin. (Winter would be peppermint.) I also enjoy carving pumpkins in October.

2. The Hunt: This will be my first time attending (as an adult that I can actually remember. Thanks to my mom who commented below that I went as a baby, who knew?) but basically the hunt is a horse racing steeplechase event in Far Hills, New Jersey. Their website promises "world-class tailgaiting" and "the social event of the season". I don't know about that but I do like horses and daydrinking so combining the two is a total win/win in my book. Although I'm a former equestrian myself and have been to many racetracks, this is my very first steeplechase as an adult. I'm already thinking about an outfit.



3. Halloween: I love Halloween for a few reasons. First of all, it's the one day a year when adults get to play dress up. It's so much fun seeing all of the creative and crazy costumes people come up with. Personally, I'm in a big believer in the power of the group costume. Any costume is automatically made better when worn by multiple people. Last year, my friends and I were hot nerds and it was a hit.

This year we have yet another group costume in the works with even more girls in the mix and it's gonna be awesome. I don't want to spoil the surpise but let's just say it's something colorful and creative  that's made a lot of headlines this year and recently got banned. Any guesses? Another reason to love Halloween: candy. And candy corn!

4. Fall fashion: I'm happy to say goodbye to the subway sweat of summer and hello to crisp mornings, cozy sweaters and chic coats.

Happy October!

Get all the action in real time on Twitter @cristinagibson and Instagram @cristinablairgibson