Thursday, February 13, 2014

January Favorites

Ever on time as always, I present to you my favorite products from January!  

January was a hectic month in terms of real life, but ever since I decided to go on a no-buy, I've definitely been shopping my stash more.  

Beauty-wise, this month has been all about skin!  (hint: many dewy skin products ahead!) When I haven't been in the mood (or had the time) to go all out on my eyes, I focused on having flawless and GLOWY skin.  I know winter is usually the season for mattes, but something about the cold weather makes me want to look as dewy as possible.  

Since I was always rushing, I didn't do much in the way of lips this month, but my Too Faced palette and face products got a fair bit of use...






The obvious product I used was the Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things palette. Although I never posted an actual December favorites, this was also my most used palette of December, especially as I was traveling.  I love how versatile it is, and it works to create any type of look.




I picked up the Milani Fantastico Mauve Mineral Baked Blush back in December, and I've been in love with it ever since. I cannot emphasize how pigmented and glowy it looks without actually containing any visible shimmer on the cheeks.  The deepness of this shade gives me a sculpted and flushed look.  It is somehow a perfect shade for me, especially for these colder months.

It took me a few months to really understand the hype behind the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders, but I really got it this month.  They have now become a staple in my everyday look.  There is definitely a noticeable difference in the finish of my skin before and after I put these powders on, which I did not believe would actually happen.  These powders blur my pores and really give me a "glow from within" look.  My favorite way to use them is to use "Dim Light" all over my face, "Incandescent Light" as a highlighter, and then "Radiant Light" over my blush to give me warmth.  As expensive as these are, I have seen the light.

To go along with the glowy theme is the Physician's Formula Happy Booster Bronzer in Light Bronzer.  This is a winter favorite of mine, because it has a slight glow to it, and isn't too dark to make my face look muddy.  Physician's Formula always makes my favorite bronzers, and this one is no exception.  It's a(nother) staple for me right now!

A highlighter I've been loving is the Bare Minerals Radiance Powder, which I've had for awhile but have never actually bothered to use.  It's just not as convenient to use a loose highlighter, but I gave it a try, and surprise surprise...I love it!  It is actually a very subtle highlighter and the light gold/peachy shade is the perfect shade for my skin tone.




Since the majority of my most used eyeshadows were part of the Too Faced palette, the only other eye products I have to show are two mascaras!  I'm not really a mascara person - I tend to find a couple and then really stick to them, but these two were exceptions.  The Maybelline Turbo Volume Express Mascara was an impulse buy since I needed a new non-waterproof mascara, and this just happened to be the one that was on sale.  I'm usually pretty apathetic towards all non-WP mascaras, but this one is actually really great.  It doesn't totally hold my curl, but it doesn't make my curl droop as much as other non-WP mascara's Ive used.  It also doesn't give me a very heavy look, making it great for everyday use.

As far as waterproof mascaras go, I would have never tried out the Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara if I didn't receive it in a sample.  In fact, this is one of those mascaras that disappointed me right from the beginning, but as it dried out, it became better and better.  I didn't have many expectations for this to actually hold a curl, but it does fairly well, and is great for giving me a wispy look.  I'm SO glad Clinique came out with a waterproof version of this mascara, since I like their regular version, but hate that it droops my curl.  Will this be the first non-drugstore waterproof mascara that I actually buy?  It very well may be!



The Clinique Long Lasting Lipstick in Berry Freeze has been sitting in my drawer for years, unused because the dark berry red shade intimidated me too much.  Something in me decided to pick it up again, and I am completely in love.  Compared to all the bright colors I've been wearing, this deep red is a refreshing and actually a more subtle change.

If I wanted to vamp up the red in the lipstick more, I used the Milani Crystal Gloss in Baby Love (I think?)  This is one of those glosses where the name was on the plastic wrapper and clever little me didn't look at the name before taking the packaging off.  It's a pink lipgloss with tons of gold shimmer.  Although it has the potential to be too much for everyday wear, I would describe it as "fun" over a deeper, more brown toned red.  I've always overlooked these glosses before, but this shade has piqued my interest in their other shades!

When was the last time nude lips were on trend?  It seems like for the past couple years, I have strayed far away from any type of nude lip, but something about the paler skin I'm sporting and the colder weather has me gravitating towards them again.  Gone are the days where I use concealer-color lipstick on my lips, but I am enjoying the Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lipgloss in Child over a more MLBB lipstick.  It's a sheer nude lipgloss with a slightly peachy tint, but I love how moisturizing and light the formula is.  I remember the days that I wanted Mac's Myth Lipglass... *shudder* I can't even imagine what using such a thick lipgloss would to to me now...

Last is the C.O. Bigelow Ginger Mentha Lipgloss.  This is the perfect lipgloss when I want just a little bit of shine with a big hit of moisturization.  The gold shimmer-infused minty ginger qualities of this gloss makes it a refreshing winter favorite, and an absolute essential for wherever I'm going!  I'm not sure this is available anymore since I haven't stepped into a Bath and Body Works store or the C.O. Bigelow store in a few years, but SNAG THIS if you see it!




Lastly, is the re-addition of the DKNY Pure Fragrance that has been missing from my collection for so long.  I used up an entire bottle of this before and just haven't bothered rebuying this until now, and I've used it everyday since!  This is the closest thing to a signature scent for me, since I rotate through perfumes fairly often.  But the light, but still cozy feeling of this vanilla scent has me reaching for it over and over.  

Now that February is already half over, I already have a whole new batch of awesome products to show...stay tuned for that! (Which hopefully will come on time for once...)

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