Hey everyone!
As mentioned in my last post I have been loving a lot of products lately and I really wanted to share them with you. This is only a monthly favourites so essentially what I used and loved in December that is newer to my loves list. I will also be doing a yearly favourites (think Top 15 of 2015) that will line up my favourites for the entire year. Those favourites need to have been in my line up for at least 3-4 months of 2015. But for this month, I will be showing what I used repeatedly in December.
First off is not a new product on this blog. This is my beloved Smashbox Primer Water. This is my second mini-bottle of the product. I was skeptical for sure at first… I mean expensive water right? But I find between using this first and then using my Beauty Blender that I get the perfect light coverage with any foundation, BB Cream, Tinted Moisturizer. I am running out and I will not be repurchasing right away because I have a ton of primers to use up, but this will be back in my collection sooner than later. This 1 oz. bottle retails for 15$ and the full size (3.9 oz.) retails for 37$.
My new favourite face product is this Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream from Bare Minerals in 02 Vanilla. I had been looking for this shade after getting a sample for a long time and finally got my hands on it. This is a great light formula. It evens out my skin and hydrates which is crucial in the cold winter air. I love this product and have been using it everyday since I bought it. A tube of this magical concoction retails for 37$.
Now this was a surprise even for me. I love love love my Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer but that product is sooo pricey! I was on the hunt for drugstore alternatives and decided to try this one from Rimmel. It is their Wake Me Up concealer. I also want to test out the Fit Me one from Maybelline, but I love this little guy. It does a great job at blending out problem areas and brightening under my eyes. I use the shade Very Light to help brightening my under eyes. It retails for 4.47$ at Walmart.
Next has been a long time fave since September. I love this blush. It is so natural and really affordable. I love the brand Milani. It is inexpensive and great quality. This is their blush in Romantic Rose. It is beautiful and so versatile. I got this at London Drugs and it can be found online at Drugstore.com for 7.99$.
Next is a real fave. I used two highlighters all month and this one was a fave for bolder looks and Christmas parties. It is a beautiful shade and just gives such a nice glow to the skin. This is Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Champagne Pop. This is a beautiful peachy champagne gold and it looks beautiful on the skin. This retails for 46$.
Next is also a highlighter. This is more subtle and I tend to use it mostly on my work and natural makeup days. It is from Laura Mercier and it is their Matte Radiance Baked Powder Compact in Highlight 1. This was a deluxe sample from a Sephora Favourites kit. I love it! It is similar to Champagne Pop but more subtle and less peachy. The full size retails for 48$. I use a fan brush to lightly apply this to my cheekbones and down the bridge of my nose.
I have been using two eyeshadows all month. The first is this beautiful shadow from Nyx. This is one of their Prismatic shadows in Bedroom Eyes. It is a gorgeous metallic brown that looks amazing all over the lid and blended out. I am a huge fan of Nyx. They are great quality and super affordable. This shadow retails for 8$. I have also learned that Shoppers here will soon be selling Nyx which is incredibly exciting!
Next is a shadow that I forgot I had in my Z-Palette. It is a depotted shadow – it is Ardency Inn’s Modster Manuka Honey Enriched Pigment. I love their pigmentation and I am so happy I rediscovered this beauty. Same of the above shadow I put this all over the lid and blend out into the crease. This is the shade Rose Gold. This shadow retails for 24$.
I used to be a big user of the Benefit Gimme Brow for my brows. I went through 4 tubes but that adds up with the price of them, so I went hunting for a drugstore alternative. I love this product. The brush is less convenient than the Gimme Brow and thus has a learning curve to figure it out, but once you do it is great! I use this Maybelline Brow Drama in Soft Brown. This retails for 9.96$ at Walmart. I have ok brows and this is good to fill in the emptier areas and comb them into place.
Last but not least I have been loving this lip balm. I bought this at the beginning of the month on a whim but I love the scent of this. It is the TokyoMilk Dark Femme Fatale Collection Lip Elixir in Salted Caramel No. 36. This smells amazing! It smells like warm sugar and I love the texture. It is hydrating but not greasy and is not too expensive as far as Sephora-sold lip balms go. It retails for 8$.
Thank you all for reading! I will be doing my yearly roundup in a few days once I collect my thoughts and choose my most used and loved products of the year.
The Makeup Fangirl 