January Favorites 2014
31.1.14
A new year, a new favorites and more than a couple of new products. Well, if I'm honest with you, I think all of these products were results of shopping trips from November onwards. Welp! My bank balance. But it's all done in the name of research, and these were the newbies that made the cut.
[Urban Decay Naked 3 | Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade | Seventeen Phwoarr Paint | La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo | La Roche Posay Effaclar AI | Illamasqua Powder Blush | Sephora Mineral Powder Brush | Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation | Redken Smooth Lock Shampoo | Redken Smooth Lock Conditioner]
Let's get what almost everyone is talking about out of the way. I got the Urban Decay Naked 3 as an early Christmas gift and it probably was the only palette that I used for weeks straight after I got it. (Thanks Em!) I'm not going to go into details about this because I'm sure you're already tired of it, but in short, it was the palette I brought to Paris and the pinks actually aren't hard to wear.
Another thing that everyone has been talking about is the Seventeen Phwoarr Paint. This drugstore concealer has officially taken down the Benefit Boi-ing for my favorite pot concealer as it's more creamy but the staying power is just as amazing for only a fraction of the price. I do find that the shades tend to run lighter as I can't remember when was the last time I had to use 'medium' in anything makeup related.
The Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade is popping up on all the radars of the big bloggers, but I was completely sold this when Suzie used this in her tutorial. I've been crushing after her brows for the longest time, and the craving for the brow pomade was hitting hard. It was the first time I've ever been on the waiting list for anything beauty-related, and I wasn't even sure how to use it. It was just one of those 'get into my collection first and I'll learn how to use you later' products but boy oh boy, is it worth it. I'll have a review of this coming up in a couple weeks time so keep your eye out for that.
I talked about the Sephora Mineral Powder Brush here, so I won't go into detail. But for those of you that just want the love in a sentence: I think it's giving the Sigma F80 a good run. A couple of naughty purchases were made in the past several weeks when the sales were starting to peak in discount. The first and probably most loved since I got it has been the Illamaqua Blush in Lover. Call me crazy, but this is actually my first peach-shaded blush and now I think I'm converted. These blushes are ridiculously soft, but not in a 'touch and it'll crumble' sorta way, more in a 'I would keep stroking you, even if it looks creepy' kinda way. Not weird at all.
Let's get what almost everyone is talking about out of the way. I got the Urban Decay Naked 3 as an early Christmas gift and it probably was the only palette that I used for weeks straight after I got it. (Thanks Em!) I'm not going to go into details about this because I'm sure you're already tired of it, but in short, it was the palette I brought to Paris and the pinks actually aren't hard to wear.
Another thing that everyone has been talking about is the Seventeen Phwoarr Paint. This drugstore concealer has officially taken down the Benefit Boi-ing for my favorite pot concealer as it's more creamy but the staying power is just as amazing for only a fraction of the price. I do find that the shades tend to run lighter as I can't remember when was the last time I had to use 'medium' in anything makeup related.
The Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade is popping up on all the radars of the big bloggers, but I was completely sold this when Suzie used this in her tutorial. I've been crushing after her brows for the longest time, and the craving for the brow pomade was hitting hard. It was the first time I've ever been on the waiting list for anything beauty-related, and I wasn't even sure how to use it. It was just one of those 'get into my collection first and I'll learn how to use you later' products but boy oh boy, is it worth it. I'll have a review of this coming up in a couple weeks time so keep your eye out for that.
I talked about the Sephora Mineral Powder Brush here, so I won't go into detail. But for those of you that just want the love in a sentence: I think it's giving the Sigma F80 a good run. A couple of naughty purchases were made in the past several weeks when the sales were starting to peak in discount. The first and probably most loved since I got it has been the Illamaqua Blush in Lover. Call me crazy, but this is actually my first peach-shaded blush and now I think I'm converted. These blushes are ridiculously soft, but not in a 'touch and it'll crumble' sorta way, more in a 'I would keep stroking you, even if it looks creepy' kinda way. Not weird at all.
I had a massive breakout just before I went to Paris and it continued for several weeks. It was terrible and the Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation was my go-to product for masking away the blemish-fiesta that was going on strong on the cheeks. I have a post about this little tube of camouflage coming up next week, so again, not going into details here. It's going to be worth the wait, promise. But of course, I couldn't just let the fiesta die down itself. I'm a party-pooper when it comes to blemish parties, and the La Roche Posay Effaclar A.I. was my sargant when it came to busting the party. Applying two thin layers of this before my toner and after my moisturizer, twice a day, and in 2-3 days, it's like a shrink ray hit the godzilla-size of the blemish. The La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo has been dealing with the aftermath of the scarring and two weeks after using the LRP duo, the scarring that would normally take months to fade has already pinked down drastically.
Finally, we're at the last of the favorites list. The Redken Smooth Lock Shampoo & Conditioner was picked up when they were on sale post-Christmas. If I remember correctly, this is the first time I've used non-drugstore shampoo/conditioner and wow. Just...wow. This duo combined doesn't seem much at first, but wait several hours and the softness just magically appears. My hair is lucky enough to be naturally wavy, but it also means it frizzes up like it's no one's business. And I've seen a major reduction in frizz since using this duo. Plus, I find that I only need half the amount of this shampoo/conditioner than my regular drugstore offerings to get the same results. So that logic applied, the price of the Redken offering is just about the same as the L'Oreal Ever Sleek. Kinda.
Phew! This month was a long list of favorites and I've given you guys a long enough read for the end of the week. January has been good to me in so many ways, the perfect start to the new year. What was on your favorites for the past 31 days?
Ppst! Redken is currently 25% off on lookfantastic.com and Vichy Dermablend is also on sale over at escentual. Don't say I'm not good to you!
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