I can't believe I actually typed 2016 correctly the first time around - at least for the title. I somehow messed up the first sentence by typing 2015...oh well, small victory-ish. The past month has been one with reunions - I've had some old friends fly back to the island country to vote in the presidential elections and of course, reunions were warranted. Also, I never thought I'd be freezing in Taiwan as the winters here have the average temperature of 14 degrees celsius. So about 3 days, it seemed as if the apocalypse was near as the temperatures were around 3 degrees celsius - on flat land. The mountains were pretty much decked with snow - even the ones that were only a several hundred meters high. My fingers are freezing as I'm typing this and I never thought I'd wish to have central heating here in Taiwan. The absurdity.
Enough with the life update and back to the consumerist front. I haven't changed my makeup look that much, but I've been shaking up the products that I've been using. I've rounded together some items that have really given me the heart eyes the past 31 days.
The most exciting thing has to be the Innisfree Water Glow Cushion Foundation. I hauled this at the start of the year and it's been a great start in the 2016 makeup newbie lineup. This is the base that I've opted for 90% of the time, only ditching it when I was massively breaking out and needed a slightly higher coverage foundation. I have a review of this in works so hold your horses, people.
I've been getting back into blushes the past month as the Innisfree Cushion Foundation does tend to wash me out a tad. The first one should be no surprise as I've harped on and on about Tarte Exposed. Even going as far as making the bold claim that this would be the one blush I would keep if I had to give away all the other cheek colours in my collection. It's a natural looking blush that adds life and dimension back into the face and will work with any look, ranging from au natural to flamboyantly glamorous.
Another cheek colour I've really been enjoying isEssence Berry Me Up!, this is the first blush I've tried from the brand and I can see why they're just about everyone's favourite drugstore blush. Heck, it's probably even one of the best formulas in my collection. Soft to the touch, the formula is pigmented enough to create a natural looking blush colour with your usual blush brush, but not overly so that it's hard to work with. Berry Me Up! despite the shade name, is a beautiful medium rosey mauve shade. I could see this being a good natural shade for people with medium skin tones, but it's a great flush of colour if you lean more on the fair-light shade spectrum.
Last but not least, let's get to the usual suspects of lip products. The year started with the odd sense that it seemed to be a new beginning and I'm still not sure what I'm doing with myself. Combined with the constant rainy days and the sun refusing to show face, I needed an equally gloomy lipstick to match the lethargy I was going through. MAC Up The Amp (swatch and review), a grey-ish lavender shade, was the perfect colour. It's moody enough to match the sentiments but had just enough brightness that it didn't drag in depression - it was almost that depressed romantic feeling.
Things started getting better towards the latter of the month - not so much the weather, but I was compelled to go out a bit more and socialise with people that I hadn't realised how much I missed. There's something weird about wearing a grey-lavender lipstick to meet old friends. Under these circumstances, MAC Taupe (swatch and review) was the my go to. It's a lip colour that walks on the fine line between looking natural and adding some drama. It's a wonderful daytime shade, adding a bit of red and effort into an otherwise neutral look.
January, overall, has been quite the emotional up and down. I'm still not quite sure how I've felt about the month in whole, I think I enjoyed the most of it. But the makeup products have not let me down, I hope that's a good indication of what's to come in the 2016 makeup lineup! What have been some of your favourite products in the opening month?
With Love,
Daphne x
Where to Buy in Taiwan: Innisfree - in stores, Essence - selected Watsons, MAC - Sogo
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