Monthly Favorites: January 2015
It’s that time again! I skipped my December favorites because I made a year-end list instead, so I didn’t really find it necessary to do two at that time. Here are my favorite and most used products in January:
Tarte Maracuja Lip Exfoliant-I have always been lazy, lazy, lazy when it comes to exfoliating my lips. After such a cold and icy winter, my lips were looking and feeling very dry and I knew I had to start doing something about it if I ever wanted to be able to give any lip products a fair review on my blog. I’ve tried several different types of scrubs, but never found one I really like. Most of them were sugar scrubs with giant grains in them that were just okay, but I never felt compelled to continue purchasing them because I knew I could make something identical at home for a fraction of the cost. Of course, what I always plan to make on my own never pans out because it requires research, a trip to the grocery store, and free time in the kitchen. I have a hard enough time getting myself to cook food from scratch. I’ve passed this scrub up a few times while browsing the aisles at Ulta and I always wanted it because it comes in a cute little tin. You know I can’t resist adorable packaging, so I finally bit the bullet. This scrub has a subtle, sweet, minty scent and flavor. What I really love about it is that the graininess is very fine, so I feel like I’m actually exfoliating my lips instead of moving a bunch of huge grains around on them until they dissolve. After the first use, my lips were already looking significantly better. It has a balmy base, so my lips feel nice and moisturized afterwards. I generally don’t like scrubs that do that because it requires me to wash my face with cleanser afterwards to get it off of any areas outside my lips, but since it exfoliates so well, I’ll let it slide. Probably the only thing I really dislike about this is the container. Since it’s metal, I’m afraid to put it in the shower, which would be the most ideal place for me to keep it since I’m less likely to forget to use it before I wash my face.
Available at Sephora and Ulta.
TokyoMilk Dark Femme Fatale Collection Lip Elixir in Clove Cigarette-I’ve been eyeing this lip balm for a while, but never had a good excuse to purchase it until I was only a few bucks short of getting free shipping at Birchbox. So I happily tossed it into my cart. Again, I am a sucker for packaging and this looks a lot fancier than a generic tube of lip balm sitting on the ledge under my bathroom mirror. I’m typically against lip balms that I have to apply with my finger, but this one moisturizes pretty well and I love the way it smells and tastes-like cloves and sugar. There are several unique flavors in this collection I would love to try, which is what I love about it most. Because why buy cherry balm when you can buy clove cigarette balm?
Available at Sephora.
MAC 129 Short Handled Brush-My brush addiction has reached a whole new level over the past month or so. Out of my most recent purchases, this one is my favorite. I use it with my setting powder, blush, and highlighter, and it works great for all of them. The bristles are a little more coarse than I was expecting, but that doesn’t seem to affect its performance. I did do a lot of research before purchasing this one because MAC has a version of this same brush that has a longer handle, so I wasn’t sure which one to get. I ultimately decided on the short handled version because it had higher ratings in general and was said to have softer bristles than the long handled one. It’s also nice and compact and comes in a plastic storage bag, so I can even carry it in my makeup bag in my purse if I want to.
Available at Nordstrom.
Sephora Collection The Natural: Citrus Brush Cleaner-I have always seen the gals at Sephora spraying brush cleaner on brushes before using them, so I had to see what all the fuss was about since I’ve been so terrible about washing my brushes regularly lately. This was one of the ones that had the highest ratings on their website, so I thought I’d give it a shot. It has a very strong orange oil scent, so if you’re not into that, you may want to steer clear of it. I love citrus scents, so I don’t mind it at all. You can actually see product being blasted away when spraying this on the brushes. I then wipe off the excess on a paper towel and I’m good to go. I wouldn’t exactly say that this saves any time cleaning my brushes because it takes just as long to get the product off as it would if I used a soap cleanser, but if you are in a rush and don’t have time for your brushes to dry, it’s a good alternative. It also claims to recondition the brush bristles, and mine have definitely been looking a lot less sad and dry since I’ve been using it.
Available at Sephora.
BelláPierre Shimmer Powder in Exite-I received this in my January Ipsy bag and haven’t stopped using it since. It works great as a highlighter and I use it everywhere. A tiny, tiny bit goes a long way, so you do run the risk of looking like a crazy ice princess if you’re not careful, but when used sparingly, it gives off a gorgeous glow. It can also be used as an eye shadow, and I’m pretty sure it’s intended for that, but I rarely use eye shadow singles because I have so many palettes already that I can complete a whole look with.
Available at bellapierre.com.
