Welcome to my first monthly favorites post! I always enjoy
seeing what other people are enjoying, beauty-wise. Plus, I thought
it’d be a nice switch from an outfit post. I might throw in some random favorites, too. So, here we go!
REN, various prices
Basically, the brand is my fave this month. I have the No. 1 Purity Cleansing Balm in the photo, but I love everything I’ve tried from their brand. I can’t even remember where I heard about this brand . . . it might have been on Essiebutton’s blog. Anyways, the first item I sampled from the brand was their Resurfacing AHA Concentrate, and then it just snowballed from there. I absolutely love this cleansing balm. It makes my skin feel so smooth and clean!
Benefit B. Right Total Moisture Facial Cream, $38 for 1.7 oz.
I purchased this moisturizer in a sample set on Birchbox’s set, and I am so glad I did. The set came with an exfoliating cleanser, a day cream, and this moisturizer. It doesn’t specifically say to use this at night, but that’s how I’ve been using it. It feels really great and sinks nicely into my skin. The only complaint I have is the fragrance-y smell. However, once it’s absorbed, I don’t smell it. My skin feels perfectly moisturized the morning after I use this.
BioInfusion Color Care Colorlux Serum, purchased for $2.49
Say hello to my new hair serum. Previously, I’ve used a few hair oil/serums. The ones I’ve tried are Moroccan Oil, Aveda Smoothing Fluid Motion, Orofluido Elixir, and one from Shu Uemura . . . can’t remember the name. Anyways! I picked this up at Walgreens for . . . wait for it . . . $2.49. It was on random clearance at my Walgreens, so I decided to give it a whirl. I freakin’ love it. I use this on my ends when I’m going to blow dry my hair, and it’s the perfect amount of moisture that they need. My only hope is that it wasn’t on clearance because they were discontinuing it, and maybe just because they were repackaging it or something. It’s not on clearance on the Walgreens website, so just maybe. . .
Clarisonic Mia Skin Cleansing System, $119
Oh my, oh mia. I purchased this back in December. For quite a while, I’ve been going back and forth about purchasing it. On one hand, it’s a lot of money. On the other hand, it seems to be such a holy grail item for a lot of people. Also, Nat the Fat Rat recommended this one over the $30 Olay one. And I’m not putting all my stock in one person’s review, but she did a pretty thorough experiment with both of them. So . . . I bit the bullet and purchased it. And I love it. I plan on writing a review post on this, so I’ll just leave it at that.
Benefit B. Right It’s Potent Eye Cream, $32 for 0.5 oz.
This is from my January Birchbox, and I am happy it made it into my first favorites post. This is a brightening eye cream that fades dark circles. I have genetically dark under eye circles that look worse when I’m congested or tired, so there’s only so much I can do for them. However, I was very happy to see my dark circles diminished a bit after using this for a month. My dark circles will never be completely gone, but I am super happy with what this cream has done for them. The active ingredients are peptides for firmness, a botanical extract to boost collagen, and loquat extract that helps protect the skin from free radical damage.
Lancome Hypnose Star, $28
I got this sample in . . . something. Maybe an It Kit or a freebie from Sephora or something like that. This was one of those things that I was hesitant to try, because it is freaking expensive for a mascara. You know, I didn’t want to fall in love with it too much or something. Of course, I ended up loving it! (dang it ) My eyelashes aren’t very thick, but they are sort of long-ish. I usually go for volumizing mascaras. This is perfect for me. The thing I love most is that it doesn’t take a lot of work to get a lot of volume. So, yeah, if you have $28 to plunk down a mascara, I vote for this one.
Laura Mercier in Golden Mosaic, $40
I was a little apprehensive about the golden shimmer in this powder, but it actually looks pretty and luminous on my cheeks. Very, very pleasantly surprised. This is a baked product and contains light-reflecting properties. The four shades swirled together make a unique shade that is gorgeous on the cheeks or body. You can also use the individual shades as eyeshadow, which would also be pretty. I definitely think it’s worth the price! When I don’t want to splash out a ton of blush but still want a subtle glow, I get this out.
I only have one random favorite, and that is Downton Abbey. Oh, Downton Abbey! I’ve loved it from the beginning. But, let’s not talk about this past weekend’s episode. For one, I haven’t seen it. For two, I accidentally saw a spoiler so I know what happened. For three, my husband predicted it. Ugh! Fingers crossed that I get the dvd set for Valentine’s Day!!
What were your beauty favorites in January? Anything I should try out? Any shows that tickle your fancy at the moment?
Today I’m linking up with Ashley from Dancing With Ashley.
