February 2015 Favorites

I don’t understand where February went. Wasn’t it just Christmas? Wasn’t it just New Year’s Eve when I was sitting on the couch bumming it out in my flannel pajamas, a blue clay mask on my face and reading Cold Mountain, while my parents watched a jazz concert on PBS? Cool people stay in on New Year’s Eve by the way…

Even though I’m in severe denial about how quickly time is passing, February was a month of great beauty finds for me. This is a lengthy post, so grab some tea, sit back and relax.  

I tried two foundations this month. The Becca Radiant Skin Satin Finish Foundation is a beautiful product. I have the shade Olive and it is a perfect match for my skin tone. This is a medium coverage foundation that as the name implies, has a satin finish. This works well with my oily skin, blends likes a dream, and wears wonderfully. In fact it looks better the longer I have it on. When I have a long day, this is the base I grab for. If you are looking for a foundation that gives you flawless skin without looking cakey and too made up, look no further. The second foundation is the L’oreal True Match in the shade W6 Sun Beige. I resisted buying this for a while, even though there is a ton of hype around this foundation. I finally caved and purchased it at the end of January. I’ve been missing out. This is a fantastic foundation at an even better price. It’s medium coverage, doesn’t lean too dewy or too matte and wears well. It lasts for hours on the skin and like the Becca Radiant Skin, I’ll reach for this when I know I’m going to have at least a 10 hour day. I like the Becca a little more than the True Match, but you can’t beat the price of the L’oreal; $8 compared to the Radiant Skin’s $42.

thebalm Cindy Lou-Manizer. I’ve lusted after this product since it was release almost two years ago. After finally getting my paws on Cindy’s champagne counterpart Mary Lou-Manizer and loving it, it was time to get Cindy. Cindy Lou-Manizer is a soft, warm pink highlighter. It isn’t as shimmery, pigmented and intense as the Mary Lou-Manizer, so it’s perfect for those days when I’m not trying to have my cheekbones to resemble high beams. It pairs well with my mid-toned mauve-pink blushes like NYX Mocha and Laura Geller’s baked blush in Sateen Subtle Berry.

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 01 Rose Shimmer. This is another hyped up product I resisted for a while. I just didn’t believe a lip gloss/lip balm hybrid could really be. That. Good. And even after I got this, I wasn’t initially blown away. When I first tried this I was like, “Okay, it’s just a lip balm that smells nice and barely adds any color to my lips.” Duh Alana, that’s the point! This gives the lips a beautiful sheen that isn’t too glossy. It’s moisturizing and just enhances the lips. It’s supposed to be understated, plus it smells lovely, like vanilla. The texture is smooth, creamy, not too thick and not too thin. There is a very subtle shimmer, but it is so subtle it doesn’t translate to the lips at all. In fact, it took me weeks to see that there was shimmer in this product. I have used this product everyday this month. It stays in my handbag and I grab this whenever I need to moisturize my lips throughout the day.

NYX Butter Gloss in Crème Brulee. This is a beautiful gloss. It’s creamy, nicely pigmented, smells of vanilla and melts into the lips. Crème Brulee is a milky pink-nude shade. I’ve been wearing this alone when I’m in the mood for a paler nude lip and I’ve also been layering this over MAC’s Cremesheen lipstick in Peach Blossom. Those two are a match made in heaven. If you’re a fan of soft nude-pink lips, this is your combo. Go do yourself a favor and put these two on your face.

Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara (non-waterproof). It was time for me to put the L’oreal Miss Manga mascara down and give another mascara a chance. I decided on the Maybelline Mega Plush because I liked the color of the packaging. Once I tired it out, I decided that I also like the product. That’s always a bonus. I favor length over volume in a mascara and this gives me great length. I have really long lashes anyway, so I can generally make any mascara work, but this one is quite nice. It doesn’t make my lashes as long as Miss Manga, but I sill like it. It doesn’t smudge on me, even though it’s not waterproof and people have asked me if I’m wearing false lashes, even my parents. Dear Parental Units: No, I am not wearing false lashes. They scare me. No glue is going anywhere near my eyeballs.

I acquired two more Real Techniques brushes this past month. I’ve been eyeballing the Expert Face Brush for a while now and I’ve really been enjoying it when I use it to apply foundations that tend have a more fluid texture. I really like it with the Becca Radiant Skin, L’oreal True Match and the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua. Because this is a denser brush, I can really get precise application and it blends foundation in flawlessly. I’ve also been putting the Stippling Brush to good use. I strayed away from concealer this month (except underneath my eyes, because the hereditary dark circle struggle is real). I’ve been using the stippling brush to apply more foundation where I think I need it, mainly on my cheeks and it covers up any hyper-pigmentation flawlessly without looking cakey.  

Fresh Umbrian Clay Face Lotion. I was in the market for a moisturizer to use in the morning. I stumbled across this Fresh one that was formulated with oily skin in mind. It claims to control oils while gently hydrating and toning the complexion. I really, really like this stuff. It really does keep my face less oily and I find that I don’t need to blot my face as often throughout the day.  I also like how it smells, like cucumbers and citrus with a hint of floral. I have a back up.

Origins Plantscription Face Oil.  I like this face oil so much that if I were to describe to you in person my love for it, I would just make incoherent noises. My skin drinks this oil up. I use three drops at night and one drop in the morning and my skin is more radiant, bright, even, smooth, soft and more youthful. Granted, I am in my 20s, so my skin is already youthful, but it’s still improved the texture of my skin. My skin has the texture of my 17 year old self and that almost 7 year gap makes a difference. If you’re into facial oils, you may want to look into this gem by Origins.

Those are all my monthly favorites for the month of February. This was definitely a long post, but I hope you enjoyed it. I like taking the time to write these more lengthy posts, there is something satisfying about it.

What were your favorite products from this past month?

-      Alana