January Favourites (Beauty Edition)

January has come and gone by so quickly! Here's a look at a variety of beauty products I've been using and loving all month. Some I've had for a while but haven't been using until now, and some I've purchased recently that I've been wearing frequently. I've been obsessed with darker lips (red, wines) this winter so you'll be seeing a lot of that. Something about the cold weather, paler complexions, and a good red lip just screams sophistication. Red lips go perfectly in the winter. I'm a nail polish fanatic (can't get enough seriously) and this month has been all about the glitter! I've just been killing the glitter, just makes your nails so sparkly, pretty, and eye-catching! I also have some really nice blushes, eyeshadows, and other beauty products to share with you that I love and recommend.



Lipstick/Glosses





(L-R): Revlon Red Velvet Lip Butter, Revlon Cherry Tart Lip Butter, Revlon Strawberry Shortcake Lip Butter, Mac Hibiscus, Mac Heartless, Mac Flamingo, Mac Rue D'Rouge Dazzleglass



Revlon Red Velvet Lip Butter is a deep wine/blood red. It's gorgeous and super pigmented! It looks really brown in the tube but swatched on your lips/hands it turns out to be a very lovely wine red shade. It's a glossy cream finish and I can see this looking great on all skintones. Looks amazing for winter but is easily a shade that'll look great through all seasons. One of my favourites from the Revlon lip butter line. Recommended!


Revlon Cherry Tart Lip Butter is a bright cherry red with tiny microshimmers. It's showing up darker in this picture, but it's more brighter in real life. Sheer when first applied but you can easily build up the color. This is an easy-to-wear red if Revlon's Red Velvet might be too dramatic for you. I really like this one as well, if your looking for a sheer red that can be built up, I recommend this lip butter!


Revlon Strawberry Shortcake is a light baby pink with a glossy cream finish. It's pretty pigmented on my lips and you can build the color up by applying more layers. Out of the other light pinks in this collection, Strawberry Shortcake is on the more pigmented side. A really cute girly color, makes a great alternative to a nude lip. I'm a sucker for all things pink so I do love this. If your a pink lover like me then go for it! Although a lot of lighter pinks tend to be patchy or slide around the lips, I found this provided decent even coverage.


Mac Hibiscus Lipstick is a bright coral red. It's a really fun color perfect for spring/summer. A great transition color to wear in February, where winter isn't quite over but spring is just around the corner. I really enjoy wearing it right now. It's a creamsheen finish, which i personally love as it's moisturizing but pigmented at the same time. It is a limited edition item, came out with Mac's summer collection last year. I assume it would be pretty easy to dupe though, with all the various coral reds out there.


Mac Heartless Lipstick is a beautiful, intense, blue toned red. I'm in love with this color!! It's been my go to lip color for nights out, makes me feel instantly sexier and more confident ^_~. It's sexy but sophisticated at the same time. It's an amplified finish, so its crazy pigmented. Every girl needs to get their hands on a nice blue toned red lipstick! I feel like Snow White when I wear this ^_^. This is a limited edition lipstick, came out with the Venomous Villains collection. I wish MAC would repromote this because I need a backup!


Mac Flamingo Lipstick is a light coral pink. It's a lustre finish so it's on the sheer side but the color can be built up by applying more layers. It has a really nice sheen to it. I really like this lipstick, it shows up more pink with a hint of coral on my lips. Very cute and perfect for spring. I can see this looking great on many skintones. This is a limited edition color that came out with the Iris Apfel collection just last month. If you can still get your hands on it, get it!


Mac Rue D'Rouge Dazzleglass is a bright red with pink and white microglitters. I own a number of dazzleglasses but not really a fan; they're too sticky and sometimes too glittery for my taste. I really do like Rue D'Rouge though. It's pigmented enough to wear on its own and looks really nice over red lipsticks. I especially like wearing it with Mac's Heartless lipstick, makes a great combo.

Swatches


(L-R): Mac Rue D'Rouge, Mac Flamingo, Mac Heartless, Mac Hibiscus, Revlon Strawberry Shortcake, Revlon Cherry Tart, Revlon Red Velvet



Blushes

(L-R): Rock & Republic Call Me Blush, Mac Stereo Rose MSF, Mac Briar Rose Beauty Powder, Illamasqua Katie Blush


Rock & Republic Call Me Blush is a beautiful peachy/coral pink with gold microshimmer. I love this blush (seriously this picture is not doing it justice, must see in person)!! It reminds me of Nars Orgasm and I think it's a better version of it. This is what I wanted Nars Orgasm to be. It's pigmented, goes on smoothly, and blends out nicely. The golden microshimmer gives a super pretty sheen to the cheeks. It's the perfect peachy coral pink for everyday. Although it's a color that looks good all season long, I can see this being especially lovely in the spring/summer. I'm highly impressed with the Rock & Republic blushes and if this color isn't up your alley, I'd highly recommend you check out the many other shades in their line! Plus the packaging is awesome =]


Mac Stereo Rose MSF is an amazing mineralized, rose colored blush! As a mineralized skin finish, it can be used various ways on the face but I love using this as a blush. The rose color shows up really well on my skintone, gives my cheeks a lovely flushed look, and has the prettiest sheen to it. I can see why this is a cult favourite. Mac needs to make this baby permanent!!


Mac Briar Rose Beauty Powder is a lovely lavender pink. It's so pretty and is quite pigmented for a beauty powder (they're known to be sheer). It applies smoothly and is easy to blend. I love how it's a cool toned blue/lavender based pink. I think this shade looks lovely in the fall/winter, it gives the cheeks a cute flush of color.

Illamasqua Katie Blush is the most adorable baby pink blush ever! It's a matte finish. It is quite chalky/powdery when swatched but when applied to the cheeks, it blends out nicely. Your brush will pick up a lot of product so you only need to dab slightly to get a lot of color. You can build up the color to a super cute dolly look. This shade seriously reminds me of cotton candy, Barbie, Hello Kitty, unicorns, and all things cute and girly. How can a girl not love this? This is part of their permanent line, pick one up today! Illamasqua isn't available in Canada. An outrage! I love the brand, would love to try more products from them.



Perfume

Chloe Eau de Parfum is a beautiful floral scent with topnotes of pink peony, freesia, and lychee. It has midnotes of rose, magnolia, and lilly of the valley. It's basenotes include honey, amber, and cedarwood. I've been obsessed with this perfume and have been wearing it throughout January. It has such a clean, fresh scent! Very feminine and chic. May I add that the bottle is absolutely so pretty and dainty!



Eye Shadows

Wet n Wild Color Icon Palette in 738 Comfort Zone is a set of 8 eyeshadows with a lot of pretty neutral shades (ranging from a yellowish cream to a brown with green duochrome/reflexes). I love these Wet n Wild color icon palettes, I have two others but this one is my favourite. These shadows are super pigmented, the colors go on smoothly, and they're easy to blend. I think these are one of the most high quality drugstore shadows you can find in the market and they're so inexpensive! Around $4CAD at Walmart!! Now that's what I call getting your money's worth and well beyond. My favourite shade from the palette has to be the beautiful taupe color at top right corner. One of the best taupes I've come across and have been using it nonstop this month. Good for a really nice, neutral everyday look. You can see by the bigger indent that it gets a lot of love lol ^-^. I highly recommend this palette, definitely worth your money. The other two palettes (a purple and blue one) are really pretty as well.



Urban Decay Naked Palette is the it palette for neutrals. Do I even need to comment on this one? Everyone knows about it and probably owns. Love this palette, I use it almost on a daily basis. All the colors are gorgeous but the shades I've been using the most are Sin, Naked, and Toasted. Sin is the best transition or all over lid color, so pretty! All the shades compliment one another and you can create a variety of looks just using these colors. I've been wanting to get the Naked 2 palette. They look similar and you probably don't need both but I really like some of the shades in the Naked 2 ^_^. Totally recommended if you don't already own one!




(L-R): Urban Decay Primer Potion, Lancome Photogenic Skin-Illuminating Concealer (SPF 15) in Light Buff, Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Liner in Blackest Black, Nivea Milk & Honey chapstick.

The Urban Decay Primer Potion is my go to primer. I've used Too Faced Shadow Insurance and it's good, but I keep coming back to UDPP. I really like the new packaging for it, saves so much product and is easier to use. Another good primer that's inexpensive is the ELF primer from their $1 line. It works well on me and isonly $1. I'd give that a try if you don't want to spend much money on a primer. I don't wear anything on the face (foundation, powder, etc) but when I do get the occasional pimple, I love using my Lancome Concealer in Light Buff. The shade matches PERFECTLY with my skintone and it blends into the skin nicely. I'm so sad that it's discontinued, I should have bought backups =(. I really enjoy using my Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Liner in blackest black, its pigmented, glides on well, and long lasting. It's pretty much a true black (it does have a tiniest bit of shimmer to it but can't really tell) so it's ideal if you want a basic dark black for lining your eyes. They remind me of Mac fluidlines in look (which I want to try) and if your looking for an affordable liner, give this a try. It also comes with a little flat liner brush that works pretty well, I've been using it to line the outer corner of my eyes and wing out my liner. The chapstick I've been using this month is Nivea's Milk & Honey and I do like it. I dislikedv the scent at first but you get used to it. It does it's job of moisturizing my lips and I find most of Nivea's chapsticks work well.



(L-R): L'Occitane Hand Cream for Dry Skin, ELF Natural Lash Eyelashes

I have dry skin so winter weather is no fun for me. In search of a good hand cream, I tried L'Occitane's hand cream with 20% shea butter and it works great! Very soft and buttery feeling when applied to the hands and it absorbs quickly. It has a slight scent to it... almost a baby powder scent? It's not bad or overpowering. It's on the more expensive side but I think it's worth it. When I do wear lashes, the ELF natural lashes are the ones I use most of the time. It's really affordable, only $1 so it's easy to use and dispose. These suit my eye shape, sometimes more so than other more expensive brands. I have a bunch of these and always remember to buy backups when I order from ELF.



Nail Polish

(L-R): Essie Mint Candy Apple, Essie Bobbing for Baubles, Revlon Jaded Night, Revlon Plum Seduction, China Glaze For Audrey, China Glaze Twinkle Lights, OPI Rainbow Connection, Nicole by OPI One Less Lonely Glitter.



Essie Mint Candy Apple is a cool mint green with a cream finish. It's a really cute shade of mint green and because it's cool toned, it looks great during the winter and spring/summer. I use 2-3 coats to get full opaque and even coverage. It is a permanent color.


Essie Bobbing for Baubles is a deep midnight ink blue with a cream finish. This is gorgeous!! The color has a lot of depth to it and looks super flattering on the nails. I feel like I'm peering into the dark depths of the ocean with this on my nails ^-^. Very opaque, this is a one coater but I usually use 2 coats for all polishes. It has a really nice glossy finish to it as well. This came out with Essie's Cocktail Bling collection this winter.


Revlon Jaded Night is a hunter green with a cream finish. I love these types of greens, very chic and flattering on the nails. This was my it color for fall and early winter. Revlon polishes are usually very good, come in tons of colors, and is one of my favourite brands for drugstore nail polish. I use 1-2 coats to get full opaque and even coverage.


Revlon Plum Seduction is a fuschia plum with a cream finish. This is a super pretty color and would look great all season long. It's also very flattering on the nails, like little berries on your fingertips! Nom nom ^^. I use 1-2 coats for full opaque and even coverage.


China Glaze For Audrey is the infamous Tiffany box blue nail polish with a cream finish. Such a beautiful color, one of my all time favs, and I can see why it's loved by many. It seems like a combination of a robin's egg blue, turquoise, and a mint green. It's very flattering and I get tons of compliments every time I wear it. This is also a color that looks good all season long. I use anywhere from 1-3 coats for full opaque and even coverage. This is what's currently on my nails ^-^


China Glaze Twinkle Lights is an infusion of gold, red, and green glitters in a clear base. This photo doesn't capture how beautiful this polish is, see above pictures or in real life! It's Christmas on your fingers. Perfect for winter, parties, or any occasion where you want to stand out and sparkle! This is also very flattering on, your nails look like glittering jewels, and I've gotten lots of compliments on it. 1-2 coater for full opaque, even coverage. Came out in this year's winter collection.


OPI Rainbow Connection is an explosion of multi-colored glitters. Totally amazing and fun! I love just looking at it ^-^ It looks great on its own but looks awesome over a base color as well. I've seen it over white nail polish and its super cute, must try that asap! 2-3 coats for full opaque and even coverage. Came out with OPI's Muppet collection and Nicole by OPI has an exact dupe of it in Rainbow in the S-Kylie (from the Kardashian collection). I have both >_< ... don't judge lol.


Nicole by OPI One Less Lonely Glitter is a pinkish purple glitter in a light purple base. I love it, so pretty! It swatches lighter on the nails, and is very flattering. Reminds me of fairytales and princesses ^-^. 1-2 coats for an even opaque and full coverage. It's from the Justin Bieber line and I must admit, he has some really nice shades in his collection lol.

Swatches




This brings an end to my January favorites. Hope you enjoyed and if you'd like more swatches on individual products, let me know! What were your favorite beauty products this months? What would you recommend? I have another haul and OOTD coming up, as well as a full review/swatches of all the Revlon lip butters I own so stay tuned! ^-^