April Monthly Favorites

I feel like the month of April was so long that I can't remember everything that I liked. There was just so much crap that I used in the beginning of the month and I don't know where March ended and April started. I've either used these things for most or all of the month or closer to the end of the month because it was so long. I also feel like I had a lot of no makeup or minimal makeup days, so that isn't helping. 

I've been in a pretty consistent skincare routine, so I'm getting bored of posting the exact same things that I use every day in every week or every month. That means maybe I'll post a skincare routine and maybe a daily makeup routine or something. I don't know if that would be interesting at all.

Shisheido Perfect Whip Foam: This has been my cleanser of choice lately, even though I've been trying to use up some others. Recently I decided to push this into the back of my cabinet because I really do need to use up things. I really like how thick this cleanser is and I prefer to use this with my Clarisonic because it's harder to lather up with my hands.

Lioele Multi Seaweed Gel: I had a sample of this eons ago and after I chose to purchase a full size, I stopped using it. So it sat in a box for a few months until I rediscovered it a little over a month ago. I've slowly started replacing my Clinique gel cream with this in the mornings. I'm actually finding that I prefer this over the Clinique one and this was only about $12 and there's a lot more product in the tub. This absorbs into my skin much quicker and I feel like it will be a summer favorite.

Missha Time Revolution Night Repair Science Activator Ampoule: Yes. This again. It's my favorite ever. Blah blah blah. What else can I say about it other than this one is almost gone?

MAC Prep+Prime Skin Base Visage: I've honestly continued to use this because there isn't another primer that I can even reach for right now. Everything else is still sucking the moisture out of my skin, but this is just a standard. I'm actually surprised that I haven't run out of this yet. In a couple weeks, I'm sure I'll need to use an oil control primer and I don't want to have to save this for next year because I'm sure the expiration is coming up.

Skin79 Super+ Triple Functions BB Cream in Green: I've been favoring this one over VIP Gold because I've been using other foundations this month. Mainly this has been an under eye concealer and brightener because it's on the lighter side. Now that the weather is warming up, I've been using slightly darker bronzers and don't need my foundation to be so light.

Illamasqua Skin Base in 02: This is not something I can use on its own. The foundation itself is too thick for my skin and I prefer to mix it into my MAC Face and Body when I want a little more coverage. I also have this in a darker color that I'll probably end up using in a month or so.

MAC Face and Body Foundation in N1: Yup. This one is back. We had a enough warmer days that I could wear this foundation, but then it got cold again. I really love this foundation, so I had to toss this in the post. I can't wait to wear this foundation on a regular basis, but I may have discovered that VIP Gold from Skin79 is perfect of its own for a light makeup day. 

It's Skin Under Eye Brightener: When I needed a little under eye pick me up, this is what I used. I've been using this instead of my Maybelline one and I think I actually prefer it. I think I say that every time I switch up products though. Maybe it's just because this blends a little better into my foundation because of the texture.

MAC Sideshow You: This blush was from the Simpson's Collection and it was the only other thing I purchased from it. I was really feeling this blush color and out of the three blushes, this is the one I wore the most. I definitely wore more blushes than these three, but Sideshow You overshadowed most of them.

Tarina Tarantino Feathers: When I wanted just a light pop of color with a bronzed look, this is the color I would go for. The color is nicer on my face than it is in the pan and it blended in nicely with my bronzer.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat: This was a new item for me and I'll probably do a collective haul at some point. I really like this blush, but I've only been using it for the past maybe week and a half. I received this before my Sephora items, so I felt fine including this if I didn't include the Sephora stuff.

NARS Laguna: I have to say that by the time the end of the month hit, I had stopped using this bronzer in favor of Estée Lauder. I really like this bronzer, but now I think I have a couple that top it. I love that it is included in every one of my NARS blush palettes just so I don't necessarily need to pack an additional bronzer. It blends out so nicely and it isn't orange, so I can use it with my Ita brush and contour.

Estée Lauder Amber Bronzer Sienna Earth Powder: I really needed to start using this powder because I had neglected it for a long time. Although it leans a little orange when the color is blended together, it looked nice on my skin. The packaging is also really sturdy, so this is a bronzer I wouldn't mind traveling with.

Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess 01 Light: This is seriously a huge bronzer. I really like the color of this powder and the shimmer isn't overpowering. I was glad to know that I wasn't getting a matte bronzer when I ordered this online. I know I have too many bronzers, but I really love this one even though I only used it during the last bits of April.

NARS Miss Liberty Highlighting Blush: This is basically a glitter highlight. The base adds just a slight touch of champagne color, but it is packed with multicolor shimmer particles that obviously don't show up in the photo of the pan. I rocked this for the beginning of the month until I bought the newest highlighter in my collection, which sadly isn't the newest when I'm writing this.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige: I wasn't going to buy this, but Nordstrom had Bobbi Brown on sale for 20% off, so that was good enough for me. I probably wouldn't buy a shimmer brick for full price, but 20% off is great. I love this highlighter. I might have to compare it to my other highlighters because I feel like I go for the same colors. I use the top two colors the most, but when you swirl them all together, it gives such a beige golden glow. It's the perfect companion to bronzer. One of the girls I work with told me that my highlight was like "Wah-bam," so at least someone agrees with me.

Darac Beauty Sifted Blur Complexion Perfector: I use this powder to set my under eyes and my entire face. You can tell that I've plowed through the powder when you compare the photo to last month's favorites. I'm trying to not use so much powder, so I may try to cool it with this one. There's another powder that will definitely be in my favorites next month that I've moved on to for setting my under eyes.

I also need to do a Bath & Body Works haul, but there's just so much stuff that I need to photograph because I spent an absolute ton of money. I know I didn't even need half of the things I bought, but the Forever Sunshine lotion in the picture is already almost gone. For real. I'm trying to consistently use lotion after showering because the weather is getting nicer and I don't want dry skin if I can wear short sleeves. 

I've been loving Beautiful Day and Love & Sunshine body mists. I keep one in the bathroom for reasons and one in my gym bag so I don't smell like socks after working out. I like the little body mists because I can carry them around and not worry about a bottle breaking. I also like that they're cheap and the scent isn't too strong. The last thing I want is to smell like Versace when I'm dead lifting with a bunch of guys. That's not exactly the image I'm going for. 

I also bought a bunch of hand sanitizers, mainly to keep in my apron pocket at work for after I handle money or for a quick fix after wiping down tables. I also keep one in my bathroom so that my hands are always clean while I'm doing my makeup or skincare. I do bring my phone in the bathroom with me, so I want to make sure my hands aren't germy because I definitely touch my phone and don't want to immediately touch my face. Honolulu Sun is the one I keep with me at work and it smells like a Piña Colada. It's almost gone!

I've also been keeping a small lotion in my apron pocket because serving dries my hands out. I've always meant to keep lotion on me, but I don't have a ton of smaller ones that absorb quickly. I have five different scents in the Aloe Gel Lotion, but Kauai is my favorite and I even bought a backup because I feel like I'm going to finish that off quick.

Vera Wang Preppy Princess: I wore this mostly in the beginning of the month when it was still chilly out. I kind of feel like the scent is a little too strong for warmer weather, so I started wearing other scents. I do like this perfume a lot, but I'll probably get even more use from it during the fall and winter. 

Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Sunshine: I definitely prefer this limited edition release of Daisy Eau So Fresh to the original. It's a little less floral and a little more fruity, which is my preference. The only fault I find in the perfume is that it doesn't last long at all. This is definitely one I have to carry around with me, although I've been really bad about that lately because I need to fill all my atomizers and that takes time. I love everything else about this perfume though and the bottle is so pretty.

Escada Born in Paradise: I can just tell that this isn't the last time this scent will be in a favorites post. I can pretty much guarantee that this will be in at least one more post because this perfume is the perfect summer scent. It smells like coconut and it actually lasts a pretty decent amount of time on my skin. I like that it sort of matches my trend of island scented lotions so it makes it easier to pair other things.

Versace Bright Crystal Absolu: Still my most used and most loved perfume, and not just by me. The picture isn't a very good indicator, but I've used quite a bit of this perfume. There's a guy I work with that associates me with expensive perfume, this one being the one he likes on me best, and calls me Gucci Girl even though I've told him this is actually Versace. I did just finally buy a Gucci perfume though, so I guess I don't need to correct him anymore.

March Monthly Favorites

I know. I know. I haven't posted in forever. But that's okay. This is the monthly favorites post and one of the only posts a month to even matter. I think I may need to post some recent buys and I will have an empties post coming up soon.

Benton Aloe BHA Skin Toner: Oldie but a goodie. This is my favorite toner and I'm already halfway through this bottle. I think because I've been using only this toner that I might start using some others that are almost gone so that I can get rid of some things before we move.

Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs, and Rosewater: I've had this kicking around for a few months and I've used it off and on. I had been using Fix+, but I like this to take away the powdery look on my face and it's much less expensive than the MAC one. The only thing I don't care for is the strong smell, but it does go away.

Clinique Acne Solutions All-Over Clearing Treatment: I've been mixing this with my Benton Snail Bee Steam Cream that should have probably been in this post, but was forgotten. I think the benzoyl peroxide in this helps keep my skin clearer than salicylic acid.

Skinfood Milk Shake Point Makeup Remover: This is a dual phase makeup remover that I end up using daily. When I ran out of my Missha cleansing oil, I opened a new one that doesn't take off my mascara and also burns my eyes. What I've ended up doing is not even using the cleansing oil and I've just been using one cotton pad of this to take off all my makeup. I'm sadly almost out of this and may have to just try another different cleansing oil. 

Missha Super Aqua Fresh Cleansing Milk: This is not the cleansing oil I was just talking about, but it's the same thing. It doesn't take off my eye makeup at night, but it's a great waterless cleanser for the morning. I used this when my skin was really dry and I didn't want to strip it with soap. I also use this as a hand cleanser when my hands are dry since it is like a lotion.

Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser: I've been using this cleanser off and on since I bought it in the summer, but I really liked it this month. I felt like I had been wearing more makeup and this cleanser really deep cleans and chemically exfoliates. I try not to use it more than 2 or 3 times a week because I don't want my skin to get irritated.

Skin79 Super Plus BB Creams in Green and VIP Gold: I should have included my beautyblender again this month, but I took pictures quickly and forgot. I just want to reiterate that I'm super surprised that these are still around. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when these both run out, so I'm not complaining. I feel like nothing else blends like these BB Creams, but I know I'm going to fall back on my Face & Body foundation in a month or so. I've also been loving the green one under my eyes because it's a lot lighter and blends really nicely under my eyes.

MAC Skin Base Visage: I keep thinking this is also going to run out. I'm waiting for my skin to be ready for a silicon based primer and have been using this for a couple months now. I really like it, so I'm not complaining. I've been putting this on immediately after my moisturizer and then waiting for everything to dry down a bit and I've been pleased with those results. 

L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara: This mascara has been so good to me that I haven't even touched the YSL mascara I received from Influenster. I love the brush and the mascara keeps a curl without being crunchy and isn't too difficult to remove at the end of the night. I know I need to move on once I run out, but I'll definitely repurchase this at some point and see if it contends with the MUFE mascara I also loved.

theBalm Mary Lou-Manizer: I wanted to branch out on highlighters this month because I had only been using this one and the Bobbi Brown for as long as I can remember, but this sits in the front of my organizer. I really like this highlighter for when I'm feeling a strong golden look. I even wish it was a little less pigmented sometimes.

MAC Lightscapade: This is an all time favorite highlighter of mine. I had been using a lot of pink blushes, as you'll see in the next images, and this gives a beautiful pink iridescent glow. I have talked about this before, but I love it. This is the original release of Lightscapade, which gives more of a pink iridescence than the newer releases that come off more beige.

Darac Beauty Sifted Blur Complexion Perfector: I hadn't used this in a couple months and then I used it with my beautyblender to set my under eye concealer. In just a couple weeks, I hit that pan in the middle and now I'm considering purchasing a backup because the brand doesn't exist anymore. I've been setting my entire face with this powder and a damp beauty blender and it is perfection. 

MAC Golden Bronzer: I've been using Golden instead of Aphrodite's Shell because I wanted to branch out a bit and this has more apparent shimmer. You can kind of tell from the pan that the rings are starting to show, so I may end up hitting the pan on this bronzer soon. I've only ever done that with face powder and this is in limited edition packaging, so I don't know how I feel about it.

Vincent Longo La Riviera Sun Face and Body Bronzer in Beauty Sin: I was really enjoying this bronzer this month because I was trying to use other products. I don't know if this is going to be my summer color because of how light it is, but I do like how it blends and I already have a dip in the pan.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Achiote: I really love the color of this blush. It's really effortless and just a dab is all you need. The color blends really nicely into bronzer. I love all of my Tarte blushes, but I actually think this one is my favorite.

Estée Lauder Peach Nuance: I love this blush more and more whenever I use it. I feel like I would use it more if I had just ponied up the extra cash to buy this in a compact and not just a loose pan. I never regret wearing this color and the gradient makes it easier to blend. 

NARS Albatross: I hadn't touched this highlight in so long that I almost forgot what it looked like! I was really digging the yellowish sheen it gave me and it was a nice change from pink or gold.

NARS Hungry Heart: This was another highlight I reached for all month that I didn't use for a bit. I was really into glitter for part of the month and this is a really glittery highlighter. I ended up pairing it with glittery blushes because why not be overkill?

NARS Angelika: This is one of the glittery blushes I wore this month and I've talked about this color before. The color itself is really flattering and the glitter doesn't come off really strong, which is why I like pairing it with a glittery highlighter to amp it up.

NARS Super Orgasm: I haven't talked about this blush before because I've barely touched it. For some reason, I didn't think I would like it because of the chunky glitter. The glitter doesn't translate on the skin as much as it looks like it would and the color is a nice peachy pink. I really loved this blush this month, but I think I'm taking a break from the glitter bomb cheeks.

Prada Candy L'eau: I was skeptical about getting Prada Candy, but I really love the L'eau version, which is the EDT. I wore this scent a ton this month and I only ordered it in the beginning of the month. I'm surprised by how much is gone and this is only a 2.7oz bottle. I may need to cool it on this scent and use others. I've been trying to wear them all evenly, but who am I kidding?

Burberry Brit Sheer: Burberry Brit was another scent I saw everyone raving about, but I didn't care for the notes. The Sheer version, however, was another thing. I really love this scent. It's crisp, clean, and fruity without being overkill on the sweet or smelling like laundry. This was another scent I wore a ton this month.

Marc Jacobs Lola: I'm still on the fence, but I might like Lola more than Oh, Lola! and that's saying something. I originally bought Oh, Lola! in the 3.2oz because I thought I would love it. I do like the scent, but I bought Lola in the smaller 1.7oz bottle because I didn't think I would like her as much if at all. I read reviews saying that if you liked Lola, you wouldn't like Oh, Lola!, so that worried me. I ended up buying this smaller bottle used on eBay, like with Oh, Lola! However, I ended up loving Lola and wore it a ton this month.

DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom: I think I may have mentioned it somewhere, but I actually prefer Fresh Blossom to the Red Delicious that I bought a couple months back. I wore this at the end of February and through March. I really like that it has the perfect balance between being sweet and floral and this actually happens to be one of the scents I get complimented on the most at work.

November Monthly Favorites

I feel like my favorites this month consists of mostly cheek products and skincare. There's also a few repeats from previous months. This month also flew by and I think that's because I posted my favorites so late last month.

ElishaCoy Vita Capsule Cleanser - I love using this with my Clarisonic. You can see from the way the sun is shining through the bottle that it's almost gone. I really like this cleanser. It was one of my first cleansers I ordered when I starting using Korean beauty and skin care products.

Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule - My skin starts getting drier when it gets cold out, so I make sure to add an ampoule to my day and night routine. This is between a liquid and a gel that is similar to like an argan oil meant for your face. I just pat it into my face and it absorbs quickly. I really like this one, but I have a different one coming in the mail to replace this one when it runs out.

Secret Key Multi Cell Night Repair Ampoule - This is my night ampoule. I really like this, but it pales in comparison to my Missha ampoule that I'm going to start using again when I finish this one. I just like that it leaves my skin feeling moisturized at night after using it. 

Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser - I got this in my Ipsy bag last month and it's basically the only thing I've used from that bag. I really liked using this in the morning because it made my skin tingle. I wouldn't buy it though because I'm sure it's pricey. It was nice while it lasted though.

Nature Republic Herb Dressing Gold Honey Cleansing Cream - I usually stop using makeup wipes in the winter because I need the extra moisture. This is basically a cold cream where your makeup dissolves but it leaves it feeling moisturized.

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer - I somehow overlooked this last month. This is the only face primer that I've used for the last two months. I really love this and I'm sorry I didn't jump on the bandwagon sooner.

MAC Face and Body Foundation in N1 - I think you're tired of reading about how much I love this foundation. I've already repurchased because I'm almost out. I haven't been using anything else, but I just started mixing in my Supergoop! CC Cream.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser - This is another product that keeps going strong! I tried to use other concealers under my eyes, but nothing compared. I'm addicted.

Beauty Blender Sponge - I'm a convert. I love this sponge so much more than I ever liked my Real Techniques one. This is just perfect and the only way I apply my foundation now. I can ever get past the price because I bought two of the pairs for 20% and I'll probably get the mini ones with my Sephora gift card.

Innisfree No-Sebum Mineral Powder - This is the only translucent powder I've used to set my makeup and I hadn't realized how much I loved it until it was almost gone. Now I have to use something else while I wait for another container of this to come from Korea.

Bath & Body Works Triple Moisture Body Cream in Pumpkin Latte & Marshmallow - I jumped on the pumpkin train late, so I'm really glad to have picked this up. I wasn't even going to buy lotion when I went to get some fall candles. I use this at night mostly because the tube is too big to carry around. I'd even consider buying other scents in this formula.

MAC Studio Sculpt Powder in Light - Still loving this to initially set my makeup so my foundation doesn't move around under my blush and bronzer. It just looks so natural. If I'm not doing a full face, I just set my foundation with this and I'm good to go.

Noir Eyeliner in Black - This is just perfect and I love it. Best black eyeliner I've ever used! Enough said.

Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant Mascara - I wanted to hate this mascara. The brush is huge and I'm sure it costs $35 for a full tube. Probably not that much, but close. I don't even want to look it up. But I love this mascara. And I hate that I love it because...it's expensive.

Darac Beauty Sifted Blur Complexion Perfector - It took me a little while to like this powder, but now I use it all the time. I mainly use this powder to blend out my blush and contour because it's a very finely milled powder that doesn't seem to add any extra color.

NARS Ita Kabuki Brush - This brush seriously changed my makeup life. No matter what brush I used, I could never contour. The NARS Ita makes it so easy to contour that I can't imagine not having this brush. I'm glad I got it for a discount because I definitely don't think anyone should pay $55 for a brush. 

Vincent Longo La Riviera Sun Face and Body Bronzer in Beauty Sin - This has really been the only bronzer I've been using all over my face. I don't think contouring is for an every day face, so when it's early I just bronze up my face with this because it isn't super dark.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Achiote - I didn't think I was going to get much use out of this blush because I thought it was a summer color, but I was wrong. I found myself reaching for this blush almost as much as my NARS palettes this month.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer - I've been using this to contour a lot, but I noticed that it was really patchy on me today and I had to do some clean up before leaving the house. I guess you could say I have a love hate relationship with this bronzer because it makes my contour look really nice...but only on one side of my face.

Deep Throat (top) Final Cut (bottom) Laguna (Right)

NARS Blushes in Deep Throat and Final Cut: I've been reaching for this palette a lot this month too, and these are the two blushes that have gotten the most use. Deep Throat is also in another NARS palette that I use and I know I've dipped into that one as well.

NARS Laguna Bronzer - When I wasn't using Hoola to contour, I was using Laguna. The main reason I even bought this palette was for the jumbo size of Laguna, even though I already had two smaller Lagunas in other palettes.

Albatross

Devotee

Hungry Heart Duo II

NARS Highlighters in Albatross, Devotee, and Hungry Heart Duo II - I'm lumping these together as one because I've used them equally for the most part. I'll swatch them all in my NARS palette post because I know they all look similar, but they're different. I think I used Devotee and Albatross the most but mostly because I didn't have Hungry Heart as long as those two.

Orgasm

Angelika

 NARS Blushes in Orgasm and Angelika - My Joie De Vivre palette came with both of these blushes and I received that one first. I thought I was going to hate the sparkle in Angelika, but it's very minor and most of it comes off the brush before application. Orgasm is supposedly a cult favorite and it's a good thing I like it because I have three pans of it thanks to my palette addiction.

I know there are others that I used this month, so I'll just lump NARS blushes into a category of their own. 

Clinique, ACW, and Drugstore.com Haul

For the most part, this entire haul is full of things that I actually needed to buy. There are a few things that I'm still going to use but can't say that I actually need. 

I've really been favoring Clinique lately for no apparent reason. I think it's because I'm starting to get out of drugstore skin care products and more into higher end skin care. I discovered a pack of Clinique for sale in one of the facebook buy and sell groups that I joined. It was a great deal to get this all (minus the bag, but it was the only other Clinique thing that I purchased) for $36 considering that the large 1.7oz size of the Turnaround Overnight Radiance Moisturizer is $47 retail. In addition to that moisturizer, I also got 2 sample size jars of Moisture Surge, a sample jar of All About Eyes, a sample jar of Repairwear Laser Focus eye cream, a CC cream that is a little too dark, and 2 sample sizes of High Impact Mascara. 

I bought the little Clinique bag from All Cosmetics Wholesale for only $3.99 and I thought it was so cute even though summer is almost over. It holds everything I drag with me to do my makeup at work in the morning, including my brushes. I've found a replacement for my little MAC bag.

Here's the rest of my haul with the majority of the things I needed. 

I like to replace my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge every few weeks and I saved $2 by ordering them in a pair. These are what I use to apply foundation and concealer with every morning.

The Korres sample sizes were less than $4, so I decided I wanted to try them. I got the eye cream and morning cream. I like trying out new skin care products, especially more expensive ones that I can get smaller sizes in before committing. 

What I really needed was my Alpha Hydrox products. I've been using the Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) and Retinol Night Cream for the past couple months and I needed to replace them. 

I wanted to try out the Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Puff roller just because I found it for cheap and I've always wanted to try a cooling eye roller ball.

Same with the L'Oreal Age Perfect Glow Renewal. This is SPF 30 and is for face, neck, and chest. I don't know if it will replace my Neutrogena SPF lotion, but I figured it was worth a go.

I purchased both Nude Nuance and Peach Nuance blushes from Estée Lauder because I regretted not getting them from the CCO when I was there earlier this month. I was just so bummed about the lack of MAC that I really didn't look at too much. I got the replacement pans to put in a magnetic palette because only the refills were available and were only $8.99 without the case. I'm sure the blush in the casing was more expensive at the CCO and I don't really need the case.

These two Tarte boxes contain Glowlight Amazonian Clay Corrective Wand in light. I got both the pens for $1.99 so I just couldn't pass that up. I haven't used too many things from Tarte because the brand is so expensive.

Also on the concealer front, I bought the Visible Lift CC Undereye Concealer from L'Oreal in Fair. It's one of the roller ball concealers, so it's different than my other concealers.

Lastly, I bought this powder compact from a brand called Darac Beauty. This is called the Sifted Blur Complexion Perfector. It doesn't seem like Darac exists any more, so I might purchase a backup if I end up liking this powder because I may never be able to buy it again.

Here's a bonus picture of Peach Nuance. I'm so excited for this blush. There's definitely going to be reviews and comparisons of certain items in my haul and I'm sure some things will end up in my monthly favorites at some point.