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.

October Monthly Favorites

Favorites post! I feel like I had a lot of favorites again this month, and some of them are repeats because I haven't stopped using them. I'm sure I'll have a few different ones next month because I've used up a few products in this post. 

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque - I've only been using this for two weeks, but I love it so much that I had to include it in my favorites. Two weeks is long enough, don't you think? I've used this four or five times and have also used this as an overnight spot treatment. It smells so minty and awesome and I bought it on sale for less than $4. The best part is that my nose just looks so clean. I can't think of any other way to describe it. 

Baviphat White Grape Lifting Yogurt Cleansing Foam - I thought I was going to kill this cleanser because it was running low in the beginning of the month. I've used this pretty much every day and night and there's still a teeny bit left in the tube. I'll probably cut the top off to get the remaining at some point. This is just the creamiest cleanser and I love using it with my Clarisonic.

Nature Republic Soothing and Moisture Aloe Vera 90% Toner - I bought this a couple months back in a SaSa order where I purchased a ton of toners. I replaced last month's favorite toner with this for no particular reason. I had just noticed it was sitting in my travel makeup bag from vacation in August and I left it on the side of the sink so I could use it. It's probably my most moisturising toner and I love it.

The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner - Yep. Another toner. I was having some skin issues earlier in the month and I swear by tea tree for clearing up my skin. I used to hate this toner because I was spoiled by my holy grail tea tree toner by Lush. I wouldn't use this all the time because it has the tendency to dry my skin and I always follow it up with another toner.

Baviphat Lemon Whitening Sleeping Pack - I use this every night before I go to bed. Sleeping pack is just a Korean name for an overnight mask. It has the consistency of a thin lotion and it smells like lemon. The whole purpose of this product is to lighten the darker spots of the skin. Since I was breaking out near the time of the month during last month and this month, I've been consistently using this to lighten my darker scarred spots and I feel like it speeds up the healing.

Paintbox Soapworks Avast! Sorbetto - Sorbetto is a body scrub from Paintbox Soapworks and my favorite scent is Avast! The scent notes include coconut milk, cardamom, coffee beans, and musk. This is a repeat purchase for me as I bought the entire scent line last year as well. This scent is from the summer seasonal offerings from Paintbox Soapworks, which is an indie brand that sells only on Etsy. I also have the soap, solid scent, and lotion in this scent. Sorbetto is my favorite type of scrub, indie, drugstore, or high end.

Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief - I got two mini sizes of this gel lotion with a gift set last month. I've already finished one of the minis and I did purchase a larger size because I love it. I use this every morning after my SPF because I feel like it helps everything absorb into my skin better and my foundation primer doesn't pill up as much with this underneath it.

Clinique Turnaround Overnight Radiance Moisturizer - This also appeared last month and I've yet to stop using it. This moisturizer is usually what I use after my AHA and retinol and before my sleeping pack if I'm really tired and don't have time to use a bunch of products. If I'm using other things, it's usually sandwiched in there somewhere. 

Alpha Hydrox AHA Souffle 12% Glycholic Acid - I seriously credit this little product for turning around my skin. AHA is supposed to be really important in skincare and since I've added this, I've seen a difference. I always make sure I have enough on hand and it's the one thing I don't mind buying advance backups for because I know it will get used. I use this every morning and night and try to limit other acidic products because I like this the best.

Skinfood Black Raspberry Eye Cream - I usually use more than one eye cream just because. This is the cream I use after my Clinique eye cream because this is much more moisturizing. I like the herbal smell it has, which I suppose is weird because it's labeled as black raspberry. Skinfood has always made some nice skincare and I haven't found anything from the brand that I like more than this.

MAC Face and Body Foundation in N1 - Yes, this little baby is still going strong. It does provide lighter coverage than I need sometimes, which is why there are a couple other foundations sitting next to this one. It's perfect, really. I wish they still made the 3oz bottles because I'm going to need to repurchase this soon. I haven't found anything makes my skin have a nice finish like this one does. So worth the $27 because it contains more than all the other foundations I own.

Illamasqua Skin Base in 2 and 3.5 - I bought shade 2 to mix into my MAC Face and Body, but it's a bit lighter than what I was looking for, so I also bought shade 3.5 to mix in. I can use shade 3.5 by itself or mixed with Face and Body and the finish is really nice. I don't get the same effect as the Face and Body, but if I just mix in a little then it doesn't mess around with the finish. When I do a paler face in the winter, I'll probably add in more of shade 2, but I've mostly been using shade 3.5 and I love them so far.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser - You can actually see how much of this I used from last month and it looks like a lot! I seriously haven't used anything else under my eyes and I love the way this blends out.

Clinique High Impact Mascara - I've had a love/hate relationship with my eyelash curler this month because the pad keeps coming out of the base. I actually don't mind my eyelashes with this mascara even if I don't curl them. That's saying a lot because I don't usually go without curling my lashes if I'm going to wear mascara.

Innisfree Mineral Stick Concealer - I seriously swear by this concealer stick. I don't even know why I stopped using it. I think when we moved that it somehow got lost in the packing and I magically discovered it. This just blends into my skin like magic and I love it more than my expensive concealers.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil in El Dorado - I don't know what it is, but I've been really loving gold eyeliner on my lower lashline. I'll wear a black liner in my lower waterline and draw this around the tear duct and under the lashes and it just gives a little bit of shine without being super noticeable. The best part is that this fades gracefully after many hours and the shimmer doesn't get all over my face.

Noir Eyeliner in Black - Hands down, best black eyeliner that I've used. I pulled Urban Decay Perversion out of my makeup bag when I got this in my Birchbox. This liner seriously lasts all day on my waterline and clings to my lower lashline like nobody's business. The best part? I don't know where it goes! There's always a little less liner on my waterline when I get home, but it doesn't settle under my eyes like Perversion did. It's perfection.

Tarte Pin Up Girl Blush Palette - For the most part, when I was going to wear blush, this was what I reached for. The three colors that I wore the most were Embraced, Bashful, and Irreplaceable, which are the top two colors and the second to the bottom. I wore all the colors, but those were the ones that got the most use.

MAC Aphrodite's Shell Bronzer - I think at one point I said I stopped using this for another bronzer, but I couldn't go without it. You can see that my wave pattern is fading even more. I just really love this bronzer. It's the perfect color for me when I don't want to be too bronzed, and it is getting colder out and the time for pale skin is now.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess - This was the bronzer that I kept using in place of Aphrodite's Shell. I love this bronzer, but I think it's a little dark for the winter. I wish I had bought this sooner so I could have used it this summer. I've used it a lot this month, but I think it's shifting to the back of my organizer already because it's a little too dark at the moment.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed - The pattern on this blush is already starting to fade away, which is saying a lot. It takes a ton of uses to make that go away. I love this color. It's been the perfect fall nude cheek this month. I have accumulated a lot of other blushes recently, though, so this might fade away if I go for a brighter cheek.

Inglot Eyeshadow in Pearl 450 and DS 494 - Since dyeing my hair a darker burgundy color, I had to find something new to color in my brows. I love this little three pan palette because it holds my shadow colors that I used to shade in my eyebrows and a highlight shade that I barely use. I first go in with the purple, DS 494, and define the shape and then go over it with Pearl 450 to color match my hair. My brows last all day with these colors and always look nice.

MAC Studio Sculpt Powder in Light - There used to be a really defined pattern in the powder when I first bought it, but you can barely see it anymore. I use this to set my foundation in place so that when I use blush and bronzer that it won't move around underneath. I love this because it doesn't even look like I used a powder to begin with.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light - I've been trying to use this more because my powder has unglued itself from the pan and doesn't like to say in there. I do like this for a lighter makeup look and it sticks to the areas of blemishes that don't like to hold foundation. I just like it because it helps my makeup look more flawless.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade - This is probably one of my favorite highlighters ever. I had a couple other MAC ones, but I hardly ever use them unless I'm in a rush and grab the wrong one. It doesn't show up in the swirled colors, but rather just a nice glow. I love it.

Innisfree Pink Beam Mineral Pact - I'm sad to say that I dropped this a week or two after I got it, but the powder was soft enough that I was able to press it back into the pan for the most part. This is what I use to set my undereye concealer. It's meant to be used as a highlighter, but it doesn't show up too pink under my eyes and it just brightens them. If I'm running late, I'll also add it to my cheeks, but I like it mostly for a glow under my eyes,

Small Haul - Tarte, Tarina Tarantino, and More.

I've had a few of these things for about 2 weeks, but I wanted to do a collective haul because it isn't any fun to post about a single bronzer you just bought second hand from someone on Facebook. Anyway, here it is. Sorry the collective picture is a little dark. I forgot something in the picture and had to retake it and it got really dark out within the 10 minutes of picture taking. You get the jist, and you can still see everything anyway. 

First up are a pair of foundations. These are from Illamasqua and their Skin Base line. I bought these on LiveJournal from a blog sale. Shade 2 was a little light for me, so I went back and bought shade 3.5 from the same sale. I find that I like mixing both of these with my Face and Body Foundation for a little more coverage. Both together make a great shade, but I can wear 3.5 on its own and I'll continue to mix 2 into my other shades of foundation.

I bought a pair of Benefit Fake Up on ebay to try before comitting to the full size, which is like $20 and I don't want to hate something that expensive. I had one in the packaging and opened the other so you can see the little nubbin of a sample. So tiny. I feel like this is going to be used up quickly.

The gold liner in the middle is El Dorado from Urban Decay. I bought this new from another sale and I've been loving this on my lower lashline in conjuction with my Noir liner on my waterline. I already need to sharpen it, which is saying a lot.

The Voluminous Butterfly mascara was a cheap extra that I tossed in with the Illamasqua foundation, eyeliner, and something else that I forgot to photograph. I haven't tried it yet because I don't like to have too many mascaras open at once, but I'm pretty sure this has gotten fairly good reviews.

Starting from the top and going down are my Tarte blushes and bronzer. 

I've been really into more subdued blush colors, so I was excited to get Exposed from Tarte. It's a really nice nude blush and I have loved it everytime I've worn it so far.

Next in the square compact is the Park Avenue Princess bronzer from Tarte. After all the fabulous things I've heard about this bronzer, I knew I needed it in my collection. This is my only non-MAC bronzer and I haven't even touched those more than once since getting this one. I will definitely be putting this in my favorites. Although it does have a bit of sparkle, it isn't overkill and can definitely be sheered out.

I wasn't expecting Wonder from Tarte to be quite as shimmery as it is. That said, I think it resembles Nars Orgasm, which is a blush that I don't own. Wonder is a nice pink with a golden duochrome and shimmer. This is not a blush that I would wear every day, but I still really like it. 

On the other side are my Tarina Tarantino blushes. 

The top color is Neopolitan Lane, which does resemble both Tarte Exposed from above and also Estee Lauder's Nude Nuace. However, this comes off a little more pink on the skin and is an every day blush. This is a color that I would wear all the time, just like Exposed. I prefer a blush color like this when I know I'm going to wear a lipstick that would clash with a coral or bright pink blush.

The second color is called Feather, and it is shimmery pink. Even though this kicks up a bit of powder, it barely looks used in real life. I do feel like this is similar to Tarte Wonder, but I guess that's just the color blush I've been going for outside of the nude cheek color.

Leaving you with a few comparason swatch photos of my new blushes and bronzers paired with ones I already own. I guess I'm just not original and like the same thing over and over. 

From top: MAC Aprhodite's Shell, Tarte Park Ave Princess, MAC Golden.

Can I just point out how much darker Park Ave Princess is compared to both my MAC bronzers? I'll probably be switching back to those once my skin goes back to being winter pale, not that I have a tan or anything. Bronzer is my tan, and there's no need to be that tan in December.

From top: Estee Lauder Nude Nuance, Tarte Exposed, Tarina Tarantino Neopolitan Lane.

So maybe I was wrong. Exposed comes off pinker than Neopolitan Lane. They're all great blushes for when I don't want to pile on bronzer. I can't wait to use these even more in the winter for when it's okay to be a little pale.

From top: MAC Mighty Aphrodite, Tarina Tarantino Feather, Tarte Wonder.

Boom. I love this color, obviously. Can we talk about how much sparkle is in Wonder? I wasn't sure I was digging it at first, but now I am. I think it's my favorite of the three for now, but I don't know how much glitter I want to wear when we get into the winter months.