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.