January Beauty Favourites.

Hello! Today I'm going to show you some of the beauty products I really, really liked using/used a lot of during the month of January! 

Let's start off with.... 

LIPS

1 LUSH sugar lip scrub in Mint Julips

I love the pepperminty exfoliating goodness of this lip scrub, not to mention it's made of sugar so it tastes delicious too. I've been needing to use this quite a bit last month due to the American winter drying out my skin. No one likes flaky, dry lips!

2 Smith's Rosebud Salve

I picked this lip balm/salve thingo up in Sephora when my sister and I were in New York before Christmas. I was thinking of getting the same product in the pot packaging but then I thought the tube would be more hygienic. I love that it is colourless (unlike my Korres lip balm) and I also like the faint rose scent to it. 

NAILS

3 Essie nail lacquer in Penny Talk

                                                                                                       Penny Talk is a lovely rose gold shade that I wore a lot when I was in NYC last December. I picked it up from Duane Reade. The thing I like most about Essie nail polishes is the incredibly fast drying time. I actually painted Penny Talk on my nails whilst in a car full of people driving to Vancouver. It was that easy.

FACE

4 MAC Cleanse Off Oil - Tranquil

                                                                                     The very helpful guy at the MAC store in Times Square told me the blue version of MAC Cleanse Off Oil is for sensitive skin. My previous oil-based makeup cleanse off thingy was Bio Oil, and in comparison, the MAC one washes off the skin much easier. You massage it all over your face (when the skin is dry!) and it melts away every bit of makeup. Waterproof mascara, GONE! No panda eyes for me when I get out of the shower. 

5 Smashbox Photofinish Foundation Primer

                                                                               I got a trial size tube of this primer in Smashbox's Try It Kit. You can get it from Sephora, Macy's, and probably other places too. The Try It Kit has 5 best selling products - the face primer above, an eye primer, a lipgloss, an eyeliner and a mascara (which is also featured in this post!). I really like this primer because of its smooth silky finish and it really does its job. Also it doesn't have any smell unlike Benefit's Porefessional.

6 Benefit Boi-ing industrial strength concealer in shade 02

I wasn't sure about this concealer at first because it seemed quite hard and dry, and a little difficult to work with, but when I gave it a second chance it really pulled through for me! I had a lot (like, A LOT) of acne scars all over my face, and then acne breakouts on top of that, so I had a lot of things to hide the past couple of months, and this guy deserves a prize for helping me out so well. I apply it with my fingers or a brush. The only minor downside is the slightly unhygienic packaging. 

EYES

7 Smashbox Hyperlash mascara

                                                                               This mascara also came in the Smashbox Try It Kit. The website says it lengthens, volumises, defines and lifts your lashes, and I'll testify to that. It literally makes it look like I have many more eyelashes than I really do, so I suppose that's the defining/volumising part down. And Hyperlash definitely does a great job of lengthening and lifting too.
Oh, by the way, check out the BRUSH! On one side it has a longer lash comb which helps distribute the product much more evenly and effectively while separating the lashes and making sure it doesn't clump. Really awesome.

8 Benefit They're Real mascara

I've had this mascara for a while now and its quality lies in the design of the brush. The formula is good - it's fairly decent for length and volume, but the bristles and the brush shape at the tip make application a breeze. This is the only mascara I've ever tried that really gets into my corner lashes (especially the outer corner where I want them to wing out dramatically). It's genius.












9 Benefit Erase Paste in fair

I use Erase Paste as an under eye concealer because of its fair shade and salmony pink undertones. It's great for hiding darkness under the eyes and I spread it out further to the top of my cheekbones for a nice highlighting effect. This little pot packs a punch because you only need to use the tiniest amount. I think it will last me years.

10 Bourjois Effet Smoky Pencil in dark purple

I got this in one of my Bellaboxes last year (an Australian beauty box) and it's certainly served me well! The purple shade is a nice combo with my brown eyes and it's really easy to use, especially with the bottom end being a blending brush (which makes it perfect to slip into your bag for on-the-go top ups).
I also realised I like to use this in conjunction with the next product! (Bad to the Bronze)

11 Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze

These cream eyeshadows by Maybelline have been all the rage in the beauty vlogosphere. I love this shade because it's kinda duochrome (darker brown in the shadows and a lighter, metallic shade in direct light) and it's also quick and easy to apply. Just get some on a finger and wipe it all over the eyelid! You can always go back with a blending brush or whatever to fix up any mess (but there's rarely ever a mess anyway). I use an lid primer underneath because my lids are super oily & crease a lot, but for normal skin I'm sure these eyeshadows are pretty long lasting.


FRAGRANCE

12 MAC Turquatic

This is my all time favourite perfume and has been for the last several years. I was freaked out at one point because the MAC counters I went to in both Australia and the US told me MAC fragrances were to be discontinued. But then it turned out they just decided to relaunch just ONE of the perfumes, Turquatic - my favourite one! I'm a happy chappy. :)



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Question: What were some of your favourite beauty products for January?