January Loves & Letdowns

Woo hoo it’s finally February!  And with that comes another month of Loves & Letdowns.  First off I’d like to rid January good riddance – what a crappy month that was.  I had pink eye and a virus for two weeks straight and I just finally started wearing contact lenses last week.  It’s been a long month and I’m glad to see it go!

Now on to my loves and one, lonely letdown for the first month of 2016:

LOVES

e.l.f Contour Palette: I picked this up back in September at the e.l.f store in New York and I hadn’t really used it that much since then as it was buried in the back of one of my drawers.  I re-discovered it early in January and realized how good it actually is.  I still find the bronzer shade a little orange but I use it a light hand and it’s wearable.  But I’ve really grown to love the contour shade, highlighter and yellow-toned “banana” powder to set my concealer.  While they are a little powdery, they blend easily and are just pigmented enough for my fair skin.

Buxom Full & Fabulous Mascara: Buxom and Bare Minerals were really having a moment with me this month.  This was the mascara I chose to use while my eyes were healing and I can’t say I was disappointed with this.  It gave my lashes some serious definition, separation and length.  The formula is a good balance between wet and dry, which is perfect if you like to build your mascara (which I do).  That said, I’d say you can only apply about 3 full coats before you’re just wasting product because it’s not making any kind of a difference.  So I would have preferred for it to add a little more volume and thickness but sometimes I can get a bit carried away in that area.  I also appreciate the fact that this didn’t flake or smudge throughout the day and I loved how long the brush was – it made it really easy to get those little lashes in the corners of my eyes.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette: This was a birthday gift and I was able to use it a few times in December before my eyes got infected.  I just started using it again last week because I definitely did not want to risk contaminating this.  It is a beautiful palette!  I can’t get over how soft and blendable the shadows are and I love the cocoa scent.

 

Bare Minerals READY Eyeshadow 2.0 (Top Shelf): As mentioned above, when I was dealing with my eye infection the last thing I wanted to do was contaminate my eye makeup.  SO I dug through my makeup collection and pulled out this eyeshadow duo and figured I would use it (and only it!) until my eyes improved.  I didn’t expect much from it but I’m happy to report that this little palette blew me away! Each shadow is super buttery and soft and pretty darn pigmented, particularly the gold/bronze shade.  And they have some serious lasting power!  These were still going strong by the end of my 12 hour day – no creasing or fading at all! The only drawback I did notice was that there was definitely some fallout from these which was a little annoying (you can see how messy it gets in the picture above).  But ultimately it’s convinced me that I need to try some additional Bare Minerals shadows because I think they’re hidden gems!

Buxom Full On Lipstick (Brooklyn) / Full-On Lip Polish (Sophia): I received each of these in separate gift sets late last year but only started using the two of them together in January.  I love the formula of each of these – the lipstick is super moisturizing, very pigmented and the polish is super glossy, tingly and not sticky.  I wasn’t super crazy about the shades on their own – Brooklyn is a brownish/pink and Sophia is a very sheer pink.  But together they’re fabulous!  These are just small sample sizes but I’ve made a significant dent in both of them as I’ve basically been wearing these the entire month.

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask: I already raved about this in my 2015 Favorites so I won’t repeat myself except to say that I’m still using this and I’m still loving it.  Totally buying the full size of this once I run out.

St Ives Fresh Hydration Lotion (Citrus & Vitamin C): I’ve had this for a while but have only started using in regularly the last month or so.  I really wanted to try out one of these aerosol spray lotions and I’m really glad I did!  I like the ease in which I can apply this – I can spray with one hand and rub it in with the other.  I also really like how lightweight the actual lotion is.  If I’m being honest I hate thick lotions that take forever to sink in, especially in the mornings when I’m getting ready for work.  This absorbs quickly but still keeps me moisturized throughout the day.  And it smells really bright and fresh!

Marc Jacobs DOT Fragrance: Normally I wouldn’t include a little fragrance sample in my favourites but this was a pleasant surprise!  This was a small little spritzer but I was able to ration it out over 5 days because this is a POTENT perfume.  Which in my mind is great, I hate fragrances that wear off throughout the day.  The scent is described as one containing red berries, dragonfruit, and honeysuckle and notes of jasmine, coconut water and orange blossom.  Ultimately its sweet, fruity and a little musky which is totally my preference when it comes to perfumes.

Hot Tools Hot Styler 1 1/2″ Thermal Hot Brush: I’m not going to say too much about this because I want to do a full review of it later on but I LOVE this tool!  It literally takes me half the time to round brush my hair with this as it does with a regular round brush.  And it leaves my hair much smoother.  Bonus – it’s currently on sale!

The Mindy Project: I started watching this at the beginning of this month and I’ve been hooked ever since.  I love finding shows that truly make me LOL because that’s rare (maybe I have high standards?) – I hate cheesy humour.  The Mindy Project isn’t free from the odd cheesy moment, but the majority of it is filled with inappropriate, non-politically correct humour.  Totally gained a new respect for Mindy Kailing through this as well; I used to watch the Office and while she had some funny moments, it pales in comparison to her performance here.  I may see glimpses of myself in her at times as well – not sure if that’s a good thing but it makes me laugh and I love it!

LETDOWN

Tom Ford Black Orchid: My second perfume sample that made it into this post but this one didn’t fare so well.  It’s my lonely letdown for the month.  This may be the most overpowering, heavy perfume I’ve ever tried and I hated it.  It’s super musky and warm and sweet. I really didn’t like it as soon as I applied it, but I gave it a chance to sit on my skin for a bit to see if it would change once mixed with my skin.  It didn’t, it just got stronger and more potent.  Not a fan!

What products did you enjoy (and not enjoy!) this month?  Let me know below!

Thanks for reading!