November 2012 Favorites

Ok no babbling this month. Let's get straight to it.

Eyes

Even though I love eyeshadow palettes, every now and then I get on one eyeshadow kicks. I have a three of Milani's Runway Eyes baked eyeshadows. I have Shamrock, Blue Lagoon and Coffee Shop. I've been using them with darker eyeliners (another fav for the month) as a base and taking CoverGirl's Brown Smolder eyeshadow and using in the crease and just above my crease. Quick and easy smokey type looks for the month. Similar to what I did with two Urban Decay palettes and two of their eyeliners (Perversion and Demolition) over the summer (July favorites post).

I have several of Mally's eyeliners. I have been using them as based for my one eyeshadow looks and lining my lower lash line. So if I wore Blue Lagoon, I used Onyx (black) or Sailor (navy) as a base for the eyeshadow. Then I would take Sailor  and line my lower lash line. I did this also with Deep Olive (green) and Espresso (chocolate).

I went through my stash and pulled out a bunch of cream eyeshadow products. There were quite a few from different brands such as Milani, Bobbi Brown and Tarte. I liked them all. So overall cream eyeshadows were a favorite for the month. They are so easy to apply. Just throw on and go. If I wanted a little more definition to the look I used my go to Covergirl's Brown Smolder eyeshadow.

Lips

Another nude lip combo I stumbled upon this month is Mally's Look lip gloss and Revlon's Mink lipstick. When I was digging in my lip gloss drawer I thought I had grabbed her gloss in Nude Light lol! Very brown girl friendly lip. Well at least for me.

You know every now and then you have to go old school. When the cold weather hits and the air gets dry, my lips can get very dry and cracked. Especially in the corners of my mouth. Now I bought into the "hype" products such as the EOS lip balms, Maybelline Baby Lips, Fresh Sugar Lip balms and maybe some others. Some I like, others were ok and one I did not like at all! I went back to using Carmex. I've used the twisty tube and the squeezy tube. I prefer the squeezy tube which is the Moisturizing Lip Balm. I will not buy into the hype again lol. This works for me and my lips are happy. I also like it when I'm wearing a lipstick and as the color fades towards the end of the day, instead of reapplying the lipstick I'll use the Carmex and it adds a nice shine to my lips.

I pulled out the various lip glosses I have from Kissable Couture. I forgot how much I really like these glosses. They feel good on the lips and have very nice pigmentation for a lip gloss. First Lady is one of my favorites, it's a nice nude gloss that doesn't wash you out. The downside to these is that they are kind of pricey, especially once you add on shipping. They have promos and such every now and then so  that helps.

Face

I picked up Small Vanity blush from MAC's Glamour Daze collection. It doesn't look like much in the pan. When I went to the Glamour Daze event at the MAC store in my area, I asked the makeup artist which of the 3 blushes would work for my skin tone. When she said Small Vanity I was like huh? I swatched it on my hand and was like oooooh. It's described as a dusty rose tan. When I thought about it dusty pinks are my favorite kind of pink blushes. A Bobbi Brown blush I have is a dusty rose color and it's one of my favorites.

Musing of a Muse did review on the L'Oreal blushes from the Project Runway collection. One of the blushes she reviewed was The Temptress' Blush. She described it as a plum wine color. When I saw her review I was like hmmmm. So I picked it up when I wen to Ulta. I love that the color is buildable. Pigmented is nice but sometimes if something is toooooo pigmented, it can be hard to work with. At least for me. And I like the option of putting a hint of color on or really going to town and building it up. Also it has some shimmer in it but it applies nicely and gives your cheeks a subtle glow.

I was in Ulta and I usually mosey over to the drugstore side and look at the displays. I saw one by Essence for Breaking Dawn Part 2. Now I'll admit I didn't get into the whole Twilight thing (side bar: I have been looking into the books and the movies so I may give a go now since everything is out and I don't have to wait). Two items in the display caught my attention. One of the was the blush called Renesmee Red. This is a beautiful matte red blush and it was less than $5. I want to say it was $2.99 and I have been wearing it like crazy!

I don't think I've mentioned the Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub before. This was a random CVS purchase. I was in the skin care aisle looking at various scrubs and this one caught my eye. I use it in the morning in the shower and I love it. I like using a light scrub in the morning to help smooth out my skin before applying my makeup. This does the trick. My skin is smooth and soft after using this. It also has salicylic acid which my acne prone skin appreciates. I just repurchased my second tube from Ulta.

Nails

Crystalis007 has gotten me in trouble again. She did a post on Deborah Lippman's Don't Tell Mama nail polish. I love deep dark colors. The is a deep dark green. It almost looks black depending on the light.

I picked up China Glaze's Winter Holly at Sally's. I don't have a deep green glitter polish. It's nice and I paired it with Don't Tell Mama.

Looking throw my nail polishes I pulled out Zoya's Ibiza. I forgot about it and how much I love it. It's described as a blacked indigo blue brightened with subtle metallic blue shimmer.

A nail combo that I love and got tons of compliments on was Maybelline Color Show's Auburn Blaze and Sephora by OPI's Traffic Stopper Cooper

This and That

A Shea Moisture product I have been loving is the Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque. One thing I like about their products is that they have multiple uses. The "main" use for it is deep conditioning  But it can also be used a moisturizing styling cream.  I have been using it a night when I tie my hair up. I watched a moisturize and seal tutorial from Kissseventyseven. I really didn't know what it meant to moisturize and seal. After watching the video I was like ooooh lol. So I have been using this as the moisturize component.

Wen's Tea Tree oil is bomb.com. I use this is a variety of ways. I use it as the seal component after I moisturize my hair. I used it directly on my scalp. I will either pull my hair back in a ponytail and wear it in my hair all day then wash it out later evening. Or I will sleep with it and then wash my hair in the morning. Tea Tree oil is awesome if you have scalp issues. My scalp tends to dry and can get flaky. I have not had this problem since using this oil.  I want to say it had helped with my hair growth which I've had as well. I typically don't hoard hair products but this is one I would definitely hoard.

Another "old school" item I picked up and have been loving this month is Vaseline. I got the kind with Cocoa Butter in it. Now I have used Palmer's Cocoa Butter for years on the more drier areas on my body. When I ran out I was going to get a larger jar that I saw at Sally's. But during a CVS run I was like let me try this Vaseline. Well at first I wanted to price it and it was cheaper than the Palmer's. I have really been liking it. It absorbs in the to skin well and makes the areas I use it on very soft. So I think Palmer's has been replaced!

A couple of fragrances that got a lot of love this month are Michael Kors Very Hollywood and Victoria Secret's Heavenly from the Dream Angels line. Very Hollywood reminds me of Velvet Tuberose from Bath and Body Works, What I started late this month is using a fragrance for the whole week. I'm going to try and stick with this and hopefully get some used up.

(Courtesy of Jessica London)

Since we are in boot season I had to mention the Kayleigh wide-calf side-buckle boot from Jessica London. I love these boots. I have them in 3 colors (cognac, black and brown). I  have been wearing the brown color nonstop this month. It's an easy boot to dress up or down and it is ridiculously comfortable. I wish they had a grey color :D The biggest pain I've had when purchasing knee boots is finding a pair that will be fit over my large calves. There's a nice selection of wide calf boots on Jessica London's website.

And there you have it. I didn't link everything. For the most part I tried to mention where I got an item from. Also Google is your friend ;)

On to December and my last favorites post for 2012!