December Faves | 2014

Where has January gone, amirite? Blaming the blur that is winter break, screwed up sleep schedules, TV show binges/movie marathons and family visits, I completely lost track of date/time and missed my appropriate window to post December faves! I was thinking about just not writing this post and sticking to 2014 faves, but I discovered so many things in December that wouldn't be fair to include in a year's worth of favorites, but I do think they deserve their own post so here we go!

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge
This is my second proper makeup sponge and I am such a fan of these as foundation applicators (as you can probs tell I just used it...ooops)! The first one I bought was a random Walgreens brand and it was fab, but I can't seem to find it again and since this is around the same price I decided to buy it over the summer. I only started using it towards the end of this year, but it has seriously changed my foundation game. This is good for matte or drier foundations, like my Revlon Colorstay Makeup for Oily/Combination Skin which can be cakey when applied with a brush. It looks so natural with the sponge and it's literally my go-to tool!

Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette - The Dolce Vita
I was DYING to get my hands on this but at $52 for an eyeshadow quad, it was definitely out of my price range. As I've mentioned in previous posts, this past semester was the most difficult of my entire academic career, but I survived and pulled off a 4.0 GPA so with help from my mother I decided to reward myself and this was probably my favorite purchase of the year/my life! The shadows are so blendable and smooth. They all look so great, even the matte brown one, which is my least fave. They would compliment so many people and so many eye colors. The reddish brown is the most beautiful shade and 92% of the reason I was so obsessed with getting my hands on this. The highlight is so lovely and buildable, depending on how much you want and I go crazy with the glitter because it's so beautiful! Look out for a full review in the upcoming weeks!

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer
Can't believe I haven't spewed words of love about this product yet! I bought it in August for the 1D concert (so Louis could see the radiance of my skin and fall in love #noshame) and it's everything the Internet says it is. This is a pretty powerful product though, so a light hand is probs a good idea. However I do love highlight so I can also go a bit overboard (again, #noshame). The shade is flattering and it seriously just adds that extra touch of glamour to my overall look. I don't use it every day because some days I don't want to glow so much that I blind people (in the best and most flattering way guys), but when I do it instantly brightens my mood! Such a good investment, especially because I haven't even made a dent in the product yet!

Sephora Matte Cream Lip Stain in 01 Always Red
2015 will be the year of blogging about this product until there are literally no words left to say because I love it so much. This has to be my favorite true red lip product of all time. Amelia Liana raved about it forever and I decided to try it out over the holidays. It has such a smooth finish that leaves the lips looking flawless and it is so complimentary. I always have people saying nice things and asking me about it, plus it lasts for ages! I eat, drink and nap with it and it just won't budge! It isn't even horrible to remove at the end of the day and it's only $13! I definitely prefer this to one of my all time faves MAC's Russian Red, and the two are quite similar - but this is MUCH BETTER.

Wet n Wild MegaLast Lip Color in Cherry Bomb
I was STALKING every website that sold the Nars Audacious Lipstick in the shade Ingrid for weeks, but it was sold out. If you're not familiar with the shade, here's Tanya Burr doing an autumnal makeup look with the shade (the same video that began my love affair). Ingrid is a deep merlot, simultaneously very plum and very red. It's literally the perfect dark, wine-colored shade of my dreams. Anyway, I was basically crying about this shade to Cristina when she told me Wet n Wild's Cherry Bomb was a v. similar dupe. I looked up photos and compared the two and was convinced she was right, so I bought it the next day. These lipsticks are THE BEST value for money. They're under $2 (yes really!) and are super matte, so def. prep with lip balm. They are EXTREMELY pigmented and can be layered, which is how I achieve the Ingrid shade. It has a similar lasting power to the Sephora Matte Cream Lip Stain, so literally one of the greatest drugstore products! I did get Ingrid so look out for a post or two (or 30) about that!