December was a big beauty month for me, just like November, because of all of the holiday launches and sales. With so many new toys to play with it can get hard to pick out some favorites, but as with everything there are always a few stand out items and today I want to share some of the items that really stood out to me this December.
In December there hasn't been a lot of time for weekly manis. Instead it's been over 3 weeks of the same shade, which is one of my favorites of the entire year so that is fine by me. This is for sure not a fall shade, but I don't generally stick to wearing only season appropriate shades, instead I wear what will make my heart happy and this shade totally does. This is Wet n Wild's Wear Skinny Jeans from the Silverlake Collection. I had a ton of people ask and comment about my nails on social media while wearing this shade and for good reason. It's a beautiful shade and def a December favorite.
Mac Fix + is one of those items that you wonder how you ever lived without. There are many uses for Mac Fix + but I wear it after my moisturizer, under my foundation. Once in a while if things are looking especially cakey, then I will do a few spritzes after all my makeup is on. But I really enjoy wearing it underneath foundation because I have dry skin and this gives my skin a dewier look and feel, even under the heaviest of foundations.
My ride-or-die foundation not just for December but for life has to be Lancome's Teint Idole. Recently I have begun to love Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua more than this foundation but there's no question that when I want a no-fuss foundation that is amazing, Teint Idole is it. Teint Idole needs no primer, doesn't settle into wrinkles or pores, it doesn't get shiny or oily on me, and it's super easy to apply. I wore this for about 3 weeks in December and each time I was reminded why this was my holy grail for years and years. Pair this with Mac Fix + and you have a dream team for your skin. This foundation is pretty OG, but it's going to be one of those that will always be in my collection no matter how many new and fancy ones come out. It's just a great foundation that's totally worth the splurge. Period.
Baby Love from the Too Faced Love Flush collection is my favorite of the two Love Flush blushes that I own. This shade is perfect if you tend to be very heavy handed with blush (like me) because you can't really overdo this dusty nude shade. It's also a great neutral shade that goes with any eye look or lip you might be wearing, and since I tend to wear a lot of bright colors, it's a shoe in for most days. I am toying around with the idea of buying one more Too Faced Love Flush Blush (say that three times fast), I really do think they are fantastic blushes worth buying. I've gotten one with a coupon on HSN and the other with $6 in points at Ulta, so I've never even paid full price for mine.
This next blush is from the Nars Steven Klein One Shocking Moment Palette. This palette was my holiday gift from my boyfriend and I only got it after many trips to see it at Sephora. There was one blush that I could not ever see myself using, the first one which is called Robotic. My thoughts were that it would be way too light and that's why it took me so long to give it a final yes. In the end I thought it would just be a dead shade but that I would use the heck out of the other shades and that it would still be a good value, so I asked for it. Well...I have used this shade three times in the last week and I absolutely love it.
What got me to try this shade was watching an episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta where Kim Fields is wearing a similar light pink blush that looked so good on her! When I saw her wearing that blush I asked myself why I couldn't wear it too. Sometimes we have to get over the preconceived idea that certain shades are not for us and we might actually find that they work really well on us.
Picking out favorite lipsticks of the month is the hardest part for me. That's because I own a ton of great lippies. But for sure there are always standouts and these three lipsticks were ones that really caught my eye when I wore them.
Maybelline Orchid Ecstacy from the Rebel Rose Collection. I got this early in 2015 and have never worn any of the five shades after swatching them. So when I wore this one day, I remembered just how lovely this formula is and how pretty this color. It's another one of those very wearable purple shades and this formula really felt good on my dry lips. I will have to pull out the other shades and start wearing them. Wearing more of my makeup is one of my resolutions for 2016.
Urban Decay's 1993 lipstick is that one perfect shade of 1990's brown. I also really love 1995 from Gerard Cosmetics but this shade is browner and the formula is matte perfection. Urban Decay seriously delivered the best matte lipstick line of the year with their Revolution Mattes.
Last on my list is Revlon's Rum Raisin lipstick which I got for about two bucks a few weeks ago. Rite Aid had a bunch of these lippies on sale and I grabbed two of them, one was not my favorite at all but this one is fantastic. I am pretty new to Revlon lipsticks but they seem to be a cult classic with many beauty lovers.
Last on the list of December favorites is a late entry that I wasn't expecting. The Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette was nowhere on my radar. I have never fancied any of the Naked palettes, only picking up my first UD palette recently (the Gwen Stefani). I was in Sephora the other day with a $32 credit and a $20 off coupon and nothing to buy. I had already gotten all the palettes and goodies I wanted but I did not want to waste a $20 off Sephora coupon, that would be insane, so I grabbed the Naked Smoky. I left it in the bag for over a week, not really even caring to open it or play with it but once I did I found that this is one hell of a palette. How did I not realize that this is probably my perfect palette? I love bright, bold colors but I know that the smokier, darker hues look better on me, so why I had not realized I needed this palette is beyond me. I've worn it twice now and I am in love with it.
One of my resolutions for 2016 is to use more of my makeup. No more of this buying 6 shades of lipstick to swatch and never wear again. No more brand new high end palettes still sitting in boxes because I am a master hoarder. A lot of money has been invested into my makeup collection and in 2016 I plan to get as much use of all my goodies as possible. That means I will have more makeup reviews to share on RedLiptickDiaries and a larger variety of favorites to share here with you.
