Soap & Glory Hand Food Hand Cream (£5.00) has been a life saver in my dry, cold university flat. I bought this on the recommendation of many bloggers and YouTubers and boy is this stuff great, especially if you're on a relative budget. I love this cream above my Bath and Body Works or Body Shop hand creams at the moment not only for the lovely fruity-spicy smell, but because it feels amazing and hydrating the moment it touches my skin and just makes them feel so lovely.
Soap & Glory Hand Maid Antibacterial Hand Cleansing Gel (£2.50) smells really nice. That's basically all I have to say about it. There are so many scented hand sanitizer options in the States, but not many in the UK, and it smells exactly like the Hand Food spicy-fruity hand cream smell, so I'm sold! I've just really enjoyed using this, it's a nice fresh scent that isn't too fruity or floral for winter. I also find that it's not too drying and does a good job at cleansing even if I have makeup or food grease on my hands.
SEVENTEEN Doll'd Up Mascara in Black (£6.29) might be my favorite mascara...of all time. It's not waterproof, so it's reasonably easy to get off at night without pulling out half your eyelashes. It doesn't smudge. Amazingly, it holds a curl. I have fairly long lashes and a lot of them, but they are stick straight and can tend to look short because of it. This mascara really keeps the curl I work so hard to achieve intact. It's also just a really nice finish, not too gloopy and not too dry. Just right for me! And the price is much lower than most mascaras out on the high street, so you can't really go long. Color me impressed. I've been reaching for this one more than my Lancome Hypnose Star sample (too dramatic for everyday) and more than my Revlon Lash Potion (waterproof and SO hard to remove). The wand is also thin enough that I can get into the corners without mashing a load of mascara around my eyelid. It's a win in my book.
MAC Lustreglass in Venetian (£14) is my first MAC product. Ever. I know the beauty world is crazy over it but it's just not in my budget! I received it for Christmas from my absolutely amazing mother who knows me so well! I am not a huge lip-gloss person, but the ones I do own are mostly safe creamy pink and shimmery pink ones, as well as a few from the Almay Color + Care liquid balm line. While I'm much more of a lipstick person, my mother is a lip-gloss person (they always look amazing on her and she picks such great colors!) and I recently commented on how wonderful her products are and borrowed one over the summer for a wedding. This lip-gloss is, to quote The Princess and the Frog, is the best thing I never knew I needed. It is such a versatile gloss. Alone, it is a gorgeous multidimensional shine on the lips, giving a hint of red, just-bitten color. Layered, it adds a whole new dimension to whatever color is underneath, enhancing either red or pink tones. Gorgeous! It's sparkly in a way that isn't glittery, and quickly becoming a staple in my red lips addiction.
Rodial Glamtox Night (£90) is an amazing product that I've already talked about here. I only have a sample size and paid nowhere near that staggering price for my tiny bottle, but I just love it. I wake up in the morning with a fresh face and it's so hydrating and has really changed my skin for the better. I'm almost out and I'm just not sure what I'm going to do with myself until then (find a cheaper face resurfacer that's what).
SEVENTEEN Instant Glow Tan Cream Bronzer (£4.99) has really helped my contouring look more natural. I still use my beloved Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer (£25) for my cheekbones, but I have found that I don't have enough precision with a powder when contouring the nose area (which I like to do, for silly reasons). I have a strange skin surface around my nose. It's dry, but can sometimes be a bit oily, and the surface is textured, not smooth. I also have little sebaceous filament plugs which adds to the uneven surface. I find that cakey foundation, powder, concealer, and powder products all help to make my nose look pretty awful most of the time. This cream formulation helps cut down on the powder on my nose and make my skin look more skin-like, while helping to create a natural contour that doesn't look too orange. I highly recommend it! It's much cheaper than other cream bronzers on the market. This is a good stand-in for those who would normally try to find a dark-hued stick concealer (something damn near impossible to do in the whitewashed makeup market of Britain). So, not too drying, and a good tone for the pale ladies out there searching desperately for a bronzer sans-orange. I suggest testing it out though in the store before you take it home to decide if it's the right product for you.
Katy Perry Killer Queen Eau de Parfum (£23) is probably my new favorite thing. Another lovely Christmas present, this is a real departure from most of my fresh, floral, and tiny perfume collection. I love it. I feel like a glamorous old lady when I wear it. This might sound weird, but it's just a very warm, strong, scent. The top notes are berry and bergamot, blending down to a jasmine-y scent and finishing with base notes of patchouli and praline. It's definitely a sweet, flowery, husky sort of fragrance. I don't know what it is about it but spraying this on my neck at night makes me sleep better, and I just love smelling myself when I wear it! Also, the cute little jewel-crown packaging is just the icing on the cake, in my opinion.
Estée Lauder Deluxe All-Over Face Compact is a product that I received in a gift-with-purchase jumbo box that was discounted through Estée Lauder during the Christmas season. My mom and I purchased a perfume for my grandma and we reaped the benefits of the box! It's not available for individual sale, but it contains three .06 oz sections of Estée Lauder Pure Color Blush in 02 Pink Kiss, 08 Peach Passion and 10 Lover's Blush (£25 each), as well as one .06 oz section of Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Powder Bronzer in Medium 02 (£30 full size). These are absolutely gorgeous, the colors are like nothing else that I have, and are just so creamy and long lasting. The brush that comes with it is great for contouring as well!
Thanks for checking out my January favorites! A lot of wonderful new products from Christmas and post-Christmas sales have found their ways into my permanent routine. What have you been loving this January?
xoxo, K
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