Current Favorites: January and February 2016 Edition

Happy Monday! I know I have not posted in awhile, but I thought what's the best way to get back to posting than to start off with a current faves post from all of the months I have not posted. While I may not be posting in this blog, I still work in the beauty industry, and its influence never escapes my everyday life. I'm glad to say that although the last few months have been very hectic, I've discovered quite a bit of beauty faves that are just worth the mention! So here's what I've been loving for the past 2 months - you can even say some of them are faves for a bit longer than that! ;)

1. Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Spiced Sand - I've heard a lot of good things about this foundation. What caused me to try this product is the finish that it gives to the skin whenever I see it on someone!  It leaves a very flawless, soft-matte, poreless finish (think almost plasticized skin)  which I actually quite like a lot; the finish is very similar to my long favorite but discontinued Chanel Matte Lumiere. I finally went to the Estee Lauder counter and just got myself matched for a shade and I've been wearing it often since then!
2. MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipsticks in High Drama and Oh Lady - Liquid lipsticks are not my favorite. They are high maintenance to put on and dry out your lips at the end of wearing them no matter how hard you try to prep your lips properly. What made me like this formulation against other ones I've tried (Kat Von D, Anastasia, Dose of Colors and Tarte) is that it leaves a velvety finish to the lips that makes them feel more comfortable throughout the day especially when I rub your lips together. My lips don't feel like I'm scraping sandpaper against each other which a huge plus for me. 
3. Becca Highlighter in Moonstone- This has been my favorite subtle highlighter for the my inner tear ducts, brow bone and tip of my nose. I like the subtle glow it gives, and is perfect for a very natural everyday glowy look!
4. Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Brown - I'm not a big fan of using brow pencils for doing my brows. I always find them difficult to work with my type of brows ( I have lot but very fine brows) and have stuck to the Anastasia Brow Pomade or MUFE Aqua Brow. Lately, I've gotten sick of taking at least 10 mins to achieve the brow look I'm looking for everyday and wanted to simplify my brow routine. Enter the brow wiz! One day, I was in a rush, no makeup and needed to meet up with friends for dinner. Don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid to not wear makeup when going out, but I wasn't looking my best that day and needed a bit of an oomph to my look. So I quickly scanned my purse for some makeup I can apply in five minutes and saw that I have this product on hand. Five minutes later, I had some nice looking natural brows and some color on my lips! It's a quick and super easy for on-the-go type of days and even for everyday!
5. Christian Louboutin Lipstick in Just Nothing- I have been wanting to try out these lipsticks since they came out, but oh my,  the prices are so discouraging! I've heard a lot of good things about this lipstick, however, especially this color. This was definitely a treat for myself during the holidays and I had high hopes for it. I am glad it delivered! This is currently one of my top favorite matte lipsticks to date. It is so comfortable and felt creamy on my lips despite it being a matte finish. The color is, by far, my favorite real nude lipstick! 
6. Chantecaille Faux Cils Longest Lash Mascara - I know, another high-end item! I can blame liking this mascara to Tati's WTF! High End Makeup Review series (she's GlamLifeGuru on YouTube). I was very skeptical about this mascara, especially since most mascaras I've tried has given me less than impressive results. My lashes are average in length and fine in texture but I do have a lot of them. I like how this mascara gives a volumizing effect to my look without making it look too heavy or weighed down. What really makes this mascara worth it is the fact that it has conditioning benefits that help your lashes grow better and it actually does that! I've recently noticed that my lashes has looked a lot fuller and even a little bit longer. I;ve been using this mascara for more than 2 months and I am so glad I tried it. 
7. Bite Agave Lip Mask- The past few months' cold weather has been very drying to my lips and they have been dried out and cracking. Thanks to this ultra hydrating lip mask for rescuing my lips from that misery! I like putting this lip mask on at the very beginning of my makeup routine, before I put on anything. That way, once it's time for me to put on my lipstick, the mask had been absorbed by my lips and it is perfectly moisturized!  I'm very picky when it comes to lip balms and really don't like it when they're just waxy and laying on tip of my lips. 
8. Anastasia Titanium Finish Eyeshadows- This eyeshadow formulation is bomb! I love their high metallic finish that makes them perfect for wearing as a pop! of color on the lid. The colors I own are mermaid, rosette, pink champagne, metal and truffle glitter. I am on a mission to get pretty much all existing colors of this finish soon. 
9. MAC Oval 6 Brush- It seems that these toothbrush-looking brushes have been raved about a lot lately, and I've been very intrigued to try them. I finally tried it out and I love how it spreads the foundation all over my face! I definitely find myself using less product yet getting more coverage when I use this as my foundation brush. 
10. Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water- This product is superb! For the longest time, I used the MAC Pro Makeup Remover but I just go through them very quickly and it was not economical at all. I've heard a lot about micellar cleansing water but have never gotten around to trying them. One day, as I was browsing Sephora I noticed a huge cleansing water container; I saw the price (which was $20 for 13.5 oz.!) and immediately grabbed myself one.  I am so glad I took the plunge, not even knowing if I was even going to like it. A big plus about this product is that it has its own pump dispenser which makes it easy to control how much product you're using. 

Non-Beauty Faves:

1. Erin Condren 2016 Life Planner - I really love the new layout of the entire planner! I am still using the vertical layout, which works really well for me. From May to December of 2015 I was using the Whitney English Day Designer, which I also like a lot, however I just found it too bulky for me to carry on-the-go which is what I really need in a planner!  
2. Cashmere Scarves- They are just really warm and cozy! I have multiple of them from various brands and am obsessed with them.  I commute to school 3 times a week, and they have saved my neck and throat from getting too cold in the Chicago winter. 
3. Starbucks Latte Macchiato with White Mocha - This coffee is love! I rarely drink warm coffee, aside from the occasional cup of cappuccino. My best friend, who's a barista at Starbucks, urged me to try it because she knows my love for foamy milk and white mocha and she thinks that this combines both of it. I am so glad I tried it and I am so addicted to it, but I don't care. LOL!
4. The Martian Book and Movie- I've watched this movie so many times I've lost count! I watched this movie with my cousins for the very first time during one of our movie nights and the story just inspired me so much! Mark Watney's drive and wit was so fantastic and the story just had soooo much heart to it! I then read the book, and it was just a beautiful extended version of the movie, which goes to show that this book was just very well adopted from a book to a movie (which we all know, sometimes Hollywood screws up royally). I resisted the story for so long because I thought it was going to be dramatic, like Interstellar, but it was so informational yet very hilarious and just so inspiring. If you haven't already, you really need to watch and maybe even read The Martian. GO!

Things I'm looking forward to in March:

1. A somewhat warmer weather- I haven't really checked the forecast, but I just can't wait for it to be warmer already. I am over the cold and very ready for it to be Spring and sunny for a longer time during the day! 
2. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - I really loved where the show is going this season and I just can't wait to watch the rest of the season already! There has been so much character development and I cannot wait to see more. 
3. Natasha Denona 28 Eyeshadow Palettes - I've pre-ordered them from Beautylish 2 weeks ago and cannot wait to get them! They are shipping to me in a few days and I cannot wait to try these eyeshadows. 

What have you been liking lately? Share them to me as I would love to make new product discoveries! 

Until next time,