Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette
C'mon, we all saw this one coming, right? I've said several times that the Anastasia shadows are my favorite formula, and if you've been following me for a while then you'll know that I'm completely addicted to orange/red/bronze tones. This is a perfect everyday palette for me, I haven't even touched anything else since I got this (with the exception of dipping into my MAC single in Blanc Type, which is what I pretty much always use on my brow bone). I foresee this being a favorite for a very long time.
The reason I love it, beyond the versatility of the color selection (don't be intimidated by the orange and red tones, you can work them in in a way that still keeps a mostly neutral look, if that's your jam), is because the eyeshadows are so freaking pigmented, yet blendable and buildable. I know a lot of people complain that the formula kicks up too much, and it does kick up a lot, so be careful not to use too much pressure when you dip your brush in and to lightly tap off the excess. Personally, I don't mind the kick up because in my experience shadows that do that tend to blend better, and because I don't get much fallout from most Anastasia shadows. They probably wouldn't be the best shadows for a beginner because they do take a little bit of skill to work with. For a beginner, I would recommend something like the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette because the shadows practically blend themselves out (they actually blend too much for my liking, to the point where I feel like they're not intense enough, but that's personal preference, and not a problem that most beginners are likely to have).
The reason I love it, beyond the versatility of the color selection (don't be intimidated by the orange and red tones, you can work them in in a way that still keeps a mostly neutral look, if that's your jam), is because the eyeshadows are so freaking pigmented, yet blendable and buildable. I know a lot of people complain that the formula kicks up too much, and it does kick up a lot, so be careful not to use too much pressure when you dip your brush in and to lightly tap off the excess. Personally, I don't mind the kick up because in my experience shadows that do that tend to blend better, and because I don't get much fallout from most Anastasia shadows. They probably wouldn't be the best shadows for a beginner because they do take a little bit of skill to work with. For a beginner, I would recommend something like the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette because the shadows practically blend themselves out (they actually blend too much for my liking, to the point where I feel like they're not intense enough, but that's personal preference, and not a problem that most beginners are likely to have).
Verb Ghost Oil
I've tried Verb's detangler in the past, and it didn't work for me at all (to be fair, my hair is giant ball of evil, most hair products don't help), so when I saw Verb's Ghost Oil in my November Ipsy bag, I didn't get my hopes up. Needless to say, I was pretty surprised when adding a couple of drops of this to my hair actually made a huge difference in my ability to brush my hair out (way less tangles!) and made it feel and look healthier. I split my hair in half along my part while it's still damp, add a dime-sized amount of oil to my hand and rub my palms together, then rub my hands over my hair, being sure to coat all of the layers of my hair, not just the top and bottom. I also keep it about an inch or two away from my roots. Then, I repeat on the other side. Most people probably won't need to section their hair or use quite so much oil, but I have absurdly thick hair that still requires quite a bit of product even after I chopped off several inches. What can I say, my hair is a problem child. This oil is also lightweight, and has a very light, barely noticeable scent that doesn't really smell like anything specific. It's definitely not something that would compete with your perfume or give you a headache. I've tried tons of hair oils, but this is by far my favorite.
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Enigma
Enigma is basically the product I've needed my whole life. I have super oily eyelids, and Urban Decay's Primer Potion works significantly better for me than any other primer I've tried. What makes Enigma so special is the tint, which is a light beige. It works perfectly to camouflage the veins on my eyelids, which I've never been able to achieve with a concealer the way that most people can because my eyelids are so oily. Setting concealer with powder, applying concealer over a primer, nope doesn't work, creases in 30 minutes. I don't always want to wear eyeshadow, but the veiny-ness of my eyelids sort of acts like dark circles and makes me look tired and disheveled (I'm probably both, but no one else needs to know that!). Enigma allows me to look more put together without having to wear eyeshadow and keeps my eyelids from getting too oily throughout the day. Sometimes I wear it with eyeshadow, other times I wear it on its own with a little bit of face powder over top to take away some of the tacky feeling. As an added benefit, Urban Decay donates 100% of the purchase price of this product to charity organizations that support women. So far, they've donated over 1.28 million dollars!
Cosmo Monster Aqua Gel Sunscreen
I'm surprised I haven't seen more people talk about this Cosmo Monster sunscreen, it's a total winner! I hadn't heard of this brand before, but I was excited to see a sunscreen in the Oily/Combo edition of the September/October Jini Beauty Box. After giving it a try over the past month+, I can honestly say I love this stuff! I'm actually surprised by how much I love it because I typically don't like gel face products as they tend to feel quite sticky. This one feels like water (hence the "aqua" in the name) and doesn't leave any sort of sticky or slippery film on the skin. It's also clear, has a very mild sunscreen smell, and plays well with makeup. It feels so lightweight on my face, just like a moisturizer, but it has an SPF of 50, heck yeah! It's also only about $10, so budget-friendly too! Like I said, I don't know why more people don't talk about this. I have nothing negative to say about it, and have even been reaching for it over my (super) expensive Radical sunscreen. Super glad to have discovered this thanks to Jini Beauty Box!
Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Magic Wand Makeup Remover Swabs
These makeup remover swabs are another awesome find from the September/October Jini Beauty Box. I'd heard of them before but hadn't gotten around to trying them, until they arrived in my Jini Beauty Box. The way these work is you twist one end of the cotton swab and pull that end off, which releases makeup remover from the stick portion into the cotton portion of the swab. They're a super easy and convenient way to fix mistakes, especially to clean up winged eyeliner. These would also be great for travel or to keep in your purse. The makeup remover in these is really effective and non-irritating. Love 'em!
Stok Cold Brewed Coffee Shots
These little pods of joy are a life saver. Not literally. Well, maybe a little bit literal if you've ever seen me after I've been drinking crappy hotel coffee for a few days. Have you ever wished you could amp up the amount of caffeine in your coffee? If you have, you'll probably fall in love with these. Housed in little pods like the creamer you get at a diner, Stok is a pod of cold-brewed, highly caffeinated black coffee. I found them at my local Smith's (Kroger in some parts of the country) about a month ago, and since finals were coming up, I threw them into my cart without a second thought. Not only were these great for adding caffeine to my coffee and keeping me sane during finals, they also prevented disaster yesterday morning when the only coffee left in the house was decaf. Decaf coffee, man. Not only is it caffeine-free, it just doesn't taste right. Thankfully, we were well stocked with Stok, so no one had to go caffeine-free! I've also been experimenting with other uses for these. So far I've tried adding them to hot cocoa and oatmeal, by subbing a little bit of the water for a pod of Stok. Works great! Adds a tiny bit of coffee flavor (plus caffeine!) without overpowering the other flavors. In the future, I want to try adding them to brownies (if you've never tried adding a bit of coffee to your brownies you're missing out!), protein shakes, and maybe even homemade protein bars. There's a lot of applications for these beyond adding them to a cup of coffee. I can't wait to play around with them some more!
Better Oats Oat Revolution Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal
This is my favorite oatmeal ever. I've actually been eating it for years, but just recently went back to it after awhile without it because I was sick of eating bars for breakfast every day. I hate making breakfast in the morning, if I can't find something quick and simple, I'm just getting by on coffee until lunch. For this reason, it's not uncommon for me to reach for something unhealthy for breakfast, but this oatmeal gives me a healthy option that doesn't require much brain power or effort. I love the way this oatmeal tastes, I love that it has added flax seeds for omega-3s, but most of all I love the measuring cup pouch. After you dump the oatmeal into a bowl, you fill the pouch up to the line with water and dump it into the bowl, no need for a separate measuring cup! Simple enough for my mornings, but so good I eat it for dinner sometimes!
FitnessBlender
If you workout at home like I do, but are tired of the same boring, overly peppy or bootcamp style workouts that are popular for at-home workouts, try FitnessBlender. I found them years ago and have been working out with their videos ever since. I recently got back into working out after not having the time or space for it for the past two years, and it felt great to come back to their videos. They have over 500 free workouts on their YouTube channel, ranging from beginner to advanced, kickboxing to yoga, and a wide variety of workout formats to keep things from getting boring. They also have workout plans that you can purchase if you'd like someone to do all of the workout planning for you, but they never push you to buy their plans, and all of the videos are completely free. There's no gimmick to FitnessBlender, and the workouts truly work. In the past I lost quite a bit of weight with FitnessBlender (I never weigh myself, so I don't have an exact number, but I'd estimate it was 30+ lbs), and their workouts also helped me to significantly increase my endurance and strength. I'm so much healthier thanks to FitnessBlender, and it's been so great to get to workout with them again. Seriously, I can't recommend them highly enough, give them a try!
Flop:
L'Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper Transparent Brow Gel
I hate this brow gel, plain and simple. It's a total disappointment. Like when your parents tell you they're getting you a puppy for Christmas, but they come home with some animatronic thing from Toys R' Us. Yeah, that bad. Sure, it's clear and it doesn't flake off in weird white patches that look like dandruff, so it's got that going for it. But ya know what else it doesn't have? Hold. Staying power. Things a good brow gel really needs to have. The brush on this is nice and small, but the brow gel itself doesn't hold my brow hairs in place at all, it just has some weird waxy feel that makes it seem like I put Vaseline on my eyebrows. Not cool, man, not cool. I wasn't expecting this to be as good as Anastasia brow gel, but c'mon. Even my Essence Make Me Brow (a Benefit Gimme Brow dupe) has better hold than this, and that's meant more so for adding color and volume to the brows, the hold it just an added bonus. This L'Oreal brow gel isn't even worth the $6 I paid for it. Pass.
That's it for this month! What are some of your recent favorites?
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