What I'm Loving Right Now: February 2017 Favorites

Y'know how sometimes after you go through a rut with your beauty products, you come out of the rut with like 30 new loves? Well, that's what happened here. I haven't done a favorites post in several months because there just wasn't anything making me excited enough to call it a favorite. There are a few exceptions to that, things I've been loving for a while, but just forgot to talk about for one reason or another. Psshh, how rude of me. I'm making up for it now by sharing the goods, including a few product combos that I think are really stellar. Are you ready for this jelly? Good, then I'll stop blabbing and get into it!

Disclosure: This post does not contain affiliate links. This post is not sponsored. This post does not contain paid/sponsored product mentions. This post does include a product received as a PR sample, clearly labeled as such.

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Recent Favorites + A Flop

It's been a few months since my last favorites post, but they're some of my favorite posts to write. I've got some great products to share with you today that I've really been loving (including some non-beauty favorites!). Hopefully you'll love them too!

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July 2016 Favorites

Things are a little bit crazy for me at the moment. I'm starting classes at a new university (if you're curious, I'm working on a Bachelor's of Science in Communication), preparing for a friend's wedding, which I'm also a bridesmaid in, and doing the bride's makeup, starting a new job, and to top it all off, I'm in the process of house hunting (stalking them from the bushes and everything*) and getting ready to move. Hence the lack of blog posts recently. I'm trying y'all. I've got a few long-awaited reviews in the works and lots of empties posts coming up, I'm just trying to find a way to sneak them in amidst the chaos.

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My Favorite Summer Lip Products

I used to think I didn't have an addiction to lip products, but then I had to buy a small spinning tower to store them all, and I realized I was just in denial. My love of lip products stems from always wanting to have the exact right color and finish for whatever makeup I'm wearing. What can I say, I'm a detail-oriented person. I've chosen today's products with a similar train of thought, evaluating the products based on color, texture, and comfort (because no one wants to feel like their lips are about to peel off of their face in the summer heat). Without further adieu, I give you my favorite summer lip products.

Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Melondrama

I recently discovered just how wonderful the formula of the Smashbox Be Legendary Lipsticks is. It's easily in my top 10, if not my top 5. On top of having a formula that's pigmented, creamy, and long-wearing, Melondrama is also an electric peach with a hint of coral that's perfect for taking things up a notch in the summer.

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May 2016 Favorites

Confession: I'm a summer-hater. Yep, I hate the warmer weather, and the long days spent feeling like I'm trapped inside the house because it's too hot to do anything outside. I'm a fall/winter kind of girl. I want cloudy skies, the crunch of dead leaves (or better yet, snow! but good luck finding that in Vegas), and curling up under a blanket to binge-watch Netflix, burn candles, and crack the window to let in a bit of the crisp air. Every summer month that I can check off the list is one less month of tortuous heat, and one step closer to the few blissful months of cooler weather. So am I sad to see May go? Nope, not at all. Ok, maybe a little bit, but only because we've had an extraordinarily mild spring and early summer. Up until last week, it was still cool enough to leave the windows open. Ahh, if only it was like that all the time. Another good thing about the end of the month? New favorites! I've got some great products to talk about today, so let's get to it.

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April 2016 Favorites

If this was a food blog, the picture below would be the absolutely delicious flatbread pizza I had for lunch today, or maybe the spicy vegetable soup I made last Friday night. Alas, we're talking about beauty favorites today, so you'll have to find your foodporn elsewhere. And, uh, sorry if I just made you hungry. On the bright side, I've got some great products to share with you today.

First up, the two foundations I've been absolutely in love with for the past couple of months.

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My Favorite Make Up and Skincare Products of 2015 (Plus a few non-beauty favorites!)

Most of these year-end favorites posts begin with a look back on the year, but to be honest I really don't care, and you probably don't either, so let's just get to the good stuff.

Eyes:

Makeup Geek Poppy (coral) and Creme Bruleé (peachy tan) have become two of my all-time favorite eye shadows. Both blend beautifully, and on my pale skin, Creme Bruleé is an awesome transition. Poppy is easily one of my most-used shadows of the past year, and I've said before that I'll find any excuse to work it into a look because I just love the warmth that it adds, especially to neutral looks. Confession: I've actually used Poppy on my brows when they were coming off a bit too cool-toned for my liking. Sounds horrifying, but as long as you use a light hand, it works wonders and no one will be able to tell that you have a coral eye shadow in your brows.

I love these two palettes from Anastasia Beverly Hills (World Traveler, bottom, and Self-Made, top). I think they're an excellent value for the money and with the exception of one shadow in each palette, they perform beautifully. I'm especially fond of the titanium finish shadow included in both of these palettes, Pink Champagne. It has an incredible reflective quality, similar to a foiled eye shadow, and it can really alter the look of other shadows depending on how you layer it. I also really love Morocco and Intense Gaze from the World Traveler palette, and Blush and Sherbert (especially in the crease) from the Self-Made palette. In general, I love the formula of the ABH eye shadows and I can't wait to get more (come to mommy, Henna, you beautiful orange gem).

The Julep Gel Eye Gliders are such an underrated product. These are the softest, silkiest eye pencils I've ever used. Not even Urban Decay makes liners as soft as these, and I don't have the same problem with these smearing that I do with many of the Urban Decay 24/7 pencils. These truly do glide when you apply them, so much so that I'm sometimes not even sure if I'm touching the pencil to my skin. The formula of these is just absolutely beautiful, and I plan on purchasing the entire line eventually. I already have several more of these, but I wanted to include my two most-used shades, which are Champagne Shimmer and Bronze Shimmer. I love Champagne Shimmer as an inner corner highlight, and Bronze Shimmer is a great alternative to black for adding definition without the harshness of a black liner.

You can tell I really love a product when I've worn the writing off of it! On the right is ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in XO, which was part of the limited edition collaboration with Shannon from Shaaanxo. I love all of the shadows in her ColourPop collection, but this one is my absolute favorite. I love it as an inner corner highlight or all over the lid. It's a more neutral gold than many of the others in my collection, which is part of why I wear it so much, it's just so versatile! I'm going to be so sad when I run out of this shadow. On the left is ColourPop Mixed Tape which also gets a lot of use from me. Because of my uber-dark under-eye circles, I have trouble wearing purple eye shadows without emphasizing the darkness under my eyes, but between the satin finish and the slight grey and brown tones, Mixed Tape is a lot more flattering on me than most other purples.

Face:

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