Hey everyone! Here’s a quick post on some of my favorite finds this year. I had a really, really hard time narrowing down my picks because, frankly, 2014 was a great year of discovery for me, as far as beauty products and cosmetics are concerned. I’ve mixed in fragrance and skin care picks, as well as other products I really wanted to mention that I really loved as well. Let’s start with makeup!
Happy December! Time for my November Favorites. 🙂 I have quite a few, even though November was a month of trying a lot of new things. Anyone else victimized by Black Friday/Cyber Monday insanity? I’m afraid I went ahead and got a bit of new things. It’s mostly Christmas shopping, but perhaps that’s my own rationalization of my spendiness. On to the favorites! My skin care routine got a bit jumbled up because of my last BNT Girls mission, but it’s been pretty standard besides that.
Sometimes, I’m a total dimwit when it comes to packing my makeup, which is strange, since I’ve used makeup long enough to figure out what I use regularly and what I don’t. I brought way more than this when I went to Seoul, and I wish I didn’t, because this is honestly all I needed. I brought things like mascara and an eyelash curler, which I used maybe 2 days out of the 9 I was there. My Necessities for a Basic Face K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo 24H Real Lasting 2-Way Eyebrow Liner in G101* — This is my absolute staple! When I sleep in accidentally and have no time for makeup, I just draw on my brows! Ellis Faas Concealer in S204* — I love this concealer more than my NARS one, I think. It’s less fussy and it doesn’t cake even after a long day out. Urban Decay Primer Potion — To make my eyeshadow long lasting! NARS And God Created the Woman Palette — I must admit, I brought along another palette …
I often add a space in my calendar to put in a “monthly favorites,” though I don’t always have “enough” products to show that would warrant an entire post. This is especially true for the month of October, most of which I spent in a different country. I do have a couple of skin favorites and mainstays that are similar to that of the last favorites post I did, but I hope you guys don’t mind if I also share some recent finds that I have been loving lately. One Love Organics Brand New Day Scrub & Masque This powder is to be mixed with water (to act as a scrub) or Greek yogurt/honey (to use as a mask). When I remember to use this—just about twice a week—my skin feels so refreshed and clean after. This will definitely be a mainstay in my routine. I just wish it were a bit easier for me to get. La Roche-Posay Redermic R and Redermic R Eyes This range is an anti-aging treatment that contains retinol, which …
And it’s time for another round of beauty and skin care favorites! I usually am at a loss when I write this feature (30 days is a long time for the mind to rewind back to, it seems…) but since I’ve been on the road for most of September, it was easy to find things in my small-ish stash that I enjoyed immensely. Here are some of them: One Love Organics Skin Savior Waterless Beauty Balm — this is a makeup remover, cleanser, and moisturizer all in one. It is AMAZING and helped my skin out a lot in NYC where it was breaking out a lot. My sister’s been enjoying using it, too! Indie Lee Squalene Oil — I bought this at Space.NK and wanted to try an olive-based squalene facial oil, because it’s known to be great for the skin. I can attest to these claims. This oil is fantastic and I usually use it on my skin during the day, before I put on my sunscreen/moisturizer. MAKE Colour Soft Focus Foundation — …
Here are five of my blush picks for fall, which isn’t technically even a season where I’m from (we only have “super rainy” and “super hot”), but there’s no harm in partaking in other countries’ seasonal whims, I say. Kjaer Weis Cream Blush in Abundance The newest addition to my blush brood, Abundance is quite a unique color that’s pretty perfect for fall. It’s a pretty intimidating and unusual color—a grey-toned purple-leaning taupe—but it applies beautifully once you figure it out. NARS Powder Blush in Sin Of course this blush would be a part of a “best of” series for fall blushes. Sin is a mid tone muted purple that has gold shimmer running through it, like the ubiquitous Orgasm. Like Orgasm, Sin’s shimmer doesn’t ruin the blush but adds just the perfect hint of golden luminosity. (Alternatives for this type of shade are the MAC Powder Plum Foolery and the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Blushing Bride.) Addiction Cheek Stick in Suspicious This is such a great deep wine shade that you can …
“White on White” is one of those works of art that I like whipping out to show people who just don’t get modern art. “Well, I could make that!” they decry, in a bubble of incredulity. The question is, did you? Russian artist Kasimir/Kazimir Malevich founded a movement called Suprematism around 1913. It focused on the rejection of the depiction of objects, opting for “the supremacy of pure artistic feeling.” This work is one of the most famous from the movement, as is another one of Malevich’s work, “Black Square.” Suprematism has been briefly, though wonderfully discussed on this Tumblr post by WTF Art History. Under the caption of “White on White,” WTF Art History writes, “A non-figural work, the White on White painting demands extended viewing in order to grasp the contrast between the white hues, the imprecise delineation of the inner square, and the effect such a painting has on you the viewer. Your response to the painting is what Malevich considered “the supremacy of pure feeling or perception in the pictorial arts.”
Softly Sometimes 