April Favorites

Hello my lovelys!

To be honest with you guys I wasn’t planning on posting today, but then (after basically the whole day passed) I realized it’s May! What?! When did this happen? Time flies when you’re not in school--- sorry for all of you who still haven’t finished the semester, I’m not trying to brag honest (OK maybe a little). Any who, since April has come and gone, I thought this would be a great opportunity to do my very first Monthly Favorites.

Pretty self-explanatory, but basically it’s a segment where I share all the products, both beauty and non-beauty, that I have been loving for the past month. Fortunately, April was a pretty eventful month, including my birthday and a wonderful trip to Texas (yes guys, Texas is pretty great!) to visit my aunt, so for this Monthly Favorites I have a truck full of products (which means a very long post, so bare with me).

Let’s start things off with everyone’s favorite: Makeup

First thing’s first, la crème de la crème, the ‘Khaleesi’ (if you don’t watch Game of Thrones, sorry, but you’re not gonna get that one) of foundations: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation (I wear shade 30 Beige). This is by far the best foundation I have ever tried. It has a very lightweight, thin-watery consistency (hence its name), yet amazing coverage! It is pretty scented, but I don’t mind that since it smells so good, and it has the perfect finish. It literally looks/feels like your skin, only your skin is perfect, AND it has SPF 15, always a plus.

Continuing with base products, the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles has just been the best thing for my under eyes. Needless to say my “I woke up like dis” is far from flawless, mainly because I have really bad dark circles. It doesn’t matter if I’ve had a 12hr sleep, they are always there; it’s just genetics (thanks mom!). This is a pink shade, but don’t be afraid of the color when you see it in person. The pink/salmon shades are the best for dark circles because their color counteracts the blue/purple shades from the dark circles. What I’ve been doing is layering this under my regular concealer and voilà… Flawless.

Next is the All-in-1: Lorac Pro To Go Palette. Basically all you need for your eyes and cheeks. It has six neutral eye shadow shades of which my favorites are ‘chai’ (a perfect bronze with a little bit of shimmer for all over the lid), ‘café’ (if I feel I need a little something extra on the crease), and ‘pearl’ (as a highlight on my inner corner and pretty much anywhere else you want to highlight). It also has two blushes, which have great lasting power, and a bronzer. If you’re doing any traveling this summer, this is a great palette to invest in.

The Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearl in ‘Beige Pearl’ has been the best thing ever for my nights out. My makeup doesn’t change that much from day to night (I usually wear something that works for both just in case) but just swiping this over my cheekbones gives my face a little extra “uummph” and glow, plus it looks amazing in those pointless-yet-we-all-take-them-bathroom selfies.  

To end the makeup segment of the program, is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz; I wear the shade ‘ebony’. Now I’ve only had this for a week, but let that be a testament of how good this brow pencil is. It is very thin, pointy, and waxy which makes for perfect natural looking brows, which is exactly what I need since I practically have no brows (and on top of that I have a scar on one). This might sound silly to all of you who actually have brows (we all can’t be Lily Collins), but filling in your brows makes a HUGE (but good) difference on your face and this is a great product to achieve it.

Keeping things going with skincare, which is just as, if not even more important than the actual makeup.

I think it is important to mention that I have really sensitive skin, I’m sorry I mean EXTREMELY sensitive skin (we’ll talk about it another time) so I was over the moon when I found the La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water (available at CVS): a toner that didn’t irritate my skin. Basically a toner’s function is to remove any excess makeup/dirt that can get left behind by your cleanser, and to even out your skin tone if you have discoloration (I can do a post all about basic skin care if you’re interested). I don’t think it’s fair to call this a toner though, because it looks, feels, and smells exactly like water, yet my skin instantly feels cooler, calmer and cleaner (woah that’s a lot of 'c’s') once I swipe it on with a cotton pad. Overall a really nice product that’s worth checking out.

I hadn’t found an eye cream that didn’t irritate my under eye area until I crossed paths with the Burt's Bees Sensitive eye cream with cotton extract (also at CVS). It’s a really lightweight cream that moisturizes the under eye area while you sleep, plus it can be used during the morning to reduce puffiness.

We all have days when we just can’t be bothered to do the whole foundation routine, so the Garnier Ultra-Lift Transformer has just been perfect for those good skin days. It goes on white just like a cream, but as you keep on applying it turns into your skin color to give just the tiniest bit of coverage. Honestly, it’s just so fun to use, Criss Angel has nothing on this magic product. Since it’s Garnier, you can pick it up at your nearest drugstore.

For hair, my absolute favorite this month has got to be the Dove Hair Therapy Dry Shampoo I’m pretty lazy when it comes to my hair, especially since I blow dry it, and this is just perfect for when I want to wear it loose, yet it’s dirty (or even better for after working out).  It just does exactly what it says “Absorbs oil to refresh hair”, and it smells A-MA-ZING!

Last in the beauty spectrum are the Deborah Lippmann  nail polishes in ‘Build me up Buttercup’—a pastel yellow—and ‘Spring Buds’—a pastel green. Now these are really just a splurge-on-yourself-product since they are quite pricey for nail polish, but they looked so pretty on the Sephora display I couldn’t help myself. Just perfect for spring and summer.

In a non-beauty related note I just had to include in this month’s favorites this book by Ellen DeGeneres: Seriously…I’m Kidding. It’s a hilarious book (perfect for before bed which is when I tend to read), filled with Ellen’s opinions about certain topics including her experience as a CoverGirl, a chapter on boredom, how to become a millionaire, etc. If you’re looking for a light read this is a good option.

Last but not least, my favorite scent of the month, and possibly favorite candle scent ever, comes courtesy of the Bath and Bodyworks 'Japanese Cherry Blossom' candle. It just smells perfect (at least to me); very floral, fresh, and clean. It's really hard to describe scents for me, so just do yourself a favor and go to the store to give it a good sniff. If you're into floral scents I'm sure you'll love it, plus it goes perfect with the spring season.

Well guys it is the end to this bible of a post! Sorry it was so long, I just had so many loves this month! I hope this was helpful and you possibly saw something you might like to try. Don't forget to comment and let me know what you think, or if you have tried any of these products.

Thanks for reading!