Urban Decay Naked Palette. The OG and the forerunner of the Naked palettes. It took me several attempts at my birthday and Christmas lists to finally get this baby and my oh my was it worth the wait. I'm a neutral eye kinda gal and this palette, as the name would suggest, just does the job right. I am a particular fan of the shades 'Naked' and 'Buck' for all over the lid and in the crease. I've also been using 'Half Baked' to push on some sparkle into the centre of my lid to open up the eye and 'Smog' for something a little smokier.
Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Nude Foundation in 100 Ivory. I bought this a few days before Christmas as my teeny tiny sample of a Benefit foundation (the name escapes me...) was running low and I needed something new. Drugstore foundations are probably my most sought after products to try. I'm all about the base (no treble) when it comes to make-up as I like to even out my skin tone and reduce any redness going on. I didn't love this at first, I found it didn't give as much cover as I'd like but since persisting with it and changing the tool I use (more on that further down), I can whole heartedly say that I love it! When it's buffed into the skin properly, it really does a good job at evening out and giving a natural finish to the skin.
Clinique High Impact Mascara in 01 Black. This was another gift from a family member this Christmas that I find myself reaching for on an everyday basis. It was on my list as I had tried a sample out from a magazine many months ago and held onto it because I loved it that much! It makes my lashes so effortlessly long and thick at the same time but not too much that they look spidery or clumpy. I love the wand as its a soft fibre one; I don't get on well with plastic ones at all.
Maybelline Brow Satin Eyebrow Pencil in Mahogany Red. For a long while now I have been searching for a eyebrow pencil that somewhat matches with my hair colour. I'm a full on natural ginger/redhead/strawberry blonde whatever you want to call it with extremely fair blonde eyebrows. However, brow products that I try out are always too cool toned and grey. It comes with a thin wax pencil on one end and a setting powder on the other and the colour just works really well at making my brows look a little thicker and more suited to my hair colour.
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick SPF 15. I'd say its pretty common knowledge that the Eight Hour Cream is somewhat of an icon in the beauty world. It's extremely moisturising and can be used on many parts of the body where dry skin can occur. I've had this lip balm for a very long time and its pretty much attached to me all throughout the winter months. You can actually tell how long I've had this as it know comes in much more swish packaging.
Zoeva 106 Powder Brush. My lovely boyfriend very kindly got me the Zoeva Rose Gold Brush Set that I had been lusting after for months for Christmas and it has not failed me. I absolutely love this powder brush for setting powder and bronzer. It's ridiculously soft and washes really well.
Zoeva 102 Silk Finish Brush. This is very similar to the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush but has slightly longer bristles and has a rounder shape. I love this for the Rimmel Foundation I just mentioned. It applies the product really well, is extremely soft and isn't so dense that I feel like I am tugging at my skin, especially my eyes.
Zoeva 227 Luxe Soft Definer. A blatant dupe for the MAC 217 for much less money and from what I have heard, much better. As you can see from the photos, this brush has been very well loved and I often partner it with the Naked palette. It applies and blend eyeshadows so incredibly well that it makes blending so seamless and easy. I could honestly just sit and blend for a considerable amount of time. I think I may find myself on love-makeup.com stocking up on these as I use them so much!
I hope you found this post useful and has maybe swayed you into trying one or some of these products for yourself. Let me know what you have been loving this month in the comments below!
