January 2014 Favorites

Where has January gone? What its February already? Bonkers. I guess it’s time for my first monthly favourites of 2014.

So what happened to me in January?

I moved back to Huddersfield after the Christmas break, I had 2 university deadlines, I said goodbye to an old friend and family member, met up with an old friend who was back from Canada for the holiday and I had a long weekend in Liverpool celebrating a friends 21^st birthday. Its now less than 5 months till I move to the USA and the clocks ticking. 

Skin care

My first favorite product from January 2014 is the Bioderma, Solution Micellaire. I figured it was about time I tried this product as my trusty makeup wipes were no longer doing the job sufficiently. I ordered a 500ml bottle from Escentual during the January sale for £11.60 saving £2.90 from the original price. Honestly now I understand the hype, it’s so light and non-greasy and it seems to effortlessly lift off any makeup.  Gone are the days of mascara smudges under my eyes. it feels like water, looks like water, smells like water but removes waterproof mascara. Mental.  

The next product I have been loving this month is the soap and glory Dr Spot super strength breakout clearing gel.  I’ve been using a lot of soap and glory since Christmas after receiving the “Yule Monty” soap and glory gift set. SnG is a brand I have dabbled into in the past but I've never really got truly stuck into, I’d heard great things but the price was always an issue with me. But I had been wanting to change my face wash routine for a while and since Christmas I have purchased Dr Spot, the Scrubatomic daily face polish and the No Clogs Allowed detox mask. I was surprised at the results. I have also been using these with my Peaches and Clean 3 in 1 face wash which feels so refreshing, almost minty somehow. The Dr Spot gel was recommended to me by a friend and she was bang on the money with that one. I have been breaking out a lot in the past few weeks due to hormones and stress but whenever I apply this little tube of gel, I see a difference in the morning.

Makeup

This month has seen some highly anticipated products finally be released. The two I was waiting for were the Maybelline Big Eyes mascara with a bottom lash brush, and the Revlon Colourburst Matte balm and Lacquer balm. Although for me the Maybelline mascara fell a little flat in my opinion, the Revlon balms did not disappoint. I have always loved the Revlon Balm stains and the Honey 001 shade would probably be one of my desert island beauty products. I went a little mad when these finally appeared in my local Boots store, and I bought 3 matte and 3 lacquer shades. My favourite are whimsical 115 and Elusive 205. The lacquer shades are slightly glittery shiny formulas while the matte balms are just as they say on the tin, with a brighter more potent colour. They still smell like peppermint which I love although others may not.  I find that you do have to touch up the colour half way through your day but they still have pretty decent staying power and the colour and texture are beautiful. I never even notice these on my lips after a bit and at £7.99 a pop their not too shabby really.

The next product is an obvious one, honestly I must be the slowest person to mention this in a blog. It is of course the Urban Decay Naked 3 Pallet. Now if you read my blog regularly you will know that I was recently bamboozled by a eBay account selling fake naked 3 palettes but luckily I received a full refund and finally got my hands on the real thing. Okay so this one’s a little steep at £37.00 but it’s certainly an investment. I now currently own all 3 of the full sized Naked pallets and my only quarrel is that my other two are getting neglected. I’m still working out how to use all the colours but surprisingly it’s pretty difficult to mess up. My worry with this pallet was the pink toned eye shadows, although beautiful, they do have the tendency to make the wearer look as though they have a bout of conjunctivitis, Grim. But surprisingly I haven’t yet achieved this look. the shadows are as ever just as pigmented, just as long wearing and just as beautiful as all the other eye-shadows.

Hair care

I have had no time throughout January, with two deadlines and a family related drama, so my hair has had to take a back seat. Now those that know me know my hair is the bane of my existence. I probably have enough hair for two people (maybe three), there’s thick hair and then there’s my hair. I want to do a blog post on this soon as I feel I have a lot of advice for all my thick haired ladies. I know you’re thinking, why is having a lot of hair a bad thing. Well it takes a lifetime to dry, style and just generally stop it looking like a birds nest. So my first product has been a life saver in the past month. This is the Lee Stafford Blow Dry Your Hair Faster Spray or “Wonder Spray”. I had heard fables about products like this for a while, my hair dresser used a serum on my hair which she claimed “cut your drying time in half”, as at that moment I was paying a lot of money to have my hair done, I couldn't afford the fabled product and had to leave it. When I finally had the money, I had no clue of the name. So instead I found this product. All I can say is it works. It doesn't appear to do much else, it doesn't dry out my hair, it fells exactly as it would had I took the extra time to dry it without the product. It works as a pretty good detangler too. When I've just sprayed this onto my hair without blow-drying, the water just seems to pour off making air-drying a lot faster too. When blow-drying my hair normally I would say it takes about 15 minutes if I just tip my head upside down and blow, 45 if I give a damn. With this spray it takes 10 or less to dry roughly and about 30 to dry nicely. At £6.19 for 200ml it’s not a bad price, especially if you consider the time you save. And time is money after all.

Music

So this month I've listened to very little new music. While bashing out my Management Theory essay I spent a lot of time listening to the newest self-titled Beyoncé album. I admit its no “I am Sasha Fierce” or “4” but it’s still pretty awesome. The videos are amazing (but put your bum away Bey). My favorite songs are Flawless (my personal singing in the shower favorite), XO and Blow. The whole album has this way of making you feel like a woman. She is just so body confident and maybe feminist isn't the word to describe this album but it does have a way of making you feel more self-assured, empowered and sexy just by listening to it or watching the videos. I was fortunate enough to get tickets to see her next month so keep an eye out for the blog post on that. 

Film

I finally watched Frozen (yes I’m behind, I know) stunning film. Maybe it’s not my favorite Disney film (that place in my heart will forever be reserved for Finding Nemo and the Lion King), but its pretty close. I adore the “Let it go” scene. Am I the only one that wants hair like Elsa? It makes me miss my blonde days. Other films I saw this month were the Artist (beautiful), the Wolf of Wall Street (drugs and nakedness) and 12 Years a Slave (emotional). 

So that's it for January 2014. I hope February brings you all love and happiness. Have a lovely valentines day and I hope to reach you all soon. :) xoxo