January 2014 Favorites

Just a few of my favorites for this month.  I resisted spending a lot of money, but still purchased a few new things to try. Here is my list of favorites in no particular order:

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Fortifying Shampoo and Fortifying Conditioner:
 This contains Avocado, Olive and Almonds oils to deeply nourish and restore your hair to be stronger, smoother and silkier. I wash with this shampoo every other day and use a very small amount of the conditioner as I don't want it too terribly soft and smooth so my hair will hold curl.  My hair has natural curl and waves so I let it air dry while I apply my makeup and then use a 3/4 inch barrel curling iron to shape up the curls.  After the curling iron I apply my lipstick then shake out my hair and it is soft nice curls.  I love this!  It is so much easier now and my hair is back to being shiny and not dull from using a hair dryer.

Philosophy Miracle Worker Foundation:
I am always searching for the perfect foundation, so when I discovered this at Ulta I decided to give it a try.  It is shown as a "miraculous anti-aging liquid makeup with broad spectrum spf 30 sunscreen."  My color is Shade 5.  The coverage is medium but appears to be buildable to a medium-to-full coverage.  The finish is soft and pretty but not too dewy-looking.  The staying power is maybe about 4 hours.  After lunch it has definitely faded.  I am not completely sold on this yet, but like it so far.

L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Makeup:
I have heard about this foundation for quite awhile but always resisted because no testers are available to select your color.  Luckily, in a magazine, I got one of the cards with all the colors to compare to your skin tone.  As close as I could come was Creamy Natural C3.  I truly like this foundation!  I glides on effortlessly with medium to full coverage, using my Real Techniques Stippling Brush.  I like the way it looks on my skin, but am still surprised I matched to a Cool shade.  I always thought my skin was more neutral. 

MAC Pro-Longwear Concealer: 
I agonized over this and could not decide between the NW20 and the NC20, but ended up with the NW20.  I think NW20 will be my summer shade and I will have to go back and purchase the NW15.  The coverage is great but NW20 oxidizes a little darker.  I also have been using it as my eyeshadow primer and it is great for that!  I don't get the brightening effect with NW20 that I would like.

Philosophy The Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash:
This came in a gift when I purchased the Miracle Worker Foundation.  This is the nicest exfoliating wash I have found since the one that Lancôme had back in the 1980's.  There is no fragrance and the exfoliating grains are not too rough.  I am finding my skin texture is improving and makeup looks better on my skin.

NYX Butter Gloss:
Love, Love Love these glosses!  I purchased Crème Brulee and Apple Strudel.  Crème Brulee is a perfect pinky nude that is perfect if you are going with a smokey eye that day and don't want strong lips.  The Apple Strudel is a peachy color that looks amazing over a light orange or tangerine lipstick or even a true nude like Soft Nude from Revlon Colorburst.  I had stayed away from glosses over lipstick for a long time because of lines around my lips (no I don't smoke).  These glosses stay put and do not bleed into those fine lines.  I will definitely be purchasing more colors.


Things I am looking for:
The Pantone color for 2014 is Radiant Orchid and I am watching to see what the makeup houses come  up with.  I have already seen a couple of glosses and lipsticks that fall into that category, but have not found an eyeshadow that knocks my socks off yet.

Beauty Favorites for 2013

I rediscovered my love for cosmetics in 2013 and started following a lot of Beauty Bloggers on YouTube.  Some of my favorites are Jaclyn Hill, Tanya Burr, Wayne Goss, Melmphs, Makeup Geek, Emily at Beauty Broadcast, Andrea Matillano, and others.  Their tutorials and reviews are very well done and have inspired me to try new things that I might now have tried before.  Below are some of the new things I tried and LOVED:

LORAC Pro Pallette - perfect mix of matte and satin finish colors!

LORAC Unzipped Pallette - perfect rose gold colors

CHANEL Inimitable Intense Mascara - it is expensive at $30, but it will rock your world!

BENEFIT They're Real Mascara - I use this along with the Chanel and it is awesome!

MILANI Bakes Blush in Luminoso - perfect dupe of NARS Orgasm Blush and a fraction of the price.

JANE IREDALE Glow Time Mineral BB Cream SPF 25 - I use this as my foundation.  PERFECT!

L'OREAL LA LAQUE - All shades are lovely, but my go-to color is Never Laque-ing a nice soft nude pink.

REVLON - Peach Petal lip gloss

EOS - lip balm - all flavors

2013 FAVORITES

I meant to post this yesterday but this morning is okay.  My favorites things in 2013:

SONSHINE ALUMNI TOUR to Dallas/Ft Worth:
There were just a few of us, but it was an awesome week.  The college age kids cam together during practice week and sang like they had never left.  They knew all the old songs and then learned the new songs so quickly!  What a great group!  I was honored to be able to go and share their ministry at El Buen Samaritano UMC in Ft Worth. 

JUBILATION CHOIR TOUR to St Louis:
Three buses, wonderful music.....the most memorable thing for me was when they sang "I Believe" in the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis.....then a few minutes later James Wells led the college age chaperones in the last verse of "Beautiful Savior"........absolutely breathtaking!

SLI Group at BUMC:
This group has come together on a journey that will be take all of us to places we never imagined in our Christian walk.  I treasure the friends in this group and look forward to our work together.

Disciple III at BUMC:
We are a small group but our weekly meetings are the highlight of my week.  Sharing the Prophets these past few months has been an incredible learning experience for me and I look forward to studying Paul's letters with you in this new year.