December Favourites

Well Christmas if over and I am taking a few deep breaths before psyching myself up for New Year.

Fave – Lip gloss! I normally prefer lipstick to lipgloss but it’s cold and my lips are not in the best condition. Lipgloss tends to be much more forgiving when your lips aren’t feeling their best. A definite favourite is the Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro in shade 500. It’s the perfect half way house between the satin matte look and lasting power of a lipstick and the comfort and soft texture of a gloss. I’ve been wearing moisturising gloss formulas such as the No7 High Shine lipgloss a lot as well.

Fave – For blush I’ve been loving NARS Douceur and Benefit Dallas. Frankly I’m so pale now that even my most forgiving bronzers take a little too much effort to look natural so I’ve been skipping bronzer all together. These two murky brown tinged blushes kind of work as a two in one deal on my skin. With a very light hand (and a duofibre stippling brush) they manage to warm up my skin just enough whilst still being very neutral and easy to wear.

Fave – L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara. Finally a mascara I don’t hate! Thanks to Catriona who recommended this to me. I’ve been on the hunt for a decent, budget friendly mascara for a while and this fits the bill!

Fave – The Body Shop Energising Vitamin C Spray. The aforementioned crusty skin is downright uncomfortable and it gets worse under makeup as the day gets on. I’ve been spritzing this on at regular intervals to lessen the flaky look and to help my skin feel a little more comfortable.

And some fails...

Powder. In general. I recently started using Quinoderm, a 10% benzoyl peroxide and potassium hydroxyquinoline sulphate acne cream in a last ditch attempt at clearing the hormonal acne that has been plaguing my jaw line for the best part of a year. I’m currently in the awkward cracked/ dry/ peeling skin stage that often accompanies benzoyl peroxide and my skin was getting pretty dry this winter anyway. Long story short I cannot powder my skin anymore except on my nose! This is a first for me. Normally I powder everywhere except my forehead, which is always dry. Now I can’t even use my beloved Benefit Powderflage under my eyes as I look like a shrivelled up prune. Yum.

What have you been loving and loathing this month?