Monthly Favourites | January

Okay, where did January go? I expected the month after the excitement of Christmas and 

New Year to drag but nope, its February already. Its safe to say January was a pretty busy month for me which is probably why its gone by so quickly - my  boyfriend and I had lots of visitors and lots of meals out which was lovely as January can always be a bit of a poopy month. I'm now looking forward to a slightly quieter February so I can save some money for my holiday in May - so excited! Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. Back to the point of this post - my January favourites. I discovered quite a few new loves this month after getting some new makeup bits for Christmas so I hope you enjoy finding out a bit more about them...

Yohji Yamamoto Love Story Perfume (0n sale here)

I can't describe perfumes so I'm not even going to try but this one is a total hidden gem and one that you NEED to sniff next time you're in Selfridges. I was first introduced to it after receiving a sample with an online beauty order and I fell in love as soon as I smelt it. Its feminine but sexy and sophisticated at the same time and I love the bottle too. It isn't a cheap perfume but its one of those that makes me feel special when I wear it as I don't know many other people who wear it or have even heard of it!

Garnier Ultimate Blends Conditioner | Link

I've mentioned this product in a favourites post before but I absolutely love it and recently repurchased another bottle so here it is again. Considering its a relatively cheap hair product, it makes my hair feel SO soft and it smells lovely too. Its very thick and creamy but doesn't weigh my hair down and every time I use it my hair is left feeling super smooth, soft and shiny. It contains various oils which are great for the hair and I'd recommend it to everyone if you're looking for something cheap and cheerful that does the job well!

MAC Soar Lip Liner | Link

I reviewed my new favourite MAC lip combo recently - Soar lip liner and Brave lipstick. Now although I love them both, the reason Soar has made it to the favourites and Brave hasn't is because I've used Soar throughout the whole month, either on its own or with Brave lipstick on top. Its the perfect nineties pinky nude and apparently the one Kylie Jenner uses so it makes my lips look nice and full. I also love that I can wear it both day and night! Definitely one to try.

NARS Iberico Velvet Matte Lip Pencil | Link

I received this lip pencil in the Digital World lip coffret for Christmas which was a set of five NARS lip pencils, a mixture of velvet matte and satin finishes (click here for full review). This shade is by far my favourite as its a bold orange toned red which I feel suits my skin tone well and brightens up my whole complexion. I also love the Velvet Matte formula as its very pigmented and long lasting without feeling drying. I'm definitely going to look into more shades of these lip pencils from NARS as they're fab!

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer | Link

For a long time I struggled to find an under-eye concealer that covered dark circles under my eyes but I've finally found it. The MAC Pro Longwear concealer is medium to full coverage and very creamy to it blends like a dream under my eyes. Considering its fairly full coverage, it isn't cakey at all and I simply dot a tiny about underneath my eyes then buff it in my a fluffy brush or beauty blender. I also find it to be really long lasting, especially if I set it with a powder. The shade I have is 'NC20' which is yellow toned and slightly lighter than my skin tone so it also provides a really nice highlighter effect. I do think I need to add a colour corrector underneath it though to completely stop dark circles showing through but that's just how concealers work - a yellow toned product won't cover blue/purple tones on its own.

Laura Mercier Eye Liner* | Link

I often struggle to find a black eyeliner I really like as it has to be super black as well as very creamy but long lasting. A big ask, I know. However, this Laura Mercier one I received in a Christmas gift set has come up trumps and I've been using it a lot for the past month, especially before a night out as the mini size is ideal for popping in my clutch bag.

Bare Minerals 'The Curtain Call' Eyeshadow Duo*

I got this eye shadow duo in the Bare Minerals 'Main Attraction' Christmas gift set (which is amazing by the way and on offer here for a bargain price) and I've been using it non-stop. It has two colours, both of which are very wearable for both day and night looks. The shade on the left is a beautiful champagne which is perfect for all over the lid, in the inner corners or on the brow bone and the shade on the right in a dark chocolate brown with flecks blue glitter running through it. It sounds bizzare I know but the glitter is subtle and it looks absolutely gorgeous in the crease and underneath the lower lashes and has been my night out eye shadow of choice lately. I'm really impressed with the formula of the shadows too as they're really pigmented, blend nicely and last a long time.

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge | Link

I bought this months ago and high hopes for it after watching many tutorials where makeup artists use one of these instead of a brush. I'm also a big fan of Real Techniques so I had figured this would be just as great as their brushes. However, when I first used it I attempted to blend my whole face of foundation with it (not a good idea!) and because that didn't work too well, it got shoved to the back of my drawer unloved. Well, until recently that is when I decided I'd give it another whirl and I'm glad I did. After watching a few more tutorials I realised most people use a sponge to blend their under eye concealer rather than a whole face of makeup and for this purpose, it works a treat. I've been using it alongside the MAC Pro Longwear concealer and it blends it in perfectly for a really flawless finish. There's a lot of debates about whether these kind of sponges work better damp or dry and after using it both ways I don't think there's a great deal of difference. Anyway, ramble aside, this is great and well worth a try!

Glam Glow Face Mask* | Link

I remember when the Glam Glow face mask first cropped up on the beauty blogging / vlogging scene and it seemed everyone was raving about its amazing skin clearing powers! Its even been stated that A-list celebs use this stuff before red carpet events so I'm not going to lie, I was pretty intrigued to try it for myself. However, the high price tag always put me off purchasing so when I managed to get a little sample size, I was chuffed to bits. Since trying it, I can now see what all the hype is about and I've even bought myself a full size pot as it wowed me so much. Its a clay mask that dries hard on the skin and literally sucks all the crap out of the pores. I could see little black spots appearing on my skin as it dried where it was extracting the oil and dirt from my pores - pretty fascinating stuff let me tell you. I actually used the white version when I tried it (the original is photographed in this post) and I now own the full size version so be sure to keep your eye out for a full review of that. It really does make my skin look so clear and feel so soft, I can't even describe it to you. You'll ust trust have to trust me on this one, its good un'!

L-R: MAC Soar Lip Liner, Laura Mercier Eye Kohl Pencil, NARS Iberico Lip Pencil, Bare Minerals The Curtain Call Eyeshadow Duo, MAC Pro Longwear Concealer

Which products have you been loving this month? Have you tried any of these?

Lots of love,

TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM