AUGUST 2017 FAVORITES !

[jemly]

it's nearing the end of the month (already !) which means it's favorites time ! it has been an extraordinary month, in all senses-- i turned 32. i got to meet BTers (ahem, BICers) in L.A. for the launch party. and then catastrophe hit my home state of texas. i want to send all my love and support to anyone and everyone impacted by harvey.

on to the creature comforts of the month !

august 2017 favorites

• ADDICTION BY AYAKO blush, lazy doll. this was a birthday present and i'm so grateful ! i absolutely adore japanese blushes--as they tend to be sheer washes of color in shades that are soft and flattering on my skintone. this one is a sheer apricot color with a bit of sheen. i love orangey shades for that late summer - early autumn transition. which leads me to....
• PAT MCGRATH mattetrance lipstick, obsession. this orange (described as a red-orange but on my skintone is ORANGE) is so bright in the tube that i couldn't accurately capture it in this photo (it would make the rest of the photo too dark !). it's gorgeous. i love the mattetrance formula, it's very comfortable, but i find it's best for evenings or short bursts of wear (as it will feel a bit drying if on the lips for 8 or more hours...). and while it is indeed a bright orange, it's not too neon and is still quite wearable (presuming you're comfortable with bold lips !)
• LE LABO ROSE31 EDP (etc). i finally got my chosen le labo scent ! and i purchased it on my birthday so that the date would be printed on the label, which felt quite special to me ! i also have a stash of rose31 body products after a stay at a fairmont hotel (!!!) and i love layering the lotion with the perfume for a bit more oomph and emphasis on the base notes. rose31 falls in line with my other experiences of LE LABO fragrances--which is i don't always love their top notes, they're often peppery or stinky-spicy with cumin--but that dissipates so quickly and the dry downs of LE LABO fragrances, including rose31, are so refined and chic and perhaps my favorite in the industry, and makes the initial top note experiences worth it for me.
• BITE BEAUTY multistick, gelato. i lovvvvve the bite multisticks, and actually have found i love them most as cream eyeshadows ! gelato had been on my list for a while, but when they released cava i was not sure which i should get. because gelato has a bit more of that taupe, i decided it would be more flattering and i am in love ! it's such a perfect eyeshadow color if i want something a bit natural but don't want a brown. and glorious on lips and cheeks too !
• NARS powermatte lip pigment, paint it black. i have gothy tendencies, obvs, but i've actually never owned a black lipstick ! and i'm so glad i waited because this one is perfect. i already knew i loved the powermatte formula, and this black is a true black that somehow looks rich. i got it with @Gwenhwyfar at the launch party in LA, and i'm so happy to be her witch twin !

[Melissa136]

I haven't done a monthly favourite in so long. Super excited to participate again!

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk - Shade 4

At first, I didn't like this foundation and found it mediocre. But, after playing around with it and applying it differently - I do like it! It's medium coverage for me with a natural and healthy finish. Not as luminous as I'd like, so I do use a hydrating primer and setting spray (but it gets oily really fast during the day on me?). I love that it doesn't emphasize dry patches, just the usual nose creases but that is very minimal. Shade 4 is a smidge too light for me, which leads me to my next item...

Cover FX Custom Cover Drops - G30

I'm very late to the bandwagon, but I finally jumped on and am enjoying it! I'm so astonished by the formula of these drops, they're the perfect colour mixer without changing the formula of the initial product. G30 is a little darker than LS, which is what I need right now. But it's a spot on match for my other foundations, so good to know that I can use this to add more coverage in the winter!

Almay Liquid Lip Balm - all shades

These liquid lip balms are amazing, they were a spontaneous purchase one day and I haven't regretted it since. I purchased these after The Body Shop discontinued my favourite lip balm. They're very similar to a gloss, but buttery instead of sticky. They're still tacky, but extremely moisturizing. Because of these balms, my lips are able to heal within a week or shorter.

*Backdrop is my favourite summer item - it's a beautiful lightweight kimono that I love to layer with my outfits!

[concreteroads]

Happy 32nd birthday, @jemly! Hope you and everyone down in Houston right now stay safe. I've been really loving a minimal, fresh makeup look recently, so my favourite products of the month definitely reflect that aesthetic. I also have more products on my list than usual not from Sephora, as I discovered the magic of Glossier this month! 

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (Custard): Not new to me this month, but definitely the August MVP what with how much I've been using this product. I can use it on its own (with and without powder) or under foundation. This is absolutely phenomenal for spot concealing and blends out effortlessly. When I first bought it, I also did enjoy it for the undereye area; unfortunately the tube seems to be drying out fairly quickly and so now it can emphasize my undereye texture, which I don't even have a lot of. 

Givenchy Rouge Interdit Satin Lipstick (23 Fuchsia-in-the-Know): 100pt perk from last month. Could not be happier that I grabbed this! I am quite olive and muted in colouring, so I wasn't sure if this type of punchy, super saturated lip shade would work for me. Luckily, it seems to jive really nicely with my undertones and has a nice semi-glossy finish that fits the summer season. 

NARS Liquid Blush (Orgasm) : I have absolutely been loving the cream/liquid face product trend this month!! This is easy to work with and very flattering on my NC 25-30 skin. I also sampled the liquid blush in Dolce Vita, but I found that shade somewhat patchier and a hair too dark to be an easy blush on my skintone. 

Glossier Cloud Paints (Dusk & Haze): Like I said, totally on board that cream/liquid hype train. The formula of these is very similar to the NARS Liquid Blushes, although the packaging is not quite as nice and user friendly; some of this product does tend to get wasted. However, both of these shades are wonderful and blend out nicely. Haze is amazing-- it's one of the very very few blushes that I like on me without any sort of base product (I have textured skin and PIH on my cheeks from acne, so I really dislike a lot of blushes on me without foundation, as they seem to accentuate my blemishes). 

Clinique Crayola Chubby Sticks: I got the 4 pack on sale just a few weeks ago, which includes the shades Fuzzy Wuzzy, Melon, Mauvelous, and Brick Red. So far, these are awesome! I really like the stick format, and with the exception of Brick Red (which is their Intense formula and is really quite pigmented), all are easy to apply sans mirror. 

[RGbrown]

I always look forward to reading this thread; thank you @jemly for so graciously hosting it! I think I'll jump in for the first time this month...at the ripe old age of 41, I'm fairly new to both makeup *and* skincare, and think I'm finally getting the hang of enough of it to start having favorites 😅

I feel a little odd that *none* of my products were purchased at Sephora, but in any case, it's more about the beauty than the store, right? 😋

Spoiler'd the deets cuz I'm way too wordy. If I jump in next month, I may be able to whittle down the list a bit more, but I'm just too excited about all of these to be able to toss any out of the mix this time around 💕

Spoiler

Memebox I Dew Care mask brush: I am a mask addict, but hate sticking my fingers in a jar. Going through my sample stash a few months back, I found a Darphin mask brush (with regular brush bristles) that I had gotten in a gwp months earlier and had laughed about and set aside. I decided to try it and wound up loving it, but the bristles were difficult to clean and I felt like I was wasting product. When memebox debuted their line at ulta, I saw this one and snagged it in a hurry. Love love love! Next to zero waste, my mask application is smoother and more even, it's super easy to clean, and I don't wind up with mask-covered-hands!

S.W. Basics Oil Serum: I am an oily mess and super-prone to acne and clogged pores; this does wonders for helping me control the slick without being too heavy or greasy. And it's relatively cheap too...$28.99 at Ulta (though of course I bought it on sale 😋)

Tarte Deep Dive Cleansing Gel: I had bought this as a gift but wound up dropping it on my concrete floor, cracking the bottle. Luckily it was just around the top, so a little touch of glue was enough to allow it to stand up without leaking...but it was no longer gift-worthy. I haven't found my HG cleanser yet and am constantly trying new ones, so I figured I'd give it a shot before simply tossing it. Holy moly...I likey! While I know I'm not supposed to like that dry tight feeling after a harsh face wash, I sheepishly admit I do...otherwise I simply don't feel clean. But this...I feel clean, yet I don't feel dry and tight. I never knew what that felt like before! I don't know if it's my holy grail or not, but I will definitely finish the bottle eventually...I alternate it every other night with other cleanser samples I'm interested in.

Andalou Naturals Clementine + C Illuminating Toner: I went on a hunt for toners without alcohol or witch hazel...which certainly isn't impossible, but can be surprisingly difficult to find, especially if you look at ones marketed towards oily/acne prone skin. I am loving this one...it's cool and refreshing and smells great, and does a great job picking up anything my cleanser might have missed. I suppose I'd consider this my HG...I have stopped the toner hunt and have three more bottles in the cabinet (too many ulta deals lately lol).

Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme mask: the first time I used this, all of my skincare just sank in so.much.better. I was shocked. I now use it every week to 10 days or so for an instant polish and de-clog session. I will never ever ever go without, and thanks to the missylynn bag at ulta, I have quite a few of these small tubes ready to go!

Laura Geller LashBoss mascara: I have approximately 357 open mascara samples that I keep trying to finish off, but this is the one I reach for most often. It's the perfect combination of length and volume for me, with no clumps or spider legs. I already have a couple of spare sample tubes set aside, and will continue to hoard as many as I can in order to avoid ever having to buy one at full price...but I will if I have to 😱

Tarte Clay Pot Waterproof eyeliner: copper penny is pictured, but I love all four that I have. I adore it on my top eyelid and have for a while now, but I have been hunting for my HG waterline liner and decided to try this instead of yet another pencil one day...of all I've tested, it seems to last the longest on me and when it starts breaking down, it does so relatively gracefully by simply sliding away from eye and towards my lashes, but I never wind up with a mess under my eye (I still don't know exactly where it goes, but I won't complain lol). Even the HG that many recommend, Marc Jacobs, was awful on me...after about 30 min it was a horrible mess, sliding all over the place and leaving me with raccoon eyes. I'm still hunting a better match for me, but until then, Tarte is a winner.

Bumble and bumble Don't Blow It: pure love. I actually just finished off a full size tube a week or two ago and decided to finish off a few samples before pulling the next big tube out. I'm not a hair care nut...wash, condition, air dry is all I do. The last few years I've played a bit with curl creams, but hair products have never been my forte. I got a sample of this about this time last year, fell in love and immediately purchased two full size bottles. I can't really even explain what it does...I can tell when I don't use it, but other than that, all I can do is say "it's magic". It's some sort of "perfectly polished imperfection" sorcery. Weightless taming of frizz, maybe? I dunno. It's just awesomeness in a tube for me 😀

And the absolute BEST for last!
Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil (raspberry): I was slightly disappointed that there really is no color, but even so I cannot gush enough about this stuff! A while back in the good old BT days there was a "save or splurge" thread and I posted something like "I ain't paying much for lip balm...burts bees is good enough for me". Omg, excuse me while I eat my words. I will always have this handy! Some time in my teens, I became addicted to Carmex and am convinced that severe overuse of a drying balm for 10+ years (it's salicylic acid in a pot!) ruined my lips for life. I kicked Carmex to the curb at some point in my late 20's or early 30's, but the OCD habit of applying balm every 30 minutes remained with me, and even with regular balm usage, my bottom lip was always peeling. I'd scrub daily (sometimes even twice a day), and that would help get the loose stuff off, but there was always more ready and waiting to peel. I picked this up on sale at ulta recently, and was shocked at what it did for me. It's expensive for lip gloss, and I only use it once a day because of that, but holy mackerel...the peeling is gone! Vanished! I use a lip scrub once a week or so now, but mainly because I have a bunch and feel like I should use them up...and I like the scrubby feeling and mint flavor... but it's not because I have to. 
It's not terribly sticky, not in a slimy, my lips are gonna stick together sort of way, but it really clings to my lips and does more than just look shiny. It seems to repair my lips, and I can go for several hours without feeling the need to apply balm (that is an OCD habit built up over many many years, and I don't think I'll ever be rid of it completely, but to be able to go a few hours without a tube of balm practically glued to my hand isn't too far short of a miracle in my book!). This is a keeper!

[blueviolet21]

@RGbrown I am also a fan of Clarins Raspberry lip oil! Also, loving the elephant in your pic 🙂

[jemly]

@RGbrown i had a similar experience with the CLARINS lip oils ! if you want one with a hint of color, check out candy and (i think) tangerine. those are the ones that have that adapts to pH pinky glow.

[Madeline7]

I adore Rose 31.  I first tried it at the Fairmont in Hawaii and the scent is forever associated with beautiful beaches and the sunshine.  Whenever I smell it, the memories of that trip just overwhelm me in a good way.  I've never had such an emotional reaction to a scent like that before!  

[lachaton]

@jemly @Madeline7 ha! I still have some Fairmont Rose 31 goodies I've been hoarding. It just smells lovely 🙂