Monthly Favorites: January 2022 Edition!

[GeorginaBT]

You know what they say: new year, new skincare routine! 🤪 I celebrated the start of 2022 by cracking open a few products that have been sitting in my stash for a while, and I was happy to discover some that I could see quickly becoming holy grails. Whether they’re newfound finds or longtime faves, the Beauty Insider Community wants to know what beauty products you’ve been loving in January!

Here are my favorites for the month:

• fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Treatment Lip Balm 
• The INKEY List Brighten-i™ Dark Circle Brightening Eye Cream 0.5 oz/ 15 mL 
• MILK MAKEUP Hydro Grip Hydrating Makeup Primer with Hyaluronic Acid + Niacinamide 1.52 / 45 mL 
• SEPHORA COLLECTION Clean Skin Gel Cleanser with Prebiotics 4.22 oz/ 125 mL 
• Skinfix Resurface+ Glycolic and Lactic Acid Renewing Body Scrub 

Hit the “Reply” button below and use the “#” symbol to let us know what skincare, makeup, hair care, or wellness products you’ve been reaching for most this month!

[lmaster]

@SportyGirly125 it's AMAZING!!!! thank you so so so very much!!! 😍😍

[Nahnom]

Faves in Jan 2022:

Since Dec 2021, Fragrance: Chloe organic rose perfume (can't tag it), Floral Street Sunflower Pop Eau De Parfum Travel Spray 0.34 oz/ 10 mL 

Skincare since Nov/Dec 2021 : The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner 8 oz/ 240 mL 

Fenty Skin Fat Water Niacinamide Pore-Refining Toner Serum with Barbados Cherry 5.0 oz/ 150 mL 

The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2% 1 oz/ 30 mL .

[ather]

@Nahnom  Floral street is so good!!

[Titian06]

@Nahnom - I love the Floral Street Sunflower Pop Eau De Parfum Travel Spray 0.34 oz/ 10 mL too!  (Thanks @TeamBIC 🎁)

[Nahnom]

@Titian06 I love 💕  the perfume too although it only lasted for 3 hours before completely disappearing. I ended up gifting it (or re-gifting it 😂 ) to someone for whom the scent lasted longer than 3 hours (they said it lasted for more than 6 hours). Love the scent and it is an instant mood-brightener. 

[eshoe]

@Nahnom @Titian06 it definitely fades but I have found myself reaching for this one more often over the past month, too. It is very light without being cloyingly sweet.

[WinglessOne]

Several new-to-me favorites and a few tried-and-trues. 

You DO wear sunscreen during winter daylight hours, right? You know the sun doesn't stop beaming UV rays in cold or overcast weather... right? 😉

🎁 = Generously gifted by Sephora (thanks again, @TeamBIC!)  

SEPHORA COLLECTION Clean Velvet Cream Blush Palette , Candied and Spiced 🎁- I frequently used both palettes in January. All 8 shades surprisingly work well on my medium deep skin tone, and I can mix them to create new shades. These blushes are easy to finger-apply, but I often use the SEPHORA COLLECTION PRO Blush Brush #99 🎁 to apply them. And they last a reasonably long time on my cheeks, even when I wear a KN95 mask. 

Tip: blend 1 or more very teeny tiny dots of a Danessa Myricks Colorfix shade with any of these cream blushes to tweak them or create brand new shades. I use the Primary Yellow or Primary Blue matte Colorfix to push the blush warmer/more orange or cooler/more blue violet. The black matte Colorfix will of course darken a blush shade, while the white matte Colorfix will lighten it. Have I ever listed the Colorfixes as a monthly fave product? Pretty sure I have… I’ll have to double check. 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette, Luminous Edit - Also used this a lot. The Luminous Flush blush is a cheery subtle rosy pink on my skin tone. It’s lovely on its own, and sometimes I dust it over one of the earlier-mentioned Sephora cream blushes for more dimension. I pop a tiny bit of Luminous Light powder just in the hollows of my tear troughs to brighten those shadows. And I sometimes use Iridescent Strobe as a moonlit highlighter. 

Zoya Z-Wide Brush - I don’t hate the standard Zoya nail polish brush and can use it just fine. But I definitely prefer their wide brush and wish it’d been available years ago. Gotta swap the brushes in all my Zoyas now. 

Zoya Nail Polish shade Yara - Bought a replacement bottle this month (my old one met a tragic end) and I’m stoked to have this olive base + subtle gold shimmer back in my polish collection. I’m a sucker for shades that invoke various aspects of seas, oceans, and lakes, and this one fits the bill (eh, it can also lean toward a gilded mossy forest theme). Though I’m sure it’s not what inspired the name of this shade, I can’t help but think “what is dead will never die” each time I apply it. 

Slip Sleep Mask Contour - Unlike the usual flat silk masks (which I also love), this one has enough padding around the eyes to lift the mask away from lashes. It was designed for folks who have lash extensions. Instead of extensions, I have allergy/infection-prone eyes that water a lot (even in my sleep) if even slightly irritated. “Irritation” includes anything pressed lightly against my lids. This mask eliminates that, so I use it when my eyes are in allergy/infection mode. Bonus points for helping me sleep more on my back than my side. Now if only Slip made this with either their “lipstick queen” or Sagittarius design on the front… 

Facetheory Lumizela Azelaic Acid Serum A10 - A 10% azelaic acid serum with a liquid lotion texture, vs. the cream texture of other OTC azelaic acid products. I wanted to try it back when it was called Azeclear A10 but decided to wait til I was almost out of one of my 2 usual azelaic acid creams. My skin loves this serum on cold mornings as an extra layer of emollience, so I use it in the AM and use the Paula’s Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster at night. I wish the 15% version was available for US customers. 

Glowy sunscreens - I rotate through various sunscreens year round, but I especially like these non-tinted glowy/dewy ones during winter—and most especially the greasy feeling ones (like the CoTZ sunscreen) I’d wear less in hot weather, which make my skin very happy during winter. People ask how my skin’s so radiant in below-freezing weather. 🤣 Sunscreen, folks. 

• Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV (clear version) SPF 50+ PA++++ - Japanese hybrid (chemical + mineral) sunscreen 
• OMI Verdio UV Moisture Essence SPF 50 PA++++ - Japanese chemical sunscreen I love year round 
• CoTZ Sensitive Sunscreen SPF 40 - US mineral sunscreen I often use on my body in warmer weather 
• La Roche-Posay Anthelios Melt-in Milk Sunscreen SPF 100 - US chemical sunscreen 

Glisten & Glow top coat - After decades of trying and not falling in love with various top coats, I tried this one in January. It’s the closest to my ideal top coat without requiring a UV cure. (I still refuse to stick my hands under a UV lamp for even just 30 seconds. No mani is worth potential UV skin damage.) Goes on like a dream, dries fairly quickly, doesn’t drag or lift polish unless I didn’t let said polish dry down first (or if the polish is just problematic), leaves a nice glossy finish, and gets me a good 4 days of wear with no major chips. Sometimes 5 days or longer. I’m not gentle on my nails, so my manis usually chip badly on day 3. This top coat even holds up fairly well to frequent hand sanitizer use. I’ve got another 2 new-to-me top coats to test, but for now I’m digging Glisten & Glow. 

KILIAN Paris Apple Brandy Eau de Parfum 1.7 oz/ 50 mL Eau de Parfum Spray 🎁 - I still need to test (and review) the other fragrances generously gifted by Sephora, but I keep reaching for this one and can’t stop wearing it. Help! 😂 There aren’t many fragrances I can wear to bed and fall sleep with. Papillon Anubis is the king of those. Apple Brandy OTR might be the queen. 

[eshoe]

@WinglessOne I would love to know who first advised you to always wear sunscreen. And then also, indoors. I only learned a few years ago, and at that point, a lot of time had passed. Maybe too much time. Taking notes on your recommendations, it is always a good time for more spf🌞

[WinglessOne]

@eshoe  🤣 I'm sure one of my former doctors was the first to tell me the sun doesn't know or care what season it is on my sliver of Earth and, therefore, doesn't stop trying to give me cancer or otherwise damage my skin during winter. I definitely remember a doc lecturing me about it in my 20s when she learned I wasn't a consistent sunscreen user. By then, I'd already learned (from studying astronomy in middle or high school, or maybe even in elementary school when we learned about the solar system) that the sun keeps beaming UV rays year round and clouds can't block 'em all—especially not UVA rays which penetrate window glass and bounce off many surfaces (indoors or outdoors) to hit you from all angles. Yet I was still a major slacker about sunscreen, mostly because there weren't nearly as many brown-skin-friendly options back then as there are now. At least, not many that felt nice on my skin, weren't overpoweringly fragranced (no, I do not want to smell like a piña colada all day), and didn't make my skin throw reactive tantrums. 

It's never too late to get serious about wearing sunscreen! I wasn't diligent until my mid 30s, and I'm 50 now. I wear sunscreen indoors if I'll be sitting near a window with blinds/curtains open, or if I know I'll go outside at some point during the day while the sun's still up. Since I tend to go outside more often during summer and fall than winter and spring, sunscreen becomes a regular daily part of my AM routine during those months—because I assume I'll be out in the sun at some point each day. But of course, if I know I'm going outside on a winter day while the sun's up, I apply sunscreen because the sun has no chill. 

[ather]

@WinglessOne  Wow such an awesome group of favs!! I see lots of my favs too!! The eye mask looks really nice!

[CarolBT]

 @WinglessOne I love that 🎁 emoji - so cute! 

[Kim888]

The hourglass is so pretty! @WinglessOne 

that eye mask looks very interesting! A very bright street lamp seems to have been recently repaired near my window so I am definitely going to check this out !!

[WinglessOne]

@Kim888  That Hourglass palette was probably made for folks with cool undertones (which I don’t have) and a much lighter skin tone than mine. I’m surprised I’ve used it so much this month. This is the most use it’s gotten since I bought it a year (I think) ago. 😂  It is lovely, though. 

The eye mask is very comfy, though slightly bulky if you’re a side sleeper. Blocks 100% of light, including bright sunlight. Hope it helps you, if you decide to try it! 

[Titian06]

@GeorginaBT - I've been trying different moisturizers, but went back to my beloved Tatcha The Water Cream Oil-Free Pore Minimizing Moisturizer 1.7 oz / 50 mL . 💖💖💖

[GeorginaBT]

@Titian06 A classic!! 

[QueenMarceline]

@Titian06 I always go back to that one. I have so many other moisturizers to tear through...sigh.

[lnum]

@GeorginaBT Oh I love that idea, starting the new year fresh with some new skin picks from our stash. I love the hydrogrip primer and have been curious how that scrub compares to my beloved First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub with 10% AHA 8 oz/ 226 g . 

[GeorginaBT]

@lnum Oooh, I've not tried that First Aid Beauty scrub! I use a loofah with my body wash so there was always **some** element of exfoliation in my shower routine, but adding an actual scrub made a big difference! I've noticed less ingrown hairs and softer skin overall. 

[SloaneyBalone]

By Nature, hair mask

Bath&BodyWorks, strawberry pound cake body scrub

Ceteaphil, daily facial cleanser

CALA, rose water deep cleansing foam

Bath&BodyWorks, stress relief foambath

Elf, Jelly Pop set

Bath&BodyWorks, “Happy Birthday” body cream

By Nature, coconut face serum

Sephora, grapefruit face mask

Infusion, blow dry styling spray

Bath&BodyWorks, coco-mint lip scrub

[ather]

@SloaneyBalone  The SC peeling mask is one of my top favs as well. It’s funny I thought it would actually peel when I got it but realized it wasn’t that kind of mask after my first use. 

[alexasteph]

One simple favorite for this month - Tatcha The Kissu Lip Mask. I’ve had it for awhile (Sephora so graciously gifted it to me last summer for Lipstick Day), and even though I have been using and enjoying it regularly, I really have enjoyed it this month with the dryer weather. Using it at night before bed, I wake up with soft, comfortable lips. I was using another lip mask previously, but this has officially replaced it.