Monthly Favorites: May 2024 Edition!

[GeorginaBT]

Hope the month of May has been blossoming beautifully for you, BIC! 🌷🌹🌼 I went on a bit of a beauty shopping spree last month (which, in full transparency, set me on a personal no-spend challenge in May 😅), so I’ve been taking time to really enjoy some of the new additions to my various routines. Some of my favorite products this month are ones I’ve been looking to try for a while (after being influenced by friends, social media, and – of course – fellow Community members). There’s nothing better than when something works just as you imagined it would! 

Here are the products I’ve been in love with this month:

• dae Vegan Detangle + Style Brush 
• Glossier Strawberry Balm Dotcom Lip Balm and Skin Salve Strawberry 
• Marc Jacobs Fragrances Daisy Wild Eau de Parfum 
• OUAI Hydrating Scalp Serum for Healthy, Fuller Looking Hair 2 oz / 60 mL 
• PATRICK TA Major Sculpt Crème Contour & Powder Bronzer Duo 
• Tower 28 Beauty Swipe All-Over Hydrating Serum Concealer 

What’s been working for you lately, BIC? Reply and use the “#” symbol to tag skincare, makeup, hair, and fragrance faves as of late. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

[Sunnysmom]

I don’t know the LM powder for under eyes @jaaayp ! See how you keep enlightening me?! (Oops. Truly didn’t mean that pun! 🤣) Oh maybe we should all put ours on the thread Show Me Your Beauty Collections!💗 or 2024 - Twelve Months of Beauty Inventory ? I’ve been working on some of those but they’re hard to do! Lol I’m sure lots have already, I’m very behind. I’d love to see yours too! I agree. I keep looking for that perfect balance of brightening naturally and still covering my dreadful dark circles and puffs. Sigh. Please keep me posted! 💞

[jaaayp]

Ah! Let me do an inventory this weekend @Sunnysmom and tag you. I wanna say I only have a handful in each category and I continue to minimize/toss if I stop reaching for them (really attempting that "minimalism") 😅 😬 😳 🙃 

I'm planning on picking up the LM the moment ulta does their 20% off... will keep you posted hehe 💓 

[Sunnysmom]

Sounds great thanks @jaaayp ! Only if you think of it. 😊 Very smart of you. Maybe I can edit mine too. Those shouldn’t hurt too much! Lol. 

[ather]

@Sunnysmom  Oooo great favs! That notebook is so cute! 🥰 

[Sunnysmom]

So hard to pick just a few this month @ather ! 🤣🥰 It’s the little things eh?! I just love it so much! 

[lamese4life]

@GlowRecipe I bought the limited edition set with the moisturizer and the blur pore smoother serum and OMG. I am just 13 and I have a lot of pores that needed to calm down. When I tried Paula’s choice BHA exfoliater, my skin burned from it and it did not work at all. After a week and a half I have gotten so many compliments that my skin was smooth. It did not smooth some of my larger pores like my big whiteheads but it definitely made my skin a lot clearer. 

[caitbird]

@lamese4life  that's awesome, I'm glad you found some products that work so well for you! Glow Recipe is one of my favorite skincare brands, they make some really good products.

[itsfi]

That's some fabulous results from the serum and moisturizer @lamese4life! 😍 Glow Recipe has some wonderful skincare products - their packaging is always so fun and the quality of their products is great! So glad to hear your skin is clearing up and oh!! Compliments on your skin feels so good and speak volumes about the products and your discipline with being consistent with them!

[CorgiMommy]

@lamese4life that is fabulous .  Glad your skin is getting better 

[Sunnysmom]

Glow Recipe makes some wonderful products @lamese4life ! The set is a great way to try them. Glad they’re working out so well for you! 

[itsfi]

Ahhh, May, it's like you just rolled in and now you're on the way out already! The months really go by so fast, @GeorginaBT! This month's favorites were heavily influenced by the products that have been staples in my collection and for the month of May, helped me out in big ways while dealing with allergies. 

May 2024 Favorites!

Spoiler

Shiseido Super-Soft, 100% Natural Facial Cotton 165 sheets - these are the softest cottons on the market;, and they're great for gently and effectively breaking down sunblock and makeup❣️ My eyes were extra sensitive this month from allergies and these cottons paired marvelously with the Bioderma Micellar Water Makeup Remover. The Shiseido cottons were one of the products I picked for testing out the auto-replenishment feature (thanks again @TeamBIC). I recently received an email notification that the replenishment will ship soon, along with a helpful note about the last day to make changes to the delivery

Nothing like a pop of brightness to the lips to welcome warm weather and Gisou Honey Infused Hydrating Lip Oil Strawberry Sorbet fit the bill. It's pinky-red without being too pinky-red. 😉 This shade can be intimidating in the tube but it's really is so pretty on and I think it would look great on many, if not all, skin tones. I know that @sister13 wore it recently in the @Makeup Challenge of the Week thread.The color can be easily sheered out or built up. I shall be picking up the orange shade that @Buootiful wore so beautifully.  

Allergy season means there are many days when my eyes are extra sensitive, watery, or itchy (or some combination of all those), which generally means little to no eye makeup, and definitely no mascara or eyeshadow for me. That's when the Shiseido Eyelash Curler Eyelash Curler and Makeup by Mario eyeliner (discontinued) (on my lower waterline) make a dynamic duo for  adding a slight brightening effect to my overall complexion by opening up my eye area and making me look more awake and alert.

I have been impressed every time I've reached for the Urban Decay Face Bond Self Setting Waterproof Foundation. This stuff really lives up to its claims - I didn't (and have no plans to) put its 24-hour wear claim to the test but it is definitely long-wearing and (mostly) waterproof. I wore it to a half-day spa-day (I usually go without makeup but couldn't resist the opportunity to test this out under those conditions). Well, let me tell you, after 30 minutes in the jacuzzi, 20 in the steam room, a 50-minute massage, and placing my face in the line of the shower head so that the water sprayed directly onto my face, the foundation remained in place! I checked after each activity and it was only after the time in the shower that I noticed some product starting to break down on my cheeks (the driest part of my face). Most surprisingly, the dark spots from a couple of healing pimples remained blurred and covered! Tagging @jaaayp, @missjeanie, @caitbird, @ather about the performance of the UD foundation - it's a goodie! 😍 

The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil 1 oz/ 30 mL is a tried-and-true favorite for keeping my skin soft and moisturized. It's a staple in my evening routine during the spring months, or year-round actually.

[faeriegirl]

@itsfi  Gisou strawberry sorbet looks beautiful!

[itsfi]

@faeriegirl, 💯! Such a pretty shade.

[missjeanie]

@itsfi The UD face bond... sounds impossible!  I for one vote that you test out the 24 hour claims.  Do it for science!!! I've got it on my list to find a shade when I'm next in store! 

[itsfi]

hahahaha! I'm not in my 20s anymore @missjeanie - those years are very far behind when looking in the rear view mirror. I'm not sure I could even physically stay up for 24 hours these days. The closest I've come is the last night I was in NYC for Sephoria and that was only because I needed to figure out how to get all the stuff in the suitcases. Even then, I had to go to sleep, even for a few hours - and I had to wash my face. 

[missjeanie]

@itsfi Bahhahaha... purchase a larger suitcase yet?

[itsfi]

@missjeanie, you know what's on my brain! I had "pick up extra large luggage" on my Sephoria 2024 "to do" list before I got home from NYC, but I'm waiting to see if it'll work with my schedule and where this year's event will take place. I don't think it'll happen in SF, but if it does, I will not need any luggage for all the stuff. I will need space for all the stuff, so "clear out hall closets" will be added to the list if I attend. It's the hall closets because the closet in the guest bedroom already has stuff in it. 😂 And I'm actually using my oven and dishwashing machine for the purposes for which they were intended. That's not to say I can't convert them into more storage space should the need arise ... 

[Samtian]

@itsfi Ooh that Gisou looks so pretty on you!

[itsfi]

Thank you @Samtian! I’m quite liking it! 👍🏼 The formula I knew I’d like from having the two original shades, but it was surprising how much I like this pinky red color. Even more surprising? I’ll be picking up the orange shade 😝 Gisou Honey Infused Hydrating Lip Oil Mango Passion Punch 

[PrettyPaint]

That's great to hear the UD concealer is working well for you @itsfi. I've been curious about it. What concealer are you pairing with it currently? 

[itsfi]

@PrettyPaint, I've been reaching for the HAUS LABS BY LADY GAGA Triclone Skin Tech Hydrating + De-puffing Concealer with Fermented Arnica often over the last couple of months to cover a couple of pimples and the dark spots left behind in the healing/post-healing stage. I've also paired it with the Tower 28 Beauty Swipe All-Over Hydrating Serum Concealer (under eyes) or the Armani Beauty Power Fabric + Longwear Matte Concealer (under eyes and blemishes) a few times and those pairing have worked well, but the Haus Labs one has been fantastic ❣️ for the PIH (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) spots. Definitely one I'm glad I have on hand, and the pairing of it with the UD foundation is pretty sweet! 😘