Monthly Favourites | December

Hello good folks, and a Happy New Year to all of you! I hope 2014 is good to you all and brings you the best. I'm not writing a resolutions post because I just have general aspirations for the year to kick start being the best version of me that I can possibly be. I love the idea of starting afresh and really working on improving everything that you can with a clean state and nothing from the past to hold you back. I've set a couple of wheels into motion to tick boxes on what I want to achieve this year, and hopefully the rest will fall into place. 

Sorry to be holding onto the past for just one more day and still banging on about December 2013, but I just wanted to make sure that I stuck with my ritual of a monthly favourites round up - I've not missed a single one yet! Also, at the weekend I'll be putting up a Best of Beauty 2013 post summarising all of my favourites from the past 12 months. 

Oh, and as for a great start for me, I was using some new lights for this post but accidentally knocked one over and smashed one of them before I'd finished, which is why the Benefit pictures look a bit different (one light down!) - Plus, I'm gutted because the lights were brand new and this was the first time I'd used them. I couldn't even finish one little blog post without being a clumsy buffoon and breaking one :( 

Moving on to what I've been loving in December.. Lots of iddy diddy minis, plenty of Benefit and a healthy splash of glitter! 

Benefit The Pore-Fessional Primer

A cult make up item and one of Benefit's bestsellers, the Pore-Fessional Primer is a real face changer. Sometimes it doesn't seem like much because it isn't the kind of 'look at her she's wearing Pore-Fessional' kind of product, it more of a 'look how much less smooth, refined and perfect my skin looks when I'm not wearing Pore-Fessional!'. It has a thick, silicone texture and is flesh coloured too, used on the face before foundation application to help create a silk-like base for foundation to grip to and minimise the appearance of pores. I don't wear this every day, but on the days that I do.. it really is a good  make up day!

Benefit 'That Gal' Primer

Another mini primer from Benefit, but That Gal is more of a softer cream texture than the silicone Pore-Fessional and has the purpose of brightening the complexion, instead of the main aim to smooth out pores and make make-up last longer. I don't see any extra longevity in my make up when I use this, but it does add an extra boost and glow to the skin - especially when things can get a little dull and sallow with winter weather. Think of it as an all over liquid highlight, for underneath foundation. 

Benefit Watt's Up! Highlighter 

Continuing with the highlighting (and Benefit) theme, Watt's Up! is a cream highlighter stick in a gold champagne colour to add a subtle, but gorgeous sheen to the tops of cheekbones. Plus, let's just all take a moment to appreciate how adorable this is in mini size! It's no bigger than my little finger! I definitely would not hesitate to buy this in the full size once this runs out because it's so easy to use and I often just apply straight to my cheek from the bullet, gently blend with my fingers and good to go!

The Body Shop Vanilla Bliss Hand Cream

Being The Body Shop's #1 fan, I had to include one of their limited edition Christmas products - Vanilla hand cream, mmm! This makes your hands smell like cake all day long and it's just so good! It's a cocoa butter based hand cream so it's really rich and creamy, and it's only sticky if you apply too much but it really does help to soothe any chapped or sore skin as well as maintaining the comfort of your hands - nothing worse than having dried out hands when it's cold :( The 30ml travel size is so convenient for slipping into a bag and I'm sure these only cost about £3.00 too! 

Models Own Southern Lights Nail Varnish*

Soo, fifth mini product in a row; I don't have a minis issue I swear! *innocent face*. This glitter nail varnish was sent to me in a trio called 'All That Glitters' and also contains 'Pink Fizz' and 'Blizzard', but Southern Lights was the stand out favourite. Last year, it was all about 'Northern Lights' for me (the same nail varnish but pink toned, whereas this is blue toned), and for 2013 I've been adoring Southern Lights. It's such a magical glitter polish with the irridescent sparkles added on top of the already high intensity glitter particles. It's so eye catching and I always get compliments on my nails when I wear this.

Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm in Cherry Me

Babyyyyy Lippppppps - The hype of the century! I've tried a couple of these but my favourite of the bunch has got to be Cherry Me, mainly for the colour of it's tint. It's a sheer wash of pink red but it has a glossy finish, so for minimal make up days or days when you'll be on the go and need the quickest touch up possible then this tinted lip balm has you covered. Instead of just wearing nothing on the lips, or a clear balm, this one brings the tiniest amount of colour to the face to look just about natural, but still very pretty. Extra bonus is that this one tastes and smells just like Cherry Drops - mmmm!

 

I know that December isn't typically a month for testing and trying out new things so these are just a couple of little bits that have stood out to me as being reached for frequently. Like most people, I was completely swept off my feet last month with having one trip away for my birthday, 3 major uni deadlines, a long weekend in New York and then 'bam' Christmas hits, blink and it's New Year.. then before you know it, here we are in January! I can't believe it flies by just like that..

Anyway, I hope you all had a good 2013 and that 2014 has some good things in store for you!

What were you loving over the past few weeks?

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