Before I post my 2017 Favorites, I will share my December favorites. I always do December too, because it's a more festive month and I may like some other products that I don't mention often. But check back in a few days for the products that I loved this year the most. 

MuLondon White Chocolate Truffle Moisturizer

This is a natural blend of butters and oils and I love using it in the winter, because it's a heavier product. I use it as the last step in my night time routine. Part of the reason why I love this so much is the white chocolate scent to it. It's also a nice oil to lock in all the moisture you've put on your skin and it makes my skin moisturized and plump looking. I would pile this on, if I feel like my skin is overly dry or feels irritated. It soothes the skin well.

Mizon Snail Repair Eye Cream 

I've had this for a while and I wanted to feature it in my favorites. It's almost gel like lightweight cream, but it feels moisturizing and hydrating around the eyes. It's not too heavy and it doesn't irritate my eyes. You would expect it to be slimy, because of the snail statement, but it's more like a regular gel cream. I'm not sure if this is tester version, because they have a jar version with 25 ml and in this one is only 15 ml. I like the small size for storing and carrying around.

Colourpop Yes, Please! and She Eyeshadow Palette

Colourpop is one of those brands that needs to get to Europe or at least have a storage in EU. I always want products from them and then I pay customs or what ever our country wants to call those taxes that I have to pay, so I always swear I won't buy from them again. Somehow this package slipped through our customs and I already tried it out well. Both of these palettes have amazing pigmentation, which also means a lot of kick up in the pan. But I forgive it that for the pure pigment. They all seem to blend well (there are some darker exceptions) and mattes seem almost more pigmented than shimmery shades. I love color scheme of both of these. Yes, Please! is my kind of go to warm shade selection and She is pink peach mauve dream. I would buy more of them, if they would be available in EU. 

Essence LE Glitter In The Air One For All Shimmer Drops

This was a limited edition product, so it's not available anymore, but I just wanted to mention it, because I've been using it a lot. It's a cooler champagne liquid product that has a lot of shimmer and I love using it as a highlighter. It's light enough for my winter skin tone and it still pops on the skin well. I especially like it paired with a more basic neutral makeup. 

Avon Mark Liquid Lip Lacquer Matte - Orange You Happy

December is perfect for red lips and I've been loving this Orange You Happy color by Avon. It's just a very vibrant orange red. Texture is mousse like and it doesn't feel drying on the lips, but gives you nice matte finish. I adore orange toned reds and this one is also comfortable to wear.

Makeup Revolution Lipstick - Wishful

First of all, I love the rose gold design of it and the MAC inspired packaging. Shade Wishful is that perfect light peachy nude shade. It's warm toned, but not too peachy. I almost notice some pink in it. It has vanilla scent and semi matte finish. For some reason I've been reaching for it this month whenever I needed a good warm nude shade. It wears lovely and doesn't feel drying. 

Nivea Aloe & Hydration Body Lotion

I love Nivea body lotions in general and I really like this one. I've almost finished it. It's for normal to dry skin  and supposedly contains intensive moisture serum and aloe vera. Aloe vera is one of the best ingredients for hydration. This is lightweight gel like lotion with white tint. It blends into the skin well and doesn't feel greasy or heavy, but leaves a nice moisturizing layer on the skin. I thought this would be too lightweight, but it's not. The texture is light, but it definitely hydrates well. It also has lovely sweet herbal scent to it.

Kiko Matte Effect Top Coat

This month I've been getting more into matte nails. For some reason I preferred matte over shiny. It must be because of all the glitter on my face. I love this top coat by Kiko. It gives me perfect matte finish and it also seems to last well on my nails, at least more than those matte colored nail polishes. So I prefer to just use a regular colored nail polish and apply matte top coat over it. It also has wide rounded brush which makes it easy to apply it quickly without too much effort.

H&M Pink Sweater 

I am obsessing over those dirty muted pinks this year and I've never really been a fan of pink, but this shade just speaks to me. I got this sweater on sale and it's so comfortable. I think it's so fluffy, because it's made out of 52% viscose. This is like wearing a bath robe. It's also a bit oversized, but has a nice v neck which elongates my short body. I just love it for the color and ultra soft feel. 

I had this blue smoky eye in my mind for a while and since I usually do more warm toned makeup looks, I decided to post a cooler vibe on the blog this time. It's a look I dedicated to New Year's Eve party or any other party in fact. I've seen a gorgeous silver dress with blue sparkles, but it had an open back, so not really useful for me. But this got stuck in my mind and was inspiration behind this look. December is one of those months that allows you to get a bit more sparkly with your makeup and I love this. So here is my blue version for this end of the year party. 

By now you probably know how I usually do my eye makeup. I started by applying light matte brown shade in the crease as a transition shade to blend others with. Then I added darker matte brown shade in the crease for more definition. To make my eyes look wider, I also added even darker matte chocolate brown shade only in the outer corner. 

For the lid I used a matte black cream eyeshadow to make the whole look just slightly darker. On top of it I applied this gorgeous shimmery peacock blue. Then I used the darkest matte chocolate brown to deepen the crease a bit. This way you get a more smoky look.

On top of that I applied a metallic shimmery purple with lots of silver glitter. I tried to dab on the lid as much glitter as possible without making it look very metallic. It gave me this purple blue sheen with silver shine. I used the same matte browns around the lower lash line. In the inner corners I used a more silver based color with a light blue sheen.

I also applied a bit of mascara and fairly natural looking, but longer, false eyelashes. I also applied black kajal on the upper water line to darken it. On the lower water line I applied a shimmery blue shade and also took it a bit around the lash line. 

I applied foundation, concealer and powder as per usual. Then I used a bit of contour color very lightly to define my cheeks. I also used a bronzer with a sheen all over the face. I'm so pale these days that I love a bit of warmth, especially combined with a cooler eye makeup. For the highlighter I went with a champagne shade that is not too warm and I used a brownish shade as a blush not to compete with my eye makeup.

For the lips I used a nude lip pencil and went over it with a nude matte lipstick color that leans more on the peachy warm side. This way not all of my makeup looks too cool. 

I worked off of that glittery silver blue dress that I had in mind. It might not be the most usual makeup for the party season, but if you wear something black, silver or blue, it might just play up your whole look. It's something more colorful than what I would usually go for. 

Products used

Face:

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation 51 + Catrice HD Liquid Coverage Foundation 010 + NYX Pro Foundation Mixer in White Blanc

Paese Rice Powder

Essence Eyeshadow 15 Hazel Me Not!

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer Bronzer

Catrice LE Kaviar Gauche Highlighter

H&M Pure Radiance Powder Blusher Brown Sugar

Eyes:

Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer

Zoeva Caramel Melange - Universal Delight

Colourpop Yes Please! - Note To Self

Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette - Truffled

Colourpop Super Shock Shadow - Coconut

Essence Metal Shock Eyeshadow - 02 Stars & Stories

Essence Be My Highlight Eyeshadow Palette - shade 1

Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner - Black

Avon Glow Kajalstick - Pacific Blue

Beyu Beauty Queen Volume Mascara

Cherie Lashes - Extra Lovley

Duo Eyelash Adhesive Clear-White

Lips:

Catrice Lip Foundation Pencil - 020 Caramel Blonde To Go

Makeup Revolution Lipstick - Wishful

Catrice's last Limited Edition of this year is called Dazzle Bomb and it's as glittery as you would have expected for this time of year. I got their Cosmic Body Sparkle Fluid which is a lovely liquid highlighter, or should I say almost glitter, for the body. It adds that sparkly note to your sparkly dress for the New Year's Eve or any other party occasion.

It comes in a matte heavy glass bottle with dropper. The packaging is sturdy and luxurious looking. I wouldn't mind displaying it on my shelf. 

In it is 21 ml of product and it costs 7.29€.

Dropper works well and you can control how much product you want. Because it's a very liquid product, I think dropper is the best choice here.

Fluid has a very liquid texture that looks pink in the bottle. Once you actually blend it into the skin, it looks almost transparent with cooler silver vibe to it. Some shimmer is tiny and gives you that glow and some shimmer is bigger silver and reflects various colors. It gives skin almost transparent sheen with chunks of shimmer.

At the beginning you have a lot of that wet looking glow from almost invisible shimmer, but as the day goes on, the glow fades and you're left with chunks of fairly big shimmer, although I wouldn't call it glitter just yet.


It doesn't look like much in the sunlight or natural light in general, but under the artificial light it really pops. Especially the bigger shimmer reflects light and you basically look like a sparkly disco ball. It's gorgeous for evening parties.

Because there are chunks of shimmer, I wouldn't put this on the face, but you can if you want to. I only use this on my body. It's actually light enough for my light skin tone and it's not too cool toned, but also not warm. This would be perfect for very fair skin tone. 

It's scented and the scent is amazing. To me it smells kind of like a baby powder. It doesn't linger on the skin though. The scent is quite subtle too and not overpowering. 

It actually sticks to the skin well and stays there for the whole day, but it's not transfer proof. The shimmer will go on your clothes, so I advise you to only apply it on the parts of the body that are exposed. 

Here is some photo proof. Obviously, it's impossible to photograph shimmer, because it never looks as pretty on photos as it does in real life.

I hope you can see that it doesn't look like much in natural day light in the shadow. It looks much more glowy and shimmery on the sun, but looks especially shimmery and sparkly under the artificial light. 

I think this might be a fun gift for someone, because people usually don't buy these kind of body products for themselves. If the shimmer would be finer and more metallic based, I would use it as a highlighter all over the face and body. Catrice and Essence had a lot of similar body fluids in their previous Limited Editions and those were more metallic. But this is more of a shimmery leaning towards glittery body product that will be the star of all the evening parties. It looks a bit meh under the natural light. Under the artificial light it becomes so sparkly and if you like those kind of shimmery/glittery products, you would love this one too. I also love the fact that it has that baby powder scent to it and it's definitely geared towards pale and light skin tones. It might look ashy on medium or dark skin tone. 

*PR product

I always associate Christmas with red and sparkles. Usually I would go with a sparkly eyeliner, but I decided to do something different this year. It's a combination of my favorites - bit of sparkle, red lip and winged liner. 

I wanted this makeup look to be simple, but still a bit sparkly. First I used mix of two warm matte brown shades to slightly define my crease. The star of the look is winged liner, so I skipped any eyeshadow on the actual lid. For the eyeliner I used burgundy shade to do a basic wing. I applied warmer and lighter red shade on top of burgundy and tried to blend it in. I also set it with a red eyeshadow to diffuse the edges a bit and make it slightly softer. 

I used the same browns on my lower lash line. In the inner corners I started by applying a creamier shimmery light yellow gold eyeliner as a base. On top of that I put a mix of copper gold bigger glitter and smaller metallic gold glitter. I actually decided to extend the shimmer up in the inner corners pass the crease and also made it slightly longer on the inner corner of the lower lash line. It makes the look slightly more sparkly and offsets the wing on the other side. 

I usually can't be bothered to apply false lashes, because I always struggle with them, so I just applied a bit of mascara and half lashes. Half lashes are shorter and can be applied only on the outer half of the lash line, so it sticks better and looks more natural. I choose style that wings out, because it suits my winged liner well. Unfortunately, camera never picks up glitter as nice as it looks in the real life. It looks much more sparkly as glitter catches the light. 

I did my usual face paint - foundation, concealer and powder. For this warm red look I also needed to bronzed myself up with a bit of bronzer to add me warmth and color. I used gold champagne highlighter to match my sparkly eye inner corners. For the blush I went with a muddy redish color that looks natural and pairs with red lipstick, but I applied it fairly light.

For the lips I went with a very bright orange red, my favorite. These colors make a statement and make me feel happy. Sometimes I can look paler with a brighter color, so I usually just use a bit of bronzer and that makes it more wearable. 

Red eyeliner is one of my new favorite things to do. It just looks unusual because of the color, but kind of classic because of the wing. This look could be worn with a more neutral lip color, but why not use the red. It just gives the complexion that oomph and makes it look more lively. I also like that it's not too glittery, but just gives you that lovely sparkle in the inner corners. 

I'm not doing a lot of nail designs lately, because my hands are just so dry, but I got an idea for cute Christmas inspired mani with yellow stars and red tips, so I decided to document and post it here. It's a simple almost that negative space manicure with must have red color and some yellow stars to pop out. I think it looks cute and a slight upgrade from basic red nails with glitters.

I started doing this manicure by leaving my base clean and just dabbing shimmery red nail polish on the tips of my nails using a sponge. For that I went over my natural tip line, because this manicure doesn't have any base color and I wanted to extend the design a bit.

I used transparent based nail polish with small golden glitter to give some sparkle to that clean base. Just little something something. 

I used small striping brush to draw on stars with a pale yellow nail polish. This might be tricky for some, so you can definitely just stamp stars on your nails, if you have any stamping plate with stars. Optionally, you can also just use stars stickers. I did it freehand and every star doesn't look perfect, but I think imperfection makes it look nicer. Then I used double sided dotting tool and dotted on a few smaller and bigger dots. But I decided that I won't go up to the base of the nail with those dots, not to overpower it. 

I used the same red nail polish again and intensified tips by applying another coat of nail polish with that same sponge technique. It gave me more of an ombre effect and almost covered my natural tips. 

I also did my other non dominant hand, although it was a struggle. Less stars on my right hand and concentrating more on the dots, which are a lot easier to do, was a good solution. If you struggle with the other hand, just do dots or maybe ask someone else to do it. 

I was inspired by a lot of kawaii nail manicures that I find on Pinterest. Their nail designs usually look super cute and more minimalistic. I chose red color, because it symbolizes Christmas for me and I did yellow stars, because gold would look too plain and unnoticeable on my transparent base. Would you wear something like this or is it too cutesy for you?

I had these glittery pigments by Beauty People on my wishlist for a while and I finally got it once the brand came to Jolse and it was 30% off at their launching event. Beauty People is Korean makeup brand with a range of classic makeup products. Some products, like cushions, have cute doll like packaging and some are packaged more simply, like the two products that I got.

I decided to get Beauty People Flash Fix Pearl Pigment Pact in the shade 1 Ssum Light and 365 Stay Waterproof Brush Pen Eyeliner in shade 03 Appeal Brown. I already have one brown brush liner and since that one was getting a bit old, I decided to try this one.

Beauty People 365 Stay Waterproof Brush Pen Eyeliner - 03 Appeal Brown

It comes in a paper box packaging. The packaging of the pen is black with brown details that indicate the shade inside. 

In it is 0.5 grams of product and the price is around 10$.

It has a classic brush tip applicator. The pen closes securely and tip keeps its shape well. As with all the brush tips, this one can also get a bit dirty from the shimmery eyeshadows and I need to clean it off in order for it to work again.

I'm disappointed a bit, because the brush doesn't seem to be as saturated as with Clio Brush Liner. I have it stored upside down and it's still not as good as it should be. 

It applies evenly, but is actually more on sheer side of pigmentation. It might just be the fact that shade 03 Appeal Brown is actually a very light warm brown shade. It's definitely lighter than the brown version by Clio and a lot warmer. The more you go over it, the darker it starts to look.

Application is a struggle, because sometimes it just starts to take off once you go over one line a few times. It's very frustrating and it doesn't seem to stick well to those wetter parts of your eyes, like the outer corner that can get a bit teary. Sometimes it works fine, but usually it's a struggle.

The dry down is very quick and once it sets it doesn't move at all.  It's definitely waterproof as it doesn't budge if you sweat or pour water over it. This will last you all day without needing to reapply it. 

Finish has a bit of sheen, it's not completely matte. 

With the brush tip you can apply a very thin precise line and create the thinnest winged liner. 

Beauty People Flash Fix Pearl Pigment Pact - 1 Ssum Light

It comes in a paper box with black and white design. The actual product is stored in a small shiny black plastic pot with transparent lid. It also comes with a plastic protective lid that prevents product from spilling all over.

In it is 1.8 gram of product and the price is around 9$. 

It comes densely packed in the pot. It's pressed in, but it also feels a bit creamy to the touch. When you put your finger in it and swirls it, it feels almost like a cream with glitters, but is in fact more dry once applied on the skin. If you really press it hard you get an intense metallic shimmery shade, but if you pick it up with a brush or lightly with your finger, you just get tiny irregular flecks of metallic glitter. 

Shade 1 Ssum Light is like a very light coppery gold. But once you apply it sheer on the lid, it just looks gold and very glittery.

Because of the slight creaminess to it, you can apply it with your finger on its own. But it definitely sticks better to cream shadow bases or shadows like Colourpop Super Shock Shadows which go on creamy, but set like powders. By just barely touching it you get a good amount of glitter. Less is more with this and I think it will last your for a really long time.

Once the glitter sets it doesn't move. However there is some fallout if you apply it on top of dry powdery eyeshadows or on its own, but once you clean off the excess, it doesn't fall off anymore. It also stays put all day.

The photos doesn't do it justice. It looks much prettier and more sparkly in real life, like is the case with most glitter products. 

I don't like the eyeliner, because it's too hard to work with. Sometimes it starts to peel off, if you try to go over the line a few times and it's just not as saturated as some others. The shade is actually really pretty, if you like warm browns and it's very long lasting. The brush tip can create problems, if you use it over shimmery shades, but that happens to me with most of these brush eyeliners anyway. I just think Clio's version works better and if I get another brown one, I'll get that one. 

The glittery pigment is amazing and I highly recommend you getting it, if you love glittery products. It looks weirdly dry, but actually feels creamy and sticks well to the lid weather you use it on its own or on top of other shadows. It adds such a gorgeous glittery festive feel to it. I love the coppery gold shade as it suits most of my warm eye makeup looks and it's also very long lasting on the lid. No falling out as the day goes on. I want more shades, for sure, even though I may not need all. But a glittery bronze would be amazing too.