I cannot quite believe that we are at the very last day of December and it is not only already New Year's Eve and 2017 starts tomorrow (?!?!) but #DitsyDecember is about to come to an end all over again. I hope you've enjoyed this year's offerings and are looking forward to the New Year, but before this series wraps up for the third time, it's time for my final 'Loves and Lusts' of the year. As is always, I am rounding up the month by letting you lovely lot in on what I've been loving and lusting after for the past few weeks. Ready for the last one of 2016 (and my last 'official' post too)?. Let's jump right in...
What I've Loved:
NYX Warm Neutrals Eyeshadow Palette - Kicking off with what has to be my favourite, favourite of all of December's offerings. I have wanted to try this palette for what feels like the longest of times and finally this month, the makeup stars aligned and it made a home in my ever-growing collection. And you know what? I bloomin' well love it. I wore this exclusively on my eyes on both Christmas and Boxing Day and was super-pleased with how it looked. This is packed full to the brim of stunning warm, neutral shades (just as you'd expect going from the name) and unlike some palettes I've got - there's not one colour in here that I wouldn't use. Of the ones I have so far, I am thoroughly impressed with the pigmentation, blendability and lasting power - both from the mattes and the shimmers - and I can just visualise this being a staple in my stash from now on.
Collection Sheer Loose Powder in 'Translucent' - Another new item of makeup that I've recently added to my collection (again, as seen in the above linked post) is this loose powder from Collection. I've been meaning to get into the whole 'baking' thang for a while and at last this month I 'invested' in a loose powder to try it out. I say 'invested' as honestly, this is cheap as chips and definitely doesn't break the bank, but you know what? It does the job and it does it well. It's true to its 'translucent' claim (it doesn't add any extra colour), it's finely-milled, easy to apply and use and doesn't leave an unsightly white cast behind. It's really given me the baking bug and made me see what all the fuss is about and for such an affordable price - you really can't go wrong.
Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge - Talking of makeup sponges (not actually for baking though) - I finally picked up a new one of these this month and can I just say - I am so glad I did. I feel like it's reignited my love for it and honestly, has really opened my eyes to how rank and well-overdue a replacement my old one was. This new one is so much more plumper and bouncier and I do think it applies and blends out my foundation and concealer so much better than my old one used to towards the end of its life.
Collection Glam Crystal Dazzling Gel Eyeliners - I mean, these were always gonna be in here somewhere, weren't they? Since discovering them around this time last year, I just knew I'd be cracking them out every festive season. I bought another shade this time around - a bright silver called 'Glitz' - and along with my old favourite 'Funk', a gorgeous gold, I have been well and truly kitted out this festive season in terms of all things sparkly. Other than of course using them as an actual glitter eyeliner, there are numerous other ways of utilising them (as I spoke about earlier in the month here) and of all the ways of adding some glitter to your makeup look; they are by far the quickest, easiest and most mess-free and I love them.
MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in 'Reckless' - I know I talked about this one last month (when I was talking about this liquid lipstick range in general), but with it being Christmas I just had to give a shout-out again to this shade in particular this time around too. This stunning bright red is all I wore on my lips throughout the festive period and was my red lip of choice for The Big Day itself so I obviously had to mention it here. I wanted to opt for a liquid lipstick over Christmas in an attempt to get the best longevity out of my red lip as possible as I stuff myself silly and I have to admit that for such a bargainous price - this does a pretty bangin' job. It applies evenly in one coat, dries down super fast to a powdery matte finish and holds up fairly well too. What more could you want, eh?
Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lip Liner in 'Red Dynamite' - To pair with the above liquid lippie, I have been using and loving this lip liner from Rimmel. It's no secret that the lip liners from Rimmel are probably my favourites to be found at the drugstore and this one is certainly no exception. In the traditional pencil format, this red lip liner is rich, pigmented, creamy and easy to apply. The colour is neither too bright, nor too dark and I can picture it working with basically any and every red lipstick in my stash so I am very much of a fan of this.
Soap and Glory 'Solar Powder' Bronzer - If you've been reading round these parts for some time now, you'll most likely already have heard me ramble on about this bronzer in the past cause going back a little while ago, I was all kinds of obsessed with the stuff. And while I've been enjoying the other options, recently I had the urge to pick this classic up again and I deifntely do not regret it. It's just as good as I remember it being and I love it. There's two shades - one more terracotta, one more honey-toned - and you simply use one or the other, or swirl them together and you have an awesome bronzer for us paler-skinned gals. You can dial the colour up or down depending on your personal preferences - and did I mention it's completely shimmer-free? Winner.
Garnier Moisture Bomb Range - Second to last, a (kinda) new skincare range. I actually sampled the popular Tissue Mask from this 'Moisture Bomb' collection a while back and fell in love with it so I knew that at some point, I had to try the rest a go. And with my current day and night creams quickly coming to an end, I picked them up and I am super glad I did. Just like the face mask, both the day and night creams just give so much hydration to my dry skin. The day cream acts as a really nice base for my makeup - really adding to that glow that I love, whilst the night cream is so rich and intense that more often than not it's still hanging around come the next morning. I think I may or may not have a new favourite skincare duo...
Seventeen Glitter Nail Polish in 'Red' - And lastly - and very much in-keeping with the glitter theme again - what's Christmas without a glitter nail polish, eh? While I have so many favourites around this time of year, this one has to rank as my top pick for this festive season in particular as it not only featured in one 'Polish Pick' this December - but two. I used this earlier on in the month and also as part of my Christmas Day nails only a week ago and I just feel like you cannot go wrong with a good red sparkly nail polish at Christmas. This is comprised of both smaller and larger glitter particles, giving a really layered, textured appearance and it's really easy to both sheer out or build up the coverage of this too. Love, love, LOVE.
What I'd Love To Have:
If I'm honest, I haven't been lusting after too much this month (what with it being Christmas and all that) but any products/items I have I included in my 'What's On My Wishlist' post I did earlier on in the month so I guess if you fancy knowing more - check that post out!
So there we have everything for my twelfth and final edition of my 'Loves and Lusts' for 2016! I cannot believe another year of these posts is all done and dusted. I do hope you've enjoyed reading them all as much as I've enjoyed putting them together and who knows what the New Year will hold. I still want to continue with some form of end-of-the-month favourites feature in 2017, but I'm unsure right now as to whether I fancy giving the format a little shake-up - but more on that in tomorrow's first post of the year! I hope you've had an awesome December and I will see you lovely lot later on today, just in time for New Year...
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