June 2011 Favorites and Beauty Essentials

I've never done a monthly favorites before but I figure I should start. It's always fun to know what other people's favorites are. I think it also gives you an idea of what they like, to know a little more about them, and give you more ideas on products you may want to try.
Since this is my first monthly favorites, I'm going to focus on my beauty essentials. The products I will mention on this post are products I use either daily or reach for the most often. They are what I consider my beauty essentials.

 

 MAKEUP

 

1. Lancome Teint Idole Ultra foundation. I use shade Buff 5C, just in case you are wondering. A review for this is long overdue.
2. Revlon Photoready foundation. I use Nude 004. This is a little lighter than I would like but I can make it work if I contour my face. This has shimmers in it so if you don't like shimmers and dewy finishes, you will not like this foundation.
3. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural. I use shade medium light. This is my HG face powder. I plan to do a review on this face powder so I will talk more about it later.
4. Milani Baked Blush. I've been reaching for these a lot every since I bought them. The shades I used the most are Luminoso and Berry Amore.
5. Benefit Erase Paste. Very creamy and does a good job at covering my blemishes and scars.
6. NARS Blush/Bronzer Trio. This palette holds NARS most coveted face powders: Orgasm, Laguna, and Albatross.
7. MAKE UP FOREVER HD powder. I have yet to review this powder. I also plan to compare it with the ELF HD powder.
8. MAKE UP FOREVER Aqua Liner 13 (black). Waterproof, smudge-proof, long-wearing, very pigmented deep black liquid liner.
9. Physicians Formula Gel Cream liners. I mostly use the black one. It's not just straight up black but it has very fine colored glitter in it. I'm normally not a huge fan of gel/cream liners but I've been using these a lot lately. The consistency of this gel is very easy to work with and last all day.
10. Urban Decay Primer Potion. This is the only thing I've been using to prime my lids for the past year. I have the XL bottle and it's been lasting me forever, lol. I can't wait to get the one with the new packaging.

SKINCARE

11. LUSH Coco Lotion. Prior to this lotion, I was a huge fan of baby lotions because they absorbed very quickly and don't leave a greasy feeling afterward. The wonderful thing is when I use this lotion, I don't end up smelling like a baby and I get the same result of the baby lotion, lol. I love the soft and subtle coconut scent.

12. Boscia Restorative Night Cream. All I gotta say is I've been really impressed with this skincare brand. It's expensive but is everything that I want in a face cream.

13. Boscia Enlivening Amino-AG Eye Treatment. The softness and texture of this gel is amazing. You will love this if you don't mind the price.
14. Shiseido White Lucent face lotion. It can't get rid of my freckles unfortunately but it's light-weight and does a good job at keeping my skin moisturized without feeling heavy and greasy. This large bottle is a bit expensive but will last you a long time because a little goes a long way.
15. Lancome Bi-Facil makeup remover. Pricey but very effective and effortless at removing waterproof eye makeup and also feels gentle on the skin.
16. Lancome Genefique. It's expensive but I bought it because I got a huge discount for it and wanted to see if it does anything for me. I'm probably not the best candidate to review this since I don't really have problematic skin but I still plan on reviewing this. I've been using this for 3 months now.
17. LUSH Angel on Bare Skin face cleanser. I've been loving this since the day I got it. I plan to review this.

 

 

PERSONAL CARE

 

18. Secret Invisible Solid deodorant in fresh water orchid. I've been using this brand of deodorant for ages! I wonder why I never thought of trying something new. Any suggestions? I like the fact that it helps control odor and perspiration and vanishes once you put it on. Love the soft flowery scent too.

19. LUSH Honey I Washed the Kids soap. This is no surprise it's LUSH best-selling soap. It smells AMAZING!

20. Crest 3D toothpaste. I do notice whiter teeth and I absolutely love the clean and fresh feeling I get after I am done brushing my teeth.

21. Argan oil. I love applying this to the ends of my hair after I am done washing it. It makes my hair feel so soft. 

22. It's a 10 Miracle Leave-in Conditioner plus Keratin. It claims to do 10 things for your hair. I have not reviewed it but I've been loving it and use it all the time.

 

 

 

TOOLS

 

23. Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System. It's gentle enough on my skin yet does a wonderful job at exfoliating and cleansing. My face feels polished after I use this.

24. Real Techniques stippling brush. Simply amazing and affordable. Best stippling brush I ever had.

25. Sigma Synthetic Face Kit. The bestest face brushes in my collection. Highly recommended.

26. Sephora Pencil Sharpener. I couldn't find my pencil sharpener, the cheap one I must have got from either Wal-Mart or Ulta. Frustrated about it and while I was at Sephora, I decided to buy their sharpener. I was curious to see if it works any better. Wow, let's just say I was very impressed! This sharpener totally deserves some praise and recognition. If you need a good pencil sharpener, get this one! My pencils never looked this sharp!

27. FHI Heat straightener. I will never buy drugstore hair irons ever again! This totally proved me that salon hair styling tools performs wayyyyy better. You won't know until you try. Yes it's more expensive but totally worth the results. My only regret is that I wished it came with more features such as adjustable heat and auto shut off.

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

28. Epielle Cleansing Tissues (Green Tea). You can find these at Big Lots. A pack of 60 pre-moistened wipes will only cost you a couple bucks. I use these to remove only my face makeup and then I wash my face afterward. They are probably not the best or thickest face wipes out there but they work fairly well. I refuse to pay a lot of money just to remove my makeup.

29. MAC brush cleanser. If you know any other spot cleanser that works as well or better than this one, please let me know. I have not found or tried one that does the job better.

30. ONYX 100% Pure Acetone polish remover. No need to spend a lotta dolla or a fancy polish remover to take off your polish. This bottle is huge (16 oz), only cost a couple bucks, does a great job at removing nail polish, and you can get it at Wal-Mart.

I apologize for the long post. I promise you my future monthly favorites won't be this long, lol. Thanks for reading or checking out my monthly faves. Feel free to ask any questions.

Have you tried any of these products and not liked them as much as I do? I'd be curious to find out.