January has already come and gone. How crazy is it that we're already one month done with 2017? The best part is that I only have 3 more ED shifts left and am sooooo close to finishing the worst block of the year. I'm stressing hardcore about taking Step 3 in just two short weeks. I really hope it is as easy as people say it is.

Let's switch gears and talk about my favorites from this month. I'm going to try and get better about being on top of my monthly favorites this year #newyearresolution. Since I skipped my December favorites this year, I have a ton of things to share with you guys. Not too much makeup, but lots of new skincare and haircare favorites, a lot of which have been game changing for me.

NYX Hot Singles Eyeshadow in Sex Kitten -- I ordered a bunch of new eyeshadows this month, but I've had this NYX shadow sitting in my Z-palette for months. I finally used it this month and really love the color -- a rosy gold that leans more brown than rose. Plus, this shade has a gorgeous satin finish and stays on all day.

Revlon ColorStay Creme Eyeshadow in Caramel -- I just bought this eyeshadow a few weeks ago and am already in love. The color is absolutely gorgeous. The consistency of this cream shadow is super smooth and it stays put all day without creasing. 

BareMinerals Lasting Line Long-Wearing Eyeliner in Lasting Brown -- I've never been a huge fan of eyeliners, but on my days off this month I've been reaching for a brown eyeliner. I love how creamy and easy this pencil is to apply and it smudges easily for a smoky effect.

NYX Glitter Primer -- You guys know that I love me some glittery eyeshadows. This primer has changed my life. It is super tacky, like glue, and helps chunky glitter shadows stay on all day. I put this under cream eyeshadows and super chunky shadows like the ones in the Lorac Metal Pro Palette and it helps the shadows stay in place without causing massive glitter fallout under my eyes. LOVE.

Revlon Kiss Balm Lip Balm in Berry Burst -- Very creamy and great for casual days when you just want to slip on a lip balm. I just noticed that these have SPF 20 which is a bonus!

Soap & Glory Rich and Foamous Body Wash -- this is the body wash I've been using all month. It has a very exhilarating oatmeal-sugar scent. It's a creamy body wash that doesn't lather all that well, but leaves my skin very supple and moisturized. Not sure if I'll repurchase it because of the hefty price tag, but this has definitely been a favorite this month. 

OGX Quenched Sea Mineral Moisture Shimmering Weightless Moisture Replenisher -- This product might be the star of the show this month. I haven't always advertised it on this blog, but I've always had a horrible relationship with my hair. It's okay on the days I wash and condition, but the next day it becomes very dry, coarse, and tangly to the point where I actually broke my Wet Brush earlier in the month trying to fight with second day hair. I started using this product on my second and third day hair two weeks ago and it has changed my life forever. Not only does this have a refreshing beachy 'just got out of the waves' scent, but it hydrates and softens my hair without weighing it down. This is exactly the kind of holy grail hair product I've been looking for all my life and I finally found it. This has changed my hair game to where it is smooth, healthy, shiny, and bouncy all day everyday even on days where I don't shampoo. I could rave about this product all damn day, so I'll just stop here. 

Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Treatment Masque -- This is the second part of why my hair has been so healthy this month. In fact, I ran out of this product and just repurchased my second tub. It has natural ingredients in addition to keratin that smoothens, strengthens, and restores my hair (just like the label says). I use this once or twice a week and my hair already feels thicker and stronger after using it for a month. I've since tried its counterpart shampoo and conditioner, which isn't that great, but this masque is THE best drugstore hair mask I've tried and is very affordable. Must try if you have dry and coarse hair like me. 

January Favorites!

I honestly cannot believe January is gone! I spent most of the month out of the country on vacation and it was a really nice, relaxing time. Sad to say that on my very last day in New Delhi, I got sick :( I had a cold with a mild fever that's resolved, but now I'm having major stomach cramps. I think I have gastritis from all the rich, spicy foods I had been eating in India. I've been sleeping most of the time since I've  can barely keep any food down without getting cramps and have zero energy because I haven't been eating much. Tums, omeprazole, and eating really light foods like toast and tea has been helping a lot though and I'm feeling a little bit better. The worst part of it all is that I can't tolerate coffee right now, so I'm going through maaaajor caffeine withdrawal. I've been drinking green tea, but it doesn't contain nearly as much caffeine as coffee does and I'm still having major headaches. Can't take ibuprofen either since my stomach's irritated, blargh.

Anyways, back to favorites! I haven't been wearing too much makeup this month and when I have been wearing makeup, I've been sticking to tried and true products.  So not a whole lot of new beauty discoveries this month. I'm hoping to try a bunch of new products this upcoming month, so I should have a ton of beauty products to show in my next monthly favorites!

EOS Shave Cream -- Never thought I'd feature a shaving cream on my favorites, but I picked this up last month and I've been in love ever since. This is the only shaving cream that has left my legs super soft and moisturized afterwards. I don't even need to lather on lotion once I get done shaving and get out of the shower! I've tried this in Lavender and Pomegranate Raspberry, which are both really pleasant, non-overpowering scents. Plus, the bottle has a pump for mess-free application, which I love. At only $2.99 a bottle, this one is a must-try bath product. 

Bonita Cosmetics Nail Polish Remover Pads -- I stumbled upon these at Rite Aid when I happened to be looking for nail polish remover pads for traveling - how lucky! These were only $1, so I was a bit skeptical on how these would work. But, oh my gosh these are amazing! The pads remove nail polish really well, leave a nice scent on your nails, and hydrate your cuticles since they contain a bit of cuticle oil. The small tin is perfect for traveling. Needless to say, I'll be buying a couple more of these and using them every time I take off my polish, whether it's at home or at a hotel!

Bath & Body Works Winter Candy Apple Shower Gel -- This one is a oldy, but a goodie. I love this scent so much during the winter time and this season was no exception. Very classic apple-candy scent without being too powerful, and the scent lingers on your skin for hours after your shower. Love!

NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Smokey Look -- Another oldie but goodie I've been reaching for a lot this month. This lipgloss is just the perfect nude (although it looks a bit pink in the picture). This is one of my favorite lip gloss formulas -- they're so shiny, lightweight, moisturizing, and have such a pleasant cherry scent. Highly recommended drugstore lipgloss!

Trim Slant Tip Tweezers -- I decided to start plucking my eyebrows again this month and purchased these tweezers at a mere $2 from Walmart. I've always been really bad at plucking my eyebrows, so I was a bit scared that these wouldn't work either especially with the low price tag. To my surprise, they actually work really really well and allow me to pluck my eyebrows really easily. I know everyone raves about the expensive Tweezerman tweezers, but I think these work pretty darn well for $2. Definitely give these a try if you're new to eyebrow-land like me. 

My Winter Makeup Bin

Lo and behold, I'm sick again.

For some reason, I've being getting sick so much during this fall-winter season. I want to say this is my third or fourth time getting sick this season alone. I had a cold back in October, I got the flu a few weeks back over New Year's, and I have a cold again. I feel like I may have gotten bronchitis or a pneumonia now? I had a raging fever on Wednesday and I've just been coughing and hacking since.

I've also been having a lot of negative thoughts raging through my mind lately. One of my biggest goals this year is to stay positive, but sometimes life just brings you down so hard and it's really hard to get back up again. I'm really trying to turn my mood around and get things flowing again (because I literally have spent the entire weekend doing absolutely nothing), but I'm on a miserable rotation during a very crappy time of the year, so it's very very hard.

But anyways, without further moping, I wanted to talk about some makeup today. Talking about beauty products makes me happy so this post is a perfect pick-me-up for me on this crappy weekend. I always find the months of January and February to be a little awkward because it's right in between the holiday time and spring. It's also a very dull part of the year because it's always snowy and cold and gross out, and the time that seasonal depression rates skyrocket. To perk things up during this dull time of the year, I like to use glowy skin products and keep things neutral on my face. I bust out my bronzers, highlighters, and sparkly eyeshadows to make things look more alive while keeping my makeup looks as natural and nude as possible. So as you see my most used products of the month down below, you'll see that neutral tones, sparkle, and shimmer is the theme for my January-February winter makeup bin.

Here's what I keep in my everyday makeup bin on my dresser for the wintertime. I do switch things up every now and then (especially my lip products), but these are my everyday reach-for beauty products. I didn't mention any foundations or face concealers or powders, but I go back and forth between my bareMinerals foundation and the L'Oreal True Lumi liquid foundation, with my bareMinerals Mineral Veil as a setting powder.

Eye Products
CoverGirl Lash Blast Clump Crusher Mascara
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser in Honey
Milani Secret Cover Concealer Stick in Medium
Wet & Wild Eyeshadow Trio in Walking on Eggshells
Lorac Champagne Dreams Eyeshadow Palette
Sephora Glitter Eyeliner
NYX Retractable Eyeliner in Golden Olive

Face Products
Physician's Formula Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Bronzer
Tarte Fantasy Cheek Stain Champagne Highlighter
Milani Baked Blush in Red Vino
NARS Blush in Deep Throat

Lip Products
Almay Butter Kiss Lipstick in Nude Light-Medium
MAC Lipstick in Creme in Your Coffee
NYX Butter Gloss in Tiramisu
Benefit Ultra Plush Lipgloss in Coralista