12/02/2012

November Favorites & Unfavorites!


Every month I'd like to share the beauty, food, fashion & lifestyle products that were my favorites.. and also the ones that were definitely not favorites, therefore "unfavorites"! It's a term I've picked up from one of my favorite YouTube-ers, LeighannSays. Anyway, let's jump right in!




1. Lorac PRO Palette, $42-- Definitely a favorite this month! For $42, you get so many high-quality shadows, and what made me buy this palette last month was the fact that the top row of shadows are all matte shadows, while the bottom ones are a little shimmery. There's pretty much any neutral shade I could need in this palette, and the quality is incredible: the shadows are definitely buttery and smooth. Definitely pick this palette up if you're in the market for some quality neutral shades, because I'm seeing that it's already sold out at a lot of Ulta's and Sephora's near me!


2. Benefit the POREfessional Primer, $30-- I've been fighting a losing battle with my foundation routine this past month.. and by that I mean I can't seem to find a foundation and primer that get along and don't make my face look like a grandma. That is, until I found Benefit's POREfessional. I have had a sample of this for forever but never used it because I don't have large or noticeable pores. But the texture of this is so smooth, and it seems that any foundation seems to just glide over and stay all day. 

3. Batiste Dry Shampoo, around $6-8-- I have a confession to make: I'm not a natural blonde. Fooled you all, didn't I? Just kidding. Now that the secret's out, I can admit that every 8 weeks, I get some serious highlights. Which makes my hair incredibly dry and damaged. I combat this by washing my hair (literally) 2 or 3 times a week. I've been struggling to find a dry shampoo that can handle my gross, infrequent hair-washing habits, and Batiste is truly a miracle worker, if you can get past the weird smell. 

4. Benefit they're Real! Mascara, $23-- I finally got around to trying this mascara when it came in my Ipsy bag last month. I really like it! And I think you will too, if you enjoy the "false lashes" effect. Which I am finding I can't live without. :)

5. Ferrara Chocolate Orange Ball, $3-4-- Every year, the day after Halloween immediately becomes Operation: Find the Nearest Chocolate Orange. To say that I'm obsessed is to put it mildly. They only sell these delicious little balls of happiness around the holidays, so I've indulged in one or two (or three) in the past month. I swear, I'm not addicted. I can stop whenever I want!....

6. Luna Fiber bar in Chocolate Raspberry-- For the days when I'm not indulging in an entire ball of chocolate, I've been loving these little Fiber bars from Luna in between meals. I'll usually eat them at work or if I'm trying to get a workout in before dinner and want something to tide me over until then. What I love is that they're 70% organic and have tons of good things for you in them and are only 110 calories. And they're yummy!

7. Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm, $2.99-- I'm incredibly picky about the lip balms I use. I don't like waxy ones, I don't like heavily scented or fruity ones, and I hate bothering with a lip balm that doesn't work! This one has become my Holy-Grail lip balm because the light, fresh minty scent is very refreshing and it doesn't feel waxy on the lips, just moisturizing. Many lip balms actually contain ingredients that coat your lips and don't actually restore any moisture to them, but this lip balm actually seems to. And this month, while the temperature (and humidity) has been dropping daily, I need all the moisture I can get!

8. Leaves Candle, $19.50-- My husband and I picked up this candle from Bath & Body Works when we were on our honeymoon in September but I just really started burning it this month. It's definitely a "fall" scent, but it's not overwhelming and we've gotten a lot of burn time out of it. Love it!


Now onto a few "unfavorites"...



1. Aldo purse -- I can't find this online, which is understandable because I got it on sale in the store over a month ago. You may have seen me wearing it here. It's such a cute purse, but it's just trash! The quality is so poor. When I bought the bag, it had a little metal closure to keep the belt around the purse on, and the metal closure had a lock on it. A week into owning the purse, the lock fell off. Then two weeks after that, the entire metal closure broke, and then completely fell off. The stitching seems to be attempting to come undone. Either I put my bags through violence equivalent to that of the Vietnam War or Aldo bags are made poorly. Anyone else have any experience with them??

2. e.l.f. Tinted Moisturizer -- In attempts to conquer my afore mentioned foundation battle, I decided that maybe a tinted moisturizer would be better for me since I really don't have any acne or scarring that needs covering anyway. But this stuff just did not work for me, and I tried to make it work, because it looked good on. Good color match, great coverage for a tinted moisturizer, and had decent wear time. But once I'd take it off, it left mild rashes all over my skin. However, I do have really sensitive skin. If you don't have sensitive skin, this product may not bother you. I really did like everything else about it.

3. ModelCo Fibre Lashxtend mascara -- This kind of reminded me of Bad Gal lash by Benefit. Just didn't wow me. I really like thick, full, nearly-ridiculous lashes. I couldn't seem to build this stuff up enough to look like I was even wearing hardly any mascara. If you like a natural look, you might be into this. But if you like to look like you're wearing gigantic false lashes all the time like myself, you might not. ;)

So that's it for my November favorites & unfavorites! Let me know if you've done a blog post like this, and leave your link below! :)

21 comments:

  1. I LOVE they're real mascara & batiste dry shampoo. I have blonde highlights as well and it is such a struggle to find something that can help combat my dry damaged hair, Aussie 3 minute miracle is great and Ojon rare blend oil... amazing!

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    1. I've heard a lot about the Aussie 3 minute miracle, I think I'll have to try that out! Currently I just refuse to wash my hair and drench the ends in conditioner every few days, haha. It works, but I know there are better systems!

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  2. Thanks for the recommendations! Im definitely giveing some of these a shot! I'm intrigued with the porefessional and that Batiste stuff. I did try ELF and you're right about the sensitivity issue there cause I experienced some too with their other items!
    XOXO
    Ty

    Pls. check out some of my looks on BestTrendsForever.com

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    1. No problem! And yeah, you just always have to watch with drugstore brands, especially one as cheap as e.l.f. Cheap products means cheap ingredients. Which isn't *always* a bad thing, but it can be!

      Thanks for stopping by! I'll check out your blog now!

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  3. I love the Porefessional! I really want to try They're Real and Batiste :)

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    1. Me too! They should try marketing it as a great primer for people who don't have pore issues, because it's the best I've ever used. But Benefit products in general are great quality :)

      Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  4. Love your favorites... and the unfavorites, too! (I ALMOST bought that tinted moisturizer the other day and now I'm so glad I didn't!). And I have got to try that Benefit mascara!

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    1. Thanks! Ha, e.l.f. products are sooooo hit or miss. Like I said, the moisturizer would be fine, I believe, if you don't have super sensitive skin. And yes, they're Real mascara will change your life! Well. As much as a mascara can be life-changing. lol.

      Thanks for commenting!

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  5. I love these kinds of posts. I'd love that amazing Lorac palette! I have a few of their products and I love them! Thanks for visiting my blog, I'm following you now on Bloglovin! xoxo

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    1. Thanks! I love these kinds of posts too. Word of mouth is the best way to hear about new products, and ones to avoid!

      Following you as well! Thanks so much!

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  6. This post is such a great idea! I'm always looking for new products and most certainly ones to avoid!


    Champagne Lifestyle on a Beer Budget

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    1. Thanks!

      I ended up following your blog! I can't deny another blonde with an affinity for lipstick. <3

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  7. Hey girl! Just wanted to say thank you for visiting and following my blog! I'm following you back on bloglovin! Btw, I love the Benefit mascara! It's the best:)!

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    1. No problem! Your posts are gorgeous & you certainly know how to dress! :)

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  8. Benefit They're Real mascara gives the most insanely long-looking lashes! I am always surprised by how my lashes look after using it!

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    1. Right?! I'm all about fake looking lashes, haha.

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  9. Lynette! Love your blog, even though I don't have one :) I recently got a sample of Jouer Matte Moisture Tint, and I absolutely loved it. It goes on so smoothly and evens out my skin. I loved it so much, I ordered a full size from Birchbox. It's a bit pricey, but you get a huge tube of it, and you don't need to use a lot at a time! Here's the link if you're interested: :)

    http://www.birchbox.com/shop/jouer-matte-moisture-tint


    -Lauren Cady

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    1. Hey Lauren! Thanks for the response, and I'll have to try that tinted moisturizer out! I looooove Jouer and have never had a bad reaction to them before. :)

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  10. I put the Benefit primer on my Xmas wish list, as well as that mascara! & the Batiste is my go-to dry shampoo!

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  11. I like this feature! I'm definitely going to try out the Neutrogena lip balm the next time I'm at Walgreens.

    As for lashes, I'm with you on lashes - the thicker and longer, the better. I'm currently loving Smashbox Full Exposure.

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    1. I'll have to try that out! If fake lashes didn't make me feel like I was trying too hard, I'd wear them daily. I loooooove pretty, long lashes! :)

      And I think you'll like the lip balm! I used my husbands old cherry flavored "ChapStick" lip balm today because I needed some on the fly, and I felt like I literally just smeared cherry wax on my lips, and they felt dry as soon as the wax melted off. Gross. The Neutrogena stuff is so light and moisturizing!

      Haha okay, I promise I won't respond to all of your comments with novels.
      No, I can't promise that... ;)

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