So I guess you can say this is my first favorites post of 2016. I don't do regular favorite roundups because you'd be hearing about the same things over and over again and I don't want to force myself to find a favorite just to do a post. As I alluded to in my last post, I'm all about letting things happen organically when it comes to my beauty preferences.
I haven't been wearing much makeup at all for the past week. In fact, I've worn none aside for copious amounts of lipbalm due to the freezing weather. I've been getting dry patches and flakiness on my nose so I turned to the Laneige Firming Sleeping Mask* which I smooth a thin layer on and leave overnight for my skin to drink up. The mask has the same "bouncy" gel consistency as the Shiseido Ibuki Multi Solution Gel. Although many Laneige products have an overwhelming fragrance, the scent of this sleeping mask is more toned down and soothing. It keeps my skin from drying out overnight but it doesn't feel heavy or pore-clogging at all.
When I first found out about the Hakuhodo + Sephora collaboration months before the release, I was psyched. But when the reviews started pouring in, people weren't in love with these synthetic brushes and preferred the regular Hakuhodo brushes. The brushes at Sephora probably weren't selling very well because they made them all buy-one-get-one, something that rarely ever happens on Sephora. I nabbed the Wedge Sloping Powder Brush and the Large Teardrop Pointed Powder Brush (pictured here). I'm really happy with the Large Teardrop Pointed Powder Brush because it's unique to my collection, a very soft and well-made brush as I've come to expect from a Japanese brush company. I'm really glad I held out on purchasing these and got the BOGO deal. The deal is still valid online so I'd hurry and get a couple of these before they sell out! I'm going back and forth about purchasing the two smaller cheek brushes but I think I'll restrain myself.
Speaking of brushes, I've found my HG brush cleanser: the BeautyBlender BlenderCleanser Solid. Bleh, typing out that product name made me realize how lame it sounds but it really is a good brush cleanser. It's essentially a solid block of soap and it comes with a pink plastic insert that you can swirl your brush on. This cleanser removes everything from dried foundation to gel eyeliner from my brushes very easily. It also leaves my brushes feeling softer than they usually do after washing and they dry faster as well. I know I'll be repurchasing this cleanser over and over again and am surprised I haven't really heard much hype about this despite the major love for the Beauty Blender sponge.
Now I've only had the Clarins Instant Light Lip Balm Perfector in Rose for a couple of weeks but I already have to tell you it's one of my favorite lip products ever. I reviewed and swatched it in a recent post so I won't go on and on about it but I wanted to make my fondness for it official. The scent is a yummy sugary scent and the creamy texture is divine. The only downside is that I have to constantly reapply this and the emollient texture is prone to melting. I've been using it everyday for the past week and I think I'm already a quarter done with this tube. That's pretty alarming considering these are $24!
I think I'll be emerging from my no-makeup slump in the next couple of days. I'm looking forward to rediscovering some great products from my stash and unboxing a bunch of new things I hadn't had the heart to use previously.