December 2014 favourites

I'm really erratic as far as my monthly faves are concerned, I try to mention them every month but this doesn't always work out. 

This month, however, there were a couple of items I discovered or stuck to incessantly and I thought they deserved a mention.

1. Unni Recipe Makes Your Skin smooth Firming Pact (what a mouthful of a name!) is a Korean cream to powder foundation that is nothing like the foundations I've used before. It goes on sooo smoothly and leaves a powdery finish that needs no other setting powders and my face stays matte for a very long time.

2. Armani Maestro's made its triumphant return this month. I really like this foundation for how it applies and feels on my skin. Never looks heavy or cakey, always soft and natural.

3. Estee Lauder Double Wear is my heavy duty foundation I reach for on those days when I spend 8h+ at work. I don't always have the possibility to touch up, so I go for something I can rely on, even if the coverage is a bit too heavy.

4. MIGUHARA B.P. Cream is an excellent primer from Korea which primes my face, mattifies and fills in the pores and makes the foundation go on supersmooth.

5. Because I suffered from some allergic reaction under my right eye which resulted in terrible dryness and wrinkling, I returned to the most moisturising concealer in my possession, which is Skinfood Salmon Concealer. This worked wonders on parched and peeling skin.

6. To mask those horrible veins on my lids I used MAC Paint Pot in Painterly practically every day. It does excellent job concealing them and any redness or discolouration without drying out my lids.

7. Urban Decay Naked on the Run palette was my favourite supply of matte brown crease shades or slightly shimmery base eyeshadows. It also brought a lovely brown eyeliner under my roof.

8. December was a month when I discovered the benefits of wearing lip liners under my lipsticks. The picture doesn't present my favourite shades, but the best brands. Their lip liners set and don't budge throughout the day, prolonging the weat time of any lipstick substantially. My all time favourites are Make Up For Ever Aqua Lip and Urban Decay 25/7 lip liners, but I've discovered perfect budget-friendly alternatives from Revlon and Gosh, the main difference being a much narrower shade range.

9. Nars Audacious Lipstick in Anita is an amazing mauvey nude and the quality is second to none.

10. Essie Ridge Filling Base Coat evens out the porous surface of my nails perfectly. I've found my Holy Grail base coat and I'm going to continue repurchasing till it's discontinued.

11. December is a festive month so I can't do without glitter, especially on my nails. My favourite glitter polishes and top coats were: China Glaze Fang-Tastic, Claire's I'm a VIP, Sally Hansen Glam Fest and Sephora Silver Fever.  

Like I've said before, I suffered from some allergic reaction to I don't know what which as all my allergies manifested itself by red and swallen right undereye which later turns dry and wrinkled. The three creams I'm about to mention did an amazing job restoring moisture to my eye area and smoothing out the wrinkles.

1. Pro You Lip&Eye Wrinkle Spot Cream is a very successful moisturiser which absorbs quickly, but its results are truly long-lasting.

2. Kiehl's Creamy Avocado eye cream is the thickest and the most effective of those three. I used one tub up in December and instantly ordered another one.

3. DHC Concentrated Eye Cream is the lightest of those three, feels almost like water, I didn't appreciate it much in my extreme dryness days but when those passed this worked heavenly!

And finally a non-eye cream item. 

4. Derma House Peeling Gel is a fantastic exfoliator for everyday use. The beads are small and soft enough to be non-abrasive, but scruby enough to be fully effective. 

And finally an epic fail:

Topshop Lip Bullets turned out to be the most horrible patchy, drying, gritty, lip-destructive lipsticks I've ever used. Shamefully overrated by British reviewers.