My December Favorites (Beauty, Music & More)

So recently I was in the shower, where most brilliant ideas are born, and I was thinking about how much I loved my new body wash and scrub (seriously, they smell amazing). I then began thinking about how I could work them into a post, but failed to come up with something totally relevant or purposeful.

And then, I realized some of my favorite posts and YouTube videos are monthly favorites, so why not do some monthly favorites of my own? Aha! Thus, my December monthly favorites came to be.

// body & hair //

Cozy Sunday Morning Shea Butter Body Scrub – Bath & Body Works – This is a body scrub to use in the shower and while I don’t know if it actually works (it’s hard to tell if my skin got softer), it definitely feels nice and smells AMAZING. The name “Cozy Sunday Morning” is incredibly accurate. Unfortunately, this scent and the body scrub itself have been discontinued for some reason unbeknownst to me.

Cup of Warmth Body Shower Gel – Bath & Body Works – This body wash ALSO smells incredibly cozy. The best part of this is that the scent lasts even after you step out of the shower. Granted, it wears off after about an hour, but nonetheless it smells absolutely delicious and incredibly warm. I may or may not have went online and ordered a ton of marked down Cup of Warmth scented goodies from B&BW. Oops.

ion Keratin Replenishing Mist– Sally Beauty – Honestly, most hair products seem to do absolutely nothing for my dry, damaged hair. They make my hair smell nice and maybe sometimes I convince myself there’s a difference, but generally it’s unsuccessful. This product is AMAZING. You spray it into your hair when it’s damp and it makes your hair smell great and it’s noticeably softer and less frizzy. Keratin is just an amazing ingredient, bless. Since this has been such a game changer for my hair, I’ve also been dying to try ion’s Split End Mender.

// music, tv & web //

MUSIC:

Shawn Mendes “Handwritten” – This album is not new, let me start with that. In fact, you might have read my track-by-track review of it back in July. Despite this, I’m still jamming and playing it on repeat. I’m so excited to see him live for the first time this spring, because this album is one of my absolute favorites.

“Touch and Go” by Ed Sheeran – This was released as a deluxe track on his recent Wembley Stadium album and it’s such a simple and beautiful song. It’s been on repeat for quite some time. I’m so sad that he’s going on a break! On the bright side, he’ll be back with a lot of great tracks, I’m sure.

TELEVISION: 

The Office – Sorry, no artsy picture of this one. The Office is my new favorite Netflix series for sure. Although the first few episodes didn’t impress me, I’ve quickly become a fan and have successfully watched over five seasons in less than two months. Whoops.

Billy on the Street – This is a non-Netflix show and it’s absolutely hilarious. Billy Eichner running on the streets of NYC with a microphone asking questions to strangers is the best. I definitely recommend watching it if you haven’t!

Web: 

Pink Chanel Suit – My favorite blog of the month definitely goes to this one. Maria Elena’s blog has been my favorite for a long time. It’s such a fun mix of poems, Disney and whatever the hell she feels like posting. I love her writing style and variety very deeply.

the Lala – I honestly had never heard of this site until I became an editorial contributor for it and I’ve been in love ever since. I’m separating the bias–whether I was a writer for the site or not, I would still be raving about it.  The content is so empowering and insightful and it’s definitely helped my change my outlook and it’s definitely made me a stronger writer! If you want to see a bit of my work on there, check it out here.

// make-up //

Nyx Soft Matte Lip Creme – Copenhagen- I talk about this damn lip color in 95% of my posts about make-up and I apologize. Actually, no I don’t. I’m in literal love with this lip color. Nyx is one of my favorite brands and I cry over them in so many posts that at this point I should be an ambassador fairy for them. I’ve swatched this color (and a bunch of other ones here). Anyways, December is prime time for a dark lip and thus my beloved Copenhagen was pulled from it’s drawer and put to work this month.

BTW, did you hear Nyx just came out with new soft matte lip cremes? Cry with me while I spend my entire last paycheck on them.

Nyx Liquid Suede Lipstick – Cherry Skies – Like I’ve mentioned, I lose my s*** for matte lip colors, especially in liquid form. I got this for Christmas and love at first sight ensued. It’s this stunning deep red and, I will admit, it’s a little drying, but it covers so well. It’s incredibly pigmented and beautiful and I could just cry. It lasted all through Christmas dinner and a lot of cookie snacking, bless. I’m going to give Nyx all of my money for their lip products, BRB.

Maybelline Fit Me! Matte + Poreless – 120 – I’ve used this face line in some previous MOTDs (such as my pastel goth look), and I’m on my second bottle of this and second tube of the concealer. I love, LOVE the matte face look. Even though everyone is losing it over the “dewy face,” I stay away from it because it makes me feel like I look sweaty. This foundation is perfect mid-coverage, long-lasting and ~matte~.

e.l.f Color Correcting Studio Powder – I use this to set my concealer every single day.  My mom bought a ton of these very inexpensively way back in my e.l.f discount haul and I am incredibly grateful. It makes my skin feel so smooth and matte, it’s a great product to have and it’s very inexpensive.

N.Y.C Sun n Bronze – So, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m SO pale fair-skinned. I’ve been compared to the color of computer paper and snow and ghosts on many occasions. Due to this, finding a bronzer that won’t make me look like I’m covered in dirt or that I got hit by a New Jersey tanning salon is difficult. This bronzer is very subtle and light enough that it works for me. A+.

Nyx Collection Noir Liquid Black Eyeliner – Black – After I ran out of my beloved Coastal Scents Jet Liquid Liner (which, luckily, has now been replenished, thank you, Santa!, I turned to another favorite brand to get me through the storm. I literally bought this because Nyx was BOGO 50% off at Ulta and I didn’t know what else to buy. Thank goodness I did–this liner is perfectly black and it lasts a very long time!

H&M Eye Shadow – Gala Gown – So yeah, H&M revamped their beauty line and I promptly fell in love with their shadows. I swatched them all in the store and squealed at my sparkling and shadow covered arm but then decided to only buy one shadow in order to save my wallet and my make-up hoarding tendencies. The one shadow I did pick up is a glamorously sparkly neutral that’s perfect for everyday wear. Though this is a favorite, I will remark on the packaging. The packing looks very cheesy AND it sucks. My shadow shattered (as you can see in the photo) after one drop. It was CLOSED and it was ONE INCH off of my desk. I dropped it and it BROKE. Every beauty lovers worst nightmare.

L’Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Rock – Blackest Black – This is the mascara that everyone flipped tables about. The commercials and print ads showed a model with, frankly, nasty looking spiked spider lashes. The mascara looked like it was horrible and it made your eyelashes look like chunky spiders. I don’t know why that made me want to try it. When you use it as you would normal mascara, it doesn’t give you weird eyelashes, it gives you bangin’ ones. This quickly jumped to the top of my favorite mascaras, where this mascara’s sister (the regular Miss Manga) was in my top five.

  Anyways, I hope you have had a wonderful month! What have been some of your December favorites?