dazzle 'n' sparkle

The Monthly Review series will feature a mix of products ranging from Skincare, Beauty, Bath and Body, Hair, Nails etc. that I find interesting, magical, unique or just fun to use in that particular month. These products may be recent release or an old discovery. Also, in the series I will mention few products that failed to impress me or just did not work at all.

January is probably the most dullest of all the months. The Holidays are over. It is painfully cold in Chicago. There are no parties to attend. Cash is all time low, thanks to the crazy shopping during the holidays and my weighing scale just manages to show extra pounds on it. The only good thing I would add is I have tons of new products to try from the holiday gifts and shopping.

The Beauty Bits:

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit palette is a limited edition palette and it contains two Ambient Lighting Blushes in Mood Exposure and Luminous Flush, one Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Luminous Bronze, one Ambient Strobe powder in Iridescent Strobe Light and two Ambient Powders in Dim Light and Diffused Light. I pretty much love every single color in this, but the Blush in Mood Exposure is lovely and so natural! It works wonderfully on my skin tone and I love the fact that this makes a great travel palette and it has a big mirror.

Charlotte Tilbury Powder and Sculpt brush is a perfect, small, slightly pointy brush for contouring and highlighting. It works very well for my small face and fits perfectly in the tiny pans of the Hourglass Ambient Edit palette. I use it for blush and highlighting. I don't contour often.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer (quite a mouthful) is as excellent as everyone and their mother claims. It is light weight, easy to blend, covers beautifully and stay put. The only issue is getting the perfect color match.

Becca knows their highlighting and Illuminating department very well. The brand carries some of the most amazing Shimmering products. Becca Backlight Priming Filter is a face primer and it worked for me. The makeup goes on flawlessly and stays put. It is one such product that can mess up the look if not used in the right quantity. Don't over apply is the word of caution. A full review to come soon.

The Skincare Bits:

Tatcha Pure One-Step Camellia Cleansing Oil is a wonderful Cleansing oil for removing makeup and I like how it smells. This is not a comparison post. The oil on its own performs great and does its job well. It is  an expensive one and whether I buy this again or not is something I have yet to decide. I know I have cheaper options that perform pretty well too. Right now, I am enjoying using this one.

Caudalie bought new face masks in the market last year and obviously, I waited for a gift set to pop at the store. Gave two masks from the set a try and I am loving it. The Caudalie Instant Detox Mask is good and it pulls out the impurities really well. As expected from a detox mask, it is drying but not very harsh for dry skin. The other mask that I tried from the set was the Caudalie Moisturizing Mask. It performed well too. Now, I don't want to get into comparing masks here in this post.  I will do a comparison post in near future and then share my views on which one I like the most and so on.

Nude Skincare ProGenius Treatment Oil. This is a very genius oil. No literally, it is Genius! The contents of it is hydrating, nourishing and just perfect for using everyday or night. If you have dry skin, this particular one will give over night results with the most softest, smoothest and plump skin. I am short of adjectives as of now, but an in-depth review might contain better explanation.

Amore Pacific Time Response Eye Renewal Creme. This is such an expensive eye cream that I know I cannot afford to buy it on my own. But, the best part of shopping at Neiman Marcus or Barney's when they have their beauty week or promotional events, is the generous samples of high end products that they include in their goody bags or whatever they are called. This particular eye cream (I have two sample of it) is a wonderful, light weight, hydrating product that I have ever used under my eyes. It is such a delight to use. I will review it soon and the review will be a glowing one, but I won't purchase it again because it is insanely EXPENSIVE!!

Abreva Cold Sore Cream. Chicago weather. Harsh winds. Brutally cold. Sore lips. Nothing works. Abreva is the savior. Period!

These were a bunch of stand out products in the month of January 2016.

Now on to the Misses!

There were two products that didn't show their magic for me. 

Tarte Swirl Power Contour & Bronzer Brush: This Tarte brush as the name suggests is specifically designed for Contouring and Bronzing. The bristles are soft, synthetic and the shape is just perfect. I found it was way to big for my small face and even though the shape of the handle and brush made it easy to place the product, I found the handle uncomfortable to hold and in turn difficult to blend. It did not work for me. 

Fresh Soy Conditioning Eye Makeup Remover: I reviewed this one recently here. It did its job well to the perfection but it burned my eyes like hell! 'Fire in the eyes' level of burn. I am glad it was just a sample.