dazzle 'n' sparkle

Reviewing the best products that I enjoyed using in that particular month is great and as much as I love the idea of Monthly Favorites, I decided to go with quarterly favorites this time around. These may or may not be new products. I tried not to include things that I have already mentioned in past favorites or yearly favorites, but sometimes, those oldies make their way in!

The Quarterly review had tons of products from past three months, making the post lengthy and picture heavy. So I split the post in two.

First part covers the Beauty bits and second part has Skincare, Hair and random favorites.

Face Products:

Primers! It has been all about primers. Winters make my dry skin super dry and I make it a point to pile on a good, hydrating primer before any foundation routine. Earlier a silicone based primer was all I used, but these hydrating primers, double up as moisturizers and I enjoy using them a lot.

Too Faced Hangover Primer is my absolute favorite. Sometimes, I just use it as a moisturizer. It smells of coconut (review)

Hourglass N° 28 Primer Serum is so smooth, hydrating and glossy! I loved their veil mineral primer but this one is super amazing for my dry skin.

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer is a classic. They do have similar one in oil free version, a hydrating primer, a radiance primer and one more. They all have similar packaging. I have yet to try the hydrating primer, The radiance one is lovely too. The classic one does the job. My foundation applies beautifully over this. It is light weight in texture. Love it!

Laura Mercier Candleglow Soft Luminous Foundation is a sheer to medium coverage foundation. It is not matte and is buildable. I would say a step above tinted moisturizer. Works well for my dry skin. Not too dewy, but is soft and glowy. Does not oxidizes on me. The shade I have is Suntan

Essence Pure Nude Highlighter is one of the best drugstore highlighting product. It is not over the top, crazy metallic bling. It gives the most soft, luminous glow (review) The brand better does not discontinue this one. 

NARS blush in Goulue. This was a VIB Rouge perk that I got in November. The color is very bright with reddish plum undertones. This was perfect for winter months. Also, the size is generous.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in shade Prim is pretty similar to their infamous Exposed Blush. This was part of a kit and is one of the most natural looking blush for my skintone. I always reach for this when I don't know what to wear or when I am in hurry. You can never go wrong with this one. 

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed highlighter in Opal has been my absolute favorite for that bling bling highlighted glow. I don't use heavy highlighters often, but whenever I use it is this tiny sample from this set. I personally feel highlighters should come in smaller quantities (not in tiny packaging) at lesser cost price. 

Lip products:

Rimmel Lip Liner: One of the best Lip liners from Drugstore. Affordable, creamy, long lasting and not drying. The shade shown above is Nude.

Essence Lipstick: Essence as a brand is very affordable and has some real gems. I love their lipsticks and their Matt Matt Matt lipsticks are beautiful. They are matte finish but creamy on application and long lasting. Not to mention the packaging. Love it! I have this in two shades 2 and 3 and both of them are equally good and wearable.

MAC Lipstick in Syrup. It is a lustre formula. There was a time, when I used to carry 3-4 MAC Lipsticks in my purse and was pretty updated with all the new releases. Not anymore. I love their Lustre formula. They are sheer and make easy everyday wear, especially in winter. I am not a Liquid Lipstick person. Probably that explains my love for Lustre formula.

Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencil: These are half the size and were part of a Holiday Set from last season. I have four shades, but my favorites are Rhubarb and Quince. These are amazing. Very pigmented, as the name suggests and very creamy. They don't dry my lips. Also, the finish is not flat matte. It has a satin finish. Not the most long lasting product, but it worked for me.

Eye Products:

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara is an old product. It is rich black in color and very lengthening. Also,the brush is good. The formula is little thin and liquid in comparison to others I have tried. I can get similar results with Drugstore mascaras too, but this on its own is a good one. I have many travel size mascaras and I don't open them all at once. Past 3 months, I found myself using this one in rotation with few other mascaras.

SEPHORA COLLECTION Contour Eye Pencil 12hr Wear Waterproof is one of few eye pencils that don't make my eyes water or burn. They glide easily and stay put. No smudging or smearing. I have the color 'Go for a Ride' and it is a beautiful Dark Green. The finish is shimmer, but the shimmers are not chunky. They don't hurt. I plan to buy few more shades from Sephora. I have a feeling this will make into 2017 yearly favorites.

e.l.f small smudge brush is perfect for smudging the eye liner. It is soft, synthetic brush, has enough flexibility, does not tugs the delicate eye area and is perfect for my small eyes. Did I mention this costs only $3!!

The Body Shop Precision Eye Massager is a tiny tool that is used to apply eye cream and massage the area around the eyes. I have seen similar kind of applicator with insanely expensive eye creams. As gimmicky as it sounds, it actually is very soothing to apply the eye cream with this. I will do a full review on this soon.

The misses were not that many. When it comes to makeup, I play safe. It is very hard for me to get out of my comfort zone in trying out different colors. I do love trying different brands though. As far as Skincare goes, I can try anything and everything under the sun.

NYX Soft Matte Lip cream and tarte Tarteist™ Creamy Matte Lip Paint  these two products didn't work for me. I always knew liquid lipsticks were not for me, but I kept hearing how amazing these were and I gave them a try, Huge misses! The products are not bad, they are just not for me.

These are few beauty products that I used a lot or stood out in past months. Read part two for Skincare and other Hits and Misses here.