Current Product Loves

Monthly favourites get a little redundant when I'm not constantly changing out my products every month. I found that I've been having to stretch what I've been "loving" as opposed to actually using. I've decided now to just to some random updates as to products that I'm currently loving; hence Current Product Loves

Twas the Halloween season. I'm not a huge fan of halloween, but I do love decorations. The only halloween decor my roommate and I had going on in our apartment was this:

Mini pumpkins, one of which I covered in aquamarine glitter. A little glass pumpkin tea light holder. An owl; and a cobweb/skull tea light lantern. Nothing too extreme, but enough to make it feel a little bit festive. Now that Halloween is over, I'll be switching out all of these decorations for Christmas! Let me tell you, I go all out for Christmas. 

here's a close-up of the cutest little glitter pumpkin there ever was. I just used Mod Podge and Martha Stewart craft glitter

In terms of beauty products, these are the ones that I have been using a lot of most recently.

the first two products kind of go hand-in-hand

1. MAC pro sculpting cream in Coffee Walnut

AND

2. Covergirl single eyeshadow in Brown Smoulder

I've been using these two products as contour shades. Firstly, I was using the covergirl eyeshadow. It looks super scary in the pan, and swatched for that matter, but because it's a matte eyeshadow, it did me quite well as a contour. I was finding that "contouring" with a bronzer was just making me appear more orange than anything. Brown Smoulder is a dark brown colour, with no red or orange understones - just your typical bear brown. I would use a really light hand of this through the hollows of my cheeks and it did the job of creating a shadow through my cheekbones quite well. 

Until I found the Mac pro sculpting cream in Coffee Walnut. This is the most frightening looking contour shade I had ever seen. It's a greenish-brownish colour, but seriously it's amazing! It gives the most perfect shadowed look to the contours of your face. I use this through the hollows of my cheeks, on my temples, and across my jawbone. It's a limited edition product from the Face & Body collection currently out now at MAC. I had a lot of difficulty finding this product, though, so when I finally did find it, it kind of made it all the more special. 

Top - Covergirl eyeshadow in Brown Smoulder
Bottom - MAC pro sculpting cream in Coffee Walnut

3. Dior Amber Diamond all-over shimmering face powder. The highlighter of the gods. I haul'd this a little while back (check out that haul here). I've been using this as my highlighter for the past month or so and it's a beauty. Subtle, yet oh so purrdy. 

4. Beauty Blender sponge. This is the ultimate tool for getting flawless blend to my foundation. I dampen the sponge, and then dab my foundation into place. I'm planning a "favourite beauty tools" post, and this will for sure be in it. 


5. Christian Dior crème de rose lip balm. Such a lovely product! It's rosy, and balmy, and lovely. I use this as a nighttime lip balm because it's nice and thick and has all night to settle in and smooth my lips by morning. I instragrammed a photo as soon as I got this puppy: 

6. Benzagel acne gel. I've been breaking out like a...I don't even know. Just bad. I've been using Benzagel as an all-over treatment on any problem areas. I found that spot treatments just weren't cutting it for this issue, so I turned to the big guns. Benzagel is a 5% benzoyl peroxide solution. For me, salicylic acid on its own doesn't do a whole lot. I have better luck with salicylic acid and something else, or just something else on its own. So far, this benzagel stuff is doing me some good. 

7. Collection 2000 concealer in 02 Light. A heavy duty, liquid concealer. Stays all day. Doesn't look cakey. I use the doe-foot applicator to apply this to any spots or discolouration, and then buff it out with either my beauty blender or a duo fibre brush. I wish they sold this concealer in Canada, but unfortunately, it's a UK only brand. 

8. Since I've been breaking out a lot, I've found that I've needed a heavier foundation for me to feel happy with my face for that day. I've been using Clinique Redness Solution foundation in the shade 01 Alabaster. I like this foundation, it does a pretty good job at covering the majority of my redness and it had very good staying power. The only critique I have though is that this foundation would not cater to pale, pale skin. I'm finding that as my tan progressively fades and I get paler, 01 Alabaster is becoming a touch too dark. I find it a little strange that a brand like Clinique, who supposedly is one of the top skincare brands, especially for people with sensitive skin, wouldn't have lighter shades of foundation, given that a lot of people with sensitive tend to be more pale. You know what I mean? Anyways, for the time being, this foundation is really helping me along. 

9. This is probably the most random product: Polysporin. Like I said, I've been breaking out pretty bad lately. I don't handle breakouts well. It's difficult for me to change my skincare and makeup routines to revolve around the changing texture and tone of my skin. That being said, I tend to pick. I always think that just getting rid of pimple by picking at it will solve all my problems. I'm totally not alone in this though, right? My picking has lead me to have some scars that I NEED to get rid of - hence the polysporin. I've been using this on marks I've left in my skin to help treat them quickly and to promote healing. I use polysporin at night, and Cicaplast from La Roche Posay during the day (which I mentioned in my Skincare Routine post which you can read HERE). 

And those are the products that I have been currently using and loving. 
That's it for now

xoxoDarlingBuds