My Favorite Products at this Time

I might already be thinking about the spring months but that doesn't mean that I'm not enjoying some lovely holiday beauty products!  Right now I have been using some of the best candy smelling holiday body products and some party ready beauty products.  Even though this is the season of stress, I have been trying to take some time out and enjoy the best part of the holidays - all kinds of fun new beauty products and makeup shades.  This is the best time of the year for body products, especially for those of us like myself who have a major Snow Fairy addiction and have to purchase all of it this time of the year and make it last until next Halloween.

My favorites of the holiday season!

LUSH Snow Fairy Shower Gel - "The fairy is back again this year for her legion of fans.  The sweet bubblegum and cotton candy scent of this shower gel is mixed in with iridescent glitter, making her irresitible to those who love all things pink and fluffy (and those who deny loving all things pink and fluffy too!).  Mark and Mo's daughter Clarie asked for a sweet, shimmery gel when she was 15, so Mark came up with this fragrance.  We'd imagined that it would be popular with girls, but never believed that it would be so popular with grown men too!  Use to wash your body and hair, and smell like a sweetie all day long.  Lathering up in mounds of sparkly bubbles always tickles us pink!  Being a vegetarian company, we use synthetic musk to give Snow Fairy her sweet vanilla-y scent."  This is the perfect cotton candy scent that makes your whole shower smell sweet but doesn't linger after the shower and compete with your perfume.  This is a returning best seller for a reason, this is one of the original cotton candy scents and I think it is the best out of all of them.  I am considering buying another bottle before LUSH completely sells out.

Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Phallic - "Leave your mark with bold, rich, vibrant colors that stand out.  The formula is hard wearing and chip resistant and contains individual finishes from matte to high gloss.  Apply two coats for high intensity and use with Illamasqua Nail Base Coat and Illamasqua Nail Top Coat for the perfect finish.  Make a statement and talk with your hands!"  Phallic is a deep midnight blue shade with a shimmer finish.  This was my favorite shade when I reviewed the product and I am still in love with it, I have done my last few pedicures in it and I keep falling more and more in love with it.  It is the perfect midnight blue with shimmer that can be shine in certain lights.  In certain lights, the shimmer comes out and the shade looks as those it is twinkling on my nails.  This is the best midnight blue shimmer since Ciel de Nuit from Chanel and that is the highest praise that I can give any polish shade.

Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Half Baked - "An industry favorite and our best-selling product!  Available in over 50 shades, our pigment-rich shadows are versatile, blendable, and beautiful.  This is the product we were born to make - our best-seller!  Professionals, celebrities, and makeup junkies swoon for our wide array of shades.  Each one is pigment-rich: we load the shadow with color, and add very few binders (the stuff that holds shadow together), resulting in beautiful color that blends easily and lasts.  Lots of finishes to suit your mood: sparkle, shimmer, duotone, or unsparkly satin.  Our subway token compact comes complete with a window (see your shade without opening), and snaps shut with one hand - no more lost lids."  Half Baked was first introduced to me in the original Naked Palette and now is featured again in the Naked 2 Palette (bought it just haven't finished playing with it to review yet), where I got to play with it again.  It is a "rich gold" and that is exactly what it is.  This is a lovely gold, rich and buttery in texture and is always flattering to my blue eyes.  It made more sense in the original Naked than it did in Naked 2, but I am more than happy to already have a back up of it.

Stella by Stella McCartney - "A fragrance based on the contrast between the freshness and softeness of the rose, and the dark sensuality of amber, Stella is a sophisticated scent focused on an intense sense of feminity.  The concept of Stella McCartney bath line is based on ecological and organic cosmetology, selecting the best natural raw materials and capitalizing on vegetal extracts based on organic agriculture and on extraction methods that respect and protect the natural life force of the plants.  Notes: Rose, Peony Flower, Mandarin, Rose Absolute, Amber."  I just bought another bottle of this scent and the matching roll-on and I have been wearing it almost every single day since.  This has been a favorite fragrance of mine for years and I never cease to get compliments every single time that I wear it.  This is one of the perfect rose fragrances and the amber note in it makes it very unique and adds a depth to the fragrance that is sometimes missing in single rose fragrances.  I also love Stella McCartney and how vegan-friendly all her product lines are.

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Ruby Pumps - "China Glaze is a professional-level nail enamel made with a special balance of polymers and resins that combine to create a nail lacquer that is long-lasting, chip-resistant, and resistant to color and shine fading.  Will not thicken in the bottle, no thinners necessary."  Ruby Pumps is a bright red with red glitter in it and it is made to look like Dorothy's pumps in the Wizard of Oz, this is the perfect holiday party color.  It is impossible to look at this color and not feel festive.  I have done my past few manicures in this shade to lead right up to the holiday itself.  Wear is ok on this shade, it is bright and shiny however I get tip wear within a day of putting it on, so I do need to redo this manicure more than I do with other shades.

Happy holiday beauty everyone!

photo courtesy of Urban Decay