february beauty buys

February is one of those transitional months for my skin and beauty routine.  At this point in winter, my skin has fully taken a beating from heaters and wind/snow burn, while my shade of foundation no longer matches my now-pale skin tone.  I rotate between a few products throughout the year, and depending on what's introduced to me, I'll also give those products a try.  More recently, these are a few of my favorites. I purchased an extra shade of my favorite foundation along with a new blender sponge, but the one thing making a difference to the natural winter "glow" has been the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette.  I got the palette along with the brushes a few months ago and it's done wonders to enhance certain features.  I love using it especially on days when I play around with makeup and foundation.

When it comes to eyeliner, I swear by the waterproof Stila.  But during one of my routine impulse makeup shopping trips a few weeks ago, I saw one of the artists wearing this velvety black eyeliner that I liked.  I proceeded to stalk her down and get some info.  Turns out, it's the Aqua Cream from Make Up Forever.  I now apply this with a small angled brush to achieve my usual cateye.  Take some getting used to but definitely worth the effort.  Love it paired with the Eyeko mascara that I tend to layer onto my lashes.

As far as skin care goes, I've been using the Aesop body scrub to exfoliate twice a week, leaving my body extremely soft. While the face get it's own mini treatment with two different serums (Mario Badescu Vitamin C Serum and Caudalie Polyphenol C15) applied three times a week (especially when I have those late nights).