Best of 2023 Favorites

Hey folksickles. I feel like this list will be shorter than years past as I stuck to mainly the same products and things in 2023 especially so, there's that. But alas here are the products and things I very much enjoyed and would repurchase. I will say that I don't have photos of the products here because I've used up many of them and thrown them away but... there's always Google and in the instance that I've reviewed a product, the product name will be clickable and you can take a gander at the review.

1. Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter Body Butter: It's been a minute since I've used this body butter and I remember why I used to love this so much. It smells delicious and leaves my skin feeling smooth and silky. 

2. Smith's Brambleberry Rose Lip Balm: This stuff is SO GOOD -  it makes it to favorites repeatedly because every time my lips are a chapped mess this lip balm just comes to the rescue! A few weeks ago, my lips were really chapped and this brought my lips back within a week and felt extremely soothing and hydrating to apply. I highly recommend any of the Smith's Rosebud salves but this is my favorite scent/flavor of the line.

3. UGG Ansley Moccasins: Ok so I don't really talk about fashion at all on this blog but I just HAD TO mention this because I am so blown away by them. Now, I wasn't the biggest moccasin wearer and in fact I didn't wear them at all but one of my friends got a pair of these fuzzy moccasins in 2019 and said they were super comfy which had me wanting a pair. I mean I got my first pair of proper UGG boots (they Bailey Bow, if you're curious) in 2019 and I absolutely LOVE them, they're super cozy and warm but the slip-on, slip-off aspect of the moccasins got me curious. So when I saw that these were on sale I decided to go for it. Well, these are BEYOND my expectations. I wore them out in 30 degree (F) weather and with bare feet and they kept my feet warm and feel like sticking your feet into cuddly warm clouds, it's just wonderful. That being said, I like to wear nylons with them when the temperature falls below 35(F) just to protect my skin against the elements. They are perfect to throw on for shopping or driving or just generally when you want comfort and can't be bothered with boots (alas they're not rain or snow-friendly, I haven't really worn them in either condition but I wouldn't try it).

4. MIZON Multi Function Formula Snail Repair Eye Cream: I've really been enjoying using this eye cream lately because it feels very refreshing and hydrating to apply. My eye area has been really in need of something deeply moisturizing yet not overly heavy lately and I think this eye cream is perfect.

5. Soap & Glory Clean on Me Hydrating Body Wash: This body wash smells so good! It has that signature Soap & Glory scent to it, which I personally really enjoy. Additionally, it makes my skin very smooth and silky.

6. ColourPop Mini Me Blush Stix: I have added this into the rotation since I finished my last cream blush and I have been loving this so much! It goes onto the skin beautifully, even over a powder, and looks very smooth. I also really love the coral shade of this, I find it flatters my skin tone nicely.

7. Bitter Lace Beauty Coral Cove Highlighter: I have been absolutely adoring this highlight because it's such a beautiful glowy off-white peachy gold but also with a pink shift and golden glitter bits. It's an intense highlight and I just love the way it reflects light on my cheeks.  

8. ColourPop clay it cool Pressed Powder Palette: I've been playing with this palette this month and have just been absolutely loving it! The shadow quality is phenomenal, all the shades work with each other so well in terms of both the shade selection and the way they all blend together; the shadows themselves are very soft, smooth, and pigmented. I also just personally love the way this palette looks on my eyes, I find the shade selection to be very flattering. I love the way this has shadows that I could use as blush and highlight on the face as well. Despite being on the neutral side of things, I like that it still has some color to it and have been enjoying playing with it. 

9. Virtue Labs Full Shampoo & Conditioner: Both this shampoo and conditioner feel very high quality (which they should, at their price point) and leave my hair feeling clean, smooth, hydrated, and manageable. My hair just looks and feels better/healthier when using these products. Additionally, even though Virtue Labs has their Flourish line, I prefer the scent and effect that the Full line has in terms of making my hair feel thicker and healthier.

10. Tocca Gia Eau de Parfum: I love it so much - this is a great combination of sweet, floral, yet lightweight and fresh. I absolutely adore it!

11. Charmed Aroma Strawberry Donut Candle: In keeping up with the tradition of having nicely scented products as my favorites, I have to say I absolutely adore this candle! It smells so delicious - it has this berry dough scent that I just love and I love having my room smell like it.

12. Bath & Body Works Berry Waffle Cone Scented Candle: This candle has already made it into several favorites and it's no surprise to me that it's made favorites again. This just smells so good and cozy which I think is perfect now that we've transitioned into colder weather. I would say its scent isn't so much ice cream as it is some kind of gently cinnamon sugar sweet dough. I think it smells delicious!

13. Bobbi Brown Neutral Rose Luxe Lip Color: I think this lipstick is just absolutely perfect because it's a nice neutral pink shade that literally pairs well with any eye look in a way where it looks harmonious and complementary without anything competing. The formula is lovely wherein it glides on, feels hydrating, and stays put nicely. My only issue is the high price point on this.

14. Hourglass Blush in Sublime Flush: This blush is just absolutely gorgeous! It blends into my skin seamlessly and gives a beautiful brightening effect that I think works nicely with any look that I do. I am really loving it!

15. ColourPop Bare necessities Pressed Powder Palette: This didn't make it to any of my monthly favorites which, honestly, is a shame but I'm putting it on here because I absolutely LOVED it. If you were going to ask me which neutral Colourpop palette to get, this is the one I would recommend. Granted, I personally am biased toward warmer tones when it comes to neutrals and would communicate that being the case, for something cooler-toned that's still wearable and won't make you look dead I would recommend the ColourPop Stone Cold Fox Pressed Powder Palette. Now, granted, purists will argue that technically the ColourPop Stone Cold Fox Pressed Powder Palette is still warm-toned, it's just on the cooler end. If that's why it's wearable and doesn't make me look sickly, I'm fine with it! I just love the color selection and quality of this palette so much! If I was someone who needed to wear neutrals on a daily basis I could see this easily becoming a go-to palette for me.

And now, some shows I really loved. I feel like I watched so much trash anime last year that I can't say anything other than this moved me enough to recommend that others watch it:

16. Tokyo Revengers: Ok it's been a very hot minute since I brought up a show on here BUT it's also been a hot minute since I've genuinely enjoyed an anime and wasn't watching some random crap isekai. While Tokyo Revengers is largely about a group of hoodlums and is therefore filled with loads of what most would call senseless violence, it's also filled with a lot of wholesome friendships amongst (we can only assume) heterosexual men that want to come off like tough guys but have feelings and emotions too. The beauty of Tokyo Revengers for me is its depiction of masculinity, especially in teenage boys, as complex rather than giving all these hoodlums an "alpha" male personality. It's also beautifully lacking in what I would call anime bullshit - common but unnecessary tropes in anime that I genuinely want to say no one asked for, and if they did... why? Things like characters randomly having crushes on their relatives or harems that are there for the sake of having a harem but the characters literally do nothing that would actually take place within a real harem so having it be there is kind of pointless. In any case, I've watched both the first and second seasons and really enjoyed the show a lot, I've yet to watch season 3 but I'm looking forward to it!

17. Hoozuki no Reitetsu (Hoozuki's Coolheadedness): When Hoozuki came upon my list, I wasn't expecting much and was  just so pleasantly surprised by this show! If things like hell, Japanese pop culture and folklore, perhaps Chinese folklore, and somewhat unhinged humor are up your alley, I would absolutely recommend checking this show out. I am genuinely devastated that I've finished it because now I'm going to really miss Hozuki and co. 

18. In The Flesh: Honestly, this is a show I've rewatched recently and really enjoyed it. I'm so sad it was never given the continuation it deserves because it ended on such a cliffhanger and from my understanding it never received further funding. Arguably, the characters aren't as charming and loveable as many from Hoozuki but there are still characters here who I got attached to and that I'm sad to leave. I'm sure you can gather from the above show poster that it's about zombies, but well, it's about zombies so obviously if you're not into that this show would be a skip for you. That being said, I am not a fan of the zombie genre and found this show to be very well-written and compelling enough to the point where I've watched it several times.

And! There's music to talk about:

19 & 20.  Of Monsters and Men as well as Asgeir in particular stand out as a band, and artist, respectively, I listened to the discography of last year and really thoroughly enjoyed. Ironically, both are from Iceland and I'm unsure if that has anything to do with why their music is so great but either way I recommend checking both out. Both have a bit of an indie folk sound with, in my opinion, Of Monsters and Men leaning on the side of rock or pop rock whereas Asgeir's music is somewhat more on the electronic end. 

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Disclaimer: I paid for all these items with the exception of the Bobbi Brown, Charmed Aroma and Colourpop blush products which were provided free for testing purposes and as gifts, respectively.