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 (the 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. 

Best of 2020 - Favorites

Hey folksickles. I am extremely tardy to the party but... Oh you thought I was gonna forget? I wasn't gonna forget! The moment when I award my favoritism to the products I used in 2020 that I would hands down buy again and recommend or buy for a friend. Are we ready or are we ready? I will say that I don't have photos of the products here because I've used up and thrown away many of them  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. Sugarpill Doll Up Liquid Lip Color: This is so pretty! It's a bit more of a peachy nude versus the mauve that Trinket is and, in addition to the gold shimmer, this also has silver and purple bits. It's so pretty and I've gotten loads of compliments on it. I also love that, despite being a light shade, this has full opacity on the lips.

2. Violet Voss Pro Eyeshadows Holy Grail Palette: I feel like I've sung my praises to this palette in the past but now that I've truly embraced red and pink eyeshadow I love it even more. I think it's a wonderfully versatile palette that's high-quality and easy to use - all the shades play so well with each other to create polished, blended looks effortlessly.

3. bh Cosmetics Aurora Lights Palette: My best friend got this for me as a holiday gift and I'm really loving it! It's so gorgeously sparkly and versatile too! So many different looks can be created from it, although I do suggest pairing the palette with a matte highlight and/or matte crease shades. Some of the eyeshadows make really lovely cheek highlights or blushes as well.

4.   Sonia Kashuk Essential Blending Crease Brush No. 273: For years I've heard great things about Sonia Kashuk brushes and just hadn't invested until, that is, I was in Target and I needed a brush for applying transition tones with, given that the one I had fell apart. This brush is absolutely fantastic - despite being synthetic it picks up and diffuses color just absolutely beautifully. I've had it for a year now and it still looks, and performs, as though it were brand new. At this point I definitely need to replenish on this. 

5. Bitter Lace Beauty Mermaid Dreams Bundle: I will be honest that I don't have a particular favorite in the palette as of yet, they all have such a GORGEOUS metallic glow to them and as someone who loves that super intense highlighted cheek, these are definitely up my alley.

6. Lume Deodorant in Jasmine Rose: Frankly friends, I think this may have been the first product I decided to try out because Facebook constantly showed me ads for it and here it is, making it to favorites. Granted, I know one of my friends tried it and really loved it and I trust this friend's opinion on products so I knew she wouldn't sway me wrong. Anyhow, let's get on with why I love this so much - I've tried to use "natural" deodorants in the past, not because I have anything against run of the mill deodorant - you know I was a Secret loyalist - mostly because I KNEW that all their solids worked well for me and didn't irritate my pits. I was skeptical going into using this for two reasons - one is that in the past, natural deodorants simply didn't work, everything would be fine when I first put them on and then a few hours later, due to them not having anti-antiperspirant properties I'd sweat up a storm and stink. It's no good when you smell your own pit stench! In addition, baking-soda based deodorants reduced my poor pits to sweaty, rashy, angry bits 'o meat. Lume actually works! Now when I say it works - the first few days on it, I was a bit sweaty and stinky, so there is a bit of an adjustment period. However, within a week, the smell was gone. Now I'm not gonna lie to y'all, you still sweat, maybe not as profusely as you would sans deodorant completely, but this doesn't block your sweat glands. I'm typically not so profusely sweaty that it's an issue but if you are, I can see this not being ideal. I've been using this for about a month and a half now and even when I do sweat quite a bit because it's hot out, I hardly smell at all. You need only a tiny bit of this to coat your pits nicely - now, I suggest you buy the tube. My friend suggested the tube to me too - but ya girl didn't listen. It's just that the stick is pointless. The product is gelatinous and you're only meant to use a tiny bit of it - enough to just create a thin coating on your pit - so the stick does nothing other than become a smeary mess. Also it smells exactly what it sounds like, legitimate jasmine with legitimate rose, nothing artificial - which personally I love, I was a little apprehensive ordering this but I wanted something scented and historically I've enjoyed both jasmine and rose-scented items so I decided to give it a shot. Lastly, NO RESIDUE. None. At all. Which means you can wear all your black/dark clothes with confidence that not only will you not have deodorant show, but you won't have those weird deodorant stains either. Plus because you only need so little, this will last you forever, so don't be put off by it being a lot pricier than deodorant at the drugstore. I love it so much and to be honest I'm curious to try out their bar soap now because I'm hearing good things about it as well.

7. Orly Nail Lacquer in Kiss The Bride: This is such a pretty pastel bridal/ballet type pink that looks elegant and is just perfect for absolutely any occasion.

8. Orly Nail Lacquer in Crawford's Wine: I absolutely adore this shade of red - it's this fantastic metallic cherry that I think would look gorgeous on absolutely everyone  - it's got a pinup vibe to it and I am here for it!

9. Violet Voss Sakura Blossom Palette: This is such a beautiful palette that's so versatile - you can do super bright looks with it but you can also do really soft neutral looks with it - the shadows are so pigmented and easy to blend. It's an absolute joy to play with.

10. Maya Chia Supercritical Omega-3 Chia Face Oil: This oil makes my skin feel buttery smooth and hydrated, it feels really luxurious to apply, it smells wonderful, and it relieves redness and inflammation on my skin. I really enjoy using it.

11. Youth to the People Superberry Hydrate + Glow Dream Mask: I can't believe that I hadn't put this in a favorites yet! It makes my skin feel buttery smooth, is really soothing and hydrating to put onto inflamed dry or thirsty skin, smells nice, has a beautiful whipped texture... I just genuinely look forward to putting it on at night.

12. LUSH Rose Jam Shower Gel: I genuinely look forward to using this in my shower routine because it smells so delicious! If you like sweet rose scents this would probably be up your alley. It also foams up beautifully.

13. Tocca Gia Ea de Parfum: I've been using this perfume daily and it just smells absolutely delicious. Another scent that I would suggest if you like sweet floral fragrances. It smells like spring, summertime, and a fresh blooming garden all rolled into one. I love it.

14. Inglot 353M:  I use this so often I think it's kind of unfair to it to not get a shoutout. My favorite matte highlight for the brow-bone, utter perfection. I love it so much.

15. ColourPop Just A Tint Lip Crayon in Maui Wowie: You know I've raved about these lip crayons before but I like this one in particular because its color is so pretty! It's this gorgeous pinkish red kind of coral shade that brightens up my complexion but isn't over the top because the product is sheer. I think it's fantastic. 

16. ColourPop strawberry shake Pressed Powder Palette: Ok so what makes this palette special, even more than the fact that I just LOVE it and the looks I was able to create with it. Which, let me just go off on that tangent for a bit, it's a palette that looks bright pink, intense, and crazy at first glance but is actually very versatile and allows you to create looks that are soft and romantic or bright and intense. Anyway, back to the original train of thought, my bestie convinced me last year to start wearing pink eyeshadow on a far more regular basis. Sure I'd wear it here and there and usually went for "safe" soft pinks, dusty roses, mauves but to go for bright pinks and reds - I thought they'd make my eyes look bloodshot when in reality they bring out the slight hint of hazel I've got going on. I LOVE them and I don't think I'd have gone the pink route if it wasn't for him. And then, as well, my wifey got me this palette which also makes it very special to me. So it's due to their collaboration that I have this and that I am enjoying it very much.

17. Trader Joe's Oatmeal & Honey Pure Vegetable Soap: I've mentioned my eczema on and off on this blog and this year it attacked my knuckles to the point of drawing blood - this soap honestly brought my skin back to normal. Granted, it took several weeks but I notice that when I'm washing my hands when my eczema is active on them typical hand soaps tend to be extremely stripping and drying whereas this leaves my skin feeling super soft and replenished. It also foams up quite nicely. 

18. Eminence Organics Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant with Lactic Acid: I love this scrub so much! It remains fairly scrubby even with water added and I love that it's a combination of physical and chemical exfoliants. It smells absolutely delicious, like really good fresh strawberries and leaves my skin feeling like a baby's bottom. It has somewhat of a hefty price tag but given how far a tiny bit of it goes I find that it's genuinely worth the money. It also provides a nice radiance to my skin and isn't irritating at all. 

And now, some shows I really loved:

19. Somali and the Forest Spirit: I have literally harassed multiple of my friends to watch this show and I promise it's absolutely worth it. If you remotely like the fantasy genre please consider adding this to your list. It's short, only 12 episodes at half an hour each, so it's quick to get through but the story is gripping. The characters are all written wonderfully and I love nearly each and every one of them. The world design is breathtaking. The story-line is heartwarming and will destroy your feels organ. It's just such a wonderful anime that you won't regret watching.

20. Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun: This one's a bit more lighthearted, a show reminiscent of things like Harry Potter, Spirited Away, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Madoka Magica (at least in art-style at times) it follows unlikely group of high school friends as they traverse between the boundaries between the human and spirit world. Another one with beautiful character design and an interesting world to delve into, and again short, at 12 episodes.

21. The Witcher: If you enjoy magic, historical-fiction type shows (i.e.: Lord of the Rings, The Last Kingdom, Game of Thrones) this is one I HIGHLY suggest you check out. The storyline is action-packed, the characters are interesting and super dynamic, the pacing is great, it's well-written. Like, I cannot wait for season 2 and I cannot wait to get my hands on the books. 

And books!

22. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: One of my favorite books of all time, a book that is inspirational and the moral of which is to follow your dreams. However, it's not merely about following your dreams, it highlights the importance of the journey as much as the destination; it highlights the importance of the people that are there for you when you want to give up. A beautiful story.

23. Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho: Another book that I genuinely love, despite its dark and heavy theme. I genuinely think this book explores the concept of what I can't call anything but "yolo" and taking life too seriously, the detrimental effects of being filled with bitterness. Overall a beautifully written and hopeful book.

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

Disclaimer: I paid for all these items with the exception of the bh cosmetics (which my bestie got me), Maya Chia, and Youth to the People products which were provided free for testing purposes. 

Bitter Lace Beauty Mermaid Dreams Bundle Review

BEHOLD the Bitter Lace Beauty Mermaid Dreams Bundle

Availability: This appears to have been discontinued.

Would I buy this again? Yes, the pans are large and you get a full 12 shades, I think it's worth the money but you can certainly buy each shade individually if you don't want the whole thing. 

Notes: Friends I have been lemming for this palette since it launched back in 2018, then I managed to forget all about it and somehow it came back up on my Instagram feed when it went on sale and I just... HAD to have it. It's so me! So here we are. Each shade is beautifully metallic and has a gorgeous glow. Personally some are a bit odd-colored or too dark for my skin-tone to be used as cheek highlights but I think each and every shade here would be perfect as an eyeshadow, so I don't mind.

Buried Treasure - is described as a sandy pink nude with loads of iridescence that's apparently meant to match the jewel inside of it. That's exciting that there's an actual treasure buried in the highlighter but I'm not about to go breaking it just to find the jewel. I guess we'll find out what it is eventually. I'd say it's a beige-y pink with tiny bursts of pink and turquoise micro-shimmer. 

Life is the Bubbles - is descried as  appears to be white in the pan but with movement you begin to see a swirl of iridescent pink, blue, purple, green and yellow . I'd say it's an off-white base with a greenish-teal pearl with pink and turquoise micro-shimmer bursts.

Afterglow - is described as stripes of gold, amber, pink, lavender and blue make the perfect ray of light. I'd say it's essentially a rainbow highlighter with iridescent stripes of pastel gold, orange, pink, violet, and teal - it's well pigmented and has a beautiful iridescence to it.

Coral Cove - is descried as a  mix of coral toned pink, light peachy nude and an intense white gold shimmer. When mixed together you get a coral toned peachy pink with an intense gold shift. I'd say it's a BEAUTIFUL soft pastel gold with swirls of coral orange-pink.

Calypso - is described as a dirty metallic gold shade with deep brass undertones. I'd say it's a heavily golden antique gold shade. 

Shell Me All About It - is described as a swirly mix of iridescent violet, blue, teal and chartreuse. Mixed together a metallic teal sure to make a splash. I'd say that the overall shade this creates is a pastel teal with a whitish-turquoise pearl.

Starfish Wishes - is described as sandy shade is a metallic nude gold with glowing green undertones and the starfish is a bright sparkling blue. When mixed together they make a high metallic green. The blue of the sea star allegedly runs all the way to the bottom of the pan so it's not just over-spray. I'd say it's that unless you're mixing in a lot of the gold (which already has quite the green pearl to it) this overall turns into a vibrant turquoise shade. 

Copper Sea - is descried as a mix of fiery metallic copper and aqua green iridescence. When mixed together they make a beautiful metallic rose gold. I'd say mixed together this creates a very cool-toned greenish rose-gold. It reminds me of something that was copper to begin with but that oxidized. Out of all of them I really like the look of it in the pan but I don't really love the way these shades mix. 

Sea Spray - is described as a blue/green/teal with a slight pink shift. I'd say it's white base with a turquoise pearl. 

Aquamarine - is described as a mix of ocean blue with green undertones and white veining with an aqua reflect. I'd say it's a true Caribbean water blue.

Poor Unfortunate Souls - is described as a deep blue based purple with an extremely intense teal and green shift. I'd say its description is fairly accurate.

Mermaid Tears - is described as a  slightly dusty powder blue with a strong pinky/lavender shift. I'd say it's a cornflower blue with pink micro-glitter chunks. 

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

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself.

May 2020 Favorites

Hey folksickles,

Alright, all the goodies I've been enjoying in the month of May :) 

1. Bitter Lace Beauty Mermaid Dreams Bundle: I will be honest that I don't have a particular favorite in the palette as of yet, they all have such a  GORGEOUS metallic glow to them and as someone who loves that super intense highlighted cheek, these are definitely up my alley.

2. Given: Alright so as we all know many a boy love anime can be either entirely cringe-y or entirely subtle with the... let's call a spade a spade... portrayal of homosexuality involved. Given is, albeit rather slow paced at the beginning, a good blend of story that, while it has gay characters, doesn't fully just focus on the gayness of it. That said, the gay is not at all subtle here, there is no implied gayness, it's gay... and now that we're in Pride month, I, for one, am here for it. Now that I've gotten that part out of the way, it's essentially about the four dudes in the picture above and the band they all have together and their character backstories, at least in this first season that we now have.

Disclaimer: I paid for the product mentioned above myself.