End of the year! I can’t believe you’re here.

december beauty favorites I howsweeteats.com

It’s crazy to me that I first started doing these favorites posts last January because on one hand, it feels like I’ve been doing them forever and on the other, it seems as if I just began. Nuts, I tell you. Just nuts.

I thought about doing a 2013 favorites post, but it didn’t quite feel right to me. Considering I used a lot of the same things month after month, I wanted to keep this narrowed down to my monthly favorites and the things I’ve been using in the last 30 days. Mostly because, hello, it’s December… which means GLITTER.

Lots and lots of glitter. Just you wait.

I don’t have any hair things to share with you today because I’m still hooked on my favorite macadamia hair products. Love ’em. I’m also still using the kenra blow-dry spray. And face masks – using the glam glow and mint julep masks religiously. It’s one of my favorite things to do.

Moving on…

NYX red lip liner, revlon standout matte balm, MAC underdressed lipglass I howsweeteats.com

I’ve still been sticking with my darker lip all month, but I added some red for the holidays. I’ve been using the NYX red lipliner (these are my favorite lip liners period), the revlon matte balm in standout (which I’m pretty sure is my new #1 red) and occasionally topping it with MAC lipglass in underdressed. It adds a little golden sparkle on top.

I think the lipglass was limited edition in a summer or fall collection, but it’s nothing that special. I really like it but there are tons of other sparkly glosses out there that will do the same. This is just what’s been in my bag. Plus, it doesn’t come off anywhere near as dark as the tube looks. It’s pretty sheer – just sparkly.

NYX red lip liner, revlon standout matte balm, MAC underdressed lipglass I howsweeteats.com

Not only do I love these three together, but I’ve used them all separately too. Huge fan! Cannot say enough good things about these revlon matte balms. I’m also still really loving the hourglass red gloss I mentioned last month. It’s the prettiest shade of red.

Next, I have to give another shoutout to the sugar lip therapy balm. GAH. From last month to this month, I’ve used half the stick. I still wouldn’t go for any of the color balms, but this one is tops.

sugar advanced therapy lip I howsweeteats.com

No surprise here I’m sure… the naked 3 palette. Early on I decided that I wouldn’t be getting it, after all, how many freaking palettes do I need? But when I saw it was pink-toned I nearly lost my mind. The colors… OMG.

urban decay naked 3 palette I howsweeteats.com

I’ve always liked the naked 2 palette over naked 1, but 3 here is taking the lead. I love pink colors on my eyes, but it does take some work to figure out what colors don’t leave me looking dead. Earlier this year I was hooked on the pink maybelline color tattoo and also the MAC stormy pink paint pot. I find these colors below SO versatile. I love every single one, which I can’t say for naked 1 or 2. I will say that I’ve been using burnout, limit, buzz and nooner the most, but my favorite shade here is darkside. That may change as time goes on.

If you’re contemplating it, I think it’s worth it. However, I would go to ulta or sephora first and play with some pinks on your eyes to see if you’re a fan.

urban decay naked 3 palette I howsweeteats.com

Now on to the glitter!

I sort of hate sharing this since it’s no longer available, but it’s been my go-to glitter this month. It’s makeup forever holadium glitter and it’s from last year… and now that I’m in my 30s, I feel like I can only pull glitter off every now and then.

Let’s just say that “every now and then” translates to the entire month of December.

makeup forever holadium eye glitter I howsweeteats.com

I adore this so much because it truly is holographic. Different shades and so sparkly. I wish I could wear it daily without looking like a freak.

makeup forever holadium eye glitter I howsweeteats.com

A handful of times this month I have done a glittery but somewhat neutral eye and used this gold tone MAC pigment below. I believe I’ve talked about this shade before but it comes from a holiday set from maybe 2007 or 2008? Just a perfect example of how long these suckers last. FOR.EV.ER. Sandlot style.

MAC goldtone pigment I howsweeteats.com

I haven’t done tons of black liner this month (I got new contacts that I loathe and am having a black liner crisis) and also ran out of my favorite urban decay mushroom eyeliner. I did have underground left though and it’s pretty similar. I’ve also used stash a bit since I love me some greens.

Like I need to explain my obsession with these anymore…

urban decay underground & stash 24/7 liners I howsweeteats.com

Even though I go crazy over my tarte blush in exposed (most favorite of ALL time), I feel like I’ve been in a blush rut. That shade has been in, what? Five of my last favorites post? I wanted to change it up and grabbed my YSL cream blush since it’s winter and I’m piling on lots of moisturizer. It’s no where near as bright and blends out to a pretty winter flushed pink. I used this a bunch last winter and think that cream blushes are so simple to use! They blend so well and look super natural.

YSL cream blush I howsweeteats.com

I KNOW that I keep talking about my tarte tinted moisturizer every month but I just can’t get over it. If you’re a foundation hater like me, you will probably love this. It doesn’t give a ton of coverage but in my opinion, it gives enough. I do not like a lot of coverage. To me, this adds the perfect amount and still looks like skin.

tarte BB tinted moisturizer I howsweeteats.com

I’ve been on a roll with cream and liquid products this month and have been using my benefit high beam highlighter a ton. This is just a sample size from a gift set I got ages ago, but it’s a great size. I love the little glow it adds. For extra special things where I want to blow my face up with glitter, I’ll use it under the urban decay naked illuminating powder. So pretty!

benefit high beam I howsweeteats.com

Ooooooh now I am so excited to tell you about this. A lot of you have asked me if I bought Cara’s new makeup line, and I did get the contouring foundation. I loved the idea but since I don’t love foundation in general, I bought it first to support her since I’m a crazy fan. THEN. I fell in love with it. It doesn’t feel “foundationy” to me – it’s kind of more like a concealer and I like how you can control the amount of product on your face. I really like the darker shade. I got the light palette and while it’s subtle, it’s not too subtle.

maskcara iiid foundation I howsweeteats.com

Super psyched about this! I already made a pretty good dent in the darker shade (I’ll even just use that color over my tinted moisturizer only if I’m in a rush) and if you’ve tried it too, you gotta let me know. I love the size of it. Can you tell I love it? Somebody please get me a thesaurus.

Since cold weather is in full force, I’ve been blowing through another bottle of MAC fix+. I find this essential to make my skin look… less dry? I don’t know if that makes sense, but it adds a little glow over my skin. Even though I love to wear crazy eye makeup, I prefer my face to be dewy. Probably because my skin is majorly lacking oil.

MAC fix+ I howsweeteats.com

Let’s see… when does nail polish get more fun than during the holiday season?

Pretty sure it’s never.

Not that I ever discriminate when it comes to glitter nails, but in December they are always appropriate.

essie on a silver platter & butter london rosie lee I howsweeteats.com

I’ve been loving essie on a silver platter. So sparkly and has my color of the season – cobalt blue! Pretty pretty.

essie on a silver platter I howsweeteats.com

I’ve also been using butter london rosie lee. This was the first butter london polish I purchased a few years ago and it’s probably my favorite in their line. I mean, pink glitter?

It’s like a pink glitter bomb. I die.

butter london rosie lee I howsweeteats.com

With it being winter, my skin is in freak out mode. I’m still using my josie maran argan oil whipped body butter (on my third container… eeep), but at night is when I’ll use the body shop body butter because it’s so insanely thick. Like I can still feel it the next morning. I’ll put it on at night and cover up in sweats and let it sink in. Moisture central.

I’ve talked about lots of these this year, but I’m currently loving the cocoa butter scent. Like a faint chocolate scent! I got this with my ulta rewards a few months ago and just broke it out since my skin is itching like crazy. Works like a charm.

the body shop cocoa butter body butter I howsweeteats.com

I’m becoming the perfume rollerball queen lately. After discovering my favorite perfume and declaring that I’d “never wear anything else again!” I sure have bought a bunch of rollerballs the last few months.

This one was a semi-necessary (?) slash impulse purchase. When I was in NYC earlier this month, I forgot my perfume and then happened to be across the street from a Sephora before a meeting. I walked in to kill some time, finding myself in rollerball central. I really loved the nest midnight fleur below and grabbed it. Then also felt sick and had a horrific headache from smelling thirty different scents.

nest midnight fleur perfume I howsweeteats.com

But anyway. I wore this while I was there… and flipped. It smells SO good. My husband loves it. It’s a little vanilla-y and sweet but not overkill. It just smells… delicious?

I’m also excited because I finished up my west side perfume (almost made it last one year – huge accomplishment) and didn’t think I’d get any for awhile since it’s so pricey. My parents ended up getting me a bottle for Christmas and I was shocked, so I’m pumped to have it back on my dresser. I’m also REALLY excited for the Elizabeth and James perfume to come out in January. I smelled it at Sephora last week and while I love the black (not surprising), I liked the white too. I see more rollerballs in my future.

So that’s it! The next few months I will probably lay off purchasing any makeup since I got quite a few new things the last two months with the Sephora sale. I have a couple of gift cards so I may pick up the new glam glow mask (since it’s hydrating!) and the aforementioned perfume. Gosh, I am excited for that. Other than that, I’m gonna go crazy with some of my old favorites that are lurking in my makeup drawer.

december beauty favorites I howsweeteats.com

Tell me what you’re loving this month… or year… or what you got for Christmas! You know the drill.

[as usual, none of this is sponsored and i am not affiliated with any of the companies above. am just a huge makeup junkie. there are a few amazon affiliate links above. heart you.]