November Favourites

Today I will be talking about all the beauty products I have been loving for the month of November. These are products that I have been reaching for almost everyday this past month, although some of them have been my go-to’s for a lot longer than just November. Most of these products are affordable and available at Clicks or Dis-chem. You guys know, these are my favourite places to shop for makeup and it takes a lot for me to justify spending bombs on high-end makeup.

Let’s get straight into it 🙂

I’m not going to go into too much detail about the first product because I plan on doing an in depth review about it here on my blog very soon. It’s the Morphe Brushes 35O eyeshadow palette. Oh. My. Soul. I am utterly in love with this palette. It is the ONLY palette I have been using daily ever since I purchased it. It’s also the only palette I have been taking with me whenever I do clients’ makeup. It’s a gorgeous combination of cool and warm toned mattes, shimmers and metallics that are all such good quality. Like I said, I will be doing a detailed review and demo very soon, so stay tuned for that! However, for my South African followers who are wondering how on earth I got this palette… My favourite place to purchase almost any international brand you can think of is @muse.sa  on Instagram! 100% authentic and great service.

Swatches of some of my favourite shades from the Morphe 35O palette.

Keeping with the theme of eyes, the Rimmel gel liner in 001 Black is another fave.  If you follow me on Instagram @danicaraemakeup, you would have already seen that all of my makeup looks with liner are done with this product. I have had it for a couple of months now and I am literally scraping the bottom already, because it’s the only eyeliner product I have been using. It has a creamy formula which it makes it insanely easy to apply. I also love how intensely black it is because I never have to apply it more than once to get that desired dark black effect. It also lasts for an incredibly long time throughout the day, and my absolute favourite thing about this is that once it has dried it NEVER cracks or breaks up. That is something that has often happened to me with drugstore liquid liners and it’s my number one pet peeve!

Rimmel gel liner in 001 Black. Available here.

 

I have struggled with winged liner, and eyeliner in general, for such a long time. I tried everything from liquid eyeliner to felt tip eyeliner pens and I truly believe that gel liner is the easiest. Of course, everyone has different preferences, however winged liner was something that I used to avoid altogether but once I tried using gel liner it completely changed the game for me. It’s now something I do with almost every makeup look, and it’s super quick and easy. I feel as though you have a lot more control with gel liner as opposed to liquid. The best result obviously depends on the brush you are using, and it is best to look for the smallest and thinnest brush you can find for the most precise application. The brush I love the most (which for some reason I completely forgot to snap a photo of) is the Real Techniques 202 Liner brush from the Bold Metals collection, available at selected Foschini and Clicks stores. The bold metals line of brushes are slightly more pricey than what I’m comfortable with spending on brushes, however it is the tiniest most precise eyeliner brush I could find, and totally worth every cent!

Real Techniques 202 Liner brush.  Available here. 

The third product I want to talk about, still keeping with the theme of eyes, is the Wet n’ Wild Photofocus eyeshadow primer. Wet n’ Wild is one of my top 4 brands available at the drugstore here in South Africa. They have such amazing products for a ridiculously affordable price! I always find myself at the Wet n’ Wild display checking for new products, and this primer is one that I recently picked up. This is hands-down the best drugstore eyeshadow primer I have ever used. It reminds me a lot of the Urban Decay Primer Potion, but obviously for a quarter of the price. It has a sort of gel-like consistency, and dries down completely clear. I love it because a lot of drugstore eyeshadow palettes are often not long-wearing and fade quite quickly throughout the day but using this will make your eyeshadow last a lot longer, and keep intense and pigmented throughout the day.

Wet n’ Wild Photofocus Eyeshadow Primer. Available here.

I am usually not impressed by drugstore eyeshadow primers, I find that using concealer does a way better job than most of them, plus concealer covers up all the veins and redness on your eyelids. So when I picked this up, I didn’t have high expectations for it at all, but it has become the only eye primer I reach for whenever I do my makeup. I love it and it will definitely be a product that I will be re-purchasing!

Quick tip: once you have blended it onto your eyelids, set it with an eyeshadow that is close to your skin tone or a translucent powder. Setting it will make the rest of your eyeshadows blend out smoothly and evenly. 

The next product has been my go-to primer for a couple of months now. It is the Catrice Prime and Fine Beautifying Primer. It is the absolute perfect primer if you have dry skin, or if you’re going for that dewy look. It is a creamy primer with light-reflecting pearl pigments which is what gives your skin that beautiful luminous glow. It isn’t intended for pore-filling or smoothing, as some primers are, so what I like to do is apply a pore-filling primer wherever I have any texture on my face, and then apply this primer on top for extra moisture. I love the way my Catrice Even Skin Tone foundation looks on top of this primer.

Catrice Prime and Fine Beautifying Primer. Available here.

Next is a product that I’ve been loving for close to a year now, it’s the Essence Silky Touch blush in the shade Adorable. I am not much of a blush person, and I typically try to find blush shades that will work with a wide variety of different makeup looks. This blush is absolutely perfect for just that reason. If you follow me on Instagram, you will also have noticed that this blush features in almost all of my makeup looks. It’s the perfect light pink shade that gives a beautiful, natural flush of colour.

Essence Silky Touch blush in the shade Adorable. Available at Clicks or Dis-Chem.

I am not a fan of super pigmented blushes simply because it means you always have to be extra careful about how much you get on your brush, or else run the risk of walking around with clown-like cheeks. These blushes have just the right amount of pigmentation to give you a soft flush of colour. I own about three Essence blushes and this is definitely my favourite shade, it’s the one I find myself reaching for almost every single time I do my makeup. I want to get my hands on the Essence Mosaic blushes because those look stunning! But like I said, I’m not really a blush person and I always find other products I’d rather spend my money on.

The perfect everyday blush shade for lighter skin tones.

And finally the last two products I want to talk about are both lip products. The first one is another Essence product… clearly I am a fan. I’m all about that beauty on a budget life, haha. It’s the lip liner in the shade 06 Satin Mauve.

Essence Lip Liner in the shade Satin Mauve. Available here.

Lately, for some unknown reason, I have been really into wearing lip-liners alone, or with a gloss on top. This is the most beautiful dusty mauve shade to wear by itself, and the formula is so creamy and comfortable. Also, side note, it’s a huge dupe for the ever so popular Mac’s Soar lip-liner, except it’s only 20 bucks!

The last of my November favourites is the Nyx Lingerie liquid lipstick in the shade Bedtime Flirt. This is a product that I think a lot of people will like, but I also think a lot of people will dislike. I personally love liquid lipsticks that dry down completely matte, and so naturally I absolutely love the Nyx Lingerie range. I have always struggled to find the perfect nude liquid lipstick because there is a very limited range of them available at drugstores here in South Africa… BUT this entire range of liquid lipsticks are nude shades for varying skin tones and I couldn’t be more appreciative. They range from having cool undertones to warm undertones, and you’re guaranteed to find your perfect nude.

Nyx Lingerie in Bedtime Flirt. Available here.

Bedtime Flirt is a peachy nude shade with a warm undertone. These are definitely very drying on the lips, which is something I’ve come to expect with matte liquid lipsticks. I have to make sure I exfoliate and moisturize my lips before I apply these, but other than that I don’t find them uncomfortable to wear. I personally love matte liquid lipsticks for the fact that they literally do not budge for hours. Once they’ve dried down you can eat three donuts, drink five cocktails and only after your second slice of pizza will you need to touch up. Trust me… Tried and tested.

How pretty are these?

 

Thanks for reading. ❤

Leave a comment down below with products that you’ve been loving for the month of November.