2020 Favorites
March 11, 2021 | Beauty | No Comments »
PR Sample/Purchased By Me
I know it might seem silly to do my yearly favorites post a whole 2 months later, but it’s tradition. I couldn’t just skip it. So I know I really struggled with blogging last year. There are many reasons for that. First, I always felt guilty any time I tried. It didn’t seem right blogging about sometimes pricey beauty items when the whole world was suffering. Then my entire household got sick. Not all at once. My husband was the only confirmed COVID case. I was sick much earlier on in the year and no doctor would see me. As an asthmatic this was pretty scary. Not to be dramatic, but I honestly believe that if I didn’t have my inhaler I would have died. Thankfully we all recovered MONTHS later. Yes, it took months. 1 1/2 months for me and 2 months for my husband. My son was mildly sick for a few weeks. It was stressful. Finally, I decided that 2020 was the year that I was going to really throw myself into my business. Why? I don’t know. Quarantine boredom? I’ve been baking on/off for the past decade. But I never really put myself out there. So that’s been taking up most of my time. But still, I’d like to at least dedicate one day out of the week to my blog. That’s the plan anyway. Believe it or not I do still do a full face about half of the week. I don’t want to look like a gremlin dropping off orders.
Now that I’ve cleared that up I can move onto my top 10 of 2020. Keep in mind that my favorites are not always makeup or even beauty related.
Sorcery Color Studio
First up is my new(ish) stylist. I know that at the end of 2019 I went on this long rant about how I was giving up on the pros since the last few did me dirty. I was doing just fine with my husband doing my hair. Until it came time to have to relighten it. I saw enough Brad Mondo videos to know that attempting this myself would end badly. So I searched and searched until I stumbled upon Jess’ Instagram page. I stalked her for quite a bit before finally reaching out. My first few visits I was so scared you’d think I was visiting the dentist. But she was very understanding and answered all of my questions. Not only do I leave her chair looking and feeling like a million bucks, but she never ever makes me feel like I’m a burden. I’ve mentioned before how lots of stylists would make me feel like a burden because my hair is so long/thick/course. There are the heavy sighs and the eye rolls. Then the ‘You really have a lot of hair.’ Which is repeated several times throughout my visit. I always feel so uncomfortable. I can honestly say that I’ve never felt that way in Jess’ chair. My hair is far from perfect, but believe me when I tell you that she has transformed my hair. It feels so much better now. I can actually wear it natural again. I haven’t been able to do that since Josh ruined my life. Yeah, I hold grudges lol.
Dyson Corrale
I purchased this flat iron just before the pandemic. I never even got around to properly reviewing it. It’s very pricey and I can see why many people think that it’s overpriced and can’t justify the purchase. What sold me on this flat iron was the claim of needing less passes resulting in less damage to your hair. Since my hair was in a much more fragile state in the beginning of 2020, this definitely got my attention. I liked the idea of being able to smooth my hair out while curling it in one session. I know you can use any flat iron to achieve the same results, but most either don’t do anything for my hair, or they work too well and fry it. It did take a while to get the hang of it. The first time I dried my hair out so bad that I ended up at the salon begging for another treatment. Oops. So you can still do some damage if you keep it on your hair for too long. Which is what I did. Once I got used to it I could style my hair in less than 1/2 hour. Something that used to take me well over an hour to achieve in the past. So for me this is well worth the purchase. Plus the cord free capability makes things so much easier especially when you have as much hair as I do. This was easily one of the best purchases of 2020.
Pixi Beauty Summer Glow Palette
This has been my go-to face palette of 2020. In fact I’m still using it regularly. I might have to clean it off and put it away for a while. It’s time to show some of the others some love. I love how convenient it is. For me it’s a nice all-in-one palette. I’ve created a whole face using just this palette. It’s natural enough to wear daily while still offering a nice glamorous glow.
ColourPop Blush Crush Palette
If I had to pick just one palette of 2020 this would be it. I love the soft rosy tones. It’s a beautiful natural palette that I can wear just about anywhere. It’s easily one of my favorite ColourPop palettes of all time.
Tatcha The Water Cream
This is another product I didn’t even get around to reviewing yet. I did mention it in an empties post though. I remember liking the sample and so I purchased the full size. It’s very pricey, but it’s gentle enough to use on my super sensitive skin. Also, I swear I haven’t had many rosacea flareups since using this cream. I’ll still get red if I’m standing over the stove, but it settles down almost immediately. This product is really the only thing that has changed in my nighttime routine. It doesn’t have a strong scent, it’s lightweight, and incredibly moisturizing. A little goes a long way too. This truly is a beautiful cream.
Mary Kay Lash Love Mascara
For those who know me you’re probably asking ‘Really?’ I really really dislike MLM and their products. I have made some exceptions because I really liked the product. But I mostly keep my distance. I’ve had very bad experiences. Well, before the pandemic my son had a girlfriend. I briefly met her mother, found out she sold Mary Kay, told my MIL all about it, and she’s been buying from her ever since. My MIL loves her Mary Kay products. I happened to swipe her mascara sample (oops?) and fell in love with it. It doesn’t flake, smudge, clump, or feel heavy. It does a great job at separating and lengthening my lashes. I wouldn’t say that it leaves them looking super full, but it’s easily one of the best mascaras I’ve tried all year. And this includes some of the higher end brands.
Raycon The Performer Earbuds
My son is very tech-savvy and gets all of the coolest gadgets. When his new earbuds arrived I had to give them a try. Traditional headphones hurt my ears. This includes the wireless kinds. When I tried these out I fell in love. My husband ordered me a pair in rose gold. They’re super cute. They feel very comfortable. They don’t fall out. The sound quality is pretty damn impressive. I love that I can easily connect to my TV at night and watch it as loud as I want without disturbing anyone.
B3 Brazilian Bondbuilder Instant Restore & Protect Reconstructor
When I started seeing Jess she immediately started applying B3 treatments on my hair. It keeps my hair super soft and manageable, but only lasts a certain amount of washes. This isn’t a problem, but during quarantine it was. Nowadays I don’t think I even really need the treatment, but I opt for it every now and then because I want to keep my hair healthy. But in the beginning of 2020 my hair needed all the help it could get. So I had to find something to help me out until things opened back up again. I decided to try this nifty product out. It really did help. My hair started to feel less dry and was more manageable again. Now it’s part of my hair care routine. I apply it after my conditioner and just before my hair mask. It’s a whole extra step and a little pricey, but it makes a world of a difference.
I actually didn’t even make it to 10. I really monitored my spending and tried to focus more on saving. I did splurge a bit here and there, but mostly on essentials. I’ll probably continue throughout 2021. I really need to start using up the product I have now. I’m in the midst of Spring cleaning and questioning everything. Like am I a hoarder or not? Hahaha!
What were some of your favorites last year?
