I’m not sad to see this year go. I probably say that every year, but 2020 needs to get right the fuck outta town…we’re done here. I’m also done with a bunch of products, so let’s take a look at what I emptied at the end of 2020:
Despite 2020 being a stinking trash fire of a year, there were some brights spots in beauty. I’ve selected four makeup and four skin care faves from 2020! Note that only a couple of these products came out this year; most are simply products that I personally started using in 2020.
Let’s do this!
O M G how I love this palette. I’ve been using it quite a bit ever since I got it using a Sephora VIB rewards gift card. Too many palettes these days lean warm for my taste, so I absolutely love that Natasha Denona released a neutral/cool palette. This is probably my favorite beauty product of the year.
*I received these products for free from Influenster and Laura Mercier in exchange for my honest review.*
Not long before Christmas, I received my first-ever VoxBox from Influenster and Laura Mercier…very exciting and much appreciated! The box contained three complimentary full sized products: Secret Camouflage Concealer Duo, Blush Color Infusion, and Secret Brightening Powder for Under Eyes.
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and happy holidays to those who don’t! I’ve skipped Friday Five posts lately because I haven’t really had much to write about. But I’m back this week with a few things of interest.
I hope you’re enjoying a safe and distanced holiday season! We usually do a mini getaway over Christmas, but this year we’re staying home and eating meals that we pre-ordered from local restaurants. And of course we’re going to watch Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max today!!
I’ll keep repeating myself: wear a mask, keep your distance from others, and wash your hands. The vaccines are trickling in, and we’ll have a new president soon. We’re going to get through this!!
1. Holiday Cookie Decorating Kit: my friend posted about this Nine Cakes kit on Instagram and I had to get one for us! We are absolutely not professionals at cookie decorating, but we sure had fun doing it. The bakery sent such adorable sprinkles! I especially loved the sprinkles shaped like mini gingerbread people and the tiny candy canes. The teeny Christmas trees and stockings were adorable too. And the cookies taste great!
1. Mini Monolith: on a neighborhood walk this week, we passed by a house with a mini monolith in the front yard, and I can’t stop laughing about it. In case you haven’t heard about the mysterious monolith that appeared in the Utah desert and was removed a few days later, here’s a NY Times article about it and its removal. Another one also appeared in Romania recently. I bet this mini foil version will also disappear soon…so I’m happy I spotted it when I did.
Happy December! The year of COVID-19 continues and I’m still staying home, chipping away at my beauty stash. I had to use a couple of prescription skin care products for a month to help clear up some irritation, but I’m slowly adding products back into my routine. So I did end up with some beauty empties in November!
**Nécessaire gifted me the products in this post for consideration. All links are affiliate links and I will earn a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking them. This post contains my honest opinion of the products I received.**
Earlier this fall, personal care brand Nécessaire reached out and offered to send me The Body Essentials Set, which I gratefully accepted. Thank you so much, Nécessaire!
Welp…I wasn’t planning on buying a lot of stuff during the recent Sephora Holiday Bonus, but I ended up placing three separate orders. So here we are. To be fair, I used a $100 Beauty Insider gift card for one of the orders (I had exchanged 2500 points for the gift card), and the 20% discount didn’t apply to that order. But I’m including those items here anyway.
Below is a pic of my first batch of products. Because I placed the gift card order right after the 20% off order, Sephora mailed everything in one box! Hooray for a little less packaging and waste!
1. Meow or Never Pullover Sweater: I forgot to write about this sweater when I got it! I ordered this adorable Halloween cat-print sweater from ModCloth and used a 30% off code. They sold out, but it’s back in stock and is currently 30% off. So get one if you want to ensure you have something cute for spooky season next year! It’s comfy but the sleeves are a little short on me. My arms are super long, though, so that’s not unusual.
1. WE HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT: well…we’ll have one early next year. AND we have the first Black, Indian-American, woman vice president (elect). This is VERY EXCITING. I will never forget the moment I wandered downstairs last Saturday morning and glanced at the TV. I had it tuned in to NBC in case anything major happened. And something MAJOR was finally unfolding: NBC’s lower third graphic had been updated to say “President-Elect Joe Biden.” I unmuted the TV and listened to the anchors announce they were projecting Biden and Harris as the election winners. I burst into tears of relief.
It was a long-ass week with the best outcome. I wish I had felt comfortable enough to go downtown and celebrate with the crowds (Trump is VERY much not welcome in this city), but alas, covid. All that said, we’re in for a rough few months; it’s been nearly a week and, as expected, Trump hasn’t conceded. That asshole is going to fight as hard as he possibly can to stay in office, so this story is far from over. And let’s not forget that more than 70 million American voted for to keep him in office.
