December 2012 Favourites

It’s the 7th, and almost midnight at that, but at least I’m getting this out before the end of the first week of the month! Anyways, here are my December favourites! Instead of giving you a super-short post, I’ll show you a couple favourites from the month, and also re-mention some past favourites that I’m still loving!

1. Argan Oil

This stuff is amazing, and it has pretty much completely replaced the Baby Buttercreme from last month in my hair routine.

I use this when my hair is still slightly damp. First, I brush out my hair and part it like usual. Next, because my hair is so thick, I part my hair in half in the back of my head, and use about a nickel-sized amount of the Argan oil for each half. If you have thin hair, you might be able to use about half what I do, since a bit of product goes a long way, and you don’t want to weight down your hair.

Then I warm up the oil in my hands before working it through my hair from the ends to about ear level on both sides, and I make sure to get some on the ends of my bangs, which are trying very hard to grow themselves out! When that’s done, I brush the oil through and let my hair dry naturally.

I've really felt a difference in the softness of my hair, and I also really like the soft, subtle scent. Also, this brand wasn't even that expensive, which is great! Will almost definitely repurchase once this bottle is empty!

 

 

2. Candles

This is probably not much of a shock. It seems like pretty much every beauty blogger around loves her candles, especially the ones from Bath and Body Works! I mean, come on, who doesn’t love when a room smells nice? Also, fire is pretty, and I can’t be the only one who thinks that, otherwise there wouldn’t be a fire-place channel on TV during the holidays…! Pictured are the majority of my current candle stash. I’m currently trying to work my way through that giant vanilla pillar candle before actually getting into the B&BW candles, though I couldn’t stop myself from trying out one of my French Baguette candles (which I burned almost half of!).

Repeats (to see all my past favourites, click here):

1. Burton Crystal File

I’ve actually said this before twice, once in my first Favourites post, and again when I got my travel file. These are so great for my nails! They don’t shred, like other files tend to, and actually help to seal the layers of your nail together! I carry one of these with me everywhere, and refuse to use anything else!

2. Maybelline Turbo Volume Express Mascara

I’ve tried several mascaras since my May Favourites post, but I’m pretty sure this is still my favourite. There is one I’m starting to like from my BeautyCrazed Canada prize pack (I’ll post it soon, I promise!), but I think this is still better so far! I love the volume it gives my lashes, and it isn’t as temperamental as I find the Falsies mascara… this mascara and my lashes just seem to get along!

3. Urban Decay Naked Palette

Another obvious favourite! This is just so versatile; you can create great natural or bold looks with this, and all the colours go together. Plus, with the Primer Potion, these basically last all bloody day! Love!

4. Urban Decay 24/7 Liner Pencil in Zero

(Sorry about the quality; I can’t find these images on my computer, and this one looks like it was taken before I got my good camera, but since the rest of these repeat pictures were taken from the original posts, I wanted to continue the trend.)

This is definitely the best liner I’ve ever used! I have and use Perversion, but I retract my statement that it is a favourite; I definitely prefer Zero to Perversion. It stays longer, for one, it seems like Perversion is too pigmented and soft to last. And sometimes Perversion is just too black to look right with a look.

Non-Beauty Favourites:

1. Merlin

Image from 3-Monkeys.co.uk

Working my way through British tv shows I want to watch, I’m now on the second season of Merlin, and it is fantastic! This is a show basically about Merlin, Arthur, Guinevere, etc. when they’re young. The final season is currently airing (I believe), so I have to try to avoid spoilers a bit, but since this isn’t really big (at least in Canada, I honestly don’t know about elsewhere) that isn’t hard. I’ll admit that sometimes the effects are a little cheesy or cheap looking, especially at the beginning, but the show is wonderful, and I love it! I definitely recommend giving it a try if you like fantasy, historical fiction, Arthurian legends, or British TV!

2. Lord of the Rings

Image from hyderabad.olx.in (This is what my boxed set looks like)

This is a long-time love, but I just wanted to mention it, since I’m re-reading the books right now, and also just refinished watching the extended editions of the movies in preparation for seeing the Hobbit on Friday!

After ten years since the last time I read these books, I’d forgotten how beautifully written they are. Tolkien is such a wonderful author, and I honestly have no sympathy for anyone who thinks he is dry and boring. His descriptions are wonderful, and his characters emotional and moving, and everything is just so real! I’m constantly running into passages that I want to quote and remember and share. Maybe I’m just a massive nerd, but I think this is one of those books that everyone should read. (And yes, technically the Lord of the Rings is one novel, in three parts, not a trilogy of novels. I’ll stop being a nerd now.)

I also wanted to mention that I finally have a bit of money now, and I would love to finally do that giveaway I mentioned last summer! Let me know what kind of prizes you’d be interested in winning!

Thanks for reading!