SELF-ISOLATION APRIL FAVOURITES

Hello everyone and I hope you're doing well and staying safe wherever you are. There was no blog post last week because well, truthfully I didn't feel like posting anything. It's a strange period of time, on one hand, I am more than grateful that my family and I are safe and we are closer than ever but, on the other hand, there is so much uncertainty about the future.

There are moments like last week when I felt writing about beauty was pointless but this week I do feel better so I thought what better time to share my April favourites. This post will be slightly different as it's a mixture of beauty and lifestyle.


MAKEUP


I haven't been wearing a lot of makeup recently so I only have a handful of favourites to share. First up is two absofreakinglutely AMA-ZINGGG concealers that I recently discovered; Avon Cashmere Complexion Concealer* and the SAEM Cover Perfection Tip Concealer. I will have an in-depth review on both coming up soon but in short, both are lightweight, conceal and highlight beautifully, don't sink into my fine lines and leave the most beautiful skin-like finish. Avon concealer is medium coverage and more watery in texture while the SAEM is full coverage and doesn't budge come rain or shine.


Marc Jacobs Fantasy Dew Drop has been my go-to highlighter the past month. It's a deeper rose gold shade that is a touch too deep for me in Winter but now that I have a slight tan, it blends seamlessly onto the skin. I use a tiny drop and stipple it onto my cheekbone with a brush and it will last all day (more than 12 hours) on me. It feels like everyone raved about Marc Jacobs Dew Drop highlighters when they first launched but not a peep now which is such a huge shame as both are STUNNING.

If you know me then you know I am obsessed with blushers and the one that I have been reaching for the most is Avon x THEFACESHOP Moisture Cushion Blush in shade Coral*. I have a full review about it here but in short, it's a gorgeous coral shade with a buildable pigmentation, dewy finish and quite long-lasting. I do notice some fading after 6-7 hours when I wear it on its own but if I top it with another powder blush then it will last from morning 8:00am to the evening 7:00pm when I remove my makeup.


Self-isolation doesn't mean that I quit wearing red, bold lips if anything I have been wearing more recently! I recently rediscovered Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Creme in shade C405*. It's a stunning cool-toned deep pinky red and the formula is creamy and remains hydrating even after 7-8 hours on the lips. It's opaque with one swipe and doesn't feather which is a remarkable feat as almost all lipsticks do on me. Again, this range is so underrated as no one talks about it but I guess it won't fetch as much traffic as Charlotte Tilbury or Tom Ford lipsticks. I do find MUFE is disappearing into the shadow the past couple of years, I don't see much from the brand anymore.


Last but not least, my favourite beauty product of 2020! Yes, big bold claim but this is hands down one of my best beauty discoveries ever, elf Wow Brow in shade Neutral Brown. I quit using tinted eyebrow mascaras for the past couple of years after discovering clear ones but I was intrigued when I saw this. It retails for a mere CA$5.00 so I thought how bad can it be? It turned out to be BRILLIANT! The wand is tiny so it only dispenses little product each time. The wand combs through my sparse brows really well, leaving them looking naturally fuller. I saw a few posts mentioning it is also a great dupe for the much pricier Glossier Boy Brow.

HAIR

Usually, I don't have hair favourites because I can't be arse with my hair but this time I have two! I must credit Invisibobbles for my sanity. My hair hasn't been this long in 5 years and I have been tying it up a lot. These little hair rings are the only ones that maintain my hair up in a bun for the whole day and don't kink it. They also maintain their shape after a few hours no matter how much I stretch them out. I have mine for years but only now use them regularly. These are definitely pricier but worth every penny to me.



Tara Onion Remedy Concentrate* is something that I have been enjoying in April. It's a peptide,  amino-acid, mineral and antioxidant-rich serum for your scalp in order to stimulate and reinvigorate healthier and stronger hair. It truly nourishes my scalp, doesn't make it greasy or itchy and I noticed lesser hair fall.

YOUTUBE
I have also been discovering new and smaller Youtubers recently and two channels I have been obsessed with are Robert Welsh who is a professional makeup artist and has such a refreshing, normal approach towards makeup application and PENN.SMITH.SKINCARE LLC who is a master esthetician and thanks to her, I now have a deeper understanding of skincare.

If you are looking for new channels to follow then I highly recommend checking them out!

FOOD
Spending most of my time at home also means discovering lots of new recipes in April. So far I've made asparagus, mushrooms & kale and finally sausages, tomatoes and tortellini soups, Chinese hand-pulled noodles, hotdog buns, steamed meat buns, potatoes curry puffs and Swiss rolls. I have always loved cooking while baking tends to be my weakness but so far, I am slowly learning to be a better baker. I do think hubby is ready to boot me back to work because he has been gaining weight with all the food. I am not linking any recipes here as I usually research many recipes for a dish and then create my own version. Maybe that's why I am not the best baker...

NETFLIX
(source)

Honestly, I haven't been watching much TV but the one Netflix show that stood out to me is The Last Kids On Earth. Yes, it's a kid show. Yes, I got hooked on it while Little Tyke was watching it. #mumlife

Anyhoot, that's it for my April favourites and I apologize for the super-duper long post. How was your April?

Products marked with * are gifted but my thoughts and opinions are 100% unbiased, honest and my own. There is no place for any sort of BS here.
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© Reflection of Sanity
Maira Gall