December is finally upon us, so that means holidays like Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa are here, and that also means gifts-galore, as well as dry skin–so here are some products that I think are a must-have this December, whether it’s a zoom holiday event or a trip to the grocery store!
Thrive ‘Causemetics’ has released two of the most amazing primers that are not just a must-have, but a need! Their Filtered Effects Blurring Primer and Brilliant Face Brightener Illuminating Primer both deliver 110%. The blurring primer blurs out any issues, making it look like you are wearing a filter. I saw a video of it being applied to an orange, where the orange’s skin was blurred; I was skeptical at first, but it really does deliver! If you have any sort of skin issues that you wish you could get rid of, this primer is definitely for you. It also smooths out your skin and makes it look even. The Illuminating Primer makes it seem like your skin has a shine to it. It gives skin a beautiful glow and even shows through foundation! I find that you can also use the primers on their own, for a beautiful look without using foundation. Thrive Causemetics also makes a Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara that extends your lashes to make them look like you are wearing lash extensions, without any clumpiness. If you are looking for a natural look, brown is a great shade!
Huda Beauty has some amazing sets that are a must-have this December. Some sets are makeup, others are skincare, while some contain perfume; there are even some sets that are a mix of products! The perfumes, in general, are not overbearing and are great for all ages.
Huda Beauty has a skincare line called Wishful. They have a special Candy Cane Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub, just for the holidays. Skin gets dry during the winter, and they have a moisturizing sheet mask called Thirst Trap, as well as a chin lift mask that you can get separately, or as a set with their Sheet Mask Party. They work like magic to infuse your skin with moisture, and are one of the best moisture-infusing sheet masks I have come across! This was my first time trying a chin mask, but I could definitely tell the difference with a slightly more defined chin. They also have a variety of gift sets that contain minis perfect for trying out the brand. Check out a video of some Huda Beauty and Wishful items here.
If you are new to Wishful I definitely recommend the Bright gift set, as it contains three minis! Another one of my favorites is the Pastel Obsessions Bag & Brush Set. You get to pick your choice of one eyeshadow set in the colors mint (green), lilac (purple), or rose (pink), as well as three double-sided brushes and a limited edition Jelly backpack. The backpack is cute and I especially love these pastel shadows, as they go with any skin color! The mint is great for this season largely because green is in right now. The brushes that accompany the set are high-quality. They blend easily, are easy to care for and the fact that the brushes are double-sided makes it easy to create the look you want, without cluttering up your makeup bag.
Makeup by Mario. Yes, that Mario–Kim Kardashian West’s makeup artist has just released some beautiful quad sets. The shadows in the quads apply smoothly and evenly with little fallout. There are neutral colors (with shimmer), such as the Bronzy Glam quad, and more fun colors such as: blue, and gold in the Party Glam; and the Rosy Glam, with metallic purple, and deep rose. They also added eyeliners. These liners stay put for 24 hours without fading! They are very pigmented without being overly bright, so they can be worn for professional occasions like work. What I love about these liners is that they contain a brush on the other side, so if you want a smokey look, you can easily get it. Get a look here at the quad sets & eyeliner swatches. The plumping lip glosses are also great, and truly don’t hurt or tingle as they plump. The colors especially are beautiful.
Guide Beauty is truly a revolutionary new way to apply eyeliner. This eyeliner is easy to use and easy to clean! It creates a crisp and steady line. It is a two-step process: They have a tool and an eyeliner that you dip the tool into and apply while resting your hand on your cheekbone. I also found that their tool is great to use with eyeliner pots that you may already have in your makeup collection. They also have a brow product called Brow Moment. It is available in the colors light-medium and dark. It helps you shape/fill in your brows and set them! You can also get them in a set called Artistry Made Easy Holiday Collection, during this holiday season, along with mascara and replacements for the precision tip applicator.
If you are doing a lot of baking or cooking, or you know someone who is, you need to get Dreamfarm. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. They have the best kitchen tools I have ever seen. Not only are they easy to use but they are compact and easy to store. Additionally, most, if not all of their products have 2 usages in one, like their Holey Spadle for example, which is a spoon that you can also use as a ladle. You can use it with pasta, vegetables, or even fruit so you can serve it while draining it at the same time. My personal favorites include their Levoons and Levups measuring spoons and cups. They contain a leveler so you can make sure you are measuring ingredients accurately. Their pizza cutter, scizza, is a must-have for any college student. If you love avocados, or making stuffed peppers, or making anything at all that has leftovers, you can use Savel to keep the other part of the fruit or vegetable fresh. It keeps food fresh for longer than by simply leaving it in the fridge, and is a better choice than just throwing out half the produce. It is easy to use, store, and clean; and, you can save a little or a lot!
Dry lips? Treat Beauty has an amazing lip balm that works wonders at correcting dry lips: Oatmeal Cream Pie Jumbo Lip Balm with Colloidal Oatmeal. It contains colloidal oatmeal, which is known for soothing extremely cracked and dry skin. The first time I used it at night, I woke up and for the first time in weeks, my lips were not dry and cracked, but rather so moisturized I decided that I didn’t need to get a lip scrub! It also tastes absolutely amazing. Treat Beauty is known for its tasty and effective treatment balms, as well as their colored balms.
Dr. Barbara Sturm is a favorite of many celebrities, including Dove Cameron. If you have been wanting to try her items, they now have a Discovery Kit! Her products focus on hydration, anti-aging, and eco-friendliness.
If you get dark circles and lines under your eyes, The A Method Eye cream, Brighten Eyes, is a must-have! A Method is developed by dermatologist Tina Alster, who is known for working with celebrities and politicians. I am in LOVE with her eye cream. I often have dark circles, lines, etc. during this time of year, especially around finals, and this eye cream works miracles. It makes you look like you got a great night’s sleep whether you pulled an all-nighter or not. They also have an amazing lip balm, called the C-Kissed Lip Balm. I found it to be moisturizing and soothing. It is included in their 2020 Holiday kit pack, which gives you a chance to try a variety of products, including 2 of their new C Gel Facial masks.
Sugar & Kush recently released their first skincare line infused with CBD. It includes their CBD & CBG infused Sugar Scrub and CBD & CBG Infused Whipped Body Butter, which works wonders! The body butter is great for aching joints, especially with all these pressure changes. It is also very moisturizing and smells like berries! They also came out with a pumpkin spice CBD oil that, like all of their CBD oils, can be added to drinks or recipes, as well as put under the tongue. If pumpkin spice isn’t your thing, then you can try their Vanilla CBD oil, which goes great in coffee and desserts, or simply on its own!
There are a lot of benefits to keeping your skincare items in a fridge. It is said to not only extend the product life of skincare items, but it is also supposed to improve product performance. Many people swear by skincare fridges for cooling skincare items. Sephora actually has a SkinCare Fridge. It comes in two colors: pink and blue. This mini ‘fridge’ has not only a cooling feature but a warming feature as well, so that you can warm up things such as a towel for a facial, which helps you open up your pores before a skin treatment. FYI, I also find it is nice to warm up socks in the winter. For the cooling feature, you can place various skin products and skin rollers inside, like Sephora’s Mini Rose Quartz Facial Roller, for a nice cooling effect as you use it. There is a gorgeous brush set called Bright and Beaming brush set. It comes with a bag, so it’s easy to keep in one place. They also have a reusable Clay mask that is adjustable and is so comfortable and cooling!
We all know the benefits of a great blowout, and dryer brushes are the thing this year, so if you are going to get one, why not get the best? CHI has a Volumizer 4-in-1 blowout brush. It allows you to use it as a regular dryer, attach a brush, concentrator, or diffuser. I love the brush attachment; my hair didn’t get tangled and it gave me that smooth look with curled bottoms, easily and quickly.
Le Mini Macaron has come out with new nail polishes and kits for the winter. If you want to add a little sparkle to your nails, Rose Gold is a beautiful mix of pink and gold for the holidays. You can get it in a kit with a mini led lamp, wire, nail filer, cuticle stick, and 10 nail polish remover wraps.
If your eyes are getting tired, or if you are getting migraines from all the computer-time, you need to check out TheraSpecs. While this obviously doesn’t take the place of actual medical advice, TheraSpecs have been proven to help decrease migraines. They work by blocking/filtering the light spectrum that is known to trigger migraines, headaches, eyestrain, etc. They have both indoor and outdoor glasses, but you need to be careful not to wear outdoor glasses indoors. I noticed that TheraSpecs definitely helped me. According to TheraSpecs, they filter out almost 25x more of the light spectrum that causes issues than other blue light glasses.
Insert Name Here hair has a variety of products ranging from hair extensions to hair color. They are a great choice for the days you are too tired to do your hair before a zoom meeting. For their December Deals promotion, they have a different sale every two days, until Christmas day!
CHI LIFE Handheld UV Light Wand is a portable UV sterilizer that gets rid of 99.9% of germs within a minute. You can use it on toys, masks, cars, elevator buttons, shopping carts, and packages. It fits in a purse or even a deep pocket. It is a great tool to bring with you when you go out, to help sanitize things that you or your loved ones come into contact with. This will be particularly useful during the holidays! AirTamer makes air purifiers on the go! Simply charge them and wear them! The 4 purifiers have two color choices. They use negative ions to remove pollutants in the air within 3 feet, including smoke, and it gets rid of 99% of viruses. Check out their YouTube page here for more info and demonstrations.