January Favorite Products, Future Happenings.

Today marks the end of January. So what better way to end this cold miserable month than with a blog about my favorite products for January. Or it could be the fact that I haven't developed feelings towards a new product to write about. 

I'll never tell...

Some of these products you've already seen in reviews whether you've loved me enough to cruise to my Influenster Profile and see my semi-daily reviews. Or you've loved me enough to check out reviews here; the home of Simply Dark Pleasures, for my lengthy dribble of words.

Some I haven't mentioned yet and might do a review later on. You never know with me. Even if I haven't talked about them yet, doesn't mean I enjoy them any less for it.

SACK OF FAVES!

Here we have a sack...well more like a makeup bag that never has anything in it, filled with everything that will be mentioned in this post. Every "New Year" I do make a resolution. It's been the same for the last five years or so and that has been, Not To Injure Myself! I never make it a full year without severely hurting myself, and since five days before Christmas I "severely" injured my right arm (we're not going all the way there), I decided to change it. This year I went with something simple. It's vain, it's beauty related and its SKIN CARE. Better skin was this years resolution. So there is quite a few skin care things in this months faves. 

We'll get the big guys out of the way first. This is Equates Three Set Acne Treatment System. My husband purchased this for me, as a start up for my new years resolution. It comes with your Cleanser, Toner and Repairing Lotion all in one kit for around 20.00USD. It's compared to Proactiv, but I've never used it so I can't draw any similarities between the two. What I can say is if it didn't work for me, it wouldn't be in my faves obviously. Another review? Possibly? Maybe?

Moving on...

When I ordered from Ulta.com last, they had this promotion going on if you spent 40.00USD you got this makeup bag stuffed full of samples for free. So, because, I was going to spend 50.00USD to get free shipping, I nabbed it and this was one of the samples. I'm in the "age range" where I do need to start thinking about aging skin (though I hate to admit it) and on top of having dry skin; especially during the winter, I need to exfoliate. I'm nearing the end of this tube already and I'm almost afraid to see how much a full size tube is. This stuff feels so nice on skin (though it is a bit rough, but exfoliates can be) my face feels so smooth after using this. It recommends only using it every other day, but I go about every two days since my skin can be quite sensitive. I'll be sad when this guy is all gone.

Another sampler from the makeup bag I got from Ulta Beauty, is dermalogica active moist face moisturizer. A facial moisturizer is an essential in my skincare routine, again for dry skin and it's winter in New York. And not the city either. Though my skin is normally lizard like dry, it likes to go fast food greasy on me if I'm not careful with what I put on my face. A lot of facial moisturizers do this to me, but this one does not. Another sample that I'm going to have to get a full size of, since it doesn't clog my pores, doesn't make me greasy and it does what it says it does. I've actually been using another one from Pond's to extend the life of this one. The Ponds one is good, but this one is amazing.

Breaking away from skincare now! But still on the track with a face product.

purminerals Correcting Primer
Prep & Perfect

purminerals Correcting Primer
Dark Spot Correcter

Never in my life have I ever owned a face primer, but I knew I wanted some, but my skin can be on the sensitive side, so I have to be careful. These came in a set of three, all were travel sizes, but for 20.00USD I couldn't go wrong with giving these a go. Let's just say, I'm sticking with these for now on, unless they're discontinued. The Prep and Perfect is great for all over the face and the Dark Spot Correcter has saved me from the dark circles under my eyes. No longer need to use concealer for my under eye area because of that. Needless to say that is awesome. Best part is, is they're nothing in these guys that will irritate my skin in any way, shape or form. It feels like silk being put on the face without feeling greasy. Win! My foundation has never laid better on my face and major bonus, these have anti-aging ingredients in them.

Lorac TANtalizer Highlighter and Matte Bronzer Duo. I reviewed this on Influenster and it most definitely belongs here on the list of my January faves. I'm not much for the "bronzed" look especially during the winter, but I do like the way contouring looks on me.

 And perhaps it's just me, but every bronzing powder I pick up has sparkle, shimmer, glitter or something shiny in it. Or it's WAY to orange on my skin tone. This one appeared more cool toned, there was no shiny bits in it and it came with a highlighter to match. Who could resist that? 

I use this every time I do my makeup these days. The only thing I can negatively say about this is the packaging is that mirror stuff that collects fingerprints like a forensic analysts dream! So it always look's a bit dirty when it really isn't. That's the only iffy thing about it, but the product itself is amazing.

Moving forward to the eyes. We have bareMinerals Mineral Eyeshadow in Sultry. Oh my Cheezit! This stuff is gorgeous! Beautiful, neutral, champagne, sparkly color. And pigmented. A little of this goes a loooooooong way, but it's just so darn pretty. Great for an all over lid color for a netural eye look and if you perhaps want a shiny highlight on the brow. Can't express in words how much I love this.

bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara

An area in which I'm extremely picky.
Mascara.
I've tried my fair share of mascaras and all of them have irritated my eyes or were just crappy all around (clumping, runny, applicator wasn't good). I don't have the fullest lashes on the planet, nor do I have extremely fine lashes. But my eyes, like my skin, are extremely sensitive to products. It doesn't take much to irritate them if something is even near them. I finally found a mascara that doesn't leave me wanting to dig my eyes out with a spoon. I don't know what the heck is the difference, all I know is that there is one when it comes to bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara.

Onto lippy products.

L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Satin

You know this was going to make this list, if you read my latest review. Besides me grabbing one shade that I didn't care for, this particular shade lives on my person, since I bought it. 

Rimmel London Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Lip Contouring Pencil In Natural
&
NYX Round Case Lipstick: In The Nude

I've been on a nude lip kick lately, probably because I've found some amazing products that fit my tastes. The Rimmel London Lasting Finish lip liner has been my go to natural lip liner for the month of January. If I'm not rocking my L'Oreal Lip Balm, this is what I'm wearing on a daily basis, under my lipstick or just on its own. 

Natural (nude) lip, lipstick is one from NYX. Nothing fancy, just their round case line, but this color is fantastic. The formula is creamy and leans towards the peachy side in color. It is a pearly like lipstick so the lips look glossy without the lip gloss. And for NYX prices, this is a steal and something I will be repurchasing again once it's empty.

NYX Lip Pencil in Plush Red
&
NYX Matte Lipstick in Pure Red

I normally reserve a bold lip for special occasions or if I'm going out with my husband and I want to look extra snazzy. I find that regular red lip products bleed on me no matter what I do, I do know a few tricks to prevent and even stop this, but sometimes I just want to slap my face on and get out the door. 

A lip liner for a red lip is a necessity, so I grabbed Red Plush from NYX in there standard lip liner pencil. It's a good liner and it's kind on the wallet too. It's a blue toned red, so it'll give the illusion of whiter teeth and is nice for fairer skin. 

NYX Matte Lipstick in Pure Red...Love! I thought maybe a matte red lip would help with the bleeding issue I have and it made a huge difference. To be honest, I don't have any other Matte lip product to compare this one to, but this one works for me. And I have used this on date nights with the husband and on the few rare days where I wanted to rock the bold lip just for the fun of it. Any other future Matte lip color I try is thanks to this one. I haven't worn this alone without a liner underneath, so as to whether it's drying to the lips, I don't know. It works, I love it and so it is a favorite. 

That wraps up my January favorites. I hope you enjoyed this post. I'm trying my best to get better quality photos for you guys, but until I save up enough for a new camera, what I've got is going to have to work.

Coming up, I'll be doing a small giveaway via Rafflecopter. I want to know what YOU would like to win and I'll go from there!
Also working on Simply Dark Pleasures first inspired makeup look, so keep checking for updates on that. Still working out the kinks on going about doing that via a blog post, but it's going to happen.

Remember to check out my Influenster profile where I try to update brief reviews daily click the widget on the blog to go directly there. Feel free to like me on Facebook at Simply Dark Pleasures, follow me on google plus, Twitter @Blog_SDP,  or send an email at simplydarkpleasures@gmail.com . All links to those are displayed as tabs or there's buttons floating around the site.

Simply Dark Pleasures does have a PO Box if there is something specific you want reviewed. Details are at the "About" section of the blog, you are never obligated to send anything.

Until Next Time,
Stay Creative.

Influenster....Beginnings.

It's finally time to do something with this post. 

Influenster?

 I stumbled upon a post from a friend on Facebook one day and happened to be sucked into this website. I've been messing around with the site on and off since before Christmas to get a proper feel for it. Plus with a bum arm (we won't go there) I have some extra time on hand to mess around with things so I don't go completely insane.

It's a free to join website where you basically turn your social media happens to possible rewards by reviewing products from makeup to places to travel. You can also answer questions other Influenster's may have or even ask a question yourself. All in the interest of possibly be rewarded with free products from brands you love or may come to love once you give something a try and telling people about it through social media. 

See where I may have been sucked in? 

Free stuff and all I have to do is spam my Facebook and Twitter with my opinion? Yes please!

Though qualifying for rewards is a little tougher than it sounds. You're competing with every other member on the site for free goodies. 

Though, the site is very helpful if you're into researching anything you may be wanting to purchase or just plain curious about. And I do mean anything. 

Want to know what someone else's experience was with that fancy new gizmo you saw advertised? Odds are that it's somewhere on Influenster with reviews from people who thought it was amazing or not so much. Want to try a new snack? Yep, reviews for that too. Companies aren't dumb, they know that 99% of their business comes from consumer word of mouth. If you're best friend tells you not to buy something, because it's utter crap and they have valid points to why it's crap, you will generally steer clear of it. No matter what it is. 

But free stuff for you're opinion right?

Yes, but you need to be active on the site, and that doesn't mean filling out a million reviews in one day. Or you could, but the site does allow you to focus on what interests you the most. The site breaks things down your interests by having you unlock "Badges", such as Influenster Badge, Expert Badges, Lifestyle Badges, VoxBox Bages and Brand Badges. I'm not going to get into much detail with the badges, since the "About" section on the website explains it WAY better than I could. But it's pretty simple once you get the hang of things. Each Badge has little surveys to fill out and the more you do with them, the higher your badge score. The premise of this is to have a high badge score so you qualify for those free goodies. The site does take time to update your badge scores though, which is one of my only complaints. Unlike here...*cough* I'm more active on the site and I find it does take a while for the website to update.

Not only do you need to be active on the site itself, but you NEED to be active on other social media sites like, Facebook, Twitter and other major social sites. It helps to have a blog or Youtube channel where you blog or vlog about your points of interest. This is probably where I fail big time, since I can't remember to update anything in regards to social media. And even then, there no guarantees for free stuff. The website actually doesn't hide that fact either, which is nice. 

Any and all information is upfront about joining. There's no hidden fees or obligations to purchase anything. I found it was easiest to start with things I've used for years or places I've shopped at for years. As well as, things that I'm not so fond of. Honesty is key. 

So far I haven't qualified for any free things yet, which is okay. I'll keep myself occupied by periodically go through and leaving reviews and maybe even updating the blog for a change. 

All in all this site isn't bad. It's actually a bit of fun if you have some time to spare or if you do stuff like this for a living. I would recommend at least taking a looksy around the site, I've provided a little link thing below for you to click on if you do wish to. It'll take you to my Influenster profile and you can see what I've been reviewing, then go on to browse through the site.

Until next time I remember to update this blog.
Stay creative.