January Favorites

January is one of my favorite months! Not only does it provide a fresh start to the new year, it’s also my birthday month! Between those two things plus organizing after the holidays, January keeps me super busy and I love it! Through all of this month’s adventures, I found so many great products ranging anywhere from fitness and games to skincare and makeup.

Starting with fitness, it’s no secret that Pilates has become a huge part of my life over the past four years. I’ve kept the same yoga mat that I had long before I discovered Pilates and while it does get the job done, it’s way too small. For Christmas, my husband upgraded me with one that’s much larger and thicker. He found it on Amazon for a more reasonable price than what some other brands charge. I think the color is so fun and love that it came with a carrying bag.

I’ve been using it all month and absolutely love it! It’s long and wide enough that I can stretch out completely without touching anything else. The extra padding is great for comfort and protection on my joints. I’ve also noticed that it doesn’t slip around as easily as my previous mat.

Fitness must’ve been the theme for this past Christmas because my husband also gifted me a mini trampoline! I usually hate doing cardio and since it’s not a common concept in Pilates, I have to sneak it in elsewhere. A trampoline is perfect for that because while it is incredibly challenging, it’s also super fun to jump around. This will get you sweating in no time and makes a 30 minute workout seem like a full hour!

With my new fitness equipment, I’ve been loving taking my workouts outside to get some fresh air. The setup is a little different, though, so I’ve been getting a lot of use out of these JBL earbuds. Over the ear headphones are usually more comfortable for me, but aren’t exactly ideal when moving around. These are great because they connect via Bluetooth so I can listen to music or instructional videos without worrying about wires or having something clunky on my head. These are nice and small, the sound is great, and I love the nude color!

I’m not sure where the thought came from, but the old Bop It game came across my mind a few weeks ago and I had to go get one! When our eyes have had enough screen time, my husband and I have been enjoying playing with this and trying to beat each other’s high score. I’ve lost track of who’s currently in the lead, but it’s just a fun way to get away from the computers, phones, and TV and bond together.

When we were on our honeymoon in Jamaica, I fell in love with their Blue Mountain coffee. It’s still my favorite coffee ever and we order whole beans pretty frequently from Macaw Coffee Roasters on eBay. They’re a small family-owned business that get the beans straight from the source and roast them the same day they ship them out. The coffee is always fresh and their quality just can’t be beat!

For my birthday, my husband decided to surprise me with Kona beans which is my second favorite. I’ve never had pure Kona coffee from Hawaii before and was really interested to taste the difference. It’s so good!!! It’s slightly more acidic and fruity compared to the nutty chocolate notes of the Blue Mountain beans, but they’re both full-bodied with a smooth finish.

This Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum was love after first use! A stylist used it when I got a trim right before Christmas and I couldn’t believe how soft it made my hair feel! I’ve always avoided serums in the past because I thought they would weigh down my already oily hair, but this one is so lightweight. It completely controls frizz and leaves my hair soft, shiny, and more manageable. It is a little pricey, but one pump is enough even with my long, thick hair so this 5 oz bottle should last for a while.

It’s almost been a year since I last used any whitening treatments on my teeth. I’m probably due for another round of gels, but before I jumped back into that I wanted to do a little experiment. The Crest 3D White products have worked great for me in the past. However, they did cause some sensitivity so I wanted to see what would happen if I just used the toothpaste once a day.

It worked! I use this at night and a more gentle Crest toothpaste in the morning. It hasn’t caused any sensitivity and I’m actually noticing my teeth getting brighter. It’s a much slower process than using gels, but it’s more convenient because I don’t have to mess with a separate whitening application throughout the day.

When I steam my face I usually just stand over a pot of boiling water and hold a towel over my head. That always works great, but it is a little inconvenient so I decided to order an actual face steamer from Amazon. I cannot believe how well this works! It’s ready to use in less than 30 seconds and creates a ton of steam that lasts for 10-12 minutes. This has been a life saver for my sinuses lately!

Natural deodorants have never worked for me in the past and this Kopari Coconut deodorant was the last one I was willing to try. Even though it had glowing reviews, I was very skeptical so I just purchased it in the small travel size. It does go on almost gel-like and takes about a minute to dry, but it actually works! The scent doesn’t linger too long and the formula hasn’t caused my skin any irritation.

I’ve been wearing a lot of cream blushes lately and since it’s a type of product I used to avoid, it’s been a journey trying to find my favorite formulas. So far the ColourPop Blush Stix (Invite Only) and the Flower Beauty Blush Bombs (Melon) have been the most impressive. The ColourPop formula is more creamy, whereas the Flower Beauty has a more liquid consistency. They’re both easy to blend and extremely pigmented. They have great staying power, but do need to be set with a powder.

During the holidays, It Cosmetics releases their IT Girl Beauty Book. I don’t usually pay much attention to the limited edition holiday products, but when this Volume 4 palette went on sale for half price I placed an order right away! This includes concealer, setting powder, bronzer, blush, highlight, lipstick, brow powder, eyeshadow and eyeliner. The quality is great and I love having my entire makeup routine (minus primer and mascara) all in one place!

My new favorite eyeshadow palette has been the ColourPop Nude Mood, as you might have guessed from my recent review and tutorial. Even though I hadn’t been impressed with ColourPop products in the past, I was really interested in their pressed eyeshadow formula and loved the color selection this palette offered. Aside from the one Super Shock shadow in the top row, the rest of the palette is total perfection!

One of the birthday gifts offered at Ulta this year is the (travel size) Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. I’ve had this mascara in the past and while I do remember liking it, I don’t remember it being this dramatic. I’m absolutely loving the bold effect this brings to my lashes. The formula is easy to work with, it hasn’t made any clumps, and it doesn’t flake off during the day.

After looking at all of these products, I’d say 2021 is off to a pretty good start. I can’t believe I found a natural deodorant that actually works or that I’m finally able to enjoy some ColourPop products. My new fitness equipment has been so much fun to play with and I can’t wait to see the long-term effects of using that serum on my hair.

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them for me in the comments! Have you used any of these products before? What are some of your January favorites?

XO ♥ Christina ♥

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