The Mrs. Fisher: Friday Favorites

Here we are, the first Friday of the new year. Welcome to 2017 y'all! On Wednesday, I covered my goals for the year. And there's a Giveaway! Check it out, you could win a Stella & Dot Twilight Fringe necklace.

Today, I'm going to chat about my favorites of 2016, mainly my favorite make-up and beauty products of the last year.

I would be remiss though if I didn't start off with my very favorite thing of 2016 - this guy. technically we got engaged in 2015, the last 5 minutes of the year to be exact. But we started the new year engaged and I could not imagine marrying anyone else. There was a time when I thought I was never going to meet "the one". I was that girl that everyone kept telling, "relax, it's okay, the right one will come along at the right time, it takes time." I would roll my eyes and sigh and continue the dating rolling coaster. I was in my mid-30s, I figured if it was going to happen it would have happened by then, right?

Y'all. I can't even describe. But I met Phillip at the exact right moment in my life. And I knew. I knew the night we met. So being engaged to this guy for all of 2016 was definitely a favorite. I'm pretty sure when you poll me at the beginning of 2018, I will say that marrying him was my favorite part of 2017.

And now on to the rest of our program...

Make-Up Favorites of 2016

I don't always wear foundation. To be honest, I usually only wear it for special occasions. But this smashbox liquid halo foundation is my hands down favorite. I am very particular about how foundation feels on my face. Basically, I don't want to feel it. I don't want to know I'm wearing it. I have thrown away so many over the years that made me want to wash it off as soon as I'd put it on. Not with the smashbox. It is so light and I can never tell when I have it on. Love it!

My go-to concealer has been the Urban Decay Naked Skin. I use two shades, one for under eyes and the lighter shade for highlight areas - cheekbones, nose, etc. Again, this one provides weightless coverage which is a must for me.

The RCMA No-Color Powder is what I use as a setting powder over my concealer so it doesn't settle into my lines #almost40 #sigh. It's a great purchase, $12! And it lasts forever, a little goes a long way.

For the longest time I rolled my eyes at the thought of using a primer. Blah blah blah, I thought to myself. But y'all. It works. I only prime my eyes and I use this Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer. Again, like the No-Color Powder this one is so worth it. You only use a little bit and the tube lasts forever.

Hands down my favorite beauty find of 2016 was the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eye Shadow palette. I used it to create this look for New Year's Eve:

Lest you think I am some kind of makeup guru (I am not), I found a tutorial from one of my favorite You Tube Makeup Vloggers, Kathleen Lights. She and Jamie Paige are my two favorites when I am looking for a new makeup look to try out.

Most days I don't wear foundation, so my favorite face powder of 2016 is still the Lancome Dual Finish Pressed Powder. Enough coverage that you don't feel bare, but way lighter on the skin than foundation.

I tried a new liquid eye liner pen this year that I fell in love with, the Kat Von D Ink Liner. It's thinner than her Tattoo Ink pen, I find. It has super staying power, it lasts all day, but comes off easily when I wash my face at night.

I am a mascara junkie. I love using Sephora VIB points on trying new mascaras when they have samples. When you have thin, short lashes you are constantly searching for that holy grail mascara that is going to give you great lashes. The one I reached for more than any other this last year was Benefit's Roller Lash. On it's own or under a volumizing mascara, this one is a rock star.

Along with having no eyelashes, I have somewhat sparse eyebrows, especially as they taper out. Ugh. This last year I discovered Anastasia of Beverly Hills Dipbrow. I'm still playing with it to get perfect application (I feel very inconsistent, no matter what I use I feel like my eyebrows never look the same from one day to the next). However the product itself is amazing.

My favorite lipstick find of the year is Kat Von D's Liquid Lipstick in Lolita. It stays, the color is a perfect cinnamon rose color. Super flattering. I'm wearing it here:

If you have any questions about any of these, please shoot me a message! I love to chat about makeup.

Beauty Favorites of 2016

Having clean skin is super important. I can count on one hand the number of times I have gone to bed without washing my face since I started wearing makeup as a teenager.

The Lancome B-Facil eye makeup remover is my hands down favorite. It is a must have in my bathroom closet. It takes off my eye make up so easily. It lasts a long time too, so don't feel guilty about the purchase!

I use Cetaphil's Gentle Skin Cleanser on my face at night and Olay's Regenerist Pore Cleanser in the shower in the morning. My pores have gotten a little bigger as I have aged the last few years and I find this cleanser helps. And my facialist yelled at me for not exfoliating so now I use this St. Ives Green Tea Scrub. It also says it helps with redness which I have issues with as well. Every little bit helps! I love this product though and the green tea smells so good.

After I clean my skin I use eye cream and moisturizer. My favorites for 2016 were both by Lancome (I love their skin products). The Genefique Yeux eye cream and the High Resolution Moisturizer. I am scraping the bottom of the container on this one! Time to refill...

I discovered a new fragrance this last year and I am head over heels for it. Seriously, it is my new go-to. Elizabeth and James Nirvana Bourbon. Vanilla and bourbon notes mingle together to create a truly decadent scent. Love it.

I discovered a love of makeup brushes this year. For so many years I used the same three brushes - one eyeshadow brush, one blush brush, and one lipstick brush. As I started watching more tutorials and really trying new things with my makeup, I realized I needed to up my brush game. Morphe has TONS of brush options and they are very nicely priced for someone who needs to add a lot and doesn't want to break the bank at the same time. I won't tell you how many brushes I have now, ha! But I do have enough to try all the makeup tricks I want to.

I am naturally a curly haired girl. You hardly ever see me with curly hair in pictures because I feel like it doesn't photograph well. Occasionally, I catch a good one, like this one:

I try to wear my hair curly most days because it is kindest to my hair. Straightening it too much in the past has resulted in some not so pretty results. I started using Deva Curl products this year and I LOVE them. The No-Poo Shampoo and Conditioner leave my hair moisturized and soft. After I get out of the shower, I use an Aquis Microfiber towel and then a few pumps of a $5 product (no lie). My go to for great curls is L'Oreal Curve It Cream. I love it. Depending on how long my hair is, I use 2-3 pumps and work it through my hair and then let it air dry. When I do straighten my hair, I discovered the Aveda Smooth Infusion Styling-Prep and it really helps keep my hair smooth and shiny when I straighten.

And one final favorite from 2016 - I fell in love with Barre this year. Pure Barre Las Colinas is my home away from home. I love my instructors and the studio. Those 55 minutes a day allow me to shut out the chaos of the world and take 55 minutes just for me.