2016 felt like a breeze! It was so fast that I felt like I was always running out of time haha. Nevertheless, 2016 was definitely a good year! There were a lot of lessons, adventures and memories that the last year brought me that I will surely value and treasure for the rest of my life.

When it comes to beauty products, there were also a lot of new things that I discovered and got to try last year. I recently went back to all my 2016 favorites posts to see which of those products I actually used and liked the most. You may have seen these products already and I know at times I usually post them again and again haha. That just goes to show how much I use these products and how much I want to make the most out of them.

Anyway, here are my top favorite products from 2016.

• SKINCARE

I've used this Avene Thermal Spring Water Spray so much last year ever since my mom gave me one from her stash. Until now, this is is my go-to water spray and I use this mostly to dampen my Real Techniques sponge when applying foundation, CC or BB cream. I also use this to moisturize my dry face and also for relieving itchy areas of my body.


I also discovered this Avene Light Hydrating cream last year when it was given as a free sample when my mom stocked up on their products. This is so good! It's not very thick and heavy but it is so effective on removing dry, patchy areas on my face that their other moisturizer (Cleanance Emulsion-Lotion) can't do. I mainly use this in the morning since it has SPF on it.

I haven't stocked up on the Biore Micellar Water again but it's definitely one of my favorite products of 2016. I used it so much last year because it was so good in removing makeup from my face. I even used it after I wash my face in the morning or at night. I'm currently using a different micellar water at the moment, which is the one from Garnier, but this Biore one will always have a special place in my vanity.

• HAIR PRODUCTS

There are only two products included in the hair catergory. The first one is the Organix/OGX Argan Oil of Morocco. This is really good! I got this from a set way back and I've used this so much last year. Aside from smelling so good, this works very well in taming and moisturizing my hair.


The other product, which is a late discovery for me, is this CO LAB Dry shampoo. I've tried other dry shampoos before but this is the best one so far! Other brands of the spray type usually leave a white residue on the hair that is so hard to remove while powder ones are sometimes a bit too difficult to apply because it scatters all over the place and you really have to blend it out well. However, this dry shampoo from CO LAB doesn't leave any white residue and it's very easy to use as well. It doesn't make my hair sticky or stiff even if I use loads of this.

• MAKEUP

  FACE:

There are only two products that I've used consistently last year. These are the LA Girl BB cream and Bourjois 123 Perfect CC cream. I didn't like these two at first but after using them for quite a while, I eventually learned to like them.

I sometimes use the LA Girl BB cream on its own as a primer. I love that it minimizes and hides my pores. It's also so good for "no makeup makeup look" days. However, out of the two, I like the Bourjois one more. This CC cream is really good because it gives a very dewy, natural flawless finish! It can be a bit drying so I always apply this with a damp makeup sponge.


For concealer, nothing beats this NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer for me. I love this product because it is not drying to use and it conceals my dark circles very well!

  EYES/EYEBROWS:

This Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara has been my go-to mascara last year. I love that it separates and coats each strand to make it look much longer and thicker. However, don't expect too much volume with this mascara unless you use loads of this on your lashes.


For eyebrow products, only two products have been my go-to last year. I loved using this Essence Make Me Brow Mascara to tame, tint and add volume to sparse areas of my brows. This is said to be a dupe for Benefit's Gimme Brow since it also has fibers on it that adds volume to your brows. The other product is this eyebrow pencil from Daiso. Aside from the fact that this is very affordable, it's so easy to use and does the job pretty well!

  CHEEKS:

This blush is a no brainer kind of blush for me. When I don't want to look too made up or when I don't know which blush to wear, I'd usually go for this blush from Essence. This works well with different looks and it's so good for everyday wear. I also love the fact that this is very cheap for 5g of product.

  LIPS:


For the lips, I used these Colourpop Liquid Lipsticks so much last year. I learned that I love the satin formula more than the matte because they're more forgiving on the lips. I find the satin ones are more comfortable to wear. My favorite ones are Lumiere 2, Echo Park, Dopey and Alyssa. Lumiere 2 is the only matte liquid lipstick out of this bunch.



On days when I don't want to wear lipstick or liquid lipsticks, I'd usually go for these lip tints from The Face Shop. I have a pink shade and a red one. I wore these tints all the time ever since I received them as part of my friends' birthday gifts to me. Aside from the cute package and being very affordable, I love that they're so easy to use and very comfortable to wear.

That's it for my 2016 Favorites! So excited to try new products this 2017. Hope you enjoyed this post and for much more in depth review of these products, check out my 2016 monthly favorites posts here in my blog. 😊

I'm posting this late (and my December 2016 favorites as well) because a lot of things happened these past few months that I wasn't able to keep up and update my blog. As I've said in my past posts, I really wanted to document every favorites I have each month so I'm still posting this even though it's already very late. There were only a few things that piqued my interest for the month of November and here are these things:

First are these two liquid lipsticks from Colourpop. I've done another mini Coloupop haul during the month of November and these two were part of that. These are the Colourpop Ultra Satin Liquid Lipsticks in the shades Alyssa (part of KathleenLights' recent collab with Colourpop) and Dopey. I really liked these two from the formula down to their longevity. These shades are also very nice and perfect for every day wear. Really worth it! I got these cheaper (almost P300) because my friends and I ordered directly from the US.


The photo doesn't show the actual color of these liquid lipsticks but they do lean more on the pink-y than on the brown neutral side.

The third and last one is this pink Onda powerbank (20000 mAh) that I purchased from Lazada. I got this for only P1199 but I just checked Lazada and I found this very same powerbank currently discounted and being sold for only P837.



I get many charges from this powerbank and I like the fact that it has 3 USB ports and some other ports for other charging cables so you can charge devices at the same time. It also has a power button although it automatically turns on and off once you attach or remove your cable. This powerbank also has four very small light indicators on one side to show how much battery is left.



I love the color of this powerbank and how it is so slim despite the fact that it is pretty heavy and large to tote around with. I brought this with me to my recent trips and it really is heavy. However, I couldn't really complain because it charges my devices pretty well. I can charge my iPhone 5s for about 6-7 times and two indicator lights remain lit indicating that there is still about half of charging power left for me to use.

Anyhoo, back to what this post is really about hehe. I'll be sharing my August 2016 Favorites today! There are only a few items but I hope you still find it useful and informative if ever something piques your interest. 

For lips, I've enjoyed the Nature Republic Tint in 03 Orange (reviewed here) and used this so much especially during the start of August. This gives a youthful look (as with any other tints) and is so easy to use. I also love the fact that it helps brighten up your face and that you can wear this on days when you're too lazy to put anything on.

I've swatched this tint below and it gives you a very nice, true orange kind of shade.

These two lip products are what you'll most probably see me wearing in most of my pictures this August. I've been loving Snow (and also Snapchat), which my friend introduced me to, so I've been taking a lot of selfies with cute filters hehe. So most of the time, these two lip products are what I've been wearing. The liquid lipstick is the Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Lumiere 2 while the other one is their Lippie Stix in Lumiere.

I've had this brush tucked inside my nail polish kit because I still can't seriously find any use for it. It seemed useless until I realized that I could try using it with my gel liner. Surprisingly, this worked well enough! It may not be the best because the bristles are softer compared to that of an actual bent eyeliner brush but it does the job pretty well. It made me love applying gel liner again because it makes it easier and faster to do so! I'm now contemplating on buying a real bent liner brush though haha!

I have one pair of earrings and a watch that I've been loving since August. This short stars ear crawlers are from this new Korean Accessories store called N.Cat. I bought this for only P48, along with a pair of gold line earrings (not in the picture). This is so cute and it also comes in red but I liked this one much more.

My Dad bought me this Timex watch last month and I've been using this so much!! I didn't want to buy another watch anymore because I already have enough and most of them I haven't even worn as much. I felt like it would just be a waste to buy a new one. But as soon as I saw this, I fell head over heels in love and I couldn't let it go haha! I was contemplating between getting this or the gold one with pink strap. But the latter seemed too girly so I chose this one instead. I'm glad I chose this because you can wear and style it with many outfits.

I started including this category last month because I've been enjoying watching TV series and reading Webtoons again. This month, I've enjoyed reading two Webtoons. One is still ongoing while the other one is already completed. 

The next one also involves Vampires. There you go, Vampire themed Webtoons haha! I also thought that I wouldn't like this one but I gave it a chance and I'm so glad I did because it is really good! It is very entertaining and funny! This series is called, Untouchable, and if you start reading this you'll understand why that is the title of this Webtoon. Love it and I can't wait for the next chapters because it is still ongoing!! This makes me so impatient, I can't wait for more nakakakilig moments haha!

I have a number of exciting favorite items for the month of July, including two TV series and a Webtoon. I really think that I have good ones for this month so I'm excited to share them with you!

I only have two items under the makeup category. First up is this Colourpop Ultra Satin Liquid Lipstick in the shade Echo Park. I first saw this in one of Ingrid Nilsen's videos and ever since then I made up my mind that I would buy this on my next Colourpop haul. I love this shade because it's so easy to wear. This is a gorgeous, nude peach shade that is perfect for everyday wear. 

I didn't think that this would suit my skin tone but after seeing swatches online I decided to give it a try. I asked my friend to buy this for me and we got it cheaper because her uncle bought it directly in the US. I also purchased a few more items from Colourpop and I will be posting a mini haul, including the swatch of this liquid lipstick, one of these days. 😁

I decided to try this Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara after hearing so many people rave about this. This is actually one of Zoella's favorite mascaras so I couldn't help but try it! I've also finished up my K palette mascara so I had an excuse to finally buy this one haha! I'm so glad that I did so because I've been really enjoying this mascara so much until now. I love that it really holds the curl, and that it lengthens and separates my lashes well to make them much more prominent. 

I've also been using this Avene Thermal Spring Water Spray, which my mom gave me, so much lately. I use this loads before and after applying makeup. I love this product because it has so many uses. I use this on areas in my body that get itchy too and even use this to freshen up during hot, humid days. 

I have one hair product included this month. Since it's still very hot here in Manila, my hair becomes too dry and brittle even after using a conditioner. I'd usually use this Argan Oil of Morocco Penetrating Oil from Organix (OGX), which I already reviewed here, after shampooing and conditioning my hair. I've loved this product so much this July and I'm still using it as of this writing. I love that it makes my hair really soft! It detangles my hair and prevents it from becoming frizzy so that it's much more manageable.

I finally found this Taiwan 216 lashes at Trinoma last month. This is so cheap! You get 10 pairs for only P99. I'm so happy that I finally found this because I can't find it anywhere in Divisoria or in the mall near where we live. I like the fact that it looks very natural when used. I think I read somewhere that these are handmade so they really look like real lashes. 

These lashes are a little bit tricky to use though as these tend to move around if not properly applied because the stem is quite flimsy. I'm still practicing but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. But for the price and quality, this is really good! I'm planning on buying other lashes from this same brand as soon as I totally master how to apply this.

I rediscovered these gold beaded ribbon nail stickers when I was sorting through my nail polish box. I didn't really like these stickers before because I felt like these restricted me from doing anything with my hands. But I enjoyed using these on my bare nails last month. I'm so excited to try and experiment with other designs too! I think I purchased this set for only P29.75 at Landmark, Trinoma.

For TV series, I've watched and finished the Master's Sun last month. It was a great series and I liked the fact that it's not like your usual kind of KDrama. I really enjoyed watching it and this kind of KDrama genre is really something new for me hehe.

I then proceeded to watch other series starring So Ji Sub (because I was so mesmerised by him after watching the Master's Sun hahaha) so I watched Oh My Venus afterwards. I'd usually see this in the recommendation section when I was still busy watching the Master's Sun but I thought I wouldn't like it so I passed up on this for a while. But OMG, this is really good! 

It's my first time to include a webtoon in my monthly favorites! I just can't help but share this wonderful thing with you haha! I've been really enjoying the webtoon, Cheese in the Trap, ever since I discovered it last month. I just can't stop reading it! I'm still currently reading this webtoon and, as of this week, I'm already in Season 2. 

This webtoon is really popular and it was recently turned into a TV series. I first saw the TV series when I was browsing through the Dramot+ app. I wasn't interested at first because the title made me skeptical and I didn't think that I'd find this interesting at all. I actually thought that the TV series wasn't based on anything until I discovered this webtoon when I was looking for a something new to read. I still haven't watched the series though but I'm a fan of the webtoon now! I just can't stop reading it and I keep wanting to know what would happen next! 

I read mangas and webtoons on the Manga Rock app and I also downloaded another which is the Manga Bird. Both of these apps have high ratings in the App Store. 😊