I wanted to start keeping track of my favorite things each month because I usually have a hard time deciding what to include in my yearly favorites. By the time December rolls around I don’t even remember what I was using the first half of the year! Let’s take a look at a few of my top beauty product picks for January.

In December, I got Toni & Guy Leave In Conditioner in my Glossybox and it sat on my counter for a couple weeks. I was skeptical since many hair products, especially moisturizing ones, tend to weigh my hair down. Eventually I got around to trying it, only to discover it was actually very lightweight and fantastic for detangling. One interesting thing I found was that I could even skip conditioning in the shower and use this instead and I get similar results. I love this because rinsing out conditioner seems to take forever and it doesn’t always rinse out evenly.

Nuxe Masque Crème Fraiche was another unexpected gem. I have only tried one other hydrating mask: Sisley Black Rose Crème Mask. It was lovely but insanely expensive. I’ve used this several times now both as a mask and even as a moisturizer and I am addicted. It has a very authentic-smelling citrus blossom fragrance which I personally love. The consistency is even nicer than the Sisley one – it melts effortlessly over the skin and leaves absolutely no sticky residue behind. It soaks in gradually but completely leaving my skin feeling perfectly moisturized and relaxed.

I have been using Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Serum for a few months. It’s supposed to smooth fine lines and texture, fade the look of wrinkles and brighten skin tone. I’ve tried a couple of retinol products in the past but they always seemed to irritate my skin. This one has been really gentle, thankfully. Over time, I have realized that when I use it consistently twice a day I actually do notice a slight smoothing of my skin’s texture and the tone looks more even. It’s nothing dramatic but it’s enough to make a difference.

Mary-Lou Manizer has become iconic as one of the best highlighters out there. I checked it out online a few times but I noticed that it was definitely a gold-hued highlighter and I had never found a golden highlighter that worked for me. I knew that theBalm also had a pink-toned highlighter called Cindy-Lou Manizer which I was much more interested in. So, when the holiday 50% off sale came around, I jumped on the opportunity and bought both. I thought they’d be pretty similar except for the color but it turns out that Cindy-Lou Manizer is much less intense and more subtle. Both of them are wonderful but during the winter months I gravitate toward more intense highlighters so Mary-Lou Manizer has been getting lots of love lately.

My last great find has been Too Faced La Crème Lipstick in Spice Spice Baby. This natural brownish pink shade is semi-sheer and the formula is rich, moisturizing and comfortable to wear – all my favorite qualities in a lipstick.