13 for '13

It's the end of the year!  I hope you had a wonderful 2013, and I hope your 2014 will be even better!  I've picked out my 13 favorite products that I purchased in 2013.  These have been staples in my makeup, and I have adored them this past year. So, in no particular order:  13 of my 2013 favorites!

Urban Decay Naked Flushed Bronzer: This stuff is amazing!  It actually works with my skin tone and blends really well.

Maybelline The Falsies Flared/The Falsies: At this point, you're probably sick of hearing me (and everyone else on the face of this planet) rave about this mascara.

Essie Mint Candy Apple:  This is my absolute most favorite nail polish ever ever ever.  It's also my favorite color.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder:  Keeps me shine free.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner in 005 Nude: Also in my December favorites.

Nars Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base:  This primer is amazing at keeping my eyeshadow where I want it to be.  It doesn't smudge or wiggle around at all!

MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque: One of my good friends told me about this.  I use it mostly as a base for my eyeshadows, and it keeps them where I put them and adds a coppery/goldy undertone.  It is also amazing when you build it up and use it by itself.

EOS Raspberry Pomegranate: Raspberry and Pomegranate are two of my favorite fruits and scents.  So naturally, I love this EOS!

Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Eyeliner in Brown: This stuff works a trick.  I don't think I've gone a week without wearing it since I got it!

MAC Lipstick in Amplify:  You might notice that my two favorite lipsticks look similar.  I loved this one for fall/winter as it is a darker bright pink.  It's super creamy, and I always get complements on it.

Topshop Lipstick in Ooh La La:  This was my spring/summer lipstick staple.  (review)

MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked: One of MAC's most loved eyeshadows made it's way into my heart this year.

MAC Eyeshadow in Amber Lights: Another MAC crowd favorite.  I love these two coppery colors.  Because I have blue eyes, they suit me really well.

There it is!  Hopefully 2014 will bring me many new products to love!

December Favorites

Well, it's that time of the month again.  I have been RUBBISH at doing monthly favorites (don't worry-it's on my New Year's resolution list!), but I am actually sitting down, doing it now!

Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Flat Iron Perfecter Straightening Mist: I have thick, course, curly, crazy hair.  When I straighten it, it does not like to be sleek and smooth.  This spray actually makes it look like a shampoo commercial, which, of course, I love!  Also, it's a heat protectant, so it keeps my locks healthy and happy.

Benefit Watt's Up Highlighter: I got this as my birthday gift from Sephora, and it has quickly made itself my favorite highlighter.  I love the crayon-ish way it applies.  It is super easy to use, and delivers a beautiful, natural highlight.

Lancome Scarlet Blaze Lipstick: Everyone needs a bright red lipstick to wear to Christmas parties!  I've adored this because it is creamy and feels really nice on the lips.  It also stays on for a long time.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner in 005 Nude: An eyeliner that stays on my waterline?  I thought such a product didn't exist!  I've tried eyeliner after eyeliner, and they all either slide off onto my skin or evaporate into my eyeball.  Gross!  This stuff works a treat, though.  It stays on all day and brightens up my eyes.

Loreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner in Carbon Black: This is such an amazing product.  It is so easy to apply (and it's a liquid liner!), you can do a super-thin line or build it up, and it's great for drawing on your face (see what I mean about that here).  Unfortunately, it has a tendency to flake a bit.  If you pop it in your handbag, you can easily reapply it and fix the little baby flake-offs.  The flaking really isn't a big problem, but it's the only thing that keeps me from singing the miracles of this eyeliner from the mountaintops.

Let me know what your favorite products have been this December!

Product Review | Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer

Concealer in 125: Fair

So, I'm a bit shy when it comes to concealers.  I have one really nice one that I adore, and so I haven't really needed another one.  But, I heard so many great things about this concealer, so when my mom and I were getting new makeup, I decided to grab this.  I'm so glad I did!  I absolutely love the creamy formula.  It has really great coverage and blends super easily.  I love how it is highlighting as well as concealing.  I don't use this on blemishes, because of that, though.  The only complaint I have is the applicator.  It is a brush that you squeeze the bottle and it comes out.  I find that I often get more concealer than I want, so I have to really blend it out, and it gets annoying.  Also, if I try to not squeeze too hard, then I don't get enough product.  Aside from this, I adore this concealer, and would absolutely recommend it!

FOTD | Dinner with Friends

Tonight, I'm going to dinner with some friends, and I thought I'd do a Face of the Day because this is one of the looks I've been loving this summer!

Sorry for the crappy iPhone selfie--I had no one else to take my photo for me!

 

Products Used:

Face:

Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals Foundation in Light Beige

Alison Raffaele True Concealer in 1

Benefit Moon Beam Highlighter

Illamasqua Blush in Hussy

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 001 Transparent

Eyes:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Sin

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in YDK

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Half-Baked

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Bootycall (highlights)

Maybelline Eyeshadow in 70 Browntones (lighter color) (brows)

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Bourbon (review coming)

Maybelline the Falsies Mascara

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara

Lips:

Topshop Lipstick in Ooh La La (review coming)

Reviews of Products I Used:

Illamasqua Blush in Hussy

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 001 Transparent 

Let me know if you have any questions about how I created the look or if you want reviews of any of the products I used!

Summer Target Haul

Rimmel's Stay Matte Powder, Revlon Lip Butter, Essie Nail Polish, Maybelline Gel Eyeliner, Elf False Lashes

Hello!  Last week I went to Target to buy several items that I have been wanting for quite some time.  I went after my last exam to celebrate summer!  I have been using these products a lot over the past week, and I and I thought it would be great to review them for you.

  

To start things off: Rimmel London's Stay Matte Powder.  I picked this up in the shade Translucent because of my extremely fair skin.  I have been love, love, loving this powder!  My skin tends to get oily, and I feel like when  I wear this powder, my skin stays nice and matte for a lot longer than when I wear the powder I had been using.  I got it for $3.99.  My other powder was around the $30 mark, so I'd say this is a definite win!

 

Next up, the Elf false eyelashes.  I got both the natural and dramatic.  I am going to be in my school's musical next fall, and we have to wear fake eyelashes on stage.  I bought these because they were cheap, and I thought they would be a good way to practice using the eyelashes before I had to do it in a dressing room getting ready for a show.  These are a HUGE disappointment.   I watched a video on YouTube explaining how to wear the eyelashes, and I applied them correctly, but the ends did not stay put.  They kept popping up and it was so aggravating.  I tried waiting longer for the glue to get tacky; I tried waiting less time for the glue to get tacky; nothing seemed to work.  These were only $1.00 each, but I would much rather invest more money into false eyelashes that actually work.

 Essie's nail polish in "The More the Merrier" has been so great!  I have it on right now, and I absolutely love the bright, chartreuse color!  I already wrote about it on my blog here, so read that if you want more information.  It was $7.79.

Recently, I have really been loving Revlon's Lip Butters.  I purchased two colors this winter, and I wore one all the time.  I love the way the feel and the way they look on my lips.  They are so nice and they do moisturize really well.  I picked up a third shade, Pink Lemonade.  I love this color!  It is really light (I tried to do a swatch, but it barely showed up!), and it's a nice pinky wash of color.  I love this for when I don't want to look like I'm wearing a ton of makeup or if I have done bolder eyes and lots of blush and highlighter so I need something light to balance it out.  It was $6.49, and well worth the buy!  I think I will continue to buy these until I have them all!

I have never tried gel eyeliner before, but I have wanted to for a long time.  I've seen so many people praise the Bobby Brown gel eyeliner, so I was set to try that.  Then, I started noticing people loved the Maybelline one just as much.  Because it is much cheaper at $7.99, I decided to purchase it first, so that I wouldn't throw too much money down the drain if I hated it.  I have not hated it though!  It is so nice and lovely to apply.  I got it in brown because my coloring is really light, and black eyeliner is so dark on me.  It is a great dark brown color, and it shows up really well.  It is also so easy to do a little cat-eye flick with this stuff, which I absolutely adore!  It can be hard to do that with a pencil because it can be tough to make it go exactly where I want and liquid just goes everywhere, so I've definitely found myself a keeper!

 

One random skincare item I got was Aveeno's Skin Relief Moisture Repair Cream.  I wasn't planning on blogging about this, but oh my word!  I picked this up because it was the only non-comedogenic  lotion that Target had, and I was out of the stuff I usually use.  I was bummed about it being in a pot rather than in a bottle with a pump, but I have gotten used to it more quickly than I would have imagined.  This lotion is so extremely moisturizing.  I think it is absolutely perfect. It stays on all day too, which is nice as I have found that some lotions tend to fade away.  I absolutely love this product.  It was $11.59, but this pot will take me a long while to work through!

 

So that's it!  I got so many things that I've been wanting to try, and I've loved most of them.  Leave me a comment telling me what you think about these products or tell me about something that you've recently picked up and are loving!