Saturday 28 December 2013

Best Of 2013: Ultimate Make Up Picks Of The Year


For me personally, I think 2013 has been a really great year for finding new products that I love! I discovered a ton of things this year that I can't live without. Some of my choices may not be new to the beauty world, just new to me but they have none the less become firm favourites in my beauty stash this year!


Like every beauty blogger I have so many favourite make up, skincare and hair care items. So the way I'm approaching this to avoid a post as long as my arm is to break the list down into individual categories. For example there'll be categories for favourite foundation, favourite palette and so on, and I'm going to pick one stand out favourite for each category, so this will be sort of an ultimate favourites list for the whole year! Which is pretty tough to put together when you have so many things you enjoy using so much!

I'll also be doing other individual posts for other favourites, including hair, skincare and just other general favourites. I'm trying to break the different categories down as much as possible so you'll only see the things that you're interested in. So if you like the sound of any of the other posts I'll be doing keep an eye out for those in the next week!

Best Foundation


If you've seen any of my FOTD posts, it'll be obvious that the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum is my favourite foundation.I can't say enough good things about it. It evens, it covers, it brightens and feels and looks like your own skin. What's not to love?

Best BB Cream



I don't claim to be an expert on BB creams, having only tried 2 or 3. I did however fall in love with Vichy's Idealia BB Cream. It covers fairly well without feeling heavy, and it leaves your skin looking radiant and all done in a natural way that makes it look like you have nothing on your skin.

Best Concealer (Under eye)



Maybelline's The Eraser concealer is a godsend. It doesn't completely get rid of the look of my under eye bags, but it does a great job of hiding the blue discolouration I get in my under eye area. Really easy to use, only takes a small amount to cover an area well, if I could only use this concealer for my under eye area for the rest of my life, I'd be happy to do so.

Best Concealer (Redness/Blemishes)



No brainer here! Collection Lasting Perfection concealer. Amazing, holy grail concealer. I know all bloggers sing this concealers praises and I'm going to be no different. It really deserves all the praise it gets. Works on everything, under eye area, blemishes, scars, redness. I don't know what I'd do if they ever stopped making this stuff!


Best Powder




Powder is a weird thing for me, I choose it based on how my skin is behaving. However looking through the ones I have the best all rounder and the one i reach for the most (as you can see from how little is left!)is MAC's MSF Natural in Light. It keeps oil at bay, provided you're not really oily, and just leaves a nice matte, soft focus look to the skin.


 Best Bronzer



My choice for bronzer isn't actually a bronzer - it's a blush!
 I use Dainty Doll's Money Talks blush as a bronzer, it's ideal for contouring and just as a general bronzer for us pale faced girls. It's not muddy or orange and is just perfect in my opinion!

Best Highlight (Cream)



Benefit's high beam is such a gorgeous highlighter, and I don't use it as much as my powder highlighters but it is hands down the best and most beautiful cream/liquid highlight ever!

Best Highlight (Powder)




MAC's Soft and Gentle wins it for me in the powder highlighter category. It looks scary but is actually really subtle and flattering when applied. You can see swatches here.

Best Blush (Powder)




You're all probably sick of hearing me mention Benefit's Rockateur by now, I pretty much mention it in every post! Its beautiful and I posted about it here if you would like to see it!

Best Blush (Cream)




This one was difficult to pick because I prefer powder blushes over cream formulas but Dainty Doll's cream blush Orange County Girl is a stand out one here for me. It's absolutely stunning! It's coming off as being pink in the photo above, but it's actually pretty orange toned in real life. Sounds scary right? It isn't, its beautiful and actually really wearable.


Best Eyeshadow Primer



Urban Decay Eye shadow Primer Potion is the only eye shadow primer I use, and I love it! I can't see myself ever using anything else as this works so well for me, also I have a full size tube of this along with about 3 of the smaller tubes that come with palettes so thankfully I'm set up with primer for a while! 

Best Eye shadow Palette



This is the category I struggled the most with. I have a lot of palettes, and I love them all! I ultimately had to go with my Naked palette. I have Naked 2 also, and if I had Naked 3 that may have surpassed it but for now, the original Naked palette is still my favourite of all the palettes I own.

Best Eye shadow (Cream)




Maybelline's 24 Hour Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold is a clear winner here. I like all the colour Tattoos that I own, but this is just beautiful. You can see swatches here if you'd like to.

Best Mascara



Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes is my holy grail mascara. It's one of those mascaras that gets better with age too, so I'm still loving it more each time I use it! I just wish this mascara wasn't so expensive as it leaves me with serious buyers remorse after purchasing it!

Best Eyeliner 



I have pretty much strayed away from liquid and gel liners this year, and I now reach for my Stila Smudgestick in Damsel whenever I want an eyeliner. It's easy to use, and doesn't budge from the upper lash line or the water line, and I now swear by it.

Best Brow Product




I've recently become obsessed with filling in my brows, and I'm loving MAC's fling brow pencil, it's just perfect!

Best Lipstick




MAC's Plumful is still my favourite lipstick of all time. Though it was hard to choose between this and Rimmel's Moisture Renew Lipstick in Vintage Pink. To see the post I did with swatches of Plumful, click here.

Best Lip Crayon





Catrice do really great Lip Crayons. Cheap, easy to use and the most moisturising formula of any I've tried yet. My favourite shade is this red that doesn't appear to have a name, but was part of a limited edition collection they had out this summer.


Best Lip Gloss



No7 High Shine gloss in Smile has been a great grab and go lip gloss for me. It's pretty on its own or over any lipstick, especially MAC's Plumful, winning lip combo for me this year!


Best Lip Balm



Nuxe's Reve De Miel is another holy grail product for me that I discovered this year. It's thick, hydrating and smells like Terry's Chocolate Oranges, why wouldn't this be a favourite? I apply this whenever needed and also a thick layer each night before I go to bed and I wake up with really soft, smooth lips!


Best Tool



The Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge has drastically changed not only how long my foundation application takes, but has also blown me away with how good it makes the finish of any foundation or concealer. It seamlessly blends base products with your skin leaving your skin looking perfectly flawless - even if it isn't!

BBest Over all Brand of 2013


I think that most brands have outdone themselves this year, but for me there's one that stands out the most and I believe they deserve a pat on the back and an honourable mention and that brand is Bourjois. 
Bourjois released so many new products this year and there wasn't one item they released that didn't have me curious and dying to run to the nearest stand to swatch and try things out. There's not one item this year from Bourjois that I purchased and didn't like, which says a lot for me as Bourjois products have always been hit and miss for me in the past. So there you have it! It was tough to narrow it down to just one item per category, but if I hadn't done that this post would turn into a novel! 

What are your stand out Make up favourites of 2013? Are any of yours the same as mine?





22 comments:

  1. I haven't heard much about Catrice before. The colour looks gorgeous though and the texture looks really good as well.

    IAmLinderella.blogspot.co.uk

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  2. Their lip products are great! Really cheap and a fraction of the price of other brands. The lip crayons are my favourites, really moisturising and have really great pigmentation, especially the one in this post! They're well worth a try if you can get them :) x

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  3. you got some lovely products this year. I got Plumful for christmas and love it Carrieanne x

    http://beautiesunlocked.blogspot.co.uk

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  4. Collection's lasting perfection concealer really does deserve the hype it gets, it is sooo good. Also, I definitely agree, Bourjois is my best brand choice this year also xx www.emilybelleblogs.blogspot.com

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  5. It's the most perfect lipstick i've ever come across! :) x

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  6. It really does, it's holy grail status for me now and if they stopped making it I really would be lost! x

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  7. The original Naked palette is also my favorite out of all 4. Also, Lancome mascaras are really nice. Thanks for sharing your favorites with us!

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  8. You're welcome Amaris! :)
    It'll be interesting when I get Naked 3 if it'll over take the original as my fvourite or not! x

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  9. Wow you went through so many categories!!! I definitely agree on the Bourjois Rockateur - that was nearly in my top 5 haha! xx

    Gem // Miss Makeup Magpie

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  10. I really struggled to narrow it down this much! Probably a sign that I have a slight make up addiction problem? haha! Rockateur would probably be my overall favourite of the year if I really had to choose! x

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  11. I love UD's primer! Benefit's blush looks so pretty! :)

    ahintofbeauty.blogspot.com/

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  12. I lost my UD primer a few weeks ago and did my eyeshadow without it, luckily it turned up a few days later because the lasting time without it is so different, being without it made me fall in love with it again! x

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  13. I agree with the foundation, healthy mix is amazing! I also love Mac's soft and gentle too! :)

    sophie-said.blogspot.co.uk

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  14. I love them both so much! :) x

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  15. That Maybelline concealer works great! I really want to try Reve de Miel! :)

    www.natalielovesbeauty.com

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  16. I believe the brightening version is even better for the under eye area, but I can't seem to find it anywhere but the light shade works great too! :) x

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  17. Great post, definitely agree with you on the foundation!

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  18. Thanks Cherry : ) It seems to be a firm favourite with lots of people! x

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  19. I really want to try the Benefit blush, it looks so pretty xx

    adaliascloset.blogspot.co.uk

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  20. It's pricey, but really worth the money I use mine every day and I haven't even made a dent in it yet, it's so pigmented you only need to tap your brush into it x

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  21. i really want to find a bb cream that works well on my skin. everyone is always raving about them, but every one ive tried has made me look and feel like a grease ball :(

    xlaraleex.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. I'm the same Lara! They don't work for me generally! If you have oily skin its hard to get one that works right, even then you still need to have powder with you at all times - just incase! x

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