2013 Favourites - Part 1

Hello there;

This is the first beauty post of 2014, so why not look over the past year and see what my most favourite and used makeup products were. 

Shall we dive right in?

Primer

Monu Illuminating Primer SPF15 - £24.95 50ml - www.monushop.co.uk

I got this travel size (20ml) in a recent Glossybox and at first I wasn't struck on it as it goes on rather white. But I stuck with it and I love it, after a couple of minutes the whiteness does sink in leaving a smooth canvas for the rest of my make up. I have used it every time I do a full make up look. My foundation sticks to this primer and I feel like it gives me that extra little something.

As you can see in this photo the sheer white that it first leaves. It has a lovely creamy texture and a little goes a long way. When this bottle has all gone I will defiantly be buying the full size. I do think that £25 is quite pricey for a primer but knowing that it will last me a long while I will pay that little extra.

Foundation

Rimmel Wake Me Up - £8.99 30ml - www.boots.com

The holy grail. The one everyone talks about. The best drugstore foundation there is.

Yes I am on that bandwagon. And no I do not care. If you have used this then you will more than likely know what I am saying. 

I have been using this foundation for well over a year now and even though I have tried other brands; I tend to come running back to Wake Me Up. 

I wear the shade 200 Soft Beige, it is a tad darker than my natural skin colour but I will tone it down with a light powder if I am not tanned from the electric beach. This foundation has a very slight shimmer to it, which leaves you with a dewey glow to your face. I know hat this doesn't suit everybody but personally I prefer it. For some reason my skin is quite dull so this wait for it.... wakes my face up. 

I find the coverage is really good and it blends fantastically. For £8.99 you can't beat the product you get. As another bonus it is usually on offer somewhere. Like right now (dated 06.01.2014) it is on offer at Boots for £6.99. How cheap do you want it?! 

If you haven't tried this, I suggest you get off your little butt right now and buy it.

Concealer 

Collection Lasting Perfection - £4.19 - www.boots.com

Similar to above, another of the beauty bloggers holy grails. But seriously guys, have you tried this? If you haven't why? I want a good solid reason why you haven't. There is a reason why everyone raves about it and it's because it is the bee knees. It highlights, it covers any form of blemish, it blends  so well and it lasts. Maybe not quite 16 hours but for a long while. 

I wear the colour 2 light, I found the fair was far too light and was hard to blend out. This colour is perfect for what I need from it. I suffer really bad with bags under my eyes and no this doesn't make them disappear as I would need a miracle for that but it covers them look so I don't look zombie like. 

I haven't tried many other concealers and I probably should, so this product gets fair competition. But I don't want to waste my money on a product that doesn't do what this does. And for just over £4, who is complaining?

Powder

Mac Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation - £21.50 15g - www.maccosmestics.co.uk

This little guy changed my life, when I accidentally brought it by mistake, I used to use the sheer/pressed powder. But as if it was meant to be I brought this instead and I have never gone back. 

Oh look new powder....oooooooooo

I am so glad I have a new powder to show you as the other two are on their last legs and look disgusting. No not disgusted well loved, that seems a better description. This is a little more high coverage than most powders as it has foundation within it. I have found that if you use a powder brush it does go on a little more sheer and not as heavy; than if you use the sponge that comes with it. 

I do use this on its own, on them lazy days when I can't be bothered to use foundation. Pop a little concealer on first then this and your skin is just as flawless. I use the shade NW25 which seems to be a steady medium for me, seeing as my tan is a little all over the place. 

The product it self lasts ages I think I have brought 2 all last year. Granted I do not use them everyday but I still think that is good for the amount that I do use them. I do feel that I need to explore Mac a little more, so this year I am going to try more of the powders and whatnot. 

Brows

Nyx Auto Eyebrow Pencil - £4.00 0.25g - www.nyxcosmetricsstore.co.uk

I have always been a little dubious with playing about with my brows. I have always had quite a strong brow look and I have never felt comfortable making them look bolder, until I went to Ibiza and felt a little crazy. I used a powder in my brows, so when I went to Pro Beauty North and saw the Nyx stand, I knew it was time to buy a brow pencil. SO glad I did. 

The pencil is super soft and makes it very easy to fill in your brows. I have gone for the colour #EP04 Brown and I feel this is the perfect shade for me. 

Sadly you don't not get a lot of product and I have almost ran out after only having it 3 months. But I guess for £4 it's not a massive issue to repurchase it. I know that I don't really have anything to compare with this, so maybe I shouldn't have really put this in this blog. But yano what, it's my blog and I want to put it in here! 

Bronzer

Benefit Hoola - £23.50 8g - www.boots.com

OH MY GOD. In love. 100% in love. Why has it took me until 2013 to try and buy this. Someone please tell me! 

I totally understand the hype around it. And if you haven't tried this yet, I hope I pass that hype onto you.

Just look how pretty it is. It is the perfect matte bronzer, granted it is a little dark so don't pile your brush to high with it. Or you will resemble Elvis's sideburns. (Yes I learnt this the hard way). 

I find the brush that comes with it useless, its far to rectangular for my liking. So I just use a little powder/contouring brush and apply it lightly to my cheekbones, slowly building it up. 

I have tried a lot of different bronzers this year and this one just blew them all out of the water. Do I think it's a little expensive, yes I do. But I do see this lasting a long while. 

It blends lovely into the skin, my cheeks always look a little slimmer with this on and when I brush it over my face I look super tanned and feel amazing. 

Blusher

Benefit Rockateur - £23.50 5g - www.boots.com

How could it not be this. A rose gold blusher, I am all over that. I do dislike the packaging though which seems to be a common trend with this product. But I can overlook that because I adore the colour of the blush. 

It has a slight scent, which if you have sensitive skin may cause some irritation so just be warned about that. 

As you can see from the photo about I have used this loads, I love the brush that comes with it. It applies the product so easily onto your face with little fall off.

It does have a lot of shimmer within which may put people off who like a matte finish. I personally like this for a night out or a meal somewhere as I feel it brightens my face up. I wouldn't use this as a day to day. 

Again with Hoola I do think this is expensive and you get less in this. I know there was a little controversy over that. But again the same as Hoola, I can see this lasting me a while. I don't think I will repurchase this though straight away as I want to try other blushers over the next year. 

Eyeshadow

Naked 2 Palette - £37.00 - www.debenhams.com

This palette has got a firm place in my heart. I have just purchased the Naked 3 but I have hardly used  it. But this has been used on a weekly basis. It is a perfect neutral collection with matte and shimmer shadows inside. 

They are super pigmented and just blend wonderfully, I have had so much fun this year playing about with this. Most of the looks that I have posted on Instagram I have used this palette. My favourite colours are;

Booty Call - As a eyeshadow base colour. This champagne colour has a slight shimmer in it.

Chopper - Again as a bit of a more sparkly base colour, the copper also works well in the crease. 

Tease - This pale brown I use for my eyebrows when I don't want to use my pencil.

YDK - This cool bronze colour is amazing for a smokey eye look.

Busted - A browny purply colour again is great for a slightly softer smokey eye look.

Blackout - A matte black that blends great for outer edge and crease use.

I am not even close to hitting pan on any of these which I am so pleased about seeing as they are pretty much sold out at the moment. I hope the Naked 3 is just as fun as this has been for me this year.

Eyeliner

Be A Bombshell - $14 - www.beabombshellcosmetics.com

Sadly this is an American brand but I received it in a GlossyBox a few months ago. But since I got it, I have been going back to it over and over again. It is so easy to use.

With its felt tip like tip it is easy to apply the product with a clean edge onto my eyelids. I have the colour Onyx. The pigment in this black is amazing. It doesn't smudge or leave gaps which for me is a personal bug bear. 

From that photo it almost looks brown, but sadly mines drying up now -insert sad face here-. I would say that is the only downside to the felt tip eyeliners is they do dry up super easy. I hope I get more products from Be A Bombshell in my Glossy or Birch boxes again as this has really made me love the product. 

Kohl Eyeliner

Mac Eye Kohl Powersurge - £14 1.45g - www.maccosmetics.co.uk

A couple of months ago I went looking for a nice gold eyeliner so I could line my lower lash line, making me look a little more awake when I needed it. So while I was in Meadowhall I wandered into the Mac area of Debenhams and was advised on this product. And can I just say thank you to the lady who recommend it me. It is brilliant.

It is such a deep gold, really pigmented, only downside is you have to work it onto your eye a little. But i've found warming it up a little helps loads. Once it is a little warmer, it does glide onto your skin quite easily with a great pay off.

From using this I really want to try the other colours in the same line. I really don't think £14 is a lot of money to say this is a Mac product and its a long Kohl. The only question is, which one to try next!

Lipstick

Mac Ruby Woo - £15 3g - www.maccosmentics.co.uk

Best red lip colour ever. I have quite a few red lipsticks/crayon/gloss's. But none of them compare to my Ruby Woo. It has to be my most favourite colour ever. And I love rocking a red lip. 

It is quite drying as this is a matte lipstick, so always place plenty of balm onto your lips before using this product. I feel like this is the perfect classic red that resembles the 1940 movie stars. And that is exactly how I feel when I wear it.

It has blue undertones which suit my skin tone perfectly. I could go on and on about how much I love this product. But that would bore you and this post is long enough. So you get it. I love it. The end.

Lip Crayon

Bourjois Paris Colour Boost Lip Crayon Red Sunrise - £7.99 - www.boots.com

I wouldn't call this a lipstick, maybe a lip balm with a little more coverage? Would that be a fair statement to make? Either way I have loved using this over the past year. 

As you can see its been used a lot and I wished I got all of the colours when they were on offer recently. It has such a creamy texture and just glides onto your lips easily. It also has SPF 15, bonus!

One of the downsides to this is it doesn't really last, you find yourself topping up a lot. I am not a massive fan of lipgloss so this is about as close as I will get to using one. 

This is one of the better lip crayons that I have used and I will keep using until they are discontinued.

Nail Polish 1

Essie Mint Candy Apple - £7.99 15ml - www.boots.com

What a cult colour this is. Mint green. And such a perfect mint green. I wore this to Ibiza and wore it with pride. 

The Essie formula is amazing. They are so pigmented that it only takes 2 coats and it looks solid.

Ooops, bad quick nail job there

I don't often paint my nails, as I am a gelish girl, but when I do I always reach for Essie. I used to this that they were really expensive but I don't anymore. I am more than happy to pay £8 for them, as I know they are worth that money. They don't chip easy and yeah, just amazing.

Nail Polish 2

Essie Watermelon - £7.99 15ml - www.boots.com

Oh look another Essie. Shocker.

Again another cult colour that all the beauty bloggers at some point have raved about. 

This is such a beautiful pink colour. I adore it. I took me about a month to find this as it was sold out everywhere. But when I fondly got my hands on one, I wore it for weeks! Defiantly one that will be a firm favourite for a long long while.

Mascara 1

Maybelline The Faslies Black Drama - £7.99 8.2ml - www.boots.com

I have been a fan of this mascara since it came out. I am not going to blab on about this because I did all the blabbing in my mascara review. 

It is just an amazing lengthening mascara. Only downside is when the little fibres get into your eye. OH THE PAIN.

But other than that yes 10/10 for this mascara.

Mascara 2

Rimmel Scandaleyes Flex - £6.99 12ml - www.boots.com

What a brilliant mascara, you can build and build on this and your eyelashes do not go clumpy. I am so glad I have kept using this, this year as it has really paid off. 

Sadly this one is drying up now. But it is currently on offer (dated 06.01.2014) for £4.99 at Boots. So I may just have to repurchase this bad boy.

Mascara 3

Benefit They're Real - £19.50 8.5g - www.boots.com

I am such a mascara whore. Sorry.

I know I have priced it up in the description for a full size, but I haven't opened it yet. So you can have my travel size for eye viewing. 

You should all know how amazing this is. Its the best. That's why I have saved it till last. I have fell utterly in love with it over the past month. But again go check out my Mascara blog post for more of my opinions on this mascara.

AND THAT'S IT.

The end. No more. And you have made it to the bottom. 

No you don't get a prize. Just the satisfaction of reading a massive make up post. Now don't you feel good about yourself right now. Ah, I thought so. 

What were your favourites in 2013? Same as mine?

Want to recommend something for me to try this year?

Leave me a comment below.

Until next time.

Sian

xo