The end of a year comes with the thoughts of reflection back on the past year and what you have learned. We have never actually come to a year-end on this blog yet as it started in January of this year, so I’ve decided to not do a favourites blog post this month, but just to post a version of what most beauty bloggers and YouTube stars have started to release around the end of the year, a Best of Beauty 2014 blog post! This post will cover the basic beauty essentials that I believe have been the top-notch products of the year. There may be better out there, but let’s leave that to next year for me to discover. My only rule is that I’m allowed to pick just one product for each, so let’s see how hard sit is for me to narrow it down. I’m going to do this in order of how I apply my make-up most days. Shall we? We shall…
My Favourite Base Products
After all your normal skincare routine is finished, you need to prime your face to help make your make-up apply more evenly and stay in place as long as possible. For the primer of the year, I’m awarding this title to the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer. Although I don’t actually own the full-size product of this yet, I’ve had a mini travel version of it and I have always liked the results that it has given me when I chose to use that one. It’s worth quite the penny, but it’s worth the price for the results.
Although I have switched to mostly just using a BB cream on day to day basis, I still love my Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation. Long name, but worth the mouthful because it is a fantastic long-lasting and full coverage foundation. A bonus of SPF 15 in the formula and it applies like a dream. I tried switching to the powder version for a while, but I prefer the finish that this foundation gives much better.
Even if I ran out of this concealer a few months ago and haven’t re-purchased it yet, I loved the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in the shade Vanilla. It gave me great coverage of all my face demons that I wanted to hide and did not appear cakey or oily. I will re-purchase this again one day, but I may try out a few more in the meantime to see if I can find something a little bit cheaper.
The Best Face Powders
I have developed quite the collection of blushes this year, but it only took me about 5 seconds to pick out a year-round favourite: the Benefit Cosmetics Hervana Blush. This mixture of shell, peach, rose, and berry shades give a great buildable pink-toned finish but never appears too red or as you applied too much – in my case anyway. This is the one that I would pick to take with me if I had to only pick one.
Throughout the year I have bought and fallen in love with three different bronzers, but the one that comes out on top is the Soap and Glory Solar Powder Bronzer. This duo-shade bronzer is the perfect shade of bronze, not too warm, not too cool, and can be built up to contour and bronzer as much as your heart desires.
I’ve only really stuck with one true highlighter throughout the year, even if two of the other highlighting products I use a lot have other real purposes. The big highlighter for me in 2014 was the Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder Compact in the Highlight shade. The finish is never too shiny or glittery, which is perfect because I love a nice subtle highlight shimmer on the top of my cheekbones and down my nose. I have my eye on a different one for next year, but this has lasted me many months and it hardly looks like I’ve touched it.
The Best Eye Products
If I didn’t pick the Urban Decay Naked Palette I would be kidding myself. I have only ever owned the first eye shadow palette and I don’t plan on purchasing the others any time soon, except for many the Basics 2 just to be able to take it with me easier. The colours are beautiful and I have used this palette the most over all the others this year.
Eyeliners are is the third hardest for me to chose from because I have two liquid eyeliners that are almost identical, and to pick one is like picking your favourite child. I’m going to go with the Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner for this best of blog post because it has really been my go-to eyeliner on most days. It’s the one I kept re-purchasing the most so far, so that’s why I am picking it for this title.
This mascara surely has the gift because the Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara has been my favourite this year! I know it’s not waterproof, but I have recently brought wearing mascara down to an all-time minimum of only three times in the month of December! I chose to wear this mascara each time because I believe it gives the ultimate desirable volumized and lengthened lashed.
My Favourite Lip Products
Decisions, decisions. I actually had to go sort through my collection to be able to answer this one because it is the hardest for me to pick from. If there’s anything I’ve collected mass amounts of this year – it has definitely been lipsticks. I’m grouping in all sorts of lip products into this category: lipsticks, lip lacquers, lip pencils, lip balms, lip glosses, lip liners, liquid lipstick and more! The ultimate winner of this year is going to the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in the shade Dragon Girl. It was my first branch away from my typical type of red lipstick this year, as it is more of an red-orange, but it’s the perfect bold statement lip colour. I just love it, I really do.
My Other Favourites of the Year
You’ve got to take one last measure to help keep your make-up on your face and using the Urban Decay De-Slick Oil-Control Makeup Setting Spray will do that trick. A couple spritzes on your face and your set! This is a definite must for any night’s out or long days.
Almost as hard as picking a favourite lipstick, picking a favourite nail polish is definitely the daunting task. I didn’t have to go over to my collection for the once but still had to think about it for a minute. I’m going to give the title to Essie After School Boy Blazer this year because I think I have gone back to it the most out of all my polishes because it is the darkest a blue can get before looking black and I always love wearing it. You can add glitter on top for a better party look, but the colour alone is lovely.
Thanks for checking out my favourite products of the year! Check out my Instagram to see what products I’ve been calling my favourites as time goes on.
