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Favorites of 2013 (BEAUTY)

2/3/2014

It took me a while to get this up, but here are my favorite beauty products from the year 2013! There were so many products I loved this year and I tried really hard to limit myself so this isn't a year-long post. ;)

Hair

I've had a pixie cut for years, so hair products aren't really something I've had to care about in a long time. Now my hair is longer and I've been getting it colored, so taking care of it has greatly increased in importance. Particularly since coloring my hair, I've had to switch up some things, mostly my shampoo. Garnier Fructis has been my Holy Grail of shampoos this year!!

Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge Shampoo

If you like fruity smelling shampoo, you have to buy this. It smells so fresh and wondrous and it makes my morning better when I use it. It makes my hair feel extremely soft.

Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Shampoo

When my hair was short and not colored, this was my everyday shampoo. Most people use it once a week as a "clarifying" shampoo, and nowadays I use it after my no-wash days to bring my hair back to cleanliness. As an added bonus, you can get a huge bottle for less than $5. Things that are cheap don't usually work so well, and it's quite impressive.

Garnier Fructis Color Shield Shampoo

I bought this since I started coloring my hair. Obviously. Because it's shampoo for colored hair. It's moisturizing, rich, and does a great job!!

Skincare

My skin has gone through a TON of changes this past year. My dermatologist worked wonders on my face and I've magically gone from having horrible, oily, acne-prone skin to having normal skin with one breakout every few months. It's a miracle beyond everyone's wildest dreams, but it has required me to change up my skincare products quite a bit. Basically, Neutrogena has taken over my life.

Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser

This is an oldie-but-goodie. I used to use it all the time and then I switched when my skin was nuts with acne because this doesn't have any acne medication in it, and I needed that at the time. Since I don't need acne medication anymore, I've gone back to this and I couldn't be more thrilled with it. It cleans my face really well without making it dry or tight.

Neugrogena Makeup Remover Wipes

I have these in the Original, Night Calming, and Hydrating formulations, and I love them all. I use them alternately so my skin doesn't become "immune" to them - who knew skin could even do that? News flash: it does. In any case, these are the only things that remove ALL of my makeup and they don't leave a gross residue on my face, though it may seem like it does at first. What it leaves behind is a little bit of moisture, and if you leave it on your face overnight it will work wonders.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture for Sensitive Skin

Another oldie-but-goodie. Neutrogena makes their Oil-Free Moisturizers in a variety of formulas, from ones with spf to ones for combination skin, and it's simply the best. It moisturizes without being greasy and it leaves my skin nice and soft and hydrated.

Face

Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sunshine

I've used quite a few bronzers in my day, but this one takes the cake. It isn't too orange-y or too brown and it doesn't make your skin look dirty. It's just a gorgeous, subtle, contouring shimmery pot of gorgeous.

Urban Decay All-Nighter Makeup Setting Spray

My life has not been the same since I found this. I don't know how my makeup ever survived without this. Get this. I don't know what witchcraft is in it, but it's glorious.

Loreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation

I don't know where this foundation has been my whole life, but if it had existed when I was in high school I would have been a much happier human being. It's similar to the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation in the sense that it is water and powder that you shake to make a liquid foundation. It's actually significantly lighter that the Chanel, and it is much more build-able and blend-able. For something so light, it's covers extremely well. I'm crazy about it in every way.

Eyes

Lorac PRO Palette

I've been dreaming about getting the Naked 1 and 2 palettes forever, but I can't justify getting them for the life of me. Along came Lorac, which is $10 less than the Nakeds, comes with an eyeshadow primer, was on sale at Ulta, and basically has the exact same colors as the Naked 1 and 2. It needed to be mine, and I have used it every day since I got it. It is perfect, and I don't even feel the need to get the Naked 1 and 2 anymore. Score!

Loreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Amber Rush and Iced Latte

I am in love with these gorgeous little pots. I spent most of the year using Amber Rush and Iced Latte together, and it created a beautiful rose gold shimmery eye look that I am wholly obsessed with. The formulation is absolutely perfect and I just want all of the colors. ALL OF THE COLORS.

Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eye Liner

My hunt for the perfect liquid liner has been long and horrifying. Some of them dried up after one use, others had a horrible applicator and didn't give a good, even, line, and others didn't have staying power. This one is PERFECT. It has a felt-tip applicator but it isn't a flow-through pen, so the product doesn't dry out within the pen. The applicator is stiff so it's easy to get a good line, and the formula itself just WORKS. I have found my one true love.

Lips

Soap and Glory Sexy MotherPucker Gloss Stick

I'm so bummed that Fleur DeForce kept talking about how great these are, and I'm even more bummed that I gave in and tried them, because now I don't want to stop using them and they're RIDICULOUSLY expensive for what is essentially a tinted lip balm. They are, however, the most glorious tinted lip balm ever. The smell is great, the formula is great, and it lasts for absolutely ages. They're just lovely.

The Soap and Paper Factory Blood Orange Lip Butter

Thank you, Anthropologie, for introducing me to the greatest lip balm ever. To start, it smells like orange Starbursts, which is wonderfully nostalgic for me. It applies really well and moisturizes beautifully. Another advantage is that it can be used on other parts of the body if you don't have lotion handy - I've been rubbing it into my cuticles since it's so dry this winter and it's made a huge difference!!

Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquer

These are called Apocalips in the UK and I spent nearly a year waiting for them to be introduced in the states. I immediately had to run out and grab them when I heard they were out and I haven't regretted it for a moment. The red shade has become my all-time favorite red. The shine is great, the pigmentation is INSANE and it lasts so well and so long. I'm obsessed.

Nails

Butter London Polish in Yummy Mummy and
Fizzy Pop

I wore Butter London's Yummy Mummy almost all of last year as my favorite basic nude polish. By a fluke, I ended up getting Fizzy Pop as a sample at Ulta and one day I randomly decided to layer the two. I have never gotten so many compliments on a nail polish in my life. Customers at work were commenting on it non-stop and I had tons of people thinking I got my nails done professionally because it looked so nice. I'd say that's a winning combination!!!

Revlon Colorstay Polish

This isn't a new polish, but I've found it to be my favorite polish formulation of the year. It lasts a really long time without chipping and the color payoff is great - it doesn't take more than 2 coats to be done and ready to go. The colors themselves are really nice, too. Velvet Rope is one of my favorite classic reds, Bold Sangria is an amazing purple, and Fall Mood is my absolute favorite rose gold shade. I also have French Roast and Stiletto, and I love them all!

Tools

EcoTools Brushes

I never really got into using makeup brushes until this year - I was determined to simply use the brushes I had and I refused to buy expensive brushes that would serve the same purpose. Since I started using eye shadows that didn't come with applicators, I started buying brushes and then I couldn't stop. I've been a major fan of EcoTools for a few reasons: they're cheap, they work really well, and they're "underground!" Everyone always talks about Japonesque brushes and MAC brushes, but no one seems to use EcoTools. I love that they're made with natural materials and they get the job done for me!

Fragrance

Estee Lauder Modern Muse and Sensuous Nude

I never really have been into perfume before this year, and I only just got into it over the holidays when Ulta had a great sale on fragrance coffrets. I took a chance and got an Estee Lauder pack of samples, and I've fallen in love with Modern Muse and Sensuous Nude. Modern Muse is packaged AMAZINGLY and smells like a slightly feminine version of men's cologne. Sensuous Nude is very powdery and some might think it's an "old" scent, but I really love it. I'm desperately trying to make the samples last as long as they can so I don't have to spend the money on a full-size bottle!

Before Estee Lauder, the only fragrances I ever used were Bath and Body Works body splashes, and this past summer my favorite scent was the Pink Grapefruit. I love fruity scents in the summer and I used it like crazy. I'm fairly certain that Pink Grapefruit has been discontinued, but it's still wonderful.

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