2013: favourites through the year

The end of the year…time for self-refelction and some difficult answers. What did I achieve this year? What could I have done better? What was the highlight? What was the lowest point?etc…

I am not going to bother any of you with those personal tribulations, as it’s hardly the point of this blog. This blog is about makeup…so then, let’s just reflect on the year in terms of makeup.

Despite the large number (and growing…) of goodies that I have, there have been a few, which I keep reaching for over and over again. I tried to make a selection, so that each step of my face/eye makeup routine is represented by a product I have loved this year.

Here are the products I have enjoyed using the most in 2013:

I have fairly large pores and the Hema makeup base has been a huge help for me this year. It mattifies my skin, makes my pores appear smaller and gives me a smooth surface to work onwards with. If my skin is feeling happy, I don’t even bother applying bb cream or foundation on top..I just apply a bit of powder and that’s it. My favourite: Bourjois healthy balance – very fine and silky, just perfect!

Speaking of bb cream and foundation…To be perfectly honest, I am not big on foundations. I do have one from Bourjois but hardly ever use it. I love my Missha perfect cover bb cream, especially now in the winter when my skin tone is lighter. It leaves my skin feeling like porcelain and covers just enough, without the heaviness that foundations sometimes have. I don’t mind some imperfections peeking through, so long as my skin still feels like “itself”.

I didn’t include a bronzer this year, maybe next…but had some trouble picking my favourite blushes. I love blush! Such an easy step to add extra glow to your face 🙂 Here, I have selected three favourites, two cream and one powder blush. My Tarte cheek stain in Full Blossom became the starting point of a love affair I may have with Tarte products for a very long time ahead. I recently obtained two more goodies from them, so a review of Tarte will follow next year. My Baked-to-last-blush in Coral from The Body Shop is a duo containing blush and a highlighter. Very pigmented, very lasting and very natural-looking…love it! The last blush in my favourites picks is the cream to powder blush in Nude Velvet from Bourjois. I absolutely adore this baby…for some many reasons. It looks so great on my skin, it last a long time, gives a natural flush..I can go on and on about it. Such an awesome product! All of these blushes last 5-6h, even longer, applied over a base.

My favoutire mascara not only this year, but ever since it has come on the market basically, remains the Max Factor False Lash Effect. I cannot imagine my life without it. My perfect mascara, never had any complaints with it. It would be hard for any other mascara to take the place of this one in my heart 🙂

Eyeshadows..ah, very tough to pick a favoutire, as I so love eyeshadows…I just love them all!!! Of course MakeupGeek, Inglot and Sleek eyeshadows have a special place in my heart. I could not select anything from my pigments because I use and love them all! Of course one needs a good base for eyeshadows and my vote for best here, goes to the Hema eyeshadow base ( review of it here).

My life would not be the same without the NYX Jumbo pencil in Milk (and Black Bean for that matter). Perhaps yours as well 😉 This is the perfect base for pastel eyeshadows, loose eyeshadows, pigments….hands down, without a doubt, THE BEST!!!

I used to hate using liquid liner. Until I discovered eyeliner pens: the perfect solution for someone like me, who has two left (well, in my case right really haha) hands when it comes to the application of liquid liner. Eyeliner pens were an eyeopener for me personally, thanks to them I discovered the beauty of a winged liner. My most reached for eyeliner pen: the Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner pen. It has a fine tip, it’s quite black and stays on all day…what more can a girl wish for?!

Last, but certainly not least, I loved using my Essence long-lasting eye pencils in 2013, with Have a Green in particular being my personal favourite. I simply love this shade of green!

I didn’t include my favourite brushes since I use all of them really…

A bit off topic the face/eye makeup. Favourite nail-polish is also impossible for me to pick. I change colours every few days but maybe for the sake of the post, I could tell you that I went through a lot of the L’Oreal Colour Riche nail polish collection…I find the wand very handy, they dry fast, and have a vast selection of bright colours. And if you haven’t noticed yet, I LOVE COLOURS!

What were your favourite products this past year?