Saturday, December 28, 2013

Best Buys in 2013: Makeup

As tradition dictates, here is the first part of a (rather large) selection of my favourite buys in 2013. The second one will feature skincare, hair products and fragrances. You can find posts from previous years here: 2010, 2011 and 2012. All blue text are links to reviews and swatches.

Dior Diorskin Nude BB Creme (001)
Finally a very light western BB cream and one that is immediately dry to the touch. It is a lovely, light coverage BB with a skin-like finish. I wore it a lot, especially because it takes so little time to apply and blend, so it's great for when you need to apply your makeup in a hurry.

I am ridiculously pale. Even my doctor found this so odd that she had me tested for anemia about 10 times when I was a child (she also apparently has a case of bad memory). So, it's not every day that someone a ghostly pale as me finds a perfect match, but number 13 is it for me. Texture-wise it's really light and runny, and similarly to Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, it has light to medium coverage. It looks very natural on the skin, however, like most BB's it leaves my skin tacky and sticky, which means it needs time to set. 

A great full coverage concealer in the drugstore range that covers everything from circles to those pesky spots. I think all the hype surrounding it is justified, especially because of it's great staying power. The only bad thing is that it can look a bit obvious later in the day.

I was never not much of an eyeshadow person, but this palette changed that completely. I use it on most days and I actually use every colour in this palette, which is unheard of for a two-tops-eyeshadow-girl like me. It's such a gorgeous combination of matte shades that are great quality and can be used for natural, everyday look or a more intense, smokey eye. If I were allowed to own only one eyeshadow palette, this would be it. 

This is a great quality cream eyeshadow and it's matte, which I love. It's really pigmented, blends nicely and really stays put for hours. I mostly use it as a base, but I like it as a quick eyeshadow look on it's own as well.

Now this is what I call a fabulous mascara. It's one of the rare mascaras that actually hold curl all day, while giving lots of length and some volume. I love how at the end of the day when I take my makeup off, my lashes are still curled even without the mascara.

Absolutely stunning falsies that don't look over the top, but still give the eyes a bit of drama. These are so comfortable to wear and you can't even feel them on your eyes providing you place them correctly (not too close to the inner corner), plus they can be re-used so many times.

This is my favourite cream blush so far. It blends nicely, it's super easy to apply especially on the go (I use fingers) and I like the packaging. It's very similar to Maybelline's Dream Touch blush, only more siliconey and in a more practical packaging.

This is a great shade for contouring for pale skin as it doesn't have any orange or warm tones in it. It's a cool brown-grey shade that imitates a natural shadow. It's become a part of my everyday routine.

I just love everything about this blush - the colour, pigmentation, staying power, packaging and affordable price. A great drugstore find!

Mac Lipstick Samples from The Body Needs
I adore these. I have a large selection of Mac shades on hand without spending too much. I wore Lady Danger for most of the summer and other shades I loved to wear this year were Impassioned, Coral Bliss and Relentlessly Red. Swatches here and here.

This was my most worn shade this year. It's a bright peachy pink colour with a matte finish and it's a great way of wearing something bright without being too much. The formula is not exactly brilliant, but the colour makes it worth it. 

After Bourjois brought out their fantastic formula of lipsticks last year, this year they launched their version of lipstick/lipgloss/lip balm hybrids and again the formula is brilliant. It is the first shine lipstick that is actually worth the 12€ price tag because it has a far better formula than any I tried so far. 21 Rouge Making of is an orange based Lady-Danger-like but more transparent red and I wore it loads.

I finally dipped my toes into the deep berry pool and I am loving it. This lippie rarely left my lips since I got it and I love how I can wear it either as a stain, full-on or something in between and it looks like three different lipsticks. The formula is a great matte one, however, the only gripe I have is the staying power.

Essence Stay Matte Lip Creams
These have the most amazing formula out of all lip products I've tried. They are super pigmented, apply like a dream, last amazingly well on the lips, smell nice and leave a lovely velvety matte finish. Amazing quality for the price. They need to add more shades. Swatches here and here.

This shade is stunningly beautiful. It's such a bright, fun colour, sort of a mix between coral and pink. The quality of these lacquers is great because they are so pigmented and wear off to a nice stain, but the scent is horrible. The finish they leave is glossy at first, but then sets to a more creamy leaning to matte finish when it's wearing off. I recently bought another shade called Eclipse.

I adore this colour - a beautiful brightened pink-coral. What impressed me most is the formula which is such a pleasure to use. I wish every nail polish were like that.

Second part is here. Have a great day!
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