I've been reading and watching a whole bunch of fun posts and videos on people's beauty favourites of 2014 recently so I wanted to jump on the 2014 favourites band waggon. I was a little worried that if I were to film a video it'd be a little long so I felt this subject was perfect for a blog post!
For me, 2014 was all about finding my feet with makeup. In January of 2014 I was all of a fluster and quite frankly, I had no idea what to buy and what products were worth investing in. I actually think quite a few people out there are in the same boat to be honest and with the beauty market chopping and changing so frequently I'm sure I'll find myself all confused again around Spring time! Just when I thought I was all settled too... Gah!
So after my year of experimenting I wanted to comb through my beauty collection and pick out the best bits!
Foundations
This was a huge year for me in terms of my foundation choices. I spent the first quarter of the year using the Garnier BB cream (which is amazing) and then I went on some crazed 6 month shopping spree searching for the perfect dewy/non oily/medium coverage/subtle foundation. Let's just say I went through some seriously shocking, cheap and quite frankly crap foundations before I found "the one". I'm not going to spend ages talking through the ones I didn't like (that's not really what I'm about and to be honest all skin is different; what works for one person may not work for another) but instead I'm going to talk about how unbelievably happy I was when I finally found NARS Sheer Glow. I'd heard so many amazing things about this cult classic but I was worried about the "glow" aspect; I have combination/ oily skin and I was worried it would just leave me with an unmanageably oily T-Zone. I finally decided to take the £30+ plunge after my parents got me a Space NK voucher for my Birthday and let's just say I haven't looked back since. Any shine can be easily eliminated with a decent setting powder (I've been using the Maybeline Matte Maker) and it has such a buildable coverage; perfect for a natural day look or a heavy night look. It's glowy without being shimmery and just provides that perfect base for all powder or cream based blushers/ bronzers. In short BUY IT. NOW.
Bronzer
This is an easy one for me, it's got the be the L'Oreal Glam Bronze. This really stole the show for me in 2014 with it's matte finish and non orangey shade. I'm sure there's loads more out the that I could have gone for but I'm just so comfortable with this one I can't picture me going for anything else. This was the perfect bronzer for me when I had a tan during the summer and also worked wonders during the colder months. For me, this is my HG bronzer hands down.
Blusher
I'm a bit of a blusher addict to be honest and there are so many I can think of that made me really happy in 2014. After some serious consideration I have to go with the Makeup Revolution blush and contour palettes in the shades Hot Spice and Sugar and Spice. I still remember when I got these in the post; I was so chuffed with the colour pay off and the quality of the packaging too. If you're new to makeup then these palettes are perfect for you.
Highlighter
I really discovered the joys of highlighter in 2014 and I had a lot of fun experimenting with some fantastic highlighting products. In terms of a favourite I've decided I can't chose between my two most used so there's going to be a joint favourite I'm afraid! First up is MUA's Undress Your Skin in the shade Pink Shimmer. This is just a gorgeous pearlescent pinky shade and works so well with pretty much all makeup looks. Next up I have another Makeup Revolution product from the I Heart Makeup range and it's their Goddess of Love highlighter. This was a relatively late find for me in 2014 but I've been loving it so much I jut had to tell you about it! It's quite similar to MUA's Undress Your Skin to be honest but hey.. You can never have too much of a good thing right?!
Lips
For me there's no question about my favourite lip product of 2014; it's got to the the Apolcalips range from Rimmel. I loved these even more than my YSL lipsticks?! The Apocalips range provides you with long lasting, highly pigmented and rich colour which really stands out. I wear one of their glosses pretty much every day and have done since Summer!
Mascara
There were two mascaras that stole the show for me in 2014 and they were Illamasqua's Raven mascara and Benefit's Bad Gal Lash mascara. They're both pretty similar to be honest but both provide huge amounts of volume and are super long lasting; everything I want in a mascara. The brushes are fat and bristly too which is an added bonus for me!
Skincare
In a similar way that foundation was a big deal for me in 2014, skincare was too. I finally settled on a proper routine at the beginning of 2014 but found myself trying and testing so many different creams and lotions I ended up with an overflowing bathroom cabinet by Spring! The products that really shone out for me though were Skin Doctors Powerbrasion crystals and the GLAMGLOW Supermud Mask. Both products left my skin feeling smooth and energised and I honestly don't know what I would have done without them.
This has ended up as a huge post which wasn't my intention! I guess there were just so many amazing things for me to talk about from 2014! If there was anything you think I've missed let me know!
Lots of Love,
DML
X
There were two mascaras that stole the show for me in 2014 and they were Illamasqua's Raven mascara and Benefit's Bad Gal Lash mascara. They're both pretty similar to be honest but both provide huge amounts of volume and are super long lasting; everything I want in a mascara. The brushes are fat and bristly too which is an added bonus for me!
Skincare
In a similar way that foundation was a big deal for me in 2014, skincare was too. I finally settled on a proper routine at the beginning of 2014 but found myself trying and testing so many different creams and lotions I ended up with an overflowing bathroom cabinet by Spring! The products that really shone out for me though were Skin Doctors Powerbrasion crystals and the GLAMGLOW Supermud Mask. Both products left my skin feeling smooth and energised and I honestly don't know what I would have done without them.
This has ended up as a huge post which wasn't my intention! I guess there were just so many amazing things for me to talk about from 2014! If there was anything you think I've missed let me know!
Lots of Love,
DML
X