I have been really strict with my 2014 makeup favourites & only included the cream of the crop in this post. So without further ado these are my favourite makeup products from 2014.
Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in Roundest Raspberry* – this is an intense raspberry shade which for a lip crayon has great staying power. Its quite glossy but not slippery on the lips and looks beautiful and bright. Its a shade I wear all year round and love how easy it is to apply this on the go. I need to try a few more Chubby Sticks this year.
Rimmel Apocalips in Galaxy – which again is a deep berry shade. I have 3 of these but this colour is by far my favourite, it glides on the lips and is vibrant and feels nice and hydrating. The other colours I have are a little patchy but this gives a nice even colour. You do need to wipe off the excess product before you apply this as a little goes a long way and can get quite messy.
Clarins Instant Light Complexion Base – I like to wear this either under my foundation to perk my skin up or I mix it in with my foundation for an extra reflective boost. This gives me a healthy glow without being shimmery, it evens out my skin tone and hides imperfections. I have the shade Champagne 02 & its also good at dulling the redness in my skin. I find it to be lightweight & doesn’t feel greasy on the skin at all, it just gives you a lovely fresh healthy finish. It makes a really nice base to apply your foundation & just keeps your complexion looking fresh & bright.
Barbara Daly Long Wear Eyeshadows in Shell – This is a light pink cream shadow with a gorgeous champagne tone which is pretty worn all over the lid or as an inner corner highlight. This colour really adds brightness to the eye & opens it up. This long wear shadow stick is incredible quality and the packaging is sleek and looks a lot more expensive than £3. They do start to crease a little on me after about 5 hours of wear but I do have quite crinkly eyelids & I just blend it out with my finger & that does the trick.
L’Oreal True Match Foundation in the shade Vanilla – this is the first ever L’Oreal Foundation I’ve tried, this is a light to medium coverage, you can still see all my (hundreds) of freckles which I like. It looks natural and wears really well. It doesn’t oxidise on me and my oily skin seems to only start looking shiny after about 6 hours wear & then I lightly dust some powder on and its good for a few more hours.
Benefit Stay Don’t Stray – This is a dual action eye primer so not only will it keep your eyeshadow in place but you can use it under the eye to keep your concealer put all day long and it works a treat! It gives my eyelids an even colour & is the perfect base on which to apply eyeshadow. Its love & I am going to use some vouchers I got for Christmas to get the full size.
Soap & Glory Solar Powder – This has been my daily bronzer since I bought it back in May. In the pan it doesn’t look like much but once on the skin its just beautiful. The lighter shade has a little sheen to it whilst the slightly darker brown is matte. I tend to mix the two shades together to give a subtle sun kissed effect. I sweep it over the top of my forehead & down on to my cheeks. This isn’t going to give you a deep colour its more for paler skin tones. It just adds such a natural warm glow to the skin and makes me look healthy. The only downside to this is the cardboard packaging it looks tatty after a while and it’s not very travel friendly.
Miss Sporty Cat’s Eyes Palette – Mineral Earth. This has been a handy quad for my many trips up to Scotland. You get four good quality shadows and they’re ideal for achieving neutral smoky eye, or most of the four colours can worn alone all over the lid which Is how I wear them mostly. All 4 colours have a slight frosting to them, nothing sparkly or overly shimmery but they do have a pretty light reflecting quality to them. Its a bargain of a quad & I use it all the time. Like I said its handy and small for travel, its not the most robust packaging but its still going strong after a lot of use.
Sharon Osbourne Duchess Eyeshadow Quad – All four shades are pigmented and very blendable, I think they work well together & unlike a lot of palettes / quads there really isn’t one dud shade, they’re all beautiful. Three of the four have a pretty shimmer frosted finish, I wouldn’t say they’re overly frosted or shimmery but just enough to add some iridescence, glow and brightness to your look. This is the only Mac purchase I’ve made for the longest time as I tend not to shop there but I couldn’t be happier with this quad & I have used it so much.
L’Oreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss – This eyeliner lasts so well on me and the colour is such a deep black. I like to use this eyeliner for making a really thin line and the nib is precise and easy to use. It doesn’t transfer at all and once it dries it won’t smudge. It also doesn’t dry out in the tube, I find a lot of liquid liners do & its so annoying. These last me at least 3 months and thats using it daily.
Seventeen Stay Time 18 Hour Concealer – This is great for both under eye area & blemishes. I do powder over the top to ensure it stays put all day. Its a great affordable concealer and I’m thrilled with it. Although not too sure about the 18 hour claims, nothing a quick touch up won’t solve. I like to apply this with my finger and find that gives me the best even coverage.
Origins GinZing Brightening Mascara* This mascara is great at separating your lashes & it keeps a curl like no other! I like my lashes to look fluttery and this works well at achieving that. You can build it up on your lashes so they look thick without being crispy. I also like the chunky packaging & I’ve grown to love the big oversized wand. Its a very good all round mascara & I think its quite an unsung hero.
Let me know if you love any of the products I’ve included or if you have any other recomendations.
Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.
