Best of Beauty 2014

I did this last year from a YouTube tag. I like the categories so I decided to do it again for 2014. When I first started putting this together, I started "cheating" and giving the category to a brand instead of a product. So I went back and really thought about what I really enjoyed during the year. Some categories I do have more than one item *shrugs*. The lip product categories....oye vey! So let's get to it!

Drum roll please......here are my favorites from 2014!

Primer - Rimmel Stay Matte Primer

This is an excellent primer. I still love the Black Radiance primer but I reached for this more so once I got my hands on it. I also love that I can wear it on it's own with Mally's Poreless Face Defender and my skin looks amazeballs and it helps control my oil. I did this on travel days when I didn't want to put on makeup but wanted my skin to look decent.

Foundation - Bare Minerals Blemish Ready Acne Clearing Foundation

This is one of the categories that I was going to give it to Bare Minerals overall. I still love the matte foundation and the original foundation when I reached for it. But I'm going to say that my foundation favorite for 2014 year was their Blemish Ready foundation. I know I just mentioned this in my December favorites. This foundation I really have enjoyed using. I've used it on my face when breakouts weren't an issue and when they were an issue. Just like with other Bare Minerals foundations, I love the buildable coverage. This foundation was great  for me in 2014 and hopefully will still be a good fit for me in 2015.

Concealer - Bare Minerals Stroke of Light

This shouldn't be a shocker since this have been a repeat favorite. I do have some other concealers but I go back to Stroke of Light every single time. I use it under my eyes and it's great. I don't use a concealer on my face since whatever foundation I use covers what I need for it to cover. This covers what I need for it to cover and brightens my under eye area. It's doesn't look crazy or too much. I see some under eye brightening and highlighting and I'm like o_O. If you want something suitable for everyday then I highly recommend this product.

Powder - Bare Minerals 5-in-1 BB Advanced Performance Mineral Veil

I was going to give this to Bare Minerals again. But I gave it some thought and decided that the BB Mineral Veil was my favorite powder for 2014. I got in a Today's Special Value set in March. Every time I used it, I was like whoa. It made skin look really good! Also it has a slight tint to it, so it isn't a stark white powder. I'm hoping that they eventually sell it outside of the kit. But I'm sure you can probably find someone selling it on eBay.

Bronzer - Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder in Deep Chocolate

No surprises here. This bronzer is everything. It's matte. It does run red like some deeper bronzers tend to and it's not muddy looking. I still search online from time to time to see if I can find someone selling it. No such luck. As you can see the pan is larger. We'll see if I can use this up in 2015.

Blush - Bare Minerals Swoon

Now this one gave me some trouble. I used a bunch of blushes over 2014 but nothing really popped out at me when I was putting this post together.  So I went back to my favorites posts and saw that I had mentioned Swoon twice in January and September. So I pulled it out again in December to see if I was still really hype over it and I was. This just an easy blush to wear. It's a pinky coral color that is buildable and can go with just about any look.

Highlighter - Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal 

I kept meaning to mention this in a favorites post but would always forget until after I was done with a post *head palm*. Anywho... I got a sample size of Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal. The only other liquid highlighter that I have is from Maybelline and it's another favorite. Becca's blows Maybelline away! This is so easy to apply and blends into the skin effortlessly. This is a grown up highlighter that's not glittery. It gives you this lit from within glow that is just beautiful. If you can get a sample of this from Sephora or Ulta then do! My coworker got me the mini set of 3 liquid highlighters for Christmas. So I have more Opral waiting for me. I've also swatched several of their powder ones in Sephora and they are just as gorgeous. They may find a home in my makeup collection.

Brows - Milani Brow Shaping Clear Gel

I never really bought into the hype of a brow gel. Most of the ones I saw were mid-range/high end ones and I didn't think it was worth it to shell out the money,. I had always used Maybelline's clear mascara on my brows. When I Milani released theirs, I said why not since it's inexpensive. I ended up liking this more than Maybelline's clear mascara. I like the brush. It's small and you can shape your brows with it. I also like the gel formula. It keeps my brows in place all day. I used it with my Iman Brow Pencil which is still a favorite.

Eyeshadow Palette - Tarte Exotic Eyes 5-in-1 Shadow Palette

This was a tough one. I was going to give this to Tarte overall since I enjoyed a lot of their palettes in 2014. But then I thought about it some more and decided that the Exotic Eyes palette is my favorite for 2014. I have reached for this so many times since purchasing. I have used it on it's own and paired with other palettes. The copper shadow is my favorite warm brown shadow and the dark brown shadow is fantastic. Also the highlight shade is matte and not stark white that I can't use it on my deeper skin tone. It only has five shades but this palette is very versatile. For me its more handy than than both of the Naked Basics palettes from Urban Decay.

Eyeliner - Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Dark Chocolate Ink

This has stayed in my makeup bag since I purchased it. I've mentioned before that I prefer a dark brown liner to black and you already know I loves me some Bobbi Brown gel liner. Just like with her other gel liners, the formula is smooth and easy to apply. It lasts all day.

Mascara - tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes

My mascara favorite for 2014 goes to tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes. I hadn't used it in a while, so I forgot how much I enjoy this mascara. It's a great mascara. The formula is not too wet or dry. It gives me volume and length. I also like that my lashes don't get hard and crunchy. I have two more tubes coming in an auto delivery shipment from their November Today's Special Value. So I'm good on mascara for a while.

Lip Pencil - NYX lip liner in Espresso

This one still goes to NYX lip liner in Espresso. It's the only liner I use anytime I apply a lipstick or gloss no matter the color.

Lipstick - MAC Del Rio, Viva Glam III and Pure Heroine

I narrowed it down to these 3 MAC lipsticks but I couldn't pick just one. Lip products are my jam. So I decided to go with all 3. All 3 got some serious use from me in 2014. I picked up Del Rio and Viva Glam III from my first trip to the CCO (Cosmetic Company Outlet). Both of these went with me while I traveled over the summer. I know for most these are probably fall shades. But for me they are go everyday, all occasions shades for my skin tone. Pure Heroine launched over the summer. I remember people griping about the release since it's more of a fall shade. You best believe I slapped this joker on a soon as I got it! Summer be damned! I don't think it was too much to wear over the summer. When I ordered it, I automatically got 2 since I knew I was going to really like it. Over the cooler months, it has been a go to lipstick for me. I gripe about MAC but they do make some good lipsticks.

Lipgloss - Bare Minerals Moxie Lipgloss in Glamourista and Rebel, MAC Playful Petal &NYX Butter Glosses

I got Glamourista  in a auto delivery shipment from QVC. When I got it, I was like ok another pink gloss. It's pretty in the tube and wasn't expecting much. Once I put it on I was like aaaaaahhhhhhhh *sing song voice*. I'm always leery when it comes to pink lip products. This one it the perfect pink for my skin tone and it goes with almost any look. It's described as a candied pink. I had to make myself put it away several times since I wasn't reaching for any other lip products. When the warmer weather rolls back around, Glamourista and I will be reacquainted lol. Rebel I got as a 100 point perk from Sephora. It's described as pink mauve . It's just about spot on for my natural lip color. On the days that I don't wear any makeup, this is one of the glosses I reach for to throw on. I keep this in my makeup bag in my purse. I'm itching to get a full size but I'm going to be good and use this one up first. Bare Minerals Moxie is one of my absolute favorites for lipglosses. I finally tried the NYX Butter Glosses in 2014. As you can see I liked them so much I ended up purchasing 6 last year. I have Praline, Ginger Snap, Angel Food Cake, Raspberry Tart, Red Velvet, Devil's Food Cake. They are pigmented, apply smoothly, feel nice on the lips and they're not drying. I think I'm good on colors. Famous last words lol. The last gloss that popped in to my head was MAC's Playful Petal Cremesheen Glass from MAC's A Fantasy of Flowers collection. I saw it in one of crystalis007's videos along with the coordinating lipstick and I was like oh. So I picked up both. I enjoyed the lipstick but the gloss was the product that stuck out to me. It'a described as electric magenta. I was really tempted to get a back up but I was good. MAC re-releases stuff all the time. So if this happens to come back then maybe I'll get another one. I guess pink lip glosses were my thing is 2014 which is interesting.

Beauty Subscription

I did two in 2014. I ended up cancelling Ipsy and Fab Polish was cancelled for me. *shrugs*. I don't plan on participating in any beauty subscription services during 2015. We'll see if that holds.

Skincare - L'Oreal Youth Code Texture Perfector Serum and Day/Night Cream

This is another one that shouldn't be a surprise. I've gushed about these two products so much that I'll keep it brief here. The serum and day/night cream have been favorites since I purchased them back in June and have been repurchased several times over. They have also seriously helped keep my skin smooth and even. These two products are some of the best skin care products that I've ever used. They will stay in my skin arsenal as long as they keep working for me.

Nail Polish - Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue

I was going to mention an OPI polish but was like noooooo this one goes to Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue! I posted back in August about my rant and mission to get a back up of this polish. I ended up purchasing the 3 I found a CVS and giving one to a coworker. So I now have 2 unopened bottles. I have worn this polish multiple times throughout the year. I'm still bummed that Sally Hansen changed their formula and changed this one completely.

And there you have it. Let's see what 2015 brings!