Top 13 of 2013

I cannot believe 2013 is at an end. This year has been one of the best years of my life, the most significant was my travels to England. For this yearly favourites, I decided to pick 13 of my favourite products I discovered in 2013 - and it was hard to narrow it down! But here it is, my top 13 of 2013!

1. Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

This is probably the best purchase I've made this year, and definitely number one on my list of best products of the year (and probably my favourite palette ever). This is the perfect palette to accompany any makeup look, single eyeshadow, or palette you have. See my review of the Naked Basics here.  

2. MAC Painterly Paint Pot 

This is the best matte base I've ever tried - I don't know why I put buying this off for so long! Although my whole body is dry, I have hooded eyelids that get quite oily. This keeps everything on my lids. I don't do a makeup look without this base, and although it is on the pricier side in Australia, if you're looking for a good base that'll work, I recommend the MAC Paint Pot in Painterly.

3. Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation

I've found that this year, my skin is much more dry than it has been. I slowly had to move away from powders, and venture into the world of products specified for dry skin. This isn't a holy grail foundation (I know I'll find it someday), but it is a great everyday foundation for dry skin. 

4. Essence Lash and Brow Gel

2013 was definitely the year of the eyebrow for me. This brow gel sets everything in place, and is relatively cheap - under $5. Even if you don't fill in your eyebrows or apply any product to them, it's always good to set them and smooth everything out, and I recommend this brow gel. 

5. Benefit Coralista Blush 

This is the blush that made me fall in love with blush. I absolutely adore this blush, and since then have tried incorporating blush in my everyday routine (something I never really did). On paler skins this is beautiful, and on darker skins it is beautiful. I love this blush.

6. Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

My Seche Vite is basically all gone, but this is the greatest top coat I have ever used. It dries super fast, is glossy, and everything I want in a topcoat. I highly recommend this product if you haven't tried it yet! 

7. Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Perfume 

This is one of my perfume favourites of 2013. I picked this up on my way back from England at Heathrow, and I absolutely adore this perfume. I'll probably invest in the original parfum next time, but I love the scent of this. I love floral scents! 

8. YSL Parisienne Perfume

I've included two perfumes because this was the year I ventured out into different scents. Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf is my all-time favourite scent, but when I got a sample of this earlier in the year I had to buy it. I purchased this a week or so before I went to England, so every time I wear this perfume I'm reminded of that time away, and this is definitely a scent I'd purchase over and over again. 

9. Lush Dreamwash Shower Smoothie

For when my eczema flares up, I love this stuff for in the shower. It's like a clay almost, and is super soothing. 

10. Daiso Puff and Sponge Cleaner 

This is the greatest thing to clean makeup sponges. For regular brushes, I find it mediocre, but it just sucks liquid makeup out of brushes. 

11. Sigma Small Angle E65 Brush 

This is the only brush I will use in my brows. It is much smaller than the other angle brushes I own, and is perfect for filling in brows. I think I'll need to invest in another one soon, because I also adore this brush for gel eyeliner, or black eyeshadow on the lash line. 

12. Sleek Face Form Palette in Light 

This palette (at least the contour) has seen better days! The contour is absolutely lovely for my light skin, the highlighter is also nice. My only vice with this palette is the blush - on light skin tones, I really can't work this. When I was in England, my cousin who is dark skinned used it and it looked phenomenal on her! But on me, no! However, I'd recommend this palette just for the contour alone - I love it.

See my review of the palette here.

13. Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze (Bad to the Bronze)

This was a purchase I made in England. I've been a fan of the Colour Tattoos since they came to Australia in late 2012, and although this has been a favourite, I never picked it up until I was in England - another product I put off buying for so long!

And those are my top 13 of 2013. Happy New Year everyone, see you in 2014!

July Favourites

This month I travelled to England, and it really made me appreciate some of my beauty products. I picked up quite a few new products, and although I packed more make up than was needed, I generally reached for the same products daily. At this time, it is winter in Australia and summer in England, so some of these products are favourites for summer, and not all-year round.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC15
This foundation is a little too light for me now, and I picked up a MAC foundation two shades darker while I was in England. However, I have a little bit of this left and I just wanted to finish it off while I was overseas. This foundation is good, but sometimes with my dry skin it's not the best combo. In summer, it works better than in the winter because my skin isn't as dry, and using a bit more moisturiser before applying it hasn't caused me too much distress. This is one of MAC's fuller coverage foundations, and once I'm finished with this bottle I don't know if I'll repurchase Studio Fix, stay with the one I just purchased or venture further out into the MAC foundation world. Nonetheless, this foundation served me well while I was overseas.

Rimmel Apocalips in 600 Nude Eclipse 
I ordered this off ASOS about a week before they were realised in Australia, and I'm very happy with the colour choice. It is an everyday nude lip colour, and I love the way it looks. My lips do need a bit of a scrub before using this as it settles on lines and dry parts, but I have no problem doing the extra work - the joys of dry skin and dry lips.

NARS Laguna Bronzer
I really have a love/hate relationship with this bronzer. I really dislike that it has shimmer in it, and I don't care what anyone says, you can see it, especially in the sun. In summer, we can get away with that - not so much in winter though. I used my Sleek Face Form to contour while I was away, but I used this as an all over bronzer and it worked well

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
THIS IS PROBABLY THE BEST PURCHASE I HAVE MADE IN A WHILE. I bought this before I left for England, and I am so glad I did. It is the fastest drying top coat I have ever tried, but it even dries the polish underneath. It is amazing.

YSL Parisienne Perfume 
I don't think I've included a perfume in a favourites yet. My all-time favourite perfume is Flowerbomb, but I had the smallest amount left and I didn't want to lug around the big bottle overseas just to finish it off. I purchased this perfume at the beginning of July, although I've had samples of it and I absolutely love it. It isn't an overpowering perfume, and I used this daily (although I had brought another perfume along for some variety).

Lush Ultrabalm 
I picked this up my first week in England. I get bad eczema, and this has basically cleared up my eczema along with my next favourite from Lush!

Lush Dreamwash Smoothie 
I bought this towards the end of June, and it has been wonderful to use on the eczema I have on my legs and arms. This is quite pricey in Australia, so I bought a back up while I was in England, which was 9 pounds or so - half of what it is in Australia.