2013 Beauty Favourites

I know it's kind of late to be posting this, but since I just got back into blogging here I thought I'd share my favourite beauty products of 2013 with you all!

FACE

Revlon Colorstay Foundation // I've been a fan of the Revlon Colorstay foundation for a few years now. It has great coverage and staying power and really does last all day for me. This is one foundation that I can never be without!

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation // This is a new foundation favourite of mine! This foundation claims to act as a primer, concealer, and a foundation and I agree with that! It has fantastic staying power, covers any blemishes or spots, and has a beautiful finish. If you haven't tried this foundation I'd highly recommend it!

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder // I don't know what I would've done this year without this powder. It is such a light, weightless powder but mattifies the face without looking heavy or cakey whatsoever. A light dusting of this powder over any foundation and you're set for the day!

Revlon PhotoReady Brozer in "Bronzed & Chic" // This is a bronzer I had heard about in the beauty community for a little while and when I stumbled across it at a flea market for around $5 this year I thought I'd give it a try. I really enjoy this foundation! It's completely matte and I love that there are 4 shades in it so you can choose how light or dark you want to go with your bronzer. I use this daily to warm up my face and add some colour!

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in "Centre of Attention" // I got this as a birthday gift in October and it is so, so beautiful. I had asked for the MSF in Soft & Gentle for my birthday since I know it's a cult favourite in the beauty community, but my mom surprised me with this one as it was newly released at the time in the Divine Night collection. This combines a beautiful iridescent light pink with gold shimmer. Since I got this in October I've used it almost daily as a highlight. And it's just so pretty to look at too!

MAC Blush in "Royal Sunset" // I purchased my first MAC blush this year and it was this one from the All About Orange collection from this past summer. This is my ideal blush shade. It's a gorgeous satin peachy pink and it has been my go-to blush ever since I got it. (Review + swatches)

NYX Blush in "Taupe" // I'm a big fan of NYX blushes in general (I also own Pinched and Peach), but when I got this blush in Taupe I knew it would instantly become a staple in my makeup routine and it truly has (you can see that I just barely hit pan on it)! I heard about this blush as a contour shade from NikkieTutorials on YouTube who would constantly rave about it and use it in nearly every single one of her videos, so I finally picked one up and I'm so glad I did. If you have a fair skintone I would really suggest picking this up as a contour shade, it's perfect!

Revlon ColorStay Blemish Concealer // This is another lucky flea market find for me! I picked this concealer up for under $5 one day because I needed a new concealer and this one worked out fantastic. It does a great job of covering spots and blemishes, but it also works well as an under-eye concealer or for anything else that needs extra coverage!

EYES

Urban Decay Naked2 Palette // I got this palette for my birthday in 2012 and it has been a staple for me ever since. I rarely go a week without using this at least once. I love the taupey shade range in this palette, and it really is so versatile!

Tarte Aqualillies Eye + Cheek Palette // This was my go-to summer palette. I picked this up in June and I used it so, so much. The eyeshadows are super soft and pigmented and I love the pop of teal among the neutral, golden shades. The blush, highlight, and bronzer in this palette are gorgeous as well but I mostly used the shadows! I still use the shimmery champagne eyeshadow in the palette called Parasol on almost a daily basis as my inner corner highlight too! (Review + Swatches)

ELF Eyebrow Kit in Medium // This is what I used to fill in my brows for most of 2013. It comes with a tinted wax on one side, and a powder on the other. To use it I fill in any sparse areas in my brows with the wax, and then I go over the entire brow shape with the powder. It looks fantastic, doesn't fade or smudge, and the colour is a great match for me. If you're looking for a new (and inexpensive) brow product to try, give this one a go!

MAC Eyeshadow in "Embark" // This is one of the very first MAC products I ever owned and I still use it very frequently. It's a matte, deep, cool brown and it's such a great crease shade for any neutral eye look. I'm surprised I haven't hit pan on it yet since I've been using it a lot ever since I got it a few years ago!

Too Faced Shadow Insurance // I think I used this every single day of 2013, and I amazingly still have some left. I got this in a Too Faced gift set for Christmas in 2012 and it's been my daily eye primer since! All you need is the smallest amount and this sets any eye look right in place for the entire day.

ELF Liquid Eyeliner // This is a big deal for me to have a new favourite liquid eyeliner. I had been using the same liquid liner for probably 4+ years (Maybelline Line Stiletto), but I think it has been replaced with this one. I got this ELF liquid liner in an ELF kit I got for my birthday and I'm so impressed with it, especially considering it retails for only $1! It's a rich, fully opaque black and dries to a matte finish. The applicator is a brush tip which was hard to get used to at first since the Maybelline liner I had been using all those years had a felt tip, but the brush is easy to control and get precise lines with. I'm so glad I got this as a gift because I don't think I would've tried it otherwise, but I love it!

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in "Milk" // This has been another one of those products that I use daily. Sometimes I'll use it as an eyeshadow base if I'm wearing bright or colourful makeup, but what I typically use it for is a base for my inner corner highlight. I'll apply a small amount in the inner corner of my eyes and blend it out with my finger or a synthetic brush, and then apply my inner corner highlight shade on top of it. It just helps to really brighten my eyes!

ELF Cream Eyeliner // Another new discovery of 2013 for me was cream/gel liners. This was the very first gel liner I ever tried and I love it! It's very opaque and dark and applies so smoothly. I have this liner in a couple other colours but black is my favourite. It works great to create my signature cat-eye look!

Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Shadows // These have been such a popular product among beauty bloggers/vloggers in the past couple of years but I didn't try any for myself until this summer, and I fell in love with them! I now have 6 of them, but my two most used shades (as photographed here) are Tough As Taupe and Inked In Pink. These have wonderful pigmentation, last all day without fading or creasing, and work as beautiful bases for any eye look!

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner in "Nude" // This is another product I use on a daily basis. I use this eyeliner on my waterline every single day to help brighten my eyes. I used to use a white pencil on my waterline but I find with a nude pencil you still get a brightening effect, but it's more natural looking.

CoverGirl Clump Crusher Waterproof Mascara // This mascara really lived up to its name in that it doesn't clump at all! It made my lashes so long and voluminous without any clumping. And with the waterproof formula it didn't smudge or flake on me at all! (Review)

Sonia Kashuk Eye On Neutral Matte Palette // This is a more recent purchase of mine but it has quickly worked its way up to "favourite" status. This is a beautiful all matte neutral palette. It can be used to create fully matte looks on its own, or used alongside other palettes or shadows! I use at least one of the shadows from this palette every single day. So many palettes I own lack matte colours, so this palette helps balance out all the shimmer and create beautiful looks!

LIPS

Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in "07" // This is my favourite and most worn red lipstick. It's a beautiful matte, deep red but it still remains bright and doesn't look too dark or gothic on the lips. I find it to be very wearable. Since it is a matte finish it lasts for a really long time on the lips. This was one of my go-to lipsticks throughout the fall and winter.

MAC Lipstick in "Flamingo" // This is the first MAC lipstick I ever bought and I got it in this summer's All About Orange collection. It's a beautiful light pinky coral with a lustre finish. It is sheer but buildable, and it's the perfect colour for everyday wear if you want something slightly brighter than a nude lip! This is one of my most used up lipsticks and I've only had it for about 7 months so I definitely got a lot of use out of it! I'll be worried when I run out since it is Limited Edition, but it has been repromoted by MAC before so hopefully it will again! (Review + Swatches)

Revlon Lip Butter in "Juicy Papaya" // This was my go-to lip product over the summer for those days I wanted something quick and easy but still nice on my lips. It's a sheer peachy colour that can be slightly built up but is far from opaque. It's a great lip product to use for a hint of colour, shine, and some moisture! (Review + Swatches)

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars in "Memento" and "NSFW" // I got a set of 4 mini lip tars during the holiday season and I instantly fell in love with them. I had heard a lot about lip tars over the past few years but I never wanted to buy a full size one at the price it was since I knew I would never use it all up. I love that OCC released sets of mini lip tars so I got to try 4 colours for a little over the price of 1 full sized one! My two favourite in the kit are Memento - a great "my lips but better" shade, and "NSFW" - the most perfect bright red lip colour. These are so opaque, long-wearing, and I love that I can mix colours to create my own shades too!

eos Lip Balm // This lip balm has been a favourite of mine for quite some time. It's light on the lips but still moisturizing and leaves my lips nice and smooth. I use this everyday after I exfoliate my lips and before I put on lipstick!

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in "Elusive" // This is a more recent purchase of mine but since I bought it, this has not left my purse. It's such a great nude-pink to wear on an everyday basis. And it has a slight minty flavour which is nice too!

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub // This is the only thing I have ever bought from Lush but it is a daily staple product for me. I use this every single morning to scrub off any dead and dry skin from my lips, leaving them nice and smooth for whatever lip product I wear that day!

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids Lipstick in "Shocking Coral" // This line of lipsticks was insanely popular over last spring and summer when they were released, and for good reason too. This is one of the two shades I bought from the line and these lipsticks are so, so fantastic. They're insanely pigmented, have great staying power, and are comfortable on the lips. I absolutely love this lipstick and I can't wait to break this out again when warmer weather comes back!

NAILS

OPI "Rainbow Connection" // This is one of my favourite glitter nail polishes ever. It's has all different colours of the rainbow in it and the glitters are a variety of shapes and sizes too. It looks like someone sprinkled confetti all over my nails when I wear it!

OPI "My Very First Knockwurst" // This is my favourite nude nail polish. It's the perfect balance of a neutral light nude colour, with just the slightest hint of pink to keep it from looking too brown. It looks so clean and classy on the nails and I love it.

China Glaze "Flip Flop Fantasy" // This nail polish was one of my number one summer shades last year. It's such a gorgeous bright neon coral and it looks fantastic on both fingers and toes!

OPI Nail Envy // This is my go-to base coat and I use it as a base for all of my manicures! This bottle is practically empty now so I need to pick up a new one ASAP!

OPI "You're Such A Budapest" // I absolutely love this pastel periwinkle shade from the Euro Centrale collection from last summer. This is one I'll be wearing again lots come springtime!

Seche Vite Top Coat // I didn't get this top coat until later on in 2013, but it is so great. It makes my nails so shiny and helps my manicures last longer. I love how fast this dries too, because the #1 thing I don't like about doing my nails is the drying time, so this helps out a lot!

Julep "Martha" // I really love this pale pastel pink nail polish I got in one of my Julep Maven boxes last year. It's so girly and pretty but still very clean and classy! I really love pairing this with OPI's Rainbow Connection glitter as well!

OPI "Polka.com" // This is another polish from OPI's Euro Centrale collection that I got this year. It's a beautiful combination of pink, blue, and purple glitters in a clear base and looks so pretty over so many different nail polishes!

OPI "Ski Teal We Drop" // I wore this nail polish a lot during this fall and winter. It's a gorgeous deep teal cream. Usually in the fall and winter my nails are almost constantly deep red colours so it was nice switching it up a bit with this nail polish!

OPI "If You Moust, You Moust" // This is just the perfect pink cream nail polish. Not too light or dark, just bright enough, it's perfect. Such a classic shade. I love wearing it with the OPI Polka.com glitter on top too!

Well, if you actually read all of that, congratulations! This post was quite text-heavy. Hopefully some of you found some new products you might want to try, or maybe you shared some favourites with me! What were some of your beauty favourites from 2013? I'd love to hear about them! Also, if there are any products I mentioned here you'd like to see a review for, let me know and I'd be happy to post one!