Blogmas Day 16: 31 Days of Favorites | My Favorite Make Up Brushes of 2013

I had a hard time selecting my favorite makeup brushes, so I told myself to choose the ones that I could not live without. I thought about it and came up with these.

I LOVE this brush sooo much! Who doesn't?! It's my absolutely favorite brush! Every beauty blogger has raved about this since it became popular. This brush is awesome and it works well for blending concealer and foundation. In fact, I have nixed my previous foundation brush because I love this one so much. I shouldn't write about this brush too much more as I've already done a detailed review. You can find it here. Absolutely recommend this brush.

These brushes are my favorite that I have in my Sephora collection. The bristles are soft and don't get hard after washing them. The eyeshadow goes on clean and blends extremely well with these brushes. I use the smudge brush to blend eyeshadow in the outer corner, as well as for upper lash liner. The regular eyeshadow brush is perfect for the lid. The angled eyeshadow brush works perfectly in blending eyeshadow between the crease and lid. I love these brushes and recommend it a lot.

There's no doubt that the M.A.C brushes are every beauty fanatic's dream. I wish to own all of them someday, but right now I only own a handful. These were my favorite of the year. They are amazing brushes that can be used specifically what they are meant for...or not. I actually use the 168 as a highlighting brush instead of a contour brush. It's really soft but plentiful, so it does really well with highlighting. The next brush on my wishlist is the smaller contour brush (#109). Once I get that one, I will actually be able use this one for contouring and the 109 for highlighting. I love the 266 brush to fill in my eyebrows, when it's actually meant for the upper eyeliner. It's small enough to fill in my eyebrows perfectly and the texture is also amazing. 

I am really excited to try out more makeup brushes (specifically M.A.C and Real Techniques)!

What were your favorite brushes in 2013?

xxxs

Blogmas Day 15: 31 Days of Favorites | My Favorite Lip Liners of 2013

Throughout this year, I have realized how important it is to wear lip liner with lipstick or even gloss. I have encountered many situations where my lipstick had run out of my lips and smeared onto my face. I have had three favorite brands in various colors, but I am always looking to expand my collection.

The two drugstore brands that I love are Jordana and Rimmel. Of the two, I prefer the Rimmel because it is actually long lasting. Jordana Easyliner Retractable Pencil for Lips is actually the more affordable of the two, less than $2 and it does work pretty well. Either way, the two drugstore brands are very affordable and do the job.

My favorite lip liner brand is the M.A.C. I currently only own this one in "Brick" and I love it! It's a deep red that matches any shade of red and it's perfect for this holiday season. The pencil is...well, an actual pencil. It's great quality in that when I sharpen it, it doesn't break easily and it stays on the lips for pretty much the whole day. I love that when I wear lipstick with this liner, it does not smear on my face.

These were my three favorite shades. I love the brighter red in the M.A.C, the deep red in the Jordana, and the brownish nude in the Rimmel. I use these all the most and absolutely adore and recommend them.

What were your favorite lipliners of 2013?

xx

MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!

Things in my life are really tough at the moment. I'm going through a lot of changes and family issues. I won't let that ruin my holiday spirit though. I wanted to do something nice for my very few followers. I'm hoping that this will attract more readers to my blog.

I recently went shopping at MAC and the saleslady recommended the Viva Glam I for a nice deep red shade for the holidays. I fell in love with the lipstick and lipglass immediately. The lipglass was my first to own from MAC, but absolutely love the combination of the two. What makes it even more great is that every singly penny made from the Viva Glam Collection is donated to the MAC Aids Fund to support men, women, and children living with HIV and AIDS. I love supporting charities and donate when I can, but when makeup is involved, it is like a dream!

Not only will one lucky winner receive the Viva Glam I lipstick and lipglass, the proceeds will go to a great cause and I really enjoy that.

The giveaway is international. I will send it to anyone in the world. Please follow the directions in the Rafflecopter. The only mandatory thing is to follow me via GFC. If you can't do that, make sure you follow me via Bloglovin'. Either way, I hope you enjoy this. I'll be choosing a winner completely randomly on January 2nd. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xxxx

** I reserve the right to cancel this giveaway at any time. All products will be purchased using my own money. Should the products become unavailable, a replacement product of equal or lesser value will be purchased instead. This giveaway is not being sponsored by any PR companies or social media websites.**

Blogmas Day 14: 31 Days of Favorites | My Favorite Lip Balms of 2013

Lip balms are a product that I sometimes take for granted. I don't realize the wonders that they do on lips that need care. Lip balm/chapstick is not something I wear more than once a day, though I should. 

My favorites were the EOS, Wet -n- Wild Natural Chapstick, Burt's Bees (any of them really), Lypsyl lip balm, Sugar Lip Treatment (Sephora), and plain old Walgreens Chap-Aid.

My absolute favorite has to be the Burt's Bees. I have used all of them and buy them all the time (though most of them go unused). My morning routine includes using a LUSH lip scrub followed by moisturizing using Burt's Bees before putting on actual makeup. I don't think that is enough moisturizing though; my lips are normally extremely dry.

I vow to use lip balms and chap sticks more next year!

x

FOTD and OOTD

I wore one of my favorite professional outfits yesterday. It's simple and can be changed 

from professional to casual with different pants or a skirt.

In this case, I wore a blazer for work and just took it off to go out at night. I probably would have changed into jeans so that I could wear heels to go out, but the jeans were being washed at the time. I just really love this outfit and think it looks great on me for work and otherwise.

So this is how I looked to go out last night. Apologies for the terrible lighting and awful angle, but this was the best picture I got. 

Blouse: Kohls Apt. 9 Collection

Pants: The Limited Collection Cassidy Bootcut

Shoes: DSW Vince Camuto Black Flats

I also retouched my makeup a bit more to go out last night.

Face

BB Cream: Maybelline BB Cream

Concealer: NARS Cream Concealer

Foundation: MAC Studio Fix Fluid

Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Blush: NARS Oasis

Bronzer: Bobbi Brown

Contour: Sleek Contour Kit in Light

Eyes

Urban Decay Naked Basics

Full Lid: W.O.S

Middle Lid: Naked2

Inner Corner: Venus

Highlighter (under brow): Foxy

Crease: Faint

Outer Crease and Outer Corner: Crave

Lips

MAC - Del Rio

xxxx

Blogmas Day 13: 31 Days of Favorites | My Favorite Lipglosses of 2013

Left to right: Revlon Colorburst 010 Hot Pink, The Smooch Plumping Gloss Duo Pink & Plump, Beauty Splash Juicy Lipgloss Pink, MAC Lipglass Viva Glam I, Revlon Colorburst 014 Rose Pearl, Jordana LipShine Sugar Cookie

As I was going through my lipgloss collection trying to find my favorites of the year, I realized that I own many pink lipglosses and no pink lipsticks. I am going to work on that in the new year.

I really only wear lipgloss when I'm in the mood and want shine. Normally I'll wear a nude lipstick, but sometimes I'd rather wear a lipgloss. It really just depends.

#1 Revlon Colorburst 010 Hot Pink

This is my go to color when I want a hot pink lip! I think it's gorgeous and shiny and not too sticky. This is probably my favorite shade and gloss in my entire collection. This can be found at any drugstore.

#2 The Smooch Plumping Gloss Duo Pink & Plump

I believe I got this at Victoria's Secret. I love this because it does give you a tingly feeling. I'm not sure I believe that it does give you a plumpier lip, but it still feels nice. The color is pretty too and great for a day where you want a nude pink!

This gloss is awesome because it's a duo. One side is the color and the other is the plumper. You could use just one or the other, but I use both.

#3 Beauty Splash Juicy Lipgloss Pink

I love the color and it stays on all day. It's a little sticky, but it doesn't bother me. I think you can buy this at any drugstore.

#4 MAC Lipglass Viva Glam I

This matches the Viva Glam I lipstick that I have, so if I don't feel like just wearing the matte lipstick alone, I can just throw on the lipglass. It was my first lipglass from MAC and I love them! I love the texture and the way it looks with the matching lipstick.

#5 Revlon Colorburst 014 Rose Pearl

I love this brown/pink nude with a bit of shine. It's gorgeous for a day you don't want to wear much lip color. Again, this can be found at any drugstore.

#6 Jordana LipShine in Sugar Cookie

Another gorgeous shade for when you don't want much color and just want some shine. This lipgloss smells (and tastes) amazing!

I think I need to work on my lipgloss collection in 2014, haha, but the one I have right now is working for me.

What were your favorite lipglosses of 2013? 

x

Blogmas Day 12: 31 Days of Favorites | My Favorite Lipsticks of 2013

Lipsticks are probably my favorite makeup item ever! I feel like lipstick can complete your look and make it look totally different, depending on what shade, or even texture, you wear. The ones in the picture above aren't even half of my collection, but these were my favorites and most used this year. There are eighteen lipsticks that were my favorite. I should have made it an even twenty, but by the time I realized it, it was too late. Oh well. Eighteen is a lot, ha! As you can see, my favorite brands this year are L'oreal Colour Riche, Revlon Super Lustrous, Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Collection, and MAC. They were super popular brands this year and I just went with the trend. I recommend those brands for everyone to check out in various shades.

I decided if I was going to write about my favorite lipsticks that I should show you how they look on me. I apologize for the different lighting and angles...it was a tough task of putting on lipstick after lipstick on the same day.

I love my nudes and reds. I really need more pink in my collection. I couldn't find a single pink that I liked. I think the only pink that I wore was a lipgloss.

From left to right: MAC Hue (Glaze), L'oreal Colour Riche 800 Fairest Nude, MAC Jubilee (Lustre), L'oreal Colour Riche 852 Silk, MAC Spirit (Satin), L'oreal Colour Riche 843 Toasted Almond, Revlon Super Lustrous 245 Smokey Rose (Pearl), Revelon Super Lustrous 671 Mink (Creme), MAC Del Rio (Satin)

From left to right: MAC Viva Glam I (Matte), Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Collection 107, Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Collection 09, Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Collection 10, MAC Russian Red (Matte), Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Collection 111, Revlon Super Lustrous 740 Certainly Red (Creme), Revlon Super Lustrous 029 Red Lacquer (Pearl), Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Collection 109

#1 MAC Hue (Glaze)

The perfect nude with an orange/pink base and a little shine.

#2 L'oreal Colour Riche 800 Fairest Nude 

My favorite nude because it has a little more color than the other nudes, with a brown base

 #3 MAC Jubilee (Lustre)

Another great nude with an orange/brown base.

#4 L'oreal Colour Riche 852 Silk

Literally my favorite lipstick of the year and they don't sell it anymore! It's a nice orange/brown color, perfect for when you want a little more color than a nude can give you.

 #5 MAC Spirit (Satin)

An attempt to dupe "Silk" from above. I love this color, but sadly it's not the same. Another brownish/orange.

#6 L'oreal Colour Riche 843 Toasted Almond

Another brown/orange lipstick that I love. I wore this one a lot this year.

#7 Revlon Super Lustrous 245 Smokey Rose (Pearl)

A fairly new lipstick that I love! It has like pink/red/orange undertone with brown. I love it!

#8 Revelon Super Lustrous 671 Mink (Creme)

Another orange/brown that I love.

#9 MAC Del Rio (Satin)

Getting into the reds. A lovely brown/orange/bordering red. It's fairly new and I love it!

#10 MAC Viva Glam I (Matte)

Probably my favorite red. It's like a medium-darker red.

#11 Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Collection 107

My favorite of the Rimmel Kate Moss collection. It's a deeper mauvy-red.

#12 Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Collection 09

I love this bright red!

#14 MAC Russian Red (Matte)

My favorite shade from MAC and a very popular one!

#15 Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Collection 111

Another bright red!

#16 Revlon Super Lustrous 740 Certainly Red (Creme)

Another bright red!

#17 Revlon Super Lustrous 029 Red Lacquer (Pearl)

I love this bright red/orange.

#18 Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Collection 109

This color is the perfect spring/summer. It's a lovely coral/peachy/orange.

What was your most worn lipstick(s) of 2013? Are you as obsessed with lipsticks as I am? haha

xxxx