2014 Favourites!

Hello everybody!
 I am so, so excited to be doing my first ever yearly favourites. I have decided to tell you my top finds of 2014. All of these products have either been discovered in 2014 or I have only bought them in 2014. Without further adue, these are my top contenders:

Makeup

Palettes
- This has to go to Urban Decay. I bought their Naked and Naked 3 eyeshadow palettes this year and they are my life. I wear them pretty much every single day and with 12 colours in each palette to choose from, you can't go wrong. Thought I'd give a sneaky mention of their all-in-one Naked on the Run palette too. 6 eyeshadows, bronzer, blusher, eyeliner, mascara AND a lipgloss, this really is the perfect palette for those 5 minutes to get ready days! Honourary mention would be the NARSissist Palette (if that's how you spell it) Laguna, Orgasm and a highlight all in one. Perfect for travel.

Primer
- this HAS to go to the Body Shop's Instablur primer. I used to be a loyal user of Benefit's Porefessional, which I still use from time to time, but the Body Shop have really succeeded with this primer. It's amazing and keeps my makeup on all day long, even if it does have a strange consistency.

Foundation
- This year's discovery has been the Max Factor Skin Luminizer Foundation, I normally wear Max Factor but it was the 3-in-1 Perfection one and I just found it a bit too heavy. The Luminizer really adds some brightness back into your skin and makes you look dewy without being shiny, it's perfect for winter in my opinion.

Concealer
- Goes to Benefit's Boi-ing. This stuff is great, it covers up, adds brightness, doesn't crease, lasts forever and there's not much else I can say except you need to try this.

Bronzer/Blusher
I discovered Nars Laguna and Orgasm in 2014, and honestly, nothing else I have tried since has compared to these. Laguna adds just the right amount of bronzeness and is great for contouring and Orgasm is the perfect shade of peachy pink with shimmer to last you all year round. P.S. they're super long lasting too! Laguna lasts me about 6-8 months because I wear a lot of bronzer and I've had Orgasm for over a year and have only just hit pan on it.

Eyeliner
- Has to be the Topshop Magic Liner. It's so easy to apply, it lasts a really long time and it's super black. It's really helped me improved my eyeliner game.

Highlight
- It was going to the Benefit High Beam, however I feel that it's a bit too heavy duty. A fantastic daytime subtle highlight is the Benefit Watt's Up (a great dupe is the Topshop Glow Stick), it's such a gorgeous shade of champagne you can wear it at any time.

Lipliner
MAC Subculture is the winner for me. While everyone is out buying Whirl trying to get the perfect Kylie Jenner lips, I find that Subculture is a fantastic alternative - and much easier to get hold of! It's the perfect pinky, browny nude for my skin tone.

Lipstick
A draw between MAC Honeylove (another great alternative to get the Kylie Jenner lips - velvet teddy is still out of stock everywhere I look) and Charlotte Tilbury's Glastonberry. I am a loyal MAC lipstick lover but I have to say that the formula of C Tils' Matte Revolution Lipsticks are unlike any other I've tried before. They are so pigmented, not drying on the lips and last forever!

Drugstore
Maybelline Colour Tattoos. These are such a good dupe for MACs paint pots! Even though their colour selection is limited, I still prefer the drugstore versions. My personal favourites are On and On Bronze (which looks amazing under a smokey eye using the Naked Palette), Metallic Pomegranate which is a perfect cranberry colour and Pink Gold. There are some brilliant matte colours too.

 

 

 

 

Skin/Hair/Nails/Scent

Makeup Remover
Garnier Micellar Water - this is a product that I can no longer live without. Pour a small amount onto a cotton pad, press against your eye for 10 - 20 seconds and your makeup just melts away. This is an alternative to Bioderma (which I'm yet to try, I promise I will be doing soon though!). It helps your makeup come off so easily and it doesn't spread it around your face the way a makeup wipe would. It's really helped improve my complexion too. Check out my review here.

Night Cream
The Body Shop Tea Tree Night Serum. Another product that has changed my skin for the better. Applying this before I go to bed has become a habit. It helps with those suffering from an uneven skintone or acne scarring.

Lip Balm
EOS  - love these. I'm a sufferer of extremely dry lips and I honestly don't know what I'd do without an army of lipbalms. I literally have them everywhere.

Haircare
What my two previous favourites did for my skin, Garnier's Ultimate Blends Hair Oil did for my hair. I had a chin-length bob back in 2013 and my hair stayed shoulder lengthed from September 2013 all the way to around March 2014. However, after I discovered this stuff in October, my hair grew so much! It's not overly long, but it's growing at a much faster rate than normal. It makes my hair feel super silky and smooth - and my ends always need a bit of a repair.

Hair Appliance
I'm in love with my GHDs. They're my first pair, they do an excellent job of styling my hair without burning it, they heat up and cool down in seconds and they're such a beautiful rose gold colour.

Nails
Picking a favourite nail polish was a really difficult task because I discovered Essie and Ciate this year and I really couldn't decide. I finally came to a conclusion and it goes to ....... Essie's Bahama Mama! It's such a beautiful dark red/purple colour and you can wear it pretty much all year round. The name is awesome too.

Frangrance
Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb is my signature scent now. My boyfriend wears Spice Bomb all the time and the two just coincide perfectly together (obviously). It is a little heavy as a day time scent, but it smells so good!

 

Other

Books
The Fault in Our Stars and Girl Online. Both brilliant. The Fault in Our Stars was a real cult classic last year, especially with the film coming out and it did not disappoint! It was so beautifully written and a really lovely story. Girl Online is the long awaited novel by Zoe Sugg (Zoella) and I was really impressed! I read this on my way and coming back from Prague and I really enjoyed the story.

Candle
Yankee Candle in Candy Corn. Every time. Need I say any more?

Place
My favourite place of the year has to be London, it was the first time I'd ever been and I want to go back at least once a year from now on! I love the pace, the underground, the shopping, the diversity and everything about it Check out my London blog here. Prague came in as a close second as it looks as if it's in a fairytale but it just couldn't beat London. Check out my Prague blog here.

Congratulations if you stuck with me till the end of this blog! I know it was extremely long but it's been long awaited. It took me forever to decide what the winners were but I got there in the end. Let me know your favourite products of 2014 and I'll be happy to give them a try!
CJ x