Although I have loved cosmetics for a while, 2014 seemed to be the year where I REALLY put time and effort into trialing and testing out new products for my makeup regime.
Last year I published my Favourite Beauty Products of 2013, it'll be interesting to see who made the cut to 2014.
Just a word of warning, this is gonna be a long one (especially when it comes to face/base products) so brace yourself!
Once again I've broken this down into Eyes, Face, Lips with a few new additions to this year which are Palettes, Skin Care and Ones To Watch in 2015.
If you're a makeup lover like myself I'm sure you'll enjoy this post, so without further ado, let's get right to it!
EYES
Maybelline The Falsies Mascara
One of my absolute favourites which made the cut into 2014. This gives me length instantly, making me look bright eyed and awake!
MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Layin' Low
This lil paint pot has worked wonders for my eye shadow! I no longer experience creasing, my shadows blend well and last for hours! To see my review of this gem click HERE.
Inglot Gel Eyeliner in #77
I picked this liner up from IMATS 2014 not knowing if I was going to love it, luckily I do! It is so pigmented and black, it just glides onto the lid. You can see my raving about it and wearing this HERE.
Sigma E40 Tapered Blending Brush
My first ever Sigma brush and possibly my new favourite brush ever! My blending has improved dramatically because of this soft fluffy brush. It's an absolute God send for an eye shadow lover.
Madison Street Beauty Pigments
I'm so glad I discovered the Madison Street Beauty pigments, their colours are unique and they had such a huge shade range. Unfortunately MSB is no longer selling products but you can see my reviews on these pigments HERE and HERE.
Benefit They're Real Mascara
Another product that made the cut from 2013, a mascara that was made for my lashes, They're Real elongates my lashes helping them to stand out against my eye shadows.
MAC Naked Dark Pigment
This beautiful pigment really works against my skin tone, the warm beige shade really helps me to get a gorgeous nude eye look without the ashiness that some nude shadows give to WoC, the subtle golden flecks also help to eliminate ashiness and create a gorgeous glow. See a quick review and swatches of Naked Dark click HERE.
NYX Loose Pear Eyeshadow in Mink
This pigment had been sitting in my collection for a while until I decided to pull it out to pep up a rose gold eyeshadow look. This worked so well it's now become a favourite to really help emphasize a glow on my lid, to see this in action click HERE. I'm wearing Mink on my lid in this video.
Makeup Revolution Awesome Dual Liner Felt & Kohl
Who would have thought a £3.50 eyeliner would be one of my go-to products for 2014? The felt pen side helps me to create the most perfect flick whilst the kohl side helps to create a base for my eyeliner, I cannot get enough of this! To see my full review on this eyeliner click HERE.
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
Another mascara? What can I say!? I love me a great one and the Too Faced Better Than Sex definitely fits into that category. The wand really helps with volume as well as length, I fell in love as soon as I used this! An absolutely winner in my books!
PALETTES
Custom La Femme Blush Palette
I can't believe I waited so long to get these! The pigmentation and price of these blushes is absurd! I cannot believe they are so cheap! Definitely a worthy winner for one of my beauty favourite spots. For swatches of my collection and a review click HERE.
Ben Nye HD Media Pro Poudre Palette in Mojave
One of my favourites due to the fact that it is aimed at WoC and the different tones we come in! This palette comes with 8 pans from gorgeous golden to rich browns. Perfect for setting, highlighting and contouring. For a closer look at this gem click HERE.
Custom Coastal Scents Hot Pot Palettes
Could I rave about these any more than I have done already?! These eyeshadows are phenomenal for the price, especially when Coastal Scents have their 50% off sale. I loved my first palette so much I had to get a second! For a review of my initial palette click HERE.
Custom Inglot Eyeshadow Palettes
In 2013 I bought my first Inglot palette, now I have two more (one not pictured). Inglot eyeshadows are so overlooked and I cannot see why! Affordable, pigmented and with more shadow per gram compared to the usual favs, they are winners for me! For swatches of two of my palettes click HERE.
Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette
Whoever came up with the idea to make a nudes palette that smells like chocolate? Whoever you are you my friend deserve a damn medal! When I first bought this I put it to the side but recently I've decided to put it to use and my gosh, I love it! You can really get an array of looks from this one palette and if you're a chocolate lover too, well what can I say?!
You NEED this in your life!
Makeup Geek Ultimate Eyeshadow Palette
MUG eyeshadows are something special, buttery, easy to blend and pigmented. Marlena has done a great job! The Ultimate Palette is also in my 2013 Beauty Favs and for good reason too! A few of these shadows such as Cocoa Bear, Latte and Beaches and Cream have become my staples.
To see these in action click HERE.
Custom Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit
I can't lie, I got caught up in the hype when the extended shades for the ABH Contour Kits were released, I had to get them!
The shades I picked up really work well for me, the combination of cool and warm tone help me to contour and bronze, I also picked up a highlighter and a colour corrector that I can use as a blush. This kit really has all the powders you need!
For swatches click HERE.
FACE
Inglot AMC Pressed Powders in #60 & #68
These two Inglot face powders have been a pleasant discovery for me in 2014! The buttery and pigmented formula makes them perfect as face powders for setting foundation or as a base. #60 is the perfect golden brown shade for me whilst #68 is a gorgeously rich powder that works so well as a contour/bronzer. For my review on these affordable powders click HERE.
Ben Nye Banana Powder
What can I say? Sorry, not sorry.
Most people love this, some hate it, I am one of those who love this!
The banana powder really helps to brighten up my highlight, the smooth consistency of the powder is so fine making it easy to apply. I go over this with my MSF/Inglot powder to ensure it doesn't come off too ashy on my skin tone and on some occasions if I want a toned down highlight I mix this with Ben Nye Topaz.
NARS Blushers in Taj Mahal & Dolce Vita
I've had Taj Mahal for the longest now and I absolutely LOVE it, the orange shimmer compliments my skin tone PERFECTLY. It's true love! I loved it so much I had to try out another blush to see if the hype was real across the board and let me tell you - it is!
Dolce Vita is the perfect dusty rose for deeper skin tones, such a beautiful warm toned blush, it's gorgeous. NARS blushes aren't the cheapest but they are definitely a great investment!
Jordana Powder Blushes
One of my lesser known favourites but still a must have! These Jordana blushers are super cheap (less than £2 each) yet their pigmentation is impressive! I bought mine from Cherry Culture but you can pick them up from my old time favourite Beauty Joint! I would definitely recommend getting one or two of these.
To see me using Terracotta Treasure click HERE.
MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter in Peach Lustre
The highlighter that is actually a colour corrector and possibly my favourite colour corrector out of the ones I have in my collection. Peach Lustre has a light texture but the pigmentation of this highlighter is amazing, it's enough to mute out my blemishes. Definitely a favourite of mine that I'd be happy to repurchase.
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC42
If I really want my highlight to POP this is the concealer I use! Perfect for nights out, this concealer really helps me channel my inner diva, giving my a highlight that makes me feel like Kim K and that stays in place ALL night!
To see Pro Longwear in action click HERE.
Milani Baked Blushers in Terra Sole (Discont.) and Red Vino
How goregous are the Milani Baked Blushers?! I absolutely love them as they compliment so many skin tones. I have Terra Sole which has been unfortunately discontinued and Red Vino which gives me the most gorgeous berry glow to my cheeks, every time I use it I fall in love!
To see swatches of the two click HERE.
Beauty Blenders
The answer to all my blending problems, when I need to my highlight to blend seamlessly I use my blenders, they never fail me!
They also help to eliminate cake face which is a no in everyone's books. The answer to my flawless face dreams! The Beauty Blenders are a fantastic addition to my foundation and highlight routine.
To see my Beauty Blender in action click HERE.
Kat Von D Lock It Tattoo Foundation in Deep 74
A relatively new addition to my collection but this had to be included in my favourites because I've experienced nothing like it before. The KVD Lock It Tattoo has coverage beyond anything I've ever seen before in my life! A pump and a half provides full coverage for an entire face, it's unbelievable!
Providing a matte finish (my favourite kind of finish) this full coverage foundation is incredible. My friend purchased mine directly from Sephora on his trip to NYC but you can order this from Sephora online and have it shipped to the UK.
MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC50
An oldy but a goodie, my MAC Studio Fix is my go to full coverage foundation. It provides the perfect shade and finish for me. I have heard that this breaks a few people out but I've never experienced this which is great as I have sensitive skin.
You can see me wearing Studio Fix Fluid HERE.
BECCA Luminous Skin Colour in Nuba
My go-to everyday foundation. I never thought I would be saying that as I find most bases to be too heavy for everyday wear but this is perfect. It has ultra sheer coverage but so long as I go in with Peach Lustre I have no issues with the sheer coverage. This base really evens out my skin tone whilst letting my skin breathe and best of all I bought this for £3.99 from Fragrance Direct.
You can see Nuba in action HERE.
Lorac Tantalizer Baked Bronzer
As a WoC I have to use this as a highlighter but this has not put me off, this bronzer is so finely milled it gives the most natural glow to deeper skin tones. Applied wet and the highlight gets even more intense but it still looks natural.
To see my review of this gorgeous highlighter click HERE.
Sleek Face Form in Dark
I have the contour kit but the extra bronzer in this is what makes me love this kit over the Sleek Contour Kit. The contour shade has great pigmentation against my skin tone, the highlighter is a gorgeous gold and the bronzer gives a sun-kissed sheen to the skin, something that's rare to find in a high street beauty product.
For my review click HERE.
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Caramel
I'm so glad I got my hands on this! It's a great concealer for highlighting for everyday and for going out. The matte finish fits into the finish I like in my bases and this concealer does stay put.
One thing I really like about this concealer is the wand, this makes application easier for me. I find myself using this a lot nowadays!
NYX Angel Veil Primer
This has been a great substitute for MoM when I'm wearing makeup in the day, although it doesn't have the exact same mattifying properties as MoM it does help to keep the shine at bay longer than the other primers I have tried in the past, much longer!
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Dark
Thank God MAC reformulated their MSF's, I used to use Deep Dark but stopped using it as it had red undertones which didn't work well with my skin tone, but with the new packaging, formulation and golden tones Dark has been a new staple for me, something I use to set my foundation and one lighter days use as a foundation too!
To see this in action click HERE.
MAC Pressed Blot Powder in Dark
A long standing favourite of mine which has helped me achieve the matte finish I've always loved! I now use this to take away the shine from some of my dewy bases such as BB creams.
It is lightweight and helps to refresh my makeup once the shine appears, this is a staple in my makeup collection.
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Sun Power
Another new MSF to my collection in 2014. I use this beauty to blend out my contour and add some warmth to my cool tone contour powders, this makes my contour look more natural and less muddy.
To see my review of Sun Power click HERE.
Inglot HD Illumizing Loose Powder in #45
I found out about this product by accident at IMATS but I'm glad I picked it up!
This is a great dupe to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light.
It creates a natural glow and brings light to areas in which you apply it giving your highlight a special something! Affordable and easy to use!
To see my review click HERE.
Wooo! *exhale* so here are my Favourite Beauty Products of 2014: Eyes, Palettes and Face!
I'm so not sorry this post is long!
I've really been honing in on products that will really make my base flawless and whilst I don't use all of the products above in one go, I do interchange between them and I absolutely appreciate each and every item detailed above and I would recommend them whole heartedly!
To see Part 2 of my Favourite Beauty Products of 2014 including Lips, Skin Care and Ones To Watch in 2015, click HERE.
Much love!
Natalie x
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