Beauty Favorites - 2015

It was so easy and quick for me to pick up 2014 Beauty Favorites (click here to read more) and I am still loving and using most of them. This year I reviewed a lot of products and I had fun doing that! But at the same time these reviews kept me busy and I had very little time to go for products that I childishly enjoy rather than the ones that I have been reviewing. May be next year, I will take every single opportunity to play with the entire spectrum that I have at my disposal! I had to spend quite some time processing my thoughts and deciding my favorites this year. After a lot of analysis and deliberate decision making, here is what I think have been my most favorite and most used products this year :-)

Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner Gel Eye Crayon Eyeliner ($25 for 0.01 oz.): I got this in a limited-edition set from Sephora (reviewed here). All of these are very gorgeous shades; apply easily and last the whole day with the same intensity and without any creasing whatsoever! Even the black one lasts on my waterline whole day which is typically a bit challenging on my watery eyes. I have been using these for a year now, and it feels like they have dried just a tiny bit, but I still love them especially to wear to work. It makes me feel glam without much effort and that’s why I use them at least three times a week. Even though it was challenging to compile the favorites list this year, these highliners are the only product that I did not have to think twice about putting at the top of my list :-) Sephora currently has a similar set here.

Stila Cosmetics Stay All Day® Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in “Intense Black” ($22 for 0.016 oz.): One whole year with this liner! I have been using it at least ¾ th of the time that I use eyeliner and it still has not dried up yet. Its waterproof, has a felt tip that is very easy to control & draw a nice wing with and it truly stays all-day! The finish is slightly glossy but I like that. Whenever I want to ensure that I get a quick and easy wing liner that needs to last all day, this is what I use. It is almost a holy grail in my arsenal. 

Clinique Cheek Pop in "Fig Pop" ($22 for 0.12 oz.): There are a lot of reasons to love Clinique Cheek Pops. Incredible product - easy to blend, great pigmentation and good staying power; incredible packaging - genius, innovative and totally functional! It also comes in a great range of shades. This year, I reviewed a lot of colorful eyeshadows which essentially means I wore these shades to work in order to review them, so I had to wear subdued blush to make sure that my overall look still appears neutral enough to wear to work! “Fig Pop” (Reviewed here) has been my go-to blush for that exact reason! Apart from wearing to work, I have been noticing that I have been picking it a lot with any look; it’s just easy and very trustworthy to get a nice healthy look :-)

Bobby Brown Blush in “Sand Pink” ($28 for 0.13 oz.): To be honest, Bobbi Brown products do not hugely thrill me. May be because of the predictable black packaging, or the steep price, I never feel encouraged to try out her products. Having said that, I have to admit that whenever I wear this particular blush, I feel pretty! It adds just a tiny bit rosiness on my cheeks and immediately brightens up my face; it’s an excellent everyday shade on me. I prefer Fig Pop just a tiny bit more but both of these have been in constant rotation in my every day makeup routine.

Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector in “Champagne Pop” ($38 for 0.28 oz.): Actually every single cheek product from Becca has been my favorite, I am not lying! Everything I have tried from this brand has won my heart. I love the shimmering soufflés, beach tints, mineral blushes and all the highlighters, but decided to include only this in my favorites list. Before this, I never gave much importance to highlighters. But this completely changed my attitude towards them :-) I love how it makes me look luminous and healthy. It’s a strong highlighter, so you have to apply it carefully. But once you try it, you cannot deny the glow and subsequent feel-good. 

Beauty Blender the original beautyblender ($20): Before this I was using a $3 look-alike sponge that I bought from eBay, which at that time I thought was decent in performance. But once I tried the actual Beauty Blender, I absolutely loved it. It makes my foundation application very easy and super-fast. It takes just 2-3 minutes to get an even flawless skin. You need to try this!

Elf Cosmetics Complexion Brush ($3): Yes, it’s just $3 and it is an excellent quality brush. Does not shed, and incredibly soft. I have been using it mostly to apply matte bronzers and I love it.

Bare Minerals Original Foundation in ($28 for 0.28 oz.): I refuse to wear liquid foundation every single day as I need my skin to breathe :-) This is a powder foundation that is quite forgiving on my dry skin and just a little bit of it makes my skin look even. I have never tried to wear it as a full coverage foundation but for day-to-day wear I love it. I enjoy that I can apply cream or powder products on top of it with same ease. It’s not a product that thrills me with joy, but after using it for 1and a ½ years; I have grown to appreciate its importance in my daily routine.

Bdellium Tools Studio 942 Slanted Contour Brush ($11): I have smaller cheek area so I need a smaller brush. I had to search a lot to get the perfect blush brush. It’s such a nicely shaped brush. I love using this with my matte blushes. However it sheds a bit. So while I am not head-over heels on the product quality I love how it makes it easier for me to apply blushes these days :-)

Formula X Color Nail Polish in “Eureka” (Reviewed here): I wore this shade on my toes and on my hands all summer long! It’s such a lively hot pink shade. The formula is amazing; very creamy, applies without any streak and quite long lasting. I really enjoyed this particular shade this year.

Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Natural Lipstick in “N9” ($20 for 0.12 oz.): Tiny adorable innocent lipstick bullet! I got this as part of the birthday gift in 2014 from Sephora; I have finished more than half of it since. After 2 years of blogging and numerous trials with nude lips, I have come to a conclusion that this is the perfect nude shade on my skin tone. It’s not too warm, not too cool! Works great with any heavy makeup looks or on bare skin without any other makeup. I absolutely adore it. I just wished it would last a few hrs. more.

There is nothing like Red Lipstick: I am an ardent fan of red lip shades! That is no secret :-), but this year, I could not make enough opportunities to wear red lipsticks up to my heart’s content! J I still managed to try a few, and I have 3 new favorites! Coulis (Reviewed here) is Bite Beauty‘s highly trustworthy long lasting matte formula but it actually appears more like satin; looks incredibly sexy and demure at the same time! Cruella (Reviewed here) is classic cult favorite lip pencil from NARS. Whenever I need my red lipstick to stay all day without drying, I pick Cruella. It makes me feel like a boss! Classified Crimson (Reviewed here) is a new formula from Buxom and while the wear time is not the best, I LOVE the shade. It appears totally matte and does not dry your lips. It’s very sultry looking and beautiful.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer in “Med-Dark Neutral” ($28 for 0.16 oz.): I often tell my friends that when it comes to makeup, my philosophy is to have fun with splendid colors; each different from the other! Concealing, contouring type of thing does not interest me much! That is why I don’t really talk a lot about foundations or concealers! I know that as a Beauty Blogger it is a weird thing to say, but I guess I am wired that way :-) Anyway, I bought this concealer in late May! Since then, I have never gone back to my old concealer which at that time I thought to be quite good. This is very light-weight concealer with a thin, tacky (in a good way) but moist consistency so it is perfect on my dry under-eye area. I love that I can use it on bare skin or with any full-coverage base; liquid or powder foundations or bb creams! It’s very easy to blend, does not crease unless you put a lot of it. Very rarely I tend to be heavy handed and I have to set it with a powder.  Also it darkens up a slight bit from when you first apply it. The shade range of this product is not quite extensive here, that’s my only complaint with this product but other than that I adore it (I never thought I will say that about a concealer)!

I don’t do monthly favorites, but I absolutely love yearly favorites posts! I hope you enjoyed my favorites for this year. I know most of these are my everyday wear products, but I do have some bold pieces! :-) I just wished I would have been able to wear them more often.

What have you been loving this year? Are there any launches that are particularly exciting in the coming months? Share with me! :-)

Love

~Arrru