2014 Beauty Awards

2014 Beauty Awards

Hey hey! 2014 brought out some awesome products both drugstore and high end, and now that it's a new year I thought I'd share my favourite products in separate categories with some nominees and winners just like a little award ceremony. I've listed nominees, all of which I loved all year, but chose my absolute favourite of them all! Hope yall love it xx

Category 1 // Foundation

Nominees

• Maybelline Fit me 
• Bourjois Healthy Mix 
• L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint - Winner!
• Benefit Hello Flawless 

Raved about this heaps so I'll keep it short, it's super light and a lovely cool toned colour. Blends really well with the real techniques multitask brush - both my current HG combo

Category 2 // Bronzer

Nominees

• Essence Sun Club Brunettes Matt 
• Sportsgirl Bronze Me 
• NYC Smooth Skin 
• Too Faced Chocolate Soleil - Winner! 

Perfect balance of warm and cool, smells like chocolate and works really well as a contour and overall bronzer. Love that it's matte and not too harsh :)

Category 3 // Highlighter

Nominees

• Benefit High Beam 
• Australis Highlighter (Pale Pink Shimmer in AC ON TOUR Palette) - Winner!
• Essence Me & My Ice Cream Shimmer Pearls 
• Benefit Sun Beam 

The picture makes it look a lot darker than it is, it's actually a pale pink champagne shimmer. I lovee this highlighter and the entire palette as well (will review soon). I'm super fussy with shimmers on my face, I don't like giant glitter clumps - I like very fine shimmer / sheen. This is so buttery and pigmented and such good quality especially for its price. I use it on my cheek bones, brow bone, inner corner, down the bridge of my nose, forehead and cupids bow. LOVE THIS.

Category 4 // Concealer

Nominees

• Maybelline Fit Me 
• Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer - Winner! 
• Rimmel Match Perfection 
• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind 
• Rimmel Wake Me Up! 

I used a lot of drugstore concealer this year (for under eye brightening) and loved them all, but NARS creamy took my heart. It lasts all day, doesn't crease or get oily and is super brightening. It's a thicker consistency so a little goes a long way - definitely worth the extra $$

Category 5 // Mascara

Nominees

• Maybelline Colossal - Winner! 
• Jordana Best Lash Extreme 
• Benefit They're Real 
• Too Faced Better Than Sex 

Obviously. Raved about this a million times and still nothing really compares in my opinion. Full, black, long and voluminous lashes yes yes

Category 6 // Primer

Nominees

• Mac Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage 
• Benefit Porefessional 
• Innoxa Pure Silk Skin Primer 
• Elf Mineral Face Primer - Winner!

Love this as a base, super duper smooth! I haven't been using primer much recently because my L'Oreal foundation is so light I feel like I don't need it - but during the cooler months I adored this. Keeps your foundation even and feeling moisturised

Category 7 // Eye Primer

Nominees

• Lorac Behind The Scenes 
• MAC Paint Pot (Soft Ocre) - Winner!
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion 
• Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Definitely stuck to high end eye primers, I found them to be so much more effective than the drugstore ones. I like my primer to be thicker and not like a moisturiser, all the drugstore ones I tried were really thin and light and I didn't feel like they did much. MAC paint pot is the perfect colour, blends really well and of course keeps your shadow perfect without creasing

Category 8 // Palette

Nominees

• Urban Decay Naked 2 
• Urban Decay Naked 3 
• Lorac Pro - Winner! 
• Too Faced Everything Nice 

Definitely my most used palette this year, especially mauve, taupe, sable, espresso, nude + cream. Just the perfect palette for both everyday use and also night makeup, an incredible range that is so versatile! All the colours are lovely and buttery, blend out super well and are crazy pigmented.
Also, I had to include a colour not in this palette - but bootycall from naked 2 is my favourite inner corner shade and is my life.

Category 9 // Eyeliner

Nominees

• Maybelline Master Precise 
• Maybelline Eye Studio (Blackest Black) - Winner! 
• Rimmel Scandaleyes 
• MAC Black Track 

Tried super hard to perfect winged liner this year, but I still need heaps more practice. I used maybelline the most and it worked really well for me, not too dry or slippery which was good for control. Hopefully can use blacktrack more this year but I've been too scared to use it because I know I'll waste a whole lot making mistakes - but when I get better, I do loveee black track.

Category 10 // Lipstick

Nominees

• MAC Rebel 
• Lime Crime Poisonberry - Winner!
• MAC Verve - Winner! 
• MAC Tribalist 
• Sportsgirl Berrylicious 
• Rimmel Provocalips in Kiss Fatal 
• Lime Crime Utopia Velvetine 

Definitely the hardest category to choose. I love lipstick more than anything in the universe and there was just so much to choose from, I was impressed with so many and everything I listed are all so honestly amazing in terms of pigmentation, longevity and formulation. But if I had to choose, I picked Verve for everyday nude (it looks quite different in reality, its a more cool toned brown - click here - for a photo I found online that looks a bit more true to life) it's the perfect dark nude more my skin tone. Poisonberry is an amazing dark metallic purple with a similar MAC formula, so beautiful and different which I found myself wearing quite a bit!

Category 11 // Brushes 

Nominees 

• Sigma E35 Tapered Blending - Winner! (eyes)
• Real Techniques Multitask Brush - Winner! (face)
• Models Prefer MP20 Large Eyeshadow
• Sigma F86 Tapered Kabuki 

I chose E35 for eyes, such a life saver! Amazing soft fluffy blending brush to save yourself from unblended eyeshadow. Such a huge staple for me. I finally got the multi task brush that I'd been wanting for so long as a christmas present, and it is 110% worth the rave that Lauren is always excited about. I can't really explain, but you just have to buy it. It blends out your foundation so flawlessly and lightly, it comes out so much more blended and less streaky than anything else I've ever used. It makes your foundation feel so light and natural, I love using it with my Nude Magique. Please buy it and share the love with me!

Category 12 // Powder

• Maybelline Matte Maker 
• Face Of Australia Loose Translucent Powder 
• Rimmel Stay Matte - Winner!  

(It is heaps paler than photographed) It's super light and affordable and does the job. I don't fuss with powder so much as I don't have oily skin, so just a little bit of this on my T-zone is more than good enough for me! Also very affordable and lasts forever. 

Category 13 // Brows 

• Models Prefer Brow Fixer 
• Maybelline Brow Drama 
• Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set - Winner!
• Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Tough as Taupe 

Can't last a day without this, paired with my second favourite: brow drama! Perfect cool toned browns, perfect for my brow colour. They work so well together, last all day long and are very affordable :)

Category 14 // Assorted Favourites

Lashes: Ardell Demi Wispies (Ebay) 

Perfect lashes for any look - work great with Lorac Pro for both a daytime and nighttime look. Love love love! They have a nice flexible band which helps them stay on without flicking off and are the perfect length and thickness to not look like crazily fake lashes. 

Moisturiser: Lush Celebrate

So delicious, smells like oranges and citrusy fruits and bubblegum. So moisturising and just stole the show this year - but unfortunately it was limited edition :(

Fake Tan: Bondi Sands Tanning Foam in Dark 

Obviously my favourite thing in winter. Already said so many good things, but perfect brown colour, applies evenly and smells like coconut heaven!

Hair Product: Organix Coconut Milk Serum 

My hair is shrivelled and deep fried from the amount of bleach I use on my ends, and using this on my ends after I shower and just in the morning in general helps my hair re-nourish itself and rejuvenate. Smells amazing (coconut of course) and softens my poor hair heaps! 

That's all folks - hope you liked this, was a bit different and fun! Hopefully it can help you decide on whether or not you want to purchase some of these :) Can't wait for another year full of new beautiful delicious products! Take care xx

Love always,

- b xx