Welcome to part 2 of my 2014 favorites series!
There were a few constant favorite face products that I just couldn’t get enough of this last year. Let’s get right to it! (I know, it’s weird to have a short intro. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.)
L’Oreal Magic Lumi Highlighter
This is a highlighter in the sense that it is a light colored product and it can indeed be used to create a lovely matte highlight. I use this as an under eye concealer for the most part. It’s a thin consistency (thinner than the Maybelline pen concealer/highlighter doohickey) so it doesn’t look cakey and it allows my freckles to show through but it still brightens the under eye area and minimizes the appearance of dark circles. More often than not I embrace the whole dark circle, sunken in look but there are days when my under eye area can look nearly cadaverous. Not usually my favored look. This helps. Depending on how much eye cream I’ve used, this can crease slightly if not set with a powder but I don’t typically have much of a problem with it settling into fine lines.
Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder
As you can see in the above photo, I’ve used a fair bit of this product. I have been using this powder nearly everyday to set my skin care products (it’s a rare day when I wear foundation or BB, CC, LL cream) and reduce the shine left by my sunscreen. The pigmentation is on the lower side of the spectrum, although it does add a bit of coverage. It is definitely not a powder foundation, but it’s not quite a translucent powder either. It does a great job of reducing shine, muting some redness and it maintains a natural finish; it would be difficult to build this up to the point that it looks cakey or overly powdery. Plus, it’s super cheap (less than $4.00) and easily accessible.
I recently reviewed this product but to sum up, this is a lovely champagne highlighter that is easy to sheer out and could also easily be built up to an intense highlight if you so choose. This bottle will last FOR.EV.ER because a little bit goes a really long way.
Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer in Tiki
My compact of Tiki inexplicably went missing for a few days ago (although I found it last night in the bathroom closet…I blame the cat) so this is a super awesome stock photo. I was obsessively scouting Walmart (the only place that carries Hard Candy Cosmetics) for Tiki for well over a year but any time that this was actually in stock, the product was shattered or already opened. People are weird yo but that’s a whole different post. ANYWAY…this is a lovely shimmery champagne powder that has zero business being marketed as a bronzer. The powder itself is smooth and highly pigmented. It’s a similar shade to the Josie Maran Illuminizer but in a powder format and at a fraction of the price.
Camp Cosmetics Blush in Monogamy
This blush is absolutely the best contour product I’ve found to date. It’s a neutral, light/mid toned brown that is completely matte, has just the right amount of pigmentation and is incredibly easy to blend. I can’t recommend this product enough. It also serves as a lovely blush or eyeshadow, but I just can’t stop using it to contour. So lovely! Camp Cosmetics is only available via email or phone at the moment, but the owner (Michael) is truly delightful and incredibly helpful. If you have fair skin and haven’t been able to find a good contour powder, check this out.
Milani Baked Blush
I’m awarding the “Best Overal Blush” award to Milani. These blushes are mind bogglingly good. There is a good range of shades, most are shimmery but there are a couple of matte shades as well. These are pigmented, smooth, long wearing goodness. Seriously, just looking at the picture of these, I want to go blushify my face. These retail for around $10.00 and are relatively easily accessible (I buy mine at CVS). If you haven’t tried them yet, I strongly recommend that you do so.
Maybelline Blush in Coral Burst
Sadly this blush was limited edition but this color is stunning. It’s glowy orange divinity and I really really REALLY hope that Maybelline re-leases this and makes it permanent. If you have this sitting in your stash, pull that baby out and marvel at the summery goodness that is now your face. This wins the “Best Single Blush Shade” of 2014 for lots of reasons, but, if you visit this page often, you know it’s mostly because it’s orange. 🙂
That wraps up the “Face” edition of my 2014 favorites. You’ll notice that there are a few things missing: foundation I rarely wear so I didn’t feel I should include it. I do love the Revlon Whipped foundation though, it’s a beautiful finish. I also didn’t include a bronzer. I have many and feel fairly indifferent to all of them thus, the omission.
So, what are your face product favorites? I’m currently going crazy for highlighters and blushes so please do share your favorites! A girl can never have too many blushes and highlighters right? Right.
I’ll post links to the rest of my 2014 favorites posts here, providing the ole’ memory doesn’t give out:
Gym Bag Makeup 
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