2013 in Beauty: Hits!

     I'm taking a break from UK trip pictures today to post about one of my main loves: make-up! I feel like 2013 was the year that I really got into make-up. I've always enjoyed make-up and thought that it was fun to wear, but I wasn't allowed to wear make-up everyday when I was in middle school and early high school, and my last few years of high school I did the same make-up look every single day (silver eye shadow, a little brown eyeliner and mascara). This past year was really the year that I started education myself more about how to apply and experiment with makeup, and I started buying from a lot more brands as well.

     I decided that it would be fun to make a list of some of the products that stood out to me that I discovered this past year! This is not a sponsored post, and all of these products were things that I bought myself with my own money, and all opinions are honest. :-) I've decided to feature five awesome beauty products that I discovered in 2013, which I'm calling hits. If this post is popular then I can do a post with my least favorite products of the year as well!


5 Hits:

1. Mally's Perfect Prep Under Eye Brightener (Mally's website, Ulta, QVC, $35) I truly believe this is the best under-eye concealer out there! I have been a fan of Mally products for a long time, but this might be my most favorite Mally item of all. I have always been prone to dark circles under my eyes, and this eye brightener helps to eliminate them without having you look too made up! On busy days when I don't have time to put on a ton of face make-up I can still use just this without it looking weird on my bare skin. And the best part- a little goes a long way with this product!! You only need the tiniest little smidge of this on your finger to take down those dark circles. And this means that it will last you for a very long time! Definitely worth the $35 in my opinion.
2. Maybelline's Color Show Nail Polish in Styled Out (Drugstores, $2.99-$3.99) This nail polish is such a fun and unique blue color!! The sparkles within it add to its beauty. It also stays on for quite awhile for a drugstore polish (with a top coat)! My only complaint is that sometimes it's a little hard to take off, but since I love everything else about it that doesn't seem like a huge issue. :-)
3. Sephora Collection's Look Color In The Eye Brush Capsule (Sephora, $22) I was in need of some new eye make-up brushes this fall, so I used some of my birthday money to buy this cute little brush set. I think that these are great eye brushes! I love how they all fit in the cute little capsule, and I LOVE the pretty hot pink color of everything in the set! And it's perfect for traveling!
4. Benefit's Speed Brow (Benefit's website, Sephora, Ulta, Department stores, $18) I have already posted about this amazing eye brow gel once before (you can read that post here!), and I will continue to sing of its praises. This eye brow gel is simply fantastic. Before splurging on this I was using a Revlon gel, and it didn't even come close to how amazing this is. To any girl reading this that has unruly brows, you need this product. Your brows will thank you!
5. Benefit's World Famous Neutrals in Sexiest Nudes Ever (Sephora, $30) For a couple years I had been using two different Almay eyeshadow quads with sparkly purple-y neutrals similar to the shades in this shadow kit by Benefit. I loved the colors of my Almay shadows, but the quality of them just wasn't that great and the staying power was terrible (I'd have to reapply them so many times in a day just so thye'd show up!). Back in September I brought one of my Almay quads into Sephora and asked an employee to reccomend a shadow set with similar colors, and she picked this Benefit set! I love it! The colors of the shadows are beautiful and pigmented, and I think it's so cool how there are two gel shadows in the kit and four traditional shadows. 

     What are some of your favorite beauty products that you discovered in 2013? Do share! 

     xoxo Miss ALK