Favourite Friday #3: The Year 2013 in Beauty Favourites: Makeup, Tools and Nails | Part I

Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope you all enjoyed your holidays and started the new year with fresh energy. 
Today is a special Favourite Friday since it's about all the beauty products I discovered last year. The list is quite a long one, so I'm writing two posts. Without further ado here's what I've been loving in 2013 beauty wise:

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk (48€), Clinique Even Better Makeup (31,99€), Le Blush Crème de Chanel (33,99€), Guerlain Sun Shimmer Highlighter (32€), Laura Mercier Undercover Pot (39€), Clinique Airbrush Concealer (21,99€), Laura Mercier Lip Glacé (/), Dior Addict Extreme (32,99€), Sephora Contour Eye Pencil waterproof (12,99€), Tweezerman Precision Eyelash Curler (17,95€), Bobbi Brown Everything Mascara (25,99€), Max Factor False Lash Effect 24h (12,95€), butter LONDON Top & Tails (29,95€), butter London in Bit Faker (16,95€)

Foundation

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk in 6.5 
Well, do I really have to say anything about this foundation? It's been raved about in the whole beauty world and I finally gave in last October and oh my... I love absolutely everything about it! So smooth, goes on and blends like a dream ( without primer!), has no SPF ( = no weird flashback!) and sets to a luminous, semi-matte finish and  truly long lasting. The perfect foundation for events and night outs. This and the Real Techniques Buffing Brush - a match made in heaven. It's amore!

Clinique Even Better Makeup SPF 15 in 16 Golden Neutral
I was looking for a new foundation for everyday use that I could just put on quickly and be ready to go. I think I've found it. It is a perfect match to my skin and everything I look for in daily foundation with an SPF of 15. It blends so well with your fingers or a brush, covers redness and some imperfections.  It has medium but buildable coverage, so some acne scars will still show up but that's what concealer is for. It looks quite dewy when you apply it but after a minute or two it sets to a natural finish. The only downside for me is that it doesn't have a pump but that's probably only personal preference. Size and packaging a very travel friendly, that's why I took it with me on my holiday in Malta last October.

wearing the Clinique Even Better Makeup in Hastings Garden, Valetta, Malta | Sept 2013 

Concealer

Clinique Airbrush Concealer in 02 Medium
This is a lightweight concealer with a salmon undertone to it. It is perfect to cover up those dark under eye circles but not for any blemishes and spots. It is super easy to use and blends really well into the skin and doesn't get caky. It will settle to fine lines eventually so I take a q-tip and swipe the excess product away. 

Blush

Le Blush Crème de Chanel in 62 Présage

This was also a late discovery in October and I'm so happy for having this in my life now. I use it with the Real Techniques Stippling Brush before I set my foundation with powder. The lady at the counter said that you can apply it over powder too, but I never tried it because it's so long lasting I never had to touch it up. It looks so natural and the bright peachy colour makes your skin look so healthy I can't even describe it.  

Guerlain Sun Shimmer Highlighter in 02 Sunny Pink

This was in last year's Summer Haul and I have been using it every single day in the summer. One pump on my finger is enough for both cheeks and then I blend it with a Real Techniques Stippling Brush. It has a fine gold shimmer running through it and in the sun it works as a highlighter, too. It was the only blush I took with me on my holiday in Malta and it worked just fine for my day and night makeup. Like the Chanel cream blush it looks so natural but stunning at the same time that I really have to say it's worth the money. It also smells like a really expensive perfume but the scent doesn't linger on the skin. If you have sensitive skin you might want to try it first. It was part of the Summer collection but I don't know if it was a limited edition because they still sell it in stores here in Munich. I'm looking forward to use it in the summer actually I'm looking forward to summer general. ;)

Powder

Laura Mercier Undercover Pot in Nr. 3

One day in June I walked to the Laura Mercier counter in Munich ( back then there was only one) and looked for a concealer. I ended up buying it 2 weeks later because they had a promotion were you got a little makeup bag, a Mascara sample, an Eyeliner deluxe sample, a Translucent Setting Powder sample, and a Mini Lipglacè if you bought 2 items. Quite self-explanatory that I waited, right? 

The price really shocked me, 39€ for that tiny pot? You get 3 products in here: Secret Camouflage, Secret Concealer and the Translucent Setting Powder. Out of the three the Setting Powder is my absolute favourite. It mattifies and sets everything into place and leaves you with a flawless complexion. It has kind of a blurring effect that makes your skin look so smooth and perfect - it is magic! No visible pores, keeps shine at bay, makes your skin look impeccable and luminous - do I need to go on? Ladies, go to a counter and experience it for yourselves. For me, it changed my whole makeup look. 

Lips

Laura Mercier Mini Lip Glacé in Rose

This is the Mini Lip Glacé I just mentioned before. Oh honey... This feels so smooth and hydrating on the lips it's unbelievable. The colour is gorgeous and looks beautiful on the lips. Like all Lip Glacés it has a slightly sweet vanillary scent which makes me love it even more. 

Dior Addict Extreme in 866 Paparazzi

I already talked about this product in a Favourite Friday so let me just say: love the formula, love the colour and adore the packaging! 

Eyes

Sephora Eye Contour Pencil 12HR wear waterproof in 32 Tango Night - Glitter

I saw that Tati from GlamLifeGuru mentioned it in one of her videos so when I was in Spain last summer and discoverd a Sephora in the mall I went straight up to the eye liners and swatched them. I was so impressed! The pigmentation is incredible, they don't move once they're set, actually you can't even blend them and the colour range is huge. I chose Tango Night ( such a sexy name) because it didn't look like any other colour I ever saw for an eyeliner. It's a dark rich purple with a subtle glitter in it, I just wanted to have it. The perfect colour for night outs! I didn't think I would like it so much. Unfortunately I can't remember the price but it wasn't expensive for the quality you get. In fact, I just bought another one last week in Italy... 

Max Factor False Lash Effect 24h in Black

I forgot my mascara at home one day and quickly stopped in a drugstore on my way to Uni to buy one. Yes, mascara is that important to me. I didn't have time so I rushed through the store and grabbed this one by accident. I can't remember what I actually wanted to buy because I was a bit stressed. I do remember using this the first time. Awful experience. I made a big mistake by using this without an eyelash curler. My lashes looked super straight and clumpy because I used 3 coats hoping it would curl my lashes eventually. It didn't. 

For me this only works when I use my Tweezerman Precision Eyelash Curler before. It gives me incredible volume, length and gurl it holds the curl! When I look into the mirror before I take my eye makeup off it looks just like it did when I applied it in the morning. Super long lasting and thus quite hard to it get off. I'll tell you how to get it off in my next post, so stay tuned! 

Bobbi Brown Everything Mascara in Black

Before I discovered the Max Factor mascara I was using this one. I would call it an all-rounder. A little bit of everything ( see what I did there :P ) curl, length and volume. Doesn't smudge on my bottom lashes and easy to take off. I use it when I want more natural looking lashes. 

Nails

butter LONDON Top & Tails

I found this Duo on douglas.de for a reasonable price and I am glad I bought it. The basecoat Nail Foundation is great for filling the ridges on nails and prevents your nails from getting a colour stain. The Hardwear topcoat dries quickly, leaves a glossy gel-like finish and keeps my nails chip-free for about a week. This duo definitely made me do my nails a lot more often! 

butter LONDON Bit Faker

I've already talked about it in a Favourite Friday last year and used it for an accent nail but I also like using it on all nails like I did on Christmas. So much glitter and sparkle ♥

Tools

Express Face Brush (12,99€), Buffing Brush and Contour Brush ( part of the Core Collection 25,17€), Setting Brush (11,99€), Stippling Brush (16,15€), Blush Brush (12,99€) 

Tweezerman Precision Eyelash Curler

I never used an eyelash curler before because I never really saw the point in it. Now I do! It opens up the eyes and gives a flirty blink of an eye. They might look scary but if my boyfriend has figured out how they work, ladies you don't have any excuses left...

Real Techniques Brushes

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?! This face brushes make applying your makeup so much easier and basically already do the job for you. The blush brush may seem huge but the tapered point makes it easy to dip into a product and the rest of the bristles do the blending. This brushes are so versatile, easy to maintain and such good quality for the price you should consider trying them out. 

HOLY GRAIL PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil (3,95€)

Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil

I bought this at the end of March and now I can't live without it. I've been using it everyday and there's still more then half of it left. It has a slightly pink tint that makes my lips look a little bit brighter and leaves them with a  beautiful glossy finish. Every night before I go to bed I put it on my lips and the next day I wake up with the softest lips ever. It is moisturizing without feeling greasy on the lips. It has a fruity and sweet scent that isn't too strong. I can see myself repurchasing this for the rest of my life. So this is definitely a holy grail / desert island / can't live without product for me. 

Did you discover a holy grail product last year? 

Lots of love,

Dolce xxx