My Top 15 Favorite Beauty Products of 2015

*Post contains affiliate links*

Hey everyone! I know this post is probably a bit late for most of you, but I still wanted to share with you all my 15 favorite beauty products of 2015. They're in no kind of order and I loved everything pretty much equally. 

First, I have to talk about eyeshadows. My favorite palette of 2015 has got to be the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Palette. Every color is amazing, and you get warm, cool and neutral toned matte shadows in one palette. It's a hooded eyed person's dream, and even though I'm more of a neutral/cool lover, I do appreciate the warm shades as well. I did a review of this here if you wanted to check it out! I had to also give some love to Make Up Geek Eyeshadow singles. For just $6 each, these shadows are such amazing quality, and they may be all you really need if you're just getting started in makeup. All of the ones I have are shown in the picture, but I definitely need to add more to my collection. They're pigmented, buttery smooth, and blend onto the eyes nicely. 

Next up is the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay. I did a review here, and I have to say, this mask is probably my favorite mask that makes my pores look invisible. You can mix it with either water or apple cider vinegar (it works better with ACV for me personally), and you leave it on for up to 20 minutes depending on how sensitive your skin is. I do get redness from this mask, but since I use it at night, it doesn't bother me. This is a miracle worker if I feel like my pores are super clogged and nothing else is helping them. You need this if you have pores that clog easily, and it's super cheap as well. 

Oh Batiste Dry Shampoo, how I love thee! Honestly guys, I will never buy another brand of dry shampoo as long as I live. I've gotten others in the past that don't work nearly as well as Batiste does, and everytime I've strayed, I've been disappointed. Batiste is my one true love in keeping my hair feeling and looking clean, even if I've gone about 4 days without washing it. I also did a review of this here quite a long time ago.  

Who can live without a Beauty Blender? I can't! I honestly don't know where I was or what I did before this little pink egg-shaped sponge came into my life. This has changed my foundation/concealer routine in so many positive ways that when I I try to use a brush or even my fingers, it just doesn't work! There is something truly special about this sponge, and completely worth the $20 price tag. Any dupes out there are not the same, including the Real Techniques sponge. I used to like that, but they've changed the texture of it and it's awful. 

If I ever have issues with removing my makeup, Bioderma always comes to my rescue. Yes, this seems like just regular water in a fancy bottle, but there is magic in this water! It removes every last bit of makeup from my eyes and face without irritation. I've said this before, but no makeup remover has ever done what Bioderma does for me. It's incredible and it's surprisingly not that expensive. I purchased mine off of the Beautylish website, but you can also find it on Amazon. I did a review of this here! 

You all are probably so tired of me talking about The Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner, but this is still my all-time favorite toner, and I have yet to find something better. There are under 10 ingredients in this, feels great on my skin, and preps it well for serums and moisturizers. I always have backups of backups in my stash. 

The Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder was something I had been wanting to try for well over a year. Every beauty YouTuber raves about it, so I gave in and splurged. They must've been on to something because this is an amazing setting powder! I have oily skin and for some reason it helps keep me more matte, and it's a wonderful setting powder for under the eyes. I feel like this is just such a versatile powder that anyone can use, whether you have oily, dry or combo skin. You get a ton of product as well, so I feel it's worth the price. 

The Tangle Teezer was another product that I had heard about for quite a few years. I felt it was completely overpriced for a hair brush, but fell into the hype anyway. The first time I used it after I had washed my hair is when I knew what the hype was about. I have very fine hair that gets knotty and tangled very easily, that sometimes even combs would snag my hair. The Tangle Teezer just glides right through and gets all the tangles out without hurting. My husband was even interested after I kept telling him how amazing it was and he started using mine to brush out his beard. I ended up buying his own, and he absolutely loves it. Even though I have fine hair, I do feel like people with thick hair can use it was well.

You all know how much of a lip balm freak I am, and my all-time favorite has to be the Lip Butters from The Body Shop. You only need the tiniest amount to make your lips feel soft and moisturized, and one little jar lasts for ages. I love this Sweet Lemon scent that I'm currently using, but my favorites have to be the Shea and Coconut scents.They do leave a little bit of a white cast on your lips, but I only use these at night as my lips dry and crack the worst at that time. 

Every product I try from Bite Beauty, I fall more in love with the brand. The product pictured is the Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo in the shades Date and Fig. These duos are only around during the holiday's I believe, but they do have many single shades available. If I could've, I probably would've put every Bite Beauty product I own in this post, and I know you have things to do rather than sitting on my blog all day. The Luminous Creme formula is just incredible. It feels nice on the lips, and it's just a good quality lipstick. These duos don't cost much either, just $12 or $14. 

I have two mascaras that practically blew my mind this year. A little while ago, I was given the chance to try out the Covergirl Super Sizer Mascara. I used to really like the mascara in the orange tube, but hadn't used much from the brand in many years. Trying this mascara has changed my opinion on the Covergirl brand, and now I'm tempted to go out and buy a ton of their makeup. This mascara gives me amazing volume and length, and it looks good all day long. It's probably my current favorite drugstore mascara. I do have a review on this here. I also had to put the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara in my favorites. If you want volumized lashes that look fake, this is your mascara. I get a bit of length from this, but the volume I get is like nothing I've ever gotten from a mascara before. I used up a full sized tube around the end of 2015, so this is a deluxe size that came with the Stardust palette. For a high end mascara, this is definitely my favorite, and there is a review here!

Another lip product that was a surprising favorite is the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks. I have a few of these now and the shade pictured above is Outlaw. I was so on the fence with wanting to try liquid lipsticks because my lips are already dry, and I always heard that liquid lipsticks were very drying. While I don't feel like this is hydrating by any means, it's not as drying as I thought it was going to be. The colors available are so gorgeous, highly pigmented, and they stay on and don't budge once they're set. I definitely see myself picking up a few more colors in this line. 

The last product I have pictured is an Airbrush Blending Crease Brush by it Cosmetics. Again, I'd put the whole entire brush line in this post if I could, because they're that good. I don't think I've ever felt softer brushes before. I have quite a few different it Cosmetics brushes, but this crease brush is my favorite. It applies and blends out shadows like a dream, and I find myself playing with these brushes because of how soft they are. Seriously, go to an Ulta and have a feel for yourself. I promise you won't be disappointed! 

Those were my favorites from 2015! Let me know in a comment what some of your favorites were in the last year. I'll need some inspiration when my spending ban is over ;)

Fall Inspired Makeup feat. Colourpop La La

Hey everyone! As promised in my last post, which was a review of the Colourpop Shadow in La La, I'm bringing you a full makeup look inspired by the changing season. Fall is probably my favorite time of year. The weather is perfect, the leaves are pretty, and I always feel it's the time for a life change. Here is the look I did!

Face
-Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Smoothing Primer
-Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet+ Foundation in shade #15
-Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser
-Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder
-Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder
-Essence Silky Touch Blush in shade 10 Adorable
-Pixi beauty Bronzer in shade Subtly Suntouched
-Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Champagne Pop

Lips
-Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipstick in shades in Fig and Date
-Juice Beauty Lip Gloss in shade Pink (It's not very pink, more mauve-y)

Eyes
-Lorac Behind The Scenes Eye Shadow Primer
-Urban Decay Naked Palette: Naked in crease, Toasted in outer Corner and smudged on lower lash line
-Colourpop Super Shock Shadow in shade La La all over lid
-Clinique Quickliner For Eyes Intense in shade Intense Black Honey, smudged on upper and lower lashline
-Lancome Definicils High Definition Mascara and Covergirl The Supersizer Mascara

Overall, I really, really love how this look turned out! I was considering going dark with the lip, but I decided to go neutral as I wanted the eyes to be sort of the focus. By the way, I'm LOVING the Mat Velvet+ foundation! Expect a review in the coming weeks.

Do you have a certain makeup look you like for Fall?

Sephora HAUL!

Hi guys! I'm not sure if I mentioned in a previous post, but a couple weeks ago, before my last day of work, my husband took me out shopping. He said I should treat myself a little before I left work since I most likely won't be buying anything for a while (it's not like I really need anything, but ya know, I'm hopelessly addicted). I went to a few different stores that day, but did some damage in Sephora, as usual, and of course I have to show you what I got! I also may have made an online order as well...

Alright, this is the stuff I bought in-store. Yeah, it's alot, but it's all products I've wanted to try for a while! The first product is the Peter Thomas Roth Irish Moor Mud Purifying Black Mask. I've already tried this, and I definitely plan on reviewing it, because it's simply amazing! Expensive, but totally worth it. This mask is supposedly purifying, refining, decongesting and hydrating, so it's great for a bunch of skin types. Keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks for a review. 

Next up is the Bobbi Brown Corrector in the shade Porcelain Bisque. I've never tried anything from Bobbi Brown, but have been dying to try something of hers for years. As you may have heard me talk about before, I have really bad dark circles under my eyes thanks to genetics. Of course not being able to sleep well most of the time doesn't help either, so I always need help in covering them up. I'm so excited to be able to finally try this out!

I also purchased the Boscia Charcoal Pore-Minimizing Hydrogel Mask, which I already reviewed here. I bought this because I read about them online and thought they looked interesting, so I had to try it out that night. To shorten up the review, I just wasn't a fan, but I did like that a sheet type mask finally fit my face right! 

I also decided to pick up the much talked about Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder. I hear about this so much on YouTube and wanted to know what the fuss is about. I have yet to try it, and I will do a review on it if you would like one!

The last two products I picked up in store are from Make Up For Ever. The first one is the Step 1 Skin Equalizer Smoothing Primer, which I have heard pretty good things about. The second one is the Mat Velvet+ Matifying Foundation in the shade 15. I was so torn on shades 15 and 20 and I wished there was something in between. I ended up going with the lightest shade which I can probably darken a bit with setting powder or mix it with something else. 

This is the online order! I actually did 3 separate orders because there were some really good coupon codes for deluxe sized samples, and you can only do 1 code per order. Not to rant, but being a VIB Rouge, I wish they let us do more than one code because obviously we spend enough money, but doing separate orders is kinda annoying. Anyways, the products I purchased are the Tarte Limited Edition Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Palette V1, the Urban Decay Afterglow Blush in the shade Quickie and the Caudalie Instant Detox Mask. I wanted the Tarte palette because there were a ton of Tarte items on the sale page and this was only $26. The Urban Decay blush just seemed like such an interesting color, but I have yet to try it. The Caudalie Mask has gotten a ton of awesome reviews, and I always love a good mask. 

Now for the samples, I got the Belif The True Cream - Aqua Bomb, a Make up For Ever Artist Plexi-Gloss in the shade 202 (a 100 point perk), a L'Occitane Divine Youth Oil, an Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask (one of my all-time favs!), an Origins Original Skin Renewal Serum with Willowherb and a Fresh Sugar Lip Polish.

Well that was a good haul if you ask me! It's pretty obvious now that I don't need anything else beauty wise, so until I find myself another job, the hauls are going to be at a minimum (if there are any at all!). If there is anything specific here you want to see a full review on, please let me know!

Is there anything recently you picked up?

December 2014 Favorites

Hi everyone, and Happy 2015! I honestly have no idea where this last year went. Time seriously went by so fast. I know everyone says that, but I think because I'm now 26 and I've been married a little over a year, it seems like life is just flying by me! This is my first post of the new year, and it's my December favorites. I'm on the fence about doing a yearly favorites, only because I don't feel organized enough to put one together. I know, I should probably start making lists and writing things down more, so that may be a resolution this year! Anyway, lets get into my favorites from December!

My first favorite is the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. I had been using the Lancome Grandiose mascara, which I did a review on here, but I wanted to open up another one to try. I should've tried this sooner! I absolutely love the volume this gives my lashes. Doesn't do much for length, but holy cow the volume! The only downside is if I don't set my under eye concealer well enough, this does smudge on me.

My next favorite is the Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm in the scent Black Tea & Blackberry. This lip balm is amazing! I got it in a kit a while ago, maybe last Christmas, but hadn't tried any of them til now. I love how hydrated this makes my lips feel, and it's not shiny at all, so it makes a good base for lipsticks and other lip products. 

Next up we have a Philosophy Hand Cream in the Spiced Gingerbread Cookie scent. First of all, I could eat this stuff, it smells that good! Second, it's actually alot more hydrating than I thought it would be. I got this in a set I think last year as well, and just now started using it. I mainly use it during the day because I have something thicker to use at night before bed. My hands stay hydrated with this, even after some hand washings and I get a whiff of the scent throughout the day, and I just love that. 

I've also been loving the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder. This stuff is no joke for me. If I got no sleep the night before, I just use a bit of this under my eyes after concealer, and it looks like I got a ton of sleep. I find that incredible! I think this is pretty pricey, but you don't need alot at all, so it's going to last me quite a while. I also have been using this a little bit for highlighting my face in places and it doesn't look fake or cakey. 

My last favorite is the Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder. This is a sample size that came in a kit. If I used a BB cream or tinted moisturizer, I usually set it with this powder. This makes my pores look nearly invisible and makes my skin feel so darn soft! I also use this if I only want to wear mascara, but no concealer at all. I dust it over my eye area, put mascara on, and I actually look put together. This past month has been harsh with work and I barely wore makeup, so using things that were quick but made me look less like a zombie were key for me.

That's everything! I know it probably is a bit of a sad favorites, but like I said above, I cherished my sleep because of work and wanted to do minimal effort in terms of makeup. 

What were some of your favorites?

Anniversary & Makeup Geek Haul!

Hey everyone! This past Sunday was my husband's and my 1 year wedding anniversary and he surprised me by taking me shopping for the day! I bought a few things but didn't go too crazy. I also placed an order from Makeup Geek last week after watching one of Marlena's videos on newer eyeshadows. I hadn't bought anything from her in about 6 months, so I thought it was time again. Here's everything I got!

First stop was Sephora. We went to a mall where there is an actual Sephora store, not one inside JC Penny, so I was pretty happy and really wanted to look around. The first thing I got is the Sephora Favorites Beauty Unmasked set. It comes with the Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask, which I already love and will be great if I travel anywhere. It also comes with a Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Gel Mask, which I have not tried yet but I think this will be nice if I have irritated skin. It comes with a Glamglow Thirstymud Hydrating Treatment Masque, which I've actually been dying to try but I'm not willing to spend the $69 for the full size jar. The last mask is the Boscia Luminizing Black Mask, which I've also been very interested in trying. This whole kit was only $29 and it was at the checkout line where they have travel sized and smaller products. I'm incredibly happy I saw this!

I've been really wanting to try the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder because I've seen so many good reviews on it. I have used it once and so far it's alright, but I'll have to play with it more to give a real opinion. 

The last product I purchased is the Nars Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. I have super oily eyelids and everyone I've seen that has oily eyelids says this is amazing, so I was definitely intrigued. I have yet to try it out, but I do have high hopes!

Then we headed over to Bath & Body Works to pick up some 3-wick candles, and it was also that last day of the 2 for $22 sale. After a fairly extensive sniff test, we settled on these four. 

The first one is Peach Cilantro Twist. The scent description on the back says, "Capture all the fun of a backyard bash with this fresh and fruity blend of early summer peach, fresh garden cilantro and a hint of juicy mango." When I smelled this, I wasn't wowed. When my husband smelled it however, it was a totally different story. His eyes got big and all he said was I like that, like 4 times. In the shopping bag it went!

The next one is Autumn Sky, another one the hubby picked. The description of this one says, "Experience fall's bright, crisp sky with notes of still green leaves, cedar and lemon wood." We were talking to a sales girl there and she asked if he liked the Mahogany Teakwood scent, which he does love, but I find it too overpowering. She showed us this and said it smelled similar just not as overpowering. I actually find this to smell very nice and it doesn't give me a headache like Mahogany Teakwood did. Of course the other half liked it too!

The last two are ones I picked! First up is Bourbon Butterscotch. "This creamy blend includes rich notes of butterscotch, sweet vanilla and a hint of that singularly American spirit - bourbon whiskey - perfectly aged in oak barrels." I smelled this one and almost died with how awesome the scent was. I love the sweet smelling candles and this is pretty perfect for me. 

The last one I picked up is Pumpkin Pecan Waffles. "Delight in the scrumptious scent of pumpkin pecan waffles, pure maple syrup and a touch of brown sugar." This is probably my favorite out of all of them. I love pumpkin, and I love waffles. Combine the two and you get this wonderful smelling jar of wax. I don't know what it is about this that I love so much, but I'd buy this in bulk if I could. 

Now for some Makeup Geek! I wanted to get some brushes but of course when I went to make my order, most of them were sold out, so I went with the Soft Dome Brush, which I think is going to make a nice crease brush. It's really soft and I did already wash it, which to my dismay caused some shedding. I'm curious to see if there will be shedding while applying shadows. I also bought seven different eyeshadows, which I'll show one at a time.

First up is Purely Naked which is described as a shimmery tan. You can hardly see the shimmer in the pan, so I am curious to see how it comes off as a crease color.

Next is Twilight, which is described as a pale shimmery muted purple. I honestly don't see purple in person. It's more of a taupe, but it may come off different on the eye. 

Next we have Sensuous, which is a shimmery purple with flecks of silver. I can't wait to use this on the outer corners of my eyes, or in the crease if I want a smokey look.

Next we have Unexpected, which is a matte pale pink brown. I think this shade will look awesome with Sensuous or Twilight.

Next is Latte, a matte medium brown. This doesn't look too warm for my fair skin, so I'm hoping it's going to be a nice crease color when I want something a little darker. 

Then we have Cupcake, a matte medium pink. This actually looks alot darker in person than on the Makeup Geek website, so I'm hoping it's still going to look alright.

Last color is Prom Night, a pale purple with hints of grey and a shimmery finish. Now I know it looks funky in the picture, but it came like that. Must've gotten scratched in the packaging or something. This is such a pretty shadow and I think it will look nice with some of the other colors I bought and already have.

That's everything! Have you purchased anything recently?