2014 LNL BEST OF BEAUTY AWARDS

Bath and Body,Favourites,Makeup,Nails,Skincare

My 2014 beauty journey had me discover new Holy Grail products and also had me leave behind and move on from previous favourites. 2014 was a big one, brows exploded (figuritively not literally) and the only colour more lusted after than the pink purple hybrid was the 90s mauvey brown shade that every woman and their dog tried to figure out. There were the quiet achievers and the super hyped products, neutral palettes were everywhere and lips were matte matte matte unless they were drenched in super glossy colour with liquid lipstick making a splash.

Here is a list, its by no means definitive but touches on some of the products i found and loved over the last 12 months. Some of these made their way over the LNL HQ via generous PR companies (these products have been marked with an asterisk) but most have been purchased by my self.

Best High End foundation – Estee Lauder Double Wear

After countless visits to the counter and numerous pots of samples I settled on Ecru and Ive never looked back. I wear this foundation all the time, sometimes sheered down with some moisturiser and sometimes as is. In winter i enjoy the matte finish and during the warmer months its brightened u by using a brightening primer and some highlighter.

Best drugstore foundation – Maybelline Fit Me

I was pleasantly surprised by this foundation this year. Not only was i impressed by the exact colour match to my skin but the finish is the perfect combination of flawless and natural looking. If you’re after an affordable foundation that gives a lovely dewey finish this is it!

Best primer – Smashbox PhotoFinish primer

Despite the numerous new primers i have tried this year i kept returning to my trusty Smashbox tube. I did found a really good dupe for this primer earlier this year.

Best concealer – MAC Prolongwear & Bobbi Brown Corrector

There are two winners in this category simply because they do such different things. To date i have not found a product that conceals my undereye darkness like the Bobbi Brown corrector. The peachy pigments cover and conceal my purple grey circles and help balance the entire undereye area.
MAC prolongwear is a great concealer, it is long wearing and covers very well. The thin consistency makes it easy to blend to a flawless finish. The only negative of this product is the glass packaging and temperamental pump. The packaging simply sucks. Please change it MAC!

Favourite High End blush – Nars Powder Blush

One word NARS. Well two be exact NARS orgasm. Its not new but i loved it this year. I have lots of blush in lots of different shades but i return to this one again and again and wonder why i don’t use it more often. Its the perfect combo of pink and coral and has a lovely amount of gold sheen to it.

Favourite drugstore blush – Milani baked blush, Luminoso

Despite my love of high end products these cheap and cheerful blushes had me reaching for them again and again. This shade in particular, which looks pale in the pan is amazing on the cheeks. This shade just makes you glow.

Favourite Brow product – Benefit Gimme Brow

Im all about the brows at the moment and even though I’m an avid pomade and pencil user i love this product when I’m in a rush and want perfectly groomed brows. This is more than a tinted brow gel but also contains hair building filaments that gives your brows more oomph.

Best all over body product – Jane Iredale Golden Body Lotion *

This was kindly sent to me by Jane Iredale and i love the nourishing nature of the product. Not only does it give you a gorgeous golden glow with micro glitter particles but it feels like a high end body lotion

Favourite mascara – Max Factor Masterpiece Transform *

This was only sent to me at the end of the year but i have been using it ever since. I love mascaras that have a comb style brush and this one is amazing.

Best eyeliner – Maybelline Master Precise liquid liner

This liner is so fine tipped that its hard to get your liner wrong. It doesn’t dry out quickly and is super affordable. WIN!

Favourite highlighter – Thebalm MaryLoumanizer

So much sparkle! So much pretty! The balm’s MaryLou blows even the most expensive highlighters out of the water. Only a tiny amount is needed to to achieve a champagne gold sheen and glow to your complexion. All time fave.

Favourite nail polish OPI OPi red & Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Pink a Card

It was too tough to choose just one. So here were my two faves

OPI red is perfection. Its a bright red jelly that looks like Gel polish. Please buy this one. You won’t regret it.

Pink a Card* is divine! Despite struggling with this style of brush early on in the year i ended up loving the Sally Hansen brush. The curved edge of the brush makes painting near the cuticle super simple. This shade in particular was gorgeous and was opaque at two coats.

Best nail product – Maybelline Express Remover & OPI nail lacquer thinner

Again two equal winners in this category. The Maybelline Express Remover changed the way i removed my nail polish. It lasted for dozens and dozens of manicures and removed even glitter polishes in just a few swirls of the finger.

The OPI nail lacquer thinner saved so many of my polishes. I can’t believe i didn’t discover this earlier.. so many polishes that were thrown away over the years could have been saved by a simple drop or two of these thinners.

Favourite hair care system _ Thebalm Enroute Shampoo and Conditioner

It smells great, is phosphate and sulphate free and fairly affordable, whats there not to love!

Favourite Lipstick _ NARS Audacious Lipstick

This collection of super pigmented lipsticks have me smitten. From the luxe and sleek packaging to the vibrant and luscious shades this collection has something for everyone. I have four of these lipsticks and they are my far my favourites in my collection. Angela in particular stands out as a fave.

Best lipbalm – Lanolips 101 ointment

All good stuff, no badies, easy and convenient packaging, Australian… should i go on?

Most versatile palette – Too Faced Chocolate Palette

I love that this palette contained all the neutral mattes that you could ever need as well as some lovely shimmers in super wearable colours as well as a couple of deeper shades and some pops of colour. This is all wrapped up in some gorgeous chocolate inspired packaging. We must not forget that the aroma everytime you flip open the lid of this palette you are greeted with a mouth watering aroma.

Best basic palette -Urban Decay Naked Basics

This is the perfect palette for someone travelling, a matte eye lover or someone who doesn’t want a lot of shadows. This tiny palette has all the shades you need to create a perfectly contoured eye.

Most lusted after item – LORAC PROpalette

I searched high and low for this elusive palette until settling on purchasing it from MyQty. Even though it was far more expensive that it would be in the states i was happy to finally get my hands on it. The shadows are so soft and powdery and the shimmers in particular are a dream to work with.

Favourite perfume – See by Chloe

light, fresh, fruity and wrapped in a gorgeous bottle. I received this for my birthday in March and loved it. The entire range of Chloe fragrances are lovely.

Best self tanner – Bondi Sands Self Tanning Foam

I returned to self tanning this summer after years of avoiding it in the fear of turning orange. The Bondi Sands tanning foam has made it simple and fast to achieve a bronzed (not orange) tone to my super pale skin.

Best newcomer – Shanghai Suzy Lipstick

You haven’t heard of Shanghai Suzy yet then keep your ears and eyes open in 2015 because their upcoming collections will be epic. Twice a year CEO Joanna Wheaton released a collection of grape scented matte lipsticks in trend driven shades. You can see my review of these here.

Most hyped product – Benefit They’re Real Push Up liner.

Benefit did a great job in getting people talking about this product. The hype was insane. A fantastic media campaign revolving around a beautiful, cat eyed femme fatale was cool, sexy and memorable. Whether the product lived up to the hype is a matter of personal opinion. I really enjoyed the top secret build up to the launch of this product (even though i was unavailable to actually attend the Sydney launch)

Favourite skincare – Dr Lewinn’s*

I had never tried out Dr Lewinn’s before it was given to me at a PR event. I used both these products to the very last drop and loved them. So much so that i have repurchased the day cream. If you’re after no nonsense, good skincare give Dr Lewinn’s a looksee! Despite trying out numerous brands this year i kept returning to these products.

Best treatment skincare – Mario Badescu

Its very rare that my skin is completely behaving. So i have really depended on these two from Mario Badescu. Both the drying and Buffering Lotion have been indispensable for helping to bring blemishes to the surface and then drying them out.

Best beauty tool – Beauty Blender

I just can’t do without it. Since my introduction to the BB a few years ago i have used nothing else for foundation. In 2014 I continued using it this way but also started using it to blend liquid and cream highlighters, blushes and other products. IF you have never used a BB I really recommend you give it a try!

And there we are! What a deserving bunch of winners in this the inaugural LNL awards. Now that the award ceremony is over i feel like we deserve an after party!

2014 was a great year beauty wise! Thanks for sharing my journey with me!!

December 31, 2014
3 Comments
0
Favourites, makeup, skincare

Kate from Seduced by Beauty

Reply January 1, 2015

Love many of these products and they will be featuring in my Favourites for 2015 too! I was especially blown away by the Max Factor Transform mascara. I didn't expect anything from it but was blown away by how it kept the curl in my lashes and helped me achieve volume aswell. It is definitely the surprise of the year for me.

Nhi Archibald

Some great stuff here! I'm already eyeing to try out the Nars Audacious lipsticks, Fit Me foundation and the Gimme Brow! :)

Wittyusername

Reply June 24, 2015

Would love to get my own MILANI products, where did you get "Luminoso"
The nailpolishes from Sally Hanson and OPI Red were pretty, but I need a polish that lasts a good couple of days without showing wear and tear. Did these? Can you add a polishes resillience to your nail polish profiling as it is a HUGE factor for many when buying a nail polish.
Other than that- luvyawork!