LLPT's Best Beauty of 2014!

  

LLPT's Best Beauty of 2014

  Well, C's and my Christmas vacation is drawing to a close and before we both head off to work tomorrow morning, we will have devoured three boxes of chocolates in four days.  I'll get back on the workout bandwagon tomorrow, as well, but in the meantime, I'll just savor a breakfast (now lunch, lol) truffle or two.and tell you all about my favorite beauty products of 2014, both new launches and products I just discovered this year.

  Maybelline DreamLUMI Touch Highlighting Concealer

Maybelline DreamLUMI Touch Highlighting Concealer

  I've never done well with eye products but this highlighting/concealing dual action product not only does the best job of disguising my German birthright undereye circles of anything I've tried, it feels great and is totally affordable.  The soft, synthetic brush is very gentle and the formula does exactly what it claims without exacerbating problems in that delicate, sensitive area.  I adore this stuff-- total makeup game changer for me.

L'Oreal Youth Code Texture Perfector Day/Night Cream

L'Oreal Youth Code Texture Perfector Day/Night Cream

  SO much love for this stuff.  Where should I begin?  I've tried numerous daytime moisturizers over the years and nothing has stuck, until now.  This pale pink, serum-like formula is perfect for my combination skin, light enough for summer and adequately taking me into winter, as well.  It's not greasy or heavy, wears beautifully under primer, and best of all, doesn't exacerbate my eczema when it flares.  My only complaint is the fragrance, which is clean, floral, and stronger than I'd prefer (I go fragrance free in my face care products whenever possible) but it doesn't change this creme's holy grail status for me.

Neuma Moisture Intensive Masque

Neuma Moisture Intensive Masque

  Keeping my long hair sufficiently moisturized has been an uphill battle, especially since I decided I was meant to live life in an unnaturally occurring shade of burgundy.  I've used the deep conditioning treatments that come in home coloring kits and various drugstore brand hair masques but nothing, NOTHING, delivers like this Neuma masque.  I'm picky about fragrance-- this has a fairly strong herbal scent to it; not my favorite, but natural enough to not feel overly perfumey; and again, certainly not a deal breaker for how it performs.  It claims to contain less water and therefore be more concentrated than drugstore brand masques, and that may or may not be true-- it's still the first ingredient listed.  All I know is how it makes my hair feel, which is soft, silky, and utterly touchable, and therefore worth its hefty pricetag.  It retails for $40 in salons but can be found on Amazon for 30-40% less.

e.l.f. Tone Correcting Powder

e.l.f. Tone Correcting Powder

  If you've been reading for a while, you now I'm not a daily makeup wearer-- at least, not full face.  I'd heard great things about this e.l.f. compact and was excited to see what it could do for me on the increasing days where I just want pretty skin with minimal effort.  The colors, blended together, are meant to balance yellow and ruddiness and provide an altogether more even tone.  If you're not careful, it can look a little chalky on; swirling and applying lightly with a soft face brush minimizes this.  It's a great one-step hack to applying my bb cream and setting powder.  It does require reapplication on my t-zone and the green and yellow side tend to crumble but at $3, it's a minor nuisance and a good excuse to pop over to Target, anyway.  It's been a mainstay in my purse since my local Target started carrying it this summer.

Milani Bella Blue Lipstick

Milani Bella Blue lipstick

  This one is all me.  I read mostly complaints about how this color looked nothing like its press release photos and that might be true.  Bella Blue applies fairly sheer and doesn't wear overly well but it's such a fun, out there statement that I wish I'd have bought a backup before the limited edition set was pulled from the shelves.  I love it.  I feel like a rock star in this lipstick.  

Bath & Body Works Wild Madagascar Vanilla 

Bath & Body Works Wild Madagascar Vanilla

  It's been a while since I've fallen in love with a Bath & Body Works fragrance.  I generally don't have much use for that store because most everything is a little on the sweet and fruity side, to my taste.  This was a scent I'd picked out as a gift for one of C's grandmas and liked it enough to grab an extra tube for myself.  It is sweet, to be sure, but there's something light, floral, and somewhat exotic about this vanilla-- and it layers beautifully with my beloved Chanel No.5.  I'll enjoy this beauty until Bath & Body Works inevitably axes it for no apparent reason (cue wistful reminiscing over Freesia and Juniper Breeze).

LLPT's Best Beauty Site

gloss48.com

  I had the pleasure of being introduced to the most fun beauty product site this year.  Gloss48.com is a store full of niche and indie beauty brands you've both seen around and never heard of.  The lovely gals running the show have tested and curated everything featured and the feel of the site is like shopping your beauty savvy girlfriend's product stash, complete with descriptions on why each product is awesome enough to be in the collection.  They carry gorgeous and innovative products from companies like Senna Cosmetics, Furlesse, and Besame... Sign up for their daily newsletter for weekly featured deals and blogger reviews and just try and keep yourself from running up a wishlist a mile long.

  And that's all, folks!  I've had a lot of fun discovering and rediscovering this year and I'm excited to see what's in store for 2015.  Thank you for reading, have a gorgeous day, see you in the new year, and excuse me while I finish my chocolates ;)