2013 Beauty Favorites

   It's the beginning of a new year and everyone has their goals or resolutions fresh in their minds. Over the course of the last year, I rekindled my passion for all things beauty-related. From skin care to cosmetics, every month brought new and exciting swatches, smells and colors. My favorite Youtube gurus enticed me with favoring reviews and tempting swatches. Some were duds and some were faves. Plenty were passed on as gifts, part of my Makeup Ministry or set aside for a future sale.  In an attempt to "shop my stash" and keep products in a rotation, it's important that I review what I loved and what I didn't before going forward into a new year.












Here's a look at my favorites for 2013 in no particular order:








Makeup Brushes:  Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman -  She has a full line of eye and face brushes, synthetic, soft and easy to clean.




Specialty Products:  Facial Masks (paper masks for anytime, peel-off masks right before a shower)




Lip Gloss:  Rimmel Stay Glossy (3D or the regular Stay Glossy line) - Affordable, great basic colors, creamy soft texture, non-sticky and smell fabulously "beachy" (in my opinion!)




Lip Crayons:  Tarte LipSurgence (high-end) and Jordana Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain (drugstore)




Drugstore Lipsticks:  Revlon Lip Butters and L'Oreal Infallible (clear and silver package, red metallic top)  -great colors selections, love the texture.




Bronzers:  NYX Taupe; NYX Raisin (drugstore) and Too Faced Chocolate Soleil  (high-end)  -great matte bronzers that suit a variety of skin tones.




New Brands:  ELF (eyeslipsface) and Essence - both lines are drugstore, extremely affordable, hits and misses but so inexpensive you can afford to trial and error without worry! The hits are truly great. ELF has many dupes for NARS products. Essence continues to surprise me with their products.



Blushes/Highlighters:  Hard Candy Living Doll; Hard Candy Honeymoon; Hard Candy Bombshell -  gorgeous pigmentation, Living Doll gives a "glow from within" look, Honeymoon is a great highlighter, and Bombshell is a great blush/bronzer AND a dupe for Laura Mercier's limited edition Ritual bronzer.  Honorable Mention to Maybelline's Dream Bouncy blushes; great color selection, awesome fun texture and they give a sheen to the cheeks in such a unique way. Best applied with a stippling brush.




Blush/Bronzer/Highlighter:  Urban Decay's Naked Flushed palette. The best matte bronzer, highlighter and blush to suit a variety of skintones. A one-stop palette, great for travel.




Lip Balm:  EOS lip balms - a variety of flavors and tons of product.




Concealer:  Coastal Scents Bright Eyed; Revlon PhotoReady stick concealer




Mascara:  Essence Crazy (pink or black tubes); Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes




Eye Liners: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On - awesome color selection, creamy and budge-free. NYX and Jordana have similar liners but Urban Decay has me committed.




Lip Liners:  Rimmel Exaggerate liners




High-End Discovery:  TheBalm cosmetics - great packaging, product selection and pricing is reasonable.




Accessories:  Forever21 - Unique accessories, extremely affordable from classy to edgy.




Eye Shadows: Urban Decay, MAC, MakeupGeek and BareMinerals Ready shadows




If you or someone you know would like to blessed with a beauty package from the Makeup Ministry, please contact for further info. I would be happy to assist with any products I've listed here.  Wishing all of you a beautiful and blessed 2014!