My annual yearly favourites video is now up on my channel! You can watch it here , but I’m warning you right now that it’s a long video, so grab a snack and get comfy. But this yearly favourites video is the first video of many that I plan on having here on my channel, and I’m making it a new years resolution to keep up with my favourites videos. I was never the person to enjoy watching favourites videos, but recently I really have started to like them, and I will film more- because I like making videos that I thoroughly enjoy watching. The video is already a long video, but I really wanted to get this blog post up so I could go into further detail about why I love every product I mentioned in the video.
S K I N C A R E
Clarisonic Mia : I was gifted the Clarisonic Mia a few years ago from my dad and my sister, and I never really understood the severity and importance of regularly cleansing your face. The issue I had with my clarisonic Mia in the past, was the fact that I was so excited about it at first, that I used it twice a day at one point, which was too much for my skin to handle. I have mildly sensitive skin, but this was really irritating it. I stopped using it for a while, but recently I have re-introduced the device back into my skincare routine, only using it 3 times a week (after a heavy face of makeup)and I use a gentle cleanser on other days. Since switching my routine, I’ve seen a drastic difference in how my skin looks.You can purchase several Clarisonic bundles here.
Bioderma Makeup Removing Micelle Solution: I have heard so many beauty vloggers around the world rant about this product, but I never understood it until I tried it out for myself. I only bought this makeup remover later in the year, but it easily became a favourite in my skincare routine. I use it on a few of my favourite Quo Luxury Facial Pads
and my makeup comes right off. You can buy the makeup removing solution in several sizes on beautylish.com, here
Clarins Blue Orchid Face Treatment Oil: I’m only 19 years old, but the fear of ever having extreme wrinkles is so real. I was never a believer in face serums or oils, until I started using this stuff. It has an amazing smell, and I honestly feel like it actually does its job. I use it under my moisturizer every night before I go to bed, but on days where I need a little more moisturizing, I put a few drops over my problem areas and it really helps in the longevity of my makeup. You can buy this face oil here.
Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream: This was the year where I really made it a priority to consistently moisturize my undereyes. In the past, I have used sunless tanning beds, and after excessive use, I can really see the stress that it puts my skin under. Since then, I have found this, and it’s the only eyecream that I have ever used that truly does its job, and exceeds my expectations. I have re-purchased this item several times, and nothing’s going to stop me from using it now. You can buy it on sephora’s online website here.
F A C E
Smashbox Photofinish Pore Minimizing Primer: I’ve been using this product for a little over a year now, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. I started off buying the full size version which costs me about $50CAD, so i only used it sparingly, in the areas and on days where I REALLY needed it. But a few months ago, I came across a beauty vlogger on youtube that started ranting about how you get a better value buying 2 of the deluxe sample sizes (the ones you find in the last isle in sephora before you check out) than you do buying one of the full sized version. So since then, I have only been buying the deluxe sample sizes, and I havent bought a full sized version since. You can find this primer on Sephora’s website here.
Maybelline Matte and Poreless Foundation: I stumbled across this foundation just days after it was released in my local drugstore, and I have been in love with it ever since. The claim on it keeping you matte is definetly accurate, but I wouldnt be able to confirm the “Poreless” claim, because I usually use a pore minimizing primer on my cheeks because that is a problem area of mine. I use the shade #125, and I feel this is the perfect foundation that mattifies me, but doesn’t make me look like a flat piece of cardboard. It’s the foundation I’ve been using now that it’s the winter time, and my skin’s taking a beating from Toronto’s frigid weather. You can buy this foundation on Ulta’s website here.
Loreal Infallible Pro Matte Foundation: Out of all the foundations that I have test run this past year, the Infallible pro matte definetly wins first place. Many bloggers compared this foundation to the MAC Studio Fix Fluid foundation, which is a foundation that I have tried and loved in the past, but it is a little bit pricey. This foundation truly is longwearing, and it does NOT budge, especially after setting it with a makeup setting spray. My favourite spray to use is the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting spray, and you can find it here. But I wore this foundation on a regular basis, and to all the music festivals that I attended, and I still love it. I haven’t used it recently because of the fact that it dries me out a bit, regardless, I still love it. You can purchase it here.
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder: I wrote a mini review and first impression about this product in the past here on my channel, but since the day I purchased this product, I have not been able to put it down. I mainly preferred a drugstore setting powder for the purpose of not needing to dish out lots of money very frequently- because the reality of the situation is that I wear makeup ALMOST everyday. The powder is very finely mild, and adds the slightest bit of coverage, and I have tried many drugstore powders and this one rises above all the other ones. It retails to about $6CAD, and you can buy it on ulta’s website here.
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Medium Dark: I’ve heard friends, and countless beauty bloggers talk about MAC Mineralize skinfinishes. There are a few types of MSF’s, but the ones that are the best types are the MSF Naturals. Obviously the shimmery ones are perfect for the highlight lovers out there, but I heard Desi Perkins and Jaclyn Hill rant about how amazing the darker hued ones are for bronzing. So I bought the MSF in Medium dark, and it is the PERFECT bronzing shade for me. I bought it when I was a little bit more tanned, but now that I’m snow white’s twin sister, It’s the perfect neutral bronzer for me- not too warm, and not too ashy. I recently purchased the oh-so-raved-about “Give Me Sun!” Bronzer, but I know that I wont get much use out of that until I’m a little more tanned. You can buy the MSF in Medium Dark on MAC’s website here.
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer: THE AWARD FOR THE BEST BRONZER EVER GOES TO…..Yup, dramatic. But this guy is once again in my yearly favourites. This is the most amazing bronzer, it is on the warmer side, but the thing that I love about this bronzer is the fact that it smells like chocolate. Not randomly, but the bronzer itself is infused with real cocoa butter, so that adds to the chocolatey smell. It’s perfect for an all around bronze, and it’s also really ideal for that perfect contour shade. For me, depends on how pale I am, but I found myself reaching for this bronzer all year. You can buy it on Sephora’s website here.
BECCA X Jaclyn Hill “Champagne Pop” and Champagne Glow Palette: In my video, I mentioned these two products simultaneously, but the reason why both of these products fall in my favourites of 2015, is because I was in love with everything about this collaboration. Jaclyn Hill is one of my favourite youtube makeup artists, and the moment she announced this collaboration I literally peed my pants. She released “Champagne Pop” first, and then months later surprised her followers with another collaboration with Becca Cosmetics and released “Champagne Glow”, a palette with her shade with the company, along with 2 new shades “Pearl” and “Blushed Copper”. Since the release, they have made “Pearl” a permanent shade, but no say in Blushed Copper just yet. You can buy Champagne Pop here, however, the Champagne Glow palette was limited edition, and is no longer available for purchase.
MAC in Extra Dimension Skinfinish “Oh, Darling”: Every year, MAC releases a holiday collection, and this year, they released the “Enchanted Eve” collection, which came equipped with several eyeshadows, lip colours, and two in Extra Dimension Skinfinishes. One shade was called “Shaft of Gold”, which is a shimmery bronzer, but the star of the show was “Oh,Darling”. It’s a beautiful white gold highlighter, and was sold out minutes after being launched online. I couldnt get a hold of it in Toronto, but my friend Nicole works in London,Ontario, and grabbed one for me. It’s one of my favourite highlighters, but it’s sold out everywhere- unavailable for purchase. *cries*. But a very close dupe to this is “So Hollywood” illuminator by Anastasia Beverly Hills, and you can buy that here.
E Y E S
Anastasia Beverly Hills Tamana Palette: Definetly my most used palette of 2015. I was gifted it for Christmas last year, by my older sister and I have been obsessed with it ever since. Tamanna Roashan, is one of the most talented makeup artists I follow, and she regularly posts videos on Snapchat of her doing makeup on her clients using her palette, so I am very regularly inspired. I have a few videos using this palette, but this palette is unfortunately no longer available to purchase. (Coral Glam Makeup Tutorial and Bronzed Smokey Eyes)
NYC Liquid Liner: My favourite liner EVER! This retails for about $3CAD, and I found mine at Rexall Pharma Plus. I see Desi and Chrisspy ranting about how amazing this liner is, and so I thought it was only a matter of time I got my hands on it. It has a brush head for precision work, but you can also get a very thick line with this eyeliner. The fact that it’s super opaque, and only costs a few dollars is a win win for me and i love ittttt 🙂 You can buy it here.
Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara “Black Pearl”: This mascara takes the cake for my favourite drugstore mascara once again! It volumizes, and lengthens all at once and I love it. Not to mention it only costs $6CAD, and you can buy it here.
YSL Babydoll Mascara: I have loved this mascara since Cassie Holmes started to mention it in her videos. It is a little bit pricey, considering the fact that I usually only buy drugstore mascaras. I’m planning on doing an indepth review of how I use this mascara and why I love it so much. I love it, and that’s all I can say. You can purchase it on sephora’s website here.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow “Dark Brown”: Ever since I purchased my dip brow for the first time, I havent been able to do my eyebrows comfortably any other way. I am very impressed with it, I bought my first tub of dip brow in November of 2014, and I only opened up a new tub recently. Mind you, the longevity of the product was personal prefference, I know some people that couldnt use it after being half way done. But I like being sure I use as much of the product as I possibly can before throwing it out. You can buy the dip brow on Anastasia’s website, but I bought mine on Sephora and you can get it here.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel”Chocolate”: The glue that will make your eyebrows last through anything! I was never a believer in anything other than my Maybelline clear brow mascara, but I finally decided to purchase the tinted brow gel, and I am so surprised at how versatile this product is. Not only does it hold my eyebrows in place after using the Dip brow pomade, but on days where I couldnt be bothered to fill in my eyebrows, all I have to do is brush the product through the eyebrows and the hairs are held in place, and they’re tinted very slightly. 10/10, You can buy the tinted brow gel here.
L I P S
Dose of Colours “Stone” and “Truffle”: This was the year of liquid lipsticks, and Dose of Colours has (in my opinion) the best formula of liquid lipstick that I have used thus far. I wear the DOC liquid lipsticks all the time, for several 7-8 hour shifts, and I will only need to reapply after eating greasy food. Stone and Truffle are very similar in colour, and I am planning on writing an entire blog post on all of the liquid lipsticks I own, and why I like them. You can purchase Dose of Colours Liquid lipsticks and other DOC products here.
Kat Von D Everlasting Lipstick “Lolita”: I have been eyeing this colour for many months, and recently, Kat Von D Beauty has realized the traffic and how many people want this shade so recently it has been restocked! It’s a mauvey-brown and in 2015 it was the year of mauvey lipsticks for me. This is a shade that I wear on a regular basis, and it’s available on sephora’s website here.
MAC Matte Lipstick “Velvet Teddy”: After Hrush from styledbyhrush mentioned that she had been using Velvet Teddy on Kylie Jenner, there was a large hype around the colour. I bought Velvet Teddy in November of 2014, and have loved it ever since. Whenever I feel like wearing lipstick, but dont want to commit to a liquid lipstick, this is the colour that I gravitate towards. You can order it online here or at a MAC counter near you.
Burts Bees Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm: This is one of the more pricey lipbalms at the drug store, I never gravitated towards burts bees products but when I realized that the original honey flavoured lip balm was doing nothing for me, I tried out the ultra conditioning version and I have been nothing but impressed! I use it under any lipstick whenever I’m feeling very dry, and i use it almost every day. It retails to about $5CAD, and you can order it online here.
O T H E R T H I N G S
Morphe Brushes: I’m unsure of how long morphe has been around as a company, but I purchased a few brushes on Hautelook and was not disappointed in the quality and longevity of the brushes. I only have a few that I wanted to talk about, first being the #M439. This is a foundation brush, the bristles are short, rounded and very dense, making foundation application very simple. You only need to use a little bit of product for the brush to give an even application, which is something that I love in a brush, especially a foundation brush, so that’s definetly a win, you can get the M439 here. The next brush I wanted to talk about was the Morphe M200. This is a blending brush, and it makes blending out eye shadow the easiest thing in the entire world. You can very easily blow out whatever colour you want in your crease, but at the same time this brush is ideal for precision work and that’s what makes it unlike any other blending brush I own, and trust me- I own a lot of them. You can get the M200 here.
Elf Blush Brush: I don’t own very many elf products, no makeup unfortunately, but I do own a couple of brushes from the company. The elf blush brush is a small, tapered brush, that I used mainly to set my concealer under my eyes, and to apply highlighter mainly on my cheek bones, but it’s the perfect size for an all round application. The brush only cost me a few dollars, which in my books is always a plus, because if the brush is a good price, I will never hesitate to buy more than one of them at once. I wouldnt use the brush for blush, because I’m slowly getting into enjoying blush on my face (I know it sounds wierd but I’ve never been a blush kinda gal) but i definetly think the brush is ideal for powdering small areas, highlighting, and the tapered point can definetly facilitate a harsh contour. I got mine from the superstore, and you can order it here.
Beauty Blender Pro: I only started using beauty blenders this past year, and I bite my tongue sometimes because I used to recall myself shit talking beauty blenders because I never would have been sane enough to spend $30CAD on a sponge. But the moment I did, I realized that I would never be able to apply my makeup the same ever again. The beauty blender comes in 4 different colours (i think) but my favourite of the 4 is the black version. Comparing it to the pink and the white beauty blender, I feel it’s the sponge that grows to the biggest size, and because of its dark hue, stains are never completely noticeable.You can buy the beauty blender pro on the sephora website here.
SO YOU’VE MADE IT TO THE BOTTOM!! I plan on doing monthly favourites blogs and further explaining why I love things, but because this was my yearly favourites, it was 5 times the length it would usually be. If you guys have any requests for blog posts or videos, comment down below, and let a girl know. I’ll leave all my social media linked. Love you!
Mariah ❤
Mariah Alexandra 