Hello again! This is part two of my favorite beauty products from the past year. Part one focused mainly on beauty and skin care items, and part two will focus more on makeup items. I’m pretty excited, so let’s get started!

Palettes

Urban Decay Vice 2

Last year I bought their Vice palette from Urban Decay with 20 limited edition eye shadows that were bright, vibrant and gorgeous. I just loved it. So when I heard there was a Vice 2 palette coming out, I had to get it. I have to admit that I love it even more than the first one because I feel it features more neutral and matte shades that work better for everyday use than the first one. Also, the packaging is great because it’s a cute purple marble design in plastic. I don’t experience too much fallout when using the shadows, and they are all just beautiful hues. There is a mirror above the shadows, too, which is also very nice. I highly recommend getting this palette before it goes away!

Too Faced: A Few of My Favorite Things

I’m glad I got this when I did because I think it was sold out of the Sephora inside JCPenney here in Fargo, as well as the Sephora website, but maybe it’s been restocked now, I’m not sure. The palette has a cute pink chevron pattern on the outside, and the inside features 20 shadows, most of which are shimmery, as well as two blushes and two bronzers. It also came with a mascara, which I will talk about later, and a lip plumping gloss, which I threw away immediately after trying it because my lips were burning very much from it, all in a cute zippered bag with the same pink chevron pattern. Some of the color names come from the “These Are a Few of my Favorite Things” song from the Sound of Music, which is cute and fun (such as Cream Colored Ponies and Raindrops on Roses). There isn’t a mirror, but that makes sense considering how much product is included. Love the versatility of all the products!

Cargo: Let’s Meet in Paris

I got this as a present for Christmas, and I love it. It’s the first Cargo product I’ve ever tried, and I have to say that I’m very impressed. The outside packaging has a soft fabric-type finish on the outside, while the inside is a harder plastic around the colors with a mirror above it. All of the color names are French-themed, such as Bastille and Baguette, which adds a fun touch. The colors are beautiful, and they have a bit of fall out, considering the shimmer, but not too much. There’s only one shadow that is mostly matte, Baguette, so that’s the only down side, but the other colors are so gorgeous that it doesn’t bother me. I believe they still have this palette at Ulta, and I highly recommend it.

Eyeshadow

Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24 Hour Cream Gel Eye Shadow in Painted Purple and Pomegranate Punk

These are about $5 each at Walmart, so that’s a great deal for how much product you get. I just take my pointer finger and swirl it around the jar once or twice and then place it on my lids. I found that the shadow can crease if you don’t use a primer first, and I’ve had no problems with creasing if I put it on top of a primer. I’ve used these shadows by themselves on top of a primer, but I think they work even better as bases with a powder shadow on top, which I think really brings out the intensity of the shadows. I think these can be versatile, and they come in a variety of eye-popping shades, so I highly recommend them.

Bare Minerals Eyeshadow in Sex Kitten

I don’t typically gravitate toward loose powder shadows, but I made an exception when I saw how beautiful these shadows were. Plus, the color name made me laugh. The shadow is a shimmery dark brown, and it applies beautifully. When using a brush to apply it, I didn’t notice much fallout but you do need to be careful since it’s a loose powder; some fallout is to be expected. The product is $16, but i bought it over a year ago, and even though I don’t necessarily use it every day, it still seems like it will last me maybe another year.

Urban Decay in Last Call

When Urban Decay redid their packaging for their eye shadows, all of the old packaging ones went on sale. The Sephora website describes Last call as a metallic sugar plum, and when I was doing the swatches I noticed it’s almost the same color hue as the Maybelline Pomegranate Punk gel shadow. I don’t like to use this shadow on its own, as I think it brings out all the pink tones in my skin, but I like it as either a crease or base color paired with brown or other shadows. It has some shimmer but not too much fallout, so I really recommend it if you like pink shadows.

 

Swatches of  Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24 Hour Cream Gel Eye Shadow in Painted Purple and Pomegranate Punk, Bare Minerals in Sex Kitten and Urban Decay in Last Call

 

 Eyeliner

NYX Slide On Eyeliner Pencil in Jet Black

I first heard about this great eyeliner on one of the beauty channels I follow on YouTube. The woman doing the review said it was almost a dupe for Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner Pencil, so as a fan of Urban Decay’s products, but not necessarily their price tag, I was excited to try it. This eyeliner is very black, and it works especially well around the waterline. At only $7 at Ulta, I highly recommend this eyeliner for someone who likes dark colors that don’t smudge.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Junkie

This color really caught my eye at Sephora a few months ago, and I knew I had to get it. Junkie is a dark green eyeliner with some shimmer that’s $19 at Sephora or Ulta. I like using this on my lower lash line with a black eyeliner on top for a fun pop of color. It’s very creamy and it definitely stays put during the day. I love the unique color, and I’d recommend it but I’m sure you can find a similar color that’s cheaper from the NYX line.

Maybelline Unstoppable Smudge-Proof Eyeliner in Dark Blue

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure that that is what eyeliner this is, because all of the writing on my packaging has completely rubbed off, but I’m pretty sure that’s right. I wanted to include this because the dark blue color is so fantastic and it adds a very nice, subtle color to your eyes. I also like that it’s retractable so you don’t need to sharpen anything. I found I’ve been using this more than black liner some weeks if I’m wanting to mix it up.

Sephora Flashy Liner Waterproof in Flashy Blue

I bought this on a whim at Sephora last year, and I love it. Like the Urban Decay eyeliner above, I love using it on my lash line as an accent color with black on my upper lash line. Since I don’t use it every day, I feel like I’ll be able to use it for quite a while. The formula is very creamy, and once it settles on my eyes it doesn’t smudge very easily. With a $10 price tag, I recommend this line of eyeliners from Sephora’s collection.

Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner

I’m not very good with using liquid liner, and although I’m getting better, so far I prefer using a felt tipped liner to get a dramatic, dark line. I think this Maybelline liner is just perfect at only $8. I prefer to start on the inner corner of my eye and work outwards. I haven’t mastered the winged liner look yet, but this liner makes it easy to learn. I recommend this liner for someone who wants a more dramatic line than an eye pencil gives but is afraid to try liquid liner.

Swatches of NYX Slide On Eyeliner Pencil in Jet Black, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Junkie, Maybelline Unstoppable Smudge-Proof Eyeliner in Dark Blue, Sephora Flashy Liner Waterproof in Flashy Blue and Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner

  

 

Mascara

Too Faced’s Better than Sex Mascara

I got a mini size of this mascara in my Too Faced’s A Few of my Favorite Things palette, and I love it! It gives me very dark, dramatic lashes with great volume and length. The brush has an hourglass shape, which is unlike other mascaras that I have. If you’re looking for a mascara that will give you dark, volumized lashes, this is definitely it.

L’Oreal’s Lash Out Voluminous Butterfly

This mascara was circulating on a lot of YouTube beauty channels for favorites, so I knew I had to try it out. I really like the unique brush, which has a C-shaped curve and larger, pointed bristles on the inner corner. This $8 mascara gives you great volume and length, and you can use multiple layers without it clumping much. It has a bit of an odd smell, but it’s not overpowering, so I wouldn’t say that’s a big concern.

Revlon’s Lash Potion by Grow Luscious

If you’re looking for a more natural kind of mascara, this is definitely a good one to try. Apparently it’s also supposed to help with growing your lashes, although I haven’t used it consistently enough to know that for sure. It does give my lashes nice length, and it’s perfect for an every day mascara.

Face Products

L’Oreal True Match Crayon Concealer in the shade N 1-2-3

I prefer crayon concealers over liquid concealers, and this one does a great job of hiding spots on my skin. It also brightens the skin under my eyes, which is nice, especially when I’m sleepy in the mornings. It doesn’t come in very many shades, though, so that could be one down side. Overall, I’m impressed and I think it works great for every day concealing under eyes and in spots.

Benefit’s Watts Up Highlighter 

A full size is about $30, but I got this as one of my birthday perks at Sephora this year. Before receiving this as my birthday gift, I had never used a highlighter before, so I didn’t really have any expectations. I love it! I use it above the blush on my cheeks, under my eyebrows, down the middle of my nose and just above my cupid’s bow above my lips. It blends really well, and it gives off such a beautiful metallic sheen that isn’t too dramatic. I use it every day at work, and I don’t worry about it looking too shiny.

NYX’s Powder Blush in Summer Peach

After reading some great reviews on this $5 blush at Ulta, I picked up too different colors to try out, and Summer Peach is my favorite. It slightly reminds me of Nars’ Orgasm blush since it has a pinky-peach overtone with some but not too much shimmer. It has very nice pigmentation, and it also has a bit of a highlighting quality to it.

Swatches of Benefit’s Watt’s Up Highlighter and NYX’s Powder Blush in Summer Peach

L’Oreal’s Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation in the shade Light Ivory 310

This foundation is so unique, and I love it. It’s a liquid foundation that you have to shake before each use. On the bottle it says to only use your hands to apply, rather than a brush or sponge, and I think using your fingers helps to warm up the product and evenly distribute it across your face. It blends seamlessly into my skin, and because it’s liquid powder, it gives a slightly matte finish. I still follow up with some powder sometimes to set it, but I think especially in the summer time, this foundation would stay fine on its own.

Too Faced’s Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

My favorite new bronzer came in my Too Faced A Few of my Favorite Things palette. It’s called Chocolate Soleil, which is a nice brown-toned (not orange-toned) matte bronzer. Added bonus: it actually smells like chocolate! I love this bronzer because I feel like it does a good job of giving an overall bronze look to my face or I can apply more product to get more of a contour on my cheeks.

Lip Products

Jordana’s Easyliner for Lips in the shade Baby Berry

I’ve never really used lip liner before, so I thought I would pick this up at Walgreens for $1.99. I picked the shade Baby Berry because it was the most natural looking one. I love it because it gives off so much color and it adds a bit of dark pink to my lips to enhance any color lipstick or lip gloss. This line of lipliners has a wide variety of colors, so I highly recommend giving them a try!

Maybelline’s Color Sensational Lip Gloss in the shade One Shine Day

This is the best lip gloss I have ever tried! It’s not sticky, it gives off great color and it lasts quite a while. It has a nice shimmer to it, but not so much that it looks tacky. I cannot recommend this product enough. I never used to be a big fan of lip glosses, but this one has converted me.

Revlon’s Colorburst Lacquer Balm in the shade Vivacious

This balm is a dupe for Tarte’s Lip Surgence Tints for sure. Revlon has released many shades with both matte and velvety finishes. I love the Vivacious color because it gives a light sheen of bright pink color. I especially like it when I use my Jordana lip liner underneath, which I think gives it a little bit of a darker, more natural color. I will definitely look into buying more of these in the future.

Buxom’s Full Bodied Lipstick in the shade Swinger

I’ve never used purple lipstick before, but I think this is a great beginner shade for me. Purple seems to be the color of the season for lipsticks, and this is a great one to try because once you put it on, it also has a slight pink tint to it. While I wouldn’t wear this every day, it is fun to mix it up every once in a while for sure.

MAKE UP FOR EVER’s Rouge Artist Intense in the shade 43 Moulin Rouge

First of all, I absolutely love the movie Moulin Rouge, so when I heard this was the exact red shade used in the movie, I knew I had to own it. Once again, this isn’t one I’d use every day, but it is a beautiful blue-toned red that will give you dramatic, beautiful lip color.

Maybelline’s Baby Lips Dr. Rescue in the shade 40 Pink Me Up

It seems everyone has been hopping on this trend lately, so I wanted to try out the Dr. Rescue line since I get really dry lips in the winter time. I love this balm because it has a menthol scent and it also gives a nice, light pink sheen to my lips. They had a lot of different shades, but I thought I’d start with the most natural looking for now. This is a great product to protect dry lips and give you a touch of color at the same time.

Swatches of Jordana’s Easyliner for Lips in the shade Baby Berry, Maybelline’s Color Sensational Lip Gloss in the shade One Shine Day, Buxom’s Full Bodied Lipstick in the shade Swinger, MAKE UP FOR EVER’s Rouge Artist Intense in the shade 43 Moulin Rouge and Maybelline’s Baby Lips Dr. Rescue in the shade 40 Pink Me Up