Best of 2014

2014 was "make up" year for me. I bought a lot, tried a lot, watched tons of videos how to use all the stuff I own. The most used brand this year was Urban Decay for me. I expanded my eye shadow collection by buying their Naked 3 and Basics palettes, used their famous eye primer potion, loved their Revolution lipstick range. I know that a lot of cruelty free beauty bloggers don't buy their products, because UD is owned by L'Oreal, but still I choose to support them. High quality products, last for a long time, can be easily bought at almost every online beauty store, is certified by the Leaping Bunny... so yeah. I love it and will use it in the future.

For base I have found my holy grail - Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation SPF15 in Warm Peach*. To tell the truth, I don't use liquid/cream foundations because I had bad experience with them in the past (they made an emphasis on dry skin areas or big pores), so for a while mineral foundations have been my best friends. If you don't know, mineral foundation looks like loose powder, but has good coverage ability. Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation is affordable, evens out my skin tone, covers everything I need (I have combination skin with dry cheeks & oily T-zone, breakouts happen time to time). 

The best concealer this year was e.l.f. Maximum Coverage Concealer*, because it is so easy to blend + definitely gives very nice coverage. Best facial primer award goes to Too Faced Primed Poreless Skin Smoothing Primer* (no parabens, makes makeup stay in place all day long). For fixing eye brows - Anastasia Beverly Hills Beverly Hills Brow Fix and for filling - Urban Decay Faint eye shadow (Naked Basics palette).

For contouring I love using The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder in Medium 03 because it doesn't make my skin look orange and blends very easily. And it smells like honey, I can't get enough of it!

My most favorite blusher was Nars Orgasm, but I also love Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzer which I bought at beautybay.com when they had Black Friday sale. Since it's too shimmery it can't be used for contouring, but it gives beautiful golden-pinky glow to the cheeks.

What about mascara? Pixi Large Lash Mascara is something I'd recommend to try if you need to add volume to your lashes. This mascara can be used by contact lenses wearers.

Next year I'm going to focus on skin/hair care products. Stay tuned!

What are yours 2014 beauty favorites?

Product marked with * are 100% vegan.

How has my make up bag changed this year

Well, it has changed. A LOT. Make up was my biggest obsession this year. I've started reading a lot of beauty bloggers and wanted to try almost all famous products. Now I have three eye shadow palettes (I used to have only one), more than 6 blushes, uncountable amount of lipsticks and empty wallet. Did I need all these things? No. I believe every woman can survive with only two lipsticks in her bag. But every time I felt sad or stressed I wanted to treat myself. Unfortunately, illusion of happiness of having new thing doesn't last too long and you find yourself constantly looking for something another to buy. In the end this shopaholic mania left me feeling guilty about spending too much. Next year I want to learn how to control my expenses.

In order to do so, I'm going to follow simple rules:

• I'll buy new make up products only in case if I run out of something. I have plenty of products to play with already. Got tired of your usual eye shadow palette? Try to create looks with shades that you don't use on regular basis (and don't lie that you don't have such shades - everyone has one or two that they don't use at all). Experiment with things that you already own.
• Focus on skincare and hair products that are affordable (of course only cruelty free and possibly vegan). Brands worth checking out: Urtekram (shampoos & conditioners), Sukin Organics (skincare, hair care), Natio (skincare), natural oils like Macadamia Oil, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, etc (for hair treatment).
• Avoid sales and impulsive buys. Ask yourself "Do I really need this?" all the time.
• Have budget for every month.
• Remember that not material things will make you happy, but people and interesting experiences.

The biggest step this year was learning about ugly side of beauty industry i.e. animal testing and trying to buy only from cruelty free companies. Next year I'll also try to cut my spending on brands that have non cruelty free parent companies, if 100% cruelty brands offer much better deals. In other words, next time my Urban Decay eye primer potion runs out, I'm buying shadow insurance primer from Too Faced, because hey, it's the same size as UD but much cheaper on beautybay.com (and beauty bloggers reviews tell me that quality doesn't differ much + Too Faced is 100% cruelty free).

Another big step was starting using sunscreens. Yeah, I know. I didn't used it even when I lived in Japan (and I tell you, Japanese sun is a killer for skin, especially during summer) :S Now I'm using it 365 days a year, because sun in the primary case of skin ageing and may lead to cancer.

What are yours beauty resolutions for next year?