2014 Beauty Favorites

Hello to all! I hope you all had a lovely celebrations over Christmas Break. 
It's practically unbelievable that in a two days 2014 will be all done and dusted! 2014 was the year I seriously got into beauty. I tried and collected a lot of products during the span of the year. You better believe there was a lot of makeup to sort through and pick out key favorites. 2014, was also the year I got more serious about blogging. It was so neat to look through my archives as I was adding links to past posts. Seeing how far I have progressed since last January. 
Big strides have been made and I hope to make bigger ones in 2015. I hope you all will be there to join me and I thank you all for your continuous support. ( *Internet hugs*) 

Now that we are close to the end of 2014! let us review the beauty and makeup that were my favorites of the year!

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua 
Discovered this foundation in the spring and it was a solid staple for the summer months. Liquidy and light in consistency but still provides a medium to light coverage with a dewy finish. Probably will head back to this foundation when summer arrives again. 

Nars Sheer Glow
Towards the beginning of August I finished off Chanel Vitalumiere and had my sights set on NARS Sheer Glow. During that time my skin was going through a rough patch and was on the hunt for a foundation with more coverage but still had a luminous finish. After some research I discovered that Nars Sheer Glow was not so "sheer" after all and actually had some decent coverage to it. I disliked the fact it did not have a pump but I made due all up to now. I am still using this stuff when I am not using my other Becca Foundation. I really enjoy the coverage and finish this gives. A firm favorite of this year and the year to come. 

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Real Techniques Expert Face Brush 

This brush has stuck by me for the majority of this year. For every foundation application this brush, created by the ladies over at Pixiewoo applied my foundation flawlessly. For the price point I paid for it, this brush is of extraordinary quality and I really loved it this year.  


Nars Creamy Radiant Concealer 

Discovered in January, one of my first true beauty reviews I ever wrote was about this very concealer (and I have not really shut up about it since)! I dubbed this my holy grail concealer. It covers up dark circles, face demons, redness, you name it. Although its a bit pricey I still go out and stock up on this concealer when I am running low on it. I believe this concealer kickstarted my seeming love affair with the brand Nars (it has not stopped since).  

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Naked Flushed Palette " Streak" 

Right after I had invested in my DSLR camera and had whole new design for my blog I reviewed this face palette from Urban Decay. I didn't get the hype at first when this product was released but after a couple times trying it out I felt the need to own it. It was actually quite a perfect purchase. I have non stop used it for the rest of this year. This palette actually provided my with my first bronzer and I really loved the way it looks (might inspire more bronzer purchases in 2015 who knows), but this was quite a handy palette to have in my collection. 

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Becca Pressed Shimmering Perfector " Opal"

I couldn't write this post without mentioning the best highlighter I have ever used. Granted, The Balm's Mary Lou-manizer highlighter should get an honorable mention here since I loved that one for most of the year, but when Becca arrived at my Sephora and I tried this highlighter. I was in complete love and so far it has remained one of my favorite makeup products to apply every single day. If you want the ultimate glow in 2015 I would check this highlighter out if you have not already. Its ah-mazing. 

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Lorac Pro Palette

Picking my favorite eyeshadow palette of 2014 was really hard! I collected quite a few this year and love them all but after some contemplation I settled on the Lorac Pro Palette. 
I got this palette in August. I had pined after it for a long time and got lucky when it was on discount on the HSN website. I feel this palette covers so many bases. I feel that every girl who is in love with eyeshadow should own it. These shadows are so pigmented and soft there is a great variety of colors that make great daytime and night time looks. I feel its just one of those ultimate palettes that is so useful to have. All in super sleek packaging too. 

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MAC Cranberry Eyeshadow 

Besides cracking down on a favorite eyeshadow palette I felt I couldn't not mention this little single eyeshadow from MAC. It has accompanied a lot of my eyeshadow looks for the Fall and Winter. It is surprisingly quite a versatile eyeshadow shade. 

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MAC 217 Blending Brush 

After collecting so much eyeshadow this year I knew I needed a great blending brush so when I went and got the famed MAC 217 brush, my eyeshadow game changed up dramatically. Being able to blend well is crucial so having this brush in my arsenal was a necessary favorite. 

Loreal Miss Manga Mascara

I don't believe I ever mentioned this mascara ever during the year but I should have. This mascara from the drugstore is actually really good. Yes, it has a weird bendy wand but I find that actually kind of helps with the application. I dunno maybe I fell a little into the gimmick with that one but, the formula in this mascara is exceptional. Volume, length, does not clump, but is not a bugger to get off. 2014 winner in my book.   

Nars Audacious Lipstick "Charlotte" 

A very generous and lovely gift from my blogging friend, Sydney. This whole collection from NARS is pure perfection. I only have this color so far in Charlotte which is a deep burgundy color. Out of all lipsticks and crayons and pencils I tried and loved this year I have to pick this one as my ultimate and another big win for NARS in 2014. 

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The Body Shop Silky Chamomile Cleansing Oil 

And finally, to take all that makeup off my face throughout the year I turned to The Body Shop Silky Chamomile Cleansing Oil. Affordable and very effective. Gently melts off all my makeup without stripping my skin and smells pretty nice too. It makes taking my makeup off just as enjoyable as putting it on. 


And that about wraps it up for my 2014 Beauty Favorites! (Whoo hoo!)   I hope to continue to do this every year,  its a nice way to reflect on what I have loved. 
My next post will be about my favorite moments and milestones I crossed in 2014 so look out for that one soon! 

What beauty products did you discover and love in the year 2014? Let me know in the comments below!  

Happy New Year! 
See you "next year"

- A 

MON//Lorac Pro Palette & Stila Eyes Are The Window Spirit Palette

Oh hey! Long time no see. 

I can't even begin to expla nin how hectic my life and schedule have been. Everything in my life has been in a transitional phase that seems never ending and turbulent. I have wanted so badly to come back on here and start turning out posts but so much of my time is consumed by school, work and self care in general, that the Bats & Rabbits blog has to be put on a shelf, awaiting for me to return when I can spare a moment. That is my shortest explanation for my recent absence. I apologize and I dearly hope I can sort out some things so that I can have a window of time to blog, because creating and sharing with you all, is what I really enjoy doing. 

Last month, I was itching to add some new eye shadow to my collection so I picked up two new eye shadow palettes. One I was keen on for some time, The Lorac Pro Palette, and the other was released rather recently and I couldn't get it off my mind once I had seen it which is Stila's newest "Eyes Are The Window Palettes" I grabbed the palette in "Spirit". 

Both palettes are just breathtaking..Just look at them! 

Now, both of these palettes have three things in common. They are neutral themed palettes with warmer tones. Also, they both have buttery soft shimmer and soft matte shades. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either one of these palettes they both have a similar shade range if your in the market. However, if you are more keen on that Stila palette you are gonna have to invest a hefty chunk of change for it. The palette costs roughly 50$ (crazy!) guess you really do pay for "dat packaging" its so pretty and so fancy looking I wonder if Iggy Azalea would write a song about it.. I got mine with at a discount by using a mall gift card I had gotten. ( I can enable myself very easily when it comes to makeup.) The Lorac Palette is slightly more reasonably priced at $42. Though, I also got this palette on a HSN deal where they were selling them for $22. Sadly, that deal is not going on anymore and I really apologize for that! But, it goes to show that holding off and being on the look out for deals can sometimes grant you the things you want, at the price you want. 

I fell in love with the Stila Spirit palette for its autumnal shades and the way they coordinated the colors instantly inspired me and helped me transition my mind towards fall looks and aesthetic. There are four "creamy shades" which seems a bit repetitive but they all are different. Being a former painting student I can aptly discern a difference in color. They threw in a beautiful garnet color which I gravitate towards every use and some useful brown shades for blending and a sneaky blue shade which I have not used yet, but it is pretty. These colors have nice pigment, soft to the touch and are very build-able and blend-able.

The Lorac Pro palette, is so heavily talked about and raved about and justly so, these colors are pig-men-ted. I barely have to touch and I have vivid color on my fingertip or brush. The packaging is light, thin and sleek, much like Apple products, which means...its very aesthetically appealing and easy to cart around with you when you travel. I am having so much fun with this palette! Creating looks feels so simple and easy. Just have a trusty blending brush with you like a MAC #217 and have at it. I love using "Lt. Bronze" all over the lid and in the inner corner and then pat on "Gold" in the center and blend out "Garnet" and the tiniest hint of "Espresso" in my crease and a hint of "Garnet" again underneath to even things out. I just feel like everyone that wears eye shadow needs this palette in their life! Its so versatile and handy. You. Can't. Do. Wrong. 

That about wraps it up for me on the eye shadow talk for today. Over all I highly recommend both palettes, they are equally gorgeous, however you might get a little more bang from the Lorac palette, simply because there is more shade selection. But, lets face it, when I wake up in the morning to Stila's new fancy packaging I think about writing my own song about it. 

What are your favorite eye shadow palettes? Let me know in the comments below! Also, if you care to see posts in particular from me that would be immensely helpful information to have. Thank you for your patience, I love you all so much and even my most stressful afternoons are lifted when I receive a comment on one of my posts saying you enjoyed it. I hope to be posting again soon! Until then I can be reached and followed through my social media icons in the sidebar. 

See you soon! ( Its a promise!) 

- A