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. 

( Post Mentioned..) 


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. 

( Post Mentioned..) 

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. 

(Post Mentioned..) 

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. 

( Post Mentioned..) 

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. 

( Post Mentioned..) 

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 

T H U R S : T R A V E L // What Is Going In My Travel Beauty Bag

 

Hey, guess what? I am back baby! back to the ol' grind as they say. For those of you who don't know I took my first trip out west to California last week! 

Fun fact!, It as actually born in California but other than visiting a Target store as a newborn. I had never experienced the glorious California sun or anything the state had to offer until now and it was glorious. My next blog post will showcase the snapshots I took from the trip and video montage is in the works as well. All things to look forward to on The Bats and Rabbits blog! 

Alrighty, now onto the beauty essentials! 

F A C E 

I had not traveled in a really long time. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I would take. One of the most important things was a pair of sunglasses. Which, in the past I have the tendency to overlook, only to be punished by the suns unkindly bright glare in my eye sockets. If you are taking a trip soon into a sunny climate I would highly advise a pair of cute shades for your trip, though that may be obvious. (Make sure your cool shades also protect those ultra cute eyeballs of yours too! That means UVA ray protection baby!) I got these super adorable polka dot sunglasses at Target.(This girl can't get enough of her polka-dots) 

L I N K 

The other important essential was a light feeling base that also provided some coverage. (Nobody wants their makeup feeling heavy and slippery in the heat!) so I brought my trusty Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation. Which I have mentioned a numerous amount of times already but, it does provide the look and feel I want in a "summer" foundation. Light and non heavy, looks luminous on the skin but also does a good job at covering any skin problems I am dealing with at the time. This product blends beautifully when used with a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. 

L I N K  + L I N K 

I also brought my holy grail concealer which is the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. (review here) I won't bore you with another explanation of how great this stuff is but take my word for it. Its amazing and does double duty for covering spots and concealing dark under eye circles. ( I had to buy a second tube during my trip, I feel lost without it in my makeup stash!

L I N K 

For highlighter I brought my Mary Lou MAN-izer from The Balm.(another review here) which also served as a wonderful compact mirror for music festival makeup checkups. 

L I N K 

For blush I brought along my recently acquired Ambient Lighting Blush from Hourglass in the shade Diffused Heat. I don't have a lot of blush in my makeup stash yet so this blush is the star of the show. It is a beautiful poppy shade that is marbleized with Hourglass's famous Ambient lighting powder.  

It looks marvelous on the cheeks especially for the hot summer weather. 

L I N K 

  E Y E S 

Only brought along three eye shadows for the trip. I considered bringing just my Naked 3 palette. Maybe that would have made more sense but I have been gravitating towards wearing gold eye shadow again. That is where MAC's Amber Lights comes into action. A quick swipe of this on the outer corners of the eye with a MAC 217 blending brush and really you are good to go, I mean if you are on the go that is!  That is a very minimal and effortless look! For a little more highlight I put Stila's single eye shadow in the shade Kitten in my bag. It is a ultra shimmery nude//pinky shade that really brightens up the eyes and lastly I brought along MAC's Antiqued a reddish bronze color that looks great in the crease. Sometimes, it can be just as good to bring a couple of great singles instead of an entire shadow palette for a trip. It's limiting yes, but also effortless.

L I N K + L I N K + L I N K  

For the brows I brought my Anastasia Brow Wiz pencil but it was on its last leg so I ended up not  getting as much use out of it except for using the brush end to at least groom my brows.(#sadbrowgame)

L I N K 

Lastly, for eyes is mascara! I brought along two. One is a mini of Make Up Forever's Smoky Extravagant Lash and the other which is not pictured above was L'Oreal's Miss Manga mascara. The one I preferred was actually Miss Manga. It was still in it's testing stage but I have really grown to love it. For most bloggers out there this mascara is either a full love or a full out hate. For me the weird bendy wand is great for getting into the root of the lash and pull forward to fully coat the lashes. This mascara is excellent at separation, length and a little volumef The Smoky Extravagant is great too, don't get me wrong. Either would be a great choice to bring along on a trip somewhere.  

L I N K + L I N K 

L I P S 

On the lips,(not pictured above)I brought two reds (of course) One being the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in the shade Standout which is a cooler and darker red and feels minty upon application. The other is NARS's velvet matte lip pencil in the shade Red Sq. Which is the warmest red I own but I am so smitten with this shade for the summertime. 

L I N K + L I N K 

S K I N - C A R E 

Besides the obligatory 50+ spf sunscreen I brought very minimal skincare with me. My skin still had a major meltdown during the trip but at least I can say I cleansed and moisturized every morning and night! 

For my cleanser I brought my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. This product is still in my testing stage. So far I really like it! I wish I could say it changed my skin dramatically but so far I still suffer from really bad breakouts. However, this stuff does breakdown all my makeup and feels amazing and even cooling effect on the skin when you first rub it in. Plus you can buy it in different sizes so you can actually get a nice travel size to test out before going for a bigger bottle

L I N K

My beauty bag moisturizer is the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. Which is amazingly cool on the skin and does not irritate or plug up the skin. This product is PERFECTION for the sensitive skin types out there like yours truly. The smaller tube is super affordable at $12! I would highly recommend it. 

L I N K  

For my acne prone/problematic skin I like to treat the nastier spots with a spot treatment. Traditional treatments use Salicylic acid or Benzoyl Peroxide but those ingredients do not always bode well on my skin. I chose to bring my Acne Spot Fast Fix by Murad. Which uses other ingredients to treat nasty spots quick. I find that it does a decent enough job. I have bad luck with skincare trying to clear up my face. Nothing seems to work miracles. Though, I do find that this guy works well on nasty and painful spots. 

L I N K 

The last thing,which might already be obvious to everyone to bring for summer travel is a good deodorant. I grabbed the Dove Clinical Protection Cool Cucumber Deodorant. Lets just say it kept me feeling fresh under the arms for a very full day at Disneyland! 

And that's all I brought along in my beauty bag! I hope it helps any of you who are traveling soon! Safe travels!~ 

What beauty essentials do you bring with you on a trips? Let me know in the comments below! 

Connect with me on Twitter & Instagram!

Twitter: @AllegraShortill

Instagram: @morbidcupcakes 

See ya all soon! 

   -A

Face of The Day #FOTD : Current Makeup Routine

Hello my dears. Today marks the first day of Spring!!1 I am so pleased that we have finally crossed out of Winter country. Now I expect to start feeling the warmer air wash over my cold skin and for flowers to start sprouting from their dirty beds. 

Today, I wanted to share my daily makeup routine with you all. It's bound to change since I am always experimenting with new products and have the desire to try new things when it comes to makeup. However, at the moment these products are my staples.

Base---- Sephora Collection: Perfection Mist Airbrush Foundation

     I wrote a whole blog-post about this foundation: here. I REALLY love this foundation. I spray it directly on my face or onto my Real Techniques Stippling brush and blend right in. It's long wearing, the price is affordable and it makes my face look really good. I am using my second can of it now!

Concealer---- NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer 

   Another "holy grail" product in my routine is the famed NARS creamy concealer in the shade, Chantilly.( Because I am uber pale.) I also have written a full review on this product also!: here. I have very problematic skin: very blemish prone with some scarring etc. It's just a mess. However, this stuff just pleasantly covers all that up and gives me a bright, even complexion. 

Highlighter--- Mary-Lou-Manizer by The Balm 
 Review: here. Most beautiful champagne color! Gives the perfect glowing complexion.

Blush/Contour--- Milani Powder in Amber Nectar
 A very  recent purchase that I am very pleased with. This product is a combination of: highlight, blush and a bit of bronze as well. This blush drew me in mostly due to its beautiful embossed roses on the product and it's name. Doesn't Amber Nectar sound like something that is perfect for spring? I think so.

Brows--- Anatasia Brow Wiz in Brunette 
Cult favorite and for good reason. The retractable nib on this product is so tiny you have so much control over your brows to create natural or dramatic brows that never fade. Plus! the brow brush on the other end is handy as well. The only downside is the price however perfect brows seem worth it.

Eyeshadow--- Stila Single Eyeshadow in Kitten & The Wet n' Wild Comfort Zone palette

I had been wanting a beautiful champagne color for my lids so I could just swipe it on and head out the door in one easy swoop. I find that Stila's Kitten shade does the job in a beautiful way.
 I think everyone needs a good champagne eye-shadow shade in their makeup collection because it is so versatile and effortless.

As for the Comfort Zone palette. It was one of the first reviews I ever did on The Bats and Rabbits. Here. It's one of the best bang for your buck I have yet to try. As you can see I have done major damage to the pale champagne shade and also the copper shade. I love using the copper color for the outer edge and crease! 

Lips--- Revlon Matte Balms in Standout and Sultry
 I love wearing lipstick, don't get me wrong. However, something about the chubby lip pencils really gets me. Every blogger and their mother have talked about these brilliant matte balms by Revlon because they are perfect drugstore dupes for the Clinique Chubby Sticks and also the Tarte Matte Balms! I first got the shade, Standout,because I love wearing deep red lip products! In fact, when I got my second matte balm in the shade, Sultry it was a tiny step out of my comfort zone because in the past I exclusively only bought red lip products. Both, are beautiful and it makes me want to collect them all! 

And that, my dears is the complete rundown of my current makeup 

routine. I hope all of you enjoy the first day of Spring!

Also! I finally bit the bullet and got a Twitter!

I never ever, ( ever) thought I would get a twitter but I knew I needed to cover all bases when it comes to communication to all my lovely dears. I am actually kind of enjoying it, albeit a tad confusing at times. I have added a "follow me on Twitter!" social media button at the top of the blog. Send me your tweets! I want to network!, get to know other bloggers and other readers! 

Tweet! 

 Thank you! and see you next time! 

xoxo

- A 

   

February Amo're : February Favorites

This will be my first ever monthly favorites post! 

- throws confetti- 

The month of February is not my most favorite month of the year but at least its one step closer to spring!

( which happens to be a favorite.) 

Beauty and Skin Care:

My first favorite of this month has got to be my: NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. I made a lot of beauty discoveries at the beginning of this year and this product is probably my favorite. 

My skin this month has been absolutely rubbish! but, with this concealer, hardly anyone would know. It brightens and conceals everything! I wrote a full review on it here if you want to know more. The short of it is. This product, has become a holy grail in my makeup routine. 

My second favorite is a lip product from Revlon.

The Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm Stain in the shade: Sultry 

I picked this up finally after doing the little dance of putting it into your shopping cart and taking it out five million times.

I am pleased to say that I really, really love this thing. 

Not just for the deep red color, or the slight minty tinge or ease of application. It's lasting power is what impresses me the most. I am a "lip pusher", when I am stressed or idle I tend to squeeze my lips together very tightly. That habit tends to lessen the longevity of my lipstick but this exceeds the life of a normal lipstick. Its great and affordable. 

Instant favorite!

Third favorite of February is the Vaseline Spray and Go Moisturizer.

Yes, spray moisturizer. To some it may sound lazy.

To me, it sounds like one hell of a grand idea.

Whether the old furnace kicks in to keep me warm but in return makes my whole body feel like a desert or, when I hop out of the shower with fresh shaven legs only to itch them red afterwards. This product comes in to save the day.

I have the cocoa radiant scent and its heavenly. I would love to try the aloe-vera one when it starts to get hot! 

My fourth beauty favorite is the Real Techniques Stippling Brush. This brush was my first lovely introduction to the Real Techniques highly acclaimed brand and I was instantly pleased upon first use! 

Blends in foundation, concealer seamlessly. The brush is soft but dense. Makes me want to rush over to Ulta and buy the rest of their brush line. They are bloody brilliant. The girls of Pixiwoo really know their brushes! 

Music 

When I first started this blog I made large music posts featuring my music loves of the month. I kinda miss doing those posts but I would like to make them more efficient looking. Maybe having a playlist set up right on the post? 

I am not sure. It will be sorted with later, anyhow!

 A rather recent music discovery has changed my life. Which is why it got it self into my monthly favorites.

LULLATONE, where have you been all my life?

A couple, an american and a japanese woman living together in Nagoya started to make music together and created the magic that is Lullatone.

Lullatone, is that perfect, whimsical background music you always want playing in your everyday life. 

Its cheerful,happy and cute. That is something I need in my ears all day long.  I would normally pick a favorite track but, they are all my favorite. However, I will place here my most listened to album. 

Soundtracks for Everyday Adventures

Want more? 

Website ---- x

Bandcamp--- x

( You can also find them on Spotify!)

Random! 

Heading in the direction of food I wanted to share with you a recent delicious snack discovery.

Vitatops!

Always wanted to just have the top of a muffin without 

receiving actual muffin tops in return?

Now, they have that! In your grocery store organic section.

They are so delicious and filling! I like the chocolate ones because the curb my constant cravings for it. 

But here is the kicker.

They are only 100 calories each! 

(wow! amaze! ooh, ahh!) 

And that's all folks! 

My first ever favorites completed!

What have been your favorites this month?

Tell me in the comments below! I would love to hear from you. 

- A