Year End Review: 2008 Favorites List
Happy New Year to us all! Let's hope is shiny, new, and gives us all hope for the best things to come! I'm a bit late with this post but it's here now.
If you read my blog daily you probably remember last year when I did a round up of allllllllllllllllll my very favorite bits and bobs that I loved over the course of the year. Honestly it's difficult for me to pick and choose favorite items and do Beauty Award style posts because I have way too many favorite items that I love. For me it's best to round up items that I've used all year and have grown to love. Considering the Muse's "favorites" change so often it's hard to nail down exactly what sort of products I've come to love over the course of the year.
Being the Muse means that products come and go out of my life at a rather constant and alarming speed. Makeup is like crack and what once got me high an hour ago probably isn't giving me the same high in this present hour.
Alas you can see the dilemma of creating a list of items that I would award the best of it's kind. However, instead of rounding up a massive amount of product the way I did last year (damn straight I was excited about alot of crap last year!), I decided to give myself a tiny bit of breathing room. I stepped back, I contemplated, I thought (don't worry the thought process didn't blow out any light bulbs or cause any world crisis that I know of. No that wasn't me that caused the stock market crash!) and I decided that a few things have become really favorite items of mine. These favorite items are what I'll share with you today!
I hope you enjoy this look at some of the Muse's very favorite items of the year. These items aren't necessarily released in 2008 but they are just generally awesome items that I either use daily or have used many a time that they are now considered a favorite.
I hope after you've read my favorites you'll share some of your own with me!
Happy Reading!
Favorite Cosmetic Collection of the Year
There have been SO many collections released over the course of the year but none have thrilled me more than the inexpensive Spring Collection from Etude House entitled Lovely Face aka "Peach" Makeup Collection.
The collection consisted of some of my very favorite items released thus far from Etude House such as the amazing Pore Erasing Peach Base! Truly this was love! This collection makes a daily appearance in my looks especially the pressed powder and base.
My raves and excitement were so loud they reached the ears of Etude House and the Muse was featured on Etude House's official blog and later featured in the Etude House Newsletter which is given out at Etude House stores in Korea. You can imagine my excitement over this! The Muse felt like she made a guest starring appearance in the New York Times on the front cover or something! For her appearing in this newsletter was actually better!
Upon reading her review you can obviously see why this Muse was so excited about this collection and deems it her very favorite of the year! Cheers Etude House! The Muse is looking forward the Spring 2009!
Favorite Blush
I won't deny that it hurts me so many people thought that NARS Blush in Super Orgasm was a let down. I sob in agony when I hear a bad word against it. It was my ideal image of what I wanted the original orgasm to be and upon it's release I couldn't sit still as I wriggled in excitement at the prospect of chunks of golden glitter and a peach sheen! Understandably all that glitter is what makes it my favorite however I find once it's blended the glitter goes away and a deeper color is revealed that is, in my opinion, perfect and a favorite. NARS Blush in Super Orgasm is definitely a Muse fav (#1)!
Honorable Mention
2. Pop Rose Belle Blush Palette
3. Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge For Lips and Cheeks in Raspberry
4. Sugar Cosmetics Sweet Cheeks in Gingerbread
5. Lola Blush in Mistress
6. and 7. Jillian Dempsey for Avon Horizon Blush
Favorite Face Powder/Highlighter
Seems like just yesterday that I was ohhhhh'ing and ahhhh'ing over Benefit Thrrob! Almost a year later and it still tops my favorite list but I have a feeling it won't remain there long as it'll be quickly replaced by Benefit Coralista soon I'm sure! For now though Benefit Thrrob (#3) is a Muse fav!
Honorable Mention
1. Estee Lauder Shimmering Jewel Powder
2. Lancome Elephant Bronzer Powder
Favorite Single Eyeshadow
Lord knows last year I had a slew of shadows that were my favorite! This year I cut back drastically simply because I had fewer favorites plus I found one that I really loved so much that nothing else came close to topping it!
Now it may be unfair to deem it a single shadow since it's actually two shadows in one but the Muse thinks that Jelly Pong Pong Venus Magical Pearls in Worship (#2) is absolutely the best shadow she's used all year long! Shimmering golds mixed with copper created a stunning Summer look that the Muse favored well into the months of Fall and beyond!
Honorable Mention
Although Jelly Pong Pong Venus Magical Pearls in Worship are my very favorite I had a few shadows that I reach for almost all the time and they are truly worth mentioning for this round up!
1. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Kiddie Pool
3. Milani Wet/Dry Sparkling Eyeshadow in Beach Sand
4. MAC Eyeshadow in Antique Pink
5. Bare Escentuals Glimmer in Azure
Favorite Eyeshadow Palette
Lord knows I have a serious addiction when it comes to palettes. Would you believe at one time in my life I was only ever collecting single shadows? I avoided palettes like the plague simply because I was at a lost how to best use all the shades! Later in life I realized the joy I was missing and started to stash every palette I came across. A hundred years later and I'm the proud owner of one too many palettes and possibly out a year's tuition of my future unborn child's education.
Although the formula isn't particularly amazing I name the DuWop Crush Trio my very favorite of the year (#1)! I'm still puzzling over how three simple shades can make any number of different, stunning, unique looks! It was my total go to palette for sizzling Summer eye looks and worked well into the cooler weather for a perfect sparkling Autumn look! It was a hard choice to deem this as my favorite considering it was up against my all time biggest crush, KATE Glamtrick Palette in GN1 but the Muse decided that she had a tiny bit of extra love for DuWop and thus it became her favorite.
Honorable Mention
2. Laneige Darling Big Eyes! Trio
3. KATE Dual Carat Eye Duo in GD-2
4. Clarins Colour Quartet in So Chic
5. KATE Glamtrick Palette in GN1
6. Lunasol Geminate Eyes Palette 01
Favorite Liquid and Cream Eyeshadow
I didn't think anything could take away from my deep love and appreciation for Visee Aqua Shining Eyes. After all these were the liquid shadow that single handedly changed my mind about liquid and cream shadows! But after trying out Coffret D'Or Fluffy Shine Eyes (#1) my emotions turned and soon all that love and admiration was being poured all over Coffret D'Or for creating such an a gorgeous, shimmering shadow that this Muse thinks of as a fond favorite!
Honorable Mention
2. Visee Aqua Shining Eyes
Favorite Lipgloss
You already know what the Muse's favorite gloss is dontcha? I've mentioned about 5 billion times since picking it up with the MAC Neo Sci-Fi Collection....yes....you got it....MAC Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit!!!!!!! Although MAC Lipglass isn't really a favorite gloss of mine I can't deny that it has incredible staying power, is nicely pigmented, and wears well however MAC Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit is possibly my most favorite lipgloss shade EVER! Peachy, Orangy, glorious! It is, was, and shall remain a personal favorite!
Honorable Mention
2. Stila Lipglaze
3.Lipstick Queen Sinner Shine Hardcore Gloss
4. MAC Lipglass in Cult of the Cherry
5. NARS Lipgloss in Orgasm
6. Majorca Majolica Rouge majex in PK338
7. Love Clover PopChu Gloss
8. Too Faced Mirror Mirror Lipgloss
Favorite Lipstick
Without question I was thrilled to pieces with the release of MAC Lipstick in Kiss Manish (#1) which went perfectly well with my MAC Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit! Obviously it's not hard to see why I choose it as my favorite lipstick this year!
Honorable Mention
2. Urban Decay Lipsticks
3. Fafi for MAC Lipstick in Flash n Dash
4. Avon Ultra Color Rich Lipstick in Charmed Rose
5. Armani Lip Wax
Favorite Cheek and Lip Stains
The Muse is a big lover of cheek and lip stains! Anything to make her look flatteringly flushed is always good in her book. One of her very favorites of the year was of course Benefit Posietint(#1)! Fancy, flattering pink to make her flush a pretty pink shade was the order of business with the release of Posietint! Truly a favorite this year.
Honorable Mention
2. Missha Tinted Lip Markers
3. Etude House 55 Kissful Tint Chou
Favorite Eyeliner
Without a doubt my discovery of Bobbi Brown Gel liner(#1) was instant love! It applies beautifully well the first time, every time! The Muse thinks it's well worth your time and it's her favorite of the year!
Honorable Mention
2. Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencils
Favorite Eyeshadow Primer
There isn't any doubt in my mind that my favorite primer is, will be, and shall remain Urban Decay Primer Potion (#1). The Muse is doubtful she'll ever find a better primer that keeps her shadow fresh and long wearing all day and well into the night!
Honorable Mention
2. MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ocher
3. Benefit Lemon Aid
Favorite Eyeshadow Palette
It's difficult deciding on just one palette but the Muse was quite pleased with Prescriptives Fall Dimensions Eye Color Quad (#1)! Creating two unique looks using this palette made it a fond favorite for the Fall and well into the Winter!
Honorable Mention
2. Bobbi Brown Holiday Lip and Eye Palette
3. Bobbi Brown Shimmering Nudes Palette
Favorite Mascara
It never really changes and this year remains the same, my favorite mascara that is. My absolutely fav mascara for a few years now is Majolica Majorca Lash Extender (#1). Any formula and this Muse is all over it for fatter, longer, and prettier lashes!
Honorable Mention
2. Lorac Visual Effects Mascara
3. Givenchy Phenonmen Eyes Mascara
Favorite Face Primer
I'm run across some great primers this year but I truly adored and favored Make Up For Ever HD Perfecting Primer (#1). Available in a wide variety of formulas and shades for correcting skin tone while priming, the Muse thought this was one hell of a primer!
Honorable Mention
2. Tricia Sawyer Skin Balancing Water Primer
3. Lavshuca Perfect Base Moist
Favorite Concealers
Without a doubt the most reached for concealer of the year for this Muse was the Bobbi Brown Concealer palette...it took a while for me to love it but when I finally did fall in love it was for keeps! Bobbi Brown Concealer Palette (#1) tops this Muse's list as a fav!
Honorable Mention
2. Laura Mercier Undercover Concealer Pot Duo
3. Benefit Boi-ing
4. Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil
5. Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer
Favorite Beauty Tools
The Muse thinks nothing can top the simplicity of a sponge applicator (#1) for packing on color, blending color, and creating a great eye look! Cheap as day old chips, sponge applicators are a top favorite with the Muse!
Honorable Mention
2. Bare Escentuals Eye Buki Brush
3. MAC 183
4. MAC Baby Buki
5. Bobbi Brown Mini Blush Brush
6. Smashbox #60
7. Aromaleigh Fiber Optic Blush Brush
8. Bare Escentuals Dual End Smudge Brush
Favorite Foundation
The Muse has stashed away quite a few foundations as of late but she must say that this year she was pretty happy with Clarins Instant Smooth Foundation (#1). Instant Smooth was like no other foundation product I've tried and it became a fast favorite this year for beautifully perfect skin!
Honorable Mention
2. Lavshuca Creamy Liquid Foundation
3. Lancome Absolute Makeup
4. Etude House BB Magic Cream
5. Giorgio Armani Face Fabric
6. Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enchancer
7. Benefit Playsticks
Favorite Facial Moisturizers
The Muse was quite happy with the newest facial moisturizers released from Lush this year and she was absolutely thrilled with Lush Vanishing Cream (# 1). Vanishing Cream was this Muse's ideal moisturizer for soothing her skin while offering a light formula that was easily absorbed into skin! Brilliant and a favorite!
Honorable Mention
2. Philosophy When Hope is Not Enough
3. Lush Skin Nanny
4. Lush Paradise Regained
Favorite Facial Scrubs
The Muse is a big lover of Lush Ocean Salt but she does so admit that after trying MAC's amazing Volcanic Ash Exfoliant (#1) she was convinced it was her new favorite! Volcanic Ash played an important part is scrubbing away old dry skin and revealing softer, fresher skin! A true fav!
Honorable Mention
2. Lush Ocean Salt
Best Makeup Removers
The Muse has been known to brag about how much she simply adores Kose Airy Whip (#1) but she'll keep this one short and say after all that bragging it remains a tried and true favorite for whisking away all the Muse's makeup in one gentle wash without drying out my skin! Perfection!
Honorable Mention
2. Lush Ultra Bland
3. Mandom Cleansing Express
4. Jill Stuart Cleansing Oil
Favorite Toners
The Muse wasn't really thrilled with the Etude House Aqua Sherbet Skincare line but one favorite did come out of it! Etude House Aqua Sherbet Ice Toner became an instant classic (and favorite) this Summer! Icy, cool, and refreshing it toned the Muse's skin with a burst of coolness while prepping her face for foundation! T'was love!
Honorable Mention
2. Lush Breath of Fresh Air
2008 was a fabulous year for makeup, skincare, and general beauty bits and bobs and the Muse had a fab time discovering new products. She hopes that 2009 brings a slew of new options to adventure into and with it a new favorite list will be born.
Please enjoy her favorites list from 2007 as well to see what came back this year as a favorite and what made the list last year!
Do drop a comment below and tell the Muse what your favorites of the year were! She'd love to hear all about them!
Happy New Year everyone! Thank you for being apart of my life the last year!
Labels: Bare Escentuals, Beauty Babblings, Benefit, DuWop, Etude House, Fab Favs, Japanese Brands, Korean Brands, Lancome, Lunasol, Lush, Milani, Urban Decay
posted by the Muse @ 4:03 PM
32 Comments:
great list!!
I also looove Raspberry pot rouge and neo sci fi was my favorite collection
I want to try that MUFE primer! Damn London!
I did a complete beauty overhaul this year. It felt so great to throw away ALL of my beauty products and start afresh - even down to new travel cases to store my products in and new brushes.
Anyway this is the beauty regime i've ended up with after a LOT of trial, error and research and dare I say it my skin is looking pretty fabulous! I'd say each of these products are HG material for each section they are in.
DAY
Face Wash - Md Forte II
Tone - Clearasil Textured Pads/Tea Tree by Lush
Serum - Skin Ceuticals Phyto +
Moisturiser - Lush Paradise Regained/Sofina UV Cut
Primer - Skindinavia T-Zone/Benefit Bad Gal/Eyeko Cream
Tinted Moisturiser - Laura Mercier/La Mer
Highlighters and Concealers - Cle de Peau Concealer/YSL Touche Eclat/Eyeko Touch and Glow
Pressed Powder - Chanel Poudre Universelle
NIGHT
Cleansing Oil - Mac
Face Wash - MD Forte II/Clarins Foaming Cleanser
Toner - As above
Serum - Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Whitening Recovery Complex
Night Cream - Kose Sekkisei Cream
Eye Treatment - Garnier Roll On + Garnier Lift
TREATMENTS
Body Shop Facial Brush
Body Shop Vitamin C Texturising Peel
Origins Brightening Facial Scrub
I swear my favorites list is long this year!
1. MAC Cult of Cherry Lipglass in Cult of Cherry,
2. Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners,
3. Urban Decay 24/7 concealer,
4. fiber optic blush brush from Aromaleigh
5. Aromaleigh blush in Corset
6. Aromaleigh Eye Shadows :)
7. Meow Pampered Puss foundation
8. Tarte Cheek Stain
9. TheBalm Stainiac
10. ecotools & Aromaleigh taklon brushes
11. Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box (especially Half Baked, Twice Baked and Flipside)
12. Indelible gel eyeliners from Aromaleigh
13. Lush Angels on Bare Skin
14. Burt's Bees Night Creme
15. MAC So Scarlet Lipstick
16. MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study :>
omg! thanks for this amazing list! i will need to improve mine for this year :D i got a whole year to do it! tee hee! :D
shall read this slowly when i have time :D
I dont have much of a fav but Etude House has become my fav store! XD I love their tint chou, bb magic pact and beam blusher x.x I felt like buying the whole store XD
Great list, I really enjoyed reading it and writing down some products for future reference (meaning: rush out to the next beauty store and grab it all).
I think you did 2 favorite eyeshadow palettes without realizing. One after the favorite single eyeshadow and one after the favorite eyeshadow primer.
I thought you might want to know.
Carmen
I fully agree with you on the sponge applicators, never understood the big hype about eyeshadow brushes tbh. ;) Also Nars Super Orgasm, it is lovely and i love it, and never understood why people don't like it. I don't own any other Nars blushes, but I have seen the testers and loves this one way more. :)
what a great post! i love how you grouped everything. even though i didn't comment on your posts this weekend, i enjoyed those as well (i read them in between my housework). i took notes especially on the blushes and shimmers!
also my hunt for a new cologne was pretty fun on saturday. i tried about 20 different things including the Angel scent, and ended up buying Swiss Army For Her for now; i am considering Marc Jacobs Daisy as well but hubby didn't like it as much.
you just made my Monday a little brighter. :)
Ah... my Muse... you have so many on the list. ;) I wish I could say the same.. ;) Um... I don't really find anything I like so much in every year though. But I think I can list a few of my fav list for this year so far. ;)
Blush: 2008 was the year of blushes. I bought one too many. I bought a lot in fact. I think my fav is MAC Peachykeen and Love Joy. It's the year I first experimented with anything else besides pink and red!
Hilighter: It's a tie between Paul&Joe LE and Lunasol lavender pink. I love them both I can't decide.
E/L: This is the year I discover e/l and then all hell break loose! ;) And the first that open the door for me is still my favorite one, MAC pearlglide. I love them all in every single color that came out. I can only hope that they will make it perm soon before I run out of mine. Or at least... please please please.... repromote them.
Cream e/s: This is also the item I bought a lot this year. Before, I rarely pay interest in them. The star must be Aromaliegh rocks in forest and MAC Nice vice.
Cleanser: IPSA cleansing oil hands down. Make my face so soft everytime.
Toner: Bobbi brown brightening facial toner. Very soft and hydrating. Plus, it brighten my face. What else I could ask?
I think that's all for my new love in 2008. ;) I wish you found something more in 2009. ;) I wish I will, too!
hi Amina!
me too :) i like them in general but this color was divine and neo sci fi was really well done :)
hi youdee!
It's quite good and they have a slew to choose from for different skin problems!
I'm doing that his year...new brushes, new prducts, etc..:) It always feel so good to do that and I want to be a bit more minimal as well!
whoa thanks for sharing your regime....I freaking adore reading about what others use and what others find that works for them!
Lush Paradise is truly an HG!
I love Eyeko Cream :)
h dd!
I'm with you I almost everything you listed but haven't tried the inedible liners yet!
thanks for sharing hun!
hey plue!
my pleasure ;) hehe looking forward to hearing your list!
hi xisa
I love all those! especially the magic pac and the beem blusher :) hehe it's so cheap too!!!!!
hi nell!
Thanks hun....! ;) I look forward to hearing what you nab from the list :)
hi carmen
sorry it was supposed to be palettes and duos but it got goofed :) thanks so much.
hi Anitacska !
I love 'em! I pack color on with them and blend...perfect :)
I'm so glad I'm not alone...everyone seems to hate super o for some reason and I adore it :)
It's gorgeous! :) yay for us loving it!
hi laura!
Thanks hun :) glad you enjoyed it! Aw it's ok..I wasn't around to reply anyway so t worked out well
what a great post! i love how you grouped everything. even though i didn't comment on your posts this weekend, i enjoyed those as well (i read them in between my housework). i took notes especially on the blushes and shimmers!
I haven't tried Swiss Army for Her....have to sniff that one :) I like Daisy alot but it was missing something key...what did you think of Angel? Bit deep and dark eh?
aw shucks I'm glad and you mine with your lovely comments!
hi Vichaya!
I have a ridiculously sized one I fear lol!
I really liked Love Joy too! It was a nice shade ;)
Ireally really wanted to love pearlglide but not being waterline safe they were a bust for me :( I'm sure you'll see them return in new colors or maybe even old as many people really adored 'em!
holy cow aromaleigh has cream shadows?
must go look!
Thanks for sharing hun ;) sounds like a fab list to me!!!!!!
Yep, Aromaleigh has indelible creme eye shadows. They're made by a 3rd party company, just like their indelible gel eyeliners. Both are great products.
I have Aromaleigh's pink pearl creme eye shadow. I like it! It stays on better than MAC's Delft, and as well as Blackground or Bare Study.
My big complaint with Aromaleigh's creme eye shadows and gel eyeliners are that they cost almost as much as MAC's but they're about half the product size :/ I did a comparison on the creme eye shadows in my blog several months back.
You can see the sizes compared here:
http://decoratived.blogspot.com/2008/06/aromaleighs-indelible-creme-eye-shadow.html
MAC's Paint Pot is in a 5 gram jar, and contains .17 oz of product. AromaLeigh's is 3 gram net weight, and I'm guessing they contain about .11 oz of product.
hey dd! well duh I thought these were liners.
I have to try :)
I really don't like the fact that AL is so expensive...it's good stuff but I noticed their prices are higher compared to other mineral etailers :P
sheesh that sucks!
great comparison hun!
I think some of their products are reasonably priced, especially if you get them during a sale. Most of their eye shadows are from $5.75 to $8.00 per eye shadow, depending on the brand, and they run 25% off weekly sales. So I wait and buy most of my stuff whenever it's 25% off.
Right now the gel eyeliners are originally $12.75 but they're on sale for $9.56
Meow eye shadows are usually $8.00 to $10.00.
And there are several companies that I've looked at that their price is $7.00 to $10.00.
But I know with Aromaleigh, and the newer Meow lines, I won't be disappointed in the quality of the eye shadows.
I still feel like my mineral makeup from AL blends better than 90% of my MAC stuff, and the MAC stuff doesn't suck! I do feel like it blends better than most of the Urban Decay that I've tried. The Too Faced blends well but doesn't have the same staying power as the Aromaleigh.
So paying $5.75 to $8.00 for 1 Aromaleigh eye shadow, vs. $14.50 for MAC or $16.00 for Urban Decay or Too Faced doesn't seem bad when the quality is good.
I don't feel that way about most mineral makeup companies, but I definitely feel that Aromaleigh is Quality. (and like I said, some of the Meow eye shadows, mostly the newer collections, seem to be quality, but I don't like the older ones as much).
Err not brand, but what I mean is their product lines (i.e. their pure hues, their elemental lustres, their bete noires, their Rocks! sonic eye shadows, etc)
hey dd!
is there code for the 9.56 on the liners? They are showing up full price at the moment :)
I've always liked the AL line but felt like the prices were a bit much considering I can get
counter for a few bucks more. :)
But you have a point with the prices and sales!
I've always been quite happy with all my AL purchases and just wish I indulged further to be honest ;)
Weird, no code should be needed.
If I go to:
http://www.aromaleigh.com/ingeley.html
I see:
Indelible "Gel" Eyeliner- NEW LOW PRICE- 25% OFF featured product through 10 AM E.S.T. 1/14!
Price: $12.75
Sale: $9.56 (You Save 25%)
Try picking a color and putting one in your cart and seeing if it shows up as the $9.56.
I have Black out and Black Cherry and I highly recommend Black Cherry if you already have a black you love to use.
I love the rocks stuff ;)
ahhhhh duh dd I was looking for the cream shadow to be on sale duh!
Great list! There are a few items, I spy, that I have in my collection too. Some were picked up because of your reviews and I can't say I regret one:) Even though I'm not a shimmer girl, you did get me to branch out a little more (so ceylon - love!). Plus, I use highlighter on a daily basis now so that's a start:) And I promise to love my Pink Grapefruit l/g more this summer:P
museyyy!!!
i love when you post your favorites lists. i'm so freaking jealous of your collection, girl! how do you purchase etude house and missha? no one in atl carries them and i hate having to wait until i go over to korea to purchase...and that sucks because a lot of the times, the products i see months before going to korea aren't in stores. :( do you have someone who purchases your korean goodies?
hi there aestheticcoo!
Thanks hun! ;) Aww shucks I'm absolutely flattered you got 'em upon my rec :)
LOL! very good little jedi! You'll graduate soon from the cosmetic course ;) hehe!
hey serenity!
thanks hun :) I'm glad you enjoy 'em!
I have a friend who lives in Korea although she's sadly coming stateside soon for a few months darn it :(
I get them all from her. She's fab to shop and send over for me. I WISH I can go to Korea and get 'em myself...might be cheaper with airmail costs lol!
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