2015 ANNUAL FAVOURITES

I discovered and fell in love with using so many different products throughout 2015. In the past I've been really streamlined and restrictive, but this year I've gone the full hog and shared pretty much everything that I really enjoyed using. As you can see this is a really beefy favourites post, so you'll probably want to get a cup of tea (or coffee or juice) and some biscuits to get you through this one! Get your pen and paper ready to jot down any products you want to try!

MAKEUP                                                                                                                                                                                                            

BASE: You must be living under a rock if you didn't know the Nars Tinted Moisturiser (review) has been a constant in my makeup routine in 2015. I love how light in consistency and hydrating it is and it just looks really natural on my face. Another base product that I fell in love with is the MAC Face and Body Foundation. This foundation is so lightweight and even though it can be built upto a medium coverage it gives such a natural dewy finish to the skin. Towards the end of the year, I loved using the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Stick! I don't use this for foundation, but instead to highlight under the eye so that I don't get a stark highlight, instead it looks more natural. Last year the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer was my favourite for the year, however I've amped it up a notch at the Nars Radiant Radiant Creamy Concealer (review). It's really creamy and pigmented so I find that I don't need as much products and it works well under the eye as well as on blemishes. To set my makeup in place, I've been using the MAC MSF in Global Glow which is a baked product that just eliminates any shine without caking up my face.

CHEEKS: 2015 was literally the year of the highlight! I'm obsessed with highlighting as the light just hits the face in the best and most flattering places! The first highlighter I really enjoyed using was The Balm Betty Lou-Manizer which is a stunning highlight with a golden undertone. I find that this suits darker skin tones better than the Mary Lou-Manizer. The other highlighter is Global Glow by MAC. This is a nice mix between warm tone and cool tone. Along with The Balm highlighter, it gives a really powerful highlight! My final favourite highlight is the Kevyn Aucion Creamy Glow Duo (review) which is a cream highlight and contour (even though I only use it for the highlight) I like to use this when I want a really sutble highlight as being in a cream form, it blends into the skin effortlessly. I haven't really been one for blusher, however whenever I have it's been either the Milani Powder Blush in Romantic Rose or the Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Glow in Euphoria (review). Both blushers look really good with various different makeup looks and on different skin tones.

EYESHADOW: The Laura Mercier Eye Canvas has been the only eyeshadow primer that I used throughout 2015. It creates a barrier between my oily eyelids and the eyeshadow and my eyeshadow has never creased when I've worn this! This time last year, I was raving about the Maybelline Colour Tattoos, however this year I have a new contender in the form of the Max Factor Excess Shimmer in Bronze. This eyeshadow is such a lovely colour and is most definitely a one wash wonder with a somewhat wet finish. The Kevyn Aucoin Single Eyeshadow in Light Bone (review) is such a basic product but I've gotten so much use out of it. It's a creamy white eyeshadow which makes for a really simple base that adhere's to any additional eyeshadows. With regards to eyeshadows the Maybellline The Nudes eyeshadow palette is the prettiest neutral eyeshadow palette with a range of mattes and shimmers and is nicely pigmented with very little fallout! A quad that I've been using and abusing for well over a year now is the Charlotte Tilbury Dolce Vita Quad (review). This is like my party palette as I tend to automatically gravitate towards it for nights out and it subtly introduces colour into the mix! The Smashbox Full Exposure Travel Palette (review) is another palette that I just fell in love with. I love the row of shimmers and mattes and the eight shades in the palette are all so wearable and it's obviously a travel friendly palette. My final palette favourite is the notorious L'Oreal La Palette Nude in Rose (review). I honestly never thought that I would use a palette consisting of shadows with pink undertones so much. 

LINER/MASCARA/BROWS: For liner, the only new thing that I've enjoyed using throughout the year is the Japonesuqe Eye Liner in Brown. I've never been one for brown eyeliner but I really like the softer look that it gives as opposed to black. Brows are another thing that I've been stuck in a rut with as nothing beats my Soap and Glory brow pencil with my Maybelline Brow Drama, however I do like using the Illamasqua Brow Precision Gel as I get a nice and strong brows with it without looking like I've gotten a bit too happy with a sharpie. Despite my loyalties to my brow and liner products, I've been a bit of a mascara whore as I have three favourites. My first mascara favourite is the Maybelline Lash Sensational as I get both volume and length with it. The Bourjois Volume One Seconde has been my favourite for volume and the L'Oreal Telescopic has been amazing for making my lashes look so long and fluttery!

LIPS: I haven't really loved too many lip products this year (none that I didn't love last year anyway). I did however really take to a lip liner in the form of Chestnut by MAC which is a nice brown lip liner that allows me to wear some lighter shades. A couple lipsticks from MAC I've loved wearing is Sin by MAC  and it's a beautiful deep purple lipstick and Plumful by MAC  is a nice sheer-ish pinky purple shade. For everyday wear, I fell in love with the Clinique Chubby Stick in Super Strawberry which happens to be a sheer pink that doesn't require too much topping up throughout the day!

SKINCARE                                                                                                                                                                                                          

The facial cleanser I've enjoyed using for the majority of the year is The Body Shop Seaweed Cleanser which is really refreshing, especially on those dull, early mornings! I started off the year using the La Roche Posay Serozinc* (review) and I love how refreshing this is on the skin as well as the added benefits and I ended the year loving The Body Shop Tea Tree Toner which is a nice way for me to incorporate tea tree into my skincare routine for my blemish prone skin! 2015 was the year I discovered serums and my two favourites were the Sarah Chapman Skinesis Serum which hydrated my dry, dehydrated skin. The second serum that worked well for me was Caudalie Vinoperfect* (review)  which really reduced the appearance of my pigmentation. A moisturiser I loved was the Simple Illuminating Radiance Cream* (review) which gives the skin lots of radiance and makes it appear uplifted and less dull. The Nourish Biometic Eye Cream* has been my favourite eye cream to-date as it really hydrates my eye area.

FRAGRANCE                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Jo Malone has been dominating my year with regards to fragrances and out of all the Jo Malone fragrances that I own, I've been loving Wood, Sage and Sea Salt, English Pear and Fresia which is a light and fresh scent and Lime Basil and Mandarin is a very oriental scent (review). I didn't think I would like Wood Sage and Sea salt but it has become one of my all time favourite scents and along with Lime Basil and Mandarin, I'll most definitely be purchasing the larger bottles!

NAILS                                                                                                                                                                                                                

I've been obsessed with my Sensationail Kit (review) ever since I bought it earlier on in 2015. I love how long my nails last without chipping and they just look a lot nicer for longer. I've been loving the two shades, Blue Yonder and Babydoll Pink as Blue Yonder is a beautiful navy and Babydoll Pink is a lovely natural pink shade.

Essie is another brand that has dominated my 2015 as I just love their array of shades and finishes. The shade that I've used the most throughout the year is Partner in Crime (review) which is a stunning burgundy shade. I think it's so sophisticated and works well with various different skin tones.

TOOLS                                                                                                                                                                                                                

There have been three standout brushes for the year from Real Techniques and Zoeva. The first brush is the Real Techniques Cheek Brush which is a great versatile brush. I've used this for foundation, highlight and for blending out contour etc. It's got synthetic bristles so it cleans like a dream! Next up is the Zoeva Luxe Sheer Sheek Brush (review) which I've found works best for my contour as it's not too dense and it's angled. The Zoeva Luxe Crease Brush (review) does exactly what it says on the tin (or brush) and perfectly applies eyeshadow to my crease as well as under the eye.

What were some of your favourite products of 2015?

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