Haley Awards: 2014

I don't know about you, but 2014 was a pretty epic year for me! I graduated from college (finally!!!) and have had lots of fun with my time when I would normally be worrying about class, homework, studying, books, commuting, etc. so that has been nice and I'd say I've adjusted well! :) The year 2014 brought more make up my way to review as well and yet I've relied heavily on no-brainer products when in a rush. I thought it would be fun to start doing Haley Awards for products I think stood out in the crowd and became no-brainer-go-to products. So to you, I present these products...

Best Facial Exfoliator
PMD Personal Microderm Pro: I had used exfoliants and scrubs on my face for years but nothing has improved my skin like this has. I purchased this in September and since I started using it as instructed, my skin is looking revitalized, healthy, and now has a nice glow. I still have breakouts, but not as extreme or for as long.

Best Facial Moisturizer
dōTERRA Essential Skin Care Hydrating Cream: This has helped my skin stay nourished this winter and has helped my skin rebound from the microdermabrasion treatments quicker than anything I've previously been using.

Best Face Primer
Smashbox Oil Free Photo Finish Foundation Primer: Even though the PMD has greatly helped my skin, it is still exfoliating and causing abrasions to promote healthy skin renewal and with that comes some flaking and uneven skin at times, so this primer became necessary to create a smooth canvas for my foundation.

Best Cream Foundation
Make Up Forever HD Foundation (N115): It was certainly a splurge but I have found a foundation that doesn't feel cakey, look cakey, provides excellent coverage, photographs well, and yet doesn't feel like I'm wearing it. It pairs perfectly with the Smashbox primer as well!

Best Powder Foundation
bareMinerals Original SPF 15 Foundation (medium): I have been wearing this for years but have started wearing it over my cream foundation and it it warms up my skin a little while setting my foundation.

Best Concealers
bareMinerals Original SPF 15 Foundation (fairly medium): For slight acne or red areas, this works perfect. Stick concealers wear oddly on my skin and later on in the day they tend to emphasize the blemishes and even appear flakey, which is even more disgusting than a little red area, so I've started patting this foundation on the area and because it's lighter in pigment than my bareMinerals foundation and it's covering an area darker than my normal skin, it blends a lot better. With that said, for blemishes more intense, I use benefit Fake Up (01 Light). It has a clear product surrounding the concealer and although I haven't researched it, I have gathered that it aids in blending the concealer and making in last longer.

Best Bronzer
The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder (Light Matte): This is truly perfect for winter! I am more fair but still need to warm up my skin and this does the trick! I think I'll try a darker shade for summer because the formula is that great!

Best Blush
e.l.f. Blush in Berry Merry: This blush goes well with any look and is what I tend to use day after day because it's a no-brainer!

Best Mascara
blinc Mascara Amplified: This mascara's unique technology of "tubing" lashes is revolutionary! I would reach for this on the many mornings that I was in a hurry or didn't want to have to think about which mascara to use. I stare at computer screens all day and my tired eyes would inevitably cause flakes of mascara to fall onto my cheeks and either unattractively stay or get smeared. After long shifts, I would walk away not realizing I had looked like that for who knows how long UNTIL I started using this fabulous mascara. I have even more recently started putting it over Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara because it provides great volume but flakes like cray! Ain't nobody got time fo' dat! It has helped, but I still get some flaking if I don't cover all of the Too Faced Mascara with it.

Best Setting Product
Make Up Forever HD Pressed Powder: This truly does set not only the foundation, but also the blush and highlighters I have on.

Best Enhancer
MAC Fix +: This makes any blush or eyeshadow last longer, photograph better, or give a foiled appearance for a different look. (BTW, did they change the name of it?!)

Best Brow Pencil
MAC Automatic Eyebrow Pencil (Lingering): It's not only the fact that the color that was suggested to me is on point (so important!), but the formula is as well. This lasts all day and I don't worry about it running, clumping, or fading.

Best Eye Primer
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (Original): This formula leaves me never wanting to try another primer! It blends well (never looks weird on my fair skin), keeps my eyeshadow in place, makes the eyeshadow more true to color, and never causes creasing.

Most Used Eyeshadow Palette
Urban Decay NAKED 3 Palette: This is still my favorite go-to because it makes my blue eyes pop, creates a natural look, and just always looks good no matter what I'm wearing!

Favorite Eyeshadow Palette Released in 2014
LORAC PRO 2 Palette: Although the NAKED 3 Palette is a no-brainer, this palette is one that also creates a number of looks that can be used everyday! LORAC's eyeshadows are so fragile and need to be used gently, but they are highly pigmented and this particular palette is very diverse and wearable!

Best Lip Exfoliator
e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator: Winter time comes and my lips get rough! This scrub works great and I have made it part of my lipstick application routine!

Best Lipsticks
Bite Beauty Luminous Crème Lipstick: These are so creamy and yet stay on! The pigmentation is to die for!

Best Lip Primer
Lush Honey Trap Lip Balm: I haven't ever used a legitimate lip primer, but after I exfoliate, I put this on and it's perfect to create a smooth canvas for my lipstick. It is great to put on by itself too!

Best Body Moisturizer
The Body Shop Body Butter: I received this as a gift from the BFF, and oy! It sure prevented my skin from getting so dry and having to play catch up most of spring!

Best Tools
2X Sigma Spa Brush Cleaning Glove: This made brush cleaning fun, much easier and more effective for me! I just use dish soap and follow the steps on the glove. So simple!

Benjabelle Daisy Brush Tree: After cleaning my brushes, I put them in this tree and it helps dry them so much quicker! Gravity is working in your favor with this product!

Best Brush
Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki: I use this to blend my foundation after I have applied it. It makes a big difference in ensuring that the foundation is smooth and evenly applied on my skin and it's super obvious on my fair skin when it's not blended well!

As you may have noticed, Haley Awards 2014 was mostly high-end products. I think sometimes quality is more important than quantity. I guess it was a year of "treat yoself!" If you read this far, you're a trooper! Thank you!! I would love to hear which products were your favorites during 2014!

Haul: PMD, Urban Decay, MAC, Sigma & e.l.f.

I have completely neglected this blog! This summer I have been enthralled in finishing school, passing my boards, and starting a new job, but I have done just that and I am back! In celebration of all of my recent accomplishments and a few sales/discount codes, I made a major splurge haul! I can't wait to use these products! 

LOTD: Peachy Pink

How did I get this eye look you ask? I used all Urban Decay eyeshadows but first I used Urban Decay's Primer Potion. The first eyeshadow I used was from the original NAKED palette called Side Car. Then I used Sin as a highlight. I used a flat shadow brush with MAC Fix + sprayed on it and pat Dust from the NAKED 3 palette over Side Car. I used Side Car as a base to ensure my eyes didn't look super pink because my blouse and skirt were more peachy, pale pink. Over Dust I pat Buzz and Burnout over, using the same Fix +'d brush. As a crease color I used Nooner and as a transition shade I used Limit. It's a different look for me because I would normally use a darker shade in my crease, but I wanted this to be really subtle and soft. I finished the look with Sephora's Full Action mascara, Blinc Mascara over that, and Ulta's automatic black eyeliner.

For my face I used Urban Decay's NAKED Skin foundation, bareMinerals foundation, Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Pink Frosting with Milani's Baked Blush in Dolce Pink over it. For my lips I used an EOS lip balm first and then Bobbi Brown's Rich Color Gloss in Pink Sorbet 9.

I thought it was a lovely Sunday pretty pink! What are you wearing today?

LOTD: NAKED Mustard Yellow & Tan

I've had this shirt for a couple of years and really like how cheerful it is. Below is the look I do when I wear yellow using Urban Decay's original NAKED palette, but today I used my MAC Fix+ to enhance Half Baked. I think it added a nice pop of shimmer. It transformed the look and I will definitely be doing this more often—even when I'm not wearing yellow!

For my face, I used my bareMinerals Skin Rev-er Upper and Purely Nourishing for Normal to Dry Skin as moisturizers. Next, I used NAKED Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup foundation in shade 3.5. I then buffed bareMinerals foundation in Medium and Too Faced's Chocolate Soleil Bronzer over my skin. For blush I stippled Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Pink Frosting on my cheeks and swept Laura Geller's Blush-N-Brighten in Pink Grapefruit over that. As I'm sure you've noticed, I had quite a few blemishes, so I used Benefit's Fake Up for those. From there I curled my eyelashes, applied Sephora's Full Action Extreme Effect Mascara in black, and then curled them again. I applied Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion on my eyelids and then pat Smog on my lid up into my crease slightly. Then I applied Sin from where Smog left off above my crease up to my eyebrows. I even dotted some in my tear duct area. After that I pat Darkhorse in the outer one-third of my eye and my crease. Then I applied Ulta's Automatic eyeliner in Black/Brown on my upper lid, making the line thicker towards the lateral side. I then used the same eyeliner in Black on my lower waterline. After that I applied a coat of Too Faced's Better Than Sex Mascara. Then I sprayed a brush with Fix+ and applied Half Baked to the center of my eye, just above my iris. This transformed Half Baked! The one with Fix+ is on the left. It was also harder than the other to get off my arm. I am really loving this Fix+ stuff!

I filled in my eyebrowns with MAC's eyebrow crayon in Lingering. Once all the dust settled I sprayed Urban Decay's All Nighter long-lasting makeup setting spray over my fave. On my lips I used a little travel-sized Sephora lip gloss in Rosy Glow. Thanks for reading! I'll be sure to do more looks with Fix+! I think it's a cool concept.

Haul: MAC