My goodness, the year just flew by and I tried a lot of new things this year.
I am an adventurous creature and will try pretty much anything once whether it’s food, an amusement park ride, a fashion trend and of course any beauty product. So, to wrap up the year I wanted to share with you some of my favorite products and tools of the year.

The Amika Blowout Brush

I am hair illiterate – I can’t do anything with my hair or make it look presentable most of the time
So, when it comes to hair tools I will try anything… One of the awesome things about Sephora is you can return anything at anytime for the most part – so, though this heated straightening tool had a hefty price tag (about $100) I thought… hey, I’ll try it – if I hate it I can return it (I actually hoped I hated it so I could save $100) but… turns out I loved it – It gives great volume, big luscious curls, and straightens my hair pretty great… It sure beats going to a blow dry salon and paying $40 regularly.
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Living Proof Hair Products

You have already learned how much difficulty I have with my hair – Let me elaborate further – I have curly hair, bangs, and colored hair – all of this makes my hair dry, frizzy, and difficult to work with – It’s even harder to find products for my hair that have an effect and don’t leave my hair feeling coated and difficult to style. Living Proof is again more expensive than I would like to spend on shampoo or conditioner (around $25 a bottle) but I started with a few travel size products and was hooked…
I have only used the Perfect Hair Day, The Full Shampoo & Conditioner, The Serum, The Night Cap, and the Straightening Spray but I have loved them all! Sephora regularly has samples ready made.
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Hourglass Eyeliner

I was introduced to this wonderful eyeliner while returning a product I didn’t like to Sephora…
this 1.5mm Mechanical Gel Eye Pencil is unlike any other liner I’ve used… I have fallen in love with many liners in my life – but this one is so thin and glides on so smoothly – it’s perfect for lining your water line or lower lash. Because it’s so thin it is so easy to create a line of any thickness and wing as much or as little as you want.  The only drawback to it’s packaging is the amount of product you get – which is probably why they sell it as a single or a pack of 3.
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Urban Decay Electric Palette 

This palette contains 10 shades of highly pigmented color that are perfect for providing a POP of color to any look. I used these recently wet for a Jem & The Holograms parody video I was in and the color was intense and lasted all day (even lasted to the next day). I am a fan of wearing the purple shades together & the green and yellow together. This is just one of the best buys if you like color because the pigments are so concentrated, it will likely last you a very long time because you can use less product. Most of Urban Decay’s products have a great amount of pigment but this one is definitely my favorite.
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Espionage Cosmetics Nailed It! Nail Wraps

If this is your first time visiting the site you may not know how much we love Espionage Cosmetics Nail Wraps (because we say it pretty darn often). Nailed It! Nail Wraps are well priced, easy to apply, wear well and come in awesome designs! These have definitely been a favorite this year. I used to get gel manicures all the time and I have stopped since I started using these.
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Kat Von D Shade & Light Contour Palette

This palette was difficult to buy – Kat Von D Beauty Products sell out quickly especially when first released. This highly pigmented 6 shade contour palette is matte and includes 3 highlighting and 3 contouring shades.
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Kat Von D Eye Contouring Palette

I love this eye palette – the neutral shades are all matte and highly pigmented.
This is a great basic eye palette with shades suitable for all skintones and occasions.
I almost feel like this palette has taught me more about applying eye makeup (without any instruction) than I have ever learned previously.
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Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette

If you cannot figure it out – I obviously was obsessed with Kat Von D products this year – I typically only try to spend money on beauty products and food… because that’s all we really need in life, right?
This palette has all the colors a girl could want… like all the colors… while most shades are matte – even the few shimmery colors have a good amount of pigment. My new favorite game is playing dress up with this palette.
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Urban Decay Brightening & Tightening Primer

Your face is your canvas to make beautiful art on – but you want to prep it to hold your paint – Primer helps even out your skin surface, fill cracks, and is like glue for your makeup to stick to. It helps your makeup last longer and keep that perfect look throughout the day. This brightening and tightening primer is my 1st choice in face primers!
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Urban Decay Eye Primer Potion

Ok, everything I just said about face primer – now apply that to eye primer – Want to make pigments pop and look the same shade they do in the container – Primer preps the surface to hold more pigment – even a cheap drugstore eyeshadow with little pigment will look better if you use a primer underneath – lesson I am teaching today … Primers are your friends!
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Simple Human Sensor Mirror

Ok, I have to admit this is one of the most expensive things I own and had I not been through like 40 lighted mirrors in my life I hated – I would have never ever gotten or longed for this one. It was love at first sight. This mirror magnifies beautifully, has a gorgeous ring light, and is sensor operated so when you get close to it, it turns on and when you walk away shuts off. It is the most perfect and beautiful makeup mirror – it’s portable and holds a full charge up to 5 weeks. So, at the hefty $200 price tag I still recommend it – if you want a mirror you will fall in love with and keep the rest of your life.
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Hourglass Brow Pencil

Everything about this brow tool I love – I love the colored gel/wax that fills in your brows while smoothing the hairs you have – i love the spooly end that helps in both grooming and dispersing the color evenly – this is just an awesome tool to have and it comes in a bunch of shades.
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Julep It’s Whipped! Lip Mousse

These bright – highly pigmented matte lip mousses are amazing – the formula is super creamy and the applicator’s hourglass shape hugs the lower lip to evenly distribute color while the tip of the wand is compact enough to line the lip precisely. I subscribe to the monthly Julep Maven Box and am just addicted to the majority of their products from their lip glosses that smell like cupcakes, their nail polishes that dry super fast, and their eyeliners that go on extremely creamy and smooth. The It’s Whipped is just their latest product I’m hooked on.
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Well… that sums up where all my money went this year…
P.S. None of these companies provided us for this endorsement these are actual products I use daily!

What are your favorite products?
Have you had experience with any of the ones listed? What are your thoughts?