Favorite Finds of 2008

I started this post on 1-07 LOL so yeah… I am behind but working on catching up with beauty blabbers for ‘09!

I hope everyone had a great New Years and are happily looking forward to what 2009 will bring.  I had a great New Years and I am stoked for 2009.  Like many folks I know, I am all too happy to see 2008 gone forever.

I wanted to do a post about my favorite beauty finds of 2008.  These are my favorite products based on quality and how much I use them.  I really don’t think I purchased as much in 2008 as in previous years, but that is probably a good thing based on the size of my stash haha

My first favorite find of 2008 was Maybelline’s Moisture Extreme Lipstick in Buttercup.  Sadly since I purchased this product at the beginning of the year it appears to have been discontinued.  I really don’t know what I am going to do when I use my tube up because this is quite honestly THE best nude lipstick I have found for me.  The texture is fabulous, it’s moisturizing, the scent is an old school throwback to me (reminds me of Candy Kisses Watermelon lip balm) and the color is just the perfect nude for me in every way.  It still lets a bit of my natural lip tone shine through, isn’t too pink, isn’t too yellow, isn’t too brown, isn’t too orange.

Next, Max Factor Vivid Impact Highlighting Mascara.  This is the mascara with the funky colored top coat.  I was using the pink one there for a while and I just really dug this product because the mascara base performed well and the topcoat was fun.  It was something different and really cool out the mascara sort of flashed pink in the right light.

Wet N Wild Beauty Benefits Sheer Luster Lip Gloss is next up.  Although, judging by the clearance going on at my local Meijer I think these might be getting the axe too, which is a bummer.  If you haven’t seen it (and I haven’t seen it at too many places), Beauty Benefits by Wet N Wild is sort of a ‘high’ end version of Wet N Wild if you want to call it that.   I bought a lot of these glosses because the texture is wonderful… very light yet moisturizing and not greasy, the colors are sparkling and beautiful and I adore the fresh minty scent/taste.

Olay Quench Mousse body moisturizer also makes my list.  Turns out it was great for when I was in a hurry but still wanted to apply a body moisturizer because it absorbed super duper fast but still did a great job at moisturizing my dry skin.

Maybelline makes my list again for their Superstay Lip Color in Flame.  I love the Superstay lip colors because they are one those long wearing 2 layer deals but they actually last on lips, feel comfortable and come in a lot of shades.  Flame just happened to be an extremely wearable red for me which I love and actually feel confident going out of the house in since I know the lip color is going to stay where I put it.  That has probably been one of the biggest reasons why I have steered away from red lipstick in the past, because the upkeep is just too much for me but that is no longer the case with this product!

Another skincare product made my list, Burt’s Bees Baby Bee All Better Balm.  Admittedly I bought this kinda based on the fact that I love the apricot smell of the Baby Bee line but the product is nice as well to apply to wherever you have dry spots.  I found the taste too overwhelming for it to be used on lips, but it works just fine everywhere else and smells sweet.  Also worked great on a healing tattoo!

I raved a lot here about Revlon’s Beyond Natural Lip Tints and I am still loving them.  I think I ended up with about 5 different shades and they are such an easy go to product that colors, moisturizes, and conditions lips.

I ended up falling in love with the Venus Embrace razor and have been using it every since I bought it.  The blades although expensive (13$ for 4) last ridiculously long for me and as I noted here in my blog, give me the closest almost frictionless shave I have ever gotten.

In the world of liquid eyeliners, Jordona’s Fabuliners ended up totally rocking my world.  So cheap ($3 for 2), so easy to apply, and rich pigment.  The only downfall is only 2 shades are available.

I did my postings about Revlon’s Mix & Mingles glosses which are now gone since the Revlon LE ‘high end’ collections are gone *sniffle*, and still find myself loving these glosses.  The colors are so fresh and alive looking… only if all lip gloss could manage that.

Speaking of more Revlon, the limited edition Revlon Pink Whisper Super Lustrous gloss did and continues to rock my world.  Who knew it would take so long to find the perfect slightly shimmery milky pink that was actually pigmented and didn’t come across as Barbie or porn star…but I finally did it.

Probably THE BEST FIND OF THE ENTIRE YEAR goes to L’Oreal Beauty Tubes Mascara.  Still using it… about to finish up my 2nd tube now and will happily go on to a 3rd.  This is my holy grails of holy grails.  If I could only keep one cosmetic in the world it would have to be mascara b/c I look like I have no eyelashes without it.  And now not any mascara, but my beauty tubes.  I never thought there would be an affordable mascara on the market that simply did not (and basically could not) flake or smudge and make my lashes look bold & beautiful.  Seriously ya’ll, I can’t speak too highly of this stuff.

And finally… my 2 Lush finds that I found at the end of the year that I really like… Silky Underwear Powder and HoneyBee Bath Bomb.  Well it hasn’t been that long since I raved about them so you could scroll down and find them, but yeah, total love.

Can’t wait to see what great finds 2009 brings me!