My little space in the world: December 2013

Hi and welcome to my blog!!! It's the final day of 2013 and I want to share my favorite beauty finds of 2013 with all of you. I tried to play by the rules and keep it to thirteen, I think I succeeded although it was tough.

I first want to say my favorite beauty box subscription of the year was birch box and that's where I found a lot of my beauty products this year. Two of my all time favorites, one being my pick for my holy grail of hair products came from birch box. A huge thank you to birch box ops!!!!

First up is Beauty Protector Protect and Condition Shampoo and Conditioner sampled from birch box. This is most likely the best shampoo and conditioner I've ever used on my hair and that's saying a lot. My hair is quite important to me and I'm always in search of great products to keep it healthy and shiny. I think my search is over. This is a birch box exclusive. It retails for 21.95 for an 8 oz bottle and it's worth every penny!!!

This is my new holy grail of hair products!! Amika Bombshell blowout spray. I fell in love at first use and I'll never go without it again. It smells divine and works like nothing I've ever used. I use it on damp or dry hair. It gives my thick heavy hair volume and holds my curls in for hours. I can spray it on dry hair and tousle just a bit before heading out the door and my hair looks freaking awesome!!

Number 3 and 4 also came from birch box, but not as samples. I found them being talked about on their facebook page. IT cosmetics bye bye under eye concealer and bye, bye pores finishing powder. These are both fabulous products and they do what they claim. The IT under eye concealer goes a long way and can be used on blemishes all over the face and to cover redness. You only need one little TINY dot to cover under both eyes. I do recommend going with the medium shade even if you are fair. I went with light and it's just a little too light. They say the recommended shade for 75% of people is medium and I believe it. The powder is light and airy and feels like nothing. I want to say "fairy dust". It leaves a beautiful airbrushed like finish. These are two products I'll definitely continue to use into 2014!!!

2013 was a big year for BB creams and I tried so many, most were nothing more than over priced tinted moisturizers and I quickly became disillusioned . I found two in the rather large sea of BB creams out there that were worth the money and one that was worth it's weight in gold. A stand out BB cream that made it onto my top 13 products of the year. IPKN New York seems to be a relatively new brand to America. It's a Korean BB cream and most Korean BB creams are wonderfully thick, creamy and hydrating. Full of vitamins and aloes and oils and SPF that are good for your face and without the fragrance that often makes an appearance in other BB creams. This is my go to "foundation" as it covers like a foundation, but feels like a moisturizer and leaves my face so soft and smooth after washing. It rates as #1 in facial products and in the top 10 on beauty bar..com in products across the web. I can't say enough good things about it. I love it, you only need about a 1/4 to 1/2 a tsp to cover your entire face. Light 02 works for me as a very fair almost porcelain skin tone.

Number six is a product completely new to me and one that took me completely by surprise!!!! My friend Ashley sent this to me in a birthday gift and it's fitting since this hand cream smells exactly like butter cream frosting!! It's from the product line Farm House Fresh. Whoopie Cream hand cream is a Shea butter hand cream, paraben free and 90% natural. It comes out of the tube shiny and looking a bit like decorators butter cream frosting. It's highly moisturizing and a little goes a long way. You can get this at the Dermstore or FarmHouseFresh.com on line. 14 dollars a tube. It's so worth it.

Number seven on my list is one I think we've all seen and most of us have tried or want to try. If you haven't tried it, TRY IT!!! You wont regret it, this little latex free sponge applies your make up to a satin finish. Streak free, air brushed looking make up is what's in store for you. Use the big rounded side for foundation on larger parts of your face and the smaller pointed side for smaller areas and to blend concealer (see IT concealer) seamlessly. Once I took the plunge with these I fell in love and wont go back to my blush application ways. They are a bit on the pricey side, but totally worth it.

Number eight is another birch box find for me, this lip product got me through the dry hell of a California heat wave and is getting me through the unexpected weird drop in temperature that caused snow on the valley floor here that we haven't seen in over 25 years. I use it every day. In the morning before applying my lip color and at night before bed and it keeps my lips hydrated and protected. This is, hands down the best lip product I've used in years and I'd recommend this to anyone having issues with dry, chapped or peeling lips. It's a wonder product to me <3 .

This primer is very similar to Benefit's porefessionals, but better. It has the nude skin tone we all come to expect from porefessionals only it's a bit thicker and has better coverage and better color correction. Add to that it has an SPF of 30 and that makes this product a super primer in my book. It's wonderfully smooth, blends easily and no fragrance. This will be my go to primer for 2014!! Available at Dermstore, I believe for 35 dollars for a 1 oz tube. Not too bad a price. :)

Number 10!!! Getting closer :) Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara!!! The name says it all. No, it's not better than sex, but it's better than most mascara's out there. I'm a mascara junkie, having no less than 15 tubes of varying brands of mascara in my vanity at any one time. I try them all at least once. I wanted this as soon as it launched, but didn't want to put out the 23 dollars for a full sized tube. I prefer the half sized anyway. When Sephora was doing their pre Christmas sale I caved and bought two of the 10 dollar promo deals and got two of the mascara's and two eye liners....each set was 10 dollars. They were totally worth it. This mascara goes on like a dream. It can be layered and built without the worry of clumping, flaking or smearing and it comes off easily with any good eye make up remover. It makes my lashes look full, long and super pretty. It's my new mascara pick of 2013!!!

Number 11!!!!! I couldn't choose just one nail polish from these since I use them all together. This is my husbands favorite manicure that I do. And that's serious business since he normally doesn't care lol. His words "OMG, that's freaking awesome!!!" He actually chose the northern lights holo top coat for me. I came across the other two on a fluke while getting another northern lights. The other two are a new brand available at Sally's. Nina Ultra Pro. I bought one in black and the other is in "boys n berries" a clear base with fine purple glitter. The brushes are perfect for me. They're wider and rounded at the tip fitting my nail perfectly allowing one smooth coat per nail with minimal mess. The purple glitter over a base of black is simply gorgeous and I can't wait to head back into Sally's for more colors to go over the black. I did try china glazes ruby carpet over it and got the same results, absolutely beautiful. Nina ultra pro is my absolute favorite new nail polish find of 2013, it stays on longer than most brands at a higher price point, it's easier to apply and even the black on it's own is beautiful with a matte tip or a glitter tip. It retails for 3.69. You can't really beat that. So number 11 is actually Northern lights holo top coat and Nina Ultra pro polishes.....I cheated a bit ( I couldn't help it, this is hard lol).

Number 12!!! I am a lip product junkie, I can't even tell you how many lip products I have in my vanity, my purse, my make up bag and stored away for use later this spring and summer. Even before getting into all of these other products and make up I was into lip products so it takes a lot to impress me. Urban Decay was never able to sway me one way or the other with their marketing until this year and it started with their lipstick. Their revolution lipstick in the shade shown above. I woke up one morning to one of my fellow face book group friends doing an urban decay order and she was in a bit of a panic over choosing a lippie from this line so I decided to help and I was instantly drawn in and lost to it. This color called to me and I convinced her to buy it as well. It's a beautiful, romantic, shimmery, creamy pink (if I had only know what was to come lol) and it looks gorgeous on. It's so moisturizing and long lasting. It doesn't feather off onto the rest of your face and the lip stick line itself is full of beautiful, highly pigmented colors. Even being a lip product junkie I had never spent more than 15 dollars on a lippie before, so I had a bit of panic when I paid the 22 dollars for this. That has since been replaced with a bit of joy every time I use it and I use it often; almost daily. It's actually going to be my very first empty in my lip products, I'm pleased with that, but sad too. I bought another color recently, this one a matte in obsessed....a true baby doll pink. It's just as pretty, but for different reasons. Urban Decay now has it's hooks in me, the lovelight pictured above goes beautifully with the naked 3 palette which I received for Christmas this year. I'll have to repurchase my number 12 pick of 2013 to go with the palette!!!

The big number 13!!!!! FarmHouseFresh Sweet Cream body lotion is my all time favorite body lotion of 2013. I was introduced to this brand by my friend Ashley who sent me the whoopie hand cream and a chocolate face mask for my birthday back in October. I fell so in love with them that I went back and looked at more offerings. I first fell in love with the container, how stinking adorable is that? A little milk pitcher in a little box saying "our cows eat cookies" lol. It came with a little rubber stopper and a heavy duty rubber band around it to prevent leaks. You replace the rubber stopper with the glass one shown and when you want to use it, just remove and pour. It's slightly thinner than most body lotions and you only need a very little amount. The scent is Divine. It's a spicy light cinnamon vanilla and it lingers on your skin for hours. It's highly moisturizing and will last for a very long time. Again, you can find this on the Dermstore or FarmHouseFresh on line. This mixes very well with some of my favorite perfumes by Tokyo milk and dolce and gabbana. :)

Picking just 13 products was really hard, there are so many to love out there. I'm going to put some notable ones in this last little paragraph. Coconut oil....I use this frequently on my hair to deep condition. You can find it at any grocery store, just warm it a bit and put it on dry hair for a few hours or over night. Hair ties from elastic, I love these. The too faced chocolate bar palette, naked 3. 2013 was a big year for tousle creams and texturizing sprays. Not your mothers was my favorite. Nick Chavez thickening came in a close second. Self tanners were big, the only one I truly liked was the Sephora brand which has been discontinued. Subscription box services blew up, but my favorite still is Birch box. Let me know what you think, what are your favorites for 2013. What are your not so favorites. Favorite sub box? Thanks for reading and have a great New Year.

Please be sure to go check out all the blog links at the bottom and see what all of their favorites of 2013 were. It's a blog hop!!!! Have fun, be safe, comment!!!!

Live is a gift!!! Open it and live it beautifully!!!

Nancy