All in all, with my top ten lists, I’ve now shared 100 of my favorite beauty shades and products that I’ve discovered during 2013! I have rated and reviewed over 2,445 shades/products since January 1st. I’ve enjoyed reflecting back on what I’ve tried and reviewed, and I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my picks–because I know I’ve loved reading yours. They always give me suggestions on what products and formulas to try next year!  In case you missed any, here are my top tens:

• Blushes
• Budget-Friendly Blushes/Highlighters, Nail Lacquers
• Budget-Friendly Eyeshadows/Eyeliners
• Budget-Friendly Lipsticks/Lipglosses
• Eyeshadows
• Highlighters/Finishing Powders
• Lipglosses
• Lipsticks
• Nail Lacquers
• Makeup Palettes

Thank you for an incredible 2013! There’s really no adequate way to express my gratitude for having your support and readership. Sometimes I can’t believe how much this blog has grown. You have no idea how much your comments mean to me, how you continually motivate me to do better each and every day, and for how knowledgeable, kind, and supportive you are. I wish you much happiness and good health in the upcoming year–may 2014 be better in every way for you!

When it comes to eyeshadows, by and large, most of the ones covered these days are found in palettes! There are definitely plenty of reviews of singles, but palettes outnumber them easily. To compile this list, though, I only think it’s fair to focus on the singles (that’s why there’s a whole top ten for palettes, so they’re not left out!) that made my heart pitter-patter and go all aflutter.  As always, I tried to go across formulas and colors, picking the best of the best, though I couldn’t help myself from choosing two from Dior’s new cream formula.

• Tom Ford Escapade Cream Color for Eyes — it’s a golden peach with a metallic sheen; but this (paired with Pink Haze) is my go-to combination for a bright, warm eye–I’ve reached for this nearly every time I have a “no-testing” day
• Sugarpill @#$%! Eyeshadow — a bold, warm-toned red with silver sparkle
• NARS Persia Eyeshadow — a superbly pigmented, burnt orange with a matte finish
• Dior Millenium (381) Diorshow Fusion Mono Eyeshadow — a glorious blackened brown with bronze and pewter shimmer
• MAC Brazenly Eyeshadow — a richly pigmented purple-berry with a frosted sheen (if every collection by MAC was as high quality as Nudes & Metallics, we’d all be in big trouble)
• Illamasqua Sadist Eyeshadow — a bold, vibrant cornflower blue with a matte finish
• Urban Decay Peace Eyeshadow — reformulated, it was so soft, smooth, and intensely pigmented
• Dior Aventure (081) Diorshow Fusion Mono Eyeshadow — a gray and bronze-shimmered black-brown (it says something when I buy every single shade available in a formula, as I did with this one)
• MAC Tailor Grey Pro Longwear Paint Pot — a deliciously creamy, satin-matte taupe with subtle warm undertones
• Sephora My Boyfriend’s Jeans (19) Eyeshadow — a cool-toned, bluish-purple with intense pigmentation (almost never happens!)

What eyeshadows captured your attention this past year?

Not everything released in the past year was impressive, and some products were downright disappointing! When I worked on compiling this list, I thought about cringe-worthy products; ones that I can’t wrap my head around at all. These are products that truly disappointed me with their performance and quality.  Every single brand mentioned below has products I love but not every product can be a winner.

• Make Up For Ever Technicolor Eyeshadow Palette — a brand famous for intense pigmentation yet this palette was released with sheer, chalky, powdery color galore
• Estee Lauder Steel Pure Color Stay-on Shadow Paint — how Estee Lauder managed to bungle a cream eyeshadow formula when there are several cult favorites within the ELC family is beyond me–and Steel was so, so intriguing
• Illamasqua ESP Lipstick — talk about a cool color done so poorly–dry, drying, and patchy
• Chanel Mystere (43) Eyeshadow Quad — a sheer, powdery, dry mess of an eyeshadow palette
• Laura Mercier Longwear Creme Eye Pencil — a new eyeliner formula that I tested and the majority of the shades were so sheer and stiff to work with
• Marc Jacobs Beauty Irresistible Shameless Bold Blush — an extremely poor showing for such a highly anticipated brand (and one that does have high quality formulas, just not this one)
• MAC Pastelluxe Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow Palette — I have no idea how this made it past teesting at all, let alone why MAC made the entire formula permanent from the very beginning (why didn’t that happen with Megametals? Those were awesome!)
• Sugarpill ElektroCute Neon Pigments — as much as I love Sugarpill, I was beyond excited for these and highly anticipated the release but was sorely disappointed with their performance
• Chanel True Blue (57) Stylo Yeux — one of the more painful eyeliners I’ve had tried
• Benefit Fine One One — disappeared after three hours and was difficult to apply; made my lips shrivel up and cry it was so drying as a lip product

What were the most disappointing beauty products you tried this past year?

2013 was good year for lipsticks, particularly if you loved yours bold, bright, and/or matte. There were new formulas to fall in love with, and plenty of new and limited shades released from my favorite formulas. This was a tough list to compile! Because I really do believe variety is the spice of life, I tried to pick across a variety of formulas!

• Givenchy Fuchsia Irresistible (205) Le Rouge — a vibrant, fuchsia-pink with a satin finish and opaque color coverage, but let me take a moment and tell you that the entire Le Rouge range is amazing
• Buxom Swinger Full-Bodied Lipstick — a vibrant, blue-based magenta with a creamy finish (and I fell in love with the Full-Bodied formula overall–excellent range!)
• Guerlain Madame Batifole (860) Rouge G — a brightened, medium-dark berry-red with fuchsia shimmer
• Urban Decay Catfight Revolution Lipstick — a creamy, pinky-red with warm undertones and a luminous sheen
• Giorgio Armani #402 Lip Maestro — a bright, vibrant orange-toned red in a liquid formula
• Marc Jacobs Beauty Showstopper (134) LoveMarc Lip Gel — a medium-dark, red-brown with warm undertones and a glossy sheen
• MAC Private Party Lipstick — a muted, pink-tinged plum with a satin finish
• Too Faced Jelly Bean La Creme — bold, vibrant, and bright berry-pink
• Maybelline Electric Fuchsia — a bright, bold blue-based fuchsia pink–this formula is incredible, and it’s only made sweeter by the affordable price point
• Givenchy Violine Precieux (312) Le Rouge Sensuously Matte — a warm-toned, medium-dark plum with a satin-matte finish

What lipsticks did you fall in love with this past year?

When it comes to lipgloss, I personally fall in love with two types:  insanely pigmented, nearly opaque colors or glimmering, dazzling, sparkling, and shimmering ones–but they have to be loaded with sparkle (and yet, they can’t feel gritty!).  Over the years, while stickiness isn’t a deal-breaker, I don’t like heavy, thick, goopy kind of glosses.  Reflecting on glosses I’ve tested out this past year, here were the ones I picked for my top ten!

• Urban Decay Scandal Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color — part gloss, part lipstick, this was one of the most stunning shades of red I’ve worn–so beautiful on (you can get it individually from UD’s website only)
• Burberry Pink Sweet Pea Lip Glow — cool-toned, fuchsia pink with iridescent micro-shimmer and nearly opaque color coverage
• Chanel Reflexion (71) Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss — a medium, pink-coral with warm undertones and soft pink and copper shimmer
• Sephora Red Glow Metallic Glow Lustrous Lip Shine — a vibrant, metallic pinky-red
• YSL Orange de Chine (8) Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain — a vibrant, red-orange with a glossy shine
• OCC Androgyne Lip Tar Stained Gloss — a tangerine orange with a light glossy shine
• Burberry Cameo Pink Lip Glow — a warm pink with peach and copper shimmer
• Giorgio Armani #519 Flash Lip Lacquer — a warm-toned, medium-dark pink with a creamy, glossy finish
• YSL Fuchsia Fugitive (109) Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain — a molten gold-shimmered pink coral
• Giorgio Armani #701 Flash Lip Lacquer — this shade is just too cool not to love (particularly for layering)

What were your must-have lipglosses from 2013?

I went through all of the blushes I’ve reviewed in 2013, which was around 200 in total, and these were some of my very, very favorites. I could have given you a much longer list, so when there was just a really amazing formula, I limited myself to picking just one shade, but I’ve included a link to the formula itself where you can also check out other shades available! Naturally, as these are my personal favorites, you’ll likely notice a warmer tone to most, plus an inclination towards coral… I cannot tell a lie: I love coral blushes!

• Chanel Presage (62) Le Blush Creme de Chanel — a warm-toned, medium-dark orange with a hint of pink, but I loved every single shade released in this formula (see them all here!)
• Illamasqua Peaked Velvet Blusher — an amazing cream-to-powder formula in a cool-toned berry-pink
• Kevyn Aucoin Natura Pure Powder Glow — or take your pick, as the formula was incredibly consistent and fantastic; Natura is a soft, medium brown with rose and peach tints
• NARS Boy Don’t Cry High Voltage Blush — an intensely pigmented coral-red that was as gorgeous to look at in the pan as it was applied
• Burberry Coral Pink Light Glow Natural Blush — a dark pink with a hint of coral and warmth and a soft, satiny finish
• MAC Ripe for Love Blush — a medium coral-orange with a satiny sheen
• Chanel Accent (84) Joues Contraste — a softened, medium-dark rosy brown with neutral-to-warm undertones
• Givenchy It-Girl Purple Le Prisme Blush — a light-medium, cool-toned pink with a hint of lilac and a barely-there satin finish
• Benefit Rockateur Box o’ Powder — a mix of pink, beige, and brown with warm undertones and a satiny finish–almost rose gold as described
• NARS Taj Mahal — bold, vibrant orange with a hint of red and a golden sheen–one of many choices as I reviewed most of the permanent shades from NARS this past year

What were your favorite blushes this year? What makes your top ten? (Or top five!)

I love a good finishing powder.  I love an ethereal, lit-from-within glow.  There is a very high likelihood of me trying any new formulas or shades that hit the market–I’m just a total fiend for them. I can’t wait to see what 2014 brings in this department!

• Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder — easily one of the most talked about new formulas this past year, it delivered as a beautiful finishing powder–plus, 50 users reviews and still maintaining a 4.5 average!
• Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Skin Liquid Illuminating Emulsion — since I first started testing it, I’ve been reaching for this nearly everyday to mix with foundation
• Illamasqua Supernatural Gleam Highlighting Cream — a gorgeous, shimmering bronze highlight
• Tom Ford Fire Lust Skin Illuminator — absolutely love this peachy-pink mixed into foundation or patted onto high planes of the face
• Kevyn Aucoin Candlelight The Celestial Powder — a pale, golden beige with soft warm undertones and an ethereal glow
• NARS Nico Blush — a pale, subtly warm-toned beige with a satiny sheen–perfect for a subtle highlight
• Giorgio Armani No. 10 Fluid Sheer — a warm, golden bronze with very, very fine shimmer to give a dewy sheen on the skin
• Becca Rose Gold Shimmering Skin Perfector (Pressed) — a rosy, golden copper with a frosted, slightly metallic sheen for a pronounced highlight
• Guerlain Crazy Meteorites Radiance Powder — fell in love with this holiday’s finishing powder–and I fell hard!
• NARS Translucent Crystal Light Reflecting Loose Setting Powder — for a smooth, flawless canvas

What highlighters and finishing powders have you been reaching for in 2013?

I have to admit: this was a complete challenge. In fact, it felt unfair trying to narrow down favorites to a mere ten when I was considering around 300 different shades from the past year. As what tends to happen when I start to feel indecisive, I went for favorites across brands and weighted uniqueness slightly more heavily than other factors. But there were some really outstanding formulas released this year! At year-end, I have to give major props to Cult Nails and OCC, both of which had a lot of contenders.

• Cult Nails Masquerade Nail Lacquer — so, so multi-dimensional with its gold to rose gold to magenta to green coloring and micro-glitter
• Chanel Taboo Le Vernis — a striking, dazzling deep, dark purple that sparkles and catches light like crazy
• Marc Jacobs Beauty Petra (140) Enamored Hi-Shine Lacquer — a cool-toned, purplish-gray taupe with copper and bronze metallic shimmer
• Dior Diablotine (643) Vernis — something about this bold, warm-toned red and its flecks of sparkle captured my attention so, so fiercly this year
• OCC Black Metal Dahlia Nail Lacquer — it’s a ridiculous deep, dark metallic red with so much depth
• Illamasqua Facet Nail Varnish — taupe with flecks of copper and molten gold sparkle and shimmer–couldn’t even come close to duping this
• Cult Nails Faded Nail Lacquer — a flawless, pale cool-toned gray cream–so difficult to this well
• Color Club Beyond Nail Lacquer — a soft black with holographic shimmer (and all of the accompanying Color Club holographic shades were beyond fantastic, too)
• Urban Decay Zodiac Nail Color — I fell head-over-heels for this smoky, forest green with flecks of sparkle and shimmer
• Zoya Amy Nail Lacquer — a glowing–truly, it just felt like it was illuminated from within–reddish-orange with molten gold sparkle

What were your favorite polishes you tried this past year?