Best of 2014 Mainstream Edition

I wanted to do a "best of 2014" post, but I had so many favorites, that I thought it best to break it up into two posts. One for the indie stuff which I already posted here, and one for everything else that was made by the big name brands. I use indie products for the majority of my routine now, but there are still some that I have to go with the mainstream brands for. Things like skincare, mascara, some hair care, and a few other various products. I had to delay this post a little longer than I wanted just because I didn't have photos of most of these items. Delay no further, here is the Best of 2014, the mainstream edition!

Beauty Blender - 

I've been using my Beauty Blender to apply my foundation pretty much all the time this last year, and I just love the way it looks when I do. I try not to touch my face, so using a Beauty Blender is much better for me, and also it creates a more seamless blended look. I apply my primer underneath and then use the Beauty Blender to apply the foundation after wetting it first. They are pricy, and I've never tried any of the dupes that other brands have come up with. But I've found it works great for me, since most of the times I've purchased them with points or discounts from various stores.

Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle - 

This product can only be purchased from Birchbox, and it's my favorite detangler from a non-indie brand. It smells just delicious, and the scent lasts throughout the day. And it detangles my hair after showering, is easy to comb through, and it makes my hair glossy and shiny all day. The whole Beauty Protector line is full of quality products, all with the same distinctive sweet scent, but this one is by far my favorite.

Clinique Cheek Pop Blushes - 

These are really the only high quality, big brand blushes I own, and I have three of the four colors Clinique offers. I have the Berry Pop, Peach Pop, and Plum Pop shades, and they all apply beautifully. The packaging is cute, the flower design is cute, and the colors are just perfect. I might have to get the Ginger Pop color just to complete my collection. I pretty much always bring one or two of these to B's, because they are so easy to apply and look stunning.

Coastal Scents Brushes -

I bought one of the 22 brush sets from Coastal Scents a while back, and I've been using the heck out of a lot of them, and buying more from their sales. It's always great to have backup makeup brushes, and so far Coastal Scents are the least expensive quality brushes I've tried. They do shed for me a little, but overall they are good brushes and pretty much the only ones I use.

Dewytree Mineral Air Fix Loose Powder SPF27 PA++ - 

I use this mineral powder as a finishing powder for my face to set my makeup. I also use it sometimes when my blush is just a little too dramatic, I rub a little of this over it to blend it out more. I don't really have oily skin, but this powder does matte-ify my face and make it look "done". And it has SPF in it as well, so that's a great bonus.

Innisfree Sheet Masks - 

I've been using face masks throughout this last year, and by far my favorite masks came from Innisfree. They smell wonderful, are some of the best quality, and my face just loved every one of them that I used. Masks are so refreshing to use, that it's always a treat for me when I break out one of these.

Julep Dancing Mini Lipstick Trio -

This was truly a surprise favorite, because I bought these lipsticks on sale on a whim, just to try them and see how they were, and they were amazing! They don't start out completely matte, but over a few hours dry down to be matte, and don't transfer to a glass. Even through eating, they lasted pretty much all day, and I just love how dark and bold the three colors are in this set. I actually bought the other set for my mom, and a backup set for me during the big holiday sales. They are mini too, so easy to take with you anywhere, and the packaging is so classy looking.

Klorane Dry Shampoo - 

I try not to wash my hair everyday. It's not good for it, and I'm lazy, so dry shampoo is a must for me. I've tried several different brands, but I always come back to the one made by Klorane. It smells nice, soaks up an extra oil in my hair, gives it some body and volume, and once it's brushed through you can't see it in the hair. I absolutely love the new non-aerosol can they have of this product, you basically just poof the product into your hair, instead of spray. It seems to last a lot longer this way, and you don't feel like it's going everywhere but the place you want it. It comes out in a cloud and gets evenly distributed.

Ladykin Broccoli Toner - 

This product has been one of my favorite products to use in my daily skincare routine. I originally received this in a Memebox, and promptly bought a back up after I tried it and realized how much I love it. It smells good, it's easy to use, it feels refreshing on the skin, and my skin loves it. I just finished up my original bottle, so I still have a back up, but I think I'm going to save it for a little while. I was just telling B I ran out of my broccoli toner I loved, and he was like "Oh no, not your broccoli toner!" as if he had any idea what I was talking about!

Miguhara B.P. Cream - 

I hadn't really tried many face primers before I got this one, but once I tried it I knew immediately it was a holy grail item. I can wear it without foundation over it and my face looks refined and my skin tone evens out. I can wear it under foundation and it smooths out my pores, reduces redness, covers small spots, and just evens out everything. I love it so much I already traded for a back up tube when my first one runs out, which it's getting there. You can use a little or a lot and it will have similar results. The downside is that it's not sold anywhere online really, so places like eBay and makeup swaps are probably the only places to get it.

Tangle Teezer - 

I don't think I have a name brand Tangle Teezer, as it came in a subscription box, but I just love this comb. It's travel friendly because I can use it on wet or dry hair, so I only need one hair tool. And it has a clip on lid that keeps the teeth from being bent during travel. It's small enough that I could throw it in my purse as well. And it combs through my long tangled hair with no problems.

Too Faced Brow Envy Palette -

On a whim, I decided to get some type of brow kit for my brows, and landed on this one. It has both a blonde and a brown powder, setting wax, brow highlight, tweezers, and spooly brush. Everything you need to do your brows. I usually mix the blonde and the brown powders together and the color works for my hair color. I don't use the highlight or the tweezers in this kit, but everything else works great. The palette itself is the same palette style Too Faced uses for all their palettes, metal with a magnetic closure for the lid. It makes it nice for travel, but I guess if you were to just take a smaller brow product it might be less cumbersome to take with you. I usually just keep it in my collection though, I don't really travel with this.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer - 

Back when I bought a few palettes, I had a few of these primers around and I use them for swatching. I just keep it by my lightbox, and this is my go-to swatching primer. Most primers are pretty good and work well, and the Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer is no different. It works well, keeps the shadow in place, and I will probably be getting more of this when I run out.

Tweezerman Tweezers -

I have famously untamable brows, and these are by far the best tweezers I've tried. They're the only ones that grab every hair you latch onto, and pull it out without having to do that over and over. They are sharp, and mine are mini and come in a tube that is great for travel. I keep them in my bag at all times, because in a few days my brows are growing all over the place.

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara - 

I've sung the praises of the Perversion mascara before, and it was my go-to mascara this past year. I recently got another sample tube of it, so I can't wait to finish my original soon because it's starting to dry out. It gives my lashes oomph without turning them into spider lashes, and it doesn't smudge for me. I love the brush they use for it, it's big and feathery, which has always been my favorite kind of mascara brush.

Bonus Favorite: Baggu 3D Zip Bags - 

I purchased these two Baggu 3D Zip Bags from Birchbox, and they are awesome. They fold up for easy storage when you're not using them, but inflate to fit pretty much anything you want to fit in them. I have the small and the medium bags, and I can fit most of my skincare into the blue small one, and my makeup in the orange medium one, and then also stuff the blue one into the orange one for even easier convenience. The one downside to storing a bunch of small makeup products into the medium bag, is that things can get lost inside, and be hard to find. But I try to put certain items into a smaller organza bag to be easier to find. Things like my indie eyeshadows, and perfumes. And they have a handy handle on the side for transporting anywhere.

What did you think of my Best of 2014 Mainstream Edition? What were your favorites? Let me know in the comments!

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