Evil Queen Beauty's Favourites of 2013 Part 1: Getting Naked with Urban Decay & Fresh skincare

Happy 2014, Beauty Queens! It's time for the obligatory 2013 favourites post.

I'm going to start off with the best thing that 2013 had to offer, the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette. The Naked Palettes have been a big hit with the blogger world, but up until now, they've all been too, well, brown. I'm not a brown person, and actually I actively avoid it. All these "natural" palettes are brown and beige and fucking boring. So I haven't really been all that thrilled with the Naked palettes until now. There was a huge buzz when UD announced that they were doing a third version, and I was SO THRILLED to find that it was a beautiful pinky palette. They call them "rose gold" shades, and they range from soft glimmery pinks to more golden colours, and a lovely defining grey and black with red glimmers at the end. It's safe to say I'm in love, and there are so many beautiful combinations that I really feel like I never need another palette again. The colours blend flawlessly and last all day, and the brush that comes with the set is pretty much perfect for creating a multitude of looks. I'm so pleased and it was totally worth the money.

Urban Decay is one of my favourite brands, so the other products I'm putting on this list are the Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup which I use every day and pair with their Pore Perfecting Complexion Primer Potion and I always set with All Nighter Setting Spray. I used to use their cream-to-powder foundation, but since that has been discountinued, the liquid foundation has been serving me well. I definitely recommend using the primer though as I find it wears a little bit by the end of the work day.

The B6 Vitamin-Infused Complexion Prep Spray was something that came in a sample bag and I was a little bit confused as to what it was for, but I use it before I put on my moisturizer and it really helps my skin absorb the moisture and stay moisturized throughout the day. Right after I shower I spritz it on and I never feel wanting for moisture, even with the winter cold. It's really useful if you have super dry skin like me.

Fresh is definitely my favourite skincare brand of 2013. They're a little bit on the pricey end but I really love the products and they've lasted me a good long time, so I don't regret shelling out for them. The Soy Face Cleanser and Moisturizing Cream are part of my daily skincare routine and have never failed me. My skin has never felt softer and smoother.

The Brown Sugar Body Polish works wonders for my skin. I have very dry skin which can get scratchy and flaky, and this stuff makes everything smooth as all get out. The first time I used it at my boyfriend's place, he said I was "all marinated", so it passes the boy touch test! I use the Sugar Lip Polish before I put on my lipstick and it really helps soothe my chapped winter lips so that my lipstick goes on flawless and stays flawless throughout the day. Pretty much is my entire skincare routine was Fresh products, I'd be really happy. I'd be broke, but really happy, and with fucking flawless skin.

Stay tuned for part 2,

Tearing My Skin Off: An Adventure in Exfoliating

I feel like sometimes I don't really get the point of exfoliating. It's supposed to clear off all the dead skin cells so my skin is all radiant and such, right? Right. But sometimes it just feels like I'm scrubbing my face off. 

Okay so last post I talked a little bit about the Soap & Glory Greatest Scrub Of All (which is on sale at Sephora now for anyone looking for stocking stuffers). Super smooth, really gentle, smells really nice and pepperminty, and definitely a keeper. And I still love the Fresh Umbrian Clay Mattifying Exfoliant , but I'm running out of it. So it was time to try some of the samples that had come in my Glossybox/Birchboxes. 

So, I'm not as impressed with Birchbox as I am with Glossybox. I feel like I get higher quality and better sized products from Glossybox. But I wanted to try the Dr Brant Microdermabrasian Exfoliant because I've heard a lot of good things about the brand. 

I used it in the shower in conjunction with my Soap & Glory Clarity Face Soap which was probably a mistake because afterwards I felt like my face was on fire. Apparently cleansing and then exfoliating with this stuff is a recipe for disaster, which is weird because I didn't have that problem with any of the other ones. Maybe that means it's good, maybe it's supposed to burn my damn face off. Maybe some people need their faces burned off to get that ever elusive youthful glow. But now I'm terrified of it. 

However, not as terrified as I am of the Sesha Renu Exfoliating Gel which came in my Glossybox. THIS IS NOT A JOKE. IT PEELS YOUR FACE OFF. I'm not even kidding. You rub it on dry skin, and it's a gel formula so it goes on wet. And then it dries. AND THEN YOUR SKIN PEELS OFF. Little white flakes of your FACE. And it smells like a damn electrical fire, which is cool for the first minute until you realize that it's ON YOUR FACE. And it seemed to work pretty well, I felt nice and smooth after. But it's JUST SO WEIRD AND TERRIFYING. 

I think I'll try the Dr Brant again without cleansing, but honestly, I am not in this for my face to get destroyed.  In fact, quite the opposite. So I think I'll stick with Fresh and Soap & Glory, thanks. 

x

Christina

VIB status achieved!

So the other day I leveled up at Sephora and became a VIB! I'm actually really stoked about this, because the package not only came with 10% off my next purchase and Free shipping, but also a card for a 45-minute makeover, which I am totally going to cash in for my birthday next month. Playing at Sephora is one of my favourite things to do when I have the time, and I've had pretty good luck with the recommendations they've given me, even at my local store.

I went in there to look into skin exfoliants, especially a sugar body scrub, after reading this article from Huffington Post about SW Basics of Brooklyn (which I still fully intend on trying, because the article was hilarious and convincing). I picked up Fresh's Brown Sugar Body Polish and Sugar Lip Polish, as well as samples of their Umbrian Clay facial exfoliant and Soy Moisturizing Cream. I'm loving pretty much all of it, especially the Sugar Body Polish and the exfoliant, which works much better than the Grand Central Beauty S.M.A.R.T. Skin Perfecting Polisher. That left my skin feeling dry and tight, and Fresh's product doesn't at all. There are lots of little microbeads in there that make me feel like I'm getting a good scrub, and I can feel my skin getting softer already and I've only used it twice. So next time I go back to Sephora I'm going to pick up full sizes of those, for sure, though I'm tempted to try the Facial sugar scrub too! Sugar scrubs all around!

I also picked up a small size of Urban Decay's Naked Skin BB cream to try. I'm a big fan of Urban Decay and have been using their products for a long time, and recently switched over to their Naked Skin foundation. My friend Michaela of A Mane of Her Own uses a BB cream and loves it, so I wanted to give it a go. It gave me a really nice glow and was nice and thin, very light and easy to wear. However, I didn't feel like I got enough coverage without a proper foundation. I think a BB cream like this is great for weekends or lazy days when I don't want to wear a lot of makeup or just need a little SPF, though. Definitely great for the no-makeup makeup look.