Best Beauty Discoveries of 2013

Happy New Year!! Hope you all had a lovely time seeing in 2014. I thought I'd start the year on my blog with my greatest beauty discoveries of the last year - not necessarily products which were launched in 2013, but I have tried for the first time in the last 12 months and fallen in love with. Obviously, with my blog still being very new, I don't have any full details reviews of any of these products yet - please let me know if you would like to see any.

 

 

I am so lazy when it comes to moisturising after a bath or shower, especially in the winter months. It's way too cold to faff about with all of that - I'd rather just get my jammies on and not bother! This is where the Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser has been a Godsend for me. You just clean your skin with your usual shower gel, then massage the moisturiser into your skin and rinse off in the shower. My skin is lovely and soft afterwards and best of all in ready to dry off and slip into some warm layers straight away! With dry skin like mine, you couldn't use this every day as a substitute for a normal moisturiser or body butter, but this is just perfect for those days when I simply cannot be bothered to make the full effort - and leaves me feeling less guilty about it!

 

 

 

 

I hold my hands up and admit I have not been the best in the past when it comes to looking after my hair. As a result of my neglect, my ends were very dry and brittle and in need of some serious nourishing. I'd heard a lot about the Charles Worthington Intense Rescue Melting Balm from other blogs and decided to give it a go. You scoop a small amount (and I mean small - this stuff goes a really long way!) and rub it into your hands so that it melts into an oil. Massage the oil into the lengths and ends of your hair and leave for 20-30 minutes. Then you just rinse off in the shower before using your normal shampoo and conditioner. My locks were super silky and shiny after the first use and within a few weeks of using this balm 1-2 times a week, my ends were looking so much more nourished. And just to top it off, it smells gorgeous!

 

 

 



 

I can't believe how long this product has been around for and I only tried it a year ago! I received a sample of the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream in a Glossybox early in 2013. I'd heard so much about it and it's many different uses so I was so excited when I opened by box to find it. I use this every day on my lips and it's also a miracle worker when I get really bad dry patches on my forehead - instant improvements overnight. The original formula is a little funky smelling, so I'd definitely recommend getting the fragrance free version (unfortunately my local stockist was out of this one last time I ran out!). I don't know what took me so long to try this, I'd be lost without it now.

 

 

 

 

Another saviour for my dry skin over the last year his been Hydraluron. I was put off buying this for a while, as I thought £25 for a 30ml product was a bit steep, but I gave in to the hype and since using it I've realised cost per use makes it a very worthwhile. You only need the tiniest amount applied over your face before applying your moisturiser, and this will leave your skin feeling plump and hydrated. It gives me a gorgeous glow I didn't have before discovering this product - my skin was definitely very dehydrated! - and I can always notice a difference when I haven't used this for a few days.

 

 

 

 

I've mentioned the Revlon Lip Butters previously in my current everyday makeup post. They apply so smoothly and are moisturising for my lips. The colours are very office appropriate which makes them great for a daytime look, but some are also very buildable. The shade pictured are (l-r) Sugar Plum, Peach Parfait and Candy Apple, though this is just a small selection from my ever-expanding collection! I think I am actually obsessed with these! I have so many different shades - though I blame Revlon for releasing so many of them!

 

So, those were my greatest discoveries of 2013. Have you tried any of these products? What have your greatest beauty discoveries of the last 12 months been?