This week we’re going to ring in the new year with an article all about my favorite products from 2013. I have all the categories from face to hair products, and I listed two products that I used all throughout 2013. These are all extremely affordable and accessible, so hopefully some of these products can become part of your 2014 favorites!

FACE

I think I found two of my staples for face products this year. The first product that I fell in love with is the Physicians Formula Conceal RX Concealer, that’s a mouth full. I’m sure most of you can agree that as students, it’s assumed that we’re going to have all types of breakouts and under eye bags thanks to all that stress life, mostly school, puts us through. I can honestly say that this concealer hides all of those things. It’s like liquid magic, when you apply it to your problem areas they disappear.

The other staple product I found helps the concealer stay on all day long and it’s the Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder, which is basically just a finishing product. This helps to mattify your face, so if you have oily skin this powder will do miracles for you. It also helps to conceal the concealer and have it last all day long. On top of all those things, it also helps with coverage for problem areas. It’s pretty amazing.

LIPS

So I think this one is sort of a cheat for me, but I bought a pack of three Korres Lip Balms during the holidays back in 2012. It came with three different colors, a light pink, dark pink and dark red. Instead of being a lipstick, it’s a colored chapstick. The reason why I have to include it in this years favorites is because I used the dark red one pretty much every day in 2013. Not only does it give your lips a beautiful red color, almost like a red stain, it moisturizes them. I think the worst part about putting on lipstick is that it goes in the creases of your lips if they’re chapped, or they dry them out. That’s why this has become my go to lip product.

Now if there’s a day where you’re feeling grim and not looking for any color, I recommend the EOS lipbalms. These have become my all time favorite chapsticks. The packaging is so cute, they look like little eggs and they come in all different colors and flavors. And, most importantly, they are so moisturizing. I put this baby on before bed and wake up with such smooth lips.

EYES

I feel like a lot of you have heard about the Naked Palettes by Urban Decay that have become so popular over these past three or four years. I’ve been in love with my Naked and Naked 2 palette for such a long time, and in November I received the Naked Basics Palette as a gift. To say the least, it’s amazing. It’s made up of a few essential colors in a travel size form. If you’re a beginner in makeup, this is the perfect sized palette for you because it’s affordable, great quality and gives you the only colors you need to learn how to do basic eye looks.

I guess it was an Urban Decay kind of year because my last eye product of the year is by the same brand and it’s their Primer Potion. Primer is sort of like the glue that you put on your eyes before you apply any eye shadow or eye liner and it prevents any type of creasing or smearing, and it helps your eye look last all day long. Well, at least that’s what all primers from brands try to claim anyways. I’ve tried all different types of brands to look for the best primer that lives up to those standards, and the Urban Decay Primer Potion is the one I have fallen in love with. It’s a bit on the pricy side, running at about $20 per tube, but it’s beyond worth it.

SKIN

Back in December of 2012, I was looking for a really good moisturizer that contained SPF because I was going to a tropical place where I wouldn’t want to wear a lot of makeup, but still wanted to keep my skin oils and such under control. I bought the Clean & Clear Morning Glow Moisturizer and ever since then, I have used it every single day, all year round. Usually, I’ll apply it each morning before I put on my makeup and gives your skin a natural shimmer with moisturizing effects. I wouldn’t say that it controls breakouts but it definitely smooths your skin and makes it look a lot healthier.

The other skin product that I was obsessed with this year is also by Clean & Clear, and it’s their Continuous Control Acne Cleanser. Now, I am lucky enough to not have acne, but I usually do have one or two breakouts each month. This cleanser helped to control them and even prevent breakouts. I kept it in my shower and used it every other day, which was just enough for me to see the wonderful effects it had on my skin.

HAIR

I’m really not adventurous with hair products, because I usually find my holy grails and leave it at that. But, this year I ventured out a bit.

The first product that is now an essential for me is the Garnier Fructis Leave-in Conditioning Cream. I usually scrunch this product in my hair right after I get out of the shower and it helps to contain the shine from the conditioner I used in the shower. It also stops your hair from getting super oily. You can use this product on dry hair too, so whenever you don’t have time to take a shower but your hair looks a little greasy, you can apply this to your roots and it makes your hair look fresh.

The last product that I discovered this year was the Aussie Sprunch Catch the Wave hair spray. I use this for two things, first for just a regular hair spray to spritz down any fly aways, and second, for waves. If I want natural looking wavy hair, I spritz some of this product in my hand right after I get out of the shower and scrunch it in my hair. It really helps to form beach looking waves. And, it has the added benefit of being a hair spray so the waves tend to stay a lot longer.

Those were all my favorite products from 2013, I hope you all go check some of them out.