2013 Faves

I can't believe that I have not reviewed most of my 2013 faves! 

Caudalie Divine Oil:  I keep one of the  9 oz. spray bottles in my handbag to smooth over my hair, my hands or other dry spots during the day. It's too expensive to use on a daily basis, so luckily, I rediscovered

Neutrogena Body Oil, an old favorite.  It works so much better for me in the winter than the richest body lotion.  It doesn't dry down quickly like a dry oil, so I smooth onto damp skin and wait a few minutes before putting on my clothes.  They even make a scentless version these days.

Chanel Mystere Quad and Chanel Illusion d'Ombre Apparence.  I wore Mystere practically every day all summer, using Apparence as a base. Apparence's antique gold color compliments the gold shimmer in Mystere.  I beat Mystere's fall out problem by using the sponge applicators or those inexpensive disposable ones you can get at Target or Ulta.  Karen reviewed them here.  I like them better than other brands because the paddle-shaped end is not indented as most disposables are, but are curved out and textured so that they pick up the product better.

Chanel Charming:  now that I've discovered that the the meh looking matte that I didn't know what to do with is an excellent contour and brow filler,  I'm totally sold on this deceptive quad.  On me, and suspect others of similar skin tone, it looks lux.

Chanel Le Volume: Chanel came out of the mascara backwater with Le Volume.  The first coat is unremarkable, but the second one - wow!  It's Voluminous on steroids without the crumbling.  It's also fab in blue, and I even love Prune, a purpely brown color, especially with the Kaska Beige quad.

Dolce and Gabanna Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Gold:  a simple gold tinted translucent lip gloss with golden shimmer.  It adds oomph to warm skin tones when worn alone, and to creme lip glosses. You'd think it would be loud but it's not.  Gold shimmer looks wonderful on skin with warm undertones. I hadn't given it much thought until testing a series of highlighters, all with varying amounts of silver shimmer or even sparkle as in the case of Chanel's Mouche.  Would some of those ashy products looked better on me if they had contained gold shimmer instead of silver?  My current faves - Mysteré, Charming, Guerlain's Terracotta Sun in the City, Rock and Republic's Call Me - all have it.

Hourglass Eyebrow Pencil:  runs with Tom Ford's pencil.  I think Hourglass's formula is slightly better.  The TF pencil bloomed like chocolate over time and dried out slightly, making it harder to apply.  I wish Hourglass came with that plane sharpener.

Tata Harper Hydrating Floral Essence:  I just love this stuff.  It smells fabulous. I love the feel of the spray in my face and the way it makes moisturizers glide on.  I thought toners or facial water sprays would have the same effect, but they don't.  But the price.  Oh.  Floral Essence was included in a packet of press samples from Space NK, and I fell in love immediately. I bought a deeply discounted bottle on Gilt or Haute Look.  Keep your eyes open for it.

L'Oreal Total Repair 5 Multi-Restorative Dry Oil For All Hair Types: goes on hair the way dry oil does on skin: leaves a moisturizing affect without oily residue. It has a scary ingredient list, but it works on my hair.

Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Keratin Intensive Treatment:  designed for color-treated and chemically processed hair.  This stopped my ends from breaking like no other conditioner I've ever used.

T3 Blow Dryer: I was forced to learn how to blow out my hair when, in an infuriating 30 seconds, my stylist cut the top far shorter than the curlers I owned for wet setting. Rolling my hair on half- inch rollers just wasn't going to cut it, so blowing it out was the only solution.  I taught myself by watching this Dry Bar video, and watching another stylist who blew out out my hair in the interim. Not knowing which blow dryer to buy, I settled on the T3 because Nordstrom was selling one that included a free travel-size T3 flat iron, also an excellent product.  So blow dryers have come a long way since I last used one. I can't believe how quickly it dried my hair.  

What were your 2013 faves?