Best of 2013 Part II: Lipstick, Palette, Nail Polish and Collections

After mentioning about what excited me most among the products which were released in 2013 in categories such as blush, bronzer, eye shadow quad and single yesterday, today I would like to go on and cover the rest of the categories. Tomorrow night it is going to look exactly like the one on the photo below which I took from the window during last year's fire work craziness during the first hour of 2013. Do you have a similar scene at where you live?

Category Lipstick

Year 2013 marked the release of many new formulas and lines of lipsticks. The most remarkable ones for me were Chanel's new formula of Coco Shines, Dior's new formulation of their regular lipstick line, Chanel's Moire Collection Rouge Allures with pearly finish, Armani's Rouge Ecstasy CC Lipsticks with chic red packaging, Yves Saint Laurent's Rebel Nudes and Tom Ford's Sheer Lipsticks.  I don't usually post very often about lipsticks but you can see what I am enjoying at posts with FOTDs. Below you can find what I reached for most and which shades and formulas really excited me.

My Choice for Best Lipstick of 2013: Three of the lipstick releases to Guerlain Rouge G formula with their Fall Collection were definitely love for me. Guerlain Rouge G in Gemma is one of my all time favorites but now Madame Reve is seriously about to take its place. I can wear it with strong eye or daily looks, it never looks heavy or overdone but very pretty and polishes. All thumbs up (therefore placed like a rocket at the below photo!)

Guerlain Rouge G #862 in Madame Reve (as worn here)

Also very much loved:

• Chanel Rouge Allure #124 Ambigue (as worn here): I love this shade, plummy with very pretty pink shimmer. It also works with Chanel Joues Contraste Accent in a lovely way. Only if it would be a bit more hydrating, that one would be a number one for me.
• Tom Ford Lip Color #29 in Vampire Kiss: Love at the first sight. When I have seen that at the counter and tried it on, I knew we were meant to be. My hubby made it a spontaneous gift for me so it became even more of a fav. I wore it to family dinner at Christmas. Review hopefully coming up soon.
• Armani Rouge Ecstasy CC Lipsticks #304 Heat (as worn here) and #508 Daybreak (as worn here): Those two became my go to lipsticks. I have worn Daybreak as no other during the last months, which became my new favorite nude after Chanel Coco Shine in Boy. 
• Diorific Long Wearing Lipstick #045 in Royale: Another love story, the long lasting formula and how pretty it looks with the subtle glitter particles. I loved Royale even more than Minuit which is darker so needs a more easy on eyes kind of look but I am not so good with those ;-) You can find all the lipsticks from Golden Winter Holiday 2013 collection here.
• Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Shine #19 Fuchsia in Range: I was obsessed by this one during summer. Only if it wouldn't have the bubble gum smell... I haven't reviewed it but see a gorgeous FOTD here.

Category Palette

This year there has been pretty palette releases, especially for holidays. I missed on Tarte's blush palette which will be on my list for the next Christmas. I was lucky enough to get hold of Hourglass Ambient Lighting and Laura Mercier Artist's Palette which sold out with the speed of light. I passed on the most popular palette release of the year, Naked 3 mainly because I don't like the frosty texture of the first Naked palette I have and never reach for it. For a similar reason Marc Jakob's Eye Shadow Palette in Starlet (reviewed here) was also a huge miss for me. But here comes my favorites:

My Choice for Best Palette of 2013: As hard as it was to get, the whole effort was worth it. Le Metier de Beaute released three palettes with four blushes and four eye shadows in each, two of them spoke to me, Galore and Zeitgeist. Galore was almost made for me, eye shadows are great for smokey eye, blushes can be layered to define and highlight. I even use the left most eye shadow to contour my face and sculpt my cheeks! Galore is nothing but love!

Le Metier de Beaute Galore Collection Palette for Face & Eye

Also very much loved:

• Giorgio Armani Face&Eye Palette Summer 2013: So soft and pretty, composed of three eye shadows and a bronzer/highlighter. When I used that one, I need nothing else than a mascara and a lipstick and I only receive compliments. It also has such a pretty design!
• Laura Mercier Artists Palette for Eyes: This must have been one of the remarkable steals of the year for me. It is great value for money and I even got it cheaper over eBay. Love the textures and the shades, pretty mattes and lovely satins, can't get enough.
• Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette: Why haven't anyone thought about a highlighter palette before? It is great for getting to know Hourglass Ambient Powders and for travel. 
• Clarins The Essentials Eye Make-up Palette: Great value for money and perfect for those of you who would like a grown up version of naked palettes with more mattes and satins, less shimmer. 

Category Nail Polish

Year 2013 marked many nail polish releases. Companies such as Clinique, Giorgio Armani, Guerlain and Burberry added nail polish to their make-up lines. Many of my favorite formulas from Dior, Chanel, Butter London, a-england and Yves Saint Laurent released new shades.

My Choice for Best Nail Polish of 2013: This must have been another difficult pick for me. After eye shadows, my second obsession is the nail polishes and I reviewed hundreds of those for you this year. Nevertheless one stood out for me with its color, texture and complex shimmer.

Chanel Le Vernis #583 Taboo (not swatched but you can find superb reviews here and here)

Also very much loved:

• Diorific #995 Minuit: The cute vintage bottle and gorgeous subdued glitter on a pretty base color. Minuit was a winner in my book.
• Chanel Vernis #667 Bel-Argus: I thought I would love Azure from the same collection more but I found myself reaching for Bel-Argus most during the sunny summer days. I love how the fine shimmer on that looks under the sun.
• Butter London Brown Sugar: The perfect fall shade for me. Love the shimmer and the foil finish base and how these work together.
• A-England New Excalibur: I enjoyed this one a lot during summer on hands and toes alike. Foil finish silver with gold flecks in it which makes it suitable across skin tones and to die for after putting on some tan. 
• Giorgio Armani #703 Leather Wood and #704 Amethyst: I was very excited about the new nail polish line of Armani which now has one of my favorite formulas. Leather Wood and Amethyst are my picks among the others for their unique duo chrome effects. My only disappointment was to see that the bottles were almost minis with only 6ml of product *sigh*. You can find all the shades swatched here.
• Yves Saint Laurent Laque #38 Gris Underground: Who wouldn't like a pretty grey on the tips, especially coming with one of my favorite nail polish formulas. 
• Burberry Nail Polish #200 Steel Grey: My pick from recently released Burberry nail polish line. I believe it is very unique with a golden shimmer on its dark grey basis. I am loving the Burberry nail polishes at the moment, only wished their brushes would be softer.

Category Collections

Spring, Summer, Fall and Holiday Collections, they were all sneak peeked and wondered. Now that I have reviewed many products from all of those, I would like to pick a few which excited me most.

My Choice for best collection of 2013: I believe a collection is successful once every product harmoniously work together. This year there has been releases which knocked me off my feet like Armani's Fall shades of duo-chromes or Chanel's unexpected summer collection. Among them Chanel's Holiday Collection stood up for me in terms of incorporation of the pieces. Blush works wonderfully with the eye shadow palette, which looks like an everyday quint but has a subtle twist and leans slightly plummy on the eyes. Creme Eye Shadows worked on their own or as a base for the quint, giving it different faces. I loved how shimmer mascara and liner worked with the rest of the eye look and how different lipsticks converted it all for day or night. Therefore my pick is:

Chanel Holiday 2013 Nuit Infinie de Chanel (reviewed here, here, here and here)

Also very excited about:

• Tom Ford Summer 2013: Simple, pretty and polished. Everything worked so well together to give a soft summer look.
• Dior Fall 2013 Mystic Metallics (check some of the products here, here and here): Two pretty eye shadow quints, creme eye shadows and two gorgeous nail polishes, this collection was a winner for me.
• Armani Fall 2013 Kaleidoscope (also here, here and here): I was falling for each and every product at this collection and ended up purchasing almost everything. Only wished the eyes and the lips would work better together.
• Chanel Summer 2013 L'ete Papillon de Chanel (check some of the product reviews here, here and here): A complete surprise from Chanel, it was either love or hate for most and for me it was love. I used the eye shadow sticks during summer and fall, loving the crazy colored mascara and funky nail polishes.

Anything caught your eye which are also your favorites? Which nail polish, lipstick or palette you ended up loving this year? Which collection appealed to you most?

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a-england, Best of, Burberry, Butter London, Chanel, collection, Dior, Diorific, Lipstick, nail polish, palette, Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent