I Try Hundreds of Beauty Products Every Year — These Are the 8 Best I've Found In the Last 12 Months

I have what may be considered a sliiiight problem when it comes to beauty products. Namely, that I like to try new ones. A lot. I mean, A LOT. As a beauty writer, I try hundreds of beauty products every year — and, yes, I'm being serious. My neighbors kind of can't believe the amount of packages showing up at my door every day. (This isn't a #humblebrag, I swear.) And while many of those products are good, only a few are truly GREAT. We're talking epic, can't live without them, don't know how my beauty routine survived before them kind of products. Not all of the ones in this list are new, but they are new to me. Keep reading for the 8 best beauty products I've tried in the past 12 months.

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My Top 6 Current Beauty Obsessions (and Miracle Workers)

I try a lot of beauty products. A LOT. At any given time, my apartment pretty much just looks like the inside of Sephora or Ulta combined. And, while I have my tried and true favorites, I definitely expand my beauty horizons fairly frequently. Right now, these are the six products I simply can't get enough of.

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Get Gilded: Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24Hr Eyeshadow in Bold Gold

I love a good cream eyeshadow. If I don't need an eyeshadow primer and it stays in place all night long? Even better. Enter Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24Hr Eyeshadow in Bold Gold.

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Throwback Thursday: Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

To be honest, I can't remember a time when I DIDN'T know about the wonder that is Maybelline Great Lash Mascara. It's one of those beauty products that's just always been part of my arsenal. And who doesn't love the iconic pink and green tube?

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Happy Halloween! Orange & Black French Manicure with Maybelline and Zoya

Happy Halloween, everyone! Now, I'm not going to lie ... I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween. As a kid, I LOVED it -- but I think that was directly proportional to how much candy I collected while trick or treating. Once I got too old for that pastime, I sort of let Halloween fall by the wayside. I still dressed up for college parties and everything, but it's just never held the same magic for me. What I DO love, though? Expressing a little Halloween spirit through my nails! And this year, I decided to try something completely new by attempting my very first French manicure, using Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquer in Orange Fix and Zoya Storm.

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Nails With Daniella: Sophisticated Superhero Manicure

My friend Daniella C. is a seriously talented nail artist (check out the Disney Princess manicure she did for me before my trip to Disney World), and we'll be collaborating once a month to bring you some fun, intricate, interesting nail designs. This time, it's this amazing manicure that we're calling Sophisticated Superhero.

For awhile now, Daniella and I have tossed around the idea of glitter ombre nails. Daniella is a master at this technique -- I've coveted her designs for over a year -- and I was thrilled when we chose this as the basis for this month's look. While we originally thought we would use a darker color as the base (like Daniella's in the picture of both of our manicures, above), a trial run with five different colors made us decide on a nude base instead!

Here are the colors Daniella used to create the design:


Deborah Lippmann Fashion (nail base color)
Chanel Graphite (ombre base color, and one of our favorites)
Sephora by OPI Only Gold For Me Top Coat (the bold glitter flecks)
Sephora Nail Glitter in Silver (for glitter definition)
Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquer in Clear (to make the glitter stick to the nail)

We started with two coats of Deborah Lippmann Fashion. Fashion is my all-time favorite nude -- it somehow blends into the skin and stands out at the same time. It's the perfect base for this manicure because it adds just the right amount of definition and really makes the glitter designs noticeable.

To create the ombre effect, Daniella poured Chanel Graphite onto a paper plate and dabbed a makeup sponge into it. She then very carefully brushed and sponged it across each nail, leaving one on each hand ombre free so we could create the superhero part of the manicure -- a lightning bolt! (More on that in a moment.) Starting from the middle of the nail, Daniella brushed more and more Graphite up toward the tip.

Next, Daniella dipped the clear nail polish brush into the Sephora silver glitter, to make it adhere better to the nail. She traced the ombre with the glitter-covered brush and then an orange stick to further define it.

Now came the piece de resistance. Using the orange stick, dipped into Graphite, Daniella carefully drew lightning bolts on my left index finger and right ring finger. Check it out up close:



Isn't that AMAZING?

To finish the look off and add even more definition, Daniella poured bits of Only Gold For Me onto a paper plate and then liberally coated the ombre and lightning bolts with it. The oversized chunks of glitter add flash and drama against the nude base and the shimmer of the Graphite.


A look at the paper plate and some of the supplies used to create the look!

My overall feeling about this look? I LOVE IT! I've been staring at my nails nonstop since Daniella painted them last night. They're dramatic, they're bold, they make me feel like a Sophisticated Superhero!

Stay tuned for more fabulous nail looks with Daniella! I can't wait to see what she creates next.

Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquer Swatches: My Top 6 Picks!

Have you heard about the new Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquer? 40 -- yes, you read that right, 40! -- colors make up the brand's new collection, in every color of the spectrum. Read on to see my top 6 of the collection. All are seen with two coats.


Tenacious Teal didn't actually seem teal to me at all. I don't see any teal in this color -- it came out more as a kelly green for me, much like OPI Don't Mess With OPI. Easy application, pretty if not totally unique, but definitely a keeper. And maybe it would look more teal in different light.


Shocking Seas is a gorgeous turquoise. It calls to mind the waters of the Caribbean or Hawaii for me. Really easy application and very glossy finish, even without topcoat. I think this would look fantastic as a summer pedicure.


Orange Fix definitely stood out for me, since I'm going through an orange phase right now! I love how bright and bold this color is. It stood out to me from the masses and it's definitely going into my long-term stash.


Styled Out is one of the colors from Color Show's Denims line. Out of the six pictured here, this is the only one that needed topcoat -- it applied very matte without, which still looked great, but I'm a glossy nail polish girl. I suggest applying thin coats with this one, as it can get gloppy if you have too much on the brush. But I absolutely love the color -- it looks exactly like dark denim, with a touch of silver sparkle to really make it shine.


Denim Dash is another polish from the Denims line. I equate this color to your favorite pair of jeans -- just the right shade, just the right amount of wearing in, just super perfect.I love the indigo hue with silver micro glitter.


Bold Gold is, obviously, gold! It's very metallic, which I thought would give me application issues or weird streaking, but it did neither. It applied easily and smoothly, with little to no brush marks. I love this one for a fancy night out -- and, as golds go, I think it's pretty unique.

All 40 shades are available for $3.99 each at drugstore.com.

Baby Your Lips: Maybelline Baby Lips SPF 20 Lip Moisturizing Balm

Lip balm that keeps my pout moisturized, gives a bit of fabulous color AND protects with SPF? Impossible, I thought. But then I discovered Maybelline Baby Lips SPF 20 Lip Moisturizing Balm.

This lip balm really packs a gorgeous, delicious, super nourishing punch. And I love that they're formulated with SPF 20 to really protect my pout from any harmful UV rays I may encounter while strolling the streets of New York City. I've tried each of the six colors, and I'm here to tell you they are all amazing! Choose from the following (left to right, above):

Quenched
Peppermint
Peach Kiss
Cherry Me
Grape Vine
Pink Punch

My favorites are definitely Quenched (when I just want a basic lip balm with no color) and Pink Punch (which leaves a gorgeous hint of pink upon the lips).

Maybelline Baby Lips SPF 20 Lip Moisturizing Balm retails for $3.99 at drugstore.com.

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara is Turning 40 and They're Throwing a Twitter Party!

If you're like me, you absolutely love Maybelline Great Lash Mascara. And this year, they're turning 40! To celebrate, Maybelline is hosting a Twitter party next Sunday, August 14 -- and they're inviting you to get in on the action! All the details are below -- be sure to follow @Maybelline for all the fun!

Wallet-Friendly Wednesdays: Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Peach Satin

A gorgeous rosy glow inspired by snow bunnies? Totally not impossible to mimic ... at least when you have Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Peach Satin at the ready.

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Seductively Sexy Lips: Maybelline Shine Seduction Glossy Lipcolor

Another twist-up lip gloss, I wondered to myself as I picked up Maybelline Shine Seduction Glossy Lipcolor? There's no way this will be any better or different than the other ones on the market. And the multitude of tiny dot-shaped pinpricks that the color needed to twist up through looked a bit intimidating, to be honest! But then I got my courage up and twisted the end of the silver tube, and voila! My opinion changed instantly.

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Lash Out: Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

Makeup artists swear by it. Celebs can't get enough of it. What's this beauty chick talking about? Maybelline Great Lash Mascara, of course!

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