Beautifinous.

from the first half of 2014. As I explained back then, the second half was on its way at the end of the year - and now here it is!

As we’re getting ready to say goodbye to 2014, I thought that I would take a look back at some of my favourite beauty finds from throughout the year.

Whilst not every product is a 2014 release, they are all products that I have personally tried out for the first time this year. You may have seen a bit about each product on the blog already if you are a regular reader and you may have tried some of them yourself. If you haven’t tried them out though then this list can also be seen as my top recommendations from this year.

I must say though, this list has been pretty difficult to compile. There have been so many great products that I have come by this year that trying to narrow it down to a select few was one heck of a challenge! Some products only narrowly missed being included, but I have given some of them an honourable mention at the end of the post.

Speaking of the end of the post, I have also saved the best product until last. The end of the post details my top overall product from 2014, so make sure you get down to the end to see what is my most highly recommended product! 

As well as including primarily adult-beauty products, I have also included my top baby toiletry product of the year for other parents out there.

Feel free to leave a comment at the end of the post discussing your top products, too! 

So here we have it: The Beautifinous Top Beauty Products of 2014.

Hello everyone!

This post is just a quick one to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

I hope that you all have a brilliant time over the festive period and that you enjoy every extra moment with your loved ones.

I also want to take this chance to say thank you to everybody who has ever read a post (or all of them!) for making my first year blogging an enjoyable and successful one. Without you all there wouldn't be Beautifinous, so thank you so much.

I'm posting this two days early as usual posts will now temporarily be on hold until after Christmas when I have a couple to post before the new year.

Have a good one!

Zoe. @Beautifinous

Naturally European Verbena Luxury Shower Gel is a natural body wash made in England that contains Spanish Lemon Verbena oil. It doesn’t contain SLS or parabens and the fragrance is natural.

Along with verbena, it also contains orange extract, lemon extract and May Chang oil.



The Naturally European Range is made by The Somerset Toiletry Co. who "design, manufacture and distribute luxury toiletries across the world with [their] focus always being on innovative design, quality and affordability." [Source: Somerset Toiletry Co.]

Each shower gel in the range is inspired by Europe's landscapes and scents. Other scents include lavender, sage, ginger and lime, rose petal and milk.

Birchbox is a monthly beauty box that includes 5-6 deluxe samples of beauty and lifestyle products that are tailored to you.

You get to discover new products and test them out in the comfort of your own home with no pressure to buy the full product if you don’t like it! However, if you do enjoy it, you can purchase the full sizes from the Birchbox store with the most recent month’s brands being available with free delivery (min. £10 spend)! 



For the December box, Birchbox teamed up with shoe designer Sophia Webster. The box design is based on her Suri shoe, so it is covered with pictures of jewels.

Inside the box there is a discount card to receive 20% off Sophia Webster shoes if you spend £300.

Here is what I received in my box this month:

ORS Olive Oil Heat Protection Serum is a product that helps to straighten the hair whilst protecting it from heat damage caused by hot hair tools. It contains coconut oil and and olive oil to add shine and moisture and leaves the hair looking soft and smooth as well as straight.



This post is actually going to be a collaboration between myself and my sister. The ORS Olive Oil Heat Protection Serum is a product that my sister loves and she really wanted me to write about it, so we have teamed up to provide you with a review!

The product comes packaged in a clear, plastic tube that holds 177ml (this bottle states that it now comes with 50% free extra product) with a rounded red, flip-cap lid. The product itself is clear and has the consistency of water. It also has a really nice to smell to it.

Perioral Dermatitis is a facial rash that can occur around the mouth and nose, yet can also spread up as far as the eyes. Another name for it is ‘muzzle rash.’

It consists of small spots and dry patches of skin that appear around the nostrils and in a ring around the mouth. If the rash spreads up to the eyes then it tends to be close to them, underneath or in the corners.

The rash itself isn’t usually itchy, but can feel irritated or as if it is sore or burning. 

Here are some images of perioral dermatitis. As you can see, it can come in a mild form as well as being more severe.

What causes perioral dermatitis?

There aren’t really any definite answers as to what can cause perioral dermatitis, but there are a few speculations. It has been linked to excessive cosmetic use (mainly due to SLS), hormonal imbalance, steroid cream use, strong winds and UV light, toothpaste that contains fluoride, the oral contraceptive pill and yeasts. [Information source: Patient.co.uk]

So why am I discussing this on my blog? Well, to be perfectly honest, this is something that I had never heard anything about until fairly recently. That is until I started to see a bizarre rash forming on my own face. Then, after some research, I found out that it is quite a common problem - especially in women between the ages of 20 and 45 years. This, along with the link between it and the use of cosmetics, I figured that a beauty blog could be the right place to give this a mention. Even if you aren't or haven't suffered from it, the information could still be handy to know.

The Weleda Oat Replenishing Conditioner is a part of an award-winning haircare range. It is a natural conditioner targeted to those with dry, damaged hair that is made with organic coconut and jojoba oils and extracts of oat and white mallow. It claims to add moisture, restore suppleness and smooth hair.

It is free of synthetic fragrances, colourants and preservatives as well as SLS's, silicones and raw materials derived from mineral oils.

It is the only conditioner in Weleda’s natural haircare range and it is designed to compliment all of their shampoos, even though the bottle states "for dry, damaged hair".

It comes packaged in a bright yellow squeeze tube that holds 200ml of product.

Avon are soon launching their new Ultra Colour Indulgence Lipstick range which is formulated with hydrating gels rather than wax for a lavish, intense colour finish.




It comes in a range of 15 shades (see below), but I grabbed myself the shade Red Dahlia, which is a mid-dark red.

It comes packaged in a sleek black tube with Avon written around the lid on a silver band, which then comes packaged in a simple black box.

Avon’s Gel Finish Nail Enamel is a 3-in1 nail polish that claims to act as a base coat, nail colour and top coat all in one. It also provides a high-shine, gel-like finish to your manicure.



It comes in a large range of shades and because of its 3-in-1 claim, there is no need to apply a base coat or top coat along with the polish. However, you obviously can if you still wish to.

I have previously reviewed two other shades of Avon’s Gel Finish Nail Enamel in the colours Creme Brûlée and Royal Vendetta. I am now going to show you the shade Parfait Pink, which is a bright pink shade with a subtle hint of shimmer that runs throughout.