Welcome to 2014! My Favorite Beauty Find of 2013

I wanted to start 2014 off by telling you about my favorite beauty find of all of 2013. I actually got a sample of this product when I purchased another full-sized product, and promptly fell in love with the sample. Which is nice because I absolutely hated the full-sized product I had purchased!

Cetaphil Dermacontrol Moisturizer SPF 30

$12 at Amazon.com

This is the best oil-free moisturizer containing SPF that I have EVER used. It is not at all greasy and sinks in almost immediately, and is fragrance-free to my nose. I typically wait about 5 minutes or so after applying this before I start applying my makeup and I have never once had a problem. I LOVE THIS MOISTURIZER!

If you haven't been using an SPF moisturizer on your face, let 2014 be the time you start. I am a former sun-worshipper and have done so much damage to my skin. But I vowed a few years ago to stop the damage and using a good SPF product is the best way to do that- the SPF in your foundation or powder is not good enough, I promise.

Now back to the product I did NOT like- Cetaphil Dermacontrol Oil Control Foam Wash. I do not like the smell and it doesn't make enough lather to make me feel like my face is actually getting clean. But at least it led me to a new HG SPF moisturizer!

New Facial Product Find

Today Shasta Ann blogged about some of her favorite products from mark, and that reminded me that I've been meaning to tell you all week about my new favorite product, also from mark.

Over the last year, I've been having trouble with breakouts on my chin and I've tried just about everything! I received a sample of mark's Break Out Plan Anti-Acne Gel Lotion with a recent order and I was immediately hooked. It was light, soaked in immediately, and left no oily residue. And it cured my breakout problem in just a few days.

With apple and cinnamon extracts, this lightweight gel formula helps reduce the appearance of redness associated with acne and keeps pores clean and clear. Salicylic acid (1.5%), a proven acne fighter

At $18 for 1.7 ounces, it's not exactly drugstore price, but to me it's well worth it. As an aside, I typically prefer a pump applicator for facial products (to keep the germies out of the rest of the product), but even though I was disappointed that this was a jar, I ordered it anyway.

And to my surprise..... it's actually a pump after all! You simply depress the plastic disk on top of the jar, and just the right amount of product comes out a small hole in the middle. If you at all have a breakout problem, I urge you to give this a try- it worked for me!

Disclosure: Although I received a small packet sample of the product to try, I purchased the full-sized product myself.