2020 Readers' Choice Awards: Nominate Your Favorites Now!
Nominations Open
2020 Readers' Choice Awards
It’s that time of the year again! It’s time to nominate your favorite products and brands from 2019 as well as your all-time favorite formulas. We have tried to make it easier for readers as well as on our end when it comes to compiling nominees. You can start typing your favorite brand or product, and it will suggest what you’re looking for using our product database, but as always, you can write-in your favorites as well. All of the nominations will be compiled and the top 10-15 (depending on how many ties there are) will make the voting ballot. You do not have to nominate for every category; fill in as many categories as you wish to participate in.
- Nominations: January 10th, 2020 through January 16th, 2020 10PM PST.
- Voting: January 20th, 2020 through January 26th, 2020 10PM PST.
- Results: February 4th, 2020
Nominations are now closed! Thank you. Stay tuned for voting!
Doing this made me realize how much I have cut back on my makeup spending. I nominated lots of oldies, but goodies because I haven’t been buying what’s new. I had to rack my brain to think of things I bought released this year. I’m not keeping up with trends or new releases anymore. I’m more settled into what I want.
SAME
I felt the same way. I searched Temptalia’s 2019 archive to refresh my memory, but found little that I actually purchased.
This, plus it dawned on me that I’ve barely worn makeup in the last couple years, at least in comparison to what I was doing previously. I’ve been trying to get through my collection before buying anything new.
Same!! I want to try so many things but even being a sephora employee we can’t carry everything… Ex. Milk makeup highlighter or eyeliners which are both suppose to be amazing…
It’s either a testament to my tired mental state, or what a mostly uninspiring year it was for makeup releases, but I had a really hard time with 2019 favorites. Even with eyeshadow palette of the year: There were several I really liked, but I didn’t have an immediate favorite as in past years. I had to think about it.
I really really had to think hard. I surprised myself on some of my answers.
Ditto. Many of my answers changed from last year.
Same on the 2019 eye shadow palette, I went with an oldie brand that I thought made two very good, useful and I-can-count-on-type of palettes (and that went on sale), the Balm What’s for Tea?. Even though PatMcGrath came out with some great ones, I just don’t want to spend that kind of money for metallic quads, so I couldn’t justify picking hers when I didn’t buy a 2019 release (though I think I did choose one of them for something). I tend to wait till they go on sale (which is a year or so later). 😉
I’ve heard really good things about What’s for Tea?
I finally went with Pat McGrath Divine Rose, but I also considered her Dark Galaxy Palette, Huda Beauty The New Nudes, ABH Sultry, and Marc Jacobs Steel(etto). I kind of felt like I loved them all equally, and all of them have quality in spades. Only Dark Galaxy stood out as pulse-quickening for me, but I haven’t had it long enough to use it a ton and say for sure it’s the best of the year.
I hope mine went through.. I added a number of items which were not listed..some of which I included in more than one category
Sisley Double Tenseur
Shiseido Synchro Self-Refreshing Foundation
Giorgio Armani Power Fabric Concealer
I struggle every year with adding items that aren’t on the list – it happened again this year but I’ve learned (I think) to wait to hit submit right to the end.
Wednesday, I’d be interested to hear your opinion of the Shiseido foundation. The last one I got from them (an earlier “Synchro”-something) was one I liked for about a week and then came to dislike a whole lot. And the lid was a real pain the neck to put on – it was curved and angled so you had to make sure you put it back the “right” way but it was hard to figure out what the “right” way was.
Hi Mariella: It’s the newer ‘Synchro’ foundation released in 2019 called Shiseido Synchro Skin Self-Refreshing. Yes, it is avail on Sephora Canada website. It looks nothing like the other version(s). It does have a rather bizarre claim of being self-refreshing, but I have to say it does look great with wear.
So I know foundation is highly subjective, but I find it hits all the right notes for me in a foundation and I think it is a quality product:
Liquid, medium coverage, pump bottle with twist cap to open and close, skin finish (satiny, not super glowy), neutral shades that are actually neutral, soft focus, long-wearing without being drying, doesn’t need to be powdered. I have a handful of foundation go-to’s and this one I probably wear the most, if I am going foundation route.. sometimes I do CC. I have dry mature skin for reference. I prefer this over the new Fenty, new ABH, but only because I couldn’t find a proper shade (the neutrals ran yellow and the shades ran very dark), Laura Mercier Flawless Lumiere Radiance (colour match not as good, but I do like this formulation, but Shiseido better imo)…
Just some rambling and random thoughts. It’s pricey… Maybe a trip to Sephora?
Thanks, Wednesday. I may give it a try. I saw it a while back in Shoppers and I like getting stuff there as I can get 20% off any Thursday of the year (one of the “pluses” of being a “senior”). The cosmetician really talked it up too but as I also don’t often wear foundation (IT CC cream or a pressed mineral foundation are quicker and suit my needs better), I figured I’d wait til I heard more about it. I liked the “self refreshing” description even though it really does defy both logic and common sense (just sounds really nice!). My local Sephora doesn’t carry Shiseido but I’ll try it out the next time I’m at Shoppers.
Hey Mariella.. Is the senior age benchmark the same as at Loblaws/Zehr’s… 55? If so, I’m taking some beauty wants/needs to Shoppers. Can you shop on-line and still get a senior’s discount? If so, I’m rubbing my hands together in gleeful goody-goody fashion.
I’m not entirely sure what the benchmark is but it seems that pretty much anyone who asks for it seems to get it. I think I started getting it at 55 or maybe 60…. I think you need an Optimum card (the one for amassing points) and I am pretty sure you can’t get the discount online – I tried when I ordered my Chanel quad and couldn’t get it (just one reason I love going to Ottawa – the Rideau Center has the full line of Chanel and if we happen to be there on a Thursday, I go a bit wild!)
I added that concealer, too, hopefully one of ours made it through!
?. Haven’t even bothered to consider another since purchasing this very soon after release. I thought I liked Tarte shape tape and then along came TF BTW which kicked it to the curb, which was subsequently unceremoniously toppled by the GA. I’m remaining faithful ?
Would love to see Weleda Skin Food nominated as best lip balm because it’s the truth! Especially under any drying matte lip colors.
I was trying to nominate the Clinique Pep-Start Pout Perfecting Balm but I couldn’t find it… selection is quite limited for lip balm unfortunately. 🙁
I didn’t even know it exists as a lip balm. I recently finished my lip balm (nuxe reve de miel, but the lipstick version) and I didn’t have anything on hand so I just layered the weleda skin food face creme on my lips… and I haven’t stopped since! Now that you mention the existence of a lip balm, this will be my next purchase 🙂
The actual lip balm they have is good, but I was referring to the OG face creme! It’s moisturizing perfection, and I don’t know if anything can beat it.
Fenty Beauty Flyliner Longwear Liquid Eyeliner is not available as an option and need to be! Am I searching it wrong?
If it’s not available automatically, you need to write it in!
Some things will always remain a fave…
Lipsticks – Nars, Bobbi Brown, MAC, Pat McGrath (lightest feel), Yves Saint Laurent
Blushes – tarte, Nars, cover fx, Clinique, and buxom /bare minerals for their primer infused and bouncy creamy hybrids
Foundations (I have combo oily skin) – Fenty original, estee lauder double wear, Laura mercier flawless fusion Longwear, Revlon colorstay for oily skin, too faced born this way, Dior forever 24* matte, Lancome Teint idole
Foundations (dry skin) – Dior airflash, Laura mercier Lumière radiance, Nars sheer glow, Armani beauty luminous silk, smashbox studio skin 15 hour hydrating
Stick foundations – makeup forever and milk makeup
Pressed powder foundations – makeup forever, Sephora microsmooth baked powder, too faced born this way
Primers- hourglass, Laura mercier (new 2020 releases), makeup forever, Nars radiance primer, makeup forever step 1 primers, Ren perfect canvas, cover fx, MAC time check lotion & natural radiance.
Setting powders – Laura mercier, Becca, hourglass, cover fx (variable)
Eyeshadow formulations- viseart, pat McGrath (keeps blending), anastasia beverly hills, huda beauty, coloured Raine, tarte Amazonian clay palettes, urban decay, mac (specific shadows)
Eye primers – Mac paint pots, urban decay primer potion, anastasia beverly hills, Nars soft matte concealer pots
Setting sprays (locking) – urban decay / skindinavia, cover fx, Nyx matte for wetting sponge on occasion, MAC fix plus for fouling shadows,
Setting spray (hydration /glow) – tatcha, Mario badescu, Patrick Ta, Tom Ford
Brushes (high end) – hakuhodo, Wayne Goss,Sonia G, Smith
Brushes (cheaper) – morphe, zoeva, sigma, Sephora pro, some sephora collab with milk, makeup by Mario, Quo, MAC older brushes etc…
Brows – anastasia beverly hills dipbrow gel pot, & setting gel from them or benefit which has a great brush
Mascaras – pat McGrath, any Marc Jacobs, makeup forever Smokey extravagant, L’Oréal lash paradise, benefit roller lash… shu uumera curler btw.. Mascaras are so personal, I layer a lengthening then voluminous ones over top
Liquid lipsticks – jeffree star, kat Von d, anastasia beverly hills, Stila, Fenty, Sephora Collection, tarte
Gloss- Fenty, MAC, pat McGrath, buxom
Cream eye shadow- butter London, too faced tutti frutti, touch in soul, Stila, some huda beauty, colour pop, Sephora Collection, tarte
Eyeliner pens- kat Von d tattoo liner, Stila felt tip micro liner, Fenty, artdeco, artist of makeup
GEL pots – inglot AMC #77
Eyeliner pencils for waterline – makeup forever, milk makeup matte gel liner, Maybelline tattoo studio
Waterproof liquid liner – Mac liquidlast
Powder highlighters- jouer, Becca, milk makeup flex, estee lauder, anastasia beverly hills, the balm
….. * these are just IMO
** for reference I am a MUA with sephora, have worked for Mac, ysl/Armani, and am a certified medical esthetician… I hope this helps to.. I know comments help me….