Temptalia

2020 Editor's Favorites | The Roundup

Christine — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 15:00:00 +0000

2020 Editor's Favorites

The Roundup

I hope you enjoyed my year-end posts as much as I enjoyed going through all the reviews I wrote in the past year. I find it useful to go through and see what did or didn’t resonate, what brands put out better products in a given year, and so on. In case you missed any post or want to refer back to one of my lists, here’s a recap:

And while not favorites, you can also find my list of the most disappointing products from 2020 for your viewing pleasure!

Must-Haves that Stayed Favorites | 2020

Christine — Fri, 01 Jan 2021 22:00:00 +0000

I’m really satisfied with how many of the must-haves I wrote about in 2019 actually were successfully incorporated into my must-haves that stayed favorites throughout 2020! I did a better job honing in on what I could (not just would want to!) reach for. There are plenty of long-time favorites that kept their spots on their list, though!

Keep in mind that these are products that I really enjoyed using enough to 1) remember they exist, 2) put them in a more accessible area, and 3) use again but in my world, using the same product more than a handful of times is a feat, so my threshold for “must-have” is by no means something I have to use everyday (not possible!).

You might want to check out the new must-haves I discovered in 2019 along with the must-haves that remained favorites in 2019. This post is a reflection of how those newer must-haves were incorporated into my routine in 2020 along with any my long-time must-haves as listed in 2019 continued to be used in 2020. I’d love to hear about your own staple products in the past year and how that compared to prior year; what stood the test of yet another year?

Here are some things that changed:

Bite Beauty Oyster Pearl was replaced by various Pat McGrath OpuLUST glosses instead–whenever I wanted ultra-shimmrey lipgloss, that’s what I went with (since the Bite formula is discontinued).
Dose of Colors Bathe has been moved out in lieu of other go-to highlighters/blushes for the last half of 2020 and into 2021.
Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar is still in my vanity drawers but hardly reached for; I found I preferred Fenty Beauty’s Afternoon Snack/Mo’ Hunny.

Some things that definitely did not change…

My go-to blushes were still favored — Marc Jacobs Beauty Flesh & Fantasy/Lines & Last Night, Chanel Jersey, MAC Fairly Precious,
I still reached for and used Estee Lauder Naked Truth and Urban Decay Rebel a lot (for me, it’s relative!) in 2020. Naked Truth is almost gone, though I have several tubes of Rebel (courtesy of the brand). Fenty’s Fenty Glow Gloss is one I keep on-hand to add a quick bit of hydration if I’m out and about, and it’s one of my favorite effortless kind of glosses.

B+

Fenty Beauty Universal Gloss Bomb Lip Luminizer ($18.00 for oz.) is a medium, rosy brown with warm undertones and fine gold and pink pearl. It had a...

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Fenty Beauty Universal Gloss Bomb Lip Luminizer ($18.00 for oz.) is a medium, rosy brown with warm undertones and fine gold and pink pearl. It had a...

Read Review

View Swatches

View Dupes

Side-by-Side Swatches

Glossover Breakdown

94%

Average

Glossover Averages

product

9.5

pigmentation

9.5

texture

9.5

longevity

application

Total

94%

product

9.5

pigmentation

9.5

texture

9.5

longevity

application

Total

94%

New Must-Have Beauty Products | 2020

Christine — Fri, 01 Jan 2021 20:00:00 +0000

Every year, I like to go through my vanity drawers, which is where I keep some “everyday” kind of products; they’re a mix of cheek colors, lip products, and complexion products that I really love and let myself reach for occasionally (either to wear after testing new products for the day or to wear in a set of photos when a new product doesn’t work), and do a soft reset. This means taking some favorites from the past year and putting them into those vanity drawers, which also means taking some past favorites out of those drawers!

Here are the products that I’m making room for and making more accessible to reuse in 2021…

01.

01. I Need a Nude Natasha Denona

Natasha Denona

LELimited Edition. $42.00/0.28 oz.

A+

9.5

pigmentation

9.5

texture

9.5

longevity

9.5

application

Total

94%

product

9.5

pigmentation

9.5

texture

9.5

Heroic

Read Review

Brave

Read Review

Inspire

Read Review

Ascend

Read Review

Availability

Sephora Rare Beauty

Lipsticks Over $15 | 2020 Editor's Favorites

Christine — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 22:00:00 +0000

No real surprises on this list–shade extensions from my favorite formulas were a pleasure to test, like Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy, Pat McGrath MatteTrance, and MAC Lipstick (which is a reliable favorite!). New formulas like Fenty Beauty Slip Shine and Bite Beauty Lip Crayons made it onto the list, along with new-to-me Becca Ultimate Love Lipstick was a nice, more mid-end find for the year.

If you’re unfamiliar with how I like to do my year-end favorites, here’s the low down: I pull from the products I reviewed in 2020, regardless of whether they were new, limited edition, or an established range I’ve only just gotten around to reviewing. These are personal favorites, so they may or may not be the highest rated products reviewed during the year (though they will tend to be better rated, naturally!). (You can check out best of 2019 if you missed last year’s.)

View Swatches

View Dupes

Side-by-Side Swatches

Glossover Breakdown

95%

Average

Glossover Averages

product

9.5

pigmentation

9.5

texture

9.5

longevity

9.5

application

Total

95%

product

9.5

pigmentation

9.5

texture

9.5

longevity

9.5

application

Total

95%

Your Year in Review: Lipstick Edition — Part 2

I thought it would be interesting to read through how readers used products throughout the year, what favorites emerged, what products fell by the wayside… so, if you want to join in, copy and paste the questions below and add your answers via a comment!

What were your most-used mid-end/high-end lipsticks? this past year
What lipstick colors did you gravitate toward the most this past year?
Any shades you’d like to use more in 2021?

Lipsticks Under $15 | 2020 Editor's Favorites

Christine — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Lipstick releases never really cease. It’s incredible how many lip products are released each year, even in a year where manufacturing and supply chains were disrupted! I expect we’ll continue to see an onslaught of lip products in 2021, and here’s hoping that more of us will be able to wear it in full force sooner rather than later! I tested just over 500 lipsticks this past year with about 25% of them coming under this price point, so here are my favorite finds…

If you’re unfamiliar with how I like to do my year-end favorites, here’s the low down: I pull from the products I reviewed in 2020, regardless of whether they were new, limited edition, or an established range I’ve only just gotten around to reviewing. These are personal favorites, so they may or may not be the highest rated products reviewed during the year (though they will tend to be better rated, naturally!). (You can check out best of 2019 if you missed last year’s.)

B+

Milani Tied Up Color Fetish Shine Lipstick ($8.99 for 0.1 oz.) is a medium brown with moderate, warm undertones that leaned a little red paired with a...

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View Swatches

View Dupes

Milani Tied Up Color Fetish Shine Lipstick ($8.99 for 0.1 oz.) is a medium brown with moderate, warm undertones that leaned a little red paired with a...

Read Review

View Swatches

View Dupes

Side-by-Side Swatches

Glossover Breakdown

93%

Average

Glossover Averages

product

pigmentation

9.5

texture

longevity

application

Total

93%

product

pigmentation

9.5

texture

longevity

application

Total

93%

Your Year in Review: Lipstick Edition — Part 1

What were your more used budget-friendly lipsticks this past year?
What type of lipstick finish did you reach for most this past year?
Do you expect to purchase more or less lipstick in 2021?

Eyeshadows Over $10 | 2020 Editor's Favorites

Christine — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 17:00:00 +0000

While eyeshadow releases slowed down a bit this past year, they still largely were released within palettes, particularly for mid-end and higher tier brands. MAC released some new eyeshadow singles (which also served to debut their updated eyeshadow formula), but otherwise, the single eyeshadows I reviewed that fell in this pricing tier were largely from Clionadh.

If you’re unfamiliar with how I like to do my year-end favorites, here’s the low down: I pull from the products I reviewed in 2020, regardless of whether they were new, limited edition, or an established range I’ve only just gotten around to reviewing. These are personal favorites, so they may or may not be the highest rated products reviewed during the year (though they will tend to be better rated, naturally!). (You can check out best of 2019 if you missed last year’s.)

A-

MAC Natural Wilderness Eyeshadow ($17.00 for 0.05 oz.) is a lighter, very yellowy brown with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had rich color...

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View Swatches

View Dupes

MAC Natural Wilderness Eyeshadow ($17.00 for 0.05 oz.) is a lighter, very yellowy brown with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had rich color...

Read Review

View Swatches

View Dupes

Side-by-Side Swatches

Glossover Breakdown

96%

Average

Glossover Averages

product

9.5

pigmentation

texture

9.5

longevity

application

Total

96%

product

9.5

pigmentation

texture

9.5

longevity

application

Total

96%

Your Year in Review: Eyeshadow Edition — Part 2

Were there any standout, higher-end eyeshadow singles from the past year?
What three shades from a palette would you love to see sold as singles in 2021?
How often did you wear eyeshadow during the past year?

Eyeshadows Under $10 | 2020 Editor's Favorites

Christine — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 15:00:00 +0000

2020 was the year of smaller-sized eyeshadow palettes–less mega-sized palettes–which meant I ended up having more space on my reviewing calendar to explore indie brands as mainstream brands’ releases slowed down (at least for the first half of the year). This post, and the one that follows (for eyeshadows over $10), are specifically highlighting my favorite single eyeshadow releases from the year. This means that the eyeshadow had to be available to purchase individually, not solely within a palette!

Over the past year, I’ve been particularly impressed by Clionadh; while their Multichromes get the majority of the hype (and it’s well-deserved!), they actually have particularly stunning duochromes and interesting metallic shades, too (they have a lot less matte eyeshadows, and some have been great and a few have been misses). The latter are “standard” eyeshadows, so they’re a lot less expensive.

JD Glow has a very shiny, metallic range of shimmer eyeshadows (and they’re oversized and affordable!) with a lot of fun duochromes and a few more unique (to me) shades. Lethal Cosmetics was also a new brand I tested and reviewed this past year, and while not every shade was a winner, they have some unusual-hued matte eyeshadows that were lovely.

If you’re unfamiliar with how I like to do my year-end favorites, here’s the low down: I pull from the products I reviewed in 2020, regardless of whether they were new, limited edition, or an established range I’ve only just gotten around to reviewing. These are personal favorites, so they may or may not be the highest rated products reviewed during the year (though they will tend to be better rated, naturally!). (You can check out best of 2019 if you missed last year’s.)

Temptalia’s Favorite Eyeshadows Under $10 | 2020

01.

01. Candela Clionadh

Clionadh

PPermanent. $8.50/0.05 oz.

A+

B+

JD Glow Watermark Galaxy Shadow ($7.50 for 0.0952 oz.) is a deep, navy blue base with cool undertones paired with flecks of gold and blue sparkle over...

Read Review

View Swatches

View Dupes

JD Glow Watermark Galaxy Shadow ($7.50 for 0.0952 oz.) is a deep, navy blue base with cool undertones paired with flecks of gold and blue sparkle over...

Read Review

View Swatches

View Dupes

Side-by-Side Swatches

Glossover Breakdown

95%

Average

Glossover Averages

product

9.5

pigmentation

texture

9.5

longevity

application

Total

95%

product

9.5

pigmentation

texture

9.5

longevity

application

Total

95%

Your Year in Review: Eyeshadow Edition — Part 1

What were your must used single eyeshadows this past year?
Was there a custom palette you used often this past year? What’s in it?
Do you expect to focus more or less on single eyeshadows in 2021?