Pat McGrath Eyeshadows (in general, and I know that’s sort of cheating but whatever!), Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter, Natasha Denona Darya Palette, Urban Decay Rebel Vice Lipstick, Bite Creme Glosses.
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Nudestix multi-stick in bare back (I use on cheeks, eyes, and as “bronzer”)
Colourpop Super Shock shadow in Wattles (has become one of my get-me-to-work-on-time looks)
Kosas tinted face oil (I am not a fan of foundation, but I can wear this!)
Armani liquid shadows (not a new product, but new to me)
Tatcha Pearl (its been a game changer, I’m a lifelong migraine and allergy sufferer and my eyes finally look normal–I can get by with the tiniest dab of concealer only where/if I need it)
Jill, can I ask you what shade of the Kosas tinted face oil are you using? We have similar coloring/undertones and I might give it a try. Thank you!
Too Faced Born this way foundation.
Cerave moisturizer- my dry patches are gone!
Maybelline superstay 24 hour lipcolor-does not budge and better than any high-end that I have ever tried.
Lancome Hypnose mascara- where has this been all my life? Looks like falsies on me.
Laura Mercier setting powder- before trying this I just figured that setting was not for me.
I need to check the Maybelline superstay 24 hour lipcolor that you mentioned Pamela. It gets a 5 star review on Beautypedia and I love the variety of shades. Not to mention the price; it might be the best alternative to my beloved but expensive Dior Lip Tattoo!
ABH Sultry palette probably tops the list, along with the UD Born to Run and Tarte Remix PRO palette. Diorskin Perfect Foundation and Hourglass Veil loose powder round out the 5.
Pat McGrath Bronze Temptation and Bite Kale!
I think none are new on the market this year, but each has given me joy at every use all year:
– Viseart Nuance palette — quality, lovely colors; the favorite palette of all I own
– Urban Decay Riff single — super flattering on me; I stray but every time I come back, I appreciate it
– Shiseido Pureness balancing softener toner — refreshing, doesn’t strip my skin, skin is much better off since I started using this
– Marc Jacobs Jazzberry highliner
– Guerlain Lingerie de Peau N01 foundation
* MAC Waterweight foundation
* Benefit Roller Lash
* MAC Snowflushed
* Benefit Gold Rush
* MAC Kinda Sexy
I ‘ve loved these products so much in 2018 🙂
Charlotte tilbury flawless filter (just got this a month ago and absolutely love it), mac hush (rediscovered love), MAC rebel lipstick, dior amber diamond (still my all time favorite), and during the summer i bathed myself in the becca and chrissy teigen palette.
In no particular order:
1. Loreal Color Riche Shine in the shade Map To Nirvana. I love the whole line and have purchased in the neighborhood of 10. Map To Nirvana is my favorite shade but everyone that I have tried is really lovely. For a sheer gloss type lippie these wear pretty well for me and are easy to carry in my purse and apply on the go.
2. UD Born To Run palette. This was the only palette that my daughter and I took with us to Europe for the 5 1/2 weeks we were gone. It really is the perfect palette to travel with as there were enough shades, depth of tone and finishes to suit both of us and our colouring and preferences are really different.
3. Guerlain Meteorites in Claire. I use them almost everyday and finishing powders are one of my favorite things. I have a ton of them and still buy more. At the end of makeup application I take a large, medium dense brush and really buff all the face products into the skin and then follow with a setting
mist. It just brings everything together. I know a lot of people think the scent is “old lady-ish” but first of all, I am an older lady and secondly, the scent reminds me of my grandmother. I think I would love the scent regardless as it is the scent of violets and I do like floral scents.
4. You guessed it, a setting mist. I love MAC FIX Plus. I try others throughout the year but always come back to MAC. I love everything about it.
5. I am just going to say Pat McGrath Labs anything. I have yet to try a product from PMGL that I haven’t loved.
Honorable Mentions: Sonia G brushes, Thrive Causemetics blush in Rosie, Marc Jacobs See-Quinns and the Surratt eye lash curler.
1.) Now that I’ve tried Nars Audacious Lipstick formula, I’m hooked! Sheena and Siouxsie are getting much usage, then again, so are the blushes from Nars that I bought this year. Easiest blushes to buff in and get a fabulous satiny glow out of!
2.) Pat McGrath EVERYTHING! Need I say more? Yeah, like you, I’m cheating a little with this….but hey! The stuff is that good.
3.) RCMA No Color Powder to set my undereye concealer without making it look horribly crepey and a thousand years old!
4.) UD All-Nighter Setting Spray. Why I haven’t tried this until this year I’ll never know. This stuff WORKS. Even in our extremely hot, very humid Monsoon season, this kept my makeup flawless all day long!
5.) A tie between ABH Amrezy and Ofra Glazed Donut highlighters. Both look utterly amazing and are adjustable from softly lit to full-on seen from outer space level.
I must add an honorable mention to MAC x Aaliyah collection, because I pushed for this for years as one of the earlier petitioners for it. For that reason, this did give me a sense of deep satisfaction that MAC did eventually honor Aaliyah with a collection that embody her more everyday makeup, although her more extravagant music video shades would have been a bit more welcome. Still enjoyed most of what they did….except that BIZARRE pale bronzer. Anyway. Thank you MAC for listening to us all!
*embodied. Thanks “autocorrect”. ?
I loved the MAC x Aaliyah collection. I wasn’t expecting to love the eye palette so much, but I ended up adoring it so much that I bought a backup when it went on sale.
IGK Mixed Feelings. Wow, this stuff is great if you are blonde or in my case, lavender haired and you need to combat brassiness.
Fenty Gloss Bomb in Fu$$y
KVD Brow Struck powder
my custom nude matte lipstick from the Bite Lip Lab
Wayne Goss 14 Brush
1. NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer in Abruzzo
2. NARS Hot Tryst Cheek Palette
3. Ace Beauté Paradise Fallen Eyeshadow Palette
4. Physicians Formula Butter Blush in Plum Rose
5. Wet n Wild Shade-Shifting Zombie Blush
1. ABH Sultry Palette
2. Colourpop Yes Please
3. MAC Margin Blush
4. Chanel Bronzer Soleil Tan
5. Loreal Colour Riche Shine Lipstick in Sparkling Rose and Glossy Fawn
Designer Brands Velvet Matte foundation
Colourpop Belle Lux lipstick
BH Cosmetics Duolight highlighter palette,
Viseart Paris Nudes eyeshadow palette
Korres Wild Rose serum, despite it now being discontinued…
1) sisley phyto teint eclat oil-free foundation: one of the most natural looking and streak-free foundations i’ve ever used.
2) loreal lash paradise mascara: fluffy yet soft lashes that lasts the whole day. i really enjoy the soft lashes as they dont crust and drop flakes into my eyes.
3) kosas tinted oil: fuss-free quick makeup. replaces my facial oil step in my skincare routine to speed things up
4) clarins detox booster: noticeably calmer and more even-toned skin from the green coffee extract. used every 2 or 3 days, this lasts a long time. worth every penny.
5) jane scrivner facial oils: i use both the rose oil and the rose hip oil. the first provides such a lovely sensorial experience with the pure scent of a good rose extract while the latter helps even the complexion and fade scarring. both oils are top notch quality and are the first oils i’ve ever ever used up and re-purchased. oils are notoriously difficult to use up, esp if one has a few, and the repurchase speaks to my love of them!
1. Anastasia’s Sultry Palette
2. City Colour eyeshadows
3. Colour Pop’s Brown Sugar lipsticks in Brick. Chocolatier, Cinnamon + Gallop and Liquid Courage
4. L’Oreal’s True Match Foundation in Rose Ivory
5. Clarins Prodige blush in Soft Peach – a beautiful, soft mattish shade.
1. Colourpop Dream Street palette
2. Nars Atomic Blonde palette
3. Still shimmer and glow in Jezebel
4. Lancome Monsieur Big mascara
5. Bite French Press gloss in Dirty Chai
Revlon Volumazing mascara
Juvia’s Place Warrior palette
Nyx butter gloss in Angel Food Cake and Praline
NARS velvet shadow stick in Oaxaca
Mac technakohl liner in Powersurge
Two Faced Born This Way Foundation
Pat McGrath Bronze Temptation, makes me want to try more of her eyeshadow palettes
UD Born This Way palette. YouTube has been helpful to me for putting different eye looks together. And, love the formula of these shadows.
Anastasia Sultry Palette. Love the different shades in here, different from all the others that I have.
Sonia G brushes.
Honorable mention. Color pop Yes Please
1. Marc Jacobs Hiliner in the deep brown shade, Earthquake? plus others
2. Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion foundation.
3 ABH e/s palettes. Most if not all.
4. CereVe miosturizers and face wash
5. NARS powder blushes
Pat McGrath and Viseart eyeshadows. Maybelline Rose Gold highlighter. Urban Decay Rebel lipstick. Mac highlighter in Double Gleam. Honorable mention to my Simple Human mirror that was my Christmas present to myself.
1. Suntegrity 5 in 1 Natural Tinted Moisturizing Face Sunscreen. I can’t say enough good things about this product. I’m not surprised this is a best seller among the green beauty lovers and was awarded “Champion Status” by the EWG/Compact for Safe Cosmetics. It can be used as a primer, treatment, tinted moisturizer, sunscreen. CF. It’s the best formula I’ve encountered, full of anti-inflammatory ingredients and antioxidants among others, and it has made my face better. It heals and protects. You can use a BB/CC cream/foundation on top of it. This has been my go-to this summer, on top of which I applied the Bare Minerals Original Mineral Foundation (powder). Those with rosacea, acne, eczema, lupus, sensitivities, will love it.
2. ABH Sultry palette. I love ABH eyeshadows in general. I might add the seven singles I purchased this year: Chiffon, Chocolate Crumble, Macaroon, Wine, Blazing, Legend, Baby Cakes.
3. Nudestix highlighter stick (or as they describe it, Nudies all over face color glow) in Illumi-Naughty. It is a color balm on one side and a detachable blending brush on the other. Gorgeous shade, with some interesting reflects, hard to describe. It gives a natural light (sort of wet look, but very natural). Love it in summer, love it in winter.
4. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit no. 4. Hate the price, love the product. It’s my first Hourglass Ambient palette and hadn’t been for the $100 reward (in exchange for the 2500 Sephora points), I would have not purchased it.
5. Dior Addict Lip Tattoo in 351 – Natural Nude. Well, this lip stain has been a life savior for me. It applies like a dream, thin formula, barely there feeling, does not dry my lips, stays put for hours and it does not transfer (this particular shade). I have other shades (Cherry something and the pink one released this summer), and I love them both but the 351 one is perfection for me. The fact that I can have my coffee in a light cup, or drink from a glass without leaving lip traces on it, it matters to me, especially at the office, in meetings or when with clients.
Honorable mentions:
Pat McGrath Sublime Bronze Temptation palette, her lip pencils (Buff, Bare Rose, Major Red), BlitzTrance Lipstick in Nude Romantique, Full Panic and 1995 matte lipsticks.
Chanel Première Éclosion 302 Eye Shadow Quad (Spring 2018)
Armani Eye Tint Liquid Eyeshadow in Cold Copper.
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Cool Lilac.
Givenchy Khol Couture Waterproof Retractable Eyeliner in African Bronze.
1. Pat McGrath everything
2. Guerlain Meteorites – love the scent, love it for buffing. It’s been a favorite for a few years now.
3. Tom Ford Cream Colors for eyes
4. Allure monthly Beauty Box
5. MAC pre-made palettes
Fenty Killawatt Foil highlighter-7daywknd/Poolside
Tarte Amazonian Clay blush-Unstoppable
Christian Louboutin Lash Amplifying Lacquer-Rouge Louboutin
Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation-2.5
Sephora Lipstories lipsticks-Hong Kong by Night and Labyrinth City
Tough call, my end of year would not be the same as early in the year, but here goes…
1. Tie: ABH Amrezy Highlighter
Natasha Denona Super Glow Highlighter
2. Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand
3. TARTE Park Ave Princess Bronzer and Contour Palette
4. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Luminous Flush
5. Tie:
Too Faced Natural Face Palette
Huda New Nudes Eyeshadow Palette
Runners Up:
TARTE Clay Play II palette is as close to the perfect all around palette I’ve seen. My only wish is a better highlighter; less chunky, more glowy…
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Unlocked Palette
Tatcha Silk Canvas Primer
Lacuna balm (Clarins dupe)
NARS Orgasm blush
Hourglass Dim Light powder
Kat Von D Tattoo liner
OPI Infinite Shine primer
Sephora Collection Brow Pencil – nothing particularly special about this pencil, but I tried filling in my brows more this year and I really like the effect
Becca Pressed Highlighter in Opal – love how this suits my skintone/undertone. Not too gold or yellow…it’s more beige-y
YSL Black Opium – love the coffee note in this
Maybelline Lipstick in Touchable Taupe – a bit drying, but nice to have a shade that I can easily match with almost any look
Boscia Cleansing Oil – A cleaning oil that effectively takes off my makeup without making me feel all greasy truly brings me joy lol
Pat McGrath eyeshadows
Charlotte Tilbury Bond Girl matte lipstick
Charlotte Tilbury Uptown Girl eye shadow quad
Hourglass Ambient Lightening Powder in Ethereal Light
Charlotte Tilbury Brow Lift in Supermodel
I also must mention my MAC brush, I can’t remember the number, and it’s so well used I can’t read it, it’s the old flat, white eyeshadow brush I use it every day I also used Wayne Goss no 16 every day this year.
UD Crisis lipstick. This one is a perfect everyday color on me, but has such a nice depth of color to it. It always makes me smile when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
BH Cosmetics Aurora Lights palette. This is the year I really discovered colorful eye looks and I’ve had so much fun playing with this palette especially.
MAC Face & Body foundation. This is my HG (well, my current one, anyway ?).
Sunprise Light and Airy sunscreen. Not only does it not feel heavy; it evens out my skin enough that I almost always skip primer, and sometimes even foundation when I’m wearing it.
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream (the giant tub). Exactly what my skin needs to survive Midwest winters.
BH everything honestly. Between them and Colourpop, there are just so many beautiful yet affordable products and brushes out there!
Yes! BH Zodiac could easily have been on this list, too.
1. Dior Forever Undercover Foundation
2. ABH Sultry (My surprise superstar palette)
3. Mac Oh Sweetie lipcolors
4. Cover Fx Illuminating Setting Spray
5. Nars Atomic Blonde face/eye palette
Of course there are many more, but these are the ones that came to mind when I think of repeated happy uses.
Milani baked blushes my favorites rose d’ oro, berry amore, corallina, luminoso. Soft, sultry beautiful! I also have the brighter delicioso pink & bella rosa but must apply softly and blend as they deliver a punch of color on a pale face. Milani bronzers are very soft but no added spf which is ok. too. I did not like Physians Formula crazy strong coconut scent although it does disappear quickly I think don’t want to smell like a coconut tree fell on me.
Cera Ve in big jar yes! Paula hates it in her podcast but that thing is awesome on my face and I use with washed hands I don’t get the big fuss about it. Lol!
Cera Ve facial cleanser.
WetnWild & Colourpop many, many things! WetnWild highliters, lipsticks, blushes, bronzer. Colourpop super shocks and pressed powder as well so good!
Hourglass Lighting palette! I need to get their blushes and everything else too.
L’Oreal Regenerist glycolic night cream, pads and facial wash.
I think I’ve exceeded the 5 limit but could go on. 🙂
.
Oh! Forgot to mention my very beloved L’Oréal Lumi C3/Cool is perfect i mostly use it for going out in the day time I go with Garnier BB cream or Aveeno although the Aveeno one can gee too dewey I pat it down sometimes with a round powder puff on forehead. Will definetely be repurchasing Loreal Lumi foundation!
Hard one, as I don’t think any product can bring me “joy” in the truest sense fo the word, but I get the point of the question so I’ll say here are the ones that I used most and felt pleasure at using (and trusted their results)…
Estée Lauder’s Double Wear Nude Water Fresh Makeup (just always works and makes me look near flawless, because nothing is “flawless” IMO)
Dior Backstage Face & Body Foundation (excellent for a more matte finish than the Water Fresh, but not too matte)
Skin creams (I’ve been testing a few, but transitioned from Yves Rocher to Clinique, in particular Moisture Surge) With age, I’m needing those creams and serums more 😉 And they feel good wearing when you find one that you like on your skin.
I’d still say my Natasha Denona palettes. I don’t use them more than others, but I seem to have more fun, predictable results and enjoy coming up with new looks.
Guerlain Rouge G bullet case (and n° 2). I just like the feel of it in my hand when I hold or use it!
AND
Fenty Gloss Bomb, in Fenty Glow and Diamond Milk. They smell and look nice! (I know that’s n°6, but I couldn’t leave her out. 😉 )
Pat McGrath lipsticks (both the LuxeTrance and my single MatteTrance)
Juvia’s Place Warrior palette
Melt Cosmetics eyeshadows
CoverFx Celestial Pearl Highlighting Drops
GrandeCosmetics Lip Plumper….yeah, it’s actually doing a noticeable (to me) amount of “fluffing” my lips back to their original size before age and dehydration started shrinking them.