What products have impressed you the most so far this year?
Here are a few that have earned my “coveted” Temptalia Recommende seal of approval this year… Kevyn Aucoin’s Neo Blush Trios (Sunset & Rose Cliff), Huda Beauty’s Coral Palette, ColourPop’s Festival Pressed Powder Shadows (La Playa, Slay-farer, Formation, Night Show, Deja Boo,m Bratty, Lay Low), Urban Decay Outspoken Vice Lipstick, Pat McGrath Palettes (Sublime & Subliminal MTRSHP, Decadence), Natasha Denona Darya Blush Palette.
— Christine
Juvia’s Place eyeshadows, Avene Ultra Light Mineral sunscreen and Flower Beauty radiant skin foundation
I think most of my makeup purchases were for products released before 2018, but here are my favorites of the year so far (I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things):
• MAC Mineralize Blush in Sweet Enough
• Smashbox Vlada Petal Metal Highlighters in Gilded Rose and Rosemantic (I use the latter as a blush)
• Wet ‘n’ Wild Megaglo Highlighter in Precious Petals
• Colourpop Lux Lipsticks
• Sephora Lipstories Lipsticks
• Mugler Aura perfume
I just got the Colourpop Fame Eyeshadow Palette, but I haven’t worked with it enough to know if I’m impressed yet. Same goes for the Chanel Stylo Yeux in Charme Eyeliner.
The new Sephora lip stories lipsticks! A good lipstick at a great value. I wore Labyrinth City on my wedding day.
I love Coconut Girl and Hong Kong by Night!
I have 4 or 5 of them in my loves list.
Pat McGrath’s eyeshadow palettes and Luxetrance lipsticks – quality and luxe packaging, yay!
PatrickStarrr’s collaborations with MAC – nothing groundbreaking, but for seasonal releases and collaboration, they are done well and the quality is there. Usually MAC’s collaborations with xxx have to get by on over the top packaging or hype and/but/because the quality is abysmal.
I haven’t tried any new products this year, only New to Me stuff. NARS Sheer Lipstick in Dolce Vita, MAC Studio Finish Concealer, Real Techniques Powder Blue and Bold Metal brushes.
Kat Von D Brow Struck, I can’t live without it!!
Agreed! That powder is magic!
Not a new product (but just discovered by me) is Laura Geller LashBoss mascara. Absolutely the best mascara I’ve ever used.
If we’re not talking about newer releases, just things that we’ve gotten this year: Viseart Amethyst and Petit Pro palette (the original), ABH Soft Glam, Physician’s Formula The Healthy Foundation, L’Oreal Colour Riche Shine Lipsticks are all things that have impressed me and that I use over and over.
The 2 Smashbox Trios I got – Showmance and Night Shoot. I also really enjoy using the Pat McGrath Sublime Bronze Ambition palette I got but would love it more if it had a lighter shade along the lines of MAC Phloof or Dazzlelight. I also bought 2 bottles of Laura Biagiotti Roma because I like it so much.
Also, how could I forget the Hourglass Veil loose powder. The price is excessive and I still have my Hourglass grudge but I’m willing to make a loophole for that powder.
As controversial as it may be, I’d have to say Jeffree Star’s Blood Sugar palette… Not only is the actual quality phenomenal, the color story is absolutely unique, and really speaks to my aesthetic. As soon as he revealed it, I had to have it. Another pick is the Lime Crime Venus XL palette, along with the two previous Venus palettes; as soon as I saw they came to ULTA, I decided to bite the proverbial bullet, and ordered all three (as soon as I received them, Venus 3 was released, so that’s next, LOL!).
I recently picked up several of the MELT stacks, after years of debate, and I love them all! I hope I’m able to nab the Gemini palette, and the 2 stacks I don’t have (the neon one & the newer one that came out after I ordered…). As amazing as the shadows are, I was let down by the eyeliner pencils I ordered…
I’ve been happy with all my purchases this year, but since nothing was really “new” to me (brands/products I’ve already tried), i knew what to expect.
I love the Melt stacks too! I’m really excited to try Gemini (I have it waiting for me at home when I get back from vacation!). The Blood Sugar palette also looked really gorgeous, I’m glad you like it!
I can’t get my hands on that JS Blood Sugar palette. I wanted it so bad, but I’ve had to go without it for so long that the more I look at it, the less I feel like I need it. JS should have had enough ready to go so that when the impulse struck, people could buy. It’s been out of stock for months now.
I got mine on eBay, for about $90 USD, which wasn’t that bad of a price, since it would have been about $60 with tax, and even more with shipping. If it’s the color story that really interests you, and not just the packaging, take a look at BeBella Maroon Mayhem, which is runs less than $30 USD!
1. W3ll People Multi-Use cream Stick in Nude Rose. I’ve used it the entire winter and in early spring.
2. Chanel Les Quatre Ombres # 302 Première Éclosion (2018 Spring coll.). This has been a staple in my makeup routine so far. Easy to use, no endless blending and colour combination, for which I don’t have time in the morning. I’m using the dark colour as en eyeliner on my upper lash line.
3. Chanel Premières Fleurs Harmony of Powders 2018 Illuminating Blush
4. Becca Hydra-Mist Set & Refresh Powder
5. Milk Makeup РKush High Volume Mascara. This one has replaced my Lanc̫me Monsieur Big.
6. Suntegrity 5-in-1 Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30 (non-nano zinc) in the shade Light. It can be used as tinted moisturizer or as a primer. Because of the ingredients, it is recommended as a treatment for those with acne, rosacea, melasma.
7. MAC Skew lipstick.
8. Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector
9. Sephora lip scrub brush (it’s a double-sided silicone lip brush, super gentle, effective and hygienic).
Other new discoveries for me (not new on the market though): MAC Mineralize Blush Into the Pink (thanks to Mariella), MAC lip duo Mehr/Soar, MAC Crosswires and MAC Plumful lipsticks.
I was really impressed by Olaplex too! It has definitely saved a lot of my hair!
Mine too! I’ve used many hair conditioners/ masks/leaves-in trying to get rid of the dryness and frizziness but nothing comes close to Olaplex.
Mac studio fix fluid. I know it’s not a new product by any means, but I’ve only gotten around to trying it this year and I absolutely love it. Same with the too faced peachy mattes – not new this year, but new to me, and I love it. Also been loving the becca x sanas parisian lights highlighter, so sad that it’s LE.
MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation is new to me too and I’m very impressed with it!
Quite a few, actually!
Smashbox Vlada collection has some stunning items, like Rosemantic Highlighter and Petal Metal Covershot palette, UD Beached eyeshadow palette and Outspoken Vice Lipstick, Pat McGrath La Vie En Rose, but also the other 2 MTHRSHP mini palettes all impress! Fenty’s Beach, Please collection, ABH Amrezy highlighter and Soft Glam Palette. Plus, ColourPop knocked it out of the park with their spring pressed eyeshadows, Lux Lipsticks and USLS’s new shades! While I do realize that my new tube of PMG Luxetrance Lipstick in She’s Heaven is not new for spring, it is for me! It is the most perfect nude lipstick I own for my coloring!
* Nars Erdem Collection Loves Me Not Blush — swoon.
* Nars Erdem Collection Fleur Fatale eye palette
*Pat McGrath Platinum Bronze eye palette
*Sephora Lip Stories lipstick. For $8, I’m impressed.
*Laura Mercier Eye Basics Primer in Wheat. Never have had a primer straighten out skin tone so perfectly on me.
New in 2018: CP Drive Me Crazy SSC, CP festival eyeshadow releases (Hop On, Bratty, Chauffeur, Formation, Fault Line, Slay-farer), PMG Platinum Bronze palette
*fingers crossed I’ll impressed by the Melt Gemini palette*
New to me: Wet n’ Wild Photofocus eyeshadow primer (I don’t miss my UD primer potion at all!), Bite Multisticks (Honeywheat), Nudestix Bondi Bae, Glossier Boy Brow, Glossier Generation G in Zip, Glossier Super Pure
Continue to impress: CP Lunch Money, Glossier Cloud Paints, Bite Multisticks (Cashew + Blondie), Fenty Amber Matchstix, Fenty Gloss Bomb, Too Faced Sugar Daddy
Just purchased Bobbi Brown’s Skin Long Wear Weightless Foundation and I’m pretty impressed by how long it stays fresh looking and not maskey even though it is a lighter matte formula. Have mostly oily face and needed a foundation that would last through the course of the day especially with hot summer weather coming.
I don’t always focus on new releases and just discover or rediscover products in the permanent line. So I’m not sure when things were technically released but I have been in love with…
Fenty Killawatt Highlighter in Lighting Dust & Fire Crystal
MAC Qween Supreme Eyeshadow Palette
Sephora Lipstories in Oui, Tan Lines and Brunch Date
ABH Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette
I don’t know if I’ve bought a single product this year that was actually a recent launch, but the best new-to-me products of 2018 are:
Kevyn Aucoin contour powder- I have Medium, and it’s perfect for my neutral to cool, light skin. Best contour color ever, and I had been afraid it would be too warm. I almost went with Fenty because I loved how cool Amber was, but this blends out effortlessly and the color is flawless on.
Devacurl Low Poo Delight- It’s a low foaming shampoo for wavy hair that is very moisturizing but rinses away thoroughly so it isn’t heavy on really fine strands. It’s been great for hydrating my frizzy-wavy hair without weighing it down at the roots.
Fenty Confetti- Technically it isn’t actually the best performing product, seeing as it’s rather hard and doesn’t wear all day, but it’s so fun and pretty. I love it for a pop of glitter on the high point of already highlighted cheekbones. Gets lots of compliments.
Nars Velvet Shadow Stick in Oaxaca- gorgeous everyday taupe with buildable color.
MAC Brow Gel- I have the light taupe one that is actually medium to darker ashy brown. It coats the hairs better and is a better color (not red!!!) for brunettes than Anastasia or any of the other brands at Sephora I tried.
I think this year it has been, for me, the lipsticks and a few eyeshadow palettes:
Sephora Lipstories
Colour Pop Lux lipsticks
Smashbox Petal Metal eyeshadow palette
Pat McGrath Bronze Ambition and Subliminal palettes
Persona Identity palette
Hourglass Ravine Graphik palette.
These have been what impressed me the most.
Very happy to report multiple purchases impressed me. These are new to me this year: Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Finish powder, Bare Minerals Gen Nude blush, Marc Jacobs Tan Tastic coconut bronzer, Tarte Chrome Pots & ROTS Finger paint palette, KVD Lock It Brightening Powder, ABH Amrezy highlighter, Tarte Park Ave Princess palette, KKW x Mario eyeshadow palette and the Mermaid palette by Tarte.
Cle De Peau’s The Foundation, absolutely amazing, blurs fine lines & imperfections, incredible skin-like finish, long wearing, and comfortable on my dry, mature skin- don’t think it would work for oily skin though.
Prestige True Kohl Kajal eye pencil- an incredibly good $6 pencil- rivals my high-end pencils in intensity, application & wear.
L’oreal UV Perfect Even Complexion 50 SPF 12h Longlasting Protector- picked this up in Hong Kong, fab tinted sunscreen that doubles as a primer under makeup with no flashback
GOSH of Denmarks’ Forever Waterproof Matt Eyeshadow Sticks- love’em! Bought them all! super easy & truly long-wearing matt cream eyeshadow that makes a great base for powder shadows & does not bother my contact lenses nor my dry lids.
Path Mcgraft’s Mothership palettes, Violet Voss Hashtag palette, Urban Decay Naked Heat, Makeup Forever – Star Lit palette , Becca Dreamsicle highlighter and every time I wear Fenty Plutonic Relationship Cosmic lip gloss I get lots of compliments.
Dose of Colors Marvelous Mauves!!! My first ES palette in years! Yay! Great mattes! Double and triple Yays!!!
I’m just going with new/new to me items here:
ABH Matte Lipsticks, ColourPop Pressed Shadows and Lux Lipsticks; Huda Beauty’s Obsessions Palettes; Wet n Wild Catsuit liquid lipsticks; Physician’s Formula Butter Bronzer in Light Bronze, and Butter Blushes in Plum Rose and Vintage Rouge; Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara;Urban Decay x Kristen Leanne Collection; Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Outspoken; Kat von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Divine. Pat McGrath MTHRSHP Subversive La Vie En Rose Eyeshadow Palette; Coastal Scents Hot Pot eyeshadows.
I have bought a lot of BH palettes this year, some 2018 releases and some older. I have fallen in love with their shadows and highlighters. Also, I fell in love all over again with my KVD Alchemist palette. I got a Dior Foundation in a beauty box from the UK (CC Beauty) that is just perfect for me in every way. And I also have been loving Pretty Vulgar gel eyeliner (thank you, BoxyCharm) and Too Faced Melted in Clover.
Also…not sure if I got this this year or last, but the CoverFX Illuminating Setting Spray (also BoxyCharm) is a must-have for me.
I’m anticipating being impressed with the Jaclyn Hill Morphe Vault!!