Hi everyone,
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, I hope Santa was good to you all. 😉 I had a really nice, but quiet Christmas, which was exactly what I wanted and needed. I’m looking forward to the new year and what it might bring, not to mention the brighter weather coming our way and hopefully, another good summer too. 😉
I asked on Instagram Stories a while back if you would like my regular hits & misses, my overall favourites or both and one poll said 2018 favourites and then in another poll said both, so I did both. I will have a separate post for skincare. I’ll do this in order of how I apply products to my face.
Face/Base
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer is another gorgeous primer I’ve been loving this year. I used up several samples before purchasing the full size because of how expensive it is.
It’s a gorgeous lightweight, hydrating primer that gives my skin a lovely velvetiness and my foundation applies nicely over it. Expensive, but worth it.
Catrice’s Priming Serum has been one of my go-to affordable primers this year. It’s a beautiful product. Creamy, illuminating, absorbs quickly and works well under and mixed with foundation. Under €5 too so a bargain to boot. Review here.
There have been quite a few foundations this year, two are by NARS, the Sheer Glow & their Radiant Longwear. I adore both of these. They are as their names suggest and they work beautifully on my dry skin. NARS Brand Spotlight post here.
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Foundation has been another go-to. Although it has a matte finish, it’s not a flat matte and it’s not drying, doesn’t emphasise texture or dryness. It’s longwearing and it applies beautifully. Huge shade range too so there is something for everyone. Review here.
Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water SPF 30 was another great discovery for me this year. It’s a beautiful lightweight BB Water that gives light, medium and full coverage. It’s easy to build coverage without looking heavy or cakey.
NARS Radiant Creamy Longwear concealer – This is a beautiful, creamy, radiant, longwearing concealer with excellent coverage and minimal. Full review here.
Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer – This is another beautiful concealer that gives full coverage with only a tiny bit needed per application. It’s not too dissimilar to the NARS concealer above, it’s just not as creamy and I found it harder to get a good match for me. Other than that, it’s a firm favourite and definite repurchase for me.
Without a shadow of a doubt my two favourites this year have been Clarins 2018 Summer Bronzer and Marc Jacobs Coconut Bronzer. Review of Clarins here and Marc Jacobs here.
They are two beautiful products with gorgeous formula’s that apply and blend beautifully and look gorgeous on the skin. They’re not orange/mucky/muddy/dirty looking, they just give a healthy warmth without being overkill.
Benefit GALifornia and Gold Rush have been standouts in terms of blush. They are gorgeous on the skin and they give a lovely flush of colour without being over the top.
I have three liquid illuminators/highlighters and one powder. Bobbi Brown’s All Over Glow, Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter and Marc Jacobs Dew Drops have been my go-to liquid illuminators this year. They are stunning and give my skin a beautiful, healthy glow. They cause no issues with my foundation application, performance or wear time.
Bobbi Brown’s All Over Glow – This gives a glass like glow which is beautiful. It’s a gel texture and it applies really nicely, but doesn’t disturb my foundation/base.
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter – I love this on days where I am wearing light makeup, it gives a beautiful dewy glow to my skin but doesn’t look greasy, shiny or oily. I loved wearing this during the hot weather because I knew it’d last and not melt off me. A beautiful product and a staple for me now. Full review here.
Marc Jacobs Coconut Fantasy Dew Drops – These are stunning. They are a gorgeous pinky-golden colour but they give such an intense glow both under and mixed into foundation and they smell gorgeous. Full review here.
Anastasia Beverly Hills X Amrezy Highlighter. Hands down this has become my all-time favourite powder highlighter. It is stunning, absolutely stunning. A beautiful pale gold that just melts into the skin giving a stunning glow but without being over the top. Full review here.
Eyes
This category is one that I really struggled with, mainly because there are so many eye shadows and eye palettes that stood out for me this year. Two in particular are Bobbi Brown’s Nude on Nude Eye Palettes.
These are absolutely stunning palettes, the bronze one is my favourite, I just adore the shade selection, pigmentation, texture, formula, application and longevity of the shadows in both palettes. I have a full review and swatches on both palettes here.
Marc Jacobs Eye-Conic Eyeshadow Palette in Fantascene which was part of their Coconut Fantasy Collection. This is a beautiful palette, from the formula, colours, longevity, just everything about it. They are some of the best eyeshadows I’ve used. They are very pigmented so a light hand is needed. Full review and swatches on the Coconut Collection here.
Inglot AMC Gel Liner in #77 – This is my absolute favourite eyeliner. It is incredibly pigmented, long wearing, has a matte finish and once it’s on, it doesn’t move. I need to use an oil cleanser to remove it. It’s €15, which is a great price considering the quality of it. Full review here.
Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Major Volumizing Mascara – This mascara was one I had been wanting to try for absolutely ages and when I finally did try it – it didn’t disappoint, in any way, shape or form.
It ticks every box I want a mascara to tick. It gives me everything I want in a mascara and then some. If you like lengthened, defined, voluminous and super black lashes, this mascara is the one for you. Full review here.
Benefit BADgal BANG! Mascara – This is another fabulous mascara. It gives excellent length and volume but without any clumping. You need to really work this from the very root of the lashes though to get the full effect, but it’s worth doing because of how it makes my lashes look.
Lips
Standout lipliners for me this year have been by PS… Beauty by Penneys. These are only €1.50 each and a complete steal for that price. They are very creamy and smooth, very pigmented. They apply really nicely and evenly without dragging on the lips and they are not drying either.
They come in a few shades too, there are nudes, pinks, berries, reds and browns. They are very comparable to MAC’s Pro Longwear Lip Liners, but for a fraction of the price. If you see these, pick them up, you won’t regret it! Review here.
Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Crème in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang has been my absolute favourite of the year. It is comfortable to wear, pigmented, long lasting, easy to apply, wears off evenly and isn’t patchy.
Follow me on Bloglovin’, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.