Hey guys, I’m back with my 2019 Best of Beauty. I had actually planned on putting this up long before now, but due to a few different things, I didn’t get to publish it as soon as I would have liked. This post will focus solely on any hair, body and skincare products, because there are a lot of them. I will have a separate post for makeup only because if I included makeup in this post, it would be way too long, so I feel a separate post is better for it.
It feels like only yesterday that I wrote my 2018 overall favourites. 😲 I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed celebrating with your nearest and dearest, and I hope Santa was good to you all, too. 😜
Rather than go through each product individually, I will split them into categories as I have quite a number of products and this is the easiest way for me to go through them all. As always, if there are any products you have been thoroughly enjoying this year, be the newbies or oldies but goodies, let me know in the comments, I would love to hear from you and hear what you have been loving this year.
Body
Derma V10 Body Oil & Waxperts Beautiful Body Oil – These are two gorgeous oils that I love to apply after a bath or shower, or sometimes mix in with a body moisturiser. They aren’t greasy and they don’t leave a greasy film or residue on my skin.
They absorb relatively quickly and don’t leave any stains or marks on my clothes or bedding. I love the scent of each of them, but in particular the Waxperts Oil, which is surprising as Lavender isn’t a scent I usually like, but this is really lovely and it’s not too strong either, which may be why I love it.
I particularly love to use the Waxperts Oil after I shave; it really soothes my skin and leaves a lovely protective layer over it. I normally apply tan about 24 hours later, and I haven’t found this to cause any issues whatsoever with application or development of the tan and each tan wears off as normal.
The Derma V10 oil I got from Dealz and the Waxperts Oil in a gift set. It seems to be discontinued, but if you do see it, I highly recommend picking it up.
Dove Pro Age Body Butter & Body Wash – Both of these came recommended by Zarrine and both I adore. The body butter is thick and rich, very similar to The Righteous Butter by Soap & Glory (a long-time favourite of mine).
Despite the thickness and richness of it, it sinks in pretty quickly and doesn’t leave any stickiness on my skin. It smells really lovely too. I’ve repurchased this already as it is on offer for half price, so if you’ve been thinking of trying it, now would be a good time. Available from Boots for €2.99
The body wash is a lovely creamy wash with the same scent as the body butter. I love this, it reminds me a lot of my favourite Palmolive shower cream. This Dove one is just as creamy and a little goes a long way. My skin loved this and it felt nourished after I used this. Highly recommend. Available from Boots.
SoSu Dripping Gold Medium Body Mousse, Wonder Water Face Tan, St. Tropez Purity Water Body Mousse & Face Tanning Water – I’ve been a big fan of both of these from the moment I tried them. They are just gorgeous and they both give a gorgeous colour to my skin.
The Wonder Water in particular is great if you like to wear a very light base with barely-there coverage as it gives a nice colour and glow to the skin, but without being over the top.
The St. Tropez Purity Water Face Tan gives a nice light barely-there colour to my skin, which I love. The colour this gives my skin is lighter than that of the Wonder Water, but I still love it and I adore the scent of it too, it smells like peaches and apricots, which I adore.
The Dripping Gold body Mousse gives a gorgeous, slightly deep colour to my skin and develops quickly. I don’t like to let tan develop as I sleep, I prefer to apply in the early morning and allow it develop throughout the day, and this does that perfectly and doesn’t transfer onto my clothing. It doesn’t have that typical ‘tan smell’ that most tans do have, which is a plus for me.
Hair
If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that the Alfaparf Milano Semi Di Lino Moisture Nutritive Shampoo, Detangling Fluid, Leave-In Conditioner & Nutritive Mask along with the Phyto Phytokératine Extrême Mask Exceptional Mask* & Repairing Thermal Protectant Spray*, have been my go-to haircare products in 2019. Both Phyto products were very kindly gifted by Cosmetics Online.
I suffer with dry, itchy, flaky scalp that reacts to a lot of products, but thanks to the Alfaparf Milano products along with the Phyto Phytokératine Extrême Mask Exceptional Mask*, my sensitivity has improved, as has the itchiness, dryness and flakiness of my scalp. They have become my absolute favourite haircare products and are products I have repurchased and will continue to repurchase.
Skin
I have four cleansers to show you and one cleansing tool, one of the cleansers is a cream cleanser that I use to remove makeup and for a quick cleanse in the morning to before going in with a second cleanser and it is the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo-Cleanser, which is a gentle, but effective cream cleanser.
I love this to remove makeup before going in with a second cleanser and cleansing brush to remove whatever makeup is left on my skin. Available from Boots.
For a second cleanse I like to use either the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel or Superdrug Calm Skin Soothing Facial Wash, both of which I adore. The Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel is my favourite though as it is super gentle but very effective. I love how my skin feels when I use this. A small bit is all that’s needed as it turned to an oil when massaged into the skin and when rinsed off my skin feels so soft and clean. This doesn’t strip my skin or leave it feeling tight or dry.
The Superdrug Calm Skin Soothing Facial Wash is a lovely, effect but yet super gentle facial wash that I love to use in the morning or sometimes at night if I’ve been wearing makeup and my skin is a little red and irritated, this will soothe it and leave it feeling supple and clean but not dry, tight or stripped.
There is a fifth cleanser but I am currently out of it and so I couldn’t photograph it, but it the Oskia Perfect Cleanser, and it’s one I’ve used and loved for years. It’s similar to the Renaissance Cleanser, in that it is a thick gel consistency that turns into an oil once massaged into the skin and when mixed with water it turns to a milky consistency.
It’s quite a bit thicker than the Renaissance Cleanser, but it doesn’t leave a greasy or oily residue on my skin. My skin feels supple, soft and clean.
With both Oskia Cleansers, I like to use my One Blossom Mini Silicone Cleansing Tool to ensure that every bit of makeup is fully removed and my skin is squeaky clean. I don’t use the One blossom every day, only on the days that I wear makeup and I find it works great for removing any residual makeup, but it isn’t harsh on my skin.
The fifth, final and my most favourite discovery of 2019 is without a doubt the Boots No7 Radiant Results Nourishing Cleansing Balm. This is a fabulous cleansing balm that effectively breaks down makeup for quick and easy removal. It’s super gentle and perfect for those of us with sensitive skin and eyes. This doesn’t cause any stinging or irritation around my eyes and doesn’t give me ‘cloudy eyes’. I have recently reviewed this in full here, so make sure to check out that post if you’re in the mark for an affordable but effective and gentle cleansing balm.
For eye care I have four products, but only three to photograph as the other I finished earlier this year and have not yet repurchased. The one I don’t have is the Clinique All About Eyes Rich eye cream. This is one I’ve used and loved for years.
It is a gorgeous thick eye cream that really helps with puffiness and moisturising my eye area. Despite being a thick cream, it absorbs quickly and provides a lovely base for makeup. My other eye cream is the Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream, which is exactly as the name suggests it is — hydrating.
This is a gorgeous eye cream that is deeply hydrating and nourishing my eye area. It’s slightly thick but very creamy and provides a nice base for makeup. A tiny bit of both this, and the Clinique cream are all you need, so they last for ages.
The third eye cream I have is the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Ultra Eye Cream, which is a lovely, lightweight, but soothing cream. This on its own doesn’t provide enough hydration for my eye area, but with a little bit of my Bobbi cream dabbed over the top and the two together are just gorgeous and provide enough hydration and moisturisation for my eye area, but without being too much.
If you have normal skin and don’t require much hydration or moisturisation then this would be a good one to try and it’s under €20 in Boots, so it’s quite affordable in comparison to both the Bobbi and Clinique eye creams, both of which are almost double the price.
The final eye product I have is The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG, which is ah-mazing if you suffer from dark circles. This will quite literally help to get rid of the darkness. It’s important to note though that if your darkness is caused by genetics then this serum may not help, but if you’re not predisposed to darkness, then this might be something worth trying. It’s only €6.70 in Boots, so it’s very inexpensive and worth a try.
As you can tell from the above photo, I have a number of masks, most are hydrating, as I have dry skin so hydration is something I need a lot of. There is one other mask, which I am currently out of (for the first time ever!) and it is the GlamGlow Supermud Mask and if you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know it is my absolute holy grail mask.
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- Avène Tolérance Extrême Mask
- Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask
- Oskia London Renaissance Mask
- Superdrug Calm Skin Relaxing Overnight Mask
- Superdrug Simply Pure Leave – On Water Mask
- The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution
- VitaminSea.Beauty Marine Algae Coconut Water H20 Gel Mask
I love the Supermud for really keeping my skin clear and free of gunk. I am lucky that I don’t suffer from spots or acne regularly, if I am extremely stressed out then I tend to get a stress break-out, but it’s nothing major, but this mask really helps to clear up any spots I do get and it works quickly.
The Avène Tolérance Extrême mask is one I love to use after I’ve used The Ordinary’s Peeling Solution, as it really helps to hydrate and nourish my skin and leave it calm. It also helps with any redness after I’ve removed The Ordinary Peeling Solution. Both Superdrug masks are gorgeous overnight masks, the Leave-On Water Mask is quite cooling, which is lovely after I’ve used The Ordinary’s Peeling Solution or GlamGlow’s Supermud.
The VitaminSea.Beauty mask is my favourite hydrating mask at the moment and has been for about two months now. I use it constantly. It’s super hydrating and makes my skin super glowy, so much so that I’ve been complimented on my skin and how glowy it is and this is the only thing I can put it down to. My skin is bright and radiant, but this adds an extra glow. It’s beautiful under makeup too, especially if you love a glowy base.
The Oskia London Renaissance Mask is one that is perfect to use before a night out, event etc. as it really brightens up your skin and adds a gorgeous glow, just like the VitaminSea.Beauty mask. I love how my skin looks and feels after I use this. It’s very expensive, but absolutely worth it in my opinion.
The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution is a gorgeous mask to use for really smoothing my skin and giving it a radiant appearance. I have mildly sensitive skin but I haven’t experienced any negative reactions to this product, my skin is mildly red after I remove it, but that would be normal for me after I use a mask like this or like GlamGlow’s Supermud. There was no irritation though and once I apply the Avène Tolérance Extrême mask the redness seems to ease.
I have four moisturisers, but can only show three as the other one I am using, I have had to cut the tube open to get the last of it out. 🙈 I have two by La Roche-Posay and two by Dr. Jart. The two by La Roche-Posay are the Toleriane Ultra Moisturisers for Sensitive Skin, I use both the day and night versions.
I adore both of these. They are very light but still moisturising and perfect to use after a mask as they help to sooth and calm my skin. They’re not greasy and don’t leave a residue on my skin, which I love. They’re about €20 each and if you suffer with sensitive skin, these are worth checking out.
The two from Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Cream & Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Gel Cream, both of these are gorgeous to use. I prefer the gel cream for daytime as it’s light and less rich and thick than the Ceramidin Cream, which I prefer for night time as it’s richer. I don’t like how my makeup applies or wears over the Ceramidin Cream, but it applies and wears as normal over the gel cream. To my knowledge this particular line from Dr. Jart is discontinued, though it is available in TK Maxx, which is where I bought these.
I have five serums, all of which I will absolutely repurchase because they are just fabulous and very inexpensive. The serums I really loved and were standouts for me last year are:
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- Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating Day & Night Serums
- The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid & Polyglutamic Acid
- The Ordinary Lactic Acid
Both Superdrug serums are exactly as the names suggest they are — hydrating. I particularly love to layer them with both of The Inkey List serums and for my skin I can get away without a moisturiser, or a very light moisturiser. I generally prefer to use a light layer of a light moisturiser just because of how dry (and dehydrated) my skin is though. The Polyglutamic Acid makes a beautiful base for makeup, it is quite velvety on the skin and makeup just applies beautifully over it and performs as normal.
With the Polyglutamic Acid, I’m not the biggest fan of the packaging, only because when I finished my first one, after I did my empties post (here) I went to wash it to reuse it, and when I took the entire top off, there was a lot of product still in there, that could easily have gone to waste had I just binned the bottle. I got about another six weeks use from what was left over. This is the only critique I have for this. I just think the packaging could be better as then maybe less product may be wasted if people are just binning it without taking the top off.
The Lactic Acid from The Ordinary I love for really smoothing my skin and helping with texture issues. I don’t have a huge amount of texture, but I do get these little bumps on the backs of my arms and I find that this has helped hugely with those. I really want to try the Ameliorate this, but when I read post by Siobhán over on Beautylymin, I figured I would try the Lactic Acid before splashing out, and I am so glad I did, because it has helped hugely. Now, the bumps aren’t gone completely so I will definitely be trying some Ameliorate products, but for something that costs so little, it was worth a try.
I love to use the Lactic Acid on my face also and it helps to keep it smooth, so I rarely need to use a physical exfoliator and if I do, I use the Oskia Micro Exfoliating Balm (review here) as it’s my favourite physical exfoliant, as it’s gentle yet effective.
I have two lip balms and two oils left to talk about. The first oil is the Herbivore Phoenix Regenerating Facial Oil, and it is beautiful. It is a gorgeous, lightweight, non-greasy, moisturising oil that I love using at night, or sometimes mixed in with a matte foundation for an extra glow. It doesn’t cause my makeup to break down, smear/slide around my skin etc. any makeup I’ve worn over or mixed with this has applied and performed as normal.
The second oil is the Superdrug Calm Skin De-Stress Balancing Facial Oil, which is cheap as chips and works wonderfully. I love using this at night as it has such a relaxing scent, but it’s great during the day too, especially on days where I know I won’t be wearing makeup. I sometimes will apply this over my skincare in the mornings and go about my day and when I wash my face to do my skincare at night, my skin feels supple.
The two lip balms are my holy grail Nuxe Rêve de Miel and the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask. These two are just fabulous and I’m out of both at the moment, but I will 100% be repurchasing them. The Nuxe one is my favourite and I adore the scent, it smells like honey and oranges, which I love. It’s quite a thick balm, but melts down nicely when it comes into contact with the warmth of your skin.
The Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask is similar, but I found it slightly hard to get out of the tube because of how thick it is and it goes almost solid when it is cold, but I can get over that for how much I loved this. It’s not currently available within Ireland/Europe so I tend to order it from Sephora when I am ordering from the U.S.. It’s fairly pricey for a lip balm/mask, but it’s totally worth it in my opinion.
I unfortunately don’t have either lip balm at the moment and haven’t repurchased either as I am doing (well trying to do) a low-buy and using up products I have before purchasing new ones, and currently I am using the Kiehl’s Buttermask For Lips, which I am absolutely not a fan of, but it was pricey and I’ll be damned if I let it go to waste (🙈) and the Eucerin Acute Lip Balm Intensive Lip Care, which I like, but don’t love. It’s a nice lip balm, but it just isn’t hydrating or moisturising enough for my Sahara-dry lips.
I tried the Embryolisse Lait Crème Concentrate for the first time last summer and I’m only sorry I didn’t try it sooner, it’s fabulous. It’s a moisturiser, mask and primer all in one.
It was because of Aoife from Aoife Crossan Makeup that I tried this. This product is one I had been wanting to try for ages, and I’m only sorry I didn’t try it sooner than I did! This is a gorgeous thick, rich creamy product that I use as a moisturiser, mask, primer and also mixed in with my foundation not only for a lighter coverage, but also with matte foundations to take away a flat-matte finish.
I love to use this under foundation and mixed in with foundation, particularly matte foundations (Fenty Pro Filt’r Original I’m looking at you👀) because it gives a lighter coverage, but really takes away any matte appearance, and gives a much more radiant and healthier appearance to my skin, which I adore. Highly recommend this, especially if you have dry skin.
That rounds up my body/hair/skin favourites for 2019, there were far more than I thought there would be. 🙈 If there are any products or brands that were favourites or stand-outs for you in 2019 be sure to comment below and let me know what they were/are. I love finding new products and brands to try out.
Thank you for reading, until next time, take care xx
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This post is not sponsored or affiliated with any of the brands or companies mentioned, and all opinions are my own. No affiliate links are used in this, or any other post. Any products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly gifted to me.