BEST OF BEAUTY 2018

Ahh! You guys – I am SO excited for todays post! I mean, SO excited. If you are ‘new here’, I have been covering beauty just about weekly on my blog for the past couple of years! I do 5 blog posts per week and I always try to make one about recent beauty favorites, hauls, & reviews, etc.

One thing I’ve learned over my 4 years of blogging is that I love beauty, hair talk, & skincare as much & much as I do fashion. My first couple of years I was covering mostly fashion / style and I loved it but it can get ‘boring’ just posting outfits – especially when I have a strong passion for hair & makeup talk. Truthfully, I didn’t cover as much beauty until I did Accutane and shared lots of background on my ‘bad skin’ and how I cover it and I started getting more and more requests for makeup/skincare posts. Anyway, I did a poll last week asking what you guys like to read and what you’d like to see more of and the response was overwhelming – aside from new house, pregnancy, & travel talk – everyone wanted more beauty talk! [PS. I ‘file’ all posts related to beauty under the BEAUTY tab on my menu so if you want to read strictly beauty, click there!]

So, last week we were in Vegas and I was watching YouTube while in the bathtub 🙂 & I noticed that my favorite videos on YouTube were the ‘Best of Beauty 2018’. As I started thinking about doing it, I was growing so excited and realized I needed to do a full ‘series’ on this –  so today I am doing Best of Beauty but I’d love to do a Best of Drug Store Beauty 2018, Best of Hair Products 2018, Best of Skincare 2018, etc. PLEASE, let me know what you’d like to see. Last January I did a post on Best Closet Staples of 2017 and it was a hit so I think I’ll for sure do that one again. BUT PLEASE, leave feedback on the products you’d like to see. Maybe even a MOST USED HANDBAGS 2018?! ??‍♀️?

OKAY! Let’s get started… I am trying my hardest to narrow down each item to TOP 3. favorites.. some may have 2 and some may have 4 but I am literally sharing the best and most used products during 2018. I did try and find new products in December of 2018 but I am not going to include them mainly because I haven’t used them for several months – I am trying to make this post the ‘most used’!

PRIMERS

YSL BLUR PRIMER | This has been a primer I’ve purchased and re-purchased a few times. It lasts a LONG time and it is SO beautiful on the skin. Since I do have bad skin from years of acne / cysts, I am all about a ‘blurring’ primer and I try everyone that hits the market! This has been one of the best I’ve ever tried. The price point is high, but it works & it you won’t have to repurchase for probably 8-12 months.

TATCHA SILK CANVAS | I bought this because of all of the hype on YouTube and liked it… then I didn’t like it… so I put it away and tried another and then I re-tried it and BAM! It became a permanent fixture in my daily routine. Not only does it act as a primer, but it also protects your skin from makeup. It seems very impractical by just looking at packaging but you only use a tiny bit and you’d be surprised that it seems to never run out.

FARSALI SKIN BLUR | I’ve been using this for a few months now and I really love it — especially for the dry skin days. I use this after I moisturize and before I apply a primer to fill pores. I’m not going to say its a *must* for everyone – but if you have mature skin or very dry, parched skin – give this a try! [Or amp up your skin care game!]

FOUNDATIONS

NARS NATURAL RADIANT LONGWEAR FOUNDATION | Probably the most worn foundation of 2018 – I tried TONS of foundations and always found myself coming back to this one. The name says it all – its natural – but radiant – but long wearing – but also matte. It covers everything and wears beautifully. I wear the shade ‘Barcelona’.

COVER FX POWER PLAY FOUNDATION | This foundation has became a favorite of mine so much so that I do not travel without it! I always pack 2 foundations – just in case my skin freaks out during a flight and this is one that I always take. Its amazing for those with oily skin [I’m not oily though!] but I find that if I need extra coverage I can drop one dot onto a damp beauty sponge and lightly cover any spots that need extra help.

GIORGIO ARMANI POWER FABRIC | This foundation was my jam in 2017 – I mean, I couldn’t live without it! I wore it into the 2018 for a while but ended up switching over to NARS. I introduced this to so many friends and family and it has been a huge hit. I wore the shade 8 when tan and 7.5 when not tanned. This is a full coverage, very long wearing foundation. It is not as ‘radiant’ as the NARS but it looks beautiful and hides ALL of the flaws!

CONCEALER

KEVYN AUCOIN | You guys know about this – this is my HG for nearly 3 years?!?! This is a powerful product and it can be used several ways. I use it mostly when my under eyes are scary! 🙂 I don’t use this daily anymore because I’ve worked really hard to get the darkness away but there are days where I turn to it. It’s an intense concealer and it wears well and stays put. It hides the WORST of the WORST. It is thick so I use a dampened beauty sponge to pick up excess product and keep it from looking thick or cakey.

TOO FACED | Ahh, okay so I tried like 100 concealers {lol} in 2018 and I found 5 ‘hits’ overall. I honestly could not narrow them down enough to select 3 of THE best but I had to include this one because I always go back to it and I reach for it when I’m in a pickle. It’s a multi-use, super coverage concealer. The bottle is large and has a lot of product and it comes with a doe foot applicator making it super easy to apply – no dipping your fingers or looking for a brush. It has a more natural look – but covers beautifully. I am considering trying the darker shades for contouring because I’ve seen it done and it looks amazing.

BRONZERS

BECCA | This is an old school bronzer for me – but I always reach for it when I’m darkest. During the summer I can get dark from travel [I’m Native American so I tan quickly] and I am very good about self tanner and I stay pretty brown. I do not EVER tan my face in the sun or w/self tanner so I have to have a wide range of bronzers to match my body. This one is one of the best if you are looking for a dark shade. I don’t mention it much on my blog because it’s kind of ‘old school’ and has been in my collection for years but this is one of the best if you want a dark, pigmented bronzer.

LAURA MERCIER MATTE RADIANCE | This is one of the best overall and one that I always pack! It’s got a sheer glisten in it but it is not anything to worry about. Its nice and matte and gives a very sun kissed, bronzed, natural look. Out of the 3 – this is one of the bests!

TOM FORD | Oh my goodness, this costs $100+ and is not practical at all, but I really liked it! Out of the 3 I’m mentioning – I like it the least – but I have tried over 25+ bronzers in 2018 and this still ranks in the top 3.

CONTOUR PALETTES

SMASHBOX CALI CONTOUR | One of the top requested posts this year was about my contour – and I did a full blog post and video ALL about this so make sure you check it out! But, contour is huge for me- it literally totally changes my face and this palette was easily the top used this year. Its amazing during spring and summer because the shades are darker enough to match!

MAC SCULPT & SHAPE | Again^, I get asked about contour a lot and I’ve done a blog post and IG video all about it. Both palettes are amazing – I don’t think I can give much guidance into which to get because I’ve used them both equally and adore them both. I really like the under eye shades in this palette though! [I use the LIGHT version.]

EYESHADOW PALETTES

MORPHE / JACLYN HILL | Okay, the most used palette of the year was easily ‘Ring The Alarm’ palette. I tried TONS of palettes and I actually loved many of them but this is the one I always use when I’m traveling, in a hurry, or need a hassle free look. [Same w/the one below actually – but this one I enjoy more.] There was a lot of ‘drama’ around the release of these palettes and I saw people slamming the Vault collection online and I literally was in shock. I try almost every hot palette that comes out or that I get in PR and this palette is AMAZING. I have all 4 from the collection but this is the one that I use the most.

HUDA BEAUTY | Similar to what I said above, but I really love the shades in this palette. They are all practical for daily use and are hassle free. They are not hard to blend and wear beautifully! I used the ‘warm browns’ palette the most.

EYE LINERS

STILA STAY ALL DAY | This is old news, but over the years I get asked about liner a lot and this has been a HG [holy grail] of mine for a very long time! I did switch away from it to the one below this past summer! They are similar and both long wearing!

THE BALM ‘SCHWING’ | I got this in PR and put it in my PR cabinet to try but I saw a favorite YouTuber using it and saying it was amazing so I decided to try it and instantly fell in love. I ended up having to get another because I went through it. I do think the product itself lasts longer than the Stila – I was buying the Stila every 8 weeks or so and this one wears just as well but also has more product inside.

MAC KOHL LINER | Another old news product but I try liners for the waterline ALL of the time hoping to find something that stays put and I always come back to my OG! 🙂 This is easily one of the bests – it lasts me a year or more – if I don’t lose it while traveling.

MASCARA

CHARLOTTE TILBURY | This category was the easiest because I knew exactly the top 3! I am ranking these in order so this one is definitely my favorite but the other 2 are right up there with them! I’ve tried TONS of mascaras this year and these 3 are easily the best and the ones I’ve re-purcahsed! I do put them on my lash extensions with no issues also.

IT COSMETICS SUPERHERO | I love the brush on this one – it doesn’t take like to ‘wear in’ unlike some mascaras which take a few applications before they are really ‘good’ and apply easily. All three of these are amazing and make your lashes look longer and thicker!

HOURGLASS | If you read the descriptions^ above you can see that these were the 3 best by a long shot! I really don’t have a lot to say because they were game changers.

BROW PRODUCTS

ABH BROW POWDER DUO | Obviously not new news, but this is my favorite brow powder and what I have been using since I got my brows microbladed! PS. There’s a full blog post on this if you use the search tool and search for ‘microblading’. ☺️

ABH BROW POMADE | This is probably my most used brow product, ever! Its soooo amazing and both of these last SO long and I rarely have to re-purchase. I would saw the pomade is best for those who really need a lot of help with filling in their brows – I used this until I got my brows micro bladed

BLUSHES

CHARLOTTE TILBURY CHEEK TO CHIC  | I love this blush so much! I have every shade in it because the pay off is beautiful – but the downside is that they break easily. Honestly, I’ve never had a product break so easily. I rarely travel with them due to this but I will say if you don’t travel much these are amazing!

TARTE 12 HOUR WEAR | I got this in the shade ‘Captivating’ because I wanted a good long wearing blush! I absolutely love this blush and I do find that it wears longer than many blushes. Blushes never seem to wear long at all – they are in fact the first thing to wear off! If you are oily – you probably know what I mean! I don’t think these wear for 12 hours but I do love them!

SIGMA AURA POWDER | I love this blush in the shade ‘Cora-de-rosa’ and always receive the most compliments when I wear it or the first ones I mentioned above!

HIGHLIGHTERS

LANCOME | Probably the best highlighter of 2018! Its amazing – I’ve talked about it in half of my posts so you can search for it and read up o them but oh-my-gosh! It’s good. It pops and makes your skin look SO smooth! [I use the shade ‘Sparkling Peche’ & I always spray the brush with Fix+ first!] [PSS. I use this on my mom too – I did a makeover on her – just search Mom Makeover & it pops up!]

FENTY | Definitely the second runner up as it really does pop and glow! The shade I have works best when I am at my most pale so I don’t wear it a ton but when I do wear it- I find that is one of the most beautiful. [I use the shade Lightning Dust.]

CHARLOTTE TILBURY BEAUTY LIGHT WAND | Okay, this is a liquid concealer and honestly this is so so gorgeous. If you want to be natural or not natural at all with your highlight this is beautiful! I wear it alone occasionally but sometimes I lie this down first and then apply a powder highlight on top to really get the highlight popping!

POWDERS

LAURA MERCIER LOOSE POWDER | Oh boy, this topic was hard because I have found so many hits and misses with powders this year! I tried to narrow it down and it was NOT easy. I love the LM powder – it is not new to me but it works amazingly!

CHARLOTTE TILBURY MAGIC POWDER | Out of all of the powders, I think this may be my favorite for winter time – I just started using it in the winter though. It is light diffusing and it seems as if I find my skin looking smoother when I use it.

LANCOME POWDERS | ‘No Shine‘ & ‘Absolue‘ are my favorites. The no shine is amazing if you are oily – I mean amazing! I used it off and on this summer on special occasions to really mattify and smooth out my skin. The Absolue is best for those who need a glow and have dry skin. Its what I used on my mom for her makeover blog post!

HOURGLASS | This is kind of a last step powder or a touch up powder as it is light diffusing and super user friendly. It gives a subtle glow and I usually just sweep it in dark places during the day or if I need a boost of radiance. It just has some magic effect!

SETTING SPRAYS

MAC FIX+ | I go through all 3 of these like CRAZY. I use this not only to set my face but also to wet brushes before highlight or eye shade w/glitter. This is a MUST for everyone!

MORPHE | I use this mostly to set my makeup when I am done!

TATCHA DEWY | I use this on my mom since she is much dryer but I also travel with it. I find that it works great when I fly a lot and my skin gets dry. I sometimes spray I on my beauty sponge so that the foundation goes on less matte and makes it more luminous.

LIP LINERS

CHARLOTTE TILBURY | Favorite shade is ‘Iconic Nude’

ESTEE LAUDER | Favorite shade is ‘Mauve’

MAC | Favorite shades are ‘Spice’, ‘Stripdown’, ‘Soar’, & ‘Whirl’ [all of these have been my HG shades for several years in a row!]

LIPSTICKS

MAC | Favorite shade of the year was ‘Blankety’ and has been since probably 2016?!

CHARLOTTE TILBURY | Favorite shades are ‘KIM KW’ and ‘NUDE KATE’

URBAN DECAY | Favorite shades are ‘Naked’ & ‘Stark Naked’

SMASHBOX | Favorite shade is ‘Fair Game’

LIPGLOSSES

MARC JACOBS | Favorite shade of 2018 was ‘Sugar Sugar’

URBAN DECAY | Favorite shade was ‘Midnight Cowgirl’

FIND ALL VANITY AREA DETAILS HERE & HERE.