I did a post just like this last year and a lot of you really seemed to like it. For the past few days, I have been looking through all of my cabinets and drawers to find my most used beauty products of 2018.
Makeup
Last year I tried to pick my top product from each category, but this year I had so many favorites that I just wanted a compile a big list of all the makeup I've loved
First Aid Beauty Triple Protection Skin Tint
The first thing that I want to say about this product is that I am surprised at how long this bottle has lasted me. I use it pretty much everyday and it is also the only foundation type product that I travel with. I have no idea how there is still product left in the bottle, but I am really glad that there is. I love this product so much because it sits really nicely on the skin and doesn't look cakey. It also has a pretty thin consistency which makes it super easy to blend out and apply. I personally love using a beauty sponge to apply it, but I have also made it look really nice with a brush.
The one thing I always like to tell people when recommending this product is that it has a pretty light amount of coverage. It does a really good job at covering small imperfections and just evening out your skin tone in general, but I would not count on it to cover any large blemishes. I personally don't wear anything full coverage unless it is for a special occasion so this product is ideal for me, but if you are someone that prefers a more glam look on an everyday basis, this might not be the product for you.
Fenty Beauty Matte and Shimmer Match Stix
I got these at the end of 2017 and at first I wasn't the biggest fan of them because I wasn't really sure of the best way to use them. However, once I was able to figure out what works and what doesn't, these sticks are staples in my everyday make-up routine. The main thing that I learned about these products is that they are quite stiff so applying them straight to your skin can be a little tricky because it might tug on your skin or pick up some of the product yo have underneath. In one of her tutorial videos, Rihanna recommended to rub the product on your hand back and forth to warm it up and then apply it to the skin. However, I found that that technique, while it does help it go on smoother, also wastes a lot of product.
Another thing that I realized about these products is that they are pretty much pure pigment, so applying it straight to the skin also made it a little hard to blend out simply due to the amount of pigment on the skin. With these things in mind, I have come up with a few ways to apply this product so that it blends right into the skin.
The first way is by picking up the product with your fingertips. This way works really well if you are using this product as a highlighter or a concealer because your finger will warm up the product, but then also apply just the right amount. I use this method to apply the shade "Linen" under my eyes and the shade "Starstruck" on my cheekbone.
(From top to bottom: Linen, Amber, Suede, Startstruck)
After I lay the product down with my finger, I will either continue to blend it out with my finger tips or I will go in with a sponge. Another way to apply it is using a synthetic face brush. This method is especially useful if you are using this product to contour or bronze your face. I love picking up the shades "Amber" and "Suede" on a small stipple brush or even something denser and using that to apply and blend it out in the hollows of my cheeks.
Overall, I love this product because of how versatile it is. There are 20 shades of the matte sticks and 7 of the shimmer sticks and none of them are marketed as having to be used for a specific purpose. They have the same formula so while one skin tone can use a specific shade as a contour, another skin tone can use it as a concealer.
Smashbox Step-by-Step Contour Kit
I have never been one to really chisel out my face with intense contouring, but this kit is perfect for anyone that is a little scared of contouring because of how easy it makes it. There are only three shades which is so much more convenient than the six shades that are found in typical contour kits. The bronze and contour shades are incredibly pigmented to the point that you might want to be careful about picking up too much on your brush, but the shades are also all incredibly bendable so I have never had an issue with it looking patchy or muddy.
From the looks of my palette, it might seem like I never use the contour or bronze shades, but in fact, because they are so pigmented I usually only need to tap my brush in once to get enough product on the brush.
(From Top to Bottom: Contour, Bronze, Highlight)
Becca Cosmetics Après Ski Glow Face Palette
This was part of Becca's holiday collection last year but it is still available on Amazon and Becca sells most of the shades separately. I am sucker for face palettes because it makes finishing my face makeup so much easier. This palette has one bronzer, two blushes, and three highlighters. The bronzer is in the shade "Bronzed Bondi" and it is the perfect neutral tone with a slight amount of shimmer in it. It blends super easily into the skin and it is the right shade for me all year round. There is one satin blush in the shade "Winterberry" and it is the one I use most often. It is a beautiful pinky shade with a slight hint of coral and it gives the skin a really nice and healthy glow. The other blush is a very shimmery one called "Blushed Copper". On my skin tone, if I use a really light hand, it looks like a beautiful radiant blush, but on deeper skin tones this could even be used as a highlighter. The three highlighters are the shades "Opal" which is one of Becca's most popular shades and is a dark champagne color, "Rose Quartz" which is beautiful pinky gold shade, and a new shade "Icicle" which is any icy white with a green blue undertone and can most similarly be compared to Becca's highlighter in the shade "Pearl". I am not the biggest fan of icy highlight on my skin tone so I tend to use "Icicle" either on my eyes or mixed with another warmer highlight. My favorite combo of highlighters is mixing "Opal" and "Rose Quartz" because it gives my the perfect neutral toned highlight. Overall, even though this was marketed as winter palette I was obsessed with using these shades all year long.
(From Top to Bottom: Rose Quartz, Icicle, Winterberry, Blushed Copper, Opal, Bronzed Bondi)
Nars Sun-Washed Diffusing Bronzer in Laguna
I bought this bronzer mid last year and it was quick to become one of my favorites because it is the perfect shade and gel-powder formula makes it blend into the skin super easily. Even though it is named as being the same shade as Nars' iconic Laguna bronzer the color is actually pretty different: it is lighter and warmer. It is also a creamier formula than the original. However, the reason that I have grown to love this bronzer so much is because of how full-proof it is. Even if I use a super stiff and dense brush, this bronzer will continue to look flawless every time I apply it.
Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter Duo in Lightning Dust/Fire Crystal
I bought this at the same time as the match stix and as you guys can tell by the fact that I have hit the pan, I clearly have not been able to stop using it. There are two sides which is great because while they are both equally shiny and beautiful, one is a little more intense than the other. This is one of my favorite things about this product because you can really customize the kind highlight you want to achieve. Lightning Dust is the more subtle shade out of the two is perfect for a more everyday look if you are interested in a more lit from within effect. Fire Crystal, on the other hand, is super blinding and will give you a really intense highlight if used by itself. Another reason that I loved this product so much is that it looks amazing on the body. Since it has a neutral champagne color, it blends in really nicely with my skin tone so that my shoulders and collarbone look naturally glowy instead of obviously having highlighter on them.
(From Top to Bottom: Fire Crystal, Lightning Dust)
Tarte Tartiest Pro to Go Palette
I got this palette as a birthday gift a couple years ago and I have always been a fan of it because of how small and compact it is while still having a large variety of shadows. This palette has three matte shades and three shimmery shades ranging from light to dark to it is possible to go from day to night with just this palette. However, this palette does contain mostly warm shadows so if you are someone that tends to create neutral or cool toned looks, this might not be the product for you.
The main reason that I love this palette is because when I am in a rush this is the palette I reach for every single time. The colors are so easy to blend and I don't have to rack by brain about choosing which colors would go together. And, of course, no matter what combination I end up going with, I have a really pretty look that lasts all day. Another little bonus to this product is that all the shadows smell like delicious chocolate.
(From Top to Bottom: Drive, Hype, Stylin, Crisp, Boss, Dominate)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Prism Palette
This was a holiday release last year, but I checked and it is still available online. I got my hands on this palette over summer this past year and have not been able to put it down since then. At first glance, it looks like a really colorful and hard to work with palette, but once I actually started playing with it, I realized just how wearable it is. There is a beautiful mix of warm and cool toned shades with really nice pops of color. It includes staple base shades like a neutral transition color, a warm chocolate brown, and a matte black. All of the colors are super pigmented and blendable which makes it the perfect palette for a beginner or a more experienced makeup lover.
One of the things that really surprised me about this palette is that even when you layer or mix various colors, it doesn't look messy or muddy. This palette has also really helped me experiment with different shades and I have found that all of the shades look good together in combinations that I would have never expected to work. If you are someone that wants to incorporate some color into your makeup routine, but don't know where to start, this is a great option because I have been able to spice up my neutral looks by lightly running the shimmery blues and greens on my lower lash line. And no matter what colors I have on my lid, it works together and makes my eyes pop.
(First Row - From Top to Bottom: Lucid, Eden, Unity, Sphinx, Osiris, Sphere, Obsidian)
(Bottom Row - From Top to Bottom: Dimension, Parallel, Pyramid, Throne, Saturn, Eternal, Lure)
Kylie Cosmetics Liquid Lipsticks
I added these to my collection a couple of year ago and back then I was not the biggest fan of liquid lipsticks because I didn't know how to make them work for my lips. I used to apply liquid lipsticks without prepping my lips and I could never get the outline of my lips to look exactly how I wanted it to. This year I learned that I would have a much easier time with liquid lipsticks if I used some sort of clam underneath and by learning about my lip shape.
The three shades that I use all the time are Posie K, Koko K, and Candy K being my all time favorite. I think that the formula is super creamy and overall easy to work with. It sets and lasts for a really long time while still being smooth on the lips. I find myself wearing these colors all year round with no problems.
(From Top to Bottom: Koko K, Candy K, Posie K)
Skincare
When thinking back at the products that have been my favorites of the year, I could only think of a few in the skincare category. I go through my skincare products much faster than I go through makeup products which means that I can try different skincare products. For me, the relationship that I have found with most of my products is that I liked using them, but when they're done I want to try what else is out there.
Foreo
I already talked about how much I love this tool in my "5 Products That Have Transformed My Skin" post so I won't ramble about it for too long, but this is great because it helps really clean your skin. Its silicon bristles help your cleanser get deeper into your pores to get the dirt out. The bristles also have a flat tip so its perfect for sensitive skin because it does not exfoliate or irritate the skin.
Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser
This is one of the only products that I got as a sample, bought the full size, and still continue to repurchase. The reason I love this so much is because it really is a simple cleanser. It is incredibly gentle so its great for sensitive skin and it also doesn't have any kind of radical or irritating ingredients. It really is the perfect cleanser because it cleans your face without stripping your skin and leaving it dry and crackly. However, I still recommend this cleanser to those with the oiliest skin and the driest skin because it is moisturizing but not oily and it has a really lightweight formula.
Also, if you are someone in search of a quick and easy skincare routine, this product is definitely for you. It is eye safe and does a really great job of breaking down all the makeup on your face. So instead of having to fuss with a makeup remover and then cleanser, this is the perfect all in one product.
Glossier The Solution
This is a product that I don't currently have with me because I used up my bottle and have been trying to go through my other toners before I repurchase. This toner is the perfect mix between a chemical exfoliant and an acne treatment because it doesn't irritate the skin. For people with acne prone skin, physical exfoliants can sometimes be a little harsh and also can also tear the skin around the breakout and spread the bacteria that lived inside. Because of this a chemical exfoliant is ideal and since this combines AHAs, BHAs, and PHAs, it works with every skin type to get rid of the dead skin and get the rest of the dirt out from inside of the pores. This product also contains Salicylic Acid to help combat the acne.
It said that you are allowed to use this product twice a day after you cleanse your skin, but I preferred just using it once at night because using AHAs and BHAs in the morning will make your skin more sensitive to sun exposure.