Top Beauty Products of 2018
I devoted an entire post to my favorite makeup palettes of 2018 because…well I have a slight obsession with palettes and picking just one would have been a real Sophie’s Choice moment for me. But I still wanted to do a round up of my favorite beauty products across makeup, skincare and body for 2018. I have tried a ton of new things this year and many have become go-to’s and holy grails in my skincare and makeup routines.
Makeup
Favorite Foundation
Too Faced Peach Perfect Foundation and CoverGirl TruBlend Matte Made Foundation
I have two foundations tied for the top spot on my list this year. And neither of them are the one I raved about all summer long! Go figure. Physician’s Formula Healthy Foundation is still a fave. But I am choosing these two foundations for how long they wear and for their finish. With oily skin longevity is a key thing for a foundation formula. CoverGirl TruBlend Matte Made is the first foundation I’ve ever worn that doesn’t break up on my chin and around my nose around the 5-6 hour mark.. The finish is matte without being flat or drying. Too Faced Peach Perfect has a gorgeous velvety finish that doesn’t transfer or slide around. And like MatteMade, it doesn’t look flat or cakey on the skin. My only gripe is the shade range. Too Faced added shades this years to the range but I still had a hard time finding one that matched me really. I wind up mixing Honey and Golden Beige.
Favorite Setting Powder
Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder
This has dethroned my beloved Maybelline Fit Me Setting Powder. I still love that powder but I found that my makeup began looking cakey or heavy on my skin. Because it iis’t translucent it imparts a bit of color to the skin and I have a sneaking suspicion that it was the culprit of my foundation oxidizing on my skin this summer. And so I decided to play the field a bit and try other powders. And the one I have been reaching for again and again is the Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder. I love how finely milled it is and how it sits on my skin throughout the day. I also want to give an honorable mention shout out to CoverFx Matte Setting Powder. I love it but ran out of it during the summer and haven’t purchased another one yet. But if you have oily skin I highly recommend both of these powders.
Favorite Bronzer
I’ve never been much of a bronzer or contour girl. And when I do use a bronzer I tend to like one that have a tiny bit of shimmer to them. Nothing blinding but just a subtle glow to lift the skin a bit. The Too Faced Sweethearts bronzer has the perfect amount of glow to it. It diffuses beautifully and isn’t too pigmented where it can be intimidating to use. You can build it up if you want or use a light touch. This bronzer claims to be for numerous skin tones and I was a bit skeptical about that, but it shows up nicely on my medium/deep skin. I do think it would be too dark is your super light or have a skin tone much deeper than mine. I have been reaching for this bronzer everyday and I even wear it on it’s on without blush or highlight when I want a natural glowy look.
Favorite Blush
BHCosmetics Nude Blush Palette
This palette has been and continues to be ride or die blush palette. The colors are exactly what I like in a matte blush: soft, easy to blend and subtle on the cheek. This is the palette that helped me to discover my love of glowy bronzers. There is one shade in this palette (none of the colors have names unfortunately) that I like to apply to my cheeks. temples , forehead and my eyelids when I am going for a no makeup makeup look and it just makes me look healthy. Like, I eat enough vegetables, get enough sleep, drink enough water and have not a care in the world, healthy. It’s also one of the few powder products that I have ever hit pan on. With as big a makeup collection as mine that is truly saying something.
Favorite Setting Spray
CoverFX Mattifying Spray, Too Faced Peach Mist Mattifying Spray, MAC Fix +
I know, I know…three setting sprays?! But I use two everyday and it’s usually a combination of two of the three above. When I want a matte finish that still looks like skin I use my CoverFX to set my foundation and setting powder. Once I have finished with my makeup , I set my face again using MAC Fix +. This lets all of the powder products sink into the skin to give a more natural skin-like finish. And it makes highlighter pop. When I need to bust out the big guns I use the Too Faced Peach Mist Spray with Fix +. The Too Faced spray is not for the faint of heart and I wouldn’t recommend it if you have dry skin. It has an almost powder-like finish which I offset with the Fix + So see…I did need to include all three.
Favorite Lipstick
Dose of Colors Matte Liquid Lipstick in Cork
This one was a toughie. Because I wear a different lipstick nearly everyday. And so I decided to look at what I reached for the most and what I find myself putting on in the afternoon after lunch ( I almost always change my lipstick midday - sometimes I simply take it off and put on lip balm). And that was hands down Dose of Colors Matte Liquid Lipstick in Cork. It’s a perfect neutral. And DoC has my all-time favorite liquid lipstick formula. It is a mousse-y texture that doesn’t dry out the lips. The lips always maintain their softness and the lipstick gives them an almost velvet-y feel. Cork is one of those colors that goes with a multitude of eye looks. If I am wearing a particularly hold eye I usually pair it with Cork to even the look out.
Favorite Mascara
I have always been a drugstore mascara kind of girl and I still am. I have a long list of drugstore mascaras that I love. But this year I dipped my toe into higher end mascaras and found a few I really like and one that I love. The Hourglass Caution Mascara is perfect for m lashes: it gives volume (which I lack) and subtle but noticeable lengthening (my lashes are long but sparse). I don’t look like I am wearing falsies when I use this mascara but I look like I have a nice healthy set of lush lashes. But I have one rather small but not so small gripe. This mascara is $28. And after about two months of use the texture changes and it’s just not as great after that. I am a stickler about throwing away my mascara after three months but this one I usually chuck at the two month mark. Which is why I have resolved to only buy the mini version. which is half the price of the full size.. Because I can’t justify spending that kind of money on a product that I will throw away in just two months time.
Concealer
Makeup Revolution Define and Conceal Full Coverage Concealer
I am one of those weird people who can take or leave concealer most of the time. I use it to prime my eyelids before applying shadows but that’s about it. I don’t like the way concealer looks under my eyes. I don’t have wrinkles under my eyes (knock on wood) but I feel like concealer makes me look old. I do occasionally spot conceal and apply a bit over any redness. And for that I have been reaching for the Makeup Revolution Conceal and Define Full Coverage Concealer. This stuff is amazing. My feather don’t get ruffled for concealer as a general rule but I was low-key blown away when I first started using this. My favorite way to use this is on days when I don’t want to wear foundation. I simply apply this over any redness and follow with a bit of powder. It is full coverage without being cakey or heavy and the undertone for my shade is (F12) is perfect for my skin tone. I recently started trying out the foundation version of the concealer. I feel like people either hate it or love it. I am decidedly undecided. I love the finish, it’s one of the best shade matches in my collection and I like the coverage. But…it’s not as long wearing as I would want it to be and I find myself blotting quite a bit on the oiliest areas of my face.
Skincare
Cleanser
The same cleanser I have been using for over a year now. It’s gentle and doesn’t strip my skin. And it’s affordable. Cleanser is one of the products I don’t think you need to spend a ton of money on.
Serums & Acids
I’m going to place all of these in a list for now. I want to devote time to each one. Which I will be doing in my upcoming updated winter skin care post!
The Ordinary Marine Hyaluronic Acid
The Ordinary 2% Salicylic Acid
Moisturizer
Ole Henrisken Sheer Transformation Perfecting Moisturizer
Lightweight, but nourishing. A little goes a long way. Layers well with other products. Isn’t too heavy for oily skin. Enough said.
Body
Fragrance
This has dethroned my beloved Juliette Has a Gun Not a Perfume from the favorite fragrance throne. This perfume is…amazing. It’s an adult fragrance if you know what I mean. A woman’s fragrance. The scent is unique and makes people ask, “what are you wearing?” and has some of my favorite scents: Bergamot and Musk. And you get to smell each tier of notes as the day wears on. It becomes a bit more complex midday and then by the end of the day has faded to a soft warm scent that is still there but doesn’t linger in an obnoxious “smelling my own perfume all day” way.
What were some of your faves of 2018?
