This year, I tried to slim down my makeup and beauty collection. At this point, I’m basically on a one-in-one-out product buyer. If I buy something, I probably am replacing something in my collection or have recently decluttered. One of my favorite purchases this year was actually a magnetic palette which I was able to get rid of 4 bulky packaged palettes and streamline which shades I actually used into one place.
I did end up making some purchases that I really love this year and I am really excited about my collection at present. It’s pared down but still inspiring. I am able to experiment but also put myself together fast in the morning. Overall, I think 2018’s makeup market was completely oversaturated but did have a few total hits for me.
I would say that my makeup style has changed a lot throughout the year. In general, I’ve favored two main looks – dewy skin, no-makeup look or a slightly colorful eye. I wanted to tell you my favorite few products from those two looks that are new to me from 2018.
My All Natural Face and Eye look
Probably my favorite trend from this year was the rise of a natural, glowy base. There was a lot of products made specifically for achieving a less mask and more skin-like finish. A lot of eye products were made for people to swipe and blend with fingers. Overall, I absolutely loved this trend and dove in headfirst for my day to day makeup look.
For Base – my only new and wonderful purchase this year that has become my everyday base is the Chanel Les Beiges tinted moisturizer. It gives you a super luminous lit-from-within finish without a lot of coverage. I got this back around June and have been using it every day since and still haven’t run out of this 1 ounce bottle.
For cream cheek product – this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. I absolutely love these Maybelline blushes. The packaging is compact. The color payoff is blendable. It’s a product that begs to be applied with fingers which I’m a fan of. While I do wish there was a better color selection (there are only the four I have), at least there are different undertones to use.
For powder cheek products – I got this Hourglass palette in November and instantly it became an every day product for me. It has two setting powders, two blushes a bronzer and a strobing powder. The pan sizes are small but I really love the finish that each of these products give my skin.
For brows – Glossier Boy Brow. It sets my brows. On days when I can’t be bothered to fill them in properly, it makes them look passably groomed.
For Eye products – For me this is the year of cream eyeshadow. I love the Glossier and L’Oreal cream shadows, patted on for a quick swipe of color. I also got a lot of use out of this Wet’N’Wild palette in Rose in the Air. I have used every color at least once and have really enjoyed that you can get warm toned and cool toned looks from this palette.
For Lips – my two favorite lip products have been this Lancome Lip Lacquer which is the weirdest combination of gloss, stain and liquid lip ever (that I love), and this Flower Beauty lipstick in Autumn Rose. Both are wearable nude lips which I’ve been really trying to get more into throughout this year.
Colorful Eyes
Before getting into my actual favorites, I want to shout out my absolute favorite beauty inspiration this year. She’s a YouTuber called Lauren Mae Beauty and I love her makeup style. Her use of color is both innovative but approachable to me and I have to thank her for giving me the push to trying color on my own face. I especially love this one kind of look she does where she pushes color into the front part of her brows – it’s amazing. Anyways…
I basically have relied on two main palettes on my eyes for my colorful makeup looks. While I’ve only had this James Charles palette for two months at the end of the year, it’s definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. First off, it’s seriously giant. Secondly, the formula is intense and not always the easiest to blend. However, the color payoff is wildly good. Also – it’s surprisingly day-to-day friendly. The top three rows are all neutrals and I really love using them. While I may not use every color every day, I’m enjoying the experimentation.
Before I got that palette, there was one color that started it all. Yellow. Yellow has and will continue to be my favorite color forever. I never thought I would want to put it on my eyes. My girl Lauren Mae made this yellow look and I knew that if I came across some reasonably priced singles, I wanted to make a palette. I was in NYX in Barcelona and I found these three yellow singles and grabbed them for a total well under $20. It’s not my day to day look but I absolutely love the look of yellow eyeshadow.
So that’s been a list of my new makeup favorites for this year. I still use and love my old favorites daily (I’m looking at you, Mac Pearl cream color base). These were my favorite new purchases for the year. I’m feeling really happy with my current collection and right now I don’t think I’ll be adding many new things in the next year.
I would love to hear what your favorite products and looks were this year. Let me know below!
The Minimalist Abroad 