It is that time of year again when I share with you my Makeup Favourites of 2019. In truth, this should have easily been up a few days ago, however since the Sunday before Christmas I have been battling illness combined with exhaustion. It has taken until now to actually muster the energy and enthusiasm to take the photos, let alone write the post. That being said, I am back, hurrah, to share my beauty picks. I think they are pretty reflective of my last year with beauty as if I am honest with you, I didn’t explore much new makeup at all in 2019. It was predominately skincare where I invested my money therefore the majority of products I have featured today are oldies, much-loved oldies. If like me you like to reminisce in the old, you can check out my Makeup Favourites 2018 whilst you are here.
As I said, last year I can probably count on one hand the number of new makeup products that I picked up. I recall picking up a few bits from MILK, Glossier, Charlotte Tilbury and Revolution, however to memory this is all I explored. So, whilst I had a think on what I had used the most this year I just instantly reached for my makeup bag and pulled the items from there as in truth, the products have not varied much at all and given that they stayed in my bag all year, they must be firm favourites.
When it came down to Eyeshadow, I chose two small compact palettes. The first was Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Palette which was one of my new purchases in 2019. I have loved using this palette and will continue to do so in 2020. At first, I did worry that this would be too pink on me, however, I was so surprised at how wearable it is. It is a beautiful palette and I honestly feel like the Pillow Talk range can do no wrong. That being said, I do still need to try the lipstick as I have yet to pick it up, although I am tempted to go for the Superstar Lips version of that instead of the matte version.
The second palette was from L’Oreal and it was the L’Oreal Paris Mini Eyeshadow Palette in the shade, Nudist. I must say that I can’t remember when I purchased this or how I came to have it in my collection, I just happened to find it in my collection when having a sort out last year. Once I started using it I realised just how much I liked it and it quickly became featured within my daily makeup routine. It is a very shimmery palette, therefore if you like matte for every day you will not like this. I found that this worked beautifully for me and blended really well too. It is overall a very flattering neutral palette which worked so well, especially for the price of £7.99. There was however an incident with this palette which resulted in the middle shade breaking away and having to be binned as it was causing quite the scene in my makeup bag. Therefore, it isn’t the most travel-friendly packaging that I have experienced.
Two products which featured in last years favourites have rolled around again for 2019. Those being the Glossier Stretch Concealer and the Anastasia Beverley Hills Dip Brow Pomade. Both are the exact same products from last year which just goes to show how long they have lasted me. I would highly recommend investing in both as you certainly get your money’s worth and the products themselves are fantastic. Since I purchased the Glossier Stretch Concealer I know that Glossier has expanded the range and changed the shade numbering, so, it’ll be a bit of a minefield when I come to repurchase but I am sure I will figure it out.
My blush choice was tough as I have used a number of different ones over the past year. Honourable mentions go to the Nyx Cream Blush in Natural, Nars Deep Throat and Stila Lilium. My choice ultimately came down to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure which gives the most flattering flush of colour to the cheeks which lasts almost all day. Again, this is an investment piece of makeup at £35, but again I would recommend this to anybody, it will last you forever.
Moving onto the foundation, this time around I chose the It Cosmetics CC Cream which I find funny as last year I also featured a CC Cream, however, that one at the time was from Erborian. I have grown to really like this product as at first, I must admit that I was not blown away by it. Now I reach for it quite regularly when I am not trying to use up older foundations (L’Oreal, I am looking at you). It is light on the skin, provides good coverage, more so than you would initially expect from a CC cream; it also makes my skin look healthy and glowy. Yes, it is expensive in comparison to the high street foundations I normally purchase, but yes I would pay for it again without much consideration. I like the fact that you can now pick this up at Boots as I do like to try and get my beauty products from the same place if possible in order to build up points and reap rewards as it were.
The L’Oreal palette was not the only casualty last year as unfortunately my The Balm Mary Lou Manizer Highlighter fell out of my makeup bag onto the floor and smashed in half; I was gutted as I hadn’t long started using it when it happened. Of course, I can still use it, and I will continue to do so but it was quite a shame as I never break my makeup and it somehow managed to happen twice last year. That being said, it is a cracking highlighter and one that I would recommend to all. Towards the end of 2019, I did start to come away from powders and move towards my Glossier Quartz highlight which has a creamy texture, although due to how much I loved this and still do I thought it was only fair that it featured in my yearly favourites.
Another favourite which I have used now for years on and off is the Soap and Glory Thick and Fast High Definition Mascara. I have received a couple of these in gifted items over the last few years and have purchased it myself too. It is a lovely, natural mascara which makes my lashes look voluminous, curly and jet black. It does not smudge on me or flake under my lashes, for the price of £10.50 I think it is fantastic. It is a firm favourite of mine and it is one that I will always go back to.
So there we have it, 2019 wrapped up for beauty, although do not fear, I will be back soon with my skincare and body care favourites from 2019.
Have you spotted any of your beauty favourites here?
