Happy New Year everyone! Today I’m sharing my 2019 Beauty Favourites with you! Last year was full of fantastic beauty products, so picking my favourites was so difficult!
I feel like it was the year of foundation for me as I went from one foundation to 27 and SO many were released. I found lots of new loves, but funnily enough, even with that many foundations, my number one did not change from Summer.
I could easily have had 5 favourites for most categories, but I was super strict with myself and just picked one, so you get to find out the best of the best according to me! Let’s get into it!
DISCLAIMER: JOHN LEWIS LINKS ARE AFFILIATE, ALL PRODUCTS PURCHASED BY ME
PRIMERS
I tried a lot of primers this year, but the Sephora Collection Hydrating Face Primer won for me. I thought it was going to be the Fenty for a while, but as I used the Sephora one again and again, I just fell in love. It’s a great find and it’s only €13.99!
My husband calls it my Smurf primer as it’s blue and it does smell herbal, but it works so well. It’s not too sticky, it spread easily, sinks in quickly and all of my foundations look fantastic over it.
For Eye primer, there was only ever going to be one winner: The Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base (£21 from John Lewis). It’s fantastic. I have such a hard time with eye primers as they all crease on me, but this one doesn’t and it keeps your shadows looking vibrant and non creased alllllll day long. I want to try the tinted version this year!
FOUNDATION
Is this really going to shock anybody? Probably not haha. My Holy Grail foundation is the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk (£42 from John Lewis). It has even knocked Power Fabric off of the top step for me. I can’t tell you how beautiful this foundation is on the skin. It’s easy to apply, never streaks, cakes, bunches up, sinks into lines or looks heavy. I get about 14 hours of wear with this foundation. It’s just easy which I love. You can apply it with a sponge or brush, it glides over the skin.
CONCEALER
Before you think “you said you only had one favourite for each category” – let me explain. I have never found a concealer that works for my under eyes and my blemishes, so I have one concealer for spots and one for under my eyes.
For blemishes, the Giorgio Armani Power Fabric Concealer wins (£32 from Look Fantastic). It’s lightweight, easy to apply, has great coverage and lasts a good 10 hours on me before starting to fade. It doesn’t cake up like so many other concealers either.
For my under eyes, a concealer that came in hot and fast at the end of the year and knocked everything else out of the park: the Shiseido Synchro Skin Self-Refreshing Concealer (£29 from Look Fantastic). I had come to terms with the fact that I was always going to have tiny little creases under my eyes, but with this? Mostly nothing, maybe one tiny fine bit that you can’t even see without a magnifying glass. It last all days without creasing or fading and it doesn’t need to be set. This has answered all of my under eye concealer prayers.
POWDER
There was only ever going to be one winner for best powder and it’s the Hourglass Veil Setting Powder. I’m not a huge powder fan normally, but this is so lightweight it’s like you’re wearing nothing. It illuminates without being glittery and doesn’t change the colour of your face. It is labelled as translucent, but it’s slightly yellow. I’m very fair, so sometimes powders show up on me, but this one doesn’t. Stunning!
EYESHADOW
Boy was this category tricky! I have so many eyeshadow palettes I adore, but the Nars Voyageur Palette in Suede (£28 from Space NK) became one of my most used and favourites as it’s so easy! These shadows are perfect for quick, every day looks. The shadows are soft, blendable and pigmented and the shimmers are really gorgeous. I love the fact that even though there are only 6 shades, this palette is pretty versatile. You can have a pinky toned look, a light gold neutral or a darker bronzy look.
This Nocibe Velvet Veil Eyeshadow Base (€9.95 from Nocibe) doesn’t really fit into a category, so I’m sticking it here. I used this as my blanking out shade before I apply colour, but on top of my eyeshadow primer. I have also used it as an eyeshadow base without primer and sometimes if I’m not wearing eyeshadow, I just use this to blank out the veins on my eyelids. It never creases and stays put all day, it’s the perfect shade for my fair skin. This was a random find when we were on holiday in France, but it’s become a staple for me and next time we go to France, I’m stocking up!
EYELINER/MASCARA
I’m not one for winged liner, so I don’t have any favourite liquid liners, but I do like to darken my top lash line with a rich brown pencil. I’ve tried loads this year, but every time I come back to the Hourglass 1.5mm Mechanical Gel Eyeliner (£16 from Space NK). I have very sensitive eyes and this is one of the only eyeliners that doesn’t make my eyes itchy or sore. The formula is gorgeous, rich and glides on. The best bit? This actually stays on all day. No other eyeliner I’ve used lasts as long as this. Perfection and well worth the money.
For mascara, this year I found the Nars Climax mascara (£21 from Space NK) and it changed my life. The name is awful, but if you can get over that, then this is a fantastic mascara. Pretty much every mascara I’ve ever tried has smudged on my as I have long eyelashes that touch under my eyebrows, but this one stays in place all day without smudging or flaking. It adds volume without being clumpy and lengthens without creating spider lashes.
EYEBROWS
Now, I realise that I’m very late to the party, but until this year I didn’t really fill my eyebrows in. I just used clear brow gel and that was that. I have pretty good eyebrows, they’re naturally a good shape and not too sparse and I find it SO hard to find a colour to match as I’m fair, but have cool toned eyebrows. Most fair pencils pull orange on me. I was also a little scared to do my eyebrows as I did not want to end up with Sharpie brows. However, when I got the Hourglass Arch Brow Micro Sculpting Pencil, (£26 from Space NK) I became soemone who’s makeup is not finished unless my brows are on.
The shade Soft Brunette is my perfect match and this little pencil is the pencil of dreams. It’s fool proof, it’s not too soft, but not scratchy and dry either. I end up with perfect, feathery, natural eyebrows every time and even though I hate how little product you get for the price, I will continue to buy this!
Now for brow gel, Hourglass wins again with their Arch Brow Shaping Gel (£25 from Space NK). This gel keeps my brows in place all day and doesn’t leave my brows crispy. I don’t begrudge the price of this either as I’ve had mine for at least a year and it’s still going strong. I’ve tried lots of brow gels and almost all of them make my brows crunchy, which I cannot stand! This one is amazing!
BLUSH
Until this year, I hadn’t tried Kiko Milano, but had always wanted to. I finally got round to it in September and this blush stole my heart. It’s the Shade Fusion Trio Blush (£8.99 from Kiko) and it’s so beautiful! These blushes are soft, pigmented, blendable and last all day. I wish they did more colours, I have shades 3 and 4 (shade 4 is in the photo above) and am thinking about getting shade 6. Unfortunately, the others won’t suit me. It gives you that soft, pinched cheek look and it’s hard to over do. I have used this blush non stop since I got it, I adore it and am excited to try more Kiko products this year!
HIGHLIGHTER
Milani was also a new to me brand this year. It’s pretty hard to find in the UK, although it did get a lot easier in 2019 as Boots started selling it. Their blushes almost took number one spot too this year, but the Kiko just pipped it. However, for highlighter, the Milani Strobelight Instant Glow Powder in Afterglow (£14 from Beauty Bay) wins. This highlighter is something else!! Incredible! It doesn’t accentuate texture, you can build it up, or sheer it out, it’s soft, easy to apply and lasts all day. This has been not only my favourite, but most used highlighter in 2019 and I want more colours this year!
LIPSTICK
I tried so many amazing lipsticks this year, but I was the most excited for this launch from Charlotte Tilbury and it did not disappoint. The Hot Lips 2 (£28 from Space NK) lipsticks came out in 2019 and I ordered two shades as soon as they were live on her site! Dancefloor Princess has become my new go-to shade. These lipsticks are creamy, opaque in one swipe and don’t dry out your lips. The pigmentation is fantastic and they just feel so good on the lips. This particular shade is one that goes with anything, if ever I’m struggling to pick a lipstick, I go back to this and am always so happy with my choice!
SETTING/FINISHING SPRAY
Is this a finishing spray? Is this a setting spray? Do we understand the difference? Who knows with Mac Fix Plus (£21 from Look Fantastic) but all I know is I always give myself a spritz of this and it magically makes everything gel with my skin. I’m pretty sure for years MAC said this was a finishing spray, but then either in 2018 or 2019, their website said it was a setting spray, so I’m still none the wiser. I just know I can’t be without it and I’ve gone through bottles and bottles. It’s the absolute best. If ever my makeup looks a bit dry or I’ve used a bit too much powder, this sorts it out.
And that wraps up my favourites, so let’s get into my Get Ready With Me video where I use all of these products; enjoy!
To watch this video in HD click here.
Music from BenSound.
