2016 Makeup Hits!
Happy 2017, everyone!! Starting Beyond the Swatch pushed me to try new makeup products and brands last year. There were some makeup hits, a few misses, and a few products that I had lukewarm feelings about but I’d still be willing to give another try!
In the spirit of starting 2017 off with a positive attitude, I’m going to be focusing on my personal 2016 make up hits instead of the misses for this post. I could go on and on all day about all the different makeup products that I like, so if I literally listed everything, this post would go on for ages. The products below are makeup items that I loved so much last year that I either: repurchased, gifted to someone else, bought additional shades/colors of, or added as a staple product in my everyday makeup collection. Here we go!
Wet N Wild MegaGlo Contouring Palette!
My absolute #1 omg I’m so glad I found you last year was Wet n Wild MegaGlo Contouring Palette. This $5 product replaced my $40 Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette. This is one of the few products that I have that I love so much that I buy 2 or 3 at a time just so that I have extras when I run out. Click here for my original review of this product!
Why did I continue to love this product? Huge pans which means the product lasts for a long time. Excellent pigmentation- a little goes a long way. Creamy smooth formula. Easy to apply with either a damp beauty blender or brush. Only downside-a lot of fall out so it can get a little messy. Also, I’ve only found 2 different shades of this product. I got lucky that Caramel Toffee works well with my skintone and my makeup preferences/style but I wish they had more shade options to match more skintones!
NYX & e.l.f. & Colour Pop Lip Products.
This year I re-solidified my love for drugstore lip sticks! My favorite drugstore lip products of this year: NYX Liquid Suede ($7 for crazy intense pigmentation…the color you see in the tube is the color you’re gonna get on your lips), and e.l.f. Moisturizing Lipstick and Matte Lipcolor (only $3 a shade and they’re always coming out with new shades). Another affordable lipstick MVP- Colourpop products! Their liquid lipsticks were my favorite in 2016! Lately it’s been tough for me to want to spend more than drugstore price for lipstick because there are so many high quality options from drugstore cosmetics brands!
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara.
I wear fake lashes almost everyday so I don’t buy mascara very often, but when I do, I spend the extra bucks to buy Better Than Sex Mascara! This product makes my eyelashes fluffy and adds a lot of volume. Doesn’t help with my lashes inability to hold a curl but it makes up for it with it’s volumizing power. I love the super fluffy brush and the pink packaging!
I know I’ve mentioned that I LOVE lashes from House of Lashes, but I have to give a shout out to their adhesive glue ($8) which was a huge find for me in 2016! When I started to wear falsies everyday, I would use Duo Eyelash glue and started to notice my eyes would start to get irritated and itchy throughout the day. I did some research and found that lash glue that has formaldehyde in it can irritate your eyes. HOL glue does not have formaldehyde in it’s formula so I gave it a try and haven’t had any eye irritation issues since! Please note that this is glue stopped the irritation for me personally, but can still have certain affects on other people. This year I want to find and try organic, all natural eye lash glues. I’ll keep you posted! On top of this, the glue is easy to apply with it’s thin brush connected to the cap and is waterproof.
Photo via HOL Website
Paula’s Choice Skin Care Products and Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Cream.
This year I definitely started to take my skin care regimen more seriously (late 20’s will do that to ya). My favorite brand which was recommended to me by my mom: Paula’s Choice! Great quality moisturizers that make my skin feel refreshed and hydrated. The products I’ve been using and loving- Moisture Boost Hydrating Treatment Cream ($29), Resist Barrier Repair Moisturizer with Retinol ($33), and Resist Cellular Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 25 ($33).
For my undereye area, especially when my eyes are extra puffy, I’ve been using Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with avocado ($48).
A couple bonus favorites are found in this picture below! Hey Honey 24Seven Moisturizing Cream and Cammite Castor Oil for my lahes)
And there you have it! Some of my favorites from 2016. I’m looking forward to sharing more make up discoveries this year!
Have you tried any of these products? What do you all think?