It’s 2021. I’m still getting used to that. We were in such a 2020 mindset for what feels like so long and it’s hard to just suddenly switch into a new 2021 vibe. But we’re trying. Anyways, you know what the start of a new year means? Well, it means a lot of things, but here on ze blog, it means we’re doing a roundup of my favorite makeup products from the past year! I haven’t done a ‘Best of Beauty’ post in so long. The last one I wrote must have been back in 2016 (correct me if I’m wrong). It’s been a while. I write a ‘Best of Skincare’ post every year (see last year’s here) without fail but those are often easier. It takes a lot less debate to decide my favorite cleanser rather than my favorite lipstick. But here we are. With much debate, I was finally able to narrow down my favorites in every makeup category!
Face
- Favorite Foundation: Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Aqua Nude Fluid ($61CAD/$45USD)
I gotta tell you something. Guerlain sure knows how to make some damn good foundations. I think this is my third bottle of the Aqua Nude foundation and it definitely won’t be my last. It’s so lightweight on the skin but also extremely hydrating and long lasting. It has light coverage but that’s all I’m really looking for these days! I wear the shade 00N in winter and 001C in the summer months. Read the full review here.
- Runner-up Favorite Foundation: Guerlain Beauty Booster Multi Perfecting Makeup (discontinued)
I know, I know. I’m already breaking the rules by picking TWO foundations as my favorites for 2020. But I have a reason for doing so, I promise. My absolute favorite foundation is the Guerlain Beauty Booster Multi-Perfecting Makeup. It has an amazing amount of coverage, it’s great on every skin type and it has SPF 30. What’s not to love? Well, apparently a lot because it was discontinued last year. It broke my heart. So if you happen to ever stumble across this, definitely think about picking it up. Read the full review here.
- Favorite Concealer: Smashbox Studio Skin Flawless 24 Hour Concealer ($32CAD/$26USD)
Concealer isn’t an everyday makeup product for me. Now that a mask covers half my face, I don’t feel the need to cover the other half with a whole lot of makeup. However, when I do reach for a concealer for those pesky pimples or occasional dark circles, I love this Smashbox one! It has such a great shade range (I wear the Fair Light Neutral shade) and it seriously stays on all day without creasing! I like it better than the Tarte Shape Tape. Yep, that’s right.
- Favorite Powder: Milk Makeup Blur + Set Matte Loose Setting Powder ($38CAD/$29USD)
I know I have complained a lil’ (a lot) about the packaging of this powder but regardless of that, it really is a good loose powder. It mattifies my oily zones, it blurs my pores and it helps my makeup stay on all day. Plus it’s translucent so I find it doesn’t add any cakiness or heaviness to the rest of my face makeup. Therefore, I’m willing (just this once) to overlook the inconvenient packaging. If you want to hear all about my complaints about the packaging, read the full review here.
Cheeks
- Favorite Bronzer: Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer ($80CAD/$66USD)
Okay, please don’t hate me for what I’m about to tell you. This bronzer was limited edition so you can’t get it anymore. But, wait! There is good news. Every year, Guerlain releases a special summer edition bronzer and truth be told, they’re all pretty similar. So I would highly recommend picking up next summer’s bronzer from Guerlain. It’s the perfect shade for a fair skin tone and it never looks muddy or orange. Plus, it smells delicious (like summer!) and blends out perfectly! You best believe I will be shedding a few tears when I finish this bronzer (I’ve already hit pan!).
- Runner-up Favorite Bronzer: Benefit Hoola Lite ($40CAD/$30USD)
Because my first favorite bronzer was limited edition, it’s only fair I provide you with another recommendation that is available all year round. This is the Benefit Hoola Lite bronzer and it’s absolute perfection. This was the first bronzer I ever actually completely used up so that’s how you know it’s good! Once again, similar to the Guerlain bronzer, it is suited for fair skin tones and doesn’t look orangey or muddy on the skin! I love a bronzer I can pat on my cheeks without worrying that I’m going to look like I spent a week in Mexico, or worse, an oompa loompa.
- Favorite Blush: Guerlain Terracotta Highlighter Stick in Universal Blush ($54CAD/$48USD)
I feel a little guilty for how many Guerlain products I’m featuring in this post but I just can’t help it! They make damn good face and cheek products (eyeshadow… not so much)! This Guerlain blush stick is my go-to everyday blush. It has shimmer in it so on days when I’m in a hurry, I don’t have to worry about applying a highlighter too. It’s the perfect 2-in-1. My love for this product can’t be summed up in a mere couple of sentences so please read the full review here.
- Favorite Highlighter: Kylie Cosmetics Loose Powder Kylighter ($20USD)
I wish I had more exciting things to say about this highlighter but the fact of the matter is that it’s just average. However, I really haven’t found a highlighter that I have loved over the past year so this one will just have to do. It’s a loose powder in the shade Santorini, a light sparkly champagne. It is pretty but really nothing special. That’s kind of what I’ve found with the majority of the Kylie Cosmetics products I have tried.
Eyes
- Favorite Eyeshadow Palette: Huda Beauty Light Nude Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette ($37CAD/$32USD)
This palette holds such a special place in my heart. It’s just simply the prettiest palette I have ever laid my eyes on and definitely the top palette in my collection right now. It features five matte shades ranging from a light bone colour to a mid-tone brown- all super wearable and neutral. The other four shades are the prettiest sparkly glitters that are super fun for adding that extra pizazz to your eye look. This palette is all you need to create vast array of eyeshadow looks! Read the full review here.
- Favorite Single Eyeshadow: Mac Eye Shadow in Blanc Type ($10CAD/$8USD)
I actually just picked this eyeshadow up on Black Friday so it hasn’t been my favorite for the whole year of 2020 but I just know that if I had of bought this sooner, it would have been my most worn shadow! It’s just a super boring, basic, matte, light vanilla eyeshadow. But, it’s a NECESSITY. My eyelids are super veiny so I always like to wear an eyeshadow that matches my skin tone on my whole lid to cover those veins regardless of what eyeshadow look I’m doing! And this one does that job quite well! And I saved some money by just buying the refill pan and plopping it in my own magnetic case for the low low price of $10 ($7 on Black Friday)!
- Favorite Lid Primer: Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer ($28CAD/$22USD)
I don’t know what it is, but as I’ve grown older, my eyelids have gotten increasingly oilier and oilier. It’s gotten to the point where I can’t forgo an eyeshadow primer or else my eyeshadow is a creasy mess by the end of the day. This has been my favorite lid primer for years now because I find it’s the only one that actually works for an entire day. I just apply a thin layer of it to my lids, let it dry for 60 seconds and then apply eyeshadow overtop. Foolproof!
- Favorite Eyeliner: Benefit Roller Liner Liquid Eyeliner ($30CAD/$22USD)
I’m surprisingly picky about my black liquid eyeliners and this is one that has always made the cut every time. It’s a super black, matte formula that glides on effortless. The tip is also not too thin and not too thick so I can get the perfect (questionable word choice, my wings are often far from perfect) wing every time. Plus it’s long wearing and doesn’t smear easily unless I’m crying (which is everyday at this point. They’re happy tears, I swear!). Read the full review here.
Lashes & Brows
- Favorite Mascara: Annabelle Outlash Mascara ($9.95USD)
I felt really bad about the lack of drugstore options I featured in this post but to tell the truth, I just don’t tend to buy a lot of drugstore makeup. So, in order to keep this post genuine, I had to include a majority of more luxury or prestige makeup items However, I am happy to say that this drugstore mascara from Annabelle did make the cut. This is a damn good mascara. It has spiky, plastic bristles which I’m not usually a fan of but they did an incredible job of separating my lashes and adding a nice amount of length! Plus, even though it’s not waterproof, I found it to be very long-wearing and resistant to smudging throughout the day!
- Favorite Lash Primer: Marc Jacobs Beauty Velvet Primer ($35CAD/$27USD)
This lash primer is the only lash primer I’ve ever loved. Why’s that, you might ask? It’s creates the most beautiful, long, voluminous lashes that stay fluffy. I’ve found with so many other lash primers that they just make my lashes crunchy which then creates a spidery lash effect which I absolutely despise. But not this one. This one is perfection. Read the full review here.
- Favorite Brow Pencil: Dior Diorshow Brow Styler Ultra-Fine Precision Brow Pencil ($37CAD/$29USD)
For as long as I’ve worn makeup, I’ve always kept my brows natural. Although I love the look of bold, structured, filled-in brows on other people, I always thought they looked too heavy on my face. Therefore, I usually gravitate towards products that keep my brows light and natural. This Diorshow Brow Styler is the perfect pencil to achieve that. The pencil goes on super light but still gives you the ability to build up the pigmentation. It creates fine hair-like strokes that look so realistic! Read the full review here.
- Favorite Brow Gel: Benefit 24-Hour Brow Setter Shaping & Setting Gel ($32CAD/$24USD)
The second half of my natural brow routine always involves a transparent setting gel to keep my eyebrow hairs in place. Because I don’t trim or thread or wax or pluck my brows, this step is crucial to maintaining a clean eyebrow shape. This brow gel from Benefit is the best one I’ve found yet. It holds my brows so well throughout the entire day without making them feel crispy or crunchy. It’s the equivalent of hairspray for your brows!
Lips
- Favorite Lipstick: YSL Rouge Volupté Shine Oil-in-Stick Lipstick in #49 Rose Saint Germain ($49CAD/$38USD)
All three of these lip products are technically the same but I’ve separated them into three different categories just so I can feature them all. I’m always trying to get around the (non-existent) rules. I ordered this lipstick at the start of the pandemic and it’s been fabulous. It’s such a stunning hot pink that goes on sheer on the lips so it’s a perfect everyday colour. It’s incredibly hydrating and smells wonderful, like watermelons and vanilla. Now, if only people could be able to admire it underneath my mask. Read the full review here.
- Favorite Tinted Lip Balm: Dior Lip Glow in 007 Raspberry ($42CAD/$34USD)
This Dior Lip Glow is almost the same as the YSL Rouge Volupté Lipstick mentioned above however it’s just slightly more sheer and slightly more moisturizing. It has more of a balm texture while the YSL has more of a sheer lipstick texture if that makes any sense at all. I have these Dior Lip Glows in almost every colour but the Raspberry shade, a bright pink, has always been my favorite! And for those of you who didn’t know, these actually slightly change colour on your lips according to your pH so everyone gets a custom lip shade! Read the full review here.
- Favorite Lip Balm: Glossier Cherry Balm Dotcom ($15CAD/$12USD)
This is probably the lip balm I’ve reached for the most these past couple of months. It’s the most ‘lip balmy’ out of the three and it’s perfect for moisturizing even the driest of lips while also providing a tiny bit of colour in order to look slightly presentable for online Zoom meetings. Plus, it smells (and tastes) like cherries, so that’s fun! Read the full review here.
Man! That was a long post to write! But there’s something so fun just writing about all your favorite things in the makeup world. I felt like 2020 was the year I finally narrowed down my everyday makeup routine. I stopped working at Shoppers Drug Mart and I started working from home so suddenly makeup became more of a choice and less of a necessity. I got to start wearing makeup purely because I liked it and I wanted to and that really helped me see exactly what makeup products I gravitated towards on a daily basis!