2018 was the year that my skincare and makeup addiction was reignited, so I’ve tried a lot of new products this year. Here are my highlights across beauty for 2018! ** I will only be including new products that I’ve tried this year (sorry Midnight Recovery Concentrate).
Skincare
Cleansers
My amazing discovery this year has been Beauty Pie, and the best product that I’ve tried is without a doubt their Plantastic Cleansing Balm. It is a really smooth, gentle balm that removes all your makeup in one. I can even open my eyes with this on and it doesn’t get in them and sting them at all. The texture is thick and rich and feels much more high end than the price. I’ve already repurchased this because it’s my go-to balm!
Moisturiser
I finally had the chance to buy the Dr Jart Ceramidin Cream when I went to Sephora in Italy this summer and certainly haven’t regretted it! I have actually repurchased this twice already! This is a really thick moisturiser that is perfect for dry skin. It leaves the skin feeling really nourished and replenished of moisture. It is the moisturiser I rely on if my skin is needing a little extra TLC.
Mask
I’ve tried so many new masks this year, and I’ve got to say I don’t find that many masks do much for my skin. However, the Sjo Skin Happy Honey Mask is absolutely brill! Sjo Skin has been really big on Instagram and just seem like a lovely brand that are encouraging kindness and interaction in the beauty community. I have seen this mask on almost everyone’s feed, and finally bit the bullet on Black Friday. It is really soothing, smoothing and nourishing for the skin and leaves it feeling like it’s just gone to the spa, been drinking a glass of wine and come back relaxed af.
SPF
I have tried a number of new SPFs this year and I have one firm favourite – the Beauty Pie Super Healthy Skin Ultralight UVA/UVB SP25. This is a beautiful formula that does not have the typical SPF feeling but instead just feels like a normal face cream. It sinks into the skin very quickly and doesn’t leave a silicone-y feeling on the skin. The only downside to this SPF is that it is only SPF 25 and ideally I would my SPF to be 50. An honourable mention should go to the Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF 50+. I wore this during my holiday in Italy over the summer when I was walking around in the scorching heat and my face was totally protected. I did not get sunburnt in the slightest and I have very fair skin that burns easily.
Oils
I’ve recently discovered Squalane and I’m absolutely loving it! I’m using the One Skin Squalene oil and it’s a really beautiful oil. Before I started using it, I had stopped having the beautiful silky smooth feeling to my skin when I woke up in the morning, but using this brought it back. It’s not too thin (so that it sinks in immediately) or too thick (where it just never sinks in) and sits pretty comfortably on the face. I’ll give an honourable mention to the Herbivore Phoenix oil and the Mauli Supreme Skin Face Serum which are great for those who have drier skin.
Makeup
Foundation
Two foundations this year have really caught my eye and captured my heart – the Beauty Pie Everyday Great Skin foundation and the Hourglass Vanish stick foundation. I stumbled across them both completely by accident and they have both become go-tos for me! I had been interested in Beauty Pie’s makeup line since I fell in love so hard with the skincare range, so thought I would try out their foundation. It is a medium buildable coverage which has the prettiest dewy finish. It is really well pigmented and a little goes quite a long way with this (in that it allows you a nice natural looking base, that still looks like your skin but better). The Hourglass one took me 6 months to work out how to make this formula work on my skin as it’s quite dry. BUT I stuck with it, and am now nearly out of my mists, but it’s just gorgeous. It is THE ultimate ‘your skin but better’ and it is hands down the best shade match that I have ever found in my life. This one I prefer to wear more on the lighter/more natural side, but it is definitely buildable.
Highlighter
Two new highlighters have literally stolen my heart this year – the Hourglass Vanish stick highlighter in Gold Flash and the By Terry Gem Glow Trio Compact. I like to use the Hourglass one underneath my foundation to give me that really natural glow from within. Once I’ve applied foundation, I like to take this on my fingers and tap it onto the high points of my cheeks to really add the glow. The By Terry highlighter is a really new one to me (I only got my hands on it last week), but I’m totally in love with it. I’ve had my eye on it for months and months and it’s been so worth the wait. It is the most INCREDIBLE highlighter that is just so blinding and flattering. This really suits my pale skin, but I can also imagine it suiting people much darker than me too.
I am not lucky enough to have reviewing makeup and skincare as my full time job and even though I try a lot of new products out of interest, there are a lot of products in my routine that have stayed the same or just didn’t wow me enough.
I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know what your top products for 2018 were!
Xo
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