By some miracle we’re already at the end of year year – and the DECADE?? – and another year loaded with new makeup releases is nearly over. I’ve definitely done my fair share of makeup buying and testing this year, and it seems like every year there are more and more fantastic makeup releases.
These are products that bring me joy every time I use them, and have exceptional formulas that I know I can rely on.and as I was thinking of products that really stood out to me, I found it surprisngly it easy to pick 10 standout products of the year that I have just loved and loved.
For a product to make it into this list, it has to be a product I bought this year. It doesn’t have to be something that was released this year – only something that I’ve started using this year. I also have to absolutely LOVE the product and they have to be in constant rotation in my makeup routine.
These products are in order of when I bought them in the year, not in any order of preference because I honestly can’t choose a favorite from all of these. There are also a bunch of new makeup products I tried near the end of the year that could have made it on the list, but it felt premature to add them to a yearly favorites list.
Bobbi Brown Crushed Liquid Lipstick
Bobbi Brown, $26
Has the beauty community forgotten about this already? These gloss-lipstick hybrid is one of those products I reach for when my lips are feeling super dry, and I don’t want a full coverage lipstick, but I also don’t want a light gloss. This product is truly the best of a gloss, liquid lipstick, and lip treatment all in one. They are pigmented, but not too thick, sticky at all, and they really feel like a thick lip balm on your lips. I only have the shade Juicy Date but it is just the kind of neutral beige pink that I reach for whenever I need just a little something on my lips but don’t want to add a full on lip color.
PYT No BS Eyeshadow Palette
PYT Beauty, $32
This neutral palette from the partially DC-based brand PYT Beauty was a fantastic discovery from this year. I haven’t had great experiences with powder eyeshadows from clean beauty brands until now. The eyshadows in this palette are smooth, pigmented, blendable, and long-lasting. Plus, it works as a complete eye palette for me with a blending shade, liner shade, and plenty of lid options. I’ve already reviewed this palette here if you want a more complete breakdown of the palette. While it’s probably not the most exciting or dramatic palette I’ve bought this year, it’s a good every day staple that I’ve reached for more times than I can count.
Rituel de Fille Rare Light Creme Luminizer in Anthelion
Rituel de Fille, $29
Rituel de Fille is basically my dream brand. Their products and promo images are so up my alley, and I absolutely love everything they make. Stay tuned for an upcoming brand review, but their Rare Light Creme Luminizer in Anthelion has been a mainstay in my collection. It’s a cream highlighter that can give just a hint of a glow, or built up to a more dramatic and beautiful golden glow. I love how easy to use and long lasting they are, plus it’s another clean beauty brand that I’ve fallen in love with. I have quite a few shades of this highlighter now, but this is probably the one that I reach for most.
Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation
Kjaer Weis, $68, or $40 for the refill pan
I never thought that I would be a cream foundation person, but it seems like the Kjaer Weis Cream Foundations were made for oily skin. It has a drier cream to powder texture, but it doesn’t drag on my skin at all. It works as a concealer, light coverage foundation, or a full coverage foundation – and still manages to look super natural on my skin. I never feel like my face gets cakey with this foundation, and it doesn’t get oily on me at all. I have taken this traveling with me on so many occasions, especially on work trips when I need my makeup to last all day, yet I still want to travel light.I like it so much that I bought my winter shade If you have oily skin and have always wanted to try a cream foundation, this is definitely one to check out.
Australian Gold Botanical SPF 50 Tinted Sunscreen
Available at Ulta Beauty, $14.99
I had been curious about this suncreen for so long, even since a few people told me that it was great for oily skin. I finally picked it up this year and wow, this really lives up to the hype. It has just a slight tint that is perhaps a bit too peachy for my skin, but it’s sheer and absorbs in a few minutes to barely anything. It has a matte finish, and more importantly, it STAYS matte, even in the most hot and humid days. It’s actually impressive how well it stays on my face without breaking down, and keeps my makeup looking fresh all day. One thing I do have to watch out for is which foundations I wear over this sunscreen because it has such a matte finish. Honestly, when I wear this sunscreen, I usually wear it on its own with concealer because it has that slight tint. Also, a 3 oz tube for $15? You can’t beat that.
Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips 2
Charlotte Tilbury, $37
I’ve always loved Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks, but the Hot Lips 2 collection absolutely rocked my summer. I was so excited about the release of the lipsticks, from the gorgeous cases to the shades that seemed to be designed for me. I have also reviewed this lipsticks already, and I am still as excited by them as when I first got them. I basically have a shade for every occasion from this line, from a nude to a MLBB to a red, and the formula of these are the best Charlotte Tilbury lipstick formulas I’ve seen.
Chanel Les Beiges Water Fresh Tint
Chanel Beauty, $65
This is probably the most unique base product I’ve ever used. It’s a watery gel that has little tints of pigment, and it has a gorgeous natural dewy finish. When I first saw this, I was afraid it might be too dewy, especially since I bought this as summer was starting, but it manages to make my skin look naturally glowy, like I just have really healthy and just-moisturized skin. But the most miraculous part of this product is that it stays glowy without straying into the oily territory, even during the humid summer. The lasting power, combined with the cool watery-gel texture made this the perfect minimal summer base. It also works as a beautiful glowy base in the winter, and I can add other foundations on top of this if I want to add more coverage. I’ve also reviewed this earlier in the summer.
Roen 52 Cool Eyeshadow Palette
Roen Beauty, $42
This was yet another highly anticipated makeup release that seemed to take over the Instagram world. The Roen palettes have a hard gel-cream formula that is again, unlike any other kind of cream shadow I’ve tried. The effect is just a lightly glittery sparkling wet dew that manages to look sophisticated and polished. There was a warm palette and a cool palette, and the cool tones just really called to me with the plum and the burnished bronze shade. These are palettes you could use alone, or as an eyeshadow topper over other eyeshadows. I’m impressed by the wear since they don’t seem to crease on me, even though eyeshadows tend to crease, and I like that I can take just this palette for an easy one and done look with my fingers.
Kosas 10-Second Liquid shadows
Kosas Cosmetics, $28
I really was not kidding about this year being full of new and innovative releases, especially for clean beauty, because the Kosas 10-second liquid shadows really changed the liquid shadow game for me. I’ve also reviewed these shadows here. It’s the eyeshadow for you if you want to wear eyeshadow but literally only have 10 seconds to apply it. Every shade works as a one and done. The neutral shimmery shades are great for an every day work look, and the color shades are the most wearable colors I have – they apply like the sheerest most delicate wash of color. Plus, for being a water-based shadow, they last all day without creasing on me (when I wear an eyeshadow primer underneath).
YSL Rouge Pur Couture x Zoe Kravitz lipsticks
YSL Beauty, $38
This is the only product I’ve bought in the past couple months that I’m considering a yearly favorite products that almost made the list because they’re that good. I’ve been a long time fan of YSL lip products – in fact, they were my first high-end lipstick purchase back in the day. But I had never tried the Rouge Pur Couture line, and man, what was I waiting for?? This is easily one of the best lipstick formulas I’ve EVER tried in terms of comfort and lasting power. I reviewed these when they were first released here. I’ve since bought one more shade, Honey’s Nude, which is a beautiful peachy-beige. All of the shades are just different enough from all the other lipsticks in my collection, and all of them have been getting lots of wear from me.
Although it was fairly easy to narrow down to 10 products, I also have a few honorary mentions that I also really loved this year and would have been my next picks if I did a top 12 or a top 15:
Honorary mentions –
- Hourglass Unreal Lip Glosses, $30 – swatched here
- Ilia Beauty the Necessary Eyeshadow palettes, $38 – reviewed here.
- Kosas Tinted Face Oil, $42
- Buxom Wander Primer Inflused Blush in Seychelles, $22
- Charlotte Tilbury Glowgasm Beauty Light Wand, $38
- Saint Cosmetics Concealer, $32
If you’ve tried any of these products, let me know what you think of them! Is there anything that definitely makes it into your top 10 products of the year?
As always, thanks for reading!
Beauty Unhyped 