Best Beauty Discoveries of 2018

2018 feels like the year I mastered my makeup routine. I have experimented and I know what types of products and colours I like and what I find manageable. By manageable I’m referring to how easy a product is to use, the pigmentation and application and how often I’m reaching for it. I don’t like the thought of owning makeup for the sake of it to sit there and not get used. I’m not a big palette lover, I like simple eye makeup 99% of the time and I’d rather jazz up my look with a beautiful lip colour. The majority of these products are all versatile which is another thing I love, they go with so many looks and get worn frequently.

1. xoBeauty – Starting with my favourite beauty discovery of the year – YouTuber Shaaanxo’s makeup line xoBeauty. When it comes to Shannon’s videos and YouTube channel I was late to the party. She’s probably the biggest New Zealand YouTuber and I do really enjoy her videos. Her makeup line is beautiful and the quality is top notch! I have made numerous xoBeauty orders this year and standout products include: The Remix Eyeshadow Palette (I use this a lot and reviewed it *HERE*), a liquid lipstick in the shade Carpe Diem and a matte lipstick in the shade Philocaly. The makeup brushes are very good as well and a few of my favourites are the Detail Face Brush, the Powder Tulip Brush and the Firm Blender Brush.

2. L’Oreal Lash Paradise/Paradise Extactic Mascara – It takes a lot to rival my holy grail Rimmel mascara but this gem from L’Oreal does. I purchased a tube of Lash Paradise (pink tube) in March 2018 and from the first use I loved it! The only downside is the coating flaked off the tube so by the time it was finished it wasn’t pretty anymore. I purchased a tube of Paradise Extactic (gold tube) in September which I’m excited to use and compare to Lash Paradise.

3. Trilogy Very Gentle Restoring Oil – My skincare routine is simple but when you find something that works you tend to stick with it. I have always had dry skin and this year I wanted to try a facial oil or a facial serum to see if that helped and made a difference. I did a little bit of research and found this oil for sensitive skin from Trilogy (which is a New Zealand brand). Ever since I’ve been using it I’ve noticed a big difference. My skin is softer, I get less breakouts than before (and even then there weren’t many) and my makeup looks nicer. I apply four drops of facial oil every night after my moisturiser. I have been using a day moisturiser for sensitive skin too which I think helps.

4. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle – This highlighter is a firm favourite in the beauty blogging world and it’s easy to see why! I will say this shade is better suited to lighter skin tones but it’s nice to have something that caters for fair-light skin tones that isn’t blinding and can be built up for desired effect. Soft & Gentle is a gilded peach bronze shade and out of all my highlighters, this is the most versatile. I’ve worn this an all over face powder and it also looks lovely. I’d love to try this on my eyes as an eyeshadow base or on it’s own for a more natural look.

5. Urban Decay Primer Potion – Can you believe I didn’t use eyeshadow primer until a few months ago?! I’d been thinking about trying one for a while and settled on the travel size Primer Potion from Urban Decay – I know this is tried and tested. I do notice a difference when I use this, my eyeshadow stays put longer and doesn’t crease. A little goes a long way and I haven’t had any eye irritation. I like to apply this and leave it to sit for a couple of minutes whilst I apply concealer and bronzer before going in with eyeshadow.

6. NARS Mini Orgasm Blush Highlight Duo – I knew when I saw this product online it wouldn’t stick around for long and if I left it I would miss out, so I bought it! I have an Orgasm blush dupe and it is beautiful but it’s nice to own the real thing as well. This blush is such a gorgeous colour and goes with almost any makeup look, it gives a soft flush of colour and can easily be built up, the highlighter is the same. I don’t normally wear highlighter and blush together but when I use this duo I really like how my cheeks look with both. Despite this being a mini product, it will still last a long time.

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How many of these did you guess correctly? 😛

What products were you glad you discovered in 2018?

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