Beauty Favorites - 2017

I love editing my blog post for my yearly Beauty Favorites blogpost; I keep an alert mind about the products that I have used & loved the most throughout the year. And then when the Christmas holidays starts, I devote a day to take pictures and sum up my thoughts. For me, it is a creative process that gives me much joy!​​

This year, however, this process has not been that exciting or enjoyable. First of all, I have not been wearing or experimenting much with makeup this year. Actually, I have not been buying a whole lot of makeup (I think that's definitely a good thing). I also have not continued my monthly favorites series mostly because I don't have much to talk about. I still figured, that there are a handful of products that I have been constantly using this year; they definitely deserve some love :-)

Let's start with something glamorous!!

Diorskin Nude Air Luminizer in 001 & 003 (full review here): These highlighters cost me an arm and a leg. But they are so pretty! I have 001 & 003. 003 has been a strong candidate against Champagne Pop from Becca Cosmetics which is my all-time favorite highlighter to use! The powder here is soft, easy to apply on bare skin as well as over foundation and it has great staying power. The luxurious feel of the compact also makes me feeling special.

Marc Jacobs Beauty O!Mega Bronzer Coconut Perfect Tan in 104 Tan-Tastic! (full review here): I have a very detailed review of this here; I have explained why I was not 100% in love with the product. But this has been my most used bronzer this year. Even when I am not wearing any type of makeup I do love a bit of bronzers. The powder has a lovely smooth texture and is very easy to wear on a bare, just-moisturized skin. Also, now that it is winter, it shows up more on my skin allowing me to wear and love it more!

Nars Blush in Goulue: I was not able to wear wear a lot of blush this year, mainly because of acnes! But this has been my most used this year. It is a deep muted maroon-rosey shade. It gives my cheeks some healthy color. Very pigmented but easy to blend and has excellent staying power. It appears to have some sheen but on application the glitters does not really make my porous acne-ridden cheek look bad.

Colourpop Pressed Shadows in Come and Get It: Such a great shade. It is a bliss to wear in the morning - perfect one-lid color - I love it.

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color in Plum (full review here): I simply adore this eyeliner. It's actually an eyeshadow stick and designed to be layered on the lids to wear alone on apply eyeshadow over it. I have used it that way but I mainly use it as eyeliner. You can see that it is a wider pencil so I can’t get any thin eyeliner shape, but I just slap it on and it immediately adds a definition to my eyes – makes me look alive! The texture of the product is so smooth and it glides effortlessly without any tagging! It is a bliss to use in hectic, task-heavy work weeks where I cannot simply bother to worry about my makeup. Also, you get so much of product! Not sure if I can use it up. I started using it in May and have not stopped since. 

Nars Dual Intensity Eyeshadow in Himalia (full review ): I wore this non-stop for the first half of the year, you can see the dip I made in the product. It is a beautiful beige-y gold shimmery shade. Absolutely brilliant for my rushed mornings. I just lightly pat it on my lid with my fingers and some days I dont even need to use any matte crease shades.  

Ilia Beauty Lip Conditioner in Bang Bang (full review here): I don't have a load of products from passionate green beauty creators. But I do love the ones that I have! This particular one is called a lip conditioner - a somewhat fancy name for what essentially is a tinted lip balm. Personally, I don't like such balms. I like to wear full pigment on my lips; not some “tint”. But this one has won my heart! It has such a smooth consistency - keeps my lips moisturized. The shade provides a subtle, easy hint of red. I love layering it over my everyday lip shades like Mac Amorous, Bite Beauty Meritage etc. to get that extra layer of moisturization and color. I have almost used up half of the tube and I can definitely see myself repurchasing. 

Mac Satin Lipstick in Amorous: I think I mentioned it in my last year's favorites (see here) too. I think about 60% of time this year, I have worn this to work. It is such a great everyday shade for my complexion. And because it is satin finish I don't find it drying at all. It stays put all day! Because of the subtlety of the shade, it is also very easy to layer it. 

Bite Beauty High Pigment Lip Pencil in Meritage: Another of my workhorse lip products this year. You can see, I almost finished it up. It is a beautiful everyday rose-ish color! It's a good formula, stays comfortably the whole day! 

CoverFx Custom Enhance Drops in Candlelight (full review here): It was in my last year’s favorites and it is still a favorite. About 90% of the time, I have worn foundation this year I have mixed a drop of this. I love the subtle illumination it gives me. 

NAILS Inc. Nail Polish in Rainbow Wishes (full review here): Last 3 year, there has been a nail polish that will jump out at me - that I have loved that year. This year, it took me a while to figure out. Nonetheless this beautiful soft purple shade with multicolor sheen has to be the favorite this year! It is beautiful, glamorous and easy to wear to work. I really enjoy it. The staying power is also very satisfactory!

Hope you all a had lovely holidays! Tell me about your favorites, this year?

Love,

~Arrru