Beauty Favorites - 2020

2020!!!! What a year ha? This was a challenging year for me, for many reasons. May be some day I will talk about it in detail! Just may be!

But today I am here with my MAKEUP FAVORITES for the year 2020! I have worn so much makeup this year! I worked from home for almost the entire year, thereby cutting down 2 hrs. of commute everyday, which in turn gave me a lot of time to play with makeup during the weekends. It was almost like a therapy for me - something to bring in a little bit of sanity to my mind throughout this incredibly crazy year. And because I love playing with color, you can see I have picked items that are so very colorful.

All of these products bring me so much joy, and that was my only criteria in selecting these product. Okay, here we go!

Let's talk about eye products first as this was the year I realized completely that I love playing with eyeshadows the most. So naturally I have a lot of eye stuff!

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Shadow in Plum: Hands down the most used eye pencil this year. I used it mainly to darken up my inner lash lines. It is so comfortable to use, no tugging or harsh application! It also stays put very nicely! And the color is so very pretty, it does the same function for which I will use a black eyeliner but it is a little bit less harsh. Also, you get so much product in this.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zodiac, Delirious, and Accuse (Full review here): As I mentioned, I wore a lot of colorful eyeshadow and I kept reaching for these 3 shades of eye pencils to have a coordinating color on my eye-looks. It almost immediately disappears from the very outer corner of my lower lash-line but other than that I did really enjoy these.

2020 was also the year where I wore so much glitter, so much glitter 😊

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Midnight Cowboy (Full review here): I absolutely love this glitter. First, the antique gold type of shade is very compatible with all colors of eyeshadows I wore. I also learnt one or two new techniques to use it - so I was able to get more use out of it. Every time, I incorporated this glitter Ifelt like it added so much dimension to the look.

Milani in Lollapa-Blue-Za (Full review here): I picked up 3 shades from this line and while I love all 3, this is the one I used the most. The glitter particles are tiny but quite punchy. It also has a little bit of a duo-chrome sheen to it which just makes them extra fun. I find them easy to apply and quite long lasting. 

Make Up For Ever Star Lit Powder in #19 Ultramarine: This is the blue of my dreams! I am obsessed with this type of deep cobalt blue eyeshadows! And within the embarrassing amount of blue eye product I have, this is the most beautiful blue! This is a star powder; it is extremely refined and it has such a beautiful soft but impactful shine that looks gorgeous on the eyes! Its VERY messy but I don't even care!

DANESSA MYRICKS BEAUTY ColorFix 24-Hour Cream Color Matte in Primary Red: Probably one of the top few products that gave me the most joy this year. I am in love with this Colorfix. It's the red of my dreams! Fierce and unapologetic RED! It took me a minute to figure out the best application technique but I think I have gotten the hang of it. I have applied it as a sheer wash of colors couple of times. But I am mainly using it to create graphic liners and I love it. I wear it alone or mix it with other cream formulas to get custom colors. 

Stila Shimmer & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow in Twig: This is the first product I fell in love with in 2020. This is a stunning dark coppery brown shimmer shade that immediately makes me feel and look sultry! I apply it on one eye at a time! I pat it on & just blend it with my fingertips. There is a little bit of time to play with it but don't need to wait forever for the eyeshadow to set! It is fast, and easy but looks like I spent a lot of time & effort in creating the eye look . Also, tremendous staying power. I wore it almost every time I used Indian saree or mekhela sador this year and LOVED it!

Viseart Eyeshadow Palette  in Editorial Brights: I have longed for this palette for years and I finally got it this year. This palette makes me happy. All the colors show up as vibrant as they appear on the pan! Yellow, and purple shades are simply amazing. The blues are a bit finicky. I have created looks with all these shades; and everytime I have used this palette, I find myself being so happy and content. 

Viseart Eyeshadow Palette in Dark Edit (Full review here): This sneakily made it to the list - I am surprised actually! I got this palette last year and although I did love it, only this year I found my deep love for it. These colors are my type of colors; rich, vibrant and so very easy to work with. I did not pay much attention to the shimmers before but they are so goooood! Especially that gold is beautiful.

My single shadow love! This was the year that I finally caved and tried some indie brands! And oh my my, they are so very beautiful and they bring me so much joy! I tried to pick only a few shades from JD Glow and Devinah, but I couldn't. They are all are so versatile and happiness inducing.

JD Glow single shadows in Unexpected, Good Gawd, Lavendar, Anomaly, Prismatic, Lemonade and Volcano: I become speechless when I need to talk about these eyeshadows. They are so good! Apart from the Lemonade and Volcano, all other shades are galaxy shadows; they are chunky multidimensional glittery shades and there is a certain learning curve to using them but use any one shade - it will take your look to a different level.

Devinah single shadows in Salvatore, Blazed, Cleopatra, Rainbow Blossom, Confetti Kisses, Creampuff Cuddles, Kazookles: These shadows are breathtaking! These are much softer to touch than the JD Glow and are much more soft and comfortable on the eyes. Almost all the shades I have here have such gorgeous multichromes, I tried to see if I loved a few over the others but no, I love them all.

Makeup Geek single eyeshadows in Voltage and Steampunk: Steampunk is an old favorite, I absolutely love the duo-chrome in this and I often use it for my smoking out my lower lash-line. I got a lot of use out of the Voltage shade as an inner corner shade, it is so very sheeny and beige/cream shade is so flattering with so many colors as inner corners.

Urban Decay x Krsiten Leanne Leo+Brixton (full review here): This was a limited palette but I have been using and loving these two shades for inner corner highlight this year. 

Lets talk about the cheek products now!

Laura Mercier Face Illuminator in Indiscretion, Addiction, Devotion, Seduction (Full review here): This was a limited edition holiday palette from few years ago, and I have used this palette so much this year, especially in the first half of the year. I can use all the shades and I love the different tones in each of the shades. The darker shade I use to add some sheen to my bronzer. 

KEVYN AUCOIN Glass Glow Face in Prism Rose: This has to be the product that I have used the least out of this bunch. I picked up the full size in late summer after using up a foil sample packet early in the year. It is a very glass looking highlighter and it is exactly what I wanted. I don't think it is for everyone. But it is in this list simply because it makes me happy.

Rituel De Fille probably was my favorite brand discovery of  this year!

The Alchemist Highlighter Intensifier: Uuuuf, this product makes my heart sing! It makes me not care about the world and be the most "I-am-uniquely-me" version of myself. It has very sparkling, very visible but very classy looking glitters on a solid  oil base. I love wearing it on my eyes for adding an editorial edge to my looks. I also love wearing it on my cheeks. Yes, the glitters are very visible and yes, I am in my mid thirties and I don't care if I have glittery cheeks :-)

Rituel De Fille Color Nectar Pigment Balm in Bloodflower (Full review here): I absolutely love this blush. As you can see, I have already made a dent in the pan. I love the red shade, I love how easy it is to use, I love how easily it can be layered with other shades and I love the faint herbal smell it has. Overall, a very big fan of this.

Rituel De Fille Rare Light Crème Luminizer in Solaris: I used this shade so much during Fall and Winter, such a gorgeous burnt orange shade and it looks so very flattering on my skin-tone.  It is a bit of a stiff cream formula but once you warm it up it is very easy apply and modify. 

Becca Mineral Blushes in Lantana, Hyacinth and Songbird (Full review here): These are some of my older products in my collection but I am very happy I have them. This year I have learnt the art of layering blush. I typically use a cream blush and they once I apply my highlighter and bronzer I finish it off with applying one of these shades with a very fluffy brush for a very light application. It makes the whole look so seamless. Songbird is definitely the most used out of these 3!

Tower 28 Beauty Bronzino Illuminating Bronzer in Best Coast (Full review here): Definitely my most used bronzer. My Buriti Bronzer (that I finished this year - see review here) is still a tad bit more favorite than this one, but I definitely loved using Best Coast It has quite a red undertone and it has a shimmery finish but I really like the formula. It is so very easy apply as well. You can already probably see a dip going on.

Coverfx Custom Enhancer Drops in Candlelight (Full review here): Shout out to my beloved Custom Enhancer drops. It is an older product but it is still performing great. I exclusively use it by adding a tiny drop with my foundation, it gives such a beautiful sheen! I love it! 

The lip category made me sad coz typically I would have at least one bright bold shade. But given how this year turned out, I didn't really use bold shades for going out and about.

Kosas Kosasport LipFuel Hyaluronic Lip Balm in Pulse (Full review here): This is tinted lip balm and I am using it with a lot of different shades to manipulate other shades. And it is good for that purpose, along with being a decent lip balm. I think this product made it to the list based on how much I have used it. 

Bite Beauty Lip Pencil in 038: I have started to use Lip pencils quite consistently this year. It is a good formula and the shade is useable with a lot of different shade. Of course, Bite discontinued this formula. 

NAILS INC in Knightriders Street: A neon shade that flatters my skin-tone? Do you know how rare is that? Anyway this neon green is so opaque in two coats and on me it lasts 10+ days. I loved it throughout the entire summer. I really enjoyed it this year.

Tell me about your favorites 😍..did you play more or less with makeup this year?

Love,

~Arrru

Beauty Favorites - 2019

Last year I did not do a dedicated post to yearly beauty favorites mainly because it was a shitty year for me, personally :-) So I just stopped caring about makeup. But I am really glad that this year I am back to having fun with makeup :-) I love reading and watching Yearly Favorites posts! As you can see, I have significantly cut down on purchasing new makeup products (I still buy a lot makeup/skincare from Sephora) so almost all these products are old favorites that I have fallen back in love with!

Different bloggers/YouTubers have different criteria for selecting the favorites products. I look at it from a few different angles - how often did I reach for these products throughout the year, is it long lasting and easy to apply etc etc. But for me I think it has to be something that fills my heart with joy or something that I have been constantly using in my everyday life. Sometimes a product may not excite me all that much but for some reason I find myself wearing it to work everyday. Or sometimes it is something I may have worn just a few times but it just has made me happy for those few times. Whether I discovered the product first time in that particular year or not does not matter to me! 2019 was also the year I rekindled my love for jewellery and here you see some favorite jewellery pieces that I accumulated this year! I was especially obsessed with the gold-pearl trend this season :-)

Here are the products -

PAT MCGRATH LABS MatteTrance™ Lipstick in Elson 013: I think it is the only product in this bunch that was new to me in 2019. It is a matte red lipstick; quite a lightweight formulae that stays put very nicely. I love this shade, it is VERY pigmented and just a tad bit darker of a red. Somehow it makes me feel fancier and  more posh than I am in real life you know! I love the dinky size as well. The design of the bullet also makes me feel fancy! My only problem with the lipstick is that it bleeds a little if I am not wearing a lip liner. Anyway, I did wear it throughout this year and loved it!

Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Stylist: This is a very classy lipstick bullet with a very standard old-school lipstick formulae. In a day and age when brands are coming with different lipstick formulae and crazy creative names for the lipsticks this can seem very boring. One of my close friends gifted me this around July and I have been regularly wearing this to work since September. I love the comfort it provides; simple lipstick formula that stays put without drying out my lips. It does fade towards the end of the work-day but it fades gracefully. Sometimes simple things are the best! I also love the soft pink shade - it helps me to remain close to my softer, feminine, emphatic side which can be sometimes difficult as I work in engineering and more often than not I am surrounded by masculine energy. Hope that makes sense!

Cover FX Bronzer in Sunset: Another product that comes in a seemingly boring pan and a boring formulae. But I like the no-nonsense approach Cover FX takes. Simple classic packaging that is not going to get dirty every time you use it. And I love the formulae - it is a simple matte powder but is not dry at all! I love the shade also, it is not always easy to find a bronzer that is a good color for a medium dark Indian skin-tone! It is also super easy to blend.

RMS Beauty Living Luminizer & Buriti Bronzer: Do I even need to talk about these two? They were favorites the first I bought them and they are still favorites. I still feel the excitement every time I wear them. I love, LOVE them and use them almost everyday! Especially the Living Luminizer! And I loved using the bronzer during the summer. I have full review on the Living Luminizer here. I will definitely repurchase these once I finish them.

Makeup Geek Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Creme Brulee & Cocoa Bear: Creme Brulee is MUST-HAVE shade for me. I wear it on my crease every time I wear eyeshadow/eyeliner; I use it with everyday simple eye look and with any intricate colorful look. I cannot do my eyeshadow without it. Cocoa Bear is my favorite brown - it is so warm & happy. No matter how many brown shade I try from other brands this remains irreplaceable!

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Eyeliner in Midnight and Indigo: I did not buy a lot of makeup this year. I think that has helped me to go back to a lot of my "tried and tested" favorites. This eyeliner in 'Intense Black' shade has been my #1 liquid liner for a long time now. I have gone through a few of those. And with time, I have collected many different colors from this range. Out of all those, Midnight and Indigo have been my most used and most favorite colors this year! My soul, in general, is obsessed with colors. Both these shades are just colorful enough to satisfy my soul but also have enough depth (in the shade) that I can easily wear them to work. The blue in them does not clash with any bold color lipstick I want to wear - that is a plus for me. They are very long wearing, quite pigmented and easy to apply! I love them :-)

Viseart Eyeshadow Palette in Dark Matte (Read my full review here): "Dark Matte" is an old love! It was a big investment when I bought it; obviously I did expect a lot from it.  And my god, it did not disappoint! I have been wearing a lot of color on my eyes, especially this fall & winter season. And I have been using this palette on my crease or outer V area to complete my looks. I adore all the shades in the palette but the two brown shades at the top left corner have been used and loved a lot this year!

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara & Lash Primer: I have gone through a few of the travel size tubes of Perversion Mascara. But I finally decided to invest on the full size version as I found a good value set that included the primer. I have used a few of lash primers from different brands but never noticed any kind of improvement on the way my lashes looked. But I love this combo! I have tiny eyes; my lashes have a curve to them but they are quite short. Despite that, I don't really ask a lot from my mascara! I hate plastic wands - they poke at my eyes. And I hate mascaras that flake off or  are painful to remove. This one does not have such issues. The brush on both the mascara and the primer is quite soft and perfectly sized. The formula itself is wet but not too wet; it also does not dry within a month like some other mascaras. And for the primer, I can see that it helps my lashes look more voluminous and thick. Definitely a favorite this year!

Real Techniques Deluxe Concealer Brush: Oh man! It's such a versatile brush! It is called 'deluxe concealer brunch' but I never really used it for concealers; I am sure it works great for that purpose. I actually use it to apply my eyeshadow. It is just the perfect shape and size for blending my eyeshadow on the crease area. I can also use the outside edge of the brush at an angle to apply darker shades on the outer V area. I also use it to apply matte eyeshadow on my lid area! It is soft, fluffy and because it is a bigger size brush, I can use it for at least a few days before I need to wash it. Overall, I LOVE using it - it has become an essential for my eyeshadow application. I can get decently detailed eye look by using only this brush. I need to buy one more but this only comes in a set - that is my only gripe about it.

Earth's Nectar Green Olive & Lavender Scalp Oil: When I first bought this oil, I did not use it mindfully and I obviously did not notice any improvement or difference in my hair. I neglected my hair for all of 2018 and first half of 2019, obviously my hair was getting all frizzy and lifeless. My already existent dandruff, itchy scalp issue was getting out of hand. So I revisited this oil in my stock and for last 3-4 months I have been using it generously on my scalp overnight before washing my hair next day. I use a different oil on my hair though! Anyway, I would generously massage my scalp for at least 10-15 minutes. I think it s positively affecting my hair and nursing it back to health.

Also, because I am a stupid woman I totally forgot to add this nail polish in my photos! I managed write and edit my posts where I did include it but I just completely skipped to add the polish in the flatlay. I typically keep it near my living room sofa as I paint my nails watching TV, so I totally forgot about it when I was collecting my favorites from my vanity. :-(

Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in Peaceful Paranoia (check short review here): I got this nail polish in a value set in Spring, 2018 and I fell in love immediately. I wore it a few times but I did take a break from Social Media in 2018. During that time and after that also, I kind of lost my interest in nail polishes. I did not even wear nail polish for most of 2019 but whenever I did wear nail polish it was this - at least 90% of the time. I absolutely adore the shade. Such a perfect nude on my skin tone, it has a slight purple-y delicate shift to it! Simply gorgeous! The shade makes me look and feel fancy; like I am some retired CEO of a very successful company - poised, graceful & full with life experience :-) It even makes any jewellery I am wearing on my hands (like rings, bracelet) look daintier and prettier! :-)

That was everything that loved and used the most this year. Hope you had a wonderful year and hope you are excited for this new decade!

Happy New Year guys!

Love,
~Arrru

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

Beauty Favorites - 2016

When I started to think about my 2016 favorite products, I initially thought I will not have many products to talk about. But, now that I have finally sat down to compile the post, the situation has completely changed! Another thing to note here is that there are hardly any items that were released this year! Apart from that one palette everything is permanent product. All of these products are all “new-to-me” products. Also, there is no lipstick here! What a shocker!

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water: It appeared in my first-ever favorites post and it remained favorite till year end. I have very dry skin! Something like this is always intriguing to me! The name has 'water' in it, so it seems like a gimmicky product at an expensive price. But it really works! I got one last October in this travel size bottle in 2015 Sephora Favorites Superstars set (reviewed here) and I have been using it ever since! I already have bought a full-size! I don’t use it very, very often but I love how it makes my makeup application appear super smooth, every single time! No matter how carefully I exfoliate, I always end up with a few dry, flaky patches here and there on my face. Before I apply my foundation, I spritz this on my face, especially on the flaky, dry area. If I want to extend the wear time of my makeup, I spritz it again after I am done applying everything :-) My dry skin loves this product :-)

Becca Backlight Priming Filter: Like most of you, I also love a lot of Becca products! This is one of them. I got this in the Becca Blushed Radiance set (reviewed here) and I am halfway through that tube. I have another one in same size as this. I will probably pick up a full-size once I finish those. It gives me the faintest possible glow in the best natural looking way. I especially love to wear it during work days. I love the brightness it gives me! And the smell is amazing too!

MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Foundation: I have been blogging about 3 years now and I have never posted an individual blogpost on basic face products like foundation or concealers! My main interest has always been eyeshadows, lipsticks, blushes and highlighters etc., products that offer me varied shades and finishes to play with. But after much deliberation and research, I finally invested in my first ever high-end foundation earlier this year. And I have been in love with this foundation from Make Up For Ever. I was never a full-coverage kind of girl and I will never be! But I do appreciate a foundation that can make me look naturally flawless without looking cakey. I wore it for almost all the events during my sister’s wedding! It was hot and humid in India; and at the end of the day I could see a bit oil coming through but I did NOT look greasy. I also have severe acne issues. This cannot hide huge bumped-out acnes but I can somewhat minimize the appearance of them. In short, I love this foundation and I very happy with it. I mix Y445 and Y415 to get a perfect shade. I know, it is time consuming to mix for a perfect match but these are the shades that I have and now I am too broke to buy another shade :-)

COVER FX Custom Enhancer Drops in Candlelight: I had to really think hard to decide if this is truly a favorite! This year, a lot of company brought out a lot of highlighters. This is surely a unique formula for a highlighter. This is also extremely pigmented, so there had not been enough chances for me to wear this. But whenever I have, I could not help but realize how happy it makes me feel. Hence, I decided to include it here! I have Sunlight to but I prefer Candlelight more. My most favorite way of using it is to mix a tiny drop with my foundation, it gives such a beautiful sheen! I love it! I have a very detailed review of this here.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light: Powder is another product that I never talk about! I have very dry, patchy skin, if I ever have to get rid of my powders I will not have much trouble! Naturally, I don’t really have experience with a lot of powders. I came across this beautiful little compact during Sephora VIB Sale last year and I decided to try it. It is one of those products whose effect is virtually impossible to detect on the face or in photos, but you can clearly feel that it is helping your entire look come together in the most flattering way! It is also the best powder for me to use under my eyes. I use the littlest amount possible and that is enough to set my concealer without irritating my dry under-eye skin.

rms beauty Living Luminizer: I have a detailed review and swatches of this product here. I had to wait so patiently to get me hands on this product! So much hope, so much anticipation. I finally got it in Beautylish Lucky Bag 2016 (reviewed here) and I have been using it non-stop :-) It has certified organic ingredients, so you know it has that “good-for-your-skin” quality! It gives me such a beautiful, naturally healthy look and yet, if I want that “va-va-voom” highlighter finish, I can definitely build it up to get just that. Also, it stays put the entire day! I am “head over heels” in love with this.

rms beauty Buriti Bronzer: Once I got my hands on the Living Luminizer, I knew I had to try this bronzer. It is also a cream product. I use my fingers to pat it on and use a dense brush to blend it out. Over past 3-4 months I am constantly using this bronzer and highlighter, mostly during my busy week mornings! It is a beautiful golden-y bronze shade with a very, very soft luminous sheen in it! Perfect for everyday wear!

Colourpop Super Shock Eyeshadow in Rex: Blue eyeshadow is my weakness! I can never have enough! Rex from Colourpop is a very glam blackened blue. They describe it as blue glitter on black base. I can see that but the black base comes off more as purple-blackened blue. The glitters here are simply beautiful and it is just 5$. Whenever I apply this eyeshadow, it immediately makes me happy!

Makeup Geek Eyeshadow in Crème Brulee, Morocco and Cocoa Bear: I have been using Makeup Geek eyeshadows for a long time. But this year, I fall in love with these 3 shades. I am especially enjoying Crème Brulee (reviewed here). It is almost similar to my skin tone which is why it is very versatile for me. I can use it as crease shade or I can even use this to erase any mistake I do with other shades. Cocoa Bear (reviewed here) has been an old favorite. But I like Morocco (reviewed here) a little bit more because of how warm it is.

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Midnight Cowboy: This eyeliner brings me pure joy :-) It made its entry later in the year but it instantly stole my heart. It is such a handy product for a quick, super-glam look. The thin brush like applicator is extremely convenient to draw a thin, crisp liner and it is also easy to layer over eyeshadow. It stays intact without any glitter glue! And it looks perfect with any kind of eyeshadow shade. I have used this in almost 5 out of my 7 looks in my 7 Days of Glitter with Arrru series. One the best finding of this year for me!

Touch In Sol Stretchex Stretch Lash Effect Mascara: I love natural lashes; as long as a mascara gives me separate defined lashes and is easy to take off at night, I don’t need a lot from mascaras to impress me. Having said that I have to agree that this was a surprise favorite. This one does not offer much volume but it gives me a lot of length! I love the brush too, it’s easier to use on my small eyes. It also comes off easy with cotton absorbed in hot water. I used it up long time ago, and typically don’t buy regular size mascaras, but if I need to I will buy this :-)

Wayne Gosh Brush 05: Another thing I got from Beautylish Luck Bag 2016. I rarely wore eyeshadows on my lower lash line before but after I had this brush, the situation has been completely changed. Every time I am wearing full-face makeup, I have to put some eyeshadow under lower lash line. This brush is so soft and easy to use, I LOVE it.

Viseart Eyeshadow Palette  in - 04 Dark Matte: A product that teased me for a long time before I invested in it. I don’t use this as often as I thought I would. But every time I do, I love the end result.  I have a full review here. I know that people loves Viseart palettes mainly for the formula but for me the best thing about the palette is the shade range here. Deep, dark, extremely pigmented and very sophisticated matte shades. I love the formula as well – it is very easily blendable, extremely pigmented and stays on nicely. But for me it’s the shade ranges that stands out. Every time I wear a colorful smoky look, I need some help from this palette. I especially wear a lot of blue on my eyes and the two blue shades here are my favorite to apply on the crease. The colors here have such a deep, sophisticated hue to them that I feel they grounds any kind of heavy, colorful looks! I absolutely adore the warm shades as well. My only complaint here is the absence of a matte black. I understand Viseart’s concept and understand why they did not include black in their “Dark Matte” palette. But I do feel the need of black every time I wear deep colorful shades! I had to open another palette.

I sincerely hope I get more chance to use this palette and get at much joy out of this palette as possible.

Penny Jar in Olivia Palermo x Ciaté London The Smouldering Eye Palette: I am including only the Penny Jar shade here because that’s the only shade that deserves to be here. I love the palette as a whole but it is not worthy of being “Yearly Favorites”. Anyway, this is such a gorgeous shade. It has grey purple-y base and beautiful multi-colored speckles across it. The glitters are very finely milled and are very prominent & quiet reflective. The base kind of disappears on my skin tone but those gorgeous glitters look so incredibly beautiful and elegant!  

I took this with me to India and My sister wore it on her mehendi ceremony with a Coral Saree! That coral shade with this gorgeous eyeshadow made her look so very pretty! This shade is my go-to glamorous eyeshadow whenever I do need to look glamorous but not overdone! I have a detailed review here and you can see a look with this shade here.

Pewter in Lorac Pro Palette:  I love this palette as a whole but it’s the shade “Pewter” that stood out this year. I wore it a lot during the first half of the year. It’s very similar to my skin tone so it is very easy to wear to work. It gives me a beautiful sheen and if I am in a hurry I don’t necessary need any blending matte shade. I love this shade! I have a detailed review here.

Wayne Gosh Brush 05: Another thing I got from Beautylish Luck Bag 2016. I rarely wore eyeshadows on my lower lash line before but after I had this brush, the situation has been completely changed. Every time I am wearing full-face makeup, I have to put some eyeshadow under lower lash line. This brush is so soft and easy to use, I LOVE it.

Deborah Lipmann Nail Polish in Mermaids Dream: I don’t know if I love the name more or the product or the tiny little bottle :-) I reviewed it here long time back. I love this shade, such a gorgeous mermaid blue with some beautiful glitters. It makes me feel so glamorous and grounded at the same time. I probably have this on my toes for 50% of the time this year :-) I have had it for 2 years now, and it has started to dry out a bit but I will use it for as long as I can!

Sephora Collection Instant Nail Polish Remover: Whoever invented this, has a truckload of blessings from Nail Polish lover all over the world! You dip your nails into the product, swirl it around for 5 to 10 seconds and voila – all your nail polish is removed without drying out your cuticles. Its super convenient, fast and very effective! I have been using it for at least 8-9 months and it has not dried yet! Absolute love!

Ulta Mirror: I bought this for 1$ guys, just 1$. And I cannot emphasize enough how useful of a tool it has been for this blog. This is not aesthetically pleasing at all and I don’t carry it in my purse. I also don’t like this shade of pink however for some reason I always end up with pink stuff these days. This, I keep in my living room. So, when I am reviewing a product this is the mirror I use to see and study, scrutinize and experience how my new makeup is behaving  throughout the day. My bedroom is upstairs and 3/4 th of the time I spend on my living room so this mirror helps me the lazy me to avoid going upstairs to see my makeup and application. It has two size, one is a good magnified side where I can see every crease and every pore and see how the makeup is behaving. Also, even though pink is not really my shade, I have to agree that it is easier to find whenever I tend to let the house remain messy!

Lipstick:

Pictured below are all the lip products I wore the most tis year! But unfortunately, they all failed to pass that tricky bar to be on my Yearly Favorites list. Don’t get me wrong, I adore all of them but when I closed my eyes to none of them popped up as “favorite”. I guess, they failed to give me that certain joy I look for when I compile my favorites post. But, I definitely think they deserve special mention.

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rupture: Of course, I start with a discontinued product. It is not long wearing but I love the formula and adore the shade. I wear it to work OFTEN and it is in my 17in2017 Project Pan.

Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick in Bawse: Red lipsticks are my most favorite shade of lipstick. This formula is worth trying if you have dry lips – it is super comfortable. The shade is very neutral. It is not my all-time favorite red shade but I have enjoyed this the most this year. Full review here.

Stila Cosmetics Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso: This is much brighter shade of red and I absolutely adore it. It is a very eye-catching red. This almost made it my favorites but lost for 2 reasons – 1.I did not wear it as much as I initially hoped. 2. On my sister’s wedding, I was counting on its amazing lasting power, but it faded a bit after 5-6 hrs. that disappointed me just a bit.

MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Amorous: Another shade that almost made it to my favorites list. I don’t even have a robust reason for not including it. I don’t prefer nude-ish lipsticks – so maybe that’s why! But apart from my bias, this is definitely has been worn a LOT. I love the shade, its neutral but with a unique purple undertone. I am very sure, it will be in my everyday stash for a long time.

Too Faced Melted Liquefied Lipstick in Fig: Another muted purple shade that I loved this year. I wore it a lot during the first half of the year, it does not last the whole day, but is very comfortable.

Marc Jacobs Le MarcLip Crème in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: I feel so happy and pretty whenever I wear this. Creamy opaque formula, applies smoothly to give even coverage in single swipe and stays almost the whole day! This is a pinky nude shade which is perfect for everyday office wear on my medium skin tone.

As I age, my skin is getting more complex than before and I have started to wear minimal makeup during the week. Not that I wore a lot before! But, these were the products that I have been enjoying the most this year with my complex and difficult-to-please skin :-)

I hope 2016 was a great year for you and I hope 2017 turns out to be even better!

Happy New Year, folks!

Love,

~Arrru