Best of Beauty 2019.

Hello 2020! I hope the new year is off to a great start for you all.
I love these first few days of January as I always feel inspired and full of positive energy. It's the perfect time to get rid of dried-out mascaras and underwear with sagging elastics, write down goals and resolutions, and above all for the traditional yearly beauty wrap ups. Before we take on 2020 I wanted to share some of my favourite discoveries of the year - and I'm sure I forgot to mention something truly amazing that will come into my mind when it's too late, like it always happens, but let's jump right into it!

10 Beauty Finds Of 2014 So Far.

Product round-ups are usually a first-of-the-month or of-the-year kind of thing but recently I've seen a few of these posts pop up in various magazines and in my Bloglovin' feed - last but not least, Vivianna's one - and I thought it would be fun to jump on the bandwagon as well. With a few weeks to go till the end of 2014, there' still plenty of time for some new beauty discoveries to find their way into my top list, but here's a little round up of my ten favourite finds of the year up to now.

001. Bumble and bumble Dryspun Finish (£21.50) - A cross between a dry shampoo, a texturizing spray and a light hold hair spray that gives just the right amount of grit to my hair without making them look or feel crispy or dirty. It gives to freshly washed locks that second-day hair look that makes styling so much easier, as it allows the hair to catch on itself and build more volume and texture rather than falling completely flat.

002. LORAC Unzipped Eyeshadow Palette - I'm a big Lorac fan and their palettes are definitely a staple in my collection. With an incredibly silky-soft texture and great pigmentation, this swoon-inducing offering features all my favourite shades for an everyday look and is hands down my most reached-for at the minute. If you're a fool for rose gold, bronze and berry shades like I am, this palette will truly knock your socks off.

003. Foreo Luna Mini (£99) - It's pretty much the answer to all the prayers for a gentle cleansing device that doesn't aggravate sensitive skin whilst still delivering great results. One use is enough to experience smoother and more luminous skin and after using it consistently for a few months I can say that my skin has never looked better.

004. Sarah Chapman Overnight Facial (£45) - I always have it on hand for when things get extra stressful, but on a day-to-day basis I like to use it at least once or twice a week to give myself a good face massage and then leave it on to pamper my skin overnight. This delightful mix of oils is a proper skin hero and leaves my complexion ultra radiant and deeply nourished come morning.

005. Hourglass Diffused Heat Ambient Lighting Blush (£28) - If I had to pick one blush to wear everyday for the rest of my life, it would have to be this gorgeous poppy shade swirled with my favourite Ambient Lighting Powder. It gives the most perfect healthy flush with a lit from within glow to the cheeks and, unlike other powders, it doesn't sit on the skin but blends perfectly into the base for a beautiful natural finish.

006. Daniel Sandler Cherub Watercolour Liquid Blusher (£14.50) - Pinched cheeks in a bottle, that's it. Cherub is a soft petal pink with a waterproof formula that blends like a dream and doesn't budge, and it's basically undetectable on the skin. It's the ultimate bonne mine blush that looks like fresh skin flushing from within.

007. Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint Cologne (£40) - I've been completely obsessed with the whole Jo Malone range, but this one is still the top of the class for me. It's such a lovely combination of mint, white flowers and a subtle hint of rain and manages to be bright and fresh but still quite feminine at the same time.

008. Rae Morris Magnetic Brush range - Beware of Japanese brushes, for they are addictive. My piggy bank is not very happy for my penchant for artist brushes, but I really can't help it and in my defense, Rae's line is simply spectacular. All the brushes are hand-made, oh-so-soft and perfect for precise and controlled application of any kind of product. My favourite picks have to be the Ultimate cheekbone, which is a must have for contouring lovers, and the Liquid Foundation brush, perhaps the best duo-fiber brush I own.

009. NARS Velvet matte Lip Pencils (£18) - Velvety soft and not drying, the formula of these beauties is absolutely spot on. With my chronically dry lips, I used to avoid matte lip products like the plague, but these lovely lip pencils had me change my mind in a second - they stay put all day without making your lips feel like they could fall off at any minute and the shade selection would make even the harder to please squeal with excitement -. My must have shades are Cruella, Never Say Never and Sex Machine.

010. Anastasia Brow Wiz (£15.50) - My go-to product of the moment to cheat the perfect arch, Brow Wiz has a super fine nib to draw all the missing hair and fill in the brow with precision, and a build-in spoolie to blend everything and keep things natural. I tend to use it when I want my brows to look polished and quite defined but not painted on. It's really the best brow pencil out there right now.

What's your favourite beauty find of the year so far?

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The Let-Downs.

NARS The NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette // H&M Makeup Sponge // MUFE HD Microfinish  Powder // Bumble and Bumble. Surf Spray // Guerlain Rouge G L'extrait in Paresse // Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner in Infinity // Estee lauder Double Wear Stay-in-place Makeup

One of the thing I enjoy the most about beauty blogging is browsing the internet for new products to try; I read loads of reviews, look for swatches if the case and gather as many information as possible. Every so often though, no matter how thorough my research was, some products fall short, don't live up to the hype or simply don't work for me. I try to keep things positive around here, because, let's face it, writing about amazing products it's just so much more fun, but I think the time has finally come for you to meet some of the products of my flop list.

First up is my most recent fiasco, the NARS NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette (£55). Infuriating doesn't even begin to describe this palette and my experience with it. It's undeniably gorgeous, with the perfect mix of warm and cool neutral shades and a combination of matte, pearl and shimmer textures. Unfortunately the eyeshadows themselves are totally rubbish, chalky and extremely hard to blend; also, the pigmentation is so poor is not even remotely comparable to the intense color pay-off that most of the shadows offer in their single and duo form. Also, after reading a lot of enthusiastic reviews I realized that the quality is not consistent from palette to palette - either that or people don't know what buttery soft and super pigmented mean -; there's no way to control this aspect, therefore I highly recommend you stick to the single eyeshadows or simply check out other nude palette offerings.

I've been raving about Bumble and Bumble. products lately as I love pretty much everything I've tried from their range, but there's one product that really doesn't work for me. The uber popular Surf Spray (£21.50) does everything it says on the bottle - gives volume and an effortless, tousled beach look - but sadly doesn't get on well with my hair: it makes my sensitive scalp oh so itchy and feels a bit drying on the ends as well. I kind of like it but I get the same result with more gentle products, like the fabulous and beautifully scented Bumble and Bumble Thickening Hairspray (£7.50).
Illamasqua is another brand that I absolutely adore and hardly ever lets me down. The Precision Gel Liner (£18) in the shade Infinity is extra black and incredibly pigmented but for some reason it doesn't set and ends up smudged on the upper lid and in the inner corner of my eyes. The formula is supposed to be long-wearing and water-resistant but it doesn't quite keep its word. I also tried it on a client and experienced a lot of blotchiness and a very difficult application: as I was refining the wing, the more product I applied the more it came off with the brush. Not a winner in my books, sorry.

The Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-place Makeup (£27.50) is possibly one of the most hyped up foundations on the market and, for that reason, it was a huge letdown for me. At this day I still can't understand what all the fuss is about. It's heavy, it looks like makeup - a lot of it actually -, smells like moldable paste and above all it feels like a clay mask on the skin because once it sets, I feel the weirdest pulling sensation. I used it during summertime, with primers, I mixed it with lighter foundations... Nothing I do seems to work to make this base any better.
Another top rated product that everyone but me seems to love is the Makeup Forever HD Microfinish Powder (£24.95). My biggest complaint with this is that it looks ashy on pretty much every skintone I've tried it on, whilst the Laura Mercier Universal (£29) or the Vichy Dermablend Setting Powder (£14.50) for instance, are actually invisible on the skin. Apart from that, it's ok, I guess, but nothing more; it does mattify the skin but not as well and for as long as other similar products and it does blur pores but, again, not as well as more recent releases. There're so many amazing setting powders on the market I wouldn't spare this one a passing glance to be honest.

Plenty of very positive reviews at the time convinced me I needed to try the Guerlain Rouge G L'extrait (£29.50) but as it turned out, I could definitely do without it. There's something really upsetting about this liquid lipstick. It could be the dopey packaging, which weights almost as much as my phone does, or the dark pink shade - I own Paresse - that looks a bit dull due to the not-quite-matte, not-quite-satin finish. On top of everything, it's quite sticky and not at all long-lasting on me and I actually ended up eating all of it along with my quick lunch once, which was quite annoying to say the least.

Lastly, there was a time I thought sponges couldn't be bad - I mean, a sponge is a sponge, right? - but something clearly went wrong with the H&M Makeup Sponge (£1.99). It's rough, it doesn't apply foundation evenly and is so dense it's definitely really unpleasant to bounce around the face. Don't let the cute bubblegum pink and the price tag fool you; those two are actually the only good aspects about this blender.

Have you tried any of these products? Any fans out there or you're just equally disappointed as I am with these guys? Do you have any beauty let-down to share?


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