2020--The year that you will never forget, but wish you could (In some aspects). Even with a year such as this there's always things you want to remember. It was a year with many emotions. As a nurse I went through a whole gammat of ups and downs. I felt busier this year than ever before between work being more demanding plus I found I felt really overwhelmed trying to keep up on social media. Normally I have this drive to do a million projects at once and keep up but this year I just could not keep my head afloat. I no longer had the desire to stay up late to create content. I ignored emails that cost me partnerships and potential extra income. I let four years of regimented bedtime and rules go away with Ella and let her sleep in my bed because it was easier for me. In the end I realized it was just a year and surviving was really just the goal. Oddly the year ended up passing by extremely fast for me. I went dark blonde/light brunette for the first time in about seven years. I watched Ella become such a more amazing little person. I was reminded of all the things to be grateful of.
So time to talk about beauty favorites of the year. There's always so many because let's be honest, there's just so many good brands & launches and I have a hard time just picking a dozen. I'm trying to buy a very minimal amount of scents right now but two really stood out for me the sexy woody leather Byredo Sellier & fresh woody Ayuna Dojo inspired by the brands skincare scent. Both were great additions for me. I had a few essences I really enjoyed this year. I tried to keep new ones to a minimum this year. Forlle'ed Hyalogy P-Effect Refining Lotion has this light, hydrating, slippery texture I'm really into. It was a last find of the year that has amino acids and minerals and helps reduce inflammation. Major new favorite. I also loved Acaderma Equilibria Stabilizing Toner which is hydrating and soothing. It helps build a healthier skin barrier as well with MSM, prebiotic complex of fructooligosaccharides and N-acetyl glucosamine. Both are really great for hydration plus if you're looking for an essence that really makes an impact.
There was a few acid toners I really enjoyed this year. PSA Skin Heroine is an AHA toner that's hydrating and has an essence like texture. You get a two in one. It's also really affordable. Review HERE. Josh Rosebrook Daily Acid Toner is a refined AHA toner. It has a really nice elegant formulation. Deviant Gentle Resurfacing Liquid was definitely a star of the year. This elegant AHA, PHA & BHA acid toner deserves all the love it gets. Review HERE. Omorovicza Acid Solution was another really nice formulation with AHAs and BHA. It's gentle and hydrating. I really love it so far. Review HERE. I only had one mist I listed this year-Le Mieux ISO-Cell Recovery Solution which is not only affordable but it's actually hydrating. It has amino acids and minerals to hydrate. Highly recommend. Biophile was a brand I really loved this year. Their entire line is stellar. The Root Bionic Refining Essence has PHAs, willow bark, fermented licorice/ginger/burdock, prebiotics and sodium hyaluronate. Loved it.
Natasha Denona Glam Palette was easily the best palette launch for me this year. I normally don't like palettes but I really love Natasha Denona's formulation and their powder eyeshadows are really great. This palette has a ton of taupes and neutrals if that's your thing, I know some thought it was boring but the shades were perfect for me. ILIA Liquid Powder Eye Tint in Fresco was a really great launch. It's a liquid to powder eyeshadow, I love a good one that doesn't crease and lasts all day. So easy to use. Charlotte Tilbury launched a new shade of Beauty Highlighter Wand in Pillow Talk Original. This one is so much better (for me) than the original Spotlight shade. Pillow Talk is a rose gold sheen that's utter perfection for my skin. I love the sheen and shimmer it gives without being too glittery or frosty, it's a really beautiful shade. Perfect for my light-medium skin tone. I hate the sponge applicator as it feels unhygienic and you can't wash it really (I tried with the old one) but the product inside is worth it. The gel texture is really nice on the skin, not too heavy. Byredo did launch a makeup line and the Lipstick in Earth Dust was spectacular. It's pigmented, smooth, lightweight and stunning to look at. Review HERE. Victoria Beckham Lip Definer NO. 02 changed my mind on lip liners. I am not a lip liner person but not only is the shade pink nude perfection for me, but it's not drying at all like most lip liners which is why I loved it so. Review HERE.
Danessa Myricks was a new to me brand this year. I'm totally obsessed with the ColorFix Cream Color Metallic in Celebration. This cream eyeshadow lasts all day with no creasing, budging or smudging. Celebration is a shimmering nude mid tone neutral brown. They have a ton of shades plus it's affordable. The Prism FX Hydrating Lotion in Peach is such a great illuminating primer. I'm not a huge primer fan but I do like one that illuminates as it preps the skin. This one has a pinky peach glow without the strong shimmer. It helps blur imperfections. I highly recommend both. Hourglass Veil Eye Primer replaced my old favorite by Urban Decay this year. I love that it's not too dewy or sticky but it holds shadow well. I do believe in eye primers very much and this is my favorite of them all to date. Review HERE. Cle de Peau Radiant Cream to Powder Foundation was my favorite foundation of the year. This has a satin matte finish, looks like skin and a light to medium buildable coverage. It's really beautiful on the skin and O30 matches me perfectly. Review HERE. Besides Byredo, I had a few lipsticks I really enjoyed this year. Gucci Satin Lipstick in The Painted Veil is a creamy satin lipstick that's pigmented and has a nice lightweight texture. The color is a deeper nude pink. Wayne Goss launched his makeup line and The Luxury Cream Lipstick in Lotus is perfection. It's so creamy and lush in texture. Never drying. It's pigmented and the color is a deeper nude pink neutral. Victoria Beckham Beauty Posh Lipstick in Girl was really great. It's a light nude pink, hydrating, glossy style lipstick. The slim luxe case is really nice. Review HERE.
Trinny London Eye2Eye was so good. I loved these cream eyeshadows to death. They stay put, don't crease or budge all day. Review HERE. I didn't hear anyone talking about MDNA Skin as much this last year, but I have to say I still adore The Eye Mask they make. They have the thermal water the brand uses, sodium hyaluronate and their triple marine complex. I love the soft fabric they use. These stay put, don't slide plus they're large in size and fit my eye area really well. Easily my favorite product they make.
Fresh Sugar Blood Orange Lip Balm was my favorite lip balm of the year. I adore blood oranges they're my favorite fruit and this was so good. Glossy, hydrating, lasts and tastes good. The tin lasts forever as well. Glow Recipe Papaya Sorbet Cleansing Balm is on everyone's favorite list this year for good reason. This rinsable cleansing balm has a faint smell of papaya plus enzymes gentle help exfoliate. So good and worth trying. Dafna's Recovery Cleanser is this amazing gel-oil balm that has a pick me citrus scent. It smells like grapefruit almost but it's really more sweet orange and rosemary that give it the scent. It seems to be sold out everywhere but Clean Beauty Box has the rest of the line, hopefully it comes back in stock. If you like a nice just aromatic kind of gel-oil balm to pick you up, this is it. Really got into the African Botanics Baobab Clay Oxygenating Cleanser this year. The thick gel textured cleanser has African clay which helps remove excess oil and refines pores. It also has African botanical extracts and the scent is really fresh and light. I love it. Was total perfection in the summer and warm months. Review HERE. Medik8 was easily one of my favorite brands of the year. Crystal Retinal 6 and r-Retinoate Intense are some really stellar retinoid products. They were easily my favorite retinoids of the year. They're effective and don't irritate. Probably some of the best I've ever used, they go right up there with Allies of Skin Overnight Mask and African Botanics. Absolutely must try. Allies of Skin Mandelic Pigmentation Corrector was such a good AHA and pigmentation serum. It was really great at exfoliation plus reducing pigmentation. A well rounded all in one serum with AHAs, niacinamide, salicylic, bakuchiol and peptides/pigmentation reducers. Review HERE.
Biophile again was one of the best brand launches this year. I love fermented goodies and mushrooms in skincare. The Bio-Shroom Rejuvenating Serum has an adaptogenic fermented blend of three mushrooms, niacinamide, vitamin C, peptides & hydrators. It's a great all in one rejuvenating serum. I toned down my facial oil purchasing this year but the Bio Barrier Nourishing Oil really was amazing and stood out enough to buy a second. It has fermented green tea oil combined with grape, rosehip, sacha inchi & raspberry oils plus phospholipids and vitamin C. It's super lightweight like a silky dry oil but so much better. Totally divine. Omorovicza Daily Vitamin C has become my favorite vitamin C derivative serum. While I'm a true ascorbic acid fan, I do love a good derivative on the weekends or at night for a more gentle, collagen building yet still effective serum. I didn't really come to appreciate this one fully until this year. Review HERE. Kate Somerville Ceramides + Omegas Serum or now DeliKate Recovery Serum is the best lightweight ceramide barrier repair serum. I really love it. The light texture serum compared to so many heavy ones really makes it stand out. I have bought three so far (it was renamed to the purple bottle from my white one). I've come to love Luzern more and more. Especially the serums. Luzern Serum Absolut Luminous Eye Serum has the coolest design. I love the large cooling rollerball and the serum is lightweight, hydrating & soothing. I'm on my last drops this week. PSA The Most was one of the best hydrating serums I've tested in a long time. It's got a light creamy serum texture, no fragrance and sets to a satin finish fairly quickly (It completely absorbs into my hand in less than two minutes). I've heard some say it's sticky but I don't get that feeling, not compared to ones that are sticky for a long time. It's also more than just a hyaluronic acid serum. It's soothing and has antioxidants, plus it's affordable. Review HERE. I very much went back to NIOD this year and it was grand. I rediscovered old favorites like MMHC and healing CAIS plus new ones like soothing/barrier repair Modulating Glucosides. I love their high tech formulas and really effective products. Very innovative. I highly recommend everyone try them. Review HERE, HERE and HERE.
BLÜH Alchemy Body Oil was this last of the year amazing launch. I love the brand and this oil has a dry oil almost texture so it's not heavy or greasy feeling on the skin. Plus it has the most amazing scent. This warm vanilla pine. Perfect for right now. I found a new Christophe Robin love. The Hydrating Leave-In Mist with Aloe is my newest obsession. It's a leave in spray with no silicone and an earthy woody yet fresh scent. It's not too heavy which is what I like. It hydrates lightly without being too much or weighing my hair down. It's really the only hair product I wanted to put in here this year, the rest I found last year. I'm not a big leave on mask fan. However Jan Marini Skin Zyme was so worthy of being mentioned. I'm really into the enzymes this year and this mask is perfection. Creamy texture that's not-drying, it's gentle and exfoliates without irritation. YOU Skincare Congestion Clearing Mask is also such a great enzyme mask. It's really effective yet gentle. I'm a total enzyme convert this year. While I haven't been using many acids this year due to mask irritation, OSKIA Liquid Mask joins Allies of Skin Mandelic as my favorites of the year. This liquid acid exfoliant has lactic acid so it's gentle, plus it has niacinamide, MSM and black carrot juice. It's really a spectacular product if you like lactic acid. No irritation at all. Review HERE. PSA Light Up was such a good discovery. It's a mask that can be used as a morning cleanser as well. It's got a gel-oil balm like texture and it rinses clean. The ascorbic acid helps brighten. Basically just apply and rub for a minute or so, leave on for 5 or more then rinse for easy cleansed and brighter skin. Review HERE.
Tatcha The Serum Stick was a product I normally would not go for, yet it ended up being a skin savior. It's essentially an oil in stick format which makes it portable. I absolutely adore this under my eyes and on my cheeks during the work day as well as right when I get off. It's saving my irritated mask rubbed skin. What a great product to get right before the pandemic. Victoria Beckham Beauty Rejuvenating Priming Moisturizer in Golden was such a good launch. It's a moisturizer, primer and bronzing luminizer in one. It combines several steps in one and has a great texture. Review HERE. It's pricey but a little goes a long way. Augustinus Bader The Cream was one of the priciest items I've bought in a while. I had to just to try it. I didn't expect to love it. Yes it's ridiculously expensive, but it's a great day cream for me. There's just something about it. Get it off Cult Beauty with a discount and you'll save a bit. Review HERE. Skinbetter Trio was another great cream launch. It's this luscious barrier repair cream with ceramides, urea, cholesterol and hydrators. It's also pretty pricey but I've come to quite like it this year. I actually liked it more this year than last year. It's light yet nourishing. Review HERE. Sisley Velvet Sleeping Mask was one of those products you get, think you don't like, then use the whole thing up and realize it was better than you thought. It's this rich looking cream but it's actually lighter than it looks and it really plumps and hydrates without being heavy.
Elemis launched a new cleansing product that I adore. The Superfood AHA Glow Cleansing Butter is this creamy concoction with mango butter, fermented pumpkin (enzymes), acerola and rice water. It cleans like a thick cream, doubles as a hydrating/enzyme mask. It's really more of a creamy gel cleanser for me. I like it as a morning cleanser though it can remove makeup for the most part. It's not as strong as an oil cleanser but it works. I just really like the smooth texture for mornings. Arcana Viritida Cleansing Balm was a late addition this year but it deserves to be mentioned. This gel-oil balm has an earthy green scent and I love the light more gel texture as a great addition to my beloved earthy green Deviant. Arcana has hemp seed oil plus clary sage, rose geranium, and green tea and violet leaf. The Inkey List Salicylic Acid Cleanser was one of the best affordable cleansers I got my hands on this year. It's so affordable and has a great lightweight texture. If you want a pore clearing cleanser great for maskne or whatever I suggest checking it out. Lovinah Dragon's Blood Cleansing Oil is worth the hype. This cleansing oil emulsifies clean and uses BHA to clear pores, smells like berries and it just about the best oil based cleanser in a while. So good. Review HERE. Renee Rouleau was a brand I was so into before getting on Instagram. I had a huge phase where I used everything by her line, and while I still love it I just don't use it all the time anymore. But I grabbed a few items during the anniversary sale and ttwo cleansers are really amazing. The Moisture Protecting Cleanser is a thicker gel cleanser. It's low pH at 5.5 and non-drying. Really a nice gentle, daily use gel cleanser. The Vitamin-Infused Cleansing Emulsion was a repurchase as I had it in the past. This is a gentle gel cream cleanser that's also hydrating. Really lovely product. More soon on both. PSA Reset was another hit. Seriously the brand can do no wrong. This is a light creamy cleanser with honey, yoghurt, grapeseed oil and acai/pomegranate extract. If you hate the residue leftover from typical creamy cleansers try this one. It's so light and really pleasant. Review HERE. Augustinus Bader The Cream Cleansing Gel is a huge luxury splurge. It's more than you need to spend on a cleanser but OMG it's so good. It has a creamy gel texture, low pH, it's gentle and non-drying plus has no fragrance. It's also got the most luxurious glass bottle and bronze cap. Just a nice product overall.
African Botanics Retinal Night Cream was the best green beauty launch if you like retinal/retinoids treatment products. It's a pretty powerful treatment with 0.10% encapsulated retinaldehayde, algae, lupine protein, Swiss apple stem cells, vitamin C, niacinamide, Dragon’s Blood, resveratrol, peptides and the typical native African extracts I see in African Botanics like marula, baobab, kalahari and mongongo oils, rooibos, honeybush and aloe ferox. Multi-focal and effective with a cream like texture. A one and done creamy serum or cream for oily skin. This one is up there with some of the better retinoid products I've tried to date and it you like green beauty it's for you. Review HERE. SkinMedica TNS Ceramide Cream was a product I didn't think I loved at first then used most of it up. It's creamy and super helpful for barrier repair. It's ceramide rich, has growth factors and leaves my skin healthy. Peter Thomas Roth Peptide 21 Lift & Firm Moisturizer was one of the best moisturizers of the year. Best gel cream anyway. It's a peptide rich gel cream that doesn't pill. It's light yet manages to lift my sagging jawline in two weeks with daily use. I loved the pump bottle. Sadly it's been repackaged to be smaller and pricier which is a shame. BUt the product is fabulous. Sente Dermal Repair Cream ended up being a huge favorite this year. I really love the patented Sente technology. This cream is medium weight, soothing and repairing. Really nice cream if you like medical grade. I understand it's expensive but there is something about their products. Neocutis Lumiere Eye Cream was easily my favorite eye cream find in a while. Medium weight yet totally enough for my super dry under eyes. The growth factors really help plump and firm the eye area. Fine lines are gone. Not a big dark circle help but honestly nothing works for me (habits, hereditary, genetics). Neostrata Dermal Replenishment Face Cream is one I really came to love over the last 18 months. This is a natural moisturizing factor cream suitable for combo to dry skin. It's great in the daytime for mature dry skin. Really plumping and hydrating, replenishing.
Sunscreen wise I tested many. I had quite a few stand out. It was really European sunscreens I tested the most. As far as minerals go it was three tinted ones that really won my heart. Alastin HydraTint ProMineral, Elta MD UV Elements, Sente Invisible Shield Tinted & Priori TETRA fx251 Tinted never pill, aren't greasy, don't get too matte, and they all work really beautifully on the skin with a more satin finish. They all replace foundation as well so great as your SPF, primer and foundation in one. Review HERE and HERE. I've been playing with EVY Technology a little bit more. The Daily UV Face Mousse has easily become a favorite. It's a chemical sunscreen with a fun foam texture. No white cast, no heavy feel on the skin, no fragrance or alcohol, supposedly lasts six hours due to technology. At first it was weird to get used to, but then I ended up loving it. More to come. One of my later year favorites was the ISDIN Fotoprotector Pediatrics Fusion Water Wet Skin. I grabbed the pediatric version as it's the same as the regular, supposedly, minus fragrance. It's a chemical sunscreen with no alcohol or fragrance, no pilling. I blew through my first bottle so easily. Lightweight yet not drying. Most definitely one of the best fluids I've come across in a while. Review HERE.
Keep Cool Soothe Bamboo Sun Essence is one you'll undoubtedly be hearing about all year. It was new to me at the end of the year but made a big impression easily. It's super lightweight, chemical, no white cast, no fragrance or alcohol and no drying nor heavy feel. It's one if the lightest on the skin I've come across in a while (managing to be alcohol free). Plus it's affordable. Highly recommend grabbing one. Use code BEAUTYENDEAV if you shop on YesStyle.com (I use them all the time). Isntree Watery Sun Gel was also another K Beauty favorite SPF this year. Chemical, no white cast, creamy lightweight gel texture, 8 types of hyaluronic acid, fragrance & alcohol free plus it has no heavy feel on the skin. No pilling. Really a great sunscreen to look at. Plus it's super affordable as well. Heliocare was undoubtedly my favorite SPF brand of the year. I had several that stood out the most: Mineral Tolerance Fluid, Pigment Solution Fluid & Water Gel. I really like the The Mineral Fluid is a thin fluid mineral sunscreen with a hint of tint. The white cast is minimal for me and disappears after rubbing it in. It's not drying, never pills, fluid texture. You can really use either the Pigment Solution or Age Active Fluid, both are about the same. Combination sunscreens with a fluid texture, mineral/chemical filters, no alcohol, hint of tint and no white cast or pilling. The Water Gel is a chemical sunscreen with no white cast, no alcohol and it's fluid and lightweight. Really nice one. Review HERE and HERE. All Heliocare have a very light banana fragrance which I like and is totally tolerable.
I hope you all have a great start to the new year. We'll see how it goes. Now sure how much I believe it will be different but we shall see--XOXO Michelle & Ella.