2016 Beauty Favourites. ~ Gemma Louise

My favourite beauty discoveries of 2016, there’s some good’ns!

How does the year fly by so fast? It’s mental. I’ve been so ill over the Christmas period so sorry for the lack of posts! I’ve decided to round up a few (not all, there’s far too many) of my favourite beauty discoveries from this year. I think most of these products are actually fairly new ones from the past few months but I never do a monthly favourites anymore so it’s nice to round everything up at the end of the year. 2016 has been a good one for my makeup stash, I’ve found so many lovely new products, a couple of them haven’t even seen my blog yet!

Makeup Geek Eyeshadows
MUG Shadows have to be one of my best beauty discoveries ever, they beat the quality of the likes of Mac and cost less (although I think they’ve gone up in price since I bought mine). Revamping my custom eyeshadow palette and replacing half of the Mac ones with MUG was the best thing I ever did, I’m still so obsessed with it! My favourite MUG shades have to be Grandstand, Cocoa Bear & Starry Eyed, they are gorgeeeeeeous.

Blinking Beaute Lashes
My first set of mink lashes were from Blinking Beaute and I now own two sets because they are just absolutely gorg. They’re so full and fluffy and really complete any makeup look. There is no doubt they just complete any eye makeup looks I photograph and make them look so much better. My favourites are the Elojello set.

NARS Illuminator: Copacabana
I’ve really been getting into NARS products lately, I’m just so obsessed with the packaging and the quality of everything from the brand. A recent purchase I made was the NARS Illuminator in Copacabana which is absolutely beaut. I’ve been mixing this with my foundation to get a gorgeous glowy finish!

NARS Blush: Unlawful
I also picked up my first NARS Blush in the shade Unlawful which is a really pretty shimmery peachy shade. It looks a lot more red based in the pan but swatches a gorgeous peach colour. It instantly adds colour to my cheeks whilst also giving me a beautiful glow, I’m so obsessed with it and I’ve been wearing it allllllllll of the time.

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick: Bond Girl
I’ve been dying to pick up a lipstick from CT’s Matte Revolution Range for ages and the one I really wanted to get my hands on was Walk of Shame but it was sold out everywhere. I then noticed that swatches of it besides Bond Girl looked really similar so I decided to pick that up instead. I’m actually so glad I did because I’m literally in love with this shade. It’s the most beautiful berry shade and I wore it on both Christmas Eve & Christmas Day because it was perfect! The formula is so creamy and lovely to wear too without being drying. I’ve seen a few people describe this shade as a nude, I would not say it’s anything like a nude on me whatsoever, it’s a dark berry shade which you might have seen if you have me on Snapchat. I bought it specifically to add a new wintery shade to my lipstick collection so it’s absolutely perfect and I loooove it.

Benefit Roller Lash
I got this as a gift last Christmas so technically I started using it in 2015, but not until the very very end so that’s why I’ve included it in this years favourites. I’ve had an entire year out of this so far and I’m still absolutely loving it. It’s my all time fave mascara and adds so much length and separation to my stubby lashes so this one is definitely a keeper.

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils
Another staple to my makeup collection has to be the NARS Lip Pencils, they are just fab. I have two of the matte ones so far but I’m desperate to get my hands on the entire collection, the formula is just the best and they are so effortless to apply, plus the shades are to die for. I’m sure I’ve mentioned these loads already so I won’t go on but these are a massive favourite of mine this year!

Essie: It’s Genius
I love all Essie polishes but the shade I’ve been wearing the most this year is It’s Genius, it’s a gorgeous red based purple full of shimmer. It’s been the perfect Christmas shade for me and I’ve had it on my nails for weeks now. Darker nail shades are my favourites so I was even wearing this one during Summer, it’s so priddddy.

Makeup Revolution Iconic Lights & Contour Pro
This had to be included because I haven’t stopped using it ever since I bought it. For only eight pounds, this has to be the best contour palette around. I’ve been preferring it over all of my high end contour products this year. I just think it’s so good for the price and the shades in it are perfect for my skin tone. I do want to invest in some new contour products next year so this might go to the back of my drawer for a while, but it’s definitely a must have.

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream
A nice little skincare discovery this year was the Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream, I never really splurge on skincare products and this is quite pricey for me but I really love it. It’s such a nice moisturiser to use and a little goes a long way so I know it’s going to last me ages, plus it makes such a nice base to apply makeup over.

The Body Shop Grapefruit Body Mist
I thought I’d mention this product because I’ve been using it so much this year. I’m just obsessed with the scent of it and I literally spray my entire body (even my hair) with it because it smells divine. I’ve been reaching for this over my perfumes and the scent is so strong for how affordable it is too!

Mac Mineralize Skinfinish: Soft & Gentle
Mac Soft & Gentle is a very recent purchase of mine, I saw that Mac were doing 20% off so I jumped at the chance to purchase something that I’ve been lusting after for a while. This is probably an oldie to most people but it’s very new to me and I love it. I’ll never be able to replace my Becca Highlight as it’s my all time fave, but I have been using this one more than my Becca recently. I find that it’s buildable so that I can go for a subtle look if I want it or turn myself into a walking glowstick (as you do).

So those are my favourite beauty discoveries this year. Let me know if you’ve posted yours so I can have a read and maybe get some ideas for what to treat myself to next year!