This post is somewhat inspired by the Allure Best of Beauty Winners 2019 list. I’ve been watching videos of people reacting to/ commenting on whether they agree with Allure’s picks, and it got me thinking about ‘best of beauty’ in general. I decided to share a list of my all time favourite beauty products, my complete ride or die staples, because it’s important to celebrate the hero products you already own as well as new favourites.
How I Picked
Let’s be real, my collection is huge and I have many favourites. However, I have a lot of favourites for when my skin is super dry, or extra sensitive, or summer favourites. This post isn’t about those. Today, I’m celebrating the products that I love all year round, whatever my skin is doing, however I’m feeling – products I can’t imagine not reaching for at least once or twice a week, some every day. Oh and I only picked one item per category, so this post took way longer than I expected to narrow down.
With that in mind, there are some categories missing; a big one being foundations. I’ve done many foundation reviews, and I have so many that I love, but I don’t have one hero. I have some that I love in summer, some when my skin is drier etc, but not one solid favourite that I can honestly say I love more than the others. That’s probably why I packed about 6 of them for a 4 day trip earlier this year (and used all but one – no regrets).
I chose skincare and makeup favourites, so this is going to be a long one. Let’s find out what I chose! Cue me overusing the words ‘favourite’ and ‘love’ and telling you how dry my skin is 10000000 times.
My All Time Favourite Beauty Products
I’m going to start with makeup because I feel like the skincare I chose is mainly for an evening routine, so I’m going in order of application.
My All Time Favourite Makeup
Face
Contour – Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow. Does anyone remember when everyone (pale) online spoke about this? It definitely deserved the hype. I don’t contour that often, but I usually use this when I do. I prefer a cream for my skin type, the shade is perfect for us paler folk, and it blends beautifully.
Concealer – Too Faced Born This Way Naturally Radiant. I think this concealer is in the process of getting discontinued because it seems to be disappearing from a lot of Too Faced stockists’ websites and I’m very sad about it. I use this product every single day, without fail. Even when I wear others, I mix a little bit of this in. This is the only concealer I’ve ever used that doesn’t look too heavy under my eyes, isn’t drying and doesn’t crease horribly, all while coming in a shade pale enough for me. Like I said, very sad about it.
Powder – Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder. I’ve spoken about this complete and utter gem several times before, and it’s literally the only powder I use on my dry skin.
Blush – Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in the shade Notting Hill Nude. Yes, my favourite cheek colour is actually a nude peachy pink blush. Again, dry skin…Moving on.
Highlighter – Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl. I don’t think I need to explain how a Becca highlighter made the list…
Eyes
Palette – Too Faced Natural Matte. Yes, this is boring, but I use it every day, so I couldn’t legitimately pick anything else. This palette is full of my staple matte shades. Even if I’m using another palette, I still usually start with these shades and add others later. My favourite shades for my crease are cooler neutrals. I don’t like warm browns, but I also hate greys. A cooler taupe is my go-to, which can be kinda hard to find because everyone loves warm browns, which is partly why I love this one so much. It has a true neutral row, a cooler (but still neutral) row, and a warmer row…which I hardly ever touch.
Liner – Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Caviar. This is important, I love this liner so much for the colour. Caviar is the perfect brown-black, deep enough to look black, but softer up close. Perfect (for me).
Mascara – Le Volume de Chanel. This makes me sad, and I almost didn’t include it. BUT, this is the best mascara in the world and has been my favourite for about 5/6 years now. I haven’t had one in my collection since my lashes fell out last year because I wear mascara too infrequently to justify having one now, which is why I wasn’t going to include it. But these are my all time favourites, and this is definitely my all time favourite.
Lips
Lip Liner – Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat – Shade Kiss ‘n’ Tell. Charlotte Tilbury liners are my favourite in general but I included my most worn shade…which was in my bag when I went to take pictures so I forgot about it (sorry).
My All Time Favourite Skincare
There are a fair few categories missing below because I couldn’t choose. My favourite SPF varies season to season. I don’t have a favourite mask, lip balm or toner. My favourite moisturiser used to be Moisture Surge, but I don’t like the (newer) reformulated 72 hour version at all, so that’s out.
Cleanser – Omoroviza Thermal Cleansing Balm. I hate myself a little bit for allowing such a ridiculously expensive cleanser to become my favourite…but it is.
Serum(s) – Sarah Chapman Skinesis. I’m kinda cheating here and using two, but in my defence, I use one as a traditional serum and one as more of a treatment. Okay? First up is the Hydration Booster. It doesn’t matter how many hyaluronic acid serums I try, I always come back to this one. Next, the Recovery Booster, which is the lightest feeling treatment for dry skin that also works that I’ve ever found.
Exfoliator – Ren Wake Wonderful Night Time Facial. I have one very big main rule when it comes to skincare, no denatured alcohol. And this product contains it, in a very small amount, near the bottom of the ingredients list. But that’s a true testament to how much I love this product. If I have a spot and use this, I’ll wake up and it’s half the size. Texture? Gone. Skin just dull? Glowing the next day. This isn’t a daily use product, more of a twice a week/ when I need it, but it never irritates my skin and always performs.
Oil – Pai Rosehip Oil. This one was hard. Being among the dry & crusty, I have many oils that I love. But when I thought about it, if I’m ever packing to go away, or someone asks for a recommendation, this is always the one. It’s thick, so feels great on dry skin. But it’s also slightly exfoliating/ clearing, so has benefits for oily skinned people too.
Eye Cream – Kiehl’s Avocado. Another old classic, it’s very heavy. Have I mentioned how dry my skin is yet???
I know a lot of these products, skincare especially, have been mentioned on my blog before. But was anyone surprised by any of these products? Are any of your all time favourite beauty products here? Or maybe I’ve listed something you absolutely hate? Let me know one beauty product you couldn’t live without down below.
Until next time,
Sophie
This is so interesting, I love reading people’s favourites and picking up ideas for my own collection… I’ve actually used none of these products but I do think I’d be a huge fan and use the Too Faced palette loads; the colours are so useable!
It really surprises me that Too Faced do such a pale concealer as last time I had a look at their Born This Way foundation, the lightest shade made me look like an oompa loompa! There are quite a few brands on here that I’m yet to try but I’d love to try the cream contour, I recently bought one for the first time from Charlotte Tilbury and I absolutely ADORE it. It looks so much more natural on my skin than a powder one ever has!
Alice Xx
They’ve expanded BTW foundation a lot over the years so there’s been a fair few lightest shades so it’s hard to keep track. The one I have is way too dark for me, but the palest concealer is so much lighter?? Makes no sense. This one isn’t pale enough to highlight/ brighten, but it’s a pretty good match for my natural skin colour. I totally agree about the creams looking more natural x
yes! Spotting so many shared favourites here! I have the original Natural Matte palette and it is one of my favourites too. The Omoroviza Thermal Cleansing Balm is my favourite cleanser too, will not admit how many times I have repurchased it! I have it as my brand for life on Feelunique so I always get 10% off, a little way to save a bit on it. Great picks xx
Violethollow.com
Gotta check those one’s out, looks amazing 🙂
Thanks for the tips, x
xx
I absolutely love the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder! It is gorgeous!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
I have been debating picking up that too faced natural matte palette. It looks ideal for every day – as you said! I think it would be good in my collection & think I’d use it a lot as you do. Love this post, I like reading about other people’s faves. I wish I’d tried that concealer but if it’s maybe getting discontinued I’m scared to try now incase I love it haha x
I always love checking out people’s favourites x It gives me inspiration 🙂 Although I am more sort of on an oily side when it comes to skincare, I still appreciate your favourites (haven’t tried any of them) but I’ve seen a lot of people raving about that Too Faced concealer 🙂 I need to try that out soon!
Laura / https://www.laustworld.com
That palette is really pretty, it looks great for everyday use!
I cannot believe that you took 6 foundations on a 4 day trip – that’s both hilarious and impressive (coming from someone that took 18 pairs of underwear on a 10 night stay)… We have very opposite skin types (Hello oily skin) but this was still very interesting to read, and I love how you chose these! It got me thinking about my own holy grails… But honestly I’m quite boring with makeup and stick to having max 2/3 of one product, and just using the same brand if I know it works, so it would be a way shorter post…
Jas xx
I love these types of posts. I really want to try a Becca highlighter! Great post! 🙂
Briana
https://justmythoughtsblogs.wordpress.com
Great post. I would love to one day see your full collection (or get a link if you already have a post about it)
That Too Faced Natural Matte palette looks like something I need in my life! Love the neutral tones, perfect for everyday wear. Thanks for sharing!
I am too clumsy with blush and concealer to be able to have any claim to favorites yet! But I love your eye palette.
Recently, I made a batch of my own face cream with fragrance oils and shea butter, and it was beautiful. I have always been a fan of a good face cream, and a good lipstick.
This is such a lovely blog post! I’ve heard such good things about Charlotte Tilbury liners but still haven’t tried any yet!
Ayse x
Thanks for sharing! Need to try these products.
xx- Nina
Such a great post hon! I’d love to try these products.
Adi xx | http://www.fancycorrectitude.com
I don’t wear much makeup, but I always carry around concealer! You never know when a blemish is going to pop in at the most inopportune time and ruin the day!
I’ve been looking for a good exfoliator, I may have to try this one out! Also, the Ambient Lighting Powders are everything!
Ashlee |
This post was so informative! It must’ve taken forever to decide on your favorites! I go through seasonal favorites, and it would be quite the chore to come up with such a well- thought through list as this! Thanks for sharing!
I need to try the serums!
Mariya | https://www.brunetteondemand.com/
I love seeing other people’s favorites. At the moment, I’m focusing on Korean skincare, but I enjoy feedback on various other products. You never know when you want to try something else. 🙂
Great list of products Sophie… I know it is very hard to pick few favorites when you have many amazing products in your stash… I love your list though… Charlotte Tilbury liners are my favorite too and how exciting that I love the same shade “kiss n Tell” the most…thank for your sharing your faves hon…❤️
http://www.geniusenough.com
I’ve not really used many of these before but they all sound amazing. The too faced palette is one that I own and it’s such a solid palette, the shades are a bit plain but they’re great for day to day wearing x
Kayleigh Zara ❄️✨ http://www.kayleighzaraa.com
Love that you’ve chosen and recommended some very affordable brands. I’m going to have to check out some of them – thank you!
These all sound like amazing beauty products! I really need to try a few of these out especially the Kiehl’s eye cream!
Mel | http://www.moonlightmel.co.uk
This was such a fun post to read, I love hearing about other peoples favourites, even if we have different skin types or preferences. I need to check out that Rimmel blush as I’m more into using it these days and want to find new ones. I definitely couldn’t live without the IT Cosmetics CC cream, the L’oreal Lash Paradise mascara, or the e.l.f. bronzer palette–if those were the only makeup products I was allowed for the rest of my life, I’d be totally fine with it!
I love hearing about peoples favourite beauty products! I’m a little shocked to realise that I’ve not tried ONE of these products though. I mean, except for CT lipliners kind of, but I haven’t tried your favourite shade! I’ll definitely be keeping this post in mind for when I need recommendations, my favourite cleansers are expensive too- so worth investing in though!
Soph – https://sophhearts.com x
I really like the look of that palette. All colours I normally use! I’m not really into beauty enough to have proper favourites… I kinda just use what i have!
Ooh I need to try some of these! I don’t experiment much with makeup anymore and tend to stick to the same brands but these are some really gorgeous products xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
I need to try more Too Faced products x
I think a good eye palette makes all the difference and Too Faced do some amazing ones x