Makeup Favorites for 2021

It’s been quite a long time since I’ve written a year-end beauty favorites post. I was watching The Anna Edit’s video on her yearly favorites and that inspired me to write my own. I wish I had kept it up better because it would be fun to look back and see all the old favorites for nostalgia, but also see which products continued on as tried and true favorites over the years. Also fun to look back and see how trends changed over the year in terms of beauty products.

I thought I’d just break it down into various categories and share my favorite product (or two) in each category.

FACE

Foundation

I haven’t really reached for foundation since the start of COVID - wearing masks with foundation is really just asking for a big annoying mess. Even with that, I was rarely wearing foundation beforehand as I really found myself drawn to tinted moisturizers. If I had to wear foundation for a special event like a wedding, I still reached for the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. It gives the best coverage while looking like natural skin and just continues to wear nicely throughout the day.

For tinted moisturizer, I still love the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free one (the older version). I have tried their newer version, the Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free Natural Skin Perfector*, which is also nice but I find a little bit more drying, while the original is a little bit dewier. Both are still wonderful and it gives a light coverage without feeling as heavy as a foundation. I’ve put a lot of friends onto this, and I’ll never stop talking about it.

Concealer

I have been using the Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Concealer* for years, partially because the LM team is always kind to send a few throughout the year in PR packages. I don’t find that this helps cover up any hyperpigmentation, but since most of the time I am just trying to cover up redness to even out my skin, this does the job. It gives a light wash of coverage where I need it (specifically around the nose, cheeks, and chin) and gives off a dewier finish.

One that I picked up towards the end of 2020 and finished up this year was the Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer. I will say I felt like it was drying when I first got it but over the shelf life of having it, I feel like it started to wear a little dewier and was the best at covering up some hyperpigmentation.

Blush

Hands down my favorite cream blush is the ILIA Color Haze Multi-Use Pigment in Waking Up, which is described as a warm nude with neutral undertones. I love applying this to give a “just came back from vacation” glow to my skin. Tbh I only ever use this as a blush but you could wear this on your lips as well for a monochrome look.

A more recent discovery but one I see myself using well into 2022 are the Victoria Beckham Beauty Cheeky Posh cream blush sticks. I picked up two in the shades Playground (a mid-tone terracotta nude) and Miniskirt (a berry rose). The sticks make them extremely easy to apply where you want them and use more or less pressure for how much product you actually want to distribute. These blend out like a serious dream and although a cream product, I do feel like they dry down with a powder-like finish. The IG Beauty Community has been raving about these and for very good reason. If you’ve been looking for a new blush, I highly recommend you check these out. PS if you order via IG you can get free shipping on any order, no minimum required.

Bronzer

Tbh I haven’t been wearing so much bronzer this past year, but the one I did reach for was the new Glossier Solar Paint*. This one comes with a doe foot applicator which I really prefer for dotting around my face where I want to apply. I picked up two shades, Flare (light, neutral bronze with gold pearl) and Ray (medium, warm bronze with gold pearl). I really only reached for Flare so far but I did like to dot it around to add a little bit of warmth to my face. I wouldn’t say this one is for any harsh contouring, but to give yet another “just came back from vacation” glow. Clearly in a COVID world, all I want is a vacation-y glow lol.

Powder

Again, it was very rare for me to wear a powder this year but when I did it was an alternation of the following products: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder*, Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder*, and Translucent Loose Setting Powder - Light Catcher (Celestial Light)*.

While the first two powders help remove shine, the last one is one of LM’s latest launches which to me leans a bit more like a highlight for a dewier look, but helps smooth out skin and set your makeup.

EYES

Eyeliner

For my pencil eyeliner, the Smashbox Always Sharp Longwear Kohl Eyeliner Pencil in Sumatra, which is the perfect dark brown. I find that black eyeliner pencils always seem a bit too much for me, and it sometimes leans a little too grunge for me. So I usually find that dark brown still gives that deepening definition to my lash line while still feeling nice enough for day-to-day use.

It’s been a while since I last wrote a makeup favorites, but the Glossier Pro Tip liquid liner* is easily one of my favorites. Similar to my previous favorite of the KVD liner, it has a brush tip which means less fraying compared to felt tip liner brushes. Price wise I would say that this is not too bad compared to other ones on the market. Since this was released, I’ve almost used this one exclusively and I have no plans in changing that. I hope they do bring out a dark brown shade and perhaps other colors in the future as well!

Eyeshadow

One of my favorite eyeshadows this year was the ILIA Liquid Powder Chromatic Eye Tint in Glaze (Warm Champagne)*. This applies quite wet and dries down fast to a powdery finish, so I do recommend you work with applying one eye at a time. This helps give my eye a bit of a shimmer and a brighter look. Recently I also picked up Fresco (Taupe Brown) which has been nice to add more depth, but I find that this one is a bit harder to work with so I’m playing around with it to figure out how best to use it.

A continued tried and true cream eyeshadow is the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color*. I’ve been so fortunate to be on LM’s PR list for a few years now and have been gifted every color in their range. I like using these for an easy single wash of color to give a little bit of something with a quick swish of just mascara. Some of my favorite shades are Amethyst (soft mauve with pearl), Moonlight (metallic champagne beige), Rosegold (rosy gold shimmer), Sugarfrost (tan beige shimmer), and Cocoa (chocolate brown with bronze pearl). These do last me quite a while and with cream products I don’t like to keep them past their shelf life, so I would recommend their mini sticks if you also take a while to finish up your eye products.

Mascara

One of my known long-lasting tried and true mascaras has got to be Tarte’s Lights, Camera, Splashes. It’s waterproof but is one of the best ones for me that volumizes, lengthens, and separates - all while holding a curl. I know waterproof mascara isn’t everyone’s cup of tea for removal purposes but I usually find that using a bi-phase makeup remover and then going in with a double cleanse is enough to remove it all without any excess tugging on my eyes.

Another favorite is the Heroine Make Long & Curl Mascara. This one is a little bit harder for me to get a hold of, but I always fall back in love with it. It has little fibers that help lengthen and volumize, and the waterproof-ness of it helps me hold a curl. Again, bi-phase removers are key for removing these.

I wanted to try and discover a non-waterproof mascara but as much as I tried, I couldn’t find one that worked. I saw a TikTok featuring the Etude House Dr. Mascara Fixer which helps prime the lashes and I found was able to help any regular old mascara hold a curl. With that it helped me give some regular ol’ mascaras a try and with that I really enjoyed the ILIA ones. The ILIA Limitless Lash Mascara* is great for everyday use to lengthen and separate lashes. The ILIA Fullest Volumizing Mascara* packs a serious punch and really thickens my lashes for that fake lash look. I will say that I find the volumizing mascara to be one of the harder ones to take off and I usually have some serious panda eyes after I wash my face and have to go in yet again with a makeup remover to get all residual smudges off.

BROWS

To preface this section, it’s been 2+ years since I got my eyebrows done and they are a straight mess lol. I don’t think it’s worth it to get that up close and personal with someone right now to tend to them. I do a little bit of trimming and plucking but they’ve lost their shape. Hopefully one day when I do go get them done, there’s a lot to work with to give them the best shape!

I’ve been feeling pretty meh with most products but have recently fallen back in love with brow powders and have been reaching for the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow powder duo. I use a bit of this to fill in some sparser areas and then brush them out. I then go in with a little bit of the Kjaer Weis Brow Gel* to give them a bit more hold.

I tried to get into brow pomades this year and while I kinda started getting the hang of them, I think my unshapely brows are just a bit too chaotic lol. Maybe I’ll try again next year since I really want to figure out how to get that laminated / soap brow look. I have gone back and forth with the eye of getting my brows laminated, but again I don’t know if I want to get up close and personal with someone for now.

LIPS

Lip Oil

Hands down, one of my favorite lip oils since ~2018 is the Clarins Lip Oil in Blackberry*. This is a deep plum purple hue which gives my lips that perfect berry bitten look which I love. This one is an oil so I like that it feels a bit more nourishing than your typical lip gloss or lip balm. I’ve had my bottle for about 3 years and I really should just toss it and get a new one, but I haven’t had any issues and this has lasted me so long!

Lip Balm

As awful as I am about wearing lip balm, I found myself continuing to reach for the Tatcha Kissu Lip Balm* which I conveniently place with all my makeup so I can remind myself to apply it in the morning.

For on-the-go use, the Laneige lip balms are still top ranked. While I won’t be using the pot out and about with COVID, I am enjoying the portable Lip Glowy Balm* version. The Laneige team sent a gift set a few years back and I am currently using the Peach flavor which is nice and fruity, and also has an ever so slight pink hue.

I recently picked up the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in the new Vanilla Beige shade, and let me just say I fully get the hype. I had heard amazing things about the original balm before they repackaged, but knowing myself I would have awful luck with a metal tube and didn’t want to risk ruining any of my bags. When they repackaged and brought out this sheer beige color, I knew I needed to pick it up. It feels so nice and balmy on the lips with a very slight vanilla flavor - I’m obsessed and I have worn it almost non-stop since I got it.

Lip Gloss

I will admit I didn’t reach for much gloss this year since I usually wore a mask when I was out and about, but I had picked up a full size of the Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in the original Fenty Glow shade. I like how this one makes my lips look fuller but also with a very wearable color for day-to-day. I had gotten a mini set for the holidays in 2018 maybe and liked it so much I picked up the full size in 2020 (?) I think.

FRAGRANCE

After nearly 4 years, one of my favorite scents to reach for is still Glossier You*. To me this gives that perfectly unisex musky scent which just warms up on me and wears well. When someone compliments me on my scent, almost 9/10 times I’m wearing this. A little goes a long way for me and I usually spritz two sprays on one wrist, which I dab to the other wrist, and then behind both ears. I then spray one spritz in the air and walk through it so some lands on my clothes lol. I finally finished this up after 4ish years and just picked up another bottle for myself during Glossier’s annual Black Friday sale.

Another favorite which I reached for a lot this year (also in hopes to finish) was Diptyque Eau Rose eau de toilette. This is a fruity rose which I found myself reaching for often during Spring/Summer. I’m also nearly done with this and planning on picking up a new bottle for myself with a store credit I got during a promotional period.

What are some of your makeup favorites from 2021?

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Products marked with an asterisk (*)) were received as PR. As always, all thoughts remain my own.
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