Enough! I will never be a pro-blogger, blogpreneur, instablogger, vlogger etc and I have accepted that. I do not want to spend my time stressing about “quickly taking some pics, and actually I should, and I can’t be using said product yet and why am I relaxing after work, I could really do….”
Nope, don’t need any of that.
I have accepted that me and my blog are like old friends – we’re not seeing each other on a daily basis, but when we do, I enjoy it!
That moment has arrived. After weeks of silence and standing still due to home vacation and very demanding job situation I am enjoying a full week off, hence finally showing off my most used, most trusted workhorse beauty products of 2016.
However – does anyone even want to hear about 2016, still? Even though I found the whole deal about how horrible 2016 has been a bit blown out of proportion I must admit I am glad it’s over – and that we still have Betty White among us! How was your “last year”?
Nail colour favourites 2016: butter London Ruby Murray, essie Saltwater Happy und essie Bahama Mama
Even though I usually don’t shy away from colour I didn’t experiment too much the past year. Mainly due to my new job and early mornings. This collection here basically summarises my Malm drawer.
If it needs to be fast, it needs to be my best in beauty 2016.
I am quite surprised myself how much I enjoyed the Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation. I am still loyal to the Revlon ColorStay Foundation but this Bourjois foundation is extremely high up there, I’ve been using it at least once a week. The lightest shade 51 is still too dark but there barely is a foundation I don’t mix with white foundation anyway. duh. Lightened and applied with a sponge the finish is so so great, I even got compliments for my “beautiful skin”! I honestly thought the soft skin effect was my imagination only.
It makes up a perfect match with the Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer, one of the very few concealer that doesn’t separate or fade under the eyes. Personally I prefer to use concealer to actually conceal and not so much for brightening as it usually doesn’t sit right with my complexion. However, the shade 51 is lighter blended onto the skin than in the tube itself (say what!).
Even less adventurousness happened in terms of bronzing, blushing and strobing. I think this picture speaks more than words! Sadly, my lovely, matte Artdeco Bronzer in the shade Mediterranean Summer broke right before I took this picture. The massive “hit the pan” just took its toll. Due to it being a two shaded bronzer the combined colour is not too orange, but warms up the face naturally. One product I actually used up completely is THE blush of the year: GOSH Rose Whisper. The GOSH blush textures are incredibly soft and delicate – just like this shade. It is so subtle, but almost sculpting and goes with just about any look or highlighter. One example being a huge hit for me: The Radiance Palette by Make Up Revolution contains no glitter just amazing “glow”.
A very positive note to all this hitting the pan: All these base products are still part of the product range. You can go and buy them. Anytime.
This is not the case with my eyeliner revelation of the year: I’m on the second or third pot of the all-time fave Maybelline Gel Eyeliner, but did you guys know about the L’Oréal Superliner So Couture? I only found out about it last year and you can only get it on amazon nowadays (wah!). What makes it super special to me is the very tip of it: Unlike the other, typical eyeliner pens this one is not felt but an actual tiny firm but flexible brush. It is awesome! Felt tip liners usually dry out first at the tip, grow soft or just won’t draw a proper wing anymore. This eyeliner though, it is still saturated with product a year later, it applies flawlessly, quick and dries matte! It had to leave the product range to make room for more bloody felt tip liners, of course. Same goes for the lovely L’Oréal 24h Collagene Mascara – great volume, great wear, no crumbs…off it goes!
I doubt there has ever been a post telling you about my favourite products without mentioning IsaDora Deco Rose. It would be unheard of. Another, much cheaper, mauve-berry shade I found in Primark of all places. The lipliner in Rosewood(? the name rubbed off) is a beautiful everyday antique pink, creamy but with great wear time.. and just £1!
And here we find another lovely GOSH product – this brand has some great products in its range – the Velvet Matt Lipstick in Antique. A subtle nudebrown with pink undertones. At least this is how it appears most of the time when applied. But it’s not just the colour that makes it a top notch product: GOSH’s finish is on par with IsaDora, maybe even better! Add the almost chocolatey but not sickly sweet scent and you have a winner!
Surprisingly, the dirt cheap Freedom Pro Melts appear fairly similar once dry – I say they are liquid lipsticks, ignore the “Gloss” part on the packaging. They dry matte and last way longer than you’d think. D-ream is one of my favourite shade of the range.
Do you see what I see? Another, proper “hit the pan”, and with an eyeshadow nonetheless! My blending shade of the year: NYX Stiletto is a matte “warm peach” which I am basically using on the daily, to blend other shadows or to deepen the crease.
I do have – admittedly – a very vast collection of eyeshadows, just looking at my array of Sleek i-divine palettes, but to be actually moved into my drawer, you’d have to be very special since I am good to go with just eyeliner or one eyeshadow most mornings! So how exactly did the Make Up Revolution Flawless Palette make it? It contains 32 shadows as well! But: This great selection also means it has everything you might need for a quick look: Beautifully pigmented, almost metallic lid shades from copper to light gold as well as matte browns to blend. The quality is right up there with LORAC, Zoeva or Sleek, no questions asked. Especially when keeping in mind how much a bit of mixing medium can do for a shadow in general! I shall swatch that beast at some point. I shall!
SHOP
