2016 (Absolute) Beauty Favourites.

Happy New Year! It's that time of year again where bloggers and vloggers compile the list of their favourite beauty discoveries of the year; and I'll admit: it never gets old. It might almost be cliché to say how fast last year went by, but in all honestly I feel that 2016 was the fastest year ever, which I know many people have also expressed this. I don't know why it feels this way, but one thing I know for sure is that 2016 was the year for beauty boundary-breaking and trend-setting. Dewy skin (but not oily!), excessive highlighter (is there even such a thing?!), colourful and dramatic eyes (but still "natural"), and outrageous lips (blue, metallic, glitter...), were just a few of the plethora of beauty trends that almost literally took the world by storm. The great thing about the fast-paced and dynamic beauty industry (but bad for our bank accounts) is that we can constantly discover new products that we fall in love with, or on the other hand, finally realize that your trusty "holy-grail" product you've been using since you were a pre-teen is still the best in the market. As the title of this post indicates, this is my absolute 2016 best of beauty list, meaning that none of these products are half-heartedly raved about; in other words, this compressed list contains the products that I 100% love and can hardly fault in any way and plan on continuing to repurchase. It's a pretty large claim, and that's exactly why these rundowns can be so helpful! Read on:

1. Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation (shade: 110 Porcelain)
I did title my blog post a while back reviewing this foundation as my new holy-grail, and so this is obviously one of my favourites of the year. Everything I would want in a foundation: matte, but not too matte; yellow/neutral undertones; medium to full coverage; and very comfortable to wear. It's definitely the foundation I've gone to on a daily basis and now that the bottle is almost finished, I will definitely repurchase! [Review here]

2. Bourjois City Radiance Foundation (shade: 02 Vanilla)

Another foundation, but one that I mostly reserved for the summertime. It's my favourite dewy fresh-looking foundation.I highly appreciate its complimentary undertone as well as its coverage while simultaneously maintaining its finish. I absolutely adore this. [Review here]

3. Maybelline Fit Me Concealer (shade: 15 Fair)

This is my favourite concealer of all time, period. I believe this is my third tube and I will continue to purchase due to its excellent coverage, hydrating consistency, and ease of blend. Despite my wish for a lighter shade in the range, this still remains as my favourite concealer of all time, let alone 2016.  [Review here]

4. Tarte Tartelette in Bloom Eyeshadow Palette

Just. Look. At. It. Colour selection, blendability, pigmentation... it's perfection. If you're searching for a high end palette to splurge on, I can't recommend this one enough. I've created so many different looks with this one palette regardless of time of day, season, or occasion. [Review here]

5. Maybelline 24 Hour Color Tattoo (shade: 55 Inked in Pink)

I coined this cream eyeshadow as my "everyday lid look" because this is the easiest and prettiest way to effortlessly create a beautiful and simple eye look by adding a stunning swipe of colour to the lids.[Review here]

6. Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara Waterproof

Emphasis on waterproof. The first time I tried this mascara in its regular formula, I loved it, but as my eyelashes are naturally so straight, the mascara didn't really help me in the curl department...

until I tried the waterproof version. I can vouch that this was game changing for me and is totally worth the late-night struggle of trying to remove it. [Review here]

7. Rimmel Brow This Way Brow Gel (shade: Clear)

Again, another game-changer. Great at setting my brow hairs and shapens my brows perfectly. Little to say, but all the love. [Review here]

8. Rimmel Matte Me Pressed Powder (shade: Transparent)

I discovered this or rather, finally tried this drugstore classic in the latter part of the year, but ever since then, this is the only powder I've been using. I love how fine it is so it's not evident that you're wearing powder. Perfect for setting and mattifying the skin. It's a simple powder (which is what I believe a powder should be) that is totally worth the hype. [Review here]

9. Too Faced Love Flush Blush (shade: Justify My Love)

This palette made me fall in love with blush. In fact, blush has become my favourite beauty product! I mean, Too Faced is a great way to start any makeup and given the brand's amazing quality especially in these blushes, you can't really blame me for falling in love with them. Particularly, my most used and most favourite shade is Justify My Love which is a blue-toned babydoll pink which is my absolute favourite shade of blush ever. I will definitely purchase the full size whenever I hit pan on this! [Review here]

10. L'Oréal Le Matte Lip Pen (shades: 106 Mad For Matte & 100 Matte For Me)

This is hands down one of my favourite lipstick ranges. I own four from the collection, but these two are the ones I go for whenever I want to go for a red or a pink. Velvety finish, great lasting power, and gorgeous colour payoff. [Review here]

11. Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick (shade: 107)

Yes, this one again. A berry red that I unapologetically wear the most throughout the entire year and automatically reach for whenever I don't have time to think about my lip colour. So it's no surprise that this is my second tube, which is quite rare for a lipstick! [Review here]

12. Essie Nail Polish (shade: Ballet Slippers)
Not exactly makeup, but this year this polish proved to be my "signature colour" which is kind of a big deal, so I thought I had to share this with you. I'm personally a fan of Essie and usually get chipped polish after about 5 days. Of course, the colour is what I love most about this. Pale pink... basically me in a bottle. And the name is my absolute favourite! [Review here]

And... that's it! A rundown of my absolute favourite beauty products of 2016. What was your #1 favourite beauty discovery of 2016? Hope you'll have a wonderful 2017! Here's to continuing feeding our beauty obsession in 2017!

Follow