Favorite Makeup Products of 2018

So, it's the end of the year, and everyone is making their lists of the best and worst makeup of 2018. The older I get and the less involved with the "influencer" side of the beauty industry I become, these lists matter less and less to me. That also might be because we are so inundated with new releases that it's hard to hold onto a few select products as "the best." And even if they do make that cut, where will they be six months or a year from now?

I didn't try a ton of new makeup this year. I did buy some things and I was gifted a few things, but I was generally less concerned with buying.

Because of this, it didn't make much sense to me to create my own "best of 2018" list, since I didn't buy many new releases and mainly just used and loved what I already had. And then it struck me—that's the entire point of this blog. To encourage mindful shopping and using what you already own.

So I decided to write a post on my favorite makeup items of 2018—most of which I acquired before 2018.

FACE

Foundation: Fenty Pro Filt'r 

I talked in depth about this foundation in a recent post, but this is a really fantastic foundation. It gives my skin a light, skin-like finish and provides a lot of coverage while also not looking like a mask. I love the shade range, and it is a brand that I feel good supporting. 

Primer: Australian Gold Tinted Sunscreen

I've used this sunscreen as a primer for a while, and despite trying several different primers this year, it still came out on top for me. My previous favorite foundation (It Cosmetics CC+) had SPF 50 within it, so it is even more important to me now to have SPF in my primer. I've raved about this sunscreen before, and I will continue to do so. It's non-greasy and yet really holds onto foundation well. I love it. 

Multi-purpose spray: MAC Fix+

I have used MAC Fix+ for many years, but I used it more this year than any other. And that's because I finally started wetting eyeshadows. This was never something I was all that interested in, mainly because I didn't feel I should have to wet an eyeshadow in order for it to work. And I still agree with that (I'm looking at you, Makeup Revolution The Emily Edit). However, some shadows still perform dry but pack a little more punch when wet, and those are the ones for which I don't mind putting in the additional effort. To wet shadows, I'll only use Fix+. This product was also heavily used when I was finishing my Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot powder and my face looked like it was caked in product. Fix+ took down the powder look and made my skin appear a bit more natural. 

Bronzer: Hourglass Luminous Bronze Light

It's not surprising that my favorite bronzer is from Hourglass, since all of my favorite powder face products are from Hourglass. I didn't use bronzer for years (I didn't understand the point of it, to be honest), and I still only use a small amount, but I have come to really love the warmth it gives my face. With that said, I'm unsure how anyone ever finishes a bronzer. I have had this product for a long time, and I use it almost daily, and I have only made a small dent in it. 

Setting powder: Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder

This is a relatively new product to me, so it might be a little unfair to call it a favorite already, but I don't care. It is. I purchased this powder to replace my One Heck of a Blot powder when it was finished, and I absolutely love it. It makes my skin look airbrushed. That shouldn't be surprising—so many Hourglass products do that. I feel like you might not notice a huge difference with this powder (and other Hourglass products) until you stop using it. That happened to me with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder, and I just couldn't understand why my face looked so dull when I didn't use it. I feel the same about this. 

Finishing powder: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light

I've talked about this product so much at this point, so all I will say here is that I can't really see anything ever topping this powder for me. I plan on using it as long as Hourglass makes it. 

BLUSH

I have a sizable blush collection (though it probably appears small when compared to a large number of beauty content creators), and these four are the ones that stood out to me this year as the best. 

Marc Jacobs Lines and Last Night

Lines and Last Night is a perfect peach/orange blush for my skin tone, and it lasts all day without fading. I have two other Marc Jacobs blushes in this formula, but neither are quite as special (on me) as this one.

NARS Exhibit A

I've talked about this blush several times before, but this is my all-time favorite and the blush I wear the most.

MAC Gingerly 

This blush is such a great color, but unfortunately, the staying power isn't the greatest on me. I really like to pair Gingerly with a yellow-gold highlighter and warm nude (on me) lipstick. It also looks great with green or mustard eyeshadow!

Hourglass Mood Exposure

Next to Exhibit A, this is my favorite blush. Whenever I can't quite figure out what blush to wear, I go for this one. When I'm traveling, this is usually the only blush I take. I think what everyone else loves about Tarte Exposed is what I love about Mood Exposure.

HIGHLIGHTER

I firmly believe that a highlighter is a highlighter is a highlighter. I picked my three favorites from the year and the three I've worn the most, but honestly, while there are differences between them, I think they all look pretty similar on the skin—like almost every highlighter. 

Becca Vanilla Quartz

For years, Becca Moonstone was my top favorite, and it probably still is, but I wore Vanilla Quartz the most in 2018. I like that it has a yellow/peach base instead of a champagne base, which sets it slightly apart from Moonstone. Becca highlighters will likely always be my favorite, and Vanilla Quartz is a stunner. 

Physician's Formula Butter Highlighter in Pearl

I've recently talked about Pearl, but I have to say that I'll never understand why people seemed to have skipped over this highlighter. This is the only highlighter from the Butter line that I personally felt was unique, but performs at a level that is far above its price range. I would think people would rave about the Butter line, but unless I'm missing something, I haven't heard anything. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills X Amrezy Highlighter

This highlighter was given to me as a gift at a time when I really wasn't wearing much makeup or focused on anything other than recovering from 5 years of unhappiness and environmental depression as a result of living in New York City. So, it took me quite a while to use it. But since then, I have worn it a lot, and it has become a favorite.

Honestly, I wouldn't have purchased this highlighter myself, and I debated even including it in this list. And the reason for that is because Amrezy is not a person who I personally feel comfortable supporting. I understand that she and Norvina of ABH are friends, but I don't think she's a good candidate as a brand ambassador.

The highlighter is really pretty, and I was surprised by how much I liked the strong yellow-gold color. I pair this highlighter with MAC Gingerly, and I think the two make a really nice combination.

EYESHADOW PALETTES (NEW)

The irony here, of course, is that my two favorite eyeshadow palettes that released in 2018 (or at least were new to me) are pretty far apart in terms of price. I purchased NYX Grind for $12 (when it was on sale), and the Pat McGrath Decadence palette was a hefty $125. 

NYX Grind

I've heard next to no one talk about this palette, and I really don't understand why. I think it's really fantastic and one of the best color stories to come out in a while. It performs at a level that is much higher than its price range, and I don't have to work to make the shadows perform. They are just high quality. It's always a treat to use this palette. 

Pat McGrath Mothership IV — Decadence 

I bought this palette as a "Congrats, you survived New York" gift to myself. Decadence is the nicest makeup item I have ever owned. (I was then gifted another Pat McGrath palette—one of the smaller ones—and I was not impressed with that.) I have no concept why Decadence was the only limited edition Mothership palette. That makes no sense to me because I feel like it's the best one. And I think it's really disappointing that people can't buy it anymore. 

I had a slightly hard time tracking it down (it was sold out online and I had to put this one on hold at a Sephora near me and then race to buy it), but I never made the connection that it was limited edition (and not a false scarcity tactic). I remember the Sephora employee gasping when I gave my name and said what I was picking up. And I remember thinking that was weird. 

This is a beautiful palette, and these are the highest quality eyeshadows I have ever used. That's especially why I was disappointed in the smaller PM palette as it doesn't seem that the quality is consistent across the board. Decadence is the perfect name for this palette. I only wish it was still available for people to purchase. 

EYESHADOW PALETTE (NOT NEW)

BH Cosmetics Zodiac 

Up front, I need to give a disclaimer. As I detailed in my last post, I'm not sure that I will ever buy from BH Cosmetics again because I have recently had the worst customer service experience to date after purchasing from them. Long story short: They took 28 days to ship a product to me, lied to me, ignored me, and then blamed the USPS for their errors. I was incredibly disappointed by how I was treated, and when I went onto their social media, the comments were littered with people like me who were being ignored and were frustrated. Customer service is a big deal to me (and most consumers), so, at present, this is not a company that I can or do recommend purchasing from. 

With that said, the Zodiac palette is my favorite palette in my collection. And I'm including it in this post because if you already own this palette, I wanted to maybe remind you of how great it is and encourage you to get more use out of it. Zodiac is a fantastic palette, and it performs better than a lot of high-end palettes that I've tried. It is beyond disappointing that BH Cosmetics handled their customer service so unprofessionally because I really do love a lot of their products. 

SINGLE EYESHADOWS

If you've read my blog for any period of time, you'll know that I love single eyeshadows. Reflecting upon which are my favorite of the year, I found that there was a nice mix of new and old shadows. They are:

Marc Jacobs Copperazzi

Fyrinnae Rapunzel Had Extensions

Fyrinnae Serendipity 

Urban Decay Space Cowboy

Marc Jacobs The Big O!

Hourglass Foil

Fyrinnae It Beautifies! 

I have talked about all of these shadows in previous posts, so I will just say that these are the singles in my collection that really stand out, either because of color, texture, or finish. 

SINGLE EYESHADOWS (HONORABLE MENTION)

This might be cheating, but I wanted to give a mention to my giant palette (from Coloured Raine) of single shadows that I either purchased individually or depotted from palettes. This giant collection of singles helps me dupe so many new releases, and my desire to own new things gets immediately curbed. Largely, I don't think singles get enough love, but they are the best tool I have to resist buying something unnecessary. Singles will forever be one of my favorite products. 

LIPS

If I'm honest, I haven't always been a huge lip product person. That's largely because:

• I drink coffee all day and hate getting lipstick all over my nice mugs
• I typically only apply lipstick in the morning 
• I very rarely reapply my lipstick throughout the day

But, even though I might not wear it as much as I would like, I still apply some kind of lip product most days, and these are my favorites.

NARS Barbara

The NARS Audacious lipstick formula is one of my all-time favorites, and Barbara is my go-to warm nude (on me) that I pair with bold eyes, MAC Gingerly, and the ABH highlighter. 

NARS Anna

I think this is a perfect lip color for me and my skin tone, and it feels like the lipstick version of Hourglass Mood Exposure. 

Estée Lauder Shock & Awe

This has been in a monthly favorites post before, and I continue to love it. On me, it's not as bright as it looks in the tube, and I find it to be a really wearable and pretty pink. 

Pat McGrath Antidote

I bought this lipstick at the same time that I bought the Decadence palette, and I absolutely love it. I don't have anything even similar in color, and I love wearing it with a matte mustard eye look. 

Tom Ford Fetishist 

I wrote about this lipstick in a recent post, and I will say that despite the staggering price tag, it's a great lipstick. Its staying powder is like none other in my collection (including liquid lipsticks!). The color is deep and romantic, and it feels every bit as luxurious as you would expect from Tom Ford (and its price!).

What I'm Not Buying: Pat McGrath Labs Metalmorphosis 005 Everything Kit

Renounced makeup artist Pat McGrath has expanded her cosmetics line to include cream and metallic pigments in the Metalmorphosis Everything Kit. 

And I won't be buying. 

As I mentioned in my post about Pat McGrath Labs Lipstick Kits, I think because Pat McGrath is so respected in the makeup industry, it allows for her products to have an incredibly high price tag. And because the products are so hyped, they sell out quickly and people get the "hype anxiety" and think they need to get their hands on it. 

And while I think the concept of Pat McGrath Labs is really cool and interesting, I don't think they translate practically into everyday life. 

The Metalmorphosis 005 kit contains:

• 4 metallic pigments in Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Copper
• 4 cream pigments in Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Copper
• Dual-ended marker in black
• Mehran mixing liquid

And it costs a whopping $165. For four cream shadows, four pigments, an eyeliner, and mixing medium. Even for mid-range products (Pat McGrath Labs's cheap packaging keeps me from putting them fully in the luxury category), I think this kit is about $100 overpriced depending on how you look at it. Hear me out. 

In talking about price, it is worth noting that the metallic and cream pigments each contain 0.14 ounces of product. That's a TON of product. For the size, these pigments are comparable to other shadows that cost around $20 each. And when looking at it through that lens, the price point is pretty fair. 

But the reason I think the kit is overpriced is because the cream and metallic pigments are paired together. So you are not getting eight unique shades. And I think the amount of product included is actually a negative rather than a positive. Because of the entire concept of the kit, I think the average consumer will use a very small amount of product. Therefore hiking the price because of product size won't really work out in most people's favor.

The images associated with the Metalmorphosis kit, like all Pat McGrath images, are pretty stunning:

But like most Pat McGrath Labs items, unless you are an editorial makeup artist or really want to make yourself look like C-3PO, I don't really see the practicality. 

The kit works by applying a base of the cream pigment first followed by applying a layer of the metallic pigment mixed with the Mehran mixing liquid. I imagine the cream and metallic pigments can also be used alone, but the effect will be similar to most eyeshadows. 

The Pat McGrath pigment kits can be used as eyeshadow:

Eyeliner:

Lip color:

And face/body art:

And again, these images are so cool, and I would love to have them framed as art on my wall, but the product is just not at all practical in everyday life. 

To put things into perspective, I'd like to talk about the pigments themselves. 

As I've mentioned before, I like to look at pigments outside of their packaging to really get a grasp on the colors and not be sucked in to the presentation and group attractiveness effect. And yes, the metallic pigments are really stunning. But it's also important to realize that while they are beautiful, they are not unique colors whatsoever. They are gold, silver, bronze, and copper. Most people will have at least two, if not all, of these colors already. 

As for swatches, I've gotten used to being mesmerized by the incredible ones shown on the Pat McGrath Labs Instagram:

But seeing the pigments under regular, non-deceptive lighting shows an entirely different color payoff:

The colors are still beautiful, absolutely, but they look much more like regular foiled eyeshadows (like those from Makeup Geek) that can be purchased for less than half the price:

Going back to price, as I mentioned in my other Pat McGrath Labs post, the reason I always get hung up on price is because you can achieve the same or similar effect for significantly cheaper with other products. There are numerous online tutorials that show how you can achieve the "liquid metal" look of the Pat McGrath kits by mixing clear gloss or a mixing medium and a pigment. And the look is achieved at a fraction of the cost of the Metalmorphosis kit. 

My overall feeling on Pat McGrath Labs is complicated. On one hand, I really respect Pat McGrath as an artist and absolutely adore all the promotional/editorial photos that show her products. But on the other hand, the products are so avant-garde that they are not practical for every day use. And then they have an enormous price tag slapped onto them. And while I can appreciate that her products are generally innovative compared to what most popular brands are releasing, it's not as though they are so innovative—so unique—that the same effect cannot be achieved for significantly less money. Because of that, I don't really understand this brand. Based on their products, my assumption is that their target audience is solely editorial makeup artists, but some of their marketing directly opposes that. No average makeup-obsessed consumer (please note that I said "average makeup-obsessed consumer" and not "average makeup consumer") is ever going to use up 0.14 ounces of this kind of product (times 2), let alone use up that product in four different colors. The majority of the product is likely to get wasted (especially since part of it is cream and it will dry up/go bad), and for $165, that is a huge waste of money. 

Personally, I have plenty of beautiful eyeshadows in a number of finishes, including metallic, that I love. For special occasions and parties, like New Year's Eve, I can see this kit being a lot of fun. And if I was a person who loved to do avant-garde looks on myself and post them onto Instagram, I can see this being a product I would love and probably use often. But I'm just a woman who likes to wear makeup. I have plenty of foiled eyeshadows that give significant drama, and I don't need to spend a ridiculous amount of money to make my eyes look just a little bit more foiled. I like my eyeliner to be a very basic thin black line, so I would have no use for this product as a metallic eyeliner. I would never want metallic gold, silver, copper, or bronze lips, even though they look really cool in editorial photographs. And I won't ever create face/body art on myself. So for me, the Metalmorphosis kit would really only be used for eyeshadow. And as I said, I have plenty of shadows that already do the job perfectly well. The Metalmorphosis kit is therefore an easy pass for me, and I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Pat McGrath Labs Lipstick Kit

Renowned makeup artist Pat McGrath has released some lipstick kits that come with lipstick, glitter, metallic gold pigment, and a clear vinyl gloss. The idea is that these lipstick kits make stunning runway and editorial lips accessible to the "everyday" makeup lover. 

And I won't be buying. 

There's no denying that Pat McGrath is a respected innovator and inspiration in the makeup community. And I think because of that, the items she comes out with are praised enormously despite their exceptionally high price tag. The products are so hyped and sell out immediately. 

However, I've still seen several reviews that state while the products are certainly fun and interesting, they are absolutely overpriced and overhyped. And I'm inclined to agree with that. 

When I first saw the images of these lipstick kits, I, like everyone else, was amazed. 

The swatches looked incredible, but I wondered how the glitter and metallic gold would translate onto the lips. Turns out, it's pretty stunning. 

These photos are gorgeous. If I could buy them as large prints, I would frame them and hang them on my walls in an instant. Because they are art. There is so much artistry, from the makeup, the application, the mouth poses, and the photography. So, of course, my brain immediately tells me that I want this. I need this. 

But, why do I need editorial lips? 

Of course I would love to look like Naomi Campbell, who had people salivating over her ruby slipper lips:

But let's get real here. I'm not going to any red carpet events where this kind of lip would be appropriate and appreciated. I could see wearing these lips to a holiday party, but only if I wasn't going to be eating or drinking (and what fun would that be?).

And the metallic gold lips?

Again, absolutely stunning. And again, this is a photograph I would love to hang as art on my wall. But for me personally and my lifestyle, metallic gold lips don't really fit in. 

The Pat McGrath Labs lipstick kits range from:

• $25 - contains one lipstick
• $60 - contains two lipsticks, glitter, metallic gold pigment, and gloss
• $150 - contains six lipsticks, glitter, metallic gold pigment, and gloss

The lipsticks each contain 0.05 ounces of product. To put that into perspective, my favorite lipstick formula, NARS Audacious, contains 0.14 ounces of product for $32. So, to get the same amount of product, the Pat McGrath lipstick would cost nearly $75 for one tube. 

That is exceptionally expensive. 

Another thing that bothers me about Pat McGrath Labs products is that the packaging is incredibly wasteful and not environmentally friendly. The products come packaged in colored sequins:

And really, I think the packaging is the perfect representation of the product as well. It's great for editorial purposes:

But not so practical for everyday use. 

Finally, while I can see the idea of these lipstick kits to be really exciting, I think they're just too much money for what they are. Tattoo Junkees has a product called the "Pucker Up Red Lip Paint and Glitter Set" that will achieve incredibly similar (if not better) results to the Pat McGrath glitter lips, and it only costs $7.

Similarly, if you really wanted the metallic gold lips, you can buy a metallic gold pigment and clear gloss for significantly cheaper and achieve the same or similar look. There are numerous tutorials for how to do this online.

It's always exciting when something new is introduced to the makeup game. As consumers (and some of us fanatics) we see the same thing over and over, and therefore innovation gets us incredibly enthused. But personally, I don't need glitter or metallic lips. In fact, I only own one red lipstick (and it's a mini!) because I much prefer neutral tones on me. Spending $60 minimum on a gimmick that I won't wear probably more than a handful of times would just be a waste of money. Especially considering that I could buy alternatives for a fraction of that price. 

I'm keeping my eye on Pat McGrath, however, and really hope she comes out with a product soon that will somehow be worth its price tag. Until then, this is just another unnecessary item that I won't be buying.