I can hardly believe another year has flown by! Thank you to each and every one of you who followed me along on my beauty journey this past year. Today I have a round up of my 2016 favorites in makeup (skincare to follow in a separate post). As a long-time nail polish junkie I was surprised to find this past year was pretty light on the nail polish features and reviews – I remember in past years going through tons of nail wheels and bottles of polish remover. Perhaps by now I simply have collected all the possible colors? 2016’s focus seemed to be all about lips and highlighters for me. As always I’d love to hear what your favorite makeup discoveries were for the year! I picked out items that were new in 2016 (they’re listed in alphabetical order by brand):
Lips
- Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche wins for creamiest most opaque lipstick launch, the colors I reached for the most were Honeycomb and Sake
- Chanel Rouge Allure Gloss in Super Nude (review here) is one of the prettiest wearable nudes, it’s limited-edition and I bought a backup
- Chanel Rouge Coco Stylo Lipcare in Conte (all colors review here) is my favorite formula launch of 2016
- Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Super Cindy was part of one of the best lipstick launches of the year, I splurged on all the colors (and swatched them in this post here)
- Dior Addict Lip Glow in Lilac (review here) could possibly go under skincare as it’s more of a balmy kind of product, the lilac color is just so pretty
- Dior Rouge Dior in Grege 1947 wins for best neutral feminine pink for me
- MAC Liptensity Lipstick in Doe, Smoked Almond and Medium Rare (review here) is one of my favorite lipstick launches of 2016, I loved the colorful packaging and intense opaque smooth color
- MAC Viva Glam Ariana Grande II Lipglass (review here) is one of the best nude mauve neutrals ever
- NARS Velvet Lip Glide in Bound (review here) is another great everyday rose mauve cream
- Tom Ford Lips and Boys in Bradley and Douglas (review here) is a nude-lip lover’s dream come true, all the new colors this year were amazing
- Tom Ford Soleil Moisturecore Lip Color (review here) wins for best color collection
- YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Oil in Stick in Beige Blouse #47 (swatches here) is another great nude, after my review quite a few of you e-mailed me saying you picked up the same color and finally found your HG nude – yay!!
Face and Cheeks
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sun Dipped (review here)
- Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Luminous Blush in Camellia (review here) was my favorite pink shimmer
- Diorskin Nude Air Luminizer Powder (review here) was the best highlighter launch of the year for me
- Edward Bess Threads of Silk Powder in Ciao (review here)
- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Surreal Light Palette (review here) favorite face palette of the year
- Laura Mercier Candleglow Perfecting Powder in #1 or #2 (review here) best setting powder discovery
- Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Concealer (review here) works wonders for concealing dark under eye circles
- NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint in Groenland and St. Moritz (review here) wins for natural looking coverage foundation
- Tom Ford Sheer Cheek Duo in Bi-Coastal (review here) prettiest glowy pink + highlighter colors
- Tom Ford Shimmer Shot in Spin Spin Sugar (review here) favorite liquid highlighter of the year
- Tom Ford Waterproof Foundation (review here) best full coverage foundation that lasts all day long
Eyes
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyeshadow Singles (review here and here) colors shown above are Sateen, Chiffon, Warm Taupe and Chocolate
- Bobbi Brown Eye Opening Mascara is something I discovered earlier this year, it adds volume, hold curl and doesn’t smudge
- Tom Ford Eye Shadow Quad in Honeymoon (review here)
Nails
- Chanel Le Vernis in Organdi (review here) was my most-worn color this year
- Louboutin had the best colors and formulas for me this year, I loved Miss Mars and the Hawaii Kawai Trio minis were so fun to shoot, there were three Red Nail Extensions that I was able to play with back in May to swatch for you, months later I ended up buying Jazzy Doll and Edgypopi
What were your makeup favorites this past year? They can be new launches, rediscoveries or new-to-you products! I love reading about your favorites so please feel free to share in the comments below. Several of you have asked that I bring back the monthly roundups on a regular basis, some have asked for a hits and misses roundup as well. I’ll be starting a monthly review series in the new year!
