If I was a good blogger this post would have gone up maybe the last week of 2015 but my life is literally all over the place (in a good way) at the moment and so here we are, mid Jan with my favourites of last year. #So2015
But I do think it is a post worth sharing as these are my all time faves of the past 12 months and there are some amazing products right here.
So here, in no particular order are my Top 15 of 2015.
1-Sarah Chapman Overnight Exfoliating Booster // £58 // Space NK
This was a product that made an immediate difference to my skin from the first day I used it. I have relatively hormonal skin with frequent breakouts around my jaw and chin and this light serum prevents clogged pores, eliminates dead surface cells and limits pore distortion and blemishes, resulting in smoother, more radiant skin. It also excelled in fading old blemish scars. My bottle is literally now on its last legs but I am eeking it out as long as possible!
I have written a full review of it here in conjunction with the Overnight Facial.
2-Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion // £16.50 // Boots
I am on my 5th bottle of this mild, alcohol free, 0.5% salicylic acid exfoliating toner. It has a slightly thicker gel texture than other toners I have used and it is cooling and non irritating. I have written a full post about some of the products that really helped my hormonal breakouts here. I always have a bottle of this in my stash.
3-Kiehls Superbly Restorative Argan Dry Oil // £26.50 // Kiehls.co.uk
I haven't spoken at all about this on my blog but I use it all the time! This is a brilliantly moisturising light oil-I slather it on my arms and legs after a bath and it absorbs almost immediately leaving you free to dress/get into bed.
It's multipurpose and can be used on your hair, nails and face-I personally use it only on my body but a little goes a long way.
Salicylic acid is my friend. And this blemish gel is the best I have tried. It can be a little stingy at times-but it's brilliant for shrinking back spots and bringing those that are past the point of no return to a head. It does not dry the skin out or cause any nasty flakiness.
5- Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm // £6.75 // Boots
There are tubes of this stuff everywhere in my life. By my bed, on my desk at work, in the car, in my handbag, on my vanity, in the bathroom....
I use this thick, emollient balm directly on my lips and it is the only thing that keeps them supple, soft and flake free. My lips can be quite sensitive to some ingredients in lip balms but this basic balm just never ever fails me. And trust me, I've tried them all. Holy Grail.
6-Beauty Blender // £16 // Selfridges
2015 was the year I finally started using a Beauty Blender and they absolutely rock. Ok so I will admit, I am still slightly squeamish about the fact they seem to be a filthy tool full of germs, but I wash mine after every use and bin them every 6 weeks. I don't use one every day-preferring to keep them for when I am going out in the evening or want my face to look really nice-I find the Beauty Blender just helps to give my foundation that full coverage yet soft focus look and I am forever impressed when I use it.
7-Zoeva Luxe Petit Crease // £6.95 // Beauty Bay
I really love Zoeva brushes and 2015 saw me picking up quite a few along the way. They never shed a hair and wash really well. The Luxe Petit Crease is my favourite though-I have really hooded eyes and it allows you to apply colour precisely to the crease and control your blending out. They are definitely comparable to my MAC brushes at a fraction of the price.
8-Sigma F82 Rounded Kabuki Brush // £15.50 // Beautychamber.co.uk
I reviewed this brush in full here in 2014 and it was my favourite foundation brush last year. The synthetic brushes are so dense that it makes application of foundation flawless. The bristles are super soft yet retain their shape so you don't get brush streaks through your foundation as you apply it. I definitely need to check out some more Sigma brushes.
9-MAC Pro Longwear foundation // £25.50 // MAC
This is a heavy duty foundation-part polyfilla, part cement and it's lasting power is tremendous. It applies well with fingers and a dense brush, and brilliantly with a damp beauty blender. It has SPF10 which is low enough not to get flashbacks in flash photography. It has more of gel texture than something like Estee Lauder Double Wear and feels a little more silicone-y. I love it. There is a full review here.
10-Niod Photography Fluid // £20 // Look Fantastic
This is a late entry but this stuff is *amazeballs*. No idea how I came across it but as soon as I did I was hooked. I bought bottles for Tasha, Laura, Laura, Lis and a multitude of other beauty lovers have bought it and told me they love it following Laura's blogpost. I want to write up my own thoughts too but in the meantime enjoy Laura's review, buy it and thank us later!
11-Trish McEvoy 24hr Eyeshadow and Liner // £24 // Selfridges
Pretty sure that I wrote about these in my 'best of' post last year but these are, hands down the best cream eyeshadow sticks out there. They destroy the likes of By Terry, Laura Mercier, Bobbi Brown and Charlotte Tilbury, they're creamy and weld to the lid without going creasy or drying out. They're amazing 'swipe and go' eyeshadows, I whack them on the lid and then use a MAC 217 fluffy brush to blend out the edges. If I want to add something 'more' to the eyelid, I pat a pigment over the top of them for some extra pizzazz. I own shades Glamorous, Topaz, Smoky Quartz and Smoky Emerald. I'll keep re-buying, they're fabulous. My full thoughts are here.
12-Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution lipsticks // £23 // Charlotte Tilbury
So you know me. I like a lipstick. Narrowing down a fave though is a difficult task. I finally decided my favourite lipstick formula of the year was the CT Matte Revolution line even though I suspect that some die hard matte lip lovers will not rate this as a 'true' matte product. This is luminous matte, the shades are beautiful and it has both extracts from the Lipstick Tree (still looking for one for myself) and Orchid to soothe and hydrate and give a soft cashmere finish. It has 'glowing 3D pigments' to give a 'lit from within' look to the lips, making them appear wider and fuller. And they really do! I own most of the shades now but above you see Love Liberty, Amazing Grace and Lost Cherry. This is a lipstick I would recommend to anyone.
13-By Terry Terrybly Densillis Blush in Platonic Blonde // £52 // Space NK
Absolutely the priciest blusher I have ever bought but it is so beautiful. As you can see I have hit pan and who ever hits pan on a blush? Especially when you own 432,933 of them. Everything about this blusher rocks, the texture is perfect-not too soft or too hard, the colour is the perfect peachy pink with no shimmer but it really brightens. The packaging is as luxe as the price tag suggests.
I have reviewed this in full here.
14-Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Swish and Pop blusher in First Love // £30 // Charlotte Tilbury
I had to include a second blusher because this one is just awesome. I own a few of the CT blushers but this one is the one. The only problem with it is that I just couldn't seem to hold onto one-the first I dropped on the floor in my office and shattered it, the second I dropped on the floor in a bar and yes, you guessed, it shattered and this is my third pan. This is the perfect nude blush, it sculpts in all the right places and makes me feel healthy! Everything about it is perfection although I feel I should wrap mine in bubble wrap!! A detailed review is here.
15-MAC Burgundy x 9 // £30 // MAC
So I did have a debate internally whether to include Amber x 9 or Burgundy x 9 because they are both so good. Amber x 9 is definitely my most used eyeshadow palette of 2015 but Burgundy x 9 is just an amazingly well put together palette and I love using it.
The palette is less purple and more red toned than you might expect but the colours are so wearable. I was hesitant to buy Burgundy x 9 because I already own 7 of the 9 shades in the palette but I did buy it because a) I figured it was a really well put together palette b) it would be handy for travelling (my rationale for everything) c) mini dinky sizes are life and d) I am weak willed.
The palettes are small but I actually see that as a plus point given that I own so much eyeshadow and I travel so much. You get a decent amount of product though, I am amazed I haven't hit pan on Amber x 9 because I use it so much. The x9 series is a brilliant introduction to MAC shadows-massive thumbs up from me.
So there we have it-my top 15 of 15. Do you rate any of these products as highly as I do? If you'd done your own version of this I would love to read it so please link it in the comments below!
Ps-tons of people are asking me about my nail colour-it's a gel manicure and the shade is Field Fox by CND Vinylux
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