Hiii!! Happy New Year – one of my goals for 2022 is to share more of what I’m loving and get back to this blogging social media thing. I absolutely love sharing my favorite products, tips, basically anything revolving around beauty, fashion and fitness. I thought that I would start by sharing some of my favorite makeup products that I loved in 2021. A few of the products I discovered and some are that I never quit using, that pretty much will always be staples in my makeup routine. Some of these products are on the high end but some are VERY affordable that perform high end/ luxury, which I love finding affordable alternatives. YAY! Lets get into it!
SHOP THE POST
Foundation
The SC Best Skin Ever Liquid Foundation was the foundation that I used for the majority of the year. I love this foundation so much – it’s been my go to foundation pretty much all year. I love the finish and how it’s like your skin but better. Its not too dewy but not flat matte either, it has a nice satin skin like finish. If you like light to medium coverage I would definitely try it out – it so affordable too! I don’t have to set it and it does last so long on the skin. Tip: If you have dry skin just make sure that you are prepping your skin really well before applying this foundation. I do feel like this foundation needs to be applied with a brush and it looks best when only one pump is used. I wear the shade 25N
Dior Backstage Face & Body Foundation – I bought this foundation on a whim during the Sephora VIB sale and I’m so glad I did. I love using this foundation when I’m going for more a glam look – it’s a medium to buildable full coverage that again looks so natural on the skin. It reminds me a lot of the OG MAC Face and Body foundation but with less water and more coverage. It’s superlight weight and doesn’t feel heavy but still provides great coverage with a flawless finish. It doesn’t have SPF so its great for pictures, its also sweat proof and water resistant – I haven’t worn this in the Summer yet, but I think this will be my go to foundation for the warmer months! I wear the shade 2 Warm Olive. Tip: I like using a brush to apply this foundation and then going in with a beauty sponge to really blend and perfect the skin. Warning: it is scented and if you know me you know I’m not into fragrance in my skin care/makeup at ALL but it is very light (to me) and the smell does dissipate after application, it doesn’t linger.
Concealer
Make Up Forever Ultra HD Self-Setting Concealer – To be honest I didn’t wear a ton on concealer this year – especially under my eyes. I know that sounds crazy but I have syringoma pretty bad under my right eye, so day to day I normally just skip concealer all together but when I do wear concealer I reach for this one a lot because I find that you don’t have to set it and I don’t like really like to wear a lot of powder under my eyes either. This concealer is loved by a lot of professional MUA and for good reason. It looks so natural under the eyes and creates a smoothing finish because it sets down by itself. I find that it doesn’t accentuate the texture under my eyes or get cakey and crease. I typically find with concealer less is more especially under the eyes, at least for me!
Bronzer
I have always loved a good cream bronzer but in 2021 I was really only ever using cream bronzers and the Milk Makeup Matte Cream Bronzer Stick was primarily it! I love that it comes in stick form so its really easy to use. You can swipe it on the face quickly or you can pick up the product from the component with a brush and apply to the face that way. I love the bendability and it last so long on the skin. The shade “baked” is perfection -the perfect neutral bronzer that isn’t too warm or too cool and really does give the perfect sun-kissed look. I have a several other cream bronzers that I loved – let me know if you want to see a post on all of them but I really wanted to narrow it down to just one haha and the Milk one was #1 for me!
For power bronzer I pretty much only used the Revlon Skinlights Prismatic Powder Bronzer – this is my #1 bronzer, I have been using it pretty much exclusively since I discovered it a year or so ago. I typically go for bronzers that have a sheen to them that aren’t flat matte and this one is so nice – it’s not glittery by any means but gives the nicest glow skin like sunkissed finish to the skin. I also love that its sheer but buildable, so it doesn’t get all muddy looking on the skin. Even if you like matte bronzers I would still give this one a go to add as a sheen/topper! I wear the shade sunkissed beam.
Blush
Honest Beauty Crème Cheek + Lip Color – Perfection is all I can say. This cream blush is my favorite and continues to hold the #1 spot for me. The consistency of the cream is perfect, not too emollient so its not super greasy or too slippy on the skin. It keeps its pigment all day too – no fading here! I can wear this ALL day long and it still looks like I just applied it. It doesn’t need to be set either. Tip: this blush is pigmented so a little bit goes A LONG way, use a very light hand when first learning how to use this product, I have always found that using a brush with this works best. I love all the shades but Coral Peach is my favorite, most used!
Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Blush – I love peachy toned blushes and this one is by far one of my all-time favorites, it was definitely my most used for 2021. I first saw this blush on TikTok and immediately went to purchase it. I wear the shade Coral and its the perfect peachy toned, glowy blush. It is absolutely stunning – this blush paired with the Honest Cream Blush is chef’s kiss! I have been really enjoying Dior’s makeup and can’t wait to try more from the line – do you have any favorites by them?
Powders
I didn’t wear a ton of powders in 2021 but the #1 that stands out is super affordable and most re purchased and it’s the Covergirl Clean Fresh Pressed Powder – this powder definitely competes with high end powder products. It looks sooo good on the skin. This is pretty much the only powder I reach for when I want to set my face. It is very finely milled, never looks cakey and gives the smoothest finish. It’s not overly matte looking either which I love! I wear the shade Medium but I do want to try the translucent!
Jouer Soft Focus Hydrate + Set Powder – I don’t think it would be a favorites without me mentioning this powder. If you need something that is really going to smooth and blur the skin but still look skin like this is the powder for you! I have been obsessed with it for years now and I was so excited to see it go viral on TikTok last year! I will use this as all over finishing powder too. Its soo good – I wear the shade Light, I find that is runs a little on the deep side. I can’t wait to try out the luminous version. You can used code: thedappergirl at checkout for 15% off your order!!
Eyes
Sephora Collection Eye Love Eyeshadow Palette – these little palettes are so good, great pigmentation, easy to blend and perfect to travel with. I have the medium warm palette and its perfect for everyday use. Super affordable too!
E.L.F Bite-Size Eyeshadows – For only $3, yes you read that right haha! These little quads come in so many shades to choose from and they are so nice, easy to apply, and the shimmers really pack a punch! The Cream & Sugar quad is my fav. I love using the light shimmer shade as an inner corner highlight, so pretty!
Madison Beer Channel Surfing Palette – I want to quickly mention this palette because I just saw that it’s half off! All the shades are really pretty but TBH I really only use it for the glitter eyeshadows! The glittery shades are my favorite, so stunning. I have just been only using this palette to travel with lately too, because you can really do it all with this palette.
L.A Girl Ultimate Eye Intense Wear Auto Eye Liner – I originally bought this eyeliner on a whim because I wanted a cream color liner and cream liners aren’t something that I use very often – so I didn’t want to spend a lot of $ on it, but danggg these liners perform like high end. So creamy, long lasting and wears all day, I mean budge proof! I love the shades lasting brown and super bright! For $5 you can’t beat it!
Brows
NYX Lift & Snatch Eyebrow Tint Pen – If you like really natural looking brows like I do I would try this one out. I love how you can get really fine looking hairs in the front of your brow – my eyebrows are really sparse in the front and it’s hard for them to look natural, but this does it! I didn’t really try any brow pens or pencils out last year because I loved this one so much – and it last forever. I use the shade Ash Brown
E.L.F Wow Brow Gel – I have been using this for years – I try different kinds and just always go back to this one. I love that it has fibers in it, so it really fluffs up the brow and holds them in place. It’s also a drier formula so it doesn’t get all over your skin, pet peeve of mine with a wet formula haha. And it’s only $4! I use the shade Taupe
Lips
This is going to be really hard for me to narrow down since I love lip products so much, but I have some stand out affordable products I do want to mention first! L.A. Girl lip liners are so good and so affordable – I love the Perfect Precision Liners in shades Bare, Blushing and Sugar & Spice. The Ultimate Intense Wear Liner in Keep it Spicy and the Shockwave Lip Liner in Gingerbread. This was probably my most worn one out of all of these, but I would say if you’re looking for affordable liners that really do perform well, and LAST check out L.A. Girl!
I work the heck out of Revlon Super Lustrous Glass Shine Lipstick – these lipsticks are probably one of my favorite lipstick formulas ever! They are formulated with hyaluronic acid, aloe vera and rose quartz, so they are super hydrating and comfortable to wear. They are a super glossy lipstick that you will have to re-apply but the formula on them top notch and remind me of some higher end lipsticks! The shade that I wear the most is Nude Illuminator – it’s like your lips but better shade and pairs well with literally any shade lip liner. I do wish they had more nude shades but what can ya do!
I’m a big fan of plumping glosses and I wore the E.L.F Lip Plumping Gloss in Pink Cosmo and Milani Keep It Full Nourishing Lip Plumper in Champagne the most. I love the Buxom Full-On Plumping Lip Polish in White Russian (my favorite gloss of ALL time) and found the ELF gloss in Pink Cosmo the most comparable. I don’t think it gives you quite the plump that Buxom does but its super close and super affordable.