My Top 20 Cosmetic Products of the Year So Far

I originally intended to write this post highlighting my favourite cosmetics products way back in January but alas, I wasn't able to get my act together. I managed to whittle down my favourite/ most used products of the year so far and I thought I'd share:

Sleek blush in "Coral" (L), NARS blush in "Taos" (R)

I'm slowly building up a ridiculous blush collection (I only have two cheeks after all) but these two blushes were the ones I reached for the most. Sleek's "coral" blush gives me a really nice and natural flush and it's easily build-able. NARS' "Taos" was a favourite last year as well and I adore the gentle shimmer on top of the dusky rose colour. Sleek blushes are a steal at around £4.50, whilst NARS blushes are a lot more at £20.50.

MAC Select SPF 15 in NW45 (L), MAC Mineralize Skinfinish
Natural in "Dark Deep" (R)

This has been my go to foundation combo all year. I actually bought the Select foundation by mistake when I meant to buy the Studio Fix Fluid, however, I much prefer this one now. It's not too heavy, yet gives a good medium/ full coverage.

The MSF in "Dark Deep" has been my holy grail powder for around 3 years now and I don't see that changing anytime soon. It gives me the perfect "glowy" look and it can be used by itself with a bit of concealer if I want a really light coverage. I cannot recommend this enough.

Rimmel nail polish in "beige" (L), Barry M Nail Paint in
"Berry Ice Cream"

These are the polishes I've used the most this year. Barry M's "Berry Ice Cream" is the perfect summer shade in my opinion. It's fun and girly without being too vomit-inducing. The Rimmel polish, on the other hand, belongs on the other end of the spectrum. I've never been a fan of nude polishes but this makes my hands look so elegant and it particularly looks great when my nails are long. I'm a bit iffy about overly bright colours on my nails when I've grown them long because they run the risk of looking Cruella de Vil-ish. I highly recommend both colours.

Rimmel Day 2 Night mascara, E.L.F eyelid primer, Bobbi
Brown longwear gel eyeliner in "black ink"

So many accolades have been given to this mascara and I have to add mine to the list. This gives me crazy volume without clumpiness and I can't ask for much more in a mascara.
The E.L.F primer was a pleasant surprise because I chucked it into my online basket just so I could qualify for free shipping and it actually rivals my Urban Decay Primer Potion. It's very light and blends easily before I apply my eyeshadow. I'd even say it's better than the Two-Faced primer and the best part is that it's only one pound!
I bought the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner as part of a deal they were having on the plane and I've used it religiously since. It's perfect on the waterline as well as the upper lid and once it's on, it truly does not budge. Yes, it's pricey but it's worth every penny.

From L-R: MAC , E.L.F blush brush, E.L.F powder brush,
 Costco concealer/ foundation brush,
E.L.F concealer brush

I use these brushes everyday and they range from the very cheap (E.L.F) to the very expensive (MAC). The E.L.F brushes perform excellently, particularly when you factor in the ridiculously low price of £3 each. I bought my MAC kabuki brush on an impulse about 4 years ago (hey, when I'm depressed I buy makeup) and I remember asking myself if I was crazy as I forked over £30 for it. It's so soft and picks up powder so well. It has also endured numerous washes whilst losing only a minimal amount of hairs. Definitely worth the splurge.

MAC "Rebel" lipstick, The Body Shop.... lip gloss,
Smith's Rosebud Salve, Urban Decay Pocket Rocket
lip gloss in "Doug"

What can I say about MAC's "Rebel" lipstick that hasn't been said already? It's a wonderful deep pink that can be built up and looks especially great on darker skin tones. My pot of Smith's Rosebud Salve is still going strong after more than a year and I use this stuff every single day. It leaves my lips soft without being sticky.

These two lip glosses look good either on their own or on top of lipstick. They are not sticky (my biggest no-no when it comes to lip gloss) yet they have really good staying power.

I forgot to take smaller pics of the GOSH face primer and MUA eyeshadow above but both are excellent products. The MUA eyeshadow is a matte brown that only costs one pound and the pigmentation is superior to my MAC "embark" eyeshadow. I use this eyeshadow to contour my cheeks, as a crease colour and to fill in my eyebrows.

It was actually really hard to whittle this list down to just 20 (product junkie alert!) but these products have been good to me this year.

What are your top cosmetic products?



Love, life and lip gloss


Nana Adomah