Top 15 of 2015 | Makeup

Oh my gossssh it’s 2016! Hello! I’m so excited and inspired that it’s 2016 – so many fun times ahead! I have so many fun ideas in mind for posts, collaborations in the works and giveaways planned – I can’t wait to get into it!

My first few posts for the year are going to be little 2015 throwbacks – I have two ‘Top 15 of 2015’ posts – today’s ‘Top 15 of 2015: Makeup’ and Friday’s ‘Top 15 of 2015: Beauty’ which covers haircare, skincare etc. I’ve also got my December Empties post to go up and we’re all good!

Today I’m going to share with you my Top 15 makeup items of 2015. 2015 has been a year of growth and discovery for me. I’ve learnt to contour without looking muddy, blend my eyeshadow better, and now wear a full face most days. I’ve come a long way, and I’m not looking back!

1.Makeup Geek Eyeshadows. I didn’t like my Makeup Geek shadows originally, but something changed in the latter half of the year and I’ve been obsessed with them! They have such a huge variety of colours and finishes and they fit conveniently into a z-palette for storage. My favourites are Barcelona Beach, Peach Smoothie, Shimma Shimma and all the Foiled eyeshadow formula. I have 4 more shadows on order to complete my full z-palette, then you’ll be seeing a swatch and collection post!
2. Mac Soft Ochre Paint Pot. My partner went overseas in the middle of the year and the one thing I requested was this bad boy from duty free – everyone and their mum raves about it and it’s always out of stock! Luckily he was able to grab it for me (and for about $5 cheaper) and I’ve used it daily since. It’s a great lid primer, but also colour corrects and helps to hide the veins on my eyelids – love and cannot recommend enough!

3.Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed. So I’m cheating with this because I couldn’t pick a particular shade, but these illuminators are incredible and I couldn’t not mention them! I picked up the shade ‘Moonstone’ initially, and fell in love with it for the intense glow it provided with minimal product and effort! I then got ‘Champagne Pop’, the shade made famous by Jaclyn Hill and it’s deserving of every bit of the hype! I also have ‘Rose Gold’ which is too dark for me but I use as a blush topper, ‘Opal’ in a deluxe sized pressed formula, as well as ‘Topaz’ in their Afterglow palette, and my latest edition is ‘Pearl’ which is heaven for pale girls like myself! I told you I loved their products! You’ll definitely be getting a Becca collection and review post in 2016 – my love for these is like no other!

4.Smashbox Pore Minimising Photo Finish Foundation Primer. This primer is fantastic. It’s a silicone based formula that doesn’t feel too heavy or cakey on the skin. It helps to fill pores and smooth the skin, creating a lasting and flawless base for makeup. I use it mainly in my problem areas, but also all over the face and 100% love this primer! It’s made a world of difference since I started using it.
5.Revlon Colorstay Normal/Dry. It’s not an empties or a favourites without this foundation! Honestly, this is my 100% tried and true holy grail foundation. It creates a gorgeous medium, buildable coverage on my face and lasts 13+ hours with no drama, I love this foundation more than life! I think I’ve probably gone through 5 bottles of it this year, that’s how much I love it!
6. It Cosmetics By Bye Under Eye Concealer. I’ve only had this for less than two months, but it’s honestly been such a game changer! Whilst it doesn’t fully hide my dark circles, the shade light is perfect for under my eyes. It gives a full coverage, flawless finish whilst also highlighting on my NC15 skintone – it’s honestly amazing! It covers 90% of my dark circles when combined with my Benefit Erase Paste (more on that below!) and lasts all day!

7.Benefit Erase Paste. This corrector is definitely the best I’ve tried, and has been a staple product for me throughout 2015. I have the lightest shade (duh) and it is a peachy-salmon type shade. A little bit spreads a long way, and helps to neutralise my dark undereye area before concealer. It’s a phenomenal product!
8. Mac Mineralize Skin Finish Natural. I love this powder. I picked it up in February and have only just hit pan – I alternate this with my Studio Fix Powder. I tend to use this mostly when I’m having a good skin day and only need a powder to lightly set my face. It’s silky and smooth, and creates a flawless finish – I love this powder so much!
Sigma Powder Blush in Heavenly*. I was lucky enough to receive this in my Sigma affiliate welcome package earlier in the year and I’ve been absolutely loving it since! It looks like a peachy-orange shade in the pan but don’t let that fool you! It swatches and applies a pinky-peach, and I imagine it’d be super flattering on a bunch of skintones! I’m incredibly impressed with how easy it is to blend and the fact that it lasts all day on my cheeks too! You can grab it here.

10.Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Bronze 01*. This and my Nars Laguna are tied for favourite bronzer, but since I spoke about Laguna in last year’s favourites, this gorgeous thing made the list this year! I was lucky enough to receive this in a PR parcel earlier in the year and have been loving it ever since. It is SUCH a smooth powder, which I’d attribute to the fact that it is a baked formula, and is a light bronzer with a subtle sheen – perfect for pale skin! It’s in my constant rotation of products and I highly recommend.
11. Chi Chi Brow Pomade. An Australian brand, Chi Chi came out with their pomade earlier this year. Many people wondered if it was a dupe for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade and I did a comparison and review of the products here. In all honesty, I haven’t touched the Anastasia once since I started using this one from Chi Chi. It is a smooth consistency and blends easily onto the brows, I cannot recommend it enough! Soft brown is perfect for my eyebrows, which I make slightly warmer and darker to match my roots/ombre colour.
12.Urban Decay Chill Makeup Setting Spray. Another product I have been using all year, this spray sets my makeup in place for daily use and settles any excess powders with its fine mist. I don’t necessarily find it super cooling, but I have found it helps throughout the day so my face doesn’t feel too dry! My makeup still separates around my nose slightly, but the rest of my face will still be flawless 12+ hours in!

13.Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara & Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara. Technically cheating but I don’t even care! This mascara combination has been what I’ve been wearing for ages, and the two are two of my favourite mascara discoveries of 2015! The Tarte mascara lengthens and separates my lashes whilst also providing a tonne of volume – aka my perfect mascara and I don’t have any huge issues with clumping. The Clinique mascara has the perfect little wand for my bottom lashes and doesn’t transfer to my under eye area, something that is hard to find! This combo is fantastic.
14.Benefit Gimme Brown in Medium/Deep. I’ve been using this every day for the last year to set my brows and give them more volume! The formula contains little fibres to go through the hairs and set them in place, as well as to plump up any sparse areas. It also adds a little tint of colour to make my brows slightly deeper, which I love!
15. Mac Cosmetics Lipstick in Blankety. This is my tried and true, ride or die, holy grail lipstick from 2015. I’ve been wearing it daily and still have so much left in the bullet! It’s an amplified formula, which means that it is creamy and smooth and has incredible pigmentation with one swipe. It’s a light pinky-nude and works perfect with so many different looks. It’s definitely a ‘my lips but better’ shade, and I love it so much! I’ve talked so many people into buying it – it’s definitely my favourite Mac lipstick!

Whilst it was really hard to choose, these 15 (slightly more ssh!) products made the cut and are my absolute favourite products from 2015! Some older but mostly new products I tried throughout the year, these are some of the best products I can recommend to you! Please do let me know what you’ve been loving in 2015, I’d love some recommendations to try out this coming year!