2017 was the year of dewy skin and natural glow for me. I put away a lot of the high shine / metallic products and instead opted for glossy and natural sheen. I also discovered some powders to help control the shine I would get from being oily while still keeping that natural looking glow.
I’ve gotten a bit lazier on my bases especially since my acne has calmed down over the years. I’m mostly trying to cover acne marks, the occasional blemish, and redness now. Most of the cushions I’ve tried give me a light-medium finish but this Maybelline one gives me a light to medium coverage depending how much I layer it up. It lasts almost all day for me with a naturally dewy finish and it’s one of the better Western cushions I’ve tried. I’m on my 3rd cushion right now and it’s pretty safe to say that this product is a firm favorite. Cushions do typically run out faster than other forms of foundation and so I may be spending more in the long run compared to buying a mid or high range foundation bottle.
It Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness Neutralizing Correcting Cream in Transforming Natural Beige
My skin has gotten clearer compared to a couple of years ago, but I now have a lot of redness and acne marks that I've been trying to deal with. One of the products that has worked out so well on covering up the redness is this cream! It's basically a foundation for me since it has pretty decent coverage. It's slightly slightly too dark and too neutral for me, but mehhh. It's not supposed to be a foundation, just something to offset the redness. I just need a few taps of the Maybelline cushion on top and everything looks perfectly natural.
Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick in Nude
After loving and then feeling meh about the MUFE Foundation stick after it started to smell weird, I turned my attention to the Hourglass Foundation Stick. It's such a nice and creamy foundation that instantly makes my complexion look better with some quick swipes and buffing. It doesn't give me full coverage, but I can get medium full coverage pretty easily without it looking cakey or thick. The formula, and not the coverage, really does vanish from the skin to look really natural. There was a period of time during 2017 where I would only wear cream products and this foundation was the one I chose to go to every single day.
I basically have two powders permanently on my desk since I use them everyday. Both powders do set my face, but I love that they don’t completely make me matte since I do prefer a more dewy or natural finish. The Holika Holika powder does give me a smoother feel to my face for a longer period of time. I do like the coloring of the Beauty Bakerie powder a bit more since it does brighten and "adjust" my foundation when it's not yellow enough. I’m not sure how to explain it, but the Beauty Bakerie powder also feels softer resulting in a more “melted” feeling especially for baking. The Holika Holika powder also doesn't stick to itself too much and so I never look too powered or cakey when I'm using it.
Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation
I’m more of a non-powder foundation person since my face is dry but sometimes I want a quick and easy powder foundation to use. It never looks cakey or powdery and the powder just melts into my skin to look so natural while giving me pretty good coverage. I don’t try to go complete full coverage because of personal preferences but a quick buffing of the powder immediately gives me medium coverage.
Like with foundation, I don’t use full coverage concealers either but this also gives me a good medium coverage. The finish is also on the dewy side and I guess “stretches” to move with any facial movement I’m making. My under eye area is also pretty dry and this concealer still sits so well in that area while brightening up any darkness I may have. Since the concealer is emollient, it also doesn’t emphasize any dry blemishes either.
Glossier Haloscope in Moonstone
I am a fan of Quartz as well, but I like using Moonstone more since the base is more translucent. The lack of base color makes it more versatile as well. There is an opalescent shimmer throughout the product and that plus the solid oil core gives such a beautiful glossy highlight to your face. The balmy finish doesn’t quite set and while I’m not bothered by it since it’s so light, I can see how it could deter people from getting it.
I’ve taken a step away from contouring, but then I started to use the Arti-Stick in Confidence again this year. I may have also gained more weight and wanted to slim down my face a bit more. Powders have been looking pretty patchy in my cheek contour area and it really made me frustrated. Instead of looking like a shadow, a lot of the contour powders I was using looked like dirt patches no matter what product I was using and how I applied them. With the smooth cream formula of the Arti-Sticks, I’m able to tap and blend away and it looks gorgeous! It just meshes really well with my foundations as well to create a beautiful and subtle shadow. It looks more cool toned in the “pan” but then turns into a very natural and neutral tone on my face because I’m very warm toned.
Pony Effect Mirage Highlighter in Lucid Dream*
This product was in my 2016 favorites and it continues to be my favorite highlighter. I’m not the biggest fan of yellow or golden highlighters and so this cream highlight was perfect for me. The sheen is gorgeous and goes on so smoothly. It may not be as metallic or dramatic as some other highlighters out there, but it gives me such a beautiful glow. I’ve also gotten so many compliments wearing this highlighter in real life too!
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick in Trippin and Match Stix Matte Skinstick in Mocha
Fenty Beauty pretty much took the beauty community by storm. The Match Stix are one of the better products from the Fenty line I've tried so far, but I especially like Trippin and Mocha (for my skin tone). I tried the foundation/concealer sticks as well, but they're definitely more dry and don't sit well on my skin at all. Mocha has a smoother and more blendable formula and like the Pony Effect Arti-Stick in Confidence, Mocha gives me a beautiful and naturally contoured look to my face. Trippin reminds me of the NARS Blush in Luster, which is one of my favorite blushes, and so I like to layer Trippin and Luster together for a beautiful golden apricot flush of color to my face. The shimmer and base shade for Trippin is also really smooth and doesn't drag or get patchy even when I use it directly from the tube. The slightly drier formula also makes both shades still work well over powder.
3CE Back to Baby Glow Beam in White
I'm kind of meh about primers, but I am a fan of using highlighters or glossy products under my foundation to give me a lit from within dewy glow. My skin often looks dry or more shrunken as the day goes by and bases like the Glow Beam definitely helps with that! I use this before and after foundation and it gives me the most beautiful glossy and dewy skin. I normally focus it on the high points of my face, but I also apply it all over when I went some more oomph.
Marc Jacobs Beauty Glow Stick Glistening Illuminator in Spotlight
This cream highlighter is one of the few I have that still works wonderfully on top of powder but can still give me a glossy glow. It has a pale white gold base with light gold and silver shimmers and I can see it being flattering on many skin tones, but the more white base can look ashy on those with deeper skin tones. While I do use this highlighter a lot, it truly became a favorite when a stranger complimented my highlight by screaming it from across a super long line at Disneyland. If I can get that reaction from a stranger from so far away, it's totally going to be a long time holy grail.
What base products did you love during 2017? Do you have any recommendations? Have you tried any of these products?
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