Best of 2018

The mere five products I selected for this post boosts my confidence for No Buy 2019: I'm less interested in purchasing slews of stuff and more interested in using what I love, and I've become a lot more particular about what I love. I didn't just enjoy these products in 2018; they became actual staples, items I use almost daily and repurchase without hesitation. Without further ado, here's the five best of 2018!

Skin Laundry Daily Moisturizer SPF35

I can't remember what, exactly, prompted me to buy this moisturizer. It promised more than SPF15 and great hydration while containing none of no-no ingredients, sure, but so has every other day cream that's absolutely wrecked my face. Whatever the reason, I'm beyond glad that I took the chance. As far as day creams go, this thick lotion is rich and hydrating without feeling heavy or looking greasy on my skin. It works wonderfully under makeup and never seems to break me out or irritate me. And it's proven its worth as a day-to-day sunscreen: the only time I burned during our Toronto vacation was when I forgot to apply this moisturizer in the morning. I'm actually at the end of this tube and am therefore rationing it until it's back in stock at Sephora, but when it does come back, I might get two tubes so I don't run out again. Thanks, Skin Laundry, for creating a day cream I love.

Glossier Lash Slick

"Another year, another Glossier favorite" seems to be a running theme on this blog, and 2018 was no different: I fell in love with Lash Slick mascara. I was a little surprised when they launched this product, actually, because it's not the barely-there lash tint I expected, but rather a fiber mascara that lengthens and separate. While the effect is nice, what really made me fall in love with this mascara is that it doesn't smudge or flake as horribly as almost every other mascara I've tried. I can swipe it on at 8:30am, work all day, and come home at 6:00pm with next to no black specks or racoon-y smears. As an added bonus, the stopper inside the tube works perfectly, getting off every extra bit of product so you can go straight from the tube to your lashes. Glossier has produced some questionable products, but Lash Slick is a definite winner.

Jordan Samuel Hydrate Serum

Objectively, most people shouldn't spend a lot for hyaluronic acid: it's a cheap ingredient that's easy to use in a range of formulations. Unfortunately, most of the cheap, readily available hyaluronic acid serums and essences seem to break me out or irritate my skin--I'm thinking there's a common carrier ingredient that my face doesn't like. I'm willing to shell out $29 a bottle for Jordan Samuel's serum because it gives my dry, dehydrated skin the help it needs without any irritation, and it never pills under my other skincare products. I'm about to start my third bottle, which, based on how frequently I use it, suggests that each ounce of serum would last about 3 months with daily use. My favorite way to apply this? I mist my skin with a little distilled water, pat 2-3 drops of serum in to my damp skin, then top with moisturizer. Magic.

Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar Skin Tint

While this jar packaging continues to be the bane of my existence, I've loved the tinted sunscreen inside. It's weightless, it looks like skin, and it's easy to slap on when I'm half awake and still glugging coffee. And despite containing SPF, this skin tint never turns white in flash photography, making it great for outdoor special events; I've worn it to several weddings, for instance.

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand

It wasn't so much the hype that made me buy this highlight as it was the absolutely stunning photos of glossy-cheeked YouTubers and Instagrammers. That mixture of dewy and high-shine can be tough to achieve, but the Beauty Light Wand makes it a breeze. It's fairly flexible as well: you can use the tiniest dot for a more natural glow, or you can layer it on thicker for cheeks that look outright wet in pictures. My only qualm? Last I checked, there was just one shade, a light champagne gold. Expanding the shade range would make this an absolute Holy Grail for me.

Honorable Mention: That Sequin Fabric

Remember when I always had a television or some other janky nonsense in the background of my pictures? That finally stopped when I got a yard of sequin fabric on sale and JoAnne Fabrics. I know it's not to everybody's taste, but I finally brought that fabric back with me to our new apartment, and I couldn't be happier. In my opinion, it helped my photographs look more professional and more consistent in 2018. I'm hoping for more of the same in 2019.

Spring 2018 Favorites

Technically speaking, summer doesn't begin until the end of June. I'm stubborn, though, and I insist on saying a season starts and ends when certain events or temperature changes occur. It's in the high 70s, low 80s on the regular now, and there are plenty of thunderstorms--that means summer is starting. Hence, it's time for spring favorites!

I'm thrilled to say that two of my three beauty favorites for this past season are sun protection products. The first is the newest SPF in my collection, the Skin Laundry Daily Moisturizer SPF35. As the name suggests, this is a lightweight day cream that provides a little hydration and the perfect amount of sun protection. It does have a slight sunscreen smell, but it fades quickly, and it's much lighter and more hydrating than a standard sunscreen. Oily skinned people will likely find this too heavy or greasy, but if you have very dry skin like me, give this one a shot!

For incidental exposure, I'm loving the Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar Skin Tint SPF20. It provides SPF20 (though no UVA2 protection) and light coverage that looks incredibly natural and smooth on my dry skin. Now that I'm self-tanning my neck and upper chest for these warmer months, this is my go-to base product. Frankly, I'm so shocked by how good this is that I find myself peeking at other Philosophy beauty products, despite the fact that I've paid next to no attention to the brand for the last decade. That's the power of a new favorite, I suppose! I'm still not over the terrible packaging, though, and yes, I'm going to whine about it every time this product comes up.

For my SPF-free beauty item, I was pleasantly surprised by how voluminous and black YSL The Shock Volumizing Mascara made my lashes look. This mascara has the natural bristle wand and creamy formula that I prefer. The one bummer about this is that it does flake a bit and smear a little, but only "a bit" and "a little," and that's better performance than what I get from most mascaras. I don't think I'll ever cough up the money for a full size tube, but I'll gladly grab every sample available to me.

Like most Americans, I was blown away by the music video for Childish Gambino's "This is America." It took me a half dozen viewings to pick out most of the references I could find, and even then, there were several that popped up in analyses that I totally missed. It's a richly textured video that provides more commentary in four minutes than some films do in two hours.

Lastly, a book! As I mentioned in my previous favorites post, I've had a lot of ups and downs with my reading choices this year; not much is wowing me, and I've finished a number of "meh" and disappointing books. An exception to this was Leigh Bardugo's "The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic," a collection of updated fairytales and folklore. These stories are apparently linked to Bardugo's Grishaverse books. Since I haven't read those yet and I feared I wouldn't understand these short stories as a result, I almost returned the book to the library unread. I'm glad I didn't, though, because these stories stand on their own. Each tale is a delight, though I'm particularly fond of "The Too-Clever Fox." There are also a ton of absolutely beautiful illustrations by Sarah Kipin.

Product List:

Skin Laundry Daily Moisturizer SPF35, $25

Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar Skin Tint, $39

YSL The Shock Volumizing Mascara, $29

Childish Gambino, "This is America" single, $1.29

Leigh Bardugo, "The Language of Thorns," $12.34