My Lords, Ladies, and those who lie betwix. Welcome back to my sixth annual Best In Beauty Awards! And what a year for beauty it’s been. Over the next two weeks, I’ll be chatting about all of my favourites from across the beauty spectrum. And we are starting, as always, with the makeup.
So, how was the makeup for me in 2023? In a word, sensational! Thanks to my Shop My Stash series, I got the opportunity to try out more makeup in 2023 than any other year. And out of all of the products I tried, I made some truly incredible discoveries. I actually think that these are my favourite Best In Beauty award winners to date. They are all 10/10 in my eyes and I would recommend them in a heartbeat. As always, while many of these products didn’t come out in 2023, they are all products that I tried for the first time in 2023. Let’s get into the winners.
We’ll kick this off with base products. And holy moly, I have a primer in my favourites! I think this is the first time in a while. But the HOLME BEAUTY PRIMER in BANG was a legit standout. It added a beautiful, hydrating glow to the skin. And I even wore it on it’s own as it has a smidgen of coverage.
Speaking of coverage, the HAUS LABS TRI CLONE SKIN TECH FOUNDATION was my foundation of the year. And unsurprisingly, this is an opinion that is shared by many. If you haven’t had the chance to try it, I implore that you do. It wears like a dream and the finish is basically skin. Now, this was going to be my only foundation pick, but the GLOSSIER STRETCH FLUID FOUNDATION snuck in right at the last minute. It’s a lighter coverage option than the Haus Labs. But it wears so well!
I also had a couple of skin tints impress me this year. The TOWER 28 SUNNYDAYS TINTED SUNSCREEN and the RARE BEAUTY POSITIVE LIGHT TINTED MOISTURISER were both my picks for lighter coverage products. The Tower 28 had the better wear time overall, but I really loved the finish of the Rare Beauty. I have done reviews on all of these base products throughout the year. So, check those out for more info.
2023 was weirdly the year for concealer. Heaps of brands had concealer launches last year. And while some were pretty good, the TOWER 28 SWIPE CONCEALER was easily my favourite. So thin, but incredible coverage. This was probably my product of the year. In a similar vein, the ELF HYDRATING CAMO CONCEALER was my favourite drugstore concealer discovery of the year. If you’re not wild about the OG Camo Concealer or if you have more mature skin, this is worth checking out. But for those occasions where my skin was red and cranky, the URBAN DECAY QUICKIE CONCEALER was my go to. A little bit goes such a long way. And when it’s on, it ain’t moving until I tell it to move.
Finally for face, I have two powder favourites. For loose, it had to be the HUDA BEAUTY EASY BAKE LOOSE POWDER. It really is as good as the internet told me it was. For pressed, I adored the KOSAS CLOUD SET BAKED SETTING POWDER. This powder is so blurring, I’m obsessed. And for setting spray, while nothing dethroned my beloved Charlotte Tilbury, the HOLME BEAUTY BASE SETTNG MIST came super, super close. I can honestly say I’ve never tried a setting spray like it. It locks in my makeup, but it also adds the most ethereal glow.
For my eyeshadow of the year, I have to apologise. Because not only is it a Tom Ford palette, it’s a palette that is no longer available. But it would be the height of dishonesty if I didn’t say the TOM FORD FORBIDDEN ROSE EYESHADOW QUAD was the one that I wore the most in 2023. If you saw me wearing a neutral eyeshadow look, it was almost certainly that top right shade. It is exquisite and basically undupable.
However, because I am a kind human, I will also mention that I really enjoyed the TOO FACED ITALIAN SPRITZ EYESHADOW PALETTE. 2023 was the year I gave Too Faced another go after 4 years on the bench. And it paid off for them. This palette is so summery and colourful and just plain fun. This won’t be the only time I mention Too Faced on this list.
My favourite brow product is one from early in the year. But stayed front of mind throughout 2023. And that was the ESSENCE FIX IT LIKE A BOSS TRANSPARENT BROW FIXING GEL *sent in PR*. This is a fantastic and affordable option for those who like the feathered brow look. And it realy keeps my unruly brows in place all day.
For mascaras, I was spoiled for choice! Remember when I only had one favourite in 2022? In 2023, I had three! Firstly, the TOWER 28 MAKE WAVES MASCARA was my mascara of the year. A perfect formula, and a perfect brush to go with it. For the drugstore, it’s another one from ELF! The ELF LASH ‘N ROLL MASCARA gave my lashes the gorgeous, wispy effect that I love. And the most surprising of all was the BENEFIT FANFEST MASCARA. After 9 years, they finally made a mascara that I like!
2023 was the year that the Fenty Sun Stalk’r bronzer was finally dethroned as my favourite powder bronzer. In it’s place now sits the HAUS LABS POWDER SCULPT VELVET BRONZER in SHADE 04. I have raved about this bronzer all year long. It blends seamlessly and the shade range is phenomenal. For cream bronzer, this was tough as I tried a lot of excellent ones (Australis and Tower 28 spring to mind). But the MAKEUP BY MARIO SOFTSCULPT TRANSFORMING SKIN ENHANCER was the one that I wanted to keep using after it left my stash. It looks so effortless on the cheeks.
Blush time now. And after a year of cream and liquid domination, I actually fell back in love with powders in 2023. The big standout was the TOO FACED CLOUD CRUSH BLURRING BLUSH in CANDY CLOUDS. I wore this to death in 2023. I’m shocked you can still see the embossing. But you need so little of this blush and it wears all day. I also really loved the DIOR ROSY GLOW BLUSH in ROSEWOOD. I didn’t want to love it. But I do. Finally, because I am who I am, my favourite cream blush was the NUDESTIX NUDIES MATTE ALL OVER BLUSH COLOR in SUNKISSED PINK. This was my go to shade for a more natural makeup look.
And we have some lip products to take us home! Admittedly, I was more often than not wearing lip balms throughout the year (I’ll talk about those next week). But there were a couple of standouts. The TOWER 28 JUICEBALM TINTED LIP BALMS in SHAKE and MIX were, by far, my most worn lip colours. So easy to wear and just the right amount of pigment. I was also obsessed with the TOWER 28 SHINE ON LIP JELLY in CHILL for some juicy lip action. And I also have to give the AUSTRALIS LIP GLAZE in JUICY PEACH and GLAZED DONUT *sent in PR* a shout out. Such a great drugstore option that isn’t talked about nearly enough. I can’t wait to try the new shades that they are launching today!
And that is a wrap on my makeup favourites. But I’m not done yet! Come back on Friday because we’ll be talking all things fragrance. And as always, let my know your makeup faves for 2023 in the comments.
Cheers and love
Emily xo