Well folks, it’s finally time for my seventh(!) annual Best In Beauty Awards! You should know the drill, but for those new to this page, over the next 2 weeks I’ll be chatting about all of the makeup, fragrance, skincare and general beauty I loved in 2024. This is part one of my series. Where I’ll be talking about my favourite makeup finds of the year.
A question I always ask myself when I do these posts is how do I sum up my year in beauty in one word. And for 2024, the word that sprang to mind for me is ‘routine’.
I know that it sounds like a strange word to use. But in all honesty, slipping into ‘head empty, autopilot’ mode was something I found myself doing a lot in 2024. You’ll quickly notice that a lot of my favourites were ones that I made early in the year and they have now become staples in my makeup routine. I kind of had to force myself to use different products in the later half. And I actually have less favourites than I have had in previous years. Which might just be a sign that I’m getting pickier in my old age. But if I’ve included it here, just know that these are the best of the best, in my opinion. So, let’s get into it!
Let’s begin the way I always do with base products. No primers again this year. I was more often than not using only sunscreen as my primer. And I’ll talk about those next week. Which brings me to foundation. And to the surprise of nobody, the HUDA BEAUTY EASY BLUR FOUNDATION is taking out my top spot. It really is one of the best blurring foundations I’ve ever tried. I also wanted to shout out the RIMMEL LONDON LASTING FINISH 35hr FOUNDATION as my drugstore pick and the FENTY BEAUTY SOFT’LIT LUMINOUS FOUNDATION was another one that I fell in love with late in 2024.
For skin tints, the FENTY BEAUTY EAZE DROPS BLURRING SKIN TINT and the MECCA MAX OFF DUTY SERUM SKIN TINT were the two that I gravitated to the most in 2024. The Fenty was my go to for when I wanted a little more coverage than a normal skin tint. And the Mecca Max is what I’ve been wearing throughout the last few months. Such impressive wear. All five of these base products are ones that I’ve reviewed. So you can see more detailed thoughts here.
Concealer time now. And what a shock, it’s Mecca Max and Fenty again. The FENTY BEAUTY WE’RE EVEN CONCEALER is slightly more creamy in consistency than I would normally go for in a concealer. But it wears so well that I can overlook that. The MECCA MAX OFF DUTY SERUM CONCEALER reminds me a lot of my beloved Tower 28 Swipe Concealer. Which means it was a shoo-in for making it to my favourites.
Speaking of Tower 28, my favourite powder of 2024 was their new TOWER 28 GET SET PRESSED POWDER. It did such a good job at not only setting my makeup, but blurring everything out to create a flawless finish. I also wanted to give a special shout out to the HUDA BEAUTY EASY BAKE LOOSE SETTING POWDER. I know that this featured in my end of year faves in 2023, but the shade Peach Pie absolutely blew me away. And for setting spray, the MAYBELLINE LASTING FIX SETTING SPRAY was one that I didn’t expect much from. But has quickly become a huge fave. Excellent mist and very weightless on the skin.
I tried a ton of brow products in 2024. But these were the three that I kept coming back to. The RARE BEAUTY BROW HARMONY PRECISION PENCIL and the RARE BEAUTY BROW HARMONY LIFTING GEL became my go to pairing for when I had the time to properly fill in my brows and make them look good. For all other occasions, the LOUNGEFACE BROW BUILDER both filled and set my brows easily.
2024 was not a great year for palettes. Or at the very least, I wasn’t reaching for palettes. More often than not, I was popping a glitter shadow on my lid and calling it a day. The three shades I was reaching for most often were the URBAN DECAY MOONDUST SHADOW in SPACE COWBOY, the MECCA MAX SINGLE SHADOW in DOUBLE JINX, and the middle shade from the MECCA MAX OVER THE TOP HOLOGRAPHIC EYESHADOW TOPPERS. That last one is sadly discontinued. But I think I can annoy Mecca into bringing it back.
But now, the big one you all wait for. My favourite mascaras from 2024. And I have to give my top gong to the LOUNGEFACE LASH MASCARA. This is one that I reviewed very early on in the year. So the fact that it’s still my favourite really says something about how much I love it. Other standouts for 2024 were the MAYBELLINE LASH SENSATIONAL FIREWORK MASCARA (my fave from the drugstore) and the LANCOME MONSIEUR BIG MASCARA (my favourite non tubing mascara). Again, you can find my more detailed thoughts here.
2024 wasn’t a huge bronzer year for me. I did find myself reaching for the old favourites as opposed to buying new ones. But there was one new launch that really surprised me. The NYX COSMETICS BUTTERMELT BRONZER in ALL BUTTAD UP. Such a gorgeous finish and it blends like a dream. I also wanted to give a small shout out to the TOWER 28 SCULPTINO SOFT CREAM CONTOUR in GETTY. Easily one of my most used cream bronzers.
On the flipside, it was a fantastic year for blush! I had a hard time narrowing it down. But these were the five that stood out the most. The TRIXIE COSMETICS BLUSH in TOTAL BETTY was easily my most used. I’m surprised the embossing is still there. The TOWER 28 BLUSH PLEASE CHEEK BALM in POWER HOUR was my go to shade in winter. My favourite pink blush was the NYX COSMETICS BUTTERMELT BLUSH in MY BUTTA HALF. The formula is the exact same as the bronzers. The NUDESTIX STAX BLUSH BALM’s were one of the more unique launches that I saw. They were so well. And finally for blush, I had to include the HUDA BEAUTY BLUSH FILTER’s. I’m not a liquid blush gal. But these were so easy to wear.
Over the last few years, the Hollywood Flawless Filter dupes have really hit the market. And while I’ve been negative on most of them, this year I actually found one that I really liked! The RIMMEL MULTI TASKER BETTER THAN FILTERS (sent in PR) added the most natural glowy finish to my skin. And the colour match was pretty spot on. I loved this as a natural highlight, mixed with foundation, or warn on it’s own.
Finally, we have the lip faves! And like the blush, it was hard to narrow this down to a few. But I managed it. These were my five most worn lip formulas. We have the SUMMER FRIDAYS DREAM LIP OIL (shade featured: Rosewood Nights), the HUDA BEAUTY FAUXFILLER LIP GLOSS (shade featured: Foxy), the AUSTRALIS LIP GLAZE (shade featured: Dirty Chai) (yes, these were in my favourites last year, this is a new formula), the ELF GLOW REVIVER LIP OIL (shade featured: Honey Talks), and the FENTY BEAUTY GLOSS BOMB STIX (shade featured: Fenty Glow)
And that is a wrap on part one! And to think, we still have so many more favourites to go. Stay tuned for Friday where we will be chatting all things fragrance. As always, let me know what your Year End favourites were in the comments.
Cheers and love
Emily xo