Beauty brands that aren’t utter cowards are far and far between. Cowards?! You might ask. Yes, indeed, COWARDS, I’ll scream. Because, you see, 2017 was an awfully mediocre year, and they’re cowards.
Same old, same old
If you look at all the trends in beauty this year, it was all carried over from 2016. Warm-toned eyeshadows? Check. The highlighters from space evolved into unicorns and rainbows, and liquid lipsticks were still super matte. If a brand feels daring, though, they’ll put out a matte metallic liquid lipstick, gasp!!111
And then, there was the biggest launch and resounding splash in the beauty world: Fenty Beauty, which came out with 40 different shades of foundation and a concept of diversity and everybody fell over themselves, because OMG THE INNOVATION!
No, sorry, it’s not. It just brought something utterly normal into mainstream makeup: the thought there should be a foundation shade for every skintone. That’s not revolutionary. Or at least, it shouldn’t be.
Anything else? No? All right, then can we all just go home, and trust me, when planning this post, I nearly did (metaphorically). Because, there wasn’t any innovation in sight. A product that excited me? Few and few between. But, there were some!
But I wish the beauty industry would stop being cowards and give us something new, not an itineration of the same old, but different, honest, trust me crap they’ve been pulling this year. Instead of churning out basically the same collection a few times every year, why not do something new? I can’t be the only one I’m bored to tears.
The best beauty products in 2017 that’ll stay
Face
Cushions, cushions, cushions. The better foundation for me, and I’ve thrown away nearly all my old foundations and used cushions all the time. In the height of summer, it was Skinfood’s Pore Fit Cushion Bottle with the awesome cooling effect, and in all other season’s, it’s good old L’Oreal’s Cushion Magique that’s manufactured in Korea (who would’ve thought).
Skincare
While living in Asia, I definitely picked up a thing or two. (See cushions.) But I’ve still a sheetmask addiction (because I’m basic, I love My Beauty Diaries, and also Papa Recipe), and also found out that sunscreen doesn’t have to be that unpleasant stuff that you usually find in Western countries. My favourite atm is A’Pieu’s Natural Sun Cream SPF45 that’s not only pleasant to wear, but is also good as a base underneath makeup (and you can actually wear that in the heat and humidity and it doesn’t melt off). Also staples: various Asian essences and sleeping masks – cosrx gets a shout-out for its Galactomyces essence and Ultimate Moisturizing Honey Overnight Mask. That stuff is good.
Lips
I always say I’m not a fan of liquid matte lipsticks, and I’m not. But I honestly like the Matte Shakers by Lancome who somehow managed to take all the unpleasantness of a liquid matte away (dryness, shrivelled lips) and left only the good traits (staying power, cool look). Also, peripera’s liptints are love – I can’t decide if I like the ones best that start glossy and develop into a stain, or the velvet inks, that have a velvety texture that’s not matte but better. I love both.
Eyes
Yeah, ABHs eyeshadow palettes might kick up a lot of powder and have fallout problems, but. I love the texture. I love how they blend, I love the composition of the palettes, and the Modern Renaissance will be a benchmark (rightly so) like the Nakeds were once.
Nails
This was the year when I started to get bored by indie polishes. Yeah. Everything started to look the same, and there was just nothing new coming out. But then there was, and I loved it. FUN Lacquers Magnetic Duochromes are utter perfection – easy to use with a stunning effect. Sadly, it was an LE – but I live in hope that we’ll see something similar again. (Bow Polish juuuuuust came out with some that are a bit similar!)
Hair
I’m happy when my ponytail isn’t crooked, so the bar for a good hair product seems low. But I actually found a few that helped with the purple coloured mess on my head, and these were living proof’s no frizz, big sexy hair’s Get Layered and bumble and bumble Don’t blow it – Fine (h)air styler. Apply all that, and I look like I actually made an effort, when I really didn’t.
Perfume
I’ve a thing for rose fragrances with a woody note, and so there’s no surprise that I loved Hermès Galop d’Hermès and Jo Malone’s Whiskey & Cedarwood. Or, maybe, I just love the drydown of wood? Especially in winter. Summer perfumes were all a miss – I hated the very anticipated Bronze Goddess perfume, and Tom Ford’s Soleil Blanc as well. I unearthed TF’s Neroli Portofino and Hermès Un Jardin Au Mediterranee and called it a day.
How was 2017 to you, beautywise? Did you fall in love with an exciting new discovery? Were you bored? Let down? Let us know!
