2018 IN BEAUTY | AS VOTED FOR BY YOU

You may remember that a few weeks ago I called on you guys to sound off on 2018 in beauty: what were your favourite products? Which trends got on your nerves? Which brands gave us the best launches and which were the most controversial... Today I'm back with the results, my thoughts and of course to announce the giveaway winner!

- GIVEAWAY - 

Ok, so first things first, the winner of the giveaway is clionahillblog - congratulations, lovely! I will also email you today in case you don't see this. Now, let's dive into the categories...

- WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE PALETTE LAUNCH OF 2018? -

You said... Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette

Image credit: cultbeauty.com

I can definitely see why you guys voted in droves for Soft Glam* | £43 | review. It's one of those almost-universal palettes that can appeal to everyone from you to your mum and works for a variety of daytime and nighttime looks. Anastasia released several eyeshadow palettes this year, including the cool-toned Sultry and the purple-inspired Norvina, but you still voted for Soft Glam as your favourite of the bunch. Also popular was the Hourglass Unlocked Edit | £69 | review | which is one of two releases they gave us for the holidays. It's an all-in-one setting powder, blusher, highlighter and bronzer palette with entirely new shades, which might be why it was such a standout.

I say...

Soft Glam is my top choice too! I very rarely get close to hitting pan with palettes and have only had this since March / April time but am close on several shades already. I love this formula and the shade selection, plus the versatility means this is the palette I pretty much always pack when I'm travelling. Some might say it's a basic warm neutrals palette but not everyone wants to invest in 'out there' colours for their makeup collection; a lot of people I know in my everyday life aren't super into makeup so want to spend their money on something they can use every single day and for me - this is that palette!

- WHICH BRAND WAS THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL IN 2018? -

You said... Kat Von D Beauty

Image credit: preview.ph

I really can't say this one surprised me! If you missed the drama then you can check out my recent post on controversial beauty brands, but Kat Von D upset a lot of people this year by stating she wouldn't be vaccinating her newborn baby. Her brand has been boycotted by many this year and her weak apology didn't get things back on track. Kat Von D Beauty has definitely been a brand we've all been talking about this year for all the wrong reasons... Hot on her tail was Deciem, which almost got as many votes, but perhaps lost out on the crown due to the fact this drama largely calmed down as we headed into the final months of this year. I talked about this drama in the post I already linked but essentially their CEO had a bit of a meltdown in 2018 and confused, annoyed and upset many fans of their skincare brands with a series of bizarre and sometimes offensive Instagram posts and comments. However he was ousted a couple of months ago and normality resumed.

I say...

I definitely think Kat Von D's anti-vaxxer sentiment has done lasting damage to her brand, with just one Instagram post, so I'd have to agree with you guys. It also meant a lot of other questionable past behaviour of hers came out that I don't think we'd have heard about otherwise... I think earlier on in the year I may have said Deciem but since the CEO at the centre of the drama is no longer part of the company, I think their chances of recovery are far stronger. As Kat is the face of her makeup brand, it's pretty difficult to separate her as a person from the products and she's done herself some serious reputation damage this year. Her product launches have been very mediocre too, which definitely hasn't helped reignite interest in the brand.

- WHICH BRAND HAS GIVEN US THE BEST NEW LAUNCHES IN 2018? -

You said... Charlotte Tilbury

Image credit: instagram.com/ctilburymakeup

I was actually a little surprised to see the queen of dreamy makeup come out on top in this category because Charlotte doesn't release lots of new products, but clearly it was quality over quantity for you guys! Some of her standout launches include the Pillow Talk Collection - a very good idea to extend Charlotte's famed lip pencil turned lipstick shade into a full line (definitely not bitter I've still not managed to get my hands on the new blusher and eyeshadow quad...) Along with this she launched the Magic Concealer* and Magic Powder*, which I reviewed here and also the Stars in Your Eyes Palette. A close runner up with just a few votes separating the two was ColourPop Cosmetics, which is an affordable, high-quality brand that has access to its of factory so manages to churn out on average 2 new collections every single month! I guess the sheer volume of products they're putting out there means that most of us found a collection that spoke to us from ColourPop this year.   

I say...

I personally have to say ColourPop for this one! You can check out some of my reviews here. I think their products are such nice quality and they're constantly staying on-trend and releasing everything from colourful products to neutrals. I really like the themes that they go for from Disney Princesses to ice and fire to sangria and sun to zodiac to animal print! I've been really happy with the products I've had from ColourPop this year and am definitely excited to see what they do in 2019.

- WHICH BEAUTY LAUNCH DISAPPOINTED YOU THE MOST IN 2018? -

You said... the BeautyBlender Bounce Foundation

Image credit: instagram.com/trendmood1 

This is one of the few votes that was pretty unanimous! I actually reviewed this foundation here. Bounce is a foundation created by the maker of everyone's favourite makeup sponge - BeautyBlender. The packaging was innovative and pretty genius, however the shade range...left a lot to be desired. Beauty-lovers collectively went from excited to pretty p****ed off! The shades were essentially '50 shades of beige' with a small handful of medium-deep options tacked onto the end. They've since expanded the range but does anyone really care? Women of colour don't want to be made to feel like an afterthought...

I say...

I totally agree with you guys here - you can check out that review for my full thoughts but I did think the packaging was genius and I really liked the concept. I guess that's why it was so disappointing. I felt like their marketing for this foundation tried to be inclusive but they totally missed the mark with the final product. I really don't know what happened! However it's definitely too little, too late when it comes to them expanding the range, as many of us have lost interest now.

- WHICH BEAUTY TREND DID YOU LOVE IN 2018? -

Image credit: cultbeauty.com

You said... glassy skin and minimal makeup

It seems as though for you guys, heavy Instagram glam makeup is out and minimal makeup with the Korean-inspired 'glass skin' is 'in'! I found this to be a really interesting result but perhaps not that surprising given it's a survey of my readers and I post a lot of skincare content and like to keep my own makeup nice and fresh (I actually wrote a post on why I've somewhat turned my back on full-coverage foundation, which you can read here). Minimalist brands like Milk Makeup and Glossier have flourished this year and the popularity of showing off skincare shelves stocked with Drunk Elephant, Saturday Skin and Herbivore Botanicals has definitely put the focus on skin.

I say...

I actually feel more strongly about the trend that came in second place: small eyeshadow palettes. I think it's likely a backlash to the Morphe 35 palettes and their many imitations but I love that we've been seeing more of this; I personally don't need many, many tiny variations of the same shade. I would much rather have a small selection of colours that I can travel with and that have a more cohesive, thought-out colour story, as opposed to throwing everything at it! Some smaller palette releases that I've enjoyed this year include the Huda Beauty Topaz Obsessions Palette* (review) and the Zoeva Voyager Palettes* (review).

- WHICH BEAUTY TRENDS DID YOU DISLIKE / GET BORED OF IN 2018? -

You said... unicorn-themed collections

Image via: thehappysloths.com

Unicorns, mermaids and rainbow eyeshadow palettes were all in our bad books this year so the Too Faced Life's a Festival collection seemed a good representation of what ground your gears in terms of 2018 beauty trends. Unicorns did get the most votes and I can't say I'm surprised. These sorts of very light, shimmery pastel shades that have dominated these collections by brands such as Tarte and Too Faced do most people very few favours, plus they just feel gimmicky! These products also aren't cheap, on the whole... I honestly can't imagine a universe in which I'd wear these products, though I can see how they might work for makeup artists looking to create more editorial looks. Given that you guys are all about the minimal, natural makeup with a focus on skin, it doesn't surprise me that these less natural colours weren't popular with you. However I agree with you guys that it's very cutesy and overdone and I hope we don't see any more of this in 2019!

I say...

I'm actually going to be controversial here and say that I'm kind of over influencer collaborations... The Jaclyn Hill x Morphe Vault Collection drama earlier this year (which I covered off here) really made me think about all of the previous scandals we've seen from Jaclyn's Becca eyeshadow palette being recalled for poor quality to the complaints people had about the formula of Nikkie Tutorials' Too Faced palette to the crazy price of Manny MUA's Makeup Geek palette. I've reached a point where I think brands are slapping the names of influencers onto substandard products and expecting us to still buy them and I'm over that! I won't be purchasing any influencer collaborations in 2019 unless I see good reviews from people I trust.

- WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE SKINCARE BRAND OF 2018? -

Image credit: cultbeauty.com

You said... the Ordinary

Despite being engrossed in drama for much of 2018 (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out my post), the Ordinary's high-quality active ingredients with an average price of £4-8 won out! I do think this brand is something special and if you can cut through the science to figure out which ingredients might work for your skin, you're sure to find some bargains that really make a difference for you. You can read about my top products from the Ordinary here.

I say...

I'm actually going to go with Pixi Beauty - though I do really like the Ordinary, I'd probably have gone with them for 2017, when they launched and seriously changed the game. This year I've seen Pixi put out so many high-quality products at really reasonable price points and I don't think they've disappointed me once! I'm obsessed with their Rose Glow Mist* and the Rose Ceramide Cream*. I also really like the Rose Flash Balm* and Retinol Tonic* they do. You can check out my reviews here.

- WHO WERE YOUR FAVOURITE BEAUTY INFLUENCERS OF 2018? -

You said... the Anna Edit & Tati Westbrook

Images via: allure.com & youtube.com

I had such a huge range of influencers mentioned in this category, from Caroline Hirons to Samantha Ravndahl to Stephanie Nicole to Wayne Goss to yours truly (thanks guys - that was very flattering!) However the Anna Edit came out on top, very closely followed by Tati Westbrook. Anna's blog and YouTube channel will always have a place in my heart because she's one of the first beauty influencers I ever followed! Her routine is very similar to mine; she focuses on skincare and natural makeup that doesn't have to be complex or overly precise, as well as making an effort to be minimalistic with her collection. She's so likeable and as time has gone on she's branched out into fashion, lifestyle and interiors. Tati is another YouTuber I really love - I find her to be such a hard worker; putting out high-quality videos virtually every day of the week. Whether it's seeing if a crazy-expensive product is really worth it, if that gimmicky gadget actually works or giving us the latest beauty launches, I find Tati to be really honest when expressing her opinions and she's just such a sweetheart!

I say...

I love both of the ladies mentioned above but, as this is a run-down of 2018, I have to go with the YouTuber I discovered this year whose videos I now never miss: Angelica Nyqvist. There's something about the way she approaches beauty and the way she talks that's like a breath of fresh air! Maybe some if it is because she's Swedish and a little older and wiser than a lot of the influencers that are popular at the moment. She's also a huge fan of colour in her makeup, shares her opinions on beauty topics and highlights a lot of indie brands. It's funny because we have very different makeup styles but I still find her compelling to watch! I especially love her 'New Makeup Releases: Going on the Wish List or Nah?' series. 

- WHICH BRAND WAS OVERRATED IN 2018? -

You said... Huda Beauty

Image via: shophudabeauty.com

I personally really like Huda Beauty and have reviews of many of the products in this line created by OG beauty influencer Huda Kattan, however I appreciate that her formulas won't be for everyone and the eyeshadow palettes in particular are at a high price-point. The base products don't really appeal to me, as they are very 'Insta glam' in their style which just isn't my personal preference, as we've discussed! I do also appreciate that Huda does tend to introduce every product release like she just invented something insanely revolutionary, which may be why she's received the prize for the most overrated brand of 2018 according to you guys. You'll have to let me know in the comments...

I say...

I have to go with Morphe! It's not that I think everyone is saying their products are amazing, because a lot of people don't think they are, but their affiliates are prolific (and often have huge platforms) when it comes to pushing their products. I recently did a round-up review post on some of their more recent launches and still wasn't very impressed. I just find their shadows to be average on application and they don't wear well and go muddy on me. In my experience most of their brushes shed and are never the same after washing. Morphe isn't even that affordable these days, so I really don't get the fuss!

That's all, folks - thank you to everyone who took part! Did any of these results surprise you? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below...

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Disclosure - products marked * were gifted to me as unpaid advertisement for the brands / websites mentioned. All opinions expressed are my own. Please read my disclosure page for more information.