The Best Beauty Trends I’ve Discovered This Year

I can’t say that I’ve been particularly experimental when it comes to makeup this year. I thought last year I was a beauty bore, but 2017 has seen me find my favourites and stubbornly stick to them with only the odd flick of of a fire in my belly to try something new. I know! Call yourself a beauty blogger, eh? I’ve worn the same ol’ dewy base, warm matte lid and barely anything on my lips all year long, but at least you know my favourites are exactly those, right? HOWEVER, there have been a few trends and discoveries that have made me turn my head and have wormed their way into my everyday routine, so instead of collating a 2017 favourites post (which would probably look exactly the same as 2016’s offering), I thought I’d share my new findings with you today…

Matte lips don’t have to make you feel as dry as a cat’s behind. 2016 was the year of the liquid lipstick. I too was completely swept up in the trend and lacquered up with extreme formulas that needed a whole workforce to remove them and left my lips feeling like them completely falling off was a possibility. What was I thinking? This year I have come to my senses and realised that although I’m still a lover of a matte finish over a gloss finish every time, that doesn’t mean I have to compromise on hydration. Instead I’ve found formulas that are more forgiving to moisture levels – like the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream – or instead I’ve gone for lipstick-like mattes that are thin-textured and feel more like a balm *cough* Glossier Generation G *cough*. I’ve barely worn anything else aside from the latter on my lips all year. That or a balm and I’m done. Low maintenance lips FTW.

Concealers from a pot FTW. I’m reaching a point in my life where I’m having to come to terms with the fact that my under eye area is not as firm, bouncy and crinkle-free as it once was. Seriously, why was I piling on concealer under my eyes at the age of 15? Madness. I’ve been trying to be kinder to this area and use less tugging when removing my makeup, eye cream every evening and give it the odd massage every now and again. But the makeup item that I realise makes the most difference are pot concealers. In previous years I’ve always used liquid ones that were delivered by a doe-foot applicator and although they tend to bring the coverage, I don’t always find them to be the most hydrating of formulas. Thanks to the Glossier Stretch Concealer and the NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer I’ve realised that because you can apply these formulas from a pot with your finger, you just get a much more natural finish. They melt into the skin, instead of sitting on top and although you might not get an opaque coverage, I prefer the softer end result without things looking too dry under there.

Stop fussing with your skincare woman! Back around April time I visited the Glossier showroom in NYC for the first time (I went a total of four times during that trip – LOLZ) and bought practically every product they do. With our wedding fast approaching and a brand new bag suitcase of skincare items to try, I knew that I needed to pin down a routine and stick to it. A run-up to a big event is not the time to whip out a brand new skincare stash. So I combined a few new bits with my old bits, stuck to those steps until the wedding day and then have pretty much continued it ever since. It means that I’ve done way less product testing this year than I have before and I haven’t had as much new shiz to write about, but it does mean that my skin is looking in pretty alright condition because of it. It’s calmer, less red and although I had the mother of cornflake looking pimples on my chin last week, I’ve had less visits from the angry red volcano types which is always nice. It’s a boring revelation and not that exciting to stick to a routine, but I have found less is more to be the case with all things skincare, when it comes to products and when it comes to switching things around.

At home IPL kinda works. I first used the Braun Silk-Expert IPL last summer when I tested it out for a sponsored post on summer body prep, which as someone who could play a body double for a wolf on film, is pretty hefty. I tested it under my armpits for around six weeks, saw a significant reduction and then because I hadn’t used it for the allotted time (once a week for 12 weeks), slowly but surely the hair grew back at it’s previous rate and thickness. Earlier this summer I had a lightbulb moment that this was in my drawers and that I should crack it out again given the success I’d had previously with it. Well, three months down the line and my underarm hair is minimal (as is the pain too, it just feels like a tiny little slap on each spot you use it on). It’s quite impressive really. I rarely ever have to shave under my arms, although I’m still doing the odd maintenance zap with the IPL every other week just to make sure it’s really gone. I can’t believe it. I’m now trying it out on my bikini line, so fingers crossed for a similar result (and goodbye painful bikini waxes!).

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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