The 19 Makeup Products of 2019

I didn’t do it on purpose, but of all the makeup products that came out in 2019, I got 19. No more, no less. I couldn’t hit that number if I tried. My whole life is a pun.

To be clear, I got 19 makeup products that came out in 2019. I got other products as well, but those have been out of the closet for several years – it’s just that they came into my closet this year.

In case you, dear reader, were looking for a “best of” type of post, please know that I will write one about my holy grail makeup products in the near future, but this one is not it. This is a retrospective of the past year, the collections that came out, what will be (or is already) forgotten, the trends that are here to stay. The best products, for me, are somewhat more timeless – some have come out more than 10 years ago, so it doesn’t make sense to me to allocate them to a “best of the year” post.

Looking back, I realize that palettes and highlighters are still the top favoured makeup products. I got more face palettes this year than I have ever gotten before. Both because they weren’t really a thing a few years back and because brands make them now a major part of their limited edition launches. I got 3 MAC face palettes this year, when I didn’t own any in the past.

I’m also surprised with the amount of eyeshadow palettes I got. By looking at the shades, natural colours and a lot of warm tones are still going strong (6th year in a row now?) but a new trend was apparent: monochromatic palettes, where all the shades are varying undertones, depths and finishes of the same colour.

I also got 4 limited edition highlighters. Four. I’m kinda shocked, because I also got other non-limited edition highlighters. And I don’t use highlighter that much. This is really a result of the current trends, because highlighters (and good ones!) keep being pushed out, and we (ahem, me) keep caving to them.

Here are the eyeshadow palettes:

19 Makeup Products of 2019
2019 eyeshadow palettes.
  1. NARS Hyped palette: from the NARS Studio 54 Holiday collection. This was a Christmas gift from Sir Fiancé. He specifically wanted the Studio 54 palette to celebrate the inner Club Kid in me. If it wasn’t for him, this collection would have passed me by – I stopped paying much attention to NARS eyeshadow palettes releases because the quality is usually subpar compared to their single and duo shadows – this palette however, did not disappoint. I’m in love with the raspberry shade.
  2. Anastasia’s Jackie Aina palette: the best palette of 2019, period. It is so well done. The market is so saturated with eyeshadow palettes that it’s hard to release something that hasn’t been done before, but this feels like it hasn’t been done before. The shades are rich, but it’s not a jewel toned palette; you have reds and oranges, but it’s not a warm toned palette; it’s wearable, but they’re not natural colours. And yet the colour story makes sense. A very versatile and well-rounded product.
  3. Urban Decay Naked Honey palette: the only palette in this list that isn’t limited edition. The colour story is delicious, and so far, the eyeshadows perform great.
  4. Pat McGrath Sublime mini palette: I was so excited that the brand finally came to Portugal, even if it’s just the mini palettes (for now). This is the most recent I got and I haven’t had the chance to use it yet.
  5. Huda Beauty Neon Obsessions Pink palette: this collection divided opinions when it came out, but I think the quality wasn’t consistent across the palettes: this is one of the good ones. If it wasn’t for Jackie Aina’s palette that surpassed any released in 2019, this would have taken home the prize of best palette of the year for me.
  6. Dior 786 Terra palette: from the Summer Wild Earth collection. This was a bit of an impulse buy. The eyeshadows are nice, but nothing new to my collection. Easily forgettable. Plus, the amount is tiny: the whole palette has 3g.
  7. Estée Lauder Desert Heat palette: I got this in Turkey. I have a thing for Summer collections. I’ll admit, the browns and bronzes don’t make for a very memorable palette, but I’m still glad I got it.

And the face palettes (I love them all – my favourite type of product this year):

  1. NARS Exposed Cheek palette: best name for a face palette, ever. I’ve used this one the most – the blushes have that gelée formula (like MAC’s Extra Dimension blushes) that’s buildable and easy to work with. There are also shades that work has a highlighter and a bronzer, which is great for travelling. I won’t put this down anytime soon.
  2. MAC Ignite Wonder face palette: also part of that Turkey haul. MAC has really stepped up with their face palettes this year, but I tend overlook this one in particular because every shade is extremely shimmery.
  3. & 4. MAC Holiday Face Compacts in Light and Medium Deep: so glad I managed to get them both. Whatever your preference, you couldn’t go wrong. Honestly, for me, MAC’s Holiday Collection was the best – of the entire year.

The highlighters:

  1. Marc Jacobs O!Mega Glaze All-Over Foil Luminizer in Jet Girl: the highlighter I’m surprised not many talked about, reviewed here.
  2. Marc Jacobs O!Mega Glaze All-Over Foil Luminizer in Worth the Wait: I think it was from the Spring collection, not sure if it’s limited edition. It’s quite a unique colour: it has just a slight, minuscule, tinge of green that makes the shade that much more interesting.
  3. MAC Opalescent Powder in Shooting Star: swatched here, and very wearable for a lilac highlighter.
  4. Estée Lauder Heat Wave Illuminating Powder Gelée: I’m not one of those people who buys makeup just to look at it. I buy it to use it. Oversprays and pretty patterns – yes, they’re beautiful, but what matters is the product itself… and yet, I couldn’t bring myself to disturb this highlighter’s pan. I wanted to have an opinion to write here, but alas, I don’t. It’s been months. I’m ridiculous.

The single eyeshadows:

  1. KIKO Pop Revolution eyeshadow duo in 02 Red Brown – Mauve: a shimmery, uber metallic duo that came out with a retro theme collection for Fall. Kiko has some killer limited edition collections.
  2. Marc Jacobs See-quins Glam Glitter Eyeshadow in POP ROX: reviewed here – another one that I can’t stop using. Great for a quick yet interesting look.

Other products (that weren’t limited edition):

  1. Huda Beauty Resting Boss Face Setting Spray: it’s good, but it’s not better than the Urban Decay All Nighter spray. This one is more scented and it leaves the face with a tacky feeling for a while.
  2. Urban Decay Glide-on Eye Pencil in Double Life: a bronze/coppery eyeliner that glides smoothly and lasts all day – just not on the waterline. But I actually forgot I had it. It’s not a shade that works all that great as an eyeliner for me because it’s not dark enough to be noticeable on the eyes. I’ll stick to more contrasting shades from now on.

All in all, this was quite a good year for makeup. I learned I love face palettes. I also learned I have to stop with the highlighter purchases – seriously, it’s becoming absurd.

I also got to try different brands for the first time… and I have some more thoughts on this past year, but I’ll save them for another post (that might be a tag…?) because this one is long enough.

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7 Comments

  1. I noticed face palettes were being released more & more in 2019 & I am all for them. Everything in this collection is gorgeous, especially that single Marc Jacobs eyeshadow!

    1. Totally agree! I’ve been loving face palettes, specially for travelling – I usually bring more than one, which totally defeats the purpose, but I don’t care 🙂 And that eyeshadow is amazing, a full eye look in 3 seconds, in a single pot!

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