The Cleansed Review | 2019 Favorites

I've never done a post like this before because I'm really crap at keeping lists of favorites and most used products throughout the year. It takes way more dedication than anyone can imagine to keep track of the products we all use and what truly stands out, especially when you're as fortunate as I am to acquire and use as many products as I do. However, this year I compiled a list of some of my stand out products from the year that I could see myself repurchasing next year!

I wear a full face of makeup pretty much every day. I also own a ton of makeup from working at Sephora and being the beauty collector/novice/junkie (if you must) that I am. Because I've acquired so much, I've gotten stricter at not buying new items and working through products before opening something new. This typically applies to skincare as well but I change my makeup looks daily.

Starting with makeup, I love primers. They're such an underrated product in the makeup world. I have a handful on rotation because of their different purposes but the one I reached for until I cut it open was the Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Face Primer. 2019 saw brands like Ole and Marc Jacobs blur the lines between skincare and makeup and I was allllll here for it. This one became my primer of choice a lot because of the banana powder-inspired pigments that brightened and blurred my skin pre-foundation. I'll definitely keep this around come 2020.

Still on my primer game, I never ever apply eyeshadow until I put on this eye primer from Too Faced. I've been through countless tubes of this stuff for two or three years now and I plan on never going back. The Urban Decay one is too sticky to me now after using the Too Faced one, which is more creamy and spreads out like a good eye cream across my lid. I can usually use the same tube for about three or so months before I take my scissors to it.

Mascara, I own a lot of it. So much that I could probably never buy it again for the next few years. However, one I continue to repurchase because it is the ONE for my bottom lashes is the Glossier Lashslick mascara. This is the one everyone and their sister, mother, and best friend needs. It really makes your lashes look like they have extensions without looking fake af. I love it as a base mascara on my top lashes but it's almost always on my bottom lashes because it never ever smudges or flakes. Read more here if you feel so inclined.

For years I was devoted to the Stila eyeliner that everyone else has had in their Beauty Insider for years but a former coworker started using the Clinique Pretty Easy eyeliner at work one day and it inspired me to open mine too. Since then, this has become my favorite liquid eyeliner of all time. It's super black, never skips on various eyeshadow textures, and applies like a dream. Forget Stila and Kat Von D, Clinique have done something right here.

Charlotte Tilbury is definitely my favorite makeup brand (and artist) of the year and probably all time. Everything I've ever tried from her is something I've eventually fallen in love with. I finished my second Pillowtalk Matte Revolution lipstick this year and it's still my favorite pinky nude of all time. This lipstick is so comfortable, smooth, and the perfect shade for me. Because of this infamous lipstick, I also added this Pillowtalk Pop quad to my collection too this past fall. Now I just need to go buy my next Pillowtalk lipstick...

Skincare is my baby, my world, and what I love. So I'd bet you're dying to know what I dub my favorites of 2019? It's not everything that's been in my bathroom or on my counter but they're the stand out products I've either used multiple bottles of or continue to enjoy them because of how they delivered with my skin.

I started double cleansing maybe two or three years ago? While I don't remember what I first started with, I know that Milky Jelly from Glossier remains my favorite makeup removing product of the year. After several bottles that have come and gone, I still call this my favorite because it gets off the bulk of my makeup from the day and if I have to use it on my eyes, it wipes away cleanly and easily (and doesn't leave me blind!!!). I have other balms and such to work through but I can't wait to be reunited with this in 2020.

Aging is a huge concern of mine because I try to balance between wanting to freeze my head and then just accepting the fine lines as they come. But I lean more towards the former because I'm really buggin' most of the time about forehead lines because I'm so damn expressive all the time. I've had a touch and go relationship with Murad but Dr. Murad's Hydration line is a star. I've used and finished at least three bottles of the Revitalixir Recovery Serum. I always use it in the mornings, especially focused on my forehead. Read more here about the nitty gritty of this serum.

My true love comes in a jar with a pump and a cutesy name. I've been through at least three jars of the Protini moisturizer from Drunk Elephant since it came out two years ago. I love this moisturizer at night because it's richer for my skin type rather than day. I believe the peptides really work at keeping my skin smooth on the outside and strong on the inside. If I had to buy one product after Sephora, it would be this one.

I finally found the perfect body exfoliator after learning about Frank Body, an Australian brand that's keeping things simple, natural, and cheeky. I've had several bags of their Coffee scrub now and just this year I went through all of their A-Beauty scrub, the iconic coffee scrub made with native Australian ingredients. I've loved all of the scrubs I've used even though it gets everywhere...and I mean everywhere. They really have helped smooth, brighten, and even out my skin all over. I've got big plans to open up the Cinna-buns scrub I got for Christmas at the start of the new year!

I never, ever talk about hair products because I'm as simple as can be when it comes to my hair. If there's any shampoo I continued to use and love, it was the Briogeo Volume Shampoo. It leaves my hair so clean and shiny. I still wash my hair every other day and use dry shampoo on alternating days as needed. But after every hair wash, I do 3 or so pumps of the Ouai Hair oil and work it through my hair when it's damp before brushing and blow drying.

This post isn't in any order at all and didn't encompass a whole routine because I didn't feel the need to! I've tried so many products over this year and I'll always review them in my empties on my story on Instagram. These made the cut because they truly impacted my life to the point where I'd probably repurchase all of them at some point, if I haven't done so already!

I plan on keeping better track of what I use and love over the next year so stay tuned! Happy New Year!