2017 Favorites - New Acquisitions

This is the second post on my favorites of 2017 - items that were new to me over the year! You can find the first post on my favorite new releases of the year here. I like highlighting "old" favorites, as sometimes they get forgotten after the initial hype. A lot of these products I bought due to seeing positive reviews from others, and I'm happy to say I wound up loving them just as much!

I'm going to start with one of the products that is now apart of my HG makeup staples - Marc Jacobs Air Blush in Flesh & Fantasy. This is a perfect slightly pink nude on me. It has a satin finish, and is buildable without looking overdone. This has quickly become my favorite blush formula, and I find myself reaching for it more often than not. I've debated getting additional shades, but I'm not sure which ones I would want!

Although the Marc Jacobs blush is my new absolute favorite, I started using another very, very good blush formula - Clinique Cheek Pops! These are pigmented, blendable, and buildable.The two standout shades I purchased were Ginger Pop and Nude Pop. I also have Black Honey Pop but I'm iffy on whether or not I like it as much. Ginger Pop is pigmented enough that I can apply it with a light hand and have a decent flush going. The formula has a satin finish, and I don't have any issues with fading. I can see myself picking out more shades from this line, specifically Melon Pop and Fig Pop.

I finally bit the bullet and bought two Viseart eyeshadow palettes in 2017. I have Neutral Mattes (pictured) and Warm Mattes (of course.) I gotta say, these are some of the easiest to use, most versatile eyeshadows I have. They blend out beautifully, and are pigmented enough for quick application, but buildable as well for more intricate looks. They're definitely an investment, but I find myself reaching for them more than other matte eyeshadows I have. I like to use the mattes in these palettes to build out a look, and then add in shimmery shadows or glitters to compliment them. I'm really happy I decided to take the plunge with these!

This next product might be the best five bucks I've ever spent! I went and got the Essence Pure Nude highlighter after seeing it in a few YouTube videos, and I am 100% on board the hype train! First of all, it's five dollars (actually, I think it's less!) Second, it gives me a natural looking glow that is perfect for everyday looks. Finally, it's buildable without getting glittery! I've become a recent highlighter addict, and I am a huge fan of Becca highlighters, but this one is definitely my first choice for an everyday look. The only drawback to this is that it may not play well with skintones that are very deep. Hopefully Essence comes out with another shade or two, so everyone can jump on the $5 highlight train!

I have no idea if the Helloskin Jumiso First Lightening sheet mask came out in 2017 or not, but it came into my life in 2017, so I'm including it on this list. I first read about these masks on Fifty Shades of Snail (either her blog or her Insta, all great content!) and jumped at the chance to buy a few boxes when they came up on 0.8Liter. I fell in love with them after the first use! The fabric is super thin and clingy, and the essence is light yet slightly creamy, and doesn't dry tacky. My skin is plump and bright after using, and I just find the experience of masking with these to be enjoyable overall. When I run out of my initial 10 masks, I will definitely be purchasing more (and trying more from this line!)

When it comes to makeup, I am no stranger to glitter. I have tons and tons of loose glitter, which offers me a lot of versatility in how much glitter I want, colors I want, and glitter size. (I'm a big fan of Lit Cosmetics glitter.) However, this year I bought a few of the Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliners. I sort of hated myself, they were $20 each and had a limited shade range. BUT...these are AMAZING for on the go/short on time glitter looks. Loose glitter means brushes and adhesive and the potential for mess. These liners are quick, precise, and easy to use. They do take a little while to dry, and I can often be seen fanning my eyelids in the mornings when I'm trying to move onto the next step of my routine, but they really are great! Urban Decay expanded the shade range and I now own five of these. Distortion, which is shown, is my favorite of the bunch. I definitely recommend these if you want to experiment with glitter.

I had gotten a sample of Nest Black Tulip  a while back and loved it so much, I had used the entire vial. I had put a rollerball on my wishlist to pick up during a future sale. Thankfully, Sephora had a point perk for a mini rollerball and I immediately got my hands on it! I love minis, and a mini perfume is even better because it takes such a long time to use (especially when you have a ton of other fragrances you rotate through.) I find this scent alluring, all fruit and deep florals. When THIS mini runs out, I'll graduate to a full rollerball!

I left a couple items out of the photo, one because I finished it up earlier in the year and have not yet repurchased, and another because I flat out forgot. The first item is the Neogen Real Fresh Foam Green Tea Cleanser. I am a sucker for green tea skincare, and this has real green tea leaves floating in it! Aside from that, it had a great foaming pump, it didn't leave my face feeling stripped, and didn't have too high of a pH. (It has a pH between 6.5-7, and while it isn't a true low pH cleanser, it didn't strip my skin and that's good enough for me.) I have a couple of open cleansers, but plan on going back to this one when one runs out. The other item I still can't remember (and I've been working on this for like three days.) I can remember there was another item I wanted to add. I will remember what it is a week from now when I inevitably pick it up and have an 'oh shit' moment. I'll probably post it on Instagram.

I look forward to curating some new items for my collection throughout 2018. I'm trying to be more conscious of my spending, so I'm sure I'll have some less than new-new items that will become favorites over the course of the year. The advantage to not being an early adopter is seeing how other people like products, and getting an idea of if it'll be a good fit for me or not. Though I do like to be on the hype train, I'm trying to learn how to wait. It clearly paid off for me last year, so here's to another great year!