Top Five: of 2020

Happy New year!!

It’s been a funny old year and I’m not even going to begin to put it into words. I think we’ve heard about it enough.

This first post of the year is usually a showcase of my favourite products of the previous twelve months, however due to my university course commitments this little blog continued to take a little bit of back seat and there haven’t been huge number of new products that I’ve tried or shared with you. Consequently I am putting a twist on this years summary…

As well as my favourites of the (previously unshared) products I have featured on here in 2020, I will also be mixing in a couple of positive developments in the beauty world which have happened/become more widespread over the past year.

Here is my Top Five of 2020…

High Definition Facial Oil – Beauty Kitchen (£20.00) (V)

High Definition Facial Oil is lightweight but packs a punch in terms of hydration. It nourishes and protects yet disappears almost instantly into the skin, without leaving an oily residue. I generally apply it to the skin after cleansing and serum application; warming a few drops onto the palms of my hands before working it into the face. I have also added it to moisturiser to give skin (male or female) a little boost; it makes a fantastic base for makeup.

The scent is also something worth a mention but I shall let you find out about that by reading the original post.

Carrot Colour Pot – Ere Perez (£22.00) (V)

Described as natural balms, the carrot colour pots are little (6.5gm) jars of cream blush. They have been designed as a multitasking cream, adding a pop of colour to the cheeks and eye as well as the lips.

The carrot pots can be applied either with fingers or a brush directly to moisturised skin or over makeup (before powdering). I have also used it as a base layer beneath a power blush for a little more longevity of wear.

Read all about it in the original post.

Inclusivity

Over the past year or so the green beauty world has come on in leaps and bounds in term of inclusivity with the launch of new products and expansion of existing ranges to include a range of darker tones. The lack of shades (specifically concealer and foundation) suitable for black and asian skin has long been a bug bear of mine and so the release of new shades and products is great news.

Kjaer Weis has long been my favourite cream foundation and recently they have added to this range with some more medium tones as well as launching Invisible Touch liquid foundation (24 shades) and concealer (16 shades). Another favourite Ilia Beauty launched the True Skin Serum Foundation last year (18 shades) and followed this with True Skin Concealer (12 shades) and the Super Serum Skin Tint (18 shades).

Vapour Beauty have included darker tones in their Soft Focus foundation range for as long as I can remember (19 shades to be exact) and  RMS recently launched the UnCover Cream Foundation which has 16 shades.

If you are a powder fan. A range of powder foundations I like to use (particularly on men) is the Jane Iredale Pure Pressed Bases (26 shades). Other brands worth a mention are Alima Pure, their Satin Matte Foundation is available in an amazing 45 shades!

Whilst they may not currently rival larger, conventional brands for number of shades, things are improving and I’m sure you will agree this is huge progress from where we were a couple of years ago. Sadly I haven’t had a opportunity to try all of the new releases as yet, however I certainly plan to over the coming months. and no doubt a few will be added to my pro kit – I’ll let you know how I get on. 

360 Eye & Lip Contour – Evolve Beauty (£26.00) (V)

The new 360 Eye and Lip Contour  is one of the latest additions to the Evolve Beauty skincare stable. Part of Evolve’s Age Smarter 360 collection, the eye and lip cream is a nourishing cream designed to used on all skin types.

I’ve been using the cream daily for about three months now and I really like it, and I do think it has made a difference to the fine lines around my eyes. I don’t really suffer from dark circles or significant puffiness so I can’t really comment from that perspective but on the lines front it’s a winner!

Find out more here in the original post.

Recycling and Packaging Sustainability

I’m kind of cheating a little with this one however an area which I feel has made a great deal of progress over the past year or so is beauty recycling and packaging sustainability.

Over a horrifying 8 millions tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans each year (IUCN) and according to a 2018 report, here in the UK approximately 14m tonnes are sent to landfill sites (DEFRA). One significant culprit is beauty packaging.

The past year or so has seen many brands (big and small) changing their packaging for recyclable alternatives and some of the beauty giants such as L’Oréal publicly committing to 100 per cent eco-friendly packaging (meaning compostable or reusable) by 2025.  There has also been a growing trend for no packaging and solid formulations. Lush pioneered packaging free beauty with the launch of their Naked makeup a couple of years ago and more and more are following suit.

Back in 1993, conscious beauty pioneer Dame Anita Roddick launched a Return. Recycle. Repeat program in The Body Shop. I fondly remember taking my empties back to be refilled. There are of course now a number of natural and organic beauty brands whom offer a refill service, including: Beauty Kitchen, Kjaer Weis and Zao and more and more of the bigger brands are following their lead.

In addition to this there has been a massive increase in Recycling and repurposing programs. Brands such as Kiehl’s, l’Occitane, Garner and Maybelline have joined forces with Terracycle and provide their own recycle stations where you can drop off a wide variety of empty beauty containers (check each for details) and in some cases be rewarded for your efforts.

I wrote some time ago about Give and Makeup, a not for profit initiative designed to provide women dan children in need everyday essentials. Fast forward to last year and the launch of Beauty Banks and a charity who (through donations from the general public, brands and manufacturers), supplies personal care and hygiene essentials instead of food, to people in the UK who can’t afford to be clean. Another great way to deal with unwanted beauty products.

 

What were your favourites of 2020?

 

Images: (1) Via Trafalgar.com; (2, 3, 5) LJS-  OMUA; (4) Kjaer Weis; (6) Wikimedia