My 2017 Beauty Favourites

Well 2017 has been quite an eventful year, as it was the year which saw me turn 30 as well as my blog being rebranded after four and half years. As we edge closer to December, I wanted to do a 2017 beauty favourites post as I’ve done them here on my blog for a few years running.

I’m not one for monthly favourites posts, instead I prefer to see annual favourites as you know the products included are true favourites, and for my 2017 beauty favourites post I decided to do a top five format ranking products from 5 to 1.

When you blog every single day, you end up trying a lot of new products, so to try and whittle down my most loved products to just five proved to be an extremely difficult task. These products are my most used and most loved products of 2017, and although I have a lot of favourite products, these are my favourite five of the year. They also tie in nicely with the fantastic Cult Beauty Cult Product of the Year campaign they’re running right now too.

From now until the 11th of December, Cult Beauty are running a daily Instagram giveaway where they are giving away a £100 Cult Beauty voucher to one lucky winner. In order to enter, you need to share a photo of your Cult Product of the Year alongside the #CultProductOfTheYear hashtag and the reasons why the product is your cult product.

It’s an incredible giveaway as there’s going to be a winner every single day so make sure you enter – the giveaway post on the Cult Beauty Instagram is here if you want to check the details. Now let’s get onto my 2017 beauty favourites rundown…

My 2017 Beauty Favourites

#5 Omorovicza Illuminating Moisturiser

Makeup is my true love and I easily could have done a 20 top makeup favourites but I forced myself to include a skincare product within my favourites as I’ve tried a lot of skincare over the last few years and it takes a lot for a skincare product to impress me. You can spend money on the most luxurious, high quality makeup but if your skin isn’t looked after, the makeup just isn’t going to look great.

The Omorovicza Illuminating Moisturiser has to be my favourite skincare discovery this year, and it is a relatively new addition to my skincare arsenal. Omorovicza is a brand which is raved about by many, and for good reason too as their products are so good.

This moisturiser contains mineral-rich waters from the thermal springs, anti-oxidants like Acerol (Vitamin C) and Tocopherol (Vitamin E) to help protect against free radical damage, stimulate collagen and restore elasticity of the skin. It’s packed with anti-oxidants from the plum oil, apple pectin helps retain moisture in the skin whilst ruby crystals illuminate the skin and minimise imperfections.

It’s a lightweight lotion which absorbs quickly so you can immediately apply makeup and it imparts a subtle sheen to the skin thanks to the tiny shimmer particles which make my dull, dry and dehydrated skin look so much healthier. There’s no doubt it’s a luxury purchase, but it’s one I’d definitely make once this runs out as I’m yet to find a moisturiser I enjoy as much as this one.

#4 Zoeva Makeup Brushes

This is the most general choice within my cult product of the year round up as it’s not a specific product. The question I’m asked the most is most definitely “what are your favourite makeup brushes?” so I knew I had to include my choice within this post. I have a pretty extensive makeup brush collection including brushes from MAC, Sigma, Real Techniques, Morphe, Louise Young, Bdellium Tools, EcoTools, Spectrum Collections and many more but my favourite brush brand has to be Zoeva.

I’m not a fan of the price hikes Zoeva have done over the last two years but they really do have the best makeup brushes in my opinion. I have several Zoeva Makeup Brush Sets including the Zoeva Vegan Face Brush Set and the Rose Golden Complete Eye Volume 2 Set, as well as lots of their individual brushes.

I have many of the Zoeva natural brushes and synthetic brushes and I’m yet to be disappointed by a Zoeva makeup brush. They’re all so beautifully made with lacquered wooden handles, shiny metal ferrules and extremely soft bristles. The bristles are always precision shaped with never a bristle out of place and I’ve never had any shedding from any of my many Zoeva brushes and that is why they’re included within my 2017 beauty favourites.

I do love the Morphe brushes too, but nothing compares to the quality of the Zoeva brushes as I never have to reshape the bristles after washing and they look brand new after each wash. I am definitely eyeing up the new Zoeva Opulence Brush Set next, as the dark wooden handles looks stunning.

#3 Becca Pearl Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed

This is a repeat favourite as it featured in my 2016 beauty favourites too, and I couldn’t not include it within my 2017 beauty favourites as it’s still my go-to favourite highlighter regardless of how many new highlighters I try. I bought my first Becca Pearl in December 2015 and even though I use it all the time, it’s still going even though I’ve hit major pan, and this is my back up Pearl ready to be used when my original Pearl bites the dust.

I rarely do back ups with beauty products, but Becca Pearl is the exception as I can’t not have it within my highlighter collection.  I love Pearl because it’s the perfect, cool toned icy white highlighter shade which is really flattering for my pale skin. If you’ve never tried the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed formula, I really recommend giving them a try as they’re such beautiful highlighters and a little goes a very long way. I really want to try Moonstone or Vanilla Quartz next as they both look like they’d work well with lighter skintones.

#2 Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips Mini Celebrity Lipstick Charms

This is a specific product but it’s more the Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks in general for the number 3 spot. The Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips Mini Celebrity Lipstick Charms are part of the Charlotte Tilbury Christmas collection and I reviewed them here. I had only tried one Charlotte Tilbury lipstick before 2017, and now I’ve tried nine so this was definitely my year of  trying Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks.

The Hot Lips set is one of my favourite festive offerings as it contains three beautiful mini lipstick charms in the shades Kim KW (my new favourite nude), Secret Salma (a deep pinky berry) and Carina’s Love (a true red) which pretty much cover all lipstick colour bases.

The Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks not only look stunning in their rose gold casing, the formulas are really comfortable on the lips. The K.I.S.S.I.N.G formula is my favourite as it’s more moisturing, but the Matte Revolution formula is one of the most comfortable matte formulas I’ve tried.

I already have a few more shades on my wishlist such as Sexy Sienna, Nude Kate and Hepburn Honey. If you want a more luxurious lipstick, the Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks are definitely worth a try as there’s many shades to choose from, three formulas to choose from, and they look and feel luxurious too. I’m definitely going to try more Charlotte Tilbury products during 2018 as I’m a big fan.

#1 Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter + Glow Liquid Eye Shadow

Although I struggled to decide on the other four products within my 2017 beauty favourites, my number one slot has been decided for months. I think everyone’s going to be sick of hearing about them once the beauty favourites videos/posts start as they’re guaranteed to be mentioned many, many times as they’re amazing. They’re described as being a lip lacquer for the eyes, with the same doefoot applicator you’d typically see inside a lip lacquer.

They are liquid eyeshadows which are saturated with varying sizes of pearl and glitter for maximum sparkle and the perfect mix of pearl and glitter adorns eyes with incredible luster and shimmer. The water infused formula means they’re lightweight and easy to apply, and they don’t cause masses of glitter fallout like you’d expect from a glitter eyeshadow.

I have two full sized shades in Kitten Karma and Bronzed Bell and I genuinely want every single shade as I love them so much. You can apply them sheerly by blending them out with your fingertip, or you can layer them for a truly intense sparkle and they last on the lids without flaking or transferring once they’ve set. I’ve always loved the whole pressed glitter concept but they’re messy and a real faff to apply, but the Stila Glitter + Glow Eyeshadows tick every glitter eyeshadow box and they could not be more perfect for the festive season.

So they are my top 2017 beauty favourites, I’d love to know which products would make your top five and if any of these are in your 2017 Beauty Favourites too? Make sure you enter the Cult Beauty Instagram giveaway as they’re giving away £100 every day whilst the giveaway is live which is fantastic…

All products featured on Gemma Etc. are PR samples or gifted items, unless otherwise indicated. This post may contain affiliate links. If you wish to find out more, please see my Disclaimer within my navigation bar.