2016 FAVORITES: Cheek Products

by - December 20, 2016


Hey guys! Welcome back for the second installment of my 2016 favorites! If you read this blog regularly, you'll know that I'm a bit of a junkie for blush. In fact, my blush drawer is getting so full at this point that I think I'm going to have to either declutter (which is hard, okay?) or figure out a new plan for makeup storage (which I think is going to be coming in 2017!) Of course, I had to give cheek products their own post, especially since this year is so rife with brand new favorites. There are a couple of old favorites in the mix, but for the most part we're going to be talking about things that were new to me in 2016!

So let's get moving, shall we?


Blush was, by a wide margin, the hardest for me to pick favorites for, but I feel pretty confident about the two that I chose because these are, without doubt, two of my most reached for blushes in my entire collection. When it comes to my blush preferences, I tend to like to keep things looking pretty natural most of the time, and I think my favorites really reflect that.

HIGH END: Clinique Cheek Pop Blush in Heather Pop
I believe this blush was listed in my 2015 favorites as well and it's continued to be a huge favorite throughout 2016. The shade Heather Pop is a really pretty cool-toned neutral shade that leans just a little bit mauve. For me, this is the type of shade that I know will always look good on my fair skin and will never look like too much on the skin. This formula is a huge favorite for me, because it applies really well without ever really looking overboard and it wears really well throughout the day. I really can't say enough good things about this blush.

DRUGSTORE: Wet N Wild Blush in Rose Champagne
In everyone's collection, I feel like there's going to be a no-brainer blush that you can just reach for with pretty much every look, and this year I found that this shade from Wet N Wild was one of those for me. (Tied with another shade that's coming up.) This isn't a blush that's going to show up on deeper skintones, but because I'm so far this just gives me a really lovely nude flush to that cheeks with a hint of sheen that looks healthy rather than glittery. And at under $5, how can you go wrong?


I love a blush palette, I really do. This year, I found myself reaching for blush palettes more than ever before (though I will admit that's likely got a lot to do with my high end favorite...) and I knew that I wouldn't have any issue featuring this as a category. For me, I love being able to reach for one palette and knowing that I'll be able to get a blush from it that'll suit whatever eye or lip look I happen to be wearing.

HIGH END: Too Faced Love Flush Blush Wardrobe
{REVIEW} I feel kind of bad mentioning this, since it was limited edition, but I'm so in love with this blush palette that I couldn't not mention it. I love the formula of these blushes and I've gotten use out of every single shade in the palette and reach for it probably more often than anything else in my collection. I also really like to mix the shades to get a custom shade. As you can see, Baby Love has gotten a lot of love over the past year because, much like the Wet N Wild Rose Champagne Blush, this is a perfect neutral shade that I can throw on with anything and will look good and healthy on my skin. I really wish Too Faced would make this palette permanent, but you can still buy the individual blushes in whatever shades tickle your taste!

DRUGSTORE: Makeup Revolution Sugar And Spice Ultra Blush Palette
{REVIEW} This is another palette that's perfect to pull out to match pretty much anything. It contains 6 blushes with a selection of pink shades in nude, berry, and peachy tones as well as two glowy products that I would classify as blush toppers personally. The quality of these powders is actually incredibly impressive, with really nice texture and pigmentation, and I would say that a lot of people with different skin tones would be able to get use out of this palette. For me, this is a great palette for travel, whether you're traveling near or far, because it's got everything you need and I wouldn't be worried about tossing this into a makeup bag for on the go.



This year was actually a really bronzery year for me, and I think that's having a lot to do with having found these two bronzers that really work beautifully on my skin tone. So many bronzers are too dark for me and can end up looking muddy, but both of these just give me a really healthy glow and definitely have me reaching for bronzers even as the weather has gotten colder and my skin paler - something that used to be unheard of!

HIGH END: VICHY Bronzing Powder Universal Shade
{REVIEW} While this is definitely more of a summer shade for me, I do find that I'm still reaching for this even as I've turned the colour of Casper. I use a light hand with it when my skin is paler, but this powder actually makes it pretty easy to customize and build and just looks really healthy on the skin without every looking muddy or overly orange. I can't be sure how this would work on deep skintones, but I'd say that this would easily work on anywhere from fair to medium skintones without any problem. And it looks gorgeous.

DRUGSTORE: Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer
{REVIEW} I'm sure you can tell by the picture just how much I've been loving this bronzer this year - I think this might be the first time I've ever hit pan on a bronzer in my life. As much as I love the VICHY, this one is definitely my favorite of the two. It's just... There's something about this bronzer that just looks so gorgeous on the skin. It's like healthy vitality in a powder, which is weird but say but is somehow true at the same time. I love this bronzer and I can honestly say it's my favorite bronzer I've ever used - and it smells like suntan lotion.



So, admittedly, while the rest of the world seems to have spent 2016 strobing and glowing to the gods and all that, I'm still not entirely on board with a really strong highlight. I think it tends to exaggerate imperfect texture on my skin and can end up just looking like I'm wearing too much makeup overall. That said, there were definitely a couple of stand out highlighting products this year that I love.

HIGH END: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette
{REVIEW}I know, I know, these are more finishing powders than highlighters - However! I think the center shade of the Ambient Lighting Palette is very much a highlighter on me, albeit a very subtle one. Of course, that's why I love it. I love this palette overall, both as an all over finishing powder, a cheekbone highlight, and even a winter contour since the Dim Light shade is too deep on me to be used for anything else alone. Still, this is all love for me and still one of my more luxury products that I consistently recommend in spite of the high price tag.

DRUGSTORE: essence Pure Nude Highlighter
This one is actually pretty huge shock for me, since it looks deep enough to be a bronzer on me in the pan. I don't know what it is about this highlighter, but it's like all the colour disappears when you put it on the skin and it just leaves this really beautiful sheen. Most people would probably think of this as being really subtle for a highlight, but I personally think it gives me a significant amount of punch but somehow manages not to overexaggerate my skin texture. I love it - and at around $5, how can you go wrong? No wonder it's always sold out locally.


I almost didn't include these in this post, but I actually found myself reaching for the Quo one and decided that I do actually have two liquid highlighter favorites. I've been using liquid highlighters more in 2016 than I did before, and I think it's for two reasons. First, my skin has been a little more balanced and healthy in the last year, which makes liquid products wear a lot better on my skin. And second, I've figured out that I really like the look a liquid highlighter leaves on my face. If you'll recall my Makeup Collection post from earlier this year... That's new!

HIGH END: BECCA Shimmer Skin Perfector Spotlight in Opal
{REVIEW}This is definitely more of a summer highlighter for me, because it does have a lot of golden tone in it and I find that I need to have a bronzey look on my skin for it to suit me, but when I want to go full J.Lo... this is what I reach for along with a whole shitload of bronzer. It just gives the most amazing sheen to the skin and looks really healthy and gorgeous.

DRUGSTORE: QUO Liquid Highlighter
This is actually the liquid highlighter that I feel changed my mind. I picked this up in the summer and I've absolutely loved how this has looked on my skin. I feel like there's a very real possibility that this was limited edition and now I'm going to have to hoard it. In the tube, this looks really similar in tone to the BECCA, but dispensed it's actually quite a bit more champagne than gold and I think it actually works really beautifully on my fair skin. The texture is also quite a bit thinner, which I think helps it to blend in really seamlessly. Dear Quo, make this permanent!


NOTE: Gold star denotes my favorite of the two products!

So there you have it! Another set of absolute favorites that get my full stamp of approval. Check back tomorrow and the rest of the week for more of my favorite products of 2016!

Thanks for reading!

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