Best Makeup of 2015 | High-End

It’s time to review all the reviews from the past year to see which products stood out as favorites. The items included here in my “Best Makeup of 2015” list weren’t necessarily new in 2015, but they were new to me! In 2015 I concentrated most on foundations and eyeshadow palettes so the favorites from those categories had a lot of competition. In other categories I didn’t try so many but some of my old go-to’s were replaced by something new I tried. These are all my most used, most trusted, best performers for 2015.

Liquid Foundation:

This year I tried about 20 foundations in my Foundation Friday for Over 50 series and I did find a Holy Grail! Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet is an almost perfect foundation for me. I can apply with my fingers, it doesn’t settle into wrinkles or pores, it’s long wearing with a not-matte, not-shiny skin-like finish and makes my skin look better than it is.

Powder Foundation:

I tried 4 powder foundations this year and my favorite by far is Becca Perfect Skin Mineral Powder Foundation. It’s a beautiful slightly matte, slightly dewey foundation that’s easy to apply, looks natural, is long wearing, and is Bismuth Oxychloride free (so it doesn’t make me itchy).

Tinted Moisturizer:

I didn’t try that many Tinted Moisturizers this year, but I after I went to NYC for my Woman’s Day photo shoot the makeup artist had her friend from Laura Mercier send me some products and the Tinted Moisturizer and Foundation Primer have become favorites! I was searching for the perfect base to wear under my Becca Powder and the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer filled the bill perfectly. It’s easy to apply with my fingers, is moisturizing and has a nice softly radiant finish. On no-makeup days I wear it without the Becca Powder and just add a little setting powder for a natural look.

Foundation Primer:

The Laura Mercier Foundation Primer solved a problem I was having with my Chanel foundation reacting with my mineral sunscreen and balling up. Rather than switching my sunscreen or foundation, I can just add a thin layer of the LM primer and it makes the Chanel go on perfectly and eliminates the balling & pilling!

Concealer:

I tried 4 under eye concealers this year and the last one I tried has become my favorite. It’s the Lancome Effecernes Waterproof Concealer. Every concealer was looking scaly under my eyes and settling into wrinkles, and this one goes on smooth and doesn’t look scaly. It does settle into wrinkles a little if I apply too much, but if I blot with a tissue it removes the excess and then it doesn’t settle any more and wears really well all day. It’s got a nice finish, not shiny, not matte and doesn’t really even need setting powder.

Eyelid Primer:

I did a big round of testing eyelid primers back in February and the best was Tarte Clean Slate 360 Creaseless Smoothing 12-Hour Eyelid Primer. It helped my crepey eyelids look smooth and more youthful while providing a base that was easy to blend shadows on and made eyeshadows perform better with no creasing!

Eye Shadow:

I tried 11 Eyeshadow palettes this year and was extremely disappointed in most of them, but I found 2 worth recommending. My top two are both from Urban Decay so I’m giving UD the award for best eyeshadow on the planet this year! I reviewed Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics back in February and it quickly became my go-to every day palette.

Then just before christmas, I got the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Limited Edition Palette and that blew all the other palettes out of the water. Even though it’s limited edition, the quality is the same as the other Urban Decay eyeshadows I’ve tried. It’s such a great mix of everyday shades, special occasion colors, mattes, semi-mattes, satins, shimmers, and glitters that I think it could replace all my other eyeshadows! The colors are wearable, the color payout is great, and they’re easy to apply and blend.

Eyeliner:

I tried 4 new eyeliners this year and PUR Double Ego Eyeliner gets the win for being the most versatile, most used, and most helpful for “mature” eyelids. It’s got a mechanical pencil liner on one end and a super sharp felt tip liquid liner on the other!

Mascara:

I tried 10 different mascaras this year and while Benefit Roller Lash was really good, Lancome Hypnose Drama blew every mascara I’d tried out of the water. The addition of Lancome CILS Booster made it an unbeatable combo. I’ve never gotten so many compliments on my lashes as when I switched to Lancome.

Brow Makeup:

2015 was the year of “Brows on Fleek” and I tried powders, pencils, and gels. By far the easiest to use and best at keeping my brows in place was the Anastasia Brow Gel. It’s waterproof and stays in place all day without smudging or flaking.

Lip Liner:

I tried 7 lip liners this year and Make Up For Ever AquaLip in 3C was the only high-end liner that didn’t dry out my lips. It’s long-wearing and doesn’t creep into lip wrinkles. I liked 3C so much I went back for a red but that one was drying so I returned it.

Lipstick:

I bought a few new brands this year including Nars Satin Lip Pencil, Laura Mercier Paintwash Liquid Lip Color, and Too Faced La Creme Lipstick. I loved all three but when I went back to get more shades in the Nars and LM, I found there was only one wearable color in each line for me. Not so with the Too Faced La Creme Lipsticks. I’ve purchased 3 and I LOVE them all! They’re creamy, long-wearing, and they don’t dry my lips!

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