Happy 2025! But before we unpack the new year, let’s talk about 2024 and what I’ve discovered, and what I’m taking with me, and what I’m leaving behind. Also, like I mentioned in my last post, I’m going to be moving this month and doing a lot of decluttering, so now is the perfect time to talk about it while everything’s fresh in my mind. We’re going to go in the order of how things would appear in my routine. These aren’t necessarily products I discovered this year, just the products that got me through 2024.
Cleansers
I don’t use a cleanser regularly, other than my Juno Cleansing Balm, which happens to be the absolute MVP of this entire post, and of my entire 2024. I’m also calling it for 2025. If there’s one product that you go buy from reading this post, make it this one. It is only like $14-$15 dollars, so each time I place an Amazon order I literally just throw one on because I know I’ll need it. It comes in a little jar in a little box, and they always include this little spatula which I throw right in the trash. The formula is smooth, melts like buttermilk on my face, and cleans any makeup and dirt and everything that doesn’t belong right off. I can get all the way into my waterline – I could rinse my eyeball out with this formula.
The only thing is, once you get moisture in the jar, it starts to melt and sort of changes the texture. It still works it’s just like, diluted. So don’t take it into the shower, don’t leave it open once you’re done with it. I stand in front of the mirror and apply it while the water is warming up, and sometimes I’ll even apply a little bit to shave, since it’s so smooth.
There are a lot of cleansers and facewashes that I do genuinely like, but I just don’t use. Fenty’s Total Cleans’r is a great example. The fragrance, the formula, the texture, the packaging, all lead to perfection. I’d recommend it ten times out of ten. But I just don’t use it. There’s also the Olehenriksen face wash, in the orange bottle. Amazing! I just won’t use it. I end up cleaning my brushes with it.
Toners
I don’t use toners, 2024 didn’t change that. But the Fenty Skin Fat Water is the exception that proves my rule. It’s a serum toner, which means it’s a serum? But it’s called a toner so I’m putting it in this category. This is a close second to the Juno balm, in terms of how many I’ve purchased. and how regularly I use it. Once in the morning, once at night, no exceptions. It’s just the perfect thing to start my skincare. I can use a lot and it doesn’t get gummy, it’s never had a bad mix with another product that I’m trying. It’s friendly with everyone on my vanity. The packaging is adorable, and I like the mid-sized one because you just twist the cap but it doesn’t come off the way the jumbo one does.
There’s also the toning pads from FAB, which I actually did like. Some people say it’s not good for the environment though. I don’t really have an opinion on that honestly, but I can see where it’s a little wasteful.
Essence of 2024
Essence lotions are a step I haven’t used in a while, and I do think of the Fat Water as a type of Essence. But there actually is an essence lotion that I discovered in 2024 love with my whole heart: Byroe’s English Breakfast Tea Essence. There’s just nothing like it that I’ve ever tried. More details here, but to summarize – wow. If I had money, I’d own so many of these and stock up for the rest of my life. Byroe will obviously reappear later in this post. Brb I gotta go check if there’s any new ones listed on Poshmark.
Eye Cream
Boy do I have some eye creams to talk about! There are so many that I used and loved in 2024. First one that comes to mind is the Banana Bright+ Eye Cream by Olehenriksen. I absolutely love this product, and you can find my entire post about it here. The jar is so tiny, but you barely even need to touch the product at all to get plenty on. I typically use it in the evenings, since it’s heavier than some other eye serums and creams I’ve used. I tap it on instead of rubbing, and it feels smooth and cooling on my undereyes.
The next one I love is actually from Tula, which is a brand I don’t talk about much. It’s called the Gold Glow and Get It Cooling + Brightening Eye Balm. I can’t find the post where I originally talked about it, so I’ll do a quick summary! It’s a stick product, not a cream. You open it, twist it up like a lipstick, and apply anywhere on the face that you want brightening, like under eyes, bridge of nose, between eyebrows. The product is shaped in a dome, so it’s comfortable to apply. It’s a bright silvery gold color, not like pigmented but it’s obvious when you apply that it is reflective and brightening. But it’s also cooling, like it says. Like, minty and refreshing. Then under makeup it just makes everything look a little more awake. I apply it over any eye serums but before moisturizer.
I have also been using the Byroe Truffle Eye Serum and enjoy it a lot, more of a gel texture but very cooling and soothing on my undereyes.
Honorable mention is the Laneige Water Bank Eye Serum. This product is actually very good, more of a gel than a cream also. It isn’t my favorite, but I’ve repurchased, and I like it a lot when I’m not using any of my others. Very water. Much hydrating.
Moisturizer
I could talk forever about all my new – and old – favorite moisturizers, but I’ve decided to narrow it down to my top two of 2024. My absolute favorite face cream is the Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Moisturizer. It is 10/10 in all areas. The packaging is a frosty glass jar, so cute, the formula is to die for, creamy and rich but not too heavy or buttery. It smells like cucumber. It absorbs and goes under my makeup so well it could be a primer. The only thing that prevents me from using it every single day of my life is money. It costs a good $56.
A similar but more cost effective option is the Innisfree Green Tea Seed Hyaluronic Cream. It’s slightly more lightweight, but it’s very soothing and has a subtle fragrance and feel. It’s only $29 on Amazon. I highly recommend!
An honorable mention is the Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor. Same notes as the Fat Water, packaging slays, fragrance is excellent, the fact that it has SPF but doesn’t leave a cast, and the amount you get in the bottle is all a great combo. If you need to just pick a face cream and stick to it, I’d pick this one.
Primer
I don’t typically use primers, because I use so much skincare before I apply makeup, and it does start to feel heavy. But there are a few primers that I do like and use. The first one is the Fenty Skin Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer. I like this one because the texture is just like another face cream, but it feels like it locks onto my skin and stays put really well. It’s not sticky, I don’t like sticky primers.
The other one I like is the Glow Recipe Strawberry BHA Pore-Smooth Blur Drops. I like it for the same reason as above, it just feels like an extra cream, nothing too sticky or silicone. This one does definitely blur out, I’ve used it before just as-is if I’m going out without makeup – which of course, I don’t do much.
Foundation
Ah, foundation. What an awesome step. I definitely have a few foundations that I’m excited to talk about that I discovered in 2024. First up is the Purlisse Sheer Glow Strawberry Vitamin C Tinted Moisturizer. This came out of nowhere this year, and absolutely floored me. It had way better coverage than I was expecting, went over top of my moisturizers perfectly but didn’t feel like it was absorbing it, and I had a very easy time blending with my fingertips instead of dirtying a brush. I’ve already ordered several more bottles online to stock up for winter. It has a dewy finish, which I also adore for the colder months when I’m dry and a little flaky.
Another excellent foundation, although I haven’t used it in a long time, is the Foundation X by Natasha Denona. We think of ND as being more known for their eye products – and fair enough – but this foundation was a pleasure to use. High coverage, lightweight formula, cute packaging, love love love.
And my #1 foundation discovery in 2024 is the KVD Good Apple Serum Foundation. This foundation has changed a lot for me in just a few short months. The packaging is very KVD, all ornamental and stuff. The pump isn’t my favorite, since foundation does start to build up on it. I have to remember to wipe it off before pumping or I’ll get little congealed bits in my brush, which isn’t fun.
But, that does lead me to talk about the formula, which is stellar. It’s incredibly watery, definitely a serum foundation. And it’s also incredibly high coverage. So a half a pump is more than enough for my whole face. I’m super glad I recently bought a dense foundation brush at Sephora, because I needed it for this foundation, which does not play well when applying with my fingertips.
It takes a lot of work to buff this into my skin, even now that I’m not as textured. I have to really push with the brush and blend for dear life, but at the end it’s worth it. It’s smoothing, cancels out my redness if I have any, I barely even need concealer except if I want a lighter shade under my eyes. It’s pretty matte, so it takes more blending to apply over top of it when I got in with my contour or my highlighter. I spend more time pressing and blending everything in. But it’s worth it in the end!
Concealer
Speaking of, let’s talk about concealers! There have been a lot of good ones in 2024, but my favorite is the Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer. The packaging is adorable and on-brand, the applicator is the perfect size for my face shape, and the formula is long-wearing and lasts until I get home – and I work 7-7 so that’s saying something.
Heartbreakingly, it looks like the other concealer that comes to mind has been discontinued. It was the Doll 10 Hydrabalm Precision Concealer. It felt like the closest thing I’d ever used to a professional makeup product, the way it was a very solid texture and then melted into the skin, it felt like something you’re meant to pat in with your fingertips. But I can’t find it online anymore except on eBay, so I think they’ve switched it up.
The One/Size Beauty concealer is also pretty good, I still use it sometimes to prep my eyes for shadow since it actually does a good job with that. But I never found the perfect shade for under my eyes so I don’t use it on an everyday basis.
Contour
So this is my favorite step in my routine, and I have a few products that I’ve used for it, but the ABH Sculpt Cream Contour Stick in the shade Fawn has changed everything. First of all it’s the coolest contour formula I’ve been able to find for my light skin, and the compact and the formula are just excellent. I use a semi-dense contour brush to tap on the dome of the product, and apply on my cheekbones and on the sides of my forehead to slim out my face, since it’s very round. Tap a little on my nose as well, I just really like the look. It looks better the longer I leave it on, like by the end of the day the blend is even better.
Rare Beauty also has a great Bronzing Stick with even more adorable packaging, but it’s too warm for what I’m trying to achieve most of the time so I haven’t been reaching for them as much in 2024. I did get a few different shades and I think anyone looking for a smooth bronze would really enjoy them.
Highlighting 2024
Here we go! 2024 was the year of the highlighter, and getting comfortable going in with it. Three highlighters appeared in my routine this year and I love them all equally for different occasions.
The first one is the Rare Beauty Positive Light Luminizer Highlight in the shade Champagne. I received this highlighter in a different shade in 2024 and although that shade didn’t work for me, I liked the formula so much I went and got the right shade at Sephora. The packaging is adorable, just like the rest of their products, with the white base, clear window to the product, and then little ball on top. The formula is blinding, and the applicator is big and wide so you can get plenty of product on a brush or directly on the skin. The only thing with this highlighter, it does dry down very quickly and won’t budge after that so you do need to be swift.
The next highlighter is the Extreme Frost by Jeffree Star Cosmetics in the shade Gag Me, which is a bright white sparkling highlighter with blue reflect. I put it on with a face mist and my skin just looks metallic, it’s an amazing highlighter for evenings.
Last but not least, this next highlighter took me by surprise! It’s the Haus Labs Bio-Radiant Gel-Powder Highlighter in the shade Moonstone. I wasn’t planning to stop in at Sephora that day, but I was a little early for my date and found myself walking around the shops. And I saw this highlighter, and it just hit me, and I had to have it. It’s the brightest, whitest, most silvery highlighter I’ve ever owned. The packaging is perfect, and it comes with a mirror, and the actual product is arranged in a fun geometric shape. I’ve been using it to highlight my cheekbones, my inner corner of my eyes, my nose, my cupid’s bow, everything. It works well with a setting spray but I can also apply it without. It’s definitely more of a daytime highlight, and isn’t anywhere near as blinding as my JSC, but that’s the idea, I wanted something more subtle.
10/10 on these highlighters, grab yourself one of them if you need to refresh your routine as we leave 2024.
Blush
I typically don’t do blush, to be honest. My skin just doesn’t need it, or doesn’t want it, or I just don’t feel that it adds to the look. However I will say the Danessa Myricks Dew Wet Balm in the shade Rose Water is a pretty color and it’s reflective and adds a glow to my skin that I like a lot. I don’t think it is an actual blush, I think these are marketed to be highlighters, but on me, it’s a blush.
Lucky Chick also has the stick blush that I like. If I use a damp blender and just tap it on gently, it blends over my foundation and contour really well.
Eye Primer
So as you’ll have noticed by now, Love+Craft+Beauty has the best eyeshadow primer I’ve ever used. I haven’t owned one in a while because I can’t find it on any of my sites I try to buy from, but it has my heart. It settles in to my eyelid perfectly, and I barely need to use any at all. My shadows last my full work day, and they look pretty much the way they did when I applied them.
I’ve also been using the one from V Kosmetik and I like it too, but definitely not as much. It works though, it’s a white paste and it’s in a tube with an applicator, which is a little less messy I’ll admit.
Eyeshadow and Palettes
There are wayy too many palettes to talk about, so we’re just going to talk about brands.
Best shadows for value is Juvia’s Place. They don’t cost that much, but they’re incredibly pigmented for what you’re getting. I much prefer the formula in the 6-pan palettes over the 9-pan ones, since the former is buttery soft and the tones are creative and the latter is powdery and doesn’t work as well.
Best palettes for quality is Natasha Denona. Do I even need to explain? The packaging, the pigmentation, the formula, just feels like you’re giving yourself a little treat every time you use it. From the full-size palettes to the baby ones, highly recommend.
Ciate London and Tarte also come to mind for good quality palettes, and one of my favorite palettes every belonged to Beauty Bakerie, which I believe is no longer a company you can get cosmetics from. So sad. I think it’s called the Cinnamon Bun Palette or something like that, but it has this one shade in it, which had better be called Icing, that is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to describe. It’s like icing on the eyes. Bright blinding silver white, tiniest amount, huge impact. Hits you from across the room. Like, use it as a highlighter, use it on my nose, use it freaking everywhere.
Mascara
Look, mascara is mascara. They’re all great. There are a few that stand out though. Beauty for Real has a mascara that is my absolute favorite, even though I haven’t used it in a while. The wand is long but the brush is tiny and precise, and the formula is perfectly thick.
Fenty’s mascara is also really good and the wand is super unique, and oblong instead of perfectly round. Easier to get the edges.
But yeah… mascara is mascara, you know? It’s about how you apply it.
2024 in Lips
I discovered some really fun lip products in 2024, but the most amazing one is the TYS Beauty Lip Butter. The softest, smoothest, most delicious smelling lip gloss I’ve ever come into contact with. I bought several shades. I carry it with me everywhere. I panic when I don’t have it like I lost my phone. Smells like cookie butter. You should get one.
Perfume
Commodity came through this year and I got to try a bunch of really nice perfumes: Juice is my favorite, followed by Book and Gold. I recommend the sampler of this brand so you can try them all out and see what you like. The packaging is cute, travels well, I’m a huge fan. 5Sens perfume has sort of taken a backseat to this new brand in 2024 for me, but I still like Catch Feels and use it from time to time. Life of the Party didn’t captivate me like I was hoping. Also, shoutout to my all-time favorite scent, Secret Genius by Pinrose. My number 1 always, any year, 2024, 2021, 2027. It’s gonna be my “That smells kind of like my grandmother’s perfume” perfume.
Hello 2025
So much to discover in the new year! Thanks for reading over my staples, there’s a ton of stuff I’m taking with me but lots more I need to try out. It took me a few weeks to write this, so now I’m all moved into my new place and ready to get on with life.
Talk soon!
Dani