Must-Haves that Stayed Favorites | 2020

I’m really satisfied with how many of the must-haves I wrote about in 2019 actually were successfully incorporated into my must-haves that stayed favorites throughout 2020! I did a better job honing in on what I could (not just would want to!) reach for. There are plenty of long-time favorites that kept their spots on their list, though! 🙂

Keep in mind that these are products that I really enjoyed using enough to 1) remember they exist, 2) put them in a more accessible area, and 3) use again but in my world, using the same product more than a handful of times is a feat, so my threshold for “must-have” is by no means something I have to use everyday (not possible!).

You might want to check out the new must-haves I discovered in 2019 along with the must-haves that remained favorites in 2019. This post is a reflection of how those newer must-haves were incorporated into my routine in 2020 along with any my long-time must-haves as listed in 2019 continued to be used in 2020. I’d love to hear about your own staple products in the past year and how that compared to prior year; what stood the test of yet another year?

Here are some things that changed:

Bite Beauty Oyster Pearl was replaced by various Pat McGrath OpuLUST glosses instead–whenever I wanted ultra-shimmrey lipgloss, that’s what I went with (since the Bite formula is discontinued).
Dose of Colors Bathe has been moved out in lieu of other go-to highlighters/blushes for the last half of 2020 and into 2021.
Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar is still in my vanity drawers but hardly reached for; I found I preferred Fenty Beauty’s Afternoon Snack/Mo’ Hunny.

Some things that definitely did not change…

My go-to blushes were still favored — Marc Jacobs Beauty Flesh & Fantasy/Lines & Last Night, Chanel Jersey, MAC Fairly Precious,
I still reached for and used Estee Lauder Naked Truth and Urban Decay Rebel a lot (for me, it’s relative!) in 2020. Naked Truth is almost gone, though I have several tubes of Rebel (courtesy of the brand). Fenty’s Fenty Glow Gloss is one I keep on-hand to add a quick bit of hydration if I’m out and about, and it’s one of my favorite effortless kind of glosses.

And here are how my new must-haves from 2019 ended up working in 2020…

EYE PRODUCTS: I still very much favor Pat McGrath and Natasha Denona eyeshadows whenever it comes to having an opportunity to play with old releases, even if other palettes and products are stellar quality. Natasha Denona Biba and Nude palettes are both my “go-tos” for neutrals. I used Pat McGrath’s Nocturnal Nirvana and Sydney Grace’s Autumn’s Reign a few times over the past year, but I found when I wanted to use Sydney Grace eyeshadows, I wanted full access to my singles instead.

CHEEK/FACE PRODUCTS: I did, in fact, end up reaching for and using Cover FX Warm Honey, Milk Makeup Blitzed, Fenty Beauty Afternoon Snack/Mo’ Hunny, and Sydney Grace Paris Skies throughout the past year. I didn’t end up using Cover FX Spiced Cinnamon much (I still went for Marc Jacobs Beauty Airblushes instead), and while I do love it, Marc Jacobs Beauty Jet Girl is just too large to store in my vanity drawers so I didn’t remember to use it much!

I used the Pink-Champagne side of the Natasha Denona highlighter/blush mini (still wish it came as an individual shade!). When I wanted something warmer and just as sparkly, I used Fenty Beauty’s Wattabrat.

LIPS: I didn’t end up wearing Giorgio Armani Rose Nomad more than once again, but I did reach for and was able to reuse Pat McGrath Flesh 3 and Marc Jacobs To the Moon.