Last January, I did a post on my favorite beauty products from 2015 (you can see that post here). Best in beauty posts are some of my favorites – I love seeing what products work well and hate spending money on products that don’t. Today, I’m sharing the makeup, skincare, and beauty tools that I’ve loved the most over the past year!

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Best in Beauty: Makeup

• Root Pearl Powder Foundation: This is my favorite foundation I’ve EVER used. It has adjustable coverage (I love mixing it with water and applying wet for full, flawless coverage) and it’s totally natural and safe. It also has SPF! (You can click this link to get 10% off your first purchase from Root.)
• Elf Mad for Matte Palette: Matte shadows are hard to do well, but this Elf palette is super affordable and great quality! I don’t use all mattes typically, but it’s great to pair with other shadows and blends really well.
• Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Mascara: While I still love the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara, I bought this one a few months ago and have been reaching for it consistently. It can be a little hard to work with at first, but it gives really thick, black lashes without flaking or irritating my eyes at all!
• Maybelline Fit Me Concealer: I tried the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer this year since I’d heard great things about it, but I really didn’t love it. I prefer the Fit Me concealer since it’s a little thicker and fuller coverage, and I think the applicator is MUCH better.
• Tarte Park Avenue Princess Palette: I love Tarte’s Park Avenue Princess bronzer, and I wanted to try this palette since it’s great for travel (it includes a blush and highlighter). The highlight is good (although I don’t like it as much as the one in this palette, which is my favorite EVER) and the blush shade is very flattering. Great for travel!
• Tarte Amazonian Butter Lipstick: I’m not typically a lipstick person, but this formula is excellent! It’s super moisturizing and doesn’t dry out your lips at all. I have the shade Plummy Rose, and it’s a really nice, buildable color.

Best in Beauty: Skincare

• Root Peppermint Toning Mask: I tried the sample size of this mask awhile ago, and loved it so much that I bought the full-size as soon as I ran out! (For reference, the sample size is good for about 3-4 masks.) It’s refreshing and leaves my skin feeling calmed and soft, and I love that it contains only totally safe ingredients!
• Simple Micellar Water: I tried the Garnier micellar water this year and really disliked it – it left my skin feeling oily and filmy. I didn’t want to waste the money, so I used it up, and then immediately repurchased the Simple one. Simple sells a larger (13.5oz) bottle now, so they’ve fixed the only thing I didn’t like about their product before! I use this every night after removing makeup to cleanse my skin.
• Root Fresh Lavender Toner: I don’t use toner too regularly, but when I do, I use this one. It’s super calming for my sensitive skin and smells delicious.
• Young Living Satin Facial Scrub (Mint): This is my favorite exfoliator, because it has really fine particles (no plastic beads) and is very gentle.It also contains great skin-nourishing ingredients like MSM, jojoba oil, roman chamomile, and vitamins E, A, and C! And, it lasts forever (you only need a tiny bit at a time).

Best in Beauty: Tools

• Coastal Scents Pearl Handle Brush Set: I use these brushes every day. The set comes with 16 brushes, so you’ll have a brush for everything! The brushes are super soft and hold up well to washing.
• Root Pretty Blender: This is my favorite beauty blending sponge, and it’s pretty affordable considering the quality. Not all beauty blenders are created equal – Root’s Pretty Blender is infused with Vitamin E and made in the USA!
• Scrubby Makeup Brush Cleaner: I bought one of these on Amazon since it was so cheap, and I haven’t been disappointed. They make it so easy to get every bit of makeup out of your brushes – I’d highly recommend getting one!

What was your favorite beauty find in 2016? I’m always looking for new things to try, and I have a few things on my list to test out this year!