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The Beauty Wonk

December 17, 2018

5 Favourite Beauty Products of 2018

Hello! As the year is coming to an end, I thought of sharing with you a list of 5 favourite beauty products of 2018. These ‘2018 beauty favourites’ have really made a huge difference in my life; whether it’s my skin or my makeup or just something so beautiful that I’ve never used before.

This list is going to be a mix of skincare and makeup. These products might have been launched years ago but I came across them this year only.

5 Favourite Beauty Products of 2018

Let’s start with my list of favourite beauty products and see why I love them.

Firstly, I want to talk about the brand ‘The Ordinary’.

I came across this brand during the start of 2018 while I was watching a video of Wayne Goss talking about them. And if Wayne talks about something and it’s cheap too, YOU BUY IT!

Then Cult Beauty had a free international shipping offer on The Ordinary around May. Just to be on a safer side (with my skin and Indian Custom Duty), I started with one product and that was the Glycolic Acid Toner – the first game changer of 2018.

1. The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution

Price: 12.50 USD (₹900 approx.) for 240ml
The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution Review
The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution – Review

This was my first time entering into the world of chemical exfoliation. Until this, I used scrubs on my super-sensitive skin and would get breakouts that’d need a day or two to calm down.

The glycolic acid toner has truly been a life-changing product for me. I got rid of physical exfoliators, hence the breakouts that came with them. It helped in gently exfoliating my skin, taking care of blackheads and gave my skin a nice glow.

I still use this and there’s 70% product left. This is one product that I recommend to everyone, even if you find it at a bit higher price; get it! It’s going to last you for a very long time and transform your skin.

I have reviewed it HERE. (It’s very detailed!)

2. The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% Solution

Price: 9.80 USD (₹700 approx.) for 30ml

After having an amazing experience with the previous product, I got a few more stuff from the brand like their Caffeine Solution, Niacinamide, Azelaic Acid(I still haven’t opened it!), etc in June.

The Ordinary Niacinamide10% + Zinc 1% Texture
The Ordinary Niacinamide10% + Zinc 1%

I used to have huge pores due to the excessive oil my skin produced and this product has helped so much in shrinking them.

It also controlled oil production and gave my skin an INSANE glow! I had literally everyone asking me what I have been using on my face. It’s this, ladies and gentleman!

This combined with the Glycolic Acid Toner in my routine, TRANSFORMED my skin!

I’ve stopped using this for the past 3 months or so because the weather in this city where I recently moved to is EXTREMELY humid. My skin just can’t take any kind of layering.

Read the review HERE.

3. PAC Lip Liner in Mauve

Price: ₹185 for 2g

So I got this lipliner last year but couldn’t use it. I was in college and didn’t wear any makeup to classes. All I did was hoard them! Then come 2018, I’m working now and this is something I have worn every day to work.

PAC Lip Liner Mauve Swatch
PAC Lip Liner | Mauve

It’s a light mauve shade that looks very Meghan Markle-esque on me. Remember those nude-pinks she used to wear in Suits?

It gives a matte finish and I just fill my entire lips just with this.

You get a tonne of product for the price and I have more than half of it left even after using it daily for 3 months now.

4. Sebamed Clean Face Cleansing Foam

Price: ₹580 for 200ml

September was when I started using this cleanser and now I can never go back to any of my old ones. This foaming cleanser has the mildest formula and it cleans up my skin without causing any dryness.

Gives a smooth skin and works on acne and blackheads too. The formula is fragrance-free.

I have reviewed it HERE.

5. Physicians Formula Butter Paradise EDT

I have been hearing about this brand and especially the butter bronzer since forever. And I finally got my hands on it this May/June when they came up with their limited edition Butter Collection box priced at 11.88 USD. It had a bronzer, a blush, 2 highlighters and a perfume.

Physicians Formula EDT
Physicians Formula Butter Paradise EDT

And this perfume, my friends, is what love feels like! I have always been into those tropical, coconut-vanilla scents and this is an epitome of tropical fragrance. It smells heavenly and I use it so less because I don’t want to run out of it.

It’s not available stand-alone and I don’t know what I’d do once I finish this off. It’s just 50 ml!

CONCLUSION

So these are all my favourite beauty products from 2018 or shall I say “Life-Changing” products. This year was no less than a rollercoaster ride for me, product-wise I tried so many from different brands; high-end, drugstore and Indie. It felt great to use those and learn so much about this ever-expanding industry.

All the products mentioned above are cruelty-free to the best of my knowledge.

Edit: Sebamed is not cruelty-free.

If you have a similar 2018 favourite beauty products article, please link it down I’d love to give it a read and discover new products.

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By: Rifat Yaseen · In: Lifestyle, Makeup, Skincare

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Comments

  1. Safiyah M says

    January 2, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    The Sebamed Cleanser is my favourite too. I’ve been wanting to try out the TO Glycolic acid but I ain’t sure if it’ll suit my sensitive skin.

    Reply
    • Rifat Yaseen says

      January 2, 2019 at 3:09 pm

      Hey! I have very sensitive skin and initially it caused a bit stinging but I didn’t experience any purging. You can start with pixi’s since it has lower % of glycolic acid if you don’t want to take chance.

      Reply
  2. cleverlychic says

    December 23, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    loved reading this post!! your posts make us want to buy everything! too bad the holidays wiped out our wallets!! all of the products you review just sound so great! great read!!
    ~ CoCo & Tori

    Reply
    • Rifat Yaseen says

      December 26, 2018 at 12:36 pm

      Thank you so much! This was one of the best compliments I’ve ever received as a blogger and it means a lot. Love and peace❤️️

      Reply
  3. bbbryony says

    December 17, 2018 at 11:14 pm

    I’ve heard SO many good things about the ordinary this year, still need to try them out x

    Reply
    • Rifat Yaseen says

      December 24, 2018 at 6:54 pm

      Put it in your 2019 goals babe?

      Reply
  4. The Mystic Trails says

    December 17, 2018 at 12:48 pm

    The Ordinary! YESSSS! Love the blog post babe! 🙂

    Reply
    • Rifat Yaseen says

      December 24, 2018 at 6:54 pm

      Thank you so much Preeti! ?

      Reply
  5. glamourwithchristine says

    December 17, 2018 at 12:07 pm

    Hey there
    I am more and more loving a variety of perfumes. I am really curious about the physicians formula one. I didn’t even know that had one! Sounds great and nicely priced! Nice post!
    Christine xx

    Reply
    • Rifat Yaseen says

      December 17, 2018 at 12:35 pm

      Thank you so much Christine! Definitely give that box a try, if you can find it. I am just hoping for PF to launch this perfume separately.

      Reply

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Hello, it's Rifat! Welcome to my beauty space where I talk about cruelty-free makeup, skincare & haircare. My hobbies include hoarding skincare in the name of research!

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thebeautywonk

Rifat 🇮🇳 Skincare Blogger
There's a sudden wave of science and ingredient-ba There's a sudden wave of science and ingredient-backed skincare which I appreciate very much. But lately, it has made things way more complicated than they should be. A good contribution has been made by tiktok in general in screwing people's mind with blanket statements.😭

So I wanted to cancel the noise and give you some simplified tips that you can go back to when shopping for a new sunscreen.

‼️Don't obsess over UV filters and their stability because there's no way you could know how the different ingredients work together in the product. That being said, due to the loose and non-existent regulations we have here, shop from brands you trust!‼️
I've used the @drsheths Neem & BHA serum like an I've used the @drsheths Neem & BHA serum  like an emergency treatment whenever I could feel my skin was congested and it always reduced it with 2-3 uses. (gifted)

I also use it on my shoulder and upper arms, and it is taking care of the clogged pores.

But the texture is just not good, it sits on your skin and makes it impossible for you to layer any other product over it. Even in the morning, when I wash my face I can actually feel the layer coming off.

Decent in terms of results but the texture is very difficult to work with. I don't like it sorry😭 

‼️So far, TO Salicylic Acid is my fav SA treatment, the texture is much better (can't believe I'd say this for TO, LOL) I'll try Paula's Choice BHA next, unless you have any other suggestion? 👀 Shoot in the comment section.‼️
It's been months since I first got my hands on the It's been months since I first got my hands on the COSRX Snail Mucin Essence and I haven't put it down even once. Quantity wise, I have almost half of it left which makes this product super cost-effective.

Today, I want you to tell me who influenced you into trying this cult favourite essence? Let me know in the comment section below.

I also did a full blog review on this - the right way to use it, how it helps your skin, what to expect from it and so on. The link🔗 is in my bio.
What triggered me to do this post? All these comme What triggered me to do this post? All these comments, reddit threads, tweets where people would ask for alternatives to, say, CeraVe cuz they have rosacea and that's the only thing that keeps their skin sane.

Or the ones where people would spend 6x the amount they'd have spent just because the brand isn't cruelty-free. As someone who has done all of it😂 I'd say don't obsess.

Find alternatives only when the experiments aren't going to screw your skin or making you go broke because the testing situation has gotten much better and there's a lot to celebrate🎉

PS: Keep supporting cruelty-free brands whenever you can, especially the ones who could enter the market, but chose not to.

PPS: Was supposed to do a 3-part series but wrapping it up in 2 because ✨ feed aesthetics ✨

Source to verify the laws - Humane Society International
When I started reading about animal testing of cos When I started reading about animal testing of cosmetics, I would only see a very one-sided approach from renowned CF bloggers. After a lot of research, I want to give a balanced view of both sides and discuss this topic in a structured manner. Today I will be just going through the basics of this 3-part series.

Leave your questions below, I'll try to address them either in the comments or in the next posts.

Few points to note:

✨China isn't the only country that tests on animals. However, it's one of the fastest growing economy and hence, a very profitable place for businesses to expand.

✨ There's another criteria followed by some people where they don't consider cruelty-free brands owned by non cruelty-free parent companies as CF. For eg: CF NYX owned by non-CF parent company L'Oréal. As I said, the term is unregulated so it's open to varied definitions. Personally, this doesn't bother me at all and I consider it a reach.

✨Animal testing is banned in India so the brands made and sold here are cruelty-free by default unless they're sold in countries that have compulsory testing.

I'll be going a little deep in tomorrow's post and talk about conflicting information, blanket statements, and why you shouldn't obsess over a brand's CF status, given the new laws.
I have been using the @sulwhasoo.india FCA serum f I have been using the @sulwhasoo.india FCA serum for more than a month now (both AM&PM) and now that the bottle is over, I think it's the right time to share my experience. (gifted)

✨I didn't expect much but it was pretty nice in adding hydration and plumpness to my skin.

✨I have talked about how my barrier was damaged bcz of weather changes and everything stung (on the worst days, even the cosrx snail mucin did a little - yep it was THAT bad), but FCA didn't. Not even once. Unbelievable! It had everything that could "potentially" make things worse! I know formulation is king but still, this is a bit too much. Weird.

I had a bad reaction on my cheeks on my birthday bcz I used my cousin's random blush she got from Amazon. My cheeks were red and had white bumps right after I took off my makeup. Cleansed. Applied FCA. Moisturiser. Woke up. All reduced. Used again. Next day, all gone.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗙𝗖𝗔?
You apply it right after cleansing on damp skin to hydrate and soothe it, and to prepare your skin for the next steps.

𝗛𝗼𝘄'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 & 𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗹?
The texture is very liquidy (has a dull orange colour) and the serum gets absorbed really fast. It has a very nice earthy smell and as I say, if you're adding fragrance, at least make it smell nice.

𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗶 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁?
I saw two red flags quite up in the list:
🚩 Alcohol (My skin in winters turn dry-combo from very oily and I didn't want to dry it further)

🚩 Fragrance (It usually triggers redness but very rarely, lets me walk away scot-free)

But I took the chance because I was really intrigued by their products and especially, the packaging 🙈 and things went well. Have you tried anything from the brand?
Not y'all in my DMs defending mineral sunscreens o Not y'all in my DMs defending mineral sunscreens over this story just like you defend your toxic exes.😂 Anyway, I had another post planned for today but chuck it. I'll tell you why I think using mineral sunscreens is equivalent to being in a toxic relationship.

Mineral/Physical/Inorganic sunscreens leave a white cast and/or pill really bad. You have to pat, wait for centuries for it to settle and brush off the crumbles from your brows and hairline. Re-applying is another trouble and I don't even want to get into it. Imagine doing all the work to still look like Casper the ghost👻 at the end of the day. (Especially when you're a POC)

How is it different than being in a toxic relationship where you're putting in so much work, it's mentally draining you and you still end up heartbroken?

If you find that a lot of Western sunscreens (*coughs* Neutrogena) sting or make eyes watery, try Korean sunscreens. (Or Japanese). If they're not easily accessible, considering most of my subscribers are Indian, try Re'equil or all the Indian pharma brands.

PS: Please use what works for you, it's between you and your brow hair. When you have certain skin conditions or when you're pregnant, mineral sunscreens are generally recommended so yeah ignore me I'm just being an 🍑.
𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 - Happy 32nd Dec, 2020 (we're not moving to next year, I said what I said) This month, I mostly had haircare empties with one face product. Here are my thoughts on them:

✨@thebodyshopindia 𝗚𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗼 - If you have itchy scalp and mild seasonal dandruff, this works very well. On my oily scalp it was okay but I think it can be drying for others.

✨@theearthrhythm 𝗖𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗼 - My first time using a shampoo bar and the experience was perfect. Cut it in 4 parts and it lasted a very long time too. Always left my hair suuuper soft post shampoo.

✨@blenditrawbeauty 𝗛𝗲𝗺𝗽 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝗶𝗹 - I used it as a hair serum and it always left my strands soft and bouncy. I even skipped conditioner, just shampoo and move straight to this oil on damp hair. Don't sleep on hemp seed oil for your hair. (gifted)

✨@feelrawbotanicals 𝗣𝗛𝗔 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿 - It was a 2-in-1 product, mildly exfoliating and super hydrating. For face, 100% loved it but for body it's too mild, I need stronger acids cuz PHA doesn't cut it. Shelf life is short & quantity is large to be used just on face. I wish it came in 75ml or something bottle.

✨@wellaindia 𝗗𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗼 - I'm not an avid dry shampoo user but I like to have one just in case. This was super old and got the job done, provided you know how to use it. It also gave a very nice volume to my limp hair.
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