Guest Post By: Nisha Panjabi, Edited By: Nehal Tenany

Love at first sight. It’s a wonderful thing. Emotions just take over your entire body and there’s this overwhelming amount of happiness, joy, and excitement. Yeah, that’s the feeling I get when I walk into a Sephora store. For all you makeup lovers, you know exactly what “feeling” I’m talking about–2018 may not have been the best year for politics or relationships, but it was a great year for cosmetics. Let’s break it down and take a look at 6 beauty products you need to add to your collection this year…that is, if you already don’t have them. From foundations to concealers to palettes and more, here are some of my favorites.

1. Fenty Beauty Pro Flt’r Foundation

When news came out Rihanna was launching Fenty Beauty, you can’t understand how insanely excited I was. I immediately starting searching YouTube and blogs for reviews and swatches to figure out when I could get my hands on this foundation, and boy did this baby not disappoint. This foundation has a light an airy feel with a flawless matte finish. One of the key ways Rihanna marketed this foundation was by creating colors that match every skin tone–being one of the first major beauty brands to do so. Fenty Beauty has over 50 different shades (Mr. Grey isn’t the only one with 50 shades), one for everyone. Riri created Fenty with the intent of making a brand where everyone feels included, regardless of skin tone, personality, or culture. A makeup line with great morals? I’m down with it.

My Shade: 330

2. Beautyblender

I was today year’s old when I found that every Beautyblender is actually completely different. Like they aren’t just the same sponge in different colors! Each one has a different texture, shape, and softness that is meant to target different areas of your face. I personally love the Sapphire Beautyblender, it’s both sultry and sophisticated and gives you that airbrush, flawless finish that we’re all striving to achieve. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which one you get as long as it does the job–they are only $20. I’ve made the mistake of getting the $5 knockoff ones for China…and let me tell you something, you can throw that Beautyblender on the ground and it will bounce back up. This is an absolute must-have for your makeup bag, and if you aren’t already using one for your face, then girl, what you doin’?

3. Laura Mercier Translucent Powder

It’s been years since the Laura Mercier Translucent Powder came out and you know what, we’re still not over it. This is definitely the best powder on the market to save your face from unwanted shine and oil–it literally pulls every look together and lasts forever. I’m talking nights of partying & 4 AM drunchies later, your look is still in tact. You can use this to bake and set your foundation or just mattify any foundation no matter how dewey. Say goodbye to oily skin! This powder has become an essential part of makeup routine to the point where I will never travel without it. This simple-to-use formula comes in two different shades for all skin types.

4. Huda Beauty – The New Nude Palette

This palette is everything! Huda Beauty really transformed the typical nude look with this nude palette, bringing together warm copper tones, subtle pinks and golden taupes. I got this one as a gift (shoutout to my girl, Nehal), and honestly, at first glance this palette looked a little too pink compared to the neutral eyeshadow look I typically aim for. Like seriously, being a brown girl with brown/olive skin tone, I didn’t think these colors would pop on my eyelids. But yet again, I was proven wrong! These 18 shades are so pigmented that they look great on any and every skin tone. The secret sauce of this palette is the creamy eyeshadow “concealed”, it’s a nude concealer-like shadow to coat under the glitter shades so they stay on your lid–unlike other loose glitter that ruins your face. Do you have this palette? Send me some of your looks — @nishpan.

5. Tarte Creaseless Concealer

Concealer, for me, is an ever changing product. There’s so many great ones out there that I can’t stop experimenting to find “the one.” But my current obsession is the Tarte Creaseless Concealer. It conceals your dark circles, has high pigmentation, provides full coverage, and it’s waterproof! I’m not lying when I say a drop of this concealer can give you that bright under eye glow. Makeup tip: always get a shade or two lighter than your foundation.

My Shade: Medium Tan-Beige

6. Benefit BADgal BANG! Mascara

If I could only use one makeup product everyday and nothing else, it would be mascara. One of the hardest things about shopping for Mascara is finding one that doesn’t clump your eyelashes together or dry them out. I’ve tried everything from CoverGirl to Urban Decay to Too Faced and nothing has worked better than Benefit Badgal Bang! This mascara makes my natural eyelashes look twice their length, keeps them hydrated and no clumps all day! Talk about a win-win-win.

I hope after reading this, you’re all headed to your local Sephora to snag some of these essentials! I’d love to hear what you think about these products – send me a DM on Instagram @nishapan!

Meet the Author:

Fascinated by house music, cosmetics and exploring her taste buds, Nisha Panjabi is always on the go adventuring to new places full of adrenaline, margaritas and great food.

Nisha is from the SF Bay Area and graduated from The University of Arizona with a B.A. in Economics. She is now a Program Manager at Google Cloud AI and is motivated to connecting customers with Machine Learning products to streamline their business processes.

In her free time, you can find Nisha squatting at the gym, shuffling at a music event, or binge watching Game of Thrones. Nisha hopes to empower underprivileged women to be future leaders.