The Best Beauty of 2023 💄 [Like You Know Whatever]

Get in loser, we’re going shopping.

December 26, 2023

Hi friends!

How are you doing? If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a fabulous day! Hell, if you DON’T celebrate Christmas, I still hope you had a fabulous day. I celebrated at home in Los Angeles with my husband and some of our best friends, ate way too much food, and watched way too many Christmas movies (and, oddly enough, Black Swan? There’s something strangely festive to me about a young, waif-like white woman losing her mind. ‘Tis the season!!). I made lasagna bolognese for a hearty Christmas lunch, which I served with a lemony parmesan kale salad and cheesy pull-apart bread, with holiday punch to drink and banana rum trifle for dessert. As I write this, I am still digesting it all, and might take a tip from my cat and take a nap.

I have been SUPREMELY jet lagged since getting back from Tokyo on the 17th, which is no surprise, given that their time zone is 17 hours ahead of L.A. Time zones are a trip, man. We left Tokyo at 9:00 p.m. on a Sunday night and landed in Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m. on that same Sunday. I literally lived a whole day and then traveled back in time and had to re-live it again somewhere else in the world. So freaky.

Anyway, my body is very confused, the poor thing. I was doing some reading about how to help jet lag and a few articles said that people feel it the most when traveling east, which I think is so interesting! It’s definitely been true for me with this trip. I’ve been taking melatonin at night and trying to get back on schedule, but it’s hard. On top of that, I fucked up and didn’t pack enough of one of my medications when I went to Japan (do NOT recommend!), so my meds routine got all screwed up and my body’s trying to process that as well.

Today’s newsletter is going to be all about 2023 in makeup and beauty! As a reminder, you can read all of last year’s “best of the year” round-ups here (no paywall).

As a palate cleanser to this palette dispenser, I want to recommend journalist Jessica DeFino’s brilliant newsletter The Unpublishable, which deconstructs the beauty industry and takes a necessary, critical look at the ugly side of it. She is truly doing the lord’s work over there, and never lacks for material. 

I started getting much more into makeup and beauty in the second half of 2022, when I started watching more makeup content creators on YouTube. I found their content to be a relaxing, girly thing to throw on while I did my nails or window shopped online (or sometimes more than just window shopped). It was through many of these content creators that I discovered brands I’d never heard of before, including indie brands, many of which are making much more colorful, playful, and impactful makeup than the usual Sephora and Ulta standbys, in my opinion.

The thing about the beauty industry is that there is always a new product to try, one that just sizzles with the prospect of a dopamine hit. I knew that I’d gotten a bit caught up in collecting over actually using makeup in 2022, so in 2023, I tried to be much more conscientious about what new items I chose to bring into my space. It is so easy to lose perspective on what a “normal” collection of makeup looks like when you regularly watch content creators who are always buying the newest things or getting them sent to them for free in P.R. After all, I only have two eyeballs to put eyeshadow on! Jeez!

I played with a lot of color in 2023. In 2024, I want to try incorporating more neutrals into the looks I do, and doing simpler eyeshadow looks that really let elements of color shine.

Let’s get into it:

A Beauty Resolution Recap

Remember when I made beauty resolutions earlier this year? Let’s check in on how I did!

1. “Figure out how to maximize my hair looking “done” while minimizing the amount of time I have to spend doing it (this may simply be an impossible equation, and I’m willing to accept that).” Yeahhhh, I did not do a very good job with this one! In 2024, I hope to focus more on hair care and styling. I figured out that my hair type is 2A, or wavy, but the Curly Girl Method scares me. The idea of not using shampoo on my scalp gives me the ick, as the kids say. Anyway, I am awarding myself no points for this one.

2. “Focus more on skincare and actually wash my face and use my products before bed, don’t just use a makeup removing wipe and call it a day.” Yep! Not saying I never did the makeup-wipe-and-go-right-to-bed method, but I definitely did more skincare stuff this year than in 2022.

3. “Shop my stash–use more of the makeup I already own.” Yeah! I had a lot of fun playing with makeup this year.

4. “If I do buy new eyeshadows, stick to singles and smaller palettes, like quads and quints. No humongo ColourPop palettes, for example.” Okay, sooooo… no, I did not buy any humongo ColourPop eyeshadow palettes, but I did snap up a few.

Palettes I purchased this year, in the order I purchased them  (9-pan or larger):

& one face palette:

Ugh, fine, I guess buying 10 palettes means that that was a fail. Boo!

So where does that leave me? Well, two out of four isn’t that bad! Right?? That’s 100% more beauty resolutions than I accomplished last year! (I didn’t make any beauty resolutions last year.)

Here are my…

Beauty Resolutions for 2024:

1. Invest in more neutrals, especially in eyeshadow. I find myself reaching for them more and more.

2. Use more of my skincare products.

3. Find new solutions to fight my hair’s greatest enemy: frizz. And work better with my hair’s natural texture (2A?).

4. Do at least one major make-up and skincare declutter.

5. Figure out a better storage solution for all my blush and highlighter singles. They’re currently in an opaque box that makes it hard to remember to reach for them.

6. Wear sunscreen every time I leave the house for more than 15 minutes.

7. Wear fake lashes at least three times this year.

8. Girl: you do not need any more mostly black, grungy/goth eyeshadow palettes; you’re good.

*Like You Know Whatever Presents: The Very Best BEAUTY of 2023*

Here is my list of the very best new-to-me BEAUTY things I tried in 2023. Most of them were released for the first time in 2023, but not all. 

I’ve listed full retail prices at the time of writing this, but a lot of these items are actually cheaper than listed. Please shop responsibly. I bought most of these when they were discounted or on sale or I had a coupon code. If you can’t take advantage of year-end sales, President’s Day is around the corner for U.S. retailers. Also, please note that often, buying from individual beauty brands’ websites is cheaper than Sephora, especially around this time of year, when they have sales.

Amazon links are affiliated, meaning I earn a tiny commish at no cost to you. I really tried to avoid Amazon where I could, though.

Best Primer for Oily Skin: Glow Recipe Strawberry BHA Pore-Smooth Blur Drops ($32)

Best Bronze-y Blush: Persona DreamStick in “Teddy” ($26). I wore this all summer!

Best Highlighter: Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter in “Exhilarate” ($25) I have to eat my words here. I was very unimpressed with this highlighter when I first got it, but over the past several months it’s become my go-to daily highlighter. You can build it up for more intensity or keep it natural. I have a lot of highlighters and I reach for this one constantly. (Also, if you don’t want to pay $25, Moira has a dupe for $8.50 that I’ve heard is great.)

Best Eyeshadow Palette: Natasha Denona “Yucca” palette ($69) A warm-toned, inspired, interesting color story with potential for both colorful and neutral looks, in Natasha Denona’s amazing, buttery formula? It’s a fucking hit. I kept coming back to this palette over and over again.

Best Eyeshadow Single: Any of the Half Magic shimmers: I loved “Elven Things,” “Pretty Robot,” and “Wet Pebble” ($12 each).

Best Eyeshadow Quad: Viseart Petit Fours in “Violetta" ($25)

Best Drugstore Mascara: L’Oreal Paris Telescopic Lift Mascara, Waterproof Black ($15.99) Even with all the “controversy” of #lashgate, it’s still a really damn good mascara.

Best Lip Oil: NYX Fat Oil Lip Drip in “Follow Back” ($9) It seems to be a divisive product, but I personally love it!

Best Lip Gloss: NYX Butter Gloss Non-Sticky Lip Gloss ($6) NYX lip products are all-around fire.

Best Nail Polish: Mooncat's “Mermaid Bait” ($15)

Best Makeup Brushes: EcoTools Elements 4-Piece Face Set ($14.99) Beautiful, soft, and affordable!

Best Fragrance: Kayali Yum Pistachio Gelato ($27 - 138)

Biggest Beauty Splurge: I paid full price for the Too Faced “Italian Spritz” palette ($54), and that was painful since it’s kind of on the smaller side and some of the shimmers were disappointing in their impact and longevity.

Biggest Beauty Bargain: Everything I got at Moira Beauty during their Fourth of July sale was an absolute steal considering the quality.

Biggest Beauty Disappointment: So, I know I ended up buying nine eyeshadow palettes this year, but half of them were from 2022 or older. Overall, I was really disappointed with the selection of new palettes released this year. Just a lot of overpriced, under-inspiring color stories.

Most Impressive New Beauty Thing I Learned: This year, I figured out that I have hooded eyes, and therefore need to apply eyeshadow in a slightly different way in order for it to be visible. Might sound small, but it was huge for me, technique-wise.

Biggest Beauty Pet Peeve(s): 1) Ulta’s packaging when you order online is AWFUL. They do absolutely nothing to insulate anything or prevent it from spilling. I now avoid ordering anything from them that could shatter or leak. 2) Drugstore makeup has gotten so pricey! WTF! For a few bucks more you can buy the same items from a mid-range brand.

Most Used Beauty Item: e.l.f. H2O Proof Eyeliner Pen ($7)

Least Used Beauty Item: I did not wear fake lashes once all year! I would like to get better at wearing them next year.

Weirdest Beauty Purchase: The Chucky “Crazy In Love” palette from Glamlite ($32) was pretty off-brand for me, since I’m not a Chucky fan, but I just loved the grungy, dark color story!

* * *

And there you have it! The definitive best of beauty, based on my very subjective opinions. Wow!

Remember that I’ll be back in your inboxes on Friday, 12/29, with a round-up of the best recipes I made this year.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and share this newsletter if you’d like–you can use the buttons at the bottom or the top.

Until next time—shop responsibly!

Love,LizXOXO

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