2019 Newbie Awards | Best New Beauty Finds

I’m stoked that I was able to play with and discover so many amazing beauty products this past year. Although many of these products were not released in 2019, they were items I personally discovered this year. Please continue reading my 2019 Newbie Awards for the best new beauty finds of the year.

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2019 Newbie Awards | Best of Beauty Superlatives

The Newbie Awards Best of Beauty 2019 Superlatives are products or collections that were released in 2019. Rather than being product-specific, I am awarding accolades based on categories.

Best Brand or Influencer Collaboration 2019 | Anastasia Beverly Hills x Jackie Aina Palette ($45.00, CF) – now discontinued

The Jackie Aina Palette is a beautiful, half-colorful, half-neutral palette that works across a wide range of skin tones. Moreover, the shimmers are out of this world and the mattes blend like a dream. Overall, this palette deserved way more hype this year. See where it stands in my Anastasia Beverly Hills Palette ranking.

Best New Brand Launch 2019 | Tati Beauty ($48.00, CF)

I may not have reviewed the Tati Beauty Textured Neutrals Volume I Palette. However, since purchasing it on launch day, I always enjoy playing with the glamorous, neutral palette. Tati’s long-awaited and entirely unexpected brand launch sold out on the initial launch day. Then, it sold out again during the pre-order.

As someone who has been watching Tati for years, I was proud of her and happy to support her new brand. Moreover, the quality is exactly what I’d expect from anything with Tati’s stamp of approval. Please expect a full review of this palette in 2020.

Best Indie Release 2019 | Alamar Cosmetics Colorete Blush Trio ($22.00, CF)

Alamar Cosmetics was one of the indie brands that I was most excited to try in 2019. After an initial launch with Boxycharm, Alamar exploded onto the scene with its Reina Del Caribe Eyeshadow Palette.

While I love the brand’s shadow formulas, the Colorete Blush Trios impressed me just as much! I love that Alamar released these trios in three color variations (light, medium, and deep) so that a wider range of beauty lovers could use these palettes. Also, the formula is vibrant and pigmented, but still buildable.

Best Multi-Part Collection 2019 | ColourPop Monochromatic Palette Collection ($12.00 each, CF)

Huda Beauty started the monochromatic palette trend, but ColourPop brought the monochromatic palette trend to the masses with their affordable prices. The brand thoughtfully curated cohesive color stories for all the colors of the rainbow: pink, purple, green, red, blue, yellow, orange, peach, lilac, grey, mint, and brown.

Personally, I own all of the aforementioned palettes except the green and peach variations. Read this post for tips to find the right Monochromatic Palette for you or this post for my ColourPop Monochromatic Palette ranking.

Best Packaging 2019 | ColourPop x Disney Designer Collection Midnight Masquerade Collection (CF)

I mean, is anyone surprised by this? Disney’s design team killed it with the packaging design for the Midnight Masquerade Collection. The magical midnight blue packaging featuring stunning illustrations of each princess causes my Disney-loving heart to swoon anytime I look at it.

Check out my review on the ColourPop x Disney Designer Collection Midnight Masquerade Palette or read my ultimate ColourPop Palette ranking.

Best Holiday Collection 2019 | Melt Cosmetics Amor Eterno Collection (CF)

My jaw dropped when the initial photos of the Melt Cosmetics Amor Eterno Collection dropped on Instagram. Without a shadow of a doubt, the Melt Cosmetics Amor Eterno Collection was the best holiday collection of the year. From the packaging to the products, themselves, this collection radiated authenticity and heart.

Click here for my full review of the Amor Eterno Collection and swatches and see where the Muerte palettes landed in my Melt Cosmetics Palette ranking.

2019 Newbie Awards | Best of Beauty  

The Newbie Awards Best of Beauty Category Awards are “best of” products that were not necessarily released in 2019. However, these products were items that I tried in 2019.

Best Affordable Eyeshadow Palette 2019 | ColourPop Sweet Talk Palette ($18.00, CF)

To this day, the ColourPop Sweet Talk Palette* remains one of my favorite palettes that I tried in 2019. Not only is the packaging beautiful, but the color story is so effortlessly glamorous and soft. It is perfect for anyone who loves neutrals or colorful, coral shadows.

Also, the eye-catching range of textures in the ColourPop Sweet Talk Palette made it stand out against the brands many releases. Sweet Talk was the first ColourPop palette to contain four textures: matte, metallic, Super Shock and pressed glitter. Read my review on the ColourPop Sweet Talk Palette.

Best Prestige or Luxury Eyeshadow Palette 2019 | Melt Cosmetics Muerte Palette ($58.00, CF) – now discontinued

Sorry not sorry – the Melt Cosmetics Amor Eterno Muerte Palette is the only repeat within the 2019 Newbie Awards Best of Beauty Roundup. The color story is reminiscent of a starry night sky, the packaging is beautiful, and the shadows perform like a dream.

Best Brow Product 2019 | Thrive Causemetics Infinity Waterproof Eyebrow Liner in Serena ($23.00, CF)

The Thrive Causemetics Infinity Waterproof Eyebrow Liner is the brow pencil that I never knew I needed. Not only is Serena a perfect shade match for my cool-toned dark brown hair, but the tiny pencil creates natural-looking brow strokes with precision. See my minimal brow product collection.

Best Mascara 2019 | Milk Makeup KUSH High Volume Mascara ($24.00, CF)

Milk Makeup’s KUSH High Volume Mascara is one of the best mascaras I’ve ever tried. It darkens, lifts, lengthens and adds volume to lashes in a way that imitates the appearance of falsies. See the rest of the mascaras in my collection or read my review on Milk Makeup’s cult classic products.

Best Blush 2019 | Cover FX Monochromatic Blush Duos ($38.00, CF)

I won’t lie to you – I own every shade of the Cover FX Monochromatic Blush Duos except for one. Although expensive, they are well worth the steep price tag.

The Monochromatic Blush Duos are pigmented, but still easy to blend. The shades in each duo can be worn alone or layered together for a natural, radiant-looking flush. The packaging looks and feels luxe. Best of all, Monochromatic Blushes are Talc-Free!

I own: Soft Peach,* Pink Dahlia,* Mojave Mauve,* Warm Honey,* and Spiced Cinnamon.* Read my in-depth review on the Cover FX Monochromatic Blush Duos and see where they rank in my blush ranking.

Best Bronzer 2019 |Sun Stalk’r Instant Warmth Bronzer – Shady Biz ($30.00, CF)

The Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk’r Instant Warmth Bronzer* was a controversial release in 2019. Buyers either loved or hated this bronzer due to the orange-leaning undertones of many of the shades. At first, I disliked this bronzer because it is much warmer than the other bronzers in my collection.

However, the Fenty Sun Stalk’r Instant Warmth Bronzer is a product that performs better once the top layer is worn away. After consistent use, this bronzer became my go-to bronzer for pairing with cool-toned contour. When worn this way, the bronzer adds a perfect kiss of warmth to the face.

See where this bronzer landed in my bronzer ranking for fair skin.

Best Highlighter 2019 | Benefit Cookie Highlighter ($30.00)

If you’ve been following along with my Makeup Collection series, it should come to no surprise that the Benefit’s Cookie Highlighter is my best highlighter of 2019.  Cookie is a wet-looking champagne highlight that can be worn subtly or amped up for a blinding glow. See where it landed in my glowing highlighter ranking.

Best Concealer 2019 | Too Faced Born This Way Super Coverage Multi-Use Sculpting Concealer – Marshmallow ($29.00, CF)

The Too Faced Born This Way Super Coverage Multi-Use Sculpting Concealer* wow’d me this year. This concealer is full-coverage without making my under eyes appear cakey or crepe-y. Moreover, my eyes look instantly brighter and more awake when using this concealer. See where this concealer fell in my concealer ranking for dark circles.

Best Affordable Foundation 2019 | Candid Photoready Insta-Filter Foundation in 200 Nude ($17.99)

The Revlon Candid Photoready Insta-Filter Foundation* was an unexpected love in 2019. I received this foundation for free at Beautycon NYC 2019 and was blown away by the formula. In fact, when I wear the Revlon Candid Foundation my skin looks like a perfected version of itself. See how this foundation ranked within my foundation ranking for oily skin.

Best Prestige Foundation 2019 | Urban Decay Stay Naked Foundation in 30CP ($39.00, CF)

2019 was the year of new foundation releases. Out of all the new prestige foundation releases in 2019, the Urban Decay Stay Foundation* was my favorite. This is a natural matte foundation that provides lightweight medium coverage. It works wonders on my oily skin.

Best Primer 2019 | Tatcha (CF) & Smashbox (CF)

Out of all the categories in my Best of Beauty 2019 Roundup, I struggled the most with choosing a primer. In 2019, I was lucky enough to receive the Tatcha Silk Canvas Primer* and the Smashbox Photo Finish Oil & Shine Control Primer* from Influenster for reviewing purposes. Realistically, I love them both so I have chosen both primers as my Best of Beauty 2019 Primers.

The Tatcha Silk Canvas Primer is a luxurious skincare-enriched blurring primer that softens the appearance of wrinkles, texture, and pores. Read my full review of the Tatcha Silk Canvas Primer for my in-depth thoughts.

The Smashbox Photo Finish Oil & Shine Control Primer is a lightweight, soft matte primer that keeps oil at bay without sucking the life out of my skin. Check out my in-depth review of the Smashbox Photo Finish Oil & Shine Control Primer here. See how both primers ranked in my primer ranking for oily skin.

Best Lip Liner 2019 | Il Makiage x Carli Bybel Waterproof Lip Liner in Luna ($15.00, CF) – now discontinued

The Il Makiage x Carli Bybel Lip Collection was one of the most anticipated and best-selling launches of the year. The Waterproof Lip Liner in the shade Luna is a stunning brown-toned nude that I use to deepen my nude lipsticks. It is ultra-creamy but still long-wearing. I wish this was a permanent release. Check out swatches and see how this stacked up in my lip liner ranking.

Best Liquid Lipstick 2019 | Persona Cosmetics Season One Liquid Lipsticks ($16.00 each, CF)

The Persona Cosmetics Season One Liquid Lipsticks in the shades Phoenix* and Holy Grail* are two of my all-time favorite liquid lipsticks. These lightweight liquid lipsticks dry down without drying out my lips. Also, the color lasts all day – even through messy meals.

Read my review on the Persona Cosmetics Season One Liquid Lipsticks for my full thoughts with swatches. Also, see where these liquid lips landed in my liquid lipstick ranking.

New to Persona Cosmetics? Please consider using my referral link for 15% off your first purchase. If you make a purchase I will receive 5% cashback for the sale, but please know that I’ve been purchasing from Persona long before I had a code. I would never recommend products I didn’t truly love.

Best Bullet Lipstick 2019 | MAC Cosmetics x Aladdin Lipstick in Friend Like Me ($20.00)

The MAC Cosmetics x Aladdin Lipstick in Friend Like Me is my most reached for lipstick. It is a staple nude that can be worn on its own, deepened with a dark lip liner, or amped up with a gloss. The formula is ultra-comfortable and flattering on the lips.

I wish that Friend Like Me was permanent, so when I eventually finish this lipstick I will need to hunt down a comparable dupe. Read my review on the MAC Cosmetics x Aladdin Collection.

Best Lip Gloss 2019 | Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in Fenty Glow ($18.00, CF)

The Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb is my favorite lip gloss formula. These glosses are high shine, luscious glosses that make my lips look plumper. Of the Fenty Glosses in my collection, Fenty Glow is my favorite shade because of how it can be worn on its own or paired with any other lippie. See how the Gloss Bombs ranked in my lip gloss ranking.

Final Thoughts on my Award Winners 

In 2019, I was blessed to try so many incredible products from affordable, indie, prestige, and luxury brands. As a result, I struggled to pick a favorite within certain 2019 Newbie Award Categories.

However, my Best of Beauty 2019 roundup served as a stark reminder that I need to change my beauty buying habits. There are so many new products that I wanted to include in this roundup but didn’t feel that I used enough (or at all) to even consider adding this to my list.

By the time next year’s Best of Beauty roundup comes around, I hope to have tried everything I didn’t get to use enough this year.

Let’s connect on social media: Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin’ | Influenster

Did you enjoy reading my Newbie Awards – Best of Beauty 2019 Roundup? Check out my Best of Beauty 2018 Roundup or my best Fall Eyeshadows Roundup.

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Have you tried any of the products featured in my 2019 Newbie Awards roundup? What would you include in your Best of Beauty 2019 Roundup? Please let me know in the comments below.