My Favorite (So Far) Beauty Products of 2020

Not to rush the traditional end of year recaps but I hate those and I also know myself well enough to know if I don’t recap my favorite beauty products of 2020 now, I never will. I think the beauty industry could stand to stop producing new products every two weeks. Your skin needs time with a product. I understand the cycle is geared to making us want to buy, but I won’t even judge a product until I have a solid six weeks with it to truly give it a chance. You don’t need the latest and greatest just because. Listen to your skin!

These products are ones that I have either used all year or had at least six-weeks with in order to feel like I can recommend them.

Potent-C Power Serum

I thought just vitamin c was good. (I’ve talked about it a lot) Then I wanted to change out my ride or die vitamin c serum and I found this. It is 50x more powerful than a regular vitamin c serum. It does smell a little different (some people said it was rancid, I would not say that at all) but I LOVE the results. I tested it on a fine line I was getting on my forehead. After three weeks of consistent usage it was visibly diminished and is getting me through till my next Botox appointment. I have never bought into the Peter Thomas Roth hype, despite his masks being an industry standard, but this serum wins an award in my book.

Apply: Two pumps, twice a day
Cost: $98 / 1oz
Available: Ulta, Sephora
Addresses: Uneven texture, fine lines, wrinkles, firmness and increases brightness

Glow Cycle Retin-Alt Power Serum

Retinol is just a little too aggressive for my skin. I’ve tried every trick you can name, but it just burns up my skin. However, it’s one of the most powerful things you can apply to help diminish aging and keep a youthful glow.

Enter Ole Henrikson’s Glow Cycle Retin-Alt Power Serum. While you cannot say it five times fast, this is a great, all-natural, plant-powered, clean beauty product. As soon as I ran out of my first bottle I added it to my cart. I wasn’t even tempted to try anything else. Be careful when apply it to not get it anywhere near your eye or lips. I learned that the hard way when I got some on my lips and let me tell you, I was happy to get my rejuvenated lip skin back. (That was a gross sentence, sorry you had to read that.)

Apply: Two pumps, twice a week at night
Cost: $58 / 1oz
Available: Sephora
Addresses: EVRYTHING

Phlur Perfume

I was given this as a gift and oh my word. The brand is incredible. This smell is mesmerizing and unlike anything I’ve ever worn. I’ve gotten two compliments on it (I have only been semi-around two people in the past month) and I plan on trying more from this brand. I still love my Juliette’s Got a Gun Not a Perfume and Moscow Mule, but this one is perfect for fall. I also love any perfume that comes in a spray and NOT A ROLLERBALL! Ugh, I hate, hate, hate rollerball perfume. I am an adult and I want a spray. I do not need to roll my perfume on like a child.

Cost: $28 / .33oz
Available: Sephora

Invisibobble

I first hear of these last fall when I was with my coworker/friend Amy. She had a whole collection of them and I didn’t pay much attention to them. This year I decided to try and really not wear my hair up to help prevent any damage and keep my curls extra heathy. I also decided to somewhat grow my hair out which mean it went EVERYWHERE and was a hot mess.

I got this for when I need my hair back but I don’t need it to be all the way up. Do I trust it for a heavy-duty ponytail day? Absolutely not. Is it perfect for everyday, protecting my curls and not being one of the 30,000 ponytail rings I’ve lost? Yes. Yes it is. There’s a million brands selling this type of thing so I think I recommend them in general, not just this particular brand I picked up while checking out from Sephora.

Available: Sephora

Biossance Products

In my quest to replace my standard eye cream (I feel like after a while it becomes less effective but I have no science behind that.) I stumbled onto Biossance. I really like them, but I understand why some don’t. Some products have a very strong rose scent. These two products I didn’t find to be overwhelming. I really like the eye cream and the moisturizer is really great for brightening.

I apply the eye cream morning and night. The moisturizer I apply typically as a final layer to seal in something like my Potent-C or Retin-Alt. Both are available here.

Honeymoon Glow

I was first aware of Farmacy last year and I really enjoyed their sheet masks (I bought them a lot last winter and when I was traveling) and Honeymoon Glow was their breakout product. Farmcy is a clean beauty product that is perfectly balanced between pretty packaging, performance and clean beauty. Often I find you have trade-offs and I haven’t felt that way with this.

Apply: Two pumps, one-two nights a week. (You can build up to more if you feel you need it.) I do not recommend combining this product with any others until you know how your skill will react.
Cost: $58 / 1 oz
Available: Sephora
Addresses: Dull skin, refines pores and gently exfoliates.

Olive & June

I have come a LONG way from the first time I tried to do my nails in the pandemic and I bled for two days. I am still trying to figure out MY nails specifically because they like to chip even if it’s a dip formula on them. Why? No one knows, but I suspect it’s to keep me humble. Anyway, Olive & June had a wonderful fall collection and I picked up LD. (Actually named for someone in Wichita so it was a fun connection!) You can see my review here.

(Also you should note these photos were not take the same day, but over a week and my polish somehow looks the same with some average chipping.) I swapped out their topcoat for Seche gel topcoat. I typically reapply a topcoat after three days and make sure you seal the tips!

Don’t forget to switch out your skincare as the weather gets colder! You should always swap out items when the weather changes to make sure your skin is getting what it needs. And always, always, always wear SPF no matter what the weather is!