2016 in Makeup Looks

Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! Mine was quite lovely, with bountiful amounts of friends, family, food, and pajama time. All I could ask for! As 2016 comes to a close, I've had an interesting time assessing the year as a whole. On the one hand, there has been so much loss, tragedy, and unexpectedly disturbing (*cough*Trump*cough*) turns of events across the world over the past 12 months; on the other hand, 2016 brought my engagement and marriage, fantastic celebrations with loved ones, and unforgettable trips to New York City and Niagara Falls. It's hard to situate a year full of personal growth amidst a year of global sadness. I am grateful for the former and can only have hope that 2017 will bring less of the latter. 

When it comes to the blog, 2016 was a blast! I continued to make and deepen friendships with so many fellow bloggers and developed relationships with some incredible brands. There was no lack of amazing product releases and I did my best to keep my makeup experimentation going. As always, I did not develop my skills or share as many creative looks as I'd like, but that's an ongoing resolution I hope to hone further in the coming year.

For the time being, let's take a look back at some of my favourite makeup looks from 2016!

January

I don't often associate January with rich, warm hues, but the MAC Faerie Whispers collection was rife with such gorgeous shades I couldn't help but play! Here I am wearing two lovelies from the collection- Cremesheen Lipstick in Among the Fireflies and Foiled Eye Shadow in Faerie Fayre (which ended up being perhaps my most-worn shadow of the year!).

Original post, here.

David Bowie

Wait a second- David Bowie isn't a month! But really, it should be. Last January marked the passing of one of my greatest music loves and I had to commemorate the creative genius and style icon that was David Bowie with a bold makeup look. I created an alien-inspired makeup blending the looks of Ziggy Stardust and the ethereal Life on Mars music video. 

Original post, here.

February

When I think of Valentine's Day makeup, I drift towards bold, but romantic shades of pink and red. I was inspired by just those colours last February to create this Valentine's inspired look! I used Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Colour on the lips and the Kat von D Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette (another frequently used gem of the year) for the eyes. Who says pink and red clash!?

Original post, here.

March

My pick from March is a recreation of Reese Witherspoon's Oscars look, which totally captured my heart due to the fresh, beautiful, flushed lips and cheeks. I splurged on two products used in the original look- Chantecaille Cheek Shade in Flair and Cheek Gelee in Love (both completely stunning) and reached for my much-loved Chantecaille Lip Chic in Amaryllis to finish the look. 

Original post, here.

April

I totally fell for fiery shades of orange, rust, and cranberry this year and the Violet Voss Holy Grail Pro Eye Shadow Palette (which I purchased at IMATS NYC) helped me reach for these tones on the regular. Seriously, that palette is to die for and the look below is a good demonstration of its beauty! Here, I paired the Holy Grail with another gem of an IMATS purchase- Besame Carmine Classic Colour Lipstick (the most perfect coral red) for a super warm, but wearable party look. 

Original post, here.

May

At IMATS NYC, I also caved and purchased the Natasha Denona Eye Shadow Palette 5 #10. It's a unique mix of shimmery neutrals and rich, warm violets and this look shows it off quite well! To contrast the bold eyes, I finished the look with MAC Satin Lipstick in Brave, one of the most worn and ultra versatile lipsticks I bought this year. 

Original post, here.

June

In June I was lucky to receive several goodies from Essence and was pleasantly surprised with the quality of this accessible budget brand. I found quite a few faves among the bunch! In this Essence-heavy look, I'm wearing Mosaic Blush in All You Need is Pink, Pure Nude Highlighter in Be My Highlight, The Velvets Eye Shadows in You Better Mauve and Mr. Mocca-Bean, Forbidden Volume Mascara, and Prettifying Lip Oil in SOS, My Heart.

Original post, here.

July/Pride

Toronto Pride is an event I look forward to every year. It's such a fun, colourful, meaningful party! For this year's Pride, I created a rainbow-inspired makeup look not for the faint of heart. Again, the star of the show was the Kat von D Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette (rainbow eye shadow heaven), which I paired with one of my favourite red lipsticks, Nudestix Intense Matte Lip + Cheek Pencil in Royal. 

Original post, here.

August

Clearly summertime brings out my love of rainbow makeup! This month's look was a bit more subtle, though- I really need to re-create it asap! Surprise, surprise- I used the Kat von D Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette on the eyes. And for the lips, I patted on the unique and beautiful MAC Satin Lipstick in Sushi Kiss. 

Original post, here.

September

September marked the release of the MAC Star Trek collection, which totally spoke to my burgeoning inner Trekkie. This look was bold and alien-inspired and something I wish I could wear more often. I felt totally fierce! I used MAC Pressed Pigment in Bird of Prey on the eyes, Trip the Light Fantastic Powders in Luna Lustre and Highly Illogical to add glow to the complexion, and Lipglass in Twerkquoise from the Good Luck Trolls collection for an out of this world touch of blue on the lips. 

Original post, here.

October/Halloween

October is my favourite for makeup because it brings Halloween along with it! This year I decided to create an ice queen-inspired look that left me feeling properly frosty. I used a mix of green and blue eye shadows and liners to create dimension and definition, Chanel Imitable Waterproof Mascara in Lime Light on lashes, and Illamasqua Precision Ink in Scribe for icy white details. 

Original post, here.

November

November's look is much more subtle (hard not to be), but it'll always be a fave. I was lucky to be able to try some brand new goodies from the Maison Jacynthe makeup collection and they turned out to be natural beauty gems! I'm wearing Lipstick in Cherry/Cerise, Blush in Romeo, and Eye Shadow in Irish.

Original post, here.

December

And, as always, I had to finish the year with a festive look! I used some faves from Inglot to create some sultry eyes and bold red lips, perfect for any Christmas party or New Years Eve festivities. I reached for HD Lip Tint Matte #12, AMC Eyeliner Gel #77, Eye Shadow Pearl #397, and Eye Shadow Matte #329, and Kohl Pencil 01. I might just re-create this look tonight! 

Original post, here.

I hope you enjoyed the trip down makeup memory lane! It's always fun taking a peek back and starting to consider how I may experiment in the New Year. 

However you're spending the next couple of days, I hope you all have a fun and safe New Years! Here's to amazing things in 2017 :)

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