Favourite Products of 2020

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 I hope you're sitting comfortably because this is a long one! I've used so many amazing products this year that it would probably take me until 2022 to pick one from each different beauty category. So, I'm just going to go through my stand out products of the year. Let's start with skincare...

Deviant Skincare Cleansing Concentrate (available HERE for £31-69) - This is an absolutely decadent cleansing balm. It ticks all the boxes for me - it's a beautiful texture, it destroys makeup and SPF with ease and is smells incredible (no added fragrance - it's a natural nutty type scent from the ingredients). I've gone through 3 jars of this now, I started with the 50ml, then 100ml, now I'm up to the giant 200ml! It's that good. You can read my original review HERE. This featured in last years faves too! 

Syrene Aquagel Oil to Foam Cleanser (available HERE for £46) - Another cleanser that is an absolute joy to use! A gorgeous thick oil / gel hybrid that has an incredible fresh / floral scent. This can be used as a first cleanse but I prefer it as a second as I like to savour applying it! I bought a second bottle before I'd even got halfway though my first, I love it that much. My full review can be found HERE. 

Medik8 Crystal Retinal 10 (available from Space NK, Cult Beauty, Face The Future for £79 or Skin City for £73) - This has taken my top spot for a Vitamin A serum (although I'm using Dermatica at the moment, I've not been using it long enough to form a proper opinion). This contains Retinal which is a supercharged form of Retinol but with less side effects. It's available in 4 strengths - 10 being the strongest. I can use this daily without irritation. It leaves my skin soft and smooth. It also helps keep my acne under control. Amazing stuff. 

Medik8 Hydr8 B5 Intense serum (available from Space NK, Cult Beauty, Feel Unique, Face The Future for £55 and Skin City for £51) - The best hydrating serum, without a doubt! This was my favourite last year too. An incredible hyaluronic acid serum that also contains natural moisturising factors for added hydration. A beautiful texture - it absorbs easily and isn't sticky at all. I've gone through numerous bottles now. You can read my original review HERE. 

Evy Technology Daily Defence Face Mousse SPF 50 (available from Space NK and Evy.uk for £27 - you can save 15% at Evy.uk using my affiliate code TORIA15) - Evy's SPF 30 has been my holy grail SPF for a couple of years now so I jumped for joy when they brought out a SPF 50 version! It's just as fantastic as it's sister, just with a higher level of protection. It's incredibly lightweight with it being a mousse. There's no greasiness, no stickiness, no white cast, no scent, it doesn't sting my eyes either. It's hydrating and doesn't pill or roll, making it perfect to wear under makeup. Seriously the best. 

Allies of Skin Peptides and Antioxidants Firming Daily Treatment (available from Space NK, Cult Beauty  for £105) - Not pictured in the group photo above as I've not got this in my stash at the moment, purely because if I had a tube of this, I'd not use anything else! Honestly, it's that good. It might be expensive but this is truly worth every penny for me. It's a surprising rich cream that is still fairly lightweight making it a perfect choice for my dehydrated, acne prone skin. It's such a pleasure to use and really makes my skin look and feel amazing! It'll certainly be a repurchase at some point, once I've got through my "to test" pile of creams. Read my full review HERE. 

Medik8 Advanced Night Restore moisturiser (PR, available from Space NK, Cult Beauty, Feel Unique, Face The Future for £55 & Skin City for £50) - This moisturiser knocked my previous favourite night cream off it's top spot, which should say it all! It's wonderful and ticks all the boxes for what I look for in a night moisturiser. It's nourishing without being heavy or greasy. It has a spa-like scent so it's enjoyable to use. It absorbs beautifully leaving skin soft and hydrated. It never pills either. Incredible stuff. Full review HERE. 

Luneia Radiance Ritual mask (PR, available HERE for £40) - My favourite exfoliant of the year and it's a mask! I usually prefer my exfoliant to be a serum, so it says a lot that I've picked this. It's a beautiful thick balm like cream that contains a mix of AHA and BHA acids. What makes it so special is how hydrating and nourishing it is. Exfoliating masks can sometimes be a bit drying - not this one! It leaves you with the softest skin. Pores are clear and refined and skin is plump and hydrated. Amazing! You can read my original review HERE. 

Chantecaille Jasmine and Lily Healing mask (available from Space NK, Cult Beauty for £75) - Another one that I've not got round to reviewing yet -  I've been too busy enjoying it! It's a beautiful lightweight cream with a gorgeous floral scent. It's so cooling to apply. You don't need a huge amount either, it spreads easily. This is the type of mask that you can put on and forget about. It's so soothing and hydrating. I usually leave it on for at least half an hour, sometimes an hour. It nourishes and calms skin brilliantly. Again it's not the cheapest but definitely worth it for me.

Dr. Levy Switzerland R3 Cell Matrix Mask (PR, available HERE for £69) - I can't believe I've not reviewed this mask yet! It's a brilliant all rounder - it hydrates, nourishes, plumps, brightens and just makes your skin look better in general. It's a thick cream that's designed to be left on for 20 mins but I've left it on for longer before and it's been fine. When my skin is looking dull and needs perking up, this is what I reach for. It's expensive but definitely worth it for me. 

Dr Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro (available from Space NK & Cult Beauty for £430) - I've been a huge fan of LED light therapy for a couple of years now, having it both in salons and at home. I recently upgraded my home LED device to this mask and I'm so glad I did! This is the closest I've found to salon quality at home. Obviously it's never going to be quite the same as what you can get it a salon but this really is the next best thing. I picked this device over other LED masks as it has both red and blue LED's. Red is brilliant on it's own as it boosts collagen production and has calming, anti-inflammatory benefits but blue gives the added bonus of being antibacterial, so it brilliant for acne sufferers like me. I use this pretty much every day. It only takes 3 minutes and it really does make a huge difference to my skin. It calms spots and helps clear them up much quicker. If it's within your budget, I highly recommend it. I managed to get it on offer so was pretty lucky. 

NuFace Trinity (available from Space NK & Cult Beauty for £315 & Feel Unique & Look Fantastic for £268 for a Limited Edition set) - Another skincare device, this time it's microcurrent. Microcurrent is basically a very mild current that gives your facial muscles a work out! It helps to keep your face looking taught and sculpted. Although the results aren't life changing, they are noticeable, especially around my jawline. It helps give definition to this area. It has to be used regularly, 2-3 times a week, to maintain the results. If you can't commit to that, I wouldn't recommend getting one of these as it would be a waste of money. However if you can use it regularly - I definitely recommend it! 

Mio Liquid Yoga Bath Soak (available HERE for £28) - This is an fantastic bubble bath. It smells incredible - a gorgeous mix of essential oils along with other ingredients designed to help soothe aching muscles and help you relax. The scent never fails to chill me out! Plus it leaves skin feeling soft. Love it. 

Mio Go With The Flow Body Oil (available HERE for £26) - This is the same scent as the bath soak. It's a gorgeous, rich oil - you don't need much of it. I apply it to my skin whilst it's still damp from my bath. It leaves skin super soft and nourished. It's brilliant to continue the relaxing scent of the bath soak. Very comforting.

NYK1 Lash Force lash serum (PR, available HERE for £39.95 - save 10% using my affiliate code TORIA10) - My natural lashes have always been pretty average and I've always relied on mascara to boost them. I tried lash extensions earlier in the year and hated them! I loved how they looked but didn't like not being able to use oil based products around my eyes, not to mention the cost of the upkeep. So I tried this lash serum after seeing others have good results and I've never looked back! I saw results after about 5 weeks of use this morning and night, with full results after about 7-8 weeks. I continue to use it twice daily to maintain results. The photo below shows before using the serum with mascara and the bottom photo shows how my lashes look now, without mascara but after a lash tint and lift. This really shows off just how long my lashes are! Incredible results. I also use it on my brows too. I used to get my brows microbladed but don't feel like I need to now. The second photo shows my brows prior to microblading and how they look now the microblading has faded. 

Trinny London BFF Serum De-Stress (available HERE for £39) - Trinny London has to be one of my favourite brands and I've loved her products ever since I first used them. This is no exception! BBF De-Stress has quickly become my go-to base product. It's hydrating and light-medium buildable coverage. I wear the palest shade (Flora) and it's a perfect match for me. It evens out my skin tone brilliantly and gives the perfect amount of coverage whilst still looking very natural. My original review is HERE. 

Lisa Eldridge True Velvet lipsticks (available HERE for £26) - I've got 4 of these lipsticks as I love the formula that much! It's a beautiful, creamy matte that is incredibly pigmented as well as being long wearing. I've worn them loads this year and will definitely buy more shades in the future.

And that's it for my 2020 favourites! Thanks for reading.