My Best of 2018

I thought I'd do a "Best of 2018" post as I didn't do one last year for 2017 and I feel like I do have a fair amount of things I want to talk about which been great over the past year. I'm talking about Skincare, Makeup, Hair Care, TV shows, Movies and Music in this post. So yeah, there's a lot to get through so I'm just going to get on with it because it's going to be a very long post!
Let's start with my favourite skincare products of 2018, I'm not going to lie it's been hard to whittle it down to just five products. I was planning on doing just three favourites for everything in this post but that was way too hard. 

Skincare - 
My favourite skincare products of 2018 have been the Glossier MJC is a lovely no frills gentle daily cleanser which smells of roses and I just love it, it's definitely my most used cleanser this year, the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion has had me covered (quite literally) since I picked it up in March and has been there for me when an angry painful spot has popped up (especially those pesky under the skin ones) it's basically a little miracle worker in a bottle and it lasts for ages. The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask is definitely my all time fave face mask, it is a little intense (if you have super sensitive and dry skin, I wouldn't recommend) and it is a little messy too but it's 100% worth it because it controls my oiliness and calms down my skin if it's acting a little crazy and gives it a natural glow so overall it's just a great mask for me. Another mask I've loved this year and have already gotten through a few tubes of is the Sanctuary 1 Minute Daily Glow Mask. It's great if your skin is looking a little dull and/or you just feel like it needs perking up, it's also great if you fancy a little pamper session but can't be arsed to put the effort in and also in my case I'm in too much pain to have a full on pamper session. It's smells lovely because of the rosemary extracts too which is something else I really like about it. Lastly is my good old Pixi Double Cleanse, I knew I'd love Double Cleanse because Caroline Hirons collaborated with them on making it and she knows her stuff obviously as she's a skincare expert - if you haven't watched her Youtube channel you should do btw. According to Pixi the Double Cleanse is suitable for all skin types which is fab and it definitely works for my oily/dry combination skin. I do tend to shy away from balms and oils as I worry they'll break me out but Double Cleanse is just a great all rounder as a makeup remover and a nice cleanser.

Makeup -
I was kind of on the fence when I first picked up and tried the Glossier Skin Tint in Light but I've been using it more often towards the end of the year and loving it. It obviously doesn't give a ton of coverage but it really does smooth out my skin and any imperfections and gives it a slight tint of colour too. It does need a light dusting of powder over the top though as it quite dewy but other than that I really like it. The Charlotte Tilbury Instant Look in a Palette Face Palette in Beauty Glow is probably my all time favourite makeup product. It shows how much I love the palette as I actually smashed my first one and yes, I'm still bloody gutted months later *sob* but I instantly got another one asap. I'm not sure if it's available anymore but if you can get your hands on the face palettes I'd highly recommend! The Pixi Glow-y Gossamer Highlighter in Delicate Dew* is a fairly new addition to my makeup collection and it's gorgeous. I personally think the texture is quite similar to the Colourpop highlighters which I like. It's quite buttery but goes on like a powder and you can also build it up from a natural glow to more of an intense glow, I personally prefer more of a natural look. As always, Pixi have got it spot on with these highlighters! The Too Faced Born This Way Foundation almost didn't make it on my favourites list as the shade range is appalling my opinion, I have the shade Swan which is supposed to be super pale, I think at the time it was the lightest shade available and it's basically orange on my skin tone. But thankfully my Revolution Whitening Drops save the day when I use the TF Foundation and I use about 4 or 5 drops to make the foundation the right shade for me. The foundation itself is great,  it has a medium-high coverage and has a demi-matte finish which I like. It also lasts really well and on my oily skin type and that is very rare. Lastly is the L'Oreal Paradise Mascara which is apparently a dupe to the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara but I personally think the Paradise mascara is actually better and works well with my lashes. I prefer the brush and weirdly, I find the mascara makes my eyes look bluer. It's definitely a good mascara for me and I do struggle with mascaras with my lashes being awkward, however I have found something which has helped improve my lashes immensely which you can read about here.

Hair Care -
The Lee Stafford ChocoLocks Butter Cream Treatment Mask is literally the dreamiest hair mask I've ever used. When I first got it in a PR package earlier in the year, I was so excited to try it out. It smells exactly like chocolate, as expected and it's super hydrating and leaves your hair feeling and smelling lovely and I just can't fault it. The Umberto Giannini 60 Second Smooth Pre Shampoo Treatment is one of my favourite beauty finds of 2018 after I saw Gemma talk about it on her instagram. It literally makes your hair feel as if you've just been at the salon, it smooths it out and makes it feel so soft and you really do only have to pop it on for a minute before shampooing and conditioning and it makes a huge difference. I personally tend to leave it on for 3-5 minutes just because I like my hair being super soft. My third hair fave of 2018 is the OGX Anti Breakage Keratin Hair Oil which my mum picked up for me and oh my god, it smells gorgeous. I don't know what it smells like but it just smells good. I like that it's in a spray rather than pump bottle as it's easier to use and I love to use it on my mid lengths and ends before blow drying my hair. Next is the Wetbrush* Hair Brush which has been a game changer, I know what you're probably thinking "but it's just a brush" and I know, I thought the same too! But it really does make a difference. Although I have pretty fine hair, it does get tangled easily (probably due to the fact it's spends the majority of it's time in a messy bun lol) but the Wetbrush soon sorts it out. Lastly is the Mane n Tail Detangling Spray which is great to use if you wear your hair in a messy bun a lot and it gets quite tangled up that even the Wetbrush can't tackle it. I like to use the Mane n Tail Detangling Spray either before I pop it into a messy bun or after I take it down and it definitely helps it to not get as tangled up.

TV Shows -
My favourite show of 2018 has got to be Killing Eve, yes it's weird and twisted but it's just one of those shows which has you hooked as soon as you start watching it. If you haven't watched it (and managed to avoid spoilers) then I really do recommend watching it. I love the main characters Jodie Comer who plays the assassin Villanelle and Sandra Oh who plays Eve. I've already watched the show twice and I'll most likely watch it again before Season 2 is released in 2019. I also liked The Handmaid's Tale which is again one of those odd shows which pulls you in from the beginning. The Handmaid's Tale is very dark and to be honest it's not very nice and kind of has you on the edge of your seat during most of the time but it's that what makes you want to watch the next episode as soon as it's out. I've also really enjoyed Riverdale's third season, I did kind of go off it a bit during season two with the Black Hood drama and all that, I felt like the reveal was a bit crap to be honest too. I didn't find it very realistic and I know, now it's all about the "Gargoyle King" and the game Griffins and Gargoyles which is not that realistic either but it's more interesting to watch. I also loved the flashback episode "The Midnight Club" which obviously was based on The Breakfast Club and revealed more dark secrets about their parents. Good Girls which is available on Netflix was one of the funniest shows I watched in 2018. It's about three struggling mothers Beth, Annie and Ruby who are all dealing with problems in their home life and money is the key to help them all out. So what do they do? Then rob the grocery store where Annie works which lands them in more bother (and no, not because they get caught stealing the money). Lastly in this list is Jane The Virgin which is about Jane a devoted Catholic who is a virgin and has kept to her word that she won't have sex until married which her grandmother is happy to hear but then when she goes for a routine check up at the doctors, she's accidentally artificially inseminated and finds herself pregnant. It then gets even more crazy when she finds out she's carrying her boss Rafael's baby. It did take me a few episodes to get into it properly but then I found myself binge watching. I bloody love Jane's dad Roeglio in it too, he's so over dramatic and funny!

Movies -
A Simple Favour way by far one of the best films I watched in 2018, the amount of twists and turns in that film left me feeling like I'd been on a roller coaster. I do love a good mystery/thriller kind of film and it definitely hit the nail on the head. It's about Stephanie who is a single mother and a popular food and craft vlogger and Emily who is a PR director and her son Nicky goes to school with Stephanie's son Miles which is how both of them end up meeting and arranging play dates for the boys. When Emily drops everything for work she asks Stephanie to look after Nicky but then Emily disappears and doesn't answer any calls. Then the police discover something but there's more to it than what meets the eye so Stephanie does her own investigating to find out what's really happened to Emily.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before was probably the cutest teen rom-com I've watched in a while, I love that it has a different concept than an normal "boy meets girl" kind of film. It's just a nice, funny feel-good film and I've already watched it at least 4 times since it was released on Netflix. It's about Lara Jean who over the years has written 5 letters to boys she has crushes/strong feelings for including her sister's boyfriend/Lara Jean's best friend Josh and she's also addressed all of the letters too. She hid the letters in a hat box in her bedroom closet hidden away from everyone but then her younger sister Kitty decides to go mooching around and to make Lara Jean's life more exciting she finds the letters and sends them out to the boys. Lara Jean goes to school the following Monday unaware of what's happened and is confronted by a former crush Peter Kavinsky which causes her to literally faint. Then whilst been confronted by Peter she sees Josh (her sister's boyfriend) on her way over to her with the letter in his hand so she kisses Peter to avoid talking to Josh and then runs off. Then soon after they decide to strike up a fake relationship to cover Lara Jean and also to make Peter's ex-girlfriend Gen jealous. I can't wait for the sequel that was confirmed by Netflix a few weeks ago!

I watched Modern Life is Rubbish literally about a month or so ago and it's made my favourites list because I loved it that much. I'm very much into music, particularly indie/rock music, so when I saw this on Now TV Movies I just had to watch it. It's about a couple Liam and Natalie who have been together over 10 years after meeting in a music shop and declaring their big love for music. Liam is in a band from the beginning who are trying to get known and hates the modern life basically, including iPhones, being able to download music and etc and Natalie is the complete opposite and is following the crowd and loves all the new modern technology that is released during their relationship and realises after living a pretty carefree life with Liam at the beginning of their relationship that she needs to knuckle down and get a "proper job" in an office and starts thinking about settling down and wanting a family. After trying to get their long term relationship back on track time and time again they decide it's time to call it quits and start splitting their prized music collection which is basically the soundtrack to their relationship. So it flashes back to the beginning and through the good and the bad times until the present day. It's honestly such a good films with realistic problems and has some great music in it as well. PS. It did make me cry a few times, so yeah just a warning!

I've been following The Maze Runner series from the beginning and I love it. I really liked The Hunger Games when it was first released so The Maze Runner was a good film series to go onto after THG. (contains spoilers if you haven't watched the previous films) The Maze Runner: The Death Cure is the third and final movie in the trilogy of films, it follows Thomas and his friends from The Glade and The Right Arm resistance attempt a rescue operation to get their other friends and people who are immune to the Flare Virus which is and has basically killed most of the world's population. The baddies WCKD have the immune on a train and are taking them to their base to experiment on them. But when Thomas and his friends find that Minho was is one of the other Gladers is not on the train but at WCKD's base in The Last City they go against Vince's wishes (The Right Arm leader) and go on a rescue mission to get Minho who is being tortured by WCKD who are after a cure for the virus. On their way they are attacked by the Cranks (people who have the virus) and have to deal with a lot more. I feel like I've described it in a crap way but if you've watched The Maze Runner and haven't watched the next two then I'd highly recommend it because it is really good and I think the second and third are better than the first film.

How To Be Single isn't a new film to me, I've watched it so many times but I have watched it few times during 2018 when I've been feeling really low and it just always cheers me up and puts my mind in a better perspective. It's a proper girl power feel-good kind of film and I just love it, so I thought it deserved being added to my favourites list.

Music -
The Wombats latest album Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life has probably been my most listened to album of 2018, I literally love every song on it and I just love The Wombats in general ever since their first album was released in 2006. Yep, it really has been that long. My favourite songs from their latest album are definitely Cheetah Tongue, Turn, Black Flamingo and Turn. Another band I've loved for literally years is The Neighbourhood and they released their third album early 2018 which was self titled. I know they aren't for everyone, it just depends on your music taste but I find that they have a bit of everything going on which I like about them. My fave songs off their third album are Scary Love, Compass, Nervous, Stuck With Me and Void. So basically almost the whole album haha.

Florence and The Machine has made my favourites list but I must admit, I wasn't a huge fan of the latest album High Hopes. However I have been listening to Lungs, Ceremonials, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful quite a lot over the past year. My favourite Florence songs overall are Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up),What The Water Gave Me, Hunger, What Kind of Man, Hurricane Drunk, Heartlines and Cosmic Love.

The Japanese House new songs Saw You in a Dream, Lilo and also her older songs such as Face Like Thunder, Pool to Bathe In, Teeth, Cool Blue have been some of my most listened to songs during 2018. I find her music quite relaxing and I like to listen to it when I'm feeling super stressed or struggling to sleep.

The Killers Wonderful Wonderful was released in 2018 too and I really love the song The Man so I had to see what the rest of the album was like. I love it! There are some songs that I like but don't love on it but I do love the songs The Man, Out Of My Mind, Run for Cover, Rut, Wonderful Wonderful and Some Kind of Love. 

The Jungle Giants are a band I randomly found on Spotify earlier on in the year and their Quiet Ferocity album which was released in 2017 is such a nice upbeat album, it's the type of album you can pop on when you're in the car, shower, cleaning, cooking etc and sing along to and they kind of remind me of a band I loved when I was back at school called Metronomy but they changed their music style a bit so I went off them a few years later. 

Phew, that was a long post to write haha! What did you love in 2018? 

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*this post contains PR samples, all opinions are my own