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Hello again, friends! We’re a little over a week into the new year, and I still can’t believe it! In 2018, the beauty industry saw a remarkable influx of indie brands, non-stop product launches, and an endless stream of social media trends. We love newness in the beauty community.
We saw large conversations happening regarding consumerism and sustainability in the beauty industry and commitments from large (and small) brands to diversity and inclusion. So what’s next?
This post is a list of trends I think will become popular in 2019 as well as trends I hope become more prevalent. So it’s half a predictions video and half a hopes video. But I consider myself to be pretty intuitive. Keep reading to find out what I’m hoping for in 2019!
1 | Lighter Coverage
The first trend I think we’ll see in 2019 is both a hope and a prediction. I really do think we’re going to see the trend moving more toward light coverage this year. From about 2016 to the beginning of 2018, it was all about maximum coverage. We wanted to cover EVERYTHING.
Now, I think the trend is moving toward medium coverage products — maybe with a more natural finish — and even light and sheer coverage products. I do think we’ll see an influx of natural and dewy finished products. And maybe even an emphasis on spot concealing and not having foundation do it all.
I don’t really have anything against full coverage, but I’m a light coverage gal. 2018 was the year that I really stopped giving a f*ck about concealing every single blemish on my skin. I prefer when a foundation allows you to see that I have skin under there, including some redness or blemishes. I still like to conceal them, but I’m not as concerned if they’re covered fully.
My favorite light coverage foundations:
2 | Concealer Launches
This hope is mainly selfish but partially educated. I cannot find a concealer I love. They’re either not offered in a light enough shade (ie: almost anything at the drugstore), are extremely too yellow on my skin tone, or are full ass coverage. And the new challenge is finding one that’s gluten free (Urban Decay please make the Naked Skin concealer GF, thanks).
Brands were all about releasing inclusive foundation lines or expanding their lines, and I’m hoping they move this trend into their concealers as well, with a variety of shades and coverage levels. Personally, I think a carefully crafted, permanent concealer would add more value to a brand than another limited edition warm eye shadow palette.
My favorite concealers @ the moment:
3 | Greens + other cool tones
2017 was all about orange, largely thanks to Jaclyn Hill. In 2018, we saw purple blow up in the beauty scene. But I think green is going to be the color for 2019.
Now, I don’t love green eye shadow. I know “why in the heck are you hoping to see it in the new year if you don’t like it?” Valid question. The greens on the market are largely cool–leaning on the emerald side of the spectrum. I think if we saw more variation in the olive, army green, swampy green variety that are a little warmer, I’d change my tune. I like green against my eyes; I like it as a substitute for black. But I think the market could use a little variety. Give us some punchy greens, some neutral greens, some warm greens, etc. Catch my drift?
And in that same breath, I want to see more cool tones. I mean more than just blues and purples. And I don’t even like cool tones that much.
Every palette is a warm, neutral palette with a pop of color. And they’re all starting to look the same. ABH came out with the Sultry palette toward the end of the year which largely contained cool neutrals. They tend to be a trendsetter when it comes to eye shadow palettes, so I’m hoping a lot of other brands follow suit.
4 | Cream Products
Like full coverage, for the past couple of years, the trend has leaned toward sculpted, angular, and powder makeup. In 2019, I think we’re going to see a lot more cream products being released and used.
Cream products look so much more natural on the skin. They look radiant and glowy on the skin, and I’m shifting my own preferences toward them. These days, I like a lived in, natural, healthy looking face of makeup. And I want to experiment more with cream products. I haven’t mastered them, but I want to see more of them.
I almost exclusively use cream highlighters these days. They look so much better, in my opinion. They look wet and fussed into the skin as opposed to the artificial effect we get with a lot of powders. I don’t hate powder highlight; I have a lot that I love. But I’m definitely crossing my fingers for more cream products in 2019.
5 | Smaller Palettes
I don’t know if we’ll actually see this one happen a lot, but here’s to hoping. I believe there is a lot of value in a small, 6-ish pan palette. It tests your creativity and tests a brand’s innovation and ability to create a unique product. There’s a ton of fun to be had with 6-pan palettes that I feel brands are really not taking advantage of.
Six pan palettes create a challenge I kind of think brands are scared of. When you look at most eye shadow palettes, you have a handful of shades in every single one: a cream color, a neutral brown transition, a black and/or dark brown, and then a sprinkle of colorful shades or other neutrals. Now, I have a ton of these palettes, and I like them. But it’s safe. It’s safe for a brand to fill pans with these neutrals so you can create an entire look and appeal to more customers. But most of us have multiple palettes with these shades already.
However, by eliminating those “safe” shades, we can gain new, unique, and stand out shades that will complement the rest of our collection. Juvias Place just released a smaller version of their Nubian Palette, and Colourpop has a handful of small palettes — as does Urban Decay, Viseart, and Natasha Denona. But they’re still pretty safe in color choice.
6 | Slower Releases
Slower releases is another trend I hope to see in 2019, but I’m not 100% positive we will. There’s definitely a push toward sustainability and intention from both consumers and brands. We’re seeing a want for clean products and brands, less packaging waste, and generally better products.
In 2018, I honestly couldn’t keep up with product releases. Looking at you, Colourpop, Urban Decay … As a consumer, I kept having NEW shoved in my face, but I didn’t have the money to to buy a new collection every week. And not only that, so many were so similar that it didn’t make sense to buy more than one anyway.
I think slower releases would enable brands to put more energy and effort into creating quality products as well as innovative and exciting products.
What beauty trends do you hope to see in 2019?
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