One week into 2018 and I am finally back to blogging! I took a few weeks off at the end of 2017 to celebrate Christmas with my extended family, take a quick trip to Vegas with the hubs to celebrate our 16th anniversary, and ring in the New Year at home with all the kids and adults. It was a great opportunity for me to reflect upon what I accomplished with my blog in 2017 and to set some new and exciting goals for the magic I hope to make happen in 2018!

I spent time thinking over the last few weeks and set about identifying my favorite purchases of 2017 (seriously, I went through every Amazon, Nordstrom, Revolve, Sephora, Shopbob, and Neiman Marcus transaction!) and I am so excited to share this list with you today. Each of these items in some way made my life better, richer, easier, or happier and I believe that they are the best of the best in many different categories. While I am a huge lover of makeup and clothes, I am also an avid reader and I LOVE recommending my favorite books to family and friends! (Every member of my family heard about “The Yellow Book” this year, whether they wanted to or not!) I also discovered a TV series and podcast that I binged on like a crazy person and in our stressful world, we all need a good from of escapism now and then! Read on for my absolute favorites from 2017!

 

 

  1. Baublebar Gabriela Stud Tassel Earrings– Statement earrings have had quite a run in 2017 and there are none that I love more than these tassel beauties from Baublebar. Somehow they seem to go with everything (or I just wear them with everything!) and they are guaranteed to elicit compliments every time you wear them!
  2. Kendra Scott Elisa Pendant Necklace in Pave Diamond & 14K Rose Gold– This was one of my pricier purchases in 2017, but if you calculate the cost based upon price per wear, that number comes down to less than $5.00. So it was a bit of an upfront investment, but it saved me from buying a bunch of other necklaces throughout the year. (At least, this is what I am telling my husband😉)
  3. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion– It has been said that I once used the words “life changing” to describe this eyeshadow primer. That might be a bit extreme, but after just one use of this magical potion I was hooked and couldn’t imagine applying my makeup without it. It cancels out all of the redness on the thin eyelid skin and it creates a perfectly smooth base for crease-free eyeshadow!
  4. Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder– This powder comes in three shades and it is a finely milled micro powder that sets foundation without looking heavy or cakey. It beautifully blurs imperfections and makes your skin look radiant and glowy. I highly recommend giving it a try this year!
  5. Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick– If you have spent any time here at The Eyeliner Edit, then you know about my deep and abiding love for Kat Von D’s Liquid Lipstick. My color collection continues to grow as she adds new shades and they are all amazing, but my hands-down favorite this year is Ludwig. It is the most beautiful, soft pink color that has become my daily go-to for a subtle rosy pout.
  6. Madewell 10″ High Rise Skinny Jeans: Chewed-Hem Edition– LIFE. CHANGING. That is how strongly I feel about these jeans from Madewell. They are the best fitting pair of jeans I have ever owned and oh so flattering. The secret is what Madewell calls “Magic Pockets” in the front for an extra layer of tummy slimming sorcery. The denim has just the right amount of stretch making them just as comfortable as they are beautiful. I am convinced these are the greatest jeans ever made!!
  7. Spanx Faux Leather Leggings– Have you ever considered just wearing Spanx everyday of your life rather than go to the gym and eat healthy? Yeah, me too. Now, you can kinda do that with these Spanx leggings. They are my favorite leggings that I have ever owned and the fabric just sucks you in and smooths everything out.🙌🏻 They are more expensive than a regular pair of black leggings from Target, but they are made of a very thick material that will hold up through washes and wears without getting holes or snags.
  8. Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil– I am a bit of a heat styling/hair coloring addict, so when I noticed my hair looking a little crispy a few months ago, I started looking for a good moisturizing treatment. This argan oil garners 4.5 star reviews all over the internet, so I figured it must be doing something right. For the last several months, I have been creating my own deep conditioning treatment with one dropper of argan oil mixed with a couple tablespoons of coconut oil and I have seen a definite improvement in my hair’s shine and smoothness. I have been applying this mix to my hair about every four washes (which for me comes out to about every other week) and leaving it on for a few hours before I shower.
  9. Oribe Gold Lust Hair Care– When my hairdresser recommended the Oribe Gold Lust product line to me a year ago, I was initially hit with major sticker shock! This stuff is expensive. But, it also works wonders on dry, over-processed hair like mine. My secret is I only wash my hair twice a week, thus using less product, and I rotate this shampoo with one other brand that is a little more budget friendly. Even if I only use the Oribe shampoo every other wash, I still notice my hair looking and feeling great.
  10. Love, Chloe by Alessandra Torre– I like to vary my reading habits with books for learning and self-improvement mixed in with a healthy amount of fun, fluffy fiction. Love, Chloe falls into the latter category! It is an easy, fun read filled with humor, romance and a heroine you can’t help but root for. This is your spring break beach book already selected!
  11. You are a Badass by Jen Sincero– I read this book at the beginning of 2017 and it was the perfect kick in the rear that I needed to make some long overdue changes in my life. I am not a fan of soft, fluffy self-help books where you are supposed to look at rainbows and listen to birds sing and think about how wonderful the world is. Barf. That is why Jen’s take on self help was so deeply resonant with me. She is a no-nonsense, tell it like it is girl who will tell you to stop making excuses for why your life isn’t what you want it to be and get up off your butt and make a change. Her passion is inspiring and contagious and I found myself feeling ready to take on the world after I finished reading her book!
  12. Mules– Mules became my absolute favorite shoe trend of 2017 and I’m not giving them up without a fight anytime soon! The color and fabric options are endless, they are incredibly comfortable, and they make even the most basic outfit look chic and pulled together. Love!
  13. Nike Blazer Low LX– I have been looking for a cute pair of street sneakers for a while and fate stepped in while Rusty and I were in Vegas for our anniversary and these were on sale at the Nike store. Because I am an optimistic (crazy) person, I only packed heels for our three day trip to Vegas and by day two my feet were KILLING me. Admitting defeat, I went into Nike and found these shoes that I absolutely loved! I am happy to report that I put them on immediately and wore them for hours with no blisters or break-in necessary! Cute and comfy…my favorite combo.
  14. The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu– Oh. My. God. I truly had no idea what this TV show was about when I started watching it. My interest was piqued when I watched the Emmy awards last year and it swept nearly every category. I truly wasn’t looking to get sucked into a new binge-watching show, but I just felt that I had to check it out to see what all the hype was about. And let me tell you, it is as amazing as all of the awards would lead you to believe and so incredibly addictive. It is really hard to give a summary of this show without spoiling the plot, but it takes place in a dystopian society where environmental pollution has left people infertile. Women who have proven to be able to conceive (i.e. mothers) are kidnapped and held hostage in this new society in order to bear children for the commanders and their wives. Not since Breaking Bad have I felt this way about something on TV and I am breathlessly waiting for Season 2 in April!
  15. Serial Podcast– I am a latecomer to the whole Podcast thing (I seriously thought I had unearthed some new form of technology only to be told by my husband that podcasts have, in fact, been around for quite a while), but what time I lost in not being an early adopter I am making up with fervent listening now. I listen when I am in the car, putting on my makeup, curling my hair, folding laundry, washing dishes, cooking dinner, running…pretty much 90 percent of my life! I have found several podcasts that I love, but none have compared to the way that I was sucked into binging the first two seasons of Serial Podcast! Each season takes a sort of real life mystery case and breaks it up week by week to tell the story from multiple angles and try to help you come to a conclusion about what really happened. Spoiler alert: You still don’t know what really happened by the end! But, that doesn’t make the story-telling any less engaging or the cases any less intriguing!

 

I hope 2018 is off to a great start for you and that one of these things might make it onto your favorites list for this year!

All the ❤︎,

Nicole

January 8, 2018