My Top Favorite Purchases of 2021

January 2, 2022

Taking a moment to round up my favorite beauty and fashion purchases of 2021.

My Top Favorite Purchases of 2021 - Affordable by Amanda

My Favorite Beauty Products of 2021

Let’s chat beauty products that I really enjoyed in 2021. In 2021, I found some new brands like Merit Beauty, LAWLESS, ILIA, and Kosas.

MERIT Flush Balm Cream Blush

A huge new discovery for me was the balm cream blushes from MERIT. At first, I didn’t know if I’d like the consistency of this blush. Once I pressed my foundation brush onto the circular round top of this MERIT blush and applied to my cheeks, I instantly loved the pop of color I achieved.

The shade I currently own and love is called Beverly Hills, but now that I am a huge fan of this blush, I am planning on buying more shades in 2022.

Kosas Revealer Super Creamy Concealer

In my makeup collection, I don’t hold onto a lot of concealers. Normally I’ll even out my skin tone with more foundation underneath my eyes. I’ve been eager to test out makeup products from the Kosas brand. This year I finally experimented with two Kosas products: their lip oil and concealer. Both the lip oil and creamy concealer are now part of my rotation of makeup products!

MAKEUP BY MARIO Soft Sculpt Bronzer

Bronzers are like shoes to me: I continue to buy more and more! One bronzer that stood out to me in 2021 is the Soft Sculpt Bronzer from Makeup by Mario. I saw a few other fair-skinned YouTube beauty gurus wearing this matte bronzer which inspired me to make my own purchase. I wear the lightest shade, “Light”, and it has a buildable color that never looks orange. When you see me on the blog or Instagram I am typically wearing this exact bronzer on my cheekbones!

COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser

In 2021, I became a contracted writer for iHerb. You can read some of my articles here. iHerb gave me credit to do some shopping on their site. While looking through iHerb, I narrowed down a few cleansers to try out on my skin. One of the cleansers that I am repurchasing is from the K-Beauty brand, COSRX.

The Good Morning Gel Cleanser has a nice tea tree scent to it and completely refreshes my skin. The cleanser has a great price at $12, too.

Merit Shade Slick Vegan Tinted Lip Oil | Au Natural

Another beauty product from Merit that I wear over and over again: the tinted lip oil! Now I own two shades in “Au Naturel” and “Marakeech”. Honestly, I think I am going to try to buy all of the shades to review in 2022. The tinted lip oils from Merit are soft, hydrating, and look slick to complete a natural makeup look.

IT Cosmetics Confidence in a Cleanser Gentle Face Wash

One of my favorite sets from the year was my travel-sized skin care from IT Cosmetics. The face wash, in particular, really stood out to me as a great cleanser.

LAWLESS Mini The Little One Eyeshadow Palette

One of my most-used eye shadow palettes of 2021: the LAWLESS Mini The Little One Eyeshadow Palette. It’s a small, compact eye shadow palette that’s perfect for travel. This matte and shimmer eye shadow palette only cost $25, too.

Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm

This year, I decided to start unwinding for the night by using a cleansing balm to remove my makeup. On days when I wear heavy makeup to take photos or film for YouTube, I choose to scoop out a bit of Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm into my palm. It’s a great way to gently and effectively remove your makeup.

tarte SEA Hydroflex™ Serum Foundation

Oh how lovely this foundation feels on the skin! The serum consistency makes it really nice to wear all day long. On me, I wear the lightest shade in this serum foundation from Tarte Cosmetics. I love how this foundation feels like a mix between a lightweight moisturizer and a foundation.

My Favorite Fashion Purchases of 2021

Red Dress Boutique Look No Further Light Camel Bag

A bag that I wore all of 2021 is my camel bag from Red Dress Boutique. The boutique kindly gifted me some accessories and clothing during the fall and I ended up choosing this quilted bag. It’s seriously the perfect shoulder bag for me! It holds my phone, wallet, and more. The bag itself reminds me of a more expensive Chanel quilted shoulder bag, too.

Abercrombie Women’s 90s Seamless Fabric Tank Bodysuit

I love how soft and comfortable this seamless tank bodysuit feels against my skin. The neutral tone made it a great piece to match with patterned shorts during the summertime. Whenever Abercrombie has a sale, I try to pick up more of their bodysuits. I wear a medium in Abercrombie & Fitch bodysuits.

Sofia Jeans by Sofia Vergara Women’s Melisa Flare High Rise Button Front Side Panel Jeans

Instead of skinny jeans there was a resurgence of straight-leg jeans in 2021. Thanks to Gen Z and TikTok, wide-leg jeans became a huge trend. At Walmart, I ended up finding my perfect pair of stretchy wide-leg jeans from Sofia Vergara.

Nordstrom Short Brim Wool Panama Hat

During the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, I picked up a new tan panama hat for the fall/winter. What I didn’t expect to happen was how much I wore the heck out of this hat! For a lot of my photo shoots and YouTube videos, I wore this hat. Check out when I first spotted this panama hat in my Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Haul video on YouTube.