... according to a self-taught, beauty nerd. In case you don't know, I've worked in the beauty industry for the last decade but I have a degree in chemistry with the original intent to be the person in the lab making my favorite beauty products.

That didn't quite turn out the way I expected but I've ended up with a career that's allowed me to utilize my very STEM background in a lower-stakes non-STEM way. I approach beauty through the lens of effective performance. I've learned about haircare, skincare, and make-up from industry experts, YouTube bloggers, and my own trial and error, in order to cultivate my personal style and tastes. 

What does that mean?

I love packaging, but what's inside counts more. I'm conscious of ingredients, but I'm not afraid of safe synthetics and actually rely on my chemistry background to pushback against fear-mongering greenwashing. 

Looking back on 2024, these are the products that that reshaped my every day beauty routine from hidden gem to TikTok craze:

Make-Up

This year was all about finding my forever staples that I could go back and rely on over and over again when I was done experimenting with the latest TikTok craze. A lot of these were unintentional additions to my collection, either gifted or bought on a whim. And aren't unexpected meetings just the best kind of meet-cute? 

• Favorite Lip Product: Tower 28 Lip Jelly in Pistachio

This high-shine lip jelly provides a natural amount of pigment while feeling weightless. My favorite shade, Pistachio, gives me my best MLBB (My Lips But Better) lip color so I recommend this color for anyone with medium skintone and olive undertones. It has the perfect balance of pink, beige, and peach. The shine it gives also makes your lips look plump and juicy and the best part is it isn't sticky or do that weird goop-collecting thing. 

• Favorite Mascara: Caliray Beauty Come Hell or High Water Tubing Mascara

If you told me to tell you what a tubing mascara was six months ago, I wouldn't be able to. But now I'm tubing mascara's #1 fan! Tubing mascara is perfect if you always find that your mascara smudges or flakes off throughout the day. This formula coats your lashes in polymer fibers that don't smear and is removed by warm water and gentle massaging. The name comes from the fact that the polymers slide off your lashes in tubes. Because the polymers build on top of each other, you get a natural lash extension look at a much cheaper price and without the fear of eye infections. This formula is clean and truly gives your lashes Kardashian-like lifts.

• Favorite Cheek Product: Makeup By Mario Soft Pop Plumping Blush Veil in Rose Crush

A 2023 favorite, I literally haven't touched another blush in 2024. Even when I used another blush, I'd mix it with this one. Again, if you're medium skin-toned, this is spiced rose color is the perfect shade for a natural flush that is just a kiss more pink for that doll-like look. The cream formula gives a beautiful, skinlike finish and it wears surprisingly well, even during summer humidity, and even with using it every day, it lasted me the entire year and is just now hitting pan. 

• Favorite Brow Product: Rare Beauty Brow Harmony Flexibile Lifting and Laminating Gel

I'd been a staunch repurchaser of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze but decided to give this brow gel a random try. And now I can't go back. While I loved the ABH Brow Freeze, if I was heavy-handed, it would literally clump up on my brows. This brow gel does not do that. And the applicator allows for even distribution of product and easy shaping for your brows to make sure they always have that swept-up, arched appearance. And as someone whose brows like to droop, I never had an issue with that.

• Favorite Powder: Kosas Cloud Set Baked Smoothing + Setting Powder

For someone with oily skin, I always hated using powder to set my make up. No matter which powder I tried, it always gave me too matte of a look or looked cakey on top of my other make-up. I took a chance on this one on a friend's recommendation and haven't looked back since. The formula is so finely-milled it smooths onto my face and disappears instantly but excess shine disappears without taking away my skin's glow. The clean, talc-free formula is an added bonus!

Fragrance

This was the year of niche fragrance for me. As someone who typically loves a more bougie fragrance experience, I wanted to go past the well-known brands and smells and find something not a lot of people would know about. 

• Ffern: This is an organic eau de parfum company based in England. Inspired by the seasons, this fragrance company's model is one of my favorites. They conceptualize and create 4 fragrances a year, attuned to the natural ingredients found in each season. They make small-batches and allow those on their exclusive ledger to receive a quarterly fragrance. You can skip if the notes aren't your style or if it's not in your budget, so it's a very flexible fragrance subscription. The thoughtfulness and intention of each fragrance is what attracted me, as well as the uniqueness. Once a fragrance is sold out, it's sold out forever! Sometimes, they have leftover stock that you can repurchase but eventually that runs out and I appreciate my fragrance much more
• Orebella: Launched by Bella Hadid, these unique fragrances are alcohol-free and have an innovative bi-phasic formula that consists of fragrance oils and body-nourishing oils so that the fragrance can also hydrate the skin and give it a hydrated glow. My favorite is Salted Muse, with notes of pink pepper, lavender, olive tree, and salt. It's perfectly woody, herbal, and fresh for any forestcore or fairycore gals out there. My second favorite is Window2Soul with notes of jasmine, mint, tonka bean, and vanilla. There's something distinctly 90's nostalgic about it and it's girlier than Salted Muse.

• Fragonard Jasmin Perle de Thé: In my episode detailing my trip to the South of France, I discuss how I was in Grasse, the fragrance capital of the world. Here, I went to one of the oldest perfume houses to purchase a pure perfume oil. This fragrance is floral and fresh with notes of Jasmine, Honeysuckle and Green Tea, much like my flagship Busy Gal candle

Haircare

I have one major haircare favorite for 2024. And that's the Bondi Boost HG Line. Specifically, I use the HG Shampoo, HG Conditioner, and Thickening Hair Mask.

After a major chop in August, I was on a mission to get my length back. By December, I noticed a major difference in length. As an unexpected bonus, I noticed that whenever I used my Bondi Boost in the shower, my natural 2B waves would come back with much less styling and manipulation, which just goes to show how healthy my hair was with this line.

Aside from the products, I've also loved the Bondi Boost Blowout Brush. I'm famously lazy to style my hair but with this tool, I've been using it to give myself a bit more of a glamorous look with a quick and easy blowout at home. My hair is thick and I like to keep it long so I used to avoid blowouts due to the length of time it would take, but genuinely, this brush has made it SO easy and I can finish the process in less than 30 minutes.

Skincare

I've pretty much perfected my skincare routine to avoid breakouts and minimize them when they occur so I didn't play too much with skincare this year. I also believe more than anything, consistency makes a difference with your skin. But here's what I loved or stayed true to this year!

• Byoma! I first tried this product when I needed something new and travel-sized in January 2024. The brand is ultra-transparent with the ingredients in the formula and that went a long way with me so I took a chance and brought a brand new cleanser and moisturizer with me on my trip to Scotland. It's fragrance-free, fuss-free, and I can tell my skin was more hydrated, less red, and overall happier with it. My specific favorites are the Moisturizing Rich Cream, even as someone with oily skin (it just sank in so nicely!), and the Creamy Jelly Cleanser. The cleanser is simple and removes everything without stripping my skin.
• Cocokind Retinol— imagine my surprise when my esthetician told me it was time to get a retinol into my routine. (I'm only 31! Jk... it's time) As someone with some sensitivity, I loved that Cocokind had a beginner-friednly retinol. Sometimes, skin can freak out when adding something a little more active and I loved the idea of easing in. It's simple to incorporate into my routine and I've noticed that it also helps when I get a breakout. Can't wait to graduate to the regular retinol once I finish!

And those are my 2024 beauty favorites. What was new to you? What should I try in 2025? Leave a comment below or let me know on Instagram!