Ten things to ditch and keep in your 2017 beauty kit

If you haven’t edited your makeup collection in a while, the new year is a good excuse to give it a good overhaul! As the Pantone Color of the Year encourages a more natural aesthetic, beauty trends are now focused on creating looks that are fresh and subtle. Don’t chuck stuff that isn’t expired or up for replacement, but consider setting them aside and giving these more updated picks the place of honor in your vanity.

Ditch: Full coverage foundation / Use: Light coverage bases

If your skin looks like a mask and is virtually unrecognizable, it’s high time you gave it the chance to breathe. The year of flaunting your natural skin has finally come. Instead of looking too made up from building up the coverage of your base, let a few imperfections shine through for a more natural-looking glow.

Cushions are all the rage because most perform like second skin with a good amount of coverage such as Laneige x Lucky Chouette BB Cushion Pore Control (P1,950 with refill at Laneige counters). Application is a breeze and it’s quite handy to tote around in your purse. Moreover, it helps with making the pores less visible while maintaining a soft, semi-matte finish that makes the skin look healthy. Shades are limited to better suit those with lighter skin tones though so if you’re morena, pop a cushion that matches your skin tone into the cute, collectible case instead!

Ditch: Heavy bronzer and contour products / Use: Skin tone-flattering blush

Heavily-sculpted features, like cheekbones to die for, look amazing but mostly only if you’re modeling for a high fashion shoot. 2016 was a year of crazy contour hacks, with everything from stiletto heels to kitchen knives being used as contour guide. No more, please!

Blush contouring or draping (a trend from the 80s) is making a comeback, and the technique results to a soft contoured look by applying blush from the temples down to cheeks in a C-formation. It provides lift and life to your face in just one go! Stock up on blushers like the Cover Girl TruBlend Blush in Medium Rose (P450 at SM Beauty). The rose shade is a good pick for a natural-looking flush that suits just about any skin tone.

Ditch: False lashes / Use: All-in-one mascara

Sure, they look fantastic in photos but those falsies are a literal burden to your lids! Save the bold and dramatic fringe for special events, and opt to give your real ones a good boost instead. Get a good mascara that makes your natural lashes look even better with its multipurpose powers, like the Pixi Lash Booster Mascara (P840 at Glamourbox). This will give you thick and curled lashes that open up your peepers and make them look brighter, sans falsies.

Ditch: Brow pomade / Use: Brow mascara

Instagram brows dominated our feeds last year, with the gel-like brow pomades being the product of choice for many beauty girls. Precisely drawn and practically architectured to perfection, these arches are pretty but require a lot of time, effort, and maintenance! Skip it and dare to get a little wild with brushed-up, natural brows using just (!) tinted brow mascaras. The Essence Little Eye Brow Monsters eyebrow mascara gives you bushy, feathered brows without looking too made up, plus it’s quick and easy!

Ditch: Sparkly highlighting powder / Use: Natural cream illuminator

Last year’s strobing trend inspired us to find some really lovely highlighters but we had to go through quite a number of disco ball dupes to find them. We love us a bit of glow but shimmery formulas mostly just sit on the skin and look incredibly obvious.

Instead, fake a dewy, healthy sheen with cream highlighters that melt into the skin. The Sleek Cleopatra’s Kiss palette (P875 at Sleek) gives you four gorgeous shades to choose from. The formula is truly quite creamy and easily blends well into the skin.

Ditch: Liquid lipsticks / Use: Soft matte lipsticks

Everyone went crazy over liquid lipsticks last year, and with all the exciting new products that came out, they’ve almost taken over all our other lippies. Most formulas offered amazing pigmentation that seemed to stay on our lips forever but often at the expense of dry, chapped lips.

Kiss those flakes goodbye with moisturizing soft matte lipsticks like the Project Vanity x Pink Sugar’s These Lips Don’t Lie lip crayons (P399 at the Project Vanity store). They’re pigmented, creamy, and long-lasting. There are four shades to choose from and we made sure that each one looks flattering on any skin tone!

What will you be using and ditching among your faves this 2017? Are there other beauty trends that you’ll be trying out?