2016 in review: the 5 best French Beauty products of the past year




2016 has been... interesting to say the least. Emotional as well. From a personal point of view, it wasn't a bad year at all for me. For the world, my deeply ingrained French pessimism would make me say we've reached the end of it as we knew it, or at least that we're getting very close. As if my mood wasn't already gloomy enough, I've just spent the beginning of the year away from home for work, and then sick as a dog in bed for a week. Hence this late-ish best of 2016, but let's get over with it already!


5 best new French Beauty products of 2016

There's been a lot of new launches in the beauty world this past year. So many, in fact, that a wave of discontent against the absurdly frequent release of limited edition makeup collections is starting to grow. Fingers crossed that the industry hears its customer base and not just its shareholders...
Not everything has been vain and mediocre though, and top French beauty brands have launched a bunch of great, often permanent, new products. I haven't tested everything that came out last year (if you'd like me to this year, please send your donations) so this is my very personal selection, in chronological order, more ore less. You can click on the images to read my full reviews:


- Chanel Rouge Coco Stylo


I've said it many times here: I'm not a Chanel girl. But even I have to admit that when the black & white brand releases a new lip product formula, it's usual mind-blowing. And so was the Rouge Coco Stylo, a UFO on the makeup counter, absolutely unrelated to any of the current trends (matte, matte, and lately, metallic matte), a sort of solid lipgloss with crazy pigmentation and shine.


- Lancome Juicy Shaker


Without a doubt the best new packaging of 2017 for a beauty product! The Juicy Shaker is a playful, cute lip oil in a mini shaker form that comes in a ton of different shades and flavors. I know some people complain that they are too sheer, so I'm going to repeat my advice: go for the darker shades. I own Bohemian Raspberry and Vanilla Pop, they both provide very visible, juicy color to my lips.


- Lancome Glow Subtil Highlighter


I like my highlighter subtle and natural (robot cheeks not for me), and this beautiful cream version provides the most gorgeous glow to my skin. Yes its packaging looks exactly like ColourPop's, but if the product is magnificient, why should I care?


- Chanel Rouge Allure Ink


And they did it again towards the end of the year... We all knew Chanel jumping on the (very crowded) liquid matte lipstick bandwagon was going to make the news. Luckily that was for the incredible quality of their formula, not for an embarrassing fail! The Rouge Allure Ink isn't exactly a true matte, but it's so cushy and moisturizing that even the driest lips can use it. Luxurious, comfortable, and seriously impressive.


- Dior Precious Embroidery Eyeshadow Palette


When it comes to eyeshadows, Dior's reputation has been going downhill for the past few years. The latest reformulation of their iconic 5 Couleurs palettes is mediocre at best, and their limited editions have been hits and misses, but mostly epic fails... There's light at the end of the tunnel though: palettes from the past two seasonal collections have featured what appears to be a new formula that feels like a "gel-to-powder" in a beautiful shimmery finish. This Precious Embroidery palette was part of the Christmas collection and it's the perfect plummy neutral combination of shades for my green eyes. So classy and flattering!


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