Beauty Best Bets + Must Tries for January 2025

2024 was essentially the year of blush. The trend should continue in 2025, since the formula has been so modernized, thanks to products like Polite Society’s Polite Pops powder blush sticks Chalky, patchy, hard-to-blend, and streaky powder blushes are a thing of the past. Polite Pops are packaged in cute and chubby twist up tubes and you can dab directly from the bullet, buff with your fingers, and go. Or you can swipe your finger across the top and dot your cheeks that way, for a more controlled application and look. If you prefer tools, dip your go-to blush brush into the product and swipe and sweep. You can turn intensity up or down depending on how many swipes you apply. It fuses a cream’s blendability with the soft blur effect of powder. What more could you possibly want from your blush? It’s also been formulated to be worn with foundation. So let your fave foundation set and then apply this category disrupting and innovative formula to your cheeks for that ethereal, “I was just out running around in single-digit weather” flush. The brand new shade Miami is a pretty pink that will have you counting the days til summer or your next vacation. I used to avoid blush, even though I loved the glow and subtle color it added to my face, because it was always so hard to “get it right.” If you apply too much, you look like a rougey clown. It also felt dated. With these hydrating blush sticks, you can start small and add to your look in the most modern and freshest of ways.

Beautyistas are often divided on glitter — there are questions about how age appropriate glittery makeup is or how planet-friendly it is. While we think you can wear whatever you like and whatever makes you feel good, regardless of age, the question of how glitter impacts the environment indeed remains. If you like the shimmery look but aren’t stoked on chunky, gritty glitter, then Revlon’s Super Lustrous Glimmer Gloss is your happy lippie medium. It’s crafted with an eco-friendly, plant-based glitter and makes your lips super duper shiny. But the best part is that there is absolutely NO grit. You will not taste or feel flecks of glitter on your pucker. You will just experience and enjoy the light-refracting pearls, taking you to the top of the shiny summit. The formula is luxurious and feels expensive, thanks to all the butters in the unscented formula. The shades are sheer, adding just a slick of tint to lips via the slightly oversized, doe-foot applicator.

Whats Up Beauty doesn’t make products — the brand crafts works of art that are almost too gorgeous to use. The Cheeque Terre Blush & Bronzer Collection is inspired by the coastal cities of Italy. The pressed-then-baked powder formula features four soft-focus blushes and four matte finish bronzers that also offer a tiny hint of sheen. It’s the best of all worlds and of Italy! Grab the biggest, fluffiest face brush in your arsenal, swirl over the shade, and apply wherever you want that extra glow. These products are housed in gorgeous compacts, so they are excellent for makeup collectors, too!

NYX Lip I.V. is a “MUST” winter lippie. You need the hydration it offers to stave off chapped lips and keep your pout moist, but you also need something not so sticky, so your hair doesn’t adhere to your lips due to the wind and elements! This hydrating stain gives you the nourishing feel and saturated, wet-look sheen without the stick! You hafta apply liberally when it’s windy, but if it’s a calm day, you can slather on several layers and bring all the glam.