The photo above shows my current collection of Hourglass Ambient finishing powders, blushes, bronzers, and highlighters. Some products have been depotted and rearranged, so they’re not all in their original states (the Universe Unlocked and Tiger palettes).
My palette from Hourglass has the website exclusive Owl design on the cover, but I chose the powders inside that were assigned by default to the Leopard palette. It’s called “Color Palette 2” on the official website. As I mentioned in my review of this year’s Snake palette (not to be confused with the leopard component I chose for it), it was so difficult to skip out on the beautiful owl and when I found a 20% off code, I ended up choosing this. Well, the Palette 2 option was the only one in stock at the time, so I technically had no choice. The reason the default Leopard palette insides were still in stock is because it’s the palette with only 1 new shade and a bunch of re-released ones. It’s a great thing that I only had one of the 6 powders currently in my collection, but that’s also because most of the shades don’t work for me as intended. However, I’ve happily discovered that this is a great mixing/companion palette and for that reason I decided to review it as well. In addition, I’ve added even more comparison swatches than I did in my post from a few weeks ago!
Dim Light (finishing powder) – This is a permanent shade that I surprisingly never owned among the long list of too-light-for-me Ambient powders from Hourglass that I get stuck with from the edit palettes. Of course, no one is surprised to hear I can’t use this as a finishing powder on my skin tone.
Some of the deeper finishing powders from the brand have visible shimmer, making them something I wouldn’t want to put under my eyes. I couldn’t see any shimmer particles in Dim Light though, so I have used it as a brightening powder under my eyes. My concealer was a little darker than the rest of my face when I was taking the face pictures above, so this is when I put Dim Light over it and I think it helped brighten it. So, this powder isn’t a complete miss for me.
Celestial Strobe Light (strobe powder/highlighter) – This strobe powder was introduced last year in the Butterfly palette. Because of the level of warmth and transparency in this color, I could actually almost pull this off! I was tempted to depot it from the Butterfly palette before I sold it, so I’m actually not bothered to own it again. When I use Lustrous Bronze Light as a highlighter and add a tiny bit of this on top to amp it up, it’s a pretty combination that works! It’s still unavoidably pearly-looking (nearly frosty), but not to the level of being unflattering.
Mood Exposure (blush) – This is a permanent blush that I never owned. I always wondered if I’d be able to pull it off if I bought one that contained enough of the plummy vein coloring. I’ve learned that at the best of times it shows on my cheeks as a subtle nude color, but doesn’t always resemble a blush. Sometimes too much of the sheen shows on my cheeks and then it looks like a face powder instead of blush. However, adding a little of Ethereal Flush on top is a gorgeous combination. So, I’m actually happy to have this one as a mixer blush! Mystic Flush from the Snake palette is quite vibrant, so having this to mix with that one as well is quite nice. This isn’t a color I’d have ever bought on its own or as a single (assuming I couldn’t use it), but having it come with this palette turned into a happy and useful surprise.
Iridescent Rose (strobe blush) – This is blush first appeared in last year’s Tiger palette. I still have it in my collection, so this is the true repeat for me to have in my Leopard/Owl palette. It’s still a nice blush topper that I prefer over the other deep strobe highlighter/blush powders Hourglass has released in Tiger and Snake, but I don’t want to keep both. So, it’s very likely I will end up selling it in a custom depotted palette at some point this year. I don’t think I ever reviewed the Sculpture Edit Quad, but that one contains Mood Flush which I might replace it with instead.
Ethereal Flush (blush) – This blush is perfect to wear on its own. It reminds me of Coral Flush from the Universe Unlocked palette, but even more flattering on my skin tone. It’s also the only new product within the Leopard palette. Granted, “new” is relative considering it’s yet another pink toned blush, even though Hourglass describes it as a “soft peach.” It’s not hugely different from the others they’ve released.
Lustrous Bronze Light (bronzer) – This bronzer was released in last year’s Elephant palette. I can use it as a low-shine highlighter. The tone would have made a good finishing powder for me if it didn’t have the occasional visible shimmer particle and if the sheen was weaker. I’m fine with using it as a very subtle highlighter though.
So even though Snake and my custom version of Tiger are better suited for me, I’m really happy to have Leopard/Owl to compliment those. And sure enough, by the time I started working on this post weeks ago until the time I’ve decided to publish this, I ended up removing Iridescent Rose and replacing it with Mood Flush. Mood Flush is basically a deeper version of Mood Exposure and I love the subtle color on my cheeks, but I never thought to reach for that one because it was in a quad with 3 nearly unusable products. Now that I’ve put it in the Owl palette, I think I’ll get a lot more use out of it finally. And, now that my duplicate blush is in that Sculpture Quad instead, I may eventually sell it.
As you can see, Mood Flush got a bit banged up in the process. The Sculpture Quad being a plastic component and with stronger glue made it tricky to depot without melting it too badly. I could have depotted the blush perfectly if I increased the heat and didn’t care about trying to salvage the packaging. What I love about the current Hourglass tin components is that depotting the powders is so much easier without ruining the packaging (not even the sticker on the bottom) or the product itself.
Brushes, makeup that was returned, products decluttered or given away, and a MAC highlighter are not pictured.
Welcome back to this series! I reviewed everything in separate posts from last year’s August purchases, so it made sense to skip that. As I began to work on September’s I realized I reviewed most things as well, except the unreviewed items were tied to pending posts I was currently working on. Since I at least purchased additional shades I knew I could show here, I decided to proceed with showing the September items, in addition to October’s!
Benefit Cosmetics Wanderful World Blush in Starlaa (and later PomPom and Shellie) – This specific shade was delayed for four months after the release of all of Benefit’s other blushes. However, I waited until I got my hands on it to do my brand blush review, which can be found HERE. In addition to those four (five technically if you count Terra Spark) from last year, this year I purchased PomPom and Shellie out of curiosity as to how light I could go with the blush colors. Well, I learned that Shellie is my limit. That one doesn’t work, but Pom Pom is nice and subtle.
Another photo of Shellie
I like applying Starlaa and then adding PomPom to the apples of my cheeks. As a solo color, Terra is still my favorite of them all, but I continue to be pleased with this line and overall collection of blushes.
Guerlain Quad -I reviewed this along with many other luxury palettes HERE. Since that review, I’ve used it occasionally, but not enough to justify purchasing any additional ones. Honestly, I would still consider it at a reduced price if every shade in that compact was perfect for me. Chances of that happening are low. I thought for sure I would buy the upcoming Holiday quad, but that one doesn’t contain the baked shades, so I’m skipping it.
Artist Couture Love Sprung 3 and Quickie Palette – I reviewed both of these HERE. The Quickie palette has only been used once or twice since reviewing it. On the other hand, the Love Sprung 3 palette was such a good match for me that I finally had the nerve to declutter Love Sprung 2. The pink/purple blush is pretty, but I never reached for it. The highlighter in version 3 is better for my skin tone than version 2, and the deep peach blush in Love Sprung 2 is basically duped in 3. This shade was also similar to CoverFX Warm Honey, but slightly deeper and shows up on me better, so I was able to let the CoverFX go too considering it’s so old in my collection now.
Clionadh Haul – Stained Glass Shade Expansion (Queen’s Banquet, Quest, Oriel, Reign, Auric) and the previously released single shadow (Chalice) can be found shown HERE. However, I’m still planning to make several more Clionadh posts surrounding the expansion, doing additional comparisons, and showing the shades in full eye looks. It’s just such a daunting task!
Beautylish Haul – Wayne Goss The Radiance Boosting Face Palette (Deep Copper) + Brush 13 Bundle. I actually decluttered this because it got strange bumps on it after only two uses, which I’ve seen happen to other products after at least a year of use, so never this quickly. Beautylish handled it well when I emailed and said they think it’s due to oils on the skin effecting the surface of the powder? But they refunded me. The review for Brush 13 is coming in Fude 6.
CDJapan Haul – Koyudo BP019 Blush Brush (supposed to be outlet but not listed that way), [Outlet] Koyudo Powder Brush Black Handle, [Outlet] Koyudo Blush Brush Black Flat Handle, and MS-4 Mai Sakura Eyeshadow Brush. These brushes are also coming to Fude 6 and 7.
Ulta 21 Days of Beauty Haul – Benefit Cosmetics Precisely, My Brow Pencil Waterproof Eyebrow Definer in Shade 5, NARS Afterglow Lip Balms in Laguna and Torrid, Estee Lauder Futurist Hydra Rescue Moisturizing Foundation SPF 45 in 5W2, Too Faced Hangover Pillow Balm Ultra-Hydrating Lip Treatment in Watermelon and Mango (way more added in 2o23), and the Rituel de Fille Thorn Oil Priming Facial Elixir.
The Benefit brow product is a repurchase that I’ve discussed in various reviews, but isn’t exciting enough to showcase. The Estee Lauder foundation is in a new shade, but the formula has been reviewed HERE.
The Thorn oil was in a skincare post HERE. As for the lip products, those are tied to pending upcoming lip product posts. However, since I’m unsure which of these will come first, I’ll go ahead and review them here, along with the additional lip products I bought the following month as well: Too Faced Pillow Balm Pop Rich & Creamy Mini Lip Trio, Nars Afterglow Lip Shine Gloss in Deep Realm, and Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien.
The first thing I notice when putting on the Too Faced Hangover Pillow Balm is that it gives a minty-cool sensation on the lips. This contains menthol, so I’m not sure if it was added solely for cooling effect or if the brand wanted plumping action from it as well. What Too Faced touts as the lip plumping ingredient is sodium hyaluronate. Despite having more than one ingredient of this type, I don’t see any difference in the size of my lips beyond the trick of the eye that glossy products can provide. I bought the two full size lippies without even knowing they were supposed to do anything beyond conditioning the lips, so I’m fine with that. The only issue is that ingredients like menthol, cinnamon, and capsaicin irritate the skin, which can aggravate my lip issues. As far as I can tell, menthol and the flavoring and coloring agents are the only ones I spotted from the list that can dry out my lips. These are counterbalanced by the other ingredients in here that my lips love such as petrolatum and shea butter. Sunflower seed oil is another one, but instead Too Faced put “Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake” which is apparently, “residue from the expression of oil,” so I’m not sure how that stacks up to the oil. Mineral oil also tends to be great, but the brand uses hydrogenated polyisobutene, a synthetic mineral oil alternative instead, which can be effective for me if paired with the right other ingredients. This also contains mango seed oil, which is a slightly above average lip conditioner for me too. What this boils down to is the fact that I love the feeling of this product on my lips. It feels moisturizing, and though my lips don’t change in size, I can see where the lines of my lips get plumped up and smoothed out from the added hydration. A protective barrier is formed on the surface to lock that hydration in place and keep it there longer, but that means having to deal with everything sticking to my lips. Too thick of an application can also lead to the dreaded “white ring” around the mouth. Also, this isn’t the kind of lip product I can ignore when eating because of its thick texture, so I purposely try to wipe it off and then reapply once I’ve finished the meal.
Regarding the colors, Watermelon gives me the tiniest pink tinge to my lips, but it’s not my favorite tone. I don’t see any shimmer in Watermelon, but Mango has micro gold shimmer. Mango and Cocoa Kiss are way too light and give a unflattering milky look to my lips, so I definitely don’t wear them in public and mostly just enjoy them for their scents. Watermelon smells like a delicious Watermelon Jolly Rancher candy, whereas Mango smells so faintly that I’m not sure I would have been able to figure it out based on the smell alone. It’s vaguely fruity with a tinge of mango. Cocoa Kiss does smell like slightly artificial hot chocolate. I still enjoy that smell though.
Vanilla Kiss looks beautiful for those who don’t mind obviously shimmery lips. It doesn’t smell like vanilla to me, just a slight sugary scent. Strawberry Kiss, which smells like strawberry bubble-gum or those old school strawberry candies in the strawberry print wrapper, is the most opaque and deepest color of the ones I own. I forgot that the milky aspect of the other shades, and only being able to wear it privately or as an overnight treatment, is why I stopped using them for quite a while. However, now that I remember how good they are, I will want to continue using them. The brand released a new mini trio for the holidays this year and I suspect that even though I don’t need it, I will be unable to resist if it goes on sale. There’s a holiday wine shade that looks like a gorgeous version of Strawberry Kiss without the shimmer.
*BONUS PHOTOS: I ended up getting a discount and buying this year’s Too Faced Warm & Spicy: Pillow Balm Lip Balm Trio Set. I plan to gift the original one away, but I have swatches of the other two.
Holiday Wine smells like a cherry and strawberry forward sangria and Spiced Cider does have that spiced cinnamon scent! Also, even though Spiced Cider looks like a different color in the tube, on the lips and in swatches it looks no different than Vanilla, which is to say that it just looks like a beautiful shimmery colorless gloss.
With the Nars Afterglow Lip Balms, they feel nice and moisturizing on the lips, but I don’t get as much hydration from them as some of my other top favorite lip products. There are emollient ingredients in there, but not the ones that my lips in particular benefit from the most. They’re just okay, like hydrogenated polyisobutene and squalane, which aren’t enough to counter the effects of the dryness I get from the coloring agents. So, I wear these balms for the subtle tinge of color to my lips that’s pretty and flattering colors for me, at least in these two shades. They feel comfortable to wear, but by the end of the day with reapplications, I know my lips will somehow end up slightly dryer than at the start. So, these aren’t something I use daily. I might use them for a few days back to back, but then I’ll have to switch to a truly nourishing lip product instead.
The lip gloss is pretty, but the color doesn’t show as well on me. I chose this shade because it looked like a wearable warm color, but mostly because it was in the clearance section on the Nars website. It’s a bit funny to me that the lip gloss contains more of the ingredients my lips like. It has the hydrogenated polyisobutene, but also shea butter replaces the squalane, and sunflower seed oil is present, though nearly at the bottom of the list. As a thick glossy product, it seals in the moisture better than the balms, but the end result in terms of moisture is the same. When the layer wears down, my lips look drier than when I first put it on. As a gloss though, without any additional expectations for it, it looks nice.
The Satin Lip pencil was reviewed in this declutter post HERE, and in that post I voiced my concern over my favorite shade being different and it appearing to be discontinued. However, I was surprised to see it eventually return to the website last year (still in the last chance section). I bought it and was happy that it was the same original formula I fell for the first time. Regarding it being discontinued or not, all I can say is that another year later, it’s still in the last chance section! Nars recently launched the Powermatte High-Intensity Lip Pencil, so I wonder if they finally will let the Satin Lip Pencils go or if they plan to reformulate and/or redesign the line.
Luxury/High-End Purchases from October ’22: Bobbi Brown Luxe Eye & Face Palette in Copper Glow and Bobbi Brown Jadestone Palette, Dior Backstage Khaki Neutrals and Dior Écrin Couture Iconic Eye Makeup Palette, as well as the Pat Mcgrath Labs Celestial Nirvana Eye Shadow Palette in Bronze Bliss
I reviewed all five of those HERE. The only one I regret buying is the Bobbi Brown Face Palette just because I bought a face trio earlier this year (not to be confused with the new holiday trio that contains 2 of the 3 same shades) that I get more use out of, plus it contains the same highlighter that is in that palette. As for the others, I am still always testing new eyeshadows, so I don’t have the time to use them as much as I want.
Pat Mcgrath Spur of the Moment Purchases: Skin Fetish: Divine Glow Highlighter in Venus Nectar, Pat Mcgrath Labs X Bridgerton Skin Fetish Sublime Highlighter in Incandescent Gold, and Pat Mcgrath Labs Skin Fetish Sublime Perfection Concealer in Shade MD23.
I showcased both highlighters HERE, though I didn’t show Venus Nectar on my face, so I’m including that at least in this post. As for the concealer, I reviewed the formula of shades MD22 and MD24 HERE, but I don’t think I updated with a swatch of MD23 once I got it. Essentially, I finally got my hands on that sold out shade and it was the perfect depth level, but the tone was still too olive and looked strange compared to the tone of my foundations, so I essentially gave up on using the PML concealers anymore. I don’t have MD22 or MD24 to compare next to it anymore, but I have a photo of MD23 compared to other concealers when I had intended (but changed my mind) to do an Ami Cole concealer post.
Fenty Beauty Double Cheek’d Up: Freestyle Cream Blush Duo – I reviewed it HERE and honestly haven’t picked it up a single time since reviewing. When the cream blush line was expanded this year, I picked up two new shades, but realized that even though I enjoy them for their colors, I prefer a product that sets to a fully dry touch. So, I don’t plan on reviewing anymore blushes from Fenty in the future, unless they release powder versions.
LYS Beauty Higher Standard 3-Piece Cream Blush Set – I reviewed it HERE and have only used it a few times after the review. It isn’t a matter of me losing interest. It’s still in my top 2 among traditional cream formulas. I’m just preferring to use powder blushes a lot more these days. I still very much recommend LYS blushes.
Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation in 13.5 and 14
I was initially saving this review for a foundation ranking/declutter post I started working on at the beginning of the year, but never finished. I purchased Shade 13.5 which was slightly too light, but I could pull it off as long as I used bronzer with it. I bought Shade 14 at the end of November, and that was closer to my skintone, but slightly too dark. I can get a good match by mixing the two, but I have to be careful because the color darkens once it’s dry. So, I can’t just mix to my correct shade while wet. I have to mix to get my correct dry-down color.
This foundation is thick, though not heavy. It doesn’t drip at all when squirted out of the pump. I get high-medium coverage from the foundation. When they say “soft glow” they really do mean that the glow level is low. It’s a natural finish foundation, but on my dry skin, it looks horrible for most of the day unless I either prep my skin well (with at least facial oil) or wait until my natural oils come through, which doesn’t end up happening until the late afternoon, if at all. Even when I use Rituel de Fille Thorn Oil, I don’t like how my skin looks until an hour or so later. Then, I find the finish to be quite beautiful. I like this foundation enough that I’ve been keeping it in rotation since buying it, but not quite enough that I’d repurchase it once I use it up, even if Hourglass was to make shade 13.75 or something. I have foundations I like equally (albeit a different finish) that are still expensive, but a better deal.
It sets completely and doesn’t transfer, so I don’t set it with setting powder or spray. I still use a finishing powder with it at times and in specific areas.
Hourglass Foundation Shade 13.5 with Gucci Bronzer Shade 5 (Taken with Camera)
Hourglass Foundation Shades 13.5 and 14 mixed (Taken with Cell Phone)
I posted on the home page that, unfortunately, my main camera broke and I had to switch to using my cell phone for blog photos. That has come with its own benefits and challenges. My main camera had higher megapixels, but I’ve been using additional light sources and trying to improve my light quality to compensate for my cell phone, so it’s debatable which one is better when I had different struggles with both. Anyway, I just wanted to explain why the two look so different, besides the foundation color. I still have a ton of photos taken with my former main camera, but not enough to complete the posts without needing to add additional pictures with my cell phone.
Oden’s Eye Merry Christmas and Christmas Eve Holiday Palettes – I reviewed these HERE but did not include any solo eye looks. I figured today would be a good time to share some. As I mentioned in my post, I always reach for these as companion palettes. Out of the eleven Oden’s Eye palettes I own, I would say the Merry Christmas one is my 2nd favorite. The Christmas Eve palette would be 4th place. I hope the brand decides to re-release them for those who missed out.
Smashbox Cali Contour Palette in Medium/Dark
It took the full year for me to make up my mind about this palette because there was always something I didn’t like about it when I tried to use more than one product at a time. Then it would take me a few weeks to a few months to want to try it again.
It’s very easy to overdo it with the contour (as seen below) and because it’s so pigmented, I can make it look blended, but it doesn’t sheer out enough. So, it’s best to start slowly and try and build up the color that way. Cinnamon Matte isn’t dark enough to bronze me (though I’m still not sure what purpose it’s actually supposed to serve), but I use it to tone down Warm Contour within reason.
Cocoa Rojo is a beautiful color, but for some reason I don’t like the finish of it on my skin. There’s subtle shimmer in this and I’m in my glowy cheek era, so I should like this. I’m just not sure it’s this type of shimmer that I like in a cheek product where it shows particles and the glow doesn’t come from a sheen.
These highlighters are subtle, which is also right up my alley. However, the shimmer isn’t as refined as I like. For some reason they just don’t excite me.
On paper, I should love this face palette, but I don’t. I like it enough to want to keep it, but I know I’m not going to reach for it when there are so many blushes, bronzers, and highlighters I use that actually cause an excited flutter within me when I put them on. Since I don’t have a ton of contour products, that’s the one thing from here that still has some appeal and I’m considering depotting it from the palette. However, I do have contour products that are working just fine for me, so I might not bother.
Revolution Shrek Gingy Highlighter and GOT Iron Throne Sponge Set
I bought the highlighter purely for nostalgia. I love Gingy! The Shrek series (really just 1 and 2) was my favorite series after the Mummy Series (again 1 and 2) for a very long time! I think Rush Hour 1 and 2 (okay apparently I only like the first two of trilogies) surpassed the Shrek series by now, but I still love those movies and Gingy is still my favorite. However, for review purposes I have worn it a handful of times. When I’m using my winter foundations, the highlighter is too deep of a bronze for me. In the photo above where I’m not quite at my typical summer shade but a little darker than I have been in a while, it seems to work well enough when used sparingly. In complete direct light, my camera can pick up the texture to the shimmer particles, but looks smoother at most other angles in the light. In fact, it’s smoother than I expected from a Revolution Beauty product. I’m a bit impressed! I don’t intend to use it anymore though since I want to keep it for nostalgia purposes, but it’s good enough that I could. Also, this used to have a strong gingerbread scent, but that faded in the year that I’ve had this.
How cool is this sponge and holder set! Plus, it was so inexpensive at $6 considering Beautyblender’s sponge stands/holders/cases are in the $10 range not including the sponge. The brand had a sale and I ended up buying another set to give to my friend at the even lower price of $4! As a Game of Thrones mega fan, I had to have this for the stand alone. It’s not only a functional holder, but also a nice spot to set the sponge to air dry after being cleaned. The sponge was just like any other inexpensive sponge I’ve tried. It blended my foundation in just as well while feeling a little firmer than the original Beautyblender, but not as firm as the Rephr sponge or Danessa Myricks ones. The Revolution Beauty sponge was also firmer than the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge. It would be nice if it was a little softer when wet, but it still works great, especially for the cost. There are two big drawbacks for me, which is that if the sponge sits out for even as little as a few hours, I can’t wash it fully clean with any of my soaps. There will still be foundation stains after multiple re-washings. The other downside is that for whatever reason this sponge takes exceptionally long to dry. It had me concerned about the increased risk of something growing inside considering how long it stays wet for. So, after a few uses I decided not to bother with it. I’m happy enough with the stand. I know there have been quite the issues financially with this brand and their sub-brands and co-brands, but I hope they’re able to continue making gems. I haven’t had the best luck with everything of theirs I’ve tried, but they’ve got their occasional hits.
CDJapan Chikuhodo ZE-3 Blush Brush – This review is coming to Fude 6.
Sonia G Smooth Buffer Brush – This review is coming to Fude 7.
Viseart Petit Pro Palette London Étoile – I reviewed this HERE along with several other Viseart palettes. I created some pretty looks with it, but once the “new” feeling wore off, I didn’t use it again. I love olive shadows, but I have so many other olives that have more sparkle and wow-factor to them, which is why I always remembered to use those and forgot about the one from this palette.
Lunar Beauty 2022 Advent Calendar, Love Me Strawberry Lip Oil, and Dreamy Lip Gloss – I’m going to come right out and say I’ve chosen to not review these products at this time. I have always felt conflicted about whether to review Lunar Beauty or not because I’m always going back and forth about how I feel about the brand’s owner Manny Gutierrez (Manny MUA). The personality he portrays in his videos isn’t the style I enjoy watching in reviews, but it’s his past constant involvement in drama with other problematic influencers that bothered me. I do own the first Moonspell palette (purchased discounted from a third party and never used as it’s just for packaging), a Moon Prism highlighter I bought purely for packaging (also purchased from a third party and never used) and originally planned to compare it to the controversial dupe highlighter from Makeup Revolution, the first Moon Prism blush palette that I purchased when Lunar Beauty products were sold at Sephora, and the Large Powder Brush from his website (even gifted two of them). Manny had stayed away from the drama for a few years and his Fool Coverage podcast with Laura Lee started to change my opinion of him. That’s why I purchased the Advent Calendar and lip products last year and decided that I felt comfortable enough to finally put full energy into the Lunar Beauty post I’d been working on here and there for literally years. Then, as I started with the product photos and testing in 2023, I kept hearing about more and more problematic influencers that he was starting to show his public support for again and that bad taste in my mouth returned. Unlike certain people whose products I refuse to buy or speak about on my blog any longer (JS, JC, JH, etc.), I don’t know if I’m going to give a hard ban to Lunar Beauty products in terms of never speaking about them again. I at least finished reviewing the last Jaclyn Cosmetics products I owned before stating I was done with the brand. With Lunar Beauty, if I’m wearing those products in a post, I might mention it’s what I’m using, but I don’t see myself ever working on that brand review post again, and I personally will no longer purchase anymore products from them. The last thing I bought was a year ago anyway.
Beauty Bay Dark Fantasy Palette
I showcased this in a Swatchfest post, but hadn’t actually reviewed it at the time. These colors are stunning and right up my alley. I have loved the looks I’ve created with it. Regarding the quality, this doesn’t give me that many issues when I’m using a primer. Eye primers are a staple product for most beauty lovers, but I do personally know people in my life who are makeup dabblers and don’t always use primer. So, it’s for their sake that I feel the need to express that I had such a hard time using this palette without a primer. The lighter mattes are fine, but the darker ones are so pigmented with good adherence that they just don’t want to budge unless there’s a primer underneath. I can’t stress enough that primer is important! Also, I highly recommend working from lightest to darkest when building up layers.
With primer, these mattes still weren’t as easy to blend as the majority of the eyeshadow palettes I use (also at double the cost or more), but with the staple Japanese eyeshadow brushes I’ve used hundreds of times, it was still better than I expected. It’s nice to see Beauty Bay eyeshadow quality has a positive reputation for a reason. Not necessarily as being the greatest on the market, but certainly great for the price (along the lines of BH Cosmetics, Colourpop, and ELF). It didn’t take that much longer blending as to prevent me from wanting to use this palette again. The first time was rough, but every time after was easy enough. I like how much color payoff I get from those mattes. For instance, shades like Plasma are usually treated like a pastel shade and are too thin or too white based and don’t look that great on my eyes, but this one was great! Hoax is a color that really doesn’t show on my eyes due to my skin tone and Algorithm is a slightly more golden tone version of my skin so it barely shows either, but I still like to use it as a starting shade in the crease. Atmosphere is the one that’s too thin and doesn’t show well enough on me and the other shades are too strong in pigment and overpowers it when I try to use it to blend the edges of the shadows, but it still semi works for that purpose. I just have to spend a little extra time on it. Beauty ends up looking way more purple on my eyes instead of burgundy or maroon, but it’s at least still a pretty color.
I have zero issues with the shimmers. I sometimes get a little fallout, but dampening the brush helps. The shimmers aren’t as refined as some of my more expensive eyeshadows either, but I like their sparkle level and they look pretty regardless. I want intensity and opacity from my shimmers, and that’s what these give me. I didn’t have any patchy or creasing issues either, so overall I do like this palette! I’m glad I was able to give the Beauty Bay eyeshadows a try. Because it’s not the easiest to get my hands on, I don’t know how many more I’ll get in the future. Plus, I’m usually not drawn to their color stories. However, if another one attracts my attention, I might get it.
MAC Indulgent Glow Rosé Limited-Edition face kit in Sparkling Wine – I reviewed this HERE and in comparison to other MAC highlighters I got around the same time. It’s super pretty, but I ran into that issue where I am so reluctant to actually use my makeup with cute embossing on it. I have no regrets buying it though.
Charlotte Tilbury Hypnotising Pop Shot eyeshadow in Cosmic Rocks – I reviewed it HERE along with the shade Sunlit Diamond that they sent me on accident with a different order. Just as I expected, these have become cute decor. I haven’t reached for them more than once or twice after completing the review. I just don’t use single eyeshadows if they’re in individual compacts. I only reach for the ones in my larger custom magnetic palettes.
Hourglass Unlocked Butterfly Palette – I got this from FeelUnique/Sephora UK for $46 purely to get the two blushes in that palette. I depotted two shades from my other Hourglass palettes that were unusable on my skintone, adhered them to the Butterfly palette’s now missing blush spots, and sold it as a custom palette on Mercari. Minus the fees, I made $32 back, so this was probably the best deal I got that year. I did not get so lucky on the deals this year, but that’s a story for another time. I talked about the process of depotting and showed the photos of the palette HERE.
Bioderma Sensibio H2O – This was just a repurchase. I decided to look through my purchase history and essentially since November 2015 I’ve bought 8 of the 500ml bottles, 2 of the 250ml bottles, and 2 travel size 100ml bottles. In the beginning, I was able to get heavy discounts on multi-packs, but the prices have jumped up quite a lot. So, I try to get them individually whenever I see them on sale, even if I need to accumulate backups since they will always be used up. In fact, I’m halfway through my last bottle and will need to find a new place to order it from when I go back to Germany so I won’t need to bring a big bottle over with me. This is one of those products that as long as they keep making it and don’t change the formula, I’ll be buying it for life.
Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk’R Face + Eye Bronzer & Highlighter Palette – I reviewed this HERE and though it’s still in my collection, I am considering decluttering it. I just have a ton of bronzers by now that I prefer and don’t need to resort to mixing to get the tones I like.
One/size Cheek Clapper in Phat @$$ – I reviewed it HERE. As it often happens, because my blush collection is so large, I don’t have the chance to use this as often as I would like to. It’s still one of my favorites, along with the other shade from the line called Freaky Peach. I still easily recommend this trio, even at full price.
Sephora Collection VIB Sale Items: Soft Matte Perfection Blush Duo in 01 Sweet Pea, Best Skin Ever Liquid Foundation in 44 Y, Best Skin Ever Full Coverage Multi-Use Concealer in 35N and 44Y
The blush duo in three shades (two additional I bought later on) are reviewed HERE. As for the foundation and concealers, the shade matches are why I decided not to review them. I wasn’t blown away by the finishes and just didn’t feel inspired to keep using any of them.
Sephora’s Best Skin Ever line was really hyped up, but it was just fine. I didn’t like how the concealers wore throughout the day. The finish of the foundation was fine and the color match wasn’t too terribly dark if used lightly, but all of these smelled so heavily of chemicals after owning them for a year. For the record though, I didn’t open the concealers until around three months prior to posting this and they smelled just as bad as the foundation, like spray paint or nail polish. So, even without air exposure, the shelf life isn’t great on these. I threw them out before I could take a picture including them in the big October month photo.
Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer Highlight in Flaunt – I reviewed this already as a sample HERE, but I bought the full size a year ago during the VIB sale. I also have swatches and comparisons to the powder version of this shade HERE.
Kayali Eden Juicy Apple – I don’t normally review my perfume purchases, but I did so in a big Kayali post HERE. I have admittedly barely used this perfume because I’m always using Yum Pistachio or Lovefest instead, but at least I just got this in a small size so it’s not quite as wasteful. Plus, I got it on sale. As nice as it is, I decided to give it to my sister because of how deep my obsession for the other scents run. This was my first Kayali purchase, but since it’s only a year old, I haven’t attached any sentimental value to it.
HUDA BEAUTY GloWish Cheeky Vegan Soft Glow Powder Blush in Sassy Saffron – I showed swatches of it HERE in comparison to the previous shades I bought. However, I don’t have any face pictures with it on because it just doesn’t show up on my cheeks. For that reason, I haven’t used this particular shade. The formula and finish wasn’t special enough either for me to prioritize it. I still like how Berry Juicy looks, and I wore it perhaps two more times in the past year.
Tom Ford Highlighter Duo in Tanlight – I reviewed it HERE. I still use it quite often and it’s one of my favorite highlighters in my collection. In fact, it’s such a great shade match for me that I don’t feel the necessity to purchase anymore highlighters from the brand unless they have another shade that’s similar to the mixture of the two colors in some form of special packaging. While I still have mixed feelings about the price and I’m not sure if I would universally recommend it to everyone, it was worth it personally to me.
Oh dear Lord, we’ve finally reached the end!
This was a monster of a post, even though so many of the products had already been reviewed elsewhere! We’re so close to completing the series but November and December 2022 had even more purchases than October! And considering what I know is coming for the rest of this year in my personal life, I think we’ll have to complete this series sometime next year!
I’m getting into a really exciting chapter of my personal life, which I will be sharing with everyone in December or January. Thank you to those who are choosing to be along for the ride!
*DISCLOSURE:Other than the free sample that came with my order, the Charlotte Tilbury product reviewed in this post was purchased by me with my own money. Non-highlighted links in bold blue font (Example) are standard non-affiliate links. Links marked in bold black font with a light blue background (Example) are affiliate links. Affiliate links allow me to get a commission if purchases are made directly using my link. There is currently only one affiliate link in this post and it’s for a brush.
Charlotte Tilbury released some nice gift sets and new items for the holidays this year, but I was only interested in this one. I also received a sample of the Magic Water Cream with my order, so I’ll discuss that at the end of this post.
This mini duo comes in two different shade variations. The Tan to Deep version that I purchased has a blush listed as a Rich Terracotta and a highlighter as a Golden Sunset. Because of the “Glide” part of the name, I wondered if the highlighter has the same formula as the Glow Glide Face Architect highlighters. Comparing the shimmer level and how it shines when light hits it, it certainly does look the same on the skin. To the touch, it feels the tiniest bit wet, whereas both of my full-size Glow Glides feel even more wet/gel-like. However, since they have the same ingredients listed on the website in the exact same order and they look the same on the skin, it’s safe to assume it’s the same formula.
That brings me to the interesting similarity I discovered between the highlighter in this duo and the Sunset Glow shade. Technically, Charlotte Tilbury only lists these as “blusher” and “highlighter” without formal names. There is one image on the website that lists “Rich Terracotta Blush” and “Golden Sunset Highlighter,” but those could be descriptions of the colors and not actual shade names. I have stared long and hard at the two of these side by side and watched the way they shine in the light at various angles. My final verdict is that there is the most minute of differences in the new highlighter having the tiniest bit more apparent of a copper base which is offset by the tiniest bit more of a golden reflect from slightly more of the shimmer, making them basically the same shade.
The description of the new highlighter in the product details as a golden sunset powder may as well be an admission of being Sunset Glow, since that shade is also described by the brand as a warm golden copper. In looking closely at the other duo for Light to Medium skin tones, the highlighter in that duo is described as a pearlescent pinkpowder and looks a lot like Pillow Talk Glow, which the brand says is a “neutral-pearly pink.” If they’re not those exact shades, they’re at most the tiniest bit tweaked. So, if you own the Pillow Talk or Sunset Glow shade of Hollywood Glow Glide Face Architect Highlighter, you might want to reconsider whether it’s worth the price to buy one of these. At least with the Tan to Deep version, there’s the benefit of Sunset Glow being (in the US) a Charlotte Tilbury website exclusive, so this is one way someone who prefers to shop at Sephora can get their hands on this shade. Plus, I don’t believe the brand ever had a blush in this color. However, Pillow Talk in any form can be found everywhere, and I’m not confident that the pink blush within the Light to Medium duo is unique to the brand either. It reminds me of a blush in last year’s Pillow Talk Beautifying Face Palette in the version for fair to medium complexions, just based on online photos.
This photo was taken in a hotel bathroom while on a trip. It was at the end of the day and although the makeup looked visible in person, I needed to refresh them both by adding a small amount more of the highlighter in particular so that it would show on camera in the limited lighting. I also did not blend the highlighter so it would be even more obvious in photos. I’m pleased with the longevity of both.
I try to test products out for longer, but considering my experience with the brand’s other blushes and highlighters, half of my usual trial days were enough to solidify my thoughts. The blush is extremely pigmented for such a thin powder! It picks up easily on a brush and looks intimidating when it first touches the cheeks, but the formula is finely milled and blends easily over dry or set skin. With this kind of base, I prefer to use a light-applying airy brush like the Sonia G Soft Cheek. Using that brush over a dewy base takes a lot more effort to blend, but I can still get it to smooth out and look even and not patchy. Using the Sonia G Cheek Pro adds even more product at once, but the combination of how dense it is packed and the hair type makes it more suited for buffing, so this works perfectly for applying the blush even on a dewy base. I had heard that this blush is prone to sticking if the face hasn’t been set, and I could see that a little bit for myself, but it wasn’t a problem when using high quality brushes like my Sonia G ones. So, perhaps that should be taken into consideration.
The highlighter being the Glow Glide formula I’m used to, I use my favorite Bisyodo CH-HC highlighter brush, other candle-flame shaped brushes, or fan brushes to start off light and be able to build up the intensity. Even though the shimmer content and particle size appears to be the same, the reflect intensity of the Glow Glides are stronger than Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk Multi Glow formula as seen in my swatch earlier in this post. It’s also unsurprisingly more intense than the shimmer ring within the Cheek Chic blushes, so that’s something to consider for those who like the most subtle and least texture-emphasizing of the brand’s highlighters. Both the Glow Glides and Pillow Talk Multi Glow are holy grail highlighters for me.
Regarding color comparisons outside of the brand, I felt confident that even among my orange/terracotta blushes this one would be pretty unique. However, I discovered some that are similar enough, such as the Melt Blushes from the Monarca palette or Armani’s Neo Nude Color Melting Balm (though that’s a cream formula instead of powder). And then the Beauty Bakerie Brownie Bar contains a blush and highlighter, plus contour, for $18 that looks quite similar, though I think the Charlotte Tilbury highlighter has more refined shimmer and an even smoother blush. Melt’s Conmigo blush is practically identical and is closer to the Charlotte Tilbury quality, but the powder itself isn’t as lightweight. The refinement or mill of Charlotte Tilbury’s blush is like the brand’s own matte powder bronzer and matte face powder, which makes sense. So, those who find them to be top tier powders will be pleased with the quality of this one, though this has more pigment.
Even though dupes can be found, $29 for this duo is a great price coming from the brand. Considering the brand’s individual blushes are typically in the $40 range and highlighters in the $45 range, getting both in a more realistic amount of product and for less money is great! This would have been even more worth it to me if I didn’t already own the Sunset Glow highlighter. However, I still don’t regret it. My Melt blush in Conmigo is starting to get hardpan and is a bit older of a product, so I have been debating whether or not to declutter it. I feel good about having what is essentially an even better replacement.
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream (sample)
I always felt that the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream felt luxurious, but was too thick for my liking. I’ve had a deluxe size sample of it before and compared to the Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face base, I liked the Bobbi Brown slightly more. In fact, I got rid of my original Magic Cream deluxe sample in favor of using the Bobbi Brown one.
I can say that I absolutely like this Magic Water Cream version way more than the original and Bobbi Brown’s product. It’s apparently a gel-cream hybrid, which explains why it’s still thicker than the gel moisturizers I’m familiar with, but it doesn’t take much effort for it to fully sink into the skin. Despite what its starting consistency looks like, it thins out when rubbed and doesn’t feel heavy on the skin. The two times I tried it, it kept my skin adequately hydrated all day. There are some longer term claims on the website that I can’t verify such as the “100-hour hydration” or “skin texture appears smoother after 4 weeks,” but I enjoyed using it. If I received it as a gift, I’d be happy. However, I’m not even sure if I’d be willing to pay half price for it considering how much I love other gel and water based moisturizers, such as the Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Cream, Saturday Skin Waterfall Glacier Water Cream, Innisfree Dewy Glow Jelly Cream (but this Jeju Cherry Blossom one has strong fragrance), and even the Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Gel Moisturizer is pretty good, though I’d rate that one below the Magic Water Cream. So, considering all the nice alternatives, I just don’t see myself purchasing it from Charlotte Tilbury, but it’s nice to know that it’s at least a good product. I should also note that the Magic Water Cream is supposed to be for normal to oily skin types, whereas I have dry skin, so I’m not the intended target for this product. Considering that, it’s even more impressive that I like it as much as I do.
That concludes everything for today! Thank you for reading!
My palette from Hourglass has the Leopard design on the cover, but I chose the powders inside that were assigned by default to the Snake palette. It’s called “Color Palette 3” on the official website. Even though the chances were high that I could have gotten a better deal than 10% off if I purchased the palette elsewhere, I desperately wanted the Leopard packaging and could only get this customized version if I bought it directly from the brand. It was certainly a tough call between the Leopard or the website exclusive Owl packaging!
I’ve been reviewing these holiday palettes from Hourglass for a while now. My review of last year’s palette can be found HERE and the year prior to that can be found HERE.
I also have the two blushes from last year’s Butterfly palette that are currently in my Tiger palette. I did quite the makeup transplanting project, as detailed HERE.
Radiant Light (finishing powder) – This is a permanent shade of powder from the brand, and I have it several times over in my collection. To summarize, it’s a light golden-beige that doesn’t lighten my foundation, but I also don’t notice any difference at all when I wear this besides mattifying the skin and depositing the occasional visible shimmer particles. I prefer to use other finishing powders that accomplish something I need like blurring, smoothing, or adding a healthy glow. This option could have been worse. They could have chosen some of their much lighter finishing powders instead. At the same time, it could also have been better. One of my usual criticisms of Hourglass is their inability to commit to creating a face palette fully geared towards deep skin tones. Last year’s Elephant palette was clearly intended for those medium to tan, yet they still made Tiger spread a wider range of medium, tan, and dark at the expense of some of those shades not showing up on someone that much darker than me. Eternal Light is a darker option that has yet to be released in a travel size or edit palette form. However, since Radiant Light is technically the only repromoted shade in the Snake palette and I own both of the brand’s darker finishing powders in the Volume III trio form, I’m not going to hold it against them. They love their repeats and we’ve come to expect it. In addition, I think this palette is intended for tan to medium-deep complexions. From that perspective, having Radiant Light instead of Eternal Light makes more sense. I’ll elaborate more in the section with my final thoughts.
Solar Bronze (bronzer) – Even though I can use Transcendent Light as a bronzer, I have been long awaiting Hourglass making a true bronzer that will work for those with dark skin. I somewhat got my wish, but there isn’t much of a depth difference between that finishing powder and this bronzer. The main difference is the tone. Solar Bronze looks cool-toned in the palette next to such warm shades, but it’s definitely warmer in swatches and on my face. It’s subtle on my skin tone, but it can be built up a little. I am honestly thrilled with this shade. It’s such a good balance of being warm, without leaning too orange or red. As much as I love it, I know there are others darker than me who are disappointed that Transcendent Light wasn’t deep enough for them last year and this year’s bronzer option won’t work either. Although Hourglass dropped the ball in that regard, I have to acknowledge that they made three new bronzer shades this year with one in each palette. Their bronzers tend to be very warm, so I’ve heard some people are pleased that the bronzer in the Jellyfish palette is closer to neutral for those with light skin tones. That’s something that has been missing from the brand, so they focused on filling a void, but on the different end of the spectrum. And considering they didn’t put a bronzer in Butterfly last year, I give them credit for improving on that front.
Coral Haze (blush) – This blush is less pigmented than Mystic Flush, but I’m not sure if that just happens to be because my blush tile has barely any of the darker swirl of color in it. Since it’s buildable, I can still get visible color on my cheeks (though it doesn’t show as well in my photo as it does in person). It’s cool toned, so it’s not my favorite kind of blush color, however, I do like it more than I expected. Whenever I start off with this color, I end up just throwing Mystic Flush and even sometimes Sun Beam on top. I like the combination of the blushes together on my cheeks.
It’s similar to Soft Flush from the Butterfly palette, but slightly lighter and cooler. However, on my cheeks, it would be hard to spot the difference.
Sun Beam (blush) – In my review last year I wrote, “How fun would it be if Hourglass used their miscelare technique to mix two medium or darker colorful shades in a series of blushes instead of pale beige bases with a single color?” Looks like I got my wish again! Coral Haze is technically an example of that, along with Sun Beam no matter how close the swirled colors are in depth and tone. I love this color a lot more than Burnished Glow, which was too orange for my style to use alone. The texture of Sun Beam reminds me of the Copper Flash Strobe highlighter, even though this one is supposed to be a blush. It’s less reflective and more to my liking than Copper Flash Strobe, but it looks super metallic in my photos. I struggled to capture a photo that was bright enough to show the blush tone of Sun Beam and was unable to avoid the light directed at the cheeks from looking as reflective as a highlighter. This blush looks so much tamer and softer when I apply it to my bare skin, but for some reason, on my face with foundation, it looks more textured than usual. This happened on top of the Hourglass Ambient Glow Foundation (I’m wearing in today’s photos) and the Rose Inc Luminous Serum Foundation. Neither of these foundations are wet to the touch, and powdering doesn’t change things anyway. Based on the names, one could suspect the luminous foundations could be impacting the look of Sun Beam, but the foundations are more of a natural finish rather than glowy or dewy. With Sun Beam being closer to the strobe formula rather than the shimmer formula, I think it’s just a matter of it not being as flattering on texture and it looks better when used sparingly.
One more thing of note is that Hourglass lists Sun Beam and Coral Haze as normal Ambient Lighting Blushes, but for some reason Mystic Flush is listed as an Ambient Strobe Lighting Blush on their website. I’m guessing this was listed incorrectly and that Sun Beam is the actual strobe blush.
Mystic Flush (blush) – I love this color! It’s a warm pink, though not as warm as Sunset Glow from the Butterfly palette, and slightly more vibrant. It gives the exact type of pop I like from a blush, without being too loud of a color. I certainly can’t tell Sunset Glow apart from Mystic Flush if they’re applied normally on my face, but Mystic Flush is a bit more pigmented while being just as easy to blend. These two Snake blushes are so similar to the Butterfly palette blushes that I think it would feel to some people like having repeated shades. Of the four though, this is my favorite by a small margin. From Hourglass as a whole, At Night is my top favorite blush from the brand. There is still currently no mini or edit version of At Night, so I’m a bit surprised they chose to put two similar depth of pink blush shades in one palette instead. However, I will always give credit when the brand attempts to make something new rather than resorting to repeats. Considering I couldn’t decide which of the two Butterfly palette blushes I like more, I can understand others potentially having the same dilemma deciding between the Snake palette blushes regardless of how similar they are.
Infinite Strobe Light (strobe powder) – This is the darkest highlighter we’ve had in an Ambient Edit palette, but not by much. The true difference between them are their tones with Infinite Strobe Light being a golden color, Solar Strobe being yellow-gold, and Divine Strobe being a champagne shade. That makes Infinite Strobe Light the best highlighter color out of the edit palettes for me thus far, so they get some credit for the improvement. I am still waiting for the brand to make my perfect color though. There’s a big jump between Infinite Strobe Light and the deepest option available from the brand’s permanent highlighters, Prismatic Strobe Light. I don’t think it would be unreasonable to ask for a middle ground color, but until that day comes, I’ll be making use of Infinite Strobe Light.
I consider the highlighter to have medium-high impact. It’s not ultra reflective, but I don’t like highlighters to have stronger intensity than this one, so I’m happy with it and I can always tone it down with the right brush and if I apply the strobe powder first before the blush.
Overall Thoughts
The Snake palette is probably as perfect of a single face palette as I will ever get from Hourglass. I got the warm bronzer I wanted, a usable finishing powder, two flattering and visible blushes, a more flattering version for me of last year’s copper blush/highlighter, and a darker highlighter than last year’s. I think they did a fantastic job making this palette suit me. Essentially, the issues I had with the Tiger palette that kept me from being able to actually love that one were addressed and applied to the Snake palette. It’s quite funny that my depotting efforts to improve upon the Tiger palette made it look similar to what Snake has by default.
This year’s palettes are a lot more clearly defined between Jellyfish being best for fair to light-medium skin tones, Leopard being intended for those in the medium range, and Snake being best suited for tan to medium-dark. I applaud this distinction, but that also means those with skin darker than mine have been left out again. They get my praise for finally making a great palette for me, but it shouldn’t stop at just me. Hourglass made the highest amount of new shades this year, but they chose to do it so close to what is already available and not as much effort went into filling the much larger voids in the range. For example, the highlighters and their gigantic jump from Infinite Strobe Light to Prismatic Strobe Light. The difference between Radiant Light finishing powder and Eternal Light is also enormous.
What does the brand focus on instead? Five of the six blushes in my comparison swatches look so similar that suddenly it’s clear why none of the new colors from the past three years have made it into the brand’s permanent collections. They can get away with nearly identical shades in an Ambient Edit palette, but I doubt even the most die-hard Hourglass fans would buy and keep all of those blushes if they were sold individually.
If the brand wants to stick to pink and coral tones (with the occasional orange) because that’s their aesthetic, so be it. If they aren’t set on those, I would love to see some dark brown leaning blushes too. Something along the lines of Chanel’s Brun Roussi Lumiere or MAC’s Coppertone or even Format. A terracotta like MAC’s Burnt Pepper would also be beautiful.
I really think Hourglass did better in a lot of areas, but my advice to the brand is to fill in the huge gaps of what’s missing in the range, not the minuscule gaps. Even if the palette would be too dark for me, I would love to see an Ambient edit palette for actual deep/rich skin tones. Tiger and Snake aren’t dark enough to fit into that category, so it would have to be several shades darker than those.
Of course, finding a way to make the palettes truly customizable to the point of choosing each individual shade would be the ultimate dream, but it will be great if they at least keep the new tradition of being able to select which pre-set colors go into which packaging. My recommendation for Hourglass, if they want me to be forced to get one no matter what, would be to put an adorable panda on next year’s palette. Also, considering the rabbit/bunny is symbolic of the brand, it would make complete sense to have a rabbit cover, like the Riverine rabbit or some other endangered bunny or hare that would tie-in with the brand’s collaboration with the Nonhuman Rights Project.
Anyway, I eagerly await what next year will bring for Hourglass. I’d love to see other beautiful designs beyond the animal theme, but if they make a Panda, I am so done for! They’ll have my money again.
That’s all for today! Thank you for reading!
-Lili ❤
Edit: Currently there’s code UNLOCKEDVIP20 for 20% off the Hourglass website including these palettes. Credit to TheBeautySteal on Instagram.
To clear up any confusion for those visiting this blog for the first time, I started a project in 2022 to review everything I bought per month in one gigantic post. It was supposed to be part of my low-buy series, but I bought too many things, so it was impossible to keep up with considering I do more in-depth reviews and not first impressions. I haven’t given up on the project though, despite it being a year late.
Tarte Maracuja Juicy Glow in Golden Glow
Tarte has had major hits with their Maracuja line in recent years. I bought this product with the highest of hopes, but this just doesn’t work for me. The base color of Golden Glow is perfect, but the shimmer particles reflect such a pale color. I don’t think buying Bronze Glow, the darkest one available, would change this issue.
The second problem I have is that this lifts up my concealers underneath, particularly the more lightweight liquid ones like KVD Good Apple. I have to do this song and dance with adding concealer or foundation back over the bald spots in layers to cover up what gets removed, and it needs to be covered because the darkness under my eyes extends to that spot and can be seen through it. I’ve tried using my fingers, brushes, a sponge, different brush bristle types, various brush head shapes, picking up product directly from the tube and not swiping it on, warming it up first, etc. Nothing works other than layering product on top, and even that doesn’t look the best.
The final straw is the fact that this product stays creamy. It “sets” but transfers easily even if powdered. It can at least stay on my cheeks for a long time if I don’t touch my face, but the shine always dulls down. As many times as I’ve tried to get it to work for me it just doesn’t. It’s an absolute fail and now that I’ve finally completed this review, it’s going out of my collection. I usually love the same highlighters as Angelica Nyqvist, but I guess our different skin tones and skin types had a huge effect in getting a different experience in this instance.
Jaclyn Cosmetics Sun Bathe Pressed Bronzer inBuns Out and Bare Babe
*Note: Several days before this was scheduled to post, I found out that apparently Jaclyn is closing her two brands. Ignoring what she claims are her reasons, whether this is actually due to avoiding legal issues between herself and the jewelry brands whose designs she was “inspired” by or the public’s knowledge that identical lounge items were pre-existing on websites like Aliexpress and Alibaba prior to her own launches is unknown. As for the fate of Jaclyn Cosmetics, that’s entirely up to the actual owners to decide). I will not be editing or altering what I originally wrote in the review portion, but I wanted to at least address the fact that I know she’s closing her brands and it changes nothing about what I’ve written below.
This is going to be the last product from Jaclyn Cosmetics that gets reviewed on my blog. I’ve discussed my feelings about Jaclyn’s mishaps from the early days already when reviewing the Bronze & Blushing Duo, and explained why I didn’t cut off the brand entirely once they got into Ulta and proved they could make decent products when they weren’t cutting corners. However, to find out through the Forma brand’s financial troubles and court documents (which are available to the public) that Jaclyn was no more than a “collaborator” with zero stakes in the company was it for me. The woman just never stops lying! After making my decision, it certainly didn’t help that Jaclyn realigned herself with problematic Influencers and refuses to own up to anything, including doubling down on the revisionist history of “lipstick-gate.” This, and Jaclyn’s remorseless indirect role in the closing shop of All Things Koze left me feeling absolutely disgusted with her. I’ve never been a Jaclyn hater, but after so much new information came to light, I’m no longer neutral towards her and will not be purchasing anything else from the brand. Conveniently, this bronzer is the last item of hers I’ve yet to review and also the last thing I bought from the brand since a year ago.
So, to those actually wondering whether these bronzers are good or not, they actually are. It made top ten of my powder formulas, specifically, in my most recent Bronzer Ranking post from a few months ago. However, if I included bronzers purchased from this year too, it would have dropped quite a few places lower, and especially if cream rankings are factored in.
What I like is that it’s a soft nearly-silky powder that I can pick up the perfect amount with my brushes and get little to no kickup. It’s pigmented. It has all-day wear. It’s matte, but leaves a skin-like finish. The reason I don’t rate it even higher is because it’s not on the level of baked gelee ones with their sheen. Among the traditional powders, I also find that Mented and Charlotte Tilbury’s bronzers are even easier to blend. Those facts don’t take away from how nicely these bronzers perform and that there are more shade options in Jaclyn’s line than either of those.
When I use one shade alone, it looks great. However, any time I try to mix both Jaclyn colors together, it doesn’t look as nice as I want because this is the type of bronzer that sticks to the skin first and then can be buffed out to a smoother more even appearance. When two different colors stick in different places, it can lead to that more uneven look unless I put a lot more blending effort into it. So, it’s better if I just end up using Buns Out (the more orange toned bronzer) by itself or Bare Babe (the neutral/red leaning one) by itself. Between the two colors, I prefer Buns Out. The new talc-free Nars bronzers are an example of a formula that I can blend two shades beautifully together. Plus, Nars now has nearly the same amount of shades as Jaclyn (9 versus 10). It’s $8 more expensive, but there are options for minis which are naturally a lower price. Ulta occasionally has Jaclyn Cosmetics items on sale for 30-50% off, so if there was ever a time to buy it, it would be during one of those sales.
The brand tries to sell the idea of their products being high end or luxury quality at more affordable prices (and by affordable they mean mid-tier range). The luxury part is subjective, so I’m not going to say anything about that. However, their $32 pricing puts it on par with brands like Fenty, Makeup by Mario, Too Faced, and Tarte. I do find the Jaclyn bronzer performance to be better than those, so kudos to them. The bottom line is that the bronzers are good, but there are plenty that are still better, though for a higher price among the powder formulas in most cases.
Two things that could make or break these bronzers for some people are the fragrance and packaging. This thing is heavily scented! I’ve heard it’s supposed to smell like “toffee,” but mine smell like coffee. It’s the type of makeup that I can actually still smell on my face for a while after putting it on. It’s not a bad smell, but I would definitely prefer if it wasn’t there because of how strong it is and me not being that much of a coffee fan.
The packaging, especially compared to the pan size, is bulky. I know there have been a ton of complaints about the raised “J” on the lid which prevents it from being stackable on top. I keep most of my single bronzers in acrylic compact organizers, so that isn’t as much of a problem for me. I just don’t like the overall size of it being wider and thicker than everything else. Then again, it has a fully wide mirror inside (one that I don’t use), which could be considered worth the bigger packaging size for some people.
I like this bronzer enough to keep Buns Out, but I’m going to declutter Bare Babe. However, I don’t know how much use I’ll even still get out of this considering how much I’m really loving my current top 10.
M·A·C X STRANGER THINGS Powder Blush in He Likes It Cold
I ended up reviewing this in a MAC round-up post HERE, but I forgot about that. So, not only did I take another photo wearing it within the past few months, I also found an older photo with it on as well (and built up). It’s limited edition and was gone from all retailers, but last month it briefly made its return to the Goodbyes/Last Chance section on MAC’s US website. Perhaps it could still be found in stores with discounted makeup, such as T.J.Maxx or CCS/CCO’s.
rms beauty “Re” Dimension Hydra Powder Blush in Sangria (and in the future Maiden’s Blush)
For some very strange reason I haven’t figured out, I did not like this blush for a long time! I tried it 4-5 times within the first five months before giving up on it. It’s only when Sephora put the blushes on sale for $22 at the end of June ’23 that I decided to give Sangria, the only shade I had at the time, one more try. And it was beautiful! I don’t know if it just took time for me to get past the top layer, or I was using different brushes, or my skin being less dry now due to the products I’m using caused an improvement in how it appears on my skin. Whatever the reason, it now looks much better on me.
It looks like it will be extra shimmery in the pan, but it’s like a combination of both shimmer and sheen to create that glow on the skin. Sangria is particularly pigmented, but I consider this a buildable formula and enjoy using my goat hair brushes to buff it into the skin. Maiden’s Blush, however, is either too brown or not pigmented enough in base color to show up on me. It’s similar to Suqqu’s Kafuu blush, but at least that one shows in person. However, the sheerness of this color works to my benefit in now having the perfect blush topper to layer over a matte blush that I want to turn into a shimmery one without effecting the color. It works amazingly for that and without a metallic looking reflect either. The radiance is softer and not texture enhancing on me. It also has good longevity as long as I don’t touch my cheeks too much.
I like that the compacts are refillable. It’s a little bulky in terms of thickness, but it’s smaller in width than most of my other blushes, plus it does include a mirror.
As much as I like this blush now, it’s not to the extreme that I hear others talk about them as though they’re the best shimmery blushes on the market. The original/discontinued Oden’s Eye, MAC Extra Dimension, BareMinerals Blonzer, and Nabla Skin Glazing blushes all top it (though it reminds me the most of Nabla’s texture and finish). I need more time to compare them, but I might like this more than the Gucci Luminous Matte blushes, which are also over-hyped. They’re good, but not “holy grail” type of good to me.
VALENTINO BEAUTY Eye2Cheek Blush & Eye Color in 05 and 07 (and in the future 112 Copper Twilight)
I’ve had the opposite experience of the Rms blushes with these from Valentino. I liked them initially, and the blushes were super creamy feeling for a powder. They were still that way by the time the limited edition shades were released around the holidays last year. But when I used 05 and 07 again between the 6-8 months time frame of having it, I noticed the texture felt a bit different. Then I started using them again more recently and confirmed it’s definitely more dry than it was in the beginning, which makes it harder to blend in an even layer with some parts wetter than others. It’s not a matter of it being dried out. It’s still soft to the touch, but it’s drier than before. I can’t even use my goat hair brushes with them anymore because the pigment gets picked up by the hair and now clings to it so strongly that I struggle getting it off the brush hair and onto my cheeks. So, I’ve switched to using synthetic bristles, but it’s still a bit of effort to work in. They look great on the cheeks and have a very natural look on the skin, but it went from being top tier performance for blendability, finish, and ease of use to being good. I’m satisfied with that, but I have to acknowledge the decline exists.
These blushes were $39 via Selfridges and $48 at US retailers, however the price has gone up now to $52 in the US and I haven’t seen them return to Selfridges after being on sale recently for $26. I don’t know if that means they’re being discontinued there or just purely out of stock. The blushes are supposed to be good for up to 24 months after being opened, but I would not be surprised if it continues to decline over time. With these being so expensive, I thought it was important to note this possibility. As it stands, I still like them, but I can’t recommend them at full price. Not when I love my Suqqu Melting Powder blushes and Armani Neo Nude Color Balms even more.
The brush that comes with the compact works surprisingly well, but because it’s so tiny to hold in my large fingers, I don’t enjoy using it. The red and gold plastic standard packaging looks pretty and lux to me, but it feels incredibly cheap when held because it’s so lightweight. The Suqqu ones are pretty light too, but they succeeded in making it look sleek and chic despite how compact in size the compact is. The Valentino pan size being small, and the rounded top being large because it has to hold the brush, makes it feel unnecessarily big. But, I guess the theme today is that compacts with mirrors are going to be thicker than I want (likely to prevent breakage). Then again, the Suqqu ones have mirrors too. The Valentino black and gold limited edition compacts with the pointed stud looking “V” logo looks way more fancy to me, enough to forgive the light plastic. I love it! I wish the black/gold packaging was the standard one instead.
As for the CopperTwilight shade, I can only use it as a highlighter, which I don’t mind. It looks smooth and beautiful, but my skin just absorbs it. It’s always gone after several hours wearing it. The other blushes fade, but not at that rate. It might be because I pack so much on my cheeks, unlike the highlighter which I usually apply in as thin of a layer as possible. So, I only wear this in photos and not for going on long outings.
Suqqu AW22 Collection – The items I bought from this collection were reviewed HERE. My favorite one is the 132 Momijigari Pure Color Blush. Suqqu does blushes extremely well, so it’s not surprising. On the other hand, I haven’t used the eyeshadow quads enough to say those were worth me buying, but if I haven’t used them enough in a year, the answer is probably no. It’s not a matter of quality, but eyeshadow preferences.
Colourpop Super Shock Bronzer in Dream Vacay and Paradise City – I first reviewed these bronzers in my Catching Up With Colourpop Halloween post, and I stand by my review. They are fantastic and made it into my top 3 bronzer formulas and top 10 overall in my Bronzer Ranking post. If I wasn’t concentrating on Charlotte Tilbury’s Cream Bronzer as an unofficial project pan item, I’d have probably finished Dream Vacay by now. As it stands, I hit pan on that shade, my first time ever hitting pan on a product!
11 months of use compared to 12 months of use.
However, towards the end of July, I started to have a hard time getting the product to get off my brush bristles and onto my face instead. This happens with my synthetic brushes and beloved Sonia G Mini Base. It’s like I’m picking up more of the emollient agent and less of the pigment. I’m not sure how else to describe seeing the shine, but lack of color on my skin (including the deeper shade) unless I spend quite a long time dipping back repeatedly into the container. This problem started at nearly the one year mark, which in my books is an acceptable amount of time to have a cream product work well. At only $9, this is something I can easily replace and would be willing to on a yearly basis. However, I will not do that while I still have my top cream bronzer, the one from Charlotte Tilbury, still going strong.
Good Molecules Yerba Mate Wake Up Eye Gel– I assume I bought this to reach a free shipping minimum at Ulta, combined with my curiosity for the Good Molecules brand. In the past year, I’ve used it less than a handful of times. About a month prior to completing this post, I considered starting a consistent testing period, but after using it a few more times I decided I would rather test other under-eye products instead. The Yerba Eye Gel is supposed to “fight oxidative damage.” According to symptoms listed on Google, I don’t think I have that. It’s also supposed to be soothing for puffy eyes, whereas I have the opposite issue with eye hollows. While I could certainly use the brightening and radiance effect that supposedly comes from the antioxidants and polyphenols from the yerba mate extract, I would rather try products specifically listed to target dark under eye circles, boost collagen production, or deal with my specific biggest issues for extended testing instead. So, I can’t give this one a proper review.
Real Techniques Enchanted Brushes and Sculpt Contour Brush
I’m not sure how the handle design relates to fairies or magic. My first thought upon seeing those tips specifically is that they look like the mini twist bulbs that I’ve only ever seen on ceramic Christmas Trees.
Real Techniques is capable of making sturdy, highly functional brushes, as well as some duds. Unfortunately for me, this is more of a novelty product than a high quality one. The bristles are quite plastic feeling and the only one that’s dense instead of floppy or airy is the concealer brush. This was a limited edition set, so I don’t have to worry about anyone getting this when there are better brushes available instead.
The Foundation brush isn’t flimsy, per say, but it bends deeply. I can also see visible brush strokes on my face when I use it, so I have to go back over the area a few times to smooth it out.
Instead of using it for foundation, it works better as a slanted liquid and cream blush brush, but only if I don’t care about precision due to the large splay, and the fact that it really sheers out my cheek products. I have to use almost double the amount to get my normal amount of coverage in the case of liquids.
My favorite use for this is with cream-to-powder and baked gelee blush formulas, since the bristles easily pick up so much of the powder product at once, and I can complete my task quicker than if I’d used another brush. The issues I have with it for foundation purposes aren’t a problem with these type of blushes.
The contour brush gets the job done, but it folds easily under pressure, so I have to use firm but short strokes to keep the bristles together when trying to blend cream and liquid products. This brush would have been better if the bristles were shorter and bound more tightly, to allow for stronger buffing power. As it stands, I prefer using this with powder blushes since it doesn’t come to a sharp enough angle for my taste for contouring and bronzing. As a blush brush, it’s like having a knockoff version of the Sonia G Lotus Face Detail brush as a last resort backup.
I’ve had the original setting brush, the newer (full aluminum no rubber) version, and now this one. The original has been my holy grail for setting under my eyes for so many years now, and even the new handle version, but this is one is horrendous. The splay is so much wider, looser, and haphazardly bundled which makes it visibly asymmetrical.
The setting powder applies to a wider area than I prefer, and feels pokey getting in various crevices, so this brush is more suited for me as a dusting brush to sweep away fallout. It’s useful for someone who does the baking technique, which I don’t. The best purpose I’ve found for it is as a highlighter brush, but it’s not as pleasant to use as my favorites. Essentially, it’s another last resort brush, but as a poor imitation of itself.
As seen in the photo, the ferrule got detached from the base during the very first wash. I was holding it in the spot where the ferrule meets the brush head and was squeezing the water out of the bristles and apparently squeezed and tugged too roughly. I didn’t bother to glue it back down because this entire brush set is just going to be set up in a corner looking debatably pretty in my “Cup of Alternative Brushes” reserved for the time I have no clean brushes to use, but deep down I know I will never actually get to them because I’d rather go wash my favorites than have to use the subpar ones.
Funny enough, this is actually the best brush in the set and I would actually use it if it didn’t stand out like a sore thumb by itself. I’d rather keep the set together on display than to use it. In any case, this brush is dense and spreads my Givenchy concealer very well and applies concealer and eyeshadow primer evenly. It does a nice job creating an even layer of cream shadows and decently packs on powder eyeshadows. It’s like a stiffer, but fully synthetic version of the Sonia G Jumbo Concealer brush. I don’t know if Real Techniques has a brush like this in the permanent line, but they should. It’s a good one.
I apologize to the Real Techniques fans for not sugar coating my thoughts on this set. The higher my expectations, the more disappointed I am when it doesn’t live up to it. I know the brand is capable of making better brushes, and in fact, I have plans to review the other brushes I’ve purchased since getting this set. Spoiler alert: I like some of those a lot more! That future review is where the Sculpt Contour Brush will be instead of here. However, I don’t know when exactly that will happen (weeks or months). I’m working on so many different posts all at once. So, be sure to click follow to be emailed whenever I publish something new!
Edit: I finished that Real Techniques post and the link is in blue above.
Smashbox Brush Haul: Blurring Concealer, Precise Cheek, Blurring Foundation, and Full Coverage Foundation
This is my second time reviewing the current line of Smashbox brushes. In 2021, I said I didn’t think I would purchase anymore unless they released a new style. I actually do believe I’ve gotten all the ones that appeal to me this time, and will therefore have nothing left to buy unless they release new shapes.
I’d like to address the fact that even though all four brushes were purchased at the same time from the official Smashbox website, the Precision Cheek has a brighter red handle than the rest. The only other time I’d seen a brighter red was a decade ago before Smashbox revamped the brush line to go fully synthetic. It was their brushes sold in the cheaper travel sets with plastic handles that were brighter red, though not even to this almost neon red level.
I remembered my previous customer service interaction with Smashbox in 2015 when I asked them what type of natural hair they used in their original brushes. Back then, they were transparent with me and still had the information, even though it was about discontinued items. So, I thought it was worth a try to contact their customer service again, regardless of the fact that I bought these a year ago and the bright red could have been a temporary thing. The initial rep didn’t have the information, but gave me their global Consumer Care email. After writing to them, I got a response informing me that my email was received, and less than two hours later I got the official answer. “We would like to confirm that our brush collection was being transitioned to the bright red handle, including the Precision Blush Brush. However, not all brushes were fully transitioned, therefore there is currently a mix of dark red and bright red handles.”
I wrote to them a week prior to this post, expecting it would take that long to get a reply of any kind, so I’m glad Smashbox reps could give me at least more information than I had before, and so quickly too. The “was” and “were” makes it sound as though they were in the process of switching to the bright red at least a year ago when I bought them, but for whatever reason stopped. And apparently if anyone purchases online today, it’s still unknown which color handle they’ll get.
This brush is on the lighter side of medium density, but it doesn’t splay as wide as I feared, so I can still use it precisely. The bristles are instead flexible, and supposed to create a diffused blurred look that way. To be honest, I don’t notice very much diffusing to the point of looking airbrushed like it’s supposed to do (probably due to using such full coverage concealers), but that’s a good thing for me. I prefer to use a small but concentrated amount of concealer to fully cover my areas of skin discoloration. This disperses the product evenly. It also works well for adding primer and cream eyeshadow. I recommend this brush, but only on sale purely because it’s not hard to find brushes that perform exactly like this. For instance, my old Amazon brush set (no longer available via that seller) I’ve had since 2015 came with a similarly shaped brush that ended up being worth less than $1 each. The difference being the Smashbox bristles are a little softer/plush feeling, but not as big of a softness difference as one might expect.
At the $17 price I paid for this Smashbox one, it doesn’t seem worth it by comparison. However, you never really know what quality synthetic hair you’re getting when you order generic sets online. Even the one I bought had a stronger gold tone ferrule in person and didn’t have any logos on the handles, unlike the photo. I only kept 2 or 3 of them and gave the rest away. The one I actively still use from this set, I only use with eye primer because the Sonia G Jumbo Concealer is just the best of all that I have, even if some of the other concealer brushes I own still get the job done well. In my early beauty hunting days, I purchased several bargain brushes that ended up being unusable. So, something can be said about the security of knowing when you purchase from a long standing brand, there’s a much higher chance for the quality to be there. Even the RT Deluxe Crease Brush performs the same as the Smashbox one, but it’s much more dense and I use it for stickier products like the Smashbox x Becca Under Eye Brightener. The bottom line is this Smashbox brush is good, but there are plenty of alternatives for less. I still don’t mind having it for the half off price that I paid. And at least I haven’t had to deal with the aluminum parts detaching like I do with my generic ones and the RT ones too.
This brush has a very interesting shape that appears from the front like a normal domed head, but it comes to a flat angled point on both sides from the middle to tip. If I use this with bronzer or a sculpting blush, I can put the product on one of those edges and it will fit into the cheek hollows giving me the crisp, but not too sharp, edge that I want.
Although one doesn’t need to use this brush exclusively with cream and liquid products, my natural hair cheek brushes are my favorite type to buy out of everything in the Fude world. So, there’s no way I would choose this or any synthetic one over my natural ones. The only time I use this brush with powder blush is if the powder blush formula is firmly pressed or very sheer and I don’t want to spend time trying to build it up. There aren’t many of those types of blushes in my collection that need something stronger than goat, so that doesn’t happen very often. With cream and liquid blushes, again, I like this for the precision factor and the denseness preventing the product from being sheered out too much. However, since I also have a lot more fusion goat/synthetic mix brushes now, I don’t get much use out of this brush, but I’m glad I have it for those uncommon situations when it’s needed.
This head shape used to be a lot more unique. I have some like it among my fude, but I’m unaware of any dupes among the synthetic brush brands, so this might still be a brush worth looking into for the synthetic bristle lovers. Especially if Smashbox is running another of their promotions for 50% off brushes.
Since I’m reviewing two different foundation brushes from the same line, it makes more sense to me to compare them so someone can decide which of the two they prefer. For starters though, I have to admit my preference for synthetic brushes are the soft plush dense ones, so these are naturally the Smashbox brushes most worth the purchase in my eyes. The Blurring Foundation brush is less dense of the two, with more give under pressure, but the splay is just enough necessary to produce a diffused look. Unlike the Blurring Concealer brush, I can actually see the diffusing effect in this one. It should be noted that most of my foundations are medium buildable coverage. The perk of using the Blurring Foundation brush is that it gives me a streak-free, very natural skin-like finish at the cost of losing a small amount of coverage. I like the end result for everyday use, but not in situations where I’m taking photos and would want more coverage. This also makes a nice cream and liquid blush brush, which I mostly use this for now instead of foundation.
The Full Coverage Foundation brush does allow one to keep the maximum coverage a foundation will allow. I’ve always been impressed with the light/buildble coverage I get from the Rose Inc Tinted Serum Foundation, but now I realize it’s because I always use it with dense brushes like this one. When I used it with the Blurring Foundation brush, I got the advertised sheer/light coverage instead. This brush is better suited for when I’m taking my blogging photos. I can quickly cover my face with product in a streak-free application. However, how quickly blending goes depends on how thin or thick the foundation is. For instance, it’s a breeze with my Nars Light Reflecting Foundation and I can use 1 small pump per side of my face and it’ll look close to full coverage. On the other hand, the Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation is thicker and trying to use less product to avoid a mask-like look takes much more time to blend because it’s not as easy to spread all over the face. So how much someone enjoys this brush could partly depend on the thickness or emollience of the foundation paired with it. I have used the shorter end to apply cream bronzer and it works, but is just too large to give the precision I like. I have also used it with cream blush and it works beautifully. The short side is too densely packed to blend comfortably, but picking up product on the slanted portion allows me to pounce it on my cheeks with ease. However, I mostly just stick to using this brush with foundation.
I’m still partial to my Blendiful, Sonia G Mini Base, and Tarte the Buffer brush, but these two from Smashbox come right after those. Once again, Smashbox proves why it’s one of my go-to brands for factory-made/non-handmade brushes. I can’t speak to the longevity of the newer line, but my oldest Smashbox ones from nearly ten years ago are still going strong. No loose ferrules, no shedding, and they’ve kept their shape all this time.
For additional opinions on Smashbox brushes, I will link to Nikki’s blog, which started the ball rolling on me giving Smashbox’s “new” brushes a chance in the first place.
CDJapan Eihodo Outlet Haul – The three brushes I bought that month were reviewed in my 5th Fude Update post.
That’s all for today! There will be no August monthly purchases since I showed everything that month in separate reviews, and the same can be mostly said for September, so I’m combining September and October in what will be a massive update post! I hope I’ll be able to complete that before the end of October. It makes me happy to be heading for the completion of this series! Thank you for reading!
I’m a little surprised by how many luxury products have tempted me this year. Then again, brands have been expanding their ranges, so I have products available to me now that I didn’t before.
Today’s post will be centered around some of the most exciting luxury makeup items that are newly part of my collection.
Dior Rosy Glow Blush in 012 Rosewood and 020 Mahogany
Dior reformulated their Backstage blushes, if they can even still be considered part of the “Backstage” line, since they removed that part of the official product name. I’ve seen photos on Instagram showing that the older formulation of Pink and Coral are darker than the new ones. I didn’t realize the old Coral could possibly work for me until it was already removed from every website. I even clicked lists I found online that supposedly had the older ones, but the links redirected to either the main page or to the new ones instead. So, the only way I could get the original coral was via third party sources. Since it’s not from an authorized retailer, there’s no way to know if it’s authentic, but I suspect it is compared to photos I’ve seen on Temptalia’s blog, for example. However, I’m only showing swatches and what it looks like demonstrated on my cheeks instead of factoring it into my official review. Today’s focus is on Rosewood and Mahogany that I purchased from Sephora and Selfridges respectively.
Rosewood is not only my favorite shade of the 4 additions to the range, it’s one of my favorite colors in my whole collection. I love how it looks on me! It’s not glowy due to shimmer. It just has a healthy sheen to it. It’s long lasting on my cheeks. In fact, I have to scrub vigorously at the end of the night because it nearly stains my skin. This might also be due to how much I have to use because Rosewood is such a subtle shade on me. I have to build it up a lot, but because it’s so blendable, it doesn’t take long to do it. My preference is using a goat hair brush with it because the powder is firmly pressed and that hair type picks it up easier.
I watched a fair amount of videos on these blushes, and a few people said these were patchy. However, the only one I’ve visibly seen on camera look patchy on others is the same one I have the issue with: Mahogany. There’s a separation between the Red 27 dye and the deeply rich brown color. My squirrel hair brushes can’t pick up the blush well enough, nor my silver fox, but I can use my squirrel/goat mix ones with this. However, even when I do try to patiently use a squirrel brush and blend as sheer of a layer as possible while attempting to build it up, I will eventually start to get more brown than reddish-pink. The random build up of brown in places does not look good on my cheeks. The photos I selected below are the best looking ones of Mahogany on my skin. It’s a balance of showing it as sheer as possible for the color to still get captured by my camera.
There are some videos on YouTube showing how Mahogany looks applied as a normal blush, for example this one by Beauty and the Frizz, or this one by Julie P. And an example of using it with some foundation patted over the top is by The Hooded Lid.
I’ve applied this over a powder-set base, an unset base, tried brushes with different hair types and synthetic fibers, and various brush shapes, but none of the changes made a difference. It still looks patchy on me and the tone of brown just doesn’t look flattering on my cheeks, potentially due to my undertone. The way that I can continue to use this, and really like it, is as a sculpting blush. I apply it to areas I would normally bronze, making sure to apply it lightly, before adding Rosewood to the main cheek area. I’ve really enjoyed this combination!
My love of Rosewood makes me even more tempted to try Cherry and Berry. I feel certain Berry would perform on me the way Mahogany does, plus I’m super picky about berry blushes. Cherry is gorgeous, but it reminds me of a brighter version of Rosewood from what I’ve seen on other people, and I have several vibrant shades like it in my collection such as Pat Mcgrath’s Electric Bloom, Colourpop x Hello Kitty Aloha Honey, Nars Exhibit A, MAC’s Loudspeaker or Frankly Scarlet, Patrick Ta’s She’s Vibrant, etc. Most of these I barely use, so it doesn’t make sense to buy it, even if I think the color is a beautiful one.
Based on my experience, I recommend them. However, it comes with the warning that there may be a press or formulation issue based on the inconsistencies being reported about patchiness regardless of the shade, and only for some people but not others.
Gucci Luminous Matte Blush De Beauté in 09 Intense Plum
I’ve had mixed feelings about these blushes for a while now, as I mentioned in my review of the Armani Luminous Silk Glow Blushes and my comparison of those to these. So many people rave about them, but I feel no joy when I put them on. The closest I get to liking the color is with Warm Berry, but that shade is exceptionally pigmented. I have to be really light-handed or it looks overdone fast. Intense Plum also has a lot of pigment, but I take a small amount and really work it into my cheeks to make it look a little more natural. I still prefer the tone of Warm Berry, but the depth of the shade makes it harder to look as sheer as Intense Plum can.
I went back and forth deciding if Bright Coral would show up on me and whether it was worth the risk to buy. It’s very faint, and more visible in person, but I’m never satisfied using it alone unless I mix it with one or both of the other shades. In fact, I tend to apply this on top of the others to help tone them down. I’ll need to do a declutter eventually, and I haven’t decided if I’ll be keeping this one or potentially even removing two of them from my collection.
The formula is silky to the touch and goes on the skin smoothly with a soft satin sheen. It’s super quick to blend onto the cheeks if you like a bold look, but because of the pigmentation level of the deeper shades in the range, I have to be careful how much product I pick up and I do need to blend it out a bit. So, to get it as sheer looking on my cheeks as I want, it takes a little longer in my specific case. But the formula itself is quite blendable and long lasting on the skin. For some reason though, I’m just not as impressed with the end result on my cheeks as I feel I should be considering the price. I’m far more interested in keeping that beautiful packaging, which looks much cuter in person than the online photos. I take back every bad thing I’ve said about it being a clip art star pattern. It’s more luxurious than I expected.
Guerlain Terracotta Luminizer Highlighter Powder in 01 Gold
Considering this comes in only two shades and this is labeled 01, I was a little concerned that it wouldn’t work for me, but it does! This contains, “Gemtone: Adapts to skin’s true tone for a natural finish,” according to the description on Sephora’s website. I have no idea how I could prove or disprove that claim, but I thought I’d mention it for those who aren’t anywhere near my skintone and might worry if this will be too dark or too light. This highlighter is very subtle and only really pops when applied on a dewier surface. This should be my type of highlighter, and I really expected this to be holy grail status, but I’m just not impressed enough considering the price. I hoped this would be my replacement for the 2015 Guerlain Meteorites I was obsessed with and used periodically for 6+ years until I decided it’s too old and put it in semi-retirement. However, the finish of it being less glowy than my Charlotte Tilbury highlighters while not being any more refined in terms of sparkle or particle size either, led me to not be as excited when I use it. I feel this way especially since it is on the lighter side for me and not a perfect undertone match. It’s good, but not fantastic. Even if this did come in the perfect color for me, there’s no guarantee it would raise my opinion of the formula considering PML’s Divine Rose highlighter is not a perfect match either, but I love how that one looks on me!
The packaging is pretty, but I’m not as excited by it as I expected either. When it comes to luxury makeup, the makeup at its best quality is usually still comparable to products from other brands, but the packaging helps make it worth that higher price. Because I think it’s nice but not amazing on the makeup and packaging fronts, this wasn’t worth buying. It’s strange to say I’m the most disappointed by this product out of the bunch in this review, but it’s because I had the highest of expectations for it only to be let down that it’s not at least as pretty on me as my old meteorites. My one tangible complaint that’s less about preferences is that as subtle as it looks in the beginning, the shine dulls down as the day progresses. So, I try to over-apply hoping it’ll last longer.
I honestly would have returned this if my time limit hadn’t run out. I ordered it during the VIB sale while away overseas and by the time I could actually see it in person, it took too long for me to make up my mind about it. I can at least take comfort in having gotten it on sale. I still think it’s a good product, but for the right person.
Chantecaille Sunbeam Cheek & Eye Shade in Ray
As it currently stands, this is the only product from Chantecaille that I love. The second best is the Blur Powder, which I like, but none of the rest of the Chantecaille products I’ve owned worked out. I was thrilled that the brand released such a deep highlighter, though they tried very hard to emphasize and market this as an eyeshadow. It looks a lot deeper on others, but when I use this on my eyes, I put it in the typical highlighter spots and not usually all over the lid, the way I have it in the photo below.
Besides the eyes, I’ve also seen those with light skin tones find use for this as a shimmery blush or even as a bronzer.
The shimmer size is small and it’s a gel-powder formula, which I tend to love. Ray is another subtle highlighter that looks more intense on dewy skin. At certain times of the year, this can be a bit dark for me because of that base color, especially if I build it up. However, I’m perfectly happy with how it looks when I use a small amount and buff it in a bit because I also have to watch out for the shimmer particles that are on the lighter side for me. That’s why the combination of both kind of balances out (the deep base with the light shimmer).
It’s a bit ironic that the Guerlain highlighter looks better on me in photos than the Chantecaille highlighter photos, but I promise it’s another story in person.
In the swatch photo, I included the golden stripe from Charlotte Tilbury’s Dream Light Pillow Talk Multi Glow Highlighter (3rd out of the 4 shades), because that’s an example of my perfect “natural” highlighting color in depth and tone. Guerlain’s is gold, whereas Charlotte’s is golden, and Chantecaille’s is reddish bronze with a yellow-champagne shimmer. The shade Ray, when sheered out, looks closer to Charlotte’s than Guerlain’s does, which is why I think the color suits me better than Guerlain’s.
Also, please don’t ask why I continue to buy highlighters if I already have a fantastic formula and my perfect shade via Charlotte Tilbury.
The packaging doesn’t exude luxury, but it’s fun! I love the bright neon green. I love that I can spot it immediately in my collection. I like the unique imprint on the powder (although it reminds me a bit of something not-so-pretty) and the small compact size is great. I had points on my account at SpaceNK, plus there was a sale, so I bought this for significantly less than the retail price. Considering all this, plus the color and performance, I’m way happier with this than the Guerlain highlighter. I have to admit though, that the full price would never have been worth it to me. Unless the packaging is plated with gold, $50 is my limit for highlighters.
Tom Ford Highlighter Collection: Shade and Illuminate Highlighting Duo in Tanlight, Soleil Sheer Highlighting Duo in Reflects Gilt, and Skin Illuminating Powder Duo in Flicker
I purchased Tanlight from Nordstrom when it came out, Reflects Gilt from Beautylish during a sale, and Flicker from Mercari because it had already been discontinued. I saw a video where someone compared the Flicker shades to Tanlight and I didn’t even know it existed prior to that. Unfortunately, Flicker fell out off the plastic mesh/grid, so I smushed the pieces back in. Then it fell back out again and I glued them in. I don’t officially consider it part of this review and only included it for color comparison purposes in case anyone was wondering whether to get Tanlight if they already have Flicker. The top highlighters in both compacts are extremely similar, but Flicker has a stronger yellow tone. I think I like it by itself more than Tanlight’s lighter shade by itself, but the color of both highlighters in the Tanlight compact mixed together creates my perfect highlighter color. The advantage to the Flicker compact is that I could technically use the deeper shade as a glowy bronzer, but it’s so deep and sculpting that I have to be careful not to overdo it when I try to use it that way. Flicker is also so deep that mixing both together forms a color too dark to highlight with.
I’ve noticed no difference in the formula between either of the three products. They’re all very smooth on the skin, all impactful and reflective, all long lasting, and all gel-powder formulas. The new Shade and Illuminate duo compacts have the “TF” initials on the lid, but that’s about the only difference I’ve noticed in the packaging as well.
I don’t know if it’s just because the sparkles are easier to see with the lighter highlighters in the duos, but I could swear the lighter ones all have more shimmer in them than the darker ones.
As I mentioned before, Tanlight mixed is the best for me, followed by Flicker’s top shade, Tanlight’s bottom shade, Tanlight’s top shade, and Reflects Gilt’s bottom shade. Reflects Gilt is a bit too light for my preference, with the exception of the darker one which I’ve started to use exclusively when I open that compact.
The retail prices of these duos are the same as the individual highlighters from Chantecaille. This would normally never be worth full price (I did get Tanlight at a minor discount), but it’s technically two products in one. This complicates things. Unlike a blush that someone can wear in a multitude of shades and have them all look beautiful, there is only a small range of colors that I feel I can pull off when it comes to highlighters. However, it’s because Tanlight produces perfection and I can tailor how much I use of either one in the event that my face gets lighter or darker throughout the year, that’s what makes this worth it for me. As for Flicker and Reflects Gilt and only really wanting one shade within each duo, the deep discounts that I got them for makes me not have any regrets buying them, although I’m not sure if I’ll keep Reflects Gilt in my collection forever. I don’t really have a purpose for keeping it when Tanlight is just a better fit for me overall. The packaging is quite pretty though, so I almost want to keep it just for that.
Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin-Caring 24H Hydrating Radiant Correcting Creamy Concealer in N390 and W420
This is a medium/buildable coverage concealer, instead of the complete full coverage ones that I normally stick to. What drew me to it was the hydrated look and the natural finish that wasn’t too radiant for my preference and wasn’t too creamy. Creamy concealers tend to crease on me beyond what I find an acceptable amount. This grips to my skin quite well and although it’s not as long lasting as my Tarte Shape Tape or KVD Good Apple, if I pair it with the right powder and use the right amount, it can get me through a short day’s wear with me feeling satisfied with how it looks at the end. If a concealer lasts 8 or more hours on me without being significantly faded or flat out gone, it’s a winner in my books.
Because it’s not full-coverage, I can’t wear my actual skintone shade over my dark circles because it shows underneath as a deep grey tinge. So, I have to utilize the under-painting technique in using a shade that’s deep enough to keep my dark circles and areas of skin discoloration from appearing grey when I apply the concealer. Then, to get it to match the rest of my face, I use my regular concealer color around the perimeter and blend them together. Because the combination isn’t a perfect undertone match, it still looks slightly off if I’m trying to have a minimal makeup day and skip foundation, but it looks perfectly natural on days I put foundation on. There are way more neutral shades in this line than warm tones, but I was determined to find a way to make it work for me.
Also, I’ve tried mixing this concealer with my other full coverage ones and the formulas just don’t mesh well. It fades faster or creases in a more obvious way. One time I tried using the Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector with it, and that combo works well if Becca is kept away from the lines under my eyes. Lately, I’ve been enjoying using it over top of the Milk Hydro Grip Eye Primer (that I use for concealer and not eyeshadows), because it helps it last a little longer even if I don’t use the Givenchy powder with it.
Initially, one of the bigger issues I had was figuring out the right amount of product to use. This was resolved once I bought that second shade and didn’t have to try and pack on a ton of product to get the coverage I needed. The second issue was that I could not wear this concealer without setting it, and once I set it, I lost all the hydration and radiance it provided. The end result to the look of my under eyes was no different than Tarte’s Shape Tape, but with lower coverage. So, I experimented with different powders and ultimately decided I should use this concealer with the brand’s own powder. Doing this gives it a natural-matte appearance, but at least it doesn’t look as dry as other powders. I’m a lot more pleased with this combination.
As much as I like this concealer, and have gotten used to the idea of needing two shades for most of my favorites anyway, the price and the coverage is why I think I will stick to repurchasing my Tarte and KVD concealers after the Givenchy ones are finished. I can snag my holy grails for 30-50% off at certain times of the year, but with Givenchy, I can get 20% off at the most. Needing to use a special powder with this adds to the full cost of having this concealer, so it’s a good product that is just too expensive for me to continue with. I will enjoy it in the meantime while I’ve got it.
Givenchy Prisme Libre Loose Setting and Finishing Powder (Mini) in 5 Popeline Mimosa
As these swatches reveal, shade 5 turned out to be lighter than I anticipated. Givenchy has one version that’s darker, but I didn’t want the dark pink color in there and 6 Flanelle Epicée didn’t come in a mini size. Since the website model that matches me the closest was wearing Popeline Mimosa, I thought it would be a slam dunk, but perhaps 6 would be better for me to be able to use all four colors mixed. Trying all four together with this powder makes my under eyes look too stark white. In any case, I have been making do by putting tape over the holes for the lightest two and partially over most of the orange so that I can have only a slight brightening effect for my under eyes. I use this powder exclusively for the concealer areas since I don’t need to set my whole face, considering my dry skin. For the sake of science, I tried my combination of 1 part brown powder and 1/3 part orange powder all over my face. It seems to have a small blurring effect. I thought I noticed that under my eyes, but it was nice to test it on a larger area and confirm it. The brown powder is also supposed to be the radiant one, so perhaps that’s why it is mattifying, but not dry looking. By “radiant” I assume they mean a tiny colorless sheen because I don’t see any shimmer whatsoever, though it does contain Synthetic Fluorphlogopite (synthetic mica).
Since I’m only using this powder for a small area, and I have others I use with other concealers, the mini is going to last me quite a while.
I never use the puffs that come with my products, but I tried this one out. Part of the problem is that the powder comes out in clumps and when I press the puff into the powder (which I pour into the cap) and try to tap around to mix it, the colors don’t mix evenly. I can see all the spots where the lighter powders touched my face. So, I just prefer to use a brush instead. I pat, swish, and mix them in the cap with the brush before using it. Even just using the brown and orange requires proper blending of the powder together on the brush. A bit of product gets wasted this way since so much comes out from all those holes, plus mixing them up in a way that partly disperses some in the air. At least it takes a bit of time for the average person to go through a powder anyway. I still haven’t used up a single one, even in mini sizes. I think that’s why I don’t really understand the appeal to having all these colored powders in one container. I don’t know why there isn’t a mechanism for opening and closing each of the sieves without me needing to put tape over them myself, unless this is something only in the full size jars? I don’t know why someone would need two color correcting options (Popeline Mimosa seems more like three). Shade 5 is listed as suiting those with “medium to deep skintones,” so when I use up all of the brown color, I’ll either try to give this to someone with a medium (or perhaps tan) skin tone who can use those lighter shades, or put it on Mercari. I don’t believe I’d repurchase this unless they decide to sell the brown color individually because I do like the finish of the powder and the blurring properties. However, loose powders are already a nuisance without factoring in being able to use 1/4 of the product in this container. I only really need this until I finish using the Givenchy concealers.
We’ve reached the end of this review!
Thank you for reading! I hope this has been helpful!
Once again, this post is a year late! It’s no longer relevant in terms of keeping up with last year’s low-buy, but I still intend to review the products that haven’t been discussed on this blog. I’m also including updates and links to the products I already reviewed.
Makeup by Mario Soft Sculpt Perfector in Dark
In May 2022, Mario released an Enhancer and Perfector. The Enhancer is essentially a tinted bronzer balm, and since I have several bronzers that are very subtle on me, I don’t feel I need something like that. Plus, I tend to dislike true balmy face products. The Perfector was marketed as a glowy setting powder, highlighter, and bronzer in one. Because of the multipurpose nature, I could only resist it for a few weeks before I caved and ordered it.
I find that the setting powder portion is too light and powdery looking to use alone on my skin. It’s also inconvenient having to use a small brush to try and pick up what’s supposed to be an all-over-the-face setting powder without getting some of the highlighter on the brush too. That accidental shimmer is why I wouldn’t want to set my under-eye concealer with it either, though it has a sheen to it anyway, even without the highlighter particles mixed in.
I’m also not the biggest fan of the way the highlighter looks by itself, as there isn’t much of a base color, but it’s borderline glittery. I discovered that mixing the setting powder and highlighter together balances those two issues out to create a pretty highlighting shade. Sometimes I even mix all three strips to form my cheekbone highlighter that has a sheen, less sparkles, and some color to it. This combination looks decent, but “decent” would put it at nearly the bottom of a highlighter collection ranking list if I made one. I just prefer much finer shimmer particles in my face products.
The best aspect of this Perfector is the matte bronzer. I tend to use that portion in the pan by itself, or to mix it with the setting powder (avoiding the shimmer highlight center strip) so I can give my face a more natural looking bronze glow. Over the past year, I’ve probably gotten less than 15 uses out of this product. The majority of those uses were for the bronzer alone. The quality of it is honestly the equivalent of the best of drugstore. By this I mean that it works well and looks great on camera, but there aren’t any extra bells and whistles. It’s not as airbrushed as the Charlotte Tilbury bronzer, as blendable as the Hermes, as soft to the touch as Huda’s Glowish bronzer, or have a pretty sheen on its own like the original Kosas ones. Still, it’s good enough that it’s not at the back of the drawer and still gets the occasional use.
I may not be using this Perfector as fully intended, but I can use it as a tailored highlighter, bronzer with a sheen, or plain matte bronzer. That’s a unique combination for me to have in one single compact. I could have done without purchasing it, and it’s not going to survive a declutter if I need to condense my collection for moving purposes. However, I don’t regret buying it. I’ve been able to make this work, but I don’t know if I necessarily recommend it unless someone really loves a glittery highlighter. One that will look much more textured and sparkly than the last face photo in this section where I demonstrated how it looks mixed/toned down.
Photos taken one year apart.
Rose Inc Cream Bronzer in Seychelles (Returned) and Capri
I ordered Seychelles during one of my bronzer purchasing sprees, but since that shade did not work out for me and it didn’t arrive until the first week of June (which is when I ordered Capri) I thought it would be better for me to list this as a June purchase. I had already been working on a Celebrity Makeup Brand post for months prior to the purchase, so my review for these bronzers and shade comparisons ended up there. Considering how long I’ve had it, I can update by saying it dried out way quicker than the expected period after opening. I would estimate it took somewhere between 6-8 months to happen. This had the makings of being in my top ten bronzers for the fantastic blendability, skin-like finish, it wearing well all day, and being pretty much sweat-proof and non-transferring. It’s still technically usable, but such a struggle to pick up that I don’t bother with it anymore. Considering the price, I can’t recommend it anymore if it requires needing to be replaced twice a year.
Rose Inc Skin Enhance Luminous Skin Tint Serum Foundation in 110
Of course, I also added this product to the review linked above dealing with Celebrity Makeup Brands. For those who like low coverage, lightweight formulas, and products that look dewy but dries down, I highly recommend checking out this one if you can get a close enough shade match. I ended up purchasing shade 100 instead (and selling 110) when I realized the depth was nearly the same, but 100’s undertone was better for me, even though a model with far lighter skin than mine is wearing it on the Rose Inc website.
Hakuhodo S110 Brush This brush is reviewed in my Fude 5 post.
Haus Labs By Lady Gaga Bio-Radiant Gel-Powder Highlighter in Fire Opal
This review wound up in that same Celebrity Brands post. I returned the product to Sephora. The only other Haus Labs product I’ve purchased from Sephora was the blush in Pomelo Peach. It didn’t look that pretty on me, so I gave it to a friend. I just don’t think this brand is meant for me.
Pat Mcgrath Duo Blushes and Divine Glow Highlighter in Divine Rose II, Cosmic Coral, Paradise Glow, and Bronze Mirage
My review for these can be found HERE. Of the three split pan blush duos, the one I use the most is Cosmic Coral, but I use a mix of Paradise Venus and Desert Orchid from the holiday Divine Blush and Glow Cheek Palette way more frequently than Cosmic Coral (and instead of the Paradise Glow Duo). As for the highlighter, I also eventually added Venus Nectar to my collection, but I barely use that shade or even Bronze Mirage. The Ultra Glow highlighter (Divine Rose) still reigns supreme.
MOB BEAUTYCustom 4-Pan Palette: highlighter, bronzer, blush, two eyeshadows
I did not have the happiest outcome with my attempts to make custom palettes out of products from the brand, but the review can be found HERE.
Chantecaille Perfect Blur Finishing Powder in Medium/Dark
In my powder declutter post from March 2021, I mentioned that I would sell my Chantecaille powder in order to help pay for a darker version if one came out. I did sell mine, but it took until June 2022 for me to get my hands on it for two reasons.
I hated the Flower Power packaging that the Med/Dark shade initially launched in and the standard silver packaging version wasn’t released until three to six months later.
I wanted to purchase this for a deeper discount than Chantecaille’s annual 30% off sale because my Dior Powder No-Powder was already doing more than my version of the Chantecaille powder (Light/Med) ever did. I did not want to spend above Dior Backstage prices for something that might not work as well, just to satisfy my curiosity.
Thanks to a sale at SpaceNK, and a promo code on top of that, I was able to purchase this darker shade for $33! Unfortunately, the darker color didn’t improve things enough to make this a powder I use very often. I can see the blurring effect, but it’s still not as good as the Dior Powder-No Powder (at least prior to Dior’s reformulation). The one benefit is that this doesn’t deposit a lot of color, so I can wear it anywhere on my face at any time. The Dior Powder-No-Powder has enough pigment that I have to switch between 4N and 5N at different times of the year, and there are even points when I’m too light for 5N and it deepens up on my face too much, versus when I’m too dark and get a slightly ashy sheen from 4N. There are pros and cons to the levels of translucency of powders.
I went on a little rant and also divulged history between myself and Chantecaille at the end of this New Makeup Releases post, for those interested.
Chanel Blush Lumière in Brun Roussi
I purchased this blush in swatched-only condition from Mercari. As much as I love it, I still never would have paid full price for it, so I’m glad I was able to get a deal. The color is beautiful! It’s a rich reddish-brown with slight golden shimmer. It’s a baked product (I think baked gelee), so I use my goat brushes and dense natural hair shapes to pick up the product. It blends seamlessly into the skin. I really enjoy the “standard” Chanel baked blush I have, but I love this formula even more because of how smooth it looks on the cheeks. I have zero complaints about the longevity, pigmentation, etc. My only issue is the retail price difference for the same type of packaging, but it’s technically a better deal at $47 for 4g versus $70 for 14g. At least, it was $70 when it launched, which was prior to the recent price hikes and this would likely be priced at $90 today. It’s still double the price for three times the product, but I still think it’s only worth that to the luxury lovers/collectors and not for the formula. However, it was so worth it to me for the discounted price!
Photos taken January 2023 vs June 2023 with different foundations worn (I believe the Rituel d Fille thorn oil made the difference in dewy skin levels as well).
I don’t use this blush as often as I wish, purely because I have such a large collection with many other blushes I love. In fact, I’ve been wearing the BareMinerals Blonzer in Kiss of Rose the most out of my glowy blushes for several months now, and it’s quite similar to Brun Roussi. The difference is Brun Roussi is darker and a satin-shimmer versus a shimmer-metallic.
The second closest dupe I have is the shade Piazza from Vieve, but Piazza has a matte (but not flat matte) finish. I hope these swatches have been helpful since Brun Roussi was limited edition and not available anymore, including unfortunately, some of those MAC comparisons.
LH Cosmetics Spectral Palette
I think the shipping cost will always play a factor in whether or not I make a purchase. I’ve wanted to try LH Cosmetics products when they were still going by Linda Halberg Cosmetics, but their prices as a new-to-me brand combined with their high shipping fees always kept me from making purchases, even during their sales. So, the only products I own from them thus far are from Mercari. That includes this palette, plus two quads someone depotted and left behind the colors I still wanted. Because of the states of those quads, I didn’t review them on this blog, and I’ve only used them less than a handful of times in the three years I’ve owned them.
Now that I know what to expect, it’s still the shipping cost that keeps me from exploring more. I can get cheaper shipping if I buy the brand’s products via Beauty Bay, but I’ve had one horrible delivery and customer service experience with Beauty Bay out of two orders, so I’m still wary about having things shipped over to the US by them.
Regarding the Spectral palette, the “shimmer” formula feels thin, soft, and smooth like satins, and reminds me a bit of the shimmer-satin formula of some of the shades from the Melt She’s in Parties palette. Without any help, they build up to a super thin yet opaque layer. However, they easily wipe away and don’t stay on my eyes unless I dampen my brush to apply them or use a glitter glue. This seems to be intentional based on the description of this palette being meant to, “give you a soft touch of color to a natural makeup look or create vibrant eye-catching looks.” By being so thin, it allows people who don’t want a lot of pigment to create soft eye looks despite how colorful they are. These shimmers have trouble sticking to my eyes with eye primers I tried them with a year ago, but because these shadows can be used wet or dry, it’s a bit expected that those like me who want full opacity can just spray the shimmers and they work exactly how I want. The glitters stick better to the eyes, but need help to avoid fallout. Abstract is a duochrome, which helps to compliment all the shades in this palette, and I have very little trouble using it. Illusion is not my type of shade as I prefer warmer shimmers for highlighting specific sections around the eyes, and it just doesn’t look right in the inner corner of my eyes, so I use it as a topper shadow for extra sparkle. Preferences aside, this shade gave me major fallout and it’s very gritty to the touch, unlike all the other shadows in the palette. So, those are additional reasons I try to avoid using this shade and really don’t like it.
I’m a big fan of the “muted” nature of Eerie, Phantom, and Unknown because they give me a pastel affect without the ashy white cast that makes the majority of true pastel shadows look awful on my eyes. Occult, Phantom, and Unknown are easy to build up and blend easily with each other. Eerie takes more packing on than the others, but using the right primer can help. All the shadows performed well with the MAC Paint Pot, excluding Eerie (which took more effort and the final result was just okay), but I had an easier time using that shadow over my Coloured Raine Eye Base. These all perform well (minus the fallout issue with Illusion and to some degree Abstract) on my Gerard Clean Canvas eye base.
My eye looks using this palette tend to be similar even though there is a variety of colors within it, so I view this as a supplemental palette. This is the kind of whimsical color story I want to reach for during Spring, so I expect I won’t get much use out of it again until next year.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Bronzer in Terracotta
My original review for this is here, though I mentioned that I thought all my blending issues might be solved if I had a better shade for me. Eventually, ABH added three more to the line: Warm Tan, Terracotta, and Deep Tan. Terracotta and Deep Tan are similar depths and listed as being suited for tan to deep skin tones with the former having “warm red undertones” and the latter with “neutral” undertones. At the time, I owned a lot of deep bronzers that leaned neutral or cool and were so deep that they looked like contours on me. So, I chose Terracotta to guarantee I’d have something warm, even though red leaning bronzers aren’t my preference as much currently.
I find it quite interesting that it pulls a little olive on my skin, but the moment I pair it with blush, I think the tone looks perfect for me. I like the color and because the depth is right, I barely have to do any blending. This eliminates the issue I had with the other color in trying to build up the product slowly but it getting patchy as parts of it were setting at different times. Most of the time I use the Patrick Ta Contour Brush with it, which makes things all the faster. It even made it into my top 10 out of around 35 ranked.
Colourpop Pressed Powder Blush in Toffee Cake
I love this tone of blush, but it’s highly pigmented and I have to use the lightest hand to get a restrained flush of color to my cheeks. There’s a little bit of gold shimmer in it that I didn’t appreciate as much when I initially bought it, but I like it a bit more now.
This was a limited edition blush, but Colourpop’s new permanent range of blushes includes the color “Icing on Top,” which appears in website photos to look similar.
Longevity is rarely an issue with Colourpop. This lasts all day. It’s not the smoothest or most effortless to apply blush in my collection, but Colourpop blushes are quite good for the price. I still don’t know that I would have purchased it again if I could rewind time, but I still use it on occasion.
Pixi x Hello Kitty Glow Tonic
This is is such a classic product. I tried a sample of it once a long time ago and didn’t notice it having any effect on my skin other than making it have a slight tingle. When I saw this adorable packaging for the product, I thought it would be a good opportunity to test it for an extended period of time to see if the brightening results would be apparent this time. Worst case scenario, I could reuse this bottle. It has a stopper inside, but it’s removable.
I still haven’t seen any benefits. The hero ingredient is the glycolic acid. My skin responds quite well to AHA’s, but my favorite products pair glycolic acid with lactic acid at the very least, plus at a minimum of 7% concentration. While I admittedly haven’t used it consistently or very much over the past year, it might just be the case that it’s too weak for me at this point in my skincare journey. There’s also the issue of it smelling nice, but in addition to some natural sources like hexylene glycol, it also contains fragrance and dyes which I prefer to be absent in my skincare. There’s no alcohol in the Glow Tonic, and it doesn’t feel drying like some toners of the past that used primarily witch hazel instead of just a splash of it, in addition to Pixi adding skin conditioning ingredients (aloe leaf juice, glycerin, urea, etc.). So, I can’t attest to this product’s effectiveness, but it might be a decent starter for someone not used to AHAs who wants to get into it. Of course, one would have to be okay with having fragrance in their skincare. It’s a light herbal scent that isn’t offensive to the nose at least. If fragrance isn’t okay, I recommend for someone to consider from The Ordinary their Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toning Solution. It has no dyes, alcohol, or fragrance and contains similar beneficial ingredients I liked in the Glow Tonic, though it’s 7% instead of 5%, so proceed with caution.
CDJapan Haul – All of these have finally been reviewed in my Fude Collection 5 update post.
That’s everything! Of course, all the previous monthly check-ins can be found HERE. Thank you for reading!
-Lili ❤
*DISCLOSURE: To those who chose to use my affiliate link to shop from CDJapan, thank you so much! The commission from that was used to pay for a portion of one of the brushes in the Fude 5 post. Otherwise, all other products discussed today were purchased by me with my own money. Links appearing like this (Example) are standard links. Links appearing like this (Example) are affiliate links. There are no affiliate links in the body of this post.
It’s officially one year since this monthly haul/low-buy series post should have been published. There are products I bought that should have been reviewed by now and are still relevant in my makeup collection. So, continuing with the series on and off as much as I can is something I wish to do. That brings us to our discussion for today! The photo above shows the products I bought this time last year that I will dive into, and add links to the reviews I did manage to post already.
Tom Ford Eyeshadow Quad in African Violet
I bought this from the Cosmetic Company Store website (Estee Lauder Brand Outlet), and the other Tom Ford quads I own were purchased from people who said they also bought it from a CCO. Of course, I have no way of verifying the validity of that, but I think they are legitimate based on how they look compared to the one I purchased last May.
I was planning to do a dedicated Tom Ford post, but scrapped the idea because I’m no longer enamored by the brand. The eyeshadow quality is nice, and in some cases extremely nice, but I would never say they’re worth full price. I remember a time when they used to be $80, but now they’re up to at least $90. I can’t even bring myself to pay the lower Selfridges price despite their quality being admittedly better than Guerlain’s and I’ve spent more on a Guerlain quad than these at under $40 each. But, it’s actually not the price that is the problem as much as the lack of shades. At least with a Pat Mcgrath product, which has formulas I like, I can pay a similar price and have many more color options with it.
The African Violet palette specifically appealed to me because it’s one of the most colorful available from Tom Ford. However, it’s not as smooth, shiny, or blendable as the Wet/Dry formula everyone raves about. The eyeshadows are long lasting, have decent color payoff, and don’t give me trouble with fallout or kickup, but there’s absolutely nothing special about them beyond their performance being good. I can name a ton of brands with well performing eyeshadows in palettes that cost less than half the price with at least double the shade options.
The other quads I own are Photosynthesex and Honeymoon (one shade in Honeymoon fell out and off the plastic grid, so I pressed it back into a spare eyeshadow pan and turned that empty well into a custom magnetic one so that I could continuously swap out any other brand’s eyeshadow that fits).
The quality of Photosynthesex is about the same as African Violet, but it contains a beautiful duochrome and I like the color story way more, so I get more use out of it. Honeymoon is the famed Wet/Dry formula which surpasses the others. It’s more special because of the shiny finish, the minimal effort needed to blend, the refined shimmer that don’t cause issues of creasing, and being flattering on textured eye areas. However, I still feel it’s worth half the retail price at the most. I understand the brand name and luxury packaging bumps up the price, but the sturdy yet basic plastic packaging doesn’t feel as special anymore considering the fun limited edition compact colors they release every so often. I believe the eyeshadows are a pricier formula than some others out there (even within the Estee Lauder owned brands), but I feel the markup is still too high. This is why I don’t foresee myself purchasing any additional Tom Ford quads unless I get it for a price that reflects what I think it’s worth and is in the preferred wet/dry finish. I’ve heard rave reviews about the newer cream formula, but I have not tried those. It’s typically the older quads that end up at the CCS/CCOs.
In addition, Tom Ford quads are incredibly repetitive in color stories and often contain similar shades that don’t look distinctly different enough on dark skin within the same quartet, let alone among the whole line. They’re also extremely neutral leaning. Give me some Wet/Dry greens and skip the brow bone shades, and they might just get another eyeshadow purchase out of me!
So, essentially what it comes down to is me thinking the eyeshadow quality from Tom Ford is good at the lowest and wonderful at best. I have no judgements to those who are fans of the quads. I get the appeal, even though I’m not their target customer. When it comes to luxury, everyone has their own ideas of what makes a product worth it to them versus something else. For me, having some Tom Ford highlighters was worth the splurge instead. I’ll have to review those at some point!
Haus Labs Casa Gaga Blush in Amarone – This was the first of the many blushes I ended up buying from the original Haus Labs collection before they rebranded away from Amazon. A review for it can be found HERE.
Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Highlighter in Dream Light, Push Up Lashes mini mascara, and Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer in 3 Tan – These items, plus newer releases from Charlotte Tilbury, have been reviewed HERE.
Nars Laguna Cream Bronzer in Laguna 04
I’ve discussed this product a bit in my other cream bronzer reviews, but I’ll pretend like I haven’t. Essentially, this bronzer is quite emollient, blends nicely, has a strong but pleasant beachy scent, and has the benefit of not forming a weird top layer after repeated use. The downside for me is purely the color. I don’t mind a red toned bronzer as long as it isn’t too red. This has the misfortune of being a little more red on my face than I want, plus being a deeper shade that will probably work better in the summer, but is a bit dark for me now. For those who don’t mind the cons that I listed, I do think it’s a nice quality cream bronzer, but it’s admittedly not in my top favorites. I prefer the Charlotte Tilbury one (even though it’s more expensive) and the one from Anastasia Beverly Hills.
Nars Bronzer Powder in Punta Cana
The photo below was taken in the time frame when I was at my lightest for the year, so this bronzer looks a bit deep in the picture, but normally this is a subtle, but not too subtle bronzer match for me. The depth and undertone (mix of red leaning base color plus gold shimmer) combines to a shade I like. However, despite the shimmer particles being barely noticeable in the pan, they reflect powerfully under daylight lights to the point where all you see is shine and it doesn’t even look like I’m wearing bronzer. For the longest time, I thought this shade was too light for me because of where I normally sit when I apply it and view myself in the mirror. I kept trying it every few months and when I could suddenly see it, I assumed it was because I was in my winter shade. It wasn’t until I happened to look in a different position and angle during one of the wear tests that I figured out what was happening. Once I made this discovery and could properly see how it looked on my skin in various situations, I started to enjoy this bronzer a lot more. It’s ironic that now that I like it, it’s no longer available!
Nars discontinued their shimmery and matte Bronzing Powder lines in favor of the new, for 2023, Laguna Talc-Free Bronzing Powder. I purchased shades 5 and 6 of the new one recently and have yet to review them on this blog. I can say from a first impression standpoint that I slightly prefer the new ones. The original that I have looks quite pretty on the skin, but it wasn’t seamless blending. It stuck to the skin in places sometimes, but just the tiniest bit. I’m really nitpicking at this point because it’s still easy to blend, just not perfect. I still consider it a good bronzer. Oddly enough, I have more building up to do with the new bronzers because they’re slightly less pigmented. However, they haven’t stuck yet, are smoother gliding across the skin, and an airbrush effect can be achieved with them. It’s not as airbrushed as the Charlotte Tilbury powder one, but enough to at least make me think of it.
For those who already own the older bronzers, I don’t feel it’s worth getting the new ones if you’re satisfied with what you have, and especially if you already have the matte version. It’s not different enough from the previous formula, unless you’re the type of person trying to avoid talc in products. Since the new line contains no shimmers from what I can see, I’m going to continue using Punta Cana when I want a glowy bronzer. It was the darkest in the shimmer range and the base color is similar to Laguna 6, but the shimmer makes it appear a little lighter. That difference makes me feel like it still has a place in my collection. For those who don’t have a shade in the older range, this new one might have an option. Nars now offers minis in 5 of the 9 colors, so that helps in terms of being able to try one without breaking the bank.
Oh, and if you’re my shade twin, I recommend going with Laguna 06. I prefer mixing 05 and 06 together for the perfect color, but I can’t use Laguna 05 by itself because it’s practically my winter skin tone.
Sigma Beauty Bronzer in Deep and Highlighter in Golden Hour
I’ve tried the bronzer so many times and I really do not like it. It’s so hard to blend, and try to fix after it goes on patchy, and it ends up looking like a contour if I blend it in too much because it goes too deep. It looks gorgeously warm when unblended, but it seems like there’s some grey in the base color. It’s still workable, but other than forcing myself to keep using it on top of various foundations (it looks better on top of matte ones) and switching to different brushes, I just don’t want to use it again. In fact, I had to rescue it from the declutter pile when I forgot I was supposed to keep it until I had time to post this review.
As for the highlighter, I was much more pleased with that one. I like the depth and tone of the gold. I like the smooth look to it on the skin. It’s shimmery, but not overly so. It looks even better on top of dewy skin. It’s not in my top favorites considering I do have others that supersede the shine level/reflectivity, smoothness, and refinement of particle size. However, I still use it from time to time and think it’s a fairly nice product. I don’t recommend paying full price for it though. I think I got mine for 25% or 30% off and that’s about the maximum I would pay.
BPerfect Polar Vortex Highlighter in 32F
I haven’t reviewed this elsewhere, but I am unable to do so here either because Beauty Bay shipped this product in a box without bubble wrap or padding of any kind. The only shipping protection was literally one piece of paper, as seen in the photo below the demolished baked highlighter (two if the invoice paper counts). Every bit of it was covered in highlighter from the single open flap of the unicarton to the outside of the compact and all inside the box, above the plastic mirror protector, etc. I tried to re-press it into a spare empty highlighter pan from my DIY days, but because I used a liquid and didn’t dry-press it, it changed the texture completely. When I tried out the broken highlighter prior to pressing it back, it was insanely glittery (which is not my preference). The pressed version still has very visible particles on my face and is texture enhancing, even when I apply it on top of dewy skin to help melt it better onto the top of my cheekbones. So, I don’t feel it would be fair to consider this a review in this altered form, and it’s not something I want to keep anyway.
Suqqu Melting Powder Highlighter in 101 Kagerou (Limited Edition) and Melting Powder Blush in 06 Yuubae. My review for these two can be found HERE. I’ve purchased several more items from Suqqu and had I known I would enjoy them so much, the Suqqu blushes would have been on my exceptions list for last year’s low-buy. I did manage to stop myself from purchasing every blush shade I wanted, so that counts for something, haha.
Urban Decay Mini Naked Your Way Eyeshadow Palette in Foxy
Once more, my strange aversion to using long rectangular shaped eyeshadow pans is in full effect with this palette. I’ve been able to create a few beautiful looks, but I stopped reaching for it shortly after the excitement of it being new wore off. I was drawn in by the greens, but these are lighter than I typically go for and cooler toned. I prefer the mini gold from Natasha Denona, Dior Backstage Khaki Neutrals, and ABH Nouveau palettes because they have some deeper options as well. Funky Town provides some depth, but I can’t get too dramatic with it on my skin tone.
The quality of these shades is a bit different for Urban Decay since adopting a vegan formula. I didn’t have issues blending the mattes, but they feel a little stiffer and are not as creamy to the touch. I guess all that really matters is how they perform, which is satisfactory enough for me. Foxy tends to disappear off my eyes though. If I want it to show up, I have to build it up a ton. Get Down is closer to a satin, whereas Hot Stuff and Disco are the true shimmers. The shimmers are impactful enough for me to use without feeling the need to wet my brush, but I get a lot of fallout under my eyes with Disco, so I tend to just dampen all of them. I sometimes even use glitter glue because I also have trouble periodically with the shimmers lasting on my eyes in the inner corner (my trouble spot because I tend to rub my eyes there). The shimmers are dryer than I recall from Urban Decay’s formula, and this probably adds to the issue with the inner corner, but it’s more important to me that the shimmers don’t crease on my eyes. So, I’m satisfied with them.
Overall, this is a nice palette. It’s not the most enjoyable experience in terms of textures, but the performance is there. It’s a small travel-friendly size, which I like. For the way I like to do makeup, I get about three different looks from this palette, which I find is a decent amount for so few shades. I think this should really be in the $27 range, so I recommend waiting for a sale to try it out (I got mine discounted having purchased it from someone who got it in PR). Unlike all my other rectangular pan Urban Decay palettes that I declutter due to lack of use, I’m actually going to keep this one.
ViseartHaul:Viseart Grande Pro 1x, Petits Fours in Peridot, and Bijouxette ÉTENDU Palettes – These items and more from the brand have been reviewed already HERE.
Violet Voss Olive You and Wild Dahlia Palette
I purchased these two from a Boxycharm sale and did absolutely nothing with them for a full year. Since I own so many palettes in the Olive You Forever color story, I’m going to give it to my sister and not even swatch it so it can stay in new-ish condition. So, I don’t have a review for that one.
As for Wild Dahlia, so much time passed that I didn’t realize until I was doing swatches that it contained a beautiful duochrome! This palette offers quite an interesting shade selection. The mattes blend easily, are pigmented, and smooth. The shimmers are buttery, yet not the kind that causes an issue with creasing. I am so impressed! I do own one other mini Violet Voss palette that I depotted in the hopes that it would make me use the shadows more (and it had the opposite effect), so now I’m remembering how nice the quality was and I feel I’ve really been missing out on this experience!
The shimmers are decently impactful on their own, and applying them damp increases it slightly, but not enough to feel like it makes much difference. I also like that I had no issues with fallout either. I can easily recommend this one! The quality is fantastic. The shimmers are shinier in the Urban Decay Foxy palette, but I prefer the colors and tones of the shimmers in Wild Dahlia, plus the softness, blend, and color options of the mattes in this one too.
Melt Cosmetics Haul: Amor y Mariposas Pressed Pigment Palette, Monarca Blush Palette, and Gel Liners in Colibri and Estrella. My review for these items can be found HERE, and since I got such an amazing deal on it, I have no regrets! Even though I don’t use these a ton, I still very much love them.
Benefit Cosmetics Wanderful World Silky-Soft Powder Blush in Crystah, Terra, and Java Crystah and Terra are in the shimmer formula and Java is the matte formula. I did not purchase anything in the satin formula because I was waiting for the delayed shade, Starlaa, to be released. I planned to review these blushes right away, but I had no idea it would take four months for that one to come out! In any case, I’ve been wanting mid-tone and deeper blush options from Benefit for so long that I just went overboard without thinking it through. My Beauty Resolutions were completely forgotten, or perhaps ignored, for this release. The review of them and even more shades can be found HERE.
Benefit Cosmetics Pore MINImizer Squad Primer Set
Aside from the fantastic price this was listed at via Asos, part of my motivation for buying this set was that I finished up a mini sample of the Hydrate primer and loved it enough to want another, but not a full-size, in addition to being curious about the Lite primer after Angelica Nyqvist raved about it so often, and I had no other setting sprays left in my collection.
I recall trying the original POREfessional primer many years ago, and liking the way it felt on my skin, but it left a cast that lightened the look of my foundation. I was nervous the Lite version would do the same, but it did not. The texture is very strange. It feels dry and chalky when it comes out, though it’s in a form soft enough to be rubbed in completely and smoothly. It’s less gel-like than typical silicone primers. It blurs my skin when I put it on, but with foundation on top of it, I don’t see the blurring effects anymore. Also, if rubbed into the skin excessively, it can pill up. I don’t consider myself as having that great of an issue with the size of my pores, so I only really require that my primer help my foundation look smooth on top of it and perhaps increase the longevity. I think my makeup looks nice initially when I put it on, but I don’t think it helps past midday. Sephora lists this as being, “Best for Oily, Combo, Normal Skin,” so it’s not surprising that it’s not the best fit for me.
The Hydrate primer, as I mentioned already, is one that I loved. The color and consistency actually reminds me of the Glamglow Thirstymud Hydrating Mask. It feels soothing on my skin because of that added hydration. It’s easy to apply. I don’t know if it extends the wear of my makeup, but so far there haven’t been any foundations I’ve worn with it that I disliked. This one is actually best for, “Dry, Combo, Normal Skin,” and although I don’t notice any blurring at any point, I think it improves the finish of my foundation.
The Super Setter I’ve only used a few times. It has a nice sprayer. Most of it sprays lightly and evenly, but with every spritz I can feel some spots that are heavier, yet when I check the mirror there are never any visible droplets on my skin. This is great news because I’ve had that issue with a few setting sprays in the past. This spray doesn’t make my skin feel tight, nor cooling, or change the look of my makeup in any way. I honestly don’t notice any effect it’s having on my face, even with longevity. So, I won’t be repurchasing it.
Alamar Cosmetics
The two Disney collab products are sold out and discontinued. I strongly regret not posting this in time or in a separate review. I just could not make up my mind about them and kept forgetting the details of my wear tests when I kept trying them with several months gap between uses over the past year. The other highlighter is still available on the website.
Alamar Cosmetics x Disney Encanto CollectionBlush and Highlighter in Hermosa Rosa and Flex Alert
The Encanto Blush is in the brand’s Colorete Powder Blush formula. Hermosa Rosa is a stunning shade. On bare skin it has issues with longevity. There was one instance that I applied a sheer layer and it faded within 20 minutes. I then built up the color heavily and it continued to fade, but I was left with a reasonable amount of blush on my cheeks by the end of the day. Over foundation, this isn’t as much of a problem, but I still need to put at least a medium amount of blush for it to last. Trying to keep it looking sheer doesn’t work for me. Aside from that, it’s so smooth looking on the skin and even in color and opacity. It blends well. I like this blush so much that I’ve considered purchasing more from the brand numerous times, but they’re all in palettes and I’m not drawn to the shades available. However, I continue to check the brand website a few times a year to see if they have additional shades I might like as much as this one.
The Encanto Highlighter is in the Sun Soaked Highlighter formula. This is the trickiest one for me to pinpoint how I feel about it because it depends on the time of year. When I’m at my darkest, this highlighter looks terrible on me because the color looks more stark against my skin and each individual particle is that much more apparent on my skin tone which makes it look excessively shimmery. When I’m lighter, I put my blush a bit higher on my cheekbones so the highlighter, when going on top of it, looks more natural. The pink tones with the gold shift match well over the coral color. It’s still borderline glittery looking, but it somehow just works. At least, it works on top of the Hermosa Rosa blush. I haven’t liked how it looks on top of other blushes. Color aside, it looks fairly smooth and lasts all day. And even though there is a lot of shimmer, it’s at about medium intensity because it doesn’t have the strongest reflect. I would recommend this only to someone who doesn’t mind a shimmery highlight while also not expecting it to be blinding.
Alamar Cosmetics Sun Soaked Highlighter in La Playa
I love a gold highlighter, but this one looks extra yellow next to certain blushes, so I’m not sure if this is the best color for me, even though it’s the right depth. This is one of those wet look type of highlighters and it’s less shimmery than Flex Alert, which I like. It has a semi-wet feel to it with some slip, similar to the Charlotte Tilbury Glow Glide Face Architect Highlighter formula, except that sometimes that smooth buttery texture adheres too strongly to one spot in a patch/clump. I have to go over it repeatedly to try and smooth it out when it happens. Essentially, this applies better with a more resilient bristle brush. It needs to be strong enough to move the product around evenly as it goes on the skin since it’s harder to blend out once it’s stuck. But once that initial layer is down, the highlighter can be built up stronger and more intensely. I included two photos above to show how it can be applied lightly on a natural finish foundation and a pink toned blush, or built up intensely especially on top of dewy foundation and an orange blush.
Despite how long I’ve had this highlighter, my praise of it goes up or down depending on the circumstances. On paper, this should be my ideal highlighter because of the way it looks like it melted into my skin (when having a shimmer clump isn’t an issue), it being more glowy than glittery, and it being a medium gold. However, because the formula isn’t perfect, it’s not on the list of my favorite highlighters. However, it’s still nice and I do like it…70% of the time.
Oden’s Eye Solmåne II Collection: Sunlight Love Blushers in W102 Peach Gleam, W103 Sienne Lustre and B103 Orange Sunny as well as the Gel Liner Pencils in 002 Orange and 012 Golden Brown. The review for all of my Oden’s eye purchases can be found HERE. Liners were not allowed in my low-buy, but I was curious, did not own these colors, and wanted to hit the free shipping minimum which would have nearly cost the same amount. The blushes from Oden’s Eye are still in my top favorites, but I don’t use them as often as I anticipated because I have so many other favorite blushes that I need to spread the love among. Plus, I’m still using the original Oden’s Eye blushes, so when I want to reach for one, I split the choices between the new ones and old ones.
Colourpop x Winnie the Pooh Super Shock Cheeks in 100 Aker Wood and Mind Over Matter – They were reviewed HERE.
Sonia G Master Face Brush – This brush was reviewed in Fude 4. I saved $20 on it because of credit carried over from the Beautylish Gift Card sale. It would have been worth it despite my low-buy if I ended up loving the brush, but it was just okay.
CDJapan, Fude Japan, and Hakuhodo USA Haul: This month was the last time I could get Hakuhodo brushes before the price increase (up to 30% in most cases), so I placed Fude Japan and Hakuhodo USA orders for that. From CDJapan, I bought Eihodo outlet brushes, the Chikuhodo PS-2, and Mizuho brushes MB123 and MB125. The Mizuho brushes and Hakuhodo ones can be found in Fude 5. The rest are in Fude 4.
Coloured Raine Haul: Botanical Eyeshadow Palette, Cream Blushes in Copper Rose, Stiletto Rose, and Spicy and Eyeshadow Base in Wheat – These were reviewed HERE.
The Alamar products were the last ones that needed reviewing for the month of May from 2022! I hope this has been helpful and especially from a different perspective all this time later after hype for the products have died down. Thank you for reading!
When I was scrolling through the Douglas Retailer website for brands that offered deep skin options in Europe besides the mega parent brands and sub brands from L’Oréal and Estée Lauder, I came across this one and remembered even seeing a few of their items on the French Parfumdo website as well. My curiosity grew. I learned that Mesauda (or Mesauda Milano) is an Italian beauty brand founded in 2007 and mainly spearheaded by Victor Buaron, along with his two brothers who also work in the company. Although Mesauda doesn’t have the best gradient of a shade range, it’s certainly better than the other ten or so brands I hadn’t heard of on the Douglas website that didn’t make anything darker than for medium skin tones. And in some cases, the range from Mesauda is still better than the brands I did recognize. This effort to be inclusive is what got me to take the plunge and make a purchase.
The Ordering Process
Technically, I made multiple purchases via Douglas and the brand’s website directly. I was able to get free shipping via Douglas, but that came with zero packaging protection. There’s no bubble wrap, tissue paper, or padding of any kind. The box itself is sturdy, but the items inside are able to slide around and into each other. Thankfully, I haven’t received any broken items from Douglas.
From the brand’s website, shipping from Italy to Germany starts at a little over 8 euros, which isn’t too bad a price considering you get 20% off your first order if you subscribe to their emails. Unfortunately, shipping outside of the European Union is super expensive. In my first order, I had no issues other than paying via Paypal requiring me to submit the information twice in order for it to go through. I would log into my account, fill in everything, click submit payment (via paypal), get redirected to my paypal to accept everything, get redirected back to the Mesauda website checkout page with everything blank again, relog in, repeat all the same steps, and then it would let me check out! It wasn’t a time-out feature from lingering on the page too long either. This happened even when trying to check out one minute after logging in. This is tedious, but not that bad as long as the orders go through.
The problem arose when I was making a second order and my cart total qualified me for free shipping automatically if I was within Italy*. But because I was shipping to Germany, it kept giving me an error message about needing to select a different shipping option, even though there was no second option to select. So, I actually had to remove items from my cart for it to give me the paid shipping option. Not a great move from a business standpoint if the customer is forced to buy less products to make the purchase go through!
*According to the shipping page, free shipping within Italy starts at 30 Euros and free shipping to Germany is supposed to start at 60 Euros. My guess is either this information is outdated and Germans aren’t supposed to get free shipping at any minimum which led to the error, or it’s supposed to be free after 60 Euros but it switches automatically to Italy’s free standard shipping option instead of the free international one. And since they likely use different post services depending on the location, the lack of coding to switch to the courier they use for Germany (DPD) could cause the inability to check out.
Then, in that same second ordering attempt, I tried to use my reward points which gave 15 euros off my order via a one-time-use code. The problem was that because the Paypal option makes you have to check out twice, the order failing to process in round 1 made the website register as if that code had already been used. So, when I tried to check out the second time in round 2, it said the code had been used the maximum number of times! I essentially had to email customer service (they replied within 24 hours and thankfully in English) and they gave me a new code, so I checked out in round 1 without the new code, waited til it took me back to the cleared page to relog and resubmit everything and put the code in round 2 of checking out, and then it completed the order! So, in the future, if I want to make use of the reward program I will have to hope the paypal error continues so I know to only include the promo code after the first “complete order” entry fails. Otherwise, if it actually goes through, I will have checked out without my code being applied!
I let them know about all of this including screenshots and a screen recording, but it wasn’t addressed in the email response other than giving me that new one-time-use code and telling me to let them know if it worked, so I’m not sure if it was understood.
Another thing to note is that I do not getting shipping confirmation emails from them, even though it says that’s something that is supposed to happen. Instead, I get an email from the shipping carrier the day before the order is due to be delivered.
So, one one hand, Douglas is the less expensive way to go, but they don’t have all the newest products and one has to pray the parcel delivery person won’t toss the package around like they do in the US.
When I access Douglas via Google Chrome, there’s an option to translate some of the page from German to English, but it makes the page buggy and not load sometimes, which is another factor in the ordering process. Douglas also has a point system, but I don’t have enough to see what it does. I believe it accounts for essentially 10% off one’s order at different point intervals. On the other hand, the official Mesauda website is much more English-friendly and has an option to select English at the bottom of the page that’s built into the site, but sometimes it doesn’t translate everything when loaded and it still shows Italian here and there. The official site also has the benefit of the reward program, but the downside is the potential issues checking out. As I’ve only contacted customer service with Mesauda, I don’t know how Douglas customer service compares. Also, I get the shipping confirmation via Douglas, but no additional emails letting me know when it’s about to be delivered.
Onto the reviews!
Bronze Venus Bronzer in Caramel Macchiato and Rich Mahogany
In the photo above, Caramel Macchiato is on the top left and right with Rich Mahogany on the bottom left and right. The left half of the picture shows how they look in the pan, while the right half shows a more accurate representation of how the colors will look on the skin. I took these photos in the same spot but slightly different angles and the amount of light I got from the window was able to show these drastic differences in the way they look. I believe I accurately captured all swatches though.
Caramel Macchiato
Caramel Macchiato is a warm golden-leaning bronzer shade. This is closer to my skin tone than most of the bronzers in my collection, but thanks to the buildable formula, I can make it very apparent if I want. Between the two deepest bronzer options, I think this one fits me better. However, the other shade shows up more on my skin because it’s less of a match with my undertone.
Rich Mahogany
Rich Mahogany is a medium-dark neutral brown with just a touch of red. This was actually the first of the two shades I purchased, and even though I preferred the color of Caramel Macchiato in the product images, I really didn’t expect that one to work for me. I didn’t even know if Rich Mahogany was going to be deep enough based on how it looked on the arm swatch of the darker model because I’m used to brands manipulating photos when their range doesn’t go very deep. *cough* Hourglass *cough*
I’m happy to report that Rich Mahogany could work for someone a shade or two darker than me, though it will be on the subtler side. The greater difference between Caramel Macchiato and Rich Mahogany is the undertone more than depth.
Six shades of bronzer is a nice amount, although I’m not sure if they go light enough on the spectrum either. It appears that they have the medium-tan range adequately covered.
Photo from the Mesauda Website
I very much like this formula of bronzer. Beyond being buildable, it has the benefit of the soft and buttery feeling texture that reminds me of the way the Huda Glowish Bronzer feels, but in a lighter consistency that’s more powdery in the way it gets picked up by a brush, while still applying to the skin in a beautiful natural sheen that mimics the look of a baked gelee formula. The brand cites coconut oil and Polynesian Tiare flowers as the sources of the “moisturizing boost with smoothing and antioxidant properties,” that is given to the skin. I believe that combination is how Monoi oil is produced, which I thought I would mention for those who like that oil in products, though Monoi isn’t specifically listed in the ingredients and it’s just coconut oil and the Tiara flowers separately. The emollient nature of this product is supposed to also aid in the adhesion to the skin, which I can attest to this bronzer lasting on me all day without fading. The downside is that I sometimes get the issue that in spots that have more moisture than others, I get a little bit of sticking of a patch that’s darker than the rest. I can mostly blend it out to look even with the rest of my bronzer, but sometimes it’s so stubborn in a sticking spot that I have to wipe it off or cover it back up with foundation, then apply powder, then redo the bronzer application in that spot. If I always powdered prior to bronzer, this might not be an issue. However, because I often skip powdering my whole face, I was able to notice this. And although I prefer to build up quickly a subtler shade like Caramel Macchiato with a brush like the Sonia G Smooth Buffer, I had the sticking issue a little more often with that brush. When I use a brush that doesn’t load on as much product, like the Sonia G Jumbo Bronzer brush, I haven’t had that problem.
To those averse to fragrance, this does contain some. The brand calls it a “floral/fruity” scent, but I just smell slightly soapy flowers. It actually reminds me of the smell of Dior powders, but not as strong.
Please click the photos to enlarge them if needed, and use the arrows to go through the slide before clicking ‘x’ in the slide to return to the post. As I mentioned before, the depths are about the same and the tone is the main difference between the two shades. They’re also on the subtle side now and if I get darker this summer, they might not show up anymore.
This bronzer doesn’t have holy grail status, but I could see myself putting this among the top 20 on a ranking list. Despite having it for over a month, I still feel I need more time with it to see if my interest in using it continues to grow over time or if it’ll be overshadowed by the others I own. For anyone interested in bronzers I purchased prior to 2023 and where I’d rank those, I have a post on that topic here.
Lust For Shine Highlighter in Guilty Treasure
Mesauda has several different forms of highlighter: liquid, baked, gel-powder, and cream-powder. Since my favorites tend to be gel-powder, I naturally chose to order this Lust For Shine formula. The texture is thinner and drier than I expected. The shimmer looks fairly smooth on the skin with its small particle size, while still being reflective. I consider the highlight intensity level to be a buildable medium, though it stands out even more on my skin tone because Guilty Treasure is on the lighter side of workable for me. I only brought highlighters with the same depth as my skin tone on the trip because I thought I would only want my highlight to look subtle, but I ended up still missing having that extra “pop” in my makeup looks. So, I bought this lighter shade out of fear that Deep Attraction might be my skin tone or deeper, which would have defeated the purpose of trying to buy a shade that differed from what I had with me. What helps Guilty Treasure to work on my skin tone is how sheer the formula is in allowing my skin tone to show through, which minimizes the cast I could have gotten if it had a base color as light as the shimmer. I apply my other highlighters first, and then add this one in strategic places for a spotlight effect. It can be blended out to a super natural shine for those who like the most subtle of highlighters, or layered up to the medium I mentioned, if one doesn’t blend it out too much. This highlighter doesn’t adhere to my skin as strongly. It will stay on most of the day, as long as I don’t touch my face more than a few times. There were some days during testing that it didn’t last more than a few hours and I realized I must have rubbed it off while sitting with my cheek rested on my hand or when I took a nap. A lot of highlighters don’t last through me napping, so that’s not too surprising. It’s just that this highlighter is easier to accidentally wipe away than others, and I have accidentally overblended it a few times already and needed to apply more. This can happen no matter which highlighter brush I use (goat, squirrel, synthetic-natural mix, fan brush, flat top, candle-shape, etc.). Also, if it’s one of my more natural days when I skip foundation, this highlighter definitely only sticks to my face for a short time. To help it adhere more strongly, I’ve tried spraying my brush to slightly dampen it the way I do with a lot of my shimmery eyeshadows. This added moisture helps increase the shine level and better melt it into the skin, but the effects are only temporary. The best way to make this last longer is to have products underneath that remain at least a little wet or emollient like a dewy foundation or cream highlight.
This formula is fairly nice and it’s easier to pick up product with the Mesauda highlighter than the Nabla one, but I’d still recommend the Skin Glazing highlighters (and it’s one euro cheaper) because of the gorgeous glass skin effect it has on the skin. I love when highlighters have a somewhat wet look to them (which gel-highlighters tend to do), but I only get a slight wet effect using the Mesauda one if all other products with it are fully dry. I still like it more than most standard powder formula highlighters, but it doesn’t make the top of my favorites list. I’m still glad I tried it because the curiosity would have gnawed at me.
Also, unlike the bronzers, this is fragrance free.
Photo from the Mesauda Website
At First Blush in French Kiss, Obsessed, and Lovebite
I wanted Obsessed and French Kiss from the beginning, but I didn’t expect the blushes to actually look as vivid in person as they are depicted in the swatches, and especially for the lightest shades available. So, I bought Lovebite to be on the safe side and realized quickly that although the blushes do look lighter on the skin than in the pan, they are still quite pigmented despite their thin texture (which seems to be a theme with Mesauda powder products). Another consistent feature is the soft and silky feeling to the touch of them.
There is visible shimmer in the pan, but it’s very fine and just adds a satin soft sheen to the cheeks. The brand boasts ingredients like, “rose hip with its emollient and soothing action and Ginko biloba with its antioxidant properties,” but it appears corn oil is a more prominent feature based on the order of the ingredients on the list. The emollient factor was considered a good thing in the bronzers, though it had that sticking to wetness issue. With the blushes, I don’t have any issues like that. Granted, it does fade a little as the day goes on, but I still consider it a decently lasting blush formula.
Also, just like the highlighter, these are fragrance free.
French Kiss
I would describe this color as a peachy-pink-brown, and on the lighter side of medium in terms of depth. It definitely shows up on me (though it’s harder to see on camera), and does not look ashy, but if it was just a little bit darker it would be perfect for me. I wear it on its own, but it makes for a nice mixing shade if I want to tone down a brighter blush to turn it a little more neutral without making my cheeks darker.
Obsessed
This is a warm medium toned peachy-pink blush. I expected this to be my favorite of the three, but it flips back and forth between first and second place. I like that it shows up on me easier than French Kiss because it’s a little darker, but I think the brown in the other one compliments my skin tone slightly more. However, since it’s a warm leaning pink it’s still complimentary. I use it on its own, but I also like mixing it with French Kiss.
Lovebite
I have to be careful using this one because it’s such a vibrant reddish-pink shade, and pigmented to boot. I tap my brush once into the pan and work that amount of product from my brush onto one single cheek until it’s blended to be less intense. Then I repeat the process on the other cheek.
I find it interesting that my camera is able to pick up the shimmer particles quite a bit. I never noticed them as much in my lighting situations back in Germany, though the intensity of light (even natural light) is quite different from there compared to Florida.
Photo from the Mesauda Website
Blush & Glow in Koralline
I think Mesauda is dropping the “Milano” part of their name because it’s not listed that way on the brand website; only on Douglas. In addition, the only packaging I could see with “Mesauda Milano” on it was this Blush & Glow product in circle packaging. This product is discounted everywhere at a price around 4 euros with only a few of the shade options available at various places, so I am guessing it’s being discontinued or will return in new packaging to match the black squares of the others.
Koralline is quite similar to Lovebite, but with more pink in it than red. I was hoping this would either be light enough to use as a highlighter or deep enough to wear as a full-on blush. I like the base color, but the pearls unfortunately create a cast on my skin tone in certain lighting situations that makes it look ashy, even though it’s absolutely deep enough of a blush shade for me (or would be without the pearl pigments). This has happened to me before with some highlighters that have a base color deep enough for my skin, but the shimmer itself is too dark or too light and that makes it unflattering on my skin tone. I had issues with pearl pigments in my Hourglass vs Guerlain post as well, and even some of MAC’s Mineralize Blushes, which is why it’s the only blush formula from MAC that I’m very picky about. It’s a bit funny that the day I took the photo, it happened to show on my camera the prettiest it’s ever looked!
The blush otherwise looks quite pretty on the skin, is smooth, contains “Jojoba oil with emollient and moisturizing action,” has decent longevity, and does remind me quite a lot of the MAC Mineralize Blush formula. However, because of that pearl (or the combination of the pearls with the “holographic pigments”), and the way it reflects in light, I planned to declutter it. However, seeing how it looks on camera, I will reconsider it.
Gold N-Roses Eyeshadow Palette
Photo from the Mesauda website (above) versus how it looks in person (below).
The online photos on the website don’t do this palette justice. The colors are much prettier in person and I was thrilled to see it contains a duochrome called Oh Wow. These eyeshadows are thin, yet give good color payoff, while being in tones that are on the softer side. For instance, instead of an intense red, we have Felicia which is a deep pink-red. Rather than a vibrant purple, Victoria is more of a muted magenta. This makes the palette perfect for someone who likes neutrals, but also enjoys dabbling in “wearable” colors or having festive options for specific outings/occasions.
The mattes take noticeably longer to blend than I’m used to, but not so long that I would call them “bad.” They just require a bit of effort. I recommend using a brush with bristles thicker than squirrel (like goat or synthetic) with them. Most of these are opaque, but Perception is extremely patchy. From the first time I swiped it on my fingers, I could see spots where my skin was showing through, and this wasn’t the case for any other shadow in the palette.
I understand that some brands prefer to make their black shadows buildable, but it gives a smoky worn out look when I use it since it doesn’t build to be entirely opaque. I like smokier looks, but not necessarily on the grungy editorial side. This shade is still usable, but I’d prefer to reach for another palette’s black eyeshadow.
As for the shimmers, I prefer using them wet to aid in the shiny look and ability to layer them up for average intensity.
Because of the way the plastic packaging feels, the shape of the pans, and the layout, this palette reminds me of Tarte and Persona palettes. However, I prefer the formulas from those two over this one and would prefer to pay the $4-$8 increased price for that quality. Because this palette hasn’t been in my possession for all that long, it still feels exciting to have, but I honestly don’t foresee myself reaching for it more than a few times after this review. I like this, but I can’t recommend it over similarly priced palettes on the market.
BARE HARMONY 3.0 Palette in 205 Hidden Green
My experience with this particular palette has additional positives and negatives over the Gold N’Roses palette. For starters, I bought it because I forgot to bring a deep shimmer or satin brown shade on the trip with me. Plus, I’m a sucker for pretty green eyeshadows and I was so intrigued by the look of Moss. It’s a combination of various green and gold/bronze shimmer, but it doesn’t have that true duochromatic effect. There’s no shift, but it’s undeniably still pretty.
I like that the pigmentation level is cranked up for these mattes, while still being just as thin. However, they require even more work than my other palette for blending. I don’t know if it’s necessarily worth that trade-off since blending time is more tedious to me than being able to get strong color payoff the tiniest bit quicker. As for the shimmers, they are wetter, creamier, and shinier than in the Gold N’Roses palette. My only issue was with Precious, because I had trouble picking up that shade on my brush without it either dispersing everywhere on my eyes in a low pigment scattered effect (because the particles aren’t bound together as much as the other shimmers) or coming up in a giant chunk if I pressed too hard into the pan. Essentially, I had to resort to spraying my brush every time I used it in order to get it to stick on my eyes in the area I wanted with minimal mess.
So, even though this palette is trickier to use, the color story is more my speed and how much more dramatic I can make my looks is why I think I might actually reach for this palette a bit more than Gold N’Roses. I have so many gorgeous palettes now in the green, brown, yellow, and gold color scheme that once the “new” feeling fades, I wouldn’t be surprised if I stop using it after another month or two and go back to using my favorites. As for whether or not I recommend Hidden Green, even though the Natasha Denona Mini Gold Palette is a few dollars more expensive and contains much less product, I believe that’s way more worth the purchase than this one. I don’t regret buying this one though because it was needed while I was overseas and I enjoyed it while my eyeshadow options were limited.
“The Skin” Foundation. Photo from the Mesauda Website.
I was very curious about this product, but I don’t have a good shade in this line. I’d be somewhere in the 73 or 74 range, but I’d need a color that didn’t have that strong of an orange tone. I cannot speak to how these shades look in person, but it appears that the light to medium range is well covered and much closer in depth between shades. There are huge gaps though from C70 and onward, plus C75 and W80 don’t look like real skin tones. They look like corrector colors on the darker end. It’s not enough for brands to have dark shades in their line. They have to be colors that actually match people, or else it seems like they didn’t invest as much time and effort in the creation of those colors and they are just there for show to look more inclusive than they are.
ConcealerPhoto from the Mesauda Website
I didn’t try the concealer for the same reason of being unable to find a color that would work for me. W90 is too light and too pink, but C95 is too dark. The range is missing quite a few tan to rich options, but this line does a better job looking like real tones (except the peach one P01 still looks like a corrector).
Face PowderPhoto from the Mesauda Website
Talk about a shade jump! The difference between 107 and 108 is staggering! Once more, I did not have a good color match. If this was the translucent type of powder, more people could perhaps be able to pull off using the last two. However, the website states, “The formula is rich in micronised mineral pigments for improved coverage and even application all over the face.” This talk of coverage leads me to believe it’s the pigmented kind of powder that could be used to boost the coverage of foundation. In this case, the range is definitely limited for those who aren’t fair to medium.
As decent of a job as the brand has done with the products I reviewed today, there are certainly areas that could be improved if they wanted to fill out their current range as their brand grows. I wish them the best and hope that this happens. I’ll be keeping my eye out on what they’re up to when I return to Europe toward the end of this year because they make some nice products of interest to me.
A few things happened between working on Part 1 and Part 2. First, I decided to keep a few extra products from the Mystery Bundles instead of giving them away. Second, the only lip pencil I received that smelled relatively normal in the beginning ended up starting to smell very off like the others (still without me ever even using it), so I’m no longer going to review it. Third, Melt had a 50% off sale the day after I posted Part 1, so I bought the few remaining things I wanted from the brand. This means I’ll be reviewing a few extra things not pictured above.
Part 1 with reviews of all the eye products in the photo can be found HERE.
The Sculpt Stack
This stack is surprisingly handy! I love that it comes with a small mirror as the “cap” for the stack. The med/dark bronzer and contour both work for my skin tone, but even the light/med bronzer I’ve been able to use as a setting powder! It’s just the light/med contour that I have little use for. I prefer my contours to have slightly more grey than this one has, so I had the idea to mix some of the light/med contour shade with it, but I was unsuccessful in making those two properly blend together to turn into the perfect contour shade for my liking. Using the Med/Dark contour on its own looked better than the combination of the two.
These blend easily enough, though it can stick in place a little bit if my face is dewy, but that just requires a dense brush to buff out and then it looks fine again. The Chikuhodo FO-2 is a beloved buffer brush up to that task, for example.
These don’t fade. They are matte, but not drying. I love a slight sheen to my bronzers, which this doesn’t give, but it’s still quite nice. Overall, my impression of the stack is that it’s a useful product. It’s not in my very top favorites, but I do enjoy this product a lot and will continue using it. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns out to be something I like even more over time.
Ultra Matte Bronzer in Malibu
Despite the “Ultra Matte” name, I don’t find this product to be drying on the skin or to look any more matte than the bronzer in the stack. The powder feels slightly silkier to the touch, but it’s actually less easy to use than the stack because of my preference for wearing slightly dewy foundations. If I’m wearing a drier foundation, the blend is at least equal to the bronzer in the stack. Overall, I prefer the stack’s color and blendability than Melt’s actual dedicated line of bronzers. Plus, whatever makes this formula different from the one in the stack also causes it to start forming a weird film on the top layer (presumably from double dipping between the compact and the moisture on my face from skincare, primer, and/or dewy foundation).
I find it interesting that the shade range seems to lean on the darker end of the spectrum. My shade is number 3 out of 4 and Malibu is even a bit darker than I tend to wear these days, though perhaps it’ll be perfect in the summertime. However, I will realistically not reach for this because I prefer the stack and plenty of other bronzers in my collection over this one. It’s not bad, but I just don’t think it’s worth full price. Even at half price, I’d choose a Mented Cosmetics bronzer, Nabla Skin Bronzing, or Covergirl Trublend So Flushed.
Cream Blushlight in Pinched and Lynx
I’ve reviewed this type of product before and it falls into the category of loving the shades and finishes, but not liking the fact that these don’t set down to a dry finish on the skin. Just like the Rose Inc blushes that I have the same issue with, I was unable to turn down the opportunity to buy something (like a mystery box) to essentially get the blushes for free. They’re so pretty! I just wish they could set without a strong powder (like a powder blush that fully removes the glow and warps the color which defeats the purpose of wearing them at all).
Pinched looks quite similar to Polished, but I wanted an option that didn’t have shimmer and was more pigmented on my cheeks and Lynx made for a gorgeous cream highlighter. I’m satisfied with these two shades, and will use them for photos, but the continued wet feeling on the cheeks is why I will never get much use out of them in public or private. For those who don’t mind a wet creamy cheek, these are beautiful. And I know there are some people who absolutely love this formula, like Amy Loves Makeup who owns them all.
Digital Dust Highlighter in Genesis
This highlighter was in the “last chance” section of the website, so it’s discontinued now, but something about pink and gold shimmery hues intrigue me. If they’re too pink, I tend to not like them, but if they are gold with a slight pink tinge, I tend to find them beautiful. Genesis is the kind I like. The shine can be built up to medium intensity in person, but it remains subtle on camera. I thought at first it just blended in very well on a day I wore my Rituel de Fille Thorn Oil (left photo), but when I made sure to take pictures again with a drier base, the shimmer particles were more obvious, but still didn’t look very reflective on camera (right photo). So, this is the type of highlighter I would wear in public, but not if I wanted my highlight to pop in pictures.
Sexfoil Liquid Highlight in Peaches & Cream
I reviewed these before and even mentioned that I think Peaches & Cream might show up more intensely on me. Ironically, it’s even more subtle than Gold Ore, but I think it’s a far better match for my skintone and even prettier. This product has a tendency to lift, depending on what other makeup I wear underneath it, but because the base color is about my skin tone, it covers up any patches while also having shimmer light enough to reflect and still work as a highlighter for my face.
Although I rarely use liquid highlighters, this might be the exception.
Gel Liner in Fortune
I have an example of this on the eyes in the Half Lashes section with the green eyeshadow look. Just like the other Melt liners, they dry quickly, don’t smudge, and last all day without the line cracking. I prefer eyeliner pens because of the convenience of not needing to use a second tool to apply it, but I find these gel ones to be great from Melt, especially in the waterproof formula that works for the waterline, though I only reach for them occasionally. If the brand ever releases felt tip eyeliner pens, I would definitely want to give one a try.
Johnny Half Lash
This was my first time ever buying Half Lashes and, just like most full strip lashes, these aren’t for me. The issue is that I have a very rounded curve to my eyes directly in the middle. This requires me to have strip lashes that are longer than usual. My eyes also have a steep downward curve at the outer edge, which I try to balance out with cat-eye wings. So, in order to have room to adjust to my eye shape, I would need a longer half lash (something like a 3/4 strip) and for the outer portion to have much longer lashes so that it can look like it’s curving upward at the ends. On my eyes, putting the half lash from the actual middle to end part looks strange because my inner lashes are super short, which doesn’t have a normal looking transition from shorter lashes to suddenly longer outer ones. This causes the outer part to look either downturned or just makes the eye look heavy. If I move the lash slightly more inwards from the top of my curve in the center to almost the end to keep it from looking downturned, it looks even more ridiculous because the lashes go from short to long to short again.
The best I could get it to look was in the purple look when I made sure to have a wing that made the outer edge appear to curve up higher than the actual lash was curving. It still looks quite heavy though, so this style of lash just isn’t for me. If I want half lashes, I think I would need to just slightly trim a full strip and ensure it has a very flared out end. But considering my sparse and shorter inner lashes, I’d just stick with House of Lashes Iconic Lites.
Amor y Mariposas Collection
Recuerdos Lipstick and Corazon Lip Pencil
As I mentioned in the beginning of the post, I didn’t end up wearing the lip pencil because of the smell. As for the lipstick, it’s certainly an interesting color. It still has a vanilla scent to it that is similar to the cream blushlights. The color isn’t very even and this formula is very drying and the bullet was stiff. I don’t know if this is the case with all of Melt’s lipsticks (I have heard they aren’t very comfortable) or if this is just performing this way because of how long ago the collection was released. The gold packaging is absolutely stunning though. I love the details, as well as the imprint on the lipstick bullet. I will never wear this lipstick again (and removed it after taking the photo so I have no idea how good the longevity is), but I want to save the packaging and maybe pour a homemade balm into it so I can reuse it for something because it’s so pretty, plus luxurious feeling from the metal with magnetic closure.
Mirror
I ended up with two of these when it was temporarily reduced to $5 with a purchase of an Amor y Mariposas item and then again when it was temporarily free with either a mystery box or certain spending minimum. It was never officially announced, but something I noticed in the website carts. So, I gave the spare one to my sister!
This mirror is beautiful. I love the gold writing on the back and the clear red color. It’s a thick plastic though, so it feels weighty but isn’t too heavy as to be uncomfortable for a handheld mirror. The only downside is that it’s quite small, around the size of Colourpop mirrors. The one I got from Gerard Cosmetics is the current one I use because it’s much bigger in size, which I compared in the photo below. I can be quite clumsy and have already broken five mirrors in my lifetime, so I don’t mind having backups. However, if my Gerard one breaks, I would probably repurchase it because I like how much larger of a mirror surface it has. I know I own plenty of palettes with mirrors, but those are heavier to lift up, or the lid doesn’t stay up in position, or the mirror is just too small for my liking. So, I continue to use hand mirrors and I like collecting pretty ones, even if I barely use the spare ones.
Brush Set
The brushes in the order pictured are Rubor 718, Pomulo Alto 779, Pincel Denso 23, Mini Difumadora 808, Sombra Angular 627, Sombra Plana 24, and Lapiz Fino 523.
Rubor makes for a decent sweeping blush and bronzer brush. I like the density level, but wish it was more of Pomulo’s shape. Pomulo is my kind of blush brush, but it’s not as dense as I like and makes for a sheerer blush application. If I want something this sheer, I’d just use one of my natural hair brushes, so it disappointed me a bit. Pincel is a bit large for my eyes, but I have used it as a highlighting brush. It’s okay for that purpose, but a little odd because of the pointed tip. I’ve also used it to spread out one of my more liquid eye primers and preferred it for that, though I spread the product a bit wider out than anticipated since it’s so big for my eye. Mini Difumadora I’ve also used for highlighter and do like it for that. Sombra Angular I’ve used for eye primer and liked it. Sombra Plana I’ve used as an eyeliner brush, though I would prefer if it came even thinner at the tips for even more precision. I think it’s technically a concealer brush as it’s similar in shape and size to my Smashbox concealer brush that I also don’t use for concealer. Sonia G’s Jumbo Concealer brush is much more my style in shape and thickness. Lapiz Fino is a strange one because it’s shaped like an eyeliner brush, but it’s so thick that I never want to use it for eyeliner and can’t think of any other purpose for that brush either. Maybe spot concealing, but I almost never do that.
Overall, I do think this brush set is worth the currently reduced $35 price. I got one set free in a mystery box, but I did buy another set for my sister who is always afraid to use pretty brushes for fear of messing them up. I got this set specifically for her to “mess up” as much as she wants but she still finds the gold metal outside (I’m guessing full aluminum) and lovely shade of red synthetic bristles to be too pretty.
I’ve only washed these brushes once, but I did not notice any dye seeping out. Just wanted to mention that. However, I wash my brushes with cold or lukewarm water at most.
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That’s everything for today. Thank you for reading!
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