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.
A few additional items discussed in this post are not pictured here.
Between Huda Beauty’s main brand and the side brands of Kayali and GloWish (I’m not fully sold on Wishful yet), I’m becoming more of a fan these past two years than ever before! Today, I will be discussing the remaining unreviewed products I own.
GloWish Micro Mini Natural Eyeshadow Palette in Moss
The Glowish quad is nice! It’s more pigmented than I expected, which is to say it’s the same Huda quality I’m used to. Unlike the 9-pans that are normally made in China, this quad was made in Italy like the bigger Huda palettes. So, that was interesting to see. A lot of people say the quality between the 9-pan and full size ones are different, but now that I have the Empowered and Naughty palettes to compare, I really don’t see a difference from the Obsessions palettes I own. Then again, I’ve only purchased the ones rated high in reviews.
The shimmer in the Glowish quad didn’t have the impact I usually prefer, but since it’s part of the Glowish line, I assume it’s not meant to be super attention-grabbing. That’s the only complaint I have. I don’t get creasing, I don’t have longevity issues, and the kickup isn’t that bad. I like this, but if I’m being perfectly honest with myself, Moss gives similar vibes to the Natasha Denona Mini Gold palette, but ND’s has way more interesting shimmers. To those that like muted earthy yet pigmented colors and like satins instead of shimmers, I recommend getting the GloWish quad. However, those that like a lot more sparkle with a quality that’s at least as good, plus even quicker to blend, I recommend spending the extra $6 to get the Natasha Denona Mini Gold, which has an fifth eyeshadow too.
Huda Beauty 1 Coat WOW! Extra Volumizing and Lifting Mascara
An example of this mascara being worn is in the section with Glowish quad eye looks and the first two eye looks for the Naughty palette. For those curious, I’m using the COL-LAB mascara (in the pink writing not purple) in the last two eye looks showing the Naughty palette.
My version of one mascara coat is to pull the applicator out of the tube and apply the mascara to my lashes in repeated swipes until I’m satisfied with the length and volume, and without dipping back into the tube a second time. I start with the side of the wand that forms an hourglass shape, as that feels like I can get closer to the root of my lashes that way. I keep building up that single layer before turning the wand to the side that looks fully curved without an inward dip from brush base to brush tip. That side of it helps to comb out the lashes so they don’t look clumpy and/or remove visible clumps gathered on the tips. I prefer to stick to the single coat. Waiting for the mascara to dry and then applying a second layer only adds slightly more volume, but no additional length. I’m satisfied with the volume I get from one coat, so I don’t get extra value trying to build my lashes beyond the first coat.
I don’t get any smudging throughout the day, but I do get some flaking. The amount is acceptable to me, so I don’t count it as much of a negative. However, I have mascaras that give me the same results with less effort and don’t flake at all such as the MAC Megastack, COL-LAB mascara, and Essence Volume Stylist 18hr Lash Extension Mascara. So, this isn’t something I plan to repurchase. Also, this takes normal effort to remove with my Bioderma Micellar Water.
I should also note that I’ve used this mascara at least five times in a little under two weeks and the mascara consistency has gotten thicker. I have a much easier time getting volume, but the amount of clumps I have to remove from the tips of my lashes before it has time to dry is another annoying attribute that guarantees I won’t repurchase it.
Huda Beauty Empowered Eyeshadow Palette
As I said in my Swatchfest #6 post that included this palette, but not a full review, Manifest It is that strange gel formula that Huda included in the Naughty palette, but the pigment is in cream form instead of the circular balls. I took a cosmetic spatula and recombined the clear hard waxy gel and pigment together to get an even coating of color. Unlike Slippery, I find that there’s enough pigment in my mixture to actually use Manifest It as a visible opaque eyeshadow and not just as a primer base. It looks fine on my eyes if I keep it away from any folds and lines, but if I put it in the inner corner or some of it strays from the lid and into the crease, it can look a bit textured and take some extra smoothing over with a flat brush or my finger, in addition to creasing and moving, leaving me with a bald patch in those spots. It looks passable for a few hours, but by mid-day the combination of eye movement and spots on my lids that product oil majorly exacerbate the creasing. So, I try to keep this shadow for use in areas of low movement and away from areas that show signs of “maturity.”
After two hours wearing Manifest It on the inner half of the eye compared to the worst of it by the end of the day.
The standard powder mattes are all great. It’s the typical Huda Beauty type of mattes that are pigmented and easy to blend. My issue is just that these shades are too similar on my eyes, so I’m a bit limited in the variations of looks I can come up with. Big Dreams and Rebel end up looking the same. That’s also the case with Power and Best-Self. Get It is darker and brighter than those two, but if I use it in the same eye look it will overpower them and just look as though I applied Get It by itself. The three mattes that stand out the most are Winner, Confident, and Legacy. In the case of Winner, it has equal depth to Big Dream and Rebel, but the aspect that sets it apart from them is how cool toned it is.
We have two gel hybrid eyeliners that can be used as eyeliner, eyeshadow, and/or as an eye base. They aren’t waterproof or transfer-proof, since I can rub the spot where they are applied and get a faded imprint on my finger, but they at least don’t smear. They’re easy to pick up on a brush, but not as easy to get off the brush and smoothly onto the eyelids, especially with other shadows already built up on the lids. I don’t have much patience when it comes to passing over the lash line repeatedly, so it’s actually easier for me to use Confident as a liner instead of Worthy. Because Purpose is a richer color that takes less effort to build up, I don’t mind as much using that one as eyeliner. I like applying it to my eyes with my finger for a smokey look and to increase the intensity of a typical multichrome used on top of it. It does fade on me as the day goes on, as it’s not that rich of a black color, but it’s still visible enough for me to be satisfied with it being included in the palette.
Courageous is described as being “multichromatic” and has a slight shift that can be seen in the pan, but not as evident on my eyes. It also has its own black base, so using it with Purpose isn’t necessary. Even though it’s not very shifty, it’s still a pretty eyeshadow and great for smokey looks. It has a little too much slip to it, which is prone to creasing on my eyes, so I try to keep it out of lines and folds as well.
As for the golds, they’re both beautiful, reflective, and shimmery, but Limitless is extra flaky. So I prefer to use Charisma out of sheer ease of use, though they both have a scattered effect if not applied wet.
Visionary is similar to Provocative from the Naughty palette, but I prefer this color, tone, and fact that it feels smoother on the lids. I’ve had the Naughty palette a little longer, so perhaps I feel a slight difference because Visionary is newer. The mixture of swirled colors turns out to be very similar to how Do It looks, which is yet another reason I feel these shadows are repetitive. Besides the slight tone difference (bright copper versus brown-copper), Do It is shinier with visible shimmer whereas Visionary is smoother, so they have textural differences and one gets to choose which shimmer intensity one wants.
Bold Moves is an interesting mottled shadow combining “white gold and true gold metallic speckles.” Considering this is a mostly warm leaning neutral palette, but with some cool toned options, this kind of shimmer is a good bridge between them. It’s creamy and adheres to the lid nicely, but I apply it damp if I want to avoid a mess when applying it to the inner corners.
I bought this for $46 on Black Friday, so I’m glad I didn’t pay full price. It’s just a little too repetitive in color story and the shimmers are a little too creamy for my eyes, so I don’t think I’ll be using it very much. The quality is good, but there are so many factors that will determine whether these shades will work for someone or not.
Huda Beauty Naughty Nude Eyeshadow Palette
The last photo above has the swatch of Untamed because I accidentally skipped over it when I was doing swatches in order. I also re-swatched Passion and Hard because those shades needed to be mixed/rubbed together more thoroughly to show a solid color. It would have looked unflattering on the eyes to have random lighter and darker lines or patches on the eye if I just applied it like a duochrome.
I have to address the fact that Passion in this palette is like Astral Amethyst Moon in the Pat Mcgrath Huetopian Dream palette. It’s the surprise blue pop in a neutral palette. However, at least Passion is blue shimmer with a burgundy base, and that burgundy color works well with all the other pink and red-leaning shadows in this palette.
I had the Empowered palette first and dealt with Slippery the same way as Manifest It and the weird gel pigment bubble shadow in the Essence Coffee to Glow Palette; I used a cosmetic spatula to mix half of it together fully. It doesn’t turn into anything pigmented enough for me to wear on its own, but it does make a pretty good eyeshadow base for helping the shimmers stick to the eye.
Hard has a creamier feel to it than a standard matte, but it’s definitely still a powder that sets on the lid to a dry finish. The color it turns into basically just looks like my eyelid color. So, I haven’t found a use for it.
While I appreciate a pigmented and blendable product, the shade Untamed was so difficult to work with. It goes on the lid intensely immediately, even when I use a small amount. If I try to blend the edges, it fades to a dirty dark color that doesn’t show the burgundy tone anymore. It looks too harsh and unblended if I don’t at least try to smooth out the edge. Applying a lighter eyeshadow color on the edge tones it down far too much. Blending it out also wipes too much of it away. So, it’s extremely finicky trying to get the color to show true to how it looks in the pan, not be overblended (which takes 3-5 seconds to overblend) and lose color or look patchy, but also not look like a solid block of color. If I finally get it to look nice, adding a shade to my lid and it slightly traveling higher into the crease forces me to have to play the game all over again to try and fix it and avoid it looking patchy and messy. The time it usually takes me to finish an eye look is the amount of time I have to spend on just Untamed alone to make it look good. Thankfully, after dealing with Slippery and properly swirling together Passion, Hard, Flower Power, and Provocative, the only shadow left in this palette that gives me trouble is Untamed. Regarding the marble/swirl shades, the shimmers seemed the tiniest bit creamier than Hard which made them a little easier to mix evenly.
The five other shimmers are easy to apply, but Shameless, Flower Power, and Tantric are a bit flaky (though not to the extreme of the golds in the Empowered Palette) and I prefer to dampen my brush to apply them. I will get shimmer fallout if I don’t use something like a glitter primer or the Slippery shadow underneath to keep it in place. Dampening my brush works for getting it to adhere, but not for a full day. Another nice thing about these shimmers is that I don’t have to deal with creasing when I use them. As for the seven other mattes, they’re quite pigmented and blend nicely. It’s not as quick to use as Pat Mcgrath or Natasha Denona mattes, but these are still quite good.
*I accidentally wrote Slipper instead of Slippery. Also, I intended to use Irresistible on its own in the inner corner, but as I continued to dip my brush into the pan to build up the shade in the inner corner, I got confused and started dipping into Shameless as well. So, it’s a combination of the two.
When this first launched, I was instantly drawn to the palette (admittedly the swirl patterns were a big part in that). What stopped me from getting it was my concern with it having too many similar looking shades. On my skin tone, this proved to be true. My second and fourth eye looks above used entirely different shadows, yet they look quite similar. Hard doesn’t show as a color on me. Hypnotic barely shows. Rough shows slightly more. Slippery may as well be a primer. Please Me, Provocative, and Irresistible look similar even in swatches, let alone on my eyes. I was surprised to see the opposite being true for the dark shades Untamed (mahogany red-brown), Naughty (warm neutral leaning brown), and Spicy (dark cool brown) that remain distinctly different as long as they aren’t used in one eye look. In a way, having paid $34 for this palette via Sephora makes up for it.
The other benefit to Naughty Nude is that there are various textures and finishes to experiment with, something I always admired about Huda palettes. However, because these shadows are organized in a way that isn’t as easy to distinguish between these similar colors, it takes extra time to plan out a look. This makes sense for a super colorful palette, but it’s a bit strange when I consider one of the benefits of a neutral palette is normally its easy of use.
This is a nice quality palette, but I’m glad I didn’t pay full price for it. For my preferences, I honestly wish I played with the Nude Obsessions Rich palette below so that I could have realized it’s like a condensed version of Naughty Nude, or at least similar enough. I had that one a whole month before purchasing Naughty Nude, but hadn’t used it beforehand.
Huda Beauty Nude Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette in Rich
This is the oldest (in terms of release date) of the palettes I’m discussing today, but it’s my favorite of the bunch. The majority of the 9 colors are distinctly different from each other. The quality is just as good as the full size palettes, though perhaps slightly less pigmented. I don’t mind this though because there’s more control of the intensity of the eye look this way. Also, I think most of the shadows in the Rich palette are more shimmery and reflective, something I also like, and in shade tones I like even more than what’s offered in the Naughty palette.
Huda Beauty Lovefest Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette
This was an unexpected addition to the post. Sephora had this and many other Obsessions palettes for half off during their Labor Day sale. It’s always the same song; several of the colors appealed to me, but I didn’t want to get it for full price because the orange shades looked too similar and I figured the two lightest mattes could look identical on my eyes. Plus, by now I certainly had all the warm toned shades (especially oranges, pinks, and browns) I could possibly want from the brand. However, I couldn’t resist that price.
I was correct that I can’t tell Shades 2 and 6 apart when I use them in the same eye look. Thankfully Shades 4 and 9 are different enough. The mattes perform just like my other Obsessions palettes. Shade 3 is a low impact shimmer that is smooth to the touch and basically looks like a satin on the eyes. Shade 5 is a pretty duochrome that brings the sparkle and drama that I want. Shade 7 is a medium pink that works to brighten the inner corner of my eyes, but also makes for a pretty lid shade. I’ve had this for the shortest amount of time out of all of these reviewed today, but so far so good!
Just as I was finishing this post, I remembered there are in fact a few extra items from the brand(s) I haven’t reviewed. From Wishful I have the Honey Whip Peptide Moisturizer that I’m waiting to open once I finish up one of my current moisturizers, a mini of the Thirst Trap Juice HA3 Peptide Serum that I used a few times and didn’t notice it doing anything, and a ton of samples of the Eye Lift & Contour 1% Bakuchiol & Peptide Serum which I still haven’t tried. There’s the GloWish Luminous Pressed Powder I stopped using and didn’t finish testing. I also have a deluxe sample of the Easy Bake Loose Baking & Setting Powder, but it’s in a color that’s too light for me. I could try to use it despite that, but I feel that it would throw off my ability to see the results properly. So, I don’t see myself reviewing any of those anytime soon. However, there are two things I intentionally skipped reviewing that I decided I will include.
FauxFilter Luminous Matte Concealers in Crumble 7.1N and Butterscotch 7.5G and FauxFilter Color Corrector in Mango.
The reason I wasn’t intending to post about the concealers is because base products don’t excite me to review. It’s only when I find concealers comparable to my holy grail ones that I want to share my results with everyone. In addition, this is a bit of a regret purchase. I knew Crumble wasn’t full coverage enough to adequately conceal my extreme dark under eye circles and that it made my under eyes look about as dry as Tarte Shape Tape, but I purchased an additional shade anyway. I was more intent on trying to solve the mystery of how to make it work instead of asking myself if this was going to add something of value to my collection. Considering I can get more coverage from a single shade of the original Tarte Shape Tape (Deep) over buying Crumble and Butterscotch to mix with from Huda, it should have been obvious what I needed to do, but I somehow convinced myself finding the perfect color combination would make the Huda concealer magically suit me better.
Using the under-painting method, like with my Givenchy concealers, I’m able to get the coverage level I want, but at the expense of having a shade match that is darker than my cheek area. So, I don’t wear this combination on light makeup days that I plan to skip foundation. I typically match my foundation to my forehead which is darker than the lighter parts of my face, but lighter than my areas of hyperpigmentation. I either get this middle-ground depth that’s a combination of the various colors on my face, a slightly darker shade for summer, or a color that matches the lighter parts of my face that typically works after winter. So, I can use the combination of Crumble and Butterscotch with my middle-ground and summer foundations. The reason I took a break from using these concealers though is the fact that I can get similar coverage level to my combination of Givenchy concealers, with it looking and feeling less dry. The Huda concealers at least have the benefit of being long lasting, provided I pair it with the right powder and ensure that more is applied in the beginning if it starts fading within the first five minutes and any creases get smoothed out a second time before more powder is added. That process of keeping an eye on it in the beginning and making adjustments early on can get me a good ten hours of wear. If I don’t pay enough attention to my skin absorbing some of that product or not smoothing out those creases, it goes downhill quickly where I might only get six to seven hours where it’s significantly faded and looks awful. So, because of the dryness and mindfulness required, it’s taking a backseat until I finish up the ones from Givenchy.
As for the Huda Corrector, it made sense that if the concealers looked dry, the corrector should have the same finish, yet I bought it anyway. I was too intrigued by the Mango shade to skip it. Every brand of color corrector I’ve seen has a pink that’s too light for me to use and/or an orange that’s very deep and practically as dark as my under-painting shade. They’re also either so opaque that they don’t blend in with the rest of my skin or they’re so sheer that they don’t hide enough. This is the first corrector I’ve ever seen that’s deep peach/deep pink-orange with decent coverage and in liquid form. I’ve seen some cream ones that come close, but creams crease too much under my eyes. So, I’m able to use Crumble if I have this corrector under it. I even use Mango sometimes by itself and in other areas with discoloration. Of course, I still have the dry issue and needing to babysit it in the beginning, but because it camouflages well enough to my satisfaction, I continue to use this from time to time unlike the concealers.
Now, I consider us caught up on my Huda and sub-brands collection! If anyone wants a review of one of those specific items I mentioned that I own but don’t plan to post about, just let me know (via comments, email, or Instagram) and I’ll reconsider it.
That’s everything for today! Thank you for reading!
These are some of my newest purchases. I wanted to include them in my previous luxury post, but I didn’t want to rush through the testing process. So, I essentially split them into smaller parts. With the holidays approaching and my interest in luxury makeup still at an all time high, I’m sure there will be more to come.
Givenchy Prisme Libre Loose Powder Blush in 6 Flanelle Rubis
In the order of the swatches clockwise: 4, 2, 3, 1
In the order of the swatches clockwise: 4, 2, 3, 1
If I didn’t have experience with the Prisme Libre Setting/Finishing powder, I would never have gotten this because I would have assumed it would be too messy, but the tape method (controlling how many holes are open) works wonders. I still don’t see the benefit of having four different shades of face powder, but it’s quite enticing to have four blush options in one with the ability to custom mix shades. Suddenly the $43 price seems like a bargain if two or more of the four colors are appealing.
I purchased the deepest option from Givenchy, but I expected the two lightest ones not to work. I was pleasantly surprised that despite being so light on my skin, the color shows through as I blend them in, perhaps becoming one with my foundation in deepening the shade. I still have to build them up a bit, and the lightest one remains subtle, but the second-lightest is easier to see after just a couple of layers. The third darkest in depth just takes one well blended layer to be seen and is my favorite out of all of them. It’s like a dark coral-peach. The darkest looks quite beautiful if applied in a sheer layer as a flush of color, but this is the only one of the four that is stubborn to use. I don’t consider the need to build up a blush to be an issue, unless it adds a significant amount of time to my makeup routine. Additionally, needing to spend more time to blend because it grips wherever it first touches the skin, like this red one, is what I consider a flaw. I can get it to look smooth if I spend enough time buffing it, but I don’t like how much effort it takes. It even hinders my ability to enjoy using this blush with all the sifter holes open because I can literally see where the red powder looks patchy on my cheek and isn’t blending as easily with the other shades. So, to avoid all the extra work, I keep that one completely blocked. So, the ways I’ve been using this blush is with the third darkest shade by itself or the three blendable colors together. Also, none of these fade on me. They last on my cheeks all day.
It’s my preference right now to wear shimmery (but not metallic) blushes or ones with a sheen. This blush is a bit more matte than I’d like, but it’s at least not flat matte, which is why I still like it. The quality of the powder is nice, but when it comes to blushes, there are a ton that I love. A lot of brands, including ones from the drugstore, can make a fantastic blush. So, the quality isn’t a good enough reason for me to add to my collection anymore. Being a good performer is a given, but now I also require pretty packaging and colors that fill me with excitement the moment I see them on my cheeks. I think the black lid with the mirror on top and pink Givenchy logo looks very nice. The shades are complimentary to my skin tone as well, so I’m happy to have it, but my other blushes are so good that this would still fall into the middle of the pack if I had to rank my collection. The custom mixing feature is what helps keep this worth the price and not regret buying it.
Lastly, I just wanted to add that the blushes are heavily perfumed and even stronger than my face powder. I don’t know if this is just a discrepancy between the full-size face powders or the newly produced mini face powders. I also can’t confirm if all the mini powders are like that or if it just happens to be mine. Fortunately, despite how strong it is when I initially apply the blush to my cheeks, I can’t smell it once I’m finished blending it in. Also, this blush container is the same size as the mini of the powder.
Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder – Talc Free in Translucent Deep
I feel quite lucky to have gotten this for less than full price when Sephora accidentally listed this and the other new shade on the website for $36 instead of $49. I prefer Hourglass’ finishing powders, but as far as setting powders go, I am still very happy with this.
As someone with dry skin who doesn’t use the same amount of powder as I see a lot of other people use on social media, I’m not a good resource for face powder recommendations for anyone who needs oil control to be tested. What I can say is that this powder succeeds in not making my dry skin look drier. I’m able to use this under my eyes without it darkening anything, like some powders do. It’s super finely milled. It’s smooth and blends right into the skin to mattify without looking powdery. The finish just looks like skin, it’s so natural looking.
This reminds me of the Laura Mercier Powder, but even more lightweight. I preferred Laura Mercier’s Medium-Deep version over their original translucent shade, but I used it knowing it would make me look slightly darker. This shade Deep from Hourglass is exactly the kind of color I wanted from Laura Mercier, but couldn’t get. It’s got the yellow tone, like Laura Mercier’s Honey, but it’s a better depth for me.
With that in mind, I think this one from Hourglass should have been called Medium-Deep, and hopefully they will release a fourth version that’s darker. Even though these powders are “translucent” they are still capable of leaving a cast if they are too far off from the wearer’s skintone. I’m not sure how well this will work on someone with a Deep-Dark skin tone several shades darker than mine. I’m a little more hawk-eyed when it comes to what Hourglass does, because of their past shenanigans, but I give them props for expanding even this far. Their Deep is darker than Pat Mcgrath’s Deep that I really didn’t like anywhere besides my under eyes (just as the product name suggested).
I attempted to do a flashback test, but my current cell phone camera with flash just makes everything washed out. I couldn’t see a cast when I took a picture using my old cell phone camera with flash on, so I’m going to say that it passes, but I don’t know how it’ll be with flash photography from a professional camera.
Gucci Eternite de Beaute Foundation in 410N (deluxe sample)
I have to start off stating the obvious that it’s quite strange that the shade I purchased in the original Gucci foundation has a smaller number and is listed as being in the medium category, yet the sample I got from Sephora of the new foundation is a higher number and described as medium-deep, yet it’s lighter than the original. Selfridges had this on sale for $27 in January 2023, and I assumed the price was low because it just wasn’t selling well and was going to be discontinued to make room for the new line. However, the original arrived looking quite separated in the bottle and I can’t help but wonder if the formula went off and the color darkened considerably, and if this could be why it was marked down so low to get rid of it quickly. The first time I wore the original it transferred beyond anything I’d ever seen before. I could literally swipe it off my face and leave a completely bald spot without a drop of foundation lingering, like wiping food off one’s chin. I had no idea if mine was like this because it had turned, or if the original was supposed to perform this way. That’s why I never reviewed it, along with the fact that it was way too dark for me.
This new foundation is much nicer and is surprisingly close to my correct shade! I’d estimate it’s just one shade darker. At some point I’ll be caught in a position that I’ll forgot to reapply sunscreen, and this color will be spot on. Demonstrations of me wearing it are in the Givenchy and Chanel blush sections of this post. It’s described as, “luminous matte,” but I consider it a semi-matte or natural finish at most. I have foundations that make me look a lot more luminous, as seen in other pictures I’ve taken throughout this blog. The only time I get shiny is because of the Florida heat. Then, it just takes me dabbing away the moisture to look matte again. My natural oils coming through after many hours of wear only leads to the tiniest bit of glow, but still not to the level of my actual radiant type of foundations. I get nearly full coverage with two pumps and it’s possible to build up to full, but it can look a little mask-like because it’s not a 100% shade match for me, so I prefer a less is more approach with this foundation. This is also not the kind of foundation I would set with powder, considering my skin type. It has a self setting quality to it anyway so that if I touch my face, I don’t see any foundation on my finger. This foundation feels a bit dry unless I wear moisturizing products with it, such as facial oil.
Overall, it looks pretty in the full-coverage and matte way. Since those aren’t my preference anymore, I can’t say for sure whether that impacts my memory of liking the Nars Soft Matte foundation way more than the one from Gucci since I wore them at different points in time. So, I guess take it with a grain of salt when I say I recommend the Nars, which is $20 lower in price, over the Gucci foundations. I just know that I won’t be buying the full size of the new one and the old one will be decluttered.
Chanel Excel Blush / Chanel Douceur D’Équinoxe Blush Harmony in 797 Beige & Corail and 798 Beige Rose & Mauve
I spent hours agonizing over which of the two blush shades to purchase. Rose et Mauve was the more unique color offering from Chanel, but I knew a shade like Beige et Corail would be used way more often by me (provided it showed up). I tried to apply the lesson I learned from my post called Blushes So Good I Needed Another…or So I Thought. When it comes to buying more than one blush, whichever shade I love most is the one I’m going to use 9 times out of 10. So, I decided to go with Beige et Corail. After watching many videos and seeing a photo of Rose et Mauve on someone with a dark skintone, I started wanting that other shade even more. Ultimately, when it came back in stock on Chanel’s website, I took my chance and bought it before it sold out again.
On the left is the blush and bronzer. On the right and below the blushes are worn on a face without bronzer in order to show them distinctly.
The Beige and Corail shade takes a lot of product to show up on me. Using my Sonia G Smooth Buffer brush, I have to swirl my brush in the compact (trying to focus pressure more on the outsides where the orange part is the most exposed) five times and apply that amount to the face in three layers in order to get the opacity I want. I can definitely see it in person, but the shade matches my foundation color too closely in photos. I’ve made so many attempts, but I cannot get any better than the two pictures I posted here. In photos, it just looks too much like a bronzer. However, how it looks in person is much more important to me, so on that front I’m happy with it. I can wear it all day with no fading. It has tiny micro shimmer that keeps it from looking flat matte. It’s just so pretty on the skin, so I’m glad I bought it. Also, considering how much swirling into the compact I need to do, I’m surprised to see how much of the leaf detail is still visible on the surface. They’re starting to wear down in some places, but I probably still have a ways to go before it’s gone, and those that don’t need to build up this blush as much will have it last even longer.
Rose and Mauve takes a single layer of three swirls into the compact to get a visible flush of color on my cheeks. I like that it’s more pigmented. It’s still a bit darker of a blush than my usual tastes, but I focus on picking up product mainly in the double C’s so that there’s more pink than plum on my cheeks. I think this is why I ended up surprisingly liking this blush. I like the look even more when I apply this lightly and add Beige Coral on top. Essentially the combination gives a pinkier rosier flush. It’s similar to the combination I created when I mixed Fenty’s RiRi and Big Melons together, which is yet another mauve and orange-coral mashup. I tried taking a picture of them mixed, but it just looks like a slightly lighter application of Rose and Mauve in the photos.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m happy I bought them both!
That’s everything for today! Thank you for reading!
*DISCLOSURE: I paid for all of the items in this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 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 just one affiliate link in today’s post.
New Nudes Hazy Finish Powder Brush
I have to admit that I wasn’t very impressed with this brush at first. Despite the beautiful semitransparent handle, pretty ferrule, and bristles dyed with soft latte colored tips, there was no mistaking those shiny fibers. Fresh out of the box, these looked and felt very obviously synthetic with a slippery feel to them.
However, once I began using the brush and powder started to build up on it over time, I stopped being able to feel anything except the softness from the powder. Of course, this goes away once it’s properly washed again, but the slippery feel of the bristles don’t bother me anymore.
Because of the way the bristles are bundled, it looks super full (and does have a decent amount of fibers) but it’s not as dense as it looks. It’s a little bit floppy, but there’s enough there to keep it from being flimsy. I personally wish it was fuller, but not at the cost of it being wider in order to maintain the airy quality to it. If it was a little more dense, I’d be able to buff with it to my liking. It’s too wide of a brush for me to want to use for any purpose other than all-over-powder, but I don’t mind that. It is written on the website that it can also be used with bronzer. Some people like jumbo bronzer brushes, but considering the splay and the looseness, I definitely wouldn’t like it for that purpose.
According to the brush details, these bristles are custom-cut for good pickup and laydown. I agree that it picks up more than I expected. Because it’s not tightly packed, I was initially gripping the bristles tighter myself in order to pick up product from my Dior Powder No Powder, thinking the strands weren’t strong enough to do the job if I just gripped and swirled the brush in there normally. However, I was wrong. I realized the way the tips were cut allows even firm pressed products to be picked up. I can get a layer of product on my face that’s light to medium coverage.
No matter how it feels to the touch of my fingers, it feels quite nice on the face. It’s fluffy and inexpensive. A synthetic powder brush I can think of that I enjoy the feel of more than these is the Lunar Beauty LBF-1 Large Powder Brush, but that one is $18. So, I don’t have any regrets buying this. However, if you’re a Fude lover, I’m not sure how satisfying this brush would be. I’m still going to reach for my squirrel and silver fox ones for face powdering pretty much every time if I’m using a loose face powder. The main reason I’ve gotten so much use out of this brush so far is because I’ve been using the Dior Powder no Powder a lot more often again, and my airy natural hair brushes can’t pick it up. But, just as often, I’ve been using the Chikuhodo FO-2, and since that has the benefit of major buffing power along with good pickup, the Real Techniques is fighting an inevitably losing battle. At the full retail price of $12 for those that prefer using synthetic brushes, I could recommend this one if the Lunar Beauty brush is harder to access.
Soft Sculpting Brush
This is great for cream and liquid bronzer, as well as applying blush to precise areas. I’m guessing this replaced the original Sculpting Brush. The Soft Sculpting Brush is much smaller, which I prefer. The original brush being wider caused me to sometimes apply product in too large a zone if I wasn’t careful. The new brush has the same amount of splay proportionally in the front, but it remains more compact on the sides than the previous version. That not only helps with precision, but also gives me slightly stronger application power and feels firmer towards the back in comparison, though it’s a soft brush. Even though it’s touted as giving light to medium coverage and a subtle finish, the old sculpting brush did that as well, and was even gentler due to how much if splayed under the same amount of pressure. When using this new one with cream, I get medium coverage. It picks up a bit too much product to be considered light, unless the makeup I’m using is a sheerer formula.
I prefer the new brush, though they both are excellent, so this was a good purchasing decision. Now, I can toss my old one with its sticky handle.
Tapered Cheek Brush
When I tried using this brush in a circular motion, I didn’t like it so much, and this brush really isn’t intended for that based on the way it tapers on the sides and is ovular from the front. Instead, I apply blush on the tapered slightly angled portion of the tips and make patting and/or sweeping motions the same way I used to use the original Real Techniques Blush Brush. This is like a slightly denser version of that one, but much shorter in bristle length. I very much like it!
It’s also like a much fluffier less precise version of Smashbox’s Precise Blush Brush in the overall head shape. It would look the same if it was made with sharper angled sides, but the taper is much more gradual to create softer edges. I don’t get as much product pickup with the brush, which is why I think it’s great for powder bronzer use that I wouldn’t want to apply heavily, use with strongly pigmented powder blushes to get a softer flushed effect, and with liquid and cream blushes that I want to be a little more diffused. It works alright with cream bronzer, but the soft angle doesn’t give me the level of precision that I like with my cream bronzers. So, I just keep that in mind when I reach for it, but it’s easy to forget considering I buy synthetic with the intent to use it exclusively for cream and liquid products. However, since I don’t see my Patrick Ta Contour Brush being supplanted for cream bronzer use anytime soon, the brushes that work nicely with liquid and cream blushes (such as this one) are the ones I’m more likely to keep using long after this review is posted.
Seamless Complexion Brush
I use this brush pretty much the same way and with the same products as the Soft Sculpting Brush. However, instead of utilizing the full edge with cream bronzer, I pick up and apply it on the part with the shortest bristles from the base and then finish blending it out using the tip region that has no extra product on that portion of the bristles. This brush is much wider than the Soft Sculpting one, so it picks up too much product if I don’t do it this way. With powder bronzer and all forms of blushes, I pick up product closer to the middle which lets me pick up the amount I like and still have clean areas around the brush to diffuse it. This is another good brush, but because of the shape of it compared to the contours of my face, I prefer to stick to using this for blush products exclusively. I have an easier time bronzing with other brushes instead. With the Soft Sculpting Brush, I still use it for both blush and bronzer (and prefer it for bronzer over this one), but even then, I still like my Patrick Ta Contour Brush the most with cream bronzer and my natural hair Fude for powder products.
Brightening Concealer Brush
I think I’ve mentioned this brush before, but not in a full review. The Real Techniques Setting brush has been my number one brush for setting the concealer under my eyes with powder for nearly eight years. However, the Brightening Concealer brush has become my second favorite for that purpose. I hadn’t even known this brush existed until a year ago when a lovely blog reader and I were having a private discussion and it came up. The curved angle and tip lets me get into the corners to set around my eyes with a light dusting of powder, as well as sweep away eyeshadow fallout. Because the bristles on the tip are splayed a little haphazardly, it can be a little pokey at times. This is why it doesn’t surpass my Setting Brush. However, this brush has an additional function as a fantastic highlighting brush because of the way it hugs the top of my cheekbones at that slant.
Even though this brush was created to blend out concealer, I hate it for that purpose. While I can get into the corners with powder because it doesn’t require much pressure, it’s not strong enough to evenly spread my liquid concealer and then I lose coverage as well when the concealer stays within the bristles. So, I keep this strictly for highlighting and under eye powdering purposes.
Lastly, they are totally not the same size, but I wanted to point out the similar shape I noticed between the Brightening Concealer Brush and the Seamless Complexion Brush.
In my previous review, I mentioned that the brand seems to be more focused on quantity over quality and in photos like this one and some of the others throughout this post, you can see the strands that weren’t cut properly (those aren’t loose bristles) by either people or machines, though some of the brushes on Ulta’s website are listed as being “hand cut.” Some brushes of mine have been bundled in a way that don’t look uniform. Some of those ferrules get loose very easily. I can be a little rough sometimes, but this ferrule issue is one I’ve only ever had with inexpensive brushes. Even then, it has only happened with the brushes made after the original black rubber handle ones were discontinued. Quality control just isn’t what it used to be. The permanent lines tend to be better than the limited edition ones, but even these aren’t perfect. I continue to recommend Real Techniques as an affordable brush brand, but sometimes they make changes that aren’t for the better. My Setting Brush, that’s still my top favorite brush from them, has a slightly different brush head than the original. The change was small enough that I continued viewing the new one as my top brush, but the original shape was superior. So, I cannot guarantee that the brushes I recommend of the same name (but different handles as part of different lines) will be the same quality and shape as what I currently own. I just want to make sure I put out that disclaimer.
Miracle 2-in-1 Powder Puff
I could drone on about my initial mistakes expecting this brush to perform in ways it wasn’t intended to, but instead I will keep it to things that I discovered.
For starters, this sponge is not intended to be used wet. When wet, the sponge portion lifts off the silicone core on the inside.
The reason the website demonstration photos show this product used with concealer, cream contour or bronzer, but not foundation is because most people expect to use tapping/bouncing motions when applying with sponges. Those products demonstrated in those smaller areas should be fine if tapped, because without liquid, this sponge doesn’t diffuse product very much. I would like concealer to be tapped in without losing coverage, but using that motion in a larger area like for foundation just places a bunch of dots across the face instead of it actually blending in. However, this sponge can still work for foundation if a spreading motion is used. I saw one review video prior to mine arriving where the YouTuber sprayed the sponge to add a little bit of moisture. I tried that once and it does work. With a fully dry sponge, if the primer used underneath creates an emollient surface (like the Rituel de Fille Thorn Oil), then it is also fairly easy to spread. Swiping foundation on the face works in a pinch, but is less enjoyable than using something softer like the Blendiful or my usual foundation brushes.
I mentioned that the sponge side is supposed to be better suited for concealer, cream contour, and cream bronzer but I don’t like it for any of those purposes, and that’s because it just doesn’t blend things in well enough. The concealer gets around the corners nicely, but it doesn’t properly blend out where I have lines under my eyes. I’m not left with smooth even coverage and have to switch back to my usual Sonia G Jumbo Concealer brush for proper coverage. Cream face products don’t look blended enough either. The only thing that worked were liquid blushes and liquid bronzer because those naturally spread and move easier. Overall, the sponge side is just a dud for me except to swipe liquid foundation.
The puff side is the better side. Normally, I’d have to roll a puff into a different shape to set the concealer under my eyes with powder and make sure there’s enough pressure behind it. That’s why I usually don’t bother. However, the silicone insert has the perfect firmness and the pointed tips on either end let me get between corners and apply a smooth even layer of powder. That layer ends up being more powder than I usually apply with my brushes, but it looks like the typical amount I see the beauty gurus use online (the ones that don’t bake, although this would be great for baking too). I don’t wear powder foundation, but I have tried this for all over face powdering and it works nicely, but I bought my pricey face brushes for a reason and I prefer to apply with those heavenly bristles instead. Plus, with my dry skin, I need a lot less powder all over my face in particular.
I’ve used the puff side with powder blush as well and it works! But, again, I prefer the feel of my brushes. So, I might continue using the puff side, but to just set my under eyes.
My previous Luxury Makeup postwas months in the making, and the next one was heading down that road as well. Rather than take a few weeks off of posting, which would have been necessary to complete it, I decided to split it into smaller parts. Today’s post will be dedicated to the high-end/luxury eyeshadows I have yet to review on this blog.
Pat Mcgrath Labs Mothership IX: Huetopian Dream
Astral Amethyst Moon is the real reason I wanted this palette, and perhaps 3-4 other colors. Because I felt like half of these shades were similar to what I already own from Pat Mcgrath, I told myself I wasn’t allowed to get it unless the price dropped to $80 at most. Well, at the end of June, Huetopian Dream was on sale for the lowest I’ve ever seen and it was under my maximum price, so I finally bought it!
The mattes are the high pigment, blendable, smooth, fantastic quality I’ve come to expect from Pat Mcgrath. Skinshow Nude Xtasy is the typical fine shimmer satin-feeling highlight shade. The three baked shadows are the flaky, slightly rough feeling (Bronze Solaris 005 is a bit smoother), dry, high impact shimmers that look fantastic, but are best applied on top of glitter glue or with a dampened brush to minimize fallout. I love the colors and intensity of the baked shades, though the tricky application process and fallout issue prevents me from using them as often as I should.
There are three shadows that surprised me though. Blitz Sextreme is less opaque than I expected based on my experience with the Divine Rose 2 palette’s Sextraterrestrial shade. Sextraterrestrial was so good that it kept me from buying the closest Clionadh equivalent for several years. I am dissatisfied with how Blitz Sextreme looks on my eyes unless I use glitter primer, which I had to apply in the second eye look below. It wasn’t until I compared the two “triochromes” side by side that I realized they’re different in texture as well. Sextraterrestial is a baked shadow whereas Blitz Sextreme feels close to gel-like. It feels like a Juvia’s Place multichrome. Perhaps it’s not a matter of skimping on the pigment as I originally suspected. Typically, when a brand uses this kind of formula, they have a black base to intensify it or at least some other base color that will enhance the multichrome, whereas in the baked form the pigments are practically concentrated. So, I wish that when they switched to making a triochrome in a non-baked form, they did something so that I wouldn’t have to help it along by packing it onto glitter glue myself. Perhaps the target PML customer would appreciate a more subtle multichrome, but that’s definitely not me. Clionadh proved with their Earth Vibrant line and more neutral colored Stained Glass shadows that it’s possible to make “wearable” duochromes and multichromes that are toned down based on color, while being fully opaque. When applied as is, Blitz Sextreme is an example of the kind of subtle I don’t like. To me, if a product like that is too weak to be able to see the color shift well enough, what’s the point? Without a shift, it may as well be a regular shimmer, which would be more affordable to make anyway.
The other two that were unexpected were Bronze Desire and Cosmic Bloom which also felt more like a gel rather than creamy feeling for PML’s “typical” shimmer formula. I had issues with them creasing in the beginning, but two months later, these feel a lot less wet. With it being less wet, the creasing isn’t as prominent either. I still try to keep these shades strictly on the lid though and avoid the crease, but I’m happier with their performance now. It was very strange that this happened at all though because I don’t recall anyone saying that in their Huetopian Dream reviews when they first launched. Perhaps it’s just my palette, but I’m glad it’s not an issue anymore.
Overall, I like this palette. I definitely would have been unhappy if I paid full price though. It’s not to say the quality is bad. I think it’s very good quality with a few little differences from past palettes. The thing that I have trouble understanding though is Astral Amethyst Moon’s presence here. It’s supposed to be the star of the palette considering it’s the most colorful shade with the brightest pop, even surpassing the triochrome. However, the other shades in this palette don’t fit with it. They don’t play off or enhance that color in any way. Astral Amethyst Moon is like a powerhouse of vibrancy, whereas everything else is too soft to support it. I thought Shockwave would be the color to do it, but it’s so much more muted on my eyes, and really not that much deeper than Secret Eden. Xtreme Plum Noir at least gives it some drama because of its depth, but when I build it up, it looks more brown than plum which isn’t as exciting. In my final eye look above, I used last year’s holiday palette to give an example of the type of colors I expect to help support this shadow. I wish this shade wasn’t tied to this largely pink-neutral color story. If I’m in the mood for those tones, I’m going to completely ignore Astral Amethyst Moon when I open the palette. If I’m doing an eye look and want a colorful vibrant lid shade, it’s unlikely I’m going to whip this one out just for that one shadow. It would have been better off in a quad, but whoever decided to put it in this palette got me to spend far more just to get it. Congratulations to them. I couldn’t let that shadow go, and honestly, I still don’t regret getting it at the reduced price.
Surratt Beauty Artistique Eyeshadow in Dore and Noir Le Plus Noir
These are normally $22 each, but for some reason these particular shades were on sale on Surratt’s website for $8.80 each instead. I was willing to pay the extra $5 shipping in order to try and see why these eyeshadows are raved about so intensely among the luxury beauty community.
Now that I’ve used them, I understand the hype. These remind me of Suqqu shadows in texture, and I believe Surratt eyeshadows are made in Japan as well. Both brands’ eyeshadows are thin, but after the initial layer with Suqqu, it doesn’t really build up beyond that. These Surratt shadows build up to a stronger intensity if I want them to, while still being just as blendable. However, as great as the formula is, it’s not so much better than the rest as to be worth it to me to spend $22 per eyeshadow if it’s not a multichrome. If I see more of these available online at a reduced price, then I might be interested in getting a few more.
Lisa Eldridge Liquid Lurex Eyeshadow in Titania, Zora, and Liza
Considering what I just mentioned above, it’s a bit funny how I don’t look at single eyeshadows the same way when it’s in liquid form. I guess it’s because I am rarely tempted by them, so if a brand can get me interested enough in theirs to buy it, they deserve the money they’re charging for them.
Other than these from Lisa Eldridge, and Sydney Grace, I think I hadn’t purchased liquid eyeshadows since the Stila Suede ones launched (not to be confused with the 2023 relaunch) in 2019. Technically, I do have Danessa Myricks ColorFixes (from a TrendMood box), but they’re still unopened. What made me interested in these is that they looked stunning on the models on the website, and reviewers said these don’t crack or flake, they last all day, and despite looking packed with shimmer they don’t have fallout which makes them great to incorporate in eye looks or for one-and-done looks. I happened to be caught right at the perfect time of wanting a satisfactory single-shadow look, which I normally am not interested in doing.
Essentially, what everyone said about them was true. This is a fantastic formula. They blend in with each other very well and on top of other brands’ shadows. If I use one even layer of product, I don’t get sparkles under my eyes as the day goes on. If I pack it on a bit too thick, then I do notice significantly more glitter particles under my eyes at the end of the day. Also, these shadows set and don’t budge if left alone, but if I touch my eyes I will still get sparkles on my finger though the base color doesn’t come off until I’m ready to remove it. Melt’s Gel Liners can be used as eyeshadows and eyeshadow bases, but the Lurex has the benefit of feeling like nothing on my lids. I don’t get any tightness. Melt’s aren’t stiff either, but there is more of an awareness of it on my eyes, unlike Lisa Eldridge’s that I forget I’m wearing.
I purchased Titania at the end of last year, then Liza when Lisa Eldridge products began being sold at Selfridges, and then recently Zora finally restocked on the official website. So, I now have all the colors I wanted.
Also, Titania and Liza are sentimental names for me! Honestly, that did partly influence my purchases. Plus, Zora is close enough to Zoro, who is one of my favorite characters from One Piece.
As a bonus, I wanted to show some eye looks combining everything in today’s post.
I hope this has been helpful.
Thank you for reading!
As a last minute note, I wanted to say that I have next week’s post auto-scheduled and ready to go. However, the forecast for Idalia hitting Florida and the level it’s projected to strengthen to, if I’m out of electricity and internet for a significant time or my area sustains damage near to what Hurricane Ian did last year, I might not be able to post for a while.
Update: Thankfully the Hurricane missed where I live and we just experienced the outer bands, which did not knock out our power or internet!
Today’s post is a slight twist on my series. Generally how it goes is that at one point I purchased a blush and loved it so much that I needed to get the same one in another shade! The first part can be found HERE as well as the second one HERE. However, I’m not so sure buying the additional shades was a good idea for each of these new cases.
Fenty Beauty by Rihanna
Fenty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Blush in Big Melons and RiRi
My first time reviewing Fenty’s cream blushes was actually in Part 1 of this series. These don’t have any extra special traits like an atypical cream texture, being transfer-proof, or being super blendable. However, I appreciate its dependable formula that’s pigmented yet buildable, and even easier to blend after it has been warmed up. It lasts all day. It doesn’t disturb my makeup underneath it. It’s not patchy. It mixes well with other cream blushes. My first two haven’t changed in texture, smell, or performance in over three years since I’ve had them even though they’re only marked to be good for 12 months after opening. Admittedly, my tendency to scrape out product instead of dipping directly into it might have played a part in minimizing exposure to things. The other reason I loved these blushes is the shade variety, having my favorite tone of red-brown in blushes and also having a coral option, my other top favorite blush color.
My absolute favorite cream blush formulas (not counting putty or bouncy) are from LYS and One/Size. This is because I prefer having products that look creamy and skin-like but set down or have minimal transfer. The fact that these remain creamy feeling (though not sticky) on the cheeks and will leave color on my finger if I touch my cheek, is one of the drawbacks that keep me from using them on a more regular basis. Yet, for some reason, when Fenty released five new shades, I couldn’t resist getting a mauve and coral-orange to see if they would be new favorite colors as well.
In trying out the new shades, I discovered that as pretty as Big Melons looks, I still prefer Strawberry Drip a little more. I don’t always like pink corals, but I’ve realized that I tend to prefer them over orange corals. I’m still content enough to keep it. As for RiRi, I discovered that what foundation I’m wearing plays a huge role in whether or not I’ll like the color on my skin. When I wear it on top of a yellow toned foundation, such as Estee Lauder’s Hydra Futurist Foundation in 5W2, more of the purple tone stands out within this mauve color. It has an almost bruise-like look on my cheeks. When I wear it on top of a more golden/orange foundation, as is the case with the Nars Light Reflecting Foundation in 3.3 Caracas, RiRi looks like a deep pink, which I find to be a lot more flattering. Nars lists that foundation color as neutral, but their version of neutral for the medium-deep shades is more like a balance between yellow and red, hence orange.
My apologies for the first set of photos being a bit too warm/dark. One of my usual lights wasn’t on and I didn’t realize it made such a difference. When I retook the photos the next day, I didn’t realize those new ones had a slight green tinge (they look good on my cell phone screen but not on my laptop screen). So, I decided not to use those. Instead, this second batch of photos is my attempt to digitally correct the original ones.
I also noticed that when I mix RiRi and Big Melons together, it becomes a pretty pink shade. So, while I don’t think RiRi or Big Melons look as pretty on their own as Rose Latte or Strawberry Drip on their own, I’m very satisfied with the color the two turn into when combined.
I should also mention that I didn’t forget about the Fenty Double Cheek’d Up: Freestyle Cream Blush Duo, but I haven’t used it again after reviewing it. Those shades being less pigmented and more emollient made the formula just tricky enough to deter me from using it again. If I still don’t use it in the next three months, I’m going to be tempted to depot at least Peony Droppa and put Big Melons in there. That way, I’d have a reason to keep that gorgeous compact.
Glossier
Glossier Cloud Paint in Soar
In my previous review of the Cloud Paints, I included swatches and cheek photos of Dusk, Dawn, Beam, Spark, and Storm. When Soar was released, I thought about how my old Cloud Paints are getting past their time and that I should consider which ones I wanted to repurchase. I decided to get Dusk and Storm as bundle deals from Glossier’s website, along with Soar. Dusk was intended to be my replacement mixing shade, since I always felt it would have been better to mix with than Beam. As for choosing between Storm and Spark, it was a difficult decision, but it came down to me liking the deep rose color more than a straightforward red.
Soar turned out to be brighter than I expected, but just like Storm (previously the newest color before Soar and Wisp), it’s sheerer than the original launch shades. Even though it’s sheerer, I still sometimes mix Dusk into Soar to tone down the vividness, but using fully synthetic bristle brushes instead of my fusion ones or my fingers help me to not go overboard.
Soar applied as lightly as possible while still showing the color (left) and Soar applied heavier, but mixed with Dusk (right).
I used to go back and forth trying to decide which ones I liked more between the Glossier formula or Rare Beauty. I think my answer is solidly Rare Beauty because it’s more opaque in color while still being blendable. It’s far less common nowadays for me to do No-makeup makeup looks, which these are perfect for, so I don’t get much use out of the Cloud Paints compared to the Soft Pinch Liquid Blushes. Since I now know which one is my top liquid blush, I probably shouldn’t have purchased anymore Cloud Paints. However, they’re so pretty that I can’t really regret it.
Rare Beauty
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush in Virtue and Worth
I’ve been craving more natural blush tones from Rare Beauty, so I thought for certain the two new shades would be an absolute hit with me. I was in another position where Joy and Love needed to be replaced and I had to decide if it was better to repurchase my old favorites or take a chance on the new ones. I didn’t want four full-size products considering I used Joy and Love quite a lot and still couldn’t even finish them up despite being minis. I’m sure they’re nearly empty, but recently they finally showed signs of being too old. So, I don’t want to put them on my face anymore.
Virtue was a risk whether the peachy-nude would show up on my skin tone. It does, but it’s definitely subtle. It’s still a little too beige in color to really suit me, so I don’t think I’ll be reaching for this very often except to mix with other brands’ liquid blushes. Worth was the shade I was banking on liking the most. I typically mixed Joy and Love together, and I thought Worth would look like a combination of the two, but it’s not. Worth is more neutral as opposed to the warm pink I get when mixing the others. I still think it’s a pretty shade, but it’s not as complimentary on my skin tone by comparison. I’ve mixed Virtue and Worth together before, but I prefer using Worth by itself instead.
Both of these new shades appear to be less pigmented. I use way more product with the new shades, and it’s not because they’re lighter colors. It shows up with the usual amount, but I add more because I have to build up the opacity.
I really should have stuck to my favorites and purchased a full size of Joy and Love instead of the new ones. In addition, months later I grew curious about Juvia’s Place blushes and purchased shades similar enough in my collection to replace them. The formulas aren’t the same, but the colors are pretty enough to satisfy me. The Rare Beauty ones are very pigmented, but much easier to use than the even more super pigmented Juvia’s Place liquid blushes. But, since I have those, I really shouldn’t replace Joy and Love at this point. Plus, I’ve been experimenting with combining Virtue and Worth with JP’s blushes and it has yielded some pretty results. So, I’m making these work, but in reality the best option would have been to not purchase any JP ones at all, nor the new Rare Beauty ones, and just repurchase my favorite two.
BareMinerals
BareMinerals Gen Nude Blonzer in Kiss of Spice and Kiss of Copper
Kiss of Rose is one of my holy grail blushes, so it was only natural I grew impatient wanting for a shade extension and eventually bought Kiss of Copper. Ironically, it was shortly after that when Kiss of Spice and Kiss of Mauve were announced. I didn’t think either of the new ones would work for me until I saw customer photos of Kiss of Spice looking way darker than the website photos. And strangely enough, after a few uses, mine darkened in the compact!
Left = Official Product Photo, Middle = After One Use, Right = After Three Uses
Mine is way darker than the website photos! I’ve seen pictures online where some people’s Kiss of Spice blonzers are near enough to the brand’s depiction, while others have compacts nearly as dark as mine. So, it seems like which Kiss of Spice one gets isn’t consistent. I didn’t have that problem with the other two shades I own. This color issue isn’t due to my skin tone because it still looks darker than the brand pictures on my palm in direct light, and it’s even darker when turned away from the light.
In any case, I was actually happy it was deep enough to work as a bronzer on me. I anticipated prior to receiving it that I might have to use it as a highlighter instead, but it’s too dark for that. As a blush, it also looks too dark and unflattering. So, I just use it as a bronzer, but unfortunately it tends to look patchy when used that way.
The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if the “patchiness” is merely another issue of the light hitting it and causing some parts to reflect lighter than other spots, hence making it look uneven in color and appear to be missing color in spots where the lighter gold is blending too well with my skin tone. Considering a person is typically in various types of lights throughout the day, it’s not good to have a product that looks unpredictably terrible in some situations, while not in others. I’ve been able to “cover up” the patchiest parts when paired with the other blushes. Perhaps it’s because they reflect differently. I’m not sure. All I know is that I’ve found a use for Kiss of Spice that I like, but I should have skipped that one. As for Kiss of Copper, it’s pretty, but I will reach for Kiss of Rose much more often since it was my favorite of the three original shades anyway. So, once I found my holy grail blush shade and formula, it didn’t make sense to try and find another given the size of my collection.
L’Oreal
L’Oreal 24H Fresh Wear Soft Matte Blush in Daring Rosewood and Fearless Coral
When I saw that L’Oreal released four Infallible blushes, I knew I instantly wanted these two shades. Fearless Coral sold out, but I did get my hands on Daring Rosewood first. I put it on and was so excited because the color looked exactly how I wanted. I looked at it initially and didn’t view myself again. When Fearless Coral became available, I put Daring Rosewood on again to make sure I liked the finish and the blend, so I felt confident ordering it. It wasn’t until I was removing my makeup at the end of the night that I wasn’t as happy with how my blush looked. It was so much darker and less pink. I thought perhaps it just reacted with something else new I was wearing, but it’s every time. Unfortunately, these blushes do darken up on my skin within ten minutes. In the case of Daring Rosewood, it goes from muted neutral pinky brown to mainly brown. With Fearless Coral, it deepens and looks more fuchsia in color. It made me think of those PH adjusting products, but the ingredients list Red Lake 28 instead of Red Lake 27. I can’t remember the other blush I owned that also was Red Lake 28 that I mistook for the PH adjusting type too. I’m not a fan of this level of brightness, but if I apply it lightly, it can look pretty.
Because Daring Rosewood is a tame color on me, I don’t have to worry about how much I apply or the fact that there’s a lot of kickup. As for Fearless Coral, even with one dip into the pan, my instinct is to panic because it looks so intense on my cheeks. I always have to remind myself to trust the process and just keep blending because it does blend out.
Longevity isn’t an issue with these. I like that they’re not the kind of mattes that make my skin look dry. My issue with them is still what happens very quickly after they sit on my skin and I only have myself to blame for not paying attention after the initial application. On the bright side, applying Daring Rosewood to my cheeks and then Fearless Coral on the apples gives me a pink that certainly shows up, but isn’t as intense overall by it being in a smaller area with a more neutral color around it. Sometimes I’m perfectly content to grab two blushes at a time to mix, but I will end up using it less often overall.
Bobbi Brown
Bobbi Brown Sculpted GlowFace Palette in Deep and Bobbi Brown Brightening Blush in Blushed Burgundy and Blushed Coral
I previewed Blushed Burgundyhere, and really liked it, but I have to admit that the Sculpted Face Glow palette in Deep has a highlighter and blush in similar tones and depth to Blushed Burgundy. Plus, the highlighter is a repeat in my collection.
I don’t completely regret getting the face palette because that bronzer is so pretty on the skin, but Blushed Burgundy makes it feel nearly pointless to have. Between the two red shades, I like the slightly brighter tone on the skin that Blushed Burgundy has over the palette’s Spiced Terracotta. Plus the gold from the blush compact is shimmery without as much of the glitter specks that are in Copper Glow. Hopefully Bobbi Brown will release baked bronzers as singles so no one else has to buy a trio just to get it.
So, I’m happy with Blushed Burgundy, which I purchased first, but I’m less happy with the face trio. At least the packaging is pretty! Plus, Spiced Terracotta is still a color I don’t mind wearing, especially if I apply something brighter on the apples of the cheek with it.
I had forgotten how intense this builds, so it was my mistake overapplying the bronzer in the left photo, as well as the Blushed Burgundy demonstrations.
This final photo of Blushed Coral was added to the post on August 23rd. I managed to get a better representation of the blush (not wearing bronzer with it or the shimmery strips).
As for Blushed Coral, I bought it on sale and rightly assumed it would show up on me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t capture the true color on camera while worn on my face (just the swatch) because no matter what I tried, I could not get a clear picture without direct light, but the shimmer contained in Blushed Coral reflects strongly and does the disappearing act that happens in blushes like Nars Orgasm and plenty of other pinks with gold shimmer. The two above are the best I could get. Also, the shimmer strips in the compact are too light for me to use for highlighter purposes, but I knew that ahead of time. I only wanted to be able to use the coral color, which looks quite vivid and intense in person. I actually have to be careful not to go overboard.
So, the lesson here that I am continually trying to remember, is that if I already have a blush color I love, seeing more colors that I like, will never be able to compete. This concept, of a blush being so good I needed another, works in situations where the original was exciting and pretty, but had me wishing there were colors in the line that were even more tailored to my tastes.
Not pictured, but will be reviewed, is the Hermès Bronzer and the bonus bronzers mentioned towards the end of this post.
In my Bronzer Ranking and Declutter post, I mentioned that I would review all the 2023 bronzer releases at least several months later because it wouldn’t be fair to compare them to the others without having tested them thoroughly. I believe I’ve spent enough time with them by now to review them properly, but I’m not ready to include them in an ultimate ranking list. Perhaps I’ll do that during summer 2024.
Included in this post are bronzers that launched, were reformulated/repackaged, or underwent a shade expansion this year.
In the demonstration photos (and whenever I review bronzers), I try to apply it nicely, but it still needs to be seen on camera, so I don’t blend it as much as I normally would. If I applied them as subtly as I would normally wear them in every day life, it would be difficult to see the difference between the bronzer and my natural skin tone. I wouldn’t normally apply bronzer in a way that lines can be seen, and would even apply a finishing powder on top to ensure it was seamlessly blended. Of course, I don’t use a finishing powder when the photos are for the blog since that would be an inaccurate representation of what the bronzer looks like on the skin. So, I always try to find a balance between blending it and ensuring it is visible.
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New Holy Grail?
Hermès Plein Air H Trio Healthy Glow Mineral Powder in 04 Sienne (refill)
Packaging is one of the biggest reasons I sometimes make luxury purchases, but in this instance, the rave reviews of the Hermes formula was convincing enough for me to buy it. I purchased mine through Selfridges because the refill was significantly lower priced on their website than in the US. The refill pan is not magnetic, so I had to put metal stickers on the bottom in order to store it in my empty magnetic palette. The packaging it came in is durable, but I knew I’d be more likely to get use out of it if I kept it in my Z-palette of face products that has a clear lid, rather than the forgettable unicarton. The pan size is wider than nearly every bronzer I own (I have a wide Makeup Revolution compact, but the Hermes pan is too tall in height). So, even if I wanted to depot a compact so I could put this in there, I can only do that with the bronzer compact from Charlotte Tilbury (though it would have gaps around it), or settle for my custom empty palettes.
Each bronzer contains three different colors. It’s unrealistic to use them separately without them mixing at least a little, but the placement of the brush in the pan will determine the depth of color. For example, swirling the brush in a circle around the rim of the pan will get more of that lightest shade. Swiping up and down on the left half or right half, avoiding the darker blocks in the center, would get more of the medium color. Trying to get an even mix of all three colors makes it too light to bronze me properly, so what I do is swipe my brush back and forth vertically between the two darkest rectangles, and that turns out to be the perfect bronzing shade for me. I built it up in the photo below to show the the maximum depth I can get from it. So, if you’re close to my skin tone, know that Sienne is on the subtler side though it still works. I chose not to get Colorado, which from what I’ve seen in photos and reviews is a little darker, but seems to be more red-toned.
I don’t get kick up in the pan and the product picks up easily even with my most delicate natural hair brushes. It’s the most natural looking finish from a standard powder (by standard I mean not baked gelee or cream to powder) bronzer that I own. It’s the smoothest and most refined. It contains shimmer particles that aren’t visible as sparkles on the face, but just enough to add a realistic skin-like look instead of being purely matte. I have no longevity issues. I have zero blending issues, no matter which foundation I use, and regardless if it’s powder-set or not and whether it’s matte or dewy. It’s pretty much perfection. I have to build it up a little, but it’s a low-effort task to complete that takes almost no time at all.
My favorite brushes to use with it have been ones that aren’t too dense but aren’t too airy either, and sweeping style brushes like the Sonia G Jumbo Bronzer and Eihodo RE8-3 Makie Blush Brush.
I still need time to see if this bronzer will eventually get hard-pan with extended repeated use or any other changes, but thus far, it is my #1 powder bronzer. I should note that the difference in performance between this one and the Charlotte Tilbury powder bronzer, Victoria Beckham Bronzing Brick, and others that have crept their way higher on the list of “standard” powder formulas is so slim, it’s not going to be worth the price difference for the majority of people. To put it in different terms, if the Hermes bronzer scores a 9.8 out of 10, the Charlotte Tilbury scores 9.5 out of 10. At the US prices of $105 (or $67 refill) for Hermes versus $58 (or $41 refill) for CT, it seems simple to conclude Charlotte’s is the better deal. However, that’s really up to each individual to decide based on their own skin type and skin tone. I have no way of knowing how the Hermes bronzer will work on someone with a skin type other than dry. I know some people that don’t like the tones of the other bronzers in the line, and even find Sienne to be too orange based on their undertone. This purchase was worth it to me because of how well it suits me in every way, and I don’t have my perfect color in the CT powder formula specifically. Plus there are luxury lovers who might be perfectly content with paying premium prices for the designer name and the look of the packaging. I’m happy I bought the refill, but I understand why it wouldn’t sound worth it for everyone.
Almost a Three-way Tie: Pat Mcgrath, Nars, and MAC
These three bronzers are the reason this post took so long to complete. I had the hardest time deciding where I rated the formulas because they’re all blendable pigmented powdery mattes (ignoring the MAC radiant finish) that are long lasting and produce an airbrushed finish at similar price points. I felt compelled to review these three together, as they’re so similar, and I will point out the subtle differences along the way.
Pat McgrathLabs Skin Fetish: Divine Bronzers in Desert Glow, Bronze Divinity, and Burnished Honey
First, I have to apologize for the fact that I’ve worn the Pat Mcgrath bronzers plenty of times, and had these the longest out of all the new ones, yet I don’t have any photos wearing it that were taken with my main camera before it broke. I made a post on the home page about needing to switch to my cell phone camera now. I hope that this change will still be satisfactory to you.
I don’t have the PML Foundation, but based on their concealers I owned (MD22-24, with 23 being the correct depth), I should be shade 23 or 24 in the foundation. Thanks to the last minute shade suggestions added to the website before launch, I knew Bronze Divinity (MD22-27) was supposed to be my shade. Yet, I couldn’t stop myself from getting Desert Glow (M15 to MD22) and Burnished Honey (MD25-30). I should have stuck with my suggested one, but it’s hard to control myself when it comes to this brand. I’m at least glad I saved some money buying the 006 Duo and then getting Desert Glow later with a 25% off code.
Desert Glow was a little easier to see in spring, but this deep into summer, it’s very difficult to detect since it’s so close to my skin tone now. As for Burnished Honey, it’s still a bit deep and also more of a reddish-orange compared to the more solidly orange Bronze Divinity. Bronze Divinity can be built up more intensely and Burnished Honey can be applied more sheer than depicted in the photos below, so it’s really the undertone that makes a difference between them and why I prefer Bronze Divinity.
That being said, this is an extra warm line of eight bronzers. I love an orange leaning bronzer, but these are some of the strongest orange tones I have in my collection. Those that are the type that prefer cool toned or neutral bronzers might want to look elsewhere unless there’s a shade expansion for the range.
Desert Glow is the only one currently in the line with the pearl shimmer particles, compared to the rest that are semi-matte. Even in the summer, this shade is still useful to me to amp up the glow of Bronze Divinity when used on top of it. This is shown in the photo below where I have Bronze Divinity on the perimeter of my face from my forehead to under the cheek bones, but the cheek bone area is toned down in color from putting Desert Glow on top in that spot.
I’ve always thought the shimmer looked beautiful and refined on the skin, but at certain angles it looks like I used a highlighter as bronzer in photos captured with my cell phone. I’m a bit less happy knowing this now.
Regarding the formula, those that love Pat Mcgrath’s blushes will love this one since it feels pretty much the same, though perhaps slightly drier to the touch. The look on the skin, texture, finish, and performance are identical.
Sometimes I prefer the Nars bronzer over this one because the Nars powder feels softer, not just to the touch with my finger, but even when applied with the same brush it has a smoother glide across the face making it a slightly more pleasurable experience. Sometimes I prefer the one from Pat Mcgrath because I can apply Bronze Divinity in practically two swipes and not have to do more than a few additional swipes for blending because it’s a good tone match and the amount of pigment I want is achieved with such minimal effort.
Nars Laguna Talc-Free Bronzing Powders in Laguna 05 (full-size) and 06 (mini)
This is a buildable formula, and not what I’d call sheer, but it is the sheerest of the three powder ones I’m comparing. This could be a great thing for those who are heavy handed with bronzer. Laguna 6 is the best suited of the nine options for me and looks deep and red in the pan, but because it’s such a lightweight powder, I have to build it up more than the lighter colored Bronze Divinity from PML. Laguna 5 is too close to my skin’s depth and undertone to create a bronzed look on its own. So, on a day that I’m feeling lazier, I use Laguna 6, but I love the tone I get from mixing 5 and 6 together. It’s just more effort and therefore sometimes I can’t be bothered.
For those curious how the new formulation compares to the previous ones from Nars, I have that review here, along with the Laguna Cream bronzer.
As mentioned in that review, I believe the new formula by Nars is just the tiniest bit better than their old one. Because the talc-free version only comes in a matte finish, I’m still holding onto my original one that contains shimmer.
MAC Sunstruck Bronzers in Matte Rich Golden and Radiant Rich Rosy
These perform so well! They give slightly less color payoff than the ones from Pat Mcgrath, but still more than the bronzers from Nars. I love Rich Golden because it’s a deep golden yellow tone, which is not a common bronzer shade in my collection. I have an easier time finding olive than a dark yellow-brown. It’s only this year that I’ve made discoveries of any deep enough to work for me. Previously, my only options were orange, red, neutral brown (and I tried to stay away from cool toned ones). I also have a few more rosy options, though Rich Rosy is closer to orange-red than pink on me.
The difference between the matte and radiant formulas is similar to matte versus satin eyeshadows. Rich Golden has a thinner consistency that’s less compact in the pan, but not so powdery as to have kickup. Rich Rosy has some slip to it and seems to have more adhesion/binding properties. This makes the radiant formula take a little more effort to buff out. I prefer MAC’s matte bronzer compared to Nars for the color and near identical finish/performance. I prefer MAC’s radiant bronzer over the Kosas baked bronzers in the new yellow packaging, though I’m not a big fan of the tone of Rich Rosy. However, there is one gigantic flaw that drops this lower on the rankings and why I can’t recommend it. They stink.
I don’t remember the exact timeline, but essentially MAC released these bronzers online on March 19th. Then a few days later they were abruptly removed from all websites for about a month or so, but my order was still delivered. There was speculation that it was because there was something wrong with them, and some people said it was due to the smell either from having gone racid fast, contamination, or a harmful ingredient. However, if those were true, I don’t think they would have been made available again so quickly (unless it was batch specific and they identified which ones to not sell). I was in Germany when mine were delivered, so I had to wait until mid May to come home and smell them for myself. The first time I opened the compacts, I detected a faint smell in one, but it wasn’t that bad. Every time after that, I either could smell one or both very strongly, but then the smell would dissipate and had me wondering if I imagined things. Now, it’s at the point where the smell is quicker to identify but it does disappear in the air after the container has been opened for a while, but it reminds me of the Beanboozled Vomit flavored Jelly Bean. I wish I had an explanation as to how the smell comes and goes (sometimes the smell even temporarily transfers to my brushes), or what is causing it. At least the smell doesn’t linger from the powders when used on my face, but the mystery bothers me. Kosas bronzers have a frying oil smell due to the use of “clean” ingredients. MAC thus far hasn’t jumped on the clean beauty train for cosmetics, so I don’t know what their excuse is and I haven’t seen any official explanations for it online, nor them even addressing the fact that it was temporarily pulled from the website including all the various retailers of MAC products.
I’m still trying to decide what to do with mine. I’m very torn between liking the formulas, but being concerned about the smell. I would love to at least keep the packaging, since I like reusing them and swapping them with different products inside. However, I did see a comment online about it possibly being the components that smell and not the products, so that wouldn’t be the best solution.
The final thing I wanted to mention is that when I saw the packaging photos online, I hoped it was going to look like the Snowball Holiday 2017 packaging for the Whisper of Gilt highlighter. I see now that it’s a different pattern. Considering both bronzer finishes come in identical packaging, it would have been nice if they added a shiny varnish at least to the radiant ones.
Liquids Drops and Cream Sticks
Armani Luminous Silk Glow Liquid Bronzer Drops in 110
To recap the preview of info I mentioned about this bronzer already in the Armani Beauty post, I don’t think shade 110 will work that well for anyone who wears darker than Armani’s foundation shade 10 or 11. It barely shows on me once I blend it in. Sometimes this will randomly have a grey tone on my skin. I thought it was because I’d gotten darker, but I now am fairly certain it’s from the sunscreen in there if I forget to shake the bottle well enough before use. I also tend to pick up the excess product on the bore of the bottle with my Patrick Ta Contour Brush, which could have been improperly mixed if I pick it up from that spot instead of using the dropper.
The photos in the rose print shirt were taken May 18th and the black shirt photo was taken July 25th.
This product sheers out a lot when blended, so I have to essentially pack it on for it to still show by the time I’m finished applying blush and highlighter. It looks quite beautiful on the skin and sinks right in like an oil, but it has dimethicone and other “cones” that account for that slip and it being so easily spreadable. I expected a more glowy/dewy finish, but I think the brand was relying on some of the glow to come from the tiny gold micro shimmer. While the shimmer succeeds giving a pretty golden color to the face, it’s hard to see the shimmer unless you’re really close up to the skin. The sparkles are very obvious in direct light, so I’d rather it just not be there at all.
This formula lasts on my skin for a good portion of the day in most cases, and it dries down, but it isn’t transfer-proof. If I touch it, I see a lot of shimmer on my finger and a little bit of the base color. Setting it with powder changes nothing.
According to retail websites, this product “can be used all over the face for added warmth,” or mixed into moisturizer, sunscreen, or primer for a glowy base. I figured if it can be mixed into products and used all over the face, then surely it can be mixed into foundation. It looked so pretty at first, but then I looked closer and noticed all the tiny random sparkle particles all over my face. So, that was an absolute no-go. In the up close picture, there’s one right near the center of the underside of my nose, in the cheek area in and next to my pores (though camouflaged a little by the light illuminating my skin there), and a few diagonally between my nose and the deep smile line by my mouth.
I thought perhaps it would be possible to mix it into a foundation that’s too light in order to deepen it up slightly, but there’s so little pigment in this, that although it looked like it darkens at first, the moment it dries down, it basically returns to the same color it was originally, just slightly more warm-olive in tone. I tried to do this with a few other foundations and it didn’t matter. They all barely changed in color, even though I used a much bigger portion of bronzer than the single pump of foundation.
As a bronzer, I like this for minimal makeup days. For any other use, it just doesn’t work for me. Because it’s not very successful in living up to all the claims, and considering the price, this isn’t the Armani product I recommend to others.
Rare Beauty Warm Wishes Effortless Bronzer Stick in Full of Life
This is one of the most hyped up bronzers, but I usually hate stick products since they’re a firmer texture and tend to dry out faster than pot creams. It was a little easier to ignore the hype since the closest depth match for me was True Warmth, which looked way too red for my liking. After they extended the range and I saw Full of Life looking a lot more neutral by comparison and described as “deep bronze with golden undertones,” I bought it without hesitation. Imagine my surprise when I saw how warm this one was too! However, when I blend it out, it somehow matches me so well and I can easily get it to look even more natural and subtle when I use less than the amount pictured below. Unlike many stick products I’ve used in the past, this one isn’t stiff and practically melts as I glide it along my face. I typically draw a stroke that’s the length of my ear and blend that out dragging it slightly lower under my cheekbone. I also draw from the center of my forehead to about where my brow tail is and blend the rest of it out and connect it to the rest by the ear. I add a little more after blending if needed and it doesn’t disturb my makeup underneath. If I want it to last on my skin, I have to apply it a little more generously since my skin likes to absorb some of it. It makes me very happy though that even though the formula feels creamy, it fully sets on my skin and I don’t get an imprint on my finger when I touch it. This looks so natural, and I finish bronzing so quickly, that I now understand the hype. It’s well deserved. If my year late low-buy series has taught me anything though, it’s that cream products could take six or more months to start behaving differently, like a film forming on top or it drying out. So, I am curious to see if this continues to perform well as time goes on.
Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer Cream Stick in Blitzed
After unscrewing the cap, be careful removing the plastic dome off the stick portion. I saw a lot of creators break theirs in their videos, so I was trying to be careful removing mine, but a chunk still broke off since it was stuck too tightly to the plastic.
I had a feeling Blitzed would be too deep for me, but I wasn’t sure if Blaze would be too light. I can get Blitzed to work if I blend it out very well, and the amount used in the photo is about what I use per side, though maybe a little less in the cheekbone portion to start off with. It can easily get out of hand if I’m not careful.
This bronzer is the perfect example of the type of stick products I don’t like since it’s stiff, doesn’t blend as easily as traditional creams, and can be a little patchy looking at times. I like that it’s more of a neutral color by comparison to my shade from Rare Beauty, but I’m just not a fan of this formula.
Also, it’s a bit funny that I avoided buying this bronzer when the full-size used to be 1 oz / 28 g because I knew I’d never use it up and didn’t want it to go to waste. Then, they came out with minis that I believe were either $18 or $20 for 0.19 oz / 5.7g but they did not have my shade. Then when Blaze was available as a mini, I still felt the price per grams were so bad by comparison that I wanted to wait for a sale. Instead, I got the surprise that Milk decided to make the previous mini-size the new full-size, yet they did not adjust the price. It’s now $24 for 0.19 ounces. I don’t mind having less product, but to pass the cost onto the customer and not adjust the price accordingly for getting less product isn’t very cool in my books. Especially since Blitzed was released this year and only ever released in this tinier size. I waited years for a better price, so I figured I may as well keep waiting. Then there eventually came an opportune time to get it during a SpaceNK sale.
This was like THE bronzer stick before Rare Beauty came along. This was people’s holy grail bronzer for years, but considering the texture and the way it blends, I don’t see why. It has slightly more lasting power since the thicker and less emollient consistency keeps it from sliding off or moving, the way other cream bronzers can, though I don’t have this problem with Rare Beauty either.
The Better Butter Bronzer?
Westman Atelier Beauty Butter Powder Bronzer in Beau Soleil
Even though I purchased this during a Credo Beauty sale, it’s still the most expensive single bronzer in my collection (since the Hermes Bronzer was only the refill). I heard great things about the formula, but I was never interested until they added this deeper shade to the line.
The bronzer is small, but its packaging is so heavy! Between the weighted metal, shiny gold surface, and the dust pouch it came with, it feels very luxurious. I also like the cute heart pattern with the “W A” representing the brand’s initials on the product surface.
Beau Soleil is definitely not as deep or neutral as it looks in photos. It’s also not heavily pigmented, so I still have to build it up. I like the color, but it’s unfortunate that they don’t have a rich shade available for those with skin tones darker than mine. In fact, it’s a little difficult to see in my photos, but it’s at least present (still subtle) in person. I believe the original two bronzers launched over two years ago. I’m glad we got this one this year, but I hope there will be another shade expansion sooner than that.
The photo on the right was digitally adjusted to improve the color accuracy.
The texture is buttery, as the name implies, and smooth. Of course, because of the name I couldn’t help but think about the famous Physician’s Formula Butter Bronzer. I disliked that one immensely because it was overly shimmery for my taste, which is a shame since it had a nice texture. The Westman Atelier bronzer is actually matte. It has a sheen that isn’t in a shimmery way, but in a moisturized way. The best way I can describe the look is like when the skin’s natural oils show the tiniest sign of coming through a powdered face. It isn’t to the level of being glowy or shiny, but resembles slightly moisturized skin. Another way to describe it is the look of skin after spraying one’s face with MAC Fix+ once it dries back down. The bronzer looks great when I use my medium density brushes, but if I try to use something that’s lightly packed it can look uneven. Due to the nature of it having this texture, the pigment packs more heavily in some places if the brush bristles aren’t strong enough to move it smoothly across the skin efficiently enough. But all it takes is more time buffing, a slightly denser brush, or a more resilient bristle to smooth it out.
This product is up there with some of my more enjoyable bronzers like Nars, Mented, and Pat Mcgrath. I definitely think it’s good, but the bigger selling point is the packaging. If this bronzer was in MAC packaging instead, I’d have said this is way overpriced. However, I bought this specifically during a time when I wanted something that was undeniably in the luxury category with a formula that was at least “good.” So, I’m satisfied with what I got.
Reformulated or Just Repackaged?
KosasSun Show Baked Bronzer in Escape and Paradise
The original Kosas bronzer was in my top 3 favorite formulas for many years, only recently dropping slightly lower because the shade became too dark for my liking, it had a smell that couldn’t be ignored, and the reputation keeps growing about the brand’s products going bad quickly (which made me question whether mine was still safe to use). Until recently, this bronzer was my #1 favorite in the shimmer finish category.
The brand posted on the product page, “new packaging…same formula,” but I believe there is something off about the shimmer. Every time I’ve compared the new ones to my old one, the new ones look like there’s way more shimmer and reflects more strongly. Escape and Paradise look borderline metallic in direct light. Perhaps it’s just something to do with the shimmer color with Deep and its orange base tone compared to the golden tone of Escape or the red tone of Paradise, but the bottom line is that I don’t like the finish of the new ones at all compared to the old one. It’s too much for me. It sounds wild to say considering I’m in my glowy cheek era for blushes, but I’m not usually a fan of metallic blushes either.
One of the other unfortunate things is that I’ve been wishing for Kosas to expand the line and make something slightly lighter than Deep, which was previously their darkest one. I was thrilled to see they added an even darker bronzer called Tropic and hoped that meant Paradise would be slightly lighter than Deep, but it’s slightly darker instead and in a less flattering undertone for me. Escape is less than a half shade darker than me and basically worked to add a golden glow, but not actually bronze me. However, it does seem to have gotten a little more orange several months after purchasing. My solution in the beginning was mixing the two new shades together, so I can’t say that didn’t effect the color Escape turned into now. Even though I have a workable color, the shine is a bit offputting. I spend quite a bit of time buffing the product in to try and get some of that shimmer off my face. At this point, I don’t know if I kept them because I genuinely liked them enough to not be worth returning, or if it’s the nostalgia and my desire to find a worthy replacement for Deep. It’s such a shame because the formula of the original truly is fantastic, beautiful, and I couldn’t recommend it enough to those who could get past the frying oil smell. The new ones don’t smell of it as strongly, but I can definitely still detect it. Perhaps it’s the Meadowfoam Seed Oil and/or Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil which are listed as the second and third ingredients.
So, after all this, Deep is still the best shade for me, but I can’t trust using it anymore because it’s so old and the brand doesn’t seem to like preservatives. So, I will make do with the two new ones for now. This could be something to take a chance on for those that love a super glowy bronzer, baked formulas, and “clean” makeup. It performs the same as the old one, which was so blendable and smooth. However, my personal disappointment keeps me from being able to recommend it.
BONUS REVIEWS
When it comes to the Vieve and Victoria Beckham duos, I forgot to include them in my previous bronzer ranking because they were in my face palette drawer and I also hadn’t decided which one I liked more. So, even though they aren’t 2023 releases, I thought I should try to include them in the bonus section. Also, kudos to both brands for making their duos refillable/replacable.
Vieve Modern Bronzer Duo in Deep
The left powder is intended to add warmth, while the right powder is for sculpting. The latter is a bit too deep, so I use the lighter shade in the duo almost exclusively. That one is my kind of color, though a little bit strong on the orange tone. The performance and texture reminds me of Charlotte’s bronzer, but not quite to that level of looking airbrushed. This is a buildable formula that I was surprised to see described as “satin” on the website, but I can agree it has a natural finish. I’m very pleased with this duo, but longevity is the only issue. If I’m wearing a dewy foundation or my skin has been properly primed and moisturized, the bronzer lasts. Sometimes it sticks a little too well and requires more blending time. Conversely, if my skin is on the dry side, it doesn’t cling to my skin as well and will come off in spots at some point in the day. This normally isn’t a problem for me except on minimal makeup days where I tend to skip a lot more steps in my routine.
I also have to note that I’m impressed with the packaging. It’s a lightweight plastic, but it still looks like an upgrade compared to the cardboard blush compacts. The extra bits of gold color on the back side and around the edges of the duo really help to elevate the packaging. However, I’m guessing the reason the blush compacts aren’t plastic is because they’re not refillable, unlike the powder bronzers.
These two photos were edited to improve color accuracy.
In the photo with both sides listed, I started to rub away the lighter one before I thought about how I could probably leave it there for comparison purposes. So, I labeled it mainly to indicate that what’s lingering is the Vieve bronzer on the left side of the duo and I did not apply the right one to both spots. The demonstration under the cheekbone was applied with the amount picked from a single tap into the powder with a brush and blended out a lot, which still looked dramatic enough to feel it wasn’t necessary to apply it to my forehead too.
A month or so ago, Vieve released cream bronzers. I’m curious about them, but I recently put myself on a cream product no-buy, so I guess I won’t be finding out what they’re like for a very long time.
Victoria Beckham Matte Bronzing Brick in 05
I couldn’t figure out whether I should get 04 or 05, but I’m glad I chose the darkest one because this isn’t as deep as I anticipated. The lighter shade is a bit subtle for me and the darker one is a bit too red (even though that’s supposed to be the sculpting shade). So, once again, I end up mixing them both together to create a golden-orange color. And it ends up looking quite similar to the lighter shade from Vieve’s Deep duo.
Full disclosure is that I bought this from a third party seller in new/unused condition, so technically I can’t verify the authenticity of the product. I strongly believe it is authentic though based on how weighty the packaging is, the product performance, and all labeling including the box it came in, all compared to photos I’ve seen online. I am super impressed with the compact and it being as lux as I’ve heard described by others. This bronzer is similar to Vieve’s but the powder feels a little more fine, and it also gives me no issues blending or with longevity regardless of the condition of my skin. It’s the closest comparison I’ve found to Charlotte Tilbury’s powder bronzer with how airbrushed it looks on the face, the way it gets picked up with my brushes, and the texture of the powder. My one complaint is that certain spots look like hard-pan is starting to form. I assume it’s from the increased frequency that I’m using oil based products as primer. So, I wonder if people with oily skin will have a problem with hard-pan after extended use.
These two photos were digitally edited to improve color accuracy.
Dior Forever Natural Bronzer in 07 and 08
I put this in the bonus section because I got these from a third party seller and had no intention of reviewing them until I realized how high they ranked among my collection, and that I should share this information. Even though these aren’t new, a few shades from the line were re-released in new limited edition packaging this year. I preferred the look of the original quilt pattern ones and it occurred to me that Dior might reformulate them as they have for nearly everything else that’s a permanent product. So, I tried to get them while I had the chance, even though I was still uncertain if 07 was going to be too light and 08 too dark. As expected, 07 is so close to my skin tone that I could literally (and have a few times) use this as an all-over face powder. It matches my undertone so well, it’s a shame there isn’t an in-between shade that’s this color but just a shade or two deeper. As for 08, it’s darker than I prefer, but I just have to use it sparingly. It’s also a neutral color, which I don’t mind if I want to look like I got darker from the sun, but I don’t look bronzed without that warm undertone. It has a slight sculpting effect, so I like to use it almost the same way as Nars, but in reverse because 07 isn’t pigmented enough to lighten up 08 if 08 is underneath. I apply a liberal layer of 07 first and then a sheer amount of 08 so that I get the benefits of slightly deepening what I laid already down. This creates a pretty shading effect on the face.
This bronzer reminds me of the Nars ones, but even softer. I really like it, but not enough to pay full price. If I couldn’t have gotten it elsewhere and had to choose between Nars and Dior, I would feel Nars is more worth the price. The Dior bronzer comes in what I consider to be a cuter compact, but I’d rather pay a little more and just get Charlotte’s bronzer instead.
This photo was adjusted to improve color accuracy.
RANKING AMONG THE BRONZERS IN THIS POST
Hermès Plein Air Mineral Powder
Victoria Beckham Matte Bronzing Brick
Rare Beauty Bronzer Stick
Vieve Modern Bronzer Duo
Dior Forever Natural Bronzer
Westman Atelier Butter Powder Bronzer
Nars Laguna Talc-Free Bronzing Powders
Pat Mcgrath Divine Powder Bronzers
MAC Sunstruck Bronzer (Matte)
Armani Luminous Silk Bronzer Drops
MAC Sunstruck Bronzer (Radiant)
Kosas Baked Bronzer (Yellow Packaging)
Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer Stick
Although I feel it’s too soon for me to rank these with the rest of my collection, I can at least say with certainty that my first three here would make the top 10, knocking Nabla, Mented, and Covergirl lower. Four through eight here could potentially knock those three even lower.
It’s easy to say the Hermes is my top “standard” powder formula, GloWish is the top with a sheen (performs like a baked gelee but I have no idea what it technically is), and Charlotte makes my top cream formula. However, deciding between the three where they rank is too difficult to say with full confidence. The one from Victoria Beckham comes just after Charlotte’s Powder bronzer, (so basically fifth place). I mentioned in last week’s post that Colourpop’s bronzer would drop lower since it started to perform differently at the one year mark of opening it. I still don’t know what place that put’s Colourpop now, but I know that ABH’s cream bronzer moved above it. Between ABH and the Rare Beauty Stick, I cannot make a decision without seeing how Rare Beauty performs in the long term of at least one year too.
So, that is everything! While it’s true I technically have more bronzers in my collection if one counts my face palettes too, I just don’t use the bronzers in there enough for it to be fair to include them. The only ones I can think of that could significantly shake up this list is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Finishing Powder I use as bronzer (Transcendent Light) and the Captivate bronzer from Sephora’s Microsmooth Multi-Tasking Baked Face Palette. Those two would be somewhere between 15-25, but that’s as far as I could narrow it down.
Thank you for reading! Again, apologies for needing to switch now to my cell phone camera. I’m still trying to figure out the settings, color, and lighting.
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!
I’m posting at a slightly earlier time than usual because in one hour, Sydney Grace’s annual week-long Christmas in July event will begin! Everything in this haul was purchased last Black Friday, but that was because I skipped last year’s Christmas in July sale. The discounts look even better this year, so I wanted to show some of the unreviewed products from the brand that I haven’t featured yet in case anyone is interested in seeing them. My initial Sydney Grace review with a ton of eyeshadows can be found here, as well as the Temptalia collab here.
This event is typically the one time of year I make a purchase. I checked that everything in this post is still available, with the exception of the Sweet Indulgence Palette that launched during the previous sale and was on clearance by the time Black Friday rolled around. This year’s launches will be the Love’s Journey palette, Heaven on Earth palette, and Raspberry Kiss palette. If I decide to shop the sale, it will most likely be Day 2 where all palettes (including Love’s Journey, but I don’t think Heaven on Earth or Raspberry Kiss), cream shadows, and more are 40% off.
Tropicolor by The Fancy Face Eye Shadow Palette
Tina is one of my favorite YouTubers, so I wanted to support her collab like I did when she worked with Oden’s Eye, but this palette is very blue heavy and I’m still in a weird like/dislike relationship with blue eyeshadow. For this reason, even though I’ve had the palette since November 2022, I didn’t start using it until June 2023. Whenever I opened it up, my eyes were instantly directed to those blues and I’d get the urge to use a different palette instead. Since I knew the Christmas in July sale was coming up though, I decided to just push through and start playing. I initially felt like I had no idea how to use these colors together, besides monochrome color schemes, but every time after that was easy! My favorite shades in this palette are surprisingly the warm neutrals and unsurprisingly Doctor Bird and Lignum Vitae.
This palette has all the features I love about Sydney Grace eyeshadows. The mattes are pigmented and apply opaquely while still being very blendable. The satins are smooth and opaque as well. The binding in the shimmers are such that they adhere to the lid without getting a bunch of fallout specks everywhere. They don’t require me to wet my brush. They are pigmented with medium shimmer reflectivity, and opaque. They apply smoothly to the lid without leaning on a bunch of slip ingredients (the “cones”) to make it easy to spread. I love the tactile feeling of dimethicone in products, but the higher the percentage of it and the other -cones, the easier they are to crease on me. These eyeshadows work well on me with all my typical primers: Gerard Cosmetics Clean Canvas, Coloured Raine Paint Base, MAC Paint Pot, and Urban Decay Primer Potion. However, I have to be careful not to have an excess of the Paint Pot on my lids or else the shadows will move out of the crease. Too much wetness from an eye base will mess with the longevity.
Some other things to know is that Doctor Bird is a bit flaky, but not enough to cause shimmer fallout on the eyes once it’s finished being smoothed onto the lid. I still don’t need to apply this shade damp. The reason the texture is like this is because it’s a chromatic shadow and Sydney Grace’s pressed multichrome formula is the flakiest of the brands I’ve tried. So, it makes sense that this shade would have a bit of that texture. Waterfalls is chunkier than the others, but again, it’s just a tactile thing and doesn’t effect performance.
Cocoa Beans is a deep rich brown that is more on the buildable side than the other mattes, specifically for being able to control the depth it provides. I’m actually quite impressed!
In my swatches, it’s admittedly hard to see the tone difference between Waterfalls and Rainforest, so I included the photo below.
Besides the blues, the only other aspect of the palette that isn’t my preference is Cane Fields being such a blue leaning green. I love yellow leaning, straightforward greens, and even bluish greens if they’re deep enough. However, I understand that because of all the blues in the palette it makes sense to want to have greens that’ll merge the cool shades with the warmer ones.
If you’re like me and love most of the color story, but are a little put off by the arrangement, remember that these pans are removable. I rearranged mine by booting the blues to the bottom row and now I feel a lot more excited when I open the palette! I could also just put these in my giant palette with my other depotted Sydney Grace eyeshadow singles or switch out some of the shades for other Sydney Grace singles, but rearranging them was enough of a change for me. Now, I’m able to see the beauty of it. I put the shade names on label stickers on the bottom of the pans, so I can always put them back in their proper places.
Sweet Indulgence 9 Pan Palette
This palette released around the same time as Colourpop’s Ticket to Dreamland. I decided that between the two, I’d rather have Sydney Grace’s formula, so I was glad I eventually got my hands on this since that palette was discontinued by Colourpop as well.
I have to be in a very particular mood to want to wear pinks, and these in here are pretty! Gumdrop is quite the attention grabber, but definitely not a unique shade, and Sherbet is objectively a beautiful tone, but I don’t want to use it with any of the shades in this palette. I like Sweet Cakes, but I don’t need a second deepening shade with Sweet Tooth in there, so I replaced those shades with Deliverer (purple), Lost Princess (red-orange), and Turtledoves (champagne). Now, it has a candy and creamsicle vibe going on!
Even though this palette is discontinued, there are tons of single shadows still available from Sydney Grace that are similar enough to create a dupe version.
Individual Eyeshadows in Be the Sunshine, Herky Bird, and Rustic
The label on my eyeshadow pan says, “Be My Sunshine,” but the website name is “Be the Sunshine.” In my order confirmation email, the item has both names.
I didn’t intend to purchase coordinating eyeshadow singles. At the time, I just wanted eyeshadows that weren’t repeats in my collection and could feed more of my green obsession. It was a happy accident! I love these shadows together and they perform exactly as I’d expect from this brand. There’s nothing else really to say other than Rustic is a satin/shimmer and the other two are pressed pigment shimmers. So, I’m able to use Rustic almost like a matte and it doesn’t crease on me.
Cream Shadows in Sunset Glow and Deep Love
I previously only used Sydney Grace’s multichrome cream shadow. Once the texture got worse, over time, I really didn’t like it. So, I didn’t dive further into the line. However, for the multichromes specifically, they changed the tube size a few years ago and increased the shelf life. Since I’ve heard nothing but great things about the cream shadows overall, I decided to give them another try.
How I use them is to pour some out onto the back of my hand and take a flat concealer brush to spread them onto my lids with more precision than, say, my fingers. If I’m using both colors, I try to let the first dry before adding the second. I also try not to blink too much if using one as an all-over-lid shade so that it doesn’t get bald spots or patches while drying. If it does lose opacity in a spot, the brand recommends rubbing them. I have found it easy to just add a little back on to the spot in question. These layer nicely and I don’t get any cracking of the eyeshadow and mine don’t add extra texture. They blend well into each other and still look great on top of powder eyeshadow. I can even add powder shadows back on top without it looking strange.
In addition to lid shades, these work nicely as liners. These are fairly lightweight, even more than the Melt Gel Liners. They’re not waterproof, but they hold on very well and don’t fade on me. The shine dulls down a little towards the end of the day, but they have quite a long wear time. If I didn’t love the ease of using powder shadows so much, I would absolutely purchase additional colors from Sydney Grace. So, I recommend them to cream eyeshadow lovers.
That’s everything for today! I hope it has been helpful!
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