Category Archives: Makeup

End of the Project Pan – How did I do?

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For those who haven’t read my Project Pan Introductory Post, below is a small summary.

TLDR:
*Ban on cream and liquid blushes and bronzers.
*No highlighter purchases.
*Only allowed to buy lip products from Lisa Eldridge, Ami Cole, Too Faced, Fenty, and Pat Mcgrath, but I am allowed to swap out PML with MAC. YSL was always in my head as a potential number six, but I wanted to keep it down to five.
*Trying to avoid buying anything in the primer, brow, mascara, and liner categories.

Reason to Buy Less Makeup: New products take time away from using the older ones that I love.

Additional Reason for This Experiment: Seeing if using only my holy grail products will make me less interested in new makeup. Will this Project Pan make me feel satisfied enough that I don’t want to add more to my collection.

Foundations

My Estee Lauder Foundation went bad. The oil parts took my makeup back off and was being weirdly patchy, plus the tube was too difficult to shake and mix properly. I didn’t start using it that long ago, but the backup was purchased on sale at the beginning of 2023, so it’s possible this tube had already been on the shelf for a long time prior to then.
I replaced it with the Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Serum Tint and I feel like I got my money’s worth out of that Tint by now.

As much as I like the Fenty Eaze Drop Liquid Foundation, it being more transfer prone than everything else in my collection made me not want to use it more than a few times. The Danessa Myricks Tint was a good replacement for that too. The Rose Inc Serum Tint oxidizing made me skip using it as well. Huda’s foundations were only really meant to mix with things to get a better shade match or increase the coverage, so I only used one a few times and I’m okay with that.

I will say that I got a whole lot of use out of the Chanel foundation, and it was the one I used most during this six month time period. I didn’t use my darker shade of this foundation at all, so I think in the year and a half that I’ve been using it, it has oxidized a little. I’m not sure how much longer it will be good for, but I foresee myself eventually repurchasing it when the time comes. It’s still my favorite in my collection and I would not want to be without it for long. This is one of the instances where using a holy grail product did in fact curb my appetite for buying more foundations. I believe my mini of the MUFE Ultra HD Foundation is the only one I purchased in these past six months, and I still haven’t worn it! I was definitely tempted by new ones from Guerlain, Givenchy, and Nyx, but being at my foundation maximum also helped. Not counting multiple shades of the same foundation, I have around 20 foundations in my current collection. My goal is to have only 5, but the lowest I’ve ever gotten my collection down to is around 10. So, I give myself kudos for holding strong against buying more. However, I still feel some guilt knowing I won’t ever use them up before they go bad. I’m only about halfway through the bottle of the Chanel foundation even though it’s the one I used the most in the past 18 months, not just during this project. So, I’m more determined than ever to keep a much smaller collection of foundations and I’m less interested in buying new ones because if they don’t top my Chanel, they will instantly go to waste because I cannot return them to the store.

Concealers

The Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Lift and Flex concealer snuck its way in too and was used more than the other honorable mention concealers. I used Givenchy’s a few times and Natasha Denona’s more than I expected, but did not use Fenty’s or L’Oreal’s even once. Ultimately, for concealing around my mouth, I stuck with Hourglass and Natasha Denona. I like my two ND shades, but the packaging of one of them leaks and it drives me nuts! I’ve been very close to tossing it out, but I like having a somewhat color correcting yellow and brown in those tones. So, I try to put up with it and I keep the leaky one stored upright in a cup.

I got to about a quarter left of my tube of the KVD Good Apple Concealer, but tossed the rest because it darkened in color. So, I started using one of my two backups. Because I’m not using any other concealer under my eyes, this fresh tube is getting a lot of use! I would say I’ve used up about a third of it, but this isn’t a surprise. Whichever concealer I deem my number 1 will always get used up and repurchased!

I did not purchase any other liquid concealers during the Project Pan until June when I was recommended to try out the Gucci concealer. Earlier in the year though, bought three shades of the Lisa Eldridge Pinpoint Concealer pencils. I don’t consider this wasteful per say, since I bought them for purposes that I wasn’t using my liquid concealers to do. However, I admit that I don’t use them as much as I thought I would. Making sure I build up my foundation around my mouth means I use less concealer there, sometimes skipping it entirely. I also couldn’t be bothered to always fill in my smile line, so that’s how my interest in the pencils started to fade.

I’m not feeling as tempted to get more concealers. I must admit though that the only reason I haven’t bought the new Estee Lauder Double WearStay-in-Place 24-Hour Concealer is because every retailer I’ve found in Germany has 11 or fewer of the shades out of the 30 that exist. The deepest color I’ve seen listed is either 5C or 5N. So, I am literally unable to try it.

If Lisa Eldridge releases a liquid concealer or if Estee Lauder finally has a shade for me that I can try, those would most likely be my next purchases. However, I’m still very content with my KVD Good Apple and feel disinterested in trying most of the others.

Powders

I didn’t do too badly in terms of adding new powders to my collection. I bought the Givenchy Prisme Libre Setting Powder, Guerlain Parure Diamond Powder, and ELF Halo Glow Pressed Powder. They’re good, but they were unnecessary purchases. They didn’t beat out my Dior Powder no Powder, nor the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powders (technically Guerlain tied in performance but I don’t use it as often because of the added fragrance). So, I shouldn’t have bought them.


I also only used my Chantecaille Perfect Blur Finishing Powder in the month of June, so it looks largely unchanged. In general, during these six months I hardly powdered my face. So, I didn’t finish the Dior Powder No Powder as I expected. I even brought my lighter shade back with me from Florida, so I have that one again, plus the spare I bought before it was discontinued. I also got back my Laura Mercier and additional Hourglass baked powders too.

I continued to wear concealer, so the Charlotte Tilbury powders were used at the same rate that I expected. The only disrupting factor is that I bought the Soulmates duo, which had the light peach Charlotte Tilbury powder. So, I started to rotate between three of them in the last few months.

I no longer have an interest in buying new powders between the semi wasted new ones I bought already, older powders I have access to again, and the ones in this Project Pan.

Contour

I technically have a new contour out of the Givenchy Prisme Libre Bronzing and Sculpting Powder that comprises of four different colors. However, there are no other new ones. I used my Hindash Beautopsy palette a handful of times, but I mostly just skipped contouring. I did some jaw and cheekbone brontouring at most, so new things weren’t of interest at this time purely because of my current habits and preferences. The only temptations were Charlotte Tilbury’s Contour Wand, Anastasia Beverly Hills Smooth Blur Contour Stick, and the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Contour. I had doubts about getting a good shade from the first two (plus they’re creams), and I never use liquid ones. So, that was an additional reason to skip purchasing them.

I have access to Monochromance again, and I’m debating whether I want to risk depotting the pans so I can have my most used shades in Beautopsy and hopefully get even more use out of it due to the increased convenience.

I’m a bit reluctant to take that step though out of fear of messing them up without my Z-Potter, especially with the bottom being a bit thick. I’m not sure how well the heat would flow through. Even more reason for me to not want to potentially damage or ruin the powders is that I feel like any day now there should finally be a dip in these pans. I’ve used them a ton, but there’s so much product that they look new endlessly!

Bronzers

This is where things start to fall apart a bit!

I mentioned buying the Givenchy Prisme Libre Bronzing and Sculpting Powder already, but I also bought the Benefit Powder Bronzer, Benefit Hoola Wave Cream Bronzer, Laura Mercier Bronzing Duo, Fara Homidi Essential Bronzer (refill), Anastasia Beverly Hills Smooth Blur Bronzer, and Kess Berlin 365 Bronzer. Benefit’s was for nostalgia reasons as I like the quality, but it was just too red toned, so I stopped using it. The brand changed the deepest color a bit, so I was curious to see if I would like it enough to be able to start using it again. I kind of broke my no-buy with the Hoola Wave Cream Bronzer though. Oops!

I at least resisted getting the Dior Forever Nude Bronzers, reformulated Haus Labs Bronzers, and the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Cream Stick. Chanel also expanded the range to one additional darker cream bronzer, but it’s not available at any German retailer (for me to get a discount), so I managed to avoid the purchase for that reason.

The point is that I have grown to love bronzers, so I am frequently tempted, especially if it comes from a brand that has always been hyped and they finally expand the range. It’s like when someone reaches the drinking age and goes overboard on the alcohol because they are so overeager to do what they couldn’t before. Choosing to skip on a purchase requires discipline, but being forced into missing out doesn’t allow one to build up that resistance. So, lifting the restriction without having built up defenses against it is hard.

Because I had so many new bronzers to test, I only used my Charlotte Tilbury Cream Bronzer a few times. The Hermes Bronzer was used in-between testing, but not enough to bother showing progress photos. For that reason, I feel like I failed in this category.

Blushes

Well, I definitely broke my cream/liquid ban by buying three Huda Beauty Blush Filters, a Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Matte Blush, an Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Blush, one Dior Rosy Glow Cream Blush Stick, and two Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Blush Healthy Glow Sticks. I’m not totally upset by it because of how long I resisted getting the Huda ones and the one from ABH.

Where I feel like I went way overboard is buying 5 YSL Bold Blurring Blushes (and later sold Rose Haze on Mercari while on vacation). I also bought the Charlotte Tilbury Soulmates Face Palette that had a blush half of the duo. There was also the Westman Atelier Powder Blush Duo, Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Golden Glow Powder that had a blush and highlighter, a By Terry Tea to Tan Blush Powder, and two of the seven shades in the newest reformulation of Dior Rosy Glow Blush.

Considering my past history of buying an absurd number of blushes, this is actually a huge improvement for me. However, the goal during this time period was to get more uses out of what I already have. I had the same issue as the bronzers; having so many new blushes took time away from using anything older. I had 14 blushes in my Project Pan, and I used most of them at least 1-3 times, which means I have almost nothing to show in terms of progress pictures.

I was supposed to be using holy grail blushes to curb my blush buying appetite, but I don’t have one specific holy grail. There are so many that I love equally, and I think that’s why it’s harder for me to resist buying more because the chances are so high that I’m going to enjoy whatever else is new too. I am subconsciously still looking for one to be better than everything else. I also get the impulse to rotate through all of them rather than just sticking to using a few. I’m not sure how I can resolve this without figuring out where each blush ranks in my collection.

I’m not going to be too hard on myself over this category, but this was very much a fail.

Highlighters

There is no point in showing the progress of my Charlotte Tilbury Foundation Stick that I use as highlighter, nor the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Multi-Glow Highlighter Palette because I used them less than a handful of times during the Project Pan process. In fact, I used way less highlighter than usual because I relied on my glowier blushes for shine. When I wasn’t testing the highlighters from duos or quads that I bought, I was wearing the Hindash Gradient Highlighter. So, that one has visible wear on the surface, but it looks hardly any different. Highlighters are probably the hardest for me to make a dent on in my collection.

I barred myself from buying individual highlighters in any form, and almost succeeded until I succumbed to the Benefit Glow La La highlighter and the Prada Light Glowing Highlighter in June. I waited over five years for Benefit to make one darker than Tickle, so if it turned out to be amazing, I wouldn’t have chastised myself over it. As for Prada, it was at least less expensive because I only bought the refill.

I must also confess that I was extremely interested in the highlighters from Nars. Technically, if I had been able to make a custom Hourglass quad or palette, there would have been a highlighter or two in there as well.
It might be considered a loophole, but I don’t recall placing a limit on face palettes. I did get a Nars highlighter within the Medium Deep Hot Escapes palette. Despite all this, I’m going to give myself kudos anyway. In addition, I am more committed than ever to let the Prada highlighter be my last highlighter purchase for at least an additional year, or perhaps even forever. The only temptation I could see going forward is if Pat Mcgrath releases a deeper shade in the Ultra Glow Divine Rose Highlighter formula or a limited edition launch with packaging that I want and the makeup inside happens to be a highlighter.

Eyeshadows

I bought the Lisa Eldridge Liquid Silk Liquid Eyeshadows (technically just Phoebe in January), but since I use those as bases/primer, I’m not counting it towards this category. What does count are the four Clionadh Cosmetics multichrome singles plus the Garland and Garden Quad, a Victoria Beckham Eye Wardrobe palette, three Pat Mcgrath Motherships, three eyeshadow singles from the Lisa Eldridge Betty palette plus the Desert Gleam palette, one of the Charlotte Tilbury Palette of Beautifying Eye Trends, the YSL Unexplored Garden quad, and one of the Prada Holo Nude Eyeshadows in 09 Primula.
I consider this to be a mixed bag of reasonable and less reasonable purchases. For starters, Clionadh is an exception to everything as my favorite indie brand of all time. I’m halfway inclined to give the same leeway to Pat Mcgrath as my favorite “mainstream” brand, and considering I bought nothing from them in 2024. However, it was still a bit impulsive since I had gone all these years without wanting the first Divine Rose and Bronze Seduction palettes, but suddenly I couldn’t help myself.

I’ll give myself a pat on the back for sticking with one VB Eye Wardrobe instead of the two others I wanted, one palette from CT and not the second one, plus buying half of Betty so that I wouldn’t be stuck with 3 extra eyeshadows I wouldn’t use. I also skipped many more launches I wanted such as the Tom Ford Olive Smoke quad, the four other new YSL quads, and a few indie palettes.

I would have had room to review the new palettes and still focus on a few of my old ones, but I had so many eyeshadow purchases from 2024 to catch up on testing that I was unsuccessful in making many dips in the pans. My most used eyeshadows during this Project Pan were likely the lightest shade in the YSL Over Brun quad and darkest shades in the VBB Victoria quad because I used those the most to pair with other palettes and eyeshadow singles.

Everything Else: face and eye primers, mascaras, eyeliners, brow products, and lip products

I did end up buying a mini set of the Milk Hydro Grip that contained the original and glow version, though that might have been just before my low-buy started. I honestly can’t remember. Then, my old Gerard Cosmetics Clean Canvas started to change consistency, but it was nearly empty anyway, so I tossed it out. I still have my MAC Paint Pot and Nyx Glitter Primer, but I felt more comfortable having a third option. This is how I ended up using the Lisa Eldridge Liquid Silk for eye primer purposes. Speaking of which, I ordered Gaia in November 2024 and Phoebe in January 2025. I was paring them both in the beginning, but soon started using Phoebe exclusively. I was shocked that within only 3 or so months of use, I was struggling to get product out. I had to uncork the stopper and mix it a little to start reaching product again. Product still periodically moves to a spot that I cannot reach with the applicator, so I have had to uncork it an additional two times, which is not an easy task! I had to use tools because it’s very tightly in there to keep the product from drying out. So, if you think you might have used yours up quickly, I recommend removing the stopper and checking. I estimate that I have used up half of the tube by now.

I ended up buying more mascaras, but the high end ones were minis on sale and the full size were from Essence and at least very inexpensive. I managed to use up a few older mascaras, so that was nice.

I bought one brow pencil, and it was the waterproof version of Elf’s Instant Lift, which I won’t use until I finish my current ones. As for eyeliners, I hadn’t bought any until June. I’d been waiting ages for Hindash to have a sale that also included free shipping. So, I bought 3 Color Fluids and the Heroline eyeliner pen.

I didn’t set a hard stance for myself against buying setting sprays, because going overboard hadn’t been much of a problem. I think prior to this year, the most I ever had at the same time were three. I was unprepared for so many brands coming out with their own this year, so I fell victim to a lot of hype. I ended up buying the one from Huda, Tir Tir, Pat Mcgrath, and I got the one from Charlotte Tilbury in my Genshin Impact collab box. That means I now have seven! Most of them are travel sizes at least. There are several more I was interested in trying, but I will now ban myself from buying more for at least a year.

Regarding lips, I mostly stuck with the designated brands. I have three lippies from MAC, two from Too Faced, and two refills from Lisa Eldridge. I swapped out PML for MAC, as I made an allowance for, but technically YSL wasn’t officially on the “allowed” list, even though I mentioned them. So, I’m not sure if I should admonish myself for buying two YSL lippies.
One allowance I had in my head, but didn’t mention in the Project Pan, was the lip balm from Eadem. I wanted to buy that well before my Project Pan, but could not get it because the brand doesn’t do international shipping. So, I bought it while in the US. Lastly, I wasn’t supposed to get another Summer Fridays balm, but I couldn’t resist.

I rotated through a lot of my lip products, but I can say the top two I used the most were the Ami Cole Lip Treatment and Lisa Eldridge Baume Embrace.

And that is everything!

I could have done a lot better, but for me this was a semi successful endeavor. In fact, I want to stick with this same Project Pan idea for another six months. I want to see if I can be even stricter with myself, especially now that I have twice as many items in my collection between getting some of my old makeup back and adding so many new ones in the first half of the year. The goal was to use more of my holy grail makeup in the hopes that it would curb some spending urges. However, the amount of time I designated to reviewing my stack of unreviewed makeup took enough time away from my holy grails that I don’t think I was able to give a strong enough effort.

So, Round 2 starts now!

-Lili ❤

Prada Beauty Eyeshadows and Highlighter

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I have been purchasing more luxury makeup than usual over the past year and a half, but there are some brands I have tried to avoid for fear of liking them too much and not having the self-control to stop myself from buying everything they make!
Prada is one of those brands that every single release has been hyped on social media as “the best on the market,” but as long as I didn’t take that first step in trying something, I was safe.

Well, I am no longer safe! I finally bought the eyeshadow palette that appealed to me most, and then shortly after bought the highlighter in the refill form.

Before we get into the reviews, I want to discuss the logistics of this refill system because many Influencers have been saying, “If it’s too expensive, you can save money by buying one with a compact and getting refills of the rest,” without even checking what that actually entails for the customer.

For starters, this is not like Charlotte Tilbury refillable products where the compacts have magnetic bases with metallic pans that are easy to pop in and out. The Prada “pans” are made of plastic. There is a triangular shaped gap in the back of the compact that one can press through to lift out the plastic pan. On the bottom of the pan is a rectangular section with adhesive on it.
This adhesive is what holds these pans in place within the compacts.

The bottom photo shows how flush the pan is to the surface, so adding a magnetic sheet to the bottom to turn it into a magnetic compact is not possible.


That adhesive will be exposed to the air and other elements if removed from the compact and set down on top of an object. So, something (perhaps scotch tape or the paper from another refill) will be needed to cover the sticky section. If the plan is to swap out products repeatedly, the cover piece has to be easily removable and not lessen the sticky power over time. The adhesive isn’t that strong to begin with. I’ve seen two people whose pans immediately fell out of their compacts, and mine continues to as well.

When one purchases an individual refill, it does not come in a plastic case/clamshell.
There is the cardboard unicarton and the extra bit of cardboard on the inside that keeps the product stable during transport. That’s it. There is a square paper tab on the bottom that keeps the adhesive section from sticking to anything else.
Alicia Archer demonstrates how the refill is stored here.

With mine, I placed metal stickers on the bottom of the plastic refill pan, so I could store it in any of my custom magnetic palettes. When using the square size metal stickers, at least two are required for it to cling well enough to the palette. The idea was to place them in areas that would not interfere with the lifter tab in the compact if I decided to swap out the eyeshadow palette and put the highlighter there instead. For anyone who only wants to buy refills and put them in custom magnetic palettes, adding metal stickers and keeping the adhesive spot covered is simple enough.

When I was ready to transfer pans, I stuck to the plan of covering the eyeshadow palette’s exposed adhesive spot with the new sticker off the highlighter refill, and then added metal stickers to the back of the eyeshadow palette. So far so good!
I placed the newly exposed highlighter pan into the compact and pressed down to secure it. It worked, but the extra weight of the metal stickers combined with the fairly weak adhesive power made it easier for the pan to plop back out if shaken not-so-gently upside down. I ended up removing the metal stickers off the back of the highlighter to give it its best chance to stay stuck in the compact. It does still pop out with every few uses, especially when jostled in my makeup bag. So, even if the goal was to make these easier to recycle, it’s an annoyance for the customer. When spending this kind of money, it should be securely in there. I wish they had just used magnets.

I am used to depotting things, so I have the necessary supplies. However, the typical customer might be surprised to find out there are more steps to the process than just pressing the back and popping out the pan. One can use the refills to replace an empty pan, use it in and out of the original cardboard packaging, or find a way to house it in a magnetic palette. Exchanging multiple products in and out of the Prada compacts though is not realistic.

I am at least glad they didn’t go the Hermes route (and other luxury brands). Hermes sells refills in pans, but the pans are aluminum and therefore not magnetic. I’ve had to add metal stickers to the bottom of mine. In addition, if one buys a compact with a product already inside, the compact is not magnetic and the pan is pre-glued. So, once you take out the original pan for swapping purposes, you will have to do something to either cover the glue or remove it. Then you’d have to glue in the next refill and hope you can still take it out once that replacement is done.

In some compacts, I have been able to place a magnet sheet on the inside and turn it into a custom magnetic compact, but if the sheet is too thin the magnetic hold might not be strong enough to support the weight of the pan. If the sheet is too thick, the pan could be raised too high up and one can’t close the compact. The Prada compacts, for example, are too flush with the surface and cannot be turned into an empty magnetic palette like how I’ve done with Hourglass palettes.

So, sometimes refillable makeup has limitations on the various ways someone can use them depending on how the brand does their packaging.

Prada Light Glowing Highlighter Powder in 03 Deep

A highlighter’s core function is to brighten the skin wherever it is used. Even a matte product can serve that purpose, as long as it’s lighter than a person’s skin tone. Therefore, additional attributes such as the consistency, finish, reflect level, etc are completely subjective. If someone has a list the traits that they seek in a highlighter, the product that checks off most of those boxes is considered to be “the best.” What is best for one person could be the worst on someone else’s list!

I can say right now that the Prada highlighter is among the best for me, and perhaps even in the number one spot!

There are three shades currently available: Champagne, Pink, and Deep.
I don’t consider Deep to be that dark, but it works for my skin tone. I would like to see the brand expand the range in both directions because I don’t think these three shades are that flexible. I have a cousin who would probably love this highlighter, but she’s considerably darker than me. There wouldn’t be a point in me recommending this to her because it would probably look grey on her skin from being too light. So, I think it’s important for brands to offer a wider variety of highlighter colors within a line, especially if it’s a more opaque type or if the pearlescent finish is strong.

This highlighter is satin-like to the touch. Most powder highlighters that achieve this level of smoothness are hybrid cream-powder ones or putty-like. They basically feel wet. The Prada highlighter is different because it still feels like a powder, but in the smoothest form. When applied to the skin, it practically melts in to the point that I can hardly see individual shimmer particles. It is ultra refined with the brand’s trademarked “Micro-Pixel™ Pearls”. The effect is as close to the performance of a cream or liquid highlighter without it actually being liquid. The moisture level within this product is perfectly balanced. I cannot imagine how a powder could be any more hydrating from the jojoba butter, maracuja oil, and squalane without venturing into dewy territory. Kudos to the lab that formulated this!

I’ve only used my natural hair brushes with this highlighter. They all pick up the right amount of product to start me off with a beautiful subtle layer, but I can build it up to the lighter side of medium intensity. When I swipe it across my skin, I don’t even need to blend it. It doesn’t leave a visible stripe. If I build it up, it still requires such little effort to blend.
This highlighter has no problem sticking to my bare skin on low-makeup days and still doesn’t look extreme over a dewy base. It lasts all day without diminishing in brightness.

I have always wanted a powder highlighter with the smallest possible shimmer particles that would provide the most natural lit-from-within glow. My perfect highlighter couldn’t be too pearly or metallic. I would have no other issues with the performance, and the packaging would look luxurious. These are all reasons why the Prada highlighter should be perfect for me. There is just one flaw for me, and it’s the added fragrance!

This highlighter contains parfum and naturally fragrant ingredients (limonene, geraniol, citronellol, and linalol). It’s not an unpleasant smell, but I can’t enjoy it either because of how strong it is. It hits me as soon as I open the compact, and it continues to linger in my brushes for a while. I can smell it on my face for several hours too. I hope the scent will dissipate and air out over time because it only takes me using it with one or two other strongly perfumed products, such as the Guerlain Parure Loose Powder, to induce a headache. The parfum is bad enough, but to have all those potentially skin sensitizing essential oils too is a huge drawback for me. I will continue using this because, if not for the fragrance, it would be my number one holy grail highlighter. Unfortunately, it’s just not the kind of scent that is easy to ignore.

I want a subtle highlighter 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time, I want medium intensity at most. So, there are still moments that I reach for the Hindash Gradient Highlighter and Charlotte Tilbury highlighters instead. However, we have now reached the point where the Prada formula is so good that I cannot justify buying another highlighter ever again. The only time it would make sense for me to get a new one is for limited edition packaging or if I hear someone has identically duped the Prada one in a fragrance-free version. This is it for me!

Prada Holo Nude Eyeshadow in 09 Primula

Everyone said this formula is creamy, but my goodness, they were not exaggerating! They feel like cream-to-powder formulas. In fact, they’re so creamy that I’m amazed they are still solid powders. The most comparable eyeshadow formula I can think of that’s not technically cream-to-powder are the ones from YSL, but the Prada eyeshadows are more moisturizing and creamy.
These have a pigment level that’s between Lisa Eldridge Velvets and and her Seamless Mattes, but these don’t feel as firm/compact in the pan. I use natural hair packing shader brushes and the Sonia G Fusion Eye Builder to speed up the process of loading on the color, as the eyeshadow payoff is the soft buildable kind, but I also want a diffused edge without needing to spend as much time blending it out.

I am very unlikely to hit pan on these, but I would like to point out that the long rectangular strip across the top is quite annoying to fit my brushes into there. I hope Prada will come out with a different pan layout in the future.

I like that this color story is a bit sultry, but I can’t create as much depth and dimension as someone else could who has a lighter skin tone than mine. Primula still looks pretty on me, but after the testing phase ended, I started using the darkest shadow from VBB’s Victoria palette in the outer corner, but just enough to keep the overall look still soft by my standards.

Shade 1 is useful in blending out edges and keeping the area looking clean between the crease and brows.
Shade 2 adds depth. If that color couldn’t be deeper, then I wish the brand made Shade 3 a little lighter for a greater difference in color value and not just Shade 3 being warmer.
Shade 4 looks gorgeous in the pan. Based on photos I’ve seen, I do believe the shimmer in Primula is the prettiest of the three palettes in the Holo collection. However, even if I wet the eyeshadow, I still find it to be a little less impactful, shimmery, and shifty than I hoped. The red base just kind of blends in too much with the two warm toned shades, especially Shade 3. I like a gentle gradient sometimes, so this palette is great for those moments. In the phase I’m in currently, it’s a little less suited to my eyeshadow preferences.

I don’t want to take away from how happy I am that a luxury brand is including atypical colors in their palettes. And I do understand that putting a shade like Asteria by Devinah Cosmetics instead might be too bold for the kind of customer luxury brands try to sell to. I just don’t want to overlook the fact that what drew me to this palette in the first place can still be found in my collection. I can’t find mattes of Prada quality from indie brands, but the shimmers are another story. I don’t have to pay Prada prices to get it.

Because these eyeshadows are smooth, but not reliant on overdoing it with dimethicone to get that smoothness, I don’t have issues with creasing. I don’t have any problems with adherence or longevity either.

Overall, the quality is fantastic. I purchased this at a discount from Douglas, but it’s still quite expensive for a quad. I won’t say that I’m never purchasing another one, considering I’ve purchased Gucci and Guerlain palettes for a similar (discounted) price, and the Prada quality is superior to theirs. I would just need to stick to my normal criteria in being excited about the majority of the palette colors, if I were to buy one more.

I mentioned that I am no longer safe from being tempted into buying more makeup from Prada, but that’s in the future. For now, I’m content with the two products I have, especially the highlighter.

That’s all for today! Thank you for reading and I hope this has been helpful.

-Lili ❤

Lisa Eldridge Summer Colour Story Collection

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Lisa Eldridge recently launched her summer collection consisting of an eyeshadow palette, three lipsticks, and two tote bags. The only items I’m missing are the Toasted shade of lipstick and the Olive/Lavender tote.

There are currently three tiers in the brand’s reward program, with Emerald being the highest. Emerald members were able to shop a day early and could add one of the bags to their orders for free without a minimum spend amount. Otherwise, all other customers could get the tote for free with a purchase of €90 or by paying for it outright at the cost of €18. So, I ordered the Desert Gleam palette and Rae from the official website and added the free Olive/Camel tote.

Niche-Beauty sells Lisa Eldridge products, and frequently has 20% off codes available, but one can only get a tote there by hitting that €90 minimum spending price. So, it turned out for the best that I placed my original order with the Lisa Eldridge website, and then when the new products launched at Niche-Beauty a week later, I bought Lili.

Desert Gleam Palette

Dunes and Acacia are Seamless Mattes. I wrote in-depth descriptions of the different formulas in a past review, but the short version is that these mattes are similar in texture to Natasha Denona’s cream to powder formula, they are more pigmented than the Velvets, and have the tiniest bit of a wet (but not shimmery) sheen. Dunes is very difficult to see when applied to my eye area because of my skin tone, but I can tell it’s there because of the blurred look it has, especially when applied to the edges of a darker shadow to soften it up.
Acacia is now my darkest matte from Lisa Eldridge. Although I wish it was the tiniest bit darker, it at least successfully adds depth to my eyeshadow looks and I can build up the intensity.

Most of the time, the Seamless Mattes are creamy and a joy to work with. However, the shade Supernaturally from the Fawn palette was stiffer, drier, and less pigmented. So, that shade is one I stopped using out of frustration. Within the Desert Gleam palette, I got hard-pan on Dunes*, and I’ve had to scrape off some of the surface after just a week of use. It is normal for all the mattes to look like they’re going to hardpan, but this is the only time I’ve actually been unable to pick up product and needed to clear off the surface. I alternate between using brushes and my fingers with all Lisa Eldridge eyeshadows, but this is the first time I’ve encountered this problem. Going forward, I will just use brushes with this shade to try and mitigate the issue.
I’ve had no troubles with Acacia though.

*Update: I was chatting with Fedaro Beauty, who has reviewed this collection as well, and I remembered one change I made this week that could have affected Dunes. For many years I’ve been using the officially branded Makeup Erasers that are microfiber cloths. However, I switched to using Marushin cotton cloths that were free gifts with purchase from my Fude Bobo orders. Microfiber absorbs more oil than cotton, so it is actually possible my fingers had more oil residue left on them between uses than usual and could be responsible for the hard-pan on Dunes. This may be a long shot in providing an explanation, but since this is a possible cause, I felt it was important to share this theory.

Dunes after I scraped off some of the surface.

Sahara is in the Velvet formula, which gives an even and soft layer of color. I prefer to use my brush to pack on the shade and build it up. I’m honestly surprised it shows up as well on me as it does, because I thought it might be too light of a color. I’ve also seen how this shade can look a lot more khaki-yellow on some people, but it’s greener on me.
The Velvets are smoother in feel, and swatch beautifully, but over an extended amount of time, I have noticed mine got drier. Sahara is too new for me to have this problem, but it’s something I wanted to mention that I have noticed out of my oldest Velvet eyeshadows. I can still use them, but building up the color to get the payoff I want takes more effort than before. For those that enjoy soft or muted eyeshadows, this is unlikely to be an issue.

I forgot to mention that in the first eye look in this photo, Sahara was used on the lid before I added Chrysina on top. So, it looks warmer and slightly darker than the first eye look in the photo below where only my eyeshadow primer is under Chrysina on the lid.

Chrysina is a Luminous shadow. It looks silvery green in the pan, but there’s still a touch of gold that I can see at certain angles in the light. For this reason, I like this shade more than I expected. I would go as far as to call this a duochrome, though it’s nowhere near as intense as Mercurial, which is another Luminous eyeshadow.

Ablaze and Firefly are Metallics, but Firefly looks so much smoother in the pan, as seen three photos higher. The textural differences don’t affect anything. I just thought it was interesting.
Ablaze is an easily wearable golden brown that is perfect for creating neutral eye looks. I have a lot of warm golds in my collection, but I don’t have many shades of gold with this tone, as silly as that might sound. It’s still not a necessity for me to have in my full collection, but I think a shade like this aids in keeping the palette color story versatile.
Firefly seemed intimidating to try and incorporate into my eye looks, but as long as it’s framed by Sahara or Acacia in the crease, it works. Ablaze is also neutral enough that it doesn’t clash if they are used next to each other.

I have no issues with longevity or creasing, I can use these with any of my eyeshadow primers, and I can use the shimmers with a damp brush to build intensity. I have no problems with these eyeshadows, other than what I already described with the shade Dunes and the Velvet formula in the long-term.

When I first saw the Desert Gleam palette, there was no way I could talk myself out of getting these shades, despite it reminding me of my eyeshadows from Natasha Denona. It has a similar vibe to the Mini Gold, it reminds me a lot of my custom version of Metropolis, and I also have the Yucca palette. However, when I actually swatched the shades and compared them, they were different enough on my skin tone for me to not consider them dupes.

Please excuse the fact that the skin under Bia wasn’t completely dry, so it looks a little more intense than usual.

If I’m being 100% honest with myself, I prefer the Natasha Denona Mini Gold Palette over this one. I’ve come to accept that high contrast makeup looks better on me, and there are greater depth differences and more color/shade distinctions between the eyeshadows in Mini Gold than Desert Gleam. I’m still attracted to the Desert Gleam colors, and I’ve gotten quite a lot of compliments while wearing the products in this collection. However, I think the ND shades are even more my style. In terms of performance, the Mini Gold eyeshadows aren’t creamy feeling, but they still blend very well, layer well, and build quicker because they’re more pigmented. It’s kind of a moot point because I believe the Mini Gold has been discontinued, so it’s not an option to purchase for anyone who doesn’t have it already. What I’m essentially trying to say is that even though I have products I technically like more than Desert Gleam, I would still feel like I was missing out if I didn’t pick up this palette.

Rouge Refillable Lipsticks in Lili and Rae

Lisa Eldridge and I share the same nickname! Even though I rarely wear red lipstick, I still wanted this one for the name. What can I say! I’m easily swayed!

The way this lipstick performs is no different from the first round that launched at the beginning of this year. They glide over the lips easily and feel like a cross between a balm and a lipstick. This shade is vibrant, but I can still see the discolored/darker pigment spots on my lips underneath if I stick with only one swipe. So, an additional pass or two is needed to be opaque. It feels quite comfortable on my lips, though I get minor chapping by the end of the day.

I own an engraved lipstick case already, so I only needed to purchase these in refill form. My cap/lid for Lili is very loose, so I keep it stored in all the original packaging to prevent any accidents in my makeup pouch, but I’m contemplating raiding my husband’s tools to find pliers that will tighten the cap a little (hopefully not too tight to the point that I can’t pull it back off)!

For some reason, Rae feels much creamier than the other four lipsticks I have from this line. It feels more moisturizing as well, which increases my comfort level while wearing it. However, this one does not have the same kind of grip to it that keeps it longer-lasting like the others. Even if I’m not eating or drinking, within a few hours there is noticeably less lipstick on my lips. I think my skin absorbs it. So, I find myself needing to reapply more frequently. I can’t explain why this is happening because Rae has the same ingredients as all the rest. It’s my favorite shade though, so I’m going to just deal with it! I normally don’t like wearing dark lipsticks because I feel like most of them age me, but this is an exception!

So, that is everything reviewed except the Tote bag. I don’t have much to say about it except that it’s made of a nice material, feels sturdy, and it has a cute and functional zip pocket on the inside. It terms of size, it’s a few millimeters smaller than my smallest canvas shopping bag. I wanted a fancy reusable grocery bag, but this looks almost too nice for that purpose. That’s all I use totes for, so perhaps I could reserve it for times I shop at the city market instead.

I don’t think I’ve shown the pencil case before, which I also like from the brand. I find myself using and liking the Lisa Eldridge accessories, so it’s a big draw for me continuing to purchase from the official website to get them.

Now, that’s everything! I hope this post has been helpful. I tried to complete it as soon as I could, and it helps that I’m already familiar with these formulas from Lisa Eldridge, so I don’t have to test them for as long.

Thank you for reading! Tschüss!

-Lili ❤

Surprising Makeup Hits and Misses ft Rare Beauty, Glossier, Dior, and More

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I visited the US in April and was reunited with the rest of my makeup collection, along with all the things I shipped there during 2024. Those products consisted of Japanese brushes that I didn’t want to pay extra customs fees for, reward point and gift card redemptions only applicable to US sites, products only sold within the US, etc. I had older makeup I still wanted to bring back to Germany, but I needed to decide which of the newer ones were worth coming along too. That’s how the idea for this post began! However, some of the makeup I brought back will be discussed in other posts, and I added some of my newer makeup purchases to this review instead.

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Matte Bouncy Blush in Worth

It was difficult to photograph this color accurately because it looks darker in the pan than it actually is. I own the liquid version of Worth, and have reviewed it before, but I left it in the US. Since the liquid is sheer, I wasn’t surprised that I also needed to pack on a lot of this cream-to-powder version to get it to show up on camera.

I’ve been into subtle and/or nude blushes lately, so I expected to love this. I tried pairing it with so many different things expecting that perhaps my foundation shade mattered or that the undertone was clashing, that the color of my eyeshadow looks could be throwing it off, etc. I just wasn’t enjoying wearing it. The answer I settled on as to why that was the case is that it’s matte. I knew it would be from the name, but I’ve used shimmer-free creamy and bouncy type of blushes before that still had a natural emollient gleam to them from just being a cream product. Examples of this are the MAC Glow Play Blushes and Armani Neo Nude Color Melting Balms. Even within the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush line that comes in dewy or matte finishes, the matte one still has some life to it. So, I wasn’t expecting this blush to have zero shine, especially from a product that has Synthetic Fluorphlogopite as the first ingredient.

The longevity is fine. The blush blends into and becomes one with the skin. For the best results, I use my densest synthetic brushes with it.

I borrowed the photo above from my Charlotte Tilbury x Genshin Impact post where I reviewed the Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray. By the time I started using that spray, I already knew that my issue with the Rare Beauty Blush was the fact that it’s matte. However, I was still taken aback when I saw with my own eyes how much of a difference some extra shine truly makes. I love how this blush looks when I use Charlotte’s spray over it. So this product changed from a miss to a hit for me!

Eadem Le Chouchou Exfoliating + Softening Peptide Lip Balm in Fig Sauce

I mentioned in my Project Pan that there are only 5 brands I’m purchasing from in the lip category this year. One exception was this balm because I would have bought it ages ago if it was sold in Europe. I could only find one website that would ship it to me, but then I would have had to pay at least double the price.
The tradeoff for having to wait a long time to get it from USA’s Sephora was that I could buy it on sale and with a gift card.

I have to talk about the metal applicator because it feels amazing applying this lip balm! I don’t like when products have a cooling ingredient that makes my lips feel cold for 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the brand. Instead, I only get that wonderfully cold sensation during the application process and then I can go about my day. This really adds to the experience, so much so that I’ve even put other products on my lips and then used this applicator to spread it out! Perhaps one day I’ll buy some empty tubes off the websites I’ve found by typing, “metal applicator cosmetic tube” into Google and transfer some other glosses into them.

This is a very nourishing product and lives up to its reputation as a lip treatment. It fills the lines and smooths over the lips. It’s thick, but not goopy in a gel or oil way. It has more of a creamy-waxy feel. It adheres fairly well to the lips, which helps it to last longer before needing to be touched up or reapplied. I still consider this a little sticky, but it’s not to Ami Cole levels. It has decent color payoff, enough for me to understand someone wanting to buy multiple shades, but I wouldn’t want to buy more than one extra.

The results I get are similar to Ami Cole glosses, which is to say my lips feel softer and more hydrated the next day, but this does not completely remove all of my chapped skin. I can always spot a few areas on my lips that are still chapped the next day.
So, this hasn’t claimed a spot in my top five, but I still like it a lot.

Gxve Beauty Eye See in Color in Rich Girl

This was the only quad from the brand that I found appealing, but my immediate issue is that I don’t get enough depth from the darkest brown in this palette. While it theoretically shouldn’t be a problem to grab a dark eyeshadow from any other brand, I know I will subconsciously not reach for this palette since it is technically incomplete for me.

The completed look is pretty, but I couldn’t bring myself to choose this to pack in my suitcase over my many other options.

If the eyeshadow formula was superb, I would have considered taking this with me anyway. My issue is that the shimmers are a bit lackluster. There is still beauty in a lower impact shimmer if the intended eye look is supposed to be sophisticated or demure. I think the quality is fairly good, though it could have benefited from being a bit creamier. The mattes were fine. My brush picked up a lot of product, but with how soft they look on my eyes, I think someone would be surprised to know how much I tried to build up these eyeshadows. They are drier shadows that appear to be finely milled, but something about the formula just doesn’t feel modern.

This palette is long-lasting on me. It doesn’t take long to get a blended look. However, this isn’t for me. I do appreciate that the holder of the pans is easy to remove, so I could technically keep the compact or turn it into an empty magnetic palette if I inserted a magnetic sticker sheet. I could also technically add metal sticker pans to the bottom of the eyeshadow holder to pop it into a larger empty magnetic palette. Removeable packaging is always interesting to me.

In any case, this quad wasn’t a flop, but it also wasn’t good enough to keep around.

As a random side note, the Gxve Beauty website used to sell merch as well. I ordered one of the Signature Hoodies during a 50% off sale (just like I did with the palette). It has fleece lining on the inside, so I’m excited to wear it come winter. The website says products are now exclusively at Sephora and things are so frequently for 50% off that I really don’t know how the brand will continue to stay afloat.

I don’t know where these are being sold now. If they are discontinued, I’m glad I was able to snag one as a piece of makeup history.

Glossier Cloud Paint Bronzer in Coast

I liked the Glossier Solar Paints, but wished to have a version without shimmer. The Cloud Paint formula is one of my favorites for cream blushes, so to have a matte Cloud Paint in a bronze color seemed like it would be an instant win.

I picked Coast because it is the second darkest option and has a golden tone, which I wanted. The darkest color, Drift, looked like it would be too red for me despite being labeled by the brand as a deep neutral bronze. Coast is just too subtle for my skin tone right now. While I was in Florida, I didn’t do a good job of reapplying sunscreen. My skin had a slightly redder tone and was darker, so the bronzer really isn’t visible in photos as it was already so subtle in person. I have a photo below, but I apologize for the lighting being very off. I couldn’t get a clearer picture during the trip and my skin looks even redder in the photo than it was in real life (plus I was wearing the Beekman 1802 skin tint that’s red).

I don’t mind having a subtle bronzer, but my biggest issue wasn’t the color. I felt it just didn’t blend seamlessly enough into my skin. While it’s true that I didn’t bring my holy grail synthetic bronzer/contour brush with me, I came to realize that the watercolor kind of finish that’s beautiful and natural in a blush isn’t what I want in a bronzer. So, I left this behind. What a shame!

Tarte Tartelette Tubing Mascara vs Too Faced Ribbon Wrapped Lash Tubing Mascara

Back in 2014, during my short lived time making YouTube videos (all listed as private now), I kicked off my Mascara Showdown Series with a battle between Tarte’s Lights Camera Lashes and Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascaras.

I determined that Tarte was the winner because of the length, but the mascara I actually repurchased the most was from Too Faced. I don’t know if it’s because I ended up preferring the balance between length and volume or if I was just able to get the Too Faced mascara on sale more frequently. I eventually stopped buying the one from Too Faced because I started to get clumping and flaking issues that I never had before. I don’t know if the formula changed or there was a switch in manufacturers, but I moved on from that mascara.

The KVD Full Sleeve Long + Defined Tubing mascara made me interested in tubing mascaras again. I had a deluxe sample of the one from Tarte, so when Too Faced released theirs I thought why not…let’s do another showdown between these brands over a decade later!

I never curl my lashes, so sometimes the mascaras look better or worse depending on how my eyelashes are naturally shaped that day. I’ve used the Tarte mascara five times and I can say that even if it had amazing results, what puts me off from it is how long it takes to dry. If I try to layer up even more product, then it takes even longer. I can touch my lashes thirty minutes later and it still doesn’t feel fully set. This is a big problem when I’m trying to photograph multiple eye looks in a day and in the process of removing my eyeshadow with a Makeup Eraser cloth and Bioderma, my eyelashes clump together, the color smears, and the stickiness makes it difficult to remove the rest. Part of the benefits of tubing mascara is the ease in which one can remove it with warm water. I can remove them with micellar water as well, so I’m not surprised that some of the Tarte mascara comes off. The annoying part is the weird middle ground where some of it comes off and smudges while the rest still clings on with a tight grip. It makes it so that I am forced to fully remove it every time when I want to do a new eye look, whereas with other tubing mascaras and even regular mascaras, it’ll come partly off and I can easily reapply more mascara because they didn’t turn my lashes spidery and hard. This is a makeup reviewer problem, but having to wait so long for it to fully dry is an issue overall. One time I made the mistake of applying this mascara not far enough in advance of watching a heartfelt scene in a show. The side with the Tarta mascara was a mess and got in my eyes. The side with Too Faced did not.

I didn’t like the Too Faced Ribbon mascara when I first tried it, but every time after that (at least 15 times so far), I have enjoyed it. Just like the showdown from many years ago, I found that Tarte’s mascara was better at lengthening, whereas Too Faced’s mascara was better with building volume while still giving nice length. It can start to clump if I build this up a lot, so I have to be careful about finding the balance between satisfaction and knowing when to stop.

I like the one from Too Faced, but I think I still prefer my tubing mascara from KVD. It gives better length than Tarte and if I’m patient enough I can build up the volume to similar results as Too Faced, though it can also start to form clumps if I take things too far.

The Tarte mascara is a miss. The Too Faced mascara is a hit.

Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Blush in 077 Candy

I reviewed the cream blush stick version of Candy already, and updated the original post, but this still feels like a good place to talk about the powder blush since it’s a miss for me.

This new powder formula is definitely an improvement on the original formulation and first reformulation, in terms of being more pigmented and less hard-pressed. I also think this square packaging is cuter and easier to use with larger cheek brushes. The reason it’s a miss for me is purely due to the color. I loved the addition of shimmer in the Bronzed Glow shade from version 2 of these blushes, but the base color of Candy being so light means that it unfortunately does the same thing as Nars Orgasm on me. I can see the pink shade at one angle, but when it hits the light, the gold reflect is nearly all I can see. So, it appears as if I tried to use a highlighter as blush! This kind of shimmer is not that refined either, which makes it unsuitable for my preference as even a blushlighter or blush topper.

The saving grace for me is that I can add the Candy blush stick on top to help the shimmer become one with the skin, plus boost the appearance of the pink color.

I’m happy using the Candy shade of Glow Stick on its own, but going forward, I will never wear the powder version of Candy by itself. Based on my continued enjoyment of the previous powder blush reformulation, and acknowledgement that the new one has improvements, I still recommend the powder blush. I just can’t recommend Candy or Toffee to anyone close to my skin tone because of that highlighter effect. Bronzed Glow still gives me hope that Dior can nail a shimmery blush in this new formula in the future if the base color is darker.

That’s everything I have for this week. Thank you for visiting and reading!

-Lili ❤

Luxury Blush Reviews: Chanel, D&G, Westman Atelier, and Gucci

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One of the benefits of living in Europe is the access one has to so many beauty retailers of various sizes, which means many more chances to find deals on luxury makeup. I’m still in the midst of a multi-year blush obsession, so today’s post is a review of some of the latest ones I’ve added to my collection.

Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Golden Glow Powder in Soleil Couchant

This comes with a brush, and it works, but I prefer to use my fude favorites with it.

The included pouch has a fun limited edition double C design, though the compact itself has the standard look for the Les Beiges line.

I like orange colored blushes from Chanel in the beginning, but I eventually stop using them after the review is completed. The Chanel Fleur de Printemps highlighter side was a bit light for my taste while the blush side was very subtle. Chanel Beige et Corail had the awesome fall design imprinted, but I got frustrated with how much I had to build up the color on my cheeks.
Finally, Les Tarots de Chanel in Blood Orange had enough pigment, but the matte finish kept me from using it, so I gave that one to a friend.

Soleil Couchant is definitely shimmery and is in the baked-gelee formula that I prefer, so I was willing to give an orange blush from Chanel one more try. The 22% off discount from Parfum Dreams helped sweeten the deal.

The blush side looks like an actual Blood Orange shade in the compact, but it’s a true orange color on my cheeks. I am admittedly disappointed that the red tones don’t show as strongly in this blush, but it’s still pretty. What makes up for it is the gorgeous gleaming finish that is shimmery enough for me to sometimes skip wearing highlighter. It’s not a metallic kind of shine either. The powder has ultra refined shimmer and looks smooth on the cheeks.

The highlighter is a beautiful color that suits me very well with its depth and tone. What is surprising and fascinating to me is that although I can see the individual sparkles, I really like how it looks when paired with the blush! I typically hate glittery highlighters because they look like I got fallout from my eyeshadow instead of being intentionally placed. I prefer highlighters that give a glassy glow and look like my skin is naturally luminous with undetectable shimmer. This highlighter from Soliel Couchant somehow doesn’t emphasize texture and adds a soft twinkle. I don’t know why this is different from other glittery highlighters to me, but it is!

Though I’m faced once more with a blush that’s on the sheer side, I have an easier time picking up product and building up the color now that I have been using the Bisyodo Cheri Series CH-FD Foundation Brush. Soliel Couchant is also less hard pressed than Beige et Corail, so that will reduce some of the potential frustration over time. The photo below shows some of the flaky bits of the highlighter as it comes off the surface onto my holy grail highlighter brush that’s also from Bisyodo’s Cheri Series, the CH-HC Highlight/Cheek Brush.

DISCLOSURE: By linking these brushes, I am obligated to state that any unhighlighted links in bold blue font (Example) are normal 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 on that website after using my link.

I think this will finally be an orange blush from Chanel that I will continue to reach for, but only time will tell. I like this duo a lot, but I love the Brun Roussi Blush Lumiere and Joues Contraste Intense Cream-To-Powder Blush from Chanel even more.

Extra bits of information to note is that I can use my normal highlighter brushes to pick up product, so the firmness level isn’t an issue for that side of the duo. This doesn’t have a fragrance and I’ve had no problems with longevity.

Westman Atelier The Powder Duo in Suede/Sable

I like the Westman Atelier Butter Powder Bronzer, so I assumed the powders in this duo would feel the same because they have identical ingredients, just in different quantities. The blushes are soft, very finely milled, and have a slightly velvety feel, but I wish they were a touch creamier.

The high quality of the blushes is undeniable. They have a soft matte finish, but I would have loved this product if there was more of a sheen. Suede is exactly the kind of shade I’m interested in right now. It’s a warm pinky rose color with some brown, making it a great nude blush for many people, though perhaps not someone more than a few shades darker than me.

They blend well into the skin and don’t fade. I’d say these are medium pressed. I get hardly any kickup, yet the powders coat my brushes easily. I am not forced to use a dense brush in order to build up color, which is great! Despite these being pigmented and buildable, there’s still a limit to how intense they can become.

Sable doesn’t work for me as a blush, but I figured that might be the case when I bought it. It’s a little lighter than my skintone, so it makes Suede look ashier if I try to combine the two on my face. I can theoretically use it to tone down vibrant blushes in my collection, but I haven’t tested that yet. I’m more likely to just use my Dior Powder No Powder for that purpose.

I took the risk getting this shade of duo because I wanted Suede so much. Ganache was the only other color I was interested in, but that’s paired with Poppet, which I wouldn’t want anyway.

Because I got this at a discount from Niche-Beauty, paying a high price for essentially one blush helped lessen the blow to my wallet, though not a lot. I have a feeling it’s going to be forgotten among my collection because as pretty as it looks, I can list at least 20 other blush shades in my collection that excite me more.

I feel this product could have been more beneficial if it was in a trio, like the Artist Couture palettes.

I also wish the pans were customizable so I could have ensured I received two usable products.

I can recommend the powder duos because of the quality. However, it’s only worth it if both shades are a perfect match. There are so many amazing quality blushes on the market at various price points that I don’t consider this one from Westman Atelier a must-have product.

Dolce&Gabbana CHEEKS&EYES MATCH Blush in Joyful Peach

There was a point last year when I wanted to play with makeup that had weighty and luxurious packaging. I was missing my Westman Atelier Butter Powder Bronzer, Olivia Palermo Beauty eyeshadow palette, etc. So, when I saw the D&G line was on sale, I went for something that had the highest chance of being a success for me in a category I clearly love.

The packaging is as lovely and as heavy as people have said. I like the round-edges with the white top that resembles enamel, and the gold metallic details. Everything on the outside feels plastic, so I’m not sure what material was used to add the artificial weight on the bottom. The weight in the lid, I believe, comes from the mirror.

I wouldn’t call this a highly pigmented blush, but it’s not sheer either. My brushes being able to pick up a lot of product adds to the illusion that it’s more pigmented than it is. Thankfully it is buildable, so a shade this light on me can still show up. It’s also surprising how little kickback I get considering how much product coats my brushes.

Per usual with most blushes on my dry skin, I experienced no fading. It’s unscented, so one doesn’t have to deal with the parfum that designer brands love to add to their makeup lines. Joyful Peach leaves a slightly blurred soft matte finish on the skin. The dewier one’s face is, the more it melts in.

The beautiful formula, the blendability, and ease of building up color are reasons why I was tempted to buy more of these blushes, but as someone with as huge of a collection as mine, I decided to refrain. For example, Playful Rose is one of my favorite types of blush shades, as I love a brown nude with a hint of rosiness. However, I already have Vieve’s Sunset Blush in Piazza and Benefit’s Wanderful World Blush in Java, which are also mattes that I enjoy.
I tend to prefer glowy blushes over matte ones, so this is another reason I resisted.

The Westman Atelier powder blushes and this one have a similar look on the cheeks, though D&G’s becomes one with the skin more, especially as the day goes on. So, I think I prefer the blush from D&G the tiniest bit more. It certainly has the more upscale looking packaging. However, I still don’t think this is a must-have product. If someone is in the mood to splurge though, this is a nice option.

Before we move on to the last blush, I wanted to add that I’ve worn this as eyeshadow several times, since it’s intended to be used on both the cheeks and eyes for monochromatic looks.

The issue for me is the same across the board with using bronzers, blushes, and highlighters that excel in looking smooth and refined around the face, that they create too soft of a look on my eyes. With Joyful Peach, I can only build up to medium opacity. I have to make sure my eyeshadow base/primer completely obscures my skin discoloration before adding this shade on top, or else the darker spots show through underneath. Pigmentation issues aside, this doesn’t seem to have an issue with fading, adherence, or layering with other eyeshadows. So, this can work for eyeshadow purposes depending on someone’s style/preference.

The eye look on top shows Joyful Peach used in the crease and lid. The eye look below it is the same, but with a shimmer eyeshadow added to the lid.

Gucci Luminous Matte Blush De Beauté in 11 Intense Ruby

I reviewed this blush formula before HERE, but this particular limited edition shade and packaging was part of a holiday collection that I also reviewed HERE. It bothered me that the blushes were so much more expensive in Europe (or at least Germany) than it was in the US. So, I purchased it during last year’s Sephora sale and finally have my hands on it after my visit back to Florida in April.

I see no difference in terms of formula. The performance is the same as the permanent blushes and only the packaging design is different. Speaking of which, Gucci has another limited edition packaging design throughout Asia. I discovered it from amit.beauty.talk and a few other sneak peek accounts on Instagram. It is finally supposed to be available in two re-promoted shades for the rest of the world sometime in July.

The formula is silky to the touch, goes on the skin smoothly, and has a soft satin sheen. It has a lot of pigment, so using the right brushes is key to how much or little effort it will take someone to blend. The color Intense Ruby is quite similar to Intense Plum, but I find Intense Ruby to be slightly less pigmented and therefore easier to work with. The slight difference in undertone is another reason I actually like Intense Ruby, whereas I’m pretty sure I already decluttered Intense Plum (I couldn’t find it among my things).

I would also like to say that I have come around a lot on Warm Berry and despite preferring the Armani Luminous Silk Glow Powder blushes in my past review, the Gucci blushes are the ones I’ve been using more out of the two. However, given enough time, that could reverse again! They are pretty on par with each other.

And that’s everything for today! Thank you for reading.

-Lili ❤

Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Stick Blush Review

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I was very eager to get this post out, so I’ve only used the Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Stick in 077 Candy six times so far. This hasn’t gone through my usual amount of testing rounds, but I feel that I have a good handle on how this blush performs.

I must admit the chances are high that I will eventually buy something else from the collection of new powder blushes, cream blush sticks, and lip butters. Whether that happens or not, I still intend to update this post if there is anything noteworthy I’ve forgotten to mention or that I’ve discovered after using this product for a longer period of time.*

*JUNE 14, 2025 UPDATE: I bought the powder blush version of this shade as well. The review is at the end of this post.

The swatches are slightly washed out, but this was photographed in natural light from the window.

The Reformulation History

Before we get into this, I just wanted to point out that the original Backstage Rosy Glow Blushes were Pink and Coral. In 2023, the brand dropped “Backstage” from the name and relaunched Pink and Coral, along with the new shades Rosewood, Cherry, Berry and Mahogany. In 2024, they expanded the Rosy Glow range by adding Bronzed Glow, Pink Lilac, and Poppy Coral. Bronzed Glow was the first blush to have visible shimmer particles and it was much easier to pick up product onto a brush.
The “Backstage” name was added back to the Rosy Glow Blush line in 2025, after a second reformulation and new packaging. I don’t know if this means Dior was going to drop the Backstage line, then decided against it. From what I hear, this line is much more popular with the younger generation on TikTok, so that could account for the reconsideration.

The new line of cream blush sticks and second round of reformulated powder blushes comprise of the shades Pink, Pink Lilac, Rosewood, Cherry, Berry, Toffee, and Candy. So, there is currently no Coral, Poppy Coral, Mahogany, or Bronzed Glow.

As I mentioned, Bronze Glow already had visible shimmer and was easier to work with than the others, so I would not have repurchased it just to get the cute square packaging even if it was an option. However, it’s tempting to pick up the new Rosewood. I can’t justify getting it though because my old one is only hard-pressed and still doesn’t have hard-pan on it. I have plenty of brushes that can pick up product decently enough.

If I were to buy one of the powder blushes, it would be Candy, Cherry, or Berry. The older version of Berry looked way deeper than is my preference, but the new Berry’s tone looks prettier to me.

The Performance

Candy has turned out to be a very interesting shade for me to wear! The base color is bubblegum pink, but the golden shimmer makes the blush shade appear warmer. In addition, the ph-adjusting pigment turns the blush a little darker on my cheeks, which prevents it from looking ashy on my skintone while also helping it to actually show up. Without it, I don’t think I would have been able to pull off a color as light as this and in a formula that blends out to be as sheer.
Of the available colors, this is the closest thing to a coral shade that they have.

This isn’t a stiff blush stick. The product glides easily so that I can draw a line of product directly onto my skin without disturbing my makeup underneath. It’s also easy to blend in, leaving no harsh edges and it doesn’t require warming the product up on the back of the hand or via the fingertips to make it easier to spread. So far, my favorite way to apply this has been using angled synthetic brushes and the Singe Beauty F03.

I watched a lot of videos to try and figure out which shades I wanted, and in the process I heard every reviewer talk about this cream being a bit sticky or dewy. This was not the case for me within the first four days. So, I assumed either mine is drier than everyone else’s or my dry skin type plays a part in how this blush sets down on my face. After putting on the blush and touching my cheeks, the most I saw and felt on my fingers was the same amount of moisture as I would get from a full face of skincare and nothing else.

It wasn’t until a different testing session when I applied and blended out this blush with my fingers that I was left with dewy cheeks. My theory now is that because I usually draw or place dots onto my cheeks and then use my brush to blend it out, the wetter elements of the blush get picked up and hold onto the fibers of my brush, so that it’s mostly just the color that is left behind. The little dew that remains gets pushed deeper into my dry skin, so I’m left with hydrated and moisturized feeling cheeks that still don’t require powder to set it! This might not be the same scenario someone with oily skin will experience. Dior does specifically state this contains cherry oil and is intended to be dewy.

I wonder if the minimal amount I use also plays a part. Because this is not a bold color, I can see the temptation to build up a lot of swipes on the cheeks right away. However, I’ve learned from using Rosewood to just give those Red Lakes time to do their thing and darken. So, I tend to not add that much product and I’m still given enough color for the blush to be seen in person (though not as prominently in photos).

My favorite way to use this, other than by itself, is to apply it on top of a matte blush for added opacity and that pretty golden glow. I think it looks better when the cream stick is on top of powder, instead of underneath it.

The worst wear time I’ve had so far was when I used my most moisturizing milky toner as part of my skincare routine, wore my dewiest and most transfer-prone skin tint that provided light-medium coverage, and I did not set my face with powder. The blush faded to the point of having noticeably less color within two hours and I could see my skin underneath. However, there was enough blush to look like I had used a cheek stain. By the end of the night, it was still present and there was still a little glow.

The best wear time I’ve had, without relying on powder, also involved a hydrating milky toner and my glowiest foundation with high coverage. In this scenario, I don’t see fading until five hours in, but I have plenty of color remaining. My longest wear test under these conditions was 12 hours and the blush was still there.

I know firsthand that setting the blush with translucent face powder extends the wear, and it definitely won’t be a problem if paired with another powder blush. It’s also possible that the darker blush stick shades with more of the ph-adjusting pigment could be longer lasting.

An additional note is that this product contains fragrance. It smells like a combination of vanilla, candy, and mint. It’s like a milder version of the Dior Addict lippies. I don’t really enjoy there being menthol and peppermint oil, as it makes me instinctively want to keep it away from my eyes. It doesn’t burn, but I associate the smell with Vicks Vaporub.

The Packaging

I’d just like to throw out there that the packaging is genius! I love that I can stick the handle down into the blush cap for it to be held securely while I twist it and then apply the product! I can even set it down on the table without fear of it tipping over.

For those who have purchased multiple glow sticks, it’s nice that every blush has a corresponding cap color to make it easier to determine what shade it is without having to read the label on the bottom. The silver handle with the Oblique print is a very classy design touch as well.

Comparisons

This photograph was taken under artificial light, but it better represents how the colors will look on my face.

Although they look very different in the swatches, YSL’s Restless Rose looks quite similar to Dior’s Candy when applied to my cheeks. The difference is that Restless Rose’s glow comes from the reflect of the shimmer, and Candy has a wetter looking sheen.

I can’t think of a better analogy other than to say Dior’s Rosewood (in the older formula) and Candy look close enough to be sisters. Rosewood doesn’t have visible shimmer particles, but it has a soft sheen and they are both pinks. The shade differences are easier to see when they’re built up, but if I’m aiming to get a sheer amount of color from both of them, it would be difficult for someone to be able to tell they weren’t the same (other than the shine levels). This is why I’m trying my best to resist buying more.

Ordering Process

Before we close out this post, I just wanted to talk about the very different experiences I’ve had between ordering from the US and Germany.
I’ve seen plenty of influencers saying, “Always buy directly from Dior for the luxury experience and perks.” However, only select regions have the Dior Beauty Loyalty Program.
Within Europe, it’s just France, the United Kingdom, and Spain even though my orders to Germany are shipped from France anyway. I can choose the Couture gift packaging, get two free samples, and on the rare occasion one can choose an additional deluxe size mini sample if the purchase is over 100 Euros, but that’s it.*

*Technically, this time the box was a little different, as it had the Dior Dioriviera/Toile de Jouy print on the inside (I think leftovers from Mother’s Day). Usually the carboard box is plain, but I turned this one inside out so I could repurpose it!

When I ordered from the US, I was part of the reward program. Besides the various gifts at different tiers, there are always different free gift with purchase codes floating around that include bigger things than just perfume samples. I’ve seen others get charms/ornaments, pouches/makeup bags, etc.


According to Dior Deutschland, the blush sticks and lip butters are exclusive to their website. This is why I bought mine at full price. Since there’s not much incentive for me to buy anything else directly from Dior, my plan is to wait for the powders to come to retailers in Germany so that I can accrue points from those reward programs and most likely get 20% off as well. As of this very morning, all three product types are available at Douglas. So, the “exclusive” element was only for a short time.

Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Blush in 077 Candy

It didn’t take long for me to do exactly as I said. I bought this at 20% off from Douglas and I’m updating this post with my review of the powder blush!

The aspects that Dior improved with this new powder blush formula over both previous versions is that this is more pigmented and less hard-pressed, though it’s still dry to the touch. I also think the square packaging is cuter and I can use larger cheek brushes with it. The downside for me is with this particular shade. It unfortunately does the same thing as Nars Orgasm where I can see the pink color at one angle, but the gold reflect is nearly all I can see once light hits it. Then it appears as if I tried to use a highlighter as blush! This kind of shimmer is not that refined either, which makes it unsuitable for my preference as even a blushlighter or blush topper.

The saving grace for me is that I can apply the Candy blush stick on top to help the shimmer become one with the skin, plus increase the amount of pink color that can be seen.

I’m happy using the Candy shade of Glow Stick on its own, but going forward, I will never wear the powder version of Candy by itself. Based on my continued enjoyment of the previous powder blush reformulation, and acknowledgement that the new one has improvements, I still recommend the powder blush. I just can’t recommend Candy or Toffee to anyone close to my skin tone because of that highlighter effect. Bronzed Glow still gives me hope that Dior can nail a shimmery blush in this new formula in the future if the base color is darker.

And that’s everything for today! Thank you for reading.

-Lili ❤

SPF in Makeup ft. Beekman 1802 and Toty

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Mineral sunscreens can leave a strange-colored cast on the face and body that is especially visible on people with dark skin. The higher the SPF protection, the more obvious it looks.
This is why I rely on chemical sunscreens for sun protection. However, companies have developed new innovations to combat this issue. They are all aware of the dreaded “casket-ready” grey look that can happen when someone with brown skin puts on a foundation product that has a high level of mineral SPF. The ones I tried in the past were terrible, but I decided to give some new ones a chance.

Beekman 1802 Milk Tint SPF 43 Tinted Primer Serum in Deep

The promo photos clued me in that I would not find my perfect shade in this range. However, I’ve long been intrigued by Beekman 1802 and knew that if I had the opportunity to stack Ulta rewards with a 20% off coupon, then I would take it.
That happened, and that’s why I was able to finally try it! For once, this was something I wanted that had zero hype. If anything, the most I heard people saying about it was that they were putting it in their anti-hauls, including me! That’s right! Two years ago I actually said I wouldn’t buy it.

This tint has a runny consistency and it ranges between sheer to medium coverage depending on how many drops are used. It’s very wet on the skin for a while, but given enough time it actually can set on my face without powder. This may be because I have dry skin. I initially tested this out on bare skin. Once I started putting skincare underneath, it took much longer to set. When I use this as a primer, even if I pair it with a foundation that is self-setting, it will no longer set on its own completely and it won’t be transfer-proof. Adding powder then helps to lock it onto my face. My skin feels nicely hydrated with this on, including after being powdered so long as that powder I use isn’t too mattifying or too drying.

My biggest problem area though is my nose. For some reason, I have a hard time getting it to stick there, but longevity isn’t an issue anywhere else. Also, my concealer notoriously doesn’t play well with a lot of other makeup. If I apply the KVD Good Apple Concealer first and then this Beekman product second, it won’t blend into the concealer and I get a harsh line that’s also patchy. So, I have to reapply additional concealer where the two edges meet.

I think this tint looks fantastic and smooth alone, and it can make my foundations that I add on top look better because it’s adding extra hydration. However, because it can also increase the amount of makeup transfer and become too emollient if there are too many products underneath and on top, I prefer not to risk using it as a primer except on my driest of days. That emollient issue can shorten the wear time, which a primer at its core is supposed to extend above all other functions.

The amount of product needed for full 43 SPF protection isn’t realistic to put on one’s face. It would look too foundation-heavy and feel uncomfortable as well. I learned from my mistake when I applied the usual amount needed to get medium coverage and then tried to add foundation on top, then had to redo my look because of how overdone my face looked and felt. Essentially, I find it best to apply a slightly less than normal amount of facial sunscreen so that the amount needed for adequate tint coverage can finish providing the remaining necessary sun protection.

The undertone of the Deep shade is red, but I’ve been a little red this summer, so it doesn’t look that off. However, the photo below shows how the color can look very different (orange) when I forget to shake it. Though the combination turned into my usual color match that time, I don’t want to risk throwing off the proportions of ingredients.
This product comes in an extremely heavy ceramic-looking glass bottle and there is an agitator ball inside. When I decided to take this back overseas with me, I transferred it into a clean airless pump bottle and forgot that I would still need to shake it to ensure the pigments were evenly dispersed with every use.

While we’re discussing the bottle, I think I should mention that even the brand site lists a warning that the bottle can leak, especially during travel. So, luggage weigh limit aside, this was another reason I thought it best to change bottles. It’s quite a shame though because it felt so nice and high-end.

As a skincare and makeup hybrid, I think Beekman 1802 succeeded in making a good product. I will enjoy this while I have it, but I most likely won’t repurchase it. My reasons for that are that I prefer higher coverage makeup, I don’t see myself switching to a new concealer anytime soon, and it’s not going to be a good undertone match when my skin starts to return to its normal shade after summer.

Toty Ilumina CC Cream SPF 50+ Perfecting Fluid in 5W1

The swatch is the CC cream, whereas the liquid is from the sample of the Solaria Mineral SPF 50+ Sunscreen Serum that looks awful on me, so I chose not to wear it more than once, and I could also not review it.

This is essentially a foundation that the brand describes as giving a “medium, buildable flawless coverage with natural luminous finish.” When I use a dense brush, I can get high to full coverage. Achieving low coverage is doable, but more difficult because the formula isn’t the easiest to spread thinly. It’s a thick liquid that kept breaking the tips off my sokoho goat brush, so I recommend using synthetic bristles only. I thought using my fingers could help, but the spread is actually harder to control that way and missing spots are easier to see because of the coverage level. I like what this provides, so this isn’t a problem for me, but someone wanting sheer to light coverage out of this “CC cream” might want to reconsidering buying this.

I can squirt this onto my face and it will not start running down my cheeks. It stays put.

Shade 5W1 doesn’t look too unnatural for me, though it’s better if I apply as thin of a layer as possible. It appears matte on my face, though it can look more natural if I use hydrating spray on top and/or illuminating primer underneath. This admittedly looked less matte the one time I tried it in Florida when I first bought it, so the change of climate is a factor in this difference.

I give this brand a lot of credit for having some deeper options with SPF 50+ mineral sunscreen without it going grey. It’s honestly not pushing the envelope though in terms of shade range considering there’s currently only one option darker than mine (5W2). I can admit there were zero mineral skin tints that worked for me a decade ago, and now there are some, but does that technology really stop at one shade darker than mine? Merit recently launched their mineral tinted sunscreens in SPF 45, and their range goes a lot deeper than Toty’s. However, I’ve heard Merit’s gives practically no coverage, so I guess the two lines can’t really be compared.

I noticed MAC Fix+ can break this down a bit, as I had to pat the product back in with my brush, but all was fine after that. The finish looks very smooth and nice, not just because of covering imperfections. I think part of the reason why there is difficulty spreading it is because as it dries it turns into a velvety/powdery finish and texture. This is a very low transferring foundation that sets on me without requiring powder.

Some products Toty sells are fragrance free, but this foundation is not one of them. It was a nice floral-soapy kind of scent when I first had it, but by now it’s starting the change a little a year and a half later. It doesn’t smell off, but it is noticeably a little different. This has a 12 month POA date, but I want to keep using it on and off for a while longer to feel like it wasn’t a waste of money.
I didn’t realize before I left that I wouldn’t be able to order it again in Germany, knowing this product was made in Spain and they’re partnered with Cantabria Labs. Shipping within the EU is usually easy. However, the Toty brand itself is US based and they don’t do international shipping at this time. So, I wouldn’t be able to repurchase it even if I wanted to. I’m happy something like this exists, but I will just stick to using my daily sunscreen and adding foundation on top afterwards.

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, so this is my PSA to remind everyone to wear at least some form of sun protection! That’s all I’ve got for today! I hope this has been helpful.

-Lili ❤

Charlotte Tilbury Soulmates Face Palette

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I could not get into the Sailor Moon anime, but I love the art and style of everything in that world! This product looks like it could be Sailor Moon merchandise, but without feeling like children’s play makeup. This compact has some weight to it, even more than the compact of the brand’s powder bronzer. Since I like Charlotte Tilbury setting powders and blushes, this was not a launch I could skip.

Charlotte’s Pillow Talk Beauty Soulmates Face Palette in Pillow Talk Flawless Peach

From what I can tell, the setting powder in this compact is no different from the permanent line. According to the website, the name for it is Light Peach, but everywhere on the packaging only refers to it by “powder” with no other name. I guess it could technically be called Flawless Peach Powder, and the blush could be called Flawless Peach Blush, but I’ll continue to refer to it as Light Peach.

I haven’t hopped on the pink setting powder trend because of how it usually turns out on someone of my skin tone and color depth, but I was intrigued by this peach option. I can sometimes get away with using the Medium powder on its own, and I’m happy to say that I think I can wear Light Peach on its own as well! It looks crazy when I first apply it, but after sweeping to blend it in, I think it looks pretty good and has a brightening effect!

Most of the time, I mix Medium and Tan together to get a more natural effect instead of brightening. I found that I’m able to do the same with Light Peach.

Per usual, this powder is mattifying without being too drying. It makes the undereyes look smoother. It helps to set my concealer in place and lock it in. I only use this powder under my eyes, so I haven’t tried it on my face, but since it brightens, I can guarantee I wouldn’t want to use this color all over. For my needs, this is great! I’ve made a small dent in my travel size of Medium, so I no longer have to consider buying a replacement when I use it up.

Just like the 2023 Mini Duo Charlotte Tilbury released that had a powder blush and highlighter, there were no names for them on the packaging, but the website referred to the blush as Rich Terracotta. This year’s blush is called Peach Blur on the website.

I really like this blush! It’s a great color and looks airbrushed on the skin. The texture for the blush actually reminds me of the setting powder, but in a richer color with a lot more pigment. That’s surprising considering they share 6 out of 15-18 of the same ingredients.

This year’s matte blush is still less pigmented than Rich Terracotta, which I consider a good thing because that one was easy to overdo. I have a lot more control with Peach Blur because of its buildable nature. One advantage to having a setting powder and blush in the same compact is the opportunity to use the setting powder to tone down the blush if I go overboard in applying it, but it’s easy to avoid, so I don’t need to do that. I guess this is more helpful for someone with a lighter skin tone than mine. The only time so far that I’ve applied the blush too heavily was when I added a second layer of Peach Blur on top of my foundation that hadn’t fully dried down yet. Even then, it was easy to buff and blend out the blush.

When it comes to longevity, I have noticed some minor fading, but there’s still enough on at the end of the day for me to be satisfied with it. This also comes off my cheeks if I take a nap, but that’s a bit more understandable!

I also have to note that I’m very much in my glowy blush era, so the fact that I’m this happy with a matte blush is impressive in itself. This is a pricey product (I got it for 20% off), but I’m very happy with it. Sometimes brands make limited edition products that are cashgrabs, and I’m glad to know Charlotte Tilbury isn’t one of them. Whether the Genshin Impact Collab falls into that category is debatable, but I don’t consider this to be a cheap product or a gimmick. The duo includes the brand’s number one best-selling product in a new shade, along with matte powder blushes that she has yet to release as a permanent item. Perhaps that time will come!

I hope this has been helpful. Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Early Launch of the Givenchy Prisme Libre Bronzer Powder and Reformulated Pressed Powder Review

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The bronzer should be available in the US by June. The pressed powder is already available worldwide.

The luxury beauty community was up in arms about Givenchy reformulating their loose setting powder because it left a sheen on the skin (which emphasized texture and wasn’t as blurring). From what I’ve heard, it sounds like the loose powders intended for fair to medium skin tones contained a lot more Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, but mine called Popeline Mimosa seemed to only have shiny particles in the darkest square, which is practically the only section of the container I use. I put tape over the lighter squares, and only have a few holes open for the orange color. It bothered me that I could essentially use only 1/4 of the product, and I prefer using pressed powders over loose ones. When I heard about the brand’s new pressed version that is supposed to be more similar to the original formulation, I was interested.

I’m not sure if the original pressed powders were ever available in the US, but the deepest shade in that line was called 06 – Flanelle Épicée and is still available via the retailer Flaconi. In the current version, the deepest is called 06 Organza Ambré and I was willing to give this powder a try considering the original bright pink corner was replaced with what I thought was a peach color. It turned out to be closer to salmon.

The brand also resolved the issue of the brush-holding flap lifting upwards and covering the mirror, because it now flips to the side.

I’ll discuss the powder more a bit later, but I’d like to first talk about the Bronzer because it’s the product I actually bought first. I enjoyed the silkiness of it and ability to customize it so much that I had hope that the pressed powder could be even more useful to me than the loose one.

DISCLOSURE: All products in this post were purchased by me with my own money. Unhighlighted links in bold blue font (Example) are normal 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 on the website after being redirected there. The price of the product is not affected by these links, and anyone who uses them would be supporting this blog. Sorry for this interruption, but an explanation about affiliate links are required by the FTC whenever they are used.
The only affiliate links in this post are for brushes through CDJapan, not Givenchy.
And for anyone else wondering, I usually reserve non-link font colors like (Orange) for updates, (Red) for subject titles, and (Purple) for product titles.

Givenchy Prisme Libre Bronzing and Sculpting Powder in 003 Organza Bronzé

Organza Bronze is currently the darkest of the Bronzer Powders available. It works for me, but I think this really doesn’t go deep enough, and I’m hoping they will expand the range. It has been out for a few weeks already in Europe, but I heard it will come to the US by June.

The four colors are supposed to allow one to, “add tan, warmth, modeling, and brightening.”
In the top left corner is supposed to be the bronzer shade, which is basically my skin tone. I can’t use this as a bronzer unless I mix it with the darkest block. Then, it does add subtle bronzing. I’m glad this is such a blendable product that layers and builds well because I have tried other “customizable” powders in the past that formed uneven mixtures that didn’t look seamless on the skin. This product really is customizable.

In the bottom left corner is the brightening square. I have tried using this as a highlighter before, and it adds a super subtle sheen, but isn’t enough for me to replace using an actual highlighter in my routine. As a glow enhancer to turn this soft matte product into a radiant bronzer, this doesn’t do a whole lot either. It makes it less matte, but I don’t think there’s enough oomph to satisfy a true shimmer-bronzer lover. What this does is literally lighten the color of whatever mixture I try to create. So, if I go overboard on the darkest color, adding this will lighten it up, but so will the bronzer shade.

In the bottom right corner is the modeling or sculpting block. It is the darkest section of the pan and is a cool-leaning neutral shade. It works perfectly as subtle contour in the sense that it isn’t overly gray. This color choice aids in the ability for it to mix with the other shades without going muddy. This isn’t guaranteed to be the case with Mousseline Bronzée or Popeline Bronzée though.

In the top right corner is the warmth-adder. If I want my bronzer to be less subtle, then I must rely more heavily on the darker quarter. That dark powder has just enough coolness that mixing it with the lighter browns combine into a neutral shade. If I’m feeling like having a little extra warmth, I can easily add this burnt red color to the mix. However, it works quite beautifully as a blush, which I first discovered when watching Brie Moore use it that way in her YouTube video.

How I’ve been using this the most has been to contour with the darkest shade, then mix all the browns together for a subtle bronze, and finally using the red color as blush. This tailored approach is much better suited for me than swirling all four colors together. The combined color is a bit too light for me anyway.
This means that the nice and soft synthetic brush Givenchy includes in here has very little purpose for me. The shape makes it very cumbersome to try and isolate one of the four shades alone. It can be done, and I’ve used it in the darkest square to contour under my cheekbone, but I’d much rather stick to my Face 11 brush from the brand called Number Eight. The candle tapered shape is ideal for dipping into a small section, but dispersing the product in a wider area. Small cheek brushes also work, like the HSC-2 Hana Sakura Brush for those that want an even subtler application or the Chikuhodo FO-2 that will give a stronger application and still fits in each square despite being a flat top brush with a decent amount of surface area.

I think this is a great product. The powders are super refined, blendable, soft, layer well, and last all day without fading. They’re not splotchy, they’re multi-purpose (I’ve even seen someone use them as eyeshadows), and I think the black packaging with the bronze details makes it look luxe even though it’s so lightweight. Only time can tell whether I will continue to find the customization element necessary or if I will go back to using my individual makeup favorites. The one major negative for me is simply the fragrance in here. This bronzer is so heavily perfumed and even though it’s not a bad smell, it’s stronger than I want in a makeup product and I can still smell it briefly while it’s on my face. I hope the scent will dissipate within the package over time.

Givenchy Prisme Libre Pressed Powder in 06 Organza Ambré

The first thing I thought when I saw the four colors for this shade of pressed powder is how it reminded me of my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Sunny Side that was a limited edition product first released in 2016. The photo below is from my review from 2020.

I contemplated bringing Sunny Side back to Germany with me after seeing it again in person in the US, but considering this is 9 years old, it has no functional use except for nostalgia and collecting purposes. It can remain where it is on my “retired products” shelf for things I loved but will not use on my face.

Unlike Popeline Mimosa that was too light for me to use all 4 shades together, I am able to wear the four shades combined from Organza Ambré (at least under my eyes).

The salmon color in the bottom left of the compact doesn’t look strong in swatches, but it can clash a bit with my undertone if I accidentally use too much of it. Givenchy included that color to, “correct and conceal shadows.” I played around with different combinations blended onto my arm to see which ones had the highest likelihood of suiting me. In that process, and then confirming it under my eyes, I discovered that combining the yellow in the top left with the deep caramel brown on the bottom right looked the best for brightening. According to the brand, the yellow is intended to, “correct blue tones,” while the brown, “unifies the skintone.” The combination of the yellow, brown, and a bit of that orange (reminds me of the Crayola shade Macaroni and Cheese) is semi color-correcting. However, the orange, which the brand says is supposed to, “boost the skin’s radiance,” isn’t deep enough to be successful using it on its own on top of my Givenchy concealer. Combining the orange and salmon though works. My favorite combination is simply the yellow and brown together.

I’m quite satisfied with this powder, paired with the Prisme Libre concealer, but it doesn’t do as nice of a job on top of some of my other concealers (for instance the KVD Good Apple). Also, the only difference I can see between this powder and the reformulated loose one is the lack of sheen. It looks nice and blurs a little, but it doesn’t have noticeable extra blurring or anything special enough for me to see what all the hype was about. I’m honestly not even sure if this reformulated, but fully matte, powder is as close to the original as some people have been saying it is, considering how similar it is to the mini I own.

This isn’t the kind of powder I want to put all over my face because it’s too mattifying for my dry skin. However, I did it for the sake of this review.
Even though combining the four shades works under my eyes, it’s still too light for my whole face. It doesn’t look drying on the majority of my face, but it’s unflattering in areas that are my most dry and have the most fine lines. It’s mainly around my mouth that the powder actually emphasizes texture.

It’s interesting that I like the bronzer so much, but not the powder, considering they are practically the same formula. The only notable differences is that Zinc Stearate is higher up the list for the pressed powder and Kaolin is higher on the list in the bronzer.

The reason the bronzer doesn’t look too drying is specifically due to the areas I use it, which is the perimeter of the face and cheeks. If I tried to use the bronzer all over my face, and especially around the mouth, I would probably dislike it too.

So, this continues to be a powder that I only use under my eyes to set concealer and pretty much only with the Givenchy concealer. Though I got this for 20% off, I wish my curiosity hadn’t gotten the better of me and that I skipped buying this powder entirely. I like the Guerlain Parure Gold Powder more than this! That one felt drier, but at least it didn’t look dry.

Since the bronzer and pressed powder have nearly identical ingredients, I feel validated in assuming that if I liked the bronzer formula then I should like the pressed powder too. My mistake was not taking placement into consideration.

That’s all for today! Thank you for reading. I hope you’ll join me again for next week’s post!

-Lili ❤

The Very Special Pat Mcgrath Labs Mothership XII: Petalmorphosis with 10 Eye Looks and Comparisons

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This palette is my first Pat Mcgrath purchase in the year 2025, and also the first thing I’ve bought from the brand in the past fifteen months. I usually encourage everyone to wait for a sale when it comes to expensive makeup, but once PML says something is limited edition, I don’t take chances. Prior to getting this palette, my most precious Pat Mcgrath item (and one of the most precious makeup items in my entire makeup collection) was the Divine Rose II palette in the limited edition pink chrome packaging. This limited edition lavender palette with Dame Pat Mcgrath’s signature on it is priceless to me!

For those wondering how I got a signed copy, there was no announcement from the brand ahead of time. I logged into their website prior to the palette launch time and saw that it was already available to purchase. There was a box on the product page with a check mark indicating that I was opting in for the chance to win a signed palette. Later, I noticed that box was actually edited to clarify that the first 100 people buying the Lavender case (not the permanent black version) would be getting it. I had already assumed it would come down to whoever checked out first, so I completed my purchase even though the discount code didn’t work prior to 8:00 am EST. I didn’t notice until later that my palette was purchased at the US equivalent price, but it rose 9 Euros the very next day. So, I didn’t bother contacting customer service as I had already technically gotten a deal. It was also the next day that I received an email confirming I was one of the lucky ones!

What I found appealing about this palette is the colorful nature, the inclusion of greens, and there technically being less pinks and golds (a peach, a pink-mauve, and a black-based yellow is admittedly not that far off).

Although I’m very happy to have this palette, and I’m happy that PML gave us a palette different enough for me to justify finally buying another Mothership, I do have a few critiques about the colors chosen. For instance, there are only three mattes. Technically, Lunar Nectar is one of those sequin/matte-with-glitter-specks eyeshadows that look fully matte on the eyes because the glitter gets dusted away while blending. I hate that type of eyeshadow, but I can put that feeling aside. What I have an issue with is how similar Lunar Nectar and Twilight Lilac are. At least they are distinct enough that I can tell them apart on my eyes (when used separately), but orchids and mauves being in the same color family means one of them would be good enough alone to pair with the purple-pink shimmers in this palette. I don’t see why having both was necessary.

That being said, the quality of both of these shadows are nice. They feel a touch silkier than the mattes in my older Mothership palettes, making them slightly closer feeling to the Natasha Denona mattes (but thankfully not that far, as I still prefer Pat’s to Natasha’s). Even though they’re both pigmented, I find myself having to build up more layers to get Lunar Nectar to show on my eyes to the same level as Twilight Lilac.

My second color issue is that so many of us have been begging for greens, but putting Nocturnal Bloom and Blitz Radiant Rhapsody together in the same palette is like including a duplicate despite them having different finishes. When I use Nocturnal Bloom as an eyeliner on top of Blitz Radiant Rhapsody or using it in the crease with the shimmery green on the lid, it looks like I used one single eyeshadow instead of two. There’s not enough definition and distinction between them when used together in a look. I believe that Nocturnal Bloom is the more useful of the two. It serves as the deepening and smokey element in the palette. It can be used as liner. The blendability and smoothness is on par with the other mattes, which is great considering what a disaster of a shade that deep green called Altered State was from the Mega Mthrshp Celestial Nirvana palette. This shade layers well on top of the mattes and shimmers equally. Both Blitz Radiant Rhapsody and Astral Eden Envy are a little thicker than the other shimmers in the palette and seem to have stronger adhesion, which requires a little more work to get those two shades to merge seamlessly into any other shimmer. Particularly with the former, I have to pack on additional layers and mix with my fingers to create an even and well blended gradient of one shimmer going into Blitz Radiant Rhapsody. Plus, cool greens are less loved by me than other tones of greens. So, I wouldn’t have minded having a green multichrome (like a green-purple-blue or green-yellow-gold to match the theme) or a different toned deep green as a replacement eyeshadow. Even a light spring matte green or matte chartreuse would have been welcome to me.

I find it interesting that Astral Eden Envy looks so yellow in the pan, but it looks like an antique olive on my arm, while being gold (or at least golden-olive) on my eyes. I was concerned that it would be too similar to Pat’s iconic shade Gigabyte, but thankfully they are different.

Divine Dawn fills the position of Pat’s typical Skinshow type of shadows that are most often used in the inner corner, to highlight the center of the lid, or brighten under the brown arch. Even though this kind of shade is typically on the thicker and squishier side, Divine Dawn feels even thicker and grips the skin more, making it less easy to spread as smoothly as the Skinshow shades of the past.

If eyeshadow is going to disappear on me, it’s most likely going to happen to my inner corners, so perhaps this slight change of formula is a good thing. For my own personal use though, I can’t recall ever having an issue with longevity when using PML eyeshadows including in my inner corners. So, I would have preferred for this shadow to be a little creamier.
Also, this looks like a pale cream in the pan, but it’s more of a silvery pink-purple on my eyes.

Cosmic Fantasies is quite possibly my favorite eyeshadow in this palette, which I never saw coming. It’s a beautiful reddish purple with a dark base and no chunky glitter particles. It is a smooth metallic with enough binder that I can use it as an eyeliner without worrying about fallout. It layers easily with the other shadows and is the only other deepening shade in the palette. At the same time, the shine is just enough that I can use this eyeshadow solo and it doesn’t feel like a smokey shade on my skintone, even though it pairs well with those kind of looks.
This doesn’t feel super unique because there are similar shades to this in some of my other palettes from the brand, but Cosmic Fantasies has the tone, depth, and finish to help it stand out.

Blitz Bronze Supernova is the most neutral shade in the palette, but it’s far from boring. This shadow is super sparkly with a mix of different shimmer particle sizes. In order to make it look smoother and to minimize the fallout, I apply it with a damp brush. Although it doesn’t surpass my two ultimate PML browns (Divine Dahlia and Bronzed Mink), it’s still a very pretty color and a great addition for the lighter eye looks.

While I have some misgivings about some of the shade choices, I think all of them are pretty. However, when it comes to the one that is actually the hardest for me to incorporate into my eyeshadows looks, it has been Astral Sunset Splendor. By the time I started working on the first draft of this post, I’d done 15 eye looks (some of them repeated on different days). Six of them involved using this peachy shade and three times I had to cover it up with another shadow because I didn’t like how it turned out. It pairs very well with Cosmic Fantasies, but it’s such a thin shadow that it gets overpowered by some of the more pigmented shimmers. Three failed attempts really isn’t a lot compared to the number of shades I could still try it with, plus with eyeshadows outside of the Petalmorphosis palette, so it’s possible I could like this color a lot more in other scenarios. I just typically prefer fully opaque eyeshadows, so this is currently more of an inner corner kind of shade for me when I apply it damp to control fallout. I think the shade Coral Kiss from the Nude Allure 5-pan palette is a much more interesting eyeshadow, and it’s not even an Astral!

The star of this palette that adds the most drama and color impact is Astral Iridescent Iris. This is a topper kind of shadow that looks silvery lilac in the pan, but pops to a brighter cool purple and silver on the eyes. The texture of this is closest to how the “special” shades in the Mothership palettes usually feel, which is to say on the drier side and a gritty-flaky kind of feel to them that will absolutely have fallout unless applied damp or over a glitter glue. I’ve dipped my finger into the pan at least six times, and I worry that it could be starting to hardpan. It feels like it’s starting to compact or compress itself into the pan, but so far I am not having issues picking up the product. This is something I will continue to monitor and will update if it becomes a problem.

Overall, I think the quality of this eyeshadow palette is great. I’ve had no issues with creasing or longevity. I have no patchy issues and most of the shades are super easy to blend (the worst performing ones are simply “easy” instead of “super easy”).

I know there is a huge debate going on about the “special baked formula” that the brand abandoned in Mothership X and onward. While it is likely that the process of making those four pan-less eyeshadows in that particular Italian formula might have contributed to the higher cost of the palette, I was never a fan of the texture and consistency of those eyeshadows. I loved the effect, but did not enjoy the dryness or fallout. The effect of these new Astral and Blitz formulas feel similar to the OG, but with more binders that make them easier to use. Some people, like me, prefer that. Others swear this new version isn’t as impactful and are willing to put in the extra effort to work with the OG eyeshadows we’ve been accustomed to over the course of seven years.

I think the OG lovers have some valid points in wanting there to be “special shades” in every palette, especially with price increases, but I don’t think the Motherships need to have baked shades in order to fulfill that wish. Ultra shifty multichromes are some of the most expensive pigments to make into an eyeshadow and having some in Motherships should at least satisfy the ones that want to feel their expensive palette isn’t expensive just for the packaging alone. This is coming from someone who refused to buy the beautiful Decadence palette because it contained solely metallic shades. In comparison, I think Petalmorphosis formulas are at least more expensive than Decadence. But for anyone who feels the Motherships are only worth buying if there are baked shades, then by all means don’t buy Petalmorphosis. Vote with your dollars! It’s odd to see Influencers and other Enthusiasts with the same complaint about three or more PML palettes while continuing to buy every single one. Then of course the brand won’t change course if they’re still making money off these “inferior” palettes! No judgements to anyone who wants to buy them all as a fan or collector. I’m just saying hurting a brand’s wallet has more impact than hurting their feelings. Influencers who talk about losing their love for PML while still buying all the products are sending mixed messages to their audience. In my opinion, giving a brand no attention is worse than talking badly about them. “All press is good press,” is a saying for a reason.

Two of the most interesting and contrasting viewpoints on the topic have been by the YouTube channel Alexis and Christina (I believe formerly known under the handle Lipstick Lesbians) and Mariam A also on YouTube.

I did a Pat Mcgrath Palette Ranking post last year and if I were to include Petalmorphosis among the rankings, it would probably be at #5, just barely above Nude Allure purely because this palette has additional shade options. I would also move Huetopian Dream to 7th place, just under Nude Allure as #6, because over the course of time, I missed having that palette more than the other two quints.

Pat Mcgrath Labs is one of my most loved makeup brands. I have been quite critical about certain decisions they’ve made, and therefore skipped many releases, but I haven’t given up on them just yet. I was worried when nothing interested me from them in all of 2024, but I’m hopeful this is just the start of exciting launches in 2025.

Thank you for reading. I hope this has been helpful and that you didn’t mind my unfiltered opinions!

-Lili ❤