Makeup and Skincare Reviews

We’re back with the next two matches in the concealer tournament! If you missed the first two matches, I started with 16 concealers I’ve been testing, some for years and some much more recently. As always, I’m happy to do follow ups with anything I didn’t include here or anything that’s launched since that you’re super curious about! Important reference for concealers – I have dry 35+ year old skin that has fine lines. If you have oily skin, you might love the ones that lose specifically because they don’t work as well on my dry skin.

For the actual tests, I wore one concealer on each side of my face, both under my eyes, to spot conceal, and as foundation on different days. I kept the rest of my makeup the same. I also switched sides just in case. I’ve also been posting (way too) close up pictures in my Substack chat and having everyone vote on which side looks better without telling them what they’re looking at.

In this post, all links are affiliate links (thank you for your support!), but all opinions are my own and I bought all these products myself. Swatches are under a ring light to show true to color (photo #1) and then standard lighting to show the formula a little better (#2) for all the products.

And here’s where we are in the bracket:

Round 1, Match 3: Vieve Modern Radiance Concealer in Light 1 vs. Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Concealer in 02 Fair Golden – I’ve liked the Vieve concealer since I tested it and the Haus Labs was new to me so I really thought the Vieve would sail right on through. Shade wise, the Haus Labs is lighter and brighter on me, while Vieve Light 1 is a little peachier. They both work when they’re blended out. The Haus Labs shade is labeled as being for olive undertones, but I’d say it’s just more golden (though better than a lot of other concealer shades). 

When I applied them, the thing that really stood out to me was that the Vieve stretches way more. It’s really easy to blend and looks a lot more skinlike, so if you like using your concealer all over as foundation (which I do!), it works really well for that. The Haus Labs doesn’t want to stretch nearly as much especially if you let it dry a little bit before blending. But that also means it has noticeably more coverage that really sticks around. 

At the end of the day, the Vieve wore away much more, and I was left with a lot less coverage than I would have liked. The Haus Labs still had noticeably more coverage and also creased less. My substack chat was pretty evenly split on this one both times I posted this match up, but my husband voted for Haus Labs every time I asked. 

A short detour before I call a winner of this match – the new Vieve Skin Nova Concealer in 125 Light Neutral Olive showed up a couple days ago, so obviously I immediately put that against Haus Labs too. I’m not putting it into the official bracket after a couple days of testing because that wouldn’t be fair to the very heavily tested concealers, but I needed to see what happened so here we are. 

First of all, 125 is a better shade match for me than the original Vieve concealer. It’s definitely the most olive of the three of these in person, although in the swatches you can see it’s pretty close to the Haus Labs. Putting them next to each other makes the old Vieve Light 1 look straight up pinky peach, which is kind of nuts given how much I’ve loved it. The new formula is a little thinner and stretchier than the old one, and it looks even more skinlike. It reminds me a lot of the Givenchy concealer in that you can almost use it like a lightweight skin tint with just a little bit of product. It also builds much better than I was expecting. I can get it to around medium coverage just adding one more layer, and it doesn’t look too heavy. 

I managed to test it against the Haus Labs two days (so I could switch sides once), and both times the Haus Labs managed to keep more coverage and wear better, just like with the original Vieve concealer. My husband also picked the Haus Labs every time once again.

I actually think the Skin Nova is prettier if what you want is something really thin and skinlike that you can just kind of throw all over your face, and between the two Vieve concealers, I’d absolutely pick the new one. But I’m confident that the Haus Labs should move on in the bracket!

Round 1, Match 4: Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Concealer in 1N vs. About Face The Illusionist Skin-Focused Concealer in L1 Warm Olive – This is another battle where it was a concealer I’ve liked for awhile (Estee Lauder) vs one I bought specifically to test because it was an olive shade (About Face). I really thought the About Face was going to pleasantly surprise me. But it turns out the About Face really stands out against my skin even though it’s for olives, and the Estee Lauder looks way more olive on me despite being labeled neutral. It was actually hard to show this in the swatches because the Estee Lauder blends into my skin and then my phone turns everything pink.

The Estee Lauder manages to both have great coverage and blend out really easily and far. It also sets down by itself but also does well with powder. The About Face has a super pretty finish but the thing that really stood out to me about it was that it loses quite a bit of coverage as you blend it out and it doesn’t build up that well. The first time I tested these against each other, my chat mostly picked About Face despite the less coverage. The Estee Lauder looked a little less skinlike at first (so I wasn’t surprised by the chat vote), but once they’d both been sitting on my face for a while, they looked much closer and the Estee Lauder kept much more coverage. When I switched sides, everyone, including my husband, picked Estee Lauder.

By the end of the day, Estee Lauder looked pretty great coverage-wise but also had creased less. The About Face doesn’t look bad by itself at all (and if it’s your favorite, keep on using it!), but every time I compared them side by side, I preferred the Estee Lauder, so Estee Lauder moves on!

Next up is Givenchy vs. Sarah Creal and Rare Beauty vs. Essence!

I recently went away for about a week to visit family, and since it was super hot and humid and I knew I was mostly going to be doing pretty casual makeup, I tried to pack things that were easy, reliable, and all worked together. I only ended up wearing makeup about half the days, and when I did, it was the same 15-minute look every time.

This is honestly a pretty normal amount of travel makeup for me. I really don’t like to overpack makeup (especially now that I have to bring all of my toddler’s stuff). I don’t like bringing anything huge that would make it difficult to stuff back in a bag or so expensive that I’m going to be upset if something happens to it. I always pick my blushes first and then everything else has to work with them. For this trip I started with Lilybyred 14 and NAMING Taro, so that immediately ruled out anything too warm or orange. Everything else ended up being some version of mauve, beige, pink, or neutral brown. 

In this post, all links are affiliate links (thank you for your support!), but all opinions are my own and I bought all these products myself. Swatches are under a ring light to show true to color (photo #1) and then standard lighting to show the formula a little better (#2) for all the products. 

Afform Medium Traveller – I bought this a couple of years ago and I’ve taken it on basically every trip since. I love this bag so much. It has a ton of pockets in different sizes, including stretchy mesh ones that you can really fit a lot in. Some of the compartments are adjustable with Velcro in case you want to create more (or less) space. The rigid bottom is probably my favorite part because everything stays standing up in the bag. The sides also fold down, so I can open this on the counter and use my makeup straight out of it. I don’t have to create a giant makeup explosion in whatever room I’m in and can just zip it all back up.  

All of the makeup in this post fit super easily with lots of room, so I could also add in my BK Beauty travel brush bag with all my brushes too. I’ve never had anything break or leak all over it, and it’s held up really well after years of travel. It’s absolutely very expensive for a makeup bag but I would also immediately buy another one if I lost it, no questions asked. 

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops – I use this as my usual primer at home and have the jumbo bottle because it’s such a standby for me. I happened to have a couple minis on hand already that were either gifts with purchase or came with sets. These are perfect for travel, and not surprisingly, it worked just as well away as it does at home. 

Erborian CC Red Correct – This was a super easy choice to bring as my foundation because I didn’t want to have to worry about something that perfectly matched me. Most all my foundations need a little something to look just right, and I don’t want to have to bring things to fix a foundation when I’m travelling. I had also just been using this a ton as a base layer anyway before I got my current foundation favorite (the new Westman Atelier – I seriously can’t stop wearing it). 

This mostly just gets rid of redness and evens everything out, and I am honestly green enough that using a green color corrector as foundation works completely fine. It’s not very high coverage (you can barely see it in the swatches), but I didn’t really want high coverage when it was approximately one million degrees outside anyway. It held up really well, it has SPF, and the tube takes up barely any space. 

Kulfi Main Match Concealer in Paan Party – I’m currently using so many different concealers because I’m putting together a concealer tournament. I just picked one from the pile I knew was easy and hoped for the best. Paan Party works well for me as a brightening concealer, the formula is really blendable, and it works well under my eyes. It wasn’t necessarily the concealer I would have picked if I were trying to find my absolute perfect shade match, and this doesn’t mean it won anything. It did work perfectly well and is still one I’d recommend though. 

Canmake Marshmallow Finish Powder Abloom in 03 Plumeria Wreath – I always pack this powder. It’s my much less expensive version of the Givenchy pressed powder and one I can bring without worrying about. On my face, they do almost the same thing, and many of you who have bought this powder have told me you love it too. It smooths and brightens without making my dry skin look super powdery and helps blend everything together.

MAC Fix+ Stay Over – I had a mini of this literally in my bag already from my last trip, so I brought it as my setting spray. It didn’t win my setting spray tournament, but it still works really well and definitely didn’t disappoint during the trip. 

I’m Meme I’m Multi Stick Shading in 005 Neutral Brown – I love this as a brontour type product. It’s actually neutral and not warm or cool on me like most of these products are (I tend to find things that are ORANGE or GRAY). I love how travel friendly the stick is, and I can apply directly from the stick or with a brush. It blends out really easily, and I like it so much I already have the blush version on the way to try out.

Soshe Blurring Pillow Bronzer in Olive Bronze Drift – I know I just talked about this last week but I really do love the formula enough that it was the bronzer I brought with me. Olive Bronze Drift isn’t my perfect bronzer color of all time, but it’s a really nice option for olive skin and I don’t have to worry about something like the Marc Jacobs bronzer getting broken on a trip. 

Judydoll Highlight & Contour Palette in #02 – This is such an underrated palette. I used the beigey yellow powder to blend and set anywhere where I needed a little more coverage than the Canmake, the highlighter as my highlighter, and the powders when I wanted to blur and mattify my bronzer even more. You can see the bronzer shade is super similar to Olive Bronze Drift but a little less orange, so next time, I’d probably just bring this palette. 

Lilybyred Luv Beam Cheek Balm in 14 Rosy Beam – I also just talked about this last week, but it’s really such a perfect cream blush for the vibe I’m going for. It’s a cool pinky purple that’s just so extremely easy to use and doesn’t turn into anything close to orange on me. I almost always put powder blush over cream blush anyway, and this works really well as the first layer because it gives me the color I want without getting too intense. Those of you who have managed to already get this from last week’s post have told me it’s one of the best blushes you’ve found for olive skin, and that makes me so happy! 

Naming Fluffy Powder Blush in Taro – This is one of my favorite powder blushes of all time. It looks like a very desaturated mauve in the pan but is a perfect beigey rosy blush on my face. I know this blush is always going to look good, so this was the starting point for the rest of the look. The formula is also really easy to throw on and build up and looks so pretty on the cheeks. 

Makeup by Mario Master Mattes Long-Wear Cream Eyeshadow in Mauve – This is the eyeshadow I’ve brought with me on every trip since I bought it. It’s just so easy to throw on with a finger, blend it out, and then be done. It makes a complete makeup look without being “too much” and looks super natural while covering up the discoloration on my eyelid, so I don’t need a primer. It’s more of a neutral brown with a touch of rosy tones than a true mauve, but that still works really well as a “I put something on but didn’t try too hard” kind of shadow, especially with these blushes. It also stayed on all day in the heat and humidity without creasing. I also intended to use this as an eyeshadow primer for the Moira shadow, but it looked so nice I just stopped here every time. 

Moira Chroma Light Shadow in 02 Tempting – I brought this because I thought I would want sparkle, and I just didn’t end up using it. I would probably still pack it again because it’s tiny and I really do love the formula and the color. 

ColourPop Creme Gel Liner in Sunnyvale – This is my favorite affordable brown eyeliner. I have much more expensive eyeliners I love, but this works great and it’s not a huge deal if I have to replace it. It’s a really good dark brown liner that isn’t too warm or too cool, and it has amazing staying power. It held up incredibly well on my eyes in the heat and humidity. 

Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky Tubes Tubing Mascara in Black – I’m actually in the middle of testing so I figured East Coast summer was a perfect time to continue testing. I’m always trying to find an even better tubing mascara, and this one is actually really great. No smudging, no flaking, my lashes looked incredible, and it’s really easy to remove. It’s everything I want from a tubing mascara, and it’s affordable. I think this probably knocks Finding Ferdinand out of my top three tubing mascaras, even though I still really love that one.

rephr Eyelash Curler – My favorite eyelash curler. It works with my eye shape, doesn’t pinch me, and actually gets my corner lashes. 10/10 no notes. 

Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil in 5 – This is the brow pencil I’ve been using for years and always have with me. It’s  the best one I’ve found for actually sticking to the skin where I need to fill in my brows and have it stay all day. If you have recommendations for amazing brow pencils, please let me know in the comments because I will test it (I have a lot of brow space to fill in because I have a big chunk of missing brow from a childhood accident). 

Rare Beauty Brow Harmony Flexible Lifting Gel in Clear – Still the best clear brow gel. It keeps my eyebrows where I put them and doesn’t get weird and crunchy. I’m currently resting the deep brown version and couldn’t be happier with it. 

ColourPop HydraPop Glossy Lip Stain in 90s Babe – All of these products have been sitting in a pile on my floor while I’ve been working on this post, and I have gone back specifically to pull this out of the pile and wear it. It’s a super pretty reddish rose that just looks like my lips but better. I have more on why I love this and swatches here. Mostly, it’s super easy to throw on and the stain lasts really well. 

Revlon Super Lustrous Shine Lipstick in 014 Glistening Purple – This is the lip product I ended up wearing the most. It’s a sheerish wash of lavender that really pulls this look together and makes my lips look just a little less red and a little more muted. I’m currently testing the Chantecaille Lip Chics, and those are honestly way more nourishing and last better than the Revlon formula. I’m not trying to imply that this is secretly the same experience as a $50 lipstick, but I really, really love this Revlon color so much that I would absolutely buy it again. The formula is still really nice and nourishing even though it isn’t luxury. 

OleHenriksen Pout Preserve Chillers Peptide Lip Treatment in Maldives Melon – This is one of my favorite lip treatments of all time (and it’s on sale!). I own almost every color/scent/glitter ones even, and I keep them all over my house. I actually had more Pout Preserves in my backpack for this trip. I used this for lip prep and whenever my lips were dry. Maldives Melon Chiller also just smells really nice, and I like the color. I think I like the color of Bora Bora Blackberry Chiller more but they’re not opaque enough that it makes a huge difference. 

And the lip products I love but didn’t use: 

Etude Fixing Tint in 15 Woody Pink – I didn’t use it, but I would still pack it again. If I were only bringing one matte option next time, this would be it. I love this formula too much not to have one with me just in case.

Mac Powder Kiss Lip + Cheek Mousse in Velvet Teddy – I love this product so much. I didn’t even remember I brought it.  

NYX Lip Lingerie Lip Liner Stain in 06 Up To No Good – I really love this. I also didn’t use it at all and didn’t even consider wearing lip liner.  If I packed again, I would pack almost entirely the same products, except for the MAC mousse and NYX stain. 

What’s your makeup packing routine like?

Summer makeup is all about looking like you spent more time on your face than you actually did. When it’s this hot outside (90s F here), I’m trying to use as few products as possible. Since I know myself and that I’m still going to use some kind of tinted sunscreen/skin tin and/or concealer, a brow product, and mascara, I need everything else to be super minimal. I want one product that can do almost everything else: cheeks, forehead, and lips too. 

That’s where cream blonzers make so much sense to me, and I’ve been super into them lately. I want a single cream product that adds color, warmth, shape, and a slightly more alive look without making me think too hard. The problem, as always, is that a lot of bronzy blush products go very orange on me. My olive skin turns “warm and sun-kissed” into “why does it look like I put Cheeto dust all over my face” very quickly. I pulled together four cream blonzers I’ve been using for my minimal, too-hot-for-anything-else summer face. I don’t know why I haven’t seen more people talk about this category, because this is exactly what I want from summer makeup. 

In this post, all links are affiliate links (thank you for your support!), but all opinions are my own. Swatches are under a ring light to show true to color (photo #1) and then standard lighting to show the formula a little better (#2) for all the products.

Westman Atelier Face Trace Contour Stick in Coco – This is the one I would tell the green friends to look at first. Coco is annoying to describe because it’s not just brown, pink, purple, or tan. It’s kind of all of those things at once. It has this rosy purple-brown tone that works as a contour, but it has enough of the rosy/warm shift of color that I can blend it higher into the blush/bronzer area and not feel like I’m wearing a gray stripe on my face.

On me, this is the perfect olive skin version of the cream blonzer idea. It gives me some sculpting because it is cooler and more muted, but it still gives a faded, sun-kissed, slightly reddish warmth without turning orange. The formula is also beautiful. It blends easily, sits down well, and looks smooth on the skin. It also lasts very well. The only thing that keeps this from being my ultimate go to is that this is the least dewy and least comfy on the lips (it’s not supposed to be because it’s not a lip and cheek product, but I’m team use products how you want unless they come with warning). 

Lisa Eldridge Velatura Balm Dewy Lip and Cheek Stick in Cinnamon Bun – This is the one I reach for the most. The color is not quite as perfect for me as Coco, but it goes on so easily, and no effort is the name of the game when it’s hot out and you’re trying to do 5 minute makeup in your car. 

Cinnamon Bun is sheerer than Coco, as well as warmer, redder, and glossier. It is less sculpting and more “I went outside and got a little flushed.” It gives me a glossy red-brown wash of color that makes it look like I actually slept and drank water (I didn’t), and it works really well on both lips and cheeks.  I can put it on without overthinking placement, blend it with my fingers, and end up looking better in about 20 seconds. I really do love this formula (I have 4 shades and might just grab the 5th one for an in-depth review at this point). It’s also absolutely the best of these as a lip product. 

That all said, the biggest downside for this one is wear time. It doesn’t last as long as the other three on me, but for quick summer makeup, that’s not a huge issue, and it just looks so pretty. 

Haus Labs Color Fuse Glassy Blush Balm Stick in Glassy Cinnamon – This was the first product that made me fall in love with the whole cream blonzer category, so I still have a soft spot for it. Glassy Cinnamon is the warmest one here and the closest to orange in the swatch, but blended out it turns into a really pretty terracotta brown. On my skin, it gives more warm bronzy blush than anything close to contour, so I like it best when I want the look to very sun-kissed.

The formula is great. It blends easily, lasts pretty well, sits down nicely, and works well over other products. I have three of these and use them all the time. I’m just more hesitant to recommend this specific shade to green friends because it has the highest chance of pulling orange of everything in this post.

Versed Everything Balm Complexion Color in Canyon – This is the most affordable by far and also the one I’d get if you want your look to lean more blushy than bronzy. Canyon is the closest to a regular blush because it has so much more pink in it, but it still gives that soft sun-touched effect. It’s not as sculpting as Coco or as rusty as Cinnamon Bun, but it’s the least likely of these to go orange. It also really makes my skin look so pretty in a very effortless way. The formula blends seamlessly, sets down much better than I expected from this kind of balm format, and works well on the cheeks and the lips. 

Because it’s so much pinker, I like this the least on my forehead compared to the others, but none of these are perfect. I’m hoping this helped you pick one if you were in the market because you definitely don’t need all four of these! But I would love more muted red/rosy browns, red-browns, purple-browns, and not-orange bronzy blushes personally if y’all have any recommendations for ones you love! 

As always, some products may have been gifted, but all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored.

I very rarely buy this much from one brand all at once. Usually, I build up to a brand review over time. I’ll buy one thing, use it for months, buy another thing, keep testing, and then eventually write the review once I feel like I have enough real experience to give y’all a “real person wearing this in real life all day” review. That is one of the things I really care about here. I never want to swatch something once and call it a review. I want to know what happens when I do my makeup in the car, when I put something on at 5 a.m. and need it to last until 11 p.m., when I’m chasing my toddler, when I’m trying to get ready quickly, when I’m doing a long workout, and all the other normal life things that make makeup behave very differently than it does in a perfect first impression scenario.

All to say, I know these products just launched, and I would normally take way more time with them. But so many of you wanted to know what was worth buying, which shades were olive-friendly, which formulas were good, and whether the relaunch was worth the wait, so here we are. I bought everything myself, and I did buy more than I normally would because of the questions I got on Substack (thank you for all the questions and feedback!). 

One note on the packaging before we get into the products: across the board, the packaging is very fun. These feel like little art pieces, and if I had a smaller collection or displayed my makeup, I would probably love having them out. As someone with a lot of makeup and not enough storage, they feel super bulky. They’re harder to store because they’re all interesting shapes and not flat, compact products, which also doesn’t make them easy travel products. They’re also much lighter than I expected. I’m not mad about that because heavy luxury packaging is not always the easiest to use, especially if you have any dexterity issues. But I was expecting the blushes and lipsticks to feel weightier in the hand and less drugstore-weight.

And with all of that, here is my review of a bunch of the new Marc Jacobs products, starting with the products I’m super excited to keep using, then moving into the ones I can take or leave, and ending with the one that honestly makes me mad.

In this post, all links are affiliate links (thank you for your support!), but all opinions are my own. Swatches are under a ring light to show true to color (photo #1) and then standard lighting to show the formula a little better (#2) for all the products. 

Legally Bronze Talc-Free Blurring Powder Bronzer in 10 Light and 20 Light Medium – The bronzer in Light Medium is easily my favorite thing I bought from the Marc Jacobs Beauty relaunch, no question. I originally bought Light because I figured Fair would be too fair for me, and then I was chatting with people on Substack and someone mentioned that Light Medium was the perfect bronzer color, so obviously I had to know and bought that one too. They were right.

The formula is really great. It’s buildable, blurring, and easy to throw on. It’s not so sheer that I have to work forever to see it, but it’s not so pigmented that I’m scared of it, and it blends out easily without looking patchy. Light is honestly pretty orange on me. It’s not horrible, and it doesn’t look terrible once it’s blended out because the formula is so good, but it’s not the bronzer color I was hoping for. 

Light Medium though – I am not exaggerating when I say I have considered getting rid of almost every other powder bronzer I own because this is what I always wanted bronzer to look like on me. It has this rosy brown tan thing going on, but in certain light there’s also a slightly green, olive-friendly undertone that makes it look like it was made for my skin. It gives me warmth without turning orange even a little bit. I swatched it next to some of my other favorite bronzers (shown here next to the Gucci 01 classic for reference), and hopefully you can see how special it is. Most bronzers on me either go too orange or too pink or otherwise don’t look like bronzer is supposed to look on my skin. they look closer to blush. Light Medium actually looks like bronzer on me.

I’ve worn Light Medium every day since I got it, and this is the product from the relaunch I would buy again immediately. If you have similar undertones to me but you’re paler, I’d look at Fair before Light. If you’re a light-medium olive who struggles with bronzers turning orange, Light Medium is really, really special.

Born Star Cream-to-Powder Long-Wear Eyeshadow in Serving – This is the next product I loved, and mostly because of the formula. It goes on super easily with a finger or a brush, doesn’t need a ton of building, and stayed on me all day without creasing, even without primer. It’s such a great one-and-done eyeshadow because it gives enough impact to look like I did something special without a ton of effort. 

The shade isn’t what I expected based on the swatches online, but it’s still really pretty. Serving ends up being an everyday warm brown on me, but not too warm. I’m a little disappointed it isn’t pinker, but the good news is that it doesn’t go copper or  Cheeto dust on me. It also has a little bit of a mauve undertone, which makes it work really well with the berry, mauve, and rosy blushes I tend to wear. It has a bit of a blue reflect but it’s not super strong. 

If you want something similar but a little cooler and more pink, I’d look at the Half Magic Single Eyeshadow in Blushing Lizard. Blushing Lizard is also sparklier, much less expensive, and has a stronger reflect. Serving is smoother and more everyday to me, while Blushing Lizard gives you more obvious sparkle and dimension. I’m very happy I bought this, and I would buy more shades because the formula is great. I just don’t think there are many other colors I actually need, especially with the eyeshadows I already own. I’ve also heard a lot of the other neutral shades run warmer than this, and Serving is already pretty warm on me.

Money Shot Multi-Use Illuminating Gel Highlighter – This is lower in the ranking not because I don’t love it, but because I really wouldn’t tell everyone to run out and buy it. The formula is awesome. Even though it’s a gel, it actually sets down and stays all day. I was worried it would stay tacky or move around, but it wears way better than I expected. It works exceptionally well tapped over another eyeshadow as a topper.

I wouldn’t use it all over the eye on its own. When I put it directly on my lid without primer or another shadow underneath, it looked a little patchy and pooled in some places. It just wasn’t as smooth as I wanted it to be. Over something else, though, it’s perfect. The color/effect is exactly why I love it. I love a super sparkly eyeshadow so much, and this is right up there with my favorites. It’s very sparkly, cool-toned, and has this blue-purple-green reflect that is basically the sparkle of my dreams. In person, the blue comes through much more than it does in photos. The blue reflect helps cut anything too peachy or warm, and it gives that bright, shiny sparkle I’m always hoping for.

I did also use it as a face highlighter, and I think it’s really fun if you’re a person who likes a very sparkly cheek and has an occasion for that. I’m not into that kind of look, so for me, this is really an eyeshadow topper. I’m really happy I got this, but I completely understand that a blue sparkly gel highlight situation is not for everyone.

Joystick Buildable Cream Blush Stick in Last Word and Self Centered – I can really take or leave these. The formula is really pretty, balmy, sheer, and easy-to-build up. The finish looks nice when I first put it on. The problem is that my face eats these so fast. On me, they last maybe an hour, even if I set them with a powder blush, which is disappointing.

I’m still happy I picked up Last Word. It’s a cool purple that actually stays purple on me, which is weirdly hard to find for green friends. A lot of purple blushes end up looking pink once they’re on my face, but this actually adds purple, so it works really well when I want to cool down a blush look or dial back some yellow without using a purple powder. Sometimes I just really don’t want to add more powder and want to bump up the dewiness of a look instead, and this is perfect for that.

Self Centered is fine, butit’s warmer than I expected and not as mauve as I wanted. On me, it’s more of a terracotta/bricky learning mauve, which is pretty, but also very much something I already own in formulas I like much more. I also think the formula Last Word is smoother and easier to work with, while Self Centered looks a little patchier on me. I’m keeping Last Word because the color is really useful for me, but I’d skip Self Centered unless that warmer bricky shade is really missing from your collection.

Heart On Long-Lasting Soft Shine Lipstick in Eat It Up – This one is so frustrating. The formula is beautiful. It feels balmy and nourishing, swipes on easily, and looks smooth on the lips. It is comfortable and wearable in every way I want this kind of lipstick to be. And the color is perfect. 

I swatched Eat It Up against MAC Alone Time, Victoria Beckham Pose, Ravie Zinnia, Ravie Dahlia, Merit Bespoke, Merit Archival, Merit 1990, Merit Slip, Bite Beauty Pepper, Bite Beauty Chai, Givenchy 16 Nude Boisé, Lisa Eldridge Toasted, Westman Atelier Soda, Westman Atelier Onyx, Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Blush Balm Lip Tint in 90s Kiss, YSL Candy Glaze Lip Gloss Stick in 15 Showcasing Nude, MAC Pink Peppermint, MAC Signature Move, MAC Velvet Teddy, MAC It’s Personal, and Queen of Musia Becky Sharp, and nothing was quite the same.

On my olive skin, it reads like a muted, desaturated, grungy mauve that doesn’t go anywhere near orange. It is so good. So why am I so mad? I will never get over how this lipstick tastes. The fragrance is there, but it’s not horrible. At first I thought I could handle it. But the longer I had it on, the more I felt like it just wasn’t worth it. The taste lingered in a way that was really not okay. I was still updating friends hours later after taking it off because my mouth had a terrible aftertaste. I truly can’t remember even noticing the way a lipstick tasted this much ever before.

I also have it on good authority that there are other people who could not handle the taste either (hi fellow support group members!!). If you can handle it, I’m so jealous, and please enjoy the fantastic shades. I’m still glad I got to compare it because the shade really is harder to dupe than I expected, but I still don’t think I’d recommend it unless you are truly not bothered by this specific lip product taste. I’m going to keep hunting for a dupe.

What products should I test next? As always, all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored. I bought everything in this post myself. 

I’m about to do a bunch of big roundups so I’m taking a little break and just sharing the makeup I’ve been throwing on every day because I’ve had a lot of very early meetings and a toddler who really doesn’t want to leave on time. These products help me look more awake pulled together fast without having to think too hard or worry that something will look off or unblended. 

In this post, all links are affiliate links (thank you for your support!), but all opinions are my own. Swatches are under a ring light to show true to color (photo #1) and then standard lighting to show the formula a little better (#2) for all the products. 

IT Cosmetics Do It All Sheer Tint Face Balm in 120 – I’ve been reaching for this a lot lately because it’s just so easy to throw on, and my skin looks really nice when I wear it. When I don’t have time to work with a more traditional foundation + concealer situation, this gives super pretty sheer, skin-like coverage like a tinted moisturizer but even easier to work with. It blends really quickly and easily and doesn’t need to be powdered. Shade 120 works well enough on me for fast makeup since it’s not too orange or pink that I need to fix it. This is exactly the kind of base product I want when I need to look pulled together without spending a lot of time on my face.

Glossier Cloud Paint Gel Cream Bronzer in Swept – I honestly forgot I had this, and pulling it back out reminded me why I liked it so much. Swept is such a good quick summer bronzer shade for me because it adds warmth and bronze without going too orange or being too gray or contour-y. It’s actually quite rosy on me. The gel formula blends out quickly, looks natural, and doesn’t take much effort at all, which is exactly what I want when I’m trying to pull together a look quickly. 

Victoria Beckham Crease-Proof Eyeshadow Stick in Pecan – This is one of my favorite one and done eye products. I can swipe it on, blend it out quickly with my fingers, and it actually stays all day exactly where I put it. Pecan is a really good brown that stays brown on me, with a tiny hint of green that works really well with my olive undertone. It has warmth, but not in a Cheeto way, and I can wear it alone or tap a shimmer on top if I want it to look like I did more. 

Merit Flush Balm in Postmodern – Postmodern is described as a pink brown but on me, it’s an easy red cheek shade that makes it looks like I did way more with my makeup than I actually did. It’s a bright enough red that it’s a “cheek look” and still actually works with my olive undertone instead of fighting it. It also has enough blue and pink in it that it stays fresh and natural instead of turning orange or tomato-y. I love the Flush Balm formula because it’s so easy to swipe on and blend, and it gives a hydrated cheek look without getting overly dewy. I also love that this works well as a lip product, and I can get a really put together look in about 10 seconds. 

Merit Signature Lip Liner in Bauhaus – I already have this liner in Brownstone, and it’s one of my favorite lip liners, so I knew already that I loved this formula. I’m so excited to have another color in the range. Bauhaus is a deep cool plum, and I truly can’t imagine it going orange on anyone. It’s purple, but in a lip contouring way that I can blur it out and make my lips look fuller and more defined without it looking harsh. It works especially well with Postmodern because it adds a layer of cooler depth and keeps the red cheek/red lip look from feeling one dimension. Unsurprisingly, Merit also knows these go super well together and you can get them in the Cool Plums trio that also comes with the Shade Slick in Tabby. 

Caliray Lipguard SPF 31 Hydrating Gloss Balm in Big Sur – This is the SPF lip product I’ve been keeping in my pocket now that it’s sunnier out and using as my finishing step (especially because my office has a giant window). Big Sur is such a pretty rosy brown-pink with a little warmth that doesn’t go Cheeto orange. Because it’s sheer and glossy, it just adds a light rosy tint. It feels moisturizing, lasts pretty well for a glossy balm, and isn’t overwhelmingly sticky. It doesn’t taste amazing but it’s way better than every other SPF lip product I’ve tried so far. 

*For those of you who saw the Substack note I posted with this actual look and want to know what mascara I was wearing, I can share soon but it’s pretty great.

What products should I test next? As always, some products may have been gifted, but all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored.  

I’ve been watching everyone’s Sephora sale reviews and last-minute recommendations, and I could feel myself starting to fill up another cart. The problem is I had already shopped the sale once, I ordered a bunch of Lisa Eldridge and Ravie products to test, and I also have a huge YesStyle birthday order I’m working through. So instead of placing another order, I shopped my stash. Some of these are products I hadn’t used in a bit, and some are things I just wanted to spend more time with, but all of them reminded me I already had great options at home. In this post, all links are affiliate links (thank you for your support!), but all opinions are my own.

Moira Love Blur Blush in 12 So Divine – Hybrid cream-powder blushes are so popular right now, and because this is probably my personal favorite blush texture, it was very easy to convince myself I needed another one. Instead, I pulled back out my this Moira blush, and I’m so glad I did. It has that bouncy cream-to-powder texture that makes this category so good, and the formula is actually really blurring. The shade is such a pretty berry flush on me without being too bright or too purple, which can be a hard balance to find. It blends out to just the right amount of pigment, lasts all day, and reminds me a lot of the Rare Beauty blushes in this formula, which I also love. Pulling this back out was exactly the reminder I needed that I did not need to buy another trendy hybrid blush just because I was watching everyone else’s sale reviews. If you want a full Moira review, I actually have a bunch of products from the brand and just haven’t found the right place to post them yet, so let me know in the comments if you’re interested! I also really like buying Moira products from HB Beauty Bar because they seem to always be having a good sale.

Prada Reveal Skin Optimizing Refillable Soft Matte Foundation in LW5 – Soft-focus, perfected base products are very tempting to me right now, but instead of buying another one, I pulled back out the Prada foundation I already own and love. This is still one of my favorite foundation formulas because it gives that really smooth, blurred finish while still looking like skin. The coverage is on the lighter end of medium, but it builds easily without getting heavy or cakey, which is a huge part of why I like it so much. This is what I reach for when I want my skin to look especially polished without feeling overdone. Pulling it back out was a very good reminder that I did not need to buy another trendy base product when I already had one of my favorites at home (did I already buy four new base products before this to test for y’all? Also yes).

Etude Fixing Tint in 14 Rose Lilac and 15 Woody Pink – I am very into the whole lip blush, blurred matte lip situation happening right now. It reminds me of when matte lips were everywhere, except the formulas we have now are so much better. You still get that soft matte, blurred look, but without the super dry, crusty feeling that used to come with it. I have honestly been testing a ridiculous number of these kinds of lip products at this point, at least fifteen, so if you want a full roundup sooner rather than later, let me know. But instead of buying yet another blurred matte lip during the sale, I pulled back out my Etude Fixing Tints in 14 Rose Lilac and 15 Woody Pink. I don’t want to speak too soon, but I’m pretty confident this is my favorite formula in this category so far. I love how flexible this formula is. You can do just a little for a soft hint of color or build it up more, and either way it stays comfortable and looks super smooth. Woody Pink is a dusty rosy neutral that works really well with the mauvey beige looks I wear all the time. Rose Lilac is deeper and moodier, more of a jammy berry-plum, and it pairs especially well with berry-toned blush. Another thing I really like about these is the tint they leave behind. Woody Pink fades into a really pretty light pink stain, while Rose Lilac leaves more of a berry tint. This is one of those categories where using what I already have has honestly just made me want to buy more of it, but these are so good that I’d rather keep reaching for them instead. These are also under $10 right now.

Lawless Forget the Filler Lip Plumping Line Smoothing Gloss in Lavender Sorbet – There are always a million glosses, lip balms, and other glassy lip products tempting me, and I definitely did not need to buy more of them during the sale. Instead, I pulled back out the Lawless Forget the Filler in Lavender Sorbet, which is already one I love. The shade is such a pretty cool-toned milky violet that adds the nicest tint on its own, but it’s also really good over other lip products when I want to cool something down a little. I also love this formula so much. It does have some tingling, but nothing painful or intense, and I really do think it makes my lips look smoother and better overall. It’s also super nourishing and hydrating and lasts pretty long for a gloss. I honestly was considering grabbing another shade, but once I put this one back on, I realized I already had the one I needed. 

Unleashia Glitterpedia Eye Palette No. 1 All of Glitter – I am always a little bit at risk of buying another glittery eyeshadow because I really do love having something sparkly on my eyelids. But I have plenty of eyeshadow palettes I’m already testing, plus another one I’m excited for later this year (if you know you know), so I absolutely did not need to add another one right now. Instead, I pulled back out the Unleashia Glitterpedia palette in No. 1 All of Glitter, and it has been perfect for adding that sparkle to every eye look. It’s a palette of nine glitter shades in a really good range of tones, and only one pulls a little too orange for me. A few of the shades are chunkier pressed glitters, so if that’s not your thing you probably won’t love this, but there are also several smoother sparkle shades that work beautifully if you don’t want to mess with pressed glitter. I would not recommend this as your only palette if you’re hoping to do a full eye look because all but one are really best used as toppers (which you can probably see in the swatches – they really look amazing over something, but not great over bare skin). If you want a dedicated sparkle palette to add that extra layer of glitter, this is a really fun one.

Have you shopped your stash lately, or is there a category you keep almost buying more of? As always, some links may be affiliate links that support the blog and some products may have been gifted, but all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored.