Why have I done a few big Sephora hauls instead of waiting for the sale even though I knew it was bound to come around this fall like it does every year? Because y’all need to know before the sale starts if these are worth getting, especially because I’m betting at least one of these is going to sell out fast. I will also be doing my normal favorites/things I would repurchase/things I’m excited about that I’ve been using all the time Sephora products post on Friday this week.
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.
Danessa Myricks Lightwork VIII Freedom Palette – My best friend Kackie kept telling me that I needed to get this palette and that I would love it, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t believe her. I also really, really don’t like reviewing limited edition products because by the time I review them, they’re sold out. It looked really warm and full of hard to use multichromes and also it’s so expensive so I had many reasons not to get it. Enough of you asked that I bought it anyway.
Now that I have it and have tested it enough to do this review before the sale (and hopefully before it sells out), I’m honestly considering getting a backup of this palette. Importantly, the actual cover of the palette is tinted orange, which makes everything look way warmer than it is. Every single look I’ve made with this, with one shade or six, has been absolutely stunning. I just feel so pretty every time I use this. It really is like having three different palettes in one. I can get everyday brown looks super easily or really cool deep purple looks or ethereal green or pink! So many options and the shades all work so well together. More importantly, most of the shades actually work so well with my undertones – I’ve been so pleasantly surprised. There’s maybe two shades in the palette I’ll never use because they’re too warm. Would I buy the other 16 singles for $8.25 each? Yes, I would!
The formulas are absolutely INCREDIBLE. I can’t even do them justice by explaining in writing so I actually did video swatches in multiple lighting setups for all of the shades because that’s how much you need to see these shadows. The glitters are so fantastically sparkly and textured and the mattes are so easy to work with. The eyeshadows also last really well, and my eyelids generally love to eat eyeshadow. Did I mention I love this palette? And of course, the packaging is really innovative and the whole freedom palette system is amazing. I’d buy this even if it was in normal packaging.
This is a very expensive but genuinely fun purchase, and I have no regrets. I’ve already used it a lot more than some of the palettes I bought to test and review for y’all over a year ago. It also just makes me happy and I love playing with it, and sometimes it’s worth having some makeup that brings you joy. And the important part – the swatches!
Makeup by Mario Long-Wear Cream Eyeshadows in the Shimmer Finish – And now for some eyeshadow that does not bring me joy (okay, maybe there’s a little joy, but it’s mostly disappointment). My tubes of Mauve Magic and Bronze Baddie feel almost dried out and empty because of how dry and textured the actual shadow is when I pull the doefoot out. It’s almost crusty in a way that I really don’t love. My Plum Pewter has a much smoother and easier to use formula that’s closer to what I expected. Across the board, these do last incredibly well and are difficult to remove, which is great if you struggle to find long-lasting liquid eyeshadows.
Mauve Magic is honestly almost matte on me. It’s so dry and a little chunky (sorry for that word, it’s the most correct thing to explain this texture). It’s also a warm pink with a slight orange undertone. It’s not Mauve or Magic, and I can’t recommend this if you’re also a green friend. Bronze Baddie is a really pretty bronzy gold with a slight olive undertone but the sparkle is barely perceptible and the texture is really not great. Plum Pewter has a noticeable gold sparkle running throughout that balances with the cool base so well, and the purple is a cool purple without being too grey. It’s also actually sparkly! Plum Pewter is the only shade I’ve worn repeatedly and would recommend. Please let me know in the comments how you got along with these; I’d love to know!
Caliray So Blown Blurring Face Primer – I recently did a bunch of wear tests back to back so I could compare 24 foundations, including putting all 24 on my face at the same time. Honestly I wanted a break from foundation after that, and I’ve ended up reaching for this primer every day. My skin looks so smooth and blurred when I wear it alone, but it also works really well with concealer or other makeup on top. I did test it with foundation one day for completeness, and it did work really well under foundation too.
I have dry skin, and this isn’t particularly hydrating. It definitely has that silicone filmy feeling that I know not everyone loves, and I really like having an extra layer of moisturizer underneath so it’s not too drying. It also has a very strong citrus scent that I’m personally obsessed with but if you’re not into fragranced face products, definitely steer clear. But if you’re into the idea of a super bright and joyful citrus scent and very smooth, blurred skin, you will probably love this as much as I do.
Haus Labs Sun Dipped Bronzing Veil in Rise – This looks so orange that I’m still shocked it’s actually a beautiful sun-kissed bronze on my face. Unfortunately, it’s also way too light for me – I can see what it’s trying to do, but I had to layer it 3 times to even show up. I’m absolutely going to be trying to find a better shade match though because I really love this formula so much.
This formula is what you would get if you took the finish of the Makeup by Mario SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Enhancer (one of my all time favorite products) and put it into a liquid form. It has that same sheer serum-like consistency that is so easy to blend and impossible to mess up. It makes it look like you have radiant and hydrated looking skin and you went out into the sun and not like you’re wearing bronzer. Every time I’ve worn this, I’ve thought it looked so stunning and lasted so well, except that I could barely see it. I will be picking up a different shade when the sale starts as long as I can find a deeper shade that isn’t orange.
Wonderskin Wonder Blading All-Day Blush Stain in Barely – My biggest surprise after all this testing is that I have two more shades of this product in my cart. I never realized how much I wanted a blush stain until I tried one and now I kind of don’t want to deal with regular blush again. I have never had a liquid/cream blush last this well over the course of an entire day, and it’s honestly amazing to not have to worry about if my blush has been eaten by my face. I still do love all my regular blushes (and rest assured there will be many more blush reviews this year) but I am very tempted to start most looks with a veil of this blush stain as a base.
The formula is a thin serum that is really easy to blend, similar to the Haus Labs. It’s sheerer and more buildable than the Rare Beauty liquid blush but it’s still pigmented so if you are fairer than me, you might still need to be a little careful. I could build it up with a few layers, and it still looked great. It has a bit of radiance to it, but it does set down. And then it really does stay all day. Barely is one of those mauvey purples that just ends up being pink, but it’s not orange! And it looked great with the Danessa Myricks palette’s gold and pink shades.
Haus Labs The Edge Lip Liner in Shady Linen – This formula is so interesting. It starts off creamy and smooth as long as your lips aren’t completely desert dry, and then it stays put exactly where it’s applied. You have very little time to blend it out if you’re planning on blending it, and then it lasts for a very long time. It doesn’t have that same blurred and diffused quality I love about the Merit liners, but this formula is perfect for a contoured lip look where I actually want the liner to stay in exactly that spot. And Shady Linen is the perfect shade for this. On my arm, Shady Linen swatches a more cool brown, and then on my lips (mixing with my lip color), it ends up being a super flattering purple-gray contour. I absolutely love the way this looks and feels, but I do recommend some lip prep like putting on a balm as you do the rest of your makeup and then wiping it off right before you apply this.
Gucci Glow Oil-In-Water Tint Lip Stain in 225 Marianne Mauve – This was actually requested by several of my Substack chat members (love y’all so much!), mostly to learn whether it was actually mauve and not orange. I have fantastic news for our lips and terrible news for our budgets – not only is the color a gorgeous not at all orange mauve, the formula is amazing. It’s nourishing and comfortable without a super unpleasant drying sensation as the glossy part wears off. The stain stays the actual mauve color it starts as, and it’s just so pretty. There is a noticeable scent, but it doesn’t bother me or seem to really hang around all day. I have the shade Paula Maple in my cart, and I will be buying it when the sale starts.
REFY Lip Gloss in Clove vs. Experiment Softwear Smoothing Lip Treatment in Void – My lovely friend Hunter told me that I needed to try the REFY Lip Gloss in Clove, and now I’m telling all of you that you also need to try the REFY Lip Gloss in Clove. It’s a thick cushiony gloss that is really long-wearing (relatively speaking). It’s super nourishing and just feels so nice. I have honestly been reaching for this and the Danessa Myricks Glosswork 4D Ultra Shine Plumping Gloss and pretty much nothing else when I want a glossier lip look. I would love to get more shades in the REFY but I really think Clove is perfect. It’s an incredible cool toned brown that’s a little smoky and blackened.
Clove and Experiment Void are nearly identical on the lips even though Clove is slightly browner and Void is slightly blacker. If you’re choosing between these because they’re so close in shade, the formulas are super different. Experiment is a much thinner film-forming balm that has a much more occlusive skincare feel vs the plushy gloss feel that REFY has. It’s also significantly less shiny. I honestly love both, and if you want something in this color that’s thick and shiny, go with REFY, and if you want something nourishing but lightweight and not shiny, go with Experiment.
Kulfi Lassi Lips Matte Blur Lip Stains in Earl Grey and Toddy – I absolutely love a blurred matte lip situation, especially one that stains. I was so excited when Kulfi came out with these as someone who loves many Kulfi products. They sent me Earl Grey to try, which I was expecting to love because it’s such an interesting cool beige color that looks amazing on some blue and green undertoned friends. On me, it’s pumpkin orange (it swatches a pretty salmon, but on my lips it goes the color in the warm light photo). It also was super splotchy and difficult to apply and ended up peeling off over a few hours. I initially had some very negative reviews in my Substack chat because it was just a disaster. I didn’t know if something was up with my particular tube or maybe the color was just so wrong for me it made all kinds of other problems happen, so I decided to buy the shade Toddy myself.
Toddy is an absolutely beautiful berry that’s so flattering on me. The formula is also super smooth and blurring and easy to use. If I had tried this one first, I would’ve rushed to my Substack chat to tell everyone how amazing this is. I’ll never know what’s up with my Earl Grey or if it really just doesn’t agree with my lip color, but I can say that Toddy is a 10/10 for me. After all my testing, I still think that you’ll get the best results with this if you do one layer and let it set rather than trying to build up the color, especially if you want to avoid any pilling or any texture issues.
What’s in your Sephora sale cart? As always, all links are affiliate links that support the blog and some products may have been gifted, but all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored.
