Tag: danessa myricks

Product Updates on Things You’ve Been Asking Me About

Featuredby liftbakeloveLeave a Comment on Product Updates on Things You’ve Been Asking Me About

I’ve had a small but growing pile of products set aside for a post about products that people have been asking about (by people, I mean about 20 of you, AND THANK YOU FOR ASKING!). I finally have enough thoughts on 5 of the products to create a post. Most of these are products I specifically bought because y’all asked me to test them. Some of these are just updates on products I’ve already talked about that people asked for an update about. In this post, all links are affiliate links (thank you for your support!), but all opinions are my own

Vieve Modern Radiance Cream Bronzer in Light – This is probably the question I get most often: what bronzer do I use that does not turn orange on me? This is still the one I reached for since I first reviewed it last year. On my skin, it reads like a muted olive tan, so it’s warm enough to actually bronze but stays well out of the Cheeto zone. I really do think the slight green in it is part of why it works so well and blends in so smoothly on my skin. The formula is excellent too. It’s easy to pick up and blend and looks seamless on the skin. I have a lot of bronzers that are perfectly fine, but if I could only keep one, this would be it.

Vieve Modern Radiance Cream Bronzer in Light

Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Liquid Blurring Balm Setting Spray and Milani Make It Last Dewy Setting Spray – I’ve been asked a few times whether I’m still using the winners from my setting spray battle now that some time has passed, and yes, absolutely. I’m actually still using both of them almost every day. The Danessa Myricks has become more of a powder step for me than a normal setting spray. Sometimes I spray it onto a brush or puff and press it into the skin and basically use it as powder. Since it’s still been wintry here and my skin has been really dry, I’ve been reaching for it most days instead of actual powder, and I’ve been really happy with how that’s been working. Then I use the Milani as my actual final setting spray, and the combination has been working so well for me that I’ve been neglecting my powders altogether, except for one green one I’ve been testing that I’ll share more about in a week or two. I’m very glad I did that whole setting spray test, because both of these really did end up earning permanent spots in my routine.

Tower 28 Concealer in BW

Tower 28 Concealer in BW – A few people asked me to review this because it is specifically supposed to work for olive undertones, and yup, it really is green. This is one of the only concealers I’ve found that actually looks like my skin tone instead of just sort of working well enough. I already liked this formula, so having a shade that actually matches me is awesome. It blends in beautifully and looks really natural on the skin, which is why you can’t really see anything in the swatch. It looks like they also have a medium olive shade, so I may end up grabbing that and mixing the two together because BW is about to be too light for me heading into the spring and summer. I really appreciate that BW is a true warm olive, and it matches me much better than any of the other shades I’ve tried so far. This is definitely my go-to winter concealer.

MAC Matte Powder Blush in Blunt (please be aware this is impossible to swatch well)

MAC Matte Powder Blush in Blunt – My friend Kackie mentioned this shade in one of her videos and was so excited for me to try it, and she was right. I finally bought it, and the color is so good. On me, it reads like a muted rosy tan-brown, and it has turned out to be one of the best everyday blush shades I own. That said, the formula is a classic matte powder blush, and I’m just not as used to working with that type of formula anymore. I would personally love this exact color in a bouncy, cushiony, hybrid blush texture. That said, I’ve especially been loving it as an eyeshadow, and it has become such an easy one-and-done matte shade.

I also went looking for contour products that actually work on my warm olive skin without adding blue based on your feedback. Totally fair to not want to mix in blue every time you use a contour product!

From right to left: ABH Contour in Halftone and Greyscale, Judydoll Liquid Contour in Warm Cocoa Brown, Westman Atelier Contour Stick in Biscuit and Coco

ABH Blur Contour Stick in Greyscale – I’m so glad they came out with this shade in their shade expansion. It isn’t that much much cooler than Halftone, but just enough to not pull orange on me like Halftone did. Greyscale reads like a true cool olive-gray contour. It actually creates shadow instead of warmth, which is exactly what I wanted. If I want a sharper, more obvious contour, this is one of the products I reach for.

Judydoll Liquid Contour in Warm Cocoa Brown – The name is a little misleading if you are expecting “warm” in the usual sense, because it’s actually just their contour for warm skin. On me, it reads very similar to Greyscale but even cooler and greener. It is perfect for actually sculpting instead of just looking like a neutral bronzer. I love that this is under $15 (it’s under $10 right now) and a really great liquid formula that’s easy to work with. It’s the most “looks like a classic contour” on me product I’ve found so far.

Westman Atelier Face Trace Contour Stick in Coco – This one is super different from the other two. It is definitely not orange, and it is much more workable on me than Biscuit, which I kept trying to force into being a contour even though it is clearly a warm bronzer on my skin. Seriously, look how orange it is next to Coco. Coco is a really interesting shade that I can’t quite describe but it’s a rusty red brown that’s almost purple grey. It somehow still works as a contour on my face in a way that looks very natural (I’m sure Kackie can and has explained the color theory behind this since she recommended this one!). It blends beautifully into bronzer and looks great in photos. When I want a softer, more natural contour, I use Coco. When I want a more obvious sculpted look, I use Grayscale or Judydoll. Honestly happy to have all 3 from in my and hopefully I can use the other contours as bronzers as it gets warmer!

What other products or categories would you like updates on? Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see here, and thanks for reading! 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.

Setting Spray Showdown Round 2: One/Size, MAC, Milk, Danessa Myricks, Milani, and Hourglass

Featuredby liftbakeloveLeave a Comment on Setting Spray Showdown Round 2: One/Size, MAC, Milk, Danessa Myricks, Milani, and Hourglass

Welcome back to the Setting Spray showdown! This is the second full round in my setting spray showdown series, where I’m testing popular formulas side by side to see what actually makes a difference in real life. I’ll be doing the same makeup, with the same lighting, for at least 16 hours for each test. I’ve also been testing all of these setting sprays for months before doing these elimination rounds. For this round, I did all of the matches in this post since I’ve already talked about each spray at length in previous posts. In this post, all links are affiliate links (thank you for your support!), but all opinions are my own.

Round 2, Match 1: One/Size On ’Til Dawn Mattifying vs MAC Fix+ Stay Over – This one was honestly frustrating to kick off this round with because these are two of my favorite setting sprays, and I’d genuinely recommend either depending on what you want. If you’re looking for a more matte, smoothed, blurred finish and maximum hold for your makeup, One/Size absolutely delivers. It mattifies, blurs, and keeps everything in place all day. But the MAC Fix+ Stay Over surprised me by keeping my makeup staying looking good just as well as the One/Size while also having a better skin finish. It managed to smooth and blur while still maintaining a hydrated, skin like, slightly dewy finish, and my makeup still stayed together all day. I was really impressed that it held its own against the One/Size while also making my skin look hydrated and natural, so MAC is moving on. Note that I have dry skin and it’s the winter, so if you have combo or oily skin, you might really like One/Size.

Round 2, Match 2: Milk Makeup Hydro Grip vs Danessa Myricks Blurring Balm Spray – I want to be fair to Milk because on its own or compared to plenty of other sprays, it really does work well, but head to head, Danessa Myricks made it obvious which of these two was moving on. The Milk side looked good at the start, but it looked way more textured as the day went on and the makeup seemed to fall apart faster. By end of day, it looked a more broken up on that side, almost like I hadn’t used a setting spray at all relative to the other side. The Danessa Myricks side, meanwhile, stayed noticeably smoother, blurred, and put together all day long. Everything stayed melded and cohesive instead of separating and getting textured. Way more easily than I expected, Danessa Myricks is moving on.

Round 2, Match 3: One/Size Powder Melt vs Milani Make It Last Dewy – This was another round where I really struggled to pick a winner. Right after spraying, Milani Make It Last Dewy looked more natural, while One/Size Powder Melt looked noticeably glassier and glowier. Both melted my powders together nicely, but the Milani felt like it slightly thinned the makeup, while One/Size kept everything more intact at the start. By my 6:30 p.m. check in though, most people I sent photos to actually preferred the Milani side because it looked smoother, even though the One/Size side held the makeup a little better. By the end of the day, both sides honestly still looked great and I’m not sure you’d really be able to tell the difference. So, I’m giving this round to Milani for that tiny bit of a smoother, less textured, more natural finish overall, and the huge price difference between them. The One/Size is still one of my favorites, and I will absolutely be finishing this bottle, but I feel confident recommending the Milani for a dewy, melt your makeup together spray.

Bye round: Hourglass Veil Soft Focus moves on. Because of the number of sprays in this showdown, one of them had to get a bye round this time, and Hourglass Veil Soft Focus is the one moving on automatically based on how the bracket shook out. I don’t mind at all, because it was one of my favorites from Round 1, and I’m excited to see how it stacks up against the Milani Make It Last Dewy.

Who’s moving on from this round: MAC Fix+ Stay Over, Danessa Myricks Blurring Balm Spray, Milani Make It Last Dewy, and Hourglass Veil Soft Focus.

What other products would you like me to review? Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see here, and thanks for reading! As always, some links may be affiliate links that support the blog, but all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored.