Viral Products that actually are that good

When a beauty product goes viral, I’m often very skeptical—but these five truly live up to the hype. They’ve consistently impressed me by performing exactly as promised and effortlessly fitting into my routine. Let me know if there are other viral favorites I should test out next! In this post, all links are affiliate links (thank you for your support!), but all opinions are my own.

Products swatched from left to right in the order listed below except for the Givenchy powder

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Contour – I love how natural it looks because it sheers out really nicely and is easy to blend. I can even if I apply it directly from the doefoot to my face without having to worry about it sticking anywhere or getting patchy. This doesn’t look too muddy on me or like I accidentally got dirt on my face. Gentle is described as a cool taupe but it does go fairly warm on me. As someone with olive undertones, I usually end up with a brontour or accidental bronzer so I’m not surprised, and this is at least cool enough that I can I still use bronzer with it. It doesn’t go orange on me, and when it sheers out, it does add some nice definition to my face. The swatch above is without it being blended out so you can really see the color – it does have a little bit of a green grey tinge to it but hopefully you can see how much of a bronzer shade it is on me.

Givenchy Prisme Libre Blurring & Color-Correcting Matte Pressed Powder in 03 Voile Rose – I loved the Givenchy Mini Prisme Libre Loose Setting and Finishing Powder in 3 Voile Rosé and was so upset when they reformulated it. I had to try the powder version to see if it lived up to the loose powder. I wouldn’t say it’s quite as good, but it’s about 95% of the way there. It blurs and mattifies without drying out my skin or looking powdery, which is perfect for someone with super dry skin like myself. It’s only doing a small amount of mattifying (so I wouldn’t recommend this for oily skin as a main powder) but I love how it’s able to do what I want a powder to do without adding any heaviness or getting cakey.  It also provides a bit of brightening for me in this colorway, but I mostly love it because it is just a really fantastic pressed powder. This is one of the more expensive powders I own, but it’s worth it to me because of how well it works and how often I reach for it.

Half Magic Glitter Puck Pressed Fairy Dust Eyes, Face + Body – This is one of my favorite eyeshadows now. It’s absolutely stunning and viral for good reason. It has a wet base so there’s no fallout. It’s incredibly easy to work with and use your finger to apply. I can’t express how sparkly it is. It’s just so pretty. I love using it alone and over other eyeshadows. I’ve tested it over creams, eyeshadow sticks, and powder eyeshadow and haven’t had any issues. Dopamine Sparkle is a light peach with champagne reflects that I love for berry/pink/mauve leaning looks and Cyber Diamond is a platinum silver that I love for cool-toned and brown/beige looks and for the inner corner.

Milk Makeup Cooling Water Jelly Tint Lip + Cheek Blush Stain – This is a stain, so once it dries down, it’s incredibly long lasting. That also means that you have to be careful how you apply it if you’re going to use it as a blush. I don’t find that you can wear this over powder, but it works great over a moisturizing primer or skin tint. That all said, the way I really love using this is as a lip stain. It goes on super evenly and is really lightweight. It works well alone or under other products. The stain is very long-lasting but fades without getting patchy. Splash is a beautiful berry shade that is great for olive skintones.

Gisou Honey Infused Hydrating Lip Oil in Glazed Plum – This is as good as everyone says they are. These are very moisturizing, nourishing, and conditioning in a way I didn’t expect. It’s also longer lasting than I thought it was going to be. This shade is very sheer but you do get a wash of color. The glitter is subtle with just enough to add a pretty reflective shine to your lips. I think it makes my lips look amazing if I’m being honest, and it’s not gritty at all. It also smells really nice (if you like honey). I’m honestly thinking of getting more shades even though I definitely don’t need more lip products.

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.

5 Makeup Essentials for Busy Mornings That I Forgot I Loved

I took a look at the products I’ve been reaching for again that I just haven’t in a while, and these 5 really stood out to me! They are so easy to use, especially now that I’m 36 weeks pregnant and don’t have very much energy to do much of anything. I’m also so excited to have these front and center for quick makeup looks moving forward! Thank you so much for being here, and it would mean so much to me if you subscribe here for new posts. All links in this post are affiliate links, and if you choose to shop through them, thanks for supporting the blog!

Bionic Liquid Bronzer in Time Travel – I totally forgot how much I love this bronzer. It builds up beautifully because it’s a bit sheer, which also means that I don’t have to worry about putting on too much right away when I’m half asleep getting ready in the morning. It looks so natural on me even if I accidentally build it up too much too. Even though it’s sheer, the formula has some heft to it, which makes it much easier to control than I’m used to with liquid products. I love how I can get a precise application that still looks so healthy and skin-like and am so glad I decided to revisit this one.

Bionic Liquid Bronzer in Time Travel

Make Beauty Diffusion Set Pressed Powder in Translucent Fair – I’ve been using so many lightweight powders that I forgot how good this was for when I really need a powder that actually is a powder. Even though it actually helps set makeup and balance out the overall dewy looks I tend to do, it doesn’t look overly drying or crepey. It also provides a the most coverage of all the powders on this list, which is great if I’m trying to set a specific concealed area that I really want to cover vs just trying to mattify or set makeup all over my face. I also love the packaging and how luxe it feels. Plus, this is also refillable, and I can pop out the pan if I want to put it in a travel makeup palette. I’ve actually been using it so much lately I’ve hit pan! I took a swatch photo of this but it blends so seamlessly that you can’t see anything – you’ll just have to trust me.

About Face Matte Fluid Eye Paint in Capulets – I’ve been using the Merit Solo Shadows so much as one and dones or as a base that I totally forgot I had this About Face liquid eyeshadow. I decided to try it again, and I’m so happy I did. It’s so easy and fast to throw on and blend out with a finger or a brush. It dries fast enough that I can easily put other things on top of it but not too fast that it gets stuck where I don’t want it. Capulets is a perfect light brown that doesn’t go orange on me (as someone with an olive undertone, that tends to happen a ton with browns). It also has great lasting power so I love to throw this on when I only have 2 seconds and then can add other things on top of it later in the day, and it’ll still look just as good.

Urban Decay 24/7 Moondust Eyeshadow in Space Cowboy – I’m back on the Space Cowboy train! I have been trying so many eyeshadows and palettes lately and really trying to rotate through my collection, but this is really the best eyeshadow for me. It’s perfect to top off the About Face liquid eyeshadow for a super quick look (how I’ve been doing my eyeshadow the past few days). It also works on top of just about anything else or alone, and I’m a little sad I’ve pulled it back out because I’m not really using anything else now. It’s just so easy and pretty as well as being incredibly reflective and glossy. It doesn’t have any fallout and is so easy to apply with a brush or fingers (and doesn’t require any glitter glue).

Queen Musia Lipstick in Becky Sharp (*PR) – The formula is extremely lightweight and super comfortable for a matte lipstick. I will say it’s not quite as matte as some of my favorite matte lipsticks, but I’m so glad I have it for when my lips aren’t feeling up for a true matte (which is currently all the time). I’d call this a creamy matte, and I actually wish that more matte lipsticks leaned in this direction. This color is one of the best “my lips but better” shades I’ve found in awhile especially as someone with olive undertones. This color goes with everything and just looks so natural on me. I’m so glad I pulled it back out especially now that I’m in my third trimester and am way too tired to think about what lipstick will look good on me.

What are your tried and true easy to throw on makeup products? Thanks for reading, and let me know what you’d like to see next in the comments!

Milk Makeup Brand Review – Bionic Liquid Bronzer, Bionic Liquid Blush, and Bionic Glow Illuminating Liquid Highlighter

As part of getting to know my collection, I want to spend more time reviewing all the products I have. Next up is everything I own from Milk Makeup, which happens to be their three Bionic liquid products.  I wanted to thoroughly test these products to provide a more detailed review of them. I’ve gotten a ton of wear time out of them so if you have any questions I haven’t addressed, please ask in the comments. As always, thank you so much for being here, and it would mean so much to me if you subscribe here or on Instagram @liftbakelove for new posts!

Bionic Liquid Bronzer (Time Travel) – This is my favorite liquid bronzer I’ve ever tried. This builds up beautifully because it’s a bit sheer (I bit it up quite a bit in the swatch below) and looks so natural on me even if I accidentally build it up too much. Even though it’s sheer, the formula has some heft to it, which makes it much easier to control than I’m used to with liquid products. I love how I can get a precise application that still looks so healthy and skin-like.

The only other liquid bronzer I still have in my collection is the Daniel Sandler Watercolor Liquid Cheek Color in Sun Glow which is much thinner. The Daniel Sandler also has a good amount of shimmer in it whereas the Milk Bionic Liquid Bronzer is shimmer-free. I find the Milk bronzer way easier to use because it’s not watery at all, but it still blends so easily.

Bionic Liquid Blush (Infinity) – I’m surprised by how much I love this since liquid blushes aren’t usually my thing. It’s much gel like than any other liquid blush I’ve owned which makes it easy to blend without it going absolutely everywhere. It’s also fairly sheer so I never have to worry about overdoing it (which I do sometimes with my Rare Beauty liquid blush). It dries down in a way that feels like absolutely nothing is on my skin and has great staying power. The shade is also beautiful dusty rose that works really well for the kinds of looks I like to do.

My beloved Natasha Denona Puff Paint in Darya is more pink and more saturated, but the formulas are so similar once they’re on the skin (even though the Milk is a bit more gel-like and stays dewier). Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush in Bliss is the most pigmented of the three and is the most peachy-pink. It also dries down the least dewy of the three. That said, formula wise, these are all very similar to me, and I love having all three to have the shade variety.

Bionic Glow Illuminating Liquid Highlighter (Virtual) – This is a beautiful product that I can’t really explain because it just looks so nice. It dries down but still looks wet and glowy. My favorite way to use it is actually under any powder highlighters I want to use. It’s incredibly smoothing and blurring and just makes my skin look nice and hydrated. I like using it under powders because it totally gets rid of any texture and primes the cheek so well for any powder products to go on top smoothly. I’ve also used it a few times as my only makeup product, and I loved how it made my skin look. An important note – it’s quite pink and a bit dark, so keep that in mind if you are looking for a much more champagne highlighter.

It’s much less “highlightery” than the Lisa Eldridge Elevated Glow, Auric Glow Lust, and the Beauty Pie Triple Beauty Luminizing Wand. If you’re looking for the most natural of all the glowy liquids, I would definitely go with the Milk Makeup. The Beauty Pie Triple Beauty Wand is the most impactful and bright. The Auric Glow Lust is by far the most glowy, beautiful, “I have the most hydrated skin” of the three and can be used so many ways. Compared to the other three, I actually don’t think the Lisa Eldridge really stands out, but I do think it’s one of the better ones of the bunch for mature or super dry skin because of its skincare ingredients. If I could only choose one, I think it’d still be the Glow Lust because it’s so versatile, but the Milk Makeup is just so pretty, especially for a no-makeup day.

What other products would you like me to review? Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see here on LiftBakeLove, 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.