Author Archives: ghekate

My Last 10 Colourpop Eyeshadow Palettes

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I originally drafted a post called, “Colourpop Update from Nov 2020 Til Now,” which was intended to finally catch up on all the Colourpop purchases I was making. The issue I ran into was that I kept waiting for my orders to arrive, but I was continuously buying Colourpop products monthly. Essentially I never caught up and that’s how we got here today. I have seven palettes and three quads that I bought from Colourpop that have just been sitting in my collection this whole time waiting to be used and reviewed.

It’s a bit fascinating how Colourpop’s marketing completely sucked me in. Here I was making monthly orders without even using and enjoying any of it, yet still unable to stop myself from continuing to buy the next “Must Have” thing that appealed to my sense of nostalgia or my love of particular color stories. Colourpop’s shipping went from a week to deliver (years ago) to a minimum of three weeks for delivery now. So, by the time I received my products, the hype was already gone and I felt very little motivation to post about it via social media and even less for my blog. It was like constantly chasing the excitement of what’s new, having it fade by the time it arrived, and then seeking something else to replace that feeling. The cycle was quite unhealthy and I knew that in the back of my head, yet they still got me regularly. The craziest part is that I actually did resist a ton of collections, yet I still ended up with all these unused eyeshadow palettes (plus everything else from other categories).

Colourpop x Raw Beauty Kristi At Forest Sight Collection Palette

Although this palette is no longer listed on the Colourpop website, so I cannot double-check the ingredients, Amanita has the symbol for what I’m guessing is a warning about potential eye staining due to the dye(s) used.

I only used this palette two or three times prior to reviewing it again now. This should be a color story I’m crazy for, but for some reason I don’t like how most of the shades look on my eyes and in combination with one another. The exceptions to this are Evergreen, Fiddlehead, and Homegrown. I love the shade Emerald City, but it’s a very patchy shadow. PNW at least fills the role. It’s blue, but leans closer to green than a standard blue shade. Other than my dislike of the tones, the patchiness of Emerald City, and the fact that Old Growth doesn’t show as pink on me, I think the other shades are okay despite them overall feeling dry and not the easiest to work with. I think this palette being a few years old by now is why the performance has declined from that first initial impression I had. It’s not bad, but it’s not as easy as my newer Colourpop palettes.

I always discuss my stance on an Influencer who is part of the collab, so in the case of Raw Beauty Kristi, I am still following her on YouTube though I don’t watch her anymore. She’s more into lifestyle content now, especially post having a baby. Congratulations to her, but I definitely don’t have the same attachment to her now as I did when I first bought this palette. Also, this is the only collab palette of hers that I have purchased. I did not buy her palette with PUR.

The packaging for this collab is cute. I love the theme. This collection was restocked quite a few times since Nov 2020, but I don’t believe it will be available anymore, which saves me from needing to say whether I recommend it or not. Other than Evergreen, Colourpop has these shades many times over among all their palettes, so most people could put this color story together on their own out of what they already have.

Colourpop x Star Wars the Mandalorian Child Pressed Powder Palette

There are no eye safety warnings for this palette. The Force arrived broken, but I was able to re-press it.

I haven’t watched the Mandalorian TV show yet, but everyone knows about “Baby Yoda” (Grogu) and he looks absolutely adorable! I tried for a while to resist the packaging, but eventually I got it during a sale.

I love green eyeshadows and even though the depths of these greens are lighter than I typically go for, I really enjoyed the looks I’ve been able to create. However, the photos below show that I can make a similar look using entirely different eyeshadows from the palette. The matte shades aren’t redundant, but the swatches show two similar golds and two similar greens regardless of how they look in the pans.

The shadow quality is great. I think it is among Colourpop’s best in terms of performance. To those who like this color story, I could easily recommend this.

Colourpop Wild Child Palette

Sometimes Colourpop puts the warning asterisk next to the shade names on the inside of the palette, so I wrongly assumed this had no eye safety warnings. On the back of my palette, Grasslands was marked with the symbol of not being safe for use around the immediate eye area, but on Colourpop’s website it’s the shade Lashes that is listed as having PET glitter. More than that, it’s in an actual pressed glitter formula, so I will not be swatching or using that shade. This is quite unfortunate considering Lashes is the one that pretty much sold me on this palette. Since I cannot tell if my original packaging is correct and if Grasslands should also be considered not eye safe, I decided I won’t be using that shade on my eyes either. I dislike sequin/matte eyeshadows with shimmer in them anyway, and I don’t feel this particular color adds anything to the palette, so it’s an easy skip. I plan to depot them both after this review.

Fierce arrived shattered, so I pushed it back in, but it became a mess every time I used it. I somewhat resolved this by repressing it with some 90% isopropyl alcohol, but it still gives me fallout on the eyes if I don’t apply it wet.

The thought of getting rid of 2 out of 9 shades would normally make me question my decision to buy the palette, but the fact that I love all the other shades is why I don’t have regrets. If I’m reaching for a neutral shadow, I like a deep shimmery chocolate brown like Icon. I can build up enough depth to my liking with Feisty. Ground Crew makes for a nice transition shade and Close Up looks great in the crease. Herd to Get isn’t really my preference for the lid, but I do think it looks nice on me and it makes sense to have a shade like this in this palette. #Spotted I use for blending edges if needed since it doesn’t really show on me. Just like Herd to Get, I wouldn’t want to put Fierce all over my lids, but it’s a beautiful highlighting shade for the inner corner and center of the lid.

I like the looks I’ve created with this and I do want to continue using this palette. In the month of February, I made all the palettes listed in this post a part of my “shop my stash” and I repeatedly kept reaching for this one over the others. The quality is great and I easily recommend it. If there’s one thing Colourpop should nail, it’s a neutral palette considering how many of them they release and how chock full of neutrals most of their palettes are, including the more colorful ones.

Colourpop Lush Life Palette

Speaking of a colorful palette with neutrals, we have Lush Life which is one of the most recent CP palettes in my collection. There are no eye safety warnings. I think the quality of the shadows in this palette is very good. It’s definitely among the best Colourpop has ever produced. The neutrals are pretty, though Eden is less of a plum brown than I expected from product photos online. It also gives me just barely enough depth for my liking.

It’s Paradise and Palm Palm are similar. This palette also has several matching matte and shimmer counterparts (On the Prowl and Juicy, Noni and Hotness, as well as Eco and Wild Life), which sometimes I can appreciate. In this instance, I find it limiting, but I plan on depotting some of these shades to create a custom palette anyway.

I have to give props to Colourpop for that stunningly vibrant Monsoon shade, and for it being so smooth and even as well. It’s probably the best vibrant blue I’ve seen Colourpop do. That shade paired with the greens, oranges, and yellow certainly capture the tropical vibe they were going for, and I like it a lot. This is another one I could easily recommend, even though it’s not something I’d be likely to use much if I kept them within just this color story in this palette.

Colourpop High Tide Palette

There are no eye safety warnings for this palette. It was first released as an Ulta exclusive before arriving on the Colourpop website. It’s mind boggling how much I felt I needed this palette until I actually got it in my hands. I love the look of these colors, but these are not the kinds of shades I wear all together. I don’t like pale blues on me, which eliminates half the shades. As for dark teals, which always attract me, I actually got sick of by the time I got around to using this palette. It was the last of the ten I tried and I kept dragging my feet on using it because I dreaded having to come up with eye looks for it. A lot of these palettes contain a teal/greenish-blue/warm blue and I was tired of wearing them back to back each day. Then, on the flip side, the third column of the palette contains cool blues, which was a nice change of pace, but I’m not the biggest fan of cool shadows on me. So, it’s quite perplexing how I was so intensely drawn to this palette and then quickly flipped opinions. It revealed my tendency to buy palettes with shades I find alluring, without thinking of how I would actually wear the eyeshadows together to make a look. This wasn’t a very expensive lesson, but it was a lesson all the same.

Other than the colors, the actual quality of these shadows is nice enough. The mattes are a bit on the thinner side, but I can understand wanting to do this since shadows this saturated can be harder to blend and patchy depending on the ratio of pigment/dyes. Two dips with my finger in the pan (as seen in the swatch photo) show how evenly I can spread the color, but also how they’re not as opaque because of how thin the powder is. The mattes have to be built up a little. As for the shimmer formula, there’s a bit more slip in these than usual. While this can help with spreading the shadows, it’s so much that I can accidentally pick the shimmer back off my eye and either onto my finger or move it to gather on a different spot. It basically can create sparser areas devoid of shimmer that I have to build up and smooth over. This doesn’t happen in a large enough area to be a nuisance, but it noticeably adds time when creating a look. This may seem like bad quality, but it’s just a matter of someone’s preference because some people really like that dimethicone feel to shadows or like a shadow that takes little effort to blend, even if it does mean having to build it up though. I’m able to create very pigmented looks, so I applaud Colourpop for that. However, I’m planning on only keeping Mussel Beach, Must Sea, and Lunar, so I can’t really recommend this palette on the basis of this not adding much to the Colourpop line. I do love that Mussel Beach is a bit different for Colourpop as a brown-teal duochrome shadow. It’s a teal version of Clionadh’s Vortex, but without much shine. That’s the one aspect that would have been better with the Mussel Beach shade if the shimmer particles were brighter.

Colourpop x TinkerBell Palette

This palette is no longer listed on the Colourpop website, but there appears to be no eye safety warnings on my packaging. I’m slightly conflicted about my feelings on this palette because it always makes me think of the Child palette, but then I want to reach for that one instead of this because those two pale beige-pink eyeshadows are so off putting. It’s a pet peeve of mine to see redundant shades and multiple brow bone shades. This palette hits at both of those points with Second Star looking insanely ashy on me and Big Magic being less ashy, but also not showing up very much at all. Once again, we have a mattes with shimmer counterparts between Awake and Neverland as well as Sleep and Tink. And, again, I feel as though this limits my looks.

The upside to this palette is the really great quality. I had no issues blending the mattes. The shadows are pigmented. The shimmers are opaque and easy to apply. Place Between is sparkly and gorgeous on the lids. Neverland is this deep green-blue that I tend to like. The palette packaging is very cute, though I wish it didn’t have actual glitter on it. It’s the gritty kind that you can feel is raised when handling the palette, and the kind that will start sprinkling a few glitter particles here and there as time goes on.

The biggest struggle I had was trying to fit the brown-pink shade, Place Between, into my eye looks while trying to exclusively use this palette. It makes sense to use it with the pink mattes, except that those shades don’t give me any color. So, I am forced to pair it with greens and I’m not sure how much I like that. It’s certainly a different color combination for me, but I don’t know if it’s a “nice” kind of different.

Colourpop released another green palette with a pop of pink called Limelight. I’m curious to see the reviews and comparisons for that one.

Colourpop x Hocus Pocus Witching Hour Palette

Hello Billy has an eye safety warning on the Colourpop website, which I believe is due to the dyes/staining. The palette arrived a bit messy around the edges of the pans, but nothing was broken.

Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I grew up watching and loving Hocus Pocus. I didn’t get anything from the first collection between the IP and Colourpop, but this palette had such a “me” color story that I had to buy it. I’ve complained about this aspect before, so I won’t harp on it, but I still need to point out the matte and shimmer counterpart thing as well as the similarity of Summon Us and All Hallow’s Eve on my skin tone.

As has been seen in many of the other palettes reviewed today, I tend to pull 5-6 shadows in my eye looks. With this palette, I’m satisfied with my looks when I stick to 2-4, which saves me time. I like that I don’t have to think too hard about what I want to do with this palette. All the eye shadows perform nicely. I recommend this for those who don’t already have one of Colourpop’s many palettes containing teal-ish blue and purples like It’s a Mood, Play it Jewel, or So Jaded.

Colourpop Eyeshadow Quads in Creamsicle, Mocktail, and Secret Life of Scorpio

EYE SAFETY WARNINGS: For Creamsicle, Big Treat has PET glitter while On a Stick, I’m guessing, is dye/staining warnings. For Mocktail, Shaken has PET glitter. For Scorpio, Secrets Secrets might also have the warning for dye/staining. I should have been more careful and checked for PET before purchasing since I don’t like to use polyethylene terephthalate, even if it’s not in a pressed glitter formula. I am sad to say I will be decluttering Creamsicle and Mocktail from my collection since the pans in the quads are not removeable/replaceable. Plus, Iced from the Mocktail quad fell out of the pan on me already. I was able to press it back in, but I don’t want to have to worry about that happening again in the future.

Prior to working on this post, I only used Creamsicle and Mocktail twice each. The photo above showed the looks I created for Instagram. I was very much into these softer shades at the time that I bought them, which was when Colourpop first started making quads in this clear packaging. I love the concept of being able to have a curated look without needing to think about it, and having all the shades show up nice and pigmented on my eyes and not give me any issues to use. I also liked the level of sparkle, which I now know has the chance of being PET glitter, so I’m a bit unhappy about that.
Before I knew this, I had already purchased the Scorpio quad because I knew the quality was going to at least be decent. This was also the first time anything Scorpio related (my astrological sign) had a color story I liked, as well as being the prettiest of the twelve released! Secrets Secrets is one of Colourpop’s most repeated type of reddish purple/burgundy colors they like to do, and the performance is always the same: very pigmented but slightly patchy. I always find this kind of shade appealing though. The shimmers are quite beautiful, but soft. They need to be applied wet or on glitter glue in order to make an impact.

Scorpio is a nice cohesive quad, but part of what always draws me to Colourpop is their packaging. Other than the outer cardboard that this comes in, there’s no design on the front of it to distinguish it from all the other quads, which makes it less special to me. No one is going to know this is a special Scorpio quad except me when that lightly imprinted Scorpio symbol is rubbed off the Secrets Secrets shade. If I’m buying makeup with basic packaging, the quality inside has to be worth it for me to reach for it. This quality is good, but I don’t intend to buy anymore. In fact, as much as I like the Colourpop palettes I have, I never reach for them. It’s always the packaging, rather than the eyeshadow formula that draws me in. So, unless they collaborate with an IP that would be nearly impossible for me to skip like Harry Potter, Doctor Who, a first actually good Marvel collab, etc. I’m going to try my hardest to stop buying Colourpop eyeshadow palettes.

BONUS REVIEWS

I decided to go ahead and also show the other eye products I also bought from the brand since November 2020 until now.

Colourpop x Raw Beauty Kristi At Forest Sight Liners in Marigold and Spare Thyme

Spare Thyme sold out in my cart during the initial RBK launch. I was able to snag Marigold. I don’t have many colorful liners, and something about Colourpop ones (perhaps how matte and dry looking they can be) don’t look great on my waterline unless I border them with an additional black liner as a frame between the color line and my lower lashes (for example the first look in the At Forest Sight section). The fact that it took three or four restocks before I could successfully buy Spare Thyme before it sold out is why I ignored this fact with Marigold and decided that somehow Spare Thyme would work better. In this case, it actually does look better, but it’s more to do with it being a darker color. All the previous Colourpop liners I used were light shades. Because of my personal preferences, I can’t be objective in saying whether they are worth purchasing or not.

Colourpop Colour Stix in Free Time, Venus Slipper, and We’re Off

My issue with light shades of Colourpop liners are multiplied with the matte version of these Colour Stix. I don’t like the look of them on the lids from my experience with We’re Off and other videos I’ve seen online. Unlike this one, Free Time and Venus Slipper actually dry down and don’t rub away as easily. I’ve had Free Time for nearly a year longer than Venus Slipper, and that one is a bit stiffer. It’s not as easy to get smoothly onto the lid, so I’d keep that in mind for those wanting eye products to last longer than the recommended period after opening.

I’ve purchased a few of these for my sister, so I do like them (at least the shimmer/metallic formula), but shadow sticks generally aren’t my style, so I don’t think I’ll purchase more in the future.

Colourpop x Disney Princess Down in New Orleans Super Shock Shadow

This SuperShock is more of a topper kind of shade, so I haven’t attempted to wear it alone on the lids. It took several rubs to get that swatch to even build up to that. I definitely did not buy this shade for the color. I bought it because I’m quite the fan of Tiana. Her personality reminds me of my sister in so many ways, so it’s only natural she’d be my favorite Disney Princess.

I could barely see the seafoam green base in the shade on my arm. When used as a topper, all I see is silvery white, so those with dark skin should keep that in mind. This shade is even less pigmented than my other Super Shock Eyeshadows, but if CP was aiming for a topper, they certainly nailed it. If it wasn’t for the Princess and the Frog theme, I would never have picked up a shadow like this, but it does have its uses as a highlighting shadow. I know myself though and I never reach for eyeshadow singles, so this is just a collector item for me.

Colourpop Garden Variety Jelly Much Eyeshadows in Saguaro and She Grown

If those shades look dried out, it’s because they are. Saguaro was my “new” shade that I bought a little over a year ago and never used. When I finally opened the jar, as can be seen by the crust around the edges, I discovered it was dried out. The lid was partially open, so there was no hope of me being able to avoid that. Every so often in my Colourpop orders, products with lids aren’t screwed on all the way. I try to remember to check for that, but in this case I completely forgot to and just left it in the original packaging until it was time for this review.

I could still rub the surface of these shades. I was surprised to see that She Grown, the shade I’ve shown before in one of my last Colourpop reviews, swatched more smoothly than Saguaro even though it’s four months older than Saguaro and had been opened and reopened several times.

I’m going to toss these out, but they certainly were shiny and gorgeous. It’s a shame they went to waste because of my same issue with reaching for single eyeshadows. Because these eventually dry out, I can’t recommend them.

Colourpop Act Natural Defining Mascara

I’m wearing this mascara in the sections demonstrating the Colour Stix on the eyes and the RBK eyeliners. I got this for free in one of my orders. The bristles keep the lashes from clumping and turning spidery, but as much as I like long lashes, I still want some volume. This mascara formula is on the wet side. I’m not satisfied with how it looks after one coat, so I have to apply and then wait for it to dry before I go for an additional 1-2 coats. I’ll keep using this mascara, but I prefer mascaras that give me length and volume in one built up coat. Because this doesn’t meet my preferences, I recommend checking out Essence, Maybelline, L’Oreal, etc for some affordable mascaras that I prefer.

Alas! We have reached the end. Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Oden’s Eye + Angelica Hela Palette

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The collaboration palette between Angelica Nyqvist and Oden’s Eye is the newest addition to the Legendary Diversa Collection. Just like the previous release, all orders from this collection come in a box with the palette artwork printed on the inside. The free scarf idea was tweaked for this launch in the form of a reversible ribbon/Twilly, while supplies lasted.

This palette is currently sold out, but the restock is happening tomorrow: March 22nd 1:00 PM EST. I don’t know if the Hela box and/or Hela Twilly will be available again. Also, according to Angie, this may be the only restock.

The outer sleeve that’s around the palette has a different color scheme than the actual cover. For that reason, I plan on keeping the sleeve too.

The eye shadows are the same Oden’s Eye quality I’m used to and enjoy. The mattes are very pigmented. Some are a little on the thin side, making them easier to blend and build up if needed. My issue with thinner matte formulas can be that they either dust away the longer I blend them, aren’t opaque and leave patches, or they practically disappear in areas where a wetter shimmer formula touches it. This wasn’t an issue for any shadow except the shade Underworld, which was fixed by just adding a bit more of the shadow back on top of the spot.

A lot of eyeshadow formulas either work better if applied in order working from lightest to darkest or darkest to lightest. With the Hela palette, it doesn’t matter which way I’ve used it. The lighter shades are pigmented enough that I can use them to blend out the edges of darker shadows, but not so pigmented as to ruin the depth I try to create. The darker shadows are also not so dark as to overpower the look.

I expected Soot to be my most used shade and go-to shadow for deepening up the outer corner, but on my eyes the purple tone is very strong. The purple goes well with quite a few shades in the palette, but from my viewpoint, not as much as it would if it was a bit more of a neutral color. My partial solution for this is that I can use Decay on top to counteract the purple tone, but then it turns the whole thing into a dark grey.

Hellfire and River are two topper-type of shadows in this palette. They both have bases, but those bases really don’t show through on their own and need to be applied on top of other shades to get the effect I’m looking for. For example, the gorgeous peachy look to Hellfire in the pan just looks like the palest pink, almost white eye shadow on me. So, I just use it now as an inner corner highlight shade. I also don’t get the purple tone out of River, as seen in the photo above in the pink/purple look where the only effect it had when patted on top of Hellfire and Soot was to darken them slightly and add some extra sparkle.

I don’t have the best luck with yellows, so I was shocked at how well these built up and lasted on my skin, especially Rebirth because using pastels on dark skin can often be unflattering. Rebirth isn’t the kind of shade I’d wear on its own, but it’s very complimentary to the other yellows and greens in this palette, so I’m surprised to say I like it! My two most frequently used mattes are Wolf as a transition shade and Ouroboros as a deepening shade for the yellow/greens/browns and as a colorful pop when used with the shadows in the bottom rows of the palette. Decay is intriguing because the first time I used it was on top of Wolf and that made the taupe/cool brown tone turn more of a dark grey color, which is not the kind of shade I like to wear. However, I noticed it should be deep enough to create depth for some lighter looks, so I decided to try it again. When Decay was applied on top of Underworld, that helped to bring more of the brown out of that shade. In Angelica’s launch video, she says she wanted a colorful palette that still had some neutral leaning options. I haven’t liked any of my attempts to get a neutral look out of this palette, so I always turn them into a more colorful look to salvage it. Perhaps this wouldn’t be the case for someone of a different complexion than me. This is not a complaint, as usually I have the reverse issue where partly neutral colorful shades (like reddish brown, grayish purple, etc) just look solidly neutral on me. So, it’s kind of refreshing, but also unfortunate that I’m going through a neutral loving phase at the moment. How ironic!
The best neutral look I’ve been able to create, and I think is just an okay look, is below. The first two pictures are with this palette alone, but the third is what I’d want from neutrals and I was able to create by combining Hela with the Norn’s palette.

Of all the yellows and greens, the only one that didn’t stand out for me was Fluorescence. Other than being an eyeshadow highlighting shade, I never have a purpose for this kind of color, but to each their own.

Golden Bridge is one of my favorite kinds of golden green shimmers. I actually tried not to use it too much in these eye looks because it’s such a go-to color for me. It’s the same with pairing Venom and Ouroboros together that is so instinctual for me. Because Venom is such a bright shade, I really wanted to use it on the center of the lower lash line, but it’s a bit thick and chunky for that spot and I had a difficult time smoothing it out. Perhaps I’ll need to apply it wet.

Moss is another really great shade. It’s a grungy green in the pan, but it’s a bit vibrant on my eyes, which I don’t mind. The way it looks is the tone I’m often drawn to as a transition color in my green eye looks.

Double-Sided is like an orange-pink-green shifting shade, but the orange shift is strongest on my lids. It’s everything I wanted out of the shade Hellfire, but with the fun twist of being a multichrome. I discovered that if I mixed Goddess, Rebirth, and Wolf together, I could create a peachy-orange shade, which brings out more of the peach in Double-Sided when I apply that shadow on top of it. I add a bit of Hela too, just to soften up Goddess, but technically the color can be achieved without it.

Complete is another fascinating shadow. In the photo above, I had to include a picture with flash on to show the black tones accurately when paired with Ouroboros. For some reason, those two together throw my camera off and make Complete look very teal. As seen in other eye looks with Complete, it still veers a bit blue, but is still very much a dark gunmetal-esque black. Oden’s Eye impressed me with the shade Colourful Black in the Norn’s Palette, and once again, they’ve impressed me with this one too. I keep wanting to use that shade in every eye look I do with this palette!

I have my own preferences when it comes to color stories, so is this the perfect one for me? No. Do I still enjoy this palette? Yes. Does it inspire me? Very much so! Angelica’s palettes push me outside of my comfort zone to think of new color pairings and combinations. I went from being an eyeshadow fanatic for most of my life to actually being a little less interested in palettes over the past twelve months. So, whenever one can give me the drive to want to be creative and play with eyeshadows, that is worth every penny.

A comparison between Angie’s Oden’s Eye collab and her Kaleidos Club Nebula collab, for those wondering if they are different enough to purchase both (which the answer is yes)!

The Oden’s Eye palettes are part of my Shop My Stash for this month, so I’ve been enjoying combining shades from the Hela palette with each of the other Legendary Diversa palettes because they go so well together! I’m really happy to have made this purchase.

*UPDATE: Last minute eye looks! In the discussion with Nikki below, I realized my tendency to keep only using the top half or lower half of the palette, so here are two quick additional looks I created combining the two!

I believe that’s everything I wanted to discuss! I hope this has been helpful, especially for those considering purchasing the palette during tomorrow’s restock!
Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Beautylish Presents The Year of the Tiger Brush and other January Purchases

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I’m still playing catch up on things I purchased in 2021 and wish to post about, but today is an update on all my beauty purchases from January 2022. I’d like to show how well (or not) I’ve been sticking to my Beauty Resolutions for the year.

Beautylish Presents the Year of the Tiger Lunar New Year Powder Brush

  • Full Length: *170mm / 6.69 in
  • Hair Length: 47.6mm / 1.87 in
  • Hair Width: *40mm / 1.57 in
  • Bristle Type: Blue Squirrel

In my Beauty Resolutions post, I mentioned that I should only purchase Lunar New Year items that had personal significance to me (ex: Year of the Dragon). This brush depicts the most adorable chubby kitty with tiger stripes, which does make it significant to me in my interpretation of this design (it’s an inside joke). In addition, for half of my life the Tiger was my favorite animal. This is why I succumbed to the temptation and finally bought one of Beautylish’s collaborative Lunar New Year brushes. They did not announce which brush-maker created this year’s brush, but in the past is was Chikuhodo. Even if another Fude company created this brush, I’m still happy that it has the Chikuhodo aesthetic with the large round shiny handle similar to the Z-series. As long as the brush is high quality, which it is, it doesn’t matter to me which Japanese company created it. This brush is still hand bundled with an exquisitely detailed lacquered handle using the maki-e process.

This brush is unbelievably silky soft and of course perfect for those who want a very sheer application of powder. I can use this for highlighter (when applied just on the very tips), blush (when I use sweeping motions across the cheek), and bronzer, but in my eyes this is a dedicated all over face powder brush. Although it picks up a small amount of product, when that product is very pigmented it takes more effort than I like to buff it out because it’s not dense enough for that. If I use a squirrel hair brush for blush, I prefer one that’s thicker and more round like the Z-1. Anything looser packed than that, I consider to be more ideal for setting/finishing powders. Honestly, this is more of a collector item for me and not one I intend to use a lot. When I do use it, it’s heaven though. It’s so soft and light that I barely feel any pressure on my skin. This is a beautiful powder brush, but if you already own one with grey/blue/ash squirrel hair, you’re not missing out by not having it. For those who don’t and would like a light/medium density powder brush, this might be a good place to start since comparable brushes to this would be a little more expensive. I still recommend this for collectors, but for someone looking for a more functional or versatile brush, I would direct them to Chikuhodo’s Z series and FO series.

At launch, Beautylish also restocked the previous Lunar New Year brushes as well: Pig, Rat, and Ox. As cute as those designs are, those three have nearly identical brush heads which is already practically the same as the Tiger brush, so I didn’t feel any pressure to add those to my cart. Since I already have three close enough brushes as the Tiger, Koi/Carp, and the Z-1 (the Z-9 is a better dupe but I don’t own it), I don’t feel a need to get a backup brush. However, trying to steer clear of a Rabbit next year will be difficult, and I suspect trying to ignore the Dragon will be impossible.

Sonia G Builder Pro Eye Shadow Brush

  • Full Length: 152mm / 5.98 in
  • Hair Length: 12mm / 0.47 in
  • Hair Width: *9mm / 0.35 in
  • Bristle Type: Dyed Saikoho Goat Hair

The Builder Pro and Builder Three are both brushes that lay product down well but can also be used for blending. I’ve discovered that the Builder Three leans better on the blending aspect because of the flatter top, so I prefer that one for crease work. The Builder Pro leans better on the lay down and building aspect because it’s perfect for applying shadows to the section of my eye between the eyelid and inner corner. I always struggled with that spot, but this brush gets in there easily. It’s also more precise for application to the outer V. I’ve actually been able to do entire eye looks using this brush alone. I’m very happy I decided to finally buy this!
The tapered tip that makes the Builder Pro so great for applying shadows also prevents it from blending large areas as quickly as the Builder Three, so I will probably use that one more often when I’m in a rush. However, for when I have more time and want to create a detailed and more skillfully done eyeshadow look, I will definitely grab the Builder Pro instead. They perform differently enough that I feel justified having them both in my collection.

Before we move onto the next topic, I have to acknowledge that I bought a backup of the Builder Three at the same time that I ordered the Builder Pro, which is a breech of my beauty resolutions. Then Sonia G/Beautylish restocked many brushes I wanted, including the Cheek Pro which would have been yet another backup purchase, but I was able to stop myself.

Lethal Cosmetics Charity Eyeshadow in Meekha

This is one of four limited edition charity eyeshadows released from Lethal Cosmetics. I mentioned liking tigers earlier in this post, but I am dog person and I have a soft spot for pitbulls. It was very lucky that the only eyeshadow that caught my attention happened to be the one named after the sweet rescue pitbull named Meekha. In addition to the animal charities being supported by the purchase, Lethal also committed to planting a tree for each January order. My sister had a pitbull named Radja, so that’s the name I chose for the planted tree in her memory.

This is the second indie brand that I’m aware of who has created limited edition shadows for charity, and I am here for it! For some reason, when larger brands do it, it feels like it’s just for press. Somehow, this kind of thing coming from a smaller brand seems more heartfelt. In any case, I like to see this.

The combination of the colors in the Meekha pan turn into an icy lavender shade on me. I’m not sure how often I will use this shadow, but I was able to create a look that I liked. It even makes for a nice bright inner corner highlight shade for other eyeshadow looks! The eyeshadow texture and performance feels just like other shimmers from the brand. The formula is a bit thick, but they smooth out nicely on the lids and fallout is about what one would expect from a shimmer shadow (present but not too bad especially if applied wet or on top of a glitter primer).

And as a follow-up to the charity aspect, post-January purchases will continue to go to charity. It’s just the tree part that is over now.

Lethal Cosmetics Highlighter in Fusion

I wanted this highlighter shade for a long time, but it was initially exclusive to the Equilux face palette, which I did not get because the blush and bronzer in the trio were too deep for my skin tone. Since it’s now available as an individual item, and I wasn’t completely satisfied with the highlighter selection I brought with me on my trip to Germany, I figured this was the best time to get it (especially with the lower shipping cost). I am supposed to be on a highlighter No-Buy, but this purchase was allowed as it falls under the category of something I would have bought last year if it was available to me, and in this case, available as a single product.

Unlike Gamma and Gravity, my two other Lethal Cosmetics highlighters, I find Fusion to be quite subtle. Fusion is close to my skin tone, and that could add to how subtle it is, but even the texture feels a bit different than the other two, and not just because of the lack of ridges. Fusion was difficult to show in swatches, even when built up. It feels a bit hard pressed*, and when the highlighter was delivered, it was messy around the pan edges as well as within the packaging. My brushes are able to grab product easily (despite the fact that it looks a bit hard-panned** now too) but perhaps the hard pressing is preventing more of the actual shimmer particles from being picked up. That would be ironic considering if I have an issue with a highlighter it’s usually that my brush is picking up too much of the shimmer.

*NOTE**: I have a few wonderful friends and family members who read my blog sometimes and may not be aware of some of the terms I’ve used. For anyone who needs clarification, the press of a product refers to the force in which a product is physically pressed into the pan (usually with a pressing machine). Makeup that is “Hard Pressed” has powder so compacted together that it becomes difficult to get the product out of the pan and onto the brush. “Hardpan” is when a powder product gets a hard or filmy top layer that also prevents someone from being able to pick up product onto a brush, but it is usually due to oils from the skin getting into the powder and creating that tough layer. Certain formulas of powder products are more prone to hardpanning than others.

Fusion has an orange tinge to it. Although the shine level is a bit low, when it hits the light, the golden-orange sheen is apparent at that point. It’s not what I was going for but mixing it with some of Gamma puts the look back in my comfort zone. I will likely declutter Gravity and Fusion at some point, but testing out these shades reminded how much I enjoyed wearing Gamma, and I will have to remember to use it more often. Anyone interested in seeing those shades on me can check out my previous Lethal Cosmetics post here.

Chanel JOUES CONTRASTE Powder Blush in 320 Rouge Profond

I considered buying a Chanel blush for a long time, although I always expected it to be from one of their limited edition collections. My interest in buying one re-sparked when Ulta started carrying Chanel Beauty products in January (although the brand will probably be excluded from all coupons including prestige). I also really wanted the Blush Lumiere Brun Roussi shade from the Spring 2022 collection, but I wasn’t willing to spend Hermes prices for it. So, when I was browsing the Duty Free section at the Frankfurt Airport, I had an impulsive moment to buy shade 320 Rouge Profond, a shade that is not available at Ulta and is part of their older blush formulation. Chanel changed to the new formula in March 2021, and according to reviews I’ve seen, the new formula is less smooth, less sheen-like, and less pigmented, so I decided to go ahead and get this one in the old formula while it was still available.

The Houkodou Nagi Powder N-F1 Brush fits perfectly around the dome of this blush and applies it perfectly as well. The blush swatch needed to be built up on my arm, but color goes onto the cheek nicely. The perfume scent is very noticeable. The color and performance reminds me of the MAC Mineralize Blush in the Flirting With Danger shade. In fact, as much as I like this blush, it didn’t “Wow” me more than the MAC blush and that one is significantly less expensive. My curiosity is satisfied knowing Chanel’s permanent blushes aren’t superior to products I already have, but there’s still that troublesome part of me wondering if Chanel’s even pricier blushes are better. Either way, at twice the price, I doubt it would be two times better, so it’s best I leave that topic alone.

That’s everything I bought in the month of January! I did not include products I ordered in December that arrived in January. Those items will show up in future posts.

Thank you for joining me today! I hope this has been helpful!

-Lili ❤

*UPDATE: For those on the email list, I apologize for the accidental early release of this post. I’ve been consistently posting at the same time for a reason, but I’m not sure how or when the scheduled time for this one was changed and it completely escaped my notice. Considering we just entered Daylight Savings time in the US, this could be especially early for some people. I plan to resume our regular schedule of Mondays at 11:30 am EST.

MAC Cosmetics Lunar Luck, Wild Cherry, and More

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MAC Cosmetics is probably the most reviewed brand on my blog. They frequently release eye catching collections that manage to make me want even their repromoted shades, just to get the limited edition packaging. They often have sales, which plays on my deep love of getting a good deal. Their staple products are top notch and they’ve held onto their generally good reputation for decades. Unfortunately, MAC has made some questionable production decisions in the last few years to the point where I seriously considered taking a break from them. Today’s post is not about that, and is instead about sharing the newest additions to my MAC collection.

MAC Lunar Luck Eyeshadow x 9: Made My Fortune

This palette was a gift from one of my best friends, and for that reason I will cherish it. It’s one of those things I wanted for the packaging, but not the makeup inside, since I tend to not be the biggest fan of MAC’s eyeshadows. I can at least say the quality of this one is the best I’ve tried from them. The shimmers have pigmented bases, but are a bit tame in sparkle reflectivity, even when used wet. I appreciate that they were easy to apply smoothly to the lids and inner corner. The mattes were also more pigmented than I expected from MAC, and slightly easier to blend than the ones I’ve used in the past. Creating the two looks shown below was enjoyable enough that I may continue to use this palette from time to time, but not enough to make me want to purchase anymore MAC shadows. There isn’t a whole lot of versatility among the two light mattes that hardly show on me (Shell We Celebrate and Sunkissed Orange) and two shades that look nearly identical when used next to each other (Propitious Poppy and Plum What May). The shimmers (excluding Supreme Harmony) don’t look that far off from each other in the pan, but I was pleased to see they are distinctly different on the eyes. Wish Me Luck!, 15 Minutes of Flame, and Born to Rule (as a highlight shade only) are my favorite eyeshadows in the palette. I’ve really been into the brown shimmer eyelid look lately. I still feel $32 is a bit pricey for the quality, so for anyone wanting this palette, I hope you’ll be able to get it on sale!

MAC Glow Play Blush in No Shame!

I’m a big fan of MAC’s Glow Play blush formula, so I wasn’t satisfied with having just one from their collection. I got this for 50% off on Black Friday.
These blushes tend to look more vibrant and pigmented than they actually look on the skin, which can be tricky in trying to figure out which shades would work for me. No Shame! takes a lot of building up to get it to show on my cheeks, but the end result is pretty. It has that familiar putty-like texture that sets to a natural finish, just like the others.

At the time that I’m writing this, I cannot find this shade on the website any longer. I think it’s safe to assume it has been discontinued, and I believe the reason is because of the release of HD Cherry Tree.

MAC Wild Cherry Collection Glow Play Blush in HD Cherry Tree

HD Cherry Tree is like a deeper, slightly more berry version of No Shame!. Quite a few people managed to get their hands on this blush before the US launch, so I purchased mine from one of them (and for less than the retail price)! I was unlucky that as soon as I flipped it over to let the plastic protector naturally fall out, the entire blush popped out with it. However, since it’s a bouncy blush, I was able to squish it back in the compact. Good as new!

I’ve only purchased the Glow Play shades that I think would show up on me, and it’s a bit unfortunate that they look quite similar to each other.

My hope is for MAC to expand the range even further to fill in some gaps, like a medium-deep reddish brown, a terracotta, and a deep pink-mauve. Then again, I’m trying to buy fewer MAC products, so maybe it’s good that they don’t have those shade options!

The Wild Cherry collection is limited edition, but I wonder if MAC intends to make HD Cherry Tree a permanent shade in the future, but without the special packaging. There are two other Glow Play blushes in the Wild Cherry line, but I don’t plan on buying them. Between the Wild Cherry packaging and last year’s Black Cherry packaging, I prefer the look of this new one.

MAC x Lisa Blush in Melba

There isn’t much to say about this blush since I already reviewed it before, but I wanted it for the limited edition packaging since purple is my favorite color. I know Lisa is from the band BLACKPINK, but I don’t listen to their music, so the collab aspect didn’t entice nor deter me.
Melba only works for me when I’m at my lightest (typically winter), so I gave my original blush to my sister. This color is still so difficult to get it to show on camera*, but it is visible in person. After wanting to repurchase it for so many months, I decided to go ahead and do it when it was 40% off on Veteran’s Day. Around that time or soon after, I saw the sneak peeks of the MAC x L collection, but I had no idea they would repromote yet another product and that it would be Melba! It worked out in the end since I gifted my new and unused standard packaging version of Melba to the friend who gave me the Lunar New Year Tiger palette.

*Another photo showing Melba is in the Illuminate Face Palette section demonstrating how GoldieLush looks on the cheeks.

I’d like to add that my last purchases directly from MAC’s website was last November and December and both of them were listed as delivered according to the tracking history on my account page (I didn’t get shipping confirmation for either one), but they never arrived. I had to contact customer service for reshipment. Prior to that, my eyeshadow palette from the Tempting Fate collection was lost in the mail (after already being delayed for a week before getting shipped). I would typically view the carriers as responsible for undelivered mail, but the lack of shipping confirmation in two of those instances makes me wonder if the fulfillment center nearest to me is having issues and if it’s fixed by now.

MAC Pro Face Palette: Illuminate

I was eligible for a free birthday gift in November, which was supposed to be an eyeshadow quad. Only three out of four shades were in stock, and it wouldn’t let me add them to my cart without choosing a non-existent fourth available shade. I asked customer service what I should do in this instance, since you can only redeem the gift with a purchase and I only had a few days left before the offer expired. The solution was to send me this palette, which I jumped on since I don’t really like MAC eyeshadows anyway.

This palette consists of cream highlighters that have an almost waxy texture. It reminds me of both edge gel and the Danessa Myricks Dew Wet Balms. I didn’t have high hopes because products in that consistency tend to remove my foundation underneath it, and this one did too, but it’s easy to apply a little concealer back on top without interfering with the shine level. Unlike the Dew Balm, this gave a perfectly smooth wet sheen without looking greasy. It doesn’t dry completely, but it’s not dewy enough for my hair to cling to it either. I was very happy with the results! It also makes a great base to intensify powder highlighters that are applied on top of it, although I don’t usually go for the super highlighted look. Powder highlighters are my preference, so I don’t know how often I’ll actually use this, but it certainly made a nice birthday gift!

Please ignore the slightly lingering indent on my skin from wearing a mask. I took 3 of the 4 photos on the same day, which is why GoldieLush doesn’t have that mark.

They look nearly identical in photos, but the slight pink tinge in Starry Opal, the light silvery tone of Malted Milk, the traditional medium gold in GoldieLush, and the orange tint to Peach Plush are identifiable in person.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Dark Tan

I wanted to try this powder for so long, but trying to figure out which shade I should choose out of Dark, Dark Tan, Dark Golden, Dark Deep, and Dark Deepest (which didn’t look all that deep in all the photos and videos I scoured the internet to find) was quite frustrating. It’s helpful when brands list their products by order of either lightest to darkest or darkest to lightest, but these didn’t seem to follow that order all the way, which added to my confusion. The biggest difference between multiples of them seem to be the undertone, but MAC doesn’t have any descriptions of these shades. It would be great if the brand created a chart pairing MAC foundation shades with the suggested powder matches.

This powder tends to look lighter on camera, so it took ages for me to get an accurate photo. I can understand now why the same shade looks so different in the photos and videos I’ve seen others take too.

Based on the broken up powder photos from MAC’s website, I thought Dark Tan and Dark Deep were my two best options, but I questioned whether Dark Deep was slightly too dark and possibly a bit orange. Since powders can sometimes deepen on my skin when I wear a dewy foundation, I decided to ultimately get Dark Tan. Dark Tan is admittedly a tad light, but it still works for me. The bigger issue I have is that it looks a little dry on my skin because I grew unaccustomed to having such a matte look to my face, plus it being a bit light. I have only used this a few times, so I will continue to experiment some more using different brushes. It’s possible I applied too much or that it looks better with other complexion products. Because I was so iffy about whether I’d like this powder or be able to select the right shade, I decided to wait as long as it took for this product to finally be on sale for higher than 30%. It took years, but I was thrilled when MAC added this to the 50% off deal for Black Friday. So, that made satisfying my curiosity less of a financial hit!

This is everything new I’ve added to my collection from MAC so far. I do intend to get the Magnificent Moon Extra Dimension x 4 highlighter quad palette when it gets released. Of course, I shouldn’t because I’m on a highlighter no-buy, but this falls in line with one of the exceptions listed in my Beauty Resolutions post. I love moons. It’s one of the central aspects of my one and only tattoo, so that kind of imagery is significant for me. Other than that, I’m going to continue trying to slow down on the frequency of my MAC purchases so I can enjoy what I already have!

Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Lili’s 2022 Beauty Resolutions and Low-Buy

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Today, I am sharing the details of my personal pledge regarding beauty purchases. I love the process of buying and testing new things, so this isn’t a complete no-buy. It’s just my attempt at a more realistic low-buy that may still seem like too much to most people, but will be quite the change for me. It’s all about having a more balanced approach, and I’ve come up with some things to remember to keep myself in that mindset when a shiny new thing is threatening to make me lose all reason and unleash the inner makeup goblin.

These were all the blushes, highlighters, bronzers, and contour products I owned as of September 2020. Many were decluttered since then but many more have been added to my collection. Photos like this are a motivation to stick to my goals this year.

Stance on Buying Multiples

When I love something, I tend to buy multiples, especially makeup brushes. If an item is special in some way, I want another version of it. This year, I want to restrict myself from buying a backup or getting other things from the line that I initially didn’t plan to buy the first time. Reason being, that one item I get will be even more special if it’s the only one I have. I will also get more use out of that one special item since I wouldn’t be splitting usage evenly between two or more other things from the line.
For instance, letting the Hermes Blush be my one makeup item from Hermes. Another example would be letting the Chikuhodo MK-KO be my one Makie series brush and the most expensive brush in my collection (even at the discounted price I paid for it).

Stance on Limited Edition and Limited Quantity Items

I want to save for things that are truly special, but sometimes I buy limited edition items for the sake of them being limited edition and fearing that I will miss out. For instance, every year brands release Lunar New Year items. Rather than purchasing the prettiest items each year from every sign, I should wait for 2024 when it has the most significance for me, as the Year of the Dragon. That being said, I did purchase my first Beautylish Presents brush this year (Tiger), but I successfully skipped the Koyudo Lunar New Year Brush. This rule of only buying Dragon Lunar New Year items is a resolution I want to keep forever, but Tiger, Rabbit, and Dog will be the most difficult to ignore. On the bright side, Dec-Feb is the peak time of Lunar New Year launches, so I just need to hold out for a little longer and then the temptation will be less when those releases stop being discussed.

Also, going hand in hand with limited edition makeup is the scarcity of raw materials like natural hair for makeup brushes and special pigments for eyeshadows. Some palettes made by indie brands have been discontinued because certain pigments are no longer sourced. And the supply of high quality natural hair has become harder to obtain, which is one of the biggest reasons brushmakers (even brands historically known for only making natural hair makeup brushes) are moving towards synthetic. These are some reasons I feel an internal pressure to buy special limited quantity items in case they are discontinued, have a long restock time, and/or prices get raised such as Koyudo and Wayne Goss’ brushes last year. Hakuhodo is raising theirs again on June 1st and Chikuhodo already raised theirs at the beginning of February. Most of the major Japanese OEMs are raising their prices this year. I’m not too concerned about the increases since the brushes in my price range are going up by a maximum of $5, but Hakuhodo is planning to increase theirs by 30%. If that was a brand I purchased from more, I’d be rushing to make last minute orders, but they’ve been out of my price range since their previous price increase a few years ago.

In the case of the makeup, there’s no point in hoarding things with an expiration date anyway. Regarding the brushes, they can potentially hold their value and be seen as an investment of sorts, but how long they last depends on how well I care for them. The hair can still snap and split or shed. If I wish to part with some brushes, they may not be in a condition someone would want to buy. So, it’s not a safe bet either. I have plenty of brushes as is, along with makeup, so my plan is to not let scarcity and the limited edition title to be a factor in the decision to make a purchase.

Stance on Buying Things at Full Price / The “I’ll only get it on sale” Mentality

I use sales as a justification for buying something. If I’m saying to myself, “I want this, but only if it’s on sale,” then that should be an indication that I know there are aspects about it that aren’t perfect for me. Perhaps it has too many colors that don’t interest me or it’s not intended for my skin type. Maybe it’s similar to plenty of things I already own and would be redundant in my collection. If I’m not willing to buy it at full price, then I shouldn’t get it. At the same time, it is smart to wait for a sale for financial reasons as well as giving myself time to ensure it’s something I still want and that I haven’t been sucked in by the hype. So the key is to implement both conditions. I’ll only allow myself to buy things I think are worth full price, but I will still wait whenever possible to get those items when they’re on sale.

Gift Cards, Cashback, and Reward Program Spending

In my past post about all the ways I save money when buying products online, I mentioned that I sometimes acquire products “for free” because it was paid for by credit I earned via cashback, gift cards, etc. I just want to make my stance clear that my Beauty Resolutions still apply in those cases that I didn’t pay money out of pocket. For instance, when I’ve accumulated enough points via Ulta’s Reward Program to be able to purchase all the items in my cart in full, I’m still not supposed to use it on products that are part of my No-Buy. The No-Buy is ultimately about adding less products overall to my collection. Saving money is the by-product of that. This ties in with the “waiting for a sale” issue, that even if the item I want is only a few dollars from the drugstore or is “free” via my points, it’s not about the money. It’s about getting fewer new things so I can get more use out of my current collection.

Stance on Buying Makeup from “New to Me” Brands

When it comes to designer brands with luxury makeup lines that I haven’t purchased from yet, I have the overall rule that I’m allowed to have my “first” of something, such as a first Gucci Beauty product, a first Christian Louboutin Beauty, etc. The formulas of their makeup seldom match what I like, so it has always been a little easier to pass on them, especially at those prices. Allowing myself to have just one will ensure that I’m ultra selective about which one it ends up being. So, I’m allowing this exception, while also cutting myself off from future purchases from those brands for the rest of the year or longer.

As for all other brands that would be new to me, I’m actually trying to avoid them this year. If I like something new from, for example, Sigil Inspired by Tammy Tanuka, then I would be too tempted to try their other products. I want to satisfy my curiosity, especially about different indie brands, but the overall allure is lower if I don’t know what I’m missing. That’s why I want to keep purchases from new (to me) brands to a minimum.

Knowing/Hearing Something Has an Amazing Formula but Isn’t Available in a Shade I Like

This category of a resolution is two-fold. I recognize my issue with wanting to buy everything that has a raved about formula. Just because something is good, does not mean I must own it. I already have nice things, so I need to remember that I’m not missing out by sticking with what I already deem to be great. Second, if the product with a raved about formula is from one of my favorite brands, I’m even more likely to buy it even if the colors aren’t what I’m looking for. For example, Nude Venus blush from Pat Mcgrath is quite light for me, but I wanted it anyway because between the two shimmer formulas of blush, Desert Orchid and Nude Venus, the latter was the only one with any hope of showing up on my skin tone. What I should have done, and will try to do in the future, is be patient and wait for the brand to expand the line and create something that will work for me rather than settling for something just because it’s a good product. If it doesn’t look stunning on me, I likely won’t reach for it anyway which defeats the purpose of buying it in the first place. Wanting to get it for review purposes isn’t a good enough justification for me anymore.
If the brand never ends up expanding the line, so be it. Someone else will create something just like it. Many brands share labs and formulas within the same parent company. Very few things in the cosmetics world are unique anymore.

Self-Tips to Avoid Temptation

Once I’ve decided I will not purchase an item, I need to skip watching videos (which I believe will likely be positive) about that item. For instance, I almost caved so many times on the Patrick Ta Blush palette that was released last holiday. Everyone says it’s great. I have no doubt it would be great and it even has a shade that is likely even more my style than the single cream and powder blush duo I have. However, I think in my head the fact that I have to apply two different products to achieve the look I want makes me think it will take longer to apply, so I’d rather grab a single blush. There’s also the fact that I hardly ever reach for whole blush palettes, so I doubt I would use it enough to justify the purchase, but seeing hundreds of reviews and photos in my various social media feeds kept the temptation alive. The same goes for the Charlotte Tilbury foundation that I decided will not surpass anything I currently have, so I should skip it, but the flood of reviews are tempting. Also, no one can get me to want a makeup brush like Alicia Archer (formerly KinkySweat on YouTube). So, as much as I would enjoy watching Influencer videos, if the pull of the product is too strong, I have to abstain from those videos.

I also noticed that I had a tendency to purchase products in 2021 that were made for deeper skin tones or from a black owned brand regardless of whether the product was actually the best fit for me. As much as I want to show support, I can’t be wasteful and buy things that won’t suit me. I have dark skin, but it’s still medium-dark, so not everything in the dark category will look flattering on me. My undertone also effects what shades look nice on me and which ones stand out too much. If I know it’s too deep for me then I need to skip getting it, just as I would if a product was too light.

Some of my other purchasing weaknesses are buying things as retail therapy (usually when I’m going through health issues) and impulse purchases in the early morning hours when inhibitions are low and I’m not thinking of consequences. Both are psychological and the toughest for me to fight, but knowing is half the battle.

The No-Buy and Low-Buy Categories

Essentially every makeup category has an exception because I’m trying to be realistic and allow myself some fun purchases as well, so I have a good shot at making overall better decisions. Allowing exceptions doesn’t automatically mean I will make a purchase. For instance, Charlotte Tilbury foundation releases are allowed, but after watching a few reviews, I decided I will not buy the newest one.

The categories with zero budging or exceptions* as a NO-BUY are: Mascaras, False Lashes, Face Primers, Brow Products, and Eye Primers. I have more than a year’s worth of products left in all of those categories, so I want to use up what I currently have.

*I do have an overall exceptions rule that products I intended to get in 2021, but could not due to it being out of stock at the time or unavailable in the US at the time are excluded from the No-Buy. For instance, the Essence Coffee collection was previously only available in Europe and the special holiday set of the Nyx Marshmallow primer I wanted did not get restocked, so I’m going to get the mini travel size of it.

When it comes to Lip Products, as mentioned in a previous post, the only exceptions are that I intended to buy additional Lip Clays from Kaleidos last year. I didn’t end up doing that purely because it wasn’t going to arrive in time before my six week trip. I decided to wait on buying those Lip Clays until the next Kaleidos launch caught my attention (the Smokey Nostalgia Collection). I’m also allowing myself to replace lippies with ones that may have gone bad, but I will purchase no more than 5 additional lip products in 2022.

Foundations are a NO-BUY unless it’s by Charlotte Tilbury, Pat Mcgrath, Make Up For Ever, MAC, or Nars. All of those brands (except PML) are ones who have made foundations I’ve loved in the past, and while I certainly have enough foundations to carry me into 2023, I don’t want to deny myself potentially trying a new or even old product from those trusted brands if they seem like they would be perfect for me. My overall goal is to buy zero foundations, but if those exceptions occur, I will not buy more than three for the entire year. I already have five listed exceptions, so I have to really think about which one gets to potentially be part of the three at the end.

Contours are a NO-BUY with Charlotte Tilbury and Pat Mcgrath Labs as exceptions. The raved about CT Contour Wands are something I’d like to try if she makes one that is dark enough to work for me and PML is just going to be an exception to every rule because I’m fascinated by the brand.

Powders are a NO-BUY except if Hourglass releases a single Ambient Lighting Powder to match me, but I doubt that one will happen. I’ve discovered I like finishing powders, but not setting powders, and I have enough of both so I will not get anymore this year. One other thing to mention is the Chantecaille Blur Finishing powder that I said last year I would repurchase in the Med/Dark shade if it became available for a significant discount and was not in the Flower Power packaging. I may still do that in the future, but that’s a low possibility.

Eyeliners are a NO-BUY except Stila’s liquid liners if they are half price or Sephora’s if I run out of Stila liners and just need an affordable but nice liner. However, I just bought a replacement Nyx liner during Black Friday, so with all that I currently possess, I should be set for the rest of this year.

Now, we’re getting to the toughest no-buys with the largest exceptions lists.

Bronzers are a NO-BUY except PML whose brand is due to introduce bronzers, Hourglass who is due for some deep bronzers, and CT if the brand creates a 4.5 shade between Tan and Deep. I have several powder and cream bronzers I really like and would love to make some dents in them. MAC, Make Up For Ever, and Nars may be too difficult to resist if they produce bronzers that are part of a special collection. As much as I want to try a lot more, I have to be realistic about the fact that bronzer just needs to add a warmth to my face, and there is an extremely limited amount of colors that can do that and still look natural on me. I have those shades already. Since Kosas, Huda/Glowish, and Benefit already make some of my favorite bronzers, I would have a hard time avoiding more from them, but those last three do not make my exceptions list. If I can end 2022 with under 3 new bronzers, I would still consider the No-Buy a partial success.

Blushes are a NO-BUY except MAC, Nabla, PML, Patrick Ta, Nars, Huda Beauty, Makeup by Mario, Rare Beauty liquid blushes in a mini form or if they introduce a powder version, Fenty, Clionadh, Oden’s Eye, Glossier, LYS Beauty, and CT. Technically, I made the caveat last year that I would allow myself to get a blush from Chanel and Dior, but I’m waiting for the perfect ones. I’m still very much on a blush kick. I want them all, but I don’t need a single additional one. The only way I can realistically curb my impulses to buy them all is if I have exceptions for my tip top favorite blush brands and/or the brands I haven’t tried many blushes from and am curious about trying more. The blush exceptions are mainly allowing for powder blushes. I have too many creams and liquids and will likely have to dispose of some this year, so that is my motivation to stick to powders unless the blush in question is in a mini size. Then I don’t feel quite as bad. I would be proud of myself if I could keep my blush purchases under 15 this year. That would be 82% less blushes than I bought last year when I lost all sense of reason and went blush crazy.

Highlighters are a NO-BUY excluding PML, Dior (a stipulation from last year), and if there’s a Limited Edition collection of something that I’m absolutely salivating over to purchase from, but there’s nothing in the collection I would actually use except the highlighter. This caveat I definitely need to be careful about because it ties in with my self-warning about limited edition products. But I’m trusting myself to be firm on this because I am most dissatisfied at how many highlighters I buy that are the same shades so many times over. I want to keep my highlighter number as close to zero as possible. That’s the goal, without putting an actual figure cap on it.

Finally, we’ve reached the LOW-BUYS! I must be careful not to overdo these, but I’m so picky about the products in this category that I don’t think I will have too much trouble being selective:

Face Palettes are a LOW-BUY allowing for brands like CT, PML, Huda Beauty, Uoma Beauty, Hindash, and Hourglass. I’ve always wanted one of those CT Instant Look in a Palette or face quads but there hasn’t been one that would suit my skin tone. PML would be an immediate purchase. Huda Beauty always interests me with face products, but I kept holding out for the perfect one. I wouldn’t want to deny myself if I finally saw one I thought was worth buying just because of this project. Uoma Beauty already had a face palette from 2021 I was interested in, but I was waiting to get it at a lower price since neither the light or dark palettes were really perfect for me. Now, Uoma is only on the exception list if they release a third better fitting face palette. Hourglass made the exceptions list because of their annual holiday palettes, provided they still make one this year and if it’s truly dark-skin friendly (but also not too deep for me).

Concealers are a LOW-BUY, but realistically, I’m content with the ones I have and I will likely only buy two additional concealers this year: Tarte Shape Tape when it’s half price and Pat Mcgrath’s shade 23. I have 22 and 24, but since I’m running low on both it makes more sense to just try 23 and get it while on sale. That shade has been sold out the last two times I tried to get it though, so we’ll see how long it takes. The only concealer I already purchased in 2022 was the KVD Good Apple concealer. Concealers are my least restrictive category because my needs are so particular that so few out there meet all criteria. So, I don’t mind buying several of them if I can actually find some to match all my personal requirements. Concealers are also the number one makeup items I use up regularly (out of the ones that suit me).

Lastly, when it comes to eyeshadows, I will likely only get one or two single eyeshadows from different indie brand collection launches because I’m pretty satisfied with my single eyeshadow collection. Clionadh is the only exception and I will just trust my self control and not get everything from them. However, I do have a rule on Eyeshadow Palettes, which is that I will purchase no more than 2 each month (and yes they can roll over). In 2020, I bought a whopping 52 palettes which is basically one a week. In 2021, I bought somewhere between 38-40 palettes. This year, I’m hoping to make it no more than 24. I consider a palette to be anything with 4 or more eyeshadows.

Regarding skincare, hair care, fragrances, etc. I’m on a low-buy for those and intend to buy as little new products in those categories as possible. I purchased very few new skincare items last year anyway. Also, I’ve technically been on a fragrance low-buy for years and I try to make use of all the free samples I get and the ability to buy travel sizes of perfumes.

So, this is my plan for the year! I intend to do some decluttering too. I also have some ideas of picking 4 blushes, 2 highlighters, 2 bronzers, and 2 eyeshadow palettes to use every month in order to get more use out of my collection! Or I will pick entire brands for the month. It’s like a “Project Pan” but without expecting to actually hit pan on any of the products. I’d be satisfied with some dips though! Please, wish me luck!

-Lili ❤

Devinah Cosmetics Mini Review

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I typically post once a week (Mondays) and if I ever have a bonus post it usually goes up on Thursday, however, posting on 2/22/22 at 2:22 EST was too poetic to skip.

This quick review is an update to my Devinah Cosmetics Collection. They have released plenty of new formulas of eyeshadows, but I held off on buying all the ones I wanted since I know Clionadh is expanding their Stained Glass Collection. I want to see what Clionadh releases first before snapping up some of the recent duochromes and multichromes that have launched from other indie brands.

The first of the three newest Devinah Shadows I bought is called Fairy Fire. It’s listed as a pressed pigment, but I’m not sure if it belongs to any particular collection of theirs. It looks yellow in the pan but on my eyes it’s this intense glowing green, or at certain angles it’s more of a blue or pink. There is nothing subtle about a shade like this! On camera, the pink and blue are easier to see. The intense green could only be captured when out of the direct light and partly dark.

The next two, Zombi and Seance, are from the Laveau Collection. There are four shadows in total in that collection, but Zombi and Seance looked the most duochromatic of the bunch. I am a little disappointed in Zombi because the base color is so dark that the deep aqua/green it’s supposed to have barely shows through and the cool deep purple just looks black on my eyes when used alone. I’m happier with Seance, although the blue and purple are prettier and pop more in person than in my photos.

One more thing to note is that I stopped using Glitter primer as often and lately I can’t be bothered to spray my brush before applying shimmers, but with these shadows you definitely want to use something to help them stick. There is so much fallout! Devinah has some shadows that are on the flakier and chunkier side, like the Xploders and Sugar Drops, that are obvious that they need something to keep them in place. I find these three new shadows (more specifically Zombi and Seance) to be much smoother than those, which led me to believe they didn’t need the extra help. I was wrong! Fallout gets worse throughout the day and with these particular colors it is extremely obvious that it’s not supposed to be all under the eyes and all over the cheeks. I looked crazy the two times I wore them and I will not use them again in the future without some kind of aid to keep the fallout to a minimum. I’ll leave the glitter under eyes look to Ed Sheeran.

Well, that’s it for the review! Short and sweet! Thank you for reading.

-Lili ❤

Holiday 2021 Fude Purchases (Fude Part 3)

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In helping two loved ones find some new brushes, it sent me into my own spiral of wanting to try even more natural hair brushes from Japan. I brought them with me on my trip to Germany, as I figured that would give me ample time to test them out. While on vacation, I ended up buying two more*!

*Note: I learned the hard way via CDJapan that shipping from Japan to the US does not incur additional charges, but the 10500 YEN/ 82 Euro/ $97 USD (paypal conversion fee added) order I had shipped from Japan to Germany resulted in me having to pay an extra 35 Euros/ $42 USD (paypal conversion fee added again) between Customs and DHL Express for VAT, Freight, and service fees even though CDJapan only mentions the 19% VAT on their website. There went my $35 savings between coupons, points earned, and “free shipping” discount! Had I known, I would have had it shipped to the US instead or I would not have placed an order at all. The “Express” DHL is the reason for such high additional charges in Germany.

If this is your first time visiting my blog, I’d like to welcome you and also direct you to other fude posts you might enjoy which can be found linked from this page.

Regarding my measurements, “hair width” is measured from the widest part, regardless of the overall brush shape. I don’t measure thickness. Anything with an asterisk indicates that I had to measure that one myself as those numbers were not listed on the website. All figures listed in inches are converted estimates.

With costs of materials ever increasing and supply of certain hair types being harder to acquire, brush prices also increase. So, the prices I’ve listed might not reflect what is current, though I will do my best to keep them updated.

*DISCLAIMER: All products in this post were purchased by me with my own money and prior to me being part of any affiliate program. Non-highlighted links in bold blue font (Example) are non-affiliate links that will not generate commission. The vast majority of links on this blog are traditional non-affiliate ones. 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 directly using my links. The price of the product is not affected by these links, and anyone who uses them would be supporting this blog. Whether you click to shop through them or not, I appreciate you visiting and I hope you find the information I’ve provided helpful!

Chikuhodo Kirameki Purple (Murasaki) Set

It has become a tradition for Chikuhodo to release holiday sets each year. I did not purchase the larger Blue (Ao) Kirameki set, nor have I purchased any of the previous collections. I believe the Purple trio had quite a high value for a great price. Considering the handles are Yamanaka lacquerware in Maki-e style and the largest brush in the set comprises of Saikoho goat hair, I expected the powder/blush brush alone to cost what all three did together. This may be the reason this set sold out within hours at every retailer, though it’s my understanding that only 300 Purple Sets were made. At the time that I am working on this post, a restock has yet to happen. Toshiya from Fude Japan mentioned that Chikuhodo was considering restocking it, but the current listing descriptions on CDJapan and Beautylish’s websites lead me to believe it may not happen anymore. However, Visage USA still has a waitlist on the product page so perhaps it will. I personally wouldn’t hold out hope considering the supply shortage going on and Chikuhodo raising prices on all but a few products, which would mean raising the price of this set too.

What I like about the 2021 holiday offerings over last year’s is the star pattern, which makes the design even more festive. I believe “kirameki” means sparkle, which is why it was named this way. In addition, purple is my favorite color and I have been wishing for so long to have brushes with handles in the shades of purple I like. So, I absolutely had to get this set! The most similar release to this one was Chikuhodo’s 2016 Violet Noel Collection, which is the only set that would have been even more perfect for me. Since I missed out on that one, I’m glad I was able to get this one.

I’ve purchased from CDJapan, Beautylish, and Visage USA, but this was my first time ordering with Fude Japan (not to be confused with Fude Beauty). Toshiya of Fude Japan lives in Japan and offers a personal shopping experience. You can order via a form/email or directly from the website. I did not get a confirmation email after my purchase, so if you’re ordering from the website, just be prepared for that. I was able to see my order status via my website account though. I also didn’t get communication about my order until the time it was going to ship, which took nearly two weeks. In this case, the Purple Set had delayed shipping at other retailers, so this may be the reason it took a while. I’m not certain if this is the norm. Once it did ship via my choice of FedEx or DHL (I chose DHL), it was delivered within a few days. I spent $20 for shipping, but it arrived to me before my trip, so I could bring the brushes with me. Ordering from Beautylish would have been free, but I would have had to wait til I returned home six weeks later in order to finally get my hands on them. So, it was still worth buying via Fude Japan for me. Also, Toshiya included a snack from Japan, which was a nice touch, and secured the package in a Suqqu bag with the pretty Chikuhodo box that the set comes in.

Powder/Blush Brush

  • Full Length: 157mm / 6.18 in
  • Hair Length: 42mm / 1.65 in
  • Hair Width: *42mm / 1.65 in
  • Bristle Type: Saikoho Goat

This brush is quite large for blush, but I pick up the product from the tips to the belly of the brush and swipe it onto my cheeks as if it was a paddle brush, and that gives me the precision I desire. It’s quite thick and dense for a sweeping style of brush, but I really like that! It feels more unique to my collection when used in this way. Of course, this also makes for a nice finishing powder brush. Because of its large size, I don’t use it for other purposes. And because mine is still somewhat flat even post-wash, I don’t apply products in a circular motion or use this for buffing either. I usually don’t care for sweeping brushes, but this is now in my top favorites for that category. The special handle, hair quality, and performance makes it a favorite brush overall.

Other things to note is that this brush is quite similar to the Bisyodo B-C-01 Highlight / Cheek Brush, just larger.

The handles in this set are lightweight, and although the bottoms have a flat edge, they’re too top heavy to stay in an upright position if placed on a flat surface. Lastly, although I’ve been using my brush on and off for months, mine hasn’t become more rounded in shape or even fully ovular. The ferrule shape indicates that it is supposed to be an oval shaped brush, so it’s possible with even more time that my brush may bloom into a shape that I would switch from a sweeping to a swirling application in the future. I think I would still love this brush either way.

Eyeshadow Brush (Packing)

  • Full Length: 133mm / 5.24 in
  • Hair Length: 18mm / 0.71 in
  • Hair Width: *16mm / 0.63 in
  • Bristle Type: Sokoho Goat

The head of this brush is a common shape among many of Chikuhodo’s lines like the FO-5 and R-S1/RR-S1. It’s a bit big for my preference unless I’m just using it in the crease and sticking to an uncomplicated eye look. I can both pack and blend a single shadow in the crease. Other than the aesthetic, there isn’t anything particularly special about the brush. It’s nice and works just fine, but I likely would only reach for this one if my favorite eye brushes were dirty.

Eyeshadow Brush (Pencil)

  • Full Length: 127mm / 1.06 in
  • Hair Length: 12mm / 0.47 in
  • Hair Width: *7mm / 0.28 in
  • Bristle Type: Saikoho Goat

I don’t have the best luck with pencil brushes, but this is made of very soft bristles, grips color well, is fairly flexible and isn’t too dense. I do like this brush for use on the lower lash line and outer corner work, but for the inner corner, the tapered tip is a bit too large for my eye shape. So, if I’m applying an inner corner of the eye highlight, I switch to my long time favorite (and unfortunately discontinued) Smashbox Double Ended Smudger Brush #20. I do see myself continuing to use this and I consider it to be my new favorite pencil brush! I certainly like it a lot more than the Sonia G Lotus Soft Definer that’s intended for a similar purpose!

This set, for my brush preferences, was definitely worth the purchase!

rephr brushes number 17, 19, 24, and 32

The only one of these I actually bought during the holidays was brush 32, along with the brush soap and component D. The rest I purchased during a sale many months prior, so I have a lot more experience with them. However, rather than make a dedicated post, I figured I would include them here.

Brush 17

  • Full Length: *147mm/ 5.79 in
  • Hair Length: 17mm / 0.67 in
  • Hair Width: *22mm / 0.87 in
  • Bristle Type: Goat

I bought this brush during my cream blush phase, trying to find something as amazing as the Sonia G Mini Base. I should have taken my preferences into account. I tend to not like using natural hair brushes with creams, even though undyed goat hair brushes are supposed to be fine for that task. It’s the same way that I generally don’t like the performance of synthetic bristle brushes with powders. Brush 17 blends cream products in a way that is okay, but not perfect. I tend to not like the finish. If I do use it with blushes, they tend to be powder formulas that I can buff onto the cheeks.
Considering this flat top shape, it makes sense that it works well as a bronzer and contour brush. I tend to use this brush mostly for those purposes. It’s very tiny in surface area, so I don’t use it as an all-over face brush.
The hairs are fairly short and not all that dense, so it has a wider splay that doesn’t make for as precise of a bronzer and contour brush. It can be fine most of the time, but if I’m working with a sculpting product that’s a bit dark for me, I have to be careful how I blend with #17 so that it doesn’t spread too widely of a stripe on my face.

Brush 19

  • Full Length: *170mm / 6.7 in
  • Hair Length: 38mm / 1.5 in
  • Hair Width: *24mm / 0.95 in
  • Bristle Type: Goat

I was definitely unprepared for a highlighting brush of this size, especially in thickness. I only use it with highlighters that are subtle or buildable. If I use it with a blinding one or a shade that’s a bit light for me, even taking a tiny amount will lead to overapplying. I still like this brush though, and I’ve even been able to use it to softly apply bronzers, though it’s a bit too sheer of an application for my current contour products. Fans of the Wayne Goss Air Brush might like this one because of the wide but flat width of the brush. #19 is just thicker. The Air Brush has a tapered tip but this one is even sharper in a candle flame shaped tip.

Brush 24

  • Full Length: *160mm / 6.3 in
  • Hair Length: 33mm / 1.3 in
  • Hair Width: *31mm / 1.22 in
  • Bristle Type: Goat

This is easily the favorite rephr brush in my collection. It’s perfect for buffing on bronzer, but I have been enjoying using blushes with it, along with pressed finishing powders. Whenever I wash the brush, I make sure to keep it in a brush guard or do the aloe vera trick to keep the shape compact and dense. I don’t like the performance of the brush in the intended bloom post-wash state, so my methods of drying keeps it the way it originally comes in all its densely packed glory. I believe the head shape on this one is supposed to be a dupe for the famous Tom Ford 06 Cheek brush, although today’s Tom Ford brushes are fully synthetic. Those who missed out on buying the original goat hair Tom Ford brushes may be interested in this alternative.

Rephr’s 05 brush is my second favorite from the brand. The main differences between the 05 and 24 (considering the fact that I keep both in a state that doesn’t allow for blooming) is that the 05 is less dense, picks up less product, and is shaped with the intention of being used specifically for blush. The 24 is more versatile, but I would only use sheer to the heavy side of medium pigmented products with this. Although the brush buffs nicely, I don’t use it with heavily pigmented products.

Brush 32

  • Full Length: *144mm / 5.67 in
  • Hair Length: 13mm / 0.5 in
  • Hair Width: *10mm / 0.4 in
  • Bristle Type: Goat

This is one of only three brushes that were launched from rephr in 2021 and part of their holiday collection. I was curious to see how it applies concealer, spreads eyeshadow primer, and blends eyeshadows in the crease. I hate it with my concealers because it doesn’t spread it evenly. I switched right back to my Sonia G Jumbo Concealer brush to finish the job. Brush 32 works okay to spread MAC Paint Pot, but when I wanted to blend out the MAC Foundation Stick, which I sometimes use as primer, it didn’t work as well. That product is too thick for the bristles and is tough to blend across my eyes. So, the only use I have for this brush is for eyeshadows, particularly in the crease when I’m doing a more blown out look, and it’s just okay. I find myself still reaching for other brushes to smooth out the edges and blend over what I just did with that brush. It’s one of those brushes that are fine with good quality eyeshadows, but certainly will not help the situation if the eyeshadow quality isn’t the smoothest. I already have brushes that can do this job, plus more, so this feels like a fail purchase and just solidifies for me that I am never a fan of rephr’s eye brushes. They aren’t the styles, thickness and density, or softness that ever suits what I want from an eye brush.

While I do recommend rephr’s face brushes if their shapes and sizes are appealing, I can’t ever recommend them at full price; and I don’t believe, based on their business structure, that they’re ever expected to be sold to customers at full price. However, even at 40% off or more, whether I think the brushes are worth it depends on each particular one. In terms of quality, the face brushes are well constructed with soft enough goat hair to keep me still interested in the brand. Their hair is never softer than other fude brands I’ve purchased from though, which is why I always struggle with saying they’re worth buying or not. There tends to be cases where even if it’s worth the price, I personally recommend spending a few extra dollars to get a softer brush with an even more luxurious handle from Sonia G, Chikuhodo, etc. The best of rephr is great. For $4-$20 more than rephr charges, one could easily find fude elsewhere that’s phenomenal. But great is still great, which is why I somehow keep making rephr orders.

Bisyodo Cheri Series CH-P-03 Powder Brush (Round)

  • Full Length: 173mm / 6.8 in
  • Hair Length: 50mm / 1.97 in
  • Hair Width: 36mm / 1.4 in
  • Bristle Type: Sokoho Goat
  • Handle: Wood
  • Ferrule: Silver Plated

According to the description on CDJapan, the ferrules in the Cheri series are silver plated (without saying what it’s plated on), which I hadn’t realized was the case until now. The bristles on this brush are perfectly round and very long without a pinched ferrule, which means the application of product will be light to medium depending on the amount of pressure used. I initially thought I would only be able to use this brush for buffing in face powders because with added pressure it has a very large splay of the bristles. However, if I apply less pressure, dab the tips into a blush, and use a sweeping motion, I can happily use this to apply my blush. The bristles feel very nice to the touch with my fingers, as one of the softest hairs of this goat grade I’ve felt. It’s really not far off from some of my Saikoho brushes, but I can tell that it’s Sokoho hair if I buff it into the skin too fast. There are a few strands in the bundle that are slightly rougher than the rest. I think the price for this brush is fantastic and I will definitely get use out of it, even if it’s not the absolute softest in my collection.

This brush is 3800 YEN and available here.

Houkodou Brilliant Gold Series Domed Blush Brush G-C6

  • Full Length: 130mm / 5.12 in
  • Hair Length: 33mm / 1.3 in
  • Hair Width: 20mm / 0.79 in
  • Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel

The brush head shown on CDJapan’s website looks much larger/wider than what I received. I was quite surprised it was so small, but it is made entirely of grey squirrel hair, so I should have expected this considering the $56 price (at the time). Then again, even after I washed mine (which the photo above is post wash), it still didn’t look anywhere near as full as it does in CDJapan’s product photos. This brush is on the firmer side of medium regarding how tightly the hair is packed. Since most of the squirrel hair brushes I have are intended for sheer applications, it is a bit nice to have a brush with hair that’s bundled a little tight so I can get the soft feel of squirrel on my skin with the bonus of having some blending power.

The G-C6 looks more like a highlighting brush than a blush brush, but those tips aren’t as precise as I prefer, so I actually apply the highlighter to my cheekbones first before blush. I have to blend by the tips with highlighter and contour, but for blush and bronzer that takes too long for my patience, so I pick up the product on the side of the brush so the product covers more surface area and sweep it across my cheeks. Because this brush is intended to be a multi-tasker, it’s rounder and larger than a highlighter brush, while being smaller than all my other blush brushes. This sacrifices the highlighter precision in favor of specific blush placement, which is something I don’t need. I have a large face, so I like medium to large head sizes for blush brushes. Because of the tiny size, I don’t see myself seeking out this specific brush when I want to apply makeup, though I would grab it whenever it was easily within view.

I already have highlighter brushes I can apply with a more precise tip and I’d rather reach for a long handle brush over a short one. So, this wasn’t the best purchase for me purely because of the size and my preferences. I should have paid more attention to the specifications on CDJapan’s website because the measurements are exactly as listed. Perhaps someone with a smaller face would appreciate the versatility specifically because of its size. A brush like this is also ideal for traveling for the compact size and multi-tasking abilities, though I’d rather bring my favorite brushes on a trip regardless of how big they may be (as long as they aren’t too heavy). I personally still think it’s overpriced, even with the (I believe) gold plated ferrule and 100% grey squirrel hair. Fude Beauty just calls it, “a luminous gold hue,” which if it’s not plated then it’s definitely overpriced.

This brush is *8000 YEN and available here.

*Price increase updated 3/25/2023

Houkodou Nagi Series Powder Brush N-F1

  • Full Length: 150mm / 5.9 in
  • Hair Length: 40mm / 1.57 in
  • Hair Width: *34mm / 1.34 in
  • Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel and Sokoho Goat

This is the size I assumed the Houkodou G-C6 brush would be. This brush is slightly less soft than that one due to the Sokoho part of the mixture, but it feels like full squirrel hair to the touch. The N-F1 is packed at close to the same density as the G-C6, but because it has longer bristles it gets wispier towards the tips for medium firmness. It feels like a Goldilocks sort of brush where it picks up just the right amount of blush that I like in order to build up the product in 1-2 layers without taking a long time. It fits perfectly along my cheeks in both sweeping and buffing motions. Although this is listed as a powder brush and not a cheek brush, I’d only use it with blush since it’s so perfectly shaped to my preferences for that task. For someone who wants versatility, I recommend the G-C6, but for anyone who would like a dedicated blush brush at a medium range price ($60) for a Japanese made brush, I recommend the N-F1.

This brush is *8000 YEN and available here.

*Price increase updated 3/25/2023

Muragishi Sangyo HS-1 Hana Sakura Powder Brush

  • Full Length: 160mm / 6.3 in
  • Hair Length: 55mm / 2.16 in
  • Hair Width: *47mm / 1.85 in
  • Bristle Type: Sokoho Goat

I wasn’t initially interested in this brush shape until I saw a photo someone posted of it on Instagram and I noted how full and fluffy (for a round-flat/oval shaped brush) it looked. In this case, how it appears in person is even nicer than CDJapan’s photos, especially post wash when it blooms even more. The HS-2 is a mix of gray squirrel and sokoho goat and is very soft. The HS-1 is supposed to be full Sokoho, but because the hairs are so long and in abundance, the brush has an overall softer feel to it than the typical Sokoho. It would be soft enough for most people, but perhaps not for those with sensitive skin.
I know many people like big brushes like this for bronzer, but I ordered this to use exclusively as a sweeping and buffing finishing powder brush and love it for this task between the soft airy medium dense bristles and its large size to cover most of my face very quickly. This brush is perfect for loose powders, but I need several passes to pick up enough product in pressed powder forms. This brush is a winner for anyone wanting a sheer to light application of powder and those who love big powder brushes. I’ve had the Koyudo BP003 Finishing Brush from the High Class series on my wishlist since August 2020, but now that I have this one, I no longer feel the need to get another goat hair finishing brush in this style.

If Muragishi Sangyo had more long handle options, I would look into getting even more of their brushes because I like what I have from them and I think they are nicely priced.

This brush is *6900 YEN and available here.

*Price increase updated 3/25/2023

That’s all for today! Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

My First Nars Eyeshadow Palette

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I purchased the Nars Climax Palette near the end of 2021 and this is what I will be reviewing. I didn’t want “Climax Palette” in my title, although what better day is there than Valentine’s Day to discuss such a cheekily named product!

This has a great selection of mattes: a brightening, transition, colorful, and deepening up shade. Since I love bright colorful greens, I wish Up In Smoke was a bit brighter and less muted, but I can appreciate that the olive hue in that eyeshadow pairs well with the olive shimmer called Hooked. It’s similar to the way that Public Eye is the matte counterpart to Next Level.

Open Wide adds brightness to my eye area and it is pigmented enough to even partially cover darker shadows. Private Show is a little light as a transition shade for me, but it still works.

I was always under the impression that Nars eyeshadows were lacking in pigmentation, but that is at least not the case with the ones in this palette. They blend and build easily over MAC Paint Pot. Passion Play, Next Level, and Night Rhythm are all more shimmery than I anticipated! Even though they aren’t vibrant shades, the sparkle level is the intensity that I like in my lid shades. Envious is my preferred shade for the inner corner though. The inner corner is the spot where I most easily get shimmer particles in my eye. Envious isn’t to the same sparkle level as the others, especially when I wet my brush. The smoother the formula, the less likely I am of accidentally getting some in my eye while trying to apply it evenly. Envious gives me a nice amount of shine while also being easier to get on the inner corner.

I don’t even have much to say about this palette except that I’m glad I decided to buy it before it sold out, since it’s Limited Edition (it did get restocked recently on the Nars website). If all Nars eyeshadows are this quality, I would want to purchase more in the future as long as the selection of shades match my preferences. I’ve been waiting for years to pick the right one for me, so it might be quite a while longer until I’m interested enough in the color story to buy the next one.

That’s all for today! And Happy Valentine’s Day!

-Lili ❤

I Said I Wouldn’t Buy These, But I did!

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I admittedly have an excessive makeup collection for a single person. Though it may not seem like it considering all the newly released makeup I purchased in 2021, I actually made a bigger effort to talk myself out of getting makeup in categories I already had favorites of and didn’t need. Each product reviewed today were things I thought I successfully anti-hauled, but all it took was a sale for me to change my mind!

These purchases were all made in 2021, so my beauty resolutions for 2022 are still intact and going strong! If anything, this post is an example of why I had to come up with a better plan for this year.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Bronzer in Hazelnut

This purchase I attribute to Angelica Nyqvist’s many videos talking about how fantastic this product is, including her end of 2021 favorites. I wish I could say I had the same experience, but I just find it to be okay at best. This cream is easy to blend out, to the point that I have to build it back up, but if I overblend while building it up, it starts to look patchy because it’s setting in spots at different times. On the opposite side of the issue, I try not to apply too much at once because the shade is a bit deep for me. The shade jump between Hazelnut and the next lighter shade, Caramel, is huge. Hazelnut was my only color option. So, perhaps if I had a better match that didn’t put me at risk of overblending, I might like it better. As it stands, I prefer the Danessa Myricks, Kaja, and Sol Body/Colourpop cream bronzer formulas above the one from ABH because those three all blend quickly and easily into a skin-like finish. They’re also just as deep, or in some cases deeper, than the ABH without the blending and building troubles.

I’ve used this about ten times, so it’s possible I could find another brush that works better with this bronzer other than the Sonia G Mini Base and Scott Barnes #65 Flawless Face Brush, but between using a sponge, brush, or finger, the end result looks similar for all of them. I’m cutting my losses and rather than figure out how to make this one work better, I can just use my no-fuss cream bronzers that I like instead.

Pat Mcgrath Labs Skin Fetish: Sublime Skin Highlighter in Lunar Nude

I couldn’t resist the gold packaging with that embossing, but I’m at least glad I waited for a sale. I told myself over and over that Lunar Nude would look too light for my skin tone, so I shouldn’t get it. I was half right. The shimmery reflective particles are light gold, but the base color is a copper color. It even looks copper or gold depending on the lighting of the room and the angle. The base tone helps it look a little more wearable on me, but it’s still lighter than I’d prefer in a highlighter.

I can see the shimmer particles on my face, which is also not my preference, but I also realized that certain brushes of mine pick up more of the sparkle than others. On the website, there was a note to pair this with the highlighting balm duo. When I used the balm and then applied Lunar Nude on top, it definitely helped to make the product melt into the skin and look super smooth and achieve that “wet look” that I enjoy. However, it really cranks up the intensity level and the fact that the highlighter is too light for me becomes way more obvious. Since I figured out how to use it to my preferences, I like the formula but not the actual shade. Ultimately though, I don’t think this is worth buying at full price except for collectors and luxury product lovers. For anyone looking for the best highlighter on the market for the best price, this isn’t it. Much better and more affordable options are out there. It’s “pretty good” at best. I personally prefer Pat Mcgrath’s Divine Rose highlighter. That one is listed as a “futuristic gel-powder formula” in the “Skin Fetish: Ultra Glow” line whereas Lunar Nude is a “luxe gel-powder formula” in the “Skin Fetish: Sublime Skin” line. It’s possible they are the same formula, but Lunar Nude leaves more sparkle on the skin, which is the biggest difference other than the color.

Pat Mcgrath Labs Highlighter Comparisons

Different lighting to reveal the color shift of the trio.

Of course, since making this purchase, Pat Mcgrath has released similar highlighters to Lunar Nude’s formula in the Bridgerton collection. I don’t believe either of those new colors would look nice on me. If PML releases a shade variation I like in this same formula with the same special packaging and same or similar embossing, I would most likely sell Lunar Nude and buy that one. As it stands, this one isn’t getting much use in my collection but I still don’t want to part with it without a superior replacement.

Smashbox Loves Becca Under Eye Brightener in Dark

Although Becca Cosmetics is no more, a few best selling products were resurrected through Smashbox. This decision is presumed to be made by their parent company Estee Lauder.

There were originally just two shades: light-medium (now called Fair/Light) and medium-deep. The Smashbox x Becca version has two more in the mix: Medium and Dark. It’s my understanding though, based on a YouTube video by All Beauty by Sarah, that the original medium-deep color is actually close in depth to the current Medium shade with the main difference being that the original had a stronger pink tone to it. The third darkest shade now is called Medium/Dark and is much darker than the original medium-deep. The final shade, and the one I picked up, is Dark. Based on the description and the shade in the pot, I expected Dark to be too dark for me. Technically, as this is supposed to brighten my under-eyes, I should have gotten Medium/Dark. However, I prefer for my under eyes to match the rest of my face rather than being brighter, so Dark works perfectly for that. It’s the best matching color-corrector type of product I have ever used because it has a slight orange tone to hide my dark circles, but there’s also enough brown to make it look natural. I try to avoid showing my skin discoloration as much as possible, but in this instance I felt it was necessary to show a demonstration photo below.

Cream products almost always move in my under-eye area, but what makes this one a little different is the very sticky texture. This product has gripping power similar to the Milk Hydro Grip Eye Primer, but stronger than that one. This makes it ideal for applying a concealer on top, even though based on the color match, I don’t find that to even be necessary. However, it will not set on its own, so I either have to apply a concealer that sets down like the Tarte Shape Tape or apply a setting powder to my under eyes (or both). If I apply the Smashbox x Becca corrector by itself, it will settle badly into creases. So, I need at least something on top to keep it from creasing and to continue looking smooth.

So, I have an answer to using this product to hide my dark circles and keep it looking as smooth as possible considering I have heavy lines under my eyes. This product would be perfect if it wasn’t for the transfer issue. No matter what products I apply on top of the corrector, it will lift off my under eyes if I accidentally touch it or if I try to wipe away shimmer eyeshadow fallout. So, despite being the perfect color match for me, this isn’t a holy grail product. I use it on days when I’m not planning to go anywhere and am just putting on makeup for Instagram and Blog photos. I am at least glad I’m still getting use out of it. This would work wonders for people who don’t touch their face or rub their eyes as much as I do, so I still recommend it, but I would be wary about potential issues. Also, I would use a dedicated brush specifically with this product because it’s a bit of a pain to use with my favorite concealer brushes the way it coats the hairs in its sticky texture.

Flower Beauty Jungle Lights Palette

The release of Flower Beauty’s Desert Lights palette didn’t take away the major hype surrounding the original Jungle Lights palette. That’s what ultimately caused me to finally want to try it out. I’ve also always been curious how it stacked up to the MAC Tempting Fate palette a lot of people were comparing it to.

In the photo above, in the “Flash Off” set of swatches, I put a yellow divider line to help show the differences between the Flower Beauty swatches on the left half and the MAC swatches on the right half. In the “Flash On” set of swatches, I did not put a divider in order to keep it from impeding on seeing how similar the two sets look next to each other in every shade except Amazon (which had no equivalent) and Jaguar.

The Flower Beauty Jungle Lights formula is as creamy as everyone says, except Paradise and Jaguar have less slip and feel a tad more gritty. I also like the sparkle and shine level of these shimmers, which clearly surpass that of the MAC Feast Your Eyes Palette from the Tempting Fate Collection.

They’re as nice as people say, and I appreciate the fact that they last fairly well on my eyes as long as I pack on enough color with my finger (which is the recommended application method) and am content with the colors fading a bit to a duller color by the end of the day.

I think it’s worth looking into, especially at the price point. $17.99 is great already, but between a sale and coupon codes at Ulta, I got this one for $8.68. I still would have thought it was worth it at full price.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this palette was when I came across a reddit post showing 47 different shade combinations that could be made using this palette depending on which shade was on the bottom layer and which one was on top. Of course, the differences aren’t as obvious on my skin tone, but there were enough combinations to leave me thoroughly impressed. I took photos of some of the most obvious color changes with comparisons to the individual shades on their own to make it easier to see the differences.

And then the photo below shows all the individual shades plus my favorite five new shade combinations.

Unfortunately, some of these shade mixtures don’t show as well on my eyes as they did in arm swatches. However, it’s still fun to play around with the combinations. It makes for a more versatile palette.

I wish there were some mattes included, but I could perhaps continue to get use out of this if I remember to pull it out in conjunction with some of my all or nearly all matte palettes.

Sigma Beauty Berry Glow Cheek Duo

I really thought this duo looked nice on my skin in person, but in photos, the blush looks very ashy. The fact that it’s cool toned does look a little off to my own eyes though. I’m torn.

I bought the duo for about 40% off during a Black Friday sale and thought it was an extra great price considering it came with a brush as well. The brush will be reviewed in an upcoming synthetic bristle brush post. Considering the ashy look of the blush on camera, I’m not sure if I’ll continue to use it. I guess as long as it still looks nice in person, and I could potentially mix it with a warmer blush, I still somewhat like it. However, considering I also had mixed feelings about the Cor-de-Rosa blush palette, I think this will be the last blush purchase I get from them. I do like the highlighter, as it’s quite smooth with a small shimmer particle size and it doesn’t look stark even though it’s such a pale highlighting shade. It comes off a little more champagne-gold in person even though it looks almost platinum on camera. I’m almost tempted to investigate Sigma’s Glowkissed Highlight Palette from last year, but I have a full highlighter palette already from Danessa Myricks that I just bought during Black Friday too. I certainly don’t need another.

Those who are fans of the Sigma blush and highlighter formula already will likely enjoy the quality of this duo as well. I will continue to give it a few more tries to solidify my own feelings on it, but it’s just “nice” in terms of quality in my opinion. It doesn’t quite reach the “great” territory.

That’s everything! Out of the five items, I wish I could have successfully anti-hauled the ABH Cream Bronzer, Sigma Duo, and this particular shade of PML highlighter, but I really expected to love them and wouldn’t have known otherwise without having bought them first to try out. I will certainly try harder to stick to my anti-hauls in the future.
Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Anti-Hauling the Beautylish Lucky Bag 2022

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This year started off differently when I forgot to purchase a Beautylish Lucky Bag. It has been a tradition since 2016 that every other year, I would purchase the biggest available Lucky Bag. I missed it due to the time difference while I was overseas, but I had long considered skipping this year because of my earnest desire to purchase less and get more use out of my current collection. After seeing what the most common items were in the regular and XL Lucky Bags this year, I’m confident I made the right decision in skipping it. I may start purchasing them again in the future if Beautylish begins to find value in giving a dark skin option for the XL bags, the same way they find value in having a dark skin option for the regular bags. Lucky Bag posts have always been my highest traffic attracting posts, so for those who have been looking forward to seeing it from me, I’m sorry.

From now on, instead of getting Lucky Bags, I’ve been toying with the idea of doing an annual Anti-Haul or “Mock Lucky Bag” involving the products I already have in my collection that end up in that year’s Lucky Bags. It will be quite the reminder that I am already fortunate enough to have the kind of products Beautylish puts in these, with the added bonus of avoiding duplicates and saving money. Plus, I will be able to see how little or how much I’ve used those products and judge whether or not it would have been a good idea to purchase a collection of items I could have ended up with from a Lucky Bag. This is my first attempt at a post like this and I’m not sure how well it will be received, so I’m posting on Thursday as a bonus for the week! I hope you like it!

“Concept” Lucky Bag 2022

Hindash Beautopsy Palette $70
Wayne Goss The Essential Lip Pencil in Mauve $14
Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in Pillow Pie $18
Good Molecules Niacinamide Brightening Toner $14
Hourglass Vanish Blush Stick in Revel $46
Sonia G Builder Three $32

Regular Lucky Bag Cost: $85 (US shipping included)
Mock Lucky Bag Retail: $194

The first three items are examples from an XL box from YouTuber Smiley Shani who was rightly displeased at having items in her box that did not show up on her skin tone, instantly lowering the value of her box. She did a follow-up video explaining why it was so disheartening, one poignant quote being, “It’s another reminder that a lot of brands and companies don’t think about people who look like me…and I forgot that I had to remember that.”

In the beginning, XL bags tended to be more universal, so I accepted the fact that they didn’t feel the need to give shade options. However, my 2020 experience was borderline an issue with a bronzing oil and blush/highlighter palette as my “big ticket item.” After seeing Shani’s experience in 2022, I think it’s safe to say to Beautylish either needs to be more thoughtful about the XL bag products and/or they should add shade options if they care to improve on the bags. Or perhaps this falls under the “fun of trading” Beautylish expects people to do for items that don’t work for them. More on that thought at the end of the post.

There were Good Molecules products in pretty much all the bags, which makes sense as a Beautylish produced brand. Here is another example of someone’s XL bag via Instagram, though it includes the Good Molecules Glycolic Exfoliating Toner. I chose to feature the Niacinamide Brightening Toner because that’s what I got in my 2020 XL Lucky Bag and never used it. That’s right. I never used it. That’s no one’s fault but my own. I purchased the Pineapple Exfoliating Powder around the same time (didn’t start using it until a year ago) and have gotten at least some use out of that one. Good Molecules products are nice, but they only have value if I actually use them!

This person had the Hourglass Vanish Stick Highlighter, but I replaced it with the blush instead. Lastly, AmyLovesMakeup had the Sonia G Builder Three brush in her XL bag. It’s a great brush and one that I own because it was in my 2020 bag.

Although I chose all items from XL bags in this mock up, I saw these end up in the regular Lucky Bags for 2022 as well. I’d also like to note that some of my “replacement” items were exact products in the 2021 bag. I always keep up with what are in each year’s bags even during the years I don’t participate. I used to be so obsessed with these bags that I had to whip out Excel to keep track of what items I saw and how frequently I saw them.

Analysis of Use

I already mentioned I hadn’t even tried the Good Molecules Niacinamide Brightening Toner. I was bombarded with skincare in previous years and was still trying to use up my stash, so I just hadn’t gotten around to it. Had I gotten the Good Molecules Glycolic Exfoliating Toner from this year though, I don’t think I would have tried that either. I’ve had two Glycolic Toners from The Ordinary sit unused in my collection for years before I tossed them, so it would likely have been a bust. I’d be more interested in repurchasing the Niacinamide Toner so I could actually try it since it’s something I’m more interested in now than I was at the time I got it. The Hindash Beautopsy Palette and Sonia G Builder Three Brush are both items I featured in my favorite products of 2021, so of course I’d be over the moon to receive a bag with those two products in it. I used the Wayne Goss Lip Pencil for a while when I initially bought it in May 2020, but I prefer retractable pencils, so I hardly reached for this one. By now, the waxy smell radiating off it leads me to believe it’s time I toss it out. Speaking of things to toss, I’ve had my Smith & Cult nail polishes since 2015, but I barely used them and stopped doing my nails entirely. I’m not a nail polish person. I keep buying polishes wishing I could be that person, as evidenced in my one and only nail polish post on this blog, but I can’t be bothered. I like my natural nails. That being said, the polishes were so expensive that I couldn’t bring myself to toss them, even though they look terrible in the bottles. I’m sure others would be pleased to have an item like this in the Lucky Bags, but it would be a waste for me. The final item is the Hourglass Vanish Stick. I like the blush that I have, though I’ve only used it less than ten times in the nearly five months I’ve had it. The shade of highlighter stick I saw in the Lucky Bags looked like something I would wear, but if I’ve barely used a cream blush, this powder highlight lover is very unlikely to get more use out of a cream highlighter.

Final Conclusions

Even though I like every item in my Faux Lucky Bag, time has proven that I don’t use them enough to justify getting them. The Hindash Palette and Sonia G brush are exceptions to this, but that would bring the total to $102 paid outright for those items and theoretically I would have paid $85 for them plus the other items. That’s a good deal from the perspective of a 17% savings with free extra items, but as someone who wants to only add items I will use to my collection and not have to deal with trying to sell or trade things, I wouldn’t have missed out much by skipping it and just getting the two things I love.

Whether I replaced some items in my mock bag with a different eyeshadow palette, brush, or some other skincare product, there is nothing I saw from the 2022 Lucky Bags that I would have gotten more use out of than what I showed as my concept bag. At least, not without being “extra lucky” and getting items beyond Beautylish’s 15+ bag variations. From my past observations*, those who lived on the West Coast got the best bags (or at least the newest and most popular items rather than those that aren’t selling well). I don’t live in California where Beautylish is based, nor in a West Coast state, so statistically my chances of being extra lucky are even less probable. I didn’t check for locations this year, so it is possible they finally changed that.

*Observations gathered from knowing where YouTubers said they lived, the profile bios/location tags on IG, Locations listed on the Facebook profiles from beauty group members who showed off their bags, etc.

The factor that cannot be calculated is the worth of discovery, the ability to try new things that I wouldn’t have, which could have led to potentially finding a new “holy grail” item. It’s not unheard of considering the Sonia G Builder Three was never on my radar until I actually had it in my hands and tried it. Then again, I recently found an interest in the Builder Pro thanks to the review from Nikki and between the Builder Pro and Mini Booster, those two brushes in my collection can cover the tasks that the Builder Three accomplishes, so I’d eventually have had an alternative. The point I’m trying to make is that I cannot put a price on discovery, but the value of that isn’t worth as much to me now as it would have in the past.

For these reasons, looking at everything, I’m glad I forgot to get a Lucky Bag. I hope this can be helpful to those who missed their chance to get one or to feel confident in choosing to skip it. This post isn’t intended to take away joy from those who receive and love their bags. I just have to remind myself that the chances of me being “Extra Lucky” isn’t very high for me in my situation and now isn’t the time for me to take the gamble. When I emailed Beautylish questions about the bag before getting my first one in 2016 they said to me, “Another part of the [fukubukuro] tradition is also trading with friends to add to the fun, so if you aren’t keen on something you received or already own it, trading is part of the fun!”

So, this bag is ultimately intended for people who think it’s fun to trade or give away items after having spent $75+ or $150+ on products and not liking what they got. One has to have the “oh well” kind of mentality. As they told me, if this isn’t my mindset, it’s not something I should participate in. This is the time I’ve taken their advice, even if by accident.

To clear up any confusion for those who haven’t read my “About Me,” my real name is Lian and Lili is my nickname.

That’s all for today! What are your thoughts on Lucky Bags or just Mystery Boxes in general? I actually bought the Melt Cosmetics one during Black Friday, though I’m not sure if I will end up doing a full dedicated post on that or just feature some of the items in future reviews. What made the Melt one different is that all the boxes were the same, so seeing one review was enough to know exactly what I’d be getting and if it was worth it to buy. I think that’s the kind of situation I’m likely to partake in going forward if I get a mystery box again.

-Lili ❤