Category Archives: Blush

Ofra Cosmetics Review

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Ofra is a small Florida based company best known for their highlighters and liquid lipsticks. I wasn’t aware of the brand until four years ago when Ofra had their first collaboration with Youtuber Nikkietutorials. Since then, they’ve continued to partner with influencers: Nikkie, Kathleenlights, Samantha March, Jen Luvs, and more. I imagine Ofra is doing very well considering their products are available at Ulta. Then again, Ulta recently announced they’ll be carrying Jaclyn Cosmetics despite Jaclyn only having one successful launch after the disastrous lipstick release. That combined with Ulta selling KVD despite the brand struggling for the last two years and taking on Hourglass at their lowest dip in popularity has me questioning what it takes to be stocked at Ulta.

In any case, after my most recent order of the Blushzer, regular blush, liquid lipstick, and brush, I decided I had enough products from the brand to do a full review!

Glow Goals Highlighter (Nikkietutorials Collab)

I have this in Ofra’s older (but not oldest) packaging. It’s a bit difficult to see on camera, but this champagne colored highlighter has a light pink tinge that shows that shade in swatches but isn’t as detectable on my face. I tend to not favor pink highlighters, so I’m glad this looks essentially gold on my skin. This highlighter is a little softer pressed and even though I used the Wayne Goss Air Brush to apply Glow Goals and Rodeo Drive in my photos, the brush picked up way more product with this one and I was left with a far more blinding strip of color. Of course, it makes sense that Glow Goals would be extremely striking considering how much Nikkie loves her highlighters. On occasion, I like an intense highlight, as long as it isn’t glittery. This is definitely one of the most blinding shimmer highlighters I have in my collection and I love the fact that the particles are so fine. Because of the $35 price tag, it’s easy to want to compare this to Becca. The consistency and texture of the powders are different, but the result is similar. If someone wants a more intense version of Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfectors, I recommend trying this one.

Rodeo Drive Highlighter

This is a warmer champagne/gold shade. I like that I have a bit more control with this product and can use a light amount for an everyday look or build it up to be much more intense. The amount seen in the photo above was created using one dip into the pan, which is the perfect amount for my usual tastes. Ofra considers this a “universally flattering shade,” and I honestly think this is as close to one as any brand can really get. It would be those on the lightest and darkest ends of the color spectrum who may not like how this looks on them.
The result I get when using this shade reminds me even more of the effect Becca highlighters can give. One of the benefits Ofra offers over Becca is that the current packaging is magnetic with moveable pans, so I don’t have to keep these highlighters in their bulky packaging. I can put them in my custom magnetic face palette. Other benefits are that they sell refills (which uses less plastic for repeat buyers) and also mini sizes for those of us who never hit pan on powder products anyway, or would just rather spend $18 for less product.

Chick-Lit Blush Duo (Samantha March Collab)

I saw some photos of this blush online that made it look darker than it really is, so I began to wonder if perhaps this is one of those light blushes that could still work for me (like MAC’s Melba and Mocha). Unfortunately, this was not the case. I think this would look better on anyone at least two shades or more lighter than me. I liked the way it looked when I mixed this shade with the right side of the Squad Blushzer, pictured below. This was basically useless in my collection, so I’m glad to know I can keep Chick-lit as a mixer shade.
I found it interesting that the shimmer half of Chick-lit has a darker base color in it than the matte/satin side, but combining the two leads to some icy looking results that I’m not into. It reminds me of the Clinique Pop Blushes, but I like the quality of this one better. Mixing them both also leads to me picking up too much product in the pan, which is quite easy to do as these blushes and blush duos from the brand creates quite a bit of kickup. The large packaging suddenly makes sense to keep the powders contained within the compact so it doesn’t waste product, but as I have a hard time panning anything, I don’t mind losing product.

Ride or Die Blushzer in Squad

While there are other products from Ofra that I’ve been curious about for well over a year (e.g. the Bali highlighter, beauty sponge, and liner), this duo drew me in to the point that I could only resist for about a week after it first launched!

As deep as these halves look, they don’t give intense pigment upon the first application once it’s blended. One pass of the blush, for example, sheers out to a soft medium pink flush. And for this bronzer to show enough to add warmth to my face, I have to really layer it on. This means that someone a few shades darker than me could wear this, but also those much lighter than me could as well.

I mentioned that this blush is sheerer than it looks upon initial application. While it’s great to have a blendable blush, I think it’s mainly due to the fact that this doesn’t stick to my skin very well. I’ve tried it over bare skin, different primers, and different foundations. The result is that this starts to noticeably fade around 3-4 hours and is gone around the 6 hour mark. I rarely have issues with blushes fading on me, so I thought it was a bit strange. However, if I use a setting spray, it does lock this product into place. Out of all the blush products I’m reviewing today, I’m the happiest with this one because I love the shade.

B-29 Coral Crush Pressed Blush

I have mixed feelings about this blush due to this specific color. I like that this is deep enough to show on me, but the particular tone isn’t my favorite. Like the Squad Blushzer, this shade has a bit of kickup. It has a little easier time sticking to my cheeks, but it will fade in five hours unless I use a setting spray.
Coral Crush is smaller than Ofra’s newer blush releases. This was $15 for 4g as opposed to $29 for 10g.

#22 Blush Brush

This is a blush brush in name, but the item description says this is a highlighting brush. I find it’s far too big to highlight with, especially considering how intense Ofra’s highlighters can get. I wouldn’t want an even bigger stripe of this on my cheekbones. The pointed tip makes it suited for the split pan products as a typical blush or bronzer brush might be too big.

This isn’t that soft of a brush and it’s a bit scratchy. The bristles have the look and feel of a low grade goat brush, but it’s actually synthetic. I was a bit surprised because I’m used to synthetic brushes feeling softer than this. Also, it sheds quite a lot. While it’s normal for a natural hair brush that’s been hand bundled to lose a few hairs, I’ve only had a synthetic brush shedding issue from my lower quality ELF brushes, so I was once again surprised considering the price of this brush. At least I got it free with my $35+ purchase.

The washing process can free the remaining straggler hairs from natural bristle brushes, so I hoped that washing this brush would do that as well. Unfortunately, washing this brush only increased the shedding and letting it air dry caused the brush to puff out and become too rounded to be useful. So, I recommend using the aloe vera method or a brush guard after washing to maintain its shape (and I have since done that with this brush to reshapen it). Ofra makes some nice products, but this brush just isn’t one of them.

I’d recommend the ELF Pro/Studio line (with the black handles), EcoTools, or Real Techniques over this one. They’re less expensive, synthetic, and softer. For synthetic bristle brushes at a higher price point, I recommend some of Tarte’s brushes and Scott Barnes. I used to use It Cosmetics for Ulta brushes, but my less expensive brushes are comparable in quality. Also, I enjoyed Smashbox’s original line of brushes (which was mostly natural hair) and while their line is completely synthetic now, I’ve heard great things about the new ones. I haven’t tried them myself yet though.

Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Baroque

I’ve mentioned in a previous post that I have no intention of purchasing lip products this year (with the exception of balms), but this was on sale for $8 and would let me reach the free shipping minimum, so I decided to buy this so I could test out the formula. This shade is described as a nude pink with gold flecks. I haven’t seen any shimmer in this at all and despite looking warm toned in the tube, it’s not as brown or warm on my lips as I’d hoped. I don’t mind that it’s a light shade, but the undertone isn’t my style, even when I’ve paired it with other shades of lip liners.

I still did a few wear tests on it. This formula is very comfortable on the lips. Some liquid lipsticks show a discolored patch if you try to touch it up, but this one doesn’t do that. It isn’t completely transfer-proof (it left a faint imprint on my glass when I was drinking tea), but I had great results from the time I put it on until the time I ate. Without retouching after eating, the lipstick is susceptible to transferring a lot more, but I don’t expect any lip product to last past eating. I give this kudos for only really disappearing in the center-most part of my lips.

While it doesn’t feel drying, at around the eight hour point it starts to look drier than it feels, so that’s when I’d remove what’s left and replace it with a balm. I’ve also tried this with a Tower 28 gloss on top, and while the lipgloss doesn’t displace the color underneath, once you eat, it makes the lipstick especially easy to remove to the point that reapplication is definitely necessary.

In the future, if I want to buy liquid lipsticks, I would definitely consider this brand, but hopefully I’d be better at choosing a shade. I also think Ofra’s reputation for having fantastic highlighters is well deserved. Those two types of products are my recommendations.

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

-Lili ❤

Natasha Denona Collection Review

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I forgot to include my Natasha Denona cheek products in my initial photo, but this post will cover everything I own from the brand!

Bloom Blush and Glow Palette

I use the Glow Cream Base as a subtle wet looking highlighter. I also mix it with the dark red Cream Blush to create a medium pink shade, since I don’t like the tone of the blush on its own. Because of the texture and how quickly it sets/stops being as blendable on the skin, I apply a layer of the Cream Base first to my cheek, then I add one tap of the blush on top and swirl it around with my finger until the adequate amount is laid down. I wipe the excess blush off my finger before continuing to blend until I’m satisfied with the look. I’ve tried the Glow Extreme several times but the sparkle level is too glittery for my taste. On the flip side, the Duo Glow is stunning! I imagine this could be a blush on some people but it is a stunning duochromatic highlighter. Being able to utilize so much of a face palette is uncommon for me, so I’m very happy I bought this. Also, I’ve had this for ten months and the creams haven’t dried out. This palette is meant to last 18 months, so that’s also a pleasant surprise!

Blush Duo

I bought this from a Boxycharm subscriber. The main blush shade is called Golden Coral and is described as a, “champagne peach shimmer and warm pink with slight champagne sheen.” This is not to be confused with the Duo Glow shade in the Bloom palette which is a combination of a, “vibrant coral with golden champagne.” The TouTou shade is meant to blend out the edges. On my skin tone, it’s too stark and just makes the edges look ashy. When I look forward, Golden Coral is a bit too bubblegum pink, and when I turn my face to the light it looks like I applied highlighter all over my cheek instead of a glowy blush. I think if I had a different shade, I would still not be a fan of the way it looks on my skin or its satin texture. MAC and Nabla are the two brands I trust to make a shimmer blush I will like. I haven’t had quite as much luck with shimmer blushes from other brands.

I think I will be decluttering this one from my collection since I doubt I will use it again. It looks pretty in the photo, but in person there’s just something about this color that I don’t care for. Despite the warmth from the gold shimmer, the base color of the blush itself is too cool toned for my liking.

The Mini Lila Palette

I purchased this palette when it was on sale and being discontinued about two and a half years ago. I haven’t noticed any changes in the quality because these shades were always very pigmented, but not the easiest to blend. Although Poison Berry (the dark red-toned purple) and Raisin (warm reddish-brown purple) are pretty colors, they look nearly interchangeable on the eye and I have plenty of shades like them. I wanted this palette for the Blue Dahlia shade, which was more unique in my collection when I originally bought it, but I have many duochrome blue-purples in my collection now, such as Nocturnal from Clionadh and Fierce from Sydney Grace. Linen is pretty, but I typically only use that kind of shade to highlight the inner corner of the eye and under the brow arch. Flint is only good for highlighting under my brow (though it barely shows) and blending out the edges of Poison Berry and Raisin.

I’ve tried to use this many times and to love it, but I think it’s best if I declutter it to allow other palettes I’m more excited by to get my attention.

My Revised Lila Palette

The Lila palette is an older one from Natasha Denona’s brand, but I purchased mine from Beautylish in November 2019. Some of these shades from the original palette are so beautiful, but I felt it wasn’t purple enough, which is why I rearranged this palette using six additional purples from the 28 Purple-Blue palette: Calypso Blue, Nina’s Orchid, Aubergine, Electric Violet, Smoky Plum, and Maroon. I am much happier with the results! The colors are mainly midtones and darker shades, so I don’t have anything to give a true pop of brightness in this one, but I tend to just use whatever highlighter I have for inner corner and brow arch highlights anyway.

As a purple lover, if I didn’t have the ability to add more purples to this palette, I honestly think I would have been more disappointed with this purchase and felt it wasn’t worth buying, even though I got it during one Beautylish’s infrequent sales. I still don’t use this palette as much as I should, but it’s aesthetically pleasing to me and I get joy from knowing it’s there in my collection.

The Mini Gold Palette

I purchased this shortly after it was released, which is rare for me to buy anything at full price. However, the color story was calling to me so strongly that I didn’t have the self control to wait for a sale. Lodge hardly shows on my eyes, but I love all the other shades! Dark Sepia is a much needed deepening up shade, even though I typically reserve that task for mattes. I found that it looks great in the outer corner but I can also use it in the crease with Bia on top to give that grungy olive green depth that I need if I want it to look like more than just a soft wash of green. I originally didn’t like the flaky texture of D’OR, but now that I’ve worked with many different glittery shadows for the past year, my experience makes using this shade much easier now. I thought the green would be my favorite shade, but D’or really elevates the eye looks I create with this palette. Antheia is a beautiful duochrome olive-brown with gold and green shimmer. That shadow’s tone doesn’t pop as much on my eyelid as I think it would on someone else, but it’s still pretty and I prefer how it looks as an inner corner highlight.

If I ranked my Natasha Denona palettes in their non-revised forms, this would be tied with the Bronze palette for second place. It’s also a favorite palette in my eyeshadow collection overall.

My Revised Gold Palette

This is another palette that is older, but I purchased it late in 2019. Although I liked the blue shades, I wanted to have all my blues in the 28 Purple-Blue Palette instead. I kept 8 of the original shades and added 4 from Lila (Magnolia, Layla, Helio, Cyclone) and 3 from the Purple-Blue (Rosewood, Golden Rose, and Oxide). This palette holds one of the most amazing nearly-glowing greenish gold shades called Lime Chrome. It’s possibly my favorite eyeshadow color from Natasha Denona! It’s hard to justify the price when I got this palette for a few specific shades, but I can at least attest to the shimmer quality being amazing! The mattes weren’t very well suited for me.

When it comes to doing eye looks, my version of the Gold palette is better for simpler eye looks if used alone or as a companion palette. If I wore Brass one day and Oro the next, I doubt anyone would notice I was wearing a more yellow-toned gold shade that day. Or if I wore Brass one day and Alchemist the next, I don’t think anyone would wonder if the eyeshadow suddenly became less glittery than the previous day. So, really, the differences in gold shades is for the wearer’s knowledge and benefit. Although I don’t mind repetitive golds, there were quite a few light shades that were going to look pretty much the same on my eyes, so that’s why I removed most of those.

For the eye looks, I added Python, Sparks, and Aria back, although I had to use the very pale Anastasia Beverly Hills primer in order for Aria to show at all on my eyes. The last two eye looks were created using the pink shades in my revised palette, which were not part of the original Gold palette, but I included them in this section anyway.

My Revised 28 Purple-Blue Palette

This is the oldest ND palette in my collection, as I received it from my 2018 Lucky Bag. These have under performed for a while now, but I am not ready to put them on the shelf of retired makeup products kept purely for collector purposes. Although this palette has been rearranged, the majority of the shadows are still here. I mainly removed the purple shades to spruce up the Lila palette. This one currently holds all the colors I like the least or would seldom use in my ND collection, which are mainly cool tone shades. Some of the yellows and golds are beautiful, but I wanted to minimize the amount of similarly toned shadows in the other palettes, which is how those ended up here. 19 are from the original palette, 2 are from Lila (Juneau and Per Se), and 7 are from Gold (Cava, Sandstone, Sparks,Aria, Teak, Aurora, Python).

The Metropolis Palette

I love the greens and blues, plus I enjoy enjoy orange shades, so this palette has a lot to offer me. On a lighter skin tone, the subtle nuances and differences in texture and undertone is enough to keep this palette from being repetitive, but I acknowledge a lot of these colors look similar on me. My favorite shimmer from Metropolis is Orium, a duochromatic “coral with light greenish reflects,” which goes well with everything in this palette. That being said, I still haven’t used Metropolis as much as I wanted. I know the shades are arranged in a way that can be complimentary if used in adjacent quads or by rows and columns, but I am unused to these color combinations, so I tend to not know what to do and I reach for something else instead. I was happy to discover that the pans in Metropolis are the same size as the medium 15-pan $65 palettes, so I decided to swap some of my least use shades and replace them with Suntan, Magma, High Degree, Alloy, Gloaming, and Bliss from the Bronze palette. Then I organized them in a way that makes it easier for me to visualize how to pair the colors together on my eyes!

Metropolis launched in September 2019, but I’ve only had this palette for 13 months. I can happily say that the cream shadows have not dried out, although Symbol did feel less creamy than Enigma from the very start. They’re all still blendable and such a pleasure to use. This palette is labelled to be good for 2 years after opening, which is fantastic.

I already reviewed this palette, mini Lila, and mini Gold in my 2020 Eyeshadow Tag post, which included eyeshadow looks, so I wanted to expand on that by creating new looks using different shades for this one.

This is my favorite Natasha Denona palette and a favorite in my collection overall!

The Bronze Palette

This is the newest addition to my collection. I kept telling myself I didn’t need this and that the color story is repetitive, but I caved and bought it. When I looked at this next to Metropolis and saw all the neutral browns and oranges, I was reminded even more how much I didn’t need this palette. It’s so pretty though! Bliss is an amazing dark pink shadow with gold and green sparkle. Deep Dive has the cream to powder formula that’s present in the Metropolis palette which works well to smoke out any look or add a unique twist to any shadow that’s patted on top of it. Gloaming is a stunning, “burnt umber with a light bronze reflect.” Magma is the perfect crease shade for all these bronze and orange tones. The shadow quality is fantastic. They are all pigmented, even if most of the lighter mattes are the same depth as my natural lid shade and they just blend into my skin and become hard to see. The other shadows more than make up for it. Even Rhodium, my least favorite shade because it doesn’t have enough sparkle to stand out on my eye, looks amazing when paired with the more sparkly shades in this palette. What helps differentiate this palette from Metropolis is the fact that the similar orange shades lean more on the pink and brown side of bronze. The oranges in Metropolis lean more yellow and gold. Although I removed the most fun six shades and put them in Metropolis, I’m happy to say that what I have leftover in my revised Bronze palette still looks pretty and I can see myself reaching for it to use True Copper, True Bronze, Sundown, Deep Dive, and possibly even Rhodium again.

I left Bronze as a workable and still cohesive palette, unlike my revised 28 pan Blue-Purple one filled with shades I wouldn’t miss. Although I wanted to put Deep Dive in my Metropolis palette, I needed to keep it here as my main deepening up shade.

COMPARISONS

When it comes to specific categories like inner corner shades, browns, golds, bronzes, and blues, Natasha Denona’s shades are without question very similar. At the same time, I thought a lot of shades were more similar than they ended up being. For example, in my mind I thought Bia and Lethal were similar because they’re both light greens. However, Bia is on the grassy pastel side and Lethal is a more grungy yellow-green. I also thought about the fact that Golden Rose is a duochrome pink shadow with gold shimmer, and the same can be said of Bliss. In swatching them, I realized Bliss is more of a coral than a true pink. So, Natasha Denona’s use of different undertones and levels of glitter really helps shades that would ordinarily be similar look quite different when swatched.

That’s everything! I’ve been wanting to do a post like this for a long time, so I’m happy it’s complete now. Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog!

-Lili ❤

PUR x Barbie and Kiko Milano 2020 Holiday Collections

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It’s a bit late to post about last year’s holiday items, but as these products are still available and on sale, I really wanted to post my thoughts on them.

Pur x Barbie Palette

I received this palette as a birthday gift. Until this point, I hadn’t tried anything from PUR, but I heard mixed reviews about their eyeshadow formula. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed using this palette! The shadows have a decent amount of pigment, are smooth, and blendable. I am very happy that the orange mattes are distinctly different on my eyes and although the orange shimmers are similar, Trendsetter is actually a duochrome that shifts from the lighter orange in Dream House to a slightly darker red-orange. I’m not sure if I should even call them “shimmers” because they have a semi-flaky texture that reminds me of metallic foiled shadows. I don’t know if I’m a fan of the textured look when applied dry on the eye or even with my finger. In order to get them to look the smoothest, I apply them with a wet brush, which changes the texture, but then it becomes sheered out. That’s when I apply an additional layer on top using my finger. The wet shadow underneath meshes with the dry powder applied on top to keep it smooth yet have that extra layer of pigment. All of the “shimmers” are like this, excluding Icon which is more of a satin formula. The foiled shadows also leave a ton of glitter particle fallout as the day progresses. I recommend using something like a glitter glue/primer to help with adherence.

The shade Barbie Style is medium pink and Timeless is medium red. Although I can tell the difference when I use them separately, because they’re the same depth, I find them to be too similar to use together in an eye look. Motivate and Innovator are both dark brown shades, but I prefer to use Motivate for warmer looks and Innovator if I’m going for something cool-toned.

This palette is great for anyone who wants to dabble a bit into color eyeshadows. The shadows are colorful yet soft with enough neutral shades to keep the looks grounded. Although I love shimmers, I can see myself using this palette mainly for the matte shades.

Pur x Barbie Confident Glow Signature Illuminating Highlighter

Seeing the eyeshadow palette in person made me curious about the highlighter, so I bought it afterwards. I don’t believe it’s available at Ulta anymore, but at the time of writing this, PUR still has it for sale on their website. The formula of this highlighter is very soft and I was happy to see that whether I used exclusively the gold shade, the pink, or both swirled together they basically look the same on the skin. Since I tend not to like the look of pink highlighters on me, I was worried about keeping the shades separated when I apply them, but Pink Taffy has gold shimmer in it which keeps it looking warm toned and not much different from the Bubbly shade. The base color isn’t very strong in either shade, so it blends into my skin nicely.

All the Barbie highlighter swatches are over Kiko Milano’s blush in Candy Cane and Make Up For Ever Velvet Matte Foundation in Macao.

When I apply a heavy amount side by side to my cheekbone (as shown above), there is a minimal difference between them. It’s even less noticeable when I use my usual amount. Since I didn’t purchase this with the intention of having two different highlighters in one, I’m happy that they are similar so I can just swipe my brush in the pan and not have to worry about the shades mixing.

Pur x Barbie Gloss in Boss Gloss

I received this as a free gift with purchase from Ulta. I had the option to choose between this shade or the lighter one called Girl Gloss. Boss Gloss has about as much pigment as a standard Fenty Gloss Bomb, plus noticeable glitter particles. The predominant glitter color is a hot pink/magenta that has an almost metallic affect on the lips. It’s a bit sticky, so I wouldn’t normally wear the amount that it takes to look a bit metallic (double layer). I’m happy to have this, especially at the low cost of $0.

Kiko Milano Holiday Gems Highlighter Palette

I really wanted this, even though I could clearly see in photos that the texture looked glittery. I was so happy when I got it in person and saw that after touching the powder, it looked like more of a wet sheen, rather than sparkly! That’s not to say it isn’t glittery, because it is, but it’s not at the level that would prevent me from wanting to use it (excluding the golden brown shade).

These highlighter swatches were all over the Kiko Milano Unexpected Paradise Aspirational Mauve blush. Kiko didn’t give them names, but they are numbered instead. Highlighter #2 was so subtle in my initial photo that I retook the picture. Although I applied a generous amount, the base color is so close to my skin tone that you can’t see it and all that shows are the sparkles.

As is common with highlighters on me, they look similar, especially on camera. However, there is a faint enough difference that I can say I like shade #1 and shade #3. #1 is my typical highlight color. #3 in person has a warm sheen that compliments my skin tone. #4 is okay, but I find it to be a touch ashy.

Kiko Milano Holiday Gems Plush Suede Blush in 02 Candy Cane

I’m happy to report this blush had no detectable scent! It’s supposed to smell like vanilla, according to Kiko’s website, but I don’t smell anything from the powder. Unlike the Unexpected Paradise blush, which is on the texturally softer side with some kickup, this blush has very little kickup. I wouldn’t say it’s hard-pressed, as I can pick up the product easily enough with any brush regardless of the bristle type, but it’s on the medium side and harder than my other Kiko blushes. Although this shade is a much brighter pink than I’d typically go for, I didn’t think the other two shades would show up on my skin tone (though it’s difficult to tell via online photos which is the only way I have access to these products) and the pretty packaging was a major factor in me purchasing this. I did get this on sale, which happened very quickly after being released on Ulta’s site.

After a little while, this blends into the natural oils of my skin and looks better than the initial application. For that reason, I definitely like it. Even when it first goes on it reminds me of winter wind-kissed cheeks!

Kiko Milano Wonder Woman Starlight Blush in 03 Athena Strategy

I have mixed feelings about this blush. In warmer lighting, this blush looks extremely metallic. I like the color, but it’s as though I put a metallic eyeshadow on my cheek. In brighter and slightly cool lighting, it looks more like a shimmery eyeshadow instead, but in a somewhat nicer way. Regardless of the light, this does emphasize texture and accentuates my pores, which is normally not a problem for me. For those looking out for fragrance, this has a pleasant fruity scent. I don’t smell it once it has been on my cheek for a bit, but the smell lingers in my blush brush.

I don’t see myself using this again, but I wanted it for the Wonder Woman theme anyway. This is the only Wonder Woman collection I’ve seen within my price range (*cough* House of Sillage *cough*) that excited me. So, I’m holding onto it for collector purposes.

Kiko Milano Unexpected Paradise Blush in 03 Aspirational Mauve

This blush smells a bit like coconuts and sunscreen or tanning oil. The smell is very artificial but it fades quickly on the cheek. There are three shades in total. I thought MAC was the only brand that could make mauve and plum blush shades I like on me, but after wearing this one, I’m beginning to accept that perhaps mauve is a generally nice color for me! Although it’s the darkest shade they had, it gives me a flush of color that I can’t overdo, even if I really pack this on. However, this will probably not work on someone more than a few shades darker than I am.

Here are all the blushes swatched together with flash off and on.

That’s everything! It was fun to try PUR and Kiko Milano for the first time. I don’t think any of these products will end up being holy grail status, but I’m happy to have and enjoy them.

Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Milani and Clinique Blushes

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Today’s review is about redemption! My first experiences with Milani and Clinique blushes were not very good, but I decided to give them another chance. With one brand it was worth the risk, but not so much with the other.

Milani Rose Powder Blush in Coral Cove

Coral Cove in varying amounts of sunlight.

This was the first Milani blush I purchased, and it was almost my last. This brand is so hyped up when it comes to blushes. I’ve never heard a single criticism about them, so while I was in the midst of making my original MAC blush post, I decided to give Coral Cove a try to compare. This blush is shockingly chalky and gives a low color payout. I can build it up on my cheeks, but it’s not just a matter of the shade not being pigmented enough. I really dislike this formula. The rose imprint and the color are nice, but I will never reach for this again.

Milani Sunrise Serenità

This shade and Cocoa Felicita are the newest additions to Milani’s line of baked blushes. They are the reason I decided to give the brand another try. I figured it was possible that when everyone raved about their blush formula, they might have been talking about the baked ones. I can say that I do enjoy these. They are much better than the rose powder blushes.

This particular shade works more as a highlighter or blush topper on me.

Milani Cocoa Felicità

In Yours Colourfully’s review video, she mentions that the blushes in the original packaging (with gold bottoms) were made in Italy. I expected to see the two new ones with this packaging (black bottoms) but the Sunset Passione shade that I’ll discuss after isn’t a new shade but was sent to me in the new packaging and was made in the US too. So, perhaps the original packaging is being phased out and all of the newly produced baked blushes are being made in the US now. I’m mentioning this because although I like these blushes, they have an insane amount of kickup! I don’t know if these are meant to be like this or if there was a formula change. On all three blushes, the powder you see around the edges were like that when I opened the package. The blushes weren’t even used yet when I took the pictures. And once I did start using them with my goat hair blush brush, a ton of powder came up with it. It has the most kickup I’ve seen from a blush or any other baked/pressed powder! When I switched to a synthetic brush, it lessened the amount of powder picked up, but there was still a moderate amount of kickup.

This shade works the best for me as a blush. I really like it! It’s not as dark as I expected from looking at it in the pan, but it’s the darkest shade in the line. I would like to see other deeper toned blushes from Milani in the future.

Milani Sunset Passione

This shade is very similar to Cocoa Felicita, but a little lighter and a little more rosy toned.

It’s a little harder to see on camera. In person, it still looks subtle on my cheeks with the exception of the obvious shimmer.

Clinique Warm Up Cheek Pop Palette 2019

I bought this holiday palette last year and barely used it. The shades Blush and Sorbet were limited edition, but Cola Pop is a permanent single blush in Clinique’s Cheek Pop Blush line. The reason I wanted this item was to try out Cola Pop and for the ability to mix the shades for additional color combinations, but I just didn’t like how any of them looked on me.

All 3 shades mixed together.

They brought back this palette with the same name but the only shade from the original is Cola. The two lighter blushes are different.

Clinique Holiday Cheek Pop Palette 2020

I told myself not to buy this year’s palette but my curiosity got the better of me. I knew the Black Honey shade would show up on me, based on another video from Yours Colourfully, and I really wanted the highlighter. I purchased this during Sephora’s Friends and Family sale, so the price was a great value. I like that this formula is more matte. The blushes from last year were more satin than matte. The packaging also feels sturdier and better quality, as this includes a mirror in the lid, unlike the one from last year. I like the highlighter, but unfortunately, I still don’t like how these blush shades look on me either.

The Gold Celebration shade is used as highlighter over a different blush (I forgot which blush I used).

I think I can officially say the Clinique blush formula just isn’t for me. They aren’t bad blushes at all, and if you like them already, these palettes are a fantastic deal. It comes down to a matter of preference for me and how they look on my skin in person.

Clinique Comparisons

Overall, my second chance blush experiment was a success because it helped me fine tune what my preferences are. I’m glad I could finally try Milani’s blushes in a formula that I can recommend. Although Cocoa Felicita is the only shade that I will use as a true standalone blush, at $7.99 each (I used a first time customer discount code so it was even less) these didn’t break the bank. Do I still recommend waiting for MAC to have another 30-40% blush sale and purchase from them instead? Honestly, yes. But this is a decent alternative for those who don’t want to wait.

Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Lethal Cosmetics Face Powders, Velvet Dusk Palette, and More

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I’m a big fan of Lethal Cosmetics for their quality products, fantastic customer service, fast worldwide shipping, and the importance they place on diversity and inclusion. My initial interest in the brand was for their eyeshadows. At the time of writing this, I own 72 out of their 90 individual shades released so far, and I reviewed most of them earlier this year.

Even though I’m trying to limit the number of face products I buy, I couldn’t resist ordering from Lethal on launch day. I purchased the Solstice palette, another highlighter, blush, bronzer, and the Lethal Cosmetics x Jolina Mennen eyeshadow palette. The same morning I began working on this post, the brand announced their new Velvet Dusk Collection and details about a Black Friday sale, so I delayed posting until those items arrived as well.

Face Powders

The Solstice Palette

This is one of the four premade palettes on Lethal’s website. It was created for those with dark tan/olive to deep skin tones. Lethal Cosmetics has six individual highlighters that have been available long before the bronzers and blushes, but the highlighters in the premade palettes are exclusive to those palettes. The exclusive shade from Solstice is called Gravity and it has a strong yellow base. The blush included is called Echinopsis and the bronzer is Caldera.

Although Lethal doesn’t have designated contour powders, within the bronzer line are three shades with cool undertones that I consider contouring-bronzers. I picked up one of them called Zenith.

Until Zenith, I had no real contour powder that I liked enough to wear regularly. The best one I have is actually a Colourpop eyeshadow called Cloud Nine.
Because Caldera is warmer and I prefer to use bronzer around my forehead, while Zenith is cool-toned and I prefer that for cheek and jaw contouring, I have found uses for both powders in my collection. I actually replaced the Gravity highlighter with Zenith in my trio palette when I was on a brief trip for my birthday. The palette is magnetic with holes in the back and the pans are not glued in, so that makes it easy to mix and match face products.

Terrestrial is the newest addition to my face powders that I purchased with the launch of the Velvet Dusk Collection. I wanted to see if I could get a cool-toned contouring bronzer that was closer to my skin tone for times I might be in a rush and don’t want to have to be careful about how much I apply. Between Terrestrial and Zenith, I think Terrestrial is better for me.

I’m experimenting with daylight bulbs so the newest photo additions look different in terms of my skin tone for this reason. I’m trying to find a balance between being bright enough versus washing colors out.

I like these powders, but I should note that these are not beginner-friendly in the sense that using the wrong brushes can make these harder and more time consuming to blend. I found this to be the case for the bronzers and blushes, but not the highlighters. Also, when it comes to bronzers, I still prefer the Kosas Sun Show Moisturizing Bronzer and the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush matte bronzers because of how they look on the skin and how they blend regardless of the tool. It should be noted that those two bronzers are 2-4 times more expensive than the ones from Lethal.

The texture and consistency of Lethal’s powder products remind me of MAC’s Satin blush formula but they are definitely matte and they perform like MAC’s brighter blush shades, such as Loudspeaker and Frankly Scarlet. What I mean by this is that wherever you first apply with the most pressure is where the powder mostly sticks. They’re still blendable, but using too small of a brush can concentrate the product in too small of an area that is time-consuming to smooth out. If the initial placement covers the entire area you want, it makes the blending process easy. This is why I recommend using a fluffy brush with these powders in order to disperse the product lightly and evenly.

Calyx was more orange than I expected. Echinopsis is more of a berry color, and darker, but it can be worn in a sheer layer as demonstrated in the photo above (a heavier application is in the Terrestrial section). Between the two, I think Echinopsis looks better on me.

As I mentioned before, Gravity has a strong yellow base, so I prefer to wear it only on days when my blush is on the more neutral, natural, and sheer side. This way, the highlighter doesn’t have to compete for attention, so to speak. If I use less, Gravity doesn’t look as strikingly yellow, but it’s still very apparent in person.

Gamma is an “elegant bronze with warm gold highlights.” It is everything I want in a highlighter! It can be subtle and look more shiny than glittery, but it can also be built up more intensely. I think it’s a better shade match for me as well.

Both highlighters are over Echinopsis and Terrestrial.

Gamma, Echinopsis, and Terrestrial is my new favorite trio palette pairing! I have a magnetic palette with depotted face products that I’ve taken on trips before, but this is the first time I’ve ever had a highlighter, blush, and bronzer/contour from the same brand that actually works for me and is kept in an aesthetically pleasing palette that looks like it was premade! Although I could pack a trio of Nabla Skin Glazing Products, I find carrying one palette to be easier with less chance of an accident than a stack of 3 compacts.

Eye Palettes

Lethal Cosmetics x Jolina Palette

I love the fact that these shimmer shades make beautiful new colors when mixed together. For example, Fck Me Eyes and (A)mar create a pretty turquoise blue. Loyalty is a red-based purple but when combined with (A)mar is makes a nice deep cool purple. For a white shade, Scandal is not stark on my skin tone and I can actually use it in the crease. This is probably the only white shade in my entire eyeshadow collection that I like! The only color in the palette I dislike is Cold Brew, and that’s because it’s the same color as my hyperpigmentation. When I use it, it looks to me like I missed a spot or that the eyeshadow faded, but it’s just the color of the shadow.

Overall, I find the quality of this palette to be consistent with Lethal’s single eyeshadows. With the exception of a few shades, there are close enough similarities to other Lethal singles that I don’t think this palette is a necessity for anyone with a large enough collection of their shadows. If your collection is on the smaller side, this is a great way to get a variety of neutrals with vibrant pops of color at a more affordable price. The pans in this palette are smaller than the individual shades, but I have still yet to hit pan on any eyeshadow in my collection, even with mini palettes.

Velvet Dusk Eyeshadow Palette

These pans are also available for purchase individually, which is why I counted them as part of Lethal’s 90 current shadows. What made the Velvet Dusk collection especially exciting is that for the first time, Lethal introduced two “triochrome” eyeshadows.

Lethal has had duochromes for a while, such as Aerial, Stargaze, and Mainframe. Apart from certain shades like Enigma and Lucid, I don’t consider a lot of them to be true duochromes because they don’t make as much of an impact as the duochromes from other brands. I’m also more impressed when a duochrome is one base color that either shifts to another shade or the glitter color very different, as opposed to a base color with plain gold or silver shimmer particles.

Keeping this in mind prevented me from expecting much from the triochromes, so they weren’t the selling point for me for this palette. I just loved the overall color story. It’s rare that I like even half of the shades in a palette. With this one, I was drawn to 10 of the 12!

As for the triochromes Revolve and Covet, they do have a shift but they aren’t easy to see. With Clionadh, you can see a change on the fingertips, the pan, the eyelid, and/or arm swatch. Revolve is a shade I can slightly see on the finger in very specific angles but Covet is extremely difficult. I cannot see a change on either of them in arm swatches. I can faintly see a shift on the lid while wearing Revolve if I’m in the proper light. However, the only time I could capture anything from Covet was on my palm. I included a photo below, but to see a 3-second video clip you can click here. I was unable to figure out how to change the video dimensions to be smaller and embed it to a reasonable height and width on this page.

There’s something that seems a little different about the formula of the Velvet Dusk shades (and even the ones from the Afterdark palette), but I can’t put my finger on what it is or how to explain it. They’re still pigmented like the others and long-wearing. Corrosion and Deceit took a bit of work to blend. Deceit specifically is a bit patchy but the sparse areas can be patched up if extra shadow is added on top and not manipulated too much. All of the shadows in this palette stuck to my arm fine in swatches, but these absolutely need a primer in order to stick properly to my eyes. There isn’t anything wrong with needing a primer, but my other Lethal shadows from the older collections still look great without it.

I’ve found that the mattes work better over MAC Paint Pot and the shimmers work better on the Urban Decay primer potion or a non-dry base, even though Lethal recommends a dry base for all of them.

This palette is another great mix of pops of color with neutrals, just with a grungy twist. It isn’t perfect, but I would still recommend this to anyone who likes the color story. I don’t recommend this to someone specifically wanting it for the duochromes and multichromes. For those kind of shadows with more impact, I suggest Clionadh, Devinah, and Terra Moons. Even JD Glow’s Galaxy Shadows have more sparkle and shine.

Additional Single Shadows

Besides the new Velvet Dusk Palette eyeshadows, I added Synth, Ephemeral, and Frequency to my collection. I kept updating my previous Lethal Cosmetics post with either arm swatches or eye swatches each time I got a new order. It looked a bit messy, so for the sake of consistency, I redid all 72 eye swatches here! I felt it was important to show how they look on my eyelids because what I expect from the pans isn’t always what I get on my lids.

I also redid all the arm swatches because I wanted to have similar shades from lightest to darkest next to each other for comparison purposes.

The only shadows I don’t have yet, plus the remaining face powders I’m curious about are in the photo below.

Light colors of eyeshadow are my least favorite, and I don’t need so many medium-toned browns, so that is why these haven’t made it to my collection. Due to the cost of shipping, I don’t intend on making another purchase just for two more face powders, so those won’t be reviewed unless another new release catches my eye from them in 2021. I’m also planning a low-buy for 2021, so perhaps I will skip them entirely.

That’s everything! Thank you for reading! If there are any swatch comparisons you’d like to see from Lethal or any of the products in my posts, just let me know!

-Lili ❤

INDIE BRAND SPOTLIGHT: Juvia’s Place Review

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I’ve been a Juvia’s Place customer for three years now, but it wasn’t until 2019-2020 that I actually started using what I purchased. Most of my experience with the brand is through their eyeshadow palettes. The quality is great but the color stories always threw me for a loop. I never knew how to pair colors together in a way that I felt was cohesive and made sense. Depotting the shadows helped because it was easier to have access to other complementary shades. Now, I’m actually getting use out of them!

Lip Products

I’ve heard amazing things about Juvia’s lipsticks and lip liners that were released this year. I’m not very adventurous when it comes to lip products, so I had no intention of possessing any, but due to an error on Ulta’s part, I wound up with a mini Lip Duo.

Wahala Mini Lip Duo

A strange but unimportant thing I noticed is that the lip gloss in the set came with a plastic shrink band but the liquid lipstick did not. I don’t know if it’s just mine that was like that or if all of them are supposed to be that way.

Shakara is a gorgeous color, but right on the cusp of being too pale for my preference. Using a lip liner is enough to make Shakara wearable for me, but my favorite combination is pairing it with a lipliner and gloss. Petty Betty isn’t the kind of pink I normally gravitate towards, but it pairs well with Shakara and is still nice on its own.

Juvia’s Place Eyeshadows

I used to have the Saharan palette, but I gave it to my sister. I even gave my unused/unswatched Tribe palette to her because I was uninspired by the color story after seeing it in person. It wasn’t until I watched LonDen Makeup Artistry’s video that I suddenly felt the urge to give it a chance and repurchased it. I’m so glad I did!

The only eyeshadow palette I haven’t depotted yet is The Chocolates, but I intend to soon.

Juvia’s Place currently has 11 mini six pan palettes. Other than the Mariposa collab, the minis don’t have shade names. Whenever I’m referencing them, I refer to them from left to right by row. I’m missing shade number 6 from the Violets palette. It broke when I was depotting it and I wasn’t interested in that color enough to try and salvage it.

The shade names in green are from the Tribe palette, which has been discontinued. Blue is for the Magic palette, Purple for Masquerade, and lilac purple for the Violets.

What I like most about Juvia’s Place eyeshadows is the level of pigmentation. I never have to worry about shades not showing up on me. They also last a long time without fading. The mattes and shimmers are equally easy to work with. There are frequent 30-40% off sales on their website, and even periodically at Ulta, so you can always snag their products at a discount. So far, Wahala and Wahala 2 are the exceptions to the discounts. They’re already a great price. The only reason I haven’t purchased them is, once again, due to the color stories. Another deterrent is that Juvia’s Place has been putting a lot of pressed glitters in their palettes this year, which I try to avoid.

Blushes

When I said Vivid Azalea from Wayne Goss was the most pigmented blush I’ve ever come across, I completely forgot about my Juvia’s Place Blush palettes. When I saw these in person, I realized right away that they were not going to work for me. Both palettes have the most unique blush shades I’ve seen, which is a great thing in terms of bringing something different to the makeup world. However, this does make them less wearable to the average consumer, as only a few of these will look natural and on someone and not everyone is into wearing avant-garde blush looks for the remaining shades that are too bright, light, dark, or too different of a tone to give a natural flush.

The Saharan Blush Palette Volume 1

When I realized these blushes were a bit too out there for me, I utilized the palette by scraping some of the powder out and combining them with other brands’ blushes to create custom blush shades for myself. I intended to get more use out of these by using them as eyeshadows and depotting them into my magnetic palette with Juvia’s Place shadows, but I typically break every pressed matte shade from Juvia. That’s the only reason I haven’t done so already. I can always press them back, but I’ve contemplated whether it’s worth the hassle.

Aby was clearly far too dark for me, so the best use I’ve found for that shade was as a contouring-blush. I used a fluffy blending eyeshadow brush to slowly and lightly build the color into the hollows of my cheeks.

Neo is the most “natural” shade for me in this palette, though I’ve struggled to use a light enough hand to apply that shade in a way that I would feel comfortable wearing it. In the second photo above, I applied with a light hand but it was still incredibly pigmented. In the third photo, I used a Makeup Eraser cloth to remove some of the color in order to tone it down a bit.

Lila and Zara look very similar in the pan, but Lila has much smaller shimmer particles, so it looks less glowy and a little more subtle.

Zane was the most difficult to apply to the cheek without looking patchy. I kept over applying in the process of trying to get it to look smooth.

Toby was the easiest to apply evenly. However, I’m not a fan of this color blush on me.

The Saharan Blush Palette Volume 2

I bought the Saharan 1 on August 2019, and even though those shades were not what I expected, I still bought the Saharan 2 in December 2019 because I was hopeful that this palette would suit me better. In some ways it does, because I prefer a blush that’s too light over a blush that’s too dark on me. However, these are cooler-toned blushes. Warmer tones look better on me. There’s also the issue of Yara being invisible on my skin.

Tau is the most natural-looking blush of the bunch on me. I tried to apply a subtle amount like I did with all the other blushes, but I could have built up this shade more heavily. It’s very unique for orange, as orange is typically warm, but this one is muted as though it has a cool pinkish undertone to it.

I was happiest with the way Bee and Sola looked on me, as I prefer to wear standard blush colors on my cheeks. I expect a shade like Bee to be too light for me, but because it is so pigmented, it definitely shows on my skin tone and without a grey cast! Unlike Zara and Lila from the previous palette, which I would never use as blush or blush toppers (just highlighter), Sola works as a highlighter, blush, and blush topper. The only potential issue is that it takes some blending when using Sola as a blush because the shimmer doesn’t spread evenly. It’s as if the shimmer is still moveable on the skin but the base pigment stays in place.

I’ve used these blushes as eyeshadows. The mattes are heavily pigmented for blushes, but they need a little building up on the eyes for full pigmentation. This does make for easy blending though. The shimmers in this formula are a slightly thinner version of the regular eyeshadow shimmer formula. They don’t require glitter glue or wetting them, but those methods can be used to intensify them. In the eye looks below, I only used MAC Paint Pot.

Juvia’s Place consistently has great quality products at affordable prices. I do recommend giving them a try!

Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Wayne Goss, Charlotte Tilbury, and Patrick Ta Blushes

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It’s my birthday! Because this has been the year of blush for me, I thought a high-end blush post would be fitting for today.

Wayne Goss Weightless Veil Blush Palette in Vivid Azalea

Wayne Goss released four blush duos, but this one was the most unique to my collection, so I chose this over Bright Poppy. The magenta shade is called “Shocking” and the white gold highlighter is called “Pearl.” In Wayne’s announcement video, he mentions that customers can utilize these duos in the traditional way, or even apply the highlighter directly onto the cheeks and blend the blush over it to create a unique shimmery blush shade.

I loved the way the highlighter-under-blush technique looked on other people in videos I’ve seen, but I think I prefer to just use them the traditional way. The highlighter formula is fantastic. The blush is pigmented. I cannot emphasize this enough. It is the most pigmented blush I have ever come across. I can use my softest squirrel brush to do one gentle tap into the blush and the minor amount of powder on my brush is still enough to be overkill. Just one dab! In order to get the pigmentation level you see in this photo, I had to do one single dip into the pan and then dab it once on the back of my hand before applying what was left on the brush to my face. Then I spent a fair amount of time blending. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but apparently there is such a thing as too much pigmentation, and my goodness this the prime example of that! Here is a photo from Instagram of what a single tap in the pan produces, even after plenty of blending.

This shade of blush can be splotchy if the brush isn’t coated evenly in that first dip, so even though you don’t want much on the brush, I advise still trying to pick up enough to cover all the bristles and then do a few extra dabs onto the back of your hand or a napkin to take some of the excess product off.

The blush duo costs $45. You’re getting a monster 19 grams of product, but I could use this blush regularly for the next five years and not even put a dent in it considering I use a maximum of one dab per use. Looking at this per gram, the duo is a decent price, but considering the cost only, this is more expensive than the $38 Natasha Denona Blush Duos, $38 CoverFx Monochromatic Duos, $30 ABH Blush Trio, etc. I personally would have been happy to see this priced around $35 for even half the amount of product. I can’t say it’s worth $45, or at least not this particular blush in the line. I bought this during the Beautylish Gift Card event, which is the main reason I’ve decided to keep it anyway. It’s still an interesting product and I especially like the highlighter.

I have one other item from Wayne’s line, but this is a blush post so I won’t go too much in-depth about it. It is a lip pencil in the shade Mauve. The price was $14, which I think is fair for what you get.

Patrick Ta Monochrome Moment Velvet Blush in She’s Seductive (mauve plum)

I saw plenty of reviews before buying this blush, so I knew ahead of time that this range was on the softer side and not super pigmented. This is the darkest blush in the line and as you can see in the swatch, it’s lighter than my skin tone, but I still like the way it looks. Something about the tone of it is very flattering to me. For the price though, I don’t know that I’d necessarily recommend it considering how many other nice buildable blushes there are of equal or better quality, yet for better prices.

Patrick Ta Major Beauty Headlines – Double-Take Crème & Powder Blush in Oh She’s Different (rich plum)

Similarly to the Wayne Goss Blush, I’ve heard that Patrick Ta says this blush can be worn the traditional way with the cream below and the powder on top, or his advised way of having the powder underneath and the cream on top to maintain the natural skin-like dewiness.

Perhaps I’m not using these in the correct proportions, but I don’t see much of a difference between using the powder on top or the cream on top. If anything, I still prefer having the powder on top because I feel I get more coverage that way. I feel comfortable using the powder alone, but the cream portion is even less pigmented than the Fenty cream blushes, so it takes a bit of building up. However, both are decent products. I like them, but if I ranked all my blushes, this would probably fall somewhere in the middle.

Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Blush in Walk of No Shame

I’ve heard of these swish-and-pop blushes before, but what enticed me to try one now, and in this particular shade, was the number of Youtubers saying how much more inclusive this shade was in the line. I was initially excited when I had it in person but was surprised when I swatched it and did not get the level of pigmentation I was expecting.

The outer “berry” ring is quite light on me, which I don’t mind, but mixing it with the inner “champagne” ring on my cheek lightens it up even more to the point of being a whisper of color with a whole lot of shine.

Both rings have shimmer, so that is unavoidable, but the champagne one is intentionally more shimmery. I’m glad I have it because it works as a subtle highlighter similar to the subtlety of Hourglass Ambient Powders and Guerlain Meteorites. As a blush product though, I only like using the outer ring, which presents a challenge as only my smallest blush brushes can pick up the color without touching much of the middle. This blush is also harder pressed which adds to the difficulty.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I like this blush, but I would have loved it if it was more pigmented. A few times I’ve actually used a mixture of both colors with the At Night blush from Hourglass on top to add more color without as much extra shimmer.

That’s all for today! Thank you so much for reading, liking, and/or commenting. It helps to keep me motivated to post consistently. I do this because I enjoy it, but it feels especially good to see the stats and know that my words are being seen.

-Lili ❤

Fenty Beauty Review

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I already posted about the Fenty Sun Stalk’r Bronzer here and the Cream Blushes here, but these are additional photos of those products. Mocha Mami is in the first picture alone and in the second photo is a lightly applied mixture of Strawberry Drip and Rose Latte along with Mocha Mami. I’m a fan of all three products.

Today, I will be focusing on the other Fenty Products in my collection!

Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizers and Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipstick

Fenty Glow – (shimmering rose nude) I have this shade in the full size. During the initial launch, the gloss bombs were, and I believe still are, very hyped up. Fenty Glow is specifically marketed as a universally flattering shade. I do love the way it looks on me! The gloss bombs are thick without being goopy. It’s the kind of formula that clings to the lips and will last longer than thinner gloss formulas. If your hair gets in your face, it will stick to the gloss, but when I open and close my mouth, I don’t get that sensation of my lips getting stuck the way some sticky glosses can.
The sparkles in this are nice and fine. All three of my gloss bombs have a sweet fruity scent.

Cheeky – (shimmering bright red-orange) I have this in the mini size from the mini gloss bomb set that was released for Holiday 2019. I wanted Cheeky and Hot Chocolit the most, so I gifted the other three shades. Cheeky is available in the full size exclusively on the Fenty website.

Hot Chocolit – (shimmering rich brown) I expected to love this shade the most, but it’s my least favorite of the three. I tend to only wear it on top of another lip product that is too light of a shade in order to deepen it up. Hot Chocolit has bright red glitter, which is pretty in the tube, but I don’t like it on my lips. Also, the glitter particles in Cheeky and Hot Chocolit are larger and more noticeable on the lips, which is not my preference.

I wish there was a bit more color pigment to Cheeky and Hot Chocolit. I was tempted to get this year’s mini set, but because the shade differences are so subtle on my lips, I don’t think it’s worth getting more when the current ones I have will suffice. Tower 28 glosses have now reached the hype of the gloss bombs, so I’m more likely to try those in the future than get the new gloss bomb mini set. The gloss bombs are still my favorite glosses in my collection and my overall favorite Fenty Beauty product.

Griselda – (bold burgundy) I have this Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipstick in a trial size. It had the Fenty logo on the bullet, but I cut off part of it to be used in some DIY lip projects of mine. It’s such a beautiful color, and although mine is getting old and the consistency isn’t quite the same, I remember enjoying how smooth it was and thinking that if I wore lipsticks more often, this is one of the shades I would get for some gorgeous vampy looks. I tend to prefer this kind of purple with a red tone over more blue toned purple shades.

Match Stix Matte Contour and Shimmer Skinsticks

Espresso – (contour for medium deep skin tones, cool undertone) This was my favorite contour product in 2019. It’s creamy and blends out nicely. Even though it’s described as cool, it pulls a little warm on my nose which is why I only used this for contouring other areas of my face.

Caviar – (contour for deep skin tones, cool undertone) this is one of the two deeper shades that were introduced to the line in 2020. I bought this because I wanted something cooler-toned, but I underestimated how rich of a color it is. Contour products are ideally only a few shades darker, so this one is too intense on my complexion. It’s not that I can’t wear it at all, but it takes a lot of extra time to sheer and blend it out so it won’t look too harsh on me.

In the photo on the left, I’m wearing Espresso. I’m wearing Caviar in the middle picture and in the last one I have the two shades blended together.
I still like this product, but love the Uoma Beauty Double Take Sculpt + Strobe Duo Stick even more. #3 Bronze Venus is a better shade match for me and the formula is creamier, which makes it easier to blend. Bronze Venus is neutral-warm for a contour but it’s deep enough to still have a chiseling effect, even without having enough grey to create an actual shadow effect.

With the contour sticks, I typically draw a line and blend it out with a dense synthetic brush or the mini Tati Blendiful. Occasionally, I blend with a damp sponge, which leads to gorgeous results but I’ve never gotten into the habit of using a sponge consistently.

Blonde – (glimmering gold) I’ve only used this twice and never in public. I like some strong yellow-based highlighters, like Becca’s Champagne Gold, but this one I feel stands out in an unflattering way on my skin tone. It also has very noticeable glitter up close.

Rum – (gilded bronze) This is my favorite of the three because it blends in well with my skin tone and is a traditional highlighter shade. Because it matches so well, the glitter is less noticeable. It just has the appearance of a shimmery sheen. Unlike the contour sticks, I prefer to apply the shimmer sticks to my face by rubbing some of the product onto my fingers and dabbing it onto my skin. I think it looks more seamless when I use a sponge, but I dab the product onto my cheeks first with my finger, just to place it, and then blend with the sponge. When I rubbed the sticks directly onto the sponge and then blended it onto my face, I felt that I ended up with a thicker area of highlighter than I normally would have. I was also unsuccessful in being able to completely remove the stain from Chili Mango off my sponge.

Chili Mango – (sun-kissed orange sheen) I bought this during my search for the best traditional orange shade of blush. I don’t really like how it looks as a blush on me (more sheen than base color), but I do like it as a highlighter.

I have to admit that although these are three very distinct shades, the differences aren’t as pronounced on the cheeks. I always knew this was the case logically, but as I’ve taken a closer look at all the highlighters in my collection (especially Becca Shimmering Skin Perfectors which I have plans to blog about in December), it has finally begun to sink in that most highlighters will look the same. Variety is extremely limited in terms of color and being able to identify what brand or shade a highlighter is by the way it looks on the face.

Killawatt Freestyle Highlighters

Trophy Wife – (3D hyper-metallic gold) Sometimes I want things because they are pretty, even though I know full well the product isn’t something I would actually like to use. This highlighter is the perfect example of that because it is the epitome of glittery. It’s an intensely more sparkly version of the Blonde Match Stix.

I wouldn’t wear this as a highlighter, but it makes for a beautiful eyeshadow.

I wear it dry over Nyx Glitter primer and the glitter remains textured but highly reflective. If I use a damp brush, Trophy Wife turns a lighter and brighter yellow but smooths out and looks more metallic. I wore it dry on one eye and wet on the other, and was surprised to discover the difference was immediately recognizable in a video chat. It looked like I used two different yellow eyeshadows. Even my boyfriend (who I was in the chat with) noticed!

Mimosa Sunrise (metallic tangerine) / Sangria Sunset (metallic magenta) – This is from the Foil version of the Killawatt Freestyle Highlighters. It’s not glittery the way Trophy Wife is; it has more of a satin texture. I bought this for the orange shade when I was looking for that perfect orange blush.

I think they’re pretty, but I don’t like them on my cheeks. They’re too dark for highlighters but I can use them as eyeshadows and they are stunning together! They’re actually not the most opaque. They give a wash of color but I can see my skin underneath unless I build up a few layers. To use them as eyeshadow, I recommend dampening the brush. Since this is specifically in the Foil line, the name suggests that using the wet brush to foil it is expected of the product.

Snap Shadows Mix & Match Eyeshadow Palettes

6 Smoky – I love the concept of these palettes with their convenient packaging, but the eyeshadows are lacking for me. The pigmentation level is okay, but the tones are so soft and subdued, which is just not my preference. The difference between Tan Lines and Chestnutz is so minimal on the eye that I don’t recommend bothering to use both at the same time. Also, despite these having warm sounding names, those two shades are way cooler toned grey instead of brown. Patti Cakez was less purple than I wanted and had more of a brown maroon tone. The mattes overall are okay and blend fine, but if I use glitter glue to get the shimmer shades to show up a little better on the lid or try to foil it, it changes the ability for That Deep to build on top of the shadows. To avoid this, I apply That Deep first but if I accidentally cover too much with the lid shade, it’s very difficult to build That Deep back up. The other mattes have the same issue, but since I only use them in the crease, I’m less likely to get my lid shade on them.
Second Date is the only shadow that exceeded my expectations. It’s like a sequin shade done right. It feels dry like a matte but there’s so much glitter in it that it looks like an actual shimmer shade on the lid without any sparse areas. The downside to this shadow, at least for some people, is that it’s made with the plastic-type of glitter (Polyethylene terephthalate) and not synthetic fluorphlogopite or other plastic alternative glitters.

Swatches were applied over Nyx Glitter Primer.

8 Pastel Frost – In bare skin swatches, the shimmers are lackluster, and using MAC Paint Pot does nothing to improve the way they look. I used glitter primer to get them to show their maximum potential in these swatches.

Swatches were applied over Nyx Glitter Primer.

Using the two blues next to each other looks like the same shade, except that Durty Denim is more reflective/sparkly. I have some eyeshadow looks coming up which demonstrates this issue. Lei’d Up and Mula-La also look too similar on the eyes, as well as Ice Cream Kisses and Lady Pimp. If these colors weren’t so soft, perhaps this wouldn’t be as much of a problem. Another thing that bothers me about the shimmers is that although I enjoy eyeshadows with dimethicone or other silicone derived ingredients which give it some slip, since I have to use glitter glue, the two products combined actually become too slippery. If I manipulate the shadow too much, it moves and I end up having to apply layer upon layer of eyeshadow to make it opaque. I even tried this over the Anastasia Beverly Hills primer, which typically works very well to make pastel shades show up better. This works with a very thin layer and just patting it on instead of blending (plus you have to apply it wet). However, I learned that applying too much ABH primer just makes these Fenty shadows turn even lighter and harder to see.

Being softer colors isn’t inherently bad, but it drives me nuts that unlike other brands of eyeshadows, trying to intensify them via glitter primer and wetting my brush only has a minor impact. It’s only slightly more improved. I also don’t like the fact that trying to make the shimmers pop prevents me from being able to easily go over those shades again with mattes.

I’ve heard that the new palette additions 9 and 10 are a bit better quality, though they still have shades too close to each other. When you only have 6 eyeshadows in your palette, you don’t want interchangeable shades.
It’s not just me that doesn’t like the Fenty Snap Shadows. I tried selling both these palettes at a combined $25 price with free shipping included. I had this deal for 4-6 months and no one wanted it, even at 50% off. It’s one of the only makeup products I’ve been unable to sell on Mercari, even in used condition and even during the pandemic.
Softer colors are not my preference, but even that aside, I don’t believe these palettes are worth $25 each. I recommend the $3 ELF quads over Fenty Snap Shadows.

Additional Notes

Fenty launched with foundations, but I don’t own any. According to Sephora’s shade matching Color IQ system, 420 is my shade. However, it was slightly too dark and too orange on me when I tried it in-store. 400 and 410 were still too orange or red, despite them being listed as my undertone. 390 was my closest match, but the matte formula was too drying on my skin. I was very excited when Fenty released their hydrating formula, but when I tried the shades in store again, I ran into a similar shade matching issue and for some reason 390 was more on the pink side than the matte formula. The hydrating foundation still wasn’t hydrating enough and emphasized texture on my face, so I gave up trying.

Although I didn’t have success with the foundation, the product this brand has been highly praised for and made a huge impact on the cosmetics industry, I’m glad I’ve been able to find other products from Fenty that I love. Even when certain products aren’t made for me, I’m always excited to hear about the new launches from this brand.

Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Best of Rare Beauty Lip and Cheek Set

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When Rare Beauty first launched, I couldn’t decide between Joy and Love blush shades and I didn’t want to have so many cream and liquid products all being opened at once. So, I held off buying them and I’m glad I did because this 4 piece set is perfect for me! At these sizes, I don’t feel as guilty about how often I’d get the chance to use them. Plus they’re in the shades I wanted, so I didn’t have to choose one over the other!

When the holiday sets launched, I noticed a discrepancy in the descriptions on Sephora’s website.

In the “What Else You Need to Know” section, one blush is listed as Bliss, but in the “This Set Contains” portion, the blush is listed as Love. Those are two very different shades and was the determining factor for whether I was going to make my purchase or not. When I checked the official Rare Beauty website, that particular set only had Bliss and Joy listed, yet it was clear to see in the product photos that neither blush was light enough to be the Bliss shade. I figured since Rare Beauty was most likely to have the answer, I contacted their customer service phone number and the person I spoke with was very surprised by this. She thanked me profusely for letting them know, took my information, and said she would get back to me with the correct shades as soon as possible. True to her word, I did get an email a few hours later letting me know the blush shades were indeed Joy and Love. She gave me a free shipping code as a thank you, but I purchased the set via Sephora since I already get free shipping and had a Friends and Family sale code to use.

During that sale, I also purchased the Liquid Touch Concealer Brush, which I will talk about now before we move to the set.

The bristles are soft and densely packed. The unique shape and design of the brush allow me to really get into the contours of my face. Although synthetic bristles aren’t supposed to absorb product, I still find myself using more concealer than usual, but the trade-off is worth it considering how quickly I finish applying and blending. When the brush is freshly washed, it glides effortlessly under my eyes and in the corners between my eyes and nose.

After a few uses when there is a little more product buildup on the brush, it doesn’t glide as smoothly, so I switch to a tapping motion to apply my concealer, which works just as well! I thought that because the head size is very large for a concealer brush that it would be too big to apply product precisely, but the head and ferrule shape causes it to squish into the contours of my face. The large surface area also ensures the application process goes quickly. At the $12 discounted sale price, I am quite happy with this purchase! I’ve only washed the brush twice so far, so I don’t have any news to report on the longevity of the brush. Perhaps in a year I will update this post if there is anything to report about how it has held up so far, considering this is now my new favorite concealer brush and I foresee myself using it at least 4 times a week.

Joy on the cheeks and Support on the lips.

Joy is one of the four dewy blushes currently in the line. In the swatch photo, I had Joy on my arm for about five minutes and it remained wet looking. Essentially, the more product that’s packed on, the dewier it will look. Realistically, you wouldn’t apply that much product in one spot onto the cheeks. So, it ends up more matte than one would expect.

Something about this shade appeals to me so much! Despite being such a bright coral shade, I was surprised to see how wearable it is when used sparingly. These liquid blushes are extremely pigmented. A single drop could be the difference between looking flushed and looking clownish.

Both blushes are long-wearing (I stopped testing after 8 hours). Neither moved my foundation underneath. I could still blend them out after leaving them untouched on my cheek for a minute, though I would recommend working one cheek at a time. They do set to the point of being dry to the touch and no product transferred onto my finger or when I pressed a napkin to my face. Using my finger is my preferred application method, but using a brush or sponge works just as well to create a non-streaky perfectly blended look. A brush will give the most color payoff though, not that it’s necessary considering the amount of pigment these already have.

Love on the cheeks and Support on the lips.

The shade Love is also very beautiful and is one of the four blushes in the matte formula. You can tell Love and Joy are completely different shades in swatches, but once blended on the cheeks, Joy just looks like a lighter and slightly brighter version of Love. This is the case in both photos and in person and it might have to do with being warm-toned shades on my warm tone complexion.

In the left photo, I was slightly closer to my light source than the photo on the right, which accounts for the skin tone differences. Thankfully, the photo on the right is still consistent with the other two blush photos above.

I thought it would be fun to see how Joy and Love look together. In an effort to apply the same amount of product, I used 4 dots instead of my usual 3, which was blush overkill. So, I used what was left of my foundation on my Blendiful and patted that on top of the blushes to tone it down a little. I really liked the end result! It created a nice in-between shade that looked fully matte.

Support is surprisingly pigmented for a “balm.” It’s almost enough to fully cover the dark pigmented patches on my lower lip! It’s more like a sheer lipstick, as the first thought that came to my mind was how similar it felt to Urban Decay’s Vice sheer lipsticks. It’s comfortable on the lips, and although super creamy, it’s not emollient enough to give me that true balm feeling. Regardless of what it is by definition, I love it and will continue to use it! It’s so natural looking on me, which is definitely my preference with lip colors! There is only about half an inch of product in this mini, so when I run out, I might actually buy the full size. It has been a long time since I’ve been excited by a lip product, but this one managed to impress me!

Edit: I forgot to mention this has a scent, but I can’t pinpoint what it smells like. It’s not the same as the lip cream. It’s a mix of sweet and floral. I don’t smell it once the product is on my lips but I don’t know if the fragrance is stronger in the full size.

The lip cream is indeed creamy and comfortable to wear. Although Transform is supposed to be a matte shade, it stays dewy looking if too much product is applied. And if you want it to be more opaque, multiple layers are required. After removing the excess product, it still doesn’t dry down to the point of being transfer-proof. It will remain creamy and transferable on the lips. The flat paddle applicator was also too difficult for me to get to the inner corners of my mouth precisely, so I had to switch to a lip pencil brush. If you like lip creams, you will probably like this product. However, I’m extremely picky about red lippies and although it’s a pretty color, I don’t like it on myself. So, I will not get use out of this product. Even if this was a more natural shade, the balm texture is more of my preference than the lip cream. This has a scent that reminds me of cocoa butter.

Overall, I’m very happy with this purchase! It’s exciting to find a set where all 4 shades are wearable on me and to love 3 of the 4 products. This brand has exceeded my expectations, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else they have in store for us!

Thank you for reading!

– Lili ❤