Category Archives: Foundation

Chanel Foundation Reviews: N°1 de Chanel, Water-Fresh Tint and Complexion Touch

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This is Part 2 of my deep dive into my most recent Chanel purchases. Today’s focus is on the foundations specifically.

I’ve praised the N°1 de Chanel across several posts, but never officially reviewed it. So, I will do so today and showcase the newest shade I own in that line, along with discussing my newest purchases: the Water-Fresh Tint and Water-Fresh Complexion Touch.

N°1 de Chanel Red Camellia Revitalizing Foundation in BD91, BD101, and BD121


This has been my holy grail complexion product since the beginning of 2024. I had dry to normal skin when I lived in Florida, but over there I could still pull off wearing soft matte and natural finish foundations. When I moved to Germany, my skin required way more hydration due to the difference in climate, and most of my previous foundation favorites didn’t cut it anymore (even ones known for being hydrating).

The N°1 de Chanel is accurately described as a luminous and moisturizing foundation with buildable coverage. Although it still doesn’t look ultra glowy on me, it’s the most hydrating foundation in my possession currently. It looks natural-finish in the beginning, and within an hour my face gets a glow that appears as if it’s my own natural oils (as if I have a normal skin type). As the day goes on, that oil level remains the same and doesn’t get greasier. So, I love it for that reason. I also prefer medium coverage (and up) foundations. So, I can apply a small amount with a brush that isn’t so dense to get easy medium coverage or use my typical foundation brushes and 1-2 pumps for the high coverage I tend to aim for.

This foundation is very long-lasting with minimal transfer, depending on how hydrating my skincare products are underneath. My only gripes are the shade availability options, the added parfum/fragrance, and price. It smells like the typical florals from a prestige fashion house, which isn’t bad, but I would prefer for it to not be there. The scent is quite noticeable as I apply it, but thankfully it doesn’t linger in the air for that long.

I own BD91 and BD121 because they were the only shades that had the potential to work on me that I could buy from reputable discount makeup retailers online. Two years ago, I refused to pay $80 on a single foundation that I could not return, and I was uncertain if BD101 or BD111 would be my best shade. I figured at the discounted price I paid, I could get BD91 and BD121 and just mix the two colors if they didn’t work out. As it turned out, BD121 is a little dark, but the biggest issue is that it’s overly orange on me. Whenever I tried to combine the two colors, I could get the right depth, but it was always a little too warm. So, I eventually started using BD91 only, and would just rely on bronzer to balance it out.

Look using N°1 de Chanel in BD91

Attempts to pull off BD91 after my trip back to Florida last April left me feeling dissatisfied. This is why I eventually succumbed to my wishes during the holidays and decided to get BD101 from the Chanel website. In the US, shades BD101 and BD111 used to be exclusive to Chanel. Now, they can both be found at Ulta. In Germany, BD111 doesn’t exist and BD101 can still only be purchased directly from Chanel.

BD101 in the N°1 de Chanel isn’t a whole lot darker than BD91, but it is at least closer to my year-round skintone while in Germany. So, I expected BD101 to be my shade in all other Chanel formulas. I didn’t realize the Complexion Touch range runs slightly light!

Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion Touch in BD101

This product is intended to be hydrating, which it is to an extent, but the finish is natural rather than dewy or luminous. It was my mistake for assuming a foundation with “water” in the name would give my skin a shinier or wetter appearance than the N°1 de Chanel, but it does not. On the bright side, the Water-Fresh Complexion Touch has been transfer-proof. I don’t need to use a setting spray with it, nor setting powder. Also, it does not contain parfum.

What immediately impressed me about this formula is how easily and evenly the pigment microcapsules break into the solution. I can squirt some directly on my face and my brush will break and spread the spheres and blend it into my skin in the same amount of time as any traditional foundation would. When I was using the Rose Inc Tinted Serum, I had to pump it out onto the back of my hand and crush the pigment capsules with my brush first for a bit before transferring the product onto my face, otherwise the pigment would not mix into the solution properly and then would not spread evenly on the face. There would be patches of unblended spheres without enough liquid left to move it around.

As seen in the photo below with comparisons to the Rose Inc Tinted Serum, The Complexion Touch is viscous enough that it is slow to drip when I hold it at an angle, but it still feels light and gel-like on the skin, whereas Rose Inc’s is runny and feels watery. They have a lot of ingredients in common, but Chanel’s feels a bit more emollient and contains more pigment. In my example photo, the Rose Inc pump dispensed double the droplet size, but when I rubbed it, it was still sheerer than Chanel’s. Rose Inc’s product is a true tinted serum. The Complexion Touch is more of a lightweight and buildable light to medium coverage foundation, but it can be applied as sheer as a tint if it’s used with a sponge or a less dense synthetic foundation brush. Perhaps it could be built up to higher coverage, but I can’t do that due to the imperfect shade match. It’s better for me to use as little product as possible.

I miss the Rose Inc product a lot, so I really hoped this would fill the void. Unfortunately, BD101 is a bit too light for me. In this formula, it’s slightly lighter than BD101 in the N°1 de Chanel.

Heavier application. Applied later in the day.
Better lighting. Morning.

Because it’s at least not orange and too dark, I can somewhat pull off wearing this if I bronze up the perimeters, but the whole reason I wanted this was for minimal makeup days. I wanted something that would even out my complexion while being hard to detect on the skin. An ill-fitting shade is a glaring indication that I have makeup on.
Unless Chanel expands the range to include B111, there isn’t another option for me.
The Complexion Touch is technically more expensive than the N°1 de Chanel, at $3.50 per ml vs $2.67 per ml, and yet it didn’t dethrone that foundation. So, perhaps I would not buy another shade even if the brand releases more colors.

This foundation comes with a tiny brush, but it’s too small for me to enjoy using it all over my face. Instead, I’ve used it to apply the Complexion Touch as a concealer under my eyes. I can’t wear my shade alone because my dark circles are so deep that the product looks grey on top of them. However, it did give the Correcteur I mentioned in Part 1 its best results when paired together.

I’ve tried using this as a primer or mixed in with my darker foundations to improve the shade match. Even though this is water-based and some of the combinations were oil-based, that didn’t seem to impact the longevity or change the consistency in a negative way. I was able to successfully get the shades closer to my face color, but unfortunately I kept feeling that every product I used (N1 de Chanel, Rose Inc Tinted Serum, the Water-Fresh Tint, etc) looked better alone than when mixed. For example, when I mixed it with the Rose Inc Tint, it improved the color, but added just enough coverage to prevent it from looking undetectable, while also not managing to give enough coverage for me to like it. Sheer coverage is one thing, but when it’s light coverage, I feel like I may as well try to cover most of my imperfections. I either want a tint that’s so low coverage it just evens out the skin without being able to tell I’m wearing makeup, or having the minimum of medium coverage.

The Complexion Touch has a fair amount of positives going for it, but it isn’t a good fit for me or my preferences.

Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint in Deep and Medium Deep

Deep

This is the product I should have started with all along. As I mentioned in the previous section, I want either a veil of color to even out my skintone while looking like my normal skin or an imperfection-erasing foundation. This checks the “nearly undetectable” box! It’s perfect for minimal no-makeup makeup days.

Using my barest amount of skincare with the tint, I get a natural finish with the tiniest bit of glow. The second I apply powder products like highlighters, blush, and bronzer, those are enough to mattify my skin and I lose any luminosity. My face then feels mostly dry to the touch, and the tint doesn’t transfer. A single long pump (pushing it down fully) is all I need to create that veil, or perhaps a tiny bit more if I’m using a brush that isn’t dense.

I need to clarify that this tint is water based and also water soluble. Although I don’t get transfer if my face touches something, I still need to wear a primer underneath if I want any chance of avoiding streak marks if I cry or my face gets wet in some other way.

If I use two full pumps (or 4 smaller pumps) to get medium coverage all over my face, I will be able to feel some of the gel residue when I touch my face, and it will have that kind of wet shine that glycerin (and maybe other ingredients) leave on the skin, similar to MAC Fix+ and other hydrating sprays. Thankfully, I can still get close to medium coverage with three small pumps of tint without being able to feel it on my face.

The tint is still self-setting if I use my typical skincare products underneath, though I will get a little bit of shine as the day goes on. If I use my most hydrating skincare, then my face can surpass the glow of the N°1 de Chanel Foundation. If I don’t use setting powder, it will be dewy for quite a while, but even then it dries down on its own eventually. At most, it’ll feel as if I just have a gel moisturizer on. In my skin’s most hydrated state with the Water-Fresh Tint on, touching my skin will transfer moisture to my fingertips, but no actual pigment from what I can see. When I press a white paper towel to my skin everywhere, there is only the faintest hint of color.

There are times when I’m testing a new concealer or eyeshadows, but I don’t feel like putting on a full face of makeup. Products like this are useful to make me feel a bit more put together.
Of course, I can take a fuller coverage product and just sheer it out. However, if I’m already not in the mood to put in much effort, I’m not going to want to mix products together in that moment either.

The Water-Fresh Tint is runny in consistency and sheerer than the Complexion Touch, but the Rose Inc Skin Enhance Luminous Tinted Serum is still even more watery and with lower coverage. The Complexion Touch and Rose Inc product have more ingredients in common, but there are three ingredients that the Water-Fresh Tint shares with Rose Inc’s Serum Foundation that the Complexion Touch does not. That means that there are only 6 out of 28 total ingredients in the Rose Inc formula that can’t be found in either of the Chanel ones. In my eyes, that adds even more credibility to the rumors that Rose Inc took a lot of “inspiration” from Chanel in making their Luminous Tinted Serum.

Also, neither of Chanel’s Water-Fresh products have that cooling sensation on the skin. I’m not a cosmetic chemist, but it’s possible that it’s merely the benzyl alcohol evaporating on the skin, which according to Google, “extracts heat from the surface and causes a localized, temporary cooling effect.” If this is what’s responsible for the amazing feeling I loved from Rose Inc’s Tint, perhaps it’s for the best that the Water-Fresh ones don’t have it.

The Water-Fresh Tint has added fragrance, but it’s less noticeable than with the N°1 de Chanel Foundation. Again, it’s that kind of classic luxury brand floral smell.

Like the Complexion Touch, this also comes with a brush, though I am more willing to use this one all over the face because flat tops lead to such fast applications of products. Still, a bigger brush is my preferred application tool.
With the Complexion Touch, the capsules were so easy to mix in that I could just use my fingers to apply it to my face if I wanted. Although the Water-Fresh Tint’s capsules mix better and more evenly than the Rose Inc Product, and I can apply this to my face like a normal foundation, it takes extra effort with fingers to get the color fully and evenly dispersed in the solution. So, I recommend using a brush.

No online retailers in Germany have the shade Medium Deep. If a color within my expected shade range is unofficially exclusive to the Chanel website, I can assume that one is going to be my best shade match. So, I bought Deep first to try it (and as a potential shade adjusting product). Deep is a little warmer and darker than I am right now. The coverage level reminds me of the Beekman 1802 Milk Tint SPF 43 Tinted Primer Serum, which I also have in the shade Deep. Thankfully, Chanel’s isn’t as dark as Beekman’s, so I believe I can get away with wearing it. However, I couldn’t stop nagging at myself to get another shade too. That’s how I ended up buying the second one.

For anyone curious, this was the gift bag charm for February/Valentine’s Day!

Like I mentioned in Part 1, one of my biggest gripes with Chanel is the fact that, in Germany, my best shade match is exclusive to their website across all of their foundation formulas. Since they almost never have sales or discounts on their own site, that means I have to pay full price if I don’t want to mix shades or to rely on other products to balance things out.

Photos Compiled from Chanel.com

Considering how much I loved the Rose Inc Skin Enhance Luminous Tinted Serum, and its similar formula to Chanel, I think it’s a great alternative for someone wanting to spend less money (provided they have a shade option and it doesn’t oxidize). To clarify, the Rose Inc Tint starts off as my correct shade, but it looks orange in photos and perhaps when I use certain skincare products with it, but I’ve never been able to figure out which ones cause this.
Chanel’s Tint is $72 and Rose Inc’s Tint is $49. Rose Inc’s product does dry down more in the German climate than when I was in Florida. Over here, Chanel’s is more hydrating. So, it’s a bit of a toss up as to which one I like more. Medium Deep was a deciding factor and ultimately having my better shade match tipped the scales in Chanel’s favor.

In addition to these three photos, I also took a picture of Medium Deep swatched across my cheek (like I did with the shade Deep), but it was not visible at all, so I did not include it here.

Medium Deep is a good match, but it looks even closer when I use the Victoria Beckham Beauty Cell Rejuvenating Illuminator in the shade Golden as my primer underneath.

To sum things up, the N°1 de Chanel Foundation gives the most coverage with the most hydrated finish, and has the biggest shade range of the three. The Water-Fresh Complexion Touch has the second-most coverage and shade range, but it’s the least hydrating. The Water-Fresh Tint has the least amount of shades and provides the lightest coverage, but it’s the second-most hydrating.

It’s clear to me that the N°1 de Chanel Foundation is something I will continue to repurchase, and in my correct shade from now on. However, I’d like to bring up the fact that the Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Tint Foundation was second on my list of most used foundations in 2025. It’s $39 if you live in the US, and it’s the most similar performing that I’ve found to Chanel’s (with Chanel’s being more hydrating). For some reason, Danessa’s is €51 within the EU, but sometimes the retailer Purish drops the price to 50% off.
Just like the Rose Inc product, I feel that this is another excellent alternative.

I technically don’t need any other foundation, but I do like having a nearly-undetectable option too. So, I am glad I bought the Water-Fresh Tint.
It’s only because the two Chanel products are holy grails to me that I am willing to spend so much on them. However, $100 or €85 is my personal limit at which a foundation won’t become worth it to me no matter how amazing it is. For example, I don’t see myself ever buying the €121 Victoria Beckham Beauty Foundation Drops, the €125 Hermès Plein Air Luminous Matte Skincare Foundation, or even Chanel’s €168 Sublimage L’Essence de Teint.
The €75 for my exclusive shade in the N°1 de Chanel Foundation is the most I’ve ever spent, and I’m not so sure I’ll be willing to try any others this expensive again. I was tempted by the Tom Ford Architecture Radiance Hydrating Foundation, which I could have gotten for €68, but I don’t want to purchase anymore foundations with fragrance in them. Chanel is my final exception on that.

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

-Lili ❤



Chanel Holiday Packaging Plus Concealers, Powders, Blush, and Lip Serum Reviews

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This is Part 1 of my deep dive into some of the latest Chanel makeup releases from their permanent lines. Part 2 will be dedicated to Chanel’s foundations.

For the holidays, but starting in October 2025, Chanel gave customers the option of choosing special holiday gift packaging instead of their classic white with black-trim bags and boxes. The options were a smaller white bag, a larger deep blue bag, and then I’m not sure how many box varieties there were. The ribbons were dark blue with some glitter specks and the pattern design had a mix of gold, silver, and blue coloring. They were absolutely stunning!

When opting for the holiday packaging, customers could only choose whether they would get the large gold camellia flower charm with a smaller silver comet/star or the large gold comet with the smaller silver camellia. Over the course of the winter season, I ended up getting both.

If you’re already familiar with me (and this blog), you know I love scoring a great deal. I’ve discussed how in Germany, there are several legitimate online retailers that sell newly launched Chanel makeup at a discount from 15-30%. So, for those wondering why I ended up ordering directly from Chanel’s website, it is because I wanted my better shade match in their foundations and unfortunately here my shade is exclusive to Chanel.

As for the concealers, although the website doesn’t have the “exclusive” marker posted next to any of the shades, I could not find any retailer in Germany that sold darker than B40. All of the retail websites had six shades available at most. Chanel has two actual color correctors that were released with these concealers called Peach and Amber. If a retailer had one, it was only Peach. So, I didn’t have the option of buying any of these anywhere else, except directly through Chanel.

Chanel Ultra Le Teint Le Correcteur Concealer (Ultrawear All-Day Comfort Flawless Finish Concealer) in BD91 and B110

This concealer launched in Europe in September 2025, but I didn’t realize (until I saw the flood of videos in January 2026) that it hadn’t come to the US until this year. I bought mine in October last year, so I’ve had plenty of time to test this product.

There is currently no BD101, which I assume would have been my closest shade. BD121 has always been a little dark for me and too warm. I figured having some orange color correcting effects from BD121 wouldn’t be so bad, but having a concealer that’s too dark is a problem. So, I chose BD91 as the next best option with a golden undertone.
I also wanted to see just how neutral B110 would be, and to figure out how deep it is (compared to my estimate of BD121), so I made the decision to get that shade as well.

Photos from Chanel

This concealer became the instant holy grails and number 1 concealers of Charlotte Holdcroft, Han Beauty 101, and French For a Day, so I thought surely I would like it too!

Chanel BD91 Concealer and 40 Medium Plus Powder

Every time I put on this perfume-free concealer, I have high hopes. My undereyes look so much smoother than any other concealer thus far has been able to achieve, and the coverage is great! When I pair it with the brand’s Universal Libre Powder, it looks like a match made in heaven! Unfortunately for me, it just doesn’t have the longevity I need.

Six hours is the longest it can go before I see my dark circles underneath what remains of the concealer. In the worst circumstances, my natural oils fill the creases and breaks it down within fifteen minutes if I haven’t powdered it enough. In other circumstances with powders heavier than Chanel’s (such as my go-to Charlotte Tilbury or even the Huda Easy Bake Powder), the concealer gradually fades to the point that I can see my under eye darkness again within three or so hours.

Technically, if I continually touch up my under eyes (for example smoothing out the creases with the remnants of what is left on my concealer brush and then powdering it with the remnants of what is on my setting brush), it can look “passably” faded between 8-10 hours before it’s not salvageable anymore. However, I consider that very unrealistic. I don’t like to babysit my makeup.

I’ve tried pairing it with the Milk Hydro Grip Eye Primer (which I also use with my KVD Good Apple Concealer), tried using less concealer and less powder, using more concealer and more powder (better outcome), waiting a minute for it to settle before setting it with powder, setting the concealer with powder immediately after applying it (better outcome also), doing alternate layers of concealer > powder > more concealer > and more powder, and mixing it with a few other concealers. I’ve tried using setting spray, drying my undereyes, keeping my undereyes moisturized. Nothing I do can get me more than six hours of nice wear time.

I don’t usually show all day wear tests because I cannot figure out how to get consistent lighting. The last photo though is especially off because I forgot to turn on my usual lights.

If I had to guess what’s affecting how the concealer wears, I would say it’s probably the combination of my natural oils breaking the concealer down (it’s supposed to be waterproof not oil-proof) and the hydrating skincare ingredients, such as glycerin and sodium hyaluronate, that my skin soaks up. Maybe there’s an ingredient that causes an increase in my oil production, since my undereye skin is usually not oily on a consecutive basis, yet it tends to be oily each time I wear this concealer. Maybe the consistency is too creamy and the concealer cannot stay put in the lines of my eyes.
The Ultra Le Teint Le Correcteur has film formers that are meant to flex with movement and increase the concealer’s adhesion to the skin, which I am prone to believe considering how easily the concealer smooths back into place with a brush instead of coming off even more after being disturbed on the skin. Perhaps it’s too creamy, since those kind of concealers have never worked for me (e.g. Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer and the Creamy version of Tarte Shape Tape).

Recently, I decided to try using the Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion Touch as an undereye primer for this concealer (since it’s supposed to be usable as a concealer too). This combination gave me six hours of wear before needing to be seriously touched up. However, if I use too much of the Complexion Touch or not enough Ultra Le Teint Le Correcteur and powder on top, it gives worse results. Essentially, finding the right balance time and again is difficult.

I love how this concealer looks in its best state, to the point that I am still using it. However, I just wear it on days I know I will not be leaving the house and when I’m less likely to have visitors.

BD91 is a tad more yellow with not enough warmth to be a perfect shade match for me, but I never wear B110. It turns out that shade is still too dark and the neutral undertone looks even more unnatural on me. So, I at least confirmed for myself that B110 is not a shade option for me. I need to stick with the golden tones. Photos of this are in the powder section.

Based on my experience, I can’t really recommend this product. I don’t mind having to use a second product to prime my eye area, but to still need to do touch ups throughout the day is bothersome. I’m willing to buy expensive makeup if it’s going to make my life easier; this one did not.
I acknowledge that other people have not had the same problems with it that I do. If it was able to last at least 8 hours without needing a touch up, I’d have been over the moon about this concealer. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out and I’ve gone above and beyond already in testing various methods.

Since this released and until February, the only reviewer I found who had a similar experience to me has been Sofia Sees Beauty. Ironically, she likes the Prada concealer more (though she doesn’t recommend that either) and in the majority of the Chanel vs Prada videos I watched, everyone preferred Chanel’s concealer. So, there seems to be certain skin types that this product just doesn’t work for.

Chanel Universal Libre Powder (On-the-Go Format) in 40 Medium Plus and 50 Medium Intense

Based on the ingredient lists I can see on Chanel’s website, the main differences between the original format of this powder and the refillable “to-go version” is that the standard contains silica instead of cellulose, plus the additional ingredients towards the bottom which are sodium lauroyl glutamate, lysine, and magnesium chloride.

Since I consider the powders to be pretty much the same, and the two products are similarly priced at the discount websites, I opted for the newer packaging. There is a huge difference in the amount of product though, considering the non-refillable jar contains 1 oz (30 grams) of product, but the refillable packaging contains 0.21 oz (6 grams). I’ve only ever used up one powder, so it’s not a concern to me, but that could be a factor for others.
I also heard that the jar packaging is super messy to handle. I have always kept the stickers over the holes of my loose powders and punctured just a few so that I have way more control over how much comes out. I’m not sure if even that tactic would be enough. I find that the refill packaging is still messy if I don’t use my typical methods.

I hate having powder float everywhere, so I only punctured the 8 innermost holes in the sticker. I knock the base to tip the powder contents out onto the lid of the refill. I use what’s needed. I pick up the excess powder back up with my brush to clean off the lid. If there’s still too much powder left, then I use the powder puff that’s included (in both the full to-go packaging and the solo refills) to wipe off the rest. Then I place the puff back over the sticker and holes, and close everything up!
The reason I clear the lid each time is so that the top of the puff will remain looking clean.

I have both the full packaging and a separate refill. The first shade I bought (50 Medium Intense) looks light in the swatches below, but it deepens up a little on my skin. I can wear it on my face, but not under my eyes. Also, the closure part of the refill lid is so easy to open that I worried if I stored it anywhere other than flat on a shelf that I’d have a massive mess to clean up. So, I put it back in the unicarton on my shelf and I waited for a good sale to get the complete packaging in the shade 40 Medium Plus. That one is perfect for my undereyes!

As far as I’m aware, this powder is meant to lightly mattify and be translucent, rather than offering coverage like a powder foundation. So, I was surprised to discover that the shades 70, 91, 121, and 152 exist. I haven’t found a single retailer in Germany that sells anything darker than 50. The darker shades are only on the Chanel website.

I’m glad that all the hype about this powder being dry-skin friendly is true. It is a super finely milled and thin powder. It doesn’t work as well with my concealers that require stronger powders to lock them in, but I bought this specifically to pair with Chanel’s concealer. Although I still have problems with the wear time of the concealer, the Chanel powder has given me the best results with it. I find it to be slightly blurring and this is the most lightweight loose powder I own that can successfully give me a soft matte finish without making my face look drier. That’s why I don’t think this will work well for people with oily skin. If I use the bare minimum of skincare with most of my foundations, this powder will keep me matte for most of the day, but when my products give me dewy skin and I use the Chanel Powder, I become shiny again within four hours. I imagine that length of time would be increased for someone who doesn’t have dry skin like mine.

I like Chanel’s powder more than the uber expensive Guerlain Parure Gold Powder because I can’t smell any fragrance (even though this does have parfum listed in the ingredients).

Chanel Hydra Beauty Micro Sérum

I didn’t know about this product’s existence until Kackie Reviews Beauty talked about it in one of her videos. The way she described it was so fascinating that I bought it the very next day!
The retail price is €56 ($60) but I got mine from Parfümerie Pieper for €39.

I usually take product descriptions with a grain of salt, but Chanel’s is pretty on point with what I have experienced. According to them: “The Micro Sérum Lèvres is a dual-phase formula consisting of an aqueous base with hyaluronic acid and White Camellia Extract, which have a moisturizing, plumping, and soothing effect, and an oily phase with White Camellia OFA (Oleofractioned Active) micro-droplets which melt into skin and lock in hydration.”
Furthermore, “this lightweight and water-fresh serum immediately absorbs and forms a thin protective layer on lips, keeping them hydrated for up to 24 hours** and leaving them perfectly prepped for makeup.”

This serum “plumps” in the sense that it fills in lip lines, and its shine gives an appearance of fullness, but this is not a lip plumper that would cause the lips to be enlarged. Chanel doesn’t call this a lip plumper, but many customers would assume it could double as one by stating that this has “plumping effects.” This is the only aspect of the website description that is questionable.

After applying the Hydra Beauty Micro Serum, I’m left with a somewhat shiny finish on my lips, which have the tiniest bit of grip. I can wear this alone as a gloss or balm, but the occlusive gel layer is so lightweight that I need to reapply it at least once or twice throughout the day, especially since it’s easily removed while eating. When I rub my lips together, it feels truly unlike any other lip product I’ve used. Also, this is not fragrance-free, since it has a slight fruit-candy type of scent.

What makes this a useful product to me is how quickly it seeps in to smooth and hydrate my lips, combined with its priming abilities. I have spent a long time seeking products that nourish and condition my lips. All of my favorites are thick and/or sticky, oily, and basically don’t have the kind of consistency that I can use to continue improving the condition of my lips (or prevent my lips from drying further) while wearing other products on top. Products like the Ami Colé Lip Treatment Oil, Clarins Lip Comfort Oil, and Eadem Le Chouchou Peptide Lip Balm are better at improving the condition of my lips over the course of a full day, but this Chanel product is what I’ve been using when I want my lips to look better fast, and wiping those other products off my lips would leave too much residue behind. That occlusive layer is what makes my favorites and so long-lasting, while also preventing me from using them as lip prep products. This is where the Chanel serum fills a void in my collection.

The reason I wear lip glosses and balms so much isn’t just out of enjoyment of low maintenance products. It’s also out of necessity. Although this lip serum can make matte lipsticks look satin, I’ll take that over not being able to wear my lipsticks that often due to my chronic dry lips issue.

So, this isn’t deeply nourishing to me. It’s a quick fix. According to the statistics Chanel provided, “After 4 weeks of use, lips look 49%* more plump and 70%* smoother. Natural lip colour appears 62%*** more vibrant.”

I have not used this product daily for 4 weeks straight, so I cannot comment on how true that sounds or not. Based on at least one week of consistent use, I don’t think the ingredients are enough for my lips to be nourished long-term. This serum has come in handy so many times as a lip primer since I bought it in September. I have only ever used a couple of actual lip primers, so I can’t say for sure how much better this is from other lip preps out there. Since I’m not interested in spending even more money trying to test other products like this, I will stick with what I know.
Should I ever use up this product, I hope that I’ll be able to get another on sale again!

This lip serum is useful to be able to wear less comfortable lipstick formulas. However, if I stick to only buying balms that condition and deposit a nice amount of color, I wouldn’t need the Chanel Hydra Micro Serum as much. If I downsize my lip collection each year, there may reach a point that it will no longer be necessary to have a product like this around.
That day isn’t today though, and I am happy I’ve got it!

Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Blush in Intense Coral

I’ve been avoiding buying liquid and cream blushes for over three years, so I had no plans to buy the Chanel Blush until I watched Alicia Archer’s video.

Admittedly, my first choice for the color would have been Deep Bronze, but it’s a Chanel exclusive shade. So, I went with my second favorite option and ordered Intense Coral from Flaconi at a discount.
Intense Coral shows up on me and can be built up in more obvious layers, but it might not look that great on someone with a skintone several shades darker than mine.

Intense Coral reminded me of the Joues Contraste Intense Cream-to-Powder Blush in the shade Radiant Rose, but Radiant Rose is the tiniest bit darker with a little more warmth.

The watery gel-like consistency and the fragrance are the same as the Water-Fresh Tint. The blush has half the amount of product, but it isn’t half the price of the tint ($72 vs $56). The price per ounce or milliliters for the blush is even more expensive here, considering it’s €67 for the tint and €55 for the blush.

I like the hydrated feel of the blush on my skin and that it dries down. One pump is enough to give a beautiful flush to both cheeks. Although I can blend it well with fingers, I prefer the control I get with a brush application by pumping the blush into the back of my hand and coating the brush bristles evenly before alternating pouncing the product onto both cheeks.

When I wear this on my bare skin, even on top of skincare, this has terrible longevity. The blush is significantly faded within a few hours. At a minimum, if I wear my typical skin prep products and the Chanel Water Fresh Tint underneath the blush, it can last most of the day with an acceptable amount of fading. However, it is still susceptible to being easily removed by liquids. On one of the testing days, my watery eyes caused the skin tint and blush tint to disappear where the droplets rolled down my cheek. Adding a primer to the prep steps is enough to combat the water-soluble issue and prevent the blush from fading.

When I wear the Water Fresh Blush on top of my Chanel N1 Foundation, I have no longevity issues at all. I figure that’s because it provides an even stronger barrier between my skin and the blush. So, although this product is appealing to makeup minimalists and those that want the most lightweight layers of product with the most skin-like finishes, this blush has to be used in specific ways to get it to last. I’d also like to note that due to lighting, the blush is easier to see in person than in my photos.

I like the blush color, the dewy looking finish, the seamless blend, and how easy it is to use despite being a liquid form. Usually liquid blushes are the most troublesome for me to work with.
The €36 I paid for this was a fair price for Chanel makeup. I like this product a lot, but I don’t think it will become a favorite purely because I am a powder blush fan. I wanted to be able to wear this all day on bare skin and have it still be long-lasting. I haven’t tested this idea yet, but if adding a face primer to my cheeks is enough to fix the longevity problem without needing to wear a tint/foundation too, this could make me use this blush more often. I’d be able to wear it on low-makeup days as planned.

That ends this post! I hope it has been helpful. Please keep an eye out for Part 2 if you enjoyed this!

-Lili ❤

Sweed Beauty Brand Review: 5 Bestsellers Tested

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I heard great things about all of the products I purchased from Sweed Beauty, but it’s hard to know what is truly a “bestseller” considering the brand put nearly every product they make on their bestsellers page! It’s pretty much just their full range of false lashes and their makeup brushes that are excluded.

Everyday Sunshine, Allfeisty, and Kackie Reviews Beauty are the only influencers I follow that talk about the brand, but none of them are anywhere close to my skin tone. Since it was extremely difficult for me to find anyone darker than tan using Sweed products, I figured sharing my photos and thoughts on the products could be helpful.
And for those living in Germany, I’ve found Sweed products on Niche-Beauty, Douglas, and Flaconi retail sites.

Side Note: I linked videos for each creator, but Kackie’s is just a lip product. I could have sworn she has talked about the mascara, foundation, and blush before. She’s the one I attribute to making me the most interested in the Glass Skin Foundation in particular, and she’s the reason I kept being curious about Sweed, but I can’t find the videos on her page. Now, I feel like I’m gaslighting myself and could be confusing Sweed with Thrive, whose products have a similar color scheme.

Working my way from the makeup I like the least to the ones I like most, let’s begin with the foundation.

Glass Skin Foundation in 11 Deep W

This shade is described as having a warm red undertone, but it looks quite yellow. Even though I always try to grab a yellow or golden foundation, the strength of that yellow is too much for me. It doesn’t help that it’s too light for me as well.

In the straight-on face photo, the half of my face without foundation looks a little redder because I had just scrubbed off makeup that I was previously wearing.

I feared shade 12 Deep N/W would be too neutral despite being described as having neutral to warm yellow undertones. Frankly, I’m not convinced that any of the shades would work for me. Between the model photos (in which 11 is too light and 12 is too dark and red), the computer generated-looking arm swatches that all appear ashy on the darker arm, the liquid swatches that even 12 looks too light, and the real swatches on the hand that is ironically missing shades 11 and 12, I had no way of knowing which one to go by.
Shade 11 had the greater discounted price between 11 and 12, so I let that be my guide.

Sweed Beauty

The shade match being wrong isn’t the only reason it looks mask-like. Despite the thin and watery consistency of the foundation, it doesn’t spread as wide and easily as I expected. I had to put more on to cover my whole face. Perhaps I could get it to apply thinner and more evenly if I used a beautyblender, but I couldn’t bring myself to try additional steps since I think having the wrong shade would leave me dissatisfied no matter what. This is called the “Glass Skin” foundation, but the finish appears satin-like to me instead of wet, shiny, or truly glassy. It’s supposed to be suited for every skin type, but I disagree.

One positive aspect is that this dries down on my dry skin without requiring powder and there is very little transfer. Overall though, I don’t plan to use this foundation ever again and I wouldn’t purchase another shade if there was an expansion.
I didn’t know it at the time, but apparently customers can send photos of themselves in daylight to the brand’s email address info@sweedbeauty.com or Instagram DMs for advice with shade matching. Hopefully this will help.

The Bronzing Powder in Tan

Fans of baked gelee products will probably enjoy the texture and performance of this bronzer as much as I do. It instantly reminded me of the contour shade from Dior’s Contour & Glow Duo in 200 Diorama, Nabla’s Skin Bronzing, the Hatice Schmidt Bronzer, and from Kess. All of these products were made in Italy as well.

This is a skin-like bronzer with subtle luminosity. It’s buildable, to the point that I can at least see it on myself in person, but I cannot get it to show easily in photos. I’ve tried on three different occasions to photograph myself wearing it, and the best one is below.

Tan is the darkest of the two colors that Sweed offers and I have used so much product trying to build up that shade, that I can faintly see a dip in the pan after only a few months of sporadic use. It looks more used than the other bronzers in the photo above despite it actually containing the most amount of product at 10 grams.

The Tan shade has a little bit of a red undertone, but it looks neutral on me most of the time until I build it up as intensely as it can get.

I have no issues with blending or fading. It’s a great product. I love bronzers that have this kind of formula, but an airbrushed and blurred type of finish can outrank them. With the exception of the Nabla Skin Bronzing product (which is significantly less expensive but also harder pressed), €35 is about the standard price for a baked gelee or gel-powder hybrid type of bronzer. However, €50 is usually the starting price for the type of powder bronzer that actually blurs and is finely milled enough for me to call it the best of the best in my collection (Hermes, Charlotte Tilbury, Victoria Beckham, and so on). Even the most bronzer-obsessed person might be unwilling to spend that kind of money, so the hybrid formulas present an alternative option that still tends to be fantastic quality.

Sweed’s bronzer is $45 in the US and €45 at full price in Germany. I find that to be a little high, but I guess it can still be justified. I must admit that due to the preferred undertone and depth of the Hatice Schmidt bronzer, I prefer it over the Sweed one, and it’s conveniently €10 lower in price for 8.5 grams. Although I can recommend this as a good product, I have to acknowledge that better prices and more shade options for similar formulas of bronzer exist.

Air Blush Cream in Fancy Face

This blush has faint gold shimmer throughout, which gives the barest hint of luminosity to the cheeks. The surface of the blush feels a little creamy to the touch, but it feels completely dry on my face, as if I applied a pure powder product. It fully sets on my skin, and how long-lasting it is depends on whether or not I used specific skincare or foundation that left my skin feeling dewy. If so, then the blush starts to fade as quickly as 5-6 hours. Otherwise, on a drier base, the blush lasts a minimum of 8 hours.

Fancy Face is the darkest shade they have at the time that I’m writing this. I like to apply this blush subtly, so it doesn’t look very intense on me in the photos I take. However, it still isn’t that dark in my arm swatch. This shade is buildable, and might still work on someone within the deep skin category, but it could be ashy on someone with a rich skin tone.

Although the Sweed Blush is firmer in the pan than the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Matte Bouncy Blush, both leave a similar finish on the skin. It’s that blurry dimethicone-matte type of look that’s become increasingly popular over the years, especially in the K-Beauty realm.

The edge that Sweed has over Rare Beauty is that tiniest bit more glow. However, it’s not radiant enough for me to be satisfied. It still looks more matte than I like, so I have to use a hydrating spray with both. Rare Beauty’s blushes are more pigmented, but apply just as smoothly. They are longer lasting and their range has more dark-skin friendly options at the price of €28 for 6.4 grams of product as opposed to Sweed’s €34 for 5 grams. The US prices are $27 vs $35. So, even if Sweed expands the range, I don’t think I’ll buy anymore. It’s not due to a lack of quality and is purely about my preferences.

Cloud Mascara in Black

This is a bit difficult to review because I know that mascara formulas can change over time. Within a few weeks or months it can become drier and harder to use. In some cases it can start off too wet, but drying over time makes it work better. They can clump more or flake more.
Essentially, how I feel about a mascara in the beginning can differ within a month or two, but I only used the Cloud Mascara for about two to three weeks prior to beginning to use the brand’s eyelash serum. The photos above were taken prior to using any lash serum and it was probably my third time wearing the mascara.

In the beginning, I thought this mascara worked fine, but I didn’t love it. It took me a while to realize that I couldn’t get as far trying to build up a very heavy first coat like I do with the majority of my favorite mascaras. Waiting for it to fully dry before adding a second coat sometimes led to it being unevenly built up, spidery, and sometimes I’d get a few clumps.

What works best for me is to build up the first layer of one set of eyelashes, repeat the process on the other eye, and by the time I’m finished I can add a second layer to my first eye before it has time to fully dry down. The end result is much more to my satisfaction and can be viewed in my Isamaya Core 1.0 Palette post, which I used the Cloud Mascara exclusively in all of the eyeshadow looks. I had been using the lash serum between 3-4 weeks when I took the pictures, but I didn’t observe any improvement from the lash serum that early. So, I feel like it’s still a good representation of the mascara’s best results on me without additional help.

This is the type of mascara that’s on the wet side, but not too wet. Since mascaras are recommended to be tossed out every 3-6 months (whether I do so or not), I only judge one by its performance up to that 3 month mark because additional changes could just be the start of it going bad. I can say that I have noticed zero differences in formula consistency within those three months.

I don’t get clumping (when I use my specific technique) and I haven’t spotted any flaking. One of the things I especially like is that my lashes don’t feel stiff after I apply the mascara. If I get an itch, I can rub my lashes with the side of my finger or nail and my lashes are still fairly soft. Many other mascaras give me a tugging sensation at the root of my lashes when I do the same thing.

The brand advertises this to be both a volumizing and lengthening mascara that keeps lashes separated and fan-like. I agree that it’s very good at separation and it adds decent volume, but my current favorites give me more length.

After completing the full round of lash serum, I definitely like how the mascara looks even more.

However, I feel like I shouldn’t factor that into my review of the mascara. Based on how it looked prior to the lash serum’s effects being visible, I can’t say that this mascara was worth €28 for me, even though it contains Panthenol (Vitamin B5) which, “improves elasticity and helps reduce breakage.” I got this mascara on sale for €21 (a little over $24), but I’m still uncertain if I will repurchase it or not. I don’t know how much of an effect the panthenol may or may not have had an impact on my lashes not breaking off. My gut tells me this mascara is overhyped. I like it, but I feel much stronger about my other mascara favorites.

If I end up changing my mind on this, I’ll update this post.

Eyelash Growth Serum – 3ml size

I owned the other Sweed products since September 2025, but I bought this serum at the end of October. Since it’s supposed to take at least 4-6 weeks for results, I decided to push back the release date for this review until I had tested it thoroughly.

I have been afraid of lash serums since the GrandeLash lawsuit when I learned about prostaglandin analogs, ingredients that are in the majority of eyelish serums and are listed under a ton of different names. I was too scared of the potential iris and eye skin darkening, eye irritation, and other side effects, to ever use one. The fact that Sweed’s serum does not contain any prostaglandin analogs is the only reason I was willing to give it a try.

Before we get into the review, I wanted to point out that the directions on the box just say, “Apply directly with a single stroke to the base of the upper eyelash.” I felt like there had to be more to it, so I watched videos of people applying it, and some put it so close to the lash line that some of it got onto their actual eyelashes. The instructions on the website stated, “Apply with the product’s applicator, using one stroke on your eyelid just above your upper lash line. Apply by starting from the outer to inner corner of the upper lash line.”

I believe the guidelines I should be most inclined to follow is on the official Sweed website. So, that is what I did after the third week, because it took me that long to look it up. I had just been following the information on the box.

At the 4 week mark, it appeared as if my eyelashes that fell were a little longer than usual, but I couldn’t see much difference on my eyes overall.
By 6 weeks, I definitely noticed fullness of my lash line. My eyelashes didn’t look longer, but they weren’t as sparse, even in my problem section of my inner lashes.
By 8 weeks, I realized my lashes were a lot more curled up, which is why I hadn’t noticed they were longer than before.
After 10 weeks, it became clear to me that the outer half of my lashes were fuller than ever and looked slightly longer than the years when my natural eyelash growth was at its peak. However, from 8 weeks and on, I accepted the fact that my natural lashes aren’t dark enough and are too curled to look long while bare. When I close one eye and look sideways, I can see how long my eyelashes are, but looking straightforward, the effects of the lash serum can’t be seen until I put on mascara.

I still wish to have more fullness in the inner lash region, but I am pleased with the improvement. Part of the difficulty for my inner lash region is the fact that I frequently rub my eyes, especially before bedtime which is when I apply the serum. I’m not sure where I heard or read the information to apply it at night. The directions on the website merely state to use this once a day without a specific time. Anyway, when I rub my eyes, I basically remove whatever lingering bit of serum hadn’t yet absorbed in my inner corners.

These are the results, with and without mascara, at the 8 week mark.

Although my eyelashes didn’t get crazy long, I can see how many more lashes stand above my crease line with mascara on compared to before. I don’t lose my eyelashes as frequently either.

The directions state to use the serum daily for 4-6 weeks, and then switch to using it 2-3 times a week for maintenance. After the initial six weeks, I continued to use it more or less on a daily basis until after the 8th week. Then, I lowered the usage to every other day or two. As for my bottom eyelashes, I have not noticed a difference, but I didn’t expect any considering I did not apply the lash serum there and the serum is not recommended for that.

The photos above are not the best representation of my mascara favorites since I had them for far too long and the last bits of mascara left in the tubes are partly dried up. However, I think my lashes still looked great!

I managed my expectations and got enough results to be happy with this product. My issue trying to regain the fullness I used to have was resolved. This product is supposed to last 3 months* and my eyelashes will return to normal if I halt using it for one month.

*I’ve been using this at a rate of around 2 months daily and 1 month every few days, yet my tube hasn’t run out. So perhaps the estimate of 3 months is if someone used it daily during that whole time or perhaps the 3 months is a minimum of how long it’ll take before the serum runs out.

This is not a cheap product. It’s sold for $55 in the US or €49 in Germany for 3ml. The 5ml tube is frequently out of stock and costs €70. I bought my 3ml at a discounted price via Flaconi for €33. At that price, I do like it enough to repurchase it considering it’s as much as a high end mascara and it makes all my mascaras look even better. A regular eyelash primer might give me even longer lashes, but it wouldn’t solve my fullness/sparse lash issues. So, I will most likely continue to make repurchases at the lower price.

I highly recommend watching Abbey Yung’s video for those curious about the serum’s ingredients, understanding how it works differently to traditional lash serums, and seeing her own results.

Overall, I have a positive impression of Sweed’s products. Their makeup is very high quality, but some of the products don’t match my specific preferences, and the shade range is a bit lacking. So, I will continue to keep an eye on this brand’s new launches and I’ll potentially purchase from them again in the future.

I hope this post has been helpful to you! Thanks for stopping by and reading!

-Lili ❤

Is Weighty Makeup Packaging Automatically the Most Luxurious?

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The D&G Blush, ABH Highlighter, VBB Lid Lustre, and PML Quad are not pictured here, but they will be discussed in this post.

After the bombshell that was dropped regarding the Louis Vuitton Beauty line and their prices, I started to think about which items in my collection were the most expensive, which ones I thought had the prettiest packaging, if the prettiest was actually the most luxurious looking, and which ones had the most weight. I was surprised to discover that so few items fit into all of these categories.

I was happy to see the people I follow enjoying their La Beauté Louis Vuitton products, but some felt they needed to justify their reasons for making the purchase beyond just stating, “I wanted it, so I got it.” Across the board, customers who thought the items were or were not worth buying seemed to at least come to the consensus that the price (besides paying for the brand recognition), was largely due to the packaging. The lipstick components were said to be fully metal, along with the bespoke metal packaging of the eyeshadow quads. “You could hurt someone if you hit them with this,” was stated more than a few times by various people.

How a product looks and its weight are my top two criteria for feeling like the item I own is luxurious. Looks are subjective, but weight can be measured and precise. I started to think about the heaviest packaging in my collection (proportionate to its size dimensions) in order to answer the question…are these automatically the most lux?

Lisa Eldridge Rouge Experience Refillable Lipstick (68 grams)

In order to highlight how great this packaging is, I need to do a deep dive into comparing it to another brand. Please, bear with me on this, especially if you’re a fan of LV. I don’t judge anyone on how they spend their money, and this is just me working out why I am perfectly satisfied with Lisa’s lipstick being the height of luxury for me.

Lisa Eldridge took great pride explaining in her launch video how her refills were mono material, made of 100% aluminum and could therefore be recycled without degrading once repurposed, unlike the vast majority of other brands’ refills that have mixed metal with plastic.

According to Google: “You cannot usually recycle a lipstick refill that has both plastic and metal components together, as most curbside recycling facilities cannot separate the mixed materials and are not equipped to handle small, complex items.”

There is plastic inside the forever case by Lisa Eldridge, as this has a click closure, but she wanted the actual refills to be sustainable.

I cannot compare the LV lipsticks from personal experience, but it is my understanding that the refills are all metal as well and come with plastic caps that can be removed when recycling. The lipstick cases have an aluminum shell and brass detailing, but the magnetic closure that is so satisfying to use (and adds to the weightiness of a product) keeps it from being recyclable as well.

Summarized from Okon Recycling: Recycling magnets is technically possible, but challenging as it involves disassembling the magnet and removing any non-magnetic materials. However, there are some magnets that cannot be recycled.

So, it sounds as if both LV and Lisa Eldridge have cases that aren’t realistic to recycle but have refills that are fully recyclable. The LV lipstick case has a lot of expensive details like the product names and logo being etched in, the monogram flower-shaped refill bottom, etc. Lisa Eldridge has her logo etched at the top of the cap, allows the customer to personalize the base of the case with their initials etched in (up to three letters), and the case shape had to be custom made as well. Perhaps some prefer the sleeker LV design while others appreciate the vintage inspiration of Lisa’s more.

LV’s Lipstick Case + Refill is $160 and the refill alone is $69.
Lisa Eldridge’s Lipstick Case + Refill is $63 (engraving price included) and the refill alone is $30.

Sure, LV’s refill costs the same amount as other high end and luxury lipsticks in their completed form, but considering the details I listed above, is the LV case really $100 better that other brands’ cases, particularly Lisa Eldridge?

It can’t come down to the actual lipstick formula, because that’s part of LV’s $69 refill price.

At the time that I bought the Lisa Eldridge lipstick, I felt it was incredibly expensive. It is still the most expensive lipstick in my collection, based on what I paid and not the retail price. I rationalized my purchase because of the sustainability aspect, all the custom elements, the personalized touch, and how heavy it felt.

Taking branding completely out of the equation and thinking about the components alone, I do feel like this product by Lisa Eldridge is among the most luxurious out there, and I am no longer gritting my teeth at the price.

It would be nice if I liked the lipstick formula more, but there is some hope for me! I wrote a comment on Instagram that the brand responded to, and while the Velvet formula won’t be put in the refillable form, there might still be the possibility of the Lucents that I enjoy so much!

There are other things they’ve been “working on” that has taken years, such as making the empty eyeshadow palettes available for purchase alongside the eyeshadow singles, the return of the liquid blush in better packaging, etc. So, I’m prepared for this to take a while to happen.

If I can get the Luxuriously Lucent Lip Colours and/or Baume Embraces as refills, I will definitely get more use out of mine!

Olivia Palermo Beauty Eyeshadow Palette (226 grams) and Lipstick (79 grams)

Whenever I think about heavy makeup packaging, the Olivia Palermo Eyeshadow Palette immediately comes to mind. I’ve had it for years, yet I’m still not sure how I feel about the pattern, and I’m not sure what it’s technically called (perhaps wicker, woven link, basket weave, oyster strap, etc.). It just makes me think of the types of patterns I’ve seen for watch straps, which isn’t too terribly off track. Apparently Olivia drew inspiration for the packaging, “by a vintage Art Deco bracelet she was given for her 21st birthday.”

The eyeshadow palette has a magnetic closure and mirror, which further increases the weight, on top of the fact that the packaging is metal.

Although I’m not sure if they could have created a different pattern that I would like more, I can say it’s at least cool, unique, and easily recognizable. Plain flat gold is always beautiful to me, but this packaging looks different from any other I’ve seen. Well, almost. As of a year ago, Hatice Schmidt released a refillable lipstick range called, “The Gift,” with a case inspired by jewelry and the pattern reminds me of a curb chain/Cuban link style. So, there are at least two jewelry inspired components from brands that I know of.

I bought the Olivia Palermo lipstick at the reduced price of €32 (originally €40) from Niche-Beauty, and the eyeshadow palette for $28 (originally $58). I’ve discussed how I procured the eyeshadow palette in a past review, but it was during the time that I started working on this post that I felt the compulsion to finally get the lipstick. I have checked in on the brand on and off over the years, waiting for them to release additional products. Earlier this year, I saw a notice on the official website that the beauty products would no longer be sold and that they were turning the website into an influencer style page (oliviapalermo.com now redirects to her affiliate shopmy page). I assumed that meant the brand was shutting down, especially since I’ve only heard two beauty reviewers reference the brand one time each within the last three years. However, I was shocked to see the products appear on the Douglas website in either August or September, and then I saw them at Niche-Beauty as well. I don’t know if Olivia has better sales in Europe, or Germany specifically. I’m not even sure if she still has products available elsewhere in the US.

I felt Lisa Eldridge’s lipstick deserved to be in the post, but Olivia Palermo’s lipstick is the only one in my collection that is heavier. OPB’s lipstick is less expensive, but it isn’t refillable and the central part of the lipstick component is made of plastic. The outer packaging is what makes this seem so fancy.

Regarding the eyeshadow palette, it definitely screams luxury. It isn’t something you want to carry around in your purse or travel with it. Olivia wanted the old Hollywood glamour look and feel to her products, so this is something that you would want to keep on a vanity.

This is by far my most luxurious palette, and though it doesn’t have some of the additional premium features of the LV Quads, it makes me feel a lot more content about my collection and avoid FOMO. If I want heavy eyeshadow packaging, I certainly have it with this product!

Westman Atelier Beauty Butter Powder Bronzer (112 grams)

This is my golden pebble! It is tiny in size but mighty in weight!

Chantecaille is another brand with nicknamed “pebble” packaging, but theirs is plastic, thin, and it doesn’t feel substantial, even though they cost the same amount!

I bought my WA bronzer at 20% off, so the title of most expensive bronzer in my collection belongs to Hermes, even though I only bought the refill. Had I paid for the compact too, that wouldn’t have helped it to feel more luxurious than the Westman Atelier bronzer, considering Hermes’ thin plastic packaging.

This has a tiny mirror that I don’t use, and a magnetic closure. The brand has highlighters and face powders in this same style of packaging. I haven’t used their cream sticks or drops, but they don’t look as luxurious to me. The only other Westman Atelier packaging I have handled are the powder duos, which are certainly substantial and pretty to look at, but I don’t think it compares to this gold compact.

When it comes to the prettiest bronzer packaging, I think of Gucci’s and Charlotte Tilbury’s powder one, even though they are much lighter in terms of their size. However, I would never call something that’s a solid gold color ugly. So, it may as well be my most glamorous bronzer.

Fara Homidi Essential Bronzer Refillable Compact (106 grams)

This compact is about the same size and weight as the Westman Atelier Butter Bronzer. The amount of product from FH is 3.5 grams and the amount of product from WA is 8 grams. That is close enough to accounting for the 6 gram difference when I weighed the two products, which is why I’m still including it in this post.

Aesthetically, I find the Westman Atelier bronzer to be more appealing. Shiny things get me. However, I still think Fara’s is classy and pleasing to hold in the hand. Her other products come in red and blue packaging of the same weight. I don’t like the red, but the blue is very eye-catching. If the next product she releases is in purple or green packaging, it just might surpass WA’s as a favorite compact for bronzers.

D&G Cheeks&Eyes Match Blush (91 grams)

I have plenty of blush packaging that is bigger than this, and therefore heavier. However, for this small size, this is very heavy! Nothing really comes close to the weight, but I have to say that Gucci’s powder blush packaging is quite nice too, even if it’s lighter. Visually, I like Gucci’s more as well. In fact, I have a lot of blushes that aren’t luxurious feeling, but I love them anyway (such as YSL’s Make Me Blush Bold Blurring Blushes and Too Faced Cloud Crush Blushes).
So, this is one of the few categories where my heaviest blush might be the most luxurious, but it isn’t necessarily my favorite packaging. I do like it a lot though!

I have to add that this packaging feels like a mixture of plastic and metal components. I believe there’s something in the base of this compact adding weight artificially, especially since it doesn’t even have a magnetic closure. It has a push button instead.

Victoria Beckham Beauty Products:
Matte Bronzing Brick (166 grams), Eye Wardrobe (116 grams), Cheeky Posh (37 grams), and Lid Lustre (41 grams)

Similar to Olivia Palermo Beauty, VBB has a certain aesthetic that they maintain across most of their products. I like the horn brown/tortoise pattern, and it can be fashionable, but I don’t automatically associate it with luxury because of how many cheap products I’ve seen made in tortoiseshell style. The gold colored trim helps to elevate the look of the packaging, but it is the weight and feel of these components that make them undoubtedly luxurious.

The Bronzing Duo and Eyeshadow Quad are among my heaviest based on size. The Cheeky Posh blush is small and doesn’t have that much extra weight, but I figure that’s because the component isn’t refillable like the other two. I’m including it because it has the same style of packaging as the others, and I still feel bougie when I handle it.

I rarely buy single eyeshadows, so I don’t have much to compare in terms of weight. The prettiest I own is probably the Charlotte Tilbury Hypnotizing Pop Shots, but those have lightweight plastic packaging and they are powders, which I don’t believe is fair to compare. It would be interesting to see how the glass packaging of Charlotte’s Eyes to Mesmerise stacks up, but I don’t own that.
I no longer have the glass packaging of Maybelline’s 24 HR Color Tattoo, but the best I’ve got is Melt’s Gel Liner (47 grams) and a MAC Paint Pot (56 grams).
I like glass as a component material, but it’s not uncommon to find for eye products. The Lid Lustre packaging has an elevated look compared to MAC’s, for example. The Melt Cosmetics Gel Liner that has the gold lid and butterfly print around the rim with the glass base is prettier to me, while also being slightly heavier. However, the font for the brand logo makes it look less sophisticated. I don’t think eye related categories of makeup follow the trend of weight indicating how luxurious a product will look and feel.

One thing about VBB packaging that does take away from the experience is the issue with the closing mechanism. I heard this was a problem in the past, and I never had an issue with my Bronzing Brick, but my eyeshadow quad doesn’t always stay shut when I snap it closed. Sometimes it’s fine, but other times it likes to pop back open with the slightest touch. I haven’t heard about anyone else having an issue with the quads, so perhaps I’m unlucky in getting one of the few faulty ones.

Pat Mcgrath Mothership Palettes (392 grams) and Eyeshadow Quads (122 grams)

All the previous components I’ve discussed had metal or a mix of metal and plastic packaging. The Mothership Palettes are fully plastic, but they are quite hefty in weight. The palettes are big for only holding ten eyeshadows, but that black shiny lacquer with the gold bottom still look lux to me. My Victoria Beckham and Olivia Palermo palettes are the only ones I can recall from my collection that aren’t made of plastic or cardboard. In fact, the Victoria Beckham Eye Wardrobe quad is only six grams less than a Pat Mcgrath quad, but Victoria’s compact is almost half the size!
I still chose these PML products as the next heaviest in the luxury category, though I have to admit that I have some lightweight quads that look fancier because they are gold colored. For example, Tom Ford (the trim technically), Guerlain, YSL (trim), Prada (mixed gold and silver), Lisa Eldridge, etc.
I find it difficult to equate weight with luxury in the eyeshadow category because of how many bulky heavy palettes brands have released over the years. So many of Jeffrey Star’s earliest palettes, Plouise, and Glamlite’s Food palettes were huge. I also recall when Stila had the Luxe Eye Shadow Palette in Happy Hour, which was a similar weight and size to the Mothership Palettes, but I bought it for $36. I can’t remember what the full retail price was, but it cost nowhere near the same amount as a Mothership.

So, I’ve come to the conclusion that weight doesn’t automatically equate with luxury in this category either. However, because of how uncommon it is to find hefty quads and palettes that are reasonably sized (Olivia Palermo, Victoria Beckham, and Pat Mcgrath), the ones that are weighty feel extra special to me.

Beekman 1802 Milk Tint SPF 43 Tinted Primer Serum

I didn’t want to include skincare, but this technically falls under the makeup umbrella. If I count it as a primer, it might be the heaviest I ever owned (even heavier than the glass bottle of Rituel de Fille Thorn Oil). Beekman’s looks like ceramic, but it’s colored glass.

I have to say “might be the heaviest,” because I don’t recall how it compares to the Guerlain L’Or Radiance Primer (now called the Guerlain Parure Gold 24K Radiance Primer), which is definitely the most luxurious looking primer I ever bought. The look of the Beekman product doesn’t appeal to me at all, but I was so impressed by how it felt in the hands. I had to leave it behind though because it was so heavy that I didn’t want to bring it back in my luggage.

If this counts as a skin tint, then it’s a lot less special. Plenty of brands make glass bottle complexion products. That’s why I didn’t include any true foundations or concealers in this post, because the prettiest bottles in my collection tend to look and weigh around the same.

When it comes to heavy primer packaging being the most luxurious, I have to say the Guerlain primer squashes that theory.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Smooth Blur Bronzer (112 grams) and Glow Seeker Highlighter (125 grams)

This bronzer is larger than the one from Westman Atelier, but it weighs the same. The reason I decided to include it anyway is because it’s still substantially heavier than the remaining bronzers in my collection. Plus, the highlighter component is a similar size and even weightier.
I cannot think of a single highlighter I own that comes in heavy packaging, other than this one.

I have noticed over the years that ABH has gradually been upgrading the packaging of most of their products. Their two most recent mascaras felt like either super heavy plastic or a mix of metal and plastic. The Smooth Blur Cream Contour Stick has a brushed gold colored metal cap and additional gold details. The Smooth Blur Matte Bronzer and Glow Seeker Highlighter have a magnetic closure and they feel quite substantial in the hand. I’m impressed with the packaging and find it to be quite pretty, but this is still another example of how weight doesn’t necessarily equate with a luxurious look. This packaging feels so much more substantial to hold and interact with than pretty much all others in the drugstore, mid-range, and high end categories. It feels like it should cost more than it does, and it looks appropriately high end to me, but not quite broaching luxury territory. I still think the Gucci Bronzer packaging tops it, despite it being lighter in weight, because it looks classier overall. As another example, MAC’s Sunstruck Bronzers look so beautiful, even though they are in lightweight compacts as well.

Final Thoughts

Based on my own personal collection, I’ve confirmed that in certain makeup categories, the most luxurious packaging is the heaviest. At the same time, I have many other products with a timeless and elegant look to them that are lightweight and made of plastic or other inexpensive materials. Essentially, the weight of a product enhances the luxury experience, but it does very little to elevate plain looking packaging. The best example of this is the Beekman 1802 Tint.

If I can get an Olivia Palermo palette that retails for $58 and feels ultra lux, but I can also buy a limited edition plastic Chanel quad for $86 and still feel like that’s luxurious as well, would that be considered silly? Should I be raising my expectations for all luxury brands?
At the beginning of this experiment, I would have said yes. However, I now see that if Chanel, Dior, Gucci, and other designer brands used higher quality materials, their products would likely fall in the LV Beaute range of prices (if not more). Some examples of that are the Chanel 31 Le Rouge lipsticks in the glass case, Dior Rouge Premier Lipsticks with the ceramic case and “formula infused with 24k gold,” along with the Guerlain Rouge G Exceptional Piece lines. There is only so much a person is willing to pay for a product from a luxury brand if the materials are the same as a mid-tier brand. So, that keeps designer brands from going overboard with their prices. There are also advantages to using lightweight materials, such as them being more convenient to take on-the-go for customers or makeup artists with large kits, sitting at attainable prices for aspirational shoppers, thinner packaging contributing to less waste of materials and sustainability efforts, etc.

So, when I really think about it, I wouldn’t be able to buy as many products in the luxury category if the components were more expensive to make or if they were made from higher quality materials. In fact, the majority of the products in this post were purchased with some kind of discount. Of course, I would love to have all my luxury goods in weighty packaging, but if that means I would have to accept those products being less likely to go on sale and/or accepting that the prices of them would double or triple, I am unwilling to do so.

The Dior Powder-no-Powder is one of my favorite makeup products of all time, yet the most I was willing to spend was €45 (essentially just paying full price) to get my name etched onto the compact. If I had the opportunity to buy it in a gold colored compact with a magnetic closure or some stunning limited edition pattern for €100, I don’t think I’d be willing to do that. This tells me that despite a product having a holy grail formula that is unable to be duped, I still have my limits. Some makeup will just never be worth it to me to buy, past a certain pricepoint, no matter what it’s made of. That means I cannot use the product’s weight, materials (including formula), or looks to justify a super high spend amount. However, I know that when a product gets hyped up, it can be much easier for me to consider crossing that price threshold if I can make a case for it being top tier from every other angle.
I bought one of the Chanel Boutons quads directly from Chanel because so many influencers were told by their SAs that the collection would be extremely limited, and I feared missing out. Less than one month after launch, I found the quads at multiple retailers for a minimum of 30% off.
FOMO works similarly to getting caught up in the hype of a product. I sometimes make purchasing decisions that I normally wouldn’t.

This is why I decided to make this post. I know there are others like me who enjoy luxury makeup and don’t have the biggest budget to work with. There are those who will be tempted by the exclusivity of a certain new beauty line and would normally not even consider getting anything at those prices, but the hype may be wearing down that resolve.
To those that want to be talked out of buying makeup at $100 or more…just remember that luxury makeup with fantastic formulas and high quality packaging can be found at a lower price. This post is full of examples of this. If one brand is out of your price range, you might be able to get similar products from another prestige brand. Other amazing and beautifully packaged products are just around the corner.

I hope this topic has been interesting, and even helpful.

Thanks for reading!

-Lili ❤

Prada Lip Balm and Pansy Eyeshadow Quad Review

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I said in my Prada review ten weeks ago, “For now, I’m content with the two products I have.”

Yet, here we are again!

The contentment did not last. I couldn’t stop myself from buying Pansy to mix and match with Primula. I also watched a lot of balm related videos on YouTube, and the Prada balm kept ranking among the top. So, despite the fact that I’m on a restricted low-buy regarding lip products, I bought one anyway.

The triangular compact mirror was a free gift with purchase via Douglas.

Prada Dimensions Holo Nude Eyeshadow Palette in Pansy

I thought these shades were going to be on the darker side of medium, but the darker pink and shimmery/satin brown are lighter than I expected on myself. I still consider this palette to be pretty, especially the triangular eyeshadows in the bottom left and right sides of the palette. I don’t know how else to describe that shimmery brown, which has a pink tone to it.
In my previous review, I also said that Primula had the prettiest Holo shimmer among the three quads Prada launched, but I might have to reconsider that statement.

The quality is on par with Primula. The shadows are incredibly creamy feeling, as though it’s a cream-to-powder formula. The eyeshadow payoff is the soft buildable type. I don’t get fallout, fading, or creasing, and they are easy to blend.

The downside, is that I can’t build any depth using this palette exclusively, but I knew that before I bought it, plus I intended to use these shades with Primula.

Prada Optimizing Care Lip Balm in 11 Noisette

I love how this balm color looks on my lips! It is so rare to find a light shade that is dark enough for me to not need to wear a lip liner with it, without being too saturated/vibrant, and also contains enough pigment to show true-to-color. I’m always looking for a medium-toned pink, but they end up being too cool-toned, have too much mauve, too much of a white base and looking milky or ashy, or too sheer to appear different from my natural lip color.
I am super happy with this shade!

Without eating, and with a normal amount of drinking, this lasts about 4-5 hours on my lips before I feel the need to reapply. My lips feel nicely moisturized and hydrated while I wear it, but I do have lip balms, oils, and glosses that are better at conditioning my lips. However, I’d still place in somewhere in my top 15 or 20. I also don’t consider it to be that sticky.

There are two flaws, with one being far more significant than the other:

  1. As beautiful as the color is, it’s not perfectly smooth. The color can sometimes settle into the lines of my lips, so I need to really rub and blend them together to get the color to smooth evenly back out. I notice this during the initial application, and then it’s good until there isn’t as much left on my lips, so I need to reapply anyway.
  2. My biggest issue with this balm is the added fragrance. It not only smells overpoweringly strong of florals, but I can literally taste the perfume! It even makes my tongue tingle when I accidentally get some of it in my mouth! I try my best to avoid putting the balm too close to the inner rim of my mouth, but I still manage to taste that gross floral perfume anyway.

I admittedly only did four all-day wear tests because I could not handle anymore attempts to eat food while I had remnants of the balm on. Most balms aren’t so gross tasting that I have to bother wiping everything off my lips before eating, but Prada’s is.
After I quit doing wear tests, my M.O. has been to put on the balm for photos and then wipe it off after I’m done. This is the only way I can continue to use this product! The color is gorgeous. The formula is quite nice and cushiony on my lips, but the parfum and additional aroma ingredients (limonene, geraniol, linalool, citronellol, etc) seriously impact my desire to wear this. I don’t understand how this doesn’t bother more people, besides apparently myself and State of Kait.

The amount of fragrance in the foundation, I can ignore. The highlighter is powerfully scented, but I power through because it’s unlike any other in my collection. However, the lip balm’s perfume is nearly as strong as the highlighter and I cannot tolerate having them both on at the same time. I get an instant headache.

The packaging is beautiful and luxurious. I love all the details with the logo on the cap, around the sides, the Prada green color on the inside of the cap, the shade name near the opening of the tube, the magnetic closure, and the fact that this is refillable. Sure, the price is high. However, I would have said it was worth it if not for the scented aspect. I cannot recommend this product based on the experience I’m having with it. I seriously hope the fragrance will dissipate over time or that they reformulate these in the same colors, but make them fragrance-free. I bought this at 20% off, but I would repurchase a parfum-free version at full price in a heartbeat. This had the makings of being a holy grail product. What a shame!

Prada Reveal Skin Optmizing Refillable Foundation (sample) in DN75

I got a foundation sample card in one of my orders and DN75 was the closest match out of what was available. I would say it’s still a shade too light for me. I assume either DW75 or DW80 would be better for me, but I don’t plan on buying the full-size because the finish is more matte than I would like. It if looks like this on me in the summer time, I can imagine how dry and dehydrated I’d look in winter. My hydrating setting sprays could help, but I will just stick to using the foundations I already have.

I have noticed during longevity tests that this foundation gets more dewy on me as the day goes on, but I’m not sure if that has to do with the hydrating skincare I use (such as hyaluronic acid) taking effect. This kind of thing happened to me with the Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation, but I prefer to have a hydrated look from the start and it staying the same all day, instead of having to suffer through looking dry in the morning and then by afternoon I’m glowier in a way that looks worn in, the way this Prada Foundation does.

According to what’s written on Prada’s website, this foundation has, “buildable medium coverage and a long-lasting soft matte finish,” plus, “…the technology-powered formula instantly enhances radiance and hydration with additional overtime care.” So, perhaps this “additional overtime care” explains the dewy phenomenon. Looking more radiant is welcome to me, but I don’t like being able to actually feel the moisture increase on my face. This foundation is not transfer-proof, and I agree with the medium coverage claim.

Because of the fragrance and dewiness throughout the day, I’m glad I was able to use the sample and didn’t have to commit to buying it first.
I tested this foundation 3 or 4 times, as there was plenty in the container and I was able to use tape along the sides to keep it as fresh as possible between uses.

That’s all for today! I truly do think I am slowing down on buying more from Prada, especially if there’s going to be fragrance in those products too.

Thanks for reading!

-Lili ❤

SPF in Makeup ft. Beekman 1802 and Toty

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Mineral sunscreens can leave a strange-colored cast on the face and body that is especially visible on people with dark skin. The higher the SPF protection, the more obvious it looks.
This is why I rely on chemical sunscreens for sun protection. However, companies have developed new innovations to combat this issue. They are all aware of the dreaded “casket-ready” grey look that can happen when someone with brown skin puts on a foundation product that has a high level of mineral SPF. The ones I tried in the past were terrible, but I decided to give some new ones a chance.

Beekman 1802 Milk Tint SPF 43 Tinted Primer Serum in Deep

The promo photos clued me in that I would not find my perfect shade in this range. However, I’ve long been intrigued by Beekman 1802 and knew that if I had the opportunity to stack Ulta rewards with a 20% off coupon, then I would take it.
That happened, and that’s why I was able to finally try it! For once, this was something I wanted that had zero hype. If anything, the most I heard people saying about it was that they were putting it in their anti-hauls, including me! That’s right! Two years ago I actually said I wouldn’t buy it.

This tint has a runny consistency and it ranges between sheer to medium coverage depending on how many drops are used. It’s very wet on the skin for a while, but given enough time it actually can set on my face without powder. This may be because I have dry skin. I initially tested this out on bare skin. Once I started putting skincare underneath, it took much longer to set. When I use this as a primer, even if I pair it with a foundation that is self-setting, it will no longer set on its own completely and it won’t be transfer-proof. Adding powder then helps to lock it onto my face. My skin feels nicely hydrated with this on, including after being powdered so long as that powder I use isn’t too mattifying or too drying.

My biggest problem area though is my nose. For some reason, I have a hard time getting it to stick there, but longevity isn’t an issue anywhere else. Also, my concealer notoriously doesn’t play well with a lot of other makeup. If I apply the KVD Good Apple Concealer first and then this Beekman product second, it won’t blend into the concealer and I get a harsh line that’s also patchy. So, I have to reapply additional concealer where the two edges meet.

I think this tint looks fantastic and smooth alone, and it can make my foundations that I add on top look better because it’s adding extra hydration. However, because it can also increase the amount of makeup transfer and become too emollient if there are too many products underneath and on top, I prefer not to risk using it as a primer except on my driest of days. That emollient issue can shorten the wear time, which a primer at its core is supposed to extend above all other functions.

The amount of product needed for full 43 SPF protection isn’t realistic to put on one’s face. It would look too foundation-heavy and feel uncomfortable as well. I learned from my mistake when I applied the usual amount needed to get medium coverage and then tried to add foundation on top, then had to redo my look because of how overdone my face looked and felt. Essentially, I find it best to apply a slightly less than normal amount of facial sunscreen so that the amount needed for adequate tint coverage can finish providing the remaining necessary sun protection.

The undertone of the Deep shade is red, but I’ve been a little red this summer, so it doesn’t look that off. However, the photo below shows how the color can look very different (orange) when I forget to shake it. Though the combination turned into my usual color match that time, I don’t want to risk throwing off the proportions of ingredients.
This product comes in an extremely heavy ceramic-looking glass bottle and there is an agitator ball inside. When I decided to take this back overseas with me, I transferred it into a clean airless pump bottle and forgot that I would still need to shake it to ensure the pigments were evenly dispersed with every use.

While we’re discussing the bottle, I think I should mention that even the brand site lists a warning that the bottle can leak, especially during travel. So, luggage weigh limit aside, this was another reason I thought it best to change bottles. It’s quite a shame though because it felt so nice and high-end.

As a skincare and makeup hybrid, I think Beekman 1802 succeeded in making a good product. I will enjoy this while I have it, but I most likely won’t repurchase it. My reasons for that are that I prefer higher coverage makeup, I don’t see myself switching to a new concealer anytime soon, and it’s not going to be a good undertone match when my skin starts to return to its normal shade after summer.

Toty Ilumina CC Cream SPF 50+ Perfecting Fluid in 5W1

The swatch is the CC cream, whereas the liquid is from the sample of the Solaria Mineral SPF 50+ Sunscreen Serum that looks awful on me, so I chose not to wear it more than once, and I could also not review it.

This is essentially a foundation that the brand describes as giving a “medium, buildable flawless coverage with natural luminous finish.” When I use a dense brush, I can get high to full coverage. Achieving low coverage is doable, but more difficult because the formula isn’t the easiest to spread thinly. It’s a thick liquid that kept breaking the tips off my sokoho goat brush, so I recommend using synthetic bristles only. I thought using my fingers could help, but the spread is actually harder to control that way and missing spots are easier to see because of the coverage level. I like what this provides, so this isn’t a problem for me, but someone wanting sheer to light coverage out of this “CC cream” might want to reconsidering buying this.

I can squirt this onto my face and it will not start running down my cheeks. It stays put.

Shade 5W1 doesn’t look too unnatural for me, though it’s better if I apply as thin of a layer as possible. It appears matte on my face, though it can look more natural if I use hydrating spray on top and/or illuminating primer underneath. This admittedly looked less matte the one time I tried it in Florida when I first bought it, so the change of climate is a factor in this difference.

I give this brand a lot of credit for having some deeper options with SPF 50+ mineral sunscreen without it going grey. It’s honestly not pushing the envelope though in terms of shade range considering there’s currently only one option darker than mine (5W2). I can admit there were zero mineral skin tints that worked for me a decade ago, and now there are some, but does that technology really stop at one shade darker than mine? Merit recently launched their mineral tinted sunscreens in SPF 45, and their range goes a lot deeper than Toty’s. However, I’ve heard Merit’s gives practically no coverage, so I guess the two lines can’t really be compared.

I noticed MAC Fix+ can break this down a bit, as I had to pat the product back in with my brush, but all was fine after that. The finish looks very smooth and nice, not just because of covering imperfections. I think part of the reason why there is difficulty spreading it is because as it dries it turns into a velvety/powdery finish and texture. This is a very low transferring foundation that sets on me without requiring powder.

Some products Toty sells are fragrance free, but this foundation is not one of them. It was a nice floral-soapy kind of scent when I first had it, but by now it’s starting the change a little a year and a half later. It doesn’t smell off, but it is noticeably a little different. This has a 12 month POA date, but I want to keep using it on and off for a while longer to feel like it wasn’t a waste of money.
I didn’t realize before I left that I wouldn’t be able to order it again in Germany, knowing this product was made in Spain and they’re partnered with Cantabria Labs. Shipping within the EU is usually easy. However, the Toty brand itself is US based and they don’t do international shipping at this time. So, I wouldn’t be able to repurchase it even if I wanted to. I’m happy something like this exists, but I will just stick to using my daily sunscreen and adding foundation on top afterwards.

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, so this is my PSA to remind everyone to wear at least some form of sun protection! That’s all I’ve got for today! I hope this has been helpful.

-Lili ❤

Does the TIRTIR Cushion Work For Everyone?

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As a lover of medium to full coverage liquid foundations, I had a difficult time understanding the appeal of cushion foundations. I can see the theoretical benefits regarding ease of use, the finish, texture, and so on, but for every pro I can also list a con.
Regardless, no brand made my shade, so it was a category of makeup I mostly ignored.

The hype surrounding TIRTIR’s original cushion foundation, however, was inescapable. My social media feed was flooded with videos of people putting a single swipe of the sponge across their skin and being shocked by the instant full coverage. Again, I wasn’t all that impressed because this feature is only “special” in a cushion form of complexion products. What started piquing my interest was the news that TIRTIR was rapidly expanding their range, and I started to see influencers with dark skin trying them out. Not only did the brand potentially have a shade that could work for me, the finish was supposed to be radiant (it also says semi-matte in some descriptions), have high buildable coverage while being long-lasting, budge-proof, and it contains skin-caring ingredients, as well as SPF that supposedly doesn’t look grey or ashy on dark skin. It sounded like one of the best products out there, and for much less money than than I usually spend on foundations. Upon further reflection, I think it’s important to take into account that I bought it from YesStyle for $22, but it has 0.63 ounces of product compared to the standard 1 ounce liquid foundation. The minis cost $11 for a minuscule 0.15 ounces.

So, I bought the TIRTIR – Mask Fit Red Cushion in 34W Toffee. It was way too light on my skin and at the time this was the darkest of the warm shades. With this much coverage, trying to get one in an undertone that didn’t match me seemed like a bad idea. So, I put it aside and waited until I heard news of another expansion to the range. Eventually, 45W Chestnut became an option in that same red cushion, so I bought it this time in the mini size during Black Friday. By this point, the brand released two new finishes of cushions in pink and silver packaging. I chose to buy the TIRTIR – Mask Fit Aura Silver Cushion Mini in 43N Deep Cocoa because this formula is supposed to be the dewiest and actual radiant one of the three. My skin needs the hydration, so even though there are currently no warm undertone options for the darker spectrum among the silver cushion range, I wanted to at least see if I liked these enough to continue waiting for more shades.

As it turned out, Red Cushion 45W is too dark. I could probably mix 34W and 45W together, but since they are in a semi-matte finish (and flat out matte in this cold not-as-humid climate I live in), I don’t plan on using them all over my face anyway. I like the high medium to full coverage that it offers, but it doesn’t suit my skin type and conditions. The only time I get use out of 45W is to add shape back to my face in the areas where I normally add bronzer and contour. Since I don’t need shine in those areas, it works as a Brontour and melts into the skin surprisingly well combined with other foundations, including the Silver Cushion.

Silver Cushion 43N is the closest match and certainly close enough for me to do wear tests and not look crazy. It is a touch lighter and visibly not warm enough for my complexion, as seen by the borderline grey tinge. If the brand releases a 43W or 44W, I think that would be my correct shade. Then again, I’m a bit darker than usual as I still have a little extra color from summertime. I would ordinarily blame the SPF for the color being slightly off, but I really think it’s an undertone issue.

The best part about this Silver Cushion’s formula is that my skin looks and feels hydrated. Dewy foundations can sometimes feel heavy on the skin, but this one feels fairly light. Testing it throughout winter confirmed that all I need is a few minor hydrating skincare products underneath to prevent my skin from looking dry. The luminosity increases slightly as the day goes on, but not enough to look oily. The amount of transfer I get is mild and it sets well, but it takes much longer to set on its own than the red cushion. Thankfully, it is still long lasting on me, even without using powder. I’m not certain how much someone with oily or combo skin would enjoy this one, though. This also isn’t suitable for someone trying to avoid products with fragrance, as this has a very noticeable perfume-like floral scent.

The slightly off match isn’t as noticeable when I put on the rest of my makeup, at least when I’ve used a foundation brush that isn’t dense so I can apply the product sheerer than it would look with TirTir’s sponge. However, compared to something else that also isn’t full coverage such as the Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Serum Foundation, other products look noticeably better purely because they’re a better shade match.

For this reason I still can’t say whether the crazy hype is warranted or not. The Red Cushion gives relatively full coverage, but the finish isn’t as flattering on my dry skin. The Silver Cushion has buildable medium to full coverage, but since it’s also not a perfect shade match, it doesn’t look as good on me if I try to reach medium or higher. So, I’m unable to wear it in a way that has the potential to be something I really like, and therefore I prefer many other foundations over this one. However, I have used it around my mouth area, as if it was a concealer, and it works wonderfully for that purpose since it blends in very well with whatever foundation I’m wearing underneath it.
I can at least answer my own question in the title of this post and say that the TirTir foundation does not work for everyone, but they’re getting there. This is at least the first cushion foundation I can wear out in public, which counts for something.

That’s all for today. Thank you for stopping by! And consider clicking “follow” if you’d like to be notified when I publish my next post!

-Lili ❤

Review of the Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Line

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This is technically a review of some of the Yummy Skin line.

I admire Danessa Myricks’ artistry and her dedication to her brand. Even when she comes out with a product that isn’t necessarily new to the market, there’s always an innovative twist to it. For this reason, her products have always either worked exceptionally for me or really didn’t suit my needs. This is why I’ll never be the first to review something by the brand and why I don’t have as many things to post about despite how closely I pay attention to their releases.

I’m sharing my thoughts about these products now, but the timeline of my purchases are as follows:
Yummy Skin Microfiber Velvet Sponge – June 18, 2023
Yummy Skin Moisture Repair Balm Serum – July 5, 2024
Infinite Chrome Pencil – July 5, 2024
Yummy Skin Lift & Flex Hydrating Concealer – July 10, 2024
Yummy Skin Serum Tint – November 8, 2024

Some of these items I’m still using today. Some of them, I had to redo the testing process because I forgot how they performed! Anyway, onto the reviews!

Yummy Skin Moisture Repair Balm Serum

The texture of this balm is like a firmer version of Vaseline. I despise having products that don’t set down to a dry touch on my face, but I was so desperate back then to find a product that would lock in moisture on my skin that I was willing to take the risk, at least when a sale rolled around.

Excluding the hottest days of summer last year, natural finish foundations looked matte on me and dewy ones looked satin due to my skin being drier than usual in a new climate. Using the tiniest amount of this balm, where barely any residue is left on the skin, results in foundations looking the proper finish they’re supposed to have. With my small amount, any foundation that sets without needing powder will still do that.

I saw the amount that Danessa Myricks uses, thanks to Instagram, and it’s way more than I use. When I try to use closer to the recommended amount of balm, my skin feels heavy at first, but I eventually get used to it. After adding foundation on top, my face looks like it has more than a natural finish, but it doesn’t get to dewy levels until somewhere between 3-5 hours of wear depending on the weather and how much sweating I’m doing. Once it gets to that dewy point, it makes my foundation much easier to transfer. It also won’t set to a fully dry finish on me, even in the beginning and even with powder on top.

I also continually have problems with my nose area and it making my foundation there look patchy or broken down. So, even on my driest skin days, I avoid applying it to this area.

If I apply more than a tiny amount, my foundation will eventually get oily looking and become easier to transfer. My makeup everywhere starts to break down around the six or seven hour mark.

The photo above is the only example I have of this. I’m sorry that it’s a washed out photo and that I didn’t want to take additional pictures. I did not want to deal with the transfer issue and heavy feeling again.

So, essentially, I like this product if I use it super sparingly in the high points of my face where I don’t mind having some glow. Starting to use milky toners again was actually the solution to my dry skin issue, and made it unnecessary for me to apply this all over. Now, I pretty much use this product more on the back of my hands than on my face!

I’d also like to mention that I find the packaging of this product very satisfying to interact with. I like the addition of the spatula at the top, the beautiful bronze lid with a semi transparent jar, and the balm color that reminds me of orange juice despite actually being colorless on the skin. It’s fragrance-free and smells like a mix of wax, oil, and petroleum. I normally don’t advocate for scents in my products, but I could have made an exception for this one considering how it smells.

Yummy Skin Serum Skin Tint in Shade 11 and Yummy Skin Lift & Flex Hydrating Concealer in Shade 13

As seen on the timeline, I purchased the concealer first. I chose number 13 because the model showcasing it looked closest to my skin tone. As it turns out, the depth is about right, but it’s quite orange. So, it doubles as a corrector and concealer for me. If this product worked as well as my other concealers under my eyes, I would have considered buying number 12. Unfortunately, it creases too much (moving out of my under eye lines) and disappears too quickly. My under eye area produces oil between some of the wrinkles, but is dry elsewhere. So, it’s a tough spot for a lot of concealers to handle. However, this product works perfectly fine on the rest of my face that’s smoother. So, I use it mostly around my mouth area and spots with darker discoloration. It’s nice that it has high coverage and that I’m still able to make use of it. A concealer that doesn’t work under my eyes doesn’t have much chance of being considered part of my favorites though by default.

Purish had a fantastic sale on Danessa Myricks products, so that’s why I finally gave the Serum Tint a try and chose my color based on the concealer match recommended by the brand. I’m very happy with Shade 11 and think it’s the best match. I consider it a golden color because it’s a good balance between yellow and orange. Even though I’m still a bit darker than usual, the coverage being light (or on the lighter side of medium if applied with a brush) allows for wiggle room. It’s called a Serum Tint, but it gives me similar coverage as Fenty’s Liquid Eaze Drops and almost as much as Nars Sheer Glow.
I like the nozzle because it makes it so easy to control how much or little I want to squeeze out. And even though the product is thick enough that when I draw lines across my face it doesn’t drip or move in the slightest, it’s not so thick as to feel heavy. The consistency feels like applying a skincare moisturizer.

I would call this a satin finish foundation on me as it’s not as glowy as I expected. It does look even better when I use a sparing amount of the Yummy Skin Balm with it, and it feels more hydrating than it looks outwardly. If I want my skin to look truly luminous, I just need to apply a very generous amount of my glowiest milky toners as part of my skin prep.

Overall, my skin looks smoother with the tint on. I like that it fully sets down without needing to be powdered and it doesn’t transfer much. The thickness of the tint can basically withstand the consistency of the balm. This lasts all day and I think it’s very skin-like.

I don’t know how effective the infused skincare ingredients are in the long-term, but I can agree with the hydration and moisturizing claims. This doesn’t have any fragrance and I like this packaging as much as the packaging of the Yummy Skin Balm. Besides the convenience of the squeeze tube and nozzle, the cap’s color and shape is aesthetically pleasing.

I’m very happy that this turned out to be a good purchase. Even though I got it on sale, I think it’s definitely worth buying at full price. It performs and feels like high-end and luxury foundations. I mentioned in my Project Pan post that I may end up adding this to the bunch after reviewing it. Since I kept it in my foundation rotation even after the testing phase, I think it’s safe to include it in there.

Yummy Skin Microfiber Velvet Sponge Dark Chocolate

I’m fairly certain I used this sponge once or twice when I first bought it, but then did not use it again until February of this year. Since sponges are intended to be thrown out every few months, is this still considered hygienic if I only used it a few times and then kept it in a bag away from dust and other elements for over a year and a half?
I don’t know, probably not, but I did this for science (and not wanting to buy another one)!

The sponge in dry form versus damp

This feels very firm in its dry form. It’s softer after being wet, but is still firmer than other sponges I’ve used. The microfibers make it feel slightly velvety, like applying my makeup with a cloth. However, it’s not the same as when I’ve used my Blendiful in the past. The end result is the same as with other sponges though, only differing in the way that I need to use this. With most sponges, I’m used to pouncing it all over my face and the sponge pushes the product in a wider, diffused, and partly diluted area. This sponge does a bit of diluting and soaking up of product, but if I apply foundation to my face first and tap this over it, it just spreads more dots wherever the sponge touches instead of spreading it out. When I use the Danessa Myricks Serum Tint, I usually draw lines on my face and use a brush to spread it around. As seen in the photo below, there are a bunch of lines on the bottom of the sponge were the lines just stayed on there and didn’t spread out.

So, the technique I have to use with this sponge is to spread foundation across my face with the flat edge and then tap it to blend after. If I still want to use the bottom, I have to do a drag and then bounce motion, not quite the same as a press and roll with other beautyblenders.

When it comes to cleaning this sponge, it takes much longer to dry and I can’t get it spotless, although the color makes that hard to see (which I like about it). I can only really tell that it has a stain when I run it under water.
Another benefit is that it’s more tear-resistant.

I go through brief phases trying to use sponges and it’s just not for me. The look and feel of this sponge is different from any other I’ve used, but the end result isn’t any different. So, I don’t feel the need to repurchase something like this. It’s a nice product, but I much prefer more affordable sponges, or the classic original beautyblender.

Infinite Chrome Pencil in Bronzite

Heart shaped swatch at different angles.

I have discussed this formula of pencil already, but this is the only additional one I have purchased since then. It’s waterproof, thin enough to be used precisely, and the strength of the shift depends on the shade. Bronzite is probably the hardest to see, as it has only ever looked bronze on my eyes.

This, at least, has more impact than the Golden Brown liner from Oden’s Eye. I also only paid 9 Euros for Bronzite on sale.
Black eyeliner is my go-to, so I don’t use this very often, but I don’t mind having it in my collection. It still gets used once every 2-3 months.

Everything I reviewed today are products I will continue to use until they go bad (excluding the sponge I’m tossing for being old). However, the only one I would consider repurchasing is the Yummy Skin Serum Tint. I like that one a lot. The rest are good, but able to be substituted by other makeup I own.

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

-Lili ❤

Reviewing Three G’s of Luxury Beauty

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The title of today’s post refers to me reviewing a product from Givenchy, Guerlain, and Gucci! They’re three G-named luxury beauty brands with products I tend to like when I try them. Rather than reviewing them separately, I decided to combine them into a single post.

Let’s begin!

Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Glow Foundation in W385

The Givenchy Prisme Libre concealers are in my top five favorites, so my interest in the glow version of the foundation began from there. When I saw this shade available for half price, I jumped at the chance to try it!

I’m sure it seems strange that I chose a foundation shade that’s lighter than the concealers I use, but my face color comprises of multiple shades: mainly the lightest sections (cheek area, chin, parts of my nose, and center of my forehead), medium section (forehead and perimeter of my face), and the darkest parts (dark under eye circles, dark spots, scars, and hyperpigmentation). Most of my foundations are either a middle ground shade between the lightest and medium colors on my face, or matching the medium color alone. Because of my severely dark under eyes, using a concealer that’s around my skintone depth (instead of brightening) looks best. It’s a long way to say that N390 is close enough to my skin tone depth, so I figured W385 might work. It’s not the best match for me, but it’s hard to be able to tell since the coverage is so sheer.

This foundation is supposed to be “buildable,” but it only goes as high as medium coverage with 4 full pumps for the whole face. It’s typical for me to use 1 or 2 pumps of any foundation at most. I used 1 full pump for one half of my face in the photo below, yet got hardly any coverage.
Because I don’t enjoy the feeling of having too many layers of product on my face, I wouldn’t surpass three pumps. After a point, adding more doesn’t increase the coverage and it hinders the foundation’s ability to dry down on the skin. Using more drops also increases the ease of transfer.

Other than the foundation on one side, both sides have a little concealer around the eyes and mouth.

The Givenchy Prisme Libre foundation sets without needing powder, as long as I’m not heavy on the emollient skincare and stick to using no more than 2 pumps of foundation. Powdering, to me, would defeat the purpose of having a luminous foundation.

This has about the same amount of glow as the Chanel No. 1 Foundation in the beginning, but by midday and onward, the Chanel foundation gives more glow.

The dispenser part of my bottle top arrived broken. It spins around 360 degrees. If I don’t remember to hold it steady when pressing down the pump, it’ll spray everywhere. I don’t have the best memory, so I’ve made that mistake three times already since June. Since I bought this at such a high discount, I didn’t bother contacting customer service.

The darker and warmer color is the Armani foundation, but the squirts all around is the Givenchy foundation when I planned to wear them mixed them together.


As a side note, the Douglas retail website is wild! I’ve never seen prices fluctuate so much on a website before! When I checked again, some shades of this foundation dropped to 16 Euros, whereas other shades (including mine) went back up in price!

I find more use for this product as a mixer to sheer out foundations that are on the thicker side while getting a little more natural finish and coverage. For example, the Armani Luminous Silk foundation is one that never reaches luminous level and I can get a natural finish at best. The Givenchy product mixed with it improves it on every front. So, even though I don’t like this as a standalone product, it’s still useful for me.

*I’d just like to add that all photos were taken early in Summer, so I’m darker now. Definitely too dark to wear this foundation alone now.

Guerlain Terracotta Blush in 03 Deep Nude

I admittedly don’t feel like I can fully appreciate this because I bought it at the same time as the Chanel trio, and they’re basically the same color. It’s not as “nude” of a shade as I thought either. It’s basically just dark pink and I wish it had more brown.
Color aside, I also wish it wasn’t so matte. I would have loved for there to be a sheen in this. This is why I didn’t get more shades, even though they were at least 33% off on websites I came across (I bought mine from Parfümerie Pieper).

I’ve had no issues with longevity. I can’t speak for the whole line, but this particular shade is pigmented. I try not to load up too much product on my brush. It’s better to build it up because it’s hard to try and buff it away. If I apply too much, I have to tone it down with a finishing powder or foundation. In a sheer amount, it looks pretty. The powder quality is nice, but not worth full price to me. What I paid is more in line, in my opinion, with what it should have been at the start.

As for the packaging, I think I remember reading some complaints about Guerlain’s Terracotta compacts looking boring and people wanting the blush components to be different, but I like it. I’m more concerned with the formula. I think the quality is decent, but I fail to see anything special about it that would make it stand out from other brands. For a similar price, the Armani Luminous Silk Glow Blushes, which are also matte, are ones I like better.

Gucci Poudre De Beauté Matte Compact Powder (refill) in 10

This is a very smooth finely milled powder. Although I opted to buy the refill so that I could keep the cost low, the intended component is just as luxe as the bronzer packaging and in a pretty shade of pink. Between the formula and compact, I can understand the price tag. For anyone wanting to do what I did and house it in an empty magnetic palette, just know that the pan itself isn’t magnetic. I had to add a metal sticker to the bottom. The sticker I purchased from Amazon and the powder I bought from Selfridges.

The shade I bought is perfect for me. It doesn’t darken when put on top of wet skin. I can see how this is dry skin friendly, but it’s a bit too weak. It tones down shine, but can’t hold at bay an actual dewy product. Also, despite what the product description says on the website, I don’t notice any blurring.

If you don’t like perfume in makeup, just know that every product I reviewed today has it listed in the ingredients. I don’t find the smell of any of them to be alluring, but none are bad either.

This is what the 3 G’s look like when used all together on my face! I tried to use as many “G” branded products as possible to fit the theme! The Gucci powder was all over the face, but the Givenchy powder was under the eyes.

I’d like to take this time to correct my feelings towards the Gucci Bronzer. In my ranking post, I put it in the category of “nice but not a standout formula, in a shade that wasn’t perfect for me.” It’s amazing how a different undertone can really change things! I got my hands on Shade 4 and liked it so much better! It’s still not in my top 10 formulas, but it’s better than I initially felt. With Shade 4, I can get it to blend into my skin better and have it look more natural. I can finally see that it’s smoother than I originally gave it credit for, especially considering how I was still able to make Shade 5 work despite being so off.

Anyway, that’s all for today! Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Huda Beauty Easy Blur Foundation Review

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Choosing the right foundation shade online can be difficult, especially when photos of swatches differ from how the shades look on the models. On the Huda Beauty website, I bought 3 minis of the Easy Blur Foundation: 440G Cinnamon, 450G Chocolate Mousse, and 500G Mocha.

The minis are ordinarily €16 each, but buying three dropped the price in the online shopping cart to €30. Each mini has 10ml of product, whereas the full size is 30ml for €37. This was the best option for me considering I rarely use up foundations and I’ve gotten gradually darker towards the end of summer. It isn’t the worst thing to have various colors in small sizes to mix with foundations to tailor my shade.

SHADE CHOICE

I was surprised to see the lightest of the three I chose was the best fit for me, especially because I look significantly darker than the model for shade 440 Cinnamon. In addition, my concealer shade 7.1 Crumble is recommended to be paired with the 450 Chocolate Mousse foundation. I tried 450, which can technically work too in the barest amounts, but the more that color is built up, the easier it is to see that it’s darker than my current skin color. 500 was obviously too dark.

My recommendation when choosing a shade is to pick based on the arm swatches on the website. Those seem most accurate to me, within the Deep Tan spectrum of shades at least.

COVERAGE

One of the best aspects of this foundation is how much coverage I get from using the barest amounts and how lightweight it feels on the skin. Using a synthetic brush worked better for me in trying to get a light-medium amount of coverage. I could not get less than that with a brush, but the brand states that this gives “medium to buildable” anyway. I like high medium coverage, but in my opinion, less is more with this foundation. It’s supposed to be “blurring,” but it can look heavier than it feels because of the coverage level even with so little product used. The ability to easily spread it across the face evenly and lightly is important to how the final outcome will look. So, I start small with as little product as possible all over the face, and then only add more to the areas of discoloration.

FINISH/LONGEVITY

Testing this throughout September was interesting because the weather here had various conditions that were sunny enough for me to get sweaty, it was often rainy and windy, as well as cloudy and cold. I prefer using this in warm weather because it has a natural finish that gets glowier throughout the day. It can look borderline oily in some spots, but it still looks pretty at the end of the day and without touch ups. As it got colder this month, I produced even less oil and the finish was a bit more matte than I want. It took so many hours just to get a little glow. On colder days, it was nice combining this with my N1 de Chanel foundation, keeping the Easy Blur in the outskirts that I want soft matte but having the glow from Chanel in the center. Another thing I like about this foundation is the transfer resistance, though I don’t know how it holds up on people with other skin types.

USE WITH POWDER

Although I don’t need it, I figured I should test this a few times with powder to be able to report on the results. Using finishing powders and my weaker setting powders didn’t change the performance at all. It still got glowy in the warm weather. However, I used the Huda Beauty Easy Bake Loose Powder on a day that was warm all day, but got cold at night. The powder kept me looking way more matte all day and I could see the blurring action. I personally didn’t like it because I want the glow, but for someone looking for full coverage and a matte finish, combining the foundation with the powder is the way to go. In the photo demonstration, the powder side is slightly lighter because I was wearing the darker foundation shade (450 G) with the Blondie powder instead of Kunufa. Blondie was just easier within reach.

USE WITH PRIMER

I tried this foundation with my typical skincare underneath and nothing else. I’ve also used this with skincare plus the Benefit Porefessional Hydate Primer. I know Huda has an Easy Blur primer, but I did not purchase it. All I can say is that I actually prefer the results when I’m not using primer with this foundation. The Benefit one acted a bit as a barrier and I didn’t have as many “glowy” spots. However, I felt like it sat more on top of the skin and didn’t look as natural.

The brand recommends using the primer, foundation, and powder all together. That might be necessary for those who want to look poreless, flawless, and filtered. For my needs and what I’m looking for in makeup, the foundation alone is enough.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Now that we’re moving towards winter, I’m less happy using this foundation alone. At the best of times, in summer, this reminds me of the Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation and N1 de Chanel. I still prefer those two over this foundation (because of the glowier finish and being more forgiving of texture on the skin during that glow phase), but considering this is €20 and €40 Euros cheaper, this is a fantastic alternative for someone who doesn’t want to pay luxury prices, yet have a similar performance. I continue to really like the Huda Beauty brand, and I appreciate the fact that they made minis not just for a few colors, but literally all 29 shades! I can’t think of a brand besides Huda and Fenty that has done that (in a range with over 15 shades). I don’t know if this option will be available to other retailers, but I recommend giving this foundation a try, especially if you have access to a mini.

That’s all for today! I hope you’ll click follow and return next week!

-Lili ❤