I know I’m late to the game on these. Although I don’t have a TikTok account, these pudding pots have become so successful that I’ve been seeing them talked about everywhere in 2025 in particular. For the past few years, I’ve done my best to stop buying cream and liquid cheek products due to their quicker expiry time than powders. This was my reason for not buying the Pudding Pots, but when I saw Fwee’s products become available through German retailers like Douglas and Flaconi, the FOMO grew too strong for me to take! I started with one, then ordered three more, and now I have forced myself to stop at 7 out of the 35 total!
I’ve included photos of what the colors look like in their frosted glass pots, but it doesn’t help. So many of them look identical to each other or look much deeper than how they appear on my skin. I watched so many swatch videos and scrolled through so many photos, yet I still ended up with shades that were unexpected. So, if anyone reading this has access to these in person to be able to try them out, I highly recommend doing that.
These colorful Pudding Pots don’t just look like desserts. They have a fruity/candy-like smell too. But don’t eat them! Haha.
BLUSHES
Shade Name: My ND04 Undertone: Warm Description: Natural Nude Coral Category: Just Me Moment
This has been touted as a “universal” shade. It can be built up enough to show on my skin, but I will probably use this exclusively on the apples of my cheeks going forward. It’s a little lighter of a color than I’m used to wearing on its own, but I still like it. It’s also much lighter on my lips than I would normally wear.
Dear is a little more pigmented and even warmer of a color than My, so I think it suits my skintone quite well for a relatively light shade, but I still wouldn’t wear this on my lips.
Shade Name: Feel’n RS01 Undertone: Warm Description: Rose Coral Category: Faded Moment
This is supposed to have a warm undertone, but it looks cool toned on me in person. It’s at least the most cool of the seven I own. It’s pretty, but I like it a bit less than the others.
Shade Name: Chill’n MV01 Undertone: Warm Description: Cooled Down Greyish Brown Category: Cold-Hearted Moment
I thought this would look way more cool-toned on me based on the description, although it is technically listed as being suited for those with a warm undertone. I can clearly see purple tones in the pot, but for some reason it’s bright pink on my skin. This is probably the biggest twist in expectations vs reality out of the seven I own. I like it more than Feel’n, but it still ranks lower on the list.
To me, this is like a darker version of Dear. I prefer this shade, but I try to apply a thin layer (less than pictured) so that it’s a bare flush of brightness since it’s a more poppy color than I expected.
Shade Name: Lyrics RS02 Undertone: Warm Description: Brown Coral Rose Category: Faded Moment
This is the warmest shade of the bunch, and most easy to see on my skin, so I thought I would like this the most. However, it’s a bit too warm. I prefer Memories.
Shade Name: Memories RS04 Undertone: Warm Description: Marsala Rose Category: Faded Moment
This is the one shade I end up using most often. It’s a little less warm-red and more of a pink-red.
EXPERIENCE
The consistency of this product is like a bouncy mousse. It has a dimethicone-heavy formula, but that is what gives it its slip-like texture with a matte look. The blurred blush and lip trend that has long been popular across Asia is reaching similar heights in the west due to so many US and European brands now coming out with their own versions. There are so many options to choose from worldwide!
Wet n Wild isn’t fooling anyone with their Mother Fluffer Pudding Blush. It’s a dupe too!
I only really have two blushes that are comparable to Fwee’s Pudding Pots. The first is the Catrice Velvet Pudding Blurring Blush which indeed feels like a creamy pudding and does not have much bounce. The second is the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Matte Bouncy Blush which has the slip feeling and bounce without the mousse texture that is so easy to be picked up. Rare Beauty’s is more compact in the pan.
I mentioned in my review that I like the Rare Beauty blush only after applying a hydrating spray on top, which gives it some glow. I thought I wouldn’t mind how matte Fwee’s blushes look if I could use the same technique, but it doesn’t transform it, and I have to be careful not to touch my face too soon afterwards because the sprays (e.g. from Pat Mcgrath and Charlotte Tilbury) make the blush susceptible to lifting off before it dries again. For my skin type and preference for nude blush tones, I actually like Catrice’s product the most! As long as my skin is adequately prepped, the blush doesn’t look flat on me. There are currently only five shades in the line, but the one I own in 040 Maple Mousse is dark-skin friendly. Just like Fwee’s Pudding Pots, the Catrice Pudding Blushes are scented (though they smell like white chocolate rather than fruity/candy). They are less expensive too, but I believe Fwee’s formula consists of slightly more expensive ingredients. Since my main concern is how it looks and performs, that isn’t enough to change my mind about Catrice’s blush being my favorite of the three.
The Fwee Pudding Pot spreads easily enough, it’s non-drying, and a minimal amount doesn’t look cakey. I don’t have issues with longevity when I apply this on top of foundation, but if I’m going for a minimal makeup look, my skin just eats this blush up. I have to apply a heavier amount than I want in order to counteract the fading so that I end up still having visible blush at the end of the day.
For the best blended results, I make a single tap into the pot with my Rephr LC02 brush and blend the product onto the back of my hand, warming it up, before applying it to my cheeks. I might have to build up additional layers if it’s one of the lighter shades, but this way ensures I don’t overapply.
I bought the Fwee Fingerlike Silicone Lip Brush when I realized my brush and fingers won’t be able to get product out of the small opening that easily as it gets used up over time. I can apply a few dots onto my cheeks with the lip brush as well, but I still run the risk of applying too much, and this kind of formula doesn’t diffuse as easily as a powder product. So, I use this tool mostly to apply product onto my lips (which is great thanks to the slanted curve of the soft silicone tip) or onto the back of my hand.
At YesStyle, there are mini sizes of the silicone tip lip brush as well as a full size brush with a bristle type of tip.
Back to the discussion of the Pudding Pots, I haven’t liked any of these as standalone lip products. The colors are too saturated for my taste, yet they look strange if I use a minimal amount because the two spots of darker pigment on my lower lip are obvious to see underneath. The way the color grips around dry patches on my lips is also unflattering. So, I don’t enjoy how they look unless my lips are already in a good state. They are not transfer-proof, but they last fairly well before I need to touch up my lips. Another fortunate thing is that even though I expected this formula to dry out my lips, it doesn’t seem to. It’s comfortable to wear for the mostpart, but it still doesn’t look flattering enough to me even if it’s not drawing out my lip’s moisture. It’s possible that I could like this paired with other lip products for an ombré effect or after I’ve filled in my lips with lip liner, but I haven’t been inspired to try either technique. I prefer to just consider this strictly a blush.
Overall, I think the Pudding Pots are a fun and youthful product. I resisted buying them for so long, and I wish I had the willpower to have been able to keep resisting them simply because I’m not interested in the matte look. I couldn’t turn them into a glowier looking product, the way I did with the Rare Beauty Bouncy Blushes, so that’s unfortunate for me. I think I look better when my skin has some shine to it. For everyone else that loves the blurred matte trend, I can understand why Fwee’s product is so popular. They are reasonably priced and come in so many shades (perhaps even too many). The formula isn’t difficult to work with as long as the product is either warmed up or built up in small layers.
So, I understand why people like these, but I still think they’re a little overhyped. The best aspects about these Pudding Pots are the shade options, fun texture, and packaging which technically other brands could have as well. When it comes to the performance, it isn’t as unique.
I hope that these photos have been helpful. Thanks for reading! Other reviews I recommend are from Tina Tanaka Harris (for video quality showing every shade), Itskrystle (for in-depth information and testing), and Corizus (someone else similar to my skintone).
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.
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 PlusPowder
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!
MAC always has these huge holiday collections filled with limited edition shades of products, new formulas, minis, and plenty of value sets. Unlike other brands, whose holiday items tend to be cheaper quality, MAC’s standard seems to be the same across the board. The brushes are the only things I’ve heard negative things about, and I’ve liked the holiday makeup I’ve bought over the years. This time, I decided to pick up just a few things.
Sugar Crystal Lip Oil Stick in Glisten Up
The cute packaging and uniquely shaped bullet with the gorgeous oil-slick colors is so enticing! I was very curious to experience this formula, because it’s a new innovation for MAC.
As seen in the swatches, the purple-blue-pink shimmer specks are an overspray. One swipe was enough to remove it completely from the slanted portion, and I can see that it’s clear from the inside, similar to the look of the Winky Lux Flower Lip Balms. I believe MAC’s formula is a little more complex and modern than those. I am at least happy that the sides of the lipstick will continue to look sparkly as long as I don’t touch it. I honestly didn’t want that shimmer on my lips. I get a particle or two each time I wear it, but it’s essentially a clear product. It has a pretty shine, but it’s not very glossy or oily looking.
The surface feels gel-like, soft, and comfortable as I move it across my lips. The bullet doesn’t tug and I get a similar sensation to the k-beauty melty formulas, but the bullet continues to hold its shape and doesn’t look overly emollient on the surface.
I have super dry lips, so I’m always happy to have a product that deeply nourishes and hydrates my lips, in addition to making them look supple and moisturized. Unfortunately, this is not one of those products. It keeps my lips moisturized on the surface for a couple of hours, but it’s not that much better than a typical lip balm and my lips lose that hydrated feeling much quicker than my regular lip oils. I have to reapply a lot throughout the day.
Although I don’t see parfum listed on the website ingredient list, this contains Citric Acid and Vanillin, and it has a mild candy gumdrop type of smell. I get enjoyment from looking at it and using it, but it’s not going to become a staple product in my collection. I think this would make a fun gift for someone, but more as a novelty item. Perhaps others with less severely dry lips will consider the formula to be good enough. I can only speak about my experience using it.
Jelly Shine Eye Shadow in Ice List
Based on the name alone, I was expecting a gel wet-feeling product. It’s supposed to have a “hybrid, jelly-like texture,” but the shimmer particles make it so that it feels dry to the touch with every swipe. I honestly would have called BS on the texture if I hadn’t been able to scrape the product out with my nail and then completely smooth it back out on the surface of the pan with my finger. It has some slip to it, but it’s not wet like the Colourpop Jelly Much eyeshadows, it doesn’t have the creaminess of a MAC Paint Pot, nor the softness of the MAC Glow Play Cushiony Blushes.
As someone who enjoys an interesting tactile experience combined with high performance, I was a little disappointed by how this felt. The results made up for it though. Ice List doesn’t look that impressive on me when I use it on my bare lids, but it really sings when paired with other eyeshadows!
When applied straight from the pan to my lids, it has a scattered effect type of look. I cannot get an opaque application without applying the eyeshadow damp first. I think this is a good quality for a topper to have, so that it suits more people’s eye makeup preferences. I’m not the biggest fan of toppers, but if I can get one to show less of my skin or eyeshadow underneath, I’m fine with that.
I have a lot of impressive sparkly eyeshadows from indie brands, so my expectations were low. I didn’t think a product like this would make such a difference, but it’s great for bumping up the impact and drama of an eyeshadow look. One such example is when I was completely satisfied and happy with my eye makeup using Clé de Peau eyeshadows, but when I added Ice List on top, it took the look to a whole new level!
This can be a little messy to use if an extra chunk comes off, as I sometimes get it in my lashes. It adheres well (I always wet it though), so I don’t notice much fallout throughout the day. However, when I have to take it off is when the sparkles go everywhere and it’s so difficult to get every speck off my face despite using my tried and true Bioderma micellar water with a Makeup Eraser cloth.
M·A·CStack Elevated Mascara (travel size)
MAC has the Foreseeable Future Eye Kit that includes a full size of this mascara, plus full size of the Colour Excess Gel Pencil Eye Liner. I did not buy that set, but I figured I could include this mascara review as part of the holiday collection because of that kit.
The M·A·CStack Mascara is one of my favorites, so I was eager to try this one because I assumed it would be a similar formula, just with a curved brush instead. There are actually more differences than that. For instance, the first M·A·CStack has a “mousse-like texture…for endless stackability” and the Elevated M·A·CStack has a wetter formula “featuring argan oil.” The M·A·CStack has a silicone brush and the Elevated M·A·CStack has a bristle brush.
In the beginning, I really did not like the Elevated M·A·CStack because I felt the formula was too wet and thin. It wasn’t sticking as well to my lashes, so I was lacking volume and couldn’t build it up that much. After about a month or so the mascara liquid became thicker and/or less wet (it gained more grip), and then I started to like how it looked. Although my preferred technique is to build up a lot of mascara in one go, with the Elevated mascara I got better results by applying a first coat and waiting for it to mostly dry before adding a thicker second coat.
Below is another example of how it looks on my lashes. It’s from my Cle de Peau post.
Although this mascara works better for me now than it was in the beginning, and it does a decent job of lifting the lashes, I still prefer the normal version of M·A·CStack. The M·A·CStack is quicker to apply and get the volume and length I like. The only thing to note is it may not be suited to those with sensitive eyes. I have no issues wearing that mascara unless I lay down to take a nap. Then, my eyes get irritated. Although I don’t see flakes on my face when I wear the M·A·CStack, I can only assume that some of it gets in my eyes when I’m in a laying position and causes irritation. Also, when I’m trying to remove the mascara, my eyes are fine as long as I get all of the particles completely out. If a dot of it gets in the back, my eyes will again feel uncomfortable and a little irritated until I remove it. I don’t know if the Elevated version does this as well, considering I have tried my best to just not nap while I’m wearing makeup. I do not wish to intentionally test this out either.
MAC Lustreglass Sheer-Shine Lipstick in Posh Pit
Since this is a MAC centered post, I figure it’s a fitting place to add photos of this lipstick. It was not included in my first review of the Lustreglass lipstick formula from my Makeup So Good I Had to Buy More post. I bought this shade in April, but I don’t see it on the US MAC website, so I’m not sure if it’s discontinued. It’s listed as out of stock on the MAC DE site, but I can still find it at other German retailers.
A short summary of my thoughts is that I consider the Lustreglass formula to be a more emollient version of the Lisa Eldridge Luxuriously Lucent Lip Colours. The amount of color this gives can be built up, but not to full opacity. The texture is light and buttery feeling and the shine level looks beautiful when first applied, but it’s not that long lasting on me. The tradeoff for this remaining comfortable on my desert dry lips is the fact that I have to reapply a lot.
Final Thoughts
This marks the end of the reviews. If these products were amazing and staple-worthy, I would consider the holiday collection to be brilliant. As it stands, this isn’t a bust either because MAC is holding true to what they usually do. This is the brand that released the Snowflushed duochrome highlighter in 2019, and chose to make a minty shade of highlighter this year. They tend to take more risks with the colors in their holiday collections, and I too am more prone to trying things outside of my comfort zone during this festive time.
The products I got were fun, and it helps that I got them on sale too!
That’s all for today! Thank you for checking out my blog! Also, I’m wishing anyone who celebrates it an early Happy Thanksgiving!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
The photo above shows all the lip products I purchased or was gifted in 2023. I was systematically trying to review everything new that year, but ran out of time once I got engaged. Since I was moving overseas, I suddenly had to do a declutter and decide which items I would be bringing with me, whether I completed reviews for them or not.
Then, in 2024, I was trying to balance between reviewing newer and older items. It got overwhelming trying to juggle reviewing 25 lippies in a single declutter style post. My collection was getting out of hand again, so I decided to go on a low-buy. I switched gears and started focusing on posting smaller batches of lip reviews.
For today, I will finish reviewing the remaining interesting lip products from 2023, in addition to describing the process of how I whittled down my collection. At the end, I’ll show what my current collection in 2025 looks like and explain which items wouldn’t make the cut if I had to do another declutter.
I only got rid of the expired lip products, which were a few Propa Beauty Lipsticks, the Melt lipstick, and Sephora Collection one. I also left behind the MAC lipsticks, except the one from the Whitney Houston Collection, because I had them mainly for collector purposes and knew I wouldn’t wear them. That’s where I would have loved to stop, but the baggage weight limit required me to leave behind even more. Because my remaining Propa lipsticks were oldest, it pained me, but I had to leave them. I also dropped the Juvia’s Place lipsticks because I was fairly sure they ship to Germany and that I would potentially be able to replace them if I really missed them during one of their massive sales. It turns out, I did not miss them.
Of the remaining bullet lipsticks, I will showcase the only older ones that haven’t been previously reviewed.
Hourglass Unlocked Satin Crème Lipstick in Dahlia 318
The luxury-packaging-lover in me is still happy that I bought this lipstick, but I was never satisfied with the brand’s shade options. The initial excitement customers had surrounding the launch seemed to have disappeared so quickly afterwards, even when the brand extended the range. I can’t recall any beauty YouTuber that mentioned the lipsticks again even one month post-review. Considering how long it has taken me to talk about this, I can’t say I blame them!
The real reason I never bought more is truly because I didn’t think any other colors would suit me based on how the shades looked in Youtube videos and Instagram versus the photos Hourglass put out. At a $38 retail price, I wasn’t about to take anymore chances. I mean, Dahlia looks a bit darker than the bullet, but on my lips it is such a brighter pink!
Photo Credit: This picture is from the Sephora DE website.
Over time, the color has gotten even bolder. The dye called Red 27 is the one that is used in all the ph-adjusting products. This contains Red 28, which looks extremely close to that tone of fuchsia, which I’m not a fan of seeing on myself.
I love the amount of shine the satin finish gives. It’s not too creamy as to slide around everywhere. The pigment level covers enough of the dark pigmented spots on my lips for me to be happy. I believe this used to have a typical vanilla scent, but after having it so long, it smells slightly sweet, waxy, and spicy. I think mine is reaching the point of being too old to wear.
It feels very nice on the lips, but gets drying towards the later hours of the night. I think it’s because it has a slight staining effect and stains tend to dry out my lips. It feels comfortable for the majority of the day though. Touch ups are still a must for anyone that wants to keep the moisturizing glossy layer, but be forewarned that this will definitely transfer onto whatever it touches.
Besides the packaging and the finish, I really liked the shape of the bullet as it was easy to apply and stay within the lines.
Overall, I do still like this, but I won’t be buying additional colors because I prefer more non-tradtional lipstick formulas and because of the shade range.
Suqqu Sheer Matte Lipstick in Houjitsu 112
It’s so interesting that this is a “matte” line, but for this limited edition shade, Suqqu added fine shimmer that gives this a somewhat metallic look. In the same way that many matte cream blushes still have a creamy (and therefore minimal wet sheen) look to them, the lipstick looks almost satin. Although I can’t do it effectively with this shade, I can see how other colors could help create a soft and pretty blotted lip look.
The combination of waxes, oils, and silicone based ingredients makes this lipstick feel very comfortable on the lips. It easily and smoothly glides across the lips without tugging. It also leaves a very minimal imprint on glasses or anything else the lips touch. For a sheer lipstick, I consider the staying power to be decent, but a few touch ups are necessary throughout the day. I really like this formula! Even though it doesn’t feel drying, if I try to wear this two days in a row, my stubbornly dehydrated lips will punish me for it. This is not unusual for me, and it’s why I wear balms and glosses far more often than lipsticks, but I wanted to mention it anyway.
This is not a fully opaque lip product, but it can be built up a decent amount. In this case, sheer doesn’t automatically mean subtle. Although this particular shade is discontinued, Suqqu has a permanent range of color options. Just know that the brand does not sell the lipstick together with the lid/case. Ordering the lipstick alone will get the customer the lipstick bullet in the base with a small clear plastic cap on top. They sell the matte black and gold covering/lid separately under the name “Sheer Matte Lipstick Cap” for around $4. Because of the unique six-sided shape, no other case will fit over it except the one Suqqu makes. When I was living in the US, I could only buy Suqqu from Selfridges, and it takes them forever to restock them. So, I couldn’t get the proper top for the lipstick until five months later!
I appreciate the brand’s efforts to produce less plastic, but no one who buys high end or luxury goods want to spend so much money to then be forced to keep a cheap plastic covering over the product for nearly half a year! There should be a guaranteed way to ensure every customer’s first lipstick will come with a proper case. This honestly ruined my initial experience with the lipstick and it’s why I never included it in my other Suqqu reviews. This is also why I decided that if I ever wanted to try a line of Suqqu lipsticks again, I would buy the case as soon as I saw it offered even if I didn’t plan to get the actual product until much later. That’s what I did with the Moisture Glaze in 2025!
This was an easier category to sort through because my dry lips can only tolerate very few formulas. I tossed the expired ones: Ofra, Rare Beauty, and Kaleidos’ Wild Apple and Skinship. The Juvia’s Place lippies didn’t suit me without a lip liner, so I left that behind. The Oden’s Eye ones aren’t as comfortable as Kaleidos Lip Clays, so it seemed smarter to hold off on bringing them. I didn’t declutter the Colourpop x Sailor Moon one for nostalgia, but it had to at least stay behind. The Huda set was new and the formula reminded me of the KVD ones I used to like. However, since I hadn’t done a proper wear test beforehand, and didn’t want to take products with me that I was unsure about, I left them too.
It came down to bringing my Lisa Eldridge Velveteen Liquid Lip Colour (which I used along with other products on my wedding day) and the Kaleidos Lip Clays. I wanted to bring all eight left, but space dictated that I narrow it down to six. I was pretty adamant about keeping those too, but when I had to whittle down the top favorite lip products, liquid lipsticks made no sense to keep a lot of considering how infrequently I used them (even in favorite shades). Mahogany and Sienna were all I had room for, along with Lisa Eldridge’s Muse. I have not purchased any additional liquid lipsticks after that Lisa Eldridge purchase.
Lip Balms (plus lip primer and a satin lip pencil)
Summer Fridays, Nars Satin Lip Pencil, MAC Lip Primer, Nars, Makeup by Mario, Tart, Cay Skin, Kaleidos, Vacation, Beekman 1802, Rare Beauty, MAC Glow Play, Colourpop
This category had so many products I hadn’t yet tried or reviewed, that I decided to only take new balms with me, plus my Nars Satin Lip Pencil. I hoped I would love at least one of the new ones enough to make it worth leaving behind my favorites (the Nars Laguna balms for the look on the lips not the formula) or repurchasing old favorites. Unfortunately, I was missing having a good conditioning balm and needed to buy quite a few in 2024, which are not pictured above. In 2025, I ended up bringing one of the Nars Laguna balms back with me.
Beekman 1802 Goat Milk Lip Balm, Vacation Strawberry Jello Salad Lip Balm, and By Terry Baume de Rose (in pot and liquid form)
I basically roped all of these together because they were not memorable. I took the photos a year and a half ago and only remember that the By Terry one had a rose scent, the strawberry smell in the Vacation balm was very mild, I couldn’t smell anything in the Beekman balm, and absolutely none of these were conditioning enough for my lips. The By Terry lip products were quite old and had been lost in my collection (both samples), so perhaps I didn’t give those a fair enough try. The others, I recall being unhappy with during the testing process and would not recommend them.
Nabla Viper Lip Masks
These were a 2024 Black Friday purchase. I was curious about the formula, coming from a brand I respect, but this was a rare time that I specifically sought out a product with added fragrance. How could I resist Cookie or Peach ‘n Apricot? Even Midnight Orchid smells fantastic, and I’m not usually a fan of florals. Coconut Cream has the mildest scent, but it’s also good. I missed the delicious scents of Laneige products and hoped these would be an even better alternative. I believe this is!
This consistency is a firmer wax, making it less Vaseline-like than Laneige Lip Sleeping Masks. It isn’t as easy to spread if I put it on directly from the container. However, after it has been on my lips for a while, I can rub them together and the warmth will help finish spreading the product and evens out the layer. I noticed Coconut Cream and Midnight Orchid seemed slightly more emollient, but it might just be because they were the last ones I opened and are fresher.
From what I can see in the ingredient lists, these four are mostly similar, but Peach ‘n Apricot has the order switched around in a few places, plus it has a lot more natural fragrance ingredients than the others (limonene, linalool, geraniol). They all contain flavor/aroma, but Midnight Orchid and Cookie contain vanillin and Coconut Cream has menthol. I feel the slightest bit of a cooling sensation from Coconut Cream, but it’s barely noticeable. This might be because there’s so little of it as the second to last ingredient.
This doesn’t feel as moisturizing or hydrating as my favorite lip balms, but it does a good job of sealing the moisture in and conditions them a little. I’ve been able to eat and still have about half left on my lips. There is enough dye to make Cookie, Peach ‘n Apricot, and Midnight Orchid look like different colors in the container, but they are all clear/slightly milky on my lips. These also have hardly more shine than a typical chapstick. They’re thick and waxy/balmy, but not sticky.
I can wear this when I want to indulge in the various scents, but I don’t use it on days when my lips need intense nourishment.
Lipglosses (and a few lip oils)
Top Row: Fenty. Second Row: Prada, Huda, Vieve, Dior, Kaja, Sigma, Milk, Juvia’s Place, Pat Mcgrath, Suqqu, Nars, and Pur Cosmetics. Horizontal Row: By Terry and Anastasia Beverly Hills Bottom Row: Lunar Beauty, Colourpop, Charlotte Tilbury, Lisa Eldridge, Ami Cole, and Too Faced.
I love all of these glosses, but as a low-pigment product, I had to prioritize the best ones and ones that still needed to be reviewed. It’s actually easier to show a photo of which ones survived the first round of declutters (left side) and which ones got left behind purely for being old (right side with the exception of the extra Too Faced Hangover Pillow Balms that I just had too many shades of).
The only “old” ones that passed the first round were the Charlotte Tilbury mini size gloss and the heart shaped Pat Mcgrath Glosses, but since my combined total of lip products weighed 3 pounds…then 2 pounds after whittling it down some more, I had to leave Charlotte’s behind (I kept PML Flesh 6) along with dropping the Fenty glosses, the brand new Kaja one I had no attachment to, and Lunar Beauty. The latter was left behind because I decided not to feature that brand on my blog and would not need to keep it around to review it. I kept one Suqqu Treatment Wrapping Lip, the Sigma Lip Cream, a colorless mini of the Too Faced Pillow Balm, and the original shade of Ami Cole Oil/Gloss since it was full and would last longer. I was halfway through finishing Bliss. I now have a backup in 2025 in the shade Happy that I will not open until my current one is finished. I technically have two more backups in the US.
Lip products are surprisingly heavy!
I was planning a giant Lisa Eldridge lip post, so both glosses had to come. I kept PML’s Bronze Temptation that I had in my purse during my wedding and kept Colourpop Hocus Pocus 2 So Glassy Lip in Boys Will Love Me for the unique color. Vieve Lip Dew was kept to review.
Rather than repurchasing Fenty’s Gloss bombs last year, I ended up getting different versions in the form of the Gloss Bomb Stix in Spice Cold and the Gloss Bomb Oil in Coppa Cookie, both of which have been reviewed.
Ami Colé Lip Treatment Oil in Bliss and Excellence (Original)
This is currently (and has been for over two years) my favorite and most nourishing lip product in my collection. I was able to let go of my Nuxe Reve de Miel and Sara Happ balms because this product. It contains Baobab, Camellia, Pentaclethra Macroloba,and Passionfruit Seed Oils, which are all oils I have very little experience with. However, my current number one foundation contains Camellia, and that oil is in a few of my favorite hair products too, so it makes sense that Camellia oil is amazing for my lips as well! As for Passionfruit Seed Oil, it’s in my favorite Cleanser/Treatment from Lisa Eldridge.
The hydration level is such that I can wear this once and then skip wearing a lip product for 3-4 days before my lips will start to show signs of chapping. It also softens the skin, which means I have an easier time removing the dead skin/chapped skin off of my lips. This was such a miracle product while I was still struggling to create a routine and was frequently forgetting to put anything on. The formula helps repair my lips when they’re in a bad state, but it instantly looks smoother and plump from the glossy shine. It’s a thick product, and its biggest downside is that it’s very sticky. However, that stickiness is what helps to keep a sealing layer to lock in moisture. It also helps this product to last longer on the lips without needing as many reapplications, as well as remaining on the lips overnight while sleeping.
In addition to it being a lip treatment, I get the benefits of the sheer color. Bliss can look a bit too light if I use too much, but I still find it to be pretty. I left it behind in the US because of the second flaw, which is the leaky packaging. There is never an excess of product around the rim when I put the applicator back in the tube, but sometimes I would randomly open it and product will spill out as if it overflowed, or I will in fact find that it leaked outside of the tube enough to feel sticky (though not enough to form a puddle). I don’t know if it has to do with air bubbles/suction that I hear while I try to close it. For this reason, I always try to keep these stored upright. The original shade, now called Excellence, was unopened before I moved. So, I brought that one to Germany with me. Between the two shades, I have used up close to one tube’s worth of product. This is a rare accomplishment for me, proving how much I actually use these Ami Cole lip oils/glosses. The only reason I haven’t gone through them faster is because my husband can’t stand when I have sticky lips, and even if I try to wipe these off, he can still feel the remnants. So, I have fewer opportunities in which to use this product.
I am so sad about the fact that Ami Cole will be closing its doors in September. I have some lippie backups, so I will try to enjoy them for as long as I can before they go bad.
Dior Addict Lip Maximizer in 039 Intense Cinnamon
I feel a cooling sensation on my lips that lasts several hours after I put this on, which I don’t enjoy. It’s at least better than having a plumping burning sensation that I would like even less.
I don’t get a smooth color application right away. It takes some work by rubbing my lips together to get it to look even. It’s also easy to go outside my lip lines, especially when trying to smooth it out. However, it’s still better at creating an even look of color than the Fenty Cream Gloss Bombs. This one, once smoothed, will stay that way until it’s gone or until I feel the need to layer on some more.
This is fairly sticky on the lips and it does not improve my lip dryness. My lips look moisturized with it on, but when the product is removed, I can see all the chapped parts (plus a bit more than before). My lips look so nice with it on that I’ve been tempted a few times to try other colors in the range, but I prioritize conditioning over looks. So, it wouldn’t make sense for me to buy more. This is one of those long hyped products in the luxury beauty sphere, so I’m glad I could at least experience it, even though it wasn’t a great purchase for me.
Clarins Lip Comfort Oil in 01 Honey
This lip oil was far too hyped up for me to never try it. I was just waiting for a great discount, which is why I eventually got one in October 2024. I chose the classic honey color (basically colorless on the lips) which smells deliciously sweet! I like the big applicator paired with the strong stopper that prevents too much oil from coming out, but allows one to cover the lips quickly with the larger surface area.
It leaves a nice moisturized coating on the lips that has some adherence, but it not being sticky means it has an easier time coming off than lip oil hybrids. I try to give it the best chance of lasting on my lips by putting on two layers instead of just one. This amount doesn’t feel goopy, doesn’t drift past my lip line, and feels medium-weight on the lips. Three layers would be too much for me. I still get a good amount of shine from two.
I’m happy to say the ingredients hydrate quickly enough that even when I forget to reapply after a meal (since it usually lasts through drinking, but very little remains after eating), my lips continue to feel soft and smooth. It doesn’t last through the whole night as an overnight treatment and doesn’t hydrate enough that I can skip wearing anything on my lips for more than a day, but as a nourishing product, this is among the ranks of the better performers in my collection. I sometimes wonder if I should try other Clarins lip products, but since I don’t see anyone raving about them, I’m going to continue to push my curiosity aside.
Lip Liners
Coloured Raine, Juvia’s Place, Mented, Nyx, Palladio, Lisa Eldridge, and Em Cosmetics.
I don’t consider myself to be too picky about lip liners. I just want something that glides easily on the lip line, feels comfortable enough to fill in my lips if I want to, adds definition, and is at least water resistant. What made the cut were Coloured Raine in Decadent and Pine, Juvia’s Place in Brownie, both liners from Mented, Palladio in Coffee, and Lisa Eldridge in Sorcery. I later ended up later buying her Sculpt & Shade Lip Pencil in 3W.
Unfortunately, Coloured Raine went out of business. I would say those lip liners were my top favorites, but I’m pickier about lip liner colors than formulas. There are no shortage of good ones, so I’m in no rush to replace them.
CURRENT LIP COLLECTION 2025
Bullet Lipsticks2025
Row 1 (L to R): Mented, Lethal Cosmetics, Nabla, and MAC. Row 2 (L to R): Charlotte Tilbury, Hourglass, PML, and Lisa Eldridge. Row 3 (L to R): Suqqu and YSL
I wouldn’t declutter any of my bullet lipsticks, however, I wish I hadn’t bought the Lisa Eldridge Rouge Refillable lipstick in the shade Lisa, and I could have done without Ashes of Roses and Simone. I have the Lethal Cosmetics Lipstick for collector purposes. I bought the Hourglass and Suqqu (Sheer Matte) to satisfy my curiosity, but I wouldn’t be sad if they were out of my collection. Lastly, I wish I hadn’t bought quite so many YSL lippies. I should have stuck to just one single engraved lipstick and skipped buying the Loveshine Balms. I love the Candy Glazes, but if Shade 16 (Watermelon High) was released at the same time as Shade 15 (Showcasing Nude), I wouldn’t have bought 15.
Lip Balms 2025
Yellow Box: Eadem Top Row (L to R): Summer Fridays, Nars, Rabanne, Lisa Eldridge, Nars, Makeup by Mario, and Nabla (stacked in a line). Bottom Row (L to R): Labello, Nuxe, Rom&nd, Nivea, Prada, and Lancome.
I intend to declutter the Labello and Unscented Nivia lip balms because they add no color and are the weakest at conditioning my lips. I’m keeping the Makeup by Mario purely for reference purposes. I replaced my old Summer Fridays balm, and I could have done without having an extra Rabanne Balm (or at least without one that is practically clear on my lips). I am also keeping the Nuxe stick balm because I haven’t even opened it yet.
Lip Glosses and Oils 2025
Row 1 (L to R): Fenty. Row 2: (L to R): Nuxe, Fantasy Cosmetica, Vieve, Sigma, Pat Mcgrath, and Suqqu. Row 3 (L to R): Colourpop, Lisa Eldridge, Ami Cole, Too Faced, and Clarins.
The Fenty Gloss Stix is my favorite of their lip formulas, so I could declutter the lip oil. The Nuxe lip oil was disappointing, so I should get rid of it, but the shape is so cute that I feel compelled to hold onto it for longer. The Too Faced Kissing Jelly could also be decluttered, since I prefer the Pillow Balm formula.
Liquid Lipsticks and Lip Liners 2025
Liquid Lipsticks: Kaleidos and Lisa Eldridge. Lip Liners: Coloured Raine, Juvia’s Place, Mented, Palladio, Lisa Eldridge, and Charlotte Tilbury
My liquid lipstick pile is unchanged and my lip liner pile has grown slightly. I intend to keep them all the same until they are bad and need to be tossed out. The Mented lip liners are probably too old, but I haven’t been using them anyway.
The only unreviewed lip products I bought between 2024 and 2025 are the Suqqu Moisture Glaze, MAC LustreglassSheer-Shine Lipstick in Posh Pit, Nuxe Lip Oil, and Nuxe Lip Moisture Stick. So far, the only unreviewed lip products I bought in 2025 are the Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil (forgot to photograph) and the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lip Kit that contains minis of the K.I.S.S.I.N.G Pillow Talk Deep (Intense) lipstick and Lip Cheat Pillow Talk Deep lip pencil.
The Charlotte Tilbury lip products will likely be reviewed in the future. The others I forgot about, so I don’t feel compelled to really review them unless someone requests them.
Anyway, that’s everything! My lip collection has been fully updated! I have too many lip products, which is why I’m trying my best to cut back on purchasing more.
I’ve always liked the fantasy genre, so this brand intrigued me from the moment I first heard about it. What took me so long to finally make a purchase was just the fact that my obsession with eyeshadows calmed down ever since my botched Low-Buy in 2022. It was easier to avoid overspending if I ignored trying new-to-me brands. Leaving the US also played a role, since I had less access to a lot of indie brands. However, I finally looked into Monolith EU’s website, and started trying different indie brands again through that online retailer.
I purchased the Druid Palette in September last year and loved it so much that I considered buying additional eyeshadows. The issue was that I didn’t love a lot of the full color stories of the others palettes enough to be worth the upcharge from Monolith beyond the 19% VAT. Although Fantasy Cosmetica sells eyeshadows individually on their own website, Monolith does not. When Black Friday rolled around, I considered ordering their single eyeshadows and have them shipped within the US, but the discounted prices were such that it made more sense to actually buy the palettes in full! During my two week vacation, I tested out the Fighter, Warlock, and Bard palettes so that I could decide which of the eyeshadows I’d keep and which ones I’d leave behind, but I took them all!
All four palettes discussed today are part of the “Classes” series. At the time that I’m writing this, there are nine in total. I’ve played a few MMORPG’s in my early years, and it’s a bit funny to me that none of the characters I’ve been are in this collection of nine! I love playing a healer type in any game whether it’s a main healer like a Cleric, a partial tank-type like a Paladin, or a damage dealer like a Mage or Psychic. I’ve played a Shaman, which I guess is closest to a Druid. I’ve also been an Archer and low level Hunter, which is closest to a Ranger. Mage is probably closest to the Wizard. My point is that I’m shocked there still hasn’t been a Cleric, Paladin, or Priest! Perhaps one of those could be coming next.
First, let’s talk about the palette that turned me into a fan of this brand, which is Druid.
Druid Palette *NEW stained glass style*
I put “new stained glass style” in the title because that’s how it was listed via Monolith. However, I don’t know what the original palettes used to look like. The oldest videos I’ve seen have palettes that look similar to mine, so I don’t know what the differences are supposed to be.
I have learned, based on these four palettes, that the Fantasy Cosmetica formulas has the kind of balance I love between high pigment and ease of use. The mattes are opaque, easy enough to blend (minus Old Growth) and layer well on each other. It’s not on the same level as Pat Mcgrath or YSL, but it’s almost on par with Oden’s Eye, which is great. The array of colors in this palette excited me as much as the Earth Palette from Lethal Cosmetics, but I prefer how these eyeshadows from Druid perform way more!
Some of the shimmers are on the satin side, but always in interesting shades to create a statement in at least that way, while the other shimmers are sparkly and impactful without looking chunky. They are creamy enough to spread easily and smoothly, but not emollient or slippery enough to crease on the eyes. How the eyeshadows look at the start of the day is how they’ll appear at night.
As I mentioned, the only matte that is harder to blend out is Old Growth. Wherever the shadow gets placed, it doesn’t really want to move from that spot. I remember the time period when Colourpop used to make this kind of shade a lot, and many of them had this issue as well. I think it has to do with the red-brown pigments used.
The only shimmer to give me an issue is Regrowth, which has a tendency to try to hard-pan. This eyeshadow has a red base and gold shimmer, but the hardpan is how I ended up with a matte looking outer corner in the 4th eye look above.
The most “boring” shimmer is Bear Form which is a metallic brownish orange. It’s pretty, but doesn’t have any special effects. Another one that appears like it should be straightforward is Serenity, but it has a yellow to green shift. It looks lime green in the pan, but it looks very yellow on my eyes.
One of the stars of this palette is Balance, a transparent-based eyeshadow that can be used like a topper. It has pinkish-purple, aqua, and green shimmer. The other star is Transformation, the multichrome that goes from red to purple and then greenish blue. Green is the predominant color on my eyes.
This isn’t a perfect palette, but I really like it.
Fighter Palette
This is the most neutral color story available out of the Classes palettes. Therefore, I’m not surprised that this is also the palette with the most “traditional” type of shimmers. Glory is very much the standout. The base color is very sheer, but I can faintly see it’s yellow-brown, and the shift goes from pinkish-purple to blue. Might is also a fun color with its dark purple base and gold shimmer, but it looks like a very blackened purple when I use it on my eyes. I’ve noticed it hasn’t been as easy to see the gold on my eyes, and it looks like it’s wanting to hardpan like Regrowth in the Druid palette.
The three shimmers in the middle row of the palette are wetter and fairly thick. According to the brand’s description, Blade is a, “multidimensional shimmer – silver base with green and purple shifting sparkles.” Realistically, it’s a dark silver. I can faintly see purple specks if I rub the eyeshadow across my skin super thinly to sheer it out. I don’t think anyone would be able to tell there was any nuance to the silver when it’s on my eyes.
Fervor is a red with silver sparkles. The silver gives this eyeshadow more of a twinkling effect, but it’s still my least favorite color in the palette. It’s objectively pretty, but I’m not a fan of these kinds of reds.
And then finally, Victory is a, “multidimensional shimmer – warm brown with pink and silver sparkles.” Again, it looks pretty much orange to me. I can see some of the pink at a very sharp angle that I’m not so sure anyone else would be looking at me from.
Once more, the mattes are wonderful. Warrior is a little less blendable than the others, but it’s still good enough for me.
I go through phases of liking neutral palettes. Something about the curation of these colors and the way they look on the eyes paired together is very intriguing to me, no matter what my mood is. The only outlier for me is Fervor, but I can always swap it out with an eyeshadow single from another brand.
Warlock Palette
This palette is a surprise hit for me! Six of the shades are the kind of colors I only like when paired with certain other shades. This color story is thankfully grouped in a way that makes them all work. This was one of the biggest reasons I couldn’t just depot a few shades when I was planning which palettes to bring back with me.
The shade I was pining for the most was Ritual, a true multichrome that shifts yellow, green, and blue. It reminded me of a Clionadh shadow, but nothing I swatched looked close enough to it. It had a similar flip but didn’t look the same head-on. I think perhaps it’s like Weathered, but I don’t own that shade from Clionadh. In any case, it’s a gorgeous color!
The greenish shift that Patron has reminds me of Transformation from the Druid palette, if that one had a dark pink base instead. I’m not always into pinks, but this is the kind I can get behind!
Arcanum, with its “acid green to light blue shift,” and Offering, with its “deep blue to pink shift,” are listed as duochromes, but they’re not as nuanced on my eyes. When I hold Arcanum at a sharp angle, I guess I can see blue, but on my eyes I can only see yellow and green. Regarding Offering, I consider it a deep steel blue-grey with purple shimmer. I really can’t see pink.
There’s usually at least one problem child in the palette, and in this one it is Eldritch. It’s the same issue with it just having a lot of pigment and requiring a bit more time to blend. Technically, Profane is also not perfect since it’s thin and I have to build it up, but colors that are practically neon tend to be like this for me.
Overall, this is probably the palette that intimidated me the most, but I think it’s my second favorite (Druid is at the top).
Bard Palette
Bard might not look like a rainbow palette because of the way the eyeshadows are arranged, but it may as well be.
I still appreciate the brand’s choice in veering away from standard primary and secondary colors. For example, Performance is more of a golden and slightly orange leaning yellow. It’s similar to the Singe Beauty brand color. Stories is a super rich red, that is on the verge of purple. Enrapture is like a slightly toned down desaturated orange and Inspiration is a kind of murky muted green. Aside from needing to build up the yellow a green a bit, I have no issues with these mattes.
Mythic is a stunning orange color in a smooth texture. If Pat Mcgrath wanted to make an orange version of Gigabyte, I feel it would turn out looking like this.
Wanderer has a bronze base with red and pink shimmer. It’s thick with a squishy consistency. Legend has the same texture, but with a sheer purple base and blue shimmer.
Charismatic is a pretty peachy color that shifts from pink to gold. A color like this is common among indie brands and even mainstream ones, but I like this opacity level. Sometimes brands have an iridescent version of this color that I don’t think looks as flattering on me. Unfortunately, this is another shimmer that’s starting to form hardpan.
The final showstopper in this palette is Lore, which goes from a bright golden green, to greenish-blue, and then a darker cool blue.
I don’t know how frequently I will use this palette, but I am still glad I bought it. I’m pleased with having all four, though dealing with the shadow sealing or forming hardpan might start to annoy me in the future. I can try to avoid it by strictly applying shimmers with my brush, but the habit to apply shimmers with my finger is very strong.
Bonus Shades and Enchanted Autumn Tinted Lip Balm
Before we bring this review to a close, I just wanted to mention that I received two Fantasy Cosmetica singles from Monolith as a free gift when my Singe Beauty blush order was delayed. As I mentioned before, Monolith doesn’t sell singles, so it was interesting to receive them. They unfortunately don’t have names written on the sleeves, nor the pans. At first, I thought they were the gold and silver from the Fighter palette, but they aren’t the same. Now, I’m wondering if they are from the Enchanted Autumn palette that I believe launched around the same time. Perhaps they are the shades Libra and Harvest Moon. In any case, the beautiful colors are another reason I was so interested in trying more Fantasy Cosmetica eyeshadows.
I included a photo of Pomander, which I’ve reviewed before in my Battle of the Lip Balms post, mainly because it is still a Fantasy Cosmetica product and should be part of this brand spotlight. They have brushes, fragrances, lip products, and candles. So, Fantasy Cosmetica is branching out.
This has been a great experience. Among all the indie brand eyeshadows I bought between 2024 and 2025 (Nomad Cosmetics, Cosmic Beauty, Lethal Cosmetics, Fantasy Cosmetica, and ShellWe Makeup), the Fantasy Cosmetica quality is my favorite of the five, and will be a brand I continue to keep my eye on. Since their products are made in China, I hope they will be able to manage through this tariff situation. I heard they were among the first indie brands to alert customers of potential issues via social media.
That’s all for today! I hope you’ve found this post to be helpful!
Lisa Eldridge recently launched her summer collection consisting of an eyeshadow palette, three lipsticks, and two tote bags. The only items I’m missing are the Toasted shade of lipstick and the Olive/Lavender tote.
There are currently three tiers in the brand’s reward program, with Emerald being the highest. Emerald members were able to shop a day early and could add one of the bags to their orders for free without a minimum spend amount. Otherwise, all other customers could get the tote for free with a purchase of €90 or by paying for it outright at the cost of €18. So, I ordered the Desert Gleam palette and Rae from the official website and added the free Olive/Camel tote.
Niche-Beauty sells Lisa Eldridge products, and frequently has 20% off codes available, but one can only get a tote there by hitting that €90 minimum spending price. So, it turned out for the best that I placed my original order with the Lisa Eldridge website, and then when the new products launched at Niche-Beauty a week later, I bought Lili.
Desert Gleam Palette
Dunes and Acacia are Seamless Mattes. I wrote in-depth descriptions of the different formulas in a past review, but the short version is that these mattes are similar in texture to Natasha Denona’s cream to powder formula, they are more pigmented than the Velvets, and have the tiniest bit of a wet (but not shimmery) sheen. Dunes is very difficult to see when applied to my eye area because of my skin tone, but I can tell it’s there because of the blurred look it has, especially when applied to the edges of a darker shadow to soften it up. Acacia is now my darkest matte from Lisa Eldridge. Although I wish it was the tiniest bit darker, it at least successfully adds depth to my eyeshadow looks and I can build up the intensity.
Most of the time, the Seamless Mattes are creamy and a joy to work with. However, the shade Supernaturally from the Fawn palette was stiffer, drier, and less pigmented. So, that shade is one I stopped using out of frustration. Within the Desert Gleam palette, I got hard-pan on Dunes*, and I’ve had to scrape off some of the surface after just a week of use. It is normal for all the mattes to look like they’re going to hardpan, but this is the only time I’ve actually been unable to pick up product and needed to clear off the surface. I alternate between using brushes and my fingers with all Lisa Eldridge eyeshadows, but this is the first time I’ve encountered this problem. Going forward, I will just use brushes with this shade to try and mitigate the issue. I’ve had no troubles with Acacia though.
*Update: I was chatting with Fedaro Beauty, who has reviewed this collection as well, and I remembered one change I made this week that could have affected Dunes. For many years I’ve been using the officially branded Makeup Erasers that are microfiber cloths. However, I switched to using Marushin cotton cloths that were free gifts with purchase from my Fude Bobo orders. Microfiber absorbs more oil than cotton, so it is actually possible my fingers had more oil residue left on them between uses than usual and could be responsible for the hard-pan on Dunes. This may be a long shot in providing an explanation, but since this is a possible cause, I felt it was important to share this theory.
Dunesafter I scraped off some of the surface.
Sahara is in the Velvet formula, which gives an even and soft layer of color. I prefer to use my brush to pack on the shade and build it up. I’m honestly surprised it shows up as well on me as it does, because I thought it might be too light of a color. I’ve also seen how this shade can look a lot more khaki-yellow on some people, but it’s greener on me. The Velvets are smoother in feel, and swatch beautifully, but over an extended amount of time, I have noticed mine got drier. Sahara is too new for me to have this problem, but it’s something I wanted to mention that I have noticed out of my oldest Velvet eyeshadows. I can still use them, but building up the color to get the payoff I want takes more effort than before. For those that enjoy soft or muted eyeshadows, this is unlikely to be an issue.
I forgot to mention that in the first eye look in this photo, Sahara was used on the lid before I added Chrysina on top. So, it looks warmer and slightly darker than the first eye look in the photo below where only my eyeshadow primer is under Chrysina on the lid.
Chrysina is a Luminous shadow. It looks silvery green in the pan, but there’s still a touch of gold that I can see at certain angles in the light. For this reason, I like this shade more than I expected. I would go as far as to call this a duochrome, though it’s nowhere near as intense as Mercurial, which is another Luminous eyeshadow.
Ablaze and Firefly are Metallics, but Firefly looks so much smoother in the pan, as seen three photos higher. The textural differences don’t affect anything. I just thought it was interesting. Ablaze is an easily wearable golden brown that is perfect for creating neutral eye looks. I have a lot of warm golds in my collection, but I don’t have many shades of gold with this tone, as silly as that might sound. It’s still not a necessity for me to have in my full collection, but I think a shade like this aids in keeping the palette color story versatile. Firefly seemed intimidating to try and incorporate into my eye looks, but as long as it’s framed by Sahara or Acacia in the crease, it works. Ablaze is also neutral enough that it doesn’t clash if they are used next to each other.
I have no issues with longevity or creasing, I can use these with any of my eyeshadow primers, and I can use the shimmers with a damp brush to build intensity. I have no problems with these eyeshadows, other than what I already described with the shade Dunes and the Velvet formula in the long-term.
When I first saw the Desert Gleam palette, there was no way I could talk myself out of getting these shades, despite it reminding me of my eyeshadows from Natasha Denona. It has a similar vibe to the Mini Gold, it reminds me a lot of my custom version of Metropolis, and I also have the Yucca palette. However, when I actually swatched the shades and compared them, they were different enough on my skin tone for me to not consider them dupes.
Please excuse the fact that the skin under Bia wasn’t completely dry, so it looks a little more intense than usual.
If I’m being 100% honest with myself, I prefer the Natasha Denona Mini Gold Palette over this one. I’ve come to accept that high contrast makeup looks better on me, and there are greater depth differences and more color/shade distinctions between the eyeshadows in Mini Gold than Desert Gleam. I’m still attracted to the Desert Gleam colors, and I’ve gotten quite a lot of compliments while wearing the products in this collection. However, I think the ND shades are even more my style. In terms of performance, the Mini Gold eyeshadows aren’t creamy feeling, but they still blend very well, layer well, and build quicker because they’re more pigmented. It’s kind of a moot point because I believe the Mini Gold has been discontinued, so it’s not an option to purchase for anyone who doesn’t have it already. What I’m essentially trying to say is that even though I have products I technically like more than Desert Gleam, I would still feel like I was missing out if I didn’t pick up this palette.
Rouge Refillable Lipsticks in Lili and Rae
Lisa Eldridge and I share the same nickname! Even though I rarely wear red lipstick, I still wanted this one for the name. What can I say! I’m easily swayed!
The way this lipstick performs is no different from the first round that launched at the beginning of this year. They glide over the lips easily and feel like a cross between a balm and a lipstick. This shade is vibrant, but I can still see the discolored/darker pigment spots on my lips underneath if I stick with only one swipe. So, an additional pass or two is needed to be opaque. It feels quite comfortable on my lips, though I get minor chapping by the end of the day.
I own an engraved lipstick case already, so I only needed to purchase these in refill form. My cap/lid for Lili is very loose, so I keep it stored in all the original packaging to prevent any accidents in my makeup pouch, but I’m contemplating raiding my husband’s tools to find pliers that will tighten the cap a little (hopefully not too tight to the point that I can’t pull it back off)!
For some reason, Rae feels much creamier than the other four lipsticks I have from this line. It feels more moisturizing as well, which increases my comfort level while wearing it. However, this one does not have the same kind of grip to it that keeps it longer-lasting like the others. Even if I’m not eating or drinking, within a few hours there is noticeably less lipstick on my lips. I think my skin absorbs it. So, I find myself needing to reapply more frequently. I can’t explain why this is happening because Rae has the same ingredients as all the rest. It’s my favorite shade though, so I’m going to just deal with it! I normally don’t like wearing dark lipsticks because I feel like most of them age me, but this is an exception!
So, that is everything reviewed except the Tote bag. I don’t have much to say about it except that it’s made of a nice material, feels sturdy, and it has a cute and functional zip pocket on the inside. It terms of size, it’s a few millimeters smaller than my smallest canvas shopping bag. I wanted a fancy reusable grocery bag, but this looks almost too nice for that purpose. That’s all I use totes for, so perhaps I could reserve it for times I shop at the city market instead.
I don’t think I’ve shown the pencil case before, which I also like from the brand. I find myself using and liking the Lisa Eldridge accessories, so it’s a big draw for me continuing to purchase from the official website to get them.
Now, that’s everything! I hope this post has been helpful. I tried to complete it as soon as I could, and it helps that I’m already familiar with these formulas from Lisa Eldridge, so I don’t have to test them for as long.
I visited the US in April and was reunited with the rest of my makeup collection, along with all the things I shipped there during 2024. Those products consisted of Japanese brushes that I didn’t want to pay extra customs fees for, reward point and gift card redemptions only applicable to US sites, products only sold within the US, etc. I had older makeup I still wanted to bring back to Germany, but I needed to decide which of the newer ones were worth coming along too. That’s how the idea for this post began! However, some of the makeup I brought back will be discussed in other posts, and I added some of my newer makeup purchases to this review instead.
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Matte Bouncy Blush in Worth
It was difficult to photograph this color accurately because it looks darker in the pan than it actually is. I own the liquid version of Worth, and have reviewed it before, but I left it in the US. Since the liquid is sheer, I wasn’t surprised that I also needed to pack on a lot of this cream-to-powder version to get it to show up on camera.
I’ve been into subtle and/or nude blushes lately, so I expected to love this. I tried pairing it with so many different things expecting that perhaps my foundation shade mattered or that the undertone was clashing, that the color of my eyeshadow looks could be throwing it off, etc. I just wasn’t enjoying wearing it. The answer I settled on as to why that was the case is that it’s matte. I knew it would be from the name, but I’ve used shimmer-free creamy and bouncy type of blushes before that still had a natural emollient gleam to them from just being a cream product. Examples of this are the MAC Glow Play Blushes and Armani Neo Nude Color Melting Balms. Even within the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush line that comes in dewy or matte finishes, the matte one still has some life to it. So, I wasn’t expecting this blush to have zero shine, especially from a product that has Synthetic Fluorphlogopite as the first ingredient.
The longevity is fine. The blush blends into and becomes one with the skin. For the best results, I use my densest synthetic brushes with it.
I borrowed the photo above from my Charlotte Tilbury x Genshin Impact post where I reviewed the Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray. By the time I started using that spray, I already knew that my issue with the Rare Beauty Blush was the fact that it’s matte. However, I was still taken aback when I saw with my own eyes how much of a difference some extra shine truly makes. I love how this blush looks when I use Charlotte’s spray over it. So this product changed from a miss to a hit for me!
Eadem Le Chouchou Exfoliating + Softening Peptide Lip Balm in Fig Sauce
I mentioned in my Project Pan that there are only 5 brands I’m purchasing from in the lip category this year. One exception was this balm because I would have bought it ages ago if it was sold in Europe. I could only find one website that would ship it to me, but then I would have had to pay at least double the price. The tradeoff for having to wait a long time to get it from USA’s Sephora was that I could buy it on sale and with a gift card.
I have to talk about the metal applicator because it feels amazing applying this lip balm! I don’t like when products have a cooling ingredient that makes my lips feel cold for 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the brand. Instead, I only get that wonderfully cold sensation during the application process and then I can go about my day. This really adds to the experience, so much so that I’ve even put other products on my lips and then used this applicator to spread it out! Perhaps one day I’ll buy some empty tubes off the websites I’ve found by typing, “metal applicator cosmetic tube” into Google and transfer some other glosses into them.
This is a very nourishing product and lives up to its reputation as a lip treatment. It fills the lines and smooths over the lips. It’s thick, but not goopy in a gel or oil way. It has more of a creamy-waxy feel. It adheres fairly well to the lips, which helps it to last longer before needing to be touched up or reapplied. I still consider this a little sticky, but it’s not to Ami Cole levels. It has decent color payoff, enough for me to understand someone wanting to buy multiple shades, but I wouldn’t want to buy more than one extra.
The results I get are similar to Ami Cole glosses, which is to say my lips feel softer and more hydrated the next day, but this does not completely remove all of my chapped skin. I can always spot a few areas on my lips that are still chapped the next day. So, this hasn’t claimed a spot in my top five, but I still like it a lot.
Gxve Beauty Eye See in Color in Rich Girl
This was the only quad from the brand that I found appealing, but my immediate issue is that I don’t get enough depth from the darkest brown in this palette. While it theoretically shouldn’t be a problem to grab a dark eyeshadow from any other brand, I know I will subconsciously not reach for this palette since it is technically incomplete for me.
The completed look is pretty, but I couldn’t bring myself to choose this to pack in my suitcase over my many other options.
If the eyeshadow formula was superb, I would have considered taking this with me anyway. My issue is that the shimmers are a bit lackluster. There is still beauty in a lower impact shimmer if the intended eye look is supposed to be sophisticated or demure. I think the quality is fairly good, though it could have benefited from being a bit creamier. The mattes were fine. My brush picked up a lot of product, but with how soft they look on my eyes, I think someone would be surprised to know how much I tried to build up these eyeshadows. They are drier shadows that appear to be finely milled, but something about the formula just doesn’t feel modern.
This palette is long-lasting on me. It doesn’t take long to get a blended look. However, this isn’t for me. I do appreciate that the holder of the pans is easy to remove, so I could technically keep the compact or turn it into an empty magnetic palette if I inserted a magnetic sticker sheet. I could also technically add metal sticker pans to the bottom of the eyeshadow holder to pop it into a larger empty magnetic palette. Removeable packaging is always interesting to me.
In any case, this quad wasn’t a flop, but it also wasn’t good enough to keep around.
As a random side note, the Gxve Beauty website used to sell merch as well. I ordered one of the Signature Hoodies during a 50% off sale (just like I did with the palette). It has fleece lining on the inside, so I’m excited to wear it come winter. The website says products are now exclusively at Sephora and things are so frequently for 50% off that I really don’t know how the brand will continue to stay afloat.
I don’t know where these are being sold now. If they are discontinued, I’m glad I was able to snag one as a piece of makeup history.
Glossier Cloud Paint Bronzer in Coast
I liked the Glossier Solar Paints, but wished to have a version without shimmer. The Cloud Paint formula is one of my favorites for cream blushes, so to have a matte Cloud Paint in a bronze color seemed like it would be an instant win.
I picked Coast because it is the second darkest option and has a golden tone, which I wanted. The darkest color, Drift, looked like it would be too red for me despite being labeled by the brand as a deep neutral bronze. Coast is just too subtle for my skin tone right now. While I was in Florida, I didn’t do a good job of reapplying sunscreen. My skin had a slightly redder tone and was darker, so the bronzer really isn’t visible in photos as it was already so subtle in person. I have a photo below, but I apologize for the lighting being very off. I couldn’t get a clearer picture during the trip and my skin looks even redder in the photo than it was in real life (plus I was wearing the Beekman 1802 skin tint that’s red).
I don’t mind having a subtle bronzer, but my biggest issue wasn’t the color. I felt it just didn’t blend seamlessly enough into my skin. While it’s true that I didn’t bring my holy grail synthetic bronzer/contour brush with me, I came to realize that the watercolor kind of finish that’s beautiful and natural in a blush isn’t what I want in a bronzer. So, I left this behind. What a shame!
Tarte Tartelette Tubing Mascara vs Too Faced Ribbon Wrapped Lash Tubing Mascara
Back in 2014, during my short lived time making YouTube videos (all listed as private now), I kicked off my Mascara Showdown Series with a battle between Tarte’s Lights Camera Lashes and Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascaras.
I determined that Tarte was the winner because of the length, but the mascara I actually repurchased the most was from Too Faced. I don’t know if it’s because I ended up preferring the balance between length and volume or if I was just able to get the Too Faced mascara on sale more frequently. I eventually stopped buying the one from Too Faced because I started to get clumping and flaking issues that I never had before. I don’t know if the formula changed or there was a switch in manufacturers, but I moved on from that mascara.
The KVD Full Sleeve Long + Defined Tubing mascara made me interested in tubing mascaras again. I had a deluxe sample of the one from Tarte, so when Too Faced released theirs I thought why not…let’s do another showdown between these brands over a decade later!
I never curl my lashes, so sometimes the mascaras look better or worse depending on how my eyelashes are naturally shaped that day. I’ve used the Tarte mascara five times and I can say that even if it had amazing results, what puts me off from it is how long it takes to dry. If I try to layer up even more product, then it takes even longer. I can touch my lashes thirty minutes later and it still doesn’t feel fully set. This is a big problem when I’m trying to photograph multiple eye looks in a day and in the process of removing my eyeshadow with a Makeup Eraser cloth and Bioderma, my eyelashes clump together, the color smears, and the stickiness makes it difficult to remove the rest. Part of the benefits of tubing mascara is the ease in which one can remove it with warm water. I can remove them with micellar water as well, so I’m not surprised that some of the Tarte mascara comes off. The annoying part is the weird middle ground where some of it comes off and smudges while the rest still clings on with a tight grip. It makes it so that I am forced to fully remove it every time when I want to do a new eye look, whereas with other tubing mascaras and even regular mascaras, it’ll come partly off and I can easily reapply more mascara because they didn’t turn my lashes spidery and hard. This is a makeup reviewer problem, but having to wait so long for it to fully dry is an issue overall. One time I made the mistake of applying this mascara not far enough in advance of watching a heartfelt scene in a show. The side with the Tarta mascara was a mess and got in my eyes. The side with Too Faced did not.
I didn’t like the Too Faced Ribbon mascara when I first tried it, but every time after that (at least 15 times so far), I have enjoyed it. Just like the showdown from many years ago, I found that Tarte’s mascara was better at lengthening, whereas Too Faced’s mascara was better with building volume while still giving nice length. It can start to clump if I build this up a lot, so I have to be careful about finding the balance between satisfaction and knowing when to stop.
I like the one from Too Faced, but I think I still prefer my tubing mascara from KVD. It gives better length than Tarte and if I’m patient enough I can build up the volume to similar results as Too Faced, though it can also start to form clumps if I take things too far.
The Tarte mascara is a miss. The Too Faced mascara is a hit.
Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Blush in 077 Candy
I reviewed the cream blush stick version of Candy already, and updated the original post, but this still feels like a good place to talk about the powder blush since it’s a miss for me.
This new powder formula is definitely an improvement on the original formulation and first reformulation, in terms of being more pigmented and less hard-pressed. I also think this square packaging is cuter and easier to use with larger cheek brushes. The reason it’s a miss for me is purely due to the color. I loved the addition of shimmer in the Bronzed Glow shade from version 2 of these blushes, but the base color of Candy being so light means that it unfortunately does the same thing as Nars Orgasm on me. I can see the pink shade at one angle, but when it hits the light, the gold reflect is nearly all I can see. So, it appears as if I tried to use a highlighter as blush! This kind of shimmer is not that refined either, which makes it unsuitable for my preference as even a blushlighter or blush topper.
The saving grace for me is that I can add the Candy blush stick on top to help the shimmer become one with the skin, plus boost the appearance of the pink color.
I’m happy using the Candy shade of Glow Stick on its own, but going forward, I will never wear the powder version of Candy by itself. Based on my continued enjoyment of the previous powder blush reformulation, and acknowledgement that the new one has improvements, I still recommend the powder blush. I just can’t recommend Candy or Toffee to anyone close to my skin tone because of that highlighter effect. Bronzed Glow still gives me hope that Dior can nail a shimmery blush in this new formula in the future if the base color is darker.
That’s everything I have for this week. Thank you for visiting and reading!
I owned and reviewed eight of the brand’s Hangover Pillow Balms prior to Too Faced dropping them from the Hangover line. They renamed them just Pillow Balms, redesigned the packaging, and revamped some shades while introducing a few new colors. Besides the two I’ll be reviewing today, I also purchased the brand’s Kissing Jelly Gloss, which I believe they released in 2023, but I didn’t buy it until late last year.
Too Faced Pillow Balms in Pink Pineapple Kiss and Hot Cocoa Kiss
I enjoy the formula of the balms, but I only brought the original clear version with me when I moved because the other shades I owned were a pale milky color that was not all that flattering on my lips, or they were sparkly with no base color. However, when I recently returned from visiting the US, I brought Vanilla Kiss and Holiday Wine back with me. Holiday Wine is the most pigmented of all that I’ve tried and Vanilla Kiss had the prettiest sparkle.
When the new ones launched, I was excited to potentially own some with more pigment. As it turned out, Pink Pineapple Kiss is still a bit light for me, but at least it doesn’t look milky, so it’s an improvement. I would consider this a neutral light-medium toned pink. It is supposed to smell like tropical fruit, but to me it smells more strongly of mango than the original Mango from the previous line (and that shade/scent was discontinued).
Cocoa Kiss from the prior line was much lighter than the new Hot Cocoa Kiss. It is a much better color on me! The brand states that this has a chocolate smell. I think this smells exactly like a Tootsie Roll! It’s very nostalgic for me, but considering how artificial Tootsie Rolls are, I can imagine that a lot of people who didn’t grow up with those candies might find the smell unpleasant. Chocolate is one of those things that a lot of people hate when it smells artificial, but then again, Too Faced gained notoriety with their Chocolate palettes and bronzers, so they have been known to produce that scent well enough. I think the scent is still an improvement from how the previous Cocoa Kiss smelled.
I don’t own Juicy Watermelon Kiss, but based on the website photos, it appears to be a richer and more vibrant version of the old Watermelon shade. Banana Kiss doesn’t seem different from Banana, but I cannot confirm. I don’t own either one.
Even though the Pillow Balms have deeper color options now, these are still lightly pigmented lippies. I don’t think it’s necessary to own more than a few unless you want a larger scent variety.
The original formula and this one seem identical to me. They still have the minty-cool sensation when first applied. There’s still a tiny bit of flavoring. These hydrate quite well and are a bit sticky because that top layer locks in the moisture. I am relieved to say Too Faced didn’t ruin a good thing. In fact, they made a few minor improvements with the scents and colors, so this is a product I can still recommend.
Too Faced Kissing Jelly Gloss Juicy Lip Oil/Gloss Hybrid in Sour Watermelon
The scent of this is like a Watermelon Jolly Rancher, which I like. My lips get smoother quicker with this lip oil than the Pillow Balms, but it doesn’t feel as deeply nourishing as I wear it despite it containing so much sunflower seed oil that my lips love. I don’t know how well the good ingredients are actually penetrating the skin of my lips. It’s certainly moisturizing, but it isn’t long wearing. Lip oils typically lack longevity, but the hybrid ones I own from other brands (like Ami Cole) have better adherence. So, the fact that this is a little less sticky as the Pillow Balms and other hybrid lip oil/glosses explains the weaker lasting power. It grips the lips at least well enough to not give a runny or dripping sensation if this was an oilier product.
The Kissing Jelly glides smoothly across the lips, but it can feel goopy if too much is applied. The Pillow Balms can cause that white ring around the inner lips if there’s too much, but an uncomfortably wet feeling is the worst that I’ve had with the Kissing Jelly. No white ring.
One of the downsides to this product is that despite there being so many “shade” options, it looks pretty much clear on the lips. So, the color is negligible and I chose mine based on the scent I wanted and trying to avoid getting one with glitter. Otherwise, I would have gotten the Piña Colada scent. The other thing I don’t like is the packaging design, which looks a bit juvenile to me. It’s supposed to be cutesy, but I think the Pillow Balms are a better reflection of how to do cute packaging while still looking like the pricepoint that was paid. The Pillow Balms are only $3 more than the Kissing Jelly, but they also contain 1.5 more ml of product. The Pillow Balms look on brand, but the Kissing Jelly look like they could have been made by Colourpop.
Essentially, I think the Pillow Balm is better for someone like me with extreme dry lips. The Kissing Jelly is better for someone who wants a thinner product and whose lips are still dry, but at manageable levels.
That’s all for today! I hope you’ll stop by again to read more posts written by me!
Lili's Beauty Blog 