In addition to the Benefit and Nabla products that are newly released, I’m also going to show photos of the ABH Archibrow since I have no plans to make a dedicated Anastasia Beverly Hills post anytime soon. As I’ve mentioned before, due to things going on in my personal life, it’s not easy for me to do as extensive of makeup testing lately. Thankfully, shade expansions don’t require that and I’ve had the ABH brow product for several months already.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer in Rosy Deep

I think it’s important to see the shade Rosy Deep compared to Deep (above on the left), and the blush that Benefit describes as “rosy mocha” (called Java which is above on the right). That way, one can properly see the amount of pink within the shade in comparison to a typical warm bronzer, plus how it differs from an actual blush that could potentially be seen as another “blonzer” type of color.

As seen on this brush, the rosy color is not subtle, and is like a slightly desaturated pinkish-red. In swatches, it looks kind of mauve on my arm, but it’s very much a brownish pink on my face. I can’t explain the color theory behind it except that my arm is lighter with more yellow and green undertones on my arm than on my face. There is extra warmth in my face after needing to keep the windows open for two weeks during the heat wave and I often forgot to put on sunscreen.

On my face, the Rosy Deep bronzer still has a touch of warmth, but it’s a tad cooler and more muted than the normal Deep shade. The Java blush has more red in it. Fara Homidi’s Ombra bronzer has more plum-purple tones to it than Rosy Deep. Previously, the pinkest bronzer I owned was Vacay by Mented, but it looks orange comparatively next to the other bronzer swatches in the photo above! This makes me very curious how the Jones Road Bronzer in the shade Terracotta would compare to Benefit’s Rosy Deep, but I don’t own anything from that brand. I don’t want to spend 55 Euros ($63 USD), shipping included, to get it in Germany since they only sell through their website and not at retailers. Now that I have Rosy Deep, I may not be missing out!

As for the performance, it’s no different than when I reviewed the reformulation last year. It’s thankfully not as prone to hard-pan compared to the original. It’s pigmented, but with my airy brushes I have no issues building it up in a more controlled manner. It blends nicely and used to be one of my favorite performing bronzers, though by now I’ve come to realize it doesn’t have as airbrushed or blurred of a look as my current top favorite powder bronzers. However, it’s still good and wears very well where I typically apply bronzer. If I wear it exclusively as blush, it can have some fading if after all my skincare and cheek products my face is still too dry. Then there isn’t as much for Rosy Deep to grip onto.

Benefit Cosmetics is notorious for having very limited shade ranges. Because there is such a high demand for pink/muted/cool toned bronzers in the fair and light skin category, I would have expected Benefit to stick to their usual m.o. and further expand the lighter range again before releasing not only Rosy Deep but Rich-Deep too! So, I am very pleasantly surprised. Kudos to Beneft!
For deeper skin tones, the majority of bronzers are highly saturated oranges and reds. So, a color like Rosy Deep is very hard to find as a powder bronzer. There are more options in cream form though.
I usually apply a thin veil of powder blush to go on top of my powder bronzer whenever I want to achieve this same effect that Rosy Deep gives. That’s why having a pink bronzer isn’t a necessity, but it’s an added convenience! Plus, this makes a gorgeous blush too!

Nabla Beyond Jelly Sheer Supple Lipstick in Crave

When I reviewed this lipstick the first time, I talked about how strong the scent was, but how it goes away over time. I don’t know if Nabla has decreased the amount of fragrance used for all the new shades, but this one from the start already isn’t as strong. I’m happy about that!

Everything else about it is still the same. The texture is similar to the YSL Candy Glazes and Fenty Gloss Bomb Stix. It feels a bit like a gel, but has an emollient feel from the sunflower seed oil, but it’s a little more solid than the melty type of balms because there are enough waxes. It has more ‘slip’ than ‘stick’, but I still consider it a slightly sticky product because of the occlusive layer that moisturizes and also helps the lipstick to grip on for longer.

I like how it smooths out my lips, even when there’s chapped skin, and it has sheer to medium coverage. I definitely recommend this line.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Archibrow Brow Pencil in Chocolate

I like the fullness of my natural brows, so I don’t require much from brow products. Essentially, I want the pencil to glide smoothly enough so it won’t tug at my skin and/or hair. I want it to be smudge-proof and at least water-resistant. I don’t mind it being a heavy pigment product as long as it can be combed through to look natural.
A thin pencil for precision and creating realistic feather-like strokes is a major bonus, but I won’t like it if it’s so fragile that it breaks a lot. One such example is the fact that I prefer the e.l.f. Instant Lift Brow Pencil over their Ultra Precise Brow Pencil for that same breakage reason.

The brow on the top left is my natural eyebrow with no product in it. The bottom left is typically the most amount of product I put in my brows. I like them to look natural and only minimally defined.

The Archibrow checks off all the boxes. It’s not a heavily pigmented product, but added pressure or repeated strokes can build up the color for those that like a more obvious application. One has to be careful to only have the smallest amount of the pencil twisted up because the stick of product itself does not retract and if too much of it is poking out, that piece will definitely break off. The amount showing in my photo is already too much. I only did that in order to have an easier time capturing how it looks in pictures.

It doesn’t take long to figure out how to use the pencil to get more opaque or sheerer lines, plus thin or thick ones. Even though the shade Chocolate is intended for those with medium brown hair, It looks quite dark to me! This is why I continue choosing this shade out of ABH’s brow options. It’s warm, but not too red. It can create a more defined tail and edges, along with light shadowing under the hair to give an appearance of fullness.

The strangest thing about this pencil is the lack of cap. When twisted all the way down, it’s only around 3mm from the surface. So, I was concerned that the pencil would dry out from the exposure to air, but my pencil hasn’t been effected it in the nearly 3 months that I’ve owned it. Then again, I keep it stored in the box to minimize the amount of air, dust, lint, crumbs, and whatever other element the open hole could be exposed to. Also, the spoolie is the shortest, yet thickest one I own.

The Archibrow is only $4 more than the Brow Wiz, but it has about half the amount of product. For this reason, I might just stick to the Nyx Micro Brow Pencil or any of the other brow pencils I regularly repurchase that are either inexpensive or were on sale for 50% off. This pencil is great, but my brows aren’t difficult enough for me to feel like I’m lacking that much when I choose less pricey options.

So that’s everything for this week! I hope this post has been helpful and informative!

-Lili ❤