Nikki From HR

If you are like me and have been waiting for a glowy bronzer to be released, then this bronzer from Armani Beauty could be worth checking out. Although it is listed as a Nordstrom exclusive, you can also find the Luminous Silk Bronzing Powder directly from the Armani Beauty website. The brand suggestions for picking a shade made me concerned that none of the four shades would work for me. The recommendations are based on their Luminous Silk Foundation shades.

• Shades 90 and 100 – Armani Luminous Silk Shades 1.5 to 5.25
• Shades 100 and 110 – Armani Luminous Silk Shades 5.5 to 8
• Shades 110 and 120 – Armani Luminous Silk Shade 8.25

I’m unsure who at Armani decided on these suggestions, but they don’t seem accurate. To explain why these suggestions concerned me, the Armani Luminous Silk Foundation goes much deeper to shade 15. So why wouldn’t they create shades for their foundation in shades 8.5 through 15? Clearly, someone at the brand didn’t think the shades would work for that deeper range.

So anyway, I ordered shade 110, and I wear 8.75 in Armani’s Luminous Silk Concealer. I have tested the foundation in the shade 9 in the past, and it was too neutral for me but has a workable depth. Basically, I’m darker than the suggested foundation shades for the darkest bronzers in this range. Despite the confusion, shade 110 works well for my skin tone without any difficulty. So the deepest bronzer shade, 120, is not a lost cause for those darker than me. If you need more shade references, I wear NARS Tahoe most often and Estee Lauder Double Wear 4W4 is also a good match.

Continue reading “Armani Luminous Silk Creamy Bronzing Powder 110 (Swatch)” →

NARS just released a reformulation of their iconic powder blush ($34), and it’s now talc-free. I’ve only used this once (pictures are further down), so I can’t tell you much about it yet. I wanted to go ahead and share some pictures of the new packaging and some swatches I got the other day while I was in Sephora in case anyone is curious about this release. The new compact is now refillable but is the same soft-touch material NARS typically uses for its packaging. There is a small hole on the back to pop the pan out (see picture further down). The refill pans are available for $24 on narscosmetics.com, but only in 5 shades. I’m very confused as to why they would bother to make the packaging refillable and only provide 5 shades as refills. The pans are already loose and must be added to the magnetized compact, so why can’t every shade be available?

If you swatch the new blush formula, you’ll likely notice that its texture is almost creamy and thick compared to the old formula. To me, my old formula (liberte) feels thinner and drier. My Liberte is over a year old, but I think it still performs the same as when I purchased it. I’ve also never experienced NARS blushes drying out before the 24-month shelf life of most of the previous formulas.

Continue reading “New From NARS! Talc-Free Blush in Dolce Vita (Swatch)” →

As a blush (I don’t use it for lips), the Smashbox Halo Cream Cheek and Lip Tint lives up to the brand’s claims. Smashbox says this tint will give you lasting color with blendable, sheer to medium coverage. They also claim that the formula will remain comfortable to wear because it is infused with a primer oil complex. Lastly, it has a matte finish that “refracts light to help create a blurred, soft-focus look.” Unfortunately, despite agreeing with the claims, I wouldn’t recommend it because the primer oil complex does present some problems. Let’s get into it.

Smashbox Halo Cream Cheek and Lip Tint Sunset, $28

Sunset is described as a muted coral 

Continue reading “Smashbox Halo Cream Cheek and Lip Tint Sunset (Swatch)” →

I haven’t purchased anything from Make Up For Ever (MUFE) in a while, so I was excited to revisit the brand. The claims on this one don’t seem too crazy, although I’m not sure that I typically look at the claims for bronzers. MUFE says this is a long-wearing, blendable, buildable, easy to use bronzer with a smooth formula. Spoiler alert, I agree with them. It works well with both synthetic and natural hair brushes. It is firmly pressed, so there isn’t much powder disturbed when I dip a brush into the pan. The firm press doesn’t make it hard to pick up on a brush, which is nice. Considering my dry skin, I prefer a satin or glowy bronzer, but a matte finish for bronzer seems to be more on trend right now. I’m happy to report that this formula never looked dry on me, even when I tested it with Estee Lauder Double Wear.

MUFE Artist Bronzer 40 Warm Pecan, $36, 10g

Continue reading “Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Artist Bronzer (40 Warm Pecan Swatch)” →

While I do enjoy the Tom Ford Traceless Soft Matte Concealer, I wish it wasn’t $60. If you saw my post on the Tom Ford Highlighter last week then you know I was less than impressed. I’m not going to become a regular shopper at the Tom Ford counter, but this concealer makes me a little curious to at least try a foundation from the brand. I probably won’t since luxury brands love to add alcohol and fragrance to everything and those ingredients just don’t agree with my dry eczema-prone skin. Regardless, today I’ll let you know about my experience with the Tom Ford Soft Matte Concealer so you can decide if it might be worth checking out for yourself.

Continue reading “Tom Ford Traceless Soft Matte Concealer 5WO Tan (Swatch)” →

If you can believe it, this limited edition Soleil De Feu Glow Highlighter from Tom Ford will set you back $95. If you are familiar with the Tom Ford brand you probably can, but if not, this is a luxury cosmetics brand. I came across this highlighter while yet again shopping at a Cosmetics Company Store (it’s an outlet store for Estee Lauder brands), so I was able to buy it for $42.75. I’ll cut to the chase, I’m so mad I bought this highlighter 😂. The only other highlighters that I currently own are the Pat McGrath Skin Fetish Divine Glow ($48) and the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish ($42) and I like them both a lot better than Tom Ford’s Highlighter. Let’s get into my reasons and who I think might still like this formula even though I didn’t.

Continue reading “Tom Ford Soleil De Feu Glow Highlighter 02 Oasis (Swatch)” →