If you follow the beauty industry closely, you’re likely aware that new releases are constantly happening. Let’s discuss the latest products on my radar.
I’ve mentioned it briefly a couple of times, but I stopped posting these when I noticed that they were becoming more of a shopping list rather than just window shopping. However, I think I’m doing better with my purchase decisions (especially considering I’m a beauty blogger), so I’m hoping that this can be an outlet to discuss makeup without buying so much of it.
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**Ulta  | $ 25.00 SalePrice $ 25.00 RegularPrice |
| MAC Lipglazer Glossy Liner – MARRAKESH | |
 | $ 25.00 SalePrice $ 25.00 RegularPrice |
| MAC Cosmetics Lipglazer Glossy Lip Liner in Marrakesh at Nordstrom | |
 | $ SalePrice $ 25.00 RegularPrice |
| MAC Lipglazer Glossy Liner | |
MAC Lipglazer Glossy Liner: People use lip liner for a few different purposes, but for me, I use it either to prevent lipsticks from feathering into the fine lines above my upper lip or to help a lipstick that is too light blend better with my skin tone. While I could use a glossy liner to help with lipsticks that are too light, I can’t see this being effective at keeping lipsticks from feathering. I also don’t see it lasting very long if it’s glossy, so I’m not sure it would work for those who use lip liner all over their lips to improve longevity. In fact, the brand only claims that this liner is nourishing and visibly volumizes the lips. I’ve not seen any wear time claims. The colors are pretty, but this doesn’t seem like a functional product for me.
**The MAC Lipglazer Glossy Liner is $25 and comes in 8 shades.
**Ulta
 | $ 39.00 SalePrice $ 39.00 RegularPrice |
| bareMinerals ORIGINAL Talc-Free Pressed Powder Foundation Mineral SPF 15 – Neutral Tan 21 | |
 | $ 42.00 SalePrice $ 42.00 RegularPrice |
| bareMinerals® Original Talc-Free Pressed Powder Foundation Mineral SPF 15 in Neutral Tan 21 at Nordstrom | |
bareMinerals Original Talc-Free Pressed Powder Foundation Mineral SPF 15: While many makeup brands are reformulating to be talc-free, bareMinerals has had a long history of being talc-free. While they highlight it as a selling feature in the name of the new bareMinerals Original Talc-Free Pressed Powder Foundation, it is a feature that can always be found in their lineup. The bareMinerals Mineral Veil Pressed Powder has become such a staple product for me that my ears perk up when the brand has a new release. Sometimes, when I have a concealer that needs more coverage (under my eyes), I do like to set it with a powder foundation. However, my current goal is to finish the lighter coverage concealers that I have and stop buying them in the future. And since that combination has been the only way I’ve used powder foundation for the last few years, I don’t see myself owning any powder foundations in the future. bareMinerals does claim that this powder offers sheer to full coverage, so maybe it’s possible to use it as a setting powder. Interestingly, for powder, they claim that it is luminous and hydrates the skin, which does intrigue me. But at the end of the day, it’s a powder, and I’m content with the powders I have right now. I still use the NARS Light Reflecting Powder the most, followed by the bareMinerals Mineral Veil, and the Hourglass Pressed Powder.
**Nordstrom
 | $ 46.00 SalePrice $ 46.00 RegularPrice |
| Estée Lauder Essential Eyeshadow Quad – Apres Spree in Poolside at Nordstrom | |
 | $ SalePrice $ 60.00 RegularPrice |
| Estee Lauder The Essential Eyeshadow Quad | |
Estee Lauder The Essential Eyeshadow Quad: Estee Lauder is continuing to reformulate their core line to be talc-free with the Essential Eyeshadow Quads. These are replacing the **Pure Color Envy Luxe Eyeshadow Quads, which are now on clearance at most retailers. I actually think they did a beautiful job with the color curation of these quads. I could have easily bought Happiest Hour and Poolside just to give the formula a try. I also like the look of the Gallery Hop and Getaway quads, but I have repeat shades in my current eyeshadow palettes, which would just overwhelm me. The biggest issue I have, though, is that I just don’t want any more eyeshadows at this moment. I hope that feeling lasts for a long time 🤞🏽.
**The Estee Lauder Essential Eyeshadow Quad is $60 and comes in 8 shades.
**Bloomingdale’s
 | $ SalePrice $ 87.00 RegularPrice |
| Guerlain Limited Edition Ombres G Quad Eyeshadow Palette | |
 | $ 85.00 SalePrice $ 85.00 RegularPrice |
| Guerlain Ombrés G-Quad Eyeshadow Palette in #870 Emerald Feather at Nordstrom | |
Guerlain Ombres G Quad Eyeshadow Palette Limited Edition (870 Emerald Feather): I had previously tried the Guerlain Ombres G Quad formula (in the Metal Butterfly shade) and didn’t like it enough, so I sold it. The quality was fine, but I wasn’t happy enough with it. The satin formula was beautiful and easy to blend, and I really enjoyed working with it. The one quality gripe I had was that the darkest shade in the quad was forming hard pan after only being used for 2 eye looks. It came off easily with some tape, but it was still annoying that it happened so quickly for that price. The shimmer with the highest shine in the quad was somewhere in between a topper and a stand-alone shade. It had enough pigment to use it without a base, but it was a bit flaky and had fallout throughout wear, similar to a topper shade. I love the shade and tone of that particular gold shade, but for the fallout trouble, I’d rather be wearing a Pat McGrath eyeshadow (Mothership XII Petalmorphosis, Luminous Legends Dawn Divinity). Considering how my first try with a Guerlain Quad went, I probably shouldn’t have been looking at this collection anyway.
The color selection was another big issue for me with Metal Butterfly; the shades just didn’t work as well as I wanted. At that time, Guerlain had no other shade I wanted to try. So when Emerald Feather was released, I got excited to give Guerlain another chance. From the promo images of the quad, it appeared that the shades are smooth and possibly less flaky than what I experienced with Metal Butterfly. However, once I saw the actual swatches, I thought that the greens might lean too yellow to become favorites of mine. Even if I got lucky and they aren’t too yellow, I just have so many green and greenish-gold eyeshadows right now 😬.
**Ulta
 | $ 68.00 SalePrice $ 68.00 RegularPrice |
| HOURGLASS Curator Eyeshadow Palette – Futurist | |
 | $ 68.00 SalePrice $ 68.00 RegularPrice |
| HOURGLASS Curator Eyeshadow Palette in Futurist at Nordstrom | |
 | $ SalePrice $ 68.00 RegularPrice |
| Hourglass Curator Eyeshadow Palette | |
Update August 5, 2025: You can see swatches of the Hourglass Curator Eyeshadow Palettes in the shades Futurist, Expressionist, and Realist by clicking here.
Hourglass Curator Eyeshadow Palette: While none of the Curator Eyeshadow Palettes excite me, I understand why Hourglass is taking a shot at releasing a pre-selected eyeshadow option. Their previous ‘build-your-own’ palette system (**still available for sale) was not well received. I think it makes sense for them to at least offer another option for those who didn’t like the palette system or didn’t feel confident in choosing their own shades. The price of the palette system was a big complaint, but these quads are also expensive when compared to other quads on the market.
- Hourglass Curator Eyeshadow Palette – $68 for .09 oz (from Bloomingdale’s site)
- YSL Couture Mini Clutch Eyeshadow Palette – $68 for .17 oz
- Pat McGrath Divine Bronze Luxe Eyeshadow Palette: Venusian Sunrise – $62 for .18oz
- Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Eyeshadow Palette: Pillow Talk Dreams – $55 for .18 oz
I think they opted for very safe color choices, but I wonder how well these will translate on much deeper skin tones. The Hourglass products I’ve tried have been nice, but I sometimes feel that I can find cheaper alternatives that perform just as well. However, for some, a consideration in purchasing from Hourglass over other brands is that it is a vegan and cruelty-free brand. That is something to keep in mind if you like shopping in the luxury makeup category, considering many other luxury brands are not.
**The Hourglass Curator Eyeshadow Palette is $68 and comes in 6 shades.
What products have caught your eye lately?
If you’d like to check out more of my content, here are some places to start.
- Blush Index
- Brands A-Z
- Bronzer & Highlighter Index
- Brush Index
- Concealer Ranking
- Eyeshadow Index
- Foundation Round-Up
- Lipstick Index
- Makeup Storage and Organization Ideas
- My Favorite Makeup
- Powder Round-Up
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Nikki From HR 
I agree with your points about the MAC Lipglazers. Some people are saying (without having tried it yet) that the concept is so innovative, but to me, I just see them as opaque skinny gloss sticks. I can’t imagine myself having a glossy outline and a matte center. So, if my full lip look is going to be shiny, I may as well use a product that has a wider surface area to apply the gloss faster instead of trying to fill in my lips with a glossy micro pencil. Maybe someone else will find it useful…hopefully more useful than the MAC Dry Shampoo Mascara Refresher. lol.
EL’s Apres Spree and Getaway are the most visually appealing color stories to me, but I don’t think I’d actually be satisfied with those colors on my eyes.
If Hourglass nails the eyeshadow formula, I imagine the quads will be very popular. Some of them look nice, but the shades aren’t interesting enough for me to want to spend that kind of money.
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Yea, I’m not sure about it being innovative. It also seems that for a glossy lip product they already have lipsticks and lip balms that do the same thing as the Lipglazers. I guess we’ll see if other brands follow along and release similar liners.
Knowing the hype for Hourglass, it’ll be popular even if the formula isn’t that great 😂.
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True!
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Did you see Alicia’s short for one of the Hourglass quads? Some of the commenters are pretty upset with that price. 😂
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I hadn’t seen it, but immediately watched and read through after seeing your comment. I can’t help but agree with a lot of people. It doesn’t look impressive enough. Maybe the formula is perfection, like the way I feel about YSL eyeshadow quality, but I at least get my YSL quads heavily discounted. I’m happy to pass on them.
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Yea, I think we both can safely say we already have better eyeshadows. And the YSL quads are a better value, too. But to her credit, and I know some of the comments said so as well, her being able to get one and test it helped us all out. At least some of us have to take one for the team 😂.
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Yes, I’m glad her demo helped to squash any interest I might have had for them. lol.
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*I’m happy to pass on the Hourglass quads.
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