I wanted to share a page I added to my website (Makeup Swatches), that features swatches of products that don’t appear in a dedicated blog post. Sometimes there are products that slip through the cracks for whatever reason but I’ve already taken photos of them. So I figured this would be a good way for me to share those items that might not get reviewed, but I think people would still want to see swatches for.
The two images below are just a preview to give you a sense of what I have posted so far.
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If you’d like to check out more of my content, here are some places to start.
Brands A-Z: Check out this index if you want to know what products I have posted about in the past.
MAC Cosmetics: I likely have some swatches you’ve been searching for if you love Mac as much as I do.
Disclaimer: I purchased all products featured with my own money. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
For some reason, Estee Lauder recently made the decision to reformulate the well-loved Pure Color Envy Lipsticks. The new line of lipsticks is now called the Pure Colore Creme Lipstick but they are still offered in 3 different finishes (creme, hi-lustre, and matte). I’ll only be talking about the creme formula today. The Creme lineup comes in 31 shades and retails for $36.00.
A note on the packaging before we get into the formula. I miss the dark blue tube of the old Pure Color Envy Lipstick. This new one is the same size and shape, but all gold. I just don’t think it looks as elegant and it is ever so slightly lighter. It still has a magnetic closure which is always a nice touch, but I do think they lightened the weight of the tube a bit.
If you’ve read some of my older lipstick reviews you may recall that the Pure Color Envy formula is my favorite lipstick of all time. Some of my favorite things about the previous formula were the coverage, shine, graceful wear down, and nourishing feel. So does the new formula live up to the old one? Not really. Let’s get into the reasons why.
Bronzers from Pat McGrath have finally arrived! As excited as I was for this release, it felt like I waited forever to get my order. I try to mention the long shipping times when ordering directly from the Pat McGrath website when I post about the brand. I ordered about 15 minutes after launch, and I didn’t get my order until 8 business days later. Keep in mind that some people may still be waiting for their orders, so I’m just giving context for my personal experience. The brand’s website states that processing takes 1-2 business days and shipping takes 5-7 business days. So, I received my package within the stated timeframe. I still feel like it took a long time, but for my order, they delivered according to their terms.
So anyway, on to the actual product. I bought the shade Bronze Divinity, thinking that Desert Glow would be too light for me (it probably isn’t). Luckily, this formula is buildable, so I was able to apply it without trouble. The shade bronze divinity turned out to be more orange than I was expecting, but I do think that my olive undertone has a lot to do with that. In the brand’s defense, the shade is described as a terracotta bronze. While this does have a touch of red, it definitely has the burnt orange tone of terracotta.
Click continue reading to see a swatch of bronze divinity and see it compared to NARS Punta Cana.
The Pat McGrath SatinAllure Lipsticks made their first appearance as part of the Bridgerton 2 collection in March 2022. When the collection was released, I ordered Negligee and Veiled Rose but unfortunately, Veiled Rose was too cool-toned for my preferences so I returned that one. Today I’ll show you Negligee and give you the rundown on the formula in case you are interested in this line of lipsticks.
As always credit for this overall concept goes to Emily Noel on Youtube. She has some older videos about What’s OLD at the Drugstore and I’ve always loved the idea. I’ve done this Sephora VIB Sale version two other times, so if you’d like to see more products you can check those out here and here.
So anyway, while neither of these concealers is the newest thing to the market, I’m taking this time to highlight them because I think they still hold their own against new releases. The sale dates are 14 April 2023 – 24 April 2023 depending on your membership tier. All of the dates and discount levels are listed at the bottom of this post. Keep in mind that you can also shop the sale at Kohl’s locations that have Sephora sections and Kohl’s online. Often things sell out at Sephora and they are still available at Kohl’s.
NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer
NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer, $32.00
This was released in January 2017 and I still see a lot of people using this which says a lot considering how fast new releases tend to dominate people’s routines. This is a standout concealer in both form and function. I think we can all agree that there aren’t as many pot concealers as there are liquid doe foot style concealers. Also, it just seems like most people don’t even want to try a pot concealer. I think that is because they are seen as being heavy. Although this NARS Concealer is definitely full coverage, you can apply it lightly to minimize the amount of product sitting on your skin but still get the coverage you need. The texture is almost a mousse and it has a lot of slip due to dimethicone being the 1st ingredient, so it blends easily. This sets down to a matte finish as promised and I personally don’t have to set it with powder (which I love). It stays in place all day and doesn’t crease very much.
For shade reference, you can see me wearing NARS Natural Radiant Longwear in Tahoe by clicking here and Estee Lauder Double Wear in 4W4 by clicking here.
If you haven’t yet heard, the L’oreal True Match Super Blendable Foundation has been reformulated and repackaged for 2023. I do have a history with the original formula, and although it’s been a while since I used it, my experience with the new formula is the same. I think this is a beautiful foundation, but for my 40-year-old, dry, sensitive skin, this is not my favorite foundation to wear. I felt the same way about the original formula. I’m not saying this won’t work for others with dry skin because I think it actually works great. It just feels less comfortable throughout wear than I’d like. I recently moved, and I do wonder if my skin just hasn’t fully embraced the climate change yet, but only time will tell.
Keep reading to hear about my experience with it, see what it looks like on me, and see some comparison swatches.
I placed my order for two of the new MAC Skinfinish Sunstruck Bronzers when they were live on the MAC website a few days ago and they arrived today. I wanted to go ahead and share swatches of the two shades that I purchased. I’m not sure why they have disappeared from the website, but I’m sure they will return because some shades are already available at Belk and QVC.
UPDATE March 28, 2023: MAC’s Consumer Care Team has responded to me letting me know that the bronzer launch was delayed. I also contacted MAC again to ask specifically about the safety of using these products after a reader mentioned to me that she heard this product was being discontinued due to its smell. MAC has responded that these products are safe for use (see below for their exact wording).
UPDATE March 21, 2023: I talked to MAC’s online customer service and they informed me that these bronzers were released ahead of schedule. They did also say that I could contact the consumer care team to confirm, so I did send them an email. The bronzers are no longer at Belk or QVC when I checked, so I’m not sure how so many retailers could have launched something ahead of schedule all at the same time. If the information changes when I hear back from MAC Consumer care I’ll be sure to post an update.
The brush that was released with the collection is listed on the MAC website, so there is clearly something going on with this release. Some of the affiliate links below will only take you to the MAC homepage until the brand reposts the items. I know this may be slightly annoying, but it saves me from having to update the links later when they reappear. The QVC links at the bottom do take you to the product pages and you can purchase these items from QVC as of the time I am posting this.
If you are a MAC lover like me, then you may have noticed that Mac’s bronzer formula has been in their clearance section. Well today we know why, they have just released a line of Skinfinish Sunstruck Bronzers.
UPDATE March 28, 2023: MAC’s Consumer Care Team has responded to me letting me know that the bronzer launch was delayed. I also contacted MAC again to ask specifically about the safety of using these products after a reader mentioned to me that she heard this product was being discontinued due to its smell. MAC has responded that these products are safe for use (see below for their exact wording).
UPDATE March 21, 2023: I talked to MAC’s online customer service and they informed me that these bronzers were released ahead of schedule. They did also say that I could contact the consumer care team to confirm, so I did send them an email. The bronzers are no longer at Belk or QVC when I checked, so I’m not sure how so many retailers could have launched something ahead of schedule all at the same time. If the information changes when I hear back from MAC Consumer care I’ll be sure to post an update.
UPDATE March 19, 2023: I placed my order for two of the new MAC Skinfinish Sunstruck Bronzers when they were live on the MAC website a few days ago and they arrived today. I wanted to go ahead and share swatches of the two shades that I purchased. I’m not sure why they have disappeared from the website, but I’m sure they will return because some shades are already available at Belk and QVC. If you want to see these shades compared to the NARS Bronzing Powders in Casino and Punta Cana, click here.
MAC Skinfinish Sunstruck Matte Bronzer, $35, 10 Shades
MAC Skinfinish Sunstruck Radiant Bronzer, $35, 5 Shades
MAC 143S Bronzer Fan Brush, $45
The 143S brush was also released back in 2020 for their Summer Bronzer collection but that version had black bristles, so I do wonder how this might differ in function. This also has me wondering if the new matte bronzer formula will be the same, but there are no ingredients listed on the website to give any idea of what the formula will be like.
Left to Right: MAC 127S, 143SES, 140SES
What do you think about this release?
I’m excited to see this from MAC and even more excited to see if there will be some new blushes to follow!
If you enjoyed this post, please give it a like down below. If you’d like to check out more of my content, here are some places to start.
Brands A-Z: Check out this index if you want to know what products I have posted about in the past.
MAC Cosmetics: I likely have some swatches you’ve been searching for if you love Mac as much as I do.
Disclaimer: I purchased all products featured with my own money. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
Nikki From HR 