Author: Nikki

I was determined to take the rest of this year off, but I was starting to drive myself crazy, so I’m back at it.

I wanted to talk about some older products that I don’t hear mentioned much anymore, but they still manage to take up permanent residence on the brand’s bestsellers list. To keep it simple, I went by the brand website’s best seller list rather than retailers like Sephora and Ulta. Let’s revisit some Nars products.

If you like this kind of post, please check out my other best seller posts on MAC, MAC Vol. 2, Maybelline, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, and Clinique.

As we say goodbye to another year, I wanted to share my favorites from 2021. I know this post may seem premature, but as Black Friday sales start to roll in and supply chains continue to be stressed, I figured it would be ok.

I had trouble trying to narrow down my list, so I decided to limit myself to products that I purchased in 2021. I have already posted reviews for all of these products, so the original reviews and swatches will be linked. Let’s get into it, my friends.

Sigma Warm Neutrals Eyeshadow Palette – Click here for my full review

I love a buildable matte and I typically apply lid colors with my fingers, so the Sigma formula really works well for me. The warm neutrals palette is my favorite in terms of color selection, but the ambiance palette is a close runner-up.

Laura Mercier Rose Glow Highlighter – Click here for my full review

While I do have to be careful with this, I still love it.  If I apply too much it can start to look icy, but it never accentuates texture on me. As of November 12, 2021, this is still available for purchase at Saks Fifth Avenue. You can also purchase it from Bergdorf Goodman, but it is on backorder.

Sephora Microsmooth Multi-Tasking Baked Face Palette (Captivate) – Discontinued

Update May 18, 2025: Sephora has discontinued the Microsmooth Multi-Tasking Baked Face Palettes and replaced them with the new Sephora Collection Colorful Face Bronzer, Blush, & Highlighter Palettes. I swatched the two darkest palettes (02 Medium to Tan and 03 Tan to Deep) in store and added that picture to my original review, here.

This palette is a little dark for me, but it blends so easily that I can work with it. The powders melt into the skin as promised. Check this one out for sure. I hope it sells well enough that they can expand the shade range, although there is also a lighter version.

It is currently sold out online likely because it is 30% off during the VIB sale that ends on November 15th. But you may be able to find it in your local Sephora if you’re interested.

Coloured Raine Bronzer (Cinna-Bae) – Click here for my full review

This bronzer really impressed me. Cinna-bae is very pigmented, but the ease of blending means I don’t have to be careful with it. This is a bit darker than it appears in the image below. It can be hard to color balance a group shot correctly for each product. I love Coloured Raine and hope they continue to release products as great as this one. I’m still hoping for single blushes since their highlighter formula is too much for my taste.

I’ve briefly mentioned the cult classic, Bobbi Brown Corrector here on my blog as a reference when talking about another product I use under my eyes. So many people love this corrector and swear by it that I thought for sure it would be foolproof. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get this product to work for me.

Bobbi Brown Dark Peach Corrector, $33.00

The formula creases on me almost instantly and then settles into fine lines not too long after that. Even if I can manage to apply concealer and set it with powder before I see any creases, it only takes about 10 minutes before they inevitably show up. According to the Bobbi Brown website, dark peach corrects brown/grey/greenish discoloration. I do think it does a nice job of masking my discoloration and I never had to pile it on to get that result.

This little palette has turned out to be more versatile than I expected. NARS designed these mini voyageur palettes ($32) to be small and convenient for travel. There are other versions but at least for the quartz color variation, the convenience also applies to some of the shades.

The names seem wrong, and it does seem that gold souk should be the bottom middle shade. But this is the order that is listed on the back of my palette. 🤔

• Deira (top left)
• Jordan (top middle)
• Alserkal (top right)
• Gold Souk (bottom left)
• Fontainebleau (bottom middle)
• Mulberry (bottom right)

I’m specifically calling this a product update on the Sigma Ambiance palette since that is my newest Sigma Palette purchase and my initial post only provided swatches. However, I feel like the formula is consistent enough across all of the palettes that I own that you can also consider this a product update for the Cor-de-Rosa (swatch post) and Warm Neutrals (swatch post) palettes as well (pictured below).

As mentioned in my previous posts, while this formula is nicely pigmented, I’d call it buildable. If you are looking for intense pigment right away, I think you can pass on these. The mattes are loose and have kick-up in the pan, but they are not as messy as the Anastasia Beverly Hills formula. I have the most success using this formula with the Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eyeshadow primer. I have tried it with the NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base and didn’t like that combination.

Update October 21, 2025: I was shocked to recently notice that Sigma’s 14-pan eyeshadow palettes are now clocking in at $65. Back in 2020, the price was $49. When the Sigma Cool Neutrals Palette was released in April 2024, it was $52. Now, they are suddenly at $65. Everything is getting more expensive, but this price jump is worse than most I’ve seen. This is one of the 14-pan palettes that comes with a double-sided brush (E58 Diffused Crease and E54 medium Sweeper), which does add to its cost; however, that was already included in these palettes when they were cheaper. There are a lot of reasons to continue buying Sigma eyeshadows. They are cruelty-free, talc-free, and I’m pretty sure their cosmetics were clean beauty before people were calling it clean beauty. I also often enjoy their color selections for eyeshadows; they appeal to me, and more often than not work well for my olive undertone better than other brands. However, the formula has never been good enough for me to recommend it unless it was on sale for 40% off. And this was back when they were $49, meaning I only recommended others purchase them for about $29.40 before tax. Now that they are $65, they would have to be over 50% off to get close to that price. Let’s say this price increase annoys you as much as it does me, but you still want to purchase Sigma eyeshadows. They do still have good sales. I don’t see them doing 40% sales as much as they used to. Now, 30% off is the more standard discount. I have seen higher percentages when they are clearing out old inventory of limited edition collections or discontinued items. They also go on sale at Macy’s, Nordstrom, and JCPenney, so if you are still interested in the brand, I’d keep an eye on those stores.

As I said in my review of the Sonia G Builder Pro and Classic Crease brushes, Sonia G does a stellar job of describing her brushes on her blog (www.sweetmakeuptemptations.com/) and in her product descriptions on Beautylish. She shows how her brushes compare to each other if you are deciding between the different shapes. So my best suggestion for anyone shopping for Sonia G brushes is to check out her blog and the product descriptions on Beautylish.

I decided to go ahead and do a post on the Soft Cheek brush because while I can’t dupe this brush, I do think you can get a similar result from some other options. This Saikoho goat hair brush retails for $48.00 and it is often out of stock. Spoiler alert, if you have the budget, it is worth the wait. But I do have some alternative options if you don’t want to spend that kind of money, you’re impatient, or you prefer synthetic fibers.

The Beautylish Gift card event is also coming up starting October 21, 2021 and will last for 4 days. You will receive a $20 gift card for every $100 that you spend. So if Sonia G happens to restock, it could be worth buying some of her brushes during the event.

Thanks to Lili, I was able to get my hands on a code for the Sephora Friends and Family Sale. I just bought a few select items that I knew I’d be able to use and enjoy regularly.

Lancome Teint Idole Stick Foundation in 410 Bisque W, $44.00

I recently posted a full review of this newly reformulated foundation from Lancome. I’ve been using the shade 450 Suede N, which is technically too dark and neutral for me. So while I have really enjoyed the formula, I haven’t been using it as much since I finished my review. Since I had the 20% off code, I decided to go ahead and get a lighter, warm undertone shade. I haven’t given it a try yet, but if it is too light for my face, I plan to mix in some of 450 Suede N.