Both of the products I’m raving about today are limited edition products. I know that if you like what I have to say about these products, you won’t be able to buy them, but fear not, I am going to give you some alternatives.
MAC Sun-Soaked Strip Bronzer and Selena La Layenda Highlighter
These MAC products have become some of my favorites to use on a regular basis. I consistently set aside products to use in my makeup bag, making it easy to get ready. As I was getting ready the other day, I noticed that I didn’t want to use what I had set aside, so I went to grab this MAC bronzer. Then, on Thursday, as I was about to use the Laura Mercier Roseglow Highlighter (swatched and reviewed here), I decided to use the MAC Extra Dimension Highlight from the Selena collection instead. I wanted to see which of these two highlighters accentuated texture less, since the MAC had been a go-to before I bought the Laura Mercier. After that, it dawned on me that I have been grabbing these two products over other items a lot. I never really expected either of them to be such staples.
MAC Sun-Soaked Strip Bronzer and Selena La Layenda Highlighter
This is a newly released quad from NARS inspired by one of their cult classic blushes. Taj Mahal blush is described as a “burnished orange with golden shimmer.” NARS now has 8 color variations of these quads, so there are other options if this one doesn’t speak to you. The brand promises high impact color in one swipe, but that has not been my experience with the Taj Mahal Quad. Let’s talk about it.
Propa Beauty Luminous Satin Lipstick in Prime Time, $12.00
After hearing great things about this lipstick line for so long I decided to try it for myself. This is a softer lipstick formula so I took some advice that I read in Lili’s review post and didn’t try these until they had some time to sit at room temperature. I was glad I took her advice because these are, in fact, very soft.
In my opinion, the brand has priced this lipstick well at $12.00. While it is more expensive than a mass-market/drugstore lipstick, the Propa Beauty Lipstick is priced from $2.00 to $3.00 below other Indie brands (independently owned, no parent company).
Juvia’s Place, $14
Mented, $14.99
Hue Noir, $15
Winky Lux, $15
Swatches L to R: Prime Time, Profits, Moxie, Victress, Her Magic
I don’t know about you, but I have no luck finding drugstore bronzers. It seems like they always either have an ingredient I can’t use due to sensitivities or they don’t have a shade that would work. I’ve heard a lot of praise for this L’oreal Lumi Bronzer and since I do like a satin finish over matte for bronzer, I decided to check it out. Most of the reviews I either read or watched mentioned that the product had shimmer running through it but that it wasn’t really noticeable once applied. The problem I ran into was finding a review of the shade 03 Deep on someone who actually had a deep skin tone. Seeing the bronzer in person, I was really worried about the amount of shimmer it has, so I wanted to know if anyone had tried the darkest shade. I could never find one, so I decided to go ahead and give it a try.
L’oreal True Match Lumi Bronzer in Deep
L’oreal Lumi Bronze It, $7.97 at Walmart (as of January 25, 2022)
To be fair, the product description from Ulta claims that the L’oreal Lumi Bronze It has a “barely there shimmer.” The Amazon description calls it a “shimmer bronzer,” but also states that it has a “sublte, barely there shimmer”. So the fact that there is shimmer isn’t something that is hidden or surprising. The downside for me is the fact that the shimmer is only subtle or barely there in low light conditions.
To its credit, this bronzer blends very easily. It is pretty loosely pressed and does kick up some powder. I found it necessary to tap excess product off my brush before applying. It does also show up nicely on my skin tone (Estee Lauder Double Wear 4W4), but I have trouble understanding how this would work for someone who is actually “deep.” I consider myself to be in the medium deep/dark range of a good shade range.
The CCO (Cosmetic Company Store Outlet) was having a great sale, as they always do, so I took full advantage. I decided to give the MAC Dazzleshadow Extreme formula one more chance, so I picked the shade Couture Copper to try out. I had previously tried out the shade incinerated and didn’t have a good experience. But when I saw these on sale at the CCO, I really wanted to try again to see if my issues were with the shade and not the overall formula. This shopping trip was back over Memorial Day weekend, so I’ve had some time to give this a good shot.
This blog uses affiliate links (marked with **). I may earn a small commission when you purchase through links on my site. Learn more here.
Update October 2, 2025: Today, MAC released a new **Dazzle Collection, which rebranded the Dazzleshadow Extreme formula. The new ones are labeled “Eye Shadow [Metallic]” and some of the old Dazzleshadow shades are there, but the formula is different. The new formula doesn’t have talc in the ingredient list.
MAC Dazzleshadow Extreme, $9 for a refill pan and $21 for a compact
MAC Dazzleshadow Extreme in Couture Copper
I’m happy to say that this shade does perform better than the incinerated. I’m still not sure I love the formula, because it still takes some finessing and fallout can be an issue. I think that it is best applied with fingers, although a brush will work with this shade. Using a brush it takes more effort to build up and there is more fallout. The fallout, when applied with fingers, is very minimal but it does stick to the face and can be harder to sweep away. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this was hard to work with (like incinerated was), but I just felt like I had to be careful and spend some time building. The extra effort to avoid fallout (since it doesn’t wipe away easily) is just something that isn’t always necessary for me with other shadows.
I ordered this palette during Sigma’s recent semi-annual sale. While that sale is over, they are currently having a 4th of July sale, and this palette is currently 25% off until July 6 at 8AM CDT. I figured I would go ahead and share some swatches in case anyone had their eye on this palette.
The cover of the palette is textured, but I haven’t noticed any shimmer particles coming off on my hands.
Sigma Ambiance Palette ($36.75 during current sale on Sigma’s website)
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.
UPDATE October 21, 2021: In my experience, the Sigma formula is really great for those who like applying shimmer shades with their fingers and prefer a buildable matte eyeshadow. If you are someone who likes super-saturated colors or only likes to apply eyeshadow with brushes, I think these may miss the mark. For a more detailed breakdown, click here and check out my Updated Sigma Eyeshadow Palette Review.
I already own the Sigma Cor-de-Rosa palette and the Warm Neutrals palette, so I’m not expecting any surprises. You can click on the palette names to go and check out those posts for more information on the formula.
This is not a new release from Bobbi Brown, but it is new to me. Although Bobbi Brown left her namesake brand at the end of 2016, I still find it interesting to check out the brand’s new releases. I personally think that they have done a great job maintaining the fresh, natural makeup vibe that made the Bobbi Brown brand famous.
This Essential Multicolor Eye Shadow Palette definitely stays in the lane of the natural makeup. While I do think that the level of pigmentation is nice, if you want depth or impact you’ll have to look elsewhere. My closest shade matches in Bobbi Brown foundation are Golden Honey and Golden, and on my skin tone, the Warm Cranberry palette comes across as soft and natural. If you are lighter than me, you may get a little more intensity from the deepest shade (red rock), but I think it will still be fairly tame. There are 3 other color options in this line of palettes, but based on the website swatches, only one of them goes deeper in tone than Warm Cranberry. The deeper palette is called Bold Burgundy if you want to look into a deeper color story.
Bobbi Brown Essential Multicolor Eye Shadow Palette in Warm Cranberry, $45.00
Bobbi Brown The Essential Multicolor Eye Shadow Palette in Warm Cranberry
According to Bobbi Brown, the palette has 3 different finishes: metallic (“rich high-shimmer powder shadow”), shimmer wash (“translucent twinkling lid color”), and Eye Shadow (“silky, soft-matte powder shadow”).
Stone Cold – Eye Shadow (far right swatch, bottom pan of the palette)
The semi-annual sale at Sigma Beauty has already gotten started, but if you are interested in any of their products it doesn’t end until June 30, 2021 at 9:00 AM CDT. The discount ranges from 35% to 75% off depending on the product, so it really is a good time to check them out if you’ve been meaning to place an order.
I personally really like Sigma brushes and I’ve never had issues with performance or quality. You may hear people point out the 2-year warranty as a selling point, but I’d advise you to consider it to be a limited warranty. It only covers manufacturing defects, but they will replace the brush with the same brush or with a similar brush if that one has been discontinued. I consider this to be limited because even without a warranty, I’ve never encountered a brand that will not replace or refund your money for a manufacturing defect. Now the 2-year time period is likely unique, but a manufacturing defect should show itself way before you get to the 2-year mark. Just something to keep in mind.
Top to bottom: Sigma F10 Powder/Blush, F79 Concealer Blend Kabuki, F80 Air Flat Kabuki
Sigma F10 Powder/Blush, $25.00 ($16.25 during sale)
You’ve heard me mention this brush several times before, so probably no surprises here. I use this for blush rather than powder, so I can’t tell you if it is good for powder. For blush, however, this is a workhorse brush for me. The bristles are loosely packed, giving a diffused application. It works with all textures (including baked gelee), it cleans up easily, and it dries fast.
Sigma F79 Concealer Blend Kabuki, $23.00 ($11.50 during sale)
This is the only brush that I use for my undereye concealer if I’m not using my fingers. I do have to admit though, I’ve only tried a handful of concealer brushes, so I don’t have much to compare it to. It is dense while still being soft enough for the undereye area. This brush isn’t as easy to clean due to the density and using it with concealer, but it does still dry fairly quick.
Sigma F80 Air Flat Kabuki, $25.00 ($16.25 during sale)
I really enjoy using this brush when I want my fuller coverage foundations to look less heavy. I feel like the duo fiber design helps apply foundation in lighter layers. This brush is best for applying foundation in circular buffing motions. This brush is the hardest to clean, but again, I’d blame that on foundation being more tenacious to remove than blush. You may have also noticed that mine is a little stained, but keep in mind it is nearly 3 years old at this point.
If you are someone that likes to apply foundation in a stippling motion, I would suggest looking into the classic F80. I haven’t personally tried that brush, so I can’t give you any insight, but it is a cult classic, so you shouldn’t struggle to find a review for it.
There is one last caveat with this brush. If you use MAC Studio Fix Fluid, this brush does not get along with that formula. I don’t know why, but at least for me, this brush leaves terrible streak marks on my face. They just don’t go well together. I don’t get streak marks using this brush with NARS Natural Radiant Longwear or Estee Lauder Double Wear.
Sigma Cor-de Rosa Palette, $49.00 ($31.85 during sale)
Sigma Cor-de-Rosa Palette (top) vs Sigma Warm Neutral Palette (bottom)
Sigma Warm Neutrals Palette, $49.00 ($31.85 during sale)
If you’ve been here for a while you should recognize these two palettes. I’ve done full swatches and given my thoughts on the formula of both palettes that I will link for you if you want more details.
Do you have any favorite Sigma Beauty products that we should be checking out during the sale? Let us know in the comments below.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider sticking around. You can check out my Brands A-Z index if you want to know what products I have posted about in the past.
Disclaimer: I purchased all products featured with my own money. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
Nikki From HR 