If you were already thinking of checking out the MAC sale, I thought I’d share some swatches to help you shop. I’m showcasing products that I feel are less talked about or at least less talked about among what is current and new to the market.
To shop the sale, use the code MACSPRING30 at checkout. I did test the code on all the available items I have swatched, and they were marked down successfully. The only exceptions are some blushes that are no longer available due to being limited edition or discontinued. I will make a note of those items below the pictures.
Enjoy!
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(Discontinued formula) MAC Love Me Lipstick – Bated Breath, $22.00
Update June 13, 2025: In my opinion, there is no direct replacement for this formula currently in MAC’s lineup. The closest formula is the **MAC Lustreglass Sheer-Shine Lipstick ($25), but it is not as pigmented. I have a swatch and review of the shade Business Casual (here) if you want to check that out.
MAC Bated Breath (Love Me Lipstick)
**The MAC Sheer Shine formula is a less pigmented alternative to the discontinued Love Me Lipstick formula.
$ 20.25
Sale Price
$ 27.00
Regular Price
MAC – Lustreglass Sheer-Shine Lipstick
(Discontinued formula) MAC Satin Lipstick – Del Rio, $25.00
The new Chanel Rouge Coco Bloom is a comfortable formula with a beautiful shine. It applies smoothly and the pigmentation is great for such a balmy feeling product. While there is no tingling feeling, the formula does seem to be slightly plumping. Unfortunately, it has no longevity and on me, it doesn’t wear away evenly.
Chanel Rouge Coco Bloom in 114 Glow
It only takes about an hour and a half to two hours to need a touch up. As it wears down, the color that is left behind is more muted and the shine is gone. Obviously, that change can be expected, but it happens a little faster than I’d prefer. I was eating, drinking, and talking while trying this out, so I guess if you somehow manage not to do any of that, you will have better staying power. So after about an hour or two (depending on eating and drinking), it was worn off at the center of my lips and it had sunk into my lip lines. The way it wore off meant that the only choice was to reapply. I will say that it was easy to apply on top of itself, I didn’t need to clean off my lips and start fresh.
I have to give a shout-out to Emily Noel on Youtube for this concept. It has been a while, but she has done a couple older videos about What’s OLD at the Drugstore that I enjoyed. So I thought with the Sephora VIB sale starting soon, I’d talk recommendations that aren’t the newest things to the market. The sale dates are 9 April 2021 – 19 April 2021 depending on your membership tier.
Shiseido Visionary Gel Lipstick – 212 Wood Block, $26.00
Shiseido Visionary Gel Lipstick in 212 Woodblock
This only has 1.6 g of product and traditional lipsticks have about 3.0 to 3.5 g, so that is something to keep in mind. If you are a bang for your buck kind of shopper, I’d pass on this one.
Shiseido Visionary Gel Lipstick in 212 Woodblock
This formula has somewhat of a slick or slippery feeling when you apply it but it does dry down to feel more creamy. It has nice pigment to it and doesn’t accentuate my lip lines. This line of lipsticks is also well reviewed by Temptalia, so you can check her site for swatches of the other colors.
Bobbi Brown Mini Shimmer Brick Highlighter – Bronze, $25.00
If you have ever been curious about the Bobbi Brown shimmer brick this is already a good deal but even better with the extra percentage off. Since highlighter takes a long time to use up anyway, I don’t think the smaller size is an issue. I find the quality to be consistent with the regular $48 size. I think this is a nice formula, it can get a little shimmery if you pack it on, but with a light hand, I do think it can be applied in a subtle way.
L to R: Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Sunset Pink and Bronze
Sephora only has the shade bronze currently in stock, but the Bobbi Brown website does have the shade rose in stock as well (they are having 25% off until 11 April 2021 @ 11:59 PT). The shade Sunset Pink was a limited edition color, but this was the only picture I had to be able to showcase the bronze shade for you.
L to R: Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Sunset Pink and Bronze
Urban Decay Naked Petite Heat, $29.00
In my mind, this is a naked basics palette. I think that if they had marketed this palette as the Naked Heat Basics Eyeshadow Palette, there may have been a better reception. I think that since the marketing focused on the shades being brand new colors, reviewers spent too much time comparing it to the Naked Heat Palette. Not a lot of people talked about it as a stand-alone product, or even as a companion to other eyeshadows you may already own. It is easy to forget that not everyone wants or needs 12 shades of eyeshadow.
Urban Decay Naked Petite Heat
This is a nice little palette. The texture is slightly drier and a little dusty compared to the Naked Heat and the Naked Cherry, but I don’t find that to interfere with performance. However, if you like a creamy matte texture, you might not enjoy this formula.
Urban Decay Naked Petite Heat
Sephora Lip Stories – 10 Yum Yum, $9.00
I don’t have a picture of this product but wanted to shine some light on it anyway. The formula on this lipstick is smooth and creamy. I was disappointed to find out that something in the formula irritated my lips because I was really impressed by the formula. I don’t think the formula will be an issue for most people. The way they were hyped up back when they were first released, I didn’t hear of anyone else having irritation or sensitivity issues. I do want to warn you that the packaging does feel cheap, but it is only $9.00 at Sephora, so I’d say that should be expected. The entire Sephora Collection will be 30% off during the sale, so that brings the price down to $6.30. This discount can not be combined with the VIB sale code.
9 April 2021 – 19 April 2021 – VIB Rouge tier can shop
13 April 2021 – 19 April 2021 – VIB tier can shop
15 April 2021 – 19 April 2021 – Insider tier can shop
I hope this post was helpful and gave you some new products to consider. Happy Shopping!
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.
The Dior Dune collection for Summer 2021 should start showing up at retailers this month. As usual chicprofile.com has a great breakdown of the entire collection. I haven’t been buying as much Dior in the last couple of years, but I’m hoping for some good reviews.
I am a researcher by nature, so I often find myself doing deep dives into random topics. A little while ago I started looking into the Endowment Effect, which is when we assign more value to an item simply because we own it. I started to notice that I owned products that I don’t think are objectively better, but I still prefer to use them over a comparable better option. That got me thinking about why that might be, and as it turned out, several of them I happened to own longer and have more experience with. As a beauty blogger I spend more time analyzing my makeup products than most “average” consumers, so I get that the “why” of things doesn’t always matter. I just have a curious mind and I tend to enjoy this type of information. The Endowment Effect: Why Ownership Makes You Overvalue Your Things – is a long read, and it gets into a lot of research, but I found it fascinating and wanted to share it.
Videos to Watch
I always find videos from Audrey Coyne helpful, but I thought this video in particular was worth sharing. I thought it was a great example of finding ways to recreate the feeling of an outfit without buying anything new.
I am not at all handy, but I absolutely love watching people restore old homes to their former glory.
Before we get into the review of the bareMinerals Mineralist Hydra-Smoothing Lipstick, I want to cover some basics. I love a traditional bullet lipstick with a cream finish. That is the type of lip product that I default to and enjoy wearing the most. To give you a frame of reference, my favorite drug store formulas are the Revlon Super Lustrous Cream Finish (swatches of raisin rage and extra spicy) and the Maybelline Color Sensational original line (swatches of brick beat, crazy for coffee,Mauve For Me, Ruby For Me, and Spice For Me). My favorite formulas on the high-end side would be the Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy (discontinued formula swatch of irresistible), Bobbi Brown Luxe Lip Color (discontinued formula swatches of pink buff, downtown plum, and bahama brown), and the Laura Mercier Rouge Essential Lipstick (swatch of brun naturel).
UPDATES: I had the price of MAC lipstick incorrect, they are $19.00 rather than $18.50. I also forgot to mention that the Maybelline lipsticks have a scent that can be off putting. If you are sensitive to scent, Revlon has no smell.
I didn’t have much to go on when I bought this lipstick at my local base exchange (I’m a military spouse). All I knew about it were the claims on the box. It promised a lip color and treatment in one, that it would be free of dryness, and have maximum impact. I do agree that it is not drying, but I wouldn’t call it moisturizing. It is lightweight and comfortable to wear and I often forget I have it on. I tend to prefer thicker lipstick formulas that you can feel, so when something is lightweight it stands out to me.
The wanderlust list is my way of enjoying and using items I already own. I hope to encourage myself and others to use some of the products we have rather than being so quick to buy something new. If this concept interests you, you can check out the other versions of the Wanderlust List below.
I put off writing this post for a while because I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to be strong enough to pass on this purchase. I didn’t want to say I was passing on a purchase and end up buying it anyway. Fortunately for me, I did resist and instead of buying the Sonia G Cheek Pro Brush, I decided to revisit my severely neglected Bobbi Brown blush brush.
Bobbi Brown Blush Brush, $62
I’ve been pushing the Bobbi Brown Blush Brush around my collection for years now. It is a beautiful brush and it works well, I just don’t like using it as much as my other brushes. It is somewhat of a paddle style, but it manages to simultaneously be fluffier and denser than other brushes. I do find it useful for hard to blend blushes, it can somehow really push the pigment around and blend it out without disturbing my foundation. Although that is impressive, I would just rather get rid of hard to blend blushes.
I just want to have a quick chat about removing the apprehension around purchasing products that aren’t permanent. Don’t shy away from limited-edition releases. If you’re an “average” makeup consumer (like you have a makeup bag or drawer), then you’re going to love that item and use it up. By the time it is gone, you’ll either be ready to try something new or there will be a better product on the market.
On the other hand, if you’re a makeup “enthusiast” or “collector”(you can’t imagine everything fitting into one drawer), then you may not likely finish that product anyway. And if you do finish it, it’s still true that it will take a long time, and since you’re an enthusiast, you’ll be buying something new anyway. Or you already have another similar item that can take its place.
If you watch beauty videos on YouTube, you have likely heard several people say they can’t keep or use limited-edition products because their audience can no longer purchase them. Well, that circumstance does not have to apply to you. You don’t have to adopt that thought process just because someone you like watching thinks that way. When you find that someone is using a product you want, but can’t purchase, it can be disappointing. I understand that completely. But the truth is, there is always something similar. And since we all have different coloring, sometimes a similar item may work even better for you. For example, if you see someone using a pink blush that was limited edition, you can just use any pink blush that suits your features to get that look.
Laura Mercier Rouge Essential Lipstick in Brun Naturel, $32
Laura Mercier Brun Naturel
The Rouge Essentiel Line is a traditional cream formula that seems to have replaced the Creme Smooth formula. I prefer the old formula, but this one isn’t bad. It doesn’t have as much moisture as the creme smooth line, but it does still provide a comfortable wear that doesn’t dry out my lips. The biggest issue I have with this line is the color selection. I feel like I had such a hard time selecting a shade that would work for me. Shades were either too light or were essentially red, with not much falling in the middle. The shade I have here is brun naturel, a neutral brown. For me, once applied it leans cool and appears darker than it swatches. So I just never fell in love with the color despite really enjoying the formula. If I have another chance to see the shades in person, I may see if there is something warmer toned. In this price range, I’d recommend checking out the Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipsticks for a better shade range. I do also prefer the formula of the Estee Lauder, but if you have gluten sensitivities, you should steer clear since it contains wheat germ, wheat bran, and barley.
Nikki From HR 