Although this isn’t an exhaustive round-up of the entire brand, I wanted to talk about the current products that I own from Lancome before I let them go. This is a great brand that I can truly show appreciation for, but I’ve just come to realize that it’s not for me. I always have a good experience using their products and I’m always able to find items that suit my skin tone. But on the downside, I’m continually disappointed by the packaging when considering the price I paid. That is saying a lot considering I never pay full price for Lancome, and I still come away feeling like I overpaid. As a military spouse, I can get Lancome products for 15% off and I don’t have to pay tax. The products I’ve tried just feel lighter and cheaper than brands in a comparable price range like NARS and Bobbi Brown.
Are you someone who gets dressed everyday to work from home? That’s how I am and it really helps get me started and have a productive day. But make no mistake, despite the pandemic, not everyone gets to work from home. Here’s some work wear inspiration for those who still have to make the trek to the office. What to Wear to Work (Vogue UK)
There’s hard work being done to move us toward a more inclusive and diverse beauty industry. That work continues with an interview with the creator of the website Brown Girl Hands, Hannah Harris. Harris talks with Beth Gillette about her reasons for starting her website and Instagram account and the importance of brown skin representation in brand photography.
Videos to Watch
But seriously, has anyone tried the MAC Face and Body Mixing Medium? In this video, Senior National Artist for MAC, Fatima Thomas, features the product.
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.
Instead of buying the Becca Light Shifter Veil Finishing Powder, I’m revisiting some powders that I already own from Laura Mercier, MAC, and NARS.
L to R: Laura Mercier Candleglow (5), MAC Studio Waterweight (dark), NARS Light Reflecting (sunstone)
As a dry-skinned person, satin or luminous powder is always intriguing. When I saw Becca release this powder, I was going to purchase it as soon as it made its way to Sephora. I’ve talked with Lili (a fellow blogger that you should check out if you haven’t) about it and I talked about it again in a Monday Edit. I still think it looks promising, but the more time that passed, the more I realized that I already have powders that have a similar finish.
L to R: Laura Mercier Candleglow (5), MAC Studio Waterweight (dark), NARS Light Reflecting (sunstone)
So the powders pictured above are the Laura Mercier Candleglow Sheer Perfecting Powder (shade 5), the MAC Studio Waterweight Pressed Powder (shade dark), and the NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder (shade sunstone). All of these powders leave a satin to luminous finish on the skin and don’t cling if I have dry patches. It is important to keep in mind that if you do not have dry skin and need oil control in your setting powder, these may not be for you.
Buying anything from MAC Cosmetics can be intimidating because of their vast range. The brand has many more shades of red than I have to show you, but I hope it’s still helpful to see some of the shades side by side.
After hearing some rave reviews about these Covergirl Shadow Sticks, I decided to check them out. I love a good purple eyeshadow, so I bought the shade 960 unruly.
960 unruly
This formula is creamy enough to glide on the eyes without tugging. Unfortunately, it does dry pretty quickly. I’d suggest doing one eye at a time so you can blend before it dries down completely. It has good pigmentation and doesn’t take much product to get the true color. I was surprised by the finish. To me, it appears mostly matte with a hint of sheen once applied to the eyes. I expected it to be shinier with more of a shimmer finish. I’ve only used this product with my fingers, so I’m not sure how it might perform when used with a brush.
Since I have sensitive skin, I’m constantly having trouble finding an exfoliating routine that doesn’t cause irritation. After coming across this article, The Best Exfoliating Acids for Sensitive Skin, on POPSUGAR, I decided to take a closer look at lactic acid. The POPSUGAR article breaks down which acids work for different skin concerns. Even if you don’t have sensitive skin, you may find the information helpful for other problems like acne or inflammation.
I currently use products that contain salicylic acid and niacinamide, so I did some additional research to make sure trying lactic acid wouldn’t cause an issue. I learned from The Skincare Edit that you can use acids and niacinamide together if you alternate them. So now I’m curious to see if alternating my products will improve my results. If so, I won’t need to incorporate anything new.
In non-beauty news, an updated article from theInventory, details phones under $500 that don’t suck (according to Gizmodo). They are calling these budget phones, which of course, depends entirely on what you can afford. But it caught my eye because I don’t know if I can bring myself to pay the price for another iPhone once my current XR stops working. Time will tell.
Videos to Watch
I’m not really into the “clean” beauty scene, but when I am interested in brands that market themselves that way, it can be difficult to find good reviews from a dark skin perspective. I recently came across the YouTube channel Keeping up with BB and have been enjoying her videos. She posted her 2020 Clean Beauty Favorites and it’s worth a watch if you have been interested in brands like Saie, Ilia, Vapour, and Fitglow Beauty.
I clearly have a bronzer problem. In May, I talked about the new release of bronzers from NARS in one of my window shopping posts. I claimed I wasn’t going to buy the matte version. Well, that was true. At the time, I ended up getting the satiny version in the shade Punta Cana. But right before Christmas, I finally broke down and decided to try the matte version in the shade Samoa.
NARS Matte Bronzing Powder in Somoa
Despite typically preferring a satin finish, I like this matte formula better than their traditional finish. It is definitely a matte powder, but it gives a healthy look to the skin. The most comparable bronzer that I’ve tried is the Bobbi Brown bronzing powder (swatches here). They remind me a lot of each other, but the NARS formula is denser likely due to the oils in the ingredients.
Pictured above are Samoa (matte formula) and Punta Cana (regular formula) swatched. I thought it would be helpful to see the two side by side so you can see how the finish differs. Hopefully, this is helpful if you are trying to decide between the two. The colors look similar in a swatch but Punta Cana applies deeper and more neutral than Samoa on me. Punta Cana is much more like it looks in the pan than it looks in the swatch.
If you’re curious to see how Punta Cana compares to other brands, I posted a round-up of my bronzers over the summer.
What’s your favorite bronzer finish, matte or satin? Let me 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.
Don’t let the title scare you away; regardless of skin tone, the information in this book can be helpful. The publishing of this book is a necessary addition to the few makeup guides still available in print. I found out about The Beauty Bible for Women of Colour by Funmi Fetto from Vikeejeah on Youtube. Vikeejeah and four other YouTube Creators collaborated to each cover three products mentioned in the book. You can findall the videos from the collaboration linked in the list below.
I do want to mention that some of the write-ups in the book are more helpful than others. Some anecdotal parts aren’t that helpful in terms of how a product works, but I haven’t noticed any items that I felt wouldn’t be workable for deep skin tones. Overall, I have enjoyed reading through this book and am excited to check out some products I haven’t tried before.
I thought it would be fun to showcase some of the products covered in the book that I have tried. The book does cover skincare and hair care, but I’ll only be focusing on the makeup portion.
Foundations
Two of the foundations in the book that I have used are the Estee Lauder Doublewear and Nars Natural Radiant Longwear foundations. I already have a review of the Estee Lauder doublewear foundation, so if you want more details from a dry skin perspective, you can check that review out.
As for the Nars Natural Radiant Longwear, it is still fairly new to me, so I’m still getting a feel for it. You can tell in the swatches below how matte the Estee Lauder is compared to the NARS’ Radiant finish. The one issue I have had with the NARS formula was that it accentuated texture really badly until I got my shade right. It looks much better on me now that I’ve switched to the shade Tahoe instead of Huahine and Syracuse. You can see me wearing the NARS Natural Radiant Longwear in the shade Tahoe in my profile picture (on the sidebar, at the bottom of the page on mobile, and on my about me page).
Update June 1, 2024: You can read my review of the NARS Natural Radiant Longwear foundation by clicking here.
L to R: Estee Lauder Double Wear 5W2 and NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Tahoe
Nikki From HR 