Category: Beauty

You don’t need me to tell you that $75 is a lot of money to spend on a powder, so that leaves me at a loss for what exactly to tell you about the Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Skincare Blurring Talc-Free Setting Powder. That name is obnoxious to go along with the price, but it does clue you into what is “special” about this particular setting powder. If you are not familiar with Westman Atelier, it is a luxury clean beauty brand. Although there can be overlap in which ingredients are left out of clean beauty products, each brand determines what “clean” means for them. So I encourage you to visit the Westman Atelier About Us Page to see what they consider “clean” before you decide if you even want to know about my experience with this powder.

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The Packaging

Before I get into the performance, I want to gush over the packaging. At this price, you are in fact paying for the way these products are presented, so it matters. It comes in a linen, drawstring pouch to protect the compact. I bought mine in April 2023 and haven’t gotten any scratches, but I do keep it in the pouch, and I’m also generally not rough on things. The pouch is also more of a blush pink color that doesn’t really come across in the image.

Continue reading “Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Skincare Powder Review (Dune)” →

I finally took the plunge and tried something from the Makeup By Mario brand. I went into the store to check this out very soon after launch so that I could pick a shade (380 Medium Golden). The only thing I really heard about it before trying it for myself was that it was self-setting so I didn’t have many expectations for the formula. I avoided watching other reviews of the SurrelSkin Concealer because the Makeup By Mario brand does get a lot of hype so I didn’t want to be influenced by what others were saying. The brand promises a natural finish with medium coverage that is buildable, creaseless, self-setting, and long-wearing.

Continue reading “Makeup By Mario SurrealSkin Awakening Concealer (380 Medium Golden Swatch)” →

Early last year Bobbi Brown added the Skin Corrector Stick to their lineup. So far, it has not replaced the cult classic Undereye Corrector that comes in pot form. Unfortunately, the original formula did lose some shades (16 cut down to 12) but it is still being sold. I’ve always had trouble with the original formula creasing badly, so I was very curious to see how the Skin Corrector Stick would perform in comparison.

According to the product information, the shade dark peach corrects brown/grey/greenish discoloration. My undereye discoloration is a greenish-brown, so I stuck to the dark peach shade that I have in the pot form when I purchased the Skin Corrector Stick. The shades are close, but the pot form is a touch lighter and has more yellow. This makes more of a difference for me on the face than under the eyes, but I rarely use it on the face so it doesn’t bother me. Under the eyes, I do enjoy the extra brightening that I get from the Corrector in the Pot. For reference, my best foundation matches are NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Tahoe, Estee Lauder Double Wear 4W4 Hazel, and MAC Studio Fix Fluid C8.

Continue reading “Bobbi Brown Skin Corrector Stick (Dark Peach Swatch and Comparison to Original Undereye Corrector Formula)” →

I’m excited to finally be writing this update for the Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Concealer after realizing that it was not the cause of my under-eye irritation. I say finally because my first post about it was back in March and while I wanted to post this update sooner, I wanted to be absolutely certain it wasn’t a problem. Initially, I was convinced that this concealer was causing a feeling of soreness under my eyes. However, after I stopped using it for a while the issue didn’t go away. Turns out the skin irritation was because of a skincare product. I’ve had a consistent skincare routine that was working for years, but my recent move to the Northeast pushed me to try some different moisturizers.

I want to reiterate that I did make sure to rule the Givenchy Prisme Libre Concealer out as the issue before using it again. I am by no means encouraging anyone to ignore skin irritation for the sake of using a certain product. It’s also important to keep in mind that one person having a problem with a product does not mean it will be a problem for everyone. So anyway, I’m glad that this concealer was not to blame for any discomfort because it’s a good one.

The main thing I want to share today are swatches of 2 additional shades of the Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Concealer (W310 and N345). This is a solid medium coverage, radiant finish concealer that works well for my dry skin. I do think there is a potential for building this for higher coverage, but on me, that causes creasing that looks bad. All things crease to some degree. To me, it’s bad when you can see lines created by the creasing from a distance. If you don’t tend to have issues with creasing, or if using a setting powder typically takes care of any creasing, you may be able to get more coverage out of this. For a point of reference, this isn’t as radiant on me as the Armani Luminous Silk Concealer, but it does have more coverage than the Armani. If you are looking for more details on this concealer, you can read my original review here.

Continue reading “Review Update: Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Concealer (Swatches W310, N345, N385)” →

Today I wanted to talk about some products that I think are good products but they just aren’t the best for my personal preferences. I should probably declutter them, but because they have redeeming qualities I just can’t seem to do it. I haven’t had the opportunity to talk about the NARS Soft Matte Advanced Perfecting Powder and the Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Luminous Matte Concealer on my blog yet so this will be a quick review of those. However, the Dior Forever Correct Concealer will be a product update if you follow my blog regularly. If you want more information on that concealer, it has a full review posted that you can check out by clicking here.

Continue reading “Fantasy Makeup Declutter, Vol 2 (NARS Soft Matte Advanced Perfecting Powder, Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Luminous Matte Concealer, and Dior Forever Skin Correct Concealer)” →

To be blunt, don’t spend $45 on this lipstick. The Dior Addict Lipstick in 716 Dior Cannage is a beautiful color with a great shine and is very comfortable to wear but it just doesn’t last. I’m talking about 2 hours before it needs to be touched up.

Dior is claiming 6 hours of wear and shine, which I have not experienced since I started testing this back in October. However, since the brand only used a sample size of 25 people to determine this, I shouldn’t be so surprised that the claim seems off the mark. I drink water and tea all day, so I do put lipsticks through a lot, but I can get 4 hours of decent wear out of my favorite formulas before feeling the need for a touch-up. On the upside, I do like the amount of pigment, and the fact that it feels like a balm is great for my dry lips.

Update December 18, 2024: As I mentioned in my Best and Worst Products of 2023 Post, this isn’t a product I’d recommend because I think there are better lipsticks on the market for less money. However, since I bought it, I’ve been using it and it does work into my looks very easily. It is also easy to reapply it without a mirror, and I’ve never caught myself in a mirror looking crazy after having done so 😂. It is good that it is easy to reapply because it disappears quickly. I drink a lot throughout the day, which will make things wear down faster, but I get better wear out of other formulas.

716 Dior Cannage Comparison Swatch to Chanel Rouge Allure 209 Alter Ego

Continue reading “Dior Addict Lipstick Swatch (716 Dior Cannage)” →