If you haven’t yet heard, the L’oreal True Match Super Blendable Foundation has been reformulated and repackaged for 2023. I do have a history with the original formula, and although it’s been a while since I used it, my experience with the new formula is the same. I think this is a beautiful foundation, but for my 40-year-old, dry, sensitive skin, this is not my favorite foundation to wear. I felt the same way about the original formula. I’m not saying this won’t work for others with dry skin because I think it actually works great. It just feels less comfortable throughout wear than I’d like. I recently moved, and I do wonder if my skin just hasn’t fully embraced the climate change yet, but only time will tell.
Keep reading to hear about my experience with it, see what it looks like on me, and see some comparison swatches.
I placed my order for two of the new MAC Skinfinish Sunstruck Bronzers when they were live on the MAC website a few days ago and they arrived today. I wanted to go ahead and share swatches of the two shades that I purchased. I’m not sure why they have disappeared from the website, but I’m sure they will return because some shades are already available at Belk and QVC.
UPDATE March 28, 2023: MAC’s Consumer Care Team has responded to me letting me know that the bronzer launch was delayed. I also contacted MAC again to ask specifically about the safety of using these products after a reader mentioned to me that she heard this product was being discontinued due to its smell. MAC has responded that these products are safe for use (see below for their exact wording).
UPDATE March 21, 2023: I talked to MAC’s online customer service and they informed me that these bronzers were released ahead of schedule. They did also say that I could contact the consumer care team to confirm, so I did send them an email. The bronzers are no longer at Belk or QVC when I checked, so I’m not sure how so many retailers could have launched something ahead of schedule all at the same time. If the information changes when I hear back from MAC Consumer care I’ll be sure to post an update.
The brush that was released with the collection is listed on the MAC website, so there is clearly something going on with this release. Some of the affiliate links below will only take you to the MAC homepage until the brand reposts the items. I know this may be slightly annoying, but it saves me from having to update the links later when they reappear. The QVC links at the bottom do take you to the product pages and you can purchase these items from QVC as of the time I am posting this.
If you are a MAC lover like me, then you may have noticed that Mac’s bronzer formula has been in their clearance section. Well today we know why, they have just released a line of Skinfinish Sunstruck Bronzers.
UPDATE March 28, 2023: MAC’s Consumer Care Team has responded to me letting me know that the bronzer launch was delayed. I also contacted MAC again to ask specifically about the safety of using these products after a reader mentioned to me that she heard this product was being discontinued due to its smell. MAC has responded that these products are safe for use (see below for their exact wording).
UPDATE March 21, 2023: I talked to MAC’s online customer service and they informed me that these bronzers were released ahead of schedule. They did also say that I could contact the consumer care team to confirm, so I did send them an email. The bronzers are no longer at Belk or QVC when I checked, so I’m not sure how so many retailers could have launched something ahead of schedule all at the same time. If the information changes when I hear back from MAC Consumer care I’ll be sure to post an update.
UPDATE March 19, 2023: I placed my order for two of the new MAC Skinfinish Sunstruck Bronzers when they were live on the MAC website a few days ago and they arrived today. I wanted to go ahead and share swatches of the two shades that I purchased. I’m not sure why they have disappeared from the website, but I’m sure they will return because some shades are already available at Belk and QVC. If you want to see these shades compared to the NARS Bronzing Powders in Casino and Punta Cana, click here.
MAC Skinfinish Sunstruck Matte Bronzer, $35, 10 Shades
MAC Skinfinish Sunstruck Radiant Bronzer, $35, 5 Shades
MAC 143S Bronzer Fan Brush, $45
The 143S brush was also released back in 2020 for their Summer Bronzer collection but that version had black bristles, so I do wonder how this might differ in function. This also has me wondering if the new matte bronzer formula will be the same, but there are no ingredients listed on the website to give any idea of what the formula will be like.
Left to Right: MAC 127S, 143SES, 140SES
What do you think about this release?
I’m excited to see this from MAC and even more excited to see if there will be some new blushes to follow!
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UPDATE May 30, 2023: I’m excited to finally be writing this update for the **Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Concealer ($39) 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, please check out my initial post by clicking here.
Start of Original Post: Fragrance added to makeup is pretty standard with a luxury brand like Givenchy. So, imagine my surprise when I looked at the ingredients for the new **Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Concealer ($39) and there was no fragrance listed. That made me excited to give this concealer a try because I have sensitive skin so I avoid fragrance in my products as much as possible. I’ve only used this a few times but I wanted to go ahead and share a swatch of the shade N385 and my thoughts.
To cut to the chase, this is a great formula if you are looking for a medium coverage concealer (which is what the Sephora website states) with a radiant finish. The actual box packaging claims that it is medium to high buildable coverage. While I do think that it is buildable, on me, building it up causes it to crease in an unflattering way. I’ve mentioned this before, but I should probably repeat it whenever I’m talking about creasing. Everything will settle into lines to some extent, that’s just what happens. But when the p<b>**</b>roduct collects in my lines so much that from a distance it looks like stripes, that’s what I call creasing in an unflattering way. If you don’t have a lot of issues with creasing, you might be able to build this to full high-medium coverage.
Without setting this with powder, it didn’t crease until after about 4 hours of wear, and that is impressive to me. When I did set it with powder, it creased in about 2 hours. It still looked nice and not dry, but since it doesn’t crease much when unset, to me, there is no need to set it. If you are new here, I have dry skin, so your mileage will likely vary with the setting powder needs. The brand claims that this is hydrating, and I don’t know that I’d call it hydrating. It does look hydrated, but I just don’t get the feeling of extra hydration being added to my skin. Again, keep in mind, I am dry. This isn’t as radiant as something like the Armani Luminous Silk Concealer, but it is radiant enough to be less perfecting (smoothing/blurring) than a more matte formula would be. That isn’t a bad thing, and a lot of people like a radiant finish; it’s just something to keep in mind.
Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Concealer in N345 at Nordstrom
So getting back to the fragrance that I mentioned earlier. While the brand did omit an added “parfum,” there is actually a synthetic fragrance in this formula (ethylene brassylate).
I know there are a lot of complaints about Sephora these days but I still love shopping there. One of the biggest loves for me is getting to sample products I’m not sure of buying. Several months ago I got a trio of Westman Atelier products to sample and was shocked at how much I enjoyed them. The trio was Baby Cheeks Blush Stick in Petal, Face Trace Contour Stick in Biscuit, and Lit Up Glow Highlighter Stick in Lit. The biggest reason I was excited to try these as a sample is that I always prefer powder products over cream. So I certainly didn’t want to spend Westman Atelier-level money on cream products. Before I get into the shopping part, let’s start off with swatches of the Westman Atelier Samples.
Westman Atelier Face Trace Contour Stick, $48, 3 shades
Westman Atelier Lit Up Glow Highlighter Stick, $48, 4 shades
Long story short, I ended up enjoying 2 of the 3 items. The highlighter doesn’t dry down and I just felt it was too sticky for my taste. Surprisingly, the biscuit contour did show up on me, but it is very subtle and took building. This is definitely a product that could use a shade expansion. It shocked me how much I liked the blush. It was easy to apply, didn’t disturb my foundation (remove coverage), and the color worked for me. So then I found myself on the verge of buying the blush stick during the Sephora VIB sale back in November. I talked myself out of it, but I continued to not only think about it but also try to find a cheaper alternative. Since I was already doing the research, I thought it would be fun to take you guys through similar products I discovered.
Important note: I have not tried any of the other products featured on my face. My thoughts on color and consistency are based on swatching them in store. So keep in mind that I don’t have enough context to claim anything here is an actual dupe, they are all just cream blushes in the stick format.
I was shocked to find out Dior reformulated the Forever Skin Correct Concealer. With all the love this concealer gets, I wonder if they started the reformulation before it gained traction. Regardless of the reason the update is now on the market with a formula made up of 96% natural-origin ingredients. Now that claim doesn’t mean a whole lot to me, but for those of us with sensitive skin, the downside to this new formula is that it does have added fragrance. I avoid products with added fragrance as a rule, but my curiosity won out and I decided to check out the new formula in store. The fragrance seemed subtle enough for me to tolerate, so I decided to buy it and test it out.
Dior Forever Skin Correct Concealer 4WO (old on the left, new on the right)
If you’ve seen my review of the original formula, as long as you keep the added fragrance in mind, then you pretty much know all you need to know about the new formula. Honestly, you guys, I don’t know how they managed it, but this formula is nearly identical to the original. For a point of reference, I have dry, sensitive, eczema-prone skin. Now let’s get into some detail on what I feel is better about the new Dior Forever Skin Correct Concealer.
NARS Orgasm Rising Eyeshadow Palette, Orgasm Four Play Blush Quad, and Orgasm Rush Multiple
If you know NARS then you are not surprised that they have released yet another Orgasm Collection. However, if you are new to the brand, let me welcome you to business as usual for NARS. Clearly, this works for them or they wouldn’t continue to do it. Every brand has its claim to fame and the Orgasm powder blush (and every variation on it that they can come up with) is NARS’ golden goose.
With this Spring 2023 collection, NARS has ditched the matte black packaging in favor of shiny pale pink. The packaging doesn’t feel as luxe as the matte black in my opinion, but it is nice. It isn’t super lightweight (so it doesn’t feel cheap) but it doesn’t have much heft to it either. I think the packaging looks nice, but it’s not a show-stopper.
I always stay tuned in to the NARS new releases and their collections are always exciting for me (even with the repetition lol). As you’ll be able to tell from my images, these pictures were taken in Ulta. I think this is a nice collection and I wasn’t disappointed with anything in terms of quality, the options were just too similar to things I already own and love. Even though I decided not to make a purchase, I thought it’d still be fun to share some swatches with you. Enjoy!
Happy New Year! I thought it would be fun to kick this year off with what I want to see some of my favorite brands do this year. I think it will be fun to look back at the end of the year and see if anything I am hoping for actually happens. For some context on my background, I have a long history in retail both as a cashier and as a store manager; I’ve operated my own small business selling makeup bags and brush rolls; and I’m an experienced government buyer (sometimes called a contract specialist or purchasing agent). So while I’ve never worked for a beauty brand, I do have a strong understanding of retail, logistics, and supply chain operations. My point in telling you this is that I’m considering not just the consumer perspective, but I’m also attempting to consider what may be happening behind the scenes of these brands.
1. I’d Like To See Smashbox Release Powder Blush and Bronzer in Single Compacts
Smashbox Medium-Dark Cali Contour Palette
Smashbox has no problem formulating blushes and bronzers, they just always typically appear in palettes. I personally like single products over palettes although I know that palettes give the brand a larger profit margin. They did come out with a liquid blush (Halo Cream Cheek + Lip Tint) in 2022 that is available as a single product, but they didn’t get much attention. The reviews for the Halo Cream Cheek Tint seem mixed, so the brand could still use a reliable blush in its lineup. They could maybe even resurrect the luminous blushes and sunlit bronzer from the now-defunct Becca. The Smashbox x Becca branded highlighter and corrector have remained bestsellers in their categories at Ulta and Sephora and have become bestsellers for Smashbox on their own website. Since that seems to be working out so far, why not take it further? The wish for the sunlit bronzer to make an appearance from another brand is partly selfish, it is one of my favorite products. However, I stand by my thought that it would be a good product for the brand to release.
Smashbox still relies heavily on its face primers and from what I can see, promoting those is where they spend most of the marketing budget. But I think if they took even a small slice of that budget and focused it on creating and promoting some single-color cosmetics, it could be a good move for them. I think that many consumers still like the idea of brand loyalty. I’m specifically thinking of the type of consumers who don’t read beauty blogs and hang out on beauty forums. Expanding the product line to have these types of basics could help foster that feeling in the less adventurous consumer who makes up a significant portion of beauty sales. Then even if people come to them for the primer, they may stay and buy more from the brand.
2. I’d Like To See MAC Revitalize The Sheertone Shimmer Blush Formula
Even with the huge emphasis on glowy skin, there are tons of makeup consumers that don’t want to use cream products (like me 😂). It is past time to capitalize on that market and give people an easy to use blush with a glow. MAC does still sell 3 Sheertone Shimmers, but that isn’t nearly enough. I do have a swatch of the shade Peachtwist. You can see below how it compares in finish to burnt pepper (matte finish) and breath of plum (sheertone finish). Ambering Rose and Sweet as Cocoa were cult classic sheertone shimmers (especially for women of color) that unfortunately, MAC has discontinued. If the brand has no plans to bring back some of those fan favorites, they could at least release some new more modern shades. MAC’s blush line used to be much more extensive and I’d love to see it return to its previous more vast range.
L to R: MAC Burnt Pepper, Peachtwist, and breath of plum
MAC does have the baked mineralize blush finish (see swatches here), with some of those shades being the closest they currently have to a powder blush with a glowy finish. But that formula is also limited in number and some of the shades have a matte finish. The shades that do have a sheen like love joy and love thing don’t provide as much glow as some may be looking for these days.
MAC does still formulate and release new blush shades, however, they are always grouped into a limited edition collection. The limited edition shades have also been typically either matte or the Glow Play formula. Consumers are loving the Glow Play formula, so they can play off that popularity and release a powder version of them. They could call it Glow Play Velvet and they could either tweak the existing formula into a baked version or use their existing baked formula (Mineralize Blush) as a jumping off point. Since those formulas are already available and the packaging already exists, they don’t have to start from scratch. I’d also love to see an expansion to the existing Glow Play formula, but I feel like I’ve talked about that a ton in the past year already lol. I have two posts featuring the shades Groovy, Heat Index, and Rosy Does It if you want to know more about them.
3. I’d Like To See More Mini Size Foundation and Concealers Being Offered
As someone who regularly falls between shades, it would be nice to see more mini sizes being offered so I could save some money when I need to buy two shades. This is something that is happening more often but I’d like to see it from even more brands. It’d also be nice if the mini came in all the same shades as the full size, which doesn’t always happen. There are some brands that only pick select shades to make in mini sizes, which leaves a lot of people that can’t take advantage of the minis. The two items I featured above, bareMinerals Tinted Moisturizer and NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, have both sizes available in every shade which I appreciate. And again, this is something that is becoming more common, but I’d like to see mini sizes of some of the top-selling foundations like MAC Studio Fix Fluid, Estee Lauder Double Wear, NARS Natural Radiant Longwear, Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation plus Concealer, and the Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24HR Foundations. It’d be nice to see mini sizes for the Too Faced Born This Way, Rare Beauty Liquid Touch, ABH Magic Touch, and MAC Pro Longwear concealers.
Nikki From HR 