Category: Beauty

I hope you enjoyed the holidays. It has been busy and a little crazy moving so close to Christmas, but I’ve survived so far 😅. We stopped on the way to our new home to enjoy the holiday with family and that has been a welcome break.

So anyway, I wanted to share some of the best products that I tested this year. These items aren’t favorites of mine but I can still appreciate them for how well they perform. For more stand-out products, check out my recent post on the Most Surprising Products of 2022. Let’s get into it.

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Dreams Quad, $53

The Pillow Talk Dreams Luxury Palette is a great option for anyone who likes to keep things simple especially if you have a medium to dark skin tone. Those with lighter skin tones can still use this quad, however, all of the shades being mid-tones and darker keep it from offering as much versatility. That is just my opinion, of course, so don’t let me discourage you if you feel that I’m off base with that assessment.

All of the shades are nicely pigmented and although the shimmers offer a nice amount of shine, they are forgiving to eyelid texture. One thing that may be important for some of you is that the mattes in this quad do darken when they are applied over anything that may still be wet. If you want to see how dark they get, check out my full review post by clicking here. So if you use a cream base or concealer, the matte shades will look darker. You can also check out that same review if you want more details on this quad.

Smashbox Halo Tinted Moisturizer, $41

When I wear the Smashbox Halo Tinted Moisturizer I feel like I’m having a good skin day. Even on my driest days, it makes my skin feel moisturized and it wears comfortably all day. One caveat is that it isn’t as forgiving to eczema texture as something like the MAC Face and Body is, but honestly, that is a lot to ask of a product. It’s a dewy finish that can benefit from a little powder if you don’t like a tacky feeling on your skin.

Even when products don’t work for me initially, I do my best to test them in different ways to find a way to use them. Unfortunately, these are some products that I could never get to work. Labeling these as the worst makeup products of 2022 doesn’t mean that they won’t work for anyone else, but for me, there are several other products with better performance that I would recommend over them.

ONE/SIZE by Patrick Starrr Turn Up The Base Buttersilk Concealer, $25

The ONE/SIZE Turn Up The Base Buttersilk Concealer was so bad for me that I returned it. I don’t think it is a bad product, but it did not work for me at all. This formula dries down quickly, but not so quick that it is hard to work with. Since it is matte I was hoping that I could wear it without powder, but unfortunately, I got creasing. Creasing is a typical issue for me so that definitely doesn’t mean it will crease on everyone. Setting it with powder did help the creasing, but it was already so dry looking on its own that the powder only made it look worse. Obviously, that makes sense, but since I was trying it out anyway, I tried it with powder just to see how it went. In addition to how dry it looked, it also felt uncomfortably dry as I wore it.

I also couldn’t find a good shade match. I only have one shade to show you a swatch of but I did try 2 different shades. Medium Dark 4 (GO) was better for me for my under eye area but I sometimes need something a little darker for spot concealing. Shade Medium Dark 3 (G) didn’t work well for me and all the other options were too dark or had an even worse undertone.

This is a matte, full-coverage concealer, so if you know my skin concerns (dry, sensitive, eczema-prone) you may be wondering why I even tried it out. Well, the Sephora product information does claim that this can work for dry skin and I also watched several reviews from other people with dry skin that love this formula. So it just doesn’t work for me personally. I would recommend the Pat McGrath Sublime Perfection Concealer and the Too Faced Born This Way Super Coverage Multi-Use Longwear Concealer over the ONE/SIZE concealer. The Pat Mcgrath is the most similar with its full coverage and matte finish. The Too Faced concealer has better coverage than both the Pat McGrath and One Size but it has a natural/satin finish. For swatches and more details on Pat McGrath and Too Faced concealers, I have a post that you can check out by clicking here.

As I started to put together my 2022 favorites list, it started to look like the If I could Keep Only One Tag Post that I posted back in May. Since I often reference my favorite products and formulas throughout my reviews and sales suggestions, I thought it’d be more helpful to shine a light on some different products. So, instead of favorites, I want to talk about 4 products that surprised me (in a good way) this year. These products just don’t quite hit the mark to be my favorite, but they are still great products that are worth checking out.

Despite blogging for 9 years (I published my first blog post in October 2013 😲), I’m one of those people who still get excited to try new formulas. I can appreciate that, for instance, all blushes give you a flush of color, and I am still curious to know how the formula and color differ from one another. I go into most reviews expecting products to work just fine. There aren’t many products that are truly bad these days. So when something impresses me and moves beyond that “just fine” feeling, it can be especially exciting for me since I have tried so much makeup over the years.

Oh, and I realize that many new WordPress and email subscribers may not be familiar with my preferences as well as some of you, so I’ve created a page that lists my favorite products along with any corresponding blog posts. You can check out that page by clicking here.

Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder, $46

Despite hearing rave reviews about this powder, I couldn’t find much information on how it works for individuals with both dry and dark skin. Based on the claims, the powder is supposed to work for all skin tones and have a natural finish. So, in theory, there should have been no issue, but I was still skeptical, so I went to Sephora to check it out in person. As you can see, it impressed me enough in the store to go ahead and purchase it. I don’t typically like loose powders unless they come in mesh screen packaging, which most people dislike, but I thought this sifter-style packaging looked like it wouldn’t be too messy. I still prefer the mesh style, but this isn’t too bad. Since I only need a little bit of powder, it dispenses way more product than I need for one use, so I haven’t had any issues. If you pack on powder or have oilier skin, I can see how this style of sifter may not give you enough product.

There is no white cast on my Estee Lauder 4W4/NARS Tahoe skin tone, and there is no flashback in photos. My skin doesn’t feel dry or tight when I use this, and it works well for both my face and my under-eye area. I like it better on the face because I feel like my NARS Light Reflecting Powder does a better job of setting my under-eye area. I am, however, impressed that this is one of only two powders I’ve ever tried that minimizes the movement of foundation and concealer under the nose pads of my glasses. The other powder is the Morphe Cloudlight Soft Glow Veil Powder.