Givenchy has turned its iconic lip balm into a liquid gloss formula. I think that if you read the description from Sephora and that is what has piqued your interest, you will likely be disappointed and feel that this lip gloss claims to be a balm. However, according to the description on Saks, it is actually called a liquid gloss formula. I purchased the shade 14 Nude Soul.
Givenchy Le Rose Perfecto Liquid Balm, $36.00
This balm starts off as a lip gloss, but as it wears away it feels more like a balm. On my lips, the color is a light pink. It has a slight scent that doesn’t linger for very long. Surprisingly, it does hang around through drinking and eating for 2 to 3 hours and I still feel like there is a balm on my lips even a little while after that. I can also feel that it did help my chapped lips after just one day of wearing it. I also feel like my lips feel softer and smoother after I use it. It does have a tingle at the start of wear thanks to pink pepper that is supposed to plump the lips. If you’ve ever used a gloss or lipstick with peppermint oil in it, then this will feel similar to you. I didn’t notice any plumping effect from the tingle and it goes away fairly quickly. I really like this and do feel it performs a lip balm function but with a nice sheen on the lips and gives a hint of color.
Buy High: Smashbox Blurring Foundation Brush, $32.00
Buy Low: e.l.f. Ultimate Blending Brush, $6.00
Smashbox Blurring Foundation Brush vs elf Ultimate Blending Brush
Both of these brushes work well for those who like to apply foundation in a buffing motion. They can also be used to stipple for more coverage when needed. I truly feel like I can get the same results from both of these brushes. The biggest application difference is coverage level. The e.l.f. Ultimate Blending Brush has a shorter handle and the closer your hand is to your face, the more pressure you use. This translates to heavier coverage. If you are aware of that you can be careful to use less product and that will lessen the coverage you get. If you like higher coverage that won’t be an issue. The Smashbox Blurring Foundation Brush gives you more flexibility in coverage simply because you’ll naturally hold the brush further down because the handle is longer. The Smashbox brush also has markings on the handle that indicate where to hold the brush depending on the coverage level you want.
The Nubian 3 Palette by Juvia’s Place is a little underrated in my opinion. In a time when so many people are complaining that makeup releases are all looking the same, I do not think this palette got enough shine when it was released.
When it was first released I feel like there were some criticisms about the color story not being coral enough. Every color exists on a spectrum of the shades mixed to create them. So for instance coral is a color that falls in between red and orange. So with orange being a mixture of yellow and red, every coral created is going to have different amounts of yellow, orange, and red present in the mixture. What that means, is that some corals are going to have more of an orange tone to them because they have more yellow and others are going to be pinker in tone, because they have more of the primary red pigment.
The Swatches – Juvia’s Place Nubian 3 Coral Palette, $20.00
Juvia’s Place Nubian 3 Coral – 1st row
Juvia’s Place Nubian 3 Coral – 2nd row
Juvia’s Place Nubian 3 Coral – 3rd row
So to me, there are 6 corals in this palette that range from a light pink coral to a deep red coral. It is also important to keep in mind that we all see color differently and that is fine. The way shades appear on different skin tones will also matter. But to me, this reads as a coral palette. I also think that the addition of varying tones of gray gives this palette a unique twist on being neutral without the ever-popular warm mid-tone brown.
The packaging of this palette is really nicely done. The Palette feels sturdy and it has a good quality mirror. The double-ended brush that comes with the palette is the same great quality that you’ve come to expect from Sigma Brushes. The palette overall is a little thick, but that is what allows the brush to have a space to sit inside the palette, so it doesn’t bother me.
Sigma Cor-de-Rosa Palette
Update October 21, 2025: I was shocked to recently notice that Sigma’s 14-pan eyeshadow palettes are now clocking in at $65. Back in 2020, the price was $49. When the Sigma Cool Neutrals Palettewas released in April 2024, it was $52. Now, they are suddenly at $65. Everything is getting more expensive, but this price jump is worse than most I’ve seen. This is one of the 14-pan palettes that comes with a double-sided brush (E58 Diffused Crease and E54 medium Sweeper), which does add to its cost; however, that was already included in these palettes when they were cheaper. There are a lot of reasons to continue buying Sigma eyeshadows. They are cruelty-free, talc-free, and I’m pretty sure their cosmetics were clean beauty before people were calling it clean beauty. I also often enjoy their color selections for eyeshadows; they appeal to me, and more often than not work well for my olive undertone better than other brands. However, the formula has never been good enough for me to recommend it unless it was on sale for 40% off. And this was back when they were $49, meaning I only recommended others purchase them for about $29.40 before tax. Now that they are $65, they would have to be over 50% off to get close to that price. Let’s say this price increase annoys you as much as it does me, but you still want to purchase Sigma eyeshadows. They do still have good sales. I don’t see them doing 40% sales as much as they used to. Now, 30% off is the more standard discount. I have seen higher percentages when they are clearing out old inventory of limited edition collections or discontinued items. They also go on sale at Macy’s, Nordstrom, and JCPenney, so if you are still interested in the brand, I’d keep an eye on those stores.
UPDATE October 21, 2021: In my experience, the Sigma formula is really great for those who like applying shimmer shades with their fingers and prefer a buildable matte eyeshadow. If you are someone who likes super-saturated colors or only likes to apply eyeshadow with brushes, I think these may miss the mark. For a more detailed breakdown, click here and check out my updated Sigma Eyeshadow Palette Review.
My early impressions of this palette are good for the most part. The shimmers I have tried seem to be smoothing on the lid, but I haven’t had the opportunity to try Belle of the Ball or Sunsprite yet, which have more sparkles running through them.
L to R: Belle of the ball, Veranda, Sunsprite, Damask
The mattes are powdery and have some excess powder that is kicked up when you dip a brush in the pan. The lighter-toned mattes I’ve used so far (Hybrid and Apricot) did take some building up, which surprised me. When I was using this palette, I primed my eyes with the NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base in the original version. I do find that the Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer can intensify the color of shadows more than the NARS primer, so I’m going to try this palette with that next.
L to R: Shakespeare, Apricot, High Society
Since the mattes are a looser formula, a lot of product picks up on the brush fairly quickly. I didn’t have any issues with blending or fallout, but I just expected more punch from apricot and hybrid when I used them.
The Summer 2020 Bronzer Collection from Mac Cosmetics has finally made its way to retailers other than Ulta Beauty. I talk a little about the collection in one of my Window Shopping Wednesday Posts and once the collection got to the Mac website I decided to purchase some items.
MAC Bronzer Collection, Summer 2020
This is a limited edition release, so if you are interested in any items I’d look into them where ever Mac products are sold. If you only want one item, I would suggest trying the Mac Cosmetics website and Nordstrom first, since they both offer free shipping on any order. As of February 3, 2022, the only place I’ve seen the bronzer in stock is at QVC and that is in the shade Beige-ing Beauty. The Sand Tropez shadow is still available on the MAC website in the Goodbye’s section.
I’ve been wearing this foundation since 2014, and I have always found it challenging to find information specific to dry/sensitive skin and see swatches of the shades. So, I wanted to update my thoughts on the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation on this blog.
Wearing Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place Foundation in 4W4 Hazel
Depending on the time of year, I go back and forth between shades 5W1 Bronze and 5W2 Rich Caramel. Sometime in 2019, Estee Lauder began releasing new shades, and they created 5W1.5 Cinnamon. Since it seemed to fall in between my shades, I was hoping I could use that shade and get away with it all year. I was disappointed to find out that 5W1.5 cinnamon actually reads darker on me than shade 5W2 Rich Caramel, but it also looks less orange. I am pretty sure that means the undertone of 5W1.5 is better for me, but I have to use 5W1 in the center of my face or I look darker than my body. I think I can get away with it alone, but I feel like I look more like myself, only using 5W1.5 on the perimeter of my face. The brand has since added even more shades, bringing the total number of shades to 56. So, it will still be challenging, but it is a great shade range that likely has something for most people.
WHAT IS THE FINISH, COVERAGE, AND WEAR TIME?
This foundation has a matte finish and is very long-wearing on me. It does have a reputation for being long-wearing across skin types, but there are always exceptions, so keep that I have dry skin. I do not believe it suits my dry skin without some manipulation. Despite the matte finish, the minimal, if any, transfer is unmatched in my experience. The only other foundation I’ve used that I felt was transfer-proof was the now discontinued Covergirl Queen 3 in 1 foundation. I personally prefer to prep my skin as needed to benefit from the transfer-proof nature of the foundation. This starts off looking a little dry, but after about an hour, it starts to look better (still matte, but not dry), and it keeps looking that way until I remove it.
Estee Lauder Double Wear is a medium coverage foundation that can be built up to full coverage. If you apply 1 light layer, you will get medium coverage. Even if you want full coverage, I would still suggest applying this in light layers and only building coverage where you need it. Since the formula is matte, it dries quicker than a luminous or satin foundation, so you want to work quickly or in sections. You can mix this formula with moisturizer or a primer to make it a sheer to light coverage, but this can darken the color of the foundation. If you want to wear it sheered out in this way but have a public-facing job or an event, I would recommend testing it out on a day you aren’t leaving the house just in case it darkens too much for your preference.
Coloured Raine partnered up with the Power, a Starz television show, to release this beautiful collection. It originally launched in September 2019, but they still have inventory that is currently 50% off. I really think they did an excellent job with the packaging and color story. This collection didn’t seem to get as much love as their Queen of Hearts Palette or single eyeshadows seem to get.
Coloured Raine x Power Highlighter/Blush Duo in Call the Shots and Eyeshadow Palette
If you caught my post about MAC’s new release of eyeshadows back in March, then you know I was on the fence about trying anything else from the collection. MAC sent me four eyeshadows, and I was able to try them out ahead of the official launch. I decided not to purchase any of the matte or frost finishes, but wanted to try out the new Dazzleshadow Extreme formula. I chose the shade incinerated because it looked similar to Mac antique,d which I wanted to replace anyway because it is old. I took the swatch photos at two slightly different angles so you can see how the shade shifts depending on the way the light hits it.
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Update October 2, 2025: Today, MAC released a new **Dazzle Collection, which rebranded the Dazzleshadow Extreme formula. The new ones are labeled “Eye Shadow [Metallic]” and some of the old Dazzleshadow shades are there, but the formula is different. The new formula doesn’t have talc in the ingredient list.
MAC Dazzleshadow Extreme Incinerated
MAC describes incinerated as a brown with red pearl. When I swatch this it reminds me of Makeup Geek Foiled Shadows but with a slightly less emollient/creamy texture. That is where that comparison ends.
Nikki From HR 