Category: Commentary

New Here?  Things You May Have Missed.

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I’ve gotten a lot of new followers recently, so I wanted to welcome you and introduce you to my content.  I’m proud of the work that I do on my blog, so I thought I’d share some older posts that you may have missed.

Estee Lauder Doublewear 4W4, MAC Studio Fix Fluid C8, Nars Natural Radiant Moorea
Does matchmymakeup.com Really Work? (Foundation Shade Matching Website)

Discussions/Advice/Commentary

I like to be helpful, but I also find it incredibly valuable to get insight from other people.  The following posts are a mixture of those two goals.

  1. A discussion on Product Variety in Reviews: By product variety, I mean being able to visit different blogs and YouTube videos and see a variety of featured products. We very often see the same products reviewed by everyone. How can we get to a place where that is the exception rather than the rule?
  2. Wanderlust List (vol 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6): Featuring new products that caught my eye and sharing what I’m going to use instead of buying them.
  3. Limited Edition Love:  Encouragement to buy, use, and enjoy limited edition and discontinued products.
  4. Makeup Low Buys and Decluttering: My perspective on decluttering and some tips for being on a low buy.
  5. Beauty Sales: Let’s talk about where you can save money and why there is no rush
  6. Does matchmymakeup.com Really Work?  My experience with the scientific foundation shade matching website.
  7. When Dupes Aren’t Dupes for You: A discussion on dupes and what you can do when a dupe suggestion doesn’t work for you.
Juvia's Place Eyeshadow Palettes Warrior, Warrior 2 (II), Nubian 3 Coral
Juvia’s Place

Swatches and Reviews

I often find myself interested in products that no one is talking about.  Or I can’t find someone with my skin tone talking about them.  So, the following posts are some of the swatches and reviews that I’ve posted that I think are harder to find.

  1. Laura Mercier Highlighters (swatches of indiscretion, devotion, and addiction)
  2. Juvia’s Place Nubian 3 Coral Palette (swatches and color combination suggestions)
  3. L’oreal Age Perfect Blush (425 Amber swatch and review)
  4. Top 3 Drugstore Blushes under $10 (e.l.f. Always Rosy, Wet n Wild Mellow wine, and Colourpop Super Shock Yes She Did)
  5. Underrated Eyeshadow Palettes (Swatches and reviews of e.l.f. Nude Rose Gold Palette, Juvia’s Place Warrior Palette, MAC Art Library Flame-Boyant Palette)
  6. Palette: The Beauty Bible for Women of Colour: A book review and a showcase of some of the products from the book that I have used. The products featured are Bobbi Brown Blushes, Estee Lauder Doublewear 5W2 (swatch), NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Tahoe (swatch), MAC Blushes, Nars Eyeshadow, and Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick.
  7. What’s Old at Sephora (Swatches and reviews on Shiseido Visionary Gel Lipstick 212 Woodblock, Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Bronze, Urban Decay Naked Petite Heat, and Sephora Lip Stories 10 Yum Yum)

Since I’m a huge fan of MAC, I made the assumption that most people following me know about my MAC content. If that assumption was wrong, I do have an index page (click here) and you can find all my MAC products (among everything I’ve posted of course) listed there with links.

Thank you for being here!

 **Disclaimer:  I purchased all products featured with my own money.  For my full disclosure policy, click here.

When Dupes Aren’t Dupes For You

Published on by Nikki6 Comments

I know how hard it can be when you are interested in a product that everyone is raving about but for whatever reason, you can not get the product.  That feeling is likely part of the reason why dupes are popular. I just feel like sometimes they narrow in on price and sometimes leave people out.  I’m not sure what I hope to accomplish with this post, but I do wonder if there is a better way to approach dupes.

I’m not going to mention any specific examples of videos are blog posts because I’m not aiming to shame anyone for creating dupe content or anyone for wanting dupes.  I definitely think that presenting alternatives can be helpful.  There are times when you can save some money and other times when you don’t want to or can’t purchase certain items.  I have even written some dupe-like content with my Buy High/Buy Low posts.  So again, I do see that there is value in this type of content.

elf ultimate blending brush vs smashbox blurring foundation brush
Buy High/Buy Low: Foundation Buffing Brushes | Smashbox Buildable Cheek Brush and Real Techniques Blush Brush
Smashbox Buildable Cheek Brush and Real Techniques Blush Brush
Buy High/Buy Low: Sheer Blush Brushes | Smashbox Buildable Cheek Brush and Real Techniques Blush Brush

Dupes can be especially disappointing when the options presented save money, but end up excluding skin tones.  I do realize that we can only speak to our own personal experiences and that all content creators are doing their best to provide helpful content for their audience. I can also appreciate that as content creators, we can see what content people are enjoying the most and some can even see the demographics of our audience. So some of these issues may purely relate to the demographics the creator is seeing represented.

Despite that, I still find it hard to understand the oversight that often happens with dupes when it comes to availability. I’m not just talking about dark skin tones either, sometimes there isn’t enough variety for most people. For example, in the past, there was a hyped foundation dupe but it only had 4 shades, but the product it was supposed to dupe had 40 shades. Then there is the inevitable comment of “I don’t know why more people aren’t talking about this.” The limited shade range means limited access for a lot of people. I feel like the same thing often happens with highlighter and bronzer dupes. Shade ranges have come a long way, so I do think there is always some sort of alternative. But maybe we could all do better to at least consider if a dupe is actually widely accessible before making the suggestion.

Another issue that I’m not really sure how to unpack is that dupes can often disparage drugstore products. There are plenty of great products at the drugstore and I think they don’t always need to stack up against something that is higher end. I know that I compare product formulas quite often and it seems necessary to give you a point of reference in order to create context. But I hope I’ve been able to compare items without making it seem that a drugstore/affordable item isn’t as good simply because it happens to cost less. I also hope I haven’t made it seem like a product is better simply because it costs more.

What Can You Do?

So let’s say you find yourself in that situation. You’ve learned about a dupe and wanted to buy it, but as it turns out there isn’t a good shade for you, you can’t use an ingredient in the formula, or you don’t want to support that company. What can you do?

Continue reading “When Dupes Aren’t Dupes For You” →

Does matchmymakeup.com Really Work? (Foundation Shade Matching Website)

Published on by Nikki5 Comments

Matchmymakeup.com is a website that uses science, technology, and engineering math to determine foundation shade matches. But does it work? Let’s talk about it.

UPDATE, March 16, 2022: The matchmymakeup website seems to have updated its match terminology. When I used the website today, the only options it listed were ideal and best possible matches. I have a tiny website, but I couldn’t help but wonder if they read my review 🤔. Maybe not, but that would be cool 😄.
UPDATE, October 1, 2022: I no longer know how to feel about this website. Every time I’ve visited over the last several months my matches have been different. It seems that they may be having trouble ironing out the scientific method they are using.
UPDATE, December 28, 2023: Someone from The matchmymakeup website did reach out to me and thanked me for the feedback on their website and asked me for some more information about the trouble I had with my matches. I was pleased that they were so open to my comments and were interested in more feedback to try to improve on what they have in place. I revisit the site often and it looks like they have done more updates to their system and that may have a lot to do with the fact that they have added more products to the database. it does seem to me that they are doing what they can to provide accurate matches. I think the biggest roadblock is that each person’s skin tone is going to alter how a shade looks, so it will still be a matter of trial and error for anyone using the website.
Estee Lauder Double Wear 4W4 Hazel vs MAC Studio Fix Fluid C8 Swatches on medium deep skin warm olive skin
Estee Lauder 4W4 Hazel vs MAC C8
Continue reading “Does matchmymakeup.com Really Work? (Foundation Shade Matching Website)” →

Beauty Sales: Let’s talk about where you can save money and why there is no rush

Published on by Nikki3 Comments

As I mentioned in my Makeup Low Buys and Decluttering post, this discussion on beauty sales was originally posted on my old blog (Sensitive Beauty Blog) on October 25, 2017. I wanted to give it a home here on this website because it will always be relevant.  It may be especially helpful now with the numerous Memorial Day sales soon to come if they haven’t started already.

Discussion on beauty sales, makeup rehab, makeup low buy

I don’t think sales on beauty are as rare as it may seem, so I wanted to talk about it.  Hopefully, if you are looking to save money this will help you find some avenues that would work for the beauty products that you like to purchase.  I also wanted to talk about it because it seems like people advise others to shop sales because they don’t happen often and I just don’t think that is true.  I think that years ago sales may have been rare, but that is no longer the case. In general, I find that 15-20% off sales are not as rare.  25% off and up are the types of sales that I’d look for if you do want to shop just because there is a sale.

Continue reading “Beauty Sales: Let’s talk about where you can save money and why there is no rush” →

Makeup Low Buys and Decluttering

Published on by Nikki5 Comments

This was originally posted on my old blog (Sensitive Beauty Blog) on May 5, 2018. Since it was still getting some good traffic before I took it down, I wanted to give it a home here on this website in case it may be helpful to more people. I mention the age of the post specifically because if you follow Beauty YouTube you will know that decluttering and low buys are not a new trend. I doubt it was a new trend in 2018 either, but it was new to me at the time.

Also try to keep in mind that I am a beauty blogger and have been since 2013, so the amount I own isn’t typical. The way that I purchase products also isn’t always typical. I am however feeling that my beauty blogging days are numbered, so my purchasing habits should continue to decrease as my posts start to decrease. Enough disclaimer talk, let’s get into it.

Discussion on Makeup Decluttering and Low Buys (lipstick declutter 2021), makeup rehab
Discussion on Makeup Decluttering and Low Buys (lipstick declutter 2021), makeup rehab

One of the new trends in the beauty community seems to be not only decluttering, but also using decluttering as a tool to kick-start a low buy.  As I was sorting through my thoughts and thinking about what I learned about both decluttering and being on a “low buy,” I decided to write them down and share it with you.  I put low buy in quotes because I don’t really consider myself on one anymore and I didn’t start the low buy because I needed to control spending.  I originally decided to slow down on purchases because I was buying things solely for blogging purposes and got very overwhelmed.  I finally realized at some point that if I just purchased and used what I wanted for myself that I would still have something to blog about.  I also was just getting into makeup when I started blogging (2013) and so a lot of what I was buying was me figuring out what worked and didn’t work for me.  Now that I’m out of the experimental phase and know what I like, it has been naturally easy to buy less because I already have the things that I like.

It is impossible to write this kind of topic without it sounding like you’re expressing rules, but keep in mind that you should keep the advice that works for you personally and disregard what doesn’t.

Continue reading “Makeup Low Buys and Decluttering” →

The Monday Edit, May 3, 2021

Published on by NikkiLeave a comment

In today’s edit, I’m talking about natural vs synthetic brushes, routines, and showcasing some makeup videos for products that I’ve been interested in lately.

Articles to Read

Natural vs Synthetich Makeup Brushes by Frends Beauty – Lately I’ve been doing some makeup brush research as I try to decide if I want to buy more natural hair brushes or stick to synthetic from now on. I personally see a difference in application. I’m not saying that synthetic brushes don’t apply product well, but I do feel that natural hair applies it better. My issue is upkeep and care. It is just easier to care for synthetic brushes and I’m not as concerned about messing them up. This article from Frends beauty helped me understand why I might be getting better results from natural hair brushes, especially for powder products. If you are not familiar with them, Frends Beauty is a beauty supply store for professional hair and makeup artistry supplies. While they are open to the public, their expertise has been gained by mostly serving professionals since 1940.

The Benefit of Routines – As someone who often thinks I’m boring for doing mostly the same things every day, it was nice to read about how helpful routines can be for both productivity and mental wellness.

Videos to Watch

There have been a lot of new releases lately that I found myself looking into, but ultimately not buying. So I figured I’d share some videos that helped me make that decision in case anyone else had their eye on the same products.

Hermes Silky Blushes from Mo Makeup Mo Beauty
Continue reading “The Monday Edit, May 3, 2021” →

The Monday Edit, April 5, 2021

Published on by Nikki1 Comment

Articles to Read

The Dior Dune collection for Summer 2021 should start showing up at retailers this month. As usual chicprofile.com has a great breakdown of the entire collection. I haven’t been buying as much Dior in the last couple of years, but I’m hoping for some good reviews.

The beauty industry needs to wake up – you can’t be ‘ethical’ if you’re exploiting people of colour – While we should always aim to reduce harm rather than trying to be perfect, this article gives us all something to think about when it comes to ethical purchasing. We should pay attention to ethical labor practices as much as clean and cruelty free concerns.

I am a researcher by nature, so I often find myself doing deep dives into random topics. A little while ago I started looking into the Endowment Effect, which is when we assign more value to an item simply because we own it. I started to notice that I owned products that I don’t think are objectively better, but I still prefer to use them over a comparable better option. That got me thinking about why that might be, and as it turned out, several of them I happened to own longer and have more experience with. As a beauty blogger I spend more time analyzing my makeup products than most “average” consumers, so I get that the “why” of things doesn’t always matter. I just have a curious mind and I tend to enjoy this type of information. The Endowment Effect: Why Ownership Makes You Overvalue Your Things – is a long read, and it gets into a lot of research, but I found it fascinating and wanted to share it.

Videos to Watch

I always find videos from Audrey Coyne helpful, but I thought this video in particular was worth sharing. I thought it was a great example of finding ways to recreate the feeling of an outfit without buying anything new.

I am not at all handy, but I absolutely love watching people restore old homes to their former glory.

Continue reading “The Monday Edit, April 5, 2021” →

Limited Edition Love

Published on by Nikki2 Comments
MAC limited edition collections (Selena, Brooke Candy, Mariah Carey, Charlotte Olympia, Sharon Osbourne)

I just want to have a quick chat about removing the apprehension around purchasing products that aren’t permanent.  Don’t shy away from limited-edition releases.  If you’re an “average” makeup consumer (like you have a makeup bag or drawer), then you’re going to love that item and use it up.  By the time it is gone, you’ll either be ready to try something new or there will be a better product on the market. 

On the other hand, if you’re a makeup “enthusiast” or “collector”(you can’t imagine everything fitting into one drawer), then you may not likely finish that product anyway.  And if you do finish it, it’s still true that it will take a long time, and since you’re an enthusiast, you’ll be buying something new anyway.  Or you already have another similar item that can take its place.

Colourpop Disney Villians Dr Facilier Lipstick
Colourpop Sweet Talk collection Lipstick

If you watch beauty videos on YouTube, you have likely heard several people say they can’t keep or use limited-edition products because their audience can no longer purchase them.  Well, that circumstance does not have to apply to you.  You don’t have to adopt that thought process just because someone you like watching thinks that way.  When you find that someone is using a product you want, but can’t purchase, it can be disappointing. I understand that completely.  But the truth is, there is always something similar.  And since we all have different coloring, sometimes a similar item may work even better for you.  For example, if you see someone using a pink blush that was limited edition, you can just use any pink blush that suits your features to get that look.

What about discontinued products?

Continue reading “Limited Edition Love” →