Nikki From HR

Here in the Boston area, fall weather can be all over the place, and this year has been no exception. Monday morning, when I checked the weather, it was 27 degrees. On the other hand, we’ve had days in the 70s and 80s. So, on one of those glorious warm and sunny days, I decided to dust off my Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation and concealer. My 41-year-old, dry, eczema-prone skin can no longer tolerate this matte formula when temperatures are low. The last time I wore it was in the winter, and it was no surprise, but it was uncomfortable to wear. So, I took full advantage of the warm weather to wear it again and see if I could even still use it. I’ll give you a rundown of the makeup look and other favorite products I used and link to full reviews in the headings if I have one. I’ll also mention if these items are still favorites. Let’s get into it. 🙂

IMPORTANT NOTE: I just want to quickly point out that the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation is very matte in person, but the pictures below were taken in front of a large window on a sunny day. The light coming from the window makes it look like a natural finish, but I can assure you it is matte.

Continue reading “Revisiting Some Old Makeup Favorites” →

Depending on how long you’ve been visiting my website, you may remember when I talked about the Armani Beauty Lip Power Longwear Satin Lipstick ($45) in the shade 400. It was over 2 years ago, but I did not have a good experience and labeled it a failure. I purchased the Shade 400 as part of a set while I was on a trip to Las Vegas. There is an Outlet called the Luxury Beauty Store, and it carries brands that fall under the L’oreal Group. I’m mentioning this because I started to wonder if the set I bought was old stock, considering that it was at an outlet store. It is common for outlets to carry overstock and discontinued products, so the items can be older. I saw a lot of people raving about these lipsticks, and the hype got to me. So, I purchased the Armani Lip Power in shade 107 Sensual in October last year to find out if my experience with shade 400 was a fluke. Long story short: the performance of shade 107 is much better, but I stand by my opinion that the formula is slightly drying.

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Continue reading “Armani Beauty Lip Power Longwear Satin Lipstick 107 Sensual (Swatch)” →

I’m back with more from Pat McGrath’s Holiday Collection. When I posted about the Luminous Legends Dawn Divinity 5-pan Palette earlier this month, I decided to leave out the duos. At the time, I wasn’t sure how I felt about their performance and wanted to give them more of a chance before I talked about them. Compared to the eyeshadows in the Dawn Divinity Palette, the texture of the Celestial Jade Duo ($25) and Petallic Passion Duo ($25) is looser and chunkier. However, the shade Twilight Topaz is an exception and feels similar to the duos. I prefer a more traditional smooth metallic texture, and since I don’t use glitter glue or a wet brush for application, I wanted to take my time and give these a fair shot. Now that I’ve had a good opportunity to use them and see how they wear, I wanted to share my thoughts and some swatches.

Continue reading “Pat McGrath Luminous Legends Eye Shadow Duos (Celestial Jade, Petallic Passion Swatches)” →

This blog uses affiliate links (marked with **).  I may earn a small commission when you purchase through links on my site.  Learn more here.

Milani promises that the **Gilded Mini Eyeshadow Palettes ($10.99) will have major color payoff, buttery high-intensity shadows, minimal fallout, and a seamless blend. While I don’t agree that these eyeshadows are buttery or have major payoff, I can agree that they have minimal fallout and are easy to blend. Despite getting a little carried away with the marketing claims, I think these are good eyeshadows that perform well for me. Whiskey Business is an all-matte palette, and It’s All Rose has 3 mattes and 3 shimmers. 

Overall, the mattes are a little dry, loosely pressed, and powdery (not too messy though). The mattes in the It’s All Rose Palette are a little creamier than those in the Whisky Business Palette. However, you aren’t likely to notice that difference when using them with a brush.  Although the shimmers in It’s All Rose aren’t as powdery as the mattes, all of the shades benefit from a slight tap over the pan to dust off excess powder before applying them to the eyes. This minimizes fallout, but it does not sacrifice much pigment. However, the shades still need building, especially if you are close to my skin tone (NARS Tahoe/Estee Lauder 4W4) or darker. The shimmers have a translucent quality that doesn’t necessarily keep them from showing up, but it does leave me wanting more pigment. I wouldn’t say these lack pigment, but more pigmented options exist.

Continue reading “Milani Gilded Mini Eyeshadow Palettes Whiskey Business and It’s All Rose (swatches)” →

The Revlon Powder Blush ($9.98 at Walmart) has been around for a while, but the packaging got an update a few years back. I’m unsure if the formula was changed when they updated this packaging since I hadn’t tried it when it came in the previous format. However, since at least 2020 (when I first tried the formula), it has been in this square compact with a large window and no longer has an included brush.

Walmart lists Revlon Mauvelous (not affiliated) as a satin finish, but I would expect to see more sheen from that type of finish. However, it is not a flat matte or shimmery, so I can also see why they called it a satin. I wouldn’t consider this formula messy, but it is a little powdery, which becomes more apparent over time. What I mean by that is that I didn’t notice that it was powdery when it was brand new. Regardless, it blends easily. I’ve used it with several different brushes, both synthetic and natural hair, and it works easily each time. It sits nicely on my dry skin type, even on days when I do not set my foundation with powder. It doesn’t accentuate any of my texture and always looks smooth. It wears well throughout the day, and I’ve never noticed any fading.

Continue reading “Revlon Powder Blush Mauvelous 003 (Swatch)” →

When I saw Pat McGrath’s Holiday 2024 collection (Luminous Legends) revealed, I immediately knew I wanted this palette. No matter what this brand releases, I always feel like there is something for me. And I don’t just mean from a personal preference standpoint. As a woman of color, there are so many releases in the luxury beauty category that just won’t work for me. I have never had that issue with Pat McGrath, and I really appreciate that. Now, we can talk all day about the brand cutting some corners on packaging and some of the customer service and shipping issues I’ve heard about. But when it comes to the products themselves, I am continually pleased with shade selection and formulation. I also know there are a lot of complaints about repetitive colors being released, and I get it. If you already own something similar, it is disappointing when there isn’t something you want to buy. I don’t think it means the brand is doing anything wrong or out of the ordinary. However, I don’t buy every Pat McGrath release because all of the items don’t suit my preferences. So, that likely helps me stay excited about the brand’s products. So, with that said, let’s get into some swatches of the Dawn Divinity 5-pan Eye Shadow Palette from Luminous Legends.

Continue reading “Pat McGrath Luminous Legends Dawn Divinity Eye Shadow Palette (Swatches)” →