Nikki From HR

Sometimes, products just don’t work out, and it’s important to share those items, even if I don’t want to dedicate a full review to them. These are just some quick thoughts on these products, as I won’t be continuing to test them for more in-depth reviews. Today I’m talking about the NARS Copper Mini Voyageur Eyeshadow Palette, the bareMinerals Bare Pro 16HR Powder Foundation in Medium 35 Warm, the Armani Lip Power Long Lasting Satin Lipstick in 400, the Urban Decay Hydromaniac Tinted Glow Hydrator in 60 Medium Dark, and the Covergirl Clean Fresh Tinted Lip Balm in Red Maple Bloom (limited edition shade, but permanent formula).

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I resisted buying these bronzers for a long time, but I finally broke down last month. I have a soft spot for CoverGirl, I think because it was a brand that got me started with makeup. I did mention these back in a Window Shopping Wednesday when they were newer to the market. A purchase like this is a big reason I don’t often do Window Shopping Wednesday posts because they end up becoming a shopping list of sorts. Anyway, I’m always paying attention to what CoverGirl releases. I was curious to see how these bronzers compared to the ones previously part of the CoverGirl Queen Collection. While I don’t have those older bronzers to do a direct comparison, I’m hoping it is still helpful to see what the new colors look like. The claims are big for the CoverGirl Trublend So Flushed High Pigment Bronzer (they seriously could have chosen a shorter name 🙄). The brand claims it’s comfortable, high pigment, easy to apply, cream-like, lightweight, and blendable, and I mostly agree. We’ll talk about the application and blendability near the end, which is my only slight disagreement. Alright, let’s get into some swatches.

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I know that small eyeshadow palettes from luxury brands aren’t for everyone, but they are definitely a favorite of mine. I love smaller eyeshadow palettes and quads in general, but Dior eyeshadow palettes never fail me. I just find them easy to use and flattering to wear.

The empty tray on the right usually holds a double-sided sponge tip and a double-sided brush. Sorry, I’ve already gotten rid of them and don’t have them to show you. I haven’t used them since I tried my first Dior palette back in 2016 or 2017 so I wouldn’t be able to tell you much about how they work anyway.

Update February 28, 2025: This is the old formula of the Dior 5 Couleurs; they were reformulated in 2023. You can spot the new formula by checking for corn starch in the ingredient list. If it has corn starch, it is the new formula.

As usual, I am late for the party. I’m sure by now you have seen several other reviews about the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Dreams Quad. It did appeal to me when it was first released, but I was trying my hardest to resist buying more from the brand. I only have a handful of products from Charlotte Tilbury and while I like all of them, they just don’t hold my attention as much as other products that I have. The quality and performance are there and I do like the packaging, they just don’t seem to rise above other favorites of mine. So, I told myself this one would be no different so I shouldn’t bother spending the money. Then along came a sale and here we are 🤔.

It’s been hard to figure out what to write about lately. When I have brand new products to talk about it is easier to feel like people would be interested to hear about them. However, when they are items that people have already moved on from, it can feel like it isn’t worth posting about. Lately, I just find myself hesitating to talk about older releases or even new releases that are no longer being buzzed about. Well, today I have products that I wanted to talk about so I’m going to do it before I talk myself out of it 😂. A few of them are older products but 2 of them are still fairly new.

I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but I always took it way too seriously and got overwhelmed 😂. I’ve been spending the last few weeks shopping my stash and getting reacquainted with a lot of my things and suddenly I felt like I could probably do it. It’s only hypothetical after all. This tag pops up ever so often, but I believe it was initially started in 2018 by Kelly Gooch on YouTube. As Kelly points out in her video, the interesting thing about doing this is that it narrows things down and not necessarily to your favorite products. If I had to just use one product every day (and of course, I want a cohesive look), it really did change the products that I initially would have picked. So let’s see what made the cut.