Nikki From HR

I thought it would be nice to do a repeat of 2023 and 2024’s recap of the most-viewed posts on my website. I find it interesting to see what was popular on my website, even if I didn’t publish that post in 2025. So, I’ll share any updated thoughts on the products from my top 10 most-viewed blog posts of 2025. To view the original post/review I am referencing, click on the numbered title.

But first, some info for my new subscribers. In 2025, I created several indexes on my website, making it easier to find items by product type rather than through the long alphabetical brand listing page. Here is a list of all the index-type pages for your reference.

• Blush Index
• Brands A-Z
• Bronzer & Highlighter Index
• Brush Index
• Concealer Ranking
• Eyeshadow Index
• Eyeshadow Primer Round-Up
• Foundation Round-Up
• Lipstick Index
• Makeup Storage and Organization Ideas
• My Favorite Makeup
• Powder Round-Up

It has helped people find products more easily, so I’m glad I took the time to do that. I regularly update the indexes, so if you visit those pages, you will see the date they were last updated. If you ever have questions for me, you can leave a comment at the bottom of any of my posts. I am also available by e-mail (editor.nikkifromhr@gmail.com). 

To both new and longtime subscribers, thank you for your time and support. 🙂

OK, here are the top 10 most-viewed blog posts of 2025!

1. Setting Powders That Work for My Dry Skin (2025 Update) – Posted April 9, 2025

After many years of testing different powders for my dry eczema-prone skin, NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder remains my favorite. The only other powders I regularly use in addition to the NARS are the bareMinerals Original Mineral Veil Pressed Powder under my eyes for crease-prone concealers and the Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Pressed Powder on the rest of my face. Check out this round-up for more information on each, featuring the following powders:

• Best for Blur and Slight Luminosity: NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Powder
• Best Talc-Free Matte Finish (adds no coverage): bareMinerals Original Mineral Veil Pressed Powder
• Best Matte Finish (adds coverage): Maybelline SuperStay up to 24HR Hybrid Powder Foundation
• Best Talc-Free Natural Finish (adds no coverage): Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Pressed Powder
• Best Natural Finish (adds light coverage): MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
• Best Talc-Free Loose Powder (adds slight radiance): Hourglass Veil Translucent Loose Setting Powder
• (Honorable Mention) Talc-Free Natural Finish (adds no coverage): Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Skincare Powder
• (Honorable Mention) Natural Finish and Slight Luminosity (adds no coverage): Revlon PhotoReady Blurring Powder

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2. Best Hydrating Concealers for My Dry Skin – Posted June 14, 2025

The Lancome Care and Glow Serum Concealer is my go-to pick when I am at my driest, or I’m looking for comfort over coverage. My go-to for a non-drying concealer (but without added hydration) that gives me medium coverage is the Estee Lauder Futurist Soft Touch Brightening Skincealer. The Estee Lauder Skincealer may build to full coverage for some people, but on me, it creases too badly when built up. If you’re curious, my other favorite concealers that I turn to for coverage but are absolutely not hydrating for my dry, eczema-prone skin are the Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear All Over Concealer and the Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer (only in summer). Check out this round-up for more information on hydrating (or at least not drying) concealers, featuring the following products:

• Dior Forever Skin Correct Concealer
• Lancome Care and Glow Serum Concealer
• Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin Caring Concealer
• Estee Lauder Futurist Skincealer
• Armani Luminous Silk Concealer
• MAC Studio Fix Pro Conceal and Correct Palette
• Too Faced Ethereal Light Illuminating Smoothing Concealer
• Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear All Over Concealer
• Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Concealer
• Tom Ford Traceless Soft Matte Concealer

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3. What’s Old at the Drugstore (L’Oreal Colour Riche Lipsticks – Worth It, Worth It Medium, Worth It Intense) – Posted September 21, 2024

Continue reading “Top 10 Posts of 2025 (And What I Think Of The Products Now)” →

At the end of November 2025, CoverGirl released the TruBlend Skin Enhancer Baked Luminous Blushes and Bronzers ($12.99). So far, they are getting a lot of buzz, and many people are comparing them to the Hourglass and Laura Geller powders. I understand the comparison, but baked powders have been a part of CoverGirl’s line before. In 2016, CoverGirl released baked blushes and bronzers under its Trublend line, so the brand is no stranger to baked formulas. This release is more of a reboot for them.

Their Trublend Blushes were a favorite of mine back then, and I am equally happy with the Trublend Skin Enhancer Baked Luminous formula in 2025. Since these powders are swirled together in multiple tones, each compact will vary in shade. So keep in mind that if you buy these, yours may look different from what you see here or elsewhere online. These powders are pigmented, easy to blend, and smooth on the skin despite having a slight sheen. Neither of the shades I have (Strawberry Drizzle 420 and Caramel Truffle 320) has noticeable glitter particles, even under harsh overhead lighting. It is common for these types of powders to appear more glittery in the sunlight, though, so that remains to be seen in better weather.

Continue reading “CoverGirl TruBlend Skin Enhancer Baked Luminous Blush and Bronzer (Strawberry Drizzle, Caramel Truffle)” →

Today I wanted to talk about some of the eyeshadow primers that I’ve been testing over the last couple of years. My all-time favorite eye primer was the Too Faced Shadow Insurance, but they reformulated it and added fragrance, so I had to move on. If you read enough of my eyeshadow reviews, you can probably tell that the MAC Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base is my favorite, with the Urban Decay Primer Potion bringing up a close second. Let’s get into some details if you are interested in any of the primers I’ll discuss today. Eyeshadow primers aren’t just good for people with oily eyelids; they can also help intensify eyeshadow colors, help glitter/mica particles adhere better, and improve the longevity/wear time of your eyeshadows. I do have dry skin, but because my eyelids are slightly hooded, I can get oily in the crease because the lid folds on itself. So I have to wear an eye primer to prevent the eyeshadow in my crease from disappearing.

The formulas featured today all claim to increase wear time, prevent creasing, and intensify color. I don’t prefer chunky shimmers or glitter eyeshadows, so I don’t use glitter glue. All but the Milani and e.l.f. Eyeshadow primers claim to either last for 24 hours or increase eyeshadow wear for 24 hours. Although the Milani Stay Put Eye Primer claims to extend wear, it only promises up to 8 hours of wear, while the e.l.f Lock It Down Primer doesn’t list a specific time claim. The MAC Eye Base Primer claims to prevent fading as well, but that could also be folded into the wear-time claim. There are some smoothing claims from Urban Decay and Milani, and the Pat McGrath Intensifeyes Longwear Primer claims to blur skin texture. To me, the MAC Eye Base is the most smoothing for texture, despite it not appearing in its claims. I have tested every eyeshadow primer on this list with several formulas, from my most affordable eyeshadows (Wet n Wild, Milani, Colourpop, CoverGirl), to my most expensive (Chanel, MAC, Pat McGrath, Tom Ford). My main concerns are longevity without color fading and the formula’s ability to prevent creasing. Based on that, I’d rank these from best performance to worst performance in this order:

1. MAC Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base (can make mattes harder to blend)
2. Pat McGrath Labs Intensifeyes Longwear Primer (performs well for me, but something in it irritates my eyes, so I no longer use it)
3. Urban Decay Primer Potion (dries out faster than other formulas, causing it to crease more as it gets older)
4. e.l.f. Lock It Down Eyeshadow Primer (can cause some fading with some shadows, and a big issue is that it does not work with my Pat McGrath Eyeshadows)
5. Milani Stay Put Eyeshadow Primer (does not prevent creasing for more than 3 hours for me with one exception)

Last updated December 3, 2025

Continue reading “Eyeshadow Primer Round-Up (Pat McGrath Labs, MAC Cosmetics, Urban Decay, Milani, and elf Reviews)” →

I originally reviewed the Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeshadow formula back in 2021 in the shades Charged and Fazed. The shimmer shade Charged was a big letdown, and the matte shade Fazed was just okay. Every now and then, these go on sale for 50% off at Ulta and Macy’s, so I decided to find out whether all the shimmers were as messy and difficult to work with as the shade Charged. Here are the pictures and swatches of Charged and Fazed from my initial review, in case you missed that.

TLDR: I do like the other Urban Decay single shimmer eyeshadows that I have tried (Half Baked, Overdraft, Dumb Luck, Ember, and Psych) a lot better than Charged. And I still think that Fazed is just ok.

Continue reading “Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeshadows (Half Baked, Fazed, Overdraft, Dumb Luck, Ember, and Psych)” →

Last year, I published my favorites post before Black Friday, in case people were curious about them and wanted to do some shopping, so I figured we’d do that again this year. For the 2024 Favorites, I selected only products that I reviewed in that year. However, I felt that it would be more accurate this year to simply pick my favorites (and a couple of honorable mentions), regardless of whether I reviewed them in 2025. I’ll also link to some of the end-of-year wrap-ups and favorite posts I’ve done in past years. For reference, I am 40+ and have dry, eczema-prone skin. I have an olive undertone, and my best foundation shade matches are NARS Tahoe (Natural Radiant Longwear Formula) and 4W4 Hazel in the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. Alright, let’s get into it. 🙂

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

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Favorite Makeup of 2025

**Estee Lauder Pure Color Creme Lipstick (488 Level Up), $42

Continue reading “Favorite Makeup of 2025 (Year in Review)” →

Since the Beautylish Gift card event started today (October 23, 2025 – October 26, 2025), I wanted to post about Chikuhodo’s new-ish GL Series Brushes. If you are interested in shopping during the Beautylish gift card event, you will receive a $20 gift card for every $100 that you spend. Although Chikuhodo is available from other retailers, Beautylish is often a more accessible option for buying Fude Brushes when they are available there. I’m not well-versed in Chikuohodo, but from what I understand, the GL Series was a relaunch for the brand in May 2025. I purchased the GL-3 Cheek ($63), GL-4 Cheek/Highlight ($56), and GL-7 Liquid ($35) Brushes back in June. And while I’ve had plenty of time to get to know them, I do still consider myself to be a novice when it comes to both Chikuhodo and Fude Brushes in general. It was just over 4 years ago that I started buying more Fude brushes, and I admit that I don’t dig too deeply into the history or research. I’m mainly interested in finding brush shapes and handle styles that suit my preferences. If you don’t know, Fude refers to Japanese makeup brushes handmade by artisans. If you are interested in learning more information on different types of Fude brushes, my go-to sources are my friend Lili’s blog (Fude Collection Series) and Alicia Archer on YouTube (her Fude Q + A may be a good place to start).

The GL Series features gold ferrules and white pearl handles and is marketed as designed for professional use while still being easy for beginners. They are well-made and feel substantial without being heavy. I have experienced some shedding during use and washing, but not enough to cause concern. They do shed more than I experienced with both Sonia G brushes (Soft Cheek, eye brushes, classic cheek, and classic base) and the one Koyudo brush that I’ve used. All of these brushes apply makeup beautifully, and the bristles feel soft to the touch. However, I don’t like the GL-3 Cheek brush nearly as much as the GL-4 Cheek/Highlight and the GL-7 Liquid brushes.

Continue reading “Chikuhodo Brush Review (GL-3 Cheek, GL-4 Cheek Highlight, GL-7 Liquid)” →

The recent news that Coty is looking for a buyer for the Rimmel and CoverGirl brands (among others) has brought the CoverGirl Clean Fresh Clean Color Eyeshadows back to the top of my mind. I tried them several months ago, and to be honest, I’ve been putting off this review lol. In the last couple of years, I’ve made it a point to reacquaint myself with drugstore makeup, and checking out these eyeshadow quads was part of that. I have a soft spot for CoverGirl, so I always expect great things, but these quads didn’t impress me. I purchased the shades 252 Spiced Copper and 262 Golden Toffee. The CoverGirl Clean Color Eyeshadow Quads are cruelty-free, talc-free, fragrance-free, and vegan. 

Continue reading “CoverGirl Clean Fresh Clean Color Eyeshadow Swatches (252 Spiced Copper and 262 Golden Toffee)” →