NARS Soft Matte Powder in Bay, Huda Beauty Luminous Matte Concealer in 6.5G Brittle, and Dior Forever Skin Correct Concealer in 4WO
Today I wanted to talk about some products that I think are good products but they just aren’t the best for my personal preferences. I should probably declutter them, but because they have redeeming qualities I just can’t seem to do it. I haven’t had the opportunity to talk about the NARS Soft Matte Advanced Perfecting Powder and the Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Luminous Matte Concealer on my blog yet so this will be a quick review of those. However, the Dior Forever Correct Concealer will be a product update if you follow my blog regularly. If you want more information on that concealer, it has a full review posted that you can check out by clicking here.
As I started to put together my 2022 favorites list, it started to look like the If I could Keep Only One Tag Post that I posted back in May. Since I often reference my favorite products and formulas throughout my reviews and sales suggestions, I was thinking it’d be more helpful to shine a light on some different products. So, instead of favorites, I want to talk about 4 products that surprised me (in a good way) this year. These products just don’t quite hit the mark to be my favorite but they are still great products that are worth checking out.
Despite blogging for 9 years (I published my first blog post in October 2013 😲), I’m one of those people that still get excited to try new formulas. I can appreciate that for instance, all blushes give you a flush of color, and still be curious to know how the formula and color differ from another blush. I go into most reviews expecting products to work just fine. There really aren’t a lot of products that are just bad these days. So when something impresses me and moves beyond that “just fine” feeling, it can be especially exciting for me since I have tried so much makeup over the years.
Oh and I do realize that there are a lot of new WordPress and e-mail subscribers that may not know my preferences as well as some of you, so I created a page that lists my favorite products with any corresponding blog posts. You can check out that page by clicking here.
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Despite hearing rave reviews about this powder, I couldn’t find much information about it working for those with both dry skin and dark skin. Based on the claims, the powder is supposed to work for all skin tones and have a natural finish. So, in theory, there should have been no issue but I was still skeptical so I went to Sephora to check it out in person. As you can see, it impressed me enough in the store to go ahead and purchase it. I don’t typically like loose powders unless they have the mesh screen packaging that most people hate, but I thought this sifter style looked like it wouldn’t be too messy. I still like the mesh style best, but this isn’t too bad. Since I only need a little bit of powder, it dispenses way more product than I need for one use, so I haven’t had any issues. If you pack on powder or have oiler skin I can see how this style of sifter may not give you enough product.
There is no white cast on my Estee Lauder 4W4/NARS Tahoe skin tone and there is no flashback in photos. My skin doesn’t feel dry or tight when using this and it works for both my face and my undereye area. I like it better on the face because I feel like my NARS Light Reflecting Powder does a better job at setting my undereye area. I am however impressed that this is the only powder I’ve ever tried that helps foundation and concealer stay in place under the nose pads of my glasses.
I enjoy writing these posts because it is a chance to talk about some older products that still manage to take up permanent residence on the brand’s best sellers list. To keep it simple, I use the brand website’s best seller list rather than separate retailers. I have already done a best sellers posts on NARS, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, and Laura Mercier if you’d like to check those out.
While it’s a tough sell to say anything from MAC Cosmetics has been completely forgotten, there are a couple of products that I want to showcase from the brand anyway. Despite not hearing as much hype about MAC Cosmetics they are still a powerhouse in the beauty industry and I’d imagine that a lot of people have some everyday staples from the brand. To get nerdy on you for a quick moment, MAC and Estee Lauder led the Estee Lauder Companies’ makeup portfolio with a net sales increase of $337 million combined (according to the Estee Lauder Companies August 24, 2022, annual report). So again, MAC isn’t really forgotten by makeup consumers at large, but if you are tuned in to beauty news, I think the items I’m going to talk about today may be lesser known to you.
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MAC is also joining in on the Labor Day sales and having a buy more, save more event ($20 off $75, $30 off $100, and $50 off $150). There are some exclusions, so double-check the website for the terms** before you get too excited 😉.
The Smashbox website is currently having a sale for UP TO 50% off Bestsellers and the Cali Contour Palette is one of the featured items. I reviewed this palette back in May of 2021 and while I still think that it would be best for normal, combination, and oily skin types, I figured that this was an excellent occasion to share how I get it to work for my dry skin. I can use the top right and top left shade on my dry skin throughout the year without any issues. However, the yellow setting powder, two highlighters, and the bottom right bronzer shade are the ones that give some trouble.
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It’s really not difficult to work with if you have dry skin, it is just that, in my opinion, these powders need to absorb some moisture to look their best. I find that when worn over dewy foundations (the more moisture the better), they melt into the skin and do not appear dry. When I wear some of the powders in this palette with my top foundations (Estee Lauder Double Wear, NARS Natural Radiant Longwear) they can look dry and powdery. However, over dewy bases like the Smashbox Halo Tinted Moisturizer and the Urban Decay Hydromaniac, they melt into my skin nicely with no dryness.
As always credit for this overall concept goes to Emily Noel on Youtube. I originally saw her older videos about What’s OLD at the Drugstore. I did this for last year’s sale and figured why not turn it into a series. So as the name implies, none of my recommendations are the newest things to the market. The sale dates are 1 April 2022- 11 April 2022 depending on your membership tier.
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This powder has been lurking around since at least as far back as 2016. For years so many people wanted Hourglass to create their ambient lighting powders in skin tone shades. Well, Laura Mercier did just that. The line started out with 6 shades and has been cut down to 3 recently. Shades 1, 3, and 5 are the new permanent lineup, although Sephora currently has shade 2 in stock. While this new range is unfortunate, I hope that more people can discover this great product and the brand can afford to expand the range.
Laura Mercier Candleglow Sheer Perfecting Powder (shade 5, medium to deep)
I have dry skin and this is my preferred setting powder but it can also be used as a finishing powder. When using this as a setting powder, I get the longevity and dried down feeling I prefer, but the glow of the powder keeps my skin from looking dry or looking matte. As a finishing powder, I apply this if a foundation is accentuating my texture. I find that layering this on top improves the look of things and makes the texture appear smoother. Laura Mercier claims that this powder has a “diffused, soft-focus finish” and I guess that is the benefit that helps with the look of texture.
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NYX Cosmetics makes some bold claims about the HD finishing powder**. I decided to give this powder a try while browsing in the store, so I didn’t have any idea of what the claims were before testing it out. I think that ended up being a good thing because it allowed me to form an opinion without expecting anything specific.
The brand says this powder has a non-cakey matte finish that will soften the appearance of lines and pores. The HD finishing powder does come in 3 different shades.** I purchased the banana shade which is supposed to camouflage dark spots and dark circles. There is also a translucent shade and a mint green shade. The mint green shade claims to help with discoloration and redness.
So I can’t tell you anything about the translucent or mint green shades, but the banana shade only delivers on a couple of those claims.
Nikki From HR 