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Becca Be A Light Face Palette Review + Swatches

July 9, 2018

Becca Cosmetics has launched the perfect natural contouring and highlighting compacts called the Be A Light Face Palette ($46 each 0.52 oz/ 15 g). There are two shade options Light to Medium and Medium to Dark. They have powders Becca calls their Sheer Glow Filter Powder and they’re skin-enhancing powders to smooth and blur the complexion. I’ve never been a huge fan of contouring because it’s been tricky for me. Powder colors are often too sharp or grey for my skintone, shades are often too light or too dark for me, and I’d rather just use a soft bronzer to add depth. Now that these Becca Be A Light Face Palettes have launched I’ve finally found a natural looking contouring and blurring palette with enough options to brighten, contour and add color.

The Be A Light Face Palettes come in huge mirrored compacts with four shades per palette. I love that the shades are separated so you can easily pick up one color at a time. I tested these with a few different brushes and to me really any powder brush will work. The texture is soft and smooth with a natural finish. It is medium to sheer but you can definitely build either the blush color or deepest contour color. Since the powders are soft there will be powdery kick up/debris from the brush. On the face it will stay put.

Color-wise I am the skintone right now that I could wear either. If I had to pick one I would probably pick the Light to Medium for everyday because the lighter shades are sheer enough that I can use them as a finishing power on certain areas of the face without adding too much color. For me it has the perfect amount of warmth to work for my olive skin tone. Wearing Light to Medium below, it’s really natural in the photo – everything shows up a lot better in real life. On the lips is the Becca Glow Lip Gloss in Opal.

A closer look at Light to Medium where you have a pale champagne beige highlighter powder to brighten, a peachy shimmer blush, a deeper beige to blur and even out complexion and a darker contour powder.

Medium to Dark has the same concept but colors are all a lot deeper.

I tested both of these on a few different occasions. It is natural looking but stays put on the face, even in heat and humidity. The Medium to Dark one stayed on my face all day and even lasted through a 12 mile bike ride in humid 90+ degree weather. My face was completely sweaty and was 100% dewy and then some but the color remained on the face and everything looked like it stayed put. Just in case you are wondering, I don’t usually wear makeup for exercise or bike rides. I had everything put together because I thought we were going to have a quick and easy weekend bike ride but my husband had something else in mind. He decided we were going to test some bikes out from a rental shop and bike back and forth across the Courtney Campbell Causeway from Tampa to Clearwater. I was really surprised everything except my foundation lasted through the sweat – I also wore the Sunday Riley Influencer Foundation in 190, Tom Ford Waterproof Extreme Mascara, Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Golden Pink mixed with Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Stick in Copper and the Sisley Phyto-Lip Delight in #3. I was really surprised that even though most of my foundation/base had sweated off my forehead and chin that my cheeks and eyes still looked like color stayed put. Granted everything was glowing with sweat but surprisingly was still there.

To me these are perfect. It has just the amount of glow it’s not 100% matte but at the same time there’s not really a lot of shimmer, except for the blush. They have a similar vibe to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders but the colors of the Becca brighten, blur and contour options are more skin-like for me vs. color correcting like the Hourglass ones. I think you can also say they are similar to the Laura Mercier Candleglow Powders but softer in texture. If you prefer something matte, the best ones to me are still the Marc Jacobs #Instamarc Light Filtering Contour Duos (reviewed a few years ago here) although those are completely matte and therefore not the same as the Becca palettes.

Bottom line love.

You can find the Becca Be A Light Face Palettes out now, available at Nordstrom, Sephora, Ulta Beauty and Becca Cosmetics. Have you tried these yet? What did you think? More beauty reviews to follow from NARS and Chanel later this week. Also the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale for Early Access starts as well, I’ll be sharing my haul picks for the Beauty Exclusives. In case you missed it you can see a sneak peek of the beauty offerings, dates and details on this page here.

Becca palettes provided courtesy of Becca Cosmetics for review.

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Sisley-Paris Skincare

Best Beauty Oils for Summer from Sisley-Paris

June 29, 2018

I’m excited today to have a roundup of some of the best beauty oils I’ve ever tried. As I age I’ve become more and more interested in oils for the face and body to help restore moisture and elasticity to the skin. So many of you have raved about the Sisley Black Rose Precious Face Oil as the only face oil some of you will use. I test this in a trial size last year from one of the Beauty Subscription Boxes and was instantly hooked. I’ve since hoarded every mini I could find from various GWPs but now am thrilled to be the happy owner of a full-sized bottle. This now completes my Sisley oil collection for hair, lips (launched earlier this month), legs and face so I thought it would be perfect to do a roundup – especially since so many of you have been really curious about the Hair Rituel Precious Hair Care Oil! In addition the Sisley team has offered to do a really fun giveaway. Details are at the bottom of the post.

I’m going to start with the best one which is the Black Rose Precious Face Oil. After testing this in person I understand why so many of you only use this oil. It’s easily the most concentrated face oil I’ve tried so a little truly goes a long way. It’s rich and thick but has a silky smooth finish that is super nourishing. Sisley recommends using between three to seven drops in the morning or evening on clean skin. You can apply it on the face and neck. I’ve been using it only on the face and at night. I also will sometimes mix in a drop of the oil with the Black Rose Skin Infusion Cream which I usually use for day if I need a bit more moisture. For the Black Rose Precious Face Oil, the key ingredients are plum oil, camelina oil (to soothe), phytosqualane, Natural Tocopherols, Avocado unsaponifiables (to plump), Black Rose extract (to soften), Bulgarian Rose essential oil (to tone), magnolia essential oil (to soothe) and geranium to purify.

After using this at night I find in the morning skin that my skin is plump, firm and my fine lines on my forehead are not visible. Skincare usually takes a while to see results but with this oil I see results by the next morning. With regular use skin looks a lot more bouncy and youthful. As I’m aging I’m more conscientious of fine lines and loss of firmness in certain areas and since I’m still terrified of needles I haven’t tried Botox yet, although a number of you have e-mailed me some really thoughtful messages about trying it.

One more quick note about the oil is that it’s intended for mature or dry skin, but I know many readers who used this starting in their 30’s and also some who have normal/combination skin that still use it. I have truly combination skin these days. It’s prone to dry patches and dry feeling in general with air conditioning that I’m around constantly. At night I need extra moisture so I’ll work an oil in 2-3 times a week, as needed.

Next is the White Ginger Contouring Oil for Legs. This is priced at a steep $190 but I tried it in a sample packet, loved it and bought the full size last summer. I tried to use it sparingly but used it up entirely and am now on my second bottle. It’s an energizing contouring leg oil but I use it mainly for it’s nourishing properties. It does make tired legs feel energized. This year both Andrew and I have made more of an effort to live a healthy and active life. We’ve been exercising more and started to incorporate some weight training. The White Ginger Contouring Oil for Legs does relieve some tension from soreness of working out. The texture allows for you to massage the legs so the effect is partially going to be in the application technique. It’s an emollient nourishing oil that smells amazing. I’m desperately trying to find a dupe but have not. The texture and scent is unmatched.

For the hair, Sisley launched a haircare line with their Hair Rituel by Sisley collection. Everything is exquisite and I am working on a full dedicated post on all the products. I know hair care picks depend a lot on hair type, length, and treatment but I think the best and most universal product that will work on anyone is the Precious Hair Care Oil. My hair care process has completely changed since moving to Florida, especially with shampoo and conditioners. The water here simply won’t rinse out everything like it does in California! Quick note that the Revitalizing Smoothing Shampoo is one of the few that works for my hair here (I’ve already repurchased it twice). I’ll review it in detail in a later post.

The Precious Hair Care Oil is one of the best smelling hair oils I’ve ever tried. It’s hard to describe but it has a very nice, pleasant natural scent. It adds just the right amount of shine to the hair without weighing it down. Texture is rich enough to hydrate dry ends but light enough that it won’t weigh down my hair. You can use it on both damp or dry hair. I like to use it as a finishing product starting from the middle to the ends and then finish by rubbing any remnants at the top. It has a blend of oils including shea oil for smoothness and shine, passion fruit, shea, cotton and Moringa oils for added nourishment and shine.

Last but not least are the newest oils from Sisley which are the Phyto-Lip Delights. These are my go-to soft lip tints for summer. They’re a nourishing and plumping lip oil. They also contain a blend of oils to hydrate and plump the lips including Shea, Jojoba and Plum oils and Padina pavonica extract. I reviewed them in this post here so you can check out the lip swatches and more thoughts there. Quick takeaway is that they’re beautiful nourishing oils that give an effortless shine! They are expensive but I’ve loved every Sisley lip product I’ve tried. I loved the Phyto-Lip Twist in Baby that I discovered last year I bought several other shades. These lip oils do not disappoint in terms of how soft they make the lips. Pigment is sheer-medium. Enough color that they show up, but definitely on the natural side.

Swatches of 1 Cool, 2 Pretty and 3 Sweet:

One last look:

Everything from Sisley is pure luxury and the skincare line is among the best I’ve tried. The Black Rose Precious Face Oil is in my top three face oils that I’ve ever tried and I agree 100% with everyone who has recommended it to me that it’s definitely worth giving a try. All of their products are on the expensive side so I recommend either trying their Beauty Subscription Program (6 months reviewed here) or make a wishlist and save your haul for one of their gift with purchases (they have them frequently online). If you are ever near one of their free-standing boutiques I highly recommend stopping by – they are really quite amazing. In the US they have one in Miami, New York, Las Vegas.

To end this roundup Sisley has offered a fun giveaway! They are giving away one set of the three new Phyto-Lip Delights to one reader on my blog. Simply enter through the Rafflecopter widget below. Open to US Residents only. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Will run through Monday July 2nd, 11:45 AM EST. I’ll select a winner and email them. Sisley will ship out the prize. (P.S. They’re also going to host another one on my Instagram so be sure to check it out sometime today to enter there as well for a separate chance to win.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sisley products provided courtesy of Sisley for review. Many thanks to the team for hosting this giveaway!

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Highlighters Pat McGrath Labs

Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish Sublime Skin Highlighting Trio, Buffer Brush + Highlighter Balm Duo

June 28, 2018

The latest from Pat McGrath Labs includes products in her Skin Fetish Collection. Today I have a review of three new items that are part of her collection and one item I previously hauled including the:

Sublime Skin Highlighting Trio ($50)
Buffer Brush ($25)
Skin Fetish Highlighter Balm Duo in Nude ($48)
Lip Fetish Lip Balm ($38)

As usual in addition to individual products, there are also bundle options available on her website where you can find a price break for buying the sets.

The Sublime Skin Highlighting Trio is a highlighting palette that comes with three iridescent ultra shimmery highlighters. They are versatile in the sense you can control the shimmer from light to intense depending on what kind of brush you use. The less dense the brush (or more fluffy) the lighter/sheerer look you can get. You can layer for an extreme sheen. Lasting power of the highlighters is excellent. They’ll stay put all day without budging. The only color I wasn’t crazy about was Fine Gold – long time readers know I don’t really wear yellow golds well. Iridescent Pink surprised me because I’ve tried duo-chrome pinks before and find them harsh on my olive-toned skin. However this one actually went on quite nice!

Colors include:

Bronze Nectar – super sparkly gold bronze, this had some brush fallout with the sparkles but once it’s on the skin it pretty much stays put on the face
Fine Gold – is an iridescent pale yellow gold shimmer
Iridescent Pink – is a duo chrome opal pink, shimmer is ultra smooth

Each of the highlighting powder on the cheeks just by themselves to show the color:

Above I’m wearing the Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Foundation in Buff, Armani Luminous Silk Powder Foundation #4, Diorshow Brow Styler in Universal Brown, Pat McGrath LuxeTrance Lipstick in Realness, Pat McGrath Eyeshadow Palette in Bronze Ambition.

There is a white Buffer 003 Brush that is a smaller sized duo-fiber brush. It’s well made and performs well but if you already own the MAC 188s then you most likely will not need this one. I do think the Pat McGrath version is softer and better than the MAC one but they are really similar. The Laura Mercier Fan Brush will also give your skin a similar finish.

Swatch comparisons to the NARS Highlighting Powders and Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Sticks:

The Skin Fetish Highlighter Balm Duo comes in three color options, I received the lightest one in Nude for review. It looks like your standard champagne pale cream shimmer on one end but on the skin it glides on beautifully to give a real skin glow look. The other side is a balm which I would only use on the lips. From my testing it appears to be the same as the Lip Fetish Lip Balm although the description seems to indicate you can use it on the face as well. Indoors in cool weather the highlighter wore well all day long without fading on top of my powder + foundation.

Above wearing the Nude highlighter blended, on the lips is the LUST Gloss in Flesh Fantasy.

Last but not least is another look at the Lip Fetish Lip Balm in Clear. This is going to be launching in shimmer shades soon. I bought the clear version months ago and it kept selling out. I’ve reviewed it in a roundup before and I really like it. It’s hydrating, smooth, not sticky or thick and does hydrate dry lips beautifully. That being said I think the $38 price tag is steep. I still enjoy mine and have no regrets buying.

Overall these are true to Pat McGrath Labs style in terms of quality and color payoff. I think you can definitely dupe the colors although the Skin Fetish highlighter is so smooth and pretty I’m tempted to see the others when they launch in stores near me (hopefully).

You can find the Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish Collection out now. Available at Pat McGrath Labs. Have you tried these yet? What did you think?

Skin Fetish collection provided courtesy of Pat McGrath Labs for review. Lip Fetish purchased by me.

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Lips NARS

NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer Review + Swatches

June 25, 2018

New lips just launched from NARS in a few different formulas and today I’ve swatches of all the new NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer ($26 each for 0.17 oz/5.5 ml, currently available at NARS and Barneys New York). There are 10 shades in this formula and 1 special-edition color Orgasm (reviewed here). In addition there are 5 new colors of the Velvet Lip Glide (reviewed here) and 5 new shades of the Powermatte Lip Pigment (to be reviewed soon). The NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer is an opaque, rich color, full coverage gloss with a high shine. They come with a flat applicator with a sponge tip on one side and plastic portion on the other. One will dispense a lot of color while the other blends it out more. There are 10 shades total, 6 creams and 4 sparkles. I believe there are hits and misses with this launch formula-wise.

Most of the colors have a beautiful smooth application. There are some however that apply streaky on bare lips and settle into fine lines. Color descriptions and thoughts on which ones are the best below. First a look at the shades and swatches.

Shown above from left to right:

Santo Domingo is a medium to light muted dusty pink, it settles into fine lines at first but once you let it set on the lips, it smooths out
Conquest is a perfect medium bright warm pink
Valencia is a bright coral hot pink, this also settled into my lip lines
Red District is the best cream formula, it’s a perfect bright red, smooth, opaque, glossy
Mississippi is a sheer mauve plum, it takes a few layers but applies smoothly
Baden Baden is a gorgeous deep plum, but alone it was streaky, I’d recommend applying it over a matte lip pencil
Abruzzo is a high sparkle metallic wine plum with gold and silver flecks, I thought this would be too glitzy but this is a truly stunning color, smooth coverage and no texture
Everglades is one of the scariest lip colors I’ve seen, having actually driven through the Everglades a couple times I’d say this color evokes the same feelings I had driving through alligator territory (they are probably the most frightening living creatures I’ve ever seen)
At First Sight is a sheer sparkling white silvery gold, it’s pretty sheer, almost transparent but has the prettiest sheen
Cape Town is an iridescent duochrome orange, pink loaded with multi-color sparkles, it’s very metallic but smooth

Overall the shimmers performed better on my lips formula-wise. I would say the cream colors Valencia and Baden Baden are the higher maintenance ones for me as the color settled into fine lines if I applied these on bare lips.

Close up lip swatches on bare lips. For skintone reference I’m wearing the MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC37, Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Concealer in 3w1 (reviewed here) and Armani Luminous Silk Powder Foundation #4 on top to set.

All the lip swatches side by side:

Overall some beautiful colors and lovely formulas (patchy colors aside). There isn’t really any detectable scent to these. Lasting power is pretty good, they are thicker than the Velvet Lip Glides due to the high shine so they adhere better to the lips. Lasting power is pretty good, not as good as their Powermatte Lip Pigments, but for a gloss they stayed put until I snacked. My favorites are Santo Domingo, Red District, Abruzzo and At First Sight. Compared to other lip glosses these are among the most full coverage that I’ve tried. Ones like the Pat McGrath LUST Glosses or Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss are a lot sheerer. Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Glosses are probably the most similar (but hers are thicker), Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Liquid is also thicker with a more lipstick feel.

You can find the NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer now at NARS and Barneys New York. Starting July you will also be able to find them at other NARS retailers like Sephora and Nordstrom. Have you tried these yet? What did you think?

NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer provided courtesy of NARS for review.

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MAC

MAC x Aaliyah Collection Review + Swatches

June 21, 2018

The MAC x Aaliyah Collection launches in stores today with limited-edition pieces for eyes, lips and cheeks. I wanted to share some quick swatches and first impressions as I suspect some pieces will sell out quickly. The overall vibe is what MAC calls moody, deep and neutral. I’d say it’s just that. The color scheme has more of a fall vibe but I think there are some stand out pieces that I think you should not miss. The items in the collection include:

Lipsticks ($18.50 each) in four shades – Try Again (matte), More Than a Woman (amplified), Street Thing (frost), Hot Like (amplified)
Lipglass ($17.50 each) in four shades – Brooklyn Born, At Your Best You Are, Li Li’s Motor City, 1 in a Million
Lip Pencil ($18 each) in two shades – Nevermore and Follow Your Heart
Age Ain’t Nothing Eyeshadow x 9 ($32) – Age Ain’t Nothing (mix of finishes)
Bronzing Powder ($28) – Baby Girl (pearl finish)

Up first are the lip products. There are four Aaliyah Lipsticks, three of which are very creamy and smooth, one is semi sheer and a little patchy on my lips. From left to right we have Try Again (matte nude brown), Hot Like (perfect red cream), More Than a Woman (the perfect wine plum cream), Street Thing (shimmery sheer black). All of these have that signature soft vanilla MAC lipstick scent.

I think More Than A Woman is the most perfect wine color I’ve ever tried. Plum wines are hard to pull off for my complexion – so many are either too blue or turn fuchsia on my lips. Try Again almost looks almost deathly on my olive complexion. Street Thing was the worst for my lips – it swatched nicely on the arm and as I was swatching I thought to myself I wish this color was in eyeshadow form, powder or cream because it would make for a unique black shadow with shimmers.

There are four Aaliyah Lipglasses. They don’t necessarily match the Lipstick colors exactly but can be worn alone or layered on top of the lip colors. We have left to right: Brooklyn Born (soft champagne pearl), Li Li’s Motor City (orange cream), At Your Best You Are (sheer wine), and 1 In A Million (sheer/patchy deep plum brown). My favorite is Brooklyn Born which has the smoothest pearl and actually didn’t wash me out. At Your Best You Are is another perfect plum for me. Li Li’s Motor City is fun for summer but with my olive skin sometimes orange can be a hard color to pull off all the time. 1 in a Million is so pretty color-wise but pulled streaky as it contrasted with my natural lip tone quite a bit. If you have deeper lips the contrast won’t be as obvious. I think if I were to add a deep liner underneath and blend it would smooth out.

There are two Aaliyah Lip Pencils which I think were odd color choices given the range of lipstick and lipglass colors. Nevermore is a deep blackened purple which would go well with Street Thing or 1 in a Million but would contrast sharply with all the other shades. Follow Your Heart is a standard brick red which would go well with the reds, but not so much with any of the other shades. Still they are creamy and soft in formula.

Finally there is one item for eyes and one for the cheeks.

MAC launched an Aaliyah Bronzing Powder called Baby Girl which I have mixed feelings on. On my complexion it applies nicely but it has a very stiff texture and sheer finish. The color is going to be better suited for women who are light to medium in skin tone, I think it will be too light to show up on deeper skin tones. It works for me but I feel like it would have been better to have at least 1 more shade option. For this particular bronzer it looks nice – but I think there are much better options including the Becca Sunlit Bronzers or Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzers to name a few.

The Aaliyah Times Nine Eyeshadow Palette called Age Ain’t Nothing which is excellent in pigment and texture. Some of the other Nine Eyeshadow Palettes have great colors but aren’t the best in terms of texture. This one in the Aaliyah collection is smooth and well pigmented. The colors can create a variety of looks. I find myself gravitating towards the bottom two rows but every single color blends and layers well together. As usual my recommendation for palettes are to buy only if you think you’re going to use most of the colors. Texture and quality-wise it’s really good.

Overall some nice pieces, but I don’t feel like I really gravitate towards most of the colors. The three stand outs for me are the More Than A Woman Lipstick, Brooklyn Born Lipglass and At Your Best You Are Lipglass. These aren’t seasonal colors but I can appreciate a really nice wine-colored lip. And for Brooklyn Born I feel like the texture and shimmer are so smooth they add a really pretty shine. Whether or not you like these colors I hope this post along with all of mine helps as a reference guide especially if you don’t have in-person access or can’t get to a counter right away.

You can find the MAC Aaliyah Collection out now. Everything is limited-edition. Online at MAC, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Dillard’s and Bloomingdale’s.

Many thanks to the MAC team for providing the MAC Aaliyah collection provided courtesy for review.

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Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury Pretty Youth Glow Filters, Cheek Hug Brush + Collagen Lip Bath

June 20, 2018

Charlotte Tilbury launched Part 2 of her Beauty Filters collection focused on lips and cheeks. I picked up all three of the items including the Pretty Youth Glow Filter Kit in Pretty Fresh and Seduce Beauty ($60 each for blush duo + brush) along with the new Collagen Lip Bath ($35). I reviewed Part 1 last month on her Bigger Brighter Eyes Collection. Part 2 for lips + cheeks do not disappoint color and quality-wise.

Charlotte Tilbury Pretty Youth Glow Filters

The Charlotte Tilbury Pretty Youth Glow Filters are duo cream cheek palettes and the kits come with the Cheek Hug Brush at Nordstrom. It is only because of this brush that I think these palettes are worth the high price tag of $60. (The blush is available individually at Charlotte Tilbury’s website though.) In terms of quality and pigment both colors are really good but to me it seems as though there is very little product. These each contain a highlighter and blush – the brush is perfectly shaped and very well made to pick up both colors and apply them in a perfect blush/highlight motion. I simply swipe across the palette and apply in a swipe up method on the cheeks, then blend/buff with either my fingers or a separate blush brush. Texture is a silky cream finish. It’s truly a cream to powder like the description states. Color on me is medium to sheer.

Seduce Blush is the more neutral/muted option with a soft champagne and pinky-nude. There is a slight hint of shimmer in the pan but on the cheeks it’s very diffused and satiny.

Wearing Sunday Riley The Influencer Foundation 190, Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerise Cream Shadows in Star Gold and Rose Gold mixed together, Collagen Lip Bath.

Pretty Fresh is a brighter option with a paler rose shimmer and brighter pink. This one is my favorite of the two. It can be built up for more color but blends out to a very nice flush.

Closer look at the Cheek Hug Brush:

Overall these had medium lasting power on me. I’m still experimenting with primers and bases to find what will last through the humidity. I felt like I had it all figured out last summer. Then we had about six months of truly mild weather here and I feel like I’ve forgotten what worked in humidity! I think these blushes are both excellent. I still really love her Filmstar Bronze and Blush Glow for texture and finish and think if she had made these Pretty Youth Glow Filters colors in powder form I’d snap them up in a heart beat and that others would too. I’d say in terms of finish/texture the lasting power and pigment, the Pretty Youth Glow Filters is similar to that of the Sisley Phyto-Twist Blush sticks.

Some swatch comparisons:

Collagen Lip Bath

Then there is the Collagen Lip Bath which all of my friends were texting me about asking if I had tried it and if I thought it was worth the price. I love all of Charlotte Tilbury’s Lip Lustres and Lipsticks so had high hopes for this even though it looked like it was basically a clear gloss. As soon as I opened my heart both sank and then rose back up.

When I removed the wand I was completely shocked at how little product there actually was in the tube. The wand takes up 1/2 the space! Then the actual wand itself is shaped like the top of a heart which is the cutest applicator I’ve ever seen. After getting over the shock of how little product there was I swiped it and fell in love. It makes my lips look lush and plump without any tingle or sting. They truly look super healthy and plump in the best way I’ve ever seen. It’s supposed to have peppermint extract to cool, but for some reason I did not feel any cooling sensation. It’s basically clear even though it’s a soft rose tint in the tube. Below is what my lips look like with clearish gloss, they almost always turn rose pink.

So in terms of performance and what it does, I 100% love it. I’m still peeved at how little product there is and I feel like I’m one who rarely gets upset about product weight. I still really like it and will use it up entirely in no time at all.

Overall beautiful. In my mind Charlotte Tilbury can do no wrong with the quality and color choice of her products. I think the Pretty Youth Glow Filters and Collagen Lip Products are beautiful additions to her line. I’d recommend them for anyone who wants a soft pretty and natural feminine glow. I do think the price points are a little steep, especially for the amount of product you get. I do feel the Cheek Hug Brush is really well made and makes the duos worth the splurge. For creams they aren’t too emollient but if you have super oily skin you might want to try before you buy if you can. As for the Collagen Lip Bath, I love it, but I don’t love the price. I wish it came in a squeeze tube like the MAC clear lipglass. The brush tip is nice and the design quite innovative but not a game changer to make it worth the steep price.

For other recent Charlotte Tilbury reviews:

Hollywood Flawless Filters Review + Swatches
Star Gold, Rose Gold, Duchess, American Sweetheart and English Beauty
Bigger Brighter Eyes Collection Review

You can find the Pretty Youth Glow Filters and Collagen Lip Bath out now at Charlotte Tilbury counters. I bought mine from Nordstrom. Also available at Charlotte Tilbury and Beautylish.

P.S. You can buy just the blush duo individually without the brush at Charlotte Tilbury for $40.

Have you tried these yet? What did you think?

17 Comments

MAC

MAC Patrick Starrr Summer Starrr Full Face Kit + Hot and Heavy Face Powder

June 17, 2018

MAC has quite a few new launches this month and I’m working as quickly as I can to swatch them for you! Up first is the MAC Patrick Starrr summer collection with the Summer Starrr Full Face Kit ($49.50) and Hot and Heavy Face Powder ($34). The items are limited-edition and the whole vibe of this launch is warm.

The Summer Starrr Full Face Kit comes at an incredible value price. You get an Eyeshadow Quad called Heat Stroke, Bronzing Powder in Give Me Life and two Lipglasses in Cream Pie and Fashion Punch. Colors for the lips and cheeks are very wearable for any skintone, the quad is more trendy and VERY warm with reds and oranges. Heat Stroke has four very pigmented and smooth eyeshadows. I’m one who still cannot really pull off the full-on reddish eyeshadow trend although every single one of my friends embraces it. And also everyone else I see wear it looks AMAZING while I do not. The NARSissist Wanted Eyeshadow Palette is still one of the few pinkish-toned palettes I can actually wear. Below is a closer look at Heat Stroke Eyeshadow quad. I tried it a number of ways and colors are just not for me.

The Lipglasses are both light and neutral. They’re creams without shimmer. I feel like the Fashion Punch color has been launched before in the older original packaging. It’s a beige cream. Cream Pie is a neutral pink cream. I’ve swatched them below next to the Patrick Starrr Holiday 2017 lipglasses as well since he had two neutrals.

The two cheek products are warm and summery. The Give Me Life Bronzing Powder is part of the Full Face Kit. It’s a warm matte brown that has a soft semi-sheer finish. On my skin it’s warm but not orangey. It’s a lot more wearable than it looks from what I see in the pan. The best item in the entire collection to me is the Hot and Heavy Face Powder which is available separately. It’s a soft golden champagne shimmer which is perfect! Shimmer is fine and smooth without any heavy frost.

The quality is excellent for everything in this launch. Colors are all smooth and apply beautifully. I think the face kit is an excellent value. I also fully support and applaud brand and influencer collaborations like this. It makes me really happy to see these kinds of partnerships! The colors have a good mix of neutral and on trend aspects. That being said, with kits I feel the same way about kits as I do palettes – they can be tricky if you don’t 100% love all the colors. For the Full Face Kit I cannot wear the Heat Stroke Eyeshadow quad by itself. It takes a lot of mixing with cools or neutrals for me to be able to pull off the colors easily – I did test everything for several days and embraced the red eye look at home and while out and about. It was well outside of my comfort zone. The rest of the items are more my vibe although I do think the color are dupeable. If you are looking to add more to your collection at a value price these items are great. If you own a lot of MAC already you may want to shop your stash.

My favorite item is the Hot and Heavy highlighter. It’s the perfect mix of warm gold + champagne for my skintone! I also really like the Cream Pie Lipglass as a wearable pale milky pink. Have you tried anything from this launch yet? What did you think?

You can find the MAC Patrick Starrr Summer Starrr Face Kit and Highlighter out now. The Summer Starrr Full Face Kit runs at $49.50 and Hot and Heavy Face Powder retails for $34. Available now at MAC Cosmetics, Nordstrom, Ulta, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Dillard’s.

MAC Patrick Starrr items provided courtesy of MAC for review.

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