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Your skin tone/coloring: above with freckles, green/gray/blue eyes, warm brown hair.
Overhyped product you fell for? Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter.
Last product that surprised you? CoverFX Blush Duos. So much so that I’m getting another one on Friday when they’re on sale!
Last product that felt nearly magical? Fyrinnae Cosmetics Exquisite Eyeshadows… those encompass everything that is magical to me: sparkly duochrome goodness.
That is to say, re: overhyped products, the Flawless Filter was overhyped, but I fell for it and LOVED it. I use it every day.
I have been on the fence about the Flawless Filter since it came out. I think our skin tones are similar, I am light with coolish undertones too. I think I was always concerned it would be too warm on my skin. Can I ask what shade you have and how you use it?
Thanks!
Hi Karen! I use the lightest shade they have available, and tend to use it more as a cream highlight on my cheekbones/temple area after I’ve applied my foundation. It doesn’t break up foundation at all, and I haven’t found it to leave a stripe or anything either. I’ve also used it under more matte foundations or mixed in with cream blushes to give them a glow. Its a super versatile product, and if you’re into creams and like experimenting a little bit, I think you’d really like it! Plus it lasts a really long time, or it has for the amount I use. I’ve had the same bottle for over a year and I’m only about a quarter of the way through the bottle. Hope this helps! 🙂
Your skin tone/coloring: Under my name (blue-green eyes).
Overhyped product you fell for? UD Naked 1. Works splendidly on my beautiful daughter, who has bluer eyes than my own, lighter hair, too. But looks murky on me, unfortunately. The quality definitely is there, though!
Last product that surprised you? YSL Scout’s Red! It brightened up my entire face and looked beyond gorgeous on me. Before that, UD Naked Honey. It makes my eyes light up!
Last product that felt nearly magical? PML Midnight Sun and Decadence Mothership Palettes!
I never fell in love with the original UD Naked palette, either… I wonder if it was reformulated when they replaced the double-ended pencil with the brush…? I got it with the pencil, but it seems everyone I’ve seen/heard race about it got it with the brush…
No dents. Muddy. But i didn’t expect much. The only brown based palette that does not look like the Rio Grande on me is KVD Monarch, which i never would have gotten, except for T.
Your skin tone/coloring: Fair-neutral, low contrast
Overhyped product you fell for? I didn’t care for the PMG Mattetrance lipsticks—while they were very pigmented, they also were quite drying on me (many reviews claimed they were hydrating).
Last product that surprised you? Lancôme Teint Idole long-wear foundation was much better than I was expecting—it’s become my go-to lately. I was expecting it to be difficult to work with and look fake or caked, but the finish is lovely and the coverage/wear is fantastic.
Last product that felt nearly magical? The Bobbi Brown crushed lipsticks and crushed liquid lipsticks are glorious. If I could, I’d gladly trade in the bulk of my other lipsticks for more of those. 🙂
Your skin tone/coloring: Fair-light neutral, gray-blue eyes, and brown-gray hair
Overhyped product you fell for? Becca Light Shifter concealer. It doesn’t conceal anything and makes my under eye look greasy somehow. I’ve started to try to use it as a cheek bone highlight.
Last product that surprised you? Charlotte Tilbury Starry Eyes to Mesmerize eye shadow palette. I have some of her face products, and I’d heard mixed reviews on the eye shadows, but boy, does this palette perform. It’s creamy, goes on buttery, and it really does last all day. I also like that this release has more than just the pinky tones. I’d like to see her do more neutral browns, taupes, and tans and less pink.
Last product that felt nearly magical? After reading reviews here on Temptalia, I bought my first Tom Ford palette in Nude Dip. I love how soft the colors are, and I just feel some sort of fancy when I put it on.
Your skin tone/coloring: Fair neutral preferring cooler base products
Overhyped product you fell for? Charlotte Tilbury lipliners! I just do not understand the hype.
Last product that surprised you? ABH eye primer. Not the biggest ABH person, but that thing truly is a gem for working with bright colors.
Last product that felt nearly magical? I got a chance to try on the Sol De Janerio perfume before work closed and it was AMAZING. Truly worked well for me, which was wild. Sadly, I don’t wear enough perfume WFH to justify it.
The ABH eye primer is so great for my oily hooded lids, I have repurchased it even if the first on oozed like crazy for the entire 6 months… luckily I have no issue with my second one. Wondering if they fixed the packaging or it was something to do with storage (first one I bought from Macy’s, second one from Sephora).
Wear the perfume! Why not 🙂
Your skin tone/coloring: Under my name
Overhyped product you fell for? Pat McGrath eye shadows were not special for me.
Last product that surprised you? The Tati Blendiful. I needed a powder foundation while on vacation and did not have the right brush with me. It was easier to get a Blendiful. I liked being able to use one thing to apply powder foundation, bronzer, and blush and then having only one thing to wash.
Last product that felt nearly magical? Hair spray. Nothing else smooths that halo of frizz.
Your skin tone/coloring: above w/ medium brown hair, not-very-blue eyes
Overhyped product you fell for? Good Genes *sigh* I received it as a Christmas gift. It smells like PEZ candy and makes my skin feel pretty. Too bad overhyped usually means overpriced!
Last product that surprised you? Hm—I was pleasantly surprised by the Ordinary’s niacinamide formula.
Last product that felt nearly magical? Sydney Grace’s shimmer shadows! Especially Tiara and Lucky Peach.
Your skin tone/coloring: Light neutral skin tone, green eyes, s&p hair
Overhyped product you fell for? The last time I bought something purely based on the hype was probably Fenty Universal Gloss Bomb. I don’t like lip gloss and I should have known better, but I fell for the hype.
Last product that surprised you? Benefit Precisely My Brow, which I bought for the first time a couple of months ago. I’ve used a lot of different brow pencils, but this one is the easiest and it comes in a perfect gray shade for me, which is not an easy shade to find.
Last product that felt nearly magical? Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks. I never thought I’d fall head over heels in love with an eyeshadow that’s not a powder. Every cream or crayon shadow I’ve ever used creased really badly. But LM Caviar Sticks are very magical.
The same thing happened to me recently with the Caviar Sticks. I have heard the hype for years and I was like “bleh, it is a pencil, who cares?” I am eating my words for sure, and it makes me extra curious about ByTerry’s eyeshadow pencils as well, since they are similarly applauded.
I agree about those caviar sticks!! I thought that wouldn’t stay put. They do. Very magical and lovely indeed!
Oooh, these are some good questions!!
Your skin tone/coloring: Pale-warm, blue eyes, dark brown hair
Overhyped product you fell for? Gosh, isn’t that most of them? On the positive side, I would say PMG Mothership palettes, and on the negative side, the beautyblender. I am one of those people that thinks that most beauty sponges are as good or better than the original bb, so it isn’t worth the cost for me. It works well, but so does a $5 Real Techniques sponge. I have been around for so many hyped makeup releases over the years that it is really hard to say what is hype and what is just me liking stuff anymore.
Last product that surprised you? Dr Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment. My cousin got me a pretty generous sample from Sephora, and I was skeptical since I am so fair and my skin is so bleh. I couldn’t wear this product on its own just because I like coverage, but it is nice under a lighter foundation as a tinted primer because it really did cancel out some of my surface redness. It also has SPF in it, which is awesome. Once I finish off the mini pot, I might splurge for the big guy.
Last product that felt nearly magical? Bare Minerals Bounce & Blur blush in Coral Cloud definitely feels magical to me, and I am a big-time blush lover. It is a pleasure to put on and it looks amazing on the skin. For the longest time, I thought the Bounce & Blur stuff was just a gimmick, but now I can see myself purchasing at least 2 more of these blushes and using them regularly.
I love the BM Bounce and Blur blushes!
Your skin tone/coloring: Fair, neutral to cool.
Overhyped product you fell for? I wouldn’t say “overhyped” beause it might work for other people. I finished my third bottle of Sunday Riley Autocorrect Brightening and Depuffing Eye Contour Cream, and haven’t seen ant signifiant benefits. So, I won’t repurchase it.
Last product that surprised you? Physicians Formula – Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner (Deep Brown). Can’t believe I found something that gets so close to my beloved HG Dior – Diorshow On Stage Liquid Eyeliner and for less than half of the price.
Last product that felt nearly magical? Acwell Licorice Toner.
The Eye Booster from Physicians Formula is simply amazing… I’m surprised when people find about it recently, when it’s like 5-6 years since people discovered it and fell in love. I almost assume is a cult product!
It’s very similar to all the HGs like KVD Tattoo Liner, the Stilla overhyped one and Fenti’s flyliner… unless you get one of these for free as a mini from Sephora, it’s not worthwhile spending more… just grab the eye booster. 🙂
It is Ana Maria! I had a “where have you been all my life” moment 🙂
I was shopping online on well.ca (my fellow Canadians are probably familiar with the site) and they have weekly sales. Two weeks ago, PF products were on sale. Initially I wanted to purchase only their Skin Booster Vitamin Shot Time-Restoring, as it is highly recommended by Beautypedia, while I saw on the same page the review for the eyeliner, rated 5 stars, with the caption “this is one of the best liquid eyeliners available anywhere at any price”. Indeed it is.
How’s the PF Vitamin Shot Time Restoring working for you? I finished an entire bottle, and didn’t find it did anything for me… I picked it up on a whim (there was a good sale, LOL!), and I hadn’t heard anything about it, so I went in with no expectations, but I noticed no difference…
I never got a Big Bang from the Acwell, and did not continue it after it was done. What made it special to you?
Your skin tone/coloring: Light-medium with warm yellow undertone, dark brown hair and eyes
Overhyped product you fell for?
In a good way: I was tired of Anna from theannaedit and Ingrid Nielsen speaking about Hourglass brow products… so I fell for purchasing them and fell in love.
In a bad way: Everything Charlotte Tilbury, but the one I regret the most is definitely the pressed setting powder.
Last product that surprised you?
In a good way: MAC Veluxe Brow liner. As a fan of teardrop shapes for brow pencils, I never expected to like a classic pencil this much. And it takes so long to use up one… even used daily it would probably take me 2 years to use it up.
In a bad way: Maybelline SuperStay Full Coverage powder foundation. I really liked the SuperStay Full Coverage liquid foundation and the SuperStay Better Skin powder from the Search SuperStay line… but the powder… it’s the worst one I tried in a long while… doesn’t set, it cakes up, looks dry but still doesn’t control oil.
Last product that felt nearly magical? Make-up never felt `magical` to me, that kind of experience usually comes from skincare to me. Starting using peptides had a magical almost effect on my skin, I’m simply hooked on Paula’s Choice Peptide Booster. Although the only thing magical right now is hand cream. 😆
Well… well… how could I forget haircare… biggest over hyped products I felt for are Olaplex and Briogeo… they’re not that bad, but they didn’t do anything for my hair… many drugstore products gave me more results than them.
And the Briogeo hair mask… common, tons of drugstore conditioners do 10x a better job than it.
I didn’t care for Briogeo, either… I’m *extremely* low-maintainance when it comes to my hair, but I got a deluxe sample, and decided to try it. I don’t remember which shampoo/conditioner it was, aside from being for dry hair, but it actually ended up making my hair feel worse…
Your skin tone/coloring: light, MAC NC 20
Overhyped product you fell for? Pat McGrath in general, Colourpop 9 pans specifically. Sorry both are so overrated!
Last product that surprised you?
I’d say the Kylie lip products. I didn’t expect to like them but I do but then again unless you’re a certain “influencer” you cannot mess up lip products ha ha! And maybe Essence Lash Princess in the green tube. It IS good and the hype is real!
Last product that felt nearly magical? Missha BB Cream. I really love it’s staying power and how it feels on my oily skin. It’s probably my favorite BB cream I’ve ever tried!
I bought a “trio” of the Essence mascaras around the holidays, but haven’t gotten a chance to try them, yet (I’m working my way through some others), but I think they’ll be next on the list. I’ve been on the Too Faced Better Than Sex, and while not a horrible product, I just don’t get the hype… Fortunately, it was a free deluxe sample!
Me neither – Better Than Sex smeared everywhere and didn’t do anything special where it actually stayed on.
I think TF BTS is just ok. It’s not nearly as messy and flaky as its dupe the L’Oréal Lash Paradise. I didn’t have any issues with smearing and flaking but it doesn’t do anything super special either. I wouldn’t repurchase it since there are better affordable mascaras out there. Hint, hint Essence Lash Princess?
I love the Missha M BB cream as well! Do you watch Jessica Braun’s videos on YouTube? Just curious because that is the only place I’ve ever heard of this bb cream and I’ve seen very few people talk about it.
I think I’ve learned of it from Jessica Braun and was able to buy from Riley Rose before they went out of business. Also Robert Welsh speaks highly of the BB Cream as does Melissa Gold, an Aussie YouTuber. They both talk highly of much Asian beauty brands. So one of the three got me hooked on the Missha BB Cream?
Your skin tone/coloring: fair, cool
Overhyped product you fell for? Probably NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. I got it when it first came out and I’m still trying to finish it off but it’s one of the worst concealers ever for me.
Last product that surprised you? Too Faced Peach Blur Translucent Finishing Powder – got it cheap (Marshalls) on the recommendation of a friend and loved it so much I got a back-up.
Last product that felt nearly magical? Youth to the People Glowberry Oil (I know I go on and on about it but…) and rms beauty Champagne Rose Luminizer
The Peach Blur is still one of my absolute favorites! So glad we discovered this and the TF Radiant Matte Bronzer.
I’m so DUMB!!!! I didn’t realize this was YOU!!!! Hi, buddy!
RCC, yup. Resisted forever, then knew why I did. Every cheap Make Up Revolution concealer is better for me than RCC.
Lt – med warm skin, blue-green eyes, gold-lt. brown hair or coppery depending on last dye job.
Hyped: ABH Sultry palette. Quite like it. Hardly ever use it. I guess I had too many dupes already for most shades. Also hyped – PMG lipsticks. I love the formula, but hate how hard it’s been to find the right colors for me based on their website. Christine (of course) does a much better job of previewing how the color looks irl, but the shades I’ve bought consistently end up too dark and kinda muddy on me. Maybe the lesson is that I can’t buy lipstick w/out trying it on first.
Surprise: Colourpop SSS – been a few years now, but I was and still am wowed by the intensity, complexity and just prettiness of these shadows. Plus love the sparkle that doesn’t land on my face.
Miracle? – Not sure I’d use that word, but biggest game changer has been learning to contour – giving me a way to create ‘better’ proportions and symmetry. What comes to mind really is a new perfum oil I have – Maison Louis Marie No. 09 Valle de Farney. OMG. Woodsy, green, natural vibe. Doesn’t last, but I’m happy to reapply, it takes me to beautiful wild woods & rivers.
Your skin tone/coloring: Light/medium, neutral undertone
Overhyped product you fell for? Too many to list, LOL! But probably one of the most recent disappointing products was Physicians Formula Organic Wear Dewy Blush Elixir – it was AWFUL on my skin.
Last product that surprised you? Milani Silky Matte Bronzing Powder, for an everyday bronzer/contour it is the perfect shade.
Last product that felt nearly magical? The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution – this has become my weekly “facial”.
Your skin tone/colouring: Porcelain, with pink undertones
Overhyped product you fell for? I don’t generally go for ‘hyped’ products, but I did for ABH Sultry palette and it was worth it. Absolutely sensational.
Last product that surprised you? A couple – L’Oreal’s True Match foundation in porcelain rose. Once upon a time I couldn’t wear L’Oreal’s foundations because they were all yellow based, but since they extended the line, I found the porcelain rose shade. It is very easy to apply, soft on my skin and lasts all day.
Secondly, Covergirl’s Clean Air blush in graduated peach/coral tones. I would never normally go near a DS blush, but this was on sale and I thought that in an emergency, it would do. It turns out to be the perfect shade for me and lasts for about 4/5 hours. Much better than I thought it would be.
Last product that felt nearly magical? CP’s Lux Lipsticks are so fabulous that I really don’t buy any other brand now. I have a few from Bite Beauty and I don’t find them as comfortable to wear as the CP ones.
Your skin tone/coloring: Under my name; magenta/red hair; hazel/green eyes.
Overhyped product you fell for? I don’t know if “fell for” is the right word, since they’re beautiful and wonderful quality, but the three PML x Star Wars palettes. I really jumped through more hoops and paid more money than I should have. lol Plus, I am struggling a bit trying to make Decadence work for me.
Last product that surprised you? SugarPill Capsule Collection C2. I thought I’d like C1 better, but I’m really loving the quality and color story of C2.
Last product that felt nearly magical? PML x Star Wars Dark Galaxy Palette
If there was ever a thing I wish PMGL would re-release it’s the Dark Galaxy palette.
Your skin tone/coloring: fair, slight peach/pink undertone
Overhyped product you fell for? Too Faced Hangover primer. Did absolutely nothing for my dry skin, waste of money. I need a heavier silicone primer like Touch in Sol No Poreblem or Bare Minerals Prime Time Original.
Last product that surprised you? Bare Minerals Gen Nude Utopia eyeshadow palette. I’ve been wanting it ever since the launch, and finally grabbed it on sale 2 weeks ago from Nordstrom Rack. Definitely worth it, I’m in love with the flattering rose-golds and the purples. The shadows are easy to blend and last all day.
Last product that felt nearly magical? KVD Vegan Beauty Browstruck brow powder. Currently on sale at Sephora. It has this kind of ‘Volumizing’ shimmer in it where you think ‘this isn’t going to work, my brows will look weird’ but when you apply it’s like magic, beautiful fluffy brows with no trace of shimmer. I bought up 5 of them just in case they discontinue… it’s really that good!
Your skin tone/coloring: fair/cool skin (foundation matches: Fenty Pro Filt’r 110, Urban Decay All Nighter 2.5, NARS Natural Radiant Longwear 2.0 Mont Blanc, Kevyn Aucoin The Etherealist Light EF 02, L’Oreal True Match C3 Creamy Natural), gray eyes, brown hair with red highlights and scattered blonde/blue strands
Overhyped product you fell for? I guess Fenty eye/lip crayons? I heard a lot about them, then they got a bad review here, but I got the Frost Money set anyway and I somehow get unexpectedly good results.
Last product that surprised you? Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes. I didn’t expect them to be so richly pigmented.
Last product that felt nearly magical? Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips. They’re smooth, provide clear, strong color, seem to give my lips nutrients, and from what I’ve seen on the CT virtual try-on feature, they appear to be universally flattering or close to it.
I wanted to say thank you for continuing to post while the world falls apart. I have noticed a lot of makeup blogs, youtubers, etc. feel like they need to comment on the crisis or apologize for their jobs or whatever, but as a consumer of all things beauty I just want my news, swatches, reviews, grwm, and all that stuff without having to scroll past, or skip through, the other things. Yes, we’re all watching the news. No, I don’t think a “beauty influencer” needs to tell me how to care for myself in quarantine – there are plenty of health professionals and common sense to do that, thanks. What would really be helpful is to hold steady and provide a stable, reliable space for people to come to and unwind.
I have always appreciated your professionalism and neutral stance on everything happening around you and continue to do so today. Thanks, Christine. 🙂
ps – I’d answer the questions but I really can’t think of anything!
Thank you, Z! I’m glad that my direction is working for you 🙂 I find I am overwhelmed in almost every avenue of my life (even when I am trying to decompress and tune out for a lil’ bit), so I know I wanted this space to remain as it as – focused on beauty with only minor mentions (rather than it being a focal point) as they come up.
I like to use Twitter as my platform to share a little on top of beauty, like re-tweeting a good resource (whether that’s knowing your voting rights or how to wash your hands!), but I’ve been trying to keep this space lighter for sure!