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What brands have you fallen in love with that you weren't into before?
Natasha Denona–I’ve come to appreciate the brand a bit more, even though it’s still very expensive–but I feel like they have made some improvements to their formulas that I don’t have the same issues I had with them before and end up reaching for ND products more during “off time” than I expected. Pat McGrath is now a favorite since the addition of a permanent line–the ultra limited edition launches just made it less appealing to me. ColourPop because I held off on reviewing initially due to how much hype they had, but the hype is warranted (not everything is a winner, but they have a lot of hits!), and it’s really important to me to see better quality, more reliable affordable brands now than it was a decade ago.
— Christine
Anastasia Beverly Hills – because for the longest time, they weren’t available in Canada. And Tatcha and Laneige for skincare.
Mac= bad quality
Benefit = same boring products and high prices
Nars, bobbi brown, dior = the prices are getting ridiculous
Too faced = horrible customer service and a lost package that didnt arrive and dont answer emails
Note- these prices are in mexico
Larissa, try tweeting them about it. I had to do that with my Clover palette. They sent me an email with a different address, and that one got and answer and my issue was fixed very quickly.
By Terry. She really has great products and it seems like the newer releases are way more reasonably priced than in the past.
Colourpop, Bare Minerals, Clinique, Chanel. I just said no or overlooked but gave them a try and I have been impressed.
In the past year, Lorac. While I was aware of them before, they were mostly in my peripheral vision. Now I’ve discovered that, for whatever reason, their products really work well with my skin or coloring or whatever. Even palettes that didn’t score highly here on the blog are like magic for me. Go figure!
Lorac= Carol Shaw’s name in reverse
Makeup artist for the stars years ago.
Used to buy her pressed powder. Good for sensitive skin.
Too bad she discontinued it.
Haave you tried the Pro Metals palette? It is simply divine…..
Viseart, Colourpop, Zoeva. Until the Subculture debacle, I’d’ve said ABH; what with the Soft Glam palette being same as MR formula, I’m hopeful things are back on track. I never knew the original Urban Decay, but these days I’m liking UD.
If this question also applies to skin care, then Paula’s Choice and Jack Black.
Charolette Tilbury
IT cosmetics for skincare
None. It doesn’t work that way for me. I don’t revisit that way, except maybe for a Mac lipsticks long ago. Otherwise, if I don’t like a product, I won’t rerun to that brand.
Definitely Natasha Denona is still on my “I trust their quality” list. But I must say I was surprised by the Too Faced Boss Lady palette, but that said I’m not trusting of everything they do. Right, now I’m trying hard not to fall in love with anyone this year so as to save money for other things (and truly because I don’t need another palette), but I just saw Anastasia Beverly Hills’ newest, “Soft Glam” palette and the liquid lipsticks and my heart is racing a tab bit. And that even when I KNOW I can likely dupe my way through the palette, but it looks so well coordinated!
I feel the same about Soft Glam. I don’t even like ABH eyeshadow palettes & ended up giving them away but I like the layout of this palette. Decisions, decisions.
Juvia’s Place and Clinique. In the past three weeks, I’ve placed 3 separate orders for for eyeshadow palettes.. Each was received with 4 days and I’m loving the quality and colors/finishes over even the most expensive palettes I own.
I received some Clinique minis in a get free gift deal from Belk and love the eye cream so much I bought the largest sized jar. I still have some left in the mini, it’s the best thing ever. I don’t usually spend a lot on skincare because I don’t buy into the hype and marketing claims, but this cream I can’t do without.
Agree about Juvia’s Place. They just did a cool toned palette and I am loving it.
They did a cool-toned palette? With no orange or gold or red? Which one; I’d be interested. thx
It’s called the Douce. Nine shades: 5 are definitely cool or neutral. Champagne, shimmer dirty mauve, fuchsia, shimmer grey green and a bright green that is neutral to cool. The remaining four shades are slightly warmer colors but in a cooler to neutral rendition. The dark brown (I use it as a liner) is definitely cool for a brown. The medium camel has not a trace of red or peach– yellow based. I am fair olive — for me that works. There is a salmon pink that is cooler than the three light to medium peaches in the Viseart Neutrals palette. And then there is a brick brown, which is definitely warm, but cooler than the coppery browns seen in Viseart neutral. In the pan, it appears close to the red brown in the upper right of Dark Mattes. But swatches more like a pinky brown. A blush color– that one I’m not sure if I’d wear it on my eyes. I think you would have to like greens to get the best use out of this palette, though. Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for the detailed response!! <3
I used to be crazy about Mac bur now I like RBR and Nars.
Viseart, Chantecaille and Nabla for makeup. I hadn’t used much Chantecaille before but always purchased one or two products a year but as I have used more and more things I am liking them a lot. I know they are super spendy but I do like that a portion of my money is going to support causes related to conservation and preservation.
Hakuhodo for brushes and that is completely based on Christine and Tarababyz. Once I started using higher end brushes I haven’t looked back. I use to really believe that it didn’t matter what you used to get the product on your face as long as the product was decent. But, I do feel like these higher quality brushed make a difference in application, particularly eye shadow and since I have very hooded lids the right brush is doubly important. I also was never interested in investing in higher end brushes because I loved all the pretty makeup and didn’t want to take any of the money I spend for makeup to buy the brushes. Now that I have a ton of makeup I was more interested in investing in brushes. I did purchase both the face and eye set from Wayne Goss for my daughter two years ago and she swears by them. I just yesterday placed another order from HakuhodoUS because of Christine’s IG post. I thought that little fan brush was the cutest thing and wanted to get it for applying brow bone highlight!! Such an enabler Christine is, LOL.
For skin care it is definitely Tatcha and Sunday Riley. I keep trying to get away from these two brands but several products from each line are like HG for me and when I try to quit using them for cheaper alternatives, I notice a difference right away. Having said that, I do buy and use daily several Olay and some Neutrogena products.
Chantecaille is at the top of my to-try list. I’ve gotten a lot more into luxury within the past year and their products definitely appeal to me – and that’s largely because they support wildlife causes. I know I’ll feel zero guilt about spending. 🙂
I am curious about your favorites from Sunday Riley and Tatcha. I am planning to try both those brands in 2018. I have combination skin, if yours is similar, I might like the products you like.
Hi Tammy,
I would say my skin is overall mostly dry. I occasionally will have some oiliness but mostly around my nose and in the summertime. The products that I use from Sunday Riley are the Ceramic Slip Cleanser, Good Genes, Luna Night Oil and Tidal Brightening Water Balm. I don’t use the Ceramic Slip everyday as it is basically a liquid clay cleanser so it would be hard on my dry skin to use it daily. I use it around my nose area and I also use it as a treatment mask mixing it with the Good Genes and applying to my skin and leaving it on for 10-15 minutes. It is something that I use when my skin seems congested and I need to deep clean. I use the Good Genes daily and most of the time twice a day. I have tried other acid treatments and I will be honest, I don’t have any reason why I prefer Good Genes as opposed to some other cheaper acids available. There is just something about Good Genes that my skin seems brighter and more refined when I am using it and I have tried to use other products but I always go back to Good Genes. The Luna Oil is something I had to come to love. It wasn’t immediate as at first my face broke out like crazy and I stopped using it for awhile. I used other oils and then went back to Luna and after the purge faze I began to like it and my face seems smoother, my pores are less pronounced and my skin seems better hydrated. Tidal is the product that I stop and start using, a lot. I will get frustrated with the high cost and stop using it and use other “water bomb” moisturizers and once again, I notice when I am not using it and I always go back.
Tatcha is a brand that I did a lot of reading about and the camps seem either 100% support or 100% hate it. I read a blog that talked about the claim that “geisha’s” used these components to keep their skin beautiful and that there is no evidence to support that claim. In the meantime I have seen other companies jump onto the “geisha’s” used this band wagon. In the end I decided to try the products and make my own decision. In the end there are 3 products that I love and use daily. The first is the Camellia First Step Cleansing Oil. I have tried balms, oils, soaps, micellar water, etc as my first cleanse. I use waterproof mascara pretty much everyday so I need something that is going to take that stuff off without having to scrub my eyes. Camellia Oil is my perfect cleanser. It goes on like an oil and within a minute my whole face of makeup has melted. It doesn’t turn into a milk, water, whatever and doesn’t claim to. When my makeup is melted I simply wash it off with warm water. It washes off completely, leaves no residue and doesn’t sting my eyes or more importantly, leave a film on my eyes. My daughter wears contacts everyday and she can use the oil without it leaving a trace of residue on her eyes and contacts. I will never be without out. The second product that I also use from Tatcha is the Rice Enzyme Powder. This is a skin polisher and I love the way my skin feels after using. I also like that it doesn’t have micro-beads. As the name implies it is a powder that lathers up to a soft foam and then you massage it into your skin, rinse and pat dry. I have heard some say that it is too messy for them to use but I haven’t had any issues. I wouldn’t blow on it though! I wet my face and my hands. I pour about a dime size amount or less of the powder into the palm of my hand and rub them together and then begin massaging on my face. I love the texture, the foam and the smell. When I am done I rinse and pat dry. I used the initial deluxe sample size for about 6 months as I don’t use it daily. My skin feels incredibly soft, smooth and refined. Lastly I use The Water Cream. Again, this isn’t a product I use everyday but rather if my face is feeling particularly dry I will use the enzyme powder and then follow with the Water Cream and my skin feels very plump in the morning.
There is a new product that is called the Silk Canvas Face Primer which I want to give a try the next time I order from Sephora. It sounds interesting as it purports to create a barrier between skin and pollutants, smooth’s the skin and keeps irritants from getting into pores and causing pore blockage.
Hope this helps. I our preferences for products is very strong so the best advice would be to get some samples and try them before making a huge financial commitment. If you don’t want to spend crazy amounts of money on skin care then I recommend avoiding these for fear you might love them!!
** phase not faze. I don’t know where my head was at and I can’t blame that one on auto-correct!! Also, I should have mentioned, to make the Good Genes go further, I spray my face with a mist and then use about a pump or a half of a pump and the mist allows me to cover my whole face and neck with that amount. The pump allows you to use a fraction of a full pump.
Thank you for your thorough response, Deborah. Based on your recommendations, I definitely want to try the Camellia oil cleanser and rice enzyme powder. I will have to research Good Genes and Luna Oil. Not sure where they would fit in with my current Retin A and glycolic acid regimen.
You are welcome, Tammy. I don’t use prescription Retin A so I don’t know how they would mix. I suspect not well. I have used glycolic acids and still do occasionally but my skin seems to prefer lactic acid.
When it comes to hyped up new-kid-on-the- block brands, I’m a wait and see type buyer. Wait on reputable reviews and see for myself whether the company’s products call to me or make me swoon over them. Some of the ones that have won me over are: Viseart, Huda, Natasha Denona, Fenty, Jouer, and ColourPop.
I’d also add KVD, but her line is far more sporadic in the quality department, but when she does it right, she gives us MetalMatte, Pastel Goth, and some very unique, beautiful lip products.
And she gave us Saint & Sinner, my most used palette of all time?
This isn’t an easy question to answer, as there is no one, singular brand I completely stand by, nor is there any brand I would completely write off. With the latter, I was most recently reminded of this with my accidental purchase of the Too Faced Diamond Light Highlighter; while I haven’t purchased from the brand in quite some time (base products don’t work for my skintone, eye palettes I bought in the past were mediocre, at best), I really do love the highlighter. Also, while some past products looked good, the packaging just turned me off. That said, i do want to take another look at some cheek products. On the other hand, there are some brands I swear by for certain products, particularly NARS for eyeshadow, and am always willing to take a look at cheek products, but base products don’t work for my skintone, and lip products are more than I’m willing to pay. When it comes to base & lip products, I stand by Maybelline, NYX, & L’Oreal, but they’re eyeshadow tends to miss the mark.
As for Luxury & Indie brands, I don’t have much to contribute, as I don’t have a lot from either. When it comes to pricier brands, I just can’t stand by any of them as a whole, since many products really aren’t better in quality than their lower priced counterparts, so unless a color or base product shade is perfect, I just can’t be convinced to pay for packaging. It took a while, but I did finally splurge on a bit of Illamasqua & a few Kevyn Aucoin products, but not before looking into other brands/products, and not finding anything comparable. As for Indie brands, I just don’t feel comfortable supporting any of them; the industry is already oversaturated, and while they do cost less, I feel the added competition is partly responsible for overall price increases, and many brands’ moving into China. My one exception was the Lunatick Cosmetics Labs Contour Book, but that is a truly one-of-a-kind product.
Kat von D. I wasn’t a huge fan of her behavior or her makeup, but this past year or so she seems to have gotten her act together, plus she’s put out some excellent eyeshadow palettes..
Some indie brands that haven’t been around long, so were newer to me: Apocalyptic Beauty (etsy), Igneous Cosmetic (etsy), Black Beauty Cosmetics (etsy), Living Dead Beauty, and ILNP nail polish.
Oh I love the ILNP polishes. And the brush is really good. A bad brush is a deal breaker for me… I’m not a pro lol
Same here, Angie. I don’t do well with stiff or too-narrow brushes.
Pat McGrath
A few indie nail polish brands
Urban Decay, for one. Their product quality is very good, although all their products don’t suit me (I’m 58–I didn’t wear glitter when i was in my 20s and I’m not going there now). Wander Beauty–they have amazingly great products for such a small line. Nudestix–several of their products are very good and they really are quick to apply, as are Wander’s. And, believe it or not, Elizabeth Arden. It’s not the “old lady” brand you’d think. They make great foundations (if you can get a match), blush (cream and liquid), and lipsticks.
I agrree about Elizabeth Arden – their foundations, blushes and especially their lipsticks are sensational. I am able to get their lipsticks on sale through buyinvite.com at an incredibly low price and they have all been beautiful and long lasting.
Agree about Elizabeth Arden (mid-30s here). Also, in terms of skincare, nothing compares to their Ceramide Eye Capsules for my very dry eye area.
Elizabeth Arden’s lippies, mascaras, eye pencils, and blushes are EXCELLENT! EA has replaced Lancome as my ‘go to’ for reliable products.
Probably ND and Viseart. It took me a long time to pull the trigger on them – partly due to cost and partly due to not being able to see them in person.
Jouer is a brand I now keep a close eye on bc of their Skinny Dip palette. I was initially dismissive and skeptical. (Another shimmery neutral palette? Seriously?) But several temptalia readers with collections that surpass my own here convinced me to get it bc it was so unique and innovative.
I’ve never found a powder super-shimmery/glittery eyeshadow that can be applied without an adhesive or base to get no fallout. There are also no volatile silicones in it: which I’m allergic to and are present in many long-wear formulations. I immediately gifted another to my best friend.
– ABH for the eyeshadows;
– Inglot for their gorgeous pastel shades that helped me create a beautiful custom-made ES palette for spring-summr, I also love their concealer and lip pencils;
– CoverFX for their finishing powders, Calming Primer, bronzer (I have the liquid and the powder one) and highlighters. No talc in their powder products! I’m curious to try their newly launched foundation.
– IT Cosmetics for their CC Cream and Bye Bye Redness concealer – life saviors for those w/ rosacea;
– Nudestix for their lip pencils, Magnetic Eye Color pencils that don’t crease and for the best cream highlighter (imho) that I’ve used non stop during this winter;
– Clinique – they have many good, underrated products;
-ILNP (nail polish) and Picture Polish (Aussie brand of nail polish) – I haven’t been using anything else in the past five years since I discovered these two brands and I’m glad they are available in Canada. Less harmful chemicals in them and high-quality.
I thought I was with abh but no. I can honestly say none of them. What I’ve bought from Mac has had good quality.
I would say I like Viseart, hourglass, Mac and Colourpop as far as consistent quality.
Pérsona seems really good. Guess I’m in love with them.
Although I haven’t bought much hourglass. I’ve never tried ND. Seems like they all have strong and weak points.
I don’t understand Urban Decay getting company of the year. I never see anything I want from them. I tried a naked palette.. yuck.
Nudestix, Pat McGrath, Natasha Denona, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Nars, Fenty, Marc Jacobs. I did not used to be much of a lip girl. Now that I have purchased some of Pat McGrath’s lip products, it’s like I’m obsessed, she has created a lip monster in me, her products are sooo good I just can’t get enough, I get compliments all the time and it’s not like I have never worn lip products before!
Because so many of the recent eye palettes in the past two years have been so red/orange/pink themed, I haven’t purchased them.
But I do like the Huda Beauty Smokey Obsessions
Clarins eye quads
Before that, Urban Decay and bareMinerals and the Lorac Pro Metals – which is sensational.
For skincare – Estelle and Thrid, Sukin, La Roche Posay and Swisse.
I forgot to mention Elizabeth Arden for their lipsticks – absolutely amazing.
IT Cosmetics- I avoided their products for a long time because of the tacky Guthy-Renker ad campaign. But their CC cream & Bye Bye concealer rival my $$$s Cle de Peau products.
Rimmel- I am a dept store snob but was really impressed by the quality of Rimmel’s Lasting Finish foundation and their lippies aren’t bad for DS.
Nyx- another cheapie brand that often rivals high end products (love the brow gel, brow pencils, Skinny mascara, & butter glosses)
A challenge to answer I guess most recently Colourpop although I have only tried both the super shock and pressed powder palettes just love them all they stay put no kidding around with these pigments. I love the Saucey palette I got it is beautiful and the Yes! Please. I ended up collecting many of the super shock little tubs in the golden/copper and darker shades love them even some highly pigmented ones to play with. White Rabbit been my favorite. I have loved WetnWild from a while and most things are awesome. I like Clinique, Elisabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, Lancome, love NARS one of my old time favorites. I like to sample from different brands and they all create good as well as crappy stuff so I don’t hate any and love them all. Drugstore I think I prefer Cover Girl anything over Maybelline which makes good mascaras and Revlon plus their prices are sky rocketing ridiculously lately. Essence I have liked many things too. Too Faced their hearts highliter and blushes makes mine melt so cute! Stila has some pretty eye palettes! Is so hard to judge. I don’t follow any brand blindly and like honest brands without fuss and drama. Patric Stars that’s one I’m staying away from can’t stand the guy putting people down and plain mean. He acts like a proud peacock as if he had discovered the cure for cancer. Not! Can’t stand him! I love Johnny Weird instead an Olympian.
Undoubtedly: MAC
Their underwhelming collabs mixed in with the subpar quality at a high-end price point just doesn’t do it for me anymore. Not to mention the packing they come out with for the common consumer all look very outdated. One example of that would be their eyeshadow palettes in both the black plastic packaging and the cardboard with cheesy fonts. They just aren’t worth the money anymore. Another notoriously boring company as of late is Tarte Cosmetics. When was the last time we had an actual collection from them? Off the top of my head, I remember them more for their scandals rather than their products. I am hoping they change their company marketing and management, or at least get some serious retraining because their reputation is at a standstill right now.
Oops wrong post!
Glossier has really gotten me – I love all of the products I’ve tried from them. I’m way more into Urban Decay (I love their moondust shadows way more than I expected to) and ABH than I was 2-3 years ago. I’ve also tried a few indie/lesser known brands that I’ve really loved (Devinah, Strobe, and Nabla). Lastly, I’m looking to place a big Zoeva order soon – the rose gold eye brush set, matte spectrum, and basic moment palettes, hopefully I love them!
I have no serious specific brand attachment at this point and buy from an assortment of favs rather than being captivated by any particular brands’ overall offerings. The following have products I truly love.
Pat McGrath
Estee Lauder
ABH
Kevyn Aucoin
Kat Von D
Hourglass
Marc Jacobs
Laura Gellar
IT cosmetics
I don’t know that I have fallen into love with more things, but I am trying more brands and finding new loves. I was really only into a few brands for many years. I got older, and what I wanted changed due to new and different formulas and colors that work well for me now. I just can’t pull off a lot of the things I did in my 20-30’s. I still like a bright pop of color, I just use different items for that pop now.
I tend to look for different things from different brands, but the ones that I really got into this year were ABH, Juvia’s Place, and Origins for skincare.
I was never one for eyeshadow before because the last time I’d tried it was as a teenager with little skill and terrible drugstore palettes. Now that I’ve invested in decent quality shadows and discovered the virtues of priming your eyes, I can’t stop playing around and trying new techniques. Out of all the things I’ve tried in 2017, ABH and Juvia’s Place impressed me the most.
As for skincare, I tried to go more natural last year and after striking out at Lush a couple of times (I love the store’s concept, but their selection is very hit and miss in my experience), I decided to give Origins a go. So far, I haven’t tried a single product that I didn’t like, from masks to cleansers – as long as you make sure that the product is right for your skin type. No overwhelming scents either!