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What was the last beauty product that surpassed your expectations?
Burberry’s Liquid Lip Velvets! I did not think they were going to be so pigmented + long-wearing!
— Christine
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KVD Hawkwind! Far more comfortable than I had ever imagined it would be, although so was Sanctuary from the same line. Not only comfortable, but got compliments while I had it on! Also, very impressed by both Duochromatic Highlighters I got from Nyx…more on my 2nd one tomorrow!
Inglot AMC Matte Lip Pencils : I’m impressed with their formula. They are matte but non-drying as they are formulated with avocado oil. I love that they can be used as lipstick and they can also be sharpened to a fine point and be used as a lip liner (the sharpener is included at the other end).
Charlotte Tilbury’s pillow talk lipstick OMG I dont even want to use it often it dosent even need liner it plumpls up lips leaves the silky smooth I never experienced such a finish with a lipstick… and I am a hard core lipstick lover
I brought a Jeffree Star liquid lipstick in Pumpkin Pie from Beautylish during their sale. I love the color but what most impressed me is that I forgot I was wearing lipstick, it was that comfortable. I’ve tried many liquid lipsticks and usually they feel dry on my lips .Also love my new Jouer lip toppers so much! I will be buying different colors from both brands.
The Milani 2-in-1 foundation. I grabbed it at the drugstore because I had read good reviews, but I was still very impressed by it. I have only used it a few times but so far I think it’s an amazing value for the price, with great coverage that still looks rather natural.
For skin care, the Shiseido Ibuki sleeping mask. Colour cosmetics – well, I don’t want to say Chanel Empreinte du Desert again 😉 so I think it might be the Smashbox Be Legendary lipstick in Legendary (which is in the “non-matte” formula).
Viseart matte shadows in general. Even though I expected a lot from them I was blown away by their colour pay-off and ease of use!
ABH Modern Renaissance Palette. I thought it was hype. It is rightly deserved hype and more. Colors are pigmented. They blend like a dream. You can wear practically any combo and it never looks muddy. So many beautiful rich colors. Absolutely perfect!
Same here! I resisted for ages and I’m so glad I gave in. It’s one of my main go-to palettes these days.
You are so right! I picked mine up in January and still can’t believe I waited as long as I did. I love using it with the new Stila magnificent metals glitter & glow liquid shadow in Karma Kitten. To die for.
Agree with your pick, Christine and have one more to add: NARS soft matte complete concealer. I can successfully wear this concealer under my eyes. That’s a biggie for me since I have mature skin and all the traditional liquidy concealers end up cakey or drawing bad attention to the area by sinking in, drying out, and adding non-existing crepeyness. I picked up in shade Cannelle which is light with slight peach undertone to combat my discoloration and deep grooves (tool: Marc Jacobs concealer brush LOVE. I can buff away most of the groody horror show going on in that area with a very light application. I do need to set with a smidge of powder. I have purchased so many concealers over the past year and plenty of them work very well for everything but the undereye area. This one is the reverse: best for under my eyes, but too much slip for the rest of my face. I’m impressed by the product and for me probably the best NARS face product since their Tinted Moisturizer IMO.
The LA Girl Pro Concealers. They are surprisingly very good!
Exceeded expectations in a good way: Nyx HD blushes in Nude’tude and Taupe. Finally, colors that I can bronze and contour with!
Exceeded expectations in a not so good way: Nyx green liquid color corrector. It’s not really green, it’s more of a minty blue with a slight grayish tint. Doesn’t work on the red in my skin
Some of the Buxom eye shadows, the individual ones that you can buy to make your own palette. Smooth, buttery, fantastic pigmentation, no fallout, no creasing, lasts all day!
Three:
Chanel Empreinte du Desert quad. I’m late to the fan club, but man, is this wonderful!
Sisley Phyto Poudre Libre. I can use it to set, buff, all while looking natural, not dry or cake-y at all.
P50 1970 from Biologique Recherche. What this stuff has done for my skin…no words. No wonder it’s the decades-long cult product that it is.
Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche lipsticks.
I have lipstick storage and then lipstick stash (the high rotation lipsticks for quick access). Bite Amuse Bouche is definitely my key grab. They have the colours I want, the texture I like and I get excellent staying power.
Yes, they really tick all the boxes, don’t they?
I think the Clinique Acne Solutions BB Cream… it has a very good coverage, a thin consistency, and performs really more like a thin foundation than a BB Cream, I like that!
Hourglass blush in incandescent Electra. It is just so good. I’ve never seen anything that gives me such a beautiful glow that is so pigmented and so easy to blend so buttery so dreamy. I would definitely get some more blushes. Im disappointed that this year their three pan blush palette has the strobe lights instead of ambient lights. If they had the original formula I’m probably buying 3 of them.
I LOVE that blush. I think it’s my favorite coral blush of all time.
I’d say the Hourglass Lip Stylo. I expected hydration and nice packaging based on your review; have been pleased it’s that and more: long lasting, really hydrating (sometimes they say it is, nice when it really is), easy application, very comfortable, just-right level of pigmentation for my tastes.
I’ve been wearing Liberator every day since I bought it a few weeks back and agree with everything you said about the formula!
NARS Creamy Concealer. I think I had forgotten what it’s like to use a concealer under the eyes that actually performs well. It was a revelation. Lol.
I also got a sample of MUFE Acrylips in 401, and I’m so impressed I might pick it up down the line. That takes a lot for a red these days, I have about a half dozen great ones but don’t reach for them often enough to buy more without them being something special. 401 was that perfect maraschino cherry red I dream about, felt light on, and wore well.
TF lipsticks have been worth all the hype so far. I’m still not sure any lipstick is worth the price but they come close.
Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette. The colors work on me so much better than I thought they would, and the shadows are really nice to work with. I can’t believe how much I ended up loving it, because when I saw reviews for it online, I was pretty “meh” about it.
Artis brush #7 & MAC Prep & Prime Correcting Powder Compact in Illuminate — both HGs. And I really like Physicians Formula cushion concealer compact in salmon/lavender.
NARS Unfiltered I cheek palette. I expected it to be good, as I have 2 other NARS blushes. But MAN it was pigmented and smooth. Blew me out of the water.
I picked up Unfiltered II and use it daily. It’s honestly my favorite blush set and highlighter.
High Five! It was such a good value, and definitely my favorite blushes at the moment.
BareMinerals original foundation & using it with their heavenly brush & original primer. I did not think I was going to like it that much because I always used liquid foundations. Not that I have been loving liquid foundations because I have not and if it weren’t for the sample of BareMinerals I probably would still not be crazy about liquid foundations but I would still be using them. I will still finish what I have but already but the BareMinerals looks the most natural with coverage and I really like when something could look natural with coverage.
Some time ago. The new urban decay vice lipsticks in comfort matte and cream finish are much better than I expected.
Lancôme Effacernes Waterproof Concealer. I have a history returning concealers because a lot of them faded and creased. I settled on it Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye for awhile. It gave me the coverage I needed but still creased here and there. I am 58 and have dry under eyes and very dark circles.
BTW a few years back I asked a SA at Sephora which was the best concealer and she said Lancôme, I looked at the price and stayed away from it not realizing that it was only $4 more than the others (Urban Decay, NARS, etc.) and had t least 2x the amount of product. Can’t cry over spilled milk.
Also, Mandy Davis MUA on YouTube did a thorough review on the concealer and that convinced me!
RMS face oil. Cost less than Rodin and African Botanics. Love the product. My skin just drinks it up. Better than Sisley Black Orchid.
Laura Geller grapefruit Brighten and highlight blush. It has swirls of peach, pink and a light brown that anybody could wear and it layers delishously. Next would be Dior Blackout mascara.
I wear that blush pretty much every day for months now! It’s amazingly pigmented and lasts all day on me, is very smooth and easy to work with, and the color is basically perfect on me.
Yes, it is pretty amazing. I have several of her blushes and that’s my favorite. I’m sure it’s beautiful on you.
I can happily say there have been multiple products I’ve been blown away by. 1) ABH Modern Renaissance 2) IT Cosmetics CC 3) Colourpop pressed eyeshadows 4) NARS Unfiltered II 5) ABH Matte liquid lipstick 6) Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow
I HAVE TO pick up the Burberry lip velvet now!
The last product that completely wowed me was Estée Lauder x Victoria Beckham Modern Mercury highlighter! I picked this up when Selfridges had stocks last week. I debated whether to get it or not (again) as I knew it looks quite so dark, and despite being light medium I don’t usually sport a bronzed look. But I still purchased it because I didn’t want to miss out on it (again) and think about it for another year.
Surprise surprise, I can totally use that as a subtle blush for days of emphasis on lip makeup. With minimal eye makeup and a red lip, a little more bronzer than usual + MM diffused over the cheeks, it looks darn good and only takes me 5 minutes in total. Despite being super pigmented, the highlighter looks so good and natural and not emphasizing any pore sizes AT ALL. It’s the most beautiful sheen that I’ve achieved from highlighters, and I’ve tried most popular highlighters out there on the ma market.
I’m seriously impressed. It pairs especially well with my Chanel 58 in rouge vie, possibly due to the very slight brown ish tone! Love it so much.
Imans’ new concealing foundation is richly pigmented, so I use very little and it is also full coverage. A little bit goes a long way…..
The Clarins Super Restorative foundation in linen – I actually bought it from an online retailer sight unseen. It was such a great price and I knew that Linen was their lightest shade. I was so impressed (and continue to be) with the foundation that I ordered 2 more bottles. I wished I had ordered more.
The foundation is really comfortable to wear, with slightly matte finish and it lasts all day……
Clarins Nude 01 eye palette, nothing special in terms of pigmentation and uniqueness of colors. I wanted the dark to perform better.
Sorry! Misreading.
Bite beauty crime lipgloss. Great formula,texture and lasting ability.
Sephora Cream Lip Stain. I got it in the Play! by Sephora bag, and even though it was red, not my favorite, I was really impressed with it. I actually enjoyed wearing this red, and I liked that the color didn’t morph on my lips, as often happens with reds in a not-good way. I loved this so much that I bought 7 more shades!
Outside of subscription boxes, it’s hard for products to exceed my expectations because I only buy stuff I’m pretty excited about.