Kat Von D’s Saint + Sinner palette! I liked how all of the looks I tried with it came out, and the quality was better overall than I expected (given some of the brighter shades in it).
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It’s got to be Dior Rosy Glow Blush. Seriously, I am so loving that blush and it’s the only blush I’ve used for close to 3 weeks.
I almost bought it when it came out, and because I didn’t want to take off my blush and try it on (it’s supposed to be self-adjusting), I passed. It’s been on my wish list ever since. So many people love this blush!
Anne, it is such a great blush….seriously! I have a lot of blushes (it’s not as big a weakness as eyeshadows with me, but it’s close) but I have even put aside my previous favourites for this. The price is pretty steep but with Optimum points, I was able to save $30, which is nice. But even at full price, this is worth it. I do wish they didn’t bother including a brush because, of course, you’re paying for the brush every time you buy it. If you’re warm toned, I would try it out in store – I don’t know how well (or not well) it adjusts for warmer skin tones so if peach and coral blushes are more your shade, test it out first, I’d suggest.
Mariella, I’m really interested in this blush. I have fair/light skin w/cool to neutral undertones. I heard that even if the colour looks like a strong pink, it translates into a very natural blush onto the skin, with a matte yet natural glowy finish. I will check it out at Shoppers Drug Mart 🙂
Mariella, I have pink undertones, but just looking at it in Sephora, I thought it might be a touch too blue for me. Even though I have cool undertones, I can’t go too blue. Anyway, I’ve been meaning to try it on for ages because I know how many people love this blush. I just need to make the time, try it on and see how it adjusts.
The Too Faced Pretty Little Planner. I got talked into buying it (without swatching first – gasp!) and it’s really good.
Definitely the Sleek Oh So Special palette. Super impressed with the quality and the price is just a bonus!
Cle de Peau concealer. Smooth, great coverage.
Butter London Sheer Wisdom Lip Oil. Just a slight wash of color, and it does not bleed. At all. And I don’t know how. Feels great, no verboten for me ingredients. And, ‘course, the added benefit of half off at Ulta. Win…win…win. Will probably do others, when BL sale rolls around again.
Bare Minerals Original Foundation and just Bare Minerals in general. I have always passed on them and thought of them as a bit of a gimmick but for some reason I gave them a whirl and have really liked them. Their loose mineral foundation builds up nicely and feels like nothing on the skin. Shockingly surprised by them!
Their eyeshadow quads and duos are pretty good as well. I have quite a few of them and they are all stunning.
I’ll have to check them out. I love their blush and Gen nude lipstick line.
I felt the same about Bare Minerals, since they used to be known for their powder foundations (not my thing), but I’ve gotten some nice products in subscription boxes/bags. I have a blemish controlling primer that I use on days when I’m breaking out and don’t want my usual luminizing primer, and I got a translucent pressed powder duo that has both a matte and a shimmer powder. I really like that duo.
For me it is the little bday blush I got from Sephora by Tarte in the color Paaarty. Did not expect anything about it — how good it is, how long it lasts, and how nice that color looks on me.
I love that blush also and like you I didn’t have any hopes of liking it as it didn’t look like anything I would pick out on my own. I swear it has pixie dust or something in there because it transforms on the face into this beautiful, natural looking flush. Love it.
LindaP, I love my little pan of Paaarty, too! Never thought it could show up on my cheeks, but it sure does! Wish Tarte would add this shade to their permanent line-up.
I don’t know about Sephora US. but it’s available in a full size on Sephora .CA!!
Shannon- I just checked the US site, and Paaarty is there! Plus, it’s also in-store as well. Thank you for putting it out there that Sephora now sells this shade as a permanent blush!
I got this, too. It’s not a color I would normally wear, but it looks pretty nice and stays on well.
I have Paaarty in full size and agree, it’s a nice blush!
I recently tried the Essence Volume 18Hr mascara, and I was so surprised by how well it worked for my lashes! The brush seemed like it would be disastrous, but it did so well (especially for being $5)!
YSL Tatouage Couture Liquid Matte Lip Stain (16 Nude Emblem and 11 Rose Illicite): light like a feather, not drying and with great staying power.
I am going with the Huda Desert Dusk palette. I picked it up for myself since I was buying one for my daughter and figured I would give it a whirl. I guess I wasn’t anticipating it being bad or that I hated the color selection but I thought it would be just ho-hum. I have been so pleasantly surprised by how much I love it and how often I have used it in the week I have had it. I didn’t get her first palette. I can’t actually remember what it was called but I had so many similar colors that I figured I would save the money. Now I am kind of leaning towards picking it up.
On a different note Deborah, I was in Mecca Maxima yesterday and got myself a little sample pot of the foundation that you love so much in porcelain. I haven’t tried it yet, but it does look amazing. It retails for $40 Aus here, which is pretty good as Revlon foundations retail for about $35-37. No worries if you want to get some more as its easily available.
Thank you, Genevieve. That is very kind of you. I will be getting two from New Zealand in probably just over a week so when I am getting low we will see if it is still available. It is the perfect foundation for me as it had just the right undertone, the coverage was great for me and never looked cakey. It gave me a soft luminous glow which is in the name but so many foundations that say they are luminous either aren’t (I am looking at you Nars Sheer Glow) or they are actually oily. This foundation sits right in the sweet spot between the two, on me anyway. Everyone is different. Here’s hoping you like it, LOL. Smart to get a sample first.
I haven’t picked up Desert Dusk yet. But Rose Gold, the first one, was a pleasant surprise to me too. It got such mixed reviews, more on the negative side, but it’s beautiful and I have created some great looks with it. Desert Dusk is definitely on my wish list. All the Huda products that I have tried have surpassed my expectations.
Of things I’ve actually purchased; MAC Nicki’s Nude Lipstick and NUDE Lipglass worn together! This combo works due to there being enough beige to peach ratio for them not to be too dull or too vividly light, bright peach. This combo hits the perfect balance, and works even though it’s lighter than my own lips.
Of products I’ve seen reviewed; KVD Saint & Sinner palette, plus several of the newest Too Faced palettes have been very pleasant surprises! But it’s the ND Lila Palette that has swept me off my feet into my happy purple place! ?
Tarte Shape Tape Concealer. Just like every other concealer I’ve ever tried in my life, both high end and drugstore, I expected it to be cakey and/or streaky. But it’s not. It blends beautifully and stays on all day. I’m very pleasantly surprised.
The only negative is the packaging. The formula is super thick and dense, so a couple of little dots under each eye is all I need, which means I have to be very careful applying it with its weirdly oversized applicator sponge.
Just tap under your eyes with the tip of the applicator, instead of trying to use that huge doefoot. Three tiny taps under each eye works for me!
That’s exactly what I do! I don’t know what they were thinking with that gigantic doe foot. Lol!! I’ve seen people on YouTube applying tons of concealer…never understood that.
Agree with Christine re: Saint and Sinner! Every day I keep surprising myself with some of the looks I’ve been able to come up with. I love KVD eyeshadow formulation already, so I had good expectations, but this totally blew me away with the quality (staying power, blendability, lack of need for primer with several shades, etc.), and the unique beauty of a few of the shades. I really don;t have anything like it in my collection.
If you can believe it, Aldi brand Lacura mineral mascara which retails for $AU10. I bought it on a whim after finishing a tube of $40 mascara and this stuff is amazing.
It’s the perfect formula for me (I hate thickening and waterproof mascaras). Zero clumps, perfect coverage, great brush (one of those rubbery ones which has dense nodules that distribute product evenly), even nice rose gold packaging. The neck of the tube is tight so it scrapes most of the product off so you don’t end up with blobs of product, but it’s very buildable and flexible,plus it washes off with just my regular cleanser.
Define HG mascara for me.
I have been very pleasantly surprised by the Natasha Denona Lila palette!! It is currently my most used palette. I’ve gotten complements every time I’ve worn it by different people every time! I had the Sunset palette as well, but returned it due to its horrible quality, I’ve honestly never used such bad eyeshadows as those ones. The Lila palette is really making me wonder if I had gotten a bad batch of the Sunset palette. I’m now considering purchasing another Sunset palette when it comes back in stock just to see.
Marc Jacobs Flesh & Fantasy Air Blush! I got it on the recommendation of Bailey Layne on YT. It was a total splurge and I didn’t think it looked that exciting or worth the money frankly but she raved over it. I picked it up and it has become my new holy grail blush. I freaking LOVE it. I’m obsessed. It is so effortless and beautiful. I like to use it everyday. If I need a little extra pop of color, sometimes I put Nars Bumpy Ride in the apples of my cheeks too. A lovely combination, it just makes you look fresh and healthy. Anyway Flesh & Fantasy is the last makeup product that surprised me with how much I love it and also in a long time that I got which just makes me feel special every time I use it. 🙂 Worth the money for me.
Saint + Sinner for me, too. I waffled on whether to get it for a long time. I loved the packaging, but was worried there were too many brownish shades and that the colors wouldn’t work as a cohesive palette. I saw Kat swatch the shades on her channel shortly before it released, and that convinced me to take a chance.
Boy, am I glad I did! The shadows look so gorgeous in person. A lot of the shades aren’t as neutral looking in person as they were in photos. The shades totally work together, even though it seems like the shouldn’t. It’s a completely genius palette and fantastic quality.
The Nude by Nature BB creme in porcelain. It was exactly my shade, which is unusual to find because generally they are still too dark for me.
Another beauty product that I was very pleased with is the Natio Dose of Colours eye shadow palette in Golden – a really good mix of neutrals (both cool and warm) and the pigmentation is pretty good.
I just ordered from It Cosmetics their Bye Bye Foundation when it came out. Well the wait was worth it!
Love it! medium coverage and covers my melisma. I am happy.
I apologize for being boring, but I just have to say Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil. Always thought of Smashbox as of the makeup brand, not skincare, so I was really surprised how good it is for my dry skin, how plump it is and how it works with foundation.
The Hourglass foundation stick. I didn’t expect to like a stick foundation. I thought it would be tough to blend and look patchy. But when I got this in my Play by Sephora bag, it was surprisingly creamy and blendable, and they actually sent a shade that wasn’t too light for me (highly unusual)! It was maybe one shade too light, but I can work with that, and I really liked it. I would consider repurchasing in a shade or two darker.
I went to Sally’s Beauty today to get hair dye & nose rings. I always look at the makeup & sometimes find cute eyeshadow singles & palettes that are cheap. I think the brand I usually get is “Bitzy”. I saw they had a few new products today. They were $1.69 so I tried a few. I got a cream glitter shadow. It looks exactly like UD “distortion” heavy metal glitter eyeliner. I have had that on my wish list for a while. It is a creme & it applied so well on bare lids with no shadow or prier. I will have to play with it more, but I cannot believe the quality. I also got a holographic lip top coat in a lavender shade & it was stunning! I am going tomorrow to get every shade of both!
Lile others have mentioned, the Tarte paaarty blush was a pleasant surprise. I have never owed a Tarte blush before, and was wary of trying the formula (heard that ithey are hard to pick up) but this one makes the best, as I call it, “nothing blush.”
I also just discovered the MUFE cream lipsticks. Bought two on sale, and I just love them. I usually stick to Bite with the odd MAC, but boy, have I been sleeping on these MUFE ones.