With summer in full swing, I’ve felt the urge to refresh some of my makeup items. Most products are new releases, some are very old favorites I wanted to try again, and some are just new-to-me. If you love makeup hauls, then let’s get into these beauty products I purchased recently!
These items are listed in no particular order, but I do want to quickly share why I picked them up and my first impressions (or, fresh impression… if it’s a product I used to use years ago haha).
I definitely impulse purchased this brand new cream bronzer but it may be my favorite impulse purchase as of late! Charlotte does very little wrong in my eyes, so I was not surprised I liked this. What I was surprised though, is how nice this cream product works on my oily skin. It has a unique, dryer creamy texture that is said to hold up to sweat and humidity. Plus, the tones are that perfect bronzer/contour mix. Not too warm, not too cool. More to come on this on my YouTube channel.
@brighterdarling I’m OBSESSED. I blindly spent the money on this and I’d do it again💸! Linked in bio with LTK app. @charlottetilbury #charlottetilburymakeup #charlottetilburycreambronzer #oilyskinmakeup #creambronzers ♬ original sound – brighterdarling
I purchased this new Skin Enhancer launch because I felt it was a very unique product to the beauty market. The texture of a cream, the pigment of a balm and the finish of a skin tint… Mario really did something special here. This ‘wash of gel bronze color’ to the skin has a dewy finish, so if you’re super shiny or don’t like dewy, this won’t be for you, but there’s something so effortless and natural about the way this looks. I just can’t decide if I like it MORE than the Charlotte bronzer (above). This one will probably get a YouTube video, too.
With all of these cream products on the market – so many blushes, too! – I really needed to get a handle on mattifying my skin but I do not like that flat appearance of powder. I’ve tried SO many setting sprays and they work for a special occasion, but regular use breaks me out. So I needed a facial mist that would take away the ‘flat’ look after I set my face with powder, but wouldn’t make me too dewy or break me out. So far, this (clean at Sephora) Caudalie Elixir is working beautifully, but I do want to switch to the (even cleaner) Caudalie Grape Water spray next.
A repurchase from my past, the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow powder duo in Taupe may be my summer brow product preference! I’ve noticed the days I have my best looking brows is when I use a brow pomade because the shape of the brow brush I use makes my brows look more symmetrical. However, I don’t love the heavy appearance pomade can sometimes look on the brows, so I went back to my very first brow product ever – the ABH duo. Gives me the same shape as the pomade since I use the same brush, just a lighter, more natural appearance!
@brighterdarling CT is slightly more shimmery, but for my textured/oilier gals, the @loréal paris may be more flattering anyway! Stay tuned tomorrow. #makeupdupe #flawlessfilter #drugstoredupe #makeupdrugstore ♬ original sound – brighterdarling
The HYSTERIA this TikTok has caused on my account is incredible lol. I have Amber Heard to thank for the way this video went viral (at the time of me writing this post, the TikTok has nearly 1MM views and gained me almost 6,000 new followers on TikTok alone! But I dubbed this a drugstore dupe from Loreal for the Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter and although it’s not 100% identical, it does give the skin a pretty luminosity that makes you look like a glowing summer goddess – at a fraction of the CT price.
I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THESE! Beautycounter re-released their creamy concealers with a huge shade expansion and now I have a perfect match which totally changes the way I felt about the concealer. I knew it was a wonderful, blendable, creamy clean concealer, but because the shades weren’t great for my complexion, I didn’t gravitate towards it often. But now I’ve fallen in love (shades Medium 3 and Tan 0 have my heart) and will be using this ALL summer long. So lightweight, such good coverage, so natural looking, and I love knowing it’s super clean. Another one coming soon to YouTube! **I am a BC consultant. If you are reading this from June-Sept, 2022, you can get 30% off your first order with code CLEANFORALL30 at checkout. 🙂
Going back to figuring out how to mattify the face over cream makeup, I was recommended to try this One Size loose powder. It is NOT clean, but for the short summer months I may be using it, I felt it was worth a shot. It definitely is very smoothing, even under the eyes, and is a true translucent powder… but I’m not sure my final thoughts on this one yet.
I was gratefully sent this new palette in PR from the brand, and it’s the cutest palette for the summer! I love warm tones on the eye, but not *too* warm (like oranges, and reds… i’m over those). Every time I’ve worn this palette out, I get compliments on my eyeshadow. That has not happened in awhile, so it must be as good as I think it is!
I don’t gravitate to cream lipsticks in the summer – give me a tinted balm or gloss any day! But there was something about this soft ‘baby’ pink shade I needed to test out. And being that nude shades of lipstick in the clean beauty category are lacking (except for Lawless, who kills the game haha)… I had to try another brand. This is stunning. Formula is creamy, hydrating, feels very high end and wears off evenly. I know I’ll be reaching for this a lot come the fall again.
When I took a poll on social media for my Oily Queens on their fave powder to prevent oils throughout the day that doesn’t leave them looking flat… almost EVERYONE over the age of 30 said MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural. Which I’m not shocked. This was also my go-to powder for years before clean beauty, and I went through countless compacts of Medium Plus in the winters and Medium Golden in the summers. It’s not ‘clean,’ but it’s damn good. My makeup has looked so flawless all week while wearing this. The biggest trigger of this being not clean is talc, but this talc is sourced from Italy and Italian made cosmetics are formulated with some of the purest ingredients in the world, so I really don’t feel too badly about using this powder through the summer, especially when SO much of the other products in my life are super clean.
That’s what beauty products I’ve purchased recently! Anything catch your eye? Have you bought anything lately you’re totally loving? Comment below and tell me what it is 🙂
-Steffanie
