The Sephora VIB sale came and went and I didn’t purchase anything. My cart was full but Sephora is extremely expensive! So adding all that incredible product I wanted to buy would have been a fortune. 2021 has produced some amazing products including the products of Rare Beauty from when the brand first launched in September of 2020. There is no denying that although expensive, Sephora has some incredible choices in the way of makeup. My mom was looking for a fresh look to sport on zoom meetings (check out her website here for wellness coaching) and I was looking for some blush and concealer, together we tried and reviewed a few products. So without further ado, here is what we bought.
Rare Beauty Liquid Blush in Bliss
This product was one of their first launches and something I have kept my eye on for awhile. At first, I was slightly disappointed with some of their shades because they weren’t really everyday colors which is what I look for. When you see them in person they can be blended out for a sheer effect if that is what you are looking for. The shade I was most excited to try is Bliss because I gravitate to those pinky and peachy shades for my pale skin. Not only was the shade right, the formula was amazing. Trust me, when I saw this I thought it would be similar to Cloud Paint from Glossier but I was happily surprised. As one of their matte shades I expected it to be drying but it blends like a liquid and sets into a powder. Just a warning this is pigmented! I only use two dots on my cheeks and whatever is left for the bridge of my nose. I like to apply it with my hands and blend with a dense brush but however you apply it, it looks beautiful. Overall a 10/10, I will be getting the color Joy next!
Rare Beauty Highlighter in Mesmerize
A liquid highlighter made a lot of sense for Rare Beauty, looking at its other products. And as liquid highlighters have become more popular it’s hard to know which one actually works. This one does not disappoint. I can’t give it a 10/10 on me because of the color but on my mom’s deeper olivish skin it is the perfect color. A mix of highlighting shine and dewy without looking like a streak across her face. The color on me is too dark, casting a bit of a shadow where there shouldn’t be one. I think I will just have to pick up Enlighten and Enchant for my paler skin, keep in mind that you can mix these for your perfect match. This product blended similar to their other products, it’s like a dream. If you need to be out the door in a hurry this highlighter has got your back, and it does not move throughout the day.
Rare Beauty Melting Blush in Nearly Neutral
The packaging for this product is on point, not only in my favorite color pink but the inside has a mirror and blush inside. I was the most surprised with this product, not only the color but also how it felt on and off the skin. It feels like butter, I am sure that is where the melt part of its name comes from, but still it takes awhile to adjust to the application. The color is so pretty with a light sheerness that I can get on board with. This blush came after the liquid blushes and I am glad they did. For every person there is a color and pigmentation that works for them. If you like more everyday colors and less pigmentation, these are for you. Not only do these shades come in melting blush they also come in liquid eyeshadow and Glossy lip balm (coming up…) for a monochromatic look. I have no cons unless you like colorful blush, but in my opinion this is a must if you haven’t purchased it already.
Rare Beauty Lip Souffle in Courage
I have to say I was kind of disappointed with the shades on this product. Although the shade Inspire was so pretty on Selena Gomez it wouldn’t have worked on my skin. I can say the same for most of these shades, which is sad. I am not brave enough for purple lipstick! Again I was really looking for an everyday; pink, mauve, or berry. But all the pinks were too pink and all the berry too berry. So I went with the shade Courage and I have to say I was not happy with it at all. Not only was the shade a miss and a bit blah, the formula was buttery in some places and then came out in globs. I will stick with their other lip products…
Rare Beauty Lip Balm in Empathy
The shades in this product, however, were amazing. The packaging was very thoughtful and I absolutely loved the flat bottom. Not only is it fun to close, it makes storing the lip balm so much easier. My favorite thing about makeup is accentuating features and I think this product does just that. It is your lips with that little something extra! It takes only a few seconds to put on and the texture is both hydrating and will stay in place. You have a lot of choices when it comes to shades and there is a shade for everyone. I love Empathy and can’t wait to pick up some more! My only downside was as I kept using the product I noticed the strong scent of it and how buttery it was which made it a bit messy.
Rare Beauty Glossy Lip Balm in Nearly Berry
This product just makes sense, and although it pairs with their liquid eyeshadow and melting blush you don’t need all three products. This is by far their best lip product because it is a three in one. A lipstick from color, lip balm for its hydration, and lip gloss for the shine. This is totally a put on and go product. Not only is it super easy, it also wears beautifully throughout the day. Even though a bit of shine might be gone, the color will still remain. The shade is perfect for deeper skin like my mom’s or for lighter skin like mine because it is very light in color for a pretty wash of color. And that concludes all the Rare Beauty products!
Kosas Concealer in 1.0 & 3.5
As far as concealers go, I haven’t really had a real concealer. My acne prone skin hates foundations or concealer and is very sensitive. That’s why Kosas is such a great brand, it’s clean beauty with the performance of high end makeup. Even though I only got two products from them, I will be buying more because they were the best last minute buys. We didn’t see the Kosas shelf until checkout and I knew I had to get these. One for my mom and one for me. I have heard amazing things about this concealer and let me tell you it lives up to the hype. I got shade 1.0 which is a little light but makes me look awake without creasing and showing fine lines. It has a flexible tip that makes applying easy, and the texture blends equally well with a finger as a beauty blender. It also stays like this all day. I have gotten the most use out of it and found that applying a little in the corner and on the outside of the eye is the perfect amount. It is more medium coverage but buildable. Over acne it covers redness while letting your skin shine through. This gets a 15/10, I am so excited to experiment with it more.
Kosas Eyebrow Gel in Medium Brown
I have not actually used this product because I don’t like tinted eyebrow gel, especially this dark, but I used it on my mom and wow this stuff is way better than the Glossier Boy Brow, in my opinion. It holds like crazy and almost looks like you filled in your brows because it makes them so shaped, full, and fluffy. I didn’t research the product beforehand so it could have gone bad quickly. Why haven’t I heard more about this brow gel? Especially if you have light brows this will make them really show up, I will be purchasing this for myself in clear.
ILIA Mascara in After Midnight
ILIA is a brand that I hadn’t seen until watching Julia Adams review them. I looked up this brand immediately after watching her video on them! They are really expensive because they say they are clean beauty. After reading some reviews of the brand and looking up their products on EWG, skin deep website I realized that they really aren’t. Endocrine disrupter anyone…Their only product that gets a good rating is this mascara so it’s the only thing from the brand I felt safe trying. I am so glad we got to play because the color is really beautiful and the wand makes applying it so easy, it also stays all day with no flaking. My mom reported no burning tired eyes at the nd of the day. What else could you want? There’s more. It lengthens, defines, and fluffs (is that a word?) and adds volume without the clumps (dare I say like falsies). I really like the mascara overall and will definitely buy one of my own. ILIA needs to come out with some safer and cleaner formulated products because I would like to try more!
Tower 28 Cream Blush in Magic Hour
I am actually surprised at the shade range they came out with, even though this looks more pink as a swatch, on my pale cheeks it is a pigmented nude/mauve that I love. I seriously can’t even pick up my Cloud Paints anymore. These blend in so beautifully and the texture is the perfect mix of creamy and set down so it stays on your skin all day. The formula on this is exceptional, I almost love it more than the Honest Beauty blushes which are my go tos. I guess that will have to change! The application is the best part, I just like to have about two dots on each cheek and blending with my fingers or a dense brush.
Tower 28 Milky Lip Jelly in Cashew
Tower 28 has impressed me so far. I will have to try out some of their other products. My mom picked out, (I may have pointed her to) Coconut, and it was such a good choice. It might not be the most stand out product of the bunch but it is definitely a great option for a glossy, stained lip look. It’s classic and understated. The colors themselves are unique and I like the way they packaged the product as well. The Glossier lip glosses are a good comparison because you will find this one is not sticky at all and the colors are wearable for everyday.
Swatches
I used Procreate to label all the product swatches so you get more of a feel for the colors. I research exhaustively before buying anything so my expectations were very high. The brand I was most looking forward to is Rare Beauty and I was impressed with what they offer. It is inclusive and affordable with products I am sure will get into your makeup rotation. The biggest stand out was the blushes. The Rare Beauty melting and liquid blush and the Tower 28 blush. Although the concealer came in close second. The best lip product was a tie between the Glossy Lip Balm and the Milky Lip Jelly. The only disappointments were the lip souffle and the Rare Beauty Lip Balm, but even so they are still very wearable products. I found a lot of gems and look forward to try more of Ulta and Sephora products in the future. Let me know your experiences and thoughts. Shine on!
Hadley's Hues 