Christmas is about giving. But receiving can be fun too, especially when it's a bunch of beauty products since there is no better way of treating yourself than, oh I don't know, actually taking care of yourself? I've been testing out new products for the past few weeks and these are the ones I've been most excited about.
I'll start out with that Glamglow #GlitterMask in the cover photo. It's the same mask that's got the internet going absolutely nuts ever since it's launch on December 1. What's all the hype over it? Well, first, it's a peel-off mask. While they have the benefit of making your face look refreshed and lifted, there is also something extremely satisfying about the process of getting it off your face in one try. The consistency of this mask is a thick, tacky, gel-mud and included in the package is a little brush so that you can paint it all over your face without getting the goop all over your hands (and wasting product). The other part of the hype is that because of all the glitter and sparkle, this mask is just made for Instagram. I even posted an Instagram Story about it the first time I tried and I NEVER document my skincare routine. Licorice and marshmallow leaf extract are the active ingredients that help to tone and tighten, resulting in a fresh-looking face as soon as I peel it off. It's sold out almost everywhere except for Shop My Closet (where it's on sale for $59 right now!). Also, I'm going to be trying out Too Faced Glow Job mask once it's restocked so get ready........I will definitely be reviewing that one.
As a lover of Korean beauty brands (and a supporter of Asian brands in general), I was super excited about this product. I've been meaning to try the Glow Recipe's Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask for a while since it started appearing on the dressers and bathroom counters of all my favorite beauty and style bloggers. First, the amazing smell. It smells fruity and sweet, just like watermelon candy. Second, it feels luxurious on your skin. You can use it as a sleeping mask on top of your other serums to nourish your skin during the night but you can also apply a generous amount to your face, leave it on for about 10-20 minutes and then rinse it off if your skin needs a boost of hydration before your morning routine. The texture is somewhere between a gel and an oil. I've never felt anything quite like it before. It helps with acne and keeps your pores clean and since I like masks that keep my skin plump and soft so this is definitely going to be a mainstay in my bathroom.
The Becca Bronze Blush Highlighting Kit. (Side note: Does anyone ever wonder why beauty products always have the longest names?) I am already a fan and longtime user of Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal, which is available in a mini version in this kit so I'll skip that one. The best parts of this trio were the full-sized Luminous Blush in Snapdragon and the full-sized Sunlit Bronzer in Bronzed Bondi. Snapdragon is a gorgeous coral shade of blush. It looks super bright in its compact, so I was really scared to apply it the way I normally apply my blush (get as much product as possible on the brush and dab it all over the apples of my cheeks). Turns out that I had nothing to be afraid of -- it gives you a very natural, subtle and shimmery finish. Next was the Sunlit Bronzer in Bronzed Bondi, which is a medium amber shade. It has a subtle shimmer as well and is very reminiscent of Buxom Cosmetics Bronzer in Tahiti. It's not so shimmery that you can't use it as a subtle contour (I tried it out and it looked really pretty!) but I wouldn't attempt anything Kardashian-level. It's best for adding a hint of sunkissed color to your skin, not for reshaping your entire face. By the way, Becca Cosmetics is also cruelty-free and does not test on animals.
I have had my eyes on the Tarte Toasted Eyeshadow palette and have been wanting it since it arrived at Sephora several months ago. Then they had a little Instagram snafu that was super uncool so I swore off buying ANYTHING from that company moving forward. Enter Too Faced Cosmetics. You already know I'm a fan of their Peanut Butter & Jelly and Totally Cute eyeshadow palettes. I tried out this Just Peachy Mattes palette which is only the matte colors from their popular Sweet Peach palette. The colors are SUPER similar to Tarte Toasted minus the metallics, which, if I'm being totally honest here, I am so over. Also, you're not supporting racism when you purchase from Too Faced so, snap snap!
Just look at the rich, warm colors in the Too Faced Just Peachy Mattes palette! It's all my favorites from the Sweet Peach color so this smaller palette is not just cheaper, but worthier of the money since the other colors (the khaki metallics, navy blues and super dark pigments) would end up just going to waste. Too Faced Cosmetics is fast becoming one of my favorite brands because of their fun packaging, great color collections and the fact that they are vegan, gluten-free, and cruelty free.
This lipstick is not quite red and not quite orange. What it is: BRIGHT as fuck. This is Bite Beauty's Nearly Neon Orange lipstick and it fulfills all of my 80s music video/90s candy raver lip dreams. It's a tiny bit more orange than MAC Lady Danger and very comparable to Stila Valentina, which I am convinced is discontinued because I never see it anymore. Fun fact: neon colors are really hard to formulate with natural and food grade ingredients so that's why all-natural beauty brands tend to just put out neutral colors all the time. Not Bite Beauty. They have perfected their formula because this entire line (they also have a Neon Peach lipstick that is next on my list to cop) is NEON. They are the perfect complement to all the neon strobing and nail looks I want to try out.
This is the Benefit Cosmetics Get The Pretty Started Cheek Palette (what did I say about makeup products having super long names?). What a treat to see all of my favorite Benefit colors in the same palette! By the way, this palette is only $20 so it was one of the best deals I got in this product haul. Hoola Bronzer, Galifornia Blush (a golden pink shade) and Watts Up Highlighter are all there. Hoola and Galifornia are matte shades while Watts Up is a shimmery pearl cream-to-powder shade that is very similar to Becca's legendary Opal. So if you don't want to splurge on the Becca Bronze Blush Highlighting Kit, this is a pretty good dupe. If money doesn't matter to you, go for the Becca trio. It should be noted that this is a small-sized palette so it won't last as long as the Becca kit. The only other downside to this palette is this: Since the Watt's Up highlighter is a cream product, it catches all the powder residue from the other two powder products. It can be a pain in the ass to clean up the surface of Watts Up whenever I use the palette. You get what you pay for, amiright?
This is the Drunk Elephant Hot Date kit. Drunk Elephant is a newish brand that I have been a fan of ever since they released their T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum ($90 on its own), which is included as a full-size bottle in this kit. If you're active in the Instagram skincare community, you'll have noticed that this product was EVERYWHERE this year. In addition to the very popular T.L.C. serum, this kit also includes the Beste Jelly Cleanser, Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil, and the Lala Retro Whipped Cream. The star in this kit is obviously the T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum, so that is going to be the focus of my review. I've never had any glycolic serums in my skincare vault so I was excited about adding some variety to the chemical exfoliation in my nighttime routine. What it does: It is a 12% AHA/BHA blend (which is quite potent) that helps with diminishing things such as fine lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, excess oiliness, and acne. How these acids work is that they dissolve the bond that causes dead skin cells and debris to cling to your skin -- essentially working to resurface the skin to reveal a brighter, fresher complexion. I found that I had immediate results from this serum and woke up to a brighter, more refreshed looking complexion the next morning.
*Glycolic acids are smaller than lactic acids so they penetrate deeper into your skin but they do similar things. I talk about the lactic acid serum, Sunday Riley's Good Genes Treatment, later on in this post. Due to their effectiveness in exfoliating skin, any other products layered over on top of them are also further enhanced as there is nothing else to block the product from penetrating further and are therefore able to be better absorbed by the skin.
I picked up this Milk Makeup Lip Vinyl in Facts because I needed an everyday color. It's a little deeper pink (it's a deep, rosy nude) than I'm used to for my daily lip color but that's a good thing for when I want to change things up a little. Fans of the Kylie Lip Kit colors will like this a lot. Lip Vinyl is a sort of hybrid of a lipstick and a gloss - the coverage of your favorite creamy lipstick and that gooeyness of a gloss. Milk Makeup is the makeup line from Milk Studios (oh, you don't follow them on Instagram yet? I'll wait....). Milk Studios, essentially, is a media company at the forefront of all things art, fashion, film, photography, and music, and they’re basically the shit.
I got the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil because they kept insisting that I use it in conjunction with the Good Genes Treatment (featured below). Luna Oil is a hydrating facial oil that contains retinol, which, if you're over the age of 30, you need on a nightly basis. After I wash my face at night, I apply this while it's still damp. Once it's absorbed into my skin, I move on to Sunday Riley's Good Genes Treatment. If you have sensitive skin, this stuff is great to have on before Good Genes but if not, you can probably skip this step to be honest. I just like it because of how it makes my skin feel and I like that weird blueish tint.
Sunday Riley's Good Genes Treatment is the best lactic acid treatment on the market, hands down. I first tried out a weeklong sample supply through the NewBeauty Testtube, which I subscribe to. It took me a while to commit to a full size bottle because let's face it, $105 is a lot to spend on that little bottle. But....the results! You can't beat those results. Lactic acid is great for those with dry and sensitive skin types. It keeps your skin exfoliated, your acne under control and gets those clogs to surface. Long term use will lead to a decrease in hyperpigmentation too, so those pesky dark spots will fade away. This is a non-peel, so you won't experience the flakiness and peeling that you would with a glycolic acid treatment. (Side note: lactic acids are gentler exfoliation and more hydrating than glycolic acids.)
Since Becca Cosmetics Ultimate Coverage Complexion foundation was my holy grail foundation, I was always hesitant to try out new formulas. I caved in because I haven't read a bad review of Rihanna's Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Foundation yet. They were right. The color matches me perfectly and with 40 shades, it's highly unlikely they don't have a shade in your color too. It went on super smooth with my damp Beauty Blender and was super easy to blend out (even easier than my Becca foundation, to be honest). It is medium coverage, not full coverage, so keep that in mind if you're doing a photo or a video shoot. It should be noted that I didn't use any primer when I tried it out, just my daily moisturizer. I think this is great for an everyday foundation when you want a little less on your face. I didn't put on any setting powder either and it stayed in place for a good portion of my day with little oxidation.
More Drunk Elephant products because I was so excited about trying out this brand. This is the Night Bright kit which is basically a mini version of the Hot Date kit pictured earlier in this post. Smaller bottles, less of a splurge and it still has their famous T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum.
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I usually do a write up of the events I’ve organized or hosted and my most-read articles at the end of the year. This was an unusual year (obviously, there is no need to go into it here) so I didn’t bother. Instead I want to highlight a project of mine that I am particularly proud of — it’s my new podcast show, Unverified Accounts, that I cohost with my frequent collaborators, Chris Jesu Lee and Filip Guo. If you're a big movie/TV/book buff, have leftist sympathies, but can't stand 'wokeness' dumbing down our culture, then we're the podcast for you. So far in our 25 episodes, we’ve covered a range of contentious topics.