It’s a big sale weekend, so I’ve rounded up all the sales from brands I love and for my essential products and favorites. Take the break from your inbox for the weekend and go truly out of office - I’ve done all the work for you.

As always, there’s a big emphasis on beauty sales, with a few fashion and clothing sales that I’m always paying attention to. If there’s a specific sale or product you’re looking for, please do give me a shout!

I also always have a page full of permanent year round discount codes and links so you don’t always need to wait for a sale!

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BEAUTY

Bloomeffects - 25% off sitewide until 9/8, no code needed

Bobbi Brown - 25% off sitewide - the Corrector Stick in Light Peach is one of my all time favorite color correctors to neutralize my dark circles

Credo Beauty - 14 piece gift with purchase with $150+ - they carry so many brands I love, but currently I’m most obsessed with the Soshe Blurring Bronzer, which is the most olive friendly bronzer I’ve ever used

Colourpop - 25% off sitewide - I’m really enjoying their Cream Blush Stix, a creamy and slightly dewy but longlasting affordable cream blush, and their Jelly Much Stix, a sheer glitter eyeshadow stick that add a beautiful veil of fine glitter.

Cyklar - 15% off sidewide, 9/2-9/7 - Vanilla Verve body oil is one of my top body oils for the thick formula with long lasting hydration, and a sweet delicious cozy vanilla scent. The Sensorial Body Wash is also lovely as a hydrating body wash. It has a slightly slippy gel feel with the oil-infused formula, but isn’t so slippy that it just slides around on my skin. I find their famous Perfume Oils to be a little basic and one-dimensional, but they are nice for a simple everyday scent that can be layered with their other products.

Dedcool - 20% off sitewide - I just finished a bottle of Milk, one of my all time soft musky skin scents, and their Dedtergent laundry detergent is basically all I use now, leaving a subtle and not overpowering fragrance on my clothes. Mochi Milk is another favorite for a light and airy sugary sweet fragrance, while Mineral Milk has that fresh, slightly oceanic aquatic feel that’s great for a summer day.

Farmacy Beauty - 25% off sitewide - the Cleansing Balm is one of the few cleansing balms I truly enjoy

Furtuna Skin - 25% off sitewide

Future Society - up to 60% off select products - I absolutely love the Floating Forest fragrance, which reminds me of the most luxurious outdoor tropical shower with aquatic and floral notes, with the body wash and lotion set at just $24.

Glossier - 30% off Labor Day sale section and 50% off their Stretch Concealer

Innbeauty Project - 15% off $75, 20% off $125, and 25% off $175+ - I’m enjoying their Pro C serum, an L-ascorbic acid serum with ferulic that still feels gentle while being effective.

Jones Road Beauty - 20% off 3+ items, up to 30% off - minimal, low fuss basics, and their Shower fragrance is a super fresh clean scent that is the only fragrance my husband wants to wear.

Kosas - 25% off sitewide - I’m currently loving their Multistick cream blush in Nuance, a taupey beige that is a dream for olive skin where shades pull orange, and the formula is creamy but not too soft, blending easily into a sheer wash of natural color. I also really like their Blush is Life baked blushes for a soft seamless and softly luminescent wash of color.

Living Proof - 20% off sitewide with code LDW - I’ll never miss a change to stock up on my holy grail dry shampoo, and this is the only one that actually makes my hair feel clean.

MAC Cosmetics - 30% off sitewide - I’m really enjoying their reformulated Powder Blush, especially in the shade Velvet Teddy, a taupey terracotta shade. The Glow Play blush in True Harmony is one of my favorite nudey ‘anti-blush’ beige blushes,

Make Beauty - 20% off sitewide with code LD20, plus a free brow gel with orders over $75

Medik8 - 25% off sitewide, no code needed - the Liquid Peptides Serum is one of my favorite peptide serums for overall lift and smoothing, and their Super C Vitamin Serum has replaced Skinceuticals as my favorite potent Vitamin C. They also have more gentle formulas like the C-Tetra formula.

Mother Science - 20% off with code LABORDAY20 - the Molecular Hero serum is one of my routine staples to keep my skin bright and help lighten any dark spots or sun spots

Naked Sunday - 30% off sitewide from 9/4-9/8 - the Water Gel Serum SPF 50 is an excellent watery serum SPF that leaves a nice glow without being too shiny or glowy. It’s so easy to apply because it’s so lightweight and really doesn’t feel like anything.

Necessaire - 20% off sitewide - the body wash is one of my go-to formulas and their Body Exfoliator is one of my favorites for a mix of physical and chemical exfoliation

Nette - 25% off sitewide with code NETTELABORDAY - The Vanille is one of my favorite subtle fragrances of the year. It’s soft and skinlike and almost a salty vanilla - no sweet cupcakey gourmands here - with a subtle hint of tea. There’s a mineral quality to this that feels really refreshing and makes it work as an everyday fragrance.

Paula’s Choice - 20% off sitewide, or 30% off with $100+ and code SAVE30 - the 2% BHA exfoliant is my holy grail for keeping my pores clear and clearing up any small breakouts

Prequel - 20% off sitewide with code LD20 - I have so many skincare favorites from them:

• Universal Skin Solution - a hypochlorous acid spray that calms my skin and keeps it from breaking out during travel days and long plan rides

• Skin Utility Gel - a soothing and healing gel with 20% glycerin to help with any barrier-compromised skin, dry or flaky skin, or irritated skin. I love this most when I get IPL facials and my skin feels a little sensitized for a few days. I love the gel formula for my oily skin since it heals without being greasy or heavy, but there is a balm for dry skin

• Lip Visor Sunscreen - the best SPF lipgloss that doesn’t have any trace of chemical taste or smell. It feels just like a regular lipgloss, and the shades are natural and not too pigmented or too sheer.

Roz - 20% off 2 or more products - the Milk Hair Serum has been a lovely lightweight leave-in conditioner that doesn’t weigh my hair down

Sachi Skin - 35% off the Triphala Pigmentation Corrector Duo - and 15% off everything else with code BEAUTYUNHYPED15

Saltair - 15% off with code LABORDAY2026 - their body oil is one of my all time favorites, and already pretty affordable on its own - the Salt Water Vanilla scent is delicious and one of my most complimented scents. Their solid deodorant is also 30% off, and it’s easily the best ‘natural’ deodorants with aluminum (which I only avoid because I find it stains my white shirts more than non-alluminum formulas). I also love that it is refillable, and the case is actually durable enough to last through multiple refills.

Skinfix - 20% off sitewide with code FULLFIX

Summer Fridays - free jelly tote with $75 purchase - not gonna lie, the jelly tote looks cute AND functional…

Supergoop - 20% off sitewide until 9/8 - lately, I’ve been using their Play SPF50+ liberally all over my arms before walking out the door, and it’s light, quick-absorbing, and doesn’t feel sticky in the humidity.

UBeauty - 20% off with code BEAUTYUNHYPED20 - their skincare hasn’t been a great fit for my oily skin, but their fragrance, Proem, is a gorgeous heady fruity floral with notes of magnolia, lychee, rhubarb, and earthy peppercorn and cedarwood.

CLOTHING/LIFESTYLE

Athleta - extra 30% off sale and up to 60% off other deals - the Skyline Barrel Pant is one of my favorite work and travel friendly subtle barrel pants. I also recently bought these bike shorts and they are so soft and almost weightless, but give me some light-medium compression for my workouts.

Away - up to 20% off - the carry-on with the front pocket is by far my most used and versatile piece of luggage, and it has withstood dozens of trips at this point between my husband and I with barely any wear beyond surface scuffs. My husband also loves the garment duffle for being able to take a suit wrinkle-free AND stash a truly astonishing amount of belongings into a carry on duffle bag.

AYR - 60% off sale section

Beyond Yoga - Warehouse sale event - they’ve come out with some new styles lately that I’ve very into. Apparently the CEO of Athleta is now at Beyond Yoga and I feel like I can definitely see that functional but simple design DNA in their newer designs.

Brooklinen - 25% off sitewide, up to 50% off bundles - the Dreamweave Waffle Robe has been a staple lately, with a lightweight cooling but cozy feel that isn’t too heavy or warm for summer weather/warm climates, but still has the blanket like effect. The Dreamweave blanket is my current comfort blanket that has the same light cozy feel. It’s warm and great for burrowing in my couch, but doesn’t feel too thick or heavy on a warm day.

COS - 30% off select styles - I just bought this slim black tee that almost feels like a sweater, while still having breathable 100% cotton, and this Sculptural Cotton Midi Dress is an effortless midi dress with minimal sculptural details I can’t get out of my head. I’m also super intrigued by this semi-sheer wool oversized blouse that looks so breathable and refined for work or weekend days. And these oversized barrel-leg trousers are the only type of pants I want to wear these days.

GAP - 40-60% off Labor Day Sale, plus extra 50% off sale

J.Crew - 40% off and extra 40% off sale- and so many of my essentials have come from J.Crew lately. Here’s what’s catching my eye:

• Fisherman Sandals - I absolutely love the silver color, and these look like a sleeker version of fisherman sandals than I usually see.

• Merino sweater tee - sweater tees are my office essential, offering me warmth in cold AC’ed offices, while still staying breathable for the hot weather. I love the green with the light blue contrast trim!

• Perfect Rib Crewneck Top - I love that this has wide straps so I can wear it to the office on its own and then layer it under a sweater and blazers. Plus, I’m in love with the deep gunmetal color.

• Classic belt - I love a basic leather belt with silver hardware, and I’m long overdue to add another one to my current rotation of one belt

• Winona Lug Sole Loafers - I love a lug sole loafer and this one is slightly less chunky than some other options, making it more versatile and classic

• New Winona Penny Loafer - if lug sole loafers still aren’t for you, these black loafers are as classic as they get, and at a reasonable ~$120 for a leather shoe. These are going in my cart!

Leset - select items on sale - Of note, this sleeveless pointelle tank has been on my mind for awhile

Madewell - 25% off select fall items and extra 30% off sale with code LONGWEEKEND

• Signature Woven Bag - I just love this little bag so much, and the red and olive green colors are so beautiful!

• Suede and Leather Signature Tote - this caught my eye as a great transitional fall work tote. I have one of their older leather totes and even with lugging around my entire life and taking a beating, the leather has held up really well.

St Agni - end of season sale - gorgeous minimal basics, like this soft slouchy satchel and these woven lattice leather flats

If there are any sales you’re shopping this weekend, let me know what you’re picking up. I want to shop too!

As always, you can find everything I mentioned on ShopMy and keep up with my latest beauty thoughts and rambles on Instagram. Thanks for reading!

As much as I love trying products to get to my elusive ideal of the perfect makeup routine with an edited curation of products, I simply enjoy makeup too much to be minimalist in my approach, and I approach my broader makeup collection as a wardrobe, with certain products meant for certain occasions or purposes. Not everything I keep in my collection has to be the most groundbreaking product or the most unique shade or the most longwearing on my skin, but whatever I keep has some kind of purpose or brings me a certain kind of joy.

Today’s roundup of new(ish) products include:

• some that really feel like something new

• some good, even great, versions of things we’ve seen before

• something that actually dethrones a long time favorite

• impulses purchases that worked out

• some that don’t feel like the best fit for me

I originally wanted this post to be a roundup of recent products I’ve tried, some thoughts and excitement around new launches, and some summer favorites, but it turns out I had a lot to say about quite a few products! The summer roundup of recent favorites and new launches will come in the next post, promise.

Victoria Beckham Beauty The Foundation Drops

This is perfect natural skin in a bottle, and I hate to admit that it’s really a standout product in my collection. With its claims of a luminous glow and moisturizing formula, I was absolutely convinced this isn’t going to work for me, but it took just one application for me to eat my words and marvel at how my skin simply looked like the most airbrushed and healthy version of itself. All of my little dark spots and any dullness in my skin just looks like it’s been blurred away but the undetectable finish makes it look like my skin is just the best it’ll ever be.

The luminous finish looks natural without being over the top, and it surprisingly wears well on a hot summer day - though on heavy humidity days, my oils break through in a few hours. This may not be the most Vietnam-friendly base, but I think in a more temperate, non-tropical climate, this would do well even for oily skin, and during colder and drier days, I could see this being an everyday skin tint. At the moment, it's not an essential skin tint, but it's what I wear when I want to look and feel beautiful, like on a date night or when I just need that little boost of skin perfection and don't need to worry about something lasting me through a whole day. I wear shade 5.

Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Concealer

Danessa Myricks is just a brand I trust to make formulas that work and perform well, always with an extra touch of her own innovation. In this concealer’s case, it’s the super thin formula with natural medium coverage that just sets and lasts all day. This medium coverage formula is super lightweight, making it resistant to creasing, with a smooth soft matte finish. Since I only wear concealer under my eyes, caffeine is a bonus ingredient to give me just a bit of an extra boost to help make my eyes look more awake.

I find that the thinner formula sets fairly quickly, which, in my case, means it’s not sliding around on my eyes. I also prefer to apply this with a brush (like this) to really stipple the product into place. I don’t think that this dethrones my favorite concealers (discussed in this post), but it has definitely earned a spot in my regular rotation when I want that thinner formula with coverage that I know will last through the day. I wear shade 4, which is a good match for my undereyes, though shade 5 would probably work too.

Sarah Creal Just Like Paradise Cream Bronzer

This is the bronzer for people who want a natural sunkissed glow without any of the orange - despite the orange packaging - and that’s only the start of the contradictions that make this product work. The super creamy formula initially seems like it’ll just blend and melt away into nothing, yet when I use this with a brush, I have to use a light hand so I don’t go overboard. The cream feels like soft butter, and also somehow lasts all day on my skin.

The contradictions of the super buttery creamy formula with the longwear make this an interesting formula for me that I keep reaching for, especially because shade 2.0 gives me a true bronze look without pulling orange at all. It’s very neutral on my skintone, making it one of the more natural bronzer shades I own to use when I want a deeper tanned look. Shade 2.0, a ‘medium’ bronze that is almost too deep on me, though as with most bronzers, I still feel like this shade range could use a couple deeper shades. I would encourage anyone who has swatched this bronzer in store and passed because it felt too creamy to really try it on skin, because it somehow lasts so much longer than it seems it should.

Red Chamber Multi-Use Cream Blush

These cream blushes have been going viral on my little corner of the internet, and it was impossible for me to resist trying out some of their range of muted neutral shades when I saw them in person at a store in Bangkok. The shade range is a dream for olive skintones and anyone looking for more muted and desaturated colors in both cool and warm tones. I’ve already seen tons of hype around the shades, but without a good formula, just having nice shades isn’t enough. I’m pleased to report that the formula is also really nice. It’s a dense, slightly drier cream formula, reminiscent of the Lawless cream blushes, with a soft matte blurred finish. Because of the denser formula, I’ve found that these apply best tapped on with a brush - and of course, I’m using it with my favorite cream blush brush. When I use these with my fingers, I find they are more prone to applying and blending out a little patchy. However, the all day wear and the soft neutral shades keep me coming back for these when I just need a little something on my cheeks to life my cheeks without being too much.

Violette FR Plume Feather Matte Blush

Innovation in cream blush formulas is hard to find these days, but I can always count on Violette to come out with interesting formulas and fresh shades. This powder-cream hybrid feels like a dense putty I haven’t quite felt in any other blushes, and dispenses a feather light (aptly named) layer of color. It gives the most beautiful watercolor effect on my skin, making the seemingly bold shade range easy to wear. This blush definitely applies best with a brush to get that dimensional watercolor effect. I wouldn’t say these are the most beginner friendly blush, but it’s not as complicated as it seems. A couple taps with a dense brush allows me to stipple this on my skin, layering in spots where I want more intensity and diffusing it higher up on my cheekbones for a gradient effect. My favorite shades are Rouge Amber Fume and Latte Praline.

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A recent face of the day that I loved:

Violette Plume Eyeshadows

These are designed to be sheer diffused veils of color that can be kind of smudged all over for an effortless lived in eye look - and unfortunately, ‘effortless’ is where this fell short for me. The denser cream to powder formula works against the ease of using these eyeshadows, and I find it’s harder to blend out the edges into a seamless diffused color than I’d like for an ‘effortless’ eyeshadow.

I thought the deeper shades would be able to work as eyeliner or to blend out my winged eyeliners, but they’re not quite opaque enough for my taste to drive as eyeliners on their own, and they don’t blend easily enough to diffuse out my pencil eyeliners. While the shimmer shades have some small specks of glittery they’re not quite as twinkly and dimensional as I’d like them to be.

I can think of at least 3 similar cream to powder type of formulas that have a similar effect but blend out just a little quicker to save me a few extra seconds: Decorte Glow Gems are softer and easier to blend, the new Marc Jacobs eyeshadows feel more like a powder, and the Chantecaille Mermaid Matte Eyeshadows (although these crease on me no matter what I do). These seem to be popular and it’s very possible that Violette’s vision for these just doesn’t match how I like my eyeshadows to work. I would keep a couple shades like Cafe au Lait, Amber Fumé, Orchidee Celeste, and Bronze D’or, but I would probably pass the other shades on to friends who would enjoy them more.

Morphe ChromaPlus Eyeshadow Palette in Underslated

This all matte neutral to cool toned palette drew me in immediately, and at $16 for an entire palette of 6 eyeshadows, there’s little to lose. Even a little Maybelline palette is $12 these days, and I far prefer the color stories of Morphe. The packaging is sleek, the shades are nuanced, and the shades are pigmented, blendable, and longwearing. I do find the powders slightly more powdery than the texture I normally prefer, which is a silky almost creamlike texture. There’s nothing objectively wrong with a more powdery formula - it’s not dusty, there isn’t any fallout if I tap off the excess, and the pigment is definitely still there, but it’s just not the type of texture I enjoy the most. Still, for $16, I think you’re getting more than just value for money; it’s a solid workhorse palette with true neutrals and cool-leaning neutrals at an affordable pricepoint, and I still find a place for it in my routine when I want to do a cooler neutral look to contour and define my eyes.

YSL Lovenude Lip Blusher

Matte lips are generally not my preferred formulas these days, but when I do reach for matte lips, it’s this lightweight lipstick that stays on for several hours. It’s not quite sheer as it’s claimed to be, with more pigment than something like Merit Lip Blush, and slightly more pigment than the Violette Bisou Balm, but it also layers beautifully into a more opaque color.

What makes these stand out a little more in my collection is how they slightly set down to a transfer-resistant finish. While this won’t last through an entire meal, it can definitely withstand me sipping my coffee through the morning without getting a bunch of product on my mug. I initially raved about these in my spring roundup, and while I don’t think these are a must have for me, the light finish and longwearing formula make this one of the more unique matte lipsticks in my collection. My favorite shades in the line are 08 Mauve Haze and 3am Espresso, a deepish brown.

YSL Kiss Shaper Sculpting Lip Liner

These lip liners were an instant wow, and while the range of mauves and natural pinks drew me into the line, the light creamy formula and super long wear time have made these an instant handbag essential. I don’t always love the super creamy lip liner formulas because they deposit too much pigment without a ton of blending time, and these lip liners have the best of a longwearing creamy formula with some of the soft pigment of a traditional wooden pencil with more blending time.

I can achieve my preferred soft defined look without having to blend and blend away the lines or pigment into my natural look color, and the end result is a softly contoured look that lasts for hours. I’m not kidding when I say this can last me 6-8 hours, easily, without feeling drying or having that slightly shriveled feel that some of the super longwearing gel liners can have. Shade 103, a neutral mauve, and 106, a muted mauve-raisin shade, are my go tos. My only wish for this is to have more midtone neutral browns and beiges in addition to the mauves and deeper browns.

Violette Balm Amour Lip Balm

Did anyone need another lip balm? No, but Violette came out with a fantastic formula anyway. These are a slightly thin, lightweight lip treatment that actually performs like a nourishing treatment and feels moisturizing even after all the product has absorbed. I really truly only have so much room for clear lip treatments in my collection, so the tinted shades - especially Dahlia Noir and Noisette - are where I get excited. I think there’s only so many ways to make a lip treatment great, and these are great.

They are perhaps not groundbreaking or terribly unique, but they are comfortable to wear without feeling thick or heavy, deposit a nice light tint, the ceramic tip makes this a pleasant experience, and Violette is a brand I’ll always come back to, especially since this is the 3rd time I’ve mentioned them in this post alone. They’re not quite as pigmented as Eadem, still my top lip treatment formula, but closer to the pigmentation of Rhode, with a slightly smoother and slippy feel. I actually find these most similar to the Sunnies Face Peptide Lip Glaze in both shade and formula, with both tinted shades having their closest shade match with Sunnies Face.

I also swatched other shades to see how different brown and cherry/berry tinted lip treatments compared:

Dahlia Noir:

Noisette Fumé

Dinto Blur Glowy Lip Tint

This lunch break impulse purchase turned out to be one of my best purchases of the month. The juicy lip tint is glossy and serum-y without being too juicy and hard to control. There is a glossiness to the tint that looks like a light glassy glow, and the tint has a slight grip without being tacky or sticky. Compared to the Violette Lip Nectars, which have a gel-like cushion, these feel more watery, but also feel like they have a slight bit of a thicker serum like feel compared to other Kbeauty lip tints. This has really become a morning routine life saver - a couple swipes of this keeps my lips glossy for 3ish hours, and the remaining tint can last through a light meal, keeping me going until my after-lunch lipstick touchup (my only makeup touch-up step of the day).

I also absolutely nailed it on picking out a shade -Modestia is that kind of sheer deep cherry shade that just levels up all my looks that isn’t too deep or too red or too purple. I would get another shade but I feel like I’ve hit perfection on the first try with this formula.

Romand Juicy Flash Lip Oil

Another successful impulse purchase! I came across these during one of my speed shopping sessions in Japan, and it has turned out to be one of my favorite glosses I’ve tried lately. These lightweight oils almost feel more like a serum gloss, and are one of the least sticky glosses that don’t disappear within minutes and slide around my lips. Any one who is especially adverse to anything feeling sticky, these are the glosses to try. They also give the most glassy translucent shine and a super smooth layer of sheer tint. While each shade is moderately pigmented, the translucency makes these feel light and effortless. For how light they feel, they also stick around for an impressive couple of hours, with a lightly hydrating formula. I just got one shade, Pomelo Light, a light slightly peachy beige, and I already know I’ll be going back for more.

Saie Powder Brush

Powder brushes are a tough category for me, since I feel like most powder brushes are either too large and dense or too small and floppy to dispense powder on my skin in a way that is both efficient but seamless. Enter the Saie brush: This brush feels soft on my face, and can apply both loose and pressed powder formulas in a light, sheer layer that can still be built up for slightly more coverage. It’s flexible without being floppy, and dense enough to pick up pressed powders, but not so dense that it’ll apply a thick layer of obvious product. My favorite brush for years has been the By Terry Powder Brush, which has the perfect balance of soft, moderately dense bristles that mimic natural hair. I’ve had it for close to a decade now, and I was curious to try something new. I feel like I must have looked at every powder brush available, both natural and synthetic hair, and the Saie Powder Brush is the one that has the most similar shape, density, and soft natural-like bristles - and it’s also much more affordable. I’ve been using it for a few months now and I can safely say it is so good I will be retiring my By Terry version soon.

What products have you enjoyed, or not, lately? And let me know what other products I’ve mentioned lately that you want to see updated reviews for so I can prioritise it for my next roundup.

Aa always, you can find everything I’ve mentioned on ShopMy, and keep up with everything I’m testing on Instagram. Thank you for reading!

What makes a great terracotta blush

My ideal terracotta blush a deep muted red with a hint of brown for that slightly smoked effect, and without having orange or ambery caramel tones. Like my skintone, it would lean warm rather than being a predominantly warm shade, and the slightly muted aspect makes the shade look more natural on my skin. I also love a neutral terracotta that straddles the border between a maroon-y wine red and a warmer deep brick red.

The effect I want from a toasty terracotta shade is for my face to look naturally bronze, sculpted, and blushed, all in one step. It’s the kind of shade I envision as I’m standing in the last warm glow of a vibrant red-orange sunset, just before the sun dips below the horizon, but still casting a warm glow on my skin.

All of the terracotta shades I own give me some variation of that late summer sunset vibe, with some leaning warmer into the caramel territory and some leaning into almost burgundy-brown territory. But I have a purpose for all of them, I really do!

Each of these terracotta shades get use in my rotation based on how warm my makeup or outfit is for the day, the type of formula or texture I want to work with, and the finish I’m looking for. I was also rather generous with how I described terracotta - this is your fair warning that there are some terracotta-adjacent brown shades in here, but I wear them all for the same kind of effect.

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Rhode Pocket Blush in Toasted Teddy

Best for: a true toasted terracotta that doesn’t go orange

This is the one that started it all. We’re starting off strong with the toasty blush that unlocked a deep obsession for toasty blushes and the sunkissed, slightly bronzed look they give. Toasted Teddy has the perfect combination of brown and deep red that creates a rich toasted terracotta shade that looks especially effortless for that bronzed, slightly sunburned look.

The Pocket Blush formula is also one of my favorite cream blush formulas, with a pigmented, creamy formula that blends easily into skin and a natural finish that mimics a natural glow but isn’t too glowy or matte. It also has impressive staying power for a cream blush, easily lasting 10-12 hours so I don’t have to worry about this disappearing before lunch.

Phytosurgence Skin Spark Cream Blush in Incense

Best for: a warm, nuanced blush for olive skin that never turns orange

If any brand was going to accidentally create a near spot on shade dupe for Rhode Toasted Teddy, it would be Phytosurgence, who makes the most flattering nuanced shades that are ideal for olive skintones. Incense is nearly a perfect shade dupe to Toasted Teddy with the same toasted terracotta vibes, although it’s just slightly browner and a little less saturated, making this a great option if you want something just a touch more muted.

The formula is where the similarities end - Phytosurgence blushes start off ultra creamy and easy to blend, then they literally melt into my skin for an undetectable second skin finish. The wear time isn’t quite as long as Rhode for me when worn on their own, but I can easily get through a full work day of 8-9 hours, and I’m also often layering powder blushes over creams.

Both shades look very similar on my cheeks - but it’s really a matter of formula and format. I sometimes prefer the stick format of Rhode because it’s easier to apply in a rush, but Phytosurgence blends outs quicker and more effortless because of the soft creamy formula.

Merit Flush Balm in Fox

Best for: a low commitment way to wear terracotta

Fox is a great shade to try toasted terracotta blush with low stakes, with slightly more deep red tones with just a touch of brown to deepen the shade from a standard red blush. The sheer dewy finish also makes it beginner or minimal makeup friendly, mimicking a natural flush with the richness of the terracotta tones. If deep terracotta shades feel intimidating, Fox is the shade to try for a lightweight toasted look.

While these don’t have the longest wear time on me, with about 6 hours of wear, Flush Balm is the option I’ll keep in my bag for quick touchups, especially if I know I have plans after work. The dome shape makes swiping on a quick layer of blush super convenient, and these blend out easily with fingers with the sheer creamy formula.

Haus Labs Color Fuse Glassy Blush Balm Stick in Glassy Clove

Best for: a brown leaning terracotta with a glassy finish

Haus Labs also comes out with interesting shades that are just one step away from the classic pink, coral, or berry shades, and Glassy Clove is no exception. It looks brown in the tube, but on the skin, there’s a hint of red to it that makes this a really flattering, slightly more muted and deeper shade of terracotta. It feels more like a neutral blush shade, especially for medium to deeper skintones, and if feels that much more approachable if all neutrals are your kind of color palette

This creamy formula is super lightweight, and is pigmented while still having a light translucency because of the dewy finish, making it easy to build or sheer out. The glassy finish of this formula also looks fresh without being too shiny, and the formula wears all day on me, even in humid weather. This is what I reach for when I want a longwearing dewy finish, and a terracotta take on a deeper neutral blush.

Soshe Pillow Blush in Copper Spice

Best for: a bold warm flush that lasts all day

Copper Spice is also a rich and saturated toasted coppery brown shade with a soft matte finish. For those looking for a warmer terracotta, Copper Spice is perfect. It’s the warmest terracotta I have and my skin is just warm enough to prevent it from going orange, though it might be too warm for true neutral or cooler skintones.

This is a richly pigmented formula, though the drier cream to powder formula makes it easy to pick up a light layer of product and blend out the blush into a smooth thin layer. Still, a little goes a long way, and a couple taps with my brush is enough for each cheek. Even with a matte finish, people with drier skin types could probably still get away with this because the soft cushiony formula is pretty forgiving and doesn’t drag or slip, thanks to its slightly cushiony cream-powder hybrid. It’s also one of the longest wearing cream blushes in my collection, right up there with the Rhode Pocket Blushes.

Violette Plume Blush in Amber Rouge Fume

Best for: a soft diffused warmth with an airbrushed suede-like finish

Rouge Amber Fume is one of the most perfect toasted red brick shades that is warm, but doesn’t pull orange on my skin. It’s a balanced mix of red and brown, with a hint of caramel warmth to really give it that smoky toasted effect. It definitely gives Toasted Teddy vibes, but with far less saturation, which makes it much easier to apply without overdoing it.

The Plume Blushes have one of the most unique formulas, with a dry cream-powder formula and dense putty-like cushion feel. A couple swipes with a cream blush brush (my favorite is this one from Sephora, as always), picks up a soft layer of product that when stippled on my skin, turns into a beautiful soft feathery layer of product. The formula makes it so easy to apply gradations of pigment, with a more concentrated layer high up on the cheekbones, that then sheers out farther away from the cheeks, which really makes applying blush feel like painting my face.

Sarah Creal Coming in Hot Pressed Mousse Blush in Total Eclipse

Best for: a lightweight moussey formula a smooth natural finish

Total Eclipse is more of a moderately saturated deep red shade with a bit of brown to mute the fiery red tones. It’s not quite as deep or brown as Toasted Teddy or Haus Labs Glassy Clove, but also not quite a red blush either. While the formula is pigmented, the slightly airy texture keeps this from being a fully opaque color that’s hard to blend out, and the satin matte finish makes this more forgiving for people with dry skin or some light texture.

What sets this formula apart from other cushiony cream formulas is that it feels light and moussey. It’s not quite Maybelline Dream Matte (IYKYK) levels of light and moussey, but more like a thick chocolate mousse that is easy to apply in a thin layer and blend without overdoing it. With its moussey cream texture, this is one of the more unique blush formulas in my collection, and the longwear also makes it a reliable option for warm weather.

Soshe Pillow Blush and Sarah Creal both have a cushiony type of formula, though Soshe is a lot more dense than Sarah Creal. I was also curious about the shades, and Copper Spice is a lot warmer and pigmented.

Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blush in Jubilee

Best for: a brighter terracotta shade in a blurring and oil controlling matte balm

Jubilee is a slightly brighter terracotta shade, with a slight peachy coral brightness to it. It’s not as deep as the other options on this list, with less brown tones, making this a great option if brown-ish blushes don’t work for you. I love this when I want a bit more brightness to my face, but still want a warm shade that isn’t too bright.

If blushes, and especially cream blushes, tend to melt off your skin no matter what you do, the Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin formula might just be the one. This matte balm has blurring and oil controlling properties, making it one of the most longwearing cream blush formulas I own that sets itself into a powder matte finish.

Versed Everything Balm in Rush

Best for: a sheer balmy cream for a healthy sunkissed glow

Every shade of the Everything Balm is meant to be a bronzer/blush hybrid, in four different depths. I have Rush, the 3rd deepest shade, which is a warm rosy bronze, a shade I’d characterize more as a midtone rose pink with warm bronze infused rather than a brown based shade with some rosy tones. The balmy texture makes it a pretty sheer shade, though it can be built up easily or applied with a denser brush for an allover warm wash.

This is definitely for the no makeup makeup enthusiasts who want a sheer tint of color that can do it all with sheer buildable color. The light balm is slightly emollient with a slightly thin finish, and I find it best tapped on my skin, preferably with a brush, though it can be applied with fingers as well. The balm has a slightly dewy finish, and the lightness keeps it from being sticky. With a sheer layer, this also doesn’t move around too much, and the sheerness makes this a perfect subtle rosy bronze flush that works equally well as bronzer and blush.

Ciele blush and Protect liquid blush in June

Best for: terracotta that leans more neutral and has bonus SPF

June is a toasted shade that almost doesn’t quality as a terracotta because of how neutral it is, and it doesn’t have any hint of orange. It’s actually described as a warm burgundy, but the brown tones make this more of like a burgundy-ish brown than a burgundy. On my slightly warm skin, it translates as a deeper neutral shade that’s brown but not too brown, and doesn’t add a ton of obvious color. It fits very much into the revival of the anti-blush trend, where my cheeks look sculpted and flushed without the obvious redness or orangeness.

This is the only liquid blush formula I reach for regularly, mostly because it feels more like liquidy cream blush than a liquid blush that is easy to overdo and takes forever to blend out. Liquid blushes also tend to go patchy more easily on me, and Ciele always applies smoothly and evenly. I don’t actually wear this blush for the SPF because the amount I apply is surely not giving me any actual sun protection, but I guess it’s always nice to have that extra layer.

Huda Beauty Blush Filter in Latte

Best for: brown blush lovers who want a hint of terracotta

If brown is your comfort zone shade, Latte is a great shade to lean into terracotta territory while still staying within brown limits. The warm brown shade has a hint of wine red, and there’s also a slight micro-pearl to the formula to give it a bit of luminosity. The liquid formula is also lightweight and sheers out easily without dragging or getting patchy, though a little goes a long way with this formula.

This is another liquid formula I find pretty easy to use and blend. It has a thinner lightweight formula that is really great for a super thin veil of pigment. There’s enough working time and elasticity in the formula to blend out and diffuse product, but doesn’t take so long to set that it becomes patchy.

Swatches of all my cream toasty terracotta shades:

Powder Formulas

Terracotta powder blush shades are surprisingly sparse in my collection, but I adore the few shades I have.

Ilia Soft Focus Blurring Blush in Wonder

Best for: a sheer muted and more neutral terracotta

Wonder is easily my favorite shade in this formula, with a deep red terracotta in a soft sheer formula that leans more neutral than most terracottas. Even with the deeper shade, it can be applied sheerly with a soft fluffy brush. As far as blush formula goes, this one feels slightly on the drier side, though it still has a soft luminosity on my skin with a slight blurring effect.

MAC Mineralize Blush in Lovejoy

Best for: a toasted caramel brown with a luminous shimmer

Lovejoy is one of my OG bronzey terracotta shades, and still one of my favorites. It leans slightly more towards the warm caramely brown type of terracotta rather than a reddish terracotta, but gives a bronzed flush with a slight shimmery glow that I return to every summer. The MAC Mineralize formula is one the OG baked blush formulas in my collection, and also one of the longest wearing powder blushes in my collection.

YSL Make Me Blush Powder blush in 12 Honeymoon

Best for: an ambery copper glow with rich pigment

Honeymoon is a luscious deep caramel terracotta with what I’d describe as a roasted terracotta, with a reddish warmth that feels like a late summer sunset, and the soft pearl finish adds the perfect bronzed glow. These blushes are also one of my favorite powder blush formulas, with a rich and super soft velvety feel that lasts all day without fading or going patchy.

If this isn’t enough toasty terracotta bronze warmth for you, I don’t know what else to do. If I missed a favorite, let me know! What other terracotta or terracotta-adjacent blushes have I missed and need to try?

As always, you can find all of the blushes mentioned in this post on ShopMy and keep up with me on Instagram. Thanks for reading!

And while I thought my biggest adjustments would be the traffic (which was the easiest adjustment, tbh), the heat (still a struggle), and my lack of Vietnamese (not as big of an issue in Saigon, at least), it’s been the little changes that have snuck up on me that make my approach to beauty and wellness look drastically different to what it was before.

My approach to beauty and wellness started to slowly change, then started to change all at once. Some of these changes seem unimaginable to change, and feel like ingrained habits by now, while others are luxuries I’m definitely taking advantage of while they’re accessible to me.

There’s obviously a lot more than beauty and wellness that moving abroad has done for me, but I try to stay in my lane of beauty content here. Today we’re covering 11 slow changes and realizations I’ve made since moving, a little bit about food and coffee, and also keep reading for what I miss most about the US.

Note: I put all of my favorite recommendations for massages, nails, or facials exclusive for paid subscribers. This is less about trying to gatekeep my favorite places, but I’m a little paranoid about broadcasting all of the places I actively frequent to the entire internet public. I take internet safety and privacy very seriously. If you are not a paid subscriber and you are visiting Saigon soon, I am very happy to share all of my favorite spots in a private message!

Sun protection above all + SPF vigilance

It took about 2 weeks of living here to realize that the seemingly extreme lengths that people go to to avoid the sun might actually be a smart practice. It’s normal and common to see people wearing sun umbrellas, UPF jackets, UPF face masks (often extending over the cheeks and down the neck), and sometimes, all 3 at once.

Some of the habits seem very much aligned to a standard Asian beauty standard of keeping skin as pale as possible, and some engrained cultural colorism. I don’t mind being tan. In fact, I love the little bit of the permanent tan I’ve seemed to have acquired since moving here and how it makes me look a little more bronzed, even if I miss my cooler winter colors. Having been born and raised in the US, the tendency to lean towards more of a tan is natural. While I feel that dialing back just a bit to embrace whatever baseline my skin naturally looks like, there is a very real reason to avoid the sun like a vampire: Stepping into sunlight doesn’t feel like a warm hug. It feels more like having a magnifying glass focused directly on you while you’re being placed into a pot of boiling water.

If that sounds unpleasant, it is. And I soon learned that SPF and covering up my skin makes the heat a little more bearable.

It started with being more vigilant with SPF:

I’ve never cared more about my sunscreen than I do now. In addition to making sure I wear at least SPF 50 and applying a generous ¼ teaspoon on my face, I’ve become more picky than ever about finding formulas that feel lightweight and don’t add any extra greasiness to my oily skin. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I find Asian formulas the best for my skin at being weightless, durable, and being superior at mattifying and oil control. So far my favorites that are elegant to apply, sit well under makeup, and don’t make me more oily are:

• Anessa Perfect UV Milk SPF 50 - my holy grail powdery matte SPF that gives me oil control throughout the day

• Canmake Mermaid Gel UV SPF 50 - super light lotion SPF that leaves a natural glow and works as a primer for makeup. It also comes in a new oil-block version.

• Cocoon Winter Melon Sunscreen SPF - a Vietnamese brand and a milky SPF that has a soft matte finish

• La Roche Posay Oil Control Gel Creme SPF 50 - this European-specific formula feels like a lotion, but absorbs quickly and leaves a soft matte finish that’s my happy medium for a matte, but not super dry SPF.

• Suncut UV Perfect Milk SPF 50 - another matte finish SPF that also provides excellent oil control

Sunscreen sticks are also an essential in my handbook to make sure I can touch up on the go without worrying about ruining my makeup, plus they’re so handy to swipe onto my hands and arms. The Abib Airy SunStick Smoothing Bar has been one of my favorites for its soft powdery matte finish.

Even a few minutes of having that much sun on my skin added with the humidity makes my skin feel like it’s being burned while my body is being cooked from the inside out, and a simple barrier like an umbrella provides noticeable relief from the heat. I don’t go anywhere without my umbrella. If it’s not to shield the sun, it’s to save my ass when it inevitably starts to pour. I actually bought my umbrellas from Taiwan and Japan, where there are endless options for ultra compact umbrellas, but the one from Uniqlo is always a reliable option.

I’ve also definitely embraced the UPF jacket, also sold abundantly at Uniqlo, and which seems to be part of the Vietnamese sun protection starter pack. It gives me some guaranteed UV protection without worrying about applying or re-applying SPF and I wear it if I know I’ll be outdoors a lot. Because it’s so lightweight, it doesn’t actually feel like wearing another heavy layer, which I very much appreciate.

Beyond UPF clothing, my collection of long sleeves and long pants has increased drastically in order to keep my skin from physically getting warmer. Loose, airy clothing really is the best way to keep cool and help sweat from just sitting on my skin.

• Lightweight cotton pants - I wear these nearly every day. My current favorite are these from Uniqlo, and my answer to the Gap poplin pants, J.Crew Luna Pant, or Leset Kyoto pants, which I haven’t even felt the need to try since I found these, especially since they’re under $40.

• Wide culottes - really. These wide and airy pants in a nylon material are also great for when it pours. I have an old pair from lululemon but these Uniqlo ones are similar (Uniqlo hits again!) The matching short sleeve boxy top has also saved me on multiple occasions. It’s loose-fitting, airy, sweat wicking, and can be dressed up for work as well.

• Loose barrel pants - like this pair from Athleta, that works for more casual days as well as work. And of course I can’t forget my favorite Ruti barrel pants, which are lightweight, travel friendly, and polished enough for work.

• Oversized cotton shirts - my favorites, again from Uniqlo, are no longer available, but I’ve acquired a mini collection from Madewell, J.crew, and other thrifted versions throughout the years. I wear them tucked into trousers, open and and untucked for casual days, as a swim cover up, and a light layer for chilly restaurants.

• Linen, linen, linen - the obvious choice and it’s breathable and lightweight. I’ve acquired many of my linen pieces from thrifting or local boutiques, though the Aritzia Cruiselinen pants have been my favorite for a linen work trouser.

• Light crepe materials - Aritzia’s Crepette line has been a surprising life saver for me, and I regret not buying more before I moved. The Limitless Pant is polished, not too warm, and has held up better than any other pant I’ve bought over the years. I also love the cropped version for a bit of an ankle skin moment.

Speaking of clothing…

Custom clothing and tailoring really is everywhere - but it’s not the solution for everything

If you’ve been on the Vietnamese travel algorithm at all, you’ve probably seen content about custom clothing and tailoring with quick 48 or even 24 hour turnarounds. Custom tailors are easy to find, and it’s tempting to get an entirely new wardrobe that’s custom made entirely to your body. However, I’ve found that in some cases, buying off the rack and getting something altered to fit me perfectly is still the best solution than having something made from scratch.

The good thing about custom tailoring is that it can be relatively inexpensive for pretty decent to even very good quality. Suits can be made for $200 to $400 (depending on the complexity, materials, and tailor), and I’ve had plenty of tops and pants made in the $40-$50 range for wool and cotton blends. It’s really nice to get something custom made for my body, especially since I have some curves that often make me go in between sizes, and I love being able to customize little details and fabrics entirely to my liking.

I’ve also had some clothing made that have missed the mark or don’t end up with exactly the right fits, and I’ve learned through trial and error that there are a few factors that can make or break a custom piece

• Make sure the measurements are completely accurate. I had a beautiful satin dress dress made for a gala and the measurements around my hip were slightly off, which would have required an entire redo of the dress that wasn’t possible in the time frame we were working with. I ended up wearing it anyway since it wasn’t terribly obvious, and I can probably have the dress remade into a killer going out top, but it was my lesson learned to make sure measurements are right before the first fitting.

• Have really great reference photos on hand or know exactly what kind of details you want, from the draping, buttons, length of the piece, length of sleeves, leg width, rise, fabric, etc - this can be great if you have a detailed vision of what you’re looking for, but it ends up leading to decision paralysis after a certain point for me.

• Choosing fabric from a fabric market is overwhelming and not for me - Tailors don’t always have the exact fabrics I want. Silk and wool are easy, but lighter cotton blends or more quick dry lighter nylon blends have been harder to find within tailors’ stock fabrics. I love a loose light nylon blend for pants, like my beloved Ruti pants, and that doesn’t seem to be very common at custom tailors. Linen can also be surprisingly tricky, since some tailors don’t use pre-treated linen, meaning it will shrink in the wash. Some people like to go to fabric markets and source their own fabrics, though I find that an overwhelming and stressful experience.

• Some tailors are better than others at modern, trendy silhouettes - If you want to get a classic suit made, it can be pretty easy to find a tailor. But if you’re taking all your inspiration from Revolve or Reformation, or want pieces with a lot of precise details, it will take some more searching to find a tailor. I tried to get a pair of pants inspired by the A Piece Apart Bari trouser, a drapey wide leg pant with a subtle barrel leg, and my tailor (who I love dearly and has made some killer pieces), wasn’t quite able to capture the effortless drapiness and barrel shape. It’s still a nice pair of pants, but they’re more of a stiff wide-ish suit pant.

These days, I’ve gone back to buying more clothing off the rack and then having things altered. I’ll go to my tailor when I see something specific I like that’s relatively basic and classic, but with subtle details that I want customized. My most recent win was an asymmetric vest I saw on Massimo Dutti, and I was able to specify exactly how long I wanted it to be, the kinds of buttons I wanted, and the exact color. But since it’s a modern take on a suiting vest that I wanted with a classic cotton-wool blend, it’s something I was confident my tailor could make. My goal now with tailored pieces is to create something slightly unique from standard silhouettes that fit my body perfectly, like a vest top with an asymmetrical detail, or a tailored blazer.

I also live in Saigon, which has plenty of custom tailoring, but Hoi An really is the mecca of custom tailoring, with many more stores that specialize in custom pieces with a huge range of fabrics, so I may be working with a more limited pool of options. But ultimately, it is generally less of a mind burden for me to just go to a store and try something on.

Nail salons are plentiful, but not a replacement for my at-home manicures

Nail salons are practically synonymous with Vietnam, and it feels slightly stereotypical in the US to have a Vietnamese nail technician, but it’s nothing compared to the number of nail salons in Saigon. I can’t walk down the block without seeing multiple nail salons. In the US, I’ve had probably fewer than 10 professional manicures in my life because it always felt like an expensive luxury that was unnecessary to me. I saved professional manicures and pedicures for special occasions, and even then, I never even thought about nail designs or nail extensions.

Vietnam is probably where the world’s least expensive manicures exist for a quality nail design, and I started to love the feeling of having beautiful custom nail designs that lasted for weeks. Even at the foreigner-focused nail salon I go to, a custom gel manicure with designs runs me $25-30. At that price point, it feels less like a special occasion and more like a monthly routine.

But there are a couple of reasons why I’ve dialed back on getting manicures and pedicures at salons:

First, I think Vietnamese people must have stronger nails than I do, because after every gel removal, my nails seem to be destroyed for months. Technicians here tend to favor efile removal, which I think requires more skill and precision to prevent nail damage. I just think that whatever the process - soaking off or the gentlest efile - removing a layer of hard gel just makes my nails weaker and thinner. Now I save my gel manicures for longer vacations when I don’t want to worry about chipping.

Second, I absolutely do not have the patience to sit for 1.5-2 hours to get custom designs painted on my nails. If I go with a friend it can be fun, but that’s a long time for me to just idly sit, even if I come prepared with a show to watch.

Now you might ask, why don’t you skip the gel and just get a polish with regular nail polish?

Well, gel manicures are supreme here. It was actually difficult to find a place that could do a regular polish manicure with the colors that I wanted with polish that hasn’t been sitting on the shelves untouched for months, so just running off to a salon every week to get a cuticle trim and regular simple manicure is much easier said than done. After a couple mediocre experiences with regular polish manicures, I finally found the nail salon I now go to that does great gel and regular polish manicures. They’ll also let me bring my own polishes out of my large collection of nail polishes (which is also growing, thanks to some recent gifting from nail brands!) so I feel like I’ve finally found a happy medium of getting my nails pampered without needing to sacrifice my nail health or time.

Facials are my alternative to an hour-long nap

This is probably one of my biggest habit changes since moving to Vietnam, where skin treatments and spas are already a huge industry. Getting a facial every few weeks is now one of my favorite practices of self care. I could never justify regular facials in the US because they’re simply too expensive for me to keep in my (basically nonexistent) beauty maintenance budget.

But in Saigon, a basic facial runs me roughly $50-$60, and for me, the facials are less of a strategy to drastically improve any skin texture, and more of a way to relax. The facial and head massage that’s part of each facial make each dollar worth it as a method to relax the tension in my face (more on this below), and even sneak in a little nap.

Occasionally I’ll also opt for a photo facial, a gentle IPL laser treatment to help even out my skin tone and lighten up some sun spots. I’ve had 4 or 5 photo facials in the past 8 months or so and each time, I notice a pretty drastic difference with how even my skin looks, and how much brighter it looks over all.

One skin treatment I’ve never considered in the US that I’m very interested in getting is Picolaser, to really help lighten up stubborn freckles and sun spots inflicted from prior skin damage. Again, any type of skin treatment was just out of my budget in the US, and I never felt like I needed anything. Truthfully I still don’t, but the options and price range (~$200 was the most recent quote I got from my dermatologist) makes prioritizing skin health and appearance so much easier.

Massages are non-negotiable in my routine now

Vietnam has absolutely converted me from someone who used to feel uncomfortable during massages, to genuinely feeling like my body is out of sorts unless I get a massage. I’m not really a physical touch kind of person, so I used to only get sports massages a couple times a year to really rejuvenate my muscles and alleviate deep tension. But it took me just a few months of living here and trying a few spas to find a place I liked, and now I’m a complete convert to regular massages.

The biggest thing that has changed my mindset about massages is that they aren’t seen as a hyper luxury, saved only for special occasions, elite athletes, or rehabilitation, but regular massages are tied to a broader culture of wellness, improving blood circulation, and maintaining overall balance in the body, focusing more on preventative wellness over rehabilitative wellness.

Massages have become my solution to a bad day, a long week, or for when any hint of tension starts to hit my muscles. With the massages averaging $20-$30 an hour at a nice, but not super fancy, spa, it’s actually an affordable weekly or biweekly habit.

I have a rotation of my regular spot that keeps my body regularly loose and limber, a slightly fancier spa that adds in elements of Thai massages and stretching to hit deep tension, a local spot 5 minutes away from my apartment when I need something asap, and a fancier spot for a full half day of relaxation, including a facial, a foot massage, and even a meal.

One thing to note about many of the spas here is that it’s common to be sharing a room with multiple other people, separated by curtains of course, but the difference between an everyday ‘local’ spot and something slightly more elevated is how dark they keep the rooms or how quiet the masseuses are when opening doors and letting clients in an out.

I genuinely am not sure how I’m going to move somewhere else and keep up this habit, but while I’m here, I’m taking every advantage of regular massages. It’s become my alternative to working out or running as a form of stress relief, because it’s actually giving my body relief.

Which brings me to my next lifestyle change since moving to Vietnam that I’m not so thrilled about:

I’m less physically active with less running and fewer workouts

I am so much less physically active than I used to be, in both good ways and ways. The most personally frustrating and noticeable change: I haven’t gone on a single run outdoors since I moved to Vietnam - with the exception of the week I visited Paris.

There’s a few reasons for this:

It’s hot. We’ve covered this, and anyone who knows me knows I do not do well in heat. Or humidity. And especially not heat and humidity. It is hot year round in Saigon, and the seasons range from mildly humid in the dry season to very humid, constant 90% humidity, in the wet season. I’ve never seen the temperature drop below 68F degrees (20C), even on the ‘coldest’ of January evenings. I have no desire to run outside when it’s this hot.

The sun rises early. I’m a morning workout person. I just can’t do it in the afternoons after work. And the sunrise is between 5:30-6 am year round. Once the sun is up, it’s game over for running outdoors (see above: it’s hot). And as much as I’ve become an earlier morning person, I don’t think I could ever be a 5am runner.

The real reason? Air quality is not great. Air quality in Saigon isn’t unbearable, but it’s certainly not great. It took me about 2 weeks after moving to adjust to the slightly more polluted air and not cough, sneeze, or have a constant sore throat. I joke that my body needed to absorb and acclimate to a higher level of air pollution, but that’s really what it feels like. It’s not enough to make me struggle, though I don’t have asthma or any chronic respiratory issues. It’s only when I leave Saigon to go somewhere in the countryside or a different country altogether that I notice how much better the air feels, how much clearer my lungs feel, and how much more rejuvenated I feel. With the air quality, running outside no longer feels like a refreshing jaunt for fresh air.

Most of my runs take place indoors on a treadmill, which is basically torture for me. It’s rare that I’m running more than 2 miles before I’m tapped out from boredom, plus running on a treadmill is so much harder on my knees that I can’t actually run as much as I used to. :(

Less proximity to gyms. This is what hurts me the most, and probably my biggest lifestyle adjustment. There isn’t a gym within walking distance to me that is 1) has full equipment with a squat rack 2) air conditioned or 3) open during the morning hours when I work out. 99% of my workouts take place in my apartment gym, which has a small selection of free weights, a couple machines, and some cardio equipment. All of my heavy lifting workouts, focused on barbell squats, deadlifts, and chest presses, have been replaced by lighter dumbbell workouts. I’ve found ways to keep my muscle mass and be more efficient with lighter weights, but I cherish any opportunity to travel and use fancy hotel gyms that have barbells.

The traffic!! Pedestrians are secondary priority on sidewalks, at best. Running outdoors is generally less pleasant because well, everything feels a bit like an obstacle course. Dodging traffic is akin to playing leap frog, the sidewalks are generally pretty small and narrow, and even if there is a decent sidewalk, there’s about a 90% chance that it’ll be covered by motorbikes or that I’ll be dodging a motorbike that’s using the sidewalk as an express lane. Around my neighborhood, there is no stretch of open road or sidewalk that feels safe to run on without tripping or literally running into traffic. Double :( :(

With the traffic, air quality, and heat, I’m walking so much less than I used to. Most of my steps happen on the treadmill these days with a slow elevated walk, which is not ideal. The only bright side is that I use the time to catch up on an episode of whatever show I’m watching to pass the time.

It’s not all bad, though. With less working out, my body is getting more rest, and it’s something I’ve really tried to prioritize in the last year. More rest and less physical intensity has actually helped me feel less stressed, especially in conjunction with some diet changes:

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I’m eating so much healthier.

Vietnamese food is on average, so much healthier, lighter, and balanced, than any food I was eating in the US, even a lot of the Chinese food I grew up with. Of course, there are fried or fatty foods, but on average? Lots of steamed or braised dishes, and the mix of vegetables, fruits, and the ubiquitous basket of raw vegetables and herbs to dunk into any soup make every meal I have automatically much more balanced with nutrients without me making any effort.

I have soup every day, at least once a day. Before moving here I thought it was counterintuitive to drink boiling hot soup when it’s also boiling hot outside, even with the Asian mentality I grew up with that hot liquids help the body with digestion and more efficient cooling. I still couldn’t fathom drinking hot soup everyday in 100F heat.

One year in, and I can’t imagine a day going by without drinking boiling hot soup, often in open air restaurants in the boiling hot heat. My mom would say ‘I told you so’ as I feel like my body digests food better, with less bloating, when a soup is involved. And it turns out that making myself sweat through soup really can help my body cool in a gentler way than chugging ice cold drinks. Among my favorite soups and soupy foods, Vietnamese or otherwise:

• Pho, obvious, with beef or chicken

• Bo kho, beef stew

• Bun Bo Hue, spicy beef noodle soup from Hue in central Vietnam

• Bun Rieu, crab paste noodles

• Mien ga, chicken soup with clear noodles

• Canh chua, a sweet and sour soup, often with fish

• Chao, aka jook aka congee aka rice porridge

• Chinese and Chinese-Vietnamese soups, including fish ball soup, pork and watercress soup

• Any variety of Korean soups, including kimchi jigae, oxtail soup, pork rib soup (also Chinese)

Soup used to be a winter or sick food for me, but my food universe is now dominated by soup. And I can’t imagine my day without it anymore.

No meal is complete without a platter of steamed or sauteed greens. This is also how I grew up - every meal came with at least one plate of sauteed bok choy, gai lan, Chinese cabbage, or spinach, some other type of Asian leafy green, or even broccoli. Once I moved out, I became less in the habit of eating a huge serving of cooked greens with every meal. Look, one-pan dinners or one-pan roasts are nice, but there’s nothing more comforting to me than a table full of balanced dishes of meat, seafood, and an assortment of vegetables.

Eating in Vietnam has taken my back to my roots in a way. Even though the flavors are completely different, there are a lot of overlapping ingredients with the Taiwanese food I grew up eating, and the tradition of having a table full of dishes that are meant to be shared.

I don’t drink nearly as much as I used to.

This is a huge change for me, and it hasn’t even been intentional. I never considered myself a big drinker, with a glass of wine a night with dinner or a couple cocktails on the weekend to catch up with friends. But over the past year, my alcohol consumption has dropped from a drink a night to maybe 1 or 2 drinks per week.

It’s not for the lack of good cocktails or places to drink, but the combination of hot weather making me lose my appetite for alcohol, the less engrained culture of casual drinking (beers on a plastic stool aside, though that has never been my interest anyway), and the wines I like that are harder to find in Vietnam, has drastically cut my alcohol consumption.

We don’t need to talk about the hot weather again, but I find that when I’m always feeling warm, I don’t want any alcohol to make my body feel off center. I never realized how much more likely I wanted to reach for a cocktail or glass of wine when the weather was cooler or when I felt cold, but it makes sense. When I’m hot I’m already more prone to feeling lightheaded, dizzy, or that much closer to a migraine, and alcohol only amplifies all of those.

Cocktails and wine also feel more like an event here, and there is a serious cocktail game with no shortage of incredible bars. But there’s much less of a culture of popping into a bar after work for a quick drink (again, beer aside). It feels more like a special night out. A cocktail bar feels like a destination and an experience. I notice people are much more dressed up to go to a bar and it’s much more of a social event, whereas my general approach to drinking, for better or for worse, has always been more quiet and introspective, more akin to sitting in a dark cozy corner and people watching or settling into a deep conversation with a friend. That’s not…really something I see here.

Something about a drink that feels like an event or a social gathering is just so much less ‘me’ and makes me much less likely to indulge on an average Tuesday afternoon. There are a few wine bars that have the more casual vibe that I like with incredible wine selection, but they aren’t as close to home, aka they are much less tempting for me to just pop into when I have a free half hour. It made me realize how much proximity to alcohol has been a major factor to how much I drink, and having lived in NYC and DC where bars or wine could basically be found on every block, affected how much I was drinking as well.

However, my drink consumption of another kind of drink has shot up:

Coffee and tea culture is elite.

I shudder at the thought of going back to sad weak watery coffee and lattes that taste like vaguely coffee flavored milk. Or sugary juices that don’t taste anything like fruit. Or tea that just takes like leaves.

I’m not even talking about the Vietnamese coffee that has so much caffeine that you’ll feel your heartbeat in your toes. Sadly, it’s so caffeinated it’s actually too much for my body, and the standard Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk (ca phe sua da), is a no go for me because of my lactose intolerance. But the espresso-based coffee scene is also on another level here. I’m talking about lattes with the correct ratio of coffee to milk, where you can actually taste the coffee bean, creative flavors like ginger lattes, egg coffee, avocado coffee (literally avocados mixed with condensed milk and coffee), tiramisu lattes, yuzu tonic cold brews, and more.

It goes beyond coffee too. The matcha craze is just as intense here as it is in the US, and while I don’t even quality myself as a matcha enthusiast, even the most standard matcha latte uses better quality matcha than an average $7 matcha in the US, and actually tastes like matcha instead of grassy milk. Not to mention the strawberry matcha, mango matcha lattes, matcha with coconut water, and probably 100 other flavor combinations.

This extends to tea drinks, where teas are mixed with real and fresh fruit juice, and often includes actual chunks of fresh fruit like lychee, longan, red dates, or guava. There’s literally no end to the range of drinks that the Western mind can comprehend, from sugarcane juice mixed with kumquats (found on street stalls all over Saigon), tamarind juice with peanuts (another Saigon specialty), smoothies made from tropical fruits picked that morning - Saigon has made me a juice person.

Beyond these habits and lifestyle changes that have slowly changed my daily routine and mindset, I’ve had a couple more deeper realizations about what living in Vietnam has meant for me, and more importantly, what leaving the US has meant.

This last section includes a slightly more personal reflection, and I also include some of my favorite and most frequented spots, exclusive to paid subscribers. As I mentioned at the beginning, I feel a little uneasy blasting all my routine haunts to the public, but if you are planning a visit to Vietnam soon, I’m happy to share! Just reach out in DMs.

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Don’t worry, I don’t think I’ll become a makeup minimalist anytime soon. I still love testing any product that comes my way, and I have an entire closet dedicated to beauty products. But when it comes to my everyday makeup for rushed weekday mornings when there’s no room for error or experimenting, my everyday makeup drawers are a tight edit of my favorite products.

Today we’re going over not just my most reliable products in my collection, but also the products I’ve emptied or repurchased the most.

Since makeup takes so long to finish (especially blush, my god), I haven’t completely finished some of these products, but I have liked them enough to purchase multiple shades and wear them often. For the broader category of beauty products, including skincare, hair care, and body care, I’ve finished and repurchased multiple times, head to this post from last year!

I’ve also included swatches of most of the color products if I own multiple shades. Half of these are lip products, obviously.

Base and Blush

Chanel Fresh Water Tint - This is by far my most repurchased base product, and theone product that can fake a full night of sleep for your skin, this tint is a fresh healthy glow in a bottle. This is a reliable comfort product for when I just need a little something for my skin. It’s a great option for hot and humid summer weather that won’t immediately melt off my face. I’m on my 3rd bottle of this, making this my most repurchased base product, tying the now discontinued MAC Face and Body tint. I wear shade Medium.

Bobbi Brown Corrector Stick - this corrector has never failed to instantly neutralize my dark circles. The cream formula used to be my favorite, but the stick formula is a little lighter and sheerer, and actually blends much better into my skin tone. The stick formula is also incredibly easy to use, especially when I’m on the go or traveling. I wear shade Light Peach.

Westman Atelier Super Loaded Tinted Highlighter in Peau de Peche - If you haven’t heard me talk about this yet, where have you been? This bronzer/blush/highlighter trio is for summer bronzy makeup, travel days, or days when I’m running late and need quick color and definition with the fewest products possible. While I haven’t repurchased this yet, the extensive pan still says something about how much I rely on this for a quick glow, and I will absolutely repurchase a new one as soon as I run out.

Chanel Baum Essentiel Glow Stick Highlighter- this is the highlighter for those who want the glassy healthy dewy skin look without the shimmer, and is essentially the only dedicated highlighter product I reach for consistently. This balm adds the perfect dewy glow onto my cheeks, and really helps me fake a healthy, just moisturized kind of glow that other similar dupes have just not done as well. Other formulas I’ve tried feel slightly too thick or too shimmery or fade quickly. This one doesn’t completely set down but I also don’t find this too heavy or sticky for my oily skin except for super humid days, though I tend to skip all highlighter on those days anyway.

Rhode Pocket Blush - If you’ve written off celebrity beauty brands, this is one of the products most likely to change your mind. The formula is creamy, natural on the skin, long-lasting, and comes in a surprisingly thoughtful shade range, especially if you have olive undertones. It’s one of the blushes I reach for most because I know it’ll never fail me, and I know it’ll blend beautifully and wear well every time. Sleepy Girl, Toasted Teddy, and Tan Lines are the shades I use most, and they’ve become the quickest way to make my morning routine feel put together.

Phytosurgence Skin Spark Cream Blush - these are the cream blushes that made me have faith in cream blushes again for my oily skin. The texture is impossibly light and creamy, blending into skin so seamlessly that it's almost impossible to overdo. What really sets the line apart is the shade range, with some of the most nuanced, sophisticated blush colors I've come across. Exothermic is a beautiful deep muted mauve, while Sear is the rosy beige shades I reach for most often.

Make Beauty Heat Stroke Gel Tint - If your ideal blush is sheer, dewy, and almost impossible to mess up, these gel tints are worth a look. They leave behind a translucent wash of color that feels especially perfect in summer, although Slush, a sheer lilac-violet, beautiful in winter, too. They aren't the longest wearing formula in my collection (I get around 6–8 hours), but the effortless application and fresh, juicy finish make them one of the easiest blushes to throw on when I want color without thinking too hard.

Eye products

Milani Stay Put Eyeshadow Primer - this is perhaps the most boring product on this list, but my eye makeup wouldn’t survive on my oily eyelids without this. A swipe of this primer on my eyelids keeps my eyeshadow and eyeliner mostly budgeproof through heat, humidity, and the overall beating that my makeup takes throughout the day. This is the best primer at this price point, believe me.

Surratt Beyond Beige Eyeshadow Quad - (code STEPH15 for 15% off) - this is the quad to reach for when you don’t know what to wear but want to look and feel polished. Years after I first tried this perfectly neutral eyeshadow quad, I still can’t get enough of the unbelievably silky slurry eyeshadow formula that imparts the most stunning natural finish on my eyelids that even looks slightly blurred. The shimmer shades look ethereal while the matte shades never skip or feel dry, and the tones are neutral perfection and perfect for a full eye look.

Chanel Clair Contour Eyeshadow Quad - If a natural, slightly sculpted eye look is what you’re looking for, this is the quad to reach for. While Surratt has natural shimmers and finishes, Clair Contour is the perfect complementary quad to build dimension, though I often just wear these matte shades on their own. The tones are perfectly neutral, and work as the most natural contouring shades for my eyes. Awhile back, I dropped this rather violently from my bathroom counter, and while I was able to salvage a couple shades, I immediately repurchased a new one because I just can’t imagine not having this in my collection - though of course I’m using the original until I completely pan all 4 shades.

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Lip Liner and Lipstick

Victoria Beckham Lip Definer - this is one of the first lip liners I truly fell in love with and years later, it’s still one of my all time favorite lip liner formulas. This is truly the ideal of an elevated basic for lip liner because while it looks like an old school pencil lip liner, it glides on smoothly without being too melty or emollient, and leaves a natural contoured finish with a soft matte finish. It doesn’t suck any moisture from my lips, and it defines my lips in a subtle, almost undetectable way. Shade 2 is my perfect neutral beige, and I love shade 4 for a slightly deeper chestnut brown.

Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Lip Liner - another tried and tested lip liner that still holds up among the dozens of options available these days. It has a slight gel cream texture, but it isn’t so soft that it just deposits a thick layer of product. It’s blendable for a few seconds before it sets into a long wearing finish. While Pillow Talk is the shade that made me fall in love with the formula (and is still a shade I wear often), Iconic Nude is what I reach for most these days.

Phytosurgence Calm Conditions Lip Balm - tinted lip balms don’t get better than this sheer lightweight formula with the perfect light tint of color that is like the cooler elevated version of cherry chatpstick. This formula feels waxy at first, then melts into a light gel-ish texture that grips onto my lips in a thin undetectable layer. There’s something magical in this that can keep my lips moisturized on long haul plane trips or even as an overnight balm. I find that tinted lip balms tend to come in pretty basic pink, red, brown shades, but it wouldn’t be a Phytosurgence product without an expertly crafted range of nuanced pinks, mauves, and browns. My favorite shades are Bright Brine, the perfect tinted red balm shade for me, and Distant Depth, a sheer neutral-cool brown.

YSL Candy Lip Glaze Lip Gloss Stick - This is the closest thing to a solid lip gloss that has all the shine and comfort of a gloss with a lipstick format that's easier to wear. The formula is thick, deeply moisturizing, and comes in an excellent range of neutral shades along with wearable pops of color. The clear shade is especially underrated, and I finished an entire tube! And shade 14 Scenic Brown is a rare milky chocolate brown that actually flatters my natural lip color instead of washing it out.

Merit Signature Lip Lipstick - The ideal everyday lipstick is one that doesn't require much thought, and Merit Signature Lip is exactly that. The balmy, lightweight formula delivers a natural medium coverage satin finish that's almost impossible to overapply, while the curated shade range makes it easy to find colors that work with everyday makeup. L'Avenue, Slip, and Cabo are standouts for me, and while Merit has released other lipstick formulas, the original Signature Lip remains the one I reach for most often.

Lip glosses and treatments

Maybelline Lifter Gloss - even among my most beloved lipglosses, this one is an everyday staple, and the fact that it’s under $15 is just a bonus. The formula is comfortably thick without feeling sticky, provides lasting hydration, and comes in an impressive range of cream and shimmer shades. It doesn’t have quite the ultra glassy, luxurious feel of Tom Ford, but for under $15 it’s an easy staple that performs well enough to earn a permanent spot on my desk for quick hydration and shine throughout the day.

Merit Shade Slick Lip Gelee - if traditional lip gloss feels too heavy or sticky, Merit Shade Slick is one of the lightest alternatives I’ve found. The updated gelee formula feels airy, an improvement on the original formula that felt more slick and oily, and it still gives my lips a comfortable layer of hydration and sheer shine. The range includes soft creams, subtle shimmers, and ultra-sheer shades that fit perfectly into a minimalist makeup routine. I’ve already finished Taupe, while Mapleton and Tabby are current favorites.

Tom Ford Gloss Luxe Lip Gloss - Tom Ford really sets the standard for a luxurious lipgloss that’s hard for anything else to compare. The jelly-like formula delivers exceptionally smooth, glassy shine while providing hydration that lingers long after the initial gloss has faded. Unlike many gel glosses that disappear quickly, this one stays comfortable for hours and leaves my lips feeling better even after it’s worn away. It’s undeniably expensive, but the formula makes this well worth the splurge to me.

Rhode Peptide Lip Tint - A tinted lip treatment should feel effortless enough to throw on without a mirror, and these Rhode Lip Tints nail that balance. The formula is lightweight without being thin, glossy without feeling sticky, and hydrating enough to keep my lips comfortable for hours. The sheer shades are surprisingly nuanced, making them easy to wear every day without overwhelming the rest of my makeup. I started with one tube and eventually accumulated several because they're the lip product I most consistently want within reach

Eadem Le Chouchou Lip Softening Balm (code BEAUTYUNHYPED15 for 15% off) - for dry lips that need both color and serious nourishment, Eadem Le Chouchou is hard to beat. The thick, cushiony formula smooths flaky lips without ever becoming sticky, making it equally effective as an overnight treatment or an everyday gloss. The shade range strikes a rare balance between interesting and approachable, from a soft milky pink to balanced rosy browns. Boba Bounce is my favorite and most worn shade as a neutral brown that works beautifully with the natural pigment in my lips.

Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm- this tinted balm remains one of the best in the category for a thick, plush, and comforting formula. The soft, cushiony texture feels comfortable on my lips, with slightly less gloopiness than the Eadem, and a little more weight than the Rhode. Vanilla Beige is the standout shade for me, with its sheer milky beige tint and subtle vanilla scent. I recently finished an entire tube and already cracked open another tube.

New launches are always exciting, but the products that I consistently use and empty are the ones worth talking about in my collection. These are the formulas that have survived 5 minute routines, long days, and have earned their place in my routine.

I think there are also some honorable mentions in here, and some specific shades of products I wear all the time, but ultimately I haven’t built a collection of shades and options like some of the products on this list. Some of the honorable mentions include:

• Chanel Le Rouge Duo Ultra Tenue - I adore this 2-step glossy longwearing formula, and the shade Light Brown is actually one of my most perfect shades. I’m slowly building up a little collection of these, but have yet to wear other shades enough to call this a truly loved product worth owning multiple shades in.

• Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous - this is by far one of the best lipstick formulas I’ve ever used on my lips. It’s comfortable, longwearing, creamy, and luxury defined. Inattendu is a perfect rosy, slightly plummy, brown that works for every occasion, and I also like Alter Ego, a warm brown, but there aren’t many other shades that I’m drawn to.

• Chanel Rouge Coco Flash - another easy lip formula with a shade that was basically made for me. Moment is a rosewood brown that I pop on whenever I don’t know what to wear, and I also like Easy, a light pinky beige, though once again, I don’t see a ton of other shades I love.

…I seem to have a theme with the products I like to use the most, don’t I? I’m well on my way to finishing some of these Chanel lipsticks, so maybe we’ll see them in an updated most worn or favorite makeup empties post.

All of my most worn products can also be found on ShopMy, and be sure to keep up with more of my daily makeup ramblings on Instagram. As always, thank you for reading!

I remember that for my middle school graduation (yes I’ve been obsessed with makeup since my pre-teen days), I insisted on buying a Maybelline quad with shades of silver and navy blue that I wore proudly, and obviously I paired it with generous amounts of black eyeliner and foundation that was too warm for me.

The possibilities for piling on makeup were endless and walking through Sephora was my teenage version of heaven. The aisles were filled with makeup in all sorts of eye popping packaging. Brands like Benefit or Urban Decay had the most creative packaging. And does anyone remember when Hard Candy was in Sephora, and they had the most adorable eyeshadows in the slide up case? I can’t even find old stock photos to show but I used to dream about owning those eyeshadows.

This era that might as well be yesterday to me, though the 2016 throwback videos make it crystal clear that makeup was equally cringeworthy as orange foundation and concealer lips with its pomade block brows, exaggerated contour and highlighter, and 15 step eyeshadow looks complete with cut creases (something I never wore, I might add in my defense). And all the palettes, my god there were so many palettes. Eyeshadow palettes, blush palettes, contour palettes, highlight palettes. And I loved every single one of those overly warm toned releases.

It all seemingly vanished overnight as the ‘clean girl’ look took over, coinciding with the clean beauty movement that did nothing but mean that brands could now greenswash their products and be praised for it. Makeup brands were forced to adjust to the new pandemic-era reality of people having no occasions to wear makeup for, but also found opportunities to completely take a hard turn towards minimal makeup, dropping palettes and eyeshadows and blushes from their lineups. What we got instead? Infinite lip glosses, dewy cream blushes, barely there skin tints, and the impending homogenization of makeup brands across every category.

It wasn’t all bad. We got a complete overhaul on the basics of makeup - natural base products that didn’t require a magic whisper and meticulous application to prevent cakiness, seamless concealers, and cream blushes that actually work for a variety of skin types. We got every kind of lipgloss and lip treatment formula imaginable, and lip liners that can perfectly contour every lip shade. However, what we lost in the process was a sense of personality and originality. Brands that used to have their own unique style of packaging slowly started to become indistinguishable from one another in the pursuit of minimalist luxury. With a few exceptions, what was cool and effortless and elevated now seems a little tired and uninspired.

The exceptions are shockingly few and only these few examples came to mind. Chantecaille really makes stunning limited edition products, and Byredo leans more architectural but still has a twist of fun that I’m very drawn to.

In the meantime, Asian beauty has been running laps around Western beauty brands in terms of product, formula, and packaging innovation. This could be a whole other post on the global growth of Asian beauty that I’m not quite prepared to dive into yet, but the most interesting products from the past few years have undoubtedly come from Asian beauty brands.

Other than Asian beauty, indie beauty brands have continued innovating and pushing the boundaries of formulas and shades. Without a need to cater to the masses, they’ve been able to fill every creative niche and gap in the market, but I’m finally starting to see the tide shift towards more color in mainstream makeup, and even the occasional colorful eyeshadow that’s starting to break through the piles of sheer lip tints.

The drought is starting to end, and Marc Jacobs might just be leading mainstream beauty back to beauty that doesn’t take itself so seriously. Back in the day, Marc Jacobs was one of those brands that consistently released interesting shades, all bundled into a very sleek and professional packaging. I had countless favorites from the line - their gigantic bronzer that I actually managed to pan and foundation I completely finished, liners that are still one of the most budgeproof formulas I’ve tried in my lifetime, and expertly crafted formulas. And it all came to an unceremonious end in 2021, just as clean girl makeup really took off and rendered Marc Jacobs irrelevant.

And now they’re back, completely reimagined. If the original Marc Jacobs was for the off duty model who ‘borrowed’ a few products from backstage after the fashion show, the new Marc Jacobs is the show. Instead of sleek black packaging, there’s whimsy, color, and 3D shapes that pop out from the packaging. It’s undeniably eye-catching and original and it has personality - something we’ve been desperately missing from the beauty industry.

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For all the criticism that it looks like kids makeup, I get it. I get that it’s not everyone’s style - it’s not even really my style, but the little flower and heart and star details invigorate some life into my makeup collection that I didn’t even realize was missing.

But packaging can only go so far. So how does this new iteration of Marc Jacobs Beauty actually break the mold in terms of performance?

Legally Bronze Blurring Bronzing Powder

The bronzer is the star product of the relaunch, in my opinion, with chrome packaging (my kryptonite), an expanded shade range of non-orange shades, and a super silky formula. While the packaging is plastic, it feels like a more substantial product than the other products in the line, and I truly love the little flower detail that pops out. It is bulkier than a sleek compact, but this is one of the products I’m happy to display on my vanity, though it’s also not just there for the looks.

The formula is impressively silky and thin, giving off smooth and even pigment in one swipe. It instantly impressed me and only got better once I started applying it with a brush (this one is my favorite, by the way). The smooth powder instantly gives a smooth even veil of warmth in a natural matte finish that looks natural and seamless on my skin. I didn’t have any trouble applying or blending out the product, and it doesn’t go patchy on my skin, even for a talc-free formula, which I have generally not enjoyed.

I’m also encouraged by the shade range, with 8 shades that actually seem evenly distributed. I bought Light Medium, which is on the neutral side of a neutral-warm shade. On my skin, it leaves a realistic natural warmth that doesn’t turn orange at all. Dare I say that I even like this shade and formula better than the original? If there’s anything to try from the line, I’d say go for this bronzer.

Joystick Buildable Cream Blush Stick

I just had to try one of these bright yellow blush sticks, even if the plastic component feels a little…brittle (foreshadowing alert here). It doesn’t feel nearly as substantial as the bronzer, but is even bulkier.

Packaging aside, the formula is pretty lovely. Maybe not the best cream blush formula that completely blows other blush formulas out of contention, but it’s definitely better than an average cream blush. The lightweight formula applies a light layer of a slightly dewy blush that looks natural on the skin and blends out with just a few taps. Although I generally stray away from dewy finishes on my oily skin, the glow looks more like a natural, well moisturized skin glow, than a greasy glow. The pigmentation is a perfect medium, letting my skin show through, but it doesn’t just blend away into nothing.

I love the natural, almost stained, finish, and the longevity is pretty decent on my oily skin that struggles in a humid climate. I get anywhere from 6-9 hours of wear when I apply this over setting powder (which is how I always apply cream blush), depending on how much I’ve been sweating and struggling through the heat. On a less humid day, I can easily get closer to 9-10 hours without layering a powder blush on top, but if I can feel the humidity as soon as I wake up, I definitely need a powder blush to make this last.

All of that is to say, unless you live in a super humid climate with oily skin, I don’t foresee any problems with longevity, but I also have other formulas that can last through an entire day without fading. The other downside is that if you’re a boring neutrals lover like me, the shade range is actually not super helpful. Self Centered is the only shade that really calls out to me, and it is admittedly a pretty easy pinkish rosewood that looks natural on my skin, I don’t find the other shades to be particularly olive-skin friendly.

Born Star Cream-to-Powder Long-Wear Eyeshadow

The eyeshadows are the next star product (literally). The pop art style star packaging is fun and tactile, and definitely feels less fragile than the blush and lipstick. The range includes a few matte neutrals (my happy place), colorful shades, and even a couple duochromes. It’s definitely one of the more colorful range of powder (or powder-adjacent) eyeshadows available at Sephora, though I still feel like there’s plenty of room to expand into more shades.

Formula-wise, these are very user friendly, with a creamy powder formula that’s smooth and easy to blend. Notably, I don’t feel that these are a cream to powder as they’re marketed to be, but I think that’s actually a good thing. The more powdery feel makes it last on my eyelids without creasing (over my usual eyeshadow primer), but the creamy aspect gives the shadows a smooth suede kind of feel.

On Brand is one of those perfect matte neutral wash of color over my eyelids that I wear most days now, and I like applying the matte shade with a soft fluffy brush for a diffused look. I get very little creasing, and the normal reasonable amount of slight fading that happens with a 13-14 hour day. I also bought Serving, a hard to describe pinkish shade with some blue and green sparkles. It is the only iridescent shade in the line, which is a serious missed opportunity, because the finish of this one is beautiful. It has the glistening wet look effect that I love to use to top my matte shades when I want to add some interest to my look. I’ll be back for more shades when more mattes and iridescent glitters come out.

Heart On Long Lasting Soft Shine Lipstick

We’re really not ending on a high note because this was my biggest letdown from the line for so many reasons. The shade range is so promising! In contrast to the multistick blushes, there are so many muted neutrals that tempted me. I picked up Burning Desire, a neutral brown with a hint of yellow that actually sets itself apart in my collection.

Apart from the shade range, the packaging of these lipsticks was the least appealing to me out of the whole line.

Let’s start with the good - the formula is beautiful. It glides on smoothly with a moderately glossy finish, and if there can be such a thing, the right amount of medium pigment. I love the feel of it on my lips - it’s not too thick nor does it feel heavy. By all measures it’s a winning formula that’s comfortable to wear. The biggest flaw in my opinion is that there’s a fruity-floral fragrance that’s not the most pleasant. It’s not as offensive as a powdery floral to me, but it’s certainly not my favorite.

The next and most egregious downside? The first time I took this out for the day to test on the go, I reached into my bag to touch up my lipstick and found the packaging cracked, despite not having dropped the product at all. It turns out that the brittleness of the hard plastic might not make it so durable after all.

I’m willing to overlook this as a first time fluke, but this does give me some pause for the brand - can fun and whimsical packaging be enough if it breaks on the first use? What is fun and creativity if it isn’t practical and can’t hold up to regular use? Makeup is a product that’s meant to be used and consumed, and lipstick, of all things, should be able to hold up to being carried in a handbag.

The new Marc Jacobs has been highly anticipated and hyped, and for good reason. It gives us makeup lovers a reminder of times that seemed more fun, but also tries, perhaps unevenly, to push current ideals of what makeup actually is, and to bring us back to the creative self expression that Marc Jacobs himself stated that he wanted this brand to be.

I want to be fully behind this new version of the brand, and I appreciate how it’s pushing the boundaries of ‘clean girl’ and the quiet luxury era of beauty. It’s not fully there for me, but it’s a start of what I hope are more interesting beauty launches.

What do you think about the new iteration of Marc Jacobs Beauty? Is it a sign of more exciting times to come in beauty?

As always, you can find everything mentioned in this post on ShopMy, and keep up with my latest rambling on Instagram. Thank you so much for reading!

For much of my life, I’ve been a Paris skeptic. I just didn’t buy the most romantic city in the world, the city of lights, the je ne sais quois of it all. It took me years to realize that with any popular large city in the world, it takes a little bit more effort to scratch below the glossy romanticized version of what popular culture tells you a city should be like.

These days, I go to Paris for very specific things: primarily, to visit my friends, but also to eat as many steak frites and chocolate mousse as I can, shop for fragrance and hand bags, and be inspired by art and architecture.

The experiences I crave are the small unplanned moments, like a sunset soaked walk after dinner, looking for an evening drink, the quiet early morning walks admiring original Art Nouveau architecture walking alongside people on their way to the markets, or even the lingering but somehow frenetic hustle of officeworkers ending their lunch break that reminds me that this city is not just a city for dreamers and poets and tourists, but also millions of people trying to make it work. It’s the totality of these moments that make Paris interesting to me, and I find that the more I stop and pay attention to those moments, the more I want to know about Paris, and the more I further refine each experience to dig into the details.

My past few visits have been a balance of revisiting places that have become favorites, and choosing a few new places to explore. I won’t even being to claim that I have a definitive guide on the best or coolest or most niche places, and I lean heavily on the knowledge of friends that live in the city, but these are definitely the highlights of my favorite places to shop, eat, and be inspired in Paris.

Shopping

Obviously, Paris is one of the top tier shopping heavens in the world, and there really is something to fit everyone’s taste and budget. The hardest part is figuring out the stores that resonate with me, and my best advice to first-timers is to start with a department store to see the biggest variety of brands, find the ones that you like, and then seek out the boutiques around the city to see their full lines.

In addition to department stores, I’ve rounded up my favorite stores and boutiques, along with an overview of stores I checked out that I didn’t resonate with.

Department stores:

I love French department stores almost as much as I love Asian department stores. They still embody the wonders of exploring each floor and discovering new brands rather than being overlit sad warehouses for stock that doesn’t move, which is what I often feel about American department stores.

Department stores are a great one stop shop for many of the French or international fashion, handbag, beauty, or fragrances that I would want to browse, and are often slightly cheaper in France than if we were to buy it in the US, such as:

• Beauty and fragrance: Biologique Recherche, By Terry, Byredo, Dries Van Noten, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Serge Lutens, Suqqu

• Clothing + Handbags: APC, Ba&sh, Balzac, Claudie Pierlot, Maje, Rouje, Sandro, Sessun, Sezane, Souer

• Handbag-exclusive brands: Bonastre, Fleuron, Le Tanneur, Longchamp, Polene

• Shoes: Alohas, Bobbies, Jonak, Repetto, Veja

These are the major ones I like to stop by:

• Le Bon Marche (24 Rue de Sèvres, 7e arr.) - a beauty shopping heaven, with one floor dedicated to beauty and and another that has newer brands. I could (and have) spent hours browsing the beauty sections, which are distributed across two floors. There are some brands like Suqqu or Biologique Recherche that aren’t available in the US, but something about the layout of their beauty sections just invites you to browse and take it all in. They also have a section of Violette FR if you’re hankering to swatch her products in person, but they are oddly more expensive in France than if you were to buy it in the US.

• Galleries Lafayette Haussman (40 Bd Haussmann, 9e arr.) - I love this specific location with floors upon floors of beauty, clothing, and a gorgeous rooftop with views of the city. The main highlight here is that there is an Officine Universelle Buly counter that when I visited, had no line at all. I refuse to wait in line for them so I was glad to finally pick up a personalized balm.

• Printemps Haussmann (64 Bd Haussmann, 9e arr.) - I go here specifically for fragrances. They also have a Typology counter, but please please go to their niche fragrance floor above the main beauty floor to have the time of your life smelling interesting scents. Notable brands here include: Akro, Bon Parfumeur, Essentiel Parfums, Hellenist, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Maison Crivelli, Nissaba, Maison Violet, and Ormaie.

Beauty:

Surprisingly, with a few exceptions, I don’t really go to Paris for makeup shopping and we all know that skincare doesn’t really excite me. These are the beauty-dedicated stores that I love.

• Les Filles en Rouje (multiple locations)- the ultimate flirty French girl brand and although I ogle over their clothes and shoes every time, they’re just a little more feminine than what I tend to wear. The makeup is what I really love, and their packaging is always a delight

  • The Le Correcteur Palette is one of my makeup staples that I raved about recently. It’s a great little touch-up concealer, and can even give me perfect light coverage all over my face in just a few taps.

  • La Palette is probably their most iconic product, with 4 perfect shades of lipsticks in palette form for that super effortless blotted lip application, plus they also double as cream blushes. The Signature Lip Palette has my favorite tones, and Desir has gorgeous spring tones.

  • The ultimate French girl lipsticks (Emilie is my favorite powdery pink) and tinted balm may not be the most groundbreaking lipstick formulas in the world, but they are nice and worth checking out.

• Pharmacies - Citypharma has the biggest selection, but it is always crowded and honestly, my staples can be found in most pharmacies. Obviously I’m restocking my favorite Caudalie body oil at a hefty discount compared to American prices, and probably picking up a bottle of the classic Nuxe Body Oil because the scent is heavenly. From Caudalie, I also like the The des Vignes shower gel and body lotion, and the Beauty Elixir is one of my favorite refreshing and cooling mists. I also inevitably pick up a couple sunscreens, like the La Roche Posay Anthelios Oil Control Fluid and SVR Pocket Spray SPF for touchups, though I tend to prefer Asian formulas for my skin. The only other French pharmacy brand I’ve really been drawn to so far is La Rosee, which has a lovely tinted red lip balm and a clay mask in stick form that is so convenient to use.

Fragrance:

Fragrance is where I’ve been having the most fun lately, and shopping around Paris was such a dream to find niche fragrance houses that are usually hard to find. I didn’t even get to all the stores I wanted to visit, and I’m sure the stores I know of only scratch the surface!

• Printemps Haussman (64 Bd Haussmann, 9e arr.)- surprise, we’re back at a department store, and this fragrance store has a range of more mainstream brands like Byredo, Le Labo, Maison Francis Kurkdjian to niche brands I’ve never come across before. My favorite brand in Printemps at the moment is Maison Violet, and I also loved exploring the range of Crayon, Akro Fragrances, and Essential Parfums.

• Conscience Parfums (371 Rue des Pyrénées, 20e arr.) - a sweet little store tucked into the 20th, the store focuses on more environmentally conscious fragrances, but there’s nothing crunchy or contrived in its selections. You can find the classic Bon Parfumeur, Versatile, Obvious Parfums (with my favorite pistachio fragrance), but I fell in love with Carlotha Ray, which does delicate but beautifully complementary scents. I also discovered Chapel Factory, which has all the scents I’d expect to find in an old cathedral that has been standing for centuries.

• Jovoy (4 Rue de Castiglione, 1e arr.) - when my friends suggested shopping I had no idea this store had gotten so popular we had to wait in line to get in? I am usually anti-line, but in the end I appreciate that they tried to keep the store from getting crowded so that I could fully browse without bumping up against someone. There’s a mind boggling assortment of rare, luxury, and niche fragrances here, and we spent a couple of hours just trying a fraction of their selections. A few highlights were Parfums d’Empire, where nearly every fragrance was something I could see myself wearing or had notes compositions that drew me in even further, and Profumum Roma, a niche Italian brand focusing on sophisticated single note focused extraits, where the mastery really lies in the ultra subtle shifts as the oils settle. Jovoy also has a house brand that has some really lovely fragrances as well.

• Kams Paris (6 Av. de l’Opéra, 1e arr.) - don’t be confused by the vaguely uninspired airport duty free nature of this store - head all the way to the back and there, and there’s a surprisingly large selection of niche fragrances, including the elusive Meo Fusciuni fragrance that I fell in love with when I visited Scentury Concept in Vietnam (the coolest niche fragrance store in Saigon). Kams had the full lineup, and it only made me more obsessed with the brand. Encore du Temps is one of my top wishlist fragrances at the moment! Une Nuit Nomad is another fragrance house I got to try for the first time, and their travel inspired fragrance truly feels transportive while still being wearable.

• Fragrance Boutiques

  • Memo Paris (temporary location: 3 Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, 4e arr.) I love the travel inspired fragrances of this brand, so much so that Inle, a heavenly blend of jasmine, osmanthus, and mate tea, was what I wore on my wedding day. Every fragrance I’ve tried from them has been luxurious, elegant, and distinct.

  • Etat Libre d’Orange (69 Rue des Archives, 3e arr.) - this small but mighty boutique is a dream for discovering their huge range of scents. The staff are so helpful at helping you pinpoint the best scents for you while suggesting unexpected fragrances to discover without being pushy or overbearing.

  • Serge Lutens (142 Gal de Valois, 1e arr.) - if you ever wondered what Willy Wonka’s store would look like if he were a goth parfumeur, the Serge Lutens store is pretty close. The store is dark and mysterious and whimsical all at once, complete with a spiral staircase leading up to an office where Serge Lutens reportedly actually works from when he’s in Paris. Truthfully, I find the boutique to be slightly more whimsical than the dark moody vibe I get from his fragrances, but I don’t hate it!

Another store I wanted to visit but didn’t get to was Nose, another niche fragrance boutique. Next time!

Fashion:

These days I’m not looking for more clothing, but I always like to browse. Truthfully, not many of the classic French brands are really my style, and I haven’t done a lot of exploring with smaller designers or boutiques (note to self: explore more clothing brands next time I’m in Paris).

• Souer is the only brand I always make sure to browse, and I covet every single piece every time I walk in. Most of their pieces are made with natural fibers, and have simple but interesting cuts and draping. They also have the most interesting colors that are unexpected but always make me feel more curious to play with color. This time, I walked away with a gorgeous draped chartreuse green (!!!!) silk top that would be great dressed down for work or for a dressy dinner.

• Sandro has some pieces that always catch my eye, although it takes some patience to find the pieces that made with natural fibers that make it worth the higher price tags, there are certainly some beautiful pieces that aren’t too trendy. Their winter coats are always beautiful, and worth seeking out for the slightly cheaper prices in France plus the VAT refund.

• Sezane - I like some of their selections, since they also have a lot of pieces with natural fibers at a fair price point, but the stores that I’ve visited - including the L’Appartement and their boutique in Le Marais - have been underwhelming. They don’t have nearly the selection of their online store, and both stores have been overwhelmingly crowded whenever I visited, even if it was right before closing.

While I was wandering through department stores, I browsed these brands and personally didn’t find to be my style:

• Balzac - an eco-conscious brand that gives me casual coastal California meets French vibes. There were some pieces that caught my eye but I didn’t love anything enough to buy them.

• Claudie Pierlot - fun and bold French style with flirty details, fun prints, and colors. A little too feminine for my taste but it’s fun to browse! It’s also the younger sister brand of Maje and Sandro and definitely has the fun younger sister vibe.

• Maje - If Claudie Pierlot is the fun sister in college, Maje captures the vibe of being in your early 20s, with more mature sensibilities, but is still having a lot of fun. I tend to be most drawn to their dresses, if I ever needed something for a party or a wedding.

• Sessun - everyday staples and classic pieces with a twist. I liked some of their styles but found that it took some sifting to find the items made with natural fibers. Fibers that seemed like they should have been made from cotton were often blends of synthetics that I didn’t love, but there are definitely some all cotton or wool gems!

Accessories and Bags:

• APC - one of my favorite bag brands, with stunning leathers and classic styles with a modern twist. There are multiple boutiques throughout the city, and make sure to look for a Surplus store, their outlet with some discounted and past season styles.

• Bonastre (10 Rue du Perche, 3e arr.)- officially my biggest wishlist bag brand after seeing some of their styles in person. Their bags are slouchy but not too slouchy, functional, and exactly the kind of it bag I’ve been looking for. I’m obsessed with the slouchiness of the Bow bag, as well as the minimal but still functional Rider bag (with an exterior pocket!)

• Le Tanneur - an iconic French brand that also makes stunning classic bags. I bought one of their crossbody bags a couple years ago and it’s one of my favorite evening bags. They make classic designs that also have thoughtful and organized interiors without being overdesigned or complicated.

• RSVP Paris (8 Rue Saint-Claude, 3e arr.) - a very cool bag brand that creates minimalist but practical leather bags. I was so tempted by the Batman bag, which looks like the perfect everyday bag that even comes with exterior pockets to slip my phone or a train pass.

  

Other Shopping:

• Merci (111 Bd Beaumarchais, 3e arr.)- a massive 3-story store with an attached cafe that is filled with clothing, jewelry, home goods, and accessories. It’s a great place to do a lot of shopping at once and pick up gifts or souvenirs. I was drawn to their line of canvas bags and tote bags, which seem to be some of their best sellers, since they come in tons of prints and colors.

• Officine Universelle Buly (multiple locations) - I feel like this is a store everyone needs to at least try to check out. Whether or not you think it’s worth braving the line is entirely up to you (no, in my humble opinion). Their customizable combs, hairbrushes, lip balms, and large range of perfumes and bath products are undeniably aesthetic in an old world apothecary kind of way, but also in a meticulously manufactured kind of way..Still, it’s an experience that makes for great gifts, and even I couldn’t resist making a personalized lip balm when I saw that the counter in Galeries Lafayette didn’t have a line.

• Sabre (39 Rue du Poitou, 3e arr.) - If you’re in need of a refresh for your kitchen utensils, there are endless customizable options here. I’m not a kitchen ware kind of person, but even I couldn’t resist ogling over their colors and prints for a new paring knife and tomato knife, which I actually needed, so walking in was a win. There are a couple locations, but the one in Le Marais was so close to the rest of the shopping I wanted to so I find it the most convenient location.

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Eat

Among the endless options of restaurants in Paris, I tend to take the strategy of wandering into a neighborhood brasserie that looks busy but not too busy, and I have had pretty good experiences. I’ve found that a lot of the super hyped French brasseries aren’t so much better than the lower profile neighborhood options that they’re worth a long wait or reservations weeks in advance. Instead, I’ve highlighted some of the more unique restaurants I visited that I still can’t stop thinking about:

• Copain - gluten free pastries and sandwiches (!!!) - there’s locations all over the city and I always pop into one whenever I pass by to grab a treat. Don’t skip their babkas!

• Parisik (3 Rue de la Michodière, 2e arr.) - Korean-French fusion that was both comforting and fresh. Their desserts are absolutely incredible.

• Double Dragon (52 Rue Saint-Maur, 11e. arr)- FIlipino-inspired food and natural wine, although there are broader Asian influences that make this restaurant feel modern, cool, and laidback, all at the same time. Their standout was actually the Korean Fried Chicken, although their chicken adobo is homey comfort I could eat over and over again. Don’t gloss over their wine selection, either - there are unexpected but wildly drinkable picks on their list.

• Waly Fay (6 Rue Godefroy Cavaignac, 11e. arr.) - My favorite meal from my recent trip. Senegalese and West African that felt homey and cool. Every single dish was unforgettable, from their cod fritters to their shrimp creole, or chicken yassa, a zesty, hearty, and warming stew. I still think about this meal at least once a week.

• Bar Principal (5 Rue du Général Renault, 11e arr.) - I actually rarely go out to drink anymore, but I stopped into this chill bar after our dinner at Waly Fay, and loved the nonchalant vibes, perfect for a late evening drink to soak in the summer. Their drink menu is interesting but still has familiar favorites, and they also have a couple non-alcoholic options.

• Clos d’Astorg (22 Rue d’Astorg, 8e arr.) -you must try their Chou Farci, the hearty and most comforting stuffed cabbage (it’s more exciting than the description I promise), and their chocolate mousse is excellent.

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Museums that inspire me

Paris truly has a dizzying number of museums to visit, and these are my favorites as someone who tends to favor modern and contemporary art. My ultimate favorite museum for contemporary art is Centre Pompideau, but it is sadly closed for renovations until 2030.

• Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris (11 Av. du Président Wilson, 16e arr.) - one of my favorite museums for modern art that is just the right size to take in all the art for an afternoon without getting overwhelmed, and the best part is that the permanent exhibition is free.

• Bourse de Commerce (2 Rue de Viarmes, 1e arr.) - always has an interesting exhibition alongside their permanent collection, and the architecture inside, designed by one of my favorite architects, Tadao Ando, blends modern with the classic building design.

• Musee Marmottan Monet (2 Rue Louis Boilly, 16e arr.) - this understated museum is a treasure trove of Monet art without the huge crowds of Musee de l’Orangerie or Musee d’Orsay.

• Carnavalet Museum (23 Rue de Sévigné, 4e arr.) - another free museum that takes you through the history of Paris from prehistoric times to modern day. It was actually fascinating to learn more about Paris before it became the city we know today, and is a great break from shopping in Le Marais.

• Pantheon (Pl. du Panthéon, 5e arr.) - one of my favorite places in Paris for a quiet moment. This mausoleum is the resting place of so many historic figures like Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, Marie Curie, Josephine Baker, and more.

• Catacombs of Paris (1 Av. du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, 14e arr.) - I think every visitor to Paris needs to take a tour of the catacombs, if not to learn more about Paris, then to just take in the massive underground network of bones. It’s surprisingly not even as remotely creepy as it sounds. It’s actually strangely peaceful and fascinating, and worth planning in advance.

If you have any favorites in Paris that I simply can’t miss next time that I visit, let me know! With fragrance being an exciting new world for me, I’m hungry for any and all new smells to sniff. If this post was helpful for you, I’m truly appreciative of any likes, shares, and comments. And of course, make sure you’re subscribed for more beauty, fragrance, and travel content.

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As always, you can find all my favorites on ShopMy and keep up with my latest rambles on Instagram. Thank you for reading!

As we all know now, a long weekend is an excuse for sales, and I rounded up some of the best sales that caught my eye, with some of my favorite products and brands.

I’ll keep updating this list as I see more sales, and don’t forget I have a long list of ongoing discount codes that work all year round!

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Beauty

• Charlotte Tilbury - 20% off with code MAGICMAY - Recently I’ve been really enjoying their Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray for keeping my makeup on all day and helping it be more transfer resistant. It has a slightly glowy finish that also stays looking fresh.

• Dedcool - 20% off sitewide, including my current everyday soft musky fragrance

• Dr. Whitney Bowe Beauty - 25% off sitewide

• Elemis - 25% off sitewide and free gift with $125+ with code MDW25 - I recently rediscovered their Cleansing Balm, a rich balm that takes off all my makeup without leaving a trace.

• Glossier - 30% off select favorites, including Glossier You Fleur, which I personally think is the best version of You.

• Make Beauty - 20% off makeup and 50% off last chance products. Their brow gels have some of the strongest hold I’ve ever seen in a brow gel and I also love the cheek tint.

• Merit Beauty - free travel pouch with orders $100+

• Mother Science - 20% off with code MEMDAY20 - their Molecular Hero serum is a hero antioxidant serum for me, and their retinol is also excellent. If you love a rich moisturizer that isn’t shiny or greasy, the Molecular Genesis moisturizer is a great pick.

• Naturium - 20% off sitewide

• Necessaire - 20% off sitewide, and the perfect time to stock up on my favorite body wash, body lotion, and hand cream

• Paula’s Choice - 30% off sitewide, 5/21-6/12, which means it’s time to stock up on my holy grail BHA toner.

• Prequel - 20% off sitewide, I swear by their Universal Skin Solution, the hydrochlorous spray that helps calm my skin post workout or on a flight, and also helps prevent clogged pores, and it comes free with orders $80+!I also love Hand Wrap as the least sticky and greasy hand lotion that’s perfect for the office, since it creates a water resistant barrier that keeps moisture in.

• Remedy Skin - 20% off sitewide from 5/23-5/26

• Revolve - 20% off most beauty products (some brand exclusions) with code BEAUTY20 - includes the new Summer Fridays Bronzer Balm, Allies of Skin (and their Growth Factor and Peptide serum!), Phlur, and more

• Skinfix - 20% off sitewide

• Tatcha - 20% off with code FRIEND26 - Their Water Cream moisturizer is one of the best water gel cream moisturizers I’ve tried, and it convinced me that not all gel creams are created equal.

• The Outset - 20% off single products

• Westman Atelier - 20% off complexion products, including my favorite glowy foundation stick and concealer (reviewed in my previous post!)

• Sephora - sale up to 50% off on select products, and some highlights like this Sephora favorites set with a full size Violette Lip Nectar, my holy grail dry shampoo, or this Nette fragrance duo with one of my favorite every day fragrances

Clothing and Accessories

• AYR - up to 60% off their sale section

• Banana Republic - 30% off full price items

• Cos - 30% off a selection of styles

• Emme Parsons - 30% off select styles, including the Bari sandal that I’ve been lusting after for years.

• Rothys - 25% off, no code needed

Home and Travel

• Away - sale section with up to 20% off suitcases that have gone on every trip with me for the past 4 years

• Cadence - 20% off sitewide, up to 40% off parcels - I splurged on a set for Christmas for my husband and I and they immediately graduated to top travel essentials. My husband uses these even more for taking SPF, moisturizer, and medicine on the go. While I tend to have a hoard of mini skincare products, I use this also for medicine, as well as jewelry. The parcels are particularly helpful for traveling with liquids and keeping my essentials with me when I’m on a flight - I find them far more convenient than a zip-loc style bag, and these will last for a long time, too.

• Parachute - 25% off sitewide

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If you have other sales you’re shopping, do let me know so I can also shop some favorites!!

As always, you can find all my mentioned favorites on ShopMy, and keep up with my latest ramblings on Instagram. Thank you for reading and happy long weekend!

I’ve never thought of myself as a ‘concealer person’ - someone who gets excited to try new concealers or who pays attention to the newest launches. And yet somehow, I find myself with a drawer-ful of concealers that I’ve bought for myself or have been sent to try to reach concealer-nirvana of obliterating my dark circles.

My only concealer for years was the Cle de Peau concealer stick, a formula I consider to be pretty much perfect, and one I’d very much like to get back into. Since then, perhaps dozens of formulas have come my way, with only a few earning their spot in my every day makeup drawer - and today we’re covering the best formulas that I’ve tried so far.

I use concealer for primarily one reason - to conceal my dark undereye area - so all of my concealer picks are really only used in my undereye area.* I wouldn’t even say I have particularly terrible undereyes, but I personally don’t think I’ve been gifted with chic dark circles a la French sophistication:

Somehow even just a bit of darkness seems like it drags my whole face down, and I think it’s because I don’t even have a lot of undereye bags to add that contrast and dimension to my face. My undereye area is just…dark in a way that emphasizes any puffiness I have around my eyes.

*Sometimes, and particularly when I’m traveling, I use concealer around my face and mostly around my nose to reduce any redness. I don’t break out very often anymore - I like to think I paid my dues in high school, when I had constant breakouts of cystic acne all over my jaw, cheeks, and temples - so it’s really only once in a blue moon that I need a formula to cover acne.

We’re also not covering correctors today, but my favorites are this for cream and travel, and this for higher coverage. I’d say that 99% of the time I use correctors before adding any concealer to help correct the darkness of my undereye area!

My ideal concealer allows time for blending, but ‘sets’ in place quickly without me needing to blend it across a large area of my skin. I like to tap and go and I tend to not get along with very emollient formulas. It also goes without saying that the formulas must be absolutely seamless and undetectable on my skin. We don’t tolerate cakey formulas here!

I have 2 preferred kinds of textures that I gravitate towards: 1) a thin and lightweight concealer with kind of an ‘elastic’ formula so I can use just a little bit of product and stretch it, but only where I need the product to go. 2) I like a thick and creamy formula if it also set after a little bit of precise blending. The key here is that thick =/ dry.

P.S. Swatches of all the concealers mentioned in this post are at the end of the post!

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Favorite for fuller coverage being chronically sleep deprived

Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Concealer - my current favorite medium to full coverage concealer that blurs, covers, and sets in one go. It doesn’t look drying on my undereyes, which is much drier than the rest of my face, though living in a perpetually humid climate is really where this formula shines since it is a drier formula in my collection. It blends well with a beauty sponge, brush, or even fingers, and it looks natural anyway I wear it without settling into fine lines. I wear L4.

Patrick Ta Major Skin Soft Blur Brightening Concealer - the newest and most surprising hit in my concealer collection. Patrick Ta’s base products have emphasized so much glow and dewiness that they’ve all been less than ideal for my skin, though the creamy and hydrating formula of this concealer really works to its advantage. This is creamy without sliding around on my skin, with medium coverage that covers and brightens my undereyes easily. What I love most about this is how smooth it makes my undereye area look while instantly making me look like I got a full night of sleep. I wear Light Peachy Neutral 2.

LYS Beauty Bright Start Airbrush Concealer - full coverage concealer doesn’t get any better than this for me. It covers all my dark circles in one swipe with a creamy but not too emollient texture and blends out beautifully. What’s most impressive to me is how it sets down into the most natural seamless finish that seems impossible for a full coverage concealer. It also somehow doesn’t crease while still being hydrating. I like to use this formula most for a special event or days that I really need some extra help with coverage. I wear shade MN1.

Best for everyday wear - medium coverage and easy to use

Tower 28 Swipe All-Over Hydrating Concealer - this has been my go-to every day concealer since it launched in 2023 for how lightweight and easy it is to use while giving me enough coverage to just look a little more put together. The serum-y formula is what makes this feel so lightweight and hydrating while giving me medium coverage. It’s easy to use and lightly smoothing and perfect for making me look just a little more put together. I wear shade EP.

Fenty We’re Even Concealer - with a super hydrating and light serum formula, it’s miraculous how longwearing and crease resistant this concealer is for my skin. It’s a very light and ‘wet’ formula, if you could define a creamy product as juicy, but without too much emollience so that it

actually sets on my skin. I actually find this veering into being slightly too emollient now that wet season is starting again in Vietnam, so I think this works best for my oily skin in drier climates, or even a DC summer that I really thought would be the worst of the heat and humidity I’d ever feel (and doesn’t even compare to the heat and humidity of Vietnam at the moment!!) I wear 190W or 210W depending on how tan I am.

About Face The Illusionist Concealer - I realized I haven’t even talked about this concealer is, which is a crime because this is another light and weightless formula that sets and stays, and it’s also a dream for anyone looking more more olive-toned options. It packs a surprising medium coverage into a very thin-feeling concealer that spreads only to where I want it to go. It also stays put really nicely on my skin and smooths over any texture or lines. I find it similar to the Tower 28, but in a formula that sets down a little quicker and is a little less creamy, which definitely works best for my skin. I wear shadeXXXXX

Prada Concealer Micro-Correcting Concealer - In another life where I don’t need to wake up at 5:30 am every morning, this would be the ideal concealer for me. It’s another super light and thin medium coverage concealer, with the lighter side of medium coverage. This is the ultimate concealer for blending seamlessly into my skin and looking absolutely undetectable because I truly can’t tell where the product begins and ends with this concealer. Formula-wise, this is my ideal concealer, though I find the coverage to be too light for my current needs. This would be best for days I’ve had a full night of sleep or days I’m looking for lighter coverage. I wear shade LN4.

Best for replacing corrector if I’m in a pinch

Natasha Denona Hy-Glam Serum Concealer - formula wise, this is a slightly thicker and higher coverage version of the Tower 28 concealer, making it great for days I need just that little bit of extra coverage. But what makes this concealer land in my top shelf are the peachy shades, which have just enough peach to neutralize the darkness under my eyes, but also are close enough to my skin to double as a concealer as well. It’s great for lazy days or days I really need that extra correction on top of my regular corrector. I wear P2.

Fenty Beauty We’re Even Concealer in 200C - I never thought a pink toned concealer would work for me, but this my easiest concealer to reach for when I’m running late and need to streamline all my steps. Although peach tends to work best for my eyes, something about the slight pinkiness of this shade brightens up my undereye beautifully, almost acting as a brightener and concealer together. On truly sleepless nights, this shade alone isn’t enough, but on most days, I could get away with just this (but somehow it’s hard to tear me away from a separate correction step!)

Best for travel

Rouje Le Correcteur - I was drawn to this concealer because of the gorgeous tortoiseshell packaging, but it only took one wear for the formula to win me over as well. This is a soft creamy compact concealer that has a slightly thin, but very creamy texture with a deceptively full coverage formula. This thin feel means that this applies evenly, and a couple taps are enough to fully cover my undereye circles or eliminate any redness around my nose. Because it’s a cream formula, it’s easy to slip into any makeup bag without worrying about leaking, and I’ve used this on travel days after flights to give me some coverage all over my face without needing to apply foundation. The creamy formula is also deceptively long wearing - this stuff will last on my face all day. The dual shade layout is also so helpful since I use the lighter shade around my eyes and the deeper shade on my face. The only disadvantage is that there are only 4 shade options in this formula. I wear shade Medium, but it only matches me when I’m slightly tanned. The Light shade is too light for me most months out of the year, so I stick with Medium!

Honorable mention goes to the Glossier Stretch Concealer, which gives a beautiful light-medium coverage with that thin stretchy formula I love, though it’s slightly too creamy and luminous for my needs at the moment.

Concealer Swatches:

There are a few more concealers that I’m curious about, though unlike lip and cheek products, I feel like the limit does exist in terms of how many concealers I have so I need to be diligent about using up a few tubes before I venture out for more. High on my list to try are still the Haus Labs Skin Tech Concealer , Kulfi Main Match Concealer, and can you believe I still haven’t tried the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer? Let’s pray for my project panning abilities so I can try out some of these formulas soon.

If you also have a favorite ride-or-die concealer for your undereye area, and I somehow haven’t been enlightened yet, please do let me know!!

As always, all my favorites are on ShopMy and I promise I am far more active on Instagram. Thank you for reading!

You might be aware [strong sarcastic note here] that we’re knee deep in the Sephora sale, and these times are when I get a ton of requests to compare products and shades.

We’re going to get straight to it because there’s a ton of photos in here. For more of a reviews focused post, make sure to review my previous post on my recent recommendations from Sephora. If there are any other swatches you’re looking for, or comparisons that you’ve been curious about, don’t be shy and let me know!

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Lip products

Westman Atelier HydroBalm comparisons

I have had a lot of interest in the new Westman Atelier HydroBalm, especially since I named them an instant holy grail, and the shade Bob? It’s absolutely muted rosewood perfection.

Even though it is exactly the kind of shade I reach for, I couldn’t find immediate dupes within my other recent favorite products:

*the Soshe shade should be Speakeasy! Merit Bespoke in the Signature Lip and Lip Blush formulas are both warmer and have a slight copper warmth, m.ph lip ciggy is more a taupe-brown shade, with Fenty Gloss Bomb Stix in Rose Amber having an even slightly cooler base than m.ph. Soshe Speakeasy is also more mauve and pigmented - though if you find Merit Bespoke a little too warm for you Speakeasy is a cooler alternative.

Someone else also asked me to compare Bob with Chanel Rouge Coco Flash in Moment, another one of my holy grail shades and formulas. Moment is slightly more brown, but also maintains some of those rosewood tones.

Merit Lip Blush

I really love this formula as a sheer matte lip for a really easy wash of color, and I think Merit always nails their shades. Next, I’ll be working on a comparison of all the sheer matte lip products, like the Violette FR Bisou Balms.

YSL Lovenude Lip Blusher

Speaking of sheer matte lip products, YSL has entered the game with their new Lip Blushers, and they’ve once again created a stellar formula. They have more coverage, starting light and buildable to medium coverage, and they also wear longer than the other sheer matte lip products on the market. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re transferproof, but they definitely set down a little to be a little less transfer prone.

Unsurprisingly, shades 7, 8, and 9 are m favorites, but even 01 is a really beautiful pink that’s easy for me to wear.

Gucci Oil-in-Water Tint Hydrating Lip Stain

Moving on to lip tints and stains, Gucci came out with their own version and I couldn’t resist picking up a few. Yes, Gucci products are pricey, but I’m always interested in the shades they make, and I’ve yet to be disappointed by a Gucci makeup product.

These are wonderfully hydrating and juicy but not too juicy. They don’t fully set down into a stain, but the glossiness doesn’t immediately disappear, either. They’re comfortable and hydrating, and I can reapply and wear these throughout the day without feeling like my lips are being sucked of moisture.

As far as the tint/staining effect of these, I’d categorize these as more of a longwear tint than a true stain, though this may be because I picked up the lighter shades, so I don’t see the full stain effect on my lips. I noticed that after swatching these on my arm, the stain stuck around for the rest of the day.

Violette FR Lip Nectar Hydrating Lip Stain

My favorite lip stain now has 2 new shades, and they are stunning! If you’ve been craving a deeper or richer red, these new shades are for you.

Violette FR Plume Lip

I finally tried these and just as everyone told me, they were love at first swipe. Forget anything you think about a matte liquid lipstick, because these are nothing like what I’ve tried. They have an almost gel-like feel rather than the standard moussey feel, and actually feel weightless on my lips.

I’ve been wearing Chataigne Grille a ton as a slightly warmer burnt coral brown, and it’s been a great spring everyday shade.

Eadem Lechouchou Lip Treatment

Is anyone surprised that Eadem’s new spring shades are pink, perfected? They’ve managed to create light pinks that aren’t garish or ashy on my slightly olive skin, all in their signature formula that I can’t get enough of. I compared Sakura Shaved Ice (light creamy pink), Chateau Rose (shimmer), with Guava Fresca from last year:

Other lipglosses:

I also compared some of my lighter weight lipglosses together, mostly from when I was trying to find similar lightweight alternatives to the Fara Homidi lip oil. I have been wearing all of these!

The Glow Recipe Glass Balms have a similar super lightweight feel, as do the Kulfi Lip Snacks. The Patrick Ta Major Moisture Lip Balms feel more like a regular nourishing treatment, but without any stickiness. Despite me swearing this was nothing special, I’ve found myself reaching for this repeatedly.

Blush

Westman Atelier Garconne comparisons

I’ve been getting tons of questions about Westman Atelier Garconne, which is only fair because it’s a stunning mauve, with just a hint of toastiness. I don’t have many other similar shades, but I compared it to some of my favorite Phytosurgence shades.

The Garconne Lit Up Stick is a Westman Atelier website exclusive, and if you love the shade so much you need to have it in the matte and glowy finish, there’s a sweet little bundle on their site.

Rhode Pocket Blush

I finally got my hands on some of the newer shades of one of my favorite cream blush formulas, in Tan Line and Sun Soak. I love Tan Line especially as a warm mauve, and Sun Soak will be a gorgeous sunkissed summer shade.

Merit Flush Balm Blush

I also finally swatched all my Merit Flush Balm shades together. While these aren’t the longest lasting formula on my cheeks, they’re so easy to swipe on and blend with just my fingers that I don’t mind reapplying these. I tend to wear these on days I’m really in a rush and can’t be fussed to use a brush.

YSL Make Me Blush Powder Blush

One of the best powder blush formulas launched in the past couple years (along with Westman Atelier, particularly in the Sable/Suede duo). These are soft and silky and smooth, with an ultra blendable formula and long wear.

Soshe Blurring Pillow Blush in Bare Muse comparison

I recently talked about how sad I was that Bare Muse, a shade that’s meant to be a rosy beige for olive skintones, is actually a weird shade of peachy beige that clashes on my skin. I suspect that this may work better on people with stronger olive tones, as I tend to have more muted olive.

Anyways, I got some questions on how the MAC Glow Play blushes, now available at Sephora, compare. True Harmony is what I want Bare Muse to be. It’s a beige with brown and a hint of rosiness. I find these to be long lasting (though the Soshe are even longer lasting for me!) - but the benefit with MAC is that I find them a teeny bit more blendable and flexible.

That’s it for this round. But please believe me when I say I loooove requests and questios comparing products. Let me know what you want to see next!

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As always, find my favorites on ShopMy and my DMs are always open on Instagram.

In contrast to some boredom I’ve felt for the past few months, I’m feeling some excitement for makeup again, especially with lip products. Yes, the same boring balms by brands that have no business getting involved with lip balms are still coming out, but I’ve been seeing and trying formulas that I feel like are interesting and intentional and leveling up the assortment of lip products overall.

As a reminder, the sale dates are:

• Rouge: 20% off from April 10-20

• VIB: 15% off from April 14-20

• BI: 10% off from April 14-20

• 30% off Sephora Collection

As with all my previous sale roundups, I only include products I’ve tried since the previous sale. My recommendations from the fall are saved here, and I also have roundups of my most tried and true products from Sephora on and my most repurchased products (not just products at Sephora)

I also want to note that as we continue to enter unprecedented times and face increasing uncertainty about the economy, society, the literal survival of our planet and environment, et cetera et cetera et cetera, I hope everyone prioritizes their own financial needs right now. Whether that’s building up some savings or putting money towards essential life basics, maybe putting a whole cart of beauty products isn’t something that’s feasible. If that’s the case, save this post for a later date.

And if you have room in your budget to treat yourself to one product to add some joy to your day/week/month, I hope this post is helpful for you to make the most informed choices.

The Short List

Short on time and don’t want to read through this monstrosity of a post? These are my top 5 recommendations and staples that I will tell everyone to buy:

1. Westman Atelier Hydrobalm Sheer Tinted Lipstick - the lip product I currently can’t get enough of, and Bob is a mauvey rosewood brown I also can’t get enough of

2. Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Liquid Blurring Balm Setting Spray - current go to setting spray for blurring and mattifying properties

3. Experiment Softwear Lip Treatment - for ultra hydration and easy and interesting nuanced shades

4. Mother Science Molecular Hero Serum - truly a hero in my skincare routine for overall brightening and lightening up stubborn spots

5. Cyklar Vitamin C Body Oil in Vanilla Verve - a gorgeous mid-weight nourishing body oil with a delicious vanilla fragrance

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Note: All of the products mentioned are accompanied by affiliate links, which give me a small commission if you make a purchase through one of my links. The commission I earn gets put back into buying and reviewing more products, and I appreciate each and everyone of you for your support!

P.S. this post has tons of swatches and over 30 mini reviews and is definitely too long for an email. Read me in your internet browser to get all the swatches and reviews!

Base

Gucci Luminous Matte Foundation - I recently rediscovered this and can’t get enough of the natural matte finish and longwear that easily takes me through a 14 hour day with barely any fading. I like to add in a drop of my favorite Fenty Eaze Drop Skin Tint since I don’t always need the medium-full coverage, and I always finish off with a setting spray.I wear shade 270N.

LYS Beauty Bright Start Airbrush Concealer - this full coverage concealer leaves an ultra smooth, flawless finish while looking natural and covering up my dark circles with just one layer. It’s hydrating but doesn’t sink into my fine lines or get patchy. I’ve been reaching for this a ton to actually look awake without needing to add layer after layer of product. MN1 is my best match.

Prada Micro-Correcting Blurring Concealer - a super skin like concealer with a thin formula that is nearly undetectable on the skin, and a lighter side of medium coverage. I really love how this feels and applies on the skin, although I find that my dark circles need more full coverage these days so I’ll need to save it for the (rare) days I’m actually well rested. If you want something super seamless and don’t need full coverage, this is a fantastic newer offering. I wear shade LN3.

Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Liquid Blurring Balm Setting Spray - this is the goldilocks of everyday setting sprays, giving me a smooth blurred finish and a soft mattifying effect. It keeps my makeup intact without letting my natural oils take over, even when it’s 95 degrees, but it also doesn’t immediately suck all the glow out of my face. While this isn’t completely transferproof, I find minimal wear on my makeup without the sensation that I’ve shellacked my face in place.

One Size On Til Dawn Mattifying Setting Spray - Ever since Urban Decay changed their All Nighter formula, I’ve been having a hard time with setting sprays that will make my makeup my transferproof for days and nights I’m running around, hopping on bikes, or just need that extra long wear time. This one is perhaps better than UD, though I save it for days I really need my makeup to last because there is an ever so slight shellac-ing effect. (ps it’s worth it)

Cheeks

We’re keeping it short because I’m still using most of my picks from last fall, especially the Westman Atelier Blush Duos.

Ciele flush and Protect blush - a recent powder blush launch that excels on wear time, even pigmentation, and a natural finish. Cozy is just one of those comfort neutral blushes I love to wear - a little beige, a touch of pink, and ever so slightly warm, but never orange. I swatched them in this post!

Rhode Pocket Blush - this has been one of my favorite and most long lasting blush formulas since they launched, and I think I somehow omitted these from my fall sale guide (I’m not sure how?! But that post is still full of gems so give it a read!) It’s always worth mentioning my most used shades: Sleepy Girl, a perfect mauve, and Toasted Teddy, a warm reddish brown shade. I’ve also recently acquired Tanline, a lovely sunkissed pinky brown shade.

Eyes - a short and sweet edit

Danessa Myricks Mini Everyday Magic Neutral Palette - the neutral lovers finally get a mini palette from Danessa Myricks, and these shades deliver on having a smooth formula, rich pigmentation, and neutral tones that work great in my everyday makeup. The 2 glitter shades are also absolutely gorgeous, with one having a sheerer glitter and the other in the gorgeous rich foil formula.

Merit Solo Shadow Sheen- I know I talked about these in my fall post, but now that I’ve worn them for a few months, I’m really impressed with how they’ve tweaked the formula to make it creamier, smoother, and longer lasting. They really give that subtle sheen that I am more likely to wear these days, and they feel slightly thinner than the matte formula, drying down to a more crease-resistant layer. They’ve also tweaked the packaging to be slightly easier to hold and twist open, which was my biggest critique of the original packaging.

Lip products - the star of the show

Buckle in, because we have a lot to cover!

Lip Liner

• Hung Vanngo Beauty Accentuating Longwear Lip Liner - a soft and creamy lip liner formula that has enough playtime to blend, but then sets into a soft finish that actually lasts, but the real reason I’m recommending this is that the shade Fill it In is a gorgeous mauvey rose brown that has enough depth to give me definition but doesn’t add too much color or saturation, making it perfect for a my lips but better combo.

• YSL Kiss Shaper Long Lasting Lip Liner - a brand new launch from YSL that I couldn’t resist picking up, and I was immediately impressed by how quickly it sets down for a longwearing finish. It has a waxier feel than the HVG formula, making it even longer lasting without being drying. I picked up the shade 103 Blushing Nude but I’m already going back for more for the sale, specifically Spicy Smoke.

Lipstick

• Fenty Gloss Bomb Stix - I love these for a super glossy look in lipstick form, and their new Rose Amber shade is such a gorgeous taupe brown shade. It’s slightly warmer than the Rose Amber Gloss Bomb Oil, which has a touch more gray.

• Gucci Oil in Water Tint Hydrating Lip Stain - I’m weak for a lip tint, and Gucci’s version of a tint-stain product falls into the category of products that’s easy to wear, low maintenance, with a lightweight glossy feel with some of the longwearing pigment of a tint. Elsa Hazel is one of the lighter sides, so it’s hard to evaluate the true staining aspect since the base color almost blends right into my lips (a good thing), but I can tell that the color still lasts for two to three hours before it’s completely gone. I’ll be going back for more.

• M.ph Lip Ciggy Sheer Lipstick Balm - a really nice lightweight balmy formula with light hydration and shine. I don’t think the formula is groundbreaking, but the shade Overdrive is a really pretty taupe brown, and you all know I can’t resist a taupe. It’s not my favorite formula (see below for a formula that really blew me away!), but it’s one of those easy products to throw in my handbag and apply anywhere without a mirror.

• Merit Signature Lip Lip Blush - I’m loving the new - and permanent! - range of Lip Blushes. There is something effortless and cool about a sheer matte lip, and I always love the Merit lip shades for having muted and/or neutral shades that just work for me. Archival, a light pinky mauve, is back, and there are newer shades that are also dreamy like Bespoke, their signature pink-brown shade now in this lighter and sheerer formula.

• YSL Beauty Lovenude Lip Blusher - YSL has always made some of my favorite formulas, and I can’t resist any soft matte balmy product. After trying these just a couple times I can tell YSL has hit it out of the park again with a soft matte balm that actually sets and lasts. It immediately gives my lips a natural and softly blotted stained effect that really wears for hours. While matte lip balms are limited in how hydrating they can be, I don’t find these to be drying, even when sitting in a heavily air-conditioned office all day.

• Westman Atelier HydroBalm Sheer Tinted Lipstick - I’ve already been talking up a storm about this, but it didn’t take me long to realize that this is a holy grail I’ve been searching for for years. It’s super lightweight and feels light as air, super thin but applies evenly, and gives lasting hydration that defies how thin it feels. Bob, a sheer rosewood brown, is also one of those perfect lip shades for me. It’s not too bright, not too brown, not too warm, but not too cool either - it’s absolute perfection. I also have the Soda, Glogg, and Brique in my cart and it’ll be difficult to narrow it down!

  • While we’re talking about Westman Atelier, I need to mention again the new Lip Suede shade in Figue, a perfect wine color that I’ve been search for years.

• Violette FR Lip Nectar - another formula that has made it to holy grail status, and there are 2 new shades - Amarante Noir, a deep wine (drool) and Souci d’Automne, a deep orange red. It’s just so hard to go wrong with these - they apply and dry down evenly, have a glossy hydrating formula, and act as a true stain.

• Violette FR Plume Lip - a matte liquid lip that actually doesn’t feel like a matte liquid lip, and like, it really doesn’t feel like a matte liquid lipstick. It’s light and airy like many of the best Asian beauty lip tints, but it also has this almost gel-like feel to it that makes it cushiony, but without any of the thick moussy texture. I also love that while these aren’t transfer-proof, they don’t transfer in a huge smudgy mess onto something like a coffee mug.

Lipgloss and lip treatments

• Eadem Le Chouchou Lip Balm -I might be a broken record mentioning these glosses during every sale, but this is another holy grail formula with new spring shades that actually get pinks right. There’s a sheer baby pink that gives me that perfect milky lip effect without being ashy, too white, or too cool, and an icy pink shimmer that feels like a refreshing take on the 00’s shimmery lip.

• Experiment Softwear Lip Treatment - one of the more interesting balms on the market, with a range of neutral toned shades from a muted warm rosy beige that is actually my lips but better, to a sheer gray shade that works fabulously alone or to adjust other lip shades and lip liners. The formula is nourishing and thick, but somehow not sticky at all, and I think in the realm of lip gloss formulas, it’s a great bang for your buck at $16. All shades swatched in this reel.

• Fara Homidi Soft Glass Lip Plumper Gloss Oil - If you’re wondering why I’m recommending this after just talking about how it’s essentially a fancy clear gloss, it’s because it’s at least a really nice clear gloss that is completely nonsticky while giving the glassiest shine, and well, the really gorgeous packaging helps too. This gloss is for the people who love really beautiful products and may not wear a lot of makeup, but want their touchups to be a luxurious ritual.

• Glow Recipe Glass Bomb Lip Treatment - for those less inclined to spend $50 on a lip oil but still want a super lightweight and glassy shine, these Glow Recipe balms are also great, and also have more pigmentation to the shades. They are also scented like different flavors of Bingsoo, which is such a fun touch.

• Kulfi Beauty Lip Snack Moisturizing Glossing Balm - another thinner balmy gloss that I’ve been enjoying, though this one has a little more weight than Fara Homidi or Glow Recipe. Each balm is scented differently, which really affects which shades I choose, but Black Forest Cake - aka my favorite birthday cake flavor as a child - is a gorgeous sheer deep cherry that has that gorgeous cherry chocolate scent. If you also love a cherry shade or scent, definitely don’t skip this one.

• Patrick Ta Major Moisture Tinted Lip Balm - I initially reviewed this as ‘nothing special’ yet I’ve found myself reaching for it over and over it, and while I can’t lie that part of it is due to the light but true milk tea scent, but the formula is also really comfortable. It’s medium weight, nourishing, and not sticky. It might not be a groundbreaking formula, but if you love a milk tea scent and a sheer beige, this is a solid option.

• Sarah Creal Beauty No Further Questions Lip Gloss - one of the few true gloss formulas I’ve enjoyed lately. It’s not a groundbreaking formula (though how many gloss formulas really are groundbreaking these days?) - but it glides on smoothly, isn’t sticky, and has some nice hydration. The My Pleasure is a slightly shimmer rosy bronze shade that is irresistible to me.

Skincare

Once again we’re light on skincare from Sephora that is essential to me, but I have a few gems!

Eadem Cashmere Peel Milky Exfoliant and Hydrating Essence - this serum is packed with AHA like lactic acid (which my skin loves), tranexamic acid, and azelaic acid to gently remove dead skin cells and unclog pores. It’s incredibly potent and effective at smoothing out skin texture and giving my skin a brighter, clearer look, but it also has rice bran and colloidal oatmeal to prevent my skin barrier from getting damaged.

Mother Science is now available at Sephora, and I love all three products in their lineup:

• Molecular Hero Serum - my hero product of the line as an antioxidant serum that I use in conjunction with a regular vitamin C. This one does wonders to help lighten some stubborn spots from the sun or from pimples.

• Retinol Synergist - a gentle retinol that never sensitized my skin, but helped to improve texture, radiance, and even to help balance my skin. This was my introduction to introduce retinols back into my routine and I would keep using this as a maintenance product as well.

• Molecular Genesis Moisturizer - I absolutely love this for combination skin because it gives me deep hydration overnight (even in a cold AC room), and I’ve also worn it during the days on more mild spring days. It has a slight mattifying finish so I can get the hydration without the shine.

• For those that want to try the brand but don’t want to commit, this mini duo has Molecular Hero and Molecular Genesis in the cutest little bottles.

BODY

• Cyklar Oil Vanilla Verve Vitamin C Body Oil- another stellar body oil to add to my body oil favorites. This one has a moderate weight, so it offers quite a bit of moisture on my skin. It’s almost too heavy for Vietnamese climate though it’s light enough to not feel sticky. I know that in an East Coast winter, my skin would happily drink this up. The vanilla verve scent is absolutely heavenly, with a creamy musky feel that isn’t too pastry-like or sugary sweet, and it’s just the kind of scent I want to drown in.

• Fenty Body Drop Hydrating Body Milk - the perfect texture and level of hydration for my dry body in a humid climate, this milky serum lotion is a delight to apply and spread. It absorbs quickly but leaves a nice veil of hydration, meaning I can apply it quickly without needing to spend any effort blending it in. For anyone looking for a thinner formula that doesn’t feel sticky or heavy, this is a great option.

• Soft Services Theraplush Hand Repair x Dedcool Xtra Milk - this nighttime hand treatment is such a delight to use, from the push applicator to the retinol infused formula that works overtime overnight to soften and restore some texture on my hands. I’m not always the most consistent with applying hand cream, and this has worked as a maintenance product that can make up for my lack of hand care during the day. Plus, the Xtra Milk scent is one of my most comforting scents and having it in an overnight hand treatment form is the best end to my nighttime routine.

• Cyklar Perfume Oil - these are undoubtedly the most minimal chic perfume oils, and a delight to use and layer. I find the scents to be a little basic, but sometimes basic is just what I want so that I can selectively build complexity. I have Sex Musk and Vanilla Verve, and Vanilla Verve is that cozy vanilla that is just comforting and cozy. Sex Musk is a light musky scent and while it isn’t exactly as deep or complex for what I expect something called Sex Musk to be, I actually really like it as a clean and fresh scent.

What’s in my cart

Oh boy, this is embarrassing because I’m really excited to try all of these! I’ve narrowed down the Westman Atelier HydroBalm shades I want to try next to Soda, a deep brown, and Glogg, a black cherry shade. I’m also excited to try the new cream bronzer duo, especially since this lightest duo looks like it has a hint of rosy tones.

I am also dying to pick up another shade of the YSL Sculpting Lip Liner since I’m loving the longwearing formula, and I’ve been wanting to try the Makeup By Mario Sculpting Lip Pencil formula for ages. I also have the Makeup by Mario Ethereal Eyes Palette back in my cart now that it’s back for good. Those that have been around for awhile know that I swatched this when it was a holiday release a few years back and didn’t love the diffused glitter that was prone to flying around, but I love the Ethereal Nature palette from this past winter collection, so I have hopes that they’ve tweaked this palette as well.

I’m intrigued enough by the Elsa Hazel shade of the Gucci Oil-in-Water Tint that I want to try out another shade, this time in a cooler muted pink shade, and I’m repurchasing the Violette Bisou Jelly in Aissa because I seem to have misplaced mine for good. The pinkish berry shade was so flattering on me and I love the sheer tinted formula.

Finally, I have the Tom Ford lipgloss in West Coast back in my cart again. This is one of my favorite gloss formulas and the newer mauve-brown shade keeps going in and out, mostly because I keep getting distracted by newer formulas and it makes a big difference if I can cut a $62 lipgloss from my cart. It’s always in the back of my mind though! We’ll see if it makes it to the final order….

That’s it for this roundup! I will still be doing plenty of coverage, reviews, and swatches on my Instagram stories, and I may find the energy to make another sneaky post of more exciting recommendations. As always, you can find all of my recommendations for this post in ShopMy. Until next time!

Today we’re discussing some things I’ve recently tried and actually really like, but don’t necessarily take over other things I love in my very exclusive edit of best makeup and beauty - and I’ll share what actually has earned that top shelf spot in my routine.

With the Sephora sale coming up (again), I can hopefully help you cross off some products you might have been eyeing - though I don’t claim responsibility for any of the alternative products I really love that I’m going to insist that you buy (ok, maybe i will claim responsibility because I know you’ll love them too)

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Fara Homidi Soft Glass Lip Plumper Gloss Oil

This might be the most luxurious lip oil in my very extensive collection of lip oils, with weighty packaging that stands out and feels like a piece of art, and a formula that is deceptively elegant. The first few times I used this I thought it was essentially an elegant vegetable oil, but I realized that if I waited more than a couple minutes, the initial oil feeling actually settles just a bit into more of a cushiony feel that can last me 2-3 hours, depending on how much I’m trying to take sips of water in that time. It’s incredibly lightweight and nonsticky, with a glassy shine that feels and looks elegant, and the hydrating effect still sticks around even after the gloss has mostly absorbed.

What ultimately makes this a net negative purchase for me is that even the deeper Tawny shade that I bought is nearly indistinguishable from any clear lip oils I have. The formula, while elegant for a lip oil, isn’t quite enough to overcome the clear gloss effect, and while I appreciate the slickness that wouldn’t feel sticky in any context, I tend to prefer a lip product with just a touch more weight to it. Will I gladly keep reaching for this in my handbag and appreciate the very aesthetically pleasing formula? Yes, and maybe if I were a more minimal makeup person, this would be more of an essential, but as it is, the packaging is the best part of this oil.

What I recommend instead:

If packaging is less of a concern for you, but you want a similar lightweight feel that will never feel sticky, plus a light tint that actually shows up, the Glow Recipe Glass Balm Lip Treatments are half the price and have a shade for everyone (including a clear shade)! I also rediscovered The Outset Lip Oasis balms that I wore nonstop at some point in the last year, and have a slightly weightier but similar ultra smooth, non-sticky formula.

m.ph Lip Ciggy Sheer Lipstick

The brand came out with a big splash, specifically for the Underpainting face palette to create the founder’s signature technique, but it’s no surprise to anyone that I was really only interested in the lip products. I can never say no to a sheer lip product, and a sheer taupe brown? Say less. True to its description, it’s a brown that is cooled down with some gray tones to make it more taupe, and the taupey-ness turns it into a delightful muted neutral brown, but doesn’t turn it into too gray of a color.

The formula is sheer and balmy, and gives a kiss of shine but isn’t too glossy. I don’t have any faults with the color or formula, but I find myself not reaching for it when I want to because there is so little product - .9 grams, or less than a standard lip product. I usually find myself very nonplussed about product weight/volume to product comparisons but less than one gram of product feels insulting for a sheer balmy product that I want to reapply multiple times throughout the day. Even the new $50 Westman Atelier Tinted Lipsticks have nearly 4x the amount of product, making it feel like a bargain in comparison (btw I already have one on the way to try out!).

What I recommend instead:

Don’t judge me if I buy another shade ~for science~ since the sheer berry tones of Lovebite are calling to me, but if you ask me which sheer lipstick formula I would wholeheartedly recommend someone spend their money on, I have so many other options with a similar balmy but not glossy finish and sheer tint:

• Lisa Eldridge Baume Embrace - similar balmy feel, light tint, soft shine finish with 3x amount of product at $34.

• Violette FR Bisou Jelly Balms - soft shine, sheer tints, and a comfortable formula. Nearly 3x the amount of product for $4 more.

• Phytosurgence Clear Conditions Lip Balm - true balm feel, sheer tint, subtle shine like the m.ph, nearly 5x the amount of product for ~$15 (and support a small indie company whilte you’re at it!)

  

Ilia Soft Focus Blurring Blush

This is the first launch from Ilia to interest me in years - the soft, almost luminous looking suede texture of the powder intrigued me, and there were some interesting shades that I was drawn to. I was kindly gifted the whole line so I was able to try every shade I was interested in, and I think I’ve given these a really fair shot. Let’s start with the positives: they have a soft focus suede-like formula that is buildable, so it’s beginner friendly, with a shade range of light to deeper pinks, mauves, and corals. The tones of the shades that caught my eye are also pretty neutral toned, which I find to be less common in many blush ranges.

Where this ultimately fell short of my expectations despite the beautiful shade range is that the texture of the actual powders, while smooth to the touch, are drier than what I expected based on the soft luminous look of the powder in the pan. On the skin, the luminosity almost disappears, looking more like a suede powder that can start to look slightly chalky if I add multiple layers. I can make this look more like a soft veil blush if I use a fluffier brush like the Sonia G Soft Cheek, a brush I use with a lot of my blushes anyway, but if my oily skin can’t even pull out some of the luminosity of the powder, I’m not sure what can. Unfortunately, this is just a fine blush formula for me, with the neutral-toned shades being the best part of the line.

What I recommend instead:

For a blush at a similar price range, I am still impressed every time I use the Ciele flush & Protect blush, and it’s $2 less than Ilia. I already talked about these as having an impressively smooth even finish, with that slightly luminous, but not shimmery finish I really wanted from Ilia.

The downside to this range is that the shades lean more aggressively warm toned or cool toned, and I find that Cozy, while still a warm tone, is the only shade that’s neutral-toned enough for me to wear without thinking about matching with the tones of my other makeup. If this formula could be combined with the Ilia shade range, I’d be all set.

Phlur Afterglow Eau de Parfum

I think it’s always healthy to recognize when we’ve had too much of a good thing, and I think we’re at that point with Phlur. The brand had such a strong start with hit after hit that became part of my hall of fame of favorite perfumes, but I think the last big Phlur launch I really fell head over heels for was Strawberry Letter in September 2024, more than a year and a half ago.

The EDP launches of the last year have been wildly off my personal scent profile, and I’m half interested in any sort of body mist at best (except for this and this, which I still have passionate feelings about). I was really really hopeful for Afterglow, which has an interesting combination of citrus, apricot, amber, cashmere woods, and coconut. It’s described as sheer and warm and intimate - all qualities I love to evoke with fragrance - but this one fell short of its expectations for me.

It starts off nicely with a light citrus, apricot, and warm coconut, but quickly turns into a very heavy, almost bitter resinous wood from the combination of lavender and cedar that feels anything but sheer and intimate and warm. I was hopeful that the lavender ‘milk’ would soften the lavender note, but I think my skin just loves to pull out any lavender note (aka any YSL Libre is a nightmare for me), because it overpowers any warm intimacy of the other notes.

I really had high hopes for this one, and because fragrance is so personal, I don’t want my personal preferences to deter anyone from trying this if the notes work for you, but it unfortunately falls into the category of fragrances that just gives me a headache.

What I recommend instead:

For a scent that actually feels warm and sheer and that also has the light apricot top and cashmere base, I still love Glossier You Fleur. While I would call this a distant cousin to Phlur Afterglow, the salty apricot mixed with soft osmanthus - which I’m realizing is one of my hero notes, more on this soon - and a cashmeran and ambroxan base, fits the exact description that I want Phlur Afterglow to be.

I hope this kind of post was helpful for you! I want to be clear that none of these are flops or objectively bad products because if they were, I wouldn’t have bought them or even given them the time of day. And in fact, something I dislike about these products may be just the quality you’re looking for.

And because I also find discussions like this immensely helpful, let me know what you’ve tried lately that just slightly missed the mark - and what you love instead.

As always, everything I mentioned is in ShopMy, and you can stay up to date with my latest thoughts on Instagram.

The year started with Vino having some stress behavioral issues (aka a lot of cat pee, everywhere) that only stopped once he was finally neutered. I also had several friends visit, which means I got to show people my favorite parts of Saigon while discovering some new things for myself in the process - more on this soon but I’m finally finding my corner of the fashion scene here and it is next level. I squeezed in a bit of my own travel to Bangkok and Hanoi, ate and shopped my way through both cities, and somehow through all of that I was working double time in any free moment to finish some work deadlines.

So basically, I’ve been bopping around town(s), sleep deprived, but with a very full cup after seeing and spending weeks with my friends.

Now I’m back with a moment to think about beauty again, I have a huge backlog of a million products I need to share, and all my half baked ideas are bubbling up to the surface. But first, let’s catch up with the products that carried me through weeks of getting ready and unready as quickly as possible, work without fail, and provide interesting details to my looks with minimal effort.

Ciele flush and Protect Powder Blush

This is easily one of the best powder blush formulas I’ve tried in the past few months, with a silky and smooth formula and super light thin consistency that applies evenly and seamlessly on my skin. I really didn’t want to believe this blush was as good as everyone says it is, but after trying it just once, I had to begrudgingly admit defeat, and it’s one of the only powder blushes I’ve used lately.

It melts into my skin rather and gives a super natural soft focus finish that looks like my skin, but with an undetectable veil of color. It doesn’t cling to dry patches or emphasize any texture on my skin, and the formula really holds up all day without fading. I have 2 shades: Cozy is a beautiful warm nude beige that I love for a more neutral minimal, while Ruddy is more peachy than terracotta on my skin, but beautiful for a more fresh faced look.

Chanel Rouge Noir Collection

The Rouge Noir collection tickles all the beauty corners of my brain, with deep burgundy tones and pink accents that are just enough to feel moody and indulgent without being overdone. They’re the statement shades I’ve reached for without fail and give me some instant drama with a little smudge of burgundy shadow or a deep blackened plum lip.

The Rouge Confidence palette is a gorgeous curation of pink tones, with a soft mauve, juicy, raspberry, icy pearl-pink shimmer, and a softly shimmering burgundy that somehow work effortlessly on both cheeks and eyes, with tones that are rich and refined. They’re versatile from a barely there smoked out burgundy eyeliner to a full pink and burgundy monochromatic look. I also couldn’t skip Rouge Noir lipstick, a deep, almost blackened, purplish plum that adds instant drama to my look. Paired with the Rouge Confidence palette on my eyes and cheeks, I get the kind of monochromatic look that looks intentional and elevated with just a couple products.

Irreverente was a last minute addition, but it’s definitely a sleeper hit! It’s a mauve pink that is pinker than lipsticks I usually reach for, but it gives a fresh contrast against the deeper burgundy blush shades and I’ve been reaching for it more than I expected. It’s very unexpected for me but gives me a fresh look that I’m surprisingly loving lately.

While all 3 products are sadly sold out, I’m still seeing occasional restocks at retailers like Nordstrom or Macys so definitely keep an eye out for these.

Lisa Eldridge Betty

One of my favorite eyeshadow palettes of the last year is back again, and I’m urging everyone to get this delightful palette of cool lilacs, lavender accents, and taupes. It’s much more wearable than it looks, even for a palette of all shimmers, and it’s the perfect accent to my mostly neutral looks.

The taupes are especially dreamy, with Posh, a rich minky shade with pink shimmer running through it that pairs perfectly with the lilac and lavender shades, and Talk to the Paw, a rich suede-like mushroom shade that adds subtle drama. I love a touch of the icy lavender shade in my inner corner, which brightens up a basic all matte neutral look with just a hint of something interesting. What I love most about this palette is how delicate everything looks - it’s definitely not a palette for people who look intensely colorful look, but it’s the perfect companion to my usual neutrals.

Westman Atelier Lit Up Stick in Garconne

I love Garconne as a muted mauve blush shade, but the new Garconne shade in the Lit Up highlighter formula deserves all the praise and hype as the product that can do it all for my cheeks in one go. It’s a highlighter but it’s also a blush, and it also happens to be the perfect dewy mauve that is ethereal, polished, and kind of grungey all at once.

I characterize this more as a glossy blush than a true highlighter on my skintone, and it gives a perfect glassy finish that isn’t sticky. I love this most as a blush topper with mauve or even beige blushes, giving my blush that little extra oomph I’m always craving.

PS Garconne is a website exclusive!

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Westman Atelier Lip Suede Lipstick in Figue

I’ve officially ended my hunt for the perfect red wine shade of lipstick, and it happens to be with one of the most weightless full coverage matte lipsticks on the market. Figue is one of the recent shade launches, and this deep red shade is the perfect balance of red, purple, and brown, and it doesn’t pull too bright or too dark, making it a perfect subtle statement lipstick that is completely harmonious on my skintone. I actually can’t think of another lipstick in my collection that’s similar to this with this specific balance of tones. If I don’t want to wear this shade at its full intensity, it’s also beautiful blotted as a bitten stained look.

Swatched with some similar shades I found in my collection (but nothing truly compares!)

Merit L’avenue has more brown than a red wine tone, Chanel Inattendu is more muted and purplish, and also lacks the reddish tone of Figue. Fara Homidi Nude 2 is warmer and has a bit of a siena undertone. I’d categorize these as distant cousins rather than even in the same immediate family of shades. These all happen to be some of my favorite shades in my collection, by the way.

Eadem Cashmere Peel (code BEAUTYUNHYPED15 for 15% off)

Skincare that truly wows me comes once in a blue moon, but Cashmere Peel has fully captured my attention. After just one use, I can tell a difference in how smooth my skin looks and feels. It’s a gentle but still potent exfoliating toner with a combination of lactic acid, azelaic acid, and tranexamic acid to help exfoliate skin, as well as colloidal oatmeal and rice water to immediately calm skin. I’ve been using it about 3x a week, and it’s been helping to keep my skin so clear and radiant even with days of walking under hot Saigonese sun. It even helped prevent my usual pesky PMS pimples, which is a true testament to how it’s keeping my skin in top condition.

Allies of Skin Sunscreen Gel (code BEAUTYUNHYPED for 15% off)

Allies of Skin has really created something special with this SPF - it’s a truly clear sunscreen gel that doesn’t have the unbearably slick feeling that sunscreen gels usually have. At the very first touch, it seems like it’ll be slick and overly siliconey, but trust me when I tell you that it actually sets down into a weightless finish. After about a minute I truly can’t tell there’s any SPF on my face, and it keeps my skin at a comfortable natural matte finish, even on the hottest days. I even get a slight blurring effect to my pores, making it the perfect base to makeup. This is the kind of sunscreen that makes it easy to apply the full amount in one go, without feeling like I’m actually applying a whole ¼ of a teaspoon of product to my face.

Soft Services x Milk Theraplush Overnight Repair System

Soft Services has been on my radar for awhile now, and I’m kicking myself for not trying the Overnight Repair cream sooner - though at the same time, I can’t imagine not using this in Decool’s signature Milk scent, so maybe it’s for the best that I held out for this collab. Aside from being the most beautiful object on my nightstand, this retinol hand cream is hydrating enough as an overnight hand treatment, while working diligently to gently improve the condition of my hands.

I also appreciate the packaging of this so much because it’s so much more than just a pretty object, and there’s nothing I love more than a blend of form and function in a beauty product. The capsule lid is lightly magnetic, and the push pump dispenses the perfect amount of product, and allows me to clumsily apply hand cream with one hand as I’m about to fall asleep. I also adore the Milk fragrance of the lotion and the set comes with a mini fragrance, and having it in my final step in my routine before I go to sleep feels like the most fitting end to a nighttime ritual.

These 10 products have carried me through the past couple months, though I’m already filling up my everyday makeup bag with more exciting delights to try. Stay tuned for the next one!

As always, you can find all my favorites on ShopMy and keep up with my latest happenings on Instagram. Thanks for reading!

As usual, I’ve rounded up my favorites and snuck in a few runner ups that deserve a mention.

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Note: Products with a * were sent by the brand in PR but only made this list if they were truly the best of my collection. A lot of these ended up being surprising favorites!

Most worn fragrances of the year

Phlur Father Figure - if any fragrance dominated my scentosphere last year, it was this. This slightly creamy, slightly fresh fig scent is comforting and warm and a refreshing departure from my usual musky type of scents. It’s ideal for summer nights or warm climates, like where I live in Vietnam, but I also found it to be a surprisingly easy scent to wear during the winter as well. It’s one of those well rounded scents that works for every occasion but never feels like too much or too little.

Dedcool Mochi Milk* (code BEAUTYUNHYPED15 for 15% off) - my favorite perfume launch fo 2025! I’ve already talked about this so many times, but this dreamy little sweet nothings perfumes immediately went into my everyday rotation of perfumes as one of those scents that instantly lifts my moods and adds some delicate sweetness without being cloying. With peach (though somehow it smells like strawberry to me) , marshmallow, and rice milk notes, it’s a light and delicate airy fragrance that emulates a strawberry mochi to me. There’s nothing cloying or heavy about this one, making it an ideal everyday scent. One of my biggest packing regrets is putting this in a moving box instead of hand carrying it with me but I’m already making up for lost time with how much I’m using it.

Phlur Vanilla Skin - I fell deep in love with this scent near the end of 2024 and continued that obsession through 2025. Its easily my favorite vanilla scent in recent years, with notes of vanilla, sandalwood, and a little bit of jasmine. It’s a vanilla that I can only describe as round and creamy, and I appreciate that it’s not a sickly sweet cupcake-y vanilla sort of scent. It’s one of those vanillas I can wear everyday, but I especially love it in the winter with a cozy sweater.

Guerlain Mandarine Basilic - This is the one juicy fruity scent that I can’t get enough of, as someone who usually doesn’t love citrus or fruity fragrances. It’s heavy on the juicy mandarine note, but it’s grounded by a slight herbal greenness and a base of sandalwood and vanilla (yes, these are common in all of my favorite fragrances!!). It’s an instant mood lifter and doesn’t lean too fruity sweet in a victoria’s secret body spray kind of way, but more like a late afternoon drink surrounded by citrus fields kind of way. I also get much better longevity with this than with most citrus scents, with about 7-8 hours of wear on my skin.

Nette The Vanille* - the surprise hit of the year was this salty vanilla scent that has just a hint of matcha notes. It’s one of those scents that is completely unimpressive in the bottle, but really shines when it’s on my skin. I love that this has an almost savory salty and mineraly note to it, making it feel like an oceanic fragrance rather than a gourmand. It’s another unobtrusive everyday scent that I’ve been reaching for when I need something subtle and smooth, though that salty note makes it interesting and even addictive.

D.S. and Durga I Don’t Know What Perfume Oil - truly the best perfume for the days I don’t know what to wear and need something that’s soft and musky but still has a little floral brightness, due to the infusion of bergamot. It’s fresh and just a little sweet and softly musky and is also perfectly balanced. It’s meant to be a layering scent, and while it absolutely layers beautifully, I often just wear it on its own, especially with the perfume oil. Just a couple swipes of the oil on my wrists is enough for the fragrance to last all day as a scent that stays close but projects just enough of an elegant essence.

Most memorable scents that I tried

Memo Paris Inle* - a scent I tried in 2025 that I instantly loved so much that it was the scent I wore for my wedding. It’s a stunning take on a tea scent that feels hauntingly familiar and nostalgic to me, and I couldn’t imagine another scent to memorialize a special day. With notes of osmanthus, jasmine, and mate, it’s airy and floral and heady without having that sharp feel that I get with many floral perfumes. It’s one of those rare fragrances that feels right all year round, day or evening, and also lasts surprisingly long on me for a tea fragrance.

U Beauty Proem Eau de Parfum* (code BEAUTYUNHYPED20 for 20% off) - My second favorite launch of 2025, after Mochi Milk, and it’s an incredibly surprising pick for me because it is everything I usually don’t like - overwhelmingly fruity and floral, with notes of rose, peony, magnolia, rhubarb, and lychee - but it’s the combination of those notes plus a touch of peppery spice that make it undeniably seductive and addictive. All of these notes feel familiar and slightly nostalgic to scents of my childhood - my mom’s night blooming jasmine plant, piles of fresh lychee during trips back to Taiwan, bushes of peonies in my backyard - and it’s unlike any other floral fragrance I’ve smelled. It’s a confident day time perfume, a lush evening scent, and beautiful all year round.

Valentino Sogno in Rosso* - If you’ve ever wondered if a spicy milky scent would work well, let this fragrance be proof - and this is coming from someone who usually can’t handle milky lactonic scents or anything with pepper. Somehow, this one works like a dream. The main notes are milk foam accord (?!), black pepper, and vanilla bourbon. On my skin, which pulls out spicy notes in any fragrance, this smells like the deep smooth spicyness of a negroni, mellowed out with some creaminess with a hint of the vanilla bourbon peeking through. It’s intoxicating and feels like a hot summer evening but also feels like the drink I never want to end. I wish this scent were more readily available because I think it’d be a huge hit, but so far, I’ve only seen it on the Valentino website.

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Fragrance mists I actually enjoyed using:

Only a few fragrance mists really made it into my regular rotation of fragrances. Obviously, Salt and Stone Bergamot and Hinoki was one of my most used fragrance mists again, but there are a few other standouts:

Josie Maran Golden Hour* - my favorite fragrance mist launch of this year, with its warm and musky amber notes. It smells comforting and sensual and has a surprising intensity for a body mist. I also love the slightly milky formula, which I think actually helps a bit with hydration. I’ll often use this right after a shower and then layer another one of my favorite musky comforting fragrances (see above).

Phlur Peach Skin* - this is one of my favorite body mist releases from Phlur because of its more sophisticated take on a fruity peach that has a little bit of floral freesia and vanilla. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a light fragrance mist, but it has less of the ultra sweet and synthetic notes that I associate with body mists and is actually once that I’m motivated to use regularly.

Ellis Brooklyn Vanilla Sin* - finally, a vanilla scent with cherry that doesn’t smell like cough syrup! I love the idea of any fragrance with cherry, but they tend to lean so bright and juicy that they end up giving me a headache. This one is very heavy on the vanilla and almond, with a twist of cherry. It’s deep and seductive and almost doesn’t feel like a body mist except for the fact that it fades quicker than most perfumes (within 5-6 hours for me).

Ellis Brooklyn Marshmallows - regrettably, this was limited edition and seems to be gone from retailers, but I still think this is a lovely take on a marshmallow scent. It has musk and vanilla (shocker that I like it, right?), and it also has a touch of caramel along with marshmallow. It’s light and fun but also has a bit of richness. If you can get your hands on this somewhere, I definitely recommend it.

Honorable mentions:

And because it wouldn’t be a roundup by me unless I included honorable mentions, I have 3 fragrances that I kept going back for last year even though it wasn’t necessarily a most worn fragrance:

• Snif Golden Ticket - this fresh tea scent has been in my collection for a couple years, but I really fell in love with it this past year. The combination of mate, black tea, and green tea with bergamot, and something even slightly grassy and earthy. If something can be light and grounded and just a touch spicy at the same time, it’s this. It’s a sultry daytime scent that still doesn’t feel like too much, but flawlessly transitions to evening. It’s something I reach for when I need something with a little zest to give me a boost of confidence

• Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Extreme Eau de Parfum Intense* - a rare juicy fruity-floral scent with a vanilla base that makes this intoxicating but also fun. While fruity fragrances rarely work for me, I’ve learned that adding vanilla or amber is almost a guaranteed way to make a fragrance work better for me. The raspberry note is dominant and mingles beautifully with the signature rose note of Flowerbomb, while being wrapped up in a sweet vanilla cloud. It’s flirty but sophisticated at the same time and perfect for a date night.

• Mugler Angel Nova* - When I first tried this I described it as a girl’s night out in a perfume - it’s bright, loud, fruity, and so fun. This one is also heavy on the raspberry and a little bit of rose with a base of akigaliwood, which gives the fragrance a bit of spicy, peppery patchouli earthiness. Nothing about this fragrance is something I normally like, but I found myself missing this while I was moving and didn’t have the bottle with me. Now that it’s back in my possession, I look forward to any opportunity to spritz a couple sprays of this.

If you have another treasure that I absolutely have to try, drop me a comment so I can try it too!

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As always, you can find every fragrance mentioned on ShopMy, and keep up with me on Instagram. Thank you for reading!

I think it’s safe to say that 2025 was not my best year. Other than a few life highlights - getting married and moving abroad, this past year brought me a lot of anxiety and stress that I am more than ready to leave behind.

Thank you to everyone for being here as I clung to makeup as a source of comfort and joy and normalcy. You all helped make sure I stayed sane among many life changes and our collective enthusiasm for exploring beauty and discovering personal style kept me going. I hope you all have a great new year!!!

Before we completely forget about 2025, let’s take a peek at some makeup highlights of the year:

Instead of my usual roundup of my favorite makeup products in each category, I thought it would be more insightful to look back on some of the products I used the most throughout the year. What were the products that stayed consistent in my routine, even as everything else in my life changed? What was precious and essential enough to be hand carried across the world rather than being boxed up and shipped?

Unsurprisingly, many of these are also favorites, but just because I loved a new launch of the year doesn’t necessarily mean it was practical and essential enough to be something I used over and over again. I don’t systematically track how often I use something, so this list is based purely on muscle memory of what I grabbed without thinking and packed no matter where I was living or traveling.

PS - this post is too long for email so be sure to open this in the app or in a browser to get the full experience!

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Base and complexion: what kept my skin balanced and matte even in suffocating humidity

Primer

• Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Balm - what I reached for most in the second half of the year. It blurs beautifully, smooths texture, and keeps shine in check in high humidity without ever feeling heavy.

• Ciele Prime and Protect - my pick for a more hydrating and radiant primer. It has a lightly grippy texture and soft fresh finish. Even once I moved to a humid climate in Vietnam, I’m surprised by how well it keeps my makeup intact and polished without getting greasy.

Skin Tint

• Fenty Eaze Drop Skin Tint - basically all I used for several months while I was in the process of moving because it really is just easy. It’s blurring and skinlike while also being able to withstand heat and humidity, and I can easily customize very light to the medium side of light coverage depending on how much I use. I wear shade 7.

• Honorable mentions go to Merit The Uniform and Lisa Eldridge Seamless Skin Enhancing Tint. I find both of them to be lightweight with a soft luminous but not dewy finish, and an ability to stay intact on the skin without breaking down. Merit has a gel lotion texture that is a little less messy to apply and LE is more like a runny serum, though I find that it blends in a little quicker. Lisa Eldridge also has more olive toned shades which is ideal when my skin changes to have more obvious olive undertones, though shade 24 in Merit is also a great match for me.

• Chanel Water Fresh Tint - technically not most used this year, only because I finished a bottle early on in the year and I wanted to give my other base products some love, but I did repurchase my 3rd bottle and it’s increasingly back in my rotation again.

Foundation

• Basma Stick Foundation - my foundation of choice when I travel because of the easy stick formula that I can blend with fingers in a pinch. It’s also an excellent skinlike foundation I wear often when I’m not traveling because of its longwearing natural glow that also stays intact for 12+ hours. I wear shade 27.

• Honorable mentions in this category include the Prada Reveal Skin Optimising Foundation, which I actually wore on my wedding day since it gives me such a gorgeous soft filtered and blurred finish while having the perfect not too matte, not too glowy finish.

• Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Foundation - replaced some older matte foundations with its elegant, almost elastic type of formula that perfects my skin in a very natural way. I wear shade 120.

• Surratt Dew Drop Foundation (code STEPH15 for 15% off)- this remained a staple as a radiant glowy foundation with one of the most skinlike effects I’ve seen in a medium coverage foundation, plus a 12+ hour lasting power that keeps my skin looking fresh without getting too dewy. It’s what I reach for when I need some more coverage than a skin tint but still want my skin to look ultra natural. I wear shade 8.

Corrector: Exa Beauty makes my favorite high coverage peach corrector for my undereye area, with a thick creamy formula that’s also super hydrating, though the Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Peach is the most convenient option for traveling or when I’m in a rush because of the stick format. I always try a couple correctors every year and none of them ever compare to either of these.

Concealer: The Tower 28 Swipe Serum Concealer and Fenty We’re Even Concealer are tied for most worn, with Tower 28 being slightly thinner and serum-like with lighter coverage that’s great for an everyday natural look, while Fenty has slightly more coverage and a slightly longer wear time. I also wore the Rouje Le Correcteur Palette a ton, a super creamy concealer duo that has full coverage and also incredible lasting power. I used it in a pinch as a light foundation during my travels as well.

Powder:

• Chantecaille Perfect Blur Powder - I’m trying to finish a compact that’s a few years old, but it’s also a fantastic blurring and mattifying powder with a little bit of coverage that I still look forward to using every day.

• Kate Half Moon Powder - a latecomer in my collection though it quickly became one of my favorite powders that even surpasses the re-released Givenchy Prism Libre powder. It’s absolutely weightless while still delivering a super smooth poreless finish and a soft matte finish that lasts all day even in the most humid weather.

Blushes and cheek products I actually used the most:

My most work cheek product all year was - you guessed it - Westman Atelier Peau de Peche. It’s that perfect bronzey peach that warms up my face and gives it a bit of a sunkissed flush, functioning as a blush, bronzer, and highlighter all in one. It’s what I reach for when I have 5 minutes to get ready and need something quick. It works best when I have a slight tan but since I’m getting a bit more sun year round, it’s now a year round product for me.

Cream Blush

• Phytosurgence Skin Spark Blushes - easily my most used blushes. I have several shades depotted into an Artist Kit Company palette so I can take multiple shades with me wherever I go. These perform beautifully on their own, but I love using some of their more muted neutral shades as bases for powder blushes. My most worn shades are Fume, Condensate, Sear, and then Inferno for a more burnt brick red flush.

• Rhode Pocket Blushes - a close second for blushes I reached for constantly. They have a natural seamless finish and are also super long lasting on my cheeks. Sleepy Girl is one of the best mauve shades for me and Toasted Teddy is a brownish terracotta red that I still can’t manage to dupe in my collection.

• House of Hur Ampoule Blush in Ruby Red - surprisingly versatile, and a shade I reached for far more than I expected. It’s not only the best red shades I’ve found for me, but the watery serum texture blends surprisingly evenly for a sheer natural look, and also lasts beautifully on my oily skin.

• Soshe Blurring Pillow Blush - deserves a mention, not only as one of my favorite blush launches of the year, but also as a regular in my makeup rotation. It’s a slightly cushiony dry cream formula that’s pigmented, blendable, and also one of the most longlasting blushes I’ve tried lately.

• Haus Labs Glassy Blushes - a dewy blush that actually lasts all day on my cheeks and I went through serious phases with this. Glassy Cayenne is a gorgeous smoked rose shade that gave me a pretty delicate watercolor flush

Powder Blush: I think this is the first year that I wore cream blush more than powder blush, though all of my favorite powder blushes still made regular appearances in my routine.The Westman Atelier Powder Blush Duos that came out in the spring really impressed me with their blendable and pigmented formula and range of approachable shades. I also love the blush/contour duos, which bring in powder versions of their incredible contours.

Bronzer/Contour:

• Westman Atelier Contour in Biscuit - my favorite cream contour and it’s also nearly completely finished! It just does an incredible job of adding some subtle dimension to my face.

• Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Bronzer - technically my most used bronzer since I was trying to finish it - and completely panned it a few months ago. It’s a lovely soft luminous bronzer formula that’s discontinued now.

• Victoria Beckham Matte Bronzing Brick in 02 immediately went back into my everyday rotation.

Highlighter:

• Salt New York Radiant Highlighter in Beige and Pearl (code UNHYPED10 for 10% off) - my go to highlighters, and they’re one of those unsung heroes in my collection that look fairly boring but add the perfect amount of soft radiance to my makeup. I like to add this on top of my foundation before I powder, so that just a hint of luminosity peeks through, and it really helps prevent my usual soft matte routine from looking flat.

• Chanel Baume Essentiel in Dragee - still my highlighter of choice to finish off my makeup, giving me the perfect glossy translucence to add some healthy glow without any obvious shimmer. I find even the tinted shades quite translucent but I love the little touch of sheen it has.

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Eye products: a small but mighty edit

I don’t think I mention enough that I’ve used the Milani Eye Primer every single day for the past 3+ years under all of my eye makeup, but that is by default one of my all time most used products!

Cream Eyeshadow:

• Make Beauty Stylo Contour Eyeshadow in Latitude - one of the best all over taupe shades for my eyelids that I actually finished earlier in the year

• Fenty Shadowstix in Shroom Mate - another taupe shade that is slightly warmer and golden. The Shadowstix formula is ideal for super humid climates with its slightly drier cream texture that stayed creaseproof all day, although I find it almost drying in a cool winter climate.

Eyeshadow

I generally gravitated towards smaller eyeshadow palettes this year:

• Chanel Les 4 Ombres Clair Obscur - my perfect everyday matte neutrals, with true neutral shades to subtly shape and contour my eyes. I really don’t need much more than these shades most days, and it was really one of those palettes I reached for when I didn’t know what else to wear.

• Dior Eyeshadow Palette in Poncho - has a perfect variety of soft shimmer and glitter shades in subtle beiges and peach shades but it doesn’t lean too warm. There were entire months when I only used these two palettes, easily making them my most worn eyeshadows this year.

• Lisa Eldridge Betty Palette - sadly limited edition but it has the most perfect selection of taupe, purple, and lilac shades for subtle pops of color that feel fresh but still squarely in my comfort zone as someone who loves the most boring neutrals

• Tarte Tartelette in Bloom palette - the one large form palette I used constantly throughout the year. It’s one of the most basic neutral palettes with a range of cooler and true neutral tones in a range of depths from a pale beige to a deep charcoal shade, plus just a few shimmers to add some shine. Tarte has fallen off a cliff, but this is one of my best rediscoveries and it has been a workhorse in my routine this year.

Glitter Eyeshadow: I still couldn’t stop using the Patrick Ta Major Dimension Eyeshadow whenever I wanted a bit of pearly diffused glitter. They have just the sparkly kind of finish I want with neutral and neutral-adjacent shades to brighten up my looks.

Eyeliner: I haven’t strayed from my ride or die Lune and Aster Dawn to Dusk in Copper, which still remains one of the longest lasting and budgeproof eyeliners in my collection, and the shade Copper is actually a deep rich brown with a hint of shimmer that keeps it from being too flat.

Mascara: Now that I’ve found the best mascaras that work best for me, I hardly stray from this, so this year’s most used is same as the past favorites: Heroine Make Super Waterproof, Surratt Noir Lash Tint, and YSL Lash Clash in the regular or waterproof version for extra volume.

Lips - always the main event

As we all know by now, lip products are my favorite and I rotate through them pretty often. I could easily write a whole post about lip products I loved and used the most throughout the year, though I like to spread those out in smaller chunks in my roundups throughout the year. For this end of year roundup, I’m only mentioning the ones that really stand out that I consistently used all year.

Lip Liner:

• Chanel Longwear Lip Pencil in Nude Brun - a standout that I reached for on countless occasions as a warm-ish rosewood brown that makes the perfect base for any warmer toned neutral lipstick.

• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencils - they lived up to their cult status this year since it seems like I was constantly reaching for either Anywhere Caffeine, Limitless Brown, or Wherever Walnut as a soft lip liner. While they’re not as long lasting as Chanel, they have a soft satin finish and creamy formula that looks so natural and effortless, making them perfect for a soft contoured lip.

• Merit Signature Lip Sheer Lip Liners - soft sheer perfection, with a slightly luminous, but not quite glossy, finish. They’re ideal for that soft smudged look that I love, and even with the creamy finish, they still stick around a couple hours on me. Bespoke, Mayfair, and Brownstone were all regular players in my rotation this year.

Lip Stains deserve their own category this year:

• Violette Lip Nectar Hydrating Lip Stains - I wore these more than almost any other lipstick, and they are easily one of my top makeup products of the year. They are truly hydrating while also being a truly longwearing stain that stays the same color as when it was applied, and the 4 shades in the line are all perfection.

• Kulfi Lassi Lip Stain in Tamarind - a unique coolish mauve brown with juicy pigmented payoff, feeling more like a glossy tint that settles into a stain.

Lipstick:

Many of last year’s favorites were also favorites for this year, especially:

• YSL Candy Glaze in 14 Scenic Brown and the newer Watermelon High shade

• Chanel Le Rouge Duo Ultra Tenue in Light Brown - my favorite longwear lip formula

• Chanel Rouge Allure Lipstick in Inattendu -a perfect mauve-brown that I wore to multiple special events and weddings (including my own!)

Sheer glossy lips made up the majority of my lip combos this year:

• Violette Bisou Jelly Lipsticks - consistent favorites in 2024 and 2025, especially Bonbon Caramel

• LYS Speak Love Glossy Lip Balms - mainstays in my handbag, with their light glossy formula that adds a hint of color and shine without being too much.

• Hourglass Phantom Glossy Balm in Rouse - a similar sheer glossy product but even glossier than the LYS Glossy Balms, and Rouse is a beautiful chestnut brown color that goes with everything.

• Phytosurgence Calm Conditions Lip Balm - the best tinted lip balm for more minimal makeup days or a more subtle look. Distant Depths is my perfect sheer brown and Bright Brine is the best subtle red I’ve used.

Other regulars in my handbag:

• Violette Bisou Balm in Mon Cheri - a sheer matte warm red that is one of my best reds and is so easy to throw on and go.

• Dries Van Noten Graphic Ochre - I wore this more than any other lipstick in the fall. It’s a warm rosy mauve that somehow goes with everything, and can even pull slightly rosier or brown depending on the lip liner I pair it with. Cases are sold separately and they’re beautiful works of art!

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Lipgloss:

• Eadem Le Chouchou were still one of my most worn glosses, especially in Boba Bounce, one of my best browns. Code BEAUTYUNHYPED15 for 15% off.

• Rhode Peptide Lip Tint in Espresso and PB&J - and I also finished a clear version!

• Summer Fridays Lip Butter in Vanilla Beige - a perfect sheer beige with a nourishing glossy formula, that I rediscovered this year. I used it so much I’m nearly finished with it!

• Fwee 3d Volumizing Gloss - one of the best glosses I tried this year. It’s super buttery without being sticky and leaves an unbelievably smooth glassy look, and it comes in a 30% opacity and 70% level for most shades. I prefer the slightly sheerer 30% version specifically in the shade Scotch, a(nother) warm rosy brown shade. There were weeks when this was the only gloss I used!

This seems like a long list of products but it was so easy to put together this roundup because it’s so clear to see what my staples were this year! It’s also insightful to see that many of these are tried and true favorites that I’ve already owned for several years, and it validates the boredom and even fatigue that I’ve felt with an increasingly frenetic pace of new launches.

I’m also endlessly curious and nosy about your most used products - what did you finish? What was a product you absolutely couldn’t skip in your routine?

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As always, you can find all the products mentioned in this post on ShopMy and keep up with my latest thoughts on Instagram. Thank you for reading, and happy new year!

Cat tax: say hello to Vino!!

Consider this mini review round up the best of the best of what I’m reaching for right now. The majority of these are also at Sephora, so if you haven’t used the one-time 20% off code (code SAVEGIFTS), these are my recommendations!

Let’s start strong with some essential but definitely not boring bodycare gems that have earned their spot in my bodycare routine:

I’ve finally found the answer to deep moisturization and a lightweight silky feel that’s suitable for my dry body in a humid climate: the Fenty Beauty Butta Drop Hydrating Body Milk, which has a delightful light milky texture that is somehow also deeply hydrating. Where some thicker lotions have made the skin on my legs still flaky in this ungodly humid weather, this one keeps my skin moisturized but never feels sticky. It also blends in within seconds and sinks in quickly so I can just apply it and go. This is the answer to my humid weather body moisturization.

For the days that pumping a lotion and spreading it on my skin feels like too much, the Sidia The Body Serum in Braless is one of my best finds lately. The convenience of the spray pump has saved my mornings when I’m in a rush and the serum formula is also lightweight and fast absorbing. While having a similar thickness to Fenty, this one has a touch more of an oil feeling versus a milky butter texture. While it offers slightly lighter hydration, it’s still enough for me most days. The Braless scent is also a big contributor to the luxurious experience of this serum - Braless is delicate, fresh, and so complex for a body product. With notes of bamboo, amber, leather, myrrh, guaiacwood, sandalwood, and a hint of peppery spices, it’s a perfectly balanced and luxurious scent that actually lingers throughout the day.

It’s not often that I find base makeup products that blow me away, but recently I’ve found a whopping 3 products that have changed my base game:

I’m becoming a minor connoisseur of stick foundations, with Westman Atelier, Basma, and Dior in my hall of fame of foundation sticks, and I really thought it didn’t get better than those 3, but the LYS Beauty Triple Fix Blurring Skin Tint Foundation Stick is flawless natural skin in a stick. It’s ultra creamy and gives me flawless perfected skin with a natural finish, and while it’s slightly luminous, the longwearing formula lasts all day in humid weather without breaking down. I might look slightly dewy at the end of the day with my oily skin, but it never starts to look patchy. I might even like this better than the Dior foundation for myself and I don’t say that lightly!!! I wear shade MN1.

Continuing on the LYS Beauty hype train, their new Bright Start Airbrush Concealer is an incredible addition to the concealer market. It’s full coverage and also ultra creamy and hydrating without settling into fine lines. It’s one of those rare formulas that covers all my dark circles with a thin layer of product, but still looks flawless and hydrated. One small dab of this can completely obliterate my dark circles and give me the perfected finish I want. I also appreciate that the sponge tip packaging is removable and has a needle tip applicator underneath. I wear shade MN1.

Ever since the Urban Decay All Nighter spray was reformulated, I’ve been looking for a replacement that keeps my makeup matte and intact through a hot and humid day, and the Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Mattifying Setting Spray has emerged as a more elegant mattifying setting spray that keeps my makeup looking fresh and matte throughout the day. It’s described as a powder in spray format, and leaves a soft blurred and matte finish that lasts. There’s a noticeable ‘setting’ feel that is not quite the shellacked hair-spray feel of previous setting sprays I’ve tried - it’s more a feeling like a powder settling and absorbing any extra oils. I also appreciate that this doesn’t suck all the shine and glow out of my face - I’m left with more of a soft glow without any unnecessary shine.

I’m always ears for recommendations of products any of you are loving, and this lip liner came highly recommended from several of my friends on Instagram. I kind of overlooked the new Hung Vanngo beauty line and that was a severe oversight, because the Longwear Lip Liner in Fill It In is one of the most perfect muted mauve shades I’ve worn. It has a soft and light gel formula that sets, but doesn’t become stiff. There’s a little bit of working time so I can blend out the line into a softer smudged look that lasts several hours. What I love most about this is that it’s soft and pigmented, but not too pigmented or opaque which helps me control the amount of product I apply, but also has the ultra smoothness of a gel lip liner. Fill It In is a near perfect shade for me but I’m kind of curious to try some other shades from the line!

I generally think we’ve reached lip gloss saturation in the beauty industry and generally find that nothing can be that innovative or unique anymore, so when I buy a gloss I’m in it for the experience and shades, but the Sarah Creal Lip Gloss might just have snuck into my top shelf. The mauvey brown shade caught my eye immediately and is a subtle but unique shade in my collection. It’s slightly browner and more pigmented than Merit Twin Set (another great mauve gloss!), and has a light shimmer that adds a bit of extra shine. The formula is nicely moisturizing without being sticky, and I was pleasantly surprised by the 3ish hour wear time even with eating and drinking.

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I’ve been getting more immersed into Asian beauty and honestly, it’s rare that I come across something that doesn’t perform as well as any of my western beauty at a fraction of the price point.

Kate is one of my longtime favorite Japanese drugstore beauty brands, and their Moon Pressed Powder immediately rose to the top of the best powders in my collection. It’s incredibly finely milled and super silky, and it brings a soft and natural blurred finish without looking like I have any trace of powder. The formula keeps my makeup matte for a good 10 hours in the humidity, but also didn’t feel drying while I was on a motorcycle trip with brisk fall temperatures. I now prefer this to my much more expensive powders, and find this even more finely milled than the Givenchy powder so if you don’t need the color correcting shades of Givenchy, give this a try! There are 3 versions, a translucent powder, a sheer beige ‘cover’ powder, and a half/half of the 2 variations. I have the half cover version, and find it provides the perfect amount of blurring without adding any noticeable color. Just don’t forget to get the case, like I did.

Asian beauty brands, and particularly K-beauty, simply make the best lip tints in the world, and it’s really hard to go wrong with any brand or formula as long as you find the right shade. I find that mauvey shades that aren’t too pink can be a little tricky with some Asian beauty brands, but I found one in the Dasique Juicy Dewy Glow Tint line. The shade Chill Mauve is a deep neutral purplish mauve that is so pretty for a moodier late fall look that isn’t too deep. The formula stays glossy for a couple hours before leaching behind a tint that lasts a couple extra hours after that, and I didn’t find this to be too drying, and even find it more hydrating than the Romand Juicy Lasting Tint.

The D’alba Plumping Lip Glow were a random impulse buy, but has ended up becoming one of my most used glosses of the past month. The most interesting feature of this gloss is that the metal tip applicator versus a traditional doe foot applicator, and it’s actually quite an effective and cooling way to spread products on my lip evenly. I have the pale pink shade that is essentially a clear gloss, and am impressed by the glassy finish this formula has without being sticky or heavy. It feels more like a light treatment than a gloss or oil, but one that provides deep hydration. There’s the slightest cooling and tingling sensation that doesn’t bother me at all and is about a .5/10 on the tingle scale. My only regret is that it’s not widely accessible outside Asia. I found it on Dodo Skin but haven’t ordered from them myself!

I’ve added Glossier You Fleur into my everyday fragrance rotation and while I was initially wrote off this fragrance as plain and unextraordinary, there’s a soft sweetness to it that keeps me reaching for this over and over again, even over the Doux variation that was previously my favorite You flanker. There are soft notes of ylang ylang and apricot, so it’s a little warm and fruity, but still extremely subtle. It’s a great office perfume or scent for days you don’t want too much since it’s on the lighter side. However, even as light as it is, it still makes a noticeable impact - one day I thought this was long gone from my skin when hours later I got a compliment from someone about how good I smelled. As someone who prefers a close and intimate scent to something that announces my arrival before I step into a room, this is a perfect addition to my scent wardrobe. It’s also a bonus that the Perfume Set with the full size and mini is on sale, and stacks with the current 20% off code!

These are the beauty products that survived the chaos, from the moving aftermath, travel, and everyday life, and what came out on top. I’ll always be testing something new, but right now, these are my favorites that are very much in heavy rotation. If you’re looking for some new things to try or doing some last minute shopping, I hope this gave you a place to start!

As always, you can find everything I mentioned on ShopMy, and keep up with all my latest thoughts on Instagram.

This year I’m coming prepared with a gift guide that features the best of the holiday gifts that I’ve given or have received, or gifts that are on my wishlist for this year (for my friends and family reading this, take this as a cheat sheet of what’s going to be a sure hit this year!).

I’ve pulled together over 40 gift ideas with everything from under $30 gems for the impromptu secret santas or party invitations to thoughtful splurges for the most treasured people you love, and all the extended family you forgot to shop for and really don’t know what to give.

Since this is coming out on Cyber Monday, I’ve noted the products that are currently on sale, which happily, is most of them! I’ll remove the notes once the sales end.

Note: this post contains affiliate links, which give me a small commission with every purchase you make through the links. Thank you so much for your support!

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Little joys under $30

For stocking stuffers, secret santas, or add-ons to a bigger gift

• Baggu reusable bags in tons of fun prints like Hello Kitty or for the cat ladies, great for grocery or farmers market runs, impromptu shopping trips, a lightweight beach or pool bag, or an impromptu personal item on the plane (25% off)

• Baggu Crescent Bag Charm to hold earbuds, lip balms, keys, and little odds and ends (25% off)

• Printed glasses case so your best friend doesn’t have to rawdog their sunglasses in their bag (that best friend is me) (25% off)

• Mini tortoise shell hoops for a subtle statement that add some personality to any looks (20% off)

• A slim power bank for anyone whose phones are constantly at 20% and frankly, is one of the top items on my own wishlist this year because most of mine are so old they’re actually fire hazards

• A notebook from Appointed, my favorite notebooks with exquisite paper and options for blank, straight, or grid lines. (30% off)

• Phytosurgence Calm Conditions Lip Balm - a lip balm for everyone that’s way more effective and moisturizing than chapstick; also comes in subtle tinted shades that even the most minimal makeup wearer would wear

  • And for anyone who’s into a moodier vibe, this sheer black lip balm is perfect for a subtle moody berry tint (20% off)

• A softly scented body wash for an elevated basic and Hinoki a soft calming earthy scent for that person who won’t shut up about Japan (20% off)

• A crossbody day bag that fits all the essentials - my husband used this everyday for our recent trip to Japan and he wanted me to specifically mention that it can fit a 1L Nalgene bottle and everything he else he needs in a day with plenty of room and organization

Chic Crowdpleasers

Ideas for everyone on your list that are functional but are slightly elevated from an everyday basic

Thoughtful picks for anyone on your list from your dad who swears he doesn’t need anything or that cousin you only see a few times a year but absolutely need a gift for:

• Pajamas - something I never buy for myself but always love as gifts

  • Long sleeve cotton poplin set and for men too (50% off),

  • Short sleeve cotton poplin set - I already bought these as a gift to myself because I couldn’t resist the button detail! (50% off)

  • The softest modal pajamas in long or short sleeves and pants (pants, short sleeve top

  • Short sleeve flannel set for hot sleepers who still want to be cozy (50% off)

• Coffee makers - everyone in my family is an intense coffee enthusiast so coffee-related gifts always go over well:

  • Chic pourover dripper with a subtle wood detail

  • A sleek aluminum Mokapot for the person currently obsessed with chrome details (me)

  • Aeropress for smooth espresso-esque coffee, also travel friendly when I need good coffee instead of weak hotel coffee (30% off)

• My favorite stuffable carry on duffel bag that folds into a pouch that I often pack into my suitcase when I know I’ll need the extra room after shopping

• Give the gift of good sleep with an eye mask -

  • Manta Sleep Mask is soft and can be customized with cooling or heated eye cups (10% off)

  • A Silk Eye Mask for a soft feel while blocking out all light (15% off)

• A trio set of organization pouches for storing stray cables, an extra set of clothes, extra cards or earbuds (25% off)

• A hand soap and lotion set for the host with fragrances as nuanced as perfumes (20% off)

• Luxurious candles are the perfect treat for someone who loves to set a mood in their home - I love D.S. and Durga Dream Lychee for an elevated lychee floral scent (20% off), Breakfast Leipzig for old world cafe vibes or my favorite cozy background scent (25% off)

• A classic canvas tote with tons of pockets for organization - I got one of these from my MIL a few years ago and it’s a life saver for farmers market runs, road trips, over night trips, or just carrying my entire life with me for the day

• A portable bluetooth speaker I keep hanging in my bathroom or kitchen so I can play my favorite music and podcasts while I’m showering or cooking

• It’s impossible to go wrong with puzzles for a screen-free evening, with themes for everyone from the cat lover, aperol spritz obsessive, or a Christmas day activity (up to 50% off for Cyber Monday)

  Send a hint to someone or share this with the worst gift giver you know

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Thoughtful luxuries for people you really love

Little splurges for the most special people in your life

• Lunya silk pajamas are washable and cool and slinky while being comfortable - I’ve washed mine weekly for a year and they’re still holding up beautifully (also in tank top and short sleeve versions for hot sleepers; plus men’s long sleeve and short sleeve versions)

• Negative Whipped Loungewear - The softest and most luxurious loungewear to treat your mom, sister, best friend, or yourself - I swear by the whipped baby tee, plus light as air sweatpants (15% off)

• Luggage that will last for years for the person always on a business trip or at a new country every week - Away makes luggage that is light and has lasted me dozens of trips without any damage (I use the carry-on the most!), and the Garment Duffel Bag is a genius way to pack a suit and all your clothes in one neat compact bag (25% off)

• Cuyana leather pouches are the best for organizing my black hole tote bags with beauty essentials, chargers, pens, and little odds and ends - they’re slim but hold a surprising amount; add a monogram for an extra personal touch. I like the nano and mini sizes the best

• The best coffee maker for that person who measure their coffee intake by the pot but is also obsessive about how their coffee tastes

• A subtle Zodiac necklace for a small statement (15% off)

• Sparking drop earrings fit for any holiday party or special occasion

• Noise cancelling headphones are the best survival tools for drowning out noise, crying babies on airplanes, or just to give yourself enough peace and quiet to think straight (40% off)

Beauty lovers and beauty curious

I actually find beauty hard to gift unless it’s for someone I know well, and even though beauty can be so personal and subjective. I could write 5 beauty guides dedicated to beauty alone, but for your sake and mine, these selections are for the ones who aren’t chronically online or obsessed with beauty (so…most normal people) but would appreciate an upgrade to their everyday essentials

• Chic solid fragrances - Diptyque Orpheon is one of my all time favorite scents and Sidia Soaked is a fresh mood lifting scent (25% off)

• Fragrance gift sets - fragrances are personal but soft skin scents are a safe bet

  • Dedcool Mini Milk set for the coziest trio of scents (30% off)

  • Glossier You Fleur set for a soft sweet understated scent (25% off)

  • D.S. and Durga I Don’t Know What Perfume Oil - a musky floral with the subtle brightness of bergamot, and the oil version lasts for hours with just a light swipe on my wrist

• Eadem The Bisous Set - my favorite lip treatment and lip tints with sleek silver packaging and a cooling metal tip. Split it up as stocking stuffers or gift the whole set to a lip gloss lover

• A lipstick that’s also a work of art - Dries van Noten makes the most beautiful lipstick cases that’s a perfect accessory for someone who doesn’t leave the house without a swipe of lipstick and the lipsticks come in matte, satin, or my favorite sheer finish in (Graphic Ochre is my current go-to as a shape shifting lipstick that sometimes looks more red and sometimes look more mauve) - 15% off at Saks

• Chanel Lip Routine Set - nothing is more iconic or chic than a classic Chanel lipstick; and they’re also unscented so people who get headaches easily will also be able to indulge

• A luxurious body wash and lotion set from Byredo to make showering feel like a luxurious ritual

• Sleek and roomy makeup pouches:

  • A slim Cuyana pouch to hold lip liners, brushes, or eyeliners

  • Etoile Mini Vanity Case to hold makeup essentials in a chic compartmentalized case

  • MZ Wallace Mini Vanity Case - a softer squishable case and one of my personal favorite travel makeup bags

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Little details

Elegant accessories that add a bit of whimsy and luxury while still being functional

• Subtle statement earrings:

  • Little chunky earrings to brighten up an outfit in chic tortoise and nature-inspired patterns (20% off)

  • An everyday small puffy hoop studs to add some visual interest and also one of my most worn earrings! (25% off)

• The most beautiful shell compact mirror to make touch ups a moment to look forward to (20% off)

• Sezane Coin Purse - to hold little bits and coins in the tiniest and cutest pouch that would delight anyone

• Little fruit bag charm that can hold an air-tag or a stray ring or necklace while I’m at the gym (25% off)

• Travel jewelry cases - there is an art to the perfect travel jewelry case that carries just enough while being compact and organized

  • Mini Monos Jewelry Case is compact and also has a removable mini pouch for tucking away earrings or rings in my bag (25% off)

  • Dagne Dover for the most essential rings, necklaces, and earrings on the go (30% off)

  • Cuyana makes the most chic compact leather jewelry case

• Cadence Capsules for the most organized travelers that like their toiletries to be neat - these are absolutely leakproof and are magnetized to stack neatly (up to 30% off)

• Beautiful combs, like this fine tooth shell comb (20% off), or this wide tooth comb for on the go

  If you enjoyed this post, make sure you’re subscribed for more elevated takes on everyday necessities. Thank you for your support!

  What are you gifting or hoping to receive this year? I’m always on the lookout for the most unique and useful gifts, so please fill me in if you have brilliant ideas!!

  As always, you can find all my favorites and everything in this gift guide linked here, and keep up with my latest updates on Instagram. Thank you for reading!

I’m already getting a bit overwhelmed myself so I find it helpful to see sale compilations so I can decide what is more of a priority for me to spend money on. I’ve rounded up all the best sales I’ve seen that are already going on, and I’ve also added some sales starting in a few days so you can also plan your purchases instead of impulse buying on the emails flooding your inboxes.

This list will be updated daily so be sure to check back! Sales that are in italics are sales starting in the next few days you can plan where to shop from.

In the coming days, also be sure to look out for my gift guide (which also serves as my wishlist) that also will serve as the best of these sales.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, so I will earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links. Thank you all for your support!

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Beauty and fragrance

5 Sens - 25% off $50+ with code MOODMATCH25, 30% off $125, and 40% off $175 - I adore In Too Deep, which is a soft and sweet sugary vanilla scent that’s not too heavy or cloying

Allies of Skin - 30% off sitewide - includes their Multi-Peptide serum, which my skin absolutely drinks up and really makes a difference in how lifted and plump my skin looks

Armani Beauty - 30% off sitewide

Beauty Pie - 20% off everything - their makeup bags are some of my most used travel bags and the Future Lipsticks are some of the best balmy and comfortable lipsticks I’ve used and <$20!

Bioeffect - 35% off with code UNHYPED

Biossance - 30% off sitewide - the Supernova Lip Perfecter is a beautiful sheer lilac shade that is also moisturizing and long lasting

Bloomeffect - 30% off sitewide, 11/24-11/29

BK Beauty - 20-35% off sitewide

Boy Smells - 30% off almost everything

Bluemercury - 20$ off no minimum, 25% off $800+ - Includes brands like D.S. and Durga (I’m currently wearing D.S. and Durga Rose Atlantic and I Don’t Know What nonstop.; the Breakfast Leipzig candle is also holiday winter cheer in candle form), Diptyque, Vilhelm Perfumerie, Parfums de Marly and more

Briogeo - 30-50% off sitewide - Scalp Revival Scalp Treatment and the Mask are essentials to keep my scalp moisturized and prevent itchiness, while the Rosarco Spray is my favorite leave-in conditioner because it comes in a convenient spray.

By Rosie Jane - up to 30% off

Celisse - 20% off the Touch and Go Set - a new nail care brand for minimal nail care

Chantecaille - 30% off sitewide with code CYBER - the new Lip Cremes are absolutely fantastic creamy opaque lipsticks, while the Perfect Blur powder is one of my favorite weightless blurring powders

Charlotte Tilbury - 25% off $80+- including a bundle of 2 lip liners for $34, and 2 quads for $70

Ciele - 20% off and free Behati blush with orders $100+ - I have my eye on their Sugar and Spice set and Prime and Protect is one of my favorite products of the year

Clinique - 30% off sitewide, 11/23-12/4 - their Take the Day Off Makeup Remover is my holy grail makeup remover to take off all my super waterproof mascara without any tugging, and Intense Clove eyeliner is a beautiful pewter-taupe shade that’s easy and gentle on the eyes.

Colorscience - 25% off sitewide

Credo - 20% off everything until 12/01

Crown Affair - 30% off with a bundle of 3 products - make sure you add a mini hair brush, and the hair towel! Both products have actually changed my entire hair routine and made wash days a ritual to look forward to.

Cyklar - 20% off sitewide and free perfume oil with $80+ - I finally ordered the perfume oil in Sex Musk and Lover’s Leather and the Vanilla Verve body oil

Danessa Myricks Beauty - 30% off sitewide

Dedcool - 30% off sitewide with code XTRANICE until 12/2 - the Milk line is the best of cozy and comforting scents. Milk and Xtra Milk are soft and musky while Mochi Milk is a light and airy sweeter musk, or try all 3 in a mini set. I also love the laundry detergent for a soft, but not overpowering scent on my clothes. For the Dedcool enthusiast, there’s also an advent calender with the best of the brand.

Dermstore - up to 30% off - includes 20% off Elta MD, 25% off Augstinus Bader, 30% off Allies of Skin, and more

Dr. Diamonds Metacine - 20% off sitewide

Dr. Whitney Bowe - 25% off sitewide

Eadem - up to 30% off gift sets - their Le Chouchou balms are my favorite, and the set of all 5 shades is 30% off, as is the skincare duo with their dark spot serum and my current favorite night cream

Educated Mess - 25% off sitewide until 12/1 -

Elemis - 30% off sitewide - I have refound love with their Cleansing Balm (also comes in fragrance free).

Evolve Together - 20% off all hand products - beautiful and minimal hand soaps and creams, and their Havana scent is spicy and woody scent that feels like a warm vacation.

Experiment - 25% off, no code needed, from 11/20-12/2 - the new limited edition tinted balm set looks like neutral perfection!

Finding Ferdinand - 20% off site wide (and stackable with my code STEPHANIE-10) until 12/2 - I love their Black Lip Balm for a sheer kiss of deep berry

Fresh Beauty - 50% off bestsellers, including one of my favorite cleansers, and 30% off sitewide

Furtuna Skin - 30% off sitewide with code OLIVE30

Glossier - 25% off, 30% off $100+ when signed into your account - there are great gift sets like the You Fleur duo with a full + travel size, a set of mini limited edition Cloud Paints, and a duo of Gingersnap and Peppermint Bark Balm Dot Com

Ilia - 20% off (or 25% off with an account) and a free Complexion Stick with every order - their new Soft Focus Blush have really caught my eye lately!

Innbeauty Project - 20% off $50+, or 25% off $100+, 11/21-12/1 - I love their Bright and Tight Eye Cream and stock up on their Extreme Cream, which has a lovely plumping formula

Jones Road Beauty - 10% off, 15% off $75, or 20% off $100+ - the Lip and Cheek sticks are underrated cream blush sticks, and the Shower fragrance is a clean and soapy scent that is the only thing my husband will wear these days

Jouer - up to 40% off sitewide with code BFCM25, 11/21-12/1

KJH Beauty - 20% off, 11/24-12/1 - the Precision Sculpture Stylos are on my list as a multipurpose contour/eyeshadow/lip liner

Kosas - 25% off sitewide - I’m really impressed with their Blush is LIfe blushes, and there’s also a mini blush trio for <$25

Kulfi Beauty - 20% off with code HOLIDAY20, 11/21-12/03 - The Lassi Lips Staining Oil in Tamarind is one of my favorite cooler tones mauve-taupe shades, and I also love the creamy lipstick formula

Laura Mercier - 30% off with code CYBERFIRST - the Caviar Eyeshadow Sticks are still one of the best on the market, and I love the reformulated Tinted Moisturizer, as well as the matte version

Live Tinted 30% off, 35% off $100+, 40% off$175

Living Proof - 25% off, including my absolute holy grail dry shampoo that I always have at least 2 backups of

Maison du Roc - 30% off, no code needed

Maison Louis Marie - 25% off sitewide, no code needed

Make Beauty - 25% off sitewide and 50% off select products, free Heat Stroke Gel Tint with orders $75+ - their makeup is so underrated, and their Gel Cheek Tint, Powder Blush, and their Multi-Chromatic Eyeshadows have a beautiful metallic finish for the holidays. Their eyeshadows sticks also come in fantastic neutrals and they’re 50% off!

Merit - 20% off free blush balm in Cheeky with every order - also includes discontinued products that are on extra sale, like their Matte Lipsticks (Court, Maison, and Equestrian are my favorites!)

Medik8 - 30% off sitewide, no code needed - I swear by their Liquid Peptides, and their Super C Ferulic Serum works just as well for me as that other $200 vitamin C serum.

Milk Makeup - 30% off sitewide

Mother Science - 25% off Molecular Hero, 30% off Retinol Synergist and Molecular Genius - All 3 products are essentials in my routine!

Mutha - 20% off sitewide

Nars - 25% off, or 30% off $150+ and a free gift with $125+

Natasha Denona - 25% off when signed into your account, no code needed

Naturium - 25% off with code VIPCYBER2025 and free Glow-Getter Body Oil with orders $60+

Necessaire - 20% off or 25% off $100+ and free lip balm on all orders - the body lotion and exfoliator are absolute essentials

Nerra - 25% off sitewide, and their body oil is one of my all time favorites

Noyz - 25% off including sets and 50% off body mists

Nudestix - 30% off sitewide

One Skin - 20% off $150+ and up to 30% off

Prequel - 20% off with code BFCM20

Philosophy - 40% off sitewide with code EARLYBIRD40

Refy Beauty - 25% off everything

Remedy Skin - 25% off sitewide

Rituel de Fille - 20% off

Roz Hair - 20% off sitewide

Rephr - sitewide sale and extra 10% off - I’m really enjoying their new Shodo cheek brush, which is great for a soft diffused blush, and my essential pencil brush for my everyday smoky eyeliner is under $15. They also have new eyelash curlers that come in 2 different curvatures, including a flatter shape that is perfect for my eyes.

Sachi Skin - up to 25% off and up to 30% off sets

Saint Jane - 25% off sitewide

Salt and Stone - 20% off, 11/24-12/1 - the Bergamot and Hinoki body wash is one of my all time favorites, and their candles burn cleanly with a great throw

Saks - 15% off beauty until 12/01 - including the Byredo Bibliophilia palette, Mojave Ghost holiday gift set, and Mixed Emotions, my personal favorite Byredo scent.

Saltair - 20% off sitewide

Sarah Creal - 20% off sitewide

Sigma Beauty - 40% off sitewide

Sisley - 20% off, 11/27-12/2 - The Phyto-Rouge Shines are a fantstice balmy lipstick (Cocoa is my favorite!), and the Ultra Tenue Primer is a splurge-worthy primer that keeps my makeup looking fresh and flawless for 12+ hours, while giving me a lifted and plump appearance.

Skinfix - 25% off

Snif - 30% off sitewide - Crumb Couture is my favorite sweet croissant scent, but it’s honestly hard to go wrong with any of their fragrances, candles, and detergents. The Half Baked Pumpkin Smash Candle is also incredible for cozy vibes that scream holidays.

Summer Fridays - 20% off

Superegg - early access 20% off or 25% off $160+ until 12/1

Supergoop - 20% off sitewide, 11/25-12/2

Tatcha - 20% off with code CYBER25 - the Water Cream is a staple in humid weather for my oily skin, and it’s one of my favorite water gel moisturizers I’ve ever used

The Ordinary - 23% off until 12/7 - I love their Peptide Lash and Brow Serum, Caffeine Serum to soothe puffy eyes, and the NIOD Fractionated Eye Concentrate, which I feel has made a difference in how smooth my undereye area looks

The Outset - 25% off sitewide

Tower 28 - 28% off sitewide and free mini LipSoftie with every order

U Beauty – 20% off sitewide

Ulta - new deals every week - right now there’s 30% off some fragrance (and this Snif Crumb Couture set!) and 30% off body mists

Ultra Violette - 20% off sitewide

Urban Decay - 30% off

Victoria Beckham Beauty - 25% off sitewide

Violet Grey - 20% off $250+ - I’ve been lusting over this boozy vanilla Perfumehead fragrance and this is one of the rare places it’s on sale

Violette - 20% off sitewide or 25% off $150+ and 25% off sets- Their Lip Nectar lip stains are one of my favorite products of the year

Westman Atelier - 20% off with up to 40% off sets starting November 25th - The holiday mini lipstick set is now $40, $60 blush duos (retailing for $96),

Ziip - 20% off the ZIIP Halo and 30% off gels with code UNHYPED - this has become a non-negotiable treatment I do every few days to help depuff and lift my face.

Clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry

& Other Stories - 30% off with code VIPBF

Alex Mill - select items on sale - this slightly cropped chunky knit cardigan is the type of cardigan I dream of!!

Anthropologie - 30% off almost everything

Aritzia - 25-50% off and 10% off Super Puff coats - I love the Wider Leg Effortless Pants!

AYR - 50% off sale section (and 20% off from 11/27-12/2)

Baggu - 25% off sitewide - I absolutely adore their reusable bags for impromptu shoppinig and grocery runs and I always have one tucked away in my purses

Cadence - 10% off, up to 30% off with tiered spending - So great for someone who likes to stay organized with toiletries when traveling. I had the first gen of these capsules and just took part in the sale to update my collection!

Catbird - Black Friday sale on most of their jewelry

COS - 40% off select items, like these barrel leg chinos that would be perfect for the office

Cuyana - up to 30% off sale section - this mini bucket bag is the perfect size for carrying daily essentials while still being compact!

Dean Davidson - 25% off with daily deals up to 50% off

Donni - 20% off everything

Everlane - up to 50% off - including 40% off my favorite lightweight cotton barrel pants and long sleeve shirt/sweatshirt, great for people who run hot or warmer climates

Freda Salvador - 25% off

Freja - 25% off 1 bag, 30% off 2 or more bags

Idyl - 20% off dainty diamond earrings and subtle statements

J.Crew - 50% off your purchase - I just bought these stunning pajamas and another pair of the cotton poplin shorts, which are a must for hot sleepers

Jenny Bird - 25% off sitewide (excludes fine jewelry and goodies) - the small Tome hoops are my go-to subtle statement

Jenni Kayne - 25% off sitewide

La Ligne - up to 50% off select items

Leset - 30% off sitewide

Lo and Sons - up to 60% off sitewide, and 20% off their Aoyama bag, my daily go to back that keeps me organized

Madewell - 40% off - They’ve been killing it lately with their bags and shoes, and their curvy denim line fits me perfectly.

Margaux - 20% off - these burgundy snakeprint flats have been on my mind for months

Mejuri - 15% - 30% off $150+ - every product is discounted 15%-30% off, and their zodiac necklace has been on my mind all year and I’ve been waiting for this sale!

Negative - 15% off with code VIP25 - Their whipped baby tee is an at home lounge or travel essential (size up if in between sizes), and their Glace bra actually made me excited about bras again. They’re basic, but a little elevated and a little sexy, and provide a little bit of support while being minimal.

Nike - up to 50% off, and extra 25% off sale - I stock up on my running shoes, workout gear, and swimsuits around this time! These sneakers are also my go to casual sneakers with a bit of metallic accent.

Ozma - 25% off selected items - and this raw silk cardigan is calling my name!

Perfect White Tee - 30% off almost everything

Quince - Cyber Monday deals - I have multiple sets of their Bamboo Viscose sheets, which are light and cooling and a dream for light sleepers

Reformation - 25% off everything

Ring Concierge - 30% off

Rothys - 30% off sitewide

Ruti - 25% off sitewide

Shopbop - 25% off selected items

Sold Out NYC - 25% basics and up to 50% off, no code necessary

Verafield NY - 15% off

HOME + TRAVEL

Appointed - 30% off - they make my favorite notebooks and planners and I’m never without one. This is the best sale of the year to stock up on them.

Away- 25% off - I have 2 of their suitcases and they have held up for several years of steady travel! The carry-on is my go-to for most trips.

Beis - 30% off sitewide

Bose - up to 45% off select products - includes my favorite noise cancelling headphones

Brooklinen - 25% off sitewide, up to 40% off bundles

Monos - 25% off sitewide

Parachute - 25% off sitewide

What are you all planning on shopping? What other deals can I help you find?

Leave a comment

As always, you can find my favorites on ShopMy and keep up with more instant updates on Instagram. Thanks for reading!

My makeup goes through changes every couple of months where I add in something new and rotate something else out, but right now I’m focused on a long-wearing and heat proof routine that holds up in a tropical climate while still incorporating a cozy fall mood in a way that is practical for me right now.

In a temperate east coast 4-season climate, my skin leans anywhere from combo-dry in the winter to combo-oily in the summer, but these days my skin is more on the oily side of combo-oily so even makeup for my light makeup days needs to be locked down and longlasting!

Before we dive in, this is your warning that I am absolutely a makeup maximalist who loves trying products and still creating a natural look that looks deceptively simple. I skip certain steps like highlighter, powder blush, or glitter most days, but I’ve included every single possible step so you get a full deep dive into what I reach for.

Base and Complexion

For a more detailed breakdown of my oily skin base routine, refer to this post!

Primer: Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder for a super blurred and soft matte base that controls oil throughout the day or Ciele Prime and Protect when I want a more grippy base and a natural glow that still doesn’t get greasy.

Skin tint and foundation:

• Fenty Eaze Drops Skin Tint (shade 7) is my most skin tint of the last few months, with light blurring coverage and a long wearing sweat- and transfer-resistant formula. It’s what I reach for if I’ll be out for a whole day and know I won’t be able to touch up my makeup.

• Merit The Uniform Skin Tint (shade 24) and Lisa Eldridge Enhancing Skin Tint (T6 or T9) are interchangeable to me since I find the finish and wear very similar. They are both seamless and very natural looking, with a natural satin finish that doesn’t get too oily after a long day. The one I reach for really depends on the type of texture I feel like applying - Merit feels more like a lotion, while Lisa Eldridge is runnier but also blends slightly quicker.

• Chanel Water Fresh Tint (shade medium) is always in my arsenal for a healthy glow and a no makeup-makeup look. The light water gel texture is cooling and lighweight and the hint of watery tint means I can slap this on after a long night and look instantly refreshed.

• Basma Foundation Stick (shade 27) - for when I want a bit more coverage than a skin tint but don’t want to get too fussy. It also has a very natural satin finish with a longwearing formula that can get me through a 14+ hour day. It’s also a travel favorite because I can apply it on the go and blend with my fingers.

• Surratt Dew Drop (shade 8, use code STEPH15 for 15% off) - It’s also my current go to for special events or nights out because it has a soft luminous finish that makes my skin look flawless while still letting my skin show through. It has excellent lasting power, easily lasting up to 14 hours, and I’ll often add a drop or two of this into my skin tints if I want just a bit more coverage but don’t want to commit to medium coverage.

Corrector: I use a light peach color corrector under my eyes everyday to help counteract my undereye darkness, and I always reach for either Bobbi Brown’s Color Corrector Stick in Light Peach or Exa Beauty’s Peach Corrector if I need a little more coverage.

Concealer - I rotate between 3 depending on what I need that day:

• Tower 28 Swipe Serum Concealer (shade EP) - an easy everyday concealer with medium and natural looking coverage that wears through a usual 10 hour day without any issues,

• Fenty We’re Even Concealer - has just a touch more coverage, and is a little more long lasting. It has a light airy feel but super creamy texture, making it blend well while looking seamless. I wear shade 190W or 210W depending on how much of a tan I have, or 200C for a quick corrector/concealer all in one.

• Westman Atelier’s concealer formula (shade L4)\ - on the higher side of medium coverage and has a thicker consistency so a little goes a long way. I rarely use concealer on my face but if I have any spots, Westman is what I reach for.

Powder

Right now I’m having a moment where I vastly prefer the convenience of a pressed powder. I talked about some of my favorite loose powders in this post!

• Chantecaille Perfect Blur Powder - currently in my project pan so I’m trying to use it up, but it’s fantastic for blurring with light mattifying properties so all the extra shine is taken away without taking away any natural glow.

• Givenchy Prism Libre Pressed Powder (shade 01) - great for a light airy finish and a soft filtering effect. I love this as a touch up powder or for a night out because it makes my pores disappear while being undetectable.

• Gucci Mattifying Face Powder (shade 02) - a great mattifying powder with a little bit of coverage that makes this perfect to mattify and touch up throughout the day. This was recently reformulated to be supposedly longer wearing, though my older version wears all day just fine.

As we move into color products, I only included my current most used and favorite staples. I’m constantly trying and switching up my colors based on my mood but these are what I consider my staple colors.

Bronzer and Contour

For contour I’m almost always using the Westman Atelier Face Trace Contour stick in Biscuit for some natural sculpting without any weird muddiness. I’ve decanted the last bits out from the tube and am nearly finished with it! As for bronzer, I’m currently rotating 3 interchangeably:

• Fara Homidi Essential Bronzer in Lumen for a luminous finish and a golden bronze tone, with a soft suede formula that is a dream to apply.

• Laura Mercier Bronzer Color Infusion in 30 Cannes - the neutral bronze tone and customizable matte or slight shimmer finish make this a great everyday bronzer. I mix both shades together for a light bronze with the slightest shimmer.

• Victoria Beckham Matte Bronzing Brick in 02 - my favorite matte bronzer formula for its super finely milled and blendable formula. It blends easily for an all over bronze and the 02 shade gives me a natural warm that doesn’t look orange at all.

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Blush:

• Rhode Pocket Blush are my most used blushes lately because of their creamy, ultra natural and super long lasting formula, even in humid climates. Sleepy Girl is my every mauve shade, while Toasted Teddy is great for a toasty terracotta reddish-brown look.

• Phytosurgence Skin Spark Blush Balms are always in my regular rotation because they have the best shades that I know will work with everything. Right now I’m reaching for Sear, a midtone rosy beige, the most.

• Merit Flush Balm - the sheer and dewy formula is so easy to apply and blend without ever going overboard so even though they’re not the longest lasting, they’re great to apply when I’m in a rush. I can’t get enough of Lusitano, a true peach that doesn’t turn orange, and Redux, the limited edition muted strawberry red in this holiday trio.

• Honorable mentions of blushes I also regularly use include Victoria Beckham Playground, Nars The Multiple in Dolce Vita, Haus Labs Glassy Cayenne, and Make Heat Stroke in Swelter. No surprises here since I’ve mentioned them all a ton in recent months!

• Westman Atelier Powder Blush Duo - basically the only powder blush I’ve worn lately. Sable/Suede with a warm rosy brown and a sandy beige shade work for most looks I want to wear, though I also reach for Petal/Biscuit for the soft muted pink and contour or Tulle/Ganache for the cool pink blush.

Highlighter:

• Salt New York Beige or Pearl (code UNHYPED10 for 10 off)give me the soft and natural pearly looking highlight that I wear most days, and some days I also like to add Phytosurgence Spectral Shine Balm in Dew of Dawn for a bit of soft luminosity without any noticeable shimmer or shine.

• For a glassier dewy glow, Chanel Baum Essentiel has been a staple for many years. Nothing beats it in terms of adding a bit of controlled glassy glow without adding any shimmer.

Eyeshadow

• Fenty Shadow Stix in Shroom Mate is a perfect slightly warm taupe shadow that lasts through a full day without creasing - though FYI, the cream texture is slightly drier so it may work best for oily eyelids

• Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Sticks are the easiest eyeshadows to use. They’re light, creamy, and blendable, come in a ton of shimmer and matte shades, and also wear all day without fading or creasing. Mocha and Cobblestone are my favorite shades.

• Merit Solo Shadows - I swear by Brun, and despite its deep appearance in the pan, it sheers out to a perfect neutral brown, as well as the newly released Glace, a sheer champagne-rose shade that just leaves a beautiful soft pearly sheen.

• YSL Couture Mini Clutch Eye Palette - stunning soft silky eyeshadows and Over Brun has camel brown shades that are perfect for a warm, but not too warm, fall look. The glitters are also stunning for a more amped up look.

  • Tried and true favorites: I’m also still regularly reaching for my beloved Chanel quad in Clair Contour, which has the perfect neutral matte shades, or the Tarte Tartelette in Bloom Palette for a wider range of neutral mattes. The Dior Poncho palette also remains a trusted staple when I want some subtle shimmer and glimmer.

• Glitter: Patrick Ta Major Dimension Duo are the glitters I can’t stop reaching for when I want a bit of sparkle and shine that is twinkly and glimmery without chunky bits of glitters, while the Danessa Myricks Colorfix Stix are my top pick when I want something more intense

Eyeliner and Mascara

• Lune and Aster Dusk to Dawn eyeliner in Copper is my ride or die for my smokey winged out look. It’s deep enough to give me definition without being too stark, and the formula lasts all day without any smudging or fading.

• YSL Lash Clash Waterproof is back in my rotation and although my curl starts to drop in in the middle of the day in super humid weather, I adore the volume and length it provides without getting clumpy, and it also gets points for never smudging. Heroine Make Super Waterproof Mascara is my ride or die mascara to keep my curl all day.

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Lip products

I tried to be really really really restrained and limit it to the products I’ve reached for in the past few days since I change up a lot of products nearly every day. I also recently shared another post of fall lip colors from a few weeks ago.

Lip Liner

I have an older blog post on my top lip liner formulas that still mostly holds true. Right now, these are the shades I’m constantly reaching for:

• Charlotte Tilbury Iconic Nude - the perfect neutral tone on me that works with every lip color, and subtly sculpts my lips while being super long lasting.

• Chanel Nude Brun - a slightly warmer rosy brown shade that I love with my lips but better shades or underneath lip glosses.

• Fara Homidi Demi - a smooth waxy formula that’s hydrating, and Demi is a berry-brown shade that I can’t get enough of for fall.

• Make Up For Ever Limitless Brown - a deeper milk chocolate brown that pairs with all my brown lipsticks, and it also doubles as eyeliner in a pinch.

• Merit Signature Lip Liner in Archival or Bespoke - Bespoke is a sheer taupish-pinky brown that is a perfect MLBB shade, and Archival is a deeper cool grayish mauve, though I think the set is sadly sold out. Hopefully Archival is added to the full line soon!

Lipstick

I don’t think I could write out every lip product in my rotation right now without talking about 50 lip products, but these are the regular characters I’ve been reaching for:

• Violette Lip Nectar Stain - I still can’t get enough of these, and Rose de Moab is the nude I’ve been reaching for nonstop.

• Violette Bisou Balm in Mon Cheri - gives me the perfect subtle slightly warm red lip in an easy sheer formula

• Kulfi Lassi Lips in Tamarind is that cool mauvey brown that I swoon over and can’t get enough of.

• Dries Van Noten Sheer Lipstick in 05 Graphic Ochre - a recently rediscovered love in small part because of how smooth and lightweight and comfortable this formula is.. The brick tones in this brick-brownish-nude shade make this feel like fall without it feeling heavy.

Lipglosses and balms

• Eadem Le Chouchou Balm - Pain au Chocolate is a handbag staple at the moment, though I could reach for any shade and be happy

• Merit Shade Slick - Archival (limited edition; sold out), Twin Set, and Taupe are my most used at the moment.

Lock it all in with setting spray? I’m still finding the perfect setting spray to replace Urban Decay All-Nighter, and early testing is showing that the Danessa Myricks Liquid Blurring Balm Setting Spray is a strong contender. It’s extremely promising in how it immediately blurs and sets my makeup into a soft matte finish, and I’m impressed at how it seems to hold that soft matte finish in place all day. More updates as I test this one soon!

And that’s the full lineup of every product that’s been earning its spot in my current rotation. It’s the mix that never lets me down, whether I’m going for a quick minimal(ish) everyday look or something a little more polished. I love how this version of my routine still feels me even when I’m adjusting for heat, humidity, and a year round tropical climate.

These routines shift every few months as I test new launches and revisit old loves, but for now, this is the one I trust most. If you’ve tried any of these or have a go-to product that deserves a spot in my next update, I’d love to hear it.

As always, you can shop everything I mentioned on ShopMy and keep up with my latest thoughts on Instagram. Thank you for reading!

As the sale opens up to everyone and continues over the week, please don’t hesitate to bug me with questions or swatch requests! Leave a comment below or message me on Instagram for the quickest responses!

Today we’re covering:

• My favorite brushes available at Sephora

• The best beauty sets

• New launches on my radar

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My Favorite Brushes at Sephora

One of my most frequently asked questions are my favorite brushes - and most of them are not from Sephora. I’m working on a post dedicated to all of my favorite brushes, but here are the ones I use regularly that are available at Sephora:

• Sephora 56 brush (30% off!)- my holy grail cream blush brush that I use for all liquid and cream blushes. I talk about this brush constantly and still get asked about it when I use it. This applies and blends my cream blushes perfectly with a light tapping motion, and the size is just right. It’s small enough to apply just a touch of color, but also big enough to blend out product quickly. I own 3, plus a mini version, and since they all manage to be constantly dirty I think I could still use another one.

• Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation Brush - If I’m not using a beauty sponge to apply my foundation, I’m usually using this, because frankly, sometimes I’m too lazy to wash my sponge. The angled tip helps get foundation in all the little folds and crevices in my skin and the super soft and dense bristles help my foundation blend seamlessly. Foundation brushes in general help give me a little bit more coverage in comparison to a sponge, so I like using this especially when I want a little more coverage.

• Merit Brush No. 1 Complexion Brush - this multitasking brush can do everything from applying and blending foundation, bronzer, and cream blush. Because this is super dense, I find that this works best with more cream rather than liquid textures, so I love using this with my stick or cream foundations. Because this is such a great mutli-tasking product, I often take this in my travel bag. It’s also super soft so it feels like a dream on my face.

• Makeup by Mario F4 Foundation and Face Brush - this dual ended brush is great for light application of cream bronzer and blush. Because it’s not as dense as any of the other brushes on this list, I love this one for a more diffused and sheer application of product. While the blush brush side doesn’t top the 56 brush, the convenience of the double handle makes this an easy brush to reach for when I’m in aa rush.

• Sephora 19 Crease Brush (also 30% off!) - I have plenty of natural hair crease brushes not from Sephora that I love for powder brushes, but this one is specifically great for applying blending liquid shadows like the Armani Eye Tint. However, I find synthetics hair brushes to be better with liquids and creams, and with this, I get a sheer and even wash of color on my eyelids with minimal work and blending. I usually dab on liquid shadow with the doe foot applicator, then blend out the edges with this brush for a quick easy eye look.

I should note that I haven’t found a ton of brushes that are great with powder from Sephora. The only one that’s really caught my eye and seems great for pressed and loose powder is this Saie powder brush. Otherwise, I haven’t come across a powder blush brush or eye brushes that seem to compare to other brushes I already own.

The best sets

Everything I’m considering as a gift and sets I’d gladly receive as gifts as well…

Makeup

• Merit The Archival Set - Mentioning this every chance I get because it’s my ultimate top pick for the sale as a trio of mauvey pink shades for an everyday lip combo. If you’re looking for a wearable pink or a cool muted mauve, this set is perfection.

• Merit The Flush Balm Trio - an impossible to mess up sheer blush formula that includes Redux, a gorgeous sheer strawberry red and limited to this trio. Postmodern is a deep terracotta red and Le Bonbon is a bright cheerful pink. I really appreciate the range of shades you get to branch out to more colorful blush that still looks natural.

• YSL Iconic Pink Make me Blush and Loveshine set - a full size Candy Glaze and blush in their iconic 44 Nude Lavalliere shade for $64 (or $57.60/$54.40/$51.20 depending on your tier), which is actually a good deal even before the 10-20% discount. The Candy Glaze lipsticks are one of my holy grail formulas and the blush is an exceptional silky and blendable powder blush formula.

• Ciele Sugar and Silk blush and highlighter - includes a mini highlighter and a limited edition blush shade that looks like a beautiful mauve. This is one of the few liquid blush formulas that I enjoy because of its blendability and lasting power. I love to mix their blushes and highlighters together for a slightly luminous blush combo.

• Glossier Mini Cloud Paint Trio - this mini trio features all new shades, including 2 shimmer shades that all look wearable. These blushes last so long that the mini tubes are all that anyone really needs, anyway.

• Eadem Le Chouchou Bisous Set - all the permanent shades of my all time favorite balm formula that would be great for a gift but they’re so irresistible I wouldn’t blame you if you kept them for yourself. Note: if you’re not Rouge and eligible for the 20% off, BEAUTYUNHYPED15 gets you 15% off all year on the Eadem website.

• Make Up For Ever Mini Artist Color Pencils - these pencils are my staples as lip liner or eyeliner, and this set features all of my most used shades in a mini format.

• Nars Mini Multiple Set - great to try out a few shades of the new Multiple formula, and includes Dolce Vita, the cult classic goes with everything mauve shade.

• Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Petite Trio - the Westman Atelier blush formula is longlasting while coming in a very easy to wear range of neutrals and pinks. This set contains Jam, a new raspberry pink shade, and 2 bestsellers: Petal and Chouchette. If I didn’t already have Petal or Chouchette I would definitely pick up this trio.

• Westman Atelier Mini Lip Suede Lipstick Trio - this set is tempting me so much, with minis of Ma Biche, a shade I’ve always wanted to try, Je Reve, a beautiful rosy mauve, and the limited edition Elodie, which looks like a gorgeous berry.

• Ole Henrikson Pout Preserve Mini Set - these mini lip treatments are a great way to try the formula and shades! Citrus Sunshine (clear) and Strawberry Sorbet (pink) are my 2 favorite shades and scents.

• YSL Lash Clash Duo - my favorite luxury mascara and this duo is $46 for 2 full size mascaras, and even with a 10% discount, that brings it down to $20 a tube, which puts it into the mid-range price range that’s must easier to swallow than the normal $34. This formula does it all to lengthen and volumize without smudging on me.

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Fragrance

• 4ever Mini Perfume set - I’ve always been curious about 4ever mood fragrances, and really like them whenever I try them in store. These minis are adorable mini bottles and are a great way to try out the scents.

• Glossier You Fleur Set - includes a full size and mini for the price of a full size bottle, and Fleur is my favorite flanker of You to wear day to day. It’s still a skin scent, but has slightly juicy apricot notes that lift the musky notes of You a little bit.

• Phlur Mini Perfume Sampler Set - includes my 3 favorite Phlur scents - Father Figure, Missing Person, and Vanilla Skin, in mini form with sprayers (!!!). Rose Whip is not my personal favorite but I know many people who love it so it’ll be easy to add this to some holiday gifts.

• Dedcool Mini Milk Trio - Milk is my favorite line from Dedcool, and this set has minis of Milk, Xtra Milk, and Mochi Milk, which is the holy trinity of musky, soft, and comforting scents.

Body

• Necessaire Body Wash Discovery Collection - one of my favorite body washes (right alongside the Salt and Stone formula) and this mini set is an easy way to try all the scents or for travel.

• Necessaire Mini Olibanum set - the Olibanum scent is a delicious and comforting vanilla musky scent and this set has a mini of the deodorant, body wash, and lotion to layer the scent.

New and on my radar

I’ve already purchased a couple in my first order, such as the new shade of the Patrick Ta Major Dimension Eyeshadows and the Mocha shade of the Refy Beauty Satin Lipstick Pen, a new creamy liquid lipsticks look absolutely stunning.

Here’s what else I’m intrigued about and still considering, and if you have any of these and can help me make a decision, I’m all ears!!

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Makeup:

• Danessa Myricks Yummy Matte Mattifying Setting Spray - Danessa Myricks is one of the best brands for oily skin, which is why I’m so excited to see a setting spray come from the brand. It was sent to me in PR and it’s on its way to me already otherwise it would be in my cart!

• Dior Rouge Dior On Stage Lipstick - the shade Iconic Rose has been haunting me for a little while and the longwearing shiny finish has me intrigued.

• Fenty Gloss Bomb Rose Amber - this cool taupe brown lip gloss came out in the oil formula earlier this spring, and I absolutely fell in love with the shade. The lip oil is a comfortable lighter formula but I think I still prefer the OG gloss bomb formula.

• Glossier Cloud Paint Plush Blush - I’m curious about the cushiony dry cream formula of these blushes and I’ve heard a lot of good things about their lasting power. I like some of the shades, especially Gale, but I’m not dying to try any of them. If anyone has thoughts to sway me towards a shade or talk me out of them I’m all ears!

• Givenchy Prism Libre Bronzing Powder - I love the powder so much for how silky and smooth it is, and I’m curious what this would be like in a bronzer formula! I imagine it would be a sheer but blendable natural type of feel. I have plenty of bronzers so I’m holding off for the moment but I would love to feel this in person.

• Gucci Glow Gel-Powder Highlighter - I love the lightweight gel-powder formula of this highlighter (I have the shade 04 Opal Pink), and the the new limited edition Artic Pink shade looks stunning!

• Violette Plume Lip - trust me I have not overlooked this new supposedly feather light and comfortable matte liquid lip from Violette. I received them in PR and they’re still on their way to me (via a friend in the US), so I’m just very delayed on trying them. But I’m eagerly awaiting getting my little hands on these since I’ve heard rave reviews about the unique texture.

Fragrance:

• Lore is a new fragrance brand that looks stunning and Somewhere but Nowhere sounds like a stunning woody-spicy-creamy fragrance, with notes of cedar, cardamom, and vanilla cream. These hit the major fragrance notes that I like and sounds like such a comforting fragrance.

Skincare:

• Experiment World is now at Sephora and I’ve always been curious about their products, especially the Experiment Softwear Lip Treatment and Buffer Jelly. I should be getting a couple of their products to try in PR so I haven’t added any to my basket for now!

• Innbeauty Project launched a new gel moisturizer and I’m so intrigued by it! I think they’ve been doing some really interesting things with their skincare and this looks like a great option for my oily skin.