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Honest Beauty Everything Cream Foundation and Honestly Bright Eyes Tinted Eye Cream: A Sheer Base and Concealer Combo for a Natural Look

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honest beauty cream foundation bright eyes tinted eye cream
Current sheer base situation: Honest Beauty Everything Cream Foundation and Honestly Bright Eyes Tinted Eye Cream

Connor Claire has been home with me this week for winter break, so I’ve been relying on these two base products from Honest Beauty because, if you’re in the mood for something cruelty-free and easy with very sheer coverage, check ’em out! They’re in the permanent line.

Honest Beauty Everything Cream Foundation, $21.99

This demi-matte cream foundation comes in a compact with a sponge, which you can use to sheer them out or build them up from sheer to medium coverage. As for myself, I have dry cheeks and an oily t-zone, and this foundation does really well on the oily patches. It also does well on my dry cheeks, as long as I keep it sheer there. When I build it up on dry skin, the formula latches onto any dry flakes.

I think if you are going to wear this strictly as a sheer base, you should be fine no matter what your skin type, but if you’re going for something with more coverage and you’ve got a lot of natural texture via flakes and whatnot, something like MAC Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation Stick would be a better.

Everything Cream Foundation is available in 12 shades:

  • Snow — fair, warm undertones
  • Shell — cool peachy undertones
  • Vanilla — light-tan with warm undertones
  • Bisque — light-medium with peachy undertones
  • Beige — medium with cool undertones
  • Camel — medium with warm undertones
  • Amber — medium-tan with cool undertones
  • Honey — medium-deep with neutral undertones
  • Almond — medium-deep with cool undertones
  • Cocoa — deep with cool undertones
  • Walnut — deep with neutral undertones
  • Espresso — deep-dark with cool undertones

I’m an NC42 in MAC, and Camel is my shade match in this line.

Basically, this stuff is fab if you have oily skin and like a sheer base, with the option of dialing up the coverage.

Honestly Bright Eyes Tinted Eye Cream, $23.99

This tinted eye cream is packed with hyaluronic acid and has a subtle pearly finish. It brightens your under-eye area but doesn’t look heavy and doesn’t exaggerate any fine lines. I’m at the point in my makeup life where under-eye concealer is a tricky subject…because if I put too much on, I end up looking older than I am, but if I don’t use enough, I look really tired… With this product, I get a good amount of brightening and coverage, and I can get there without the obviousness of traditional concealer. It’s genius! — however, there’s one MAJOR downside.

It only comes in two shades. 🙁 BOO. I’m wearing the lighter shade, Sandstone, right now, but by late spring and early summer, I’ll probably end up having to mix some Terracotta, the darker shade, into it.

The final verdict? This is really good, guys, especially if you’re in the 40+ camp like I am, and you don’t need your under-eye concealer to cover you like a thick blanket.

Just wish it came in more shades!

honest beauty everything cream foundation camel honey
The two shades closest to my tan skin tone (I’m an NC42 in MAC) are Honey and Camel. Camel is currently a better fit.
honest beauty everything cream foundation camel after
I’m wearing Everything Cream Foundation in Camel and Honestly Bright Eyes Tinted Eye Cream in Sandstone.
honest beauty everything cream foundation camel before
Obligatory before shot without any makeup!

honest beauty cream foundation bright eyes tinted eye cream

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Urban Decay Stay Naked Threesome in Naked

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urban decay stay naked threesome top
One of THE BEST things Urban Decay makes IMO, hands down!

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

I’m totally over pervy names for beauty products (Anyone else? I feel like it’s just lazy language!), but the Urban Decay Stay Naked Threesome is one of the best everyday products in the entire line, so I just shake my head, accept the perviness, and call it my favorite bronzer-blush-highlighting palette instead.

This trio of fab face powders comes in light, medium and dark options. I use the medium one called…wait for it…Naked.

UD often has a well-deserved rep for bold bling-bling products, but this palette is surprisingly subdued. It’s really a workhorse because it removes the guesswork from picking products for perfectly flushed cheeks.

Naked includes a warm medium golden bronzer (don’t worry, it’s not too orange) with a soft sheen finish, a warm golden beige highlighter with a pearly finish, and a matte warm pink blush.

urban decay stay naked threesome swatch
I’m an NC42 in MAC.

The delicate powders have a dainty, Chanel-esque quality when they’re on my cheeks, which I love (ya girl cannot do overly aggressive powdery powders now that her pores have been ballooned due to age she’s older/wiser ?). All three are pigmented, too, yet I can still blend and smooth any edges with ease.

More to love…

  • The colors last all day.
  • Vegan
  • Sturdy, secure packaging with a big mirror (Side note: It does not include a brush, which I’m cool with because I end up using my own anyway.)
  • Works great with both warm and cool lip colors — particularly pinks, reds and corals.
  • Bronzer and highlighter can double as a eyeshadows in a pinch.
urban decay stay naked threesome
I’m wearing the bronzer, blush and highligheter.

Oh, and if you’re feeling too lazy to do a separate blush, bronzer and highlighter, just swirl all three powders together with a large face brush, and blend a light layer over bare cheeks or your favorite tinted moisturizer. Magic, I tell ya!

Naked is totally worth the coveted space in your everyday makeup bag. It’s $36, and you can find it now in the Urban Decay permanent line.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

New Urban Decay Stay Naked Hydromaniac Tinted Glow Hydrator: Long-Lasting Hydration in a Skin-Like Base

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urban decay hydromaniac
There’s a new base in town.

I was perusing the list of ingredients for Stay Naked Hydromaniac Tinted Glow Hydrator, Urban Decay’s latest foray into moisturizing foundations, and I started getting thirsty! It contains fermented black tea, also known as kombucha (which is such a great word, isn’t it?) and ginger extract (for skin brightening) — both which sound like the start of zesty afternoon drink that you’d pour over ice and squeeze a wedge of lemon into.

AHHH, delicious!

Urban Decay has a new hydrating, long-wearing base with a luminous finish called Stay Naked Hydromaniac Tinted Glow Hydrator. It has some pretty ingredients for brightening and moisturizing, like kombucha, marula and argan oil, and ginger extract. It comes in 12 shades that are $29 each (1.1 ounces), and you can grab it now on the Urban Decay website.

INGREDIENTS (INGRÉDIENTS): AQUA / WATER / EAU, PHENYL TRIMETHICONE, DICAPRYLYL ETHER, GLYCERIN, TRIETHYLHEXANOIN, CETYL PEG/PPG-10/1 DIMETHICONE, DEXTRIN MYRISTATE, HYDROGENATED STYRENE/METHYLSTYRENE/INDENE COPOLYMER, PEG-8, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, PENTYLENE GLYCOL, POLYGLYCERYL-4 ISOSTEARATE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, PHENOXYETHANOL, DISODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE, CHLORPHENESIN, ETHYL MENTHANE CARBOXAMIDE, SACCHAROMYCES/XYLINUM/BLACK TEA FERMENT, ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-T-BUTYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE, TOCOPHEROL, HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE, ARGANIA SPINOSA KERNEL OIL, SCLEROCARYA BIRREA SEED OIL, ZINGIBER OFFICINALE ROOT EXTRACT / GINGER ROOT EXTRACT, SODIUM CITRATE, CITRIC ACID, POTASSIUM SORBATE, BIOTIN. [+/- (MAY CONTAIN / PEUT CONTENIR): CI 77891 / TITANIUM DIOXIDE, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 / IRON OXIDES]. (D250959/1)

Hydromaniac is Urban Decay’s latest foray into skin-like bases, and it’s designed as a medium-coverage product to even out skin tone and freckles ever-so-slightly, although it can be layered for full coverage). The lightweight liquid foundation moisturizes with marula and argan oils while leaving a luminous, natural-looking finish behind.

urban decay hydromaniac 50
I’m wearing 50 underneath my eyes, on my cheeks and in the center of my forehead. The lipstick is Urban Decay Menace, and the blush/bronzer/highlighter is the Urban Decay Stay Naked Threesome palette in Naked.
urban decay hydromaniac 50
The obligatory “before” pic

The luminosity isn’t “blinged out” to the extreme, so you don’t get a high-shine pearl, a la Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter. This is more like the subtlest sheen. It’s comparable to medium-coverage tinted moisturizers like Skin Feels Good by Lancôme and Ultra Repair Tinted Moisturizer by First Aid Beauty. If you like either of those, you’ll probably dig Hydromaniac too… Well, that is, if you can find a shade that matches your skin.

I’m STILL a MAC NC42 after all these years, and I’ve ended up with 50 Medium Warm, which is a little bit too light for me to haphazardly blend all over my entire face, but I can wear it under my eyes, on my cheeks and down the center of my forehead, which is where I like the most coverage anyway. It has a minor highlighting effect on my face, too, which I like. I just have to really buff out the edges to prevent any obvious lines of demarcation where the product fades into my jawline and up into the the perimeter of my forehead.

A few more things of note…

  • Pore blurring: Hydromaniac has a minor blurring effect, which I think is lovely.
  • Long wearing: Urban Decay calls it a “24HR” formula, and to remove it, I do need to do a double cleanse with an oil-based cleanser first, followed by CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser afterward.
  • No SPF: Many similar lightweight foundations/tinted moisturizers contain SPF, but Hydromaniac does not.
  • Vegan formula: Yup, it’s vegan. ?
urban decay hydromaniac 50 swatch
Medium Warm 50

Bottom line, I like the interesting ingredients, and I appreciate that Urban Decay is offering something for people who prefer less coverage than full. My skin still looks like my skin, and I love how I don’t feel it sitting on top of my face. It’s very comfortable! I’d say that there’s also a good amount of moisture, but I wouldn’t rely on this as my one-and-only face moisturizer.

The only thing is…I sure do wish there were more shades. If you can find one that works for you, I say go for it!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

Product Spotlight: Wander Beauty Trip for Two Blush and Bronzer Brush

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wander beauty trip for two blush bronzer brush
This brush is a makeup bag staple.

This $34 dual-ended blush and bronzer brush by Wander Beauty gets used daily! It’s a workhorse. It never sheds, and it beautifully blends all manner of formulas and products. It’s also cruelty-free (a big plus). A makeup bag must!

Calling all students, moms (cat and otherwise), and basically any and everyone who loves makeup but doesn’t care to fuss too much about it. Wander Beauty’s Trip for Two Blush and Bronzer Brush is your new BFF (best face friend).

If you’re unfamiliar with Wander Beauty, they’re a fairly small cruelty-free beauty brand all about fast, fresh, easy makeup, and that sums up this brush in a nutshell. It’s designed for use with bronzer and blush, but I lean on it for my entire face base, and no matter what I throw at it, it handles it with ease and grace.

wander beauty trip for two blush bronzer brush head
A closer look at the blush brush

It adeptly blends liquid and cream foundations and tinted moisturizers without leaving streaks behind. Cream blush, powder blush, gel blush, bronzer or highlighter — this brush fabulously feathers them all with gradients that transition seamlessly from light to dark. It makes it easy to do my entire base from start to finish. I just clean it gently between products by running the bristles across a paper towel.

The bristles, by the way, are synthetic…which I know some makeup lovers have a love/hate relationship with because, over time, synthetics can stiffen up. That said, this brush is just as soft today as it was the first time I used it, and I’ve been using it pretty much every time I put on makeup for a few months.

Did I mention that the bristles don’t shed?! Good stuff!

I really like the size of both brush heads too. They’re just right. They cover a good amount of space on my face, but they aren’t awkwardly big, so I don’t accidentally end up with bronzer or blush in places they don’t belong.
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Product Spotlight: It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare

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it cosmetics your skin but better foundation skin care 1
Well this is a gem!

This is GREAT stuff! I haven’t been this excited about a base product in eons. If you’re into a natural matte look and want a foundation that covers juuust enough, It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare is so on the money.

OK, I get it. Everyone’s masked up, we’re in a pandemic, hardly anyone’s been wanting to wear makeup, myself included, but I’ve been falling back into my face painting groove lately, and part of the reason is because of this new foundation from It Cosmetics.

It handles basically every lighting and photography situation I’ve throw it. It makes my skin look dayum good, if I do say so myself, AND IT FEELS LIKE NOTHING ON MY FACE!

Here’s Tan Warm 42.5 in natural daytime light, without any powder or primer, with a 10-minute makeup look. The eyeshadow is the Urban Decay Born to Run Palette; the blush is Charlotte Tilbury Ecstasy; and the lipstick is NUDESTIX Mystic, in case you’re wondering.

Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare is a medium-coverage liquid foundation with a very natural looking matte finish. If you want enough coverage to even out areas of pigmentation and redness, along with some minor pore blurring, but you don’t need to hide everything and the kitchen sink, it’s perfect.

Lazy ladies who still lurve wearing makeup now, this one’s for you, because there’s no trickery required to get it to look nice. I do one pump, and then use my fingers to rub and work it in. Then I quickly blend with a skunk brush, and that’s it. You don’t need a primer underneath it or a powder to set it, either. Use it all by itself, and it stays put all day long (yup, even with a mask on).

For reference, I have combo skin. It’s dry on my cheeks and around my mouth, and oily on my forehead and my nose, and this foundation handles all of the various areas well.

I think it also looks good where I have “experience lines.”

it cosmetics your skin but better foundation skin care natural light blues
Here it is in indoor natural light.
it cosmetics your skin but better foundation skin care natural light green look
Here’s the foundation in outdoor natural light.

I will say that if you’re extremely oily, you’ll probably want to set it with a light dusting of powder. I wouldn’t go too heavy with it though because this foundation’s ability to look like real skin is its superpower, and using a whole mess of powder will just undermine that magic anyway.

Also, it’s super lightweight, which I probably should’ve said right at the beginning, LOL! The formula is on the thinner side, much like Dior Nudeskin Air, so it’s featherweight and feels like nothing, which is actually the reason I started wearing it. After months of barely wearing any base, I have absolutely no tolerance for face products that feel heavy, and this one feels like nothing at all.

It’s available now at Ulta in 40 colors (hello, Fenty effect) for $39.50 each for a 1-oz. glass bottle with a pump. Oh, and speaking of colors, I wear it in Tan Warm 42.5 (but will switch to Tan Warm 41 once my toasty summer tan disappears in month or two), and this is the first time I’ve ever been able to wear an It Cosmetics foundation without having to mix it with something else. Seems like they FINALLY figured out that not every “tan” or “medium” shade has to have a sh*t-ton of peach undertones, and both Tan Warm 42.5 and 41 are pretty good matches for warm skin with yellow undertones.
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Product Spotlight: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Tinted Moisturizer

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first aid beauty ultra repair tinted moisturizer tan
LOVE IT! I wear the shade Tan (I’m an NC42 in MAC and a Honey Bronze in Estée Lauder, for reference).

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Tinted Moisturizer ($28 for a 1-oz. tube) is fantastic tinted moisturizer with a satin finish, especially if you don’t like the sensation of heavy, thick makeup on your face. The fluffy mousse (feels very similar to the NARS Hydrating Glow Tints that came out a few summers back) feels fab and blends away everything with barely a touch — pores, pigmented patches, red areas. If you just want a little something to even out your skin tone, and you want it to be something you can quickly do with your fingers and without a brush, this is it!

From sephora.com:

  • Vegan, cruelty-free, and gluten-free
  • Colloidal Oatmeal: Helps calm and soothe dry or distressed skin.
  • Hyaluronic Acid: Supports skin’s natural moisture content, helps skin appear smoother, and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
  • Vitamin E: Provides antioxidants, helps condition and soothe skin and stave off environmental aggressors.
  • Micro-Pearls: Finely milled minerals with light-reflecting properties that amplify skin’s natural radiance for a beautifully luminous effect.
  • Avobenzone 3%, Octinoxate 7.5%, Octisalate 5%, Octocrylene 7.5%: Sunscreen.

Ingredients
Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Glycerin, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Cetyl Dimethicone, Polysorbate 60, Butylene Glycol, Hexyl Laurate, Colloidal Oatmeal, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract, Carbomer, Tribehenin, Limonene, Tetrasodium EDTA, Aminomethyl Propanol, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil, Allantoin, Sodium Ascorbate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Chrysanthemum Parthenium (Feverfew) Extract. May Contain (+/-): Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492, Ci 77499, Ci 77491), Mica.

Now, the shade selection is somewhat limited by today’s standards… There are only 10 shades available, but at least there’s a nice variety of undertones represented, including pink, neutral and olive, so it’s a decent selection overall.

It’s made for normal, dry and combination skin types, but it’s supposed to be particularly good for people with sensitive skin. I’m combo oily and dry, with a tendency to break out when “Aunt Flo” visits, and my skin has been great with it so far. I just use it on its own — no primer underneath — and I skip the setting powder.

If you ever find that you need extra coverage with it, just grab a good liquid concealer and mix it in.

I like to apply a thin layer of Tan (First Aid Beauty’s equivalent of a MAC NC42) all over my face, let it dry for a minute or two, and then I’ll place another dollop of Tan on the back of my hand, which I’ll then mix with a little bit of a fuller-coverage liquid concealer, like Kevyn Aucoin Supernatural (works great for this!).

Then I’ll gently buff the tinted moisturizer-concealer mix with a tapered eye brush on specific spots on my cheeks and around my nose and mouth. Together that will stay put and work for the day.

If you’ve tried the tinted moisturizers by Laura Mercier or It Cosmetics and liked everything about them except the coverage (because you wanted more), I think you’ll love it…assuming you can find a shade that works for you!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Product Spotlight: MAC Opalescent Powder in Rising Star, From the New Starring You Holiday 2019 Collection

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mac rising star
Shoot for the Stars, Rising Star!

This Rising Star from MAC ? is shooting straight to the top of my list of “Best of the Best Makeup to Wear With MAC Teddy.”

(Wait…doesn’t everyone keep that list around?)

Of all the things in the new MAC Starring You holiday makeup collection (which is the sub-collection of makeup within the mega collection of LE holiday items, including the kits and palettes), warm golden Rising Star ($36) face powder is the 1) most wearable eye product IMO, and 2) the kindest to fine lines, which makes it the star of the show in my book.

And, oh yeah, it looks amazing when you wear it with MAC Teddy! (Totally key.)

Rising Star is a warm golden pressed powder in the MAC Opalescent Face Powder fam. It’s a pressed powder with finely-spun grains of granulated powder that practically float atop your skin, and it’s designed to be worn as a highlighter.

Are you familiar with the Hourglass Ambients? If so, MAC’s Opalescent Face Powders are very similar in terms of texture and finish, but with slightly higher shine.

As a highlighter, it gives cheeks a soft, subtle candlelit glow…but I like to take my cues from MAC artists who use it as an eyeshadow! That’s where I think it really shines (pun intended).

I buff it on top of my lids with a MAC 217, and it automatically adds a glam “Charlotte Tilbury-ness” to my lids, especially when I wear it atop a base of MAC Teddy liner.

It’s an easy and elegant eye look, which is totally my style, and best of all, the powder lasts all day. I wore this eye makeup to the bakery the other day, and it stayed put for a solid 14 hours!

mac rising star k
Rising Star Powder layered on top of a base of MAC Teddy liner
mac rising star look
Makeup worn in this look

Makeup in this look

  • Eyes: MAC Teddy (base), MAC Rising Star (lids), Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow (crease), MAC Extended Play Perm Me Up Lash (lashes), MAC Concrete and It Cosmetics Prow Power (brows)
  • Base: Estee Lauder Double Wear mixed with Becca Backlight Priming Filter
  • Cheeks: NARS Amour (this looks really great with MAC Smoked Almond lipstick)
  • Lips: Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk, MAC Smoked Almond, NARS Chelsea Girls

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Feel the Ecstasy With Charlotte Tilbury: Cheek to Chic Swish & Pop Blusher in Ecstasy

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charlotte tilbury ecstasy
Next stop: Ecstasy…

I can’t wear Charlotte Tilbury Ecstasy blush without thinking of mid-90s club banger Set U Free.

The way the lead singer breathlessly enunciates the word, “ecstasy,” about a billion times…

Welcome to the decade of my formative years.

Anywho…while I like how long this satiny, peachy pink blush stays on my cheeks, the main thing I love about $40 Ecstasy blush is that I can get it on my cheeks in three minutes, which is about how much time I typically have while Coy-Coy uses the potty, so I can walk out the front door looking like I actually slept eight hours and stretched my hamstrings in the morning. (In other words, with a spring in my step!)

charlotte tilbury ecstasy
Wearing both the shades mixed together

Charlotte recommends doing your blush last to best gauge how little or how much you need, and I agree.

So, here’s my Ecstasy three-minute makeup routine:

Don’t you love easy makeup? ? And don’t you also love it when Charlotte refers to blush as “blusher”?! (Or am I the only one?)

Charlotte designed Ecstasy (and this goes for all of her blushes) to be used as part of a two-step process. First, you swish the outer ring on your cheekbones to sculpt and shape, and then blend the brighter center shade on the apples of your cheeks for some color.

Of course…I usually end up swirling both colors together with a blush brush, and that works just fine for me.

charlotte tilbury ecstasy
Say what, Karen? You’re an NC42?

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