The Beautylish Gift Card Event in ongoing! If you make your purchase during this event, you’ll earn a $20 digital gift card for every $100 spent. This year the event starts on October 21st @ 9 AM PT and ends on October 24th @ 11:59 PM PT, still a bit of time left so I wanted to share what I ordered recently, what I received and what I am planning to get! My “strategic” planning of a splurge thoroughly premeditated 😀
Some items will need a dedicated post which I will do but I can already share some first impressions in case it helps.
A lot of my essentials come from Beautylish and since they are doing this event now, today I wanted to filter my wishlist based on products that they carry, just to see if I needed anything other than what I recently purchased or received from them! My wishlist or shopping list is categorized in three sections today:
- Essentials that need restock
These are the basic products that are in my daily rotation and that I need to repurchase, when I run out, I notice immediately how much I miss them, my makeup routine is just not the same without them! - WishlistÂ
These are also essentials but they not necessarily part of my daily routine, they can wait a little bit but I will definitely purchase them, either at the launch or shortly afterwards. - Special treats Â
These are the products that I really want to buy but they are not necessarily products I will use regularly, more on special occasions. It’s great to have a little help (Beautylish Gift Card event or a sale for example), since it’s a bit more difficult to justify the splurge.
The last Gift Card Event from Beautylish was in March this year, you can read my post here if you wish to see my picks at that time. I just want to say that if you love brushes, the Hachiko Kabuki Brush that I mentioned is back in stock and that brush is worth every penny! It’s made in Kumano, with saikoho bristles, it’s really done by the best and you are getting a lot for this price as these brushes are usually much more pricey.
But let’s see what is (or what was…) on my recent shopping list:
THE ESSENTIALS FIRST!
Denona Face Glow Foundation: and it’s on sale… it kind of scares me that it’s on sale… I hope this foundation is not going to be discontinued!!! I wanted to try the Chantecaille Tinted Moisturizer and the Surratt Dew Drop, I was interested in these two and I was curious to see if I could switch to any of these two in case I have no choice. I asked Beautylish if they could match me with the shade and they sent me the two products for my consideration, the shade match is excellent.
I am NW20-25 in Mac, I have received the Surratt Dew Drop in shade 4 and the Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted moisturizer in Vanilla, they both adapt to my skin tone when applied. In comparison to the Denona, they look much lighter and yellower but they do work very well, I think I prefer a foundation that is just very slightly darker and more neutral but they adapt nicely on my skin.
My skin is extremely dry, it’s not a typical dry condition, it’s very bad and has been caused by a health problem I had when I was a child, it’s very difficult to find a foundation that can work for me, or even a moisturizer. It’s unfair for the brands that I review foundations due to my condition because 99.9999% of them wont work at all even though they are really great. I have seen doctors to help me improve the condition of my skin for many years but so far nothing helped. I am starting a new treatment next week with “Epogam” in case you know what it is. Let’s see! This week we also finally added a water softener in our water system, I think this will help. If you are interested to know how it goes after those changes, I will do a dedicated post because it will be a long report.
There is another challenge when it comes to the foundations I use, the moisturizer that I wear underneath is very greasy, some foundations tend to slide away and not adhere properly. If I wait too long after my moisturizer application before applying my foundation, even the best and more “hydrating” foundation for me is going to look too cakey, it will emphasize the dry patches, the wrinkles and facial hair or fuzz and won’t look good at all.
The Denona Face Glow foundation is amazing, it really is, I apply a light layer of foundation but it’s enough to tone down the redness and even out the skin, the skin looks like it’s glowing and like it doesn’t have any foundation on. People always tell me that they think I am not wearing foundation at all, but trust me, if I remove it you will see a huge huge difference!
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Since they are both a great shade match I wear Surratt on the right and Chantecaille on the left side of the face, I did this 2 days in a row (I just received them).
The Chantecaille Tinted Moisturizer is close to the Denona in coverage, once it sets, the Denona looks more dewy and the Chantecaille sets as if I used an invisible mattifyer, not cakey but no dewyness. This Chantecaille does not agree with the moisturizer that I use (Laura Mercier Repair), it moves and gets patchy. However, if I use a different moisturizer (Nescens Lipid-Replenishing cream) the results are great, the Chantecaille is great but it doesn’t work with the base that I love to use for day long comfort.
The Laura Mercier is the only moisturizer that provides this comfort. Any other moisturizer will feel unconfortable after a 4 hours wear.
The Surratt Dew Drop is more stable than the Chantecaille on top of my rich moisturizer, it doesn’t move, stays put, it has a more matte finish on my skin but unfortunatelly it slightly catches on some of the dry patches. I love this coverage though, really very much, it gives me such a great canvas for when I wear more bold looks. I have to try this foundation again when my dry patches are less of a problem. If I need to attend a meeting or something, I can wear it but I could not wear it for a long period of time.
I will do a review post about these two foundations, comparing them to Denona and showing you the different results with pictures.
I absolutely wanted to repurchase the Wayne Goss Waterproof mascara and the Surratt Grisaille blush but they are out of stock so I will have to wait for those.
I also want to buy the Wayne Goss Coral Rose blush and the Pearl palette as a gift for a friend. Some of my close friends are my age and love make-up, but they are afraid of it! I know that with this Pearl palette they will feel comfortable and have a lot of fun! Pearl is my favorite palette from Wayne Goss, I am totally in love with these elegant sexy shades, unfortunatelly it’s out of stock at the moment but I will not miss it when it’s back!
I had to repurchase the Charlotte Tilbury First Love blush a few days ago because I lost mine last month, I didn’t wait for the event, sometimes I just can’t think reasonably and I have no patience 😀 I have a million blushes and yet this one beats them all in terms of favorite shade , I love a neutral, youthful shade that I can use to blush and to give just a bit more coverage or a bronzed type of flush. I know I will hit pan for the 10x time so I may as well get another one and keep it in the safe 😀
I use the Danessa Waterproof palette regularly, for sure always when I go out… I use only two shades at the moment but they are now essentials to me!! I use these two shades like a sculpting foundation on top of my regular foundation, it adds more coverage and dimension at the same time. It looks like skin, absolutely doesn’t catch on any of my dry patches, doesn’t disturb anything, it’s a joy to use! BUT, this time, I decided that instead of buying this palette with the 6 pans, I would buy the individual cream products that she has and see if they can replace those two shades in the big palette.
With that in mind, I have already ordered and received the Balm Contour Light 2 but it doesn’t look at all like the shades on the palette, so I also just ordered the Balm Contour Light 1 and the Power Bronzer in Light. As soon as I receive them, I will do a review! Did you try these?
DM Waterproof Cream Palette and Balm Contour
WISHLIST MUST HAVES
I am so curious to know what is on your wishlist!
My wishlist always contains Denona shadows! Her recent launch, the Retro palette, is breathtaking and something I can use on a daily basis and all of the shades! If you are a purple lover, this is going to be a spectacular must have! I love that there is a very light, a cool medium and a dark matte shade and lots of stunning shimmers to play with in between! Since I have two palettes already I won’t buy another one but this is such a great opportunity to get it!
She also just launched the Baby Glam, it’s so cute!  Minis are always in my radar, they are so functional, super easy to carry and adorable!
Since I really love small palettes with a lot pans, Viseart has the Etendu palettes, so many different shades in one big little palette and you can switch the shades and create your very own customized palette if you wish to! My recent purchase was the Cashmerie, I am really into purples so I love the beautiful wearable possibilities with this one!
It was on my wishlist but I ordered it before the Beautylish Gift Card Event… 😀
I have little empty compacts to mix Denona and Viseart and only carry what I need!
I also received recently the Chantecaille Blur powder, due to my problematic skin I can only use the tiniest amount of powder and it has to be the most strategy placement. I really wanted to see if this powder could work for me, it does, I can use it only on very small areas (on concealer and between the eye brows and on the forehead) and it’s true that pores just disappear with it! The main purpose of this powder for me is to use it on the lids before applying eyeshadow. I find that the shadows crease less and stay put for much longer!
SPECIAL TREATS
I also received from Beautylish as PR the Tom Ford Naked Pink palette, I really wanted to get it because when I saw it, I thought it looked similar to my favorite Suqqu palette (Kousetsouka) and because I love this Suqqu so much, I thought I would love the Tom Ford too!
… but actually, they aren’t that similar. 
There are some things that I love about this palette and others that are a bit annoying…
Pros:
The glittery shade is like adult fairy dust, it doesn’t emphasize the texture of the lids and it’s so incredibly gorgeous!
The looks with the TF are more long lasting than the ones with Suqqu. After two hours, the Suqqu is there but so toned down that you can barely see anything. The Tom Ford stays put for quite a long time in comparison, not only the glitter but also the pink and the beige and I can see where they transition, it requires more work to apply but then it looks good and for a while.
Cons:
You’ll need a firm type of brush to pick up a satisfying amount of product on the TF.
The price is insane but depending on where you are located, getting Suqqu can end up just as expensive…
The dark coppery pink shade is developping that film, I think it’s because I swatched it with my fingertips and I tried softer brushes before I realised that it was quite a hard pressed pan and I needed more power… It’s tricky to pick up product but it still works, it just takes more time and effort to get to the results that I want.
The Tom Ford is more extravagant on the eyes versus Suqqu, I love the Suqqu for an everyday wear but I really love Tom Ford for a special occasion.
The Chantecaille Luminescent shadows looked like such a beautiful treat… I received the Rhinoceros from Beautylish as a gift and then I bought Elephant during the Beautylish Gift card event.
Rhinoceros is a dark olive with multi-dimensional shimmer, there is some fallout but it can be minimized with a good base and it doesn’t really bother me. I love sparkles, they say after a certain age shimmer and sparkles should be avoided but I do not always agree with this, the right textures can look more youthful than a full matte look and remain elegant and classy.
Givenchy Le Rose Perfecto Liquid Balm is a product that I tried using the shade N17 but the white one is the one I am very very interested in, I have ordered and I cannot wait to get it… It is supposed to be nourishing, smoothing and plumping and this whitish shade I think might be pigmented enough to tone down the color of my lips, I really hope so!
Once I receive my orders, I will share more about these products, I cannot wait!
I hope that you found your essentials, wishlist items and treats and that they will spark a lot of joy!!
With love,
Sonia
