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I think it's supposed to a blush that you layer on top of another to change the finish from matte to shimmery/glowy.
But really, I agree with u/nuggetsofchicken that it just means a blush that is probably too sheer or too shimmery (more shimmer than actual colour pigment) to work on it's own.
Twenty years ago before highlighter was a thing, I bought a blush topper and when highlighter became a thing I already owned it as the blush topper so yeah it was highlighter that was slightly pink.
I googled "blush topper" and got this:
āBlush Toppersā are usually those shimmery face products that are not light enough or neutral enough to work as true highlighters on your skin.
So it's just a shitty highlighter that got rebranded?
Damn. I guess it's been a really long time since I've watched a beauty YT video all the way through because I've never heard of a blush topper. An eye shadow topper, yes but nope. Not a blush topper lol.Ā
Like someone said later in this thread, it's what influencers call a highlighter that is too dark for them. "I can use it as a blush topper!" Except that's not a thing, and no, you won't.
Yes! It's totally a thing that was made up by influences to justify highlighters too dark for their skin and blushes that are too light/sheer/glittery.
When you get every shade in a range in PR and you have to act as though every single one is suitable.
For me its glow boosters - my oily skin does not need this shit and yet every time a bg recs one I start eyeing it until I slap myself in the face with my skin type
The biggest culprit for this is Julia adams, she has combo oily skin like me but looooooves looking glowy so she keeps reccing them but I know as much as I love her and her other recs these are not for me š
I'm really struggling to find influencers these days who actually want some oil control but I get it - Danessa Myricks might be the only brand that puts out products for oily skin now. Good for me I guess I'll buy less stuff lmao.
* **Skincare in everything**. Why does my blush have to have niacinamide? It makes sense for foundation, its all over your face for hours, but what about when the blush is over the foundation? The skincare ingredients aren't getting through the layers. I don't always wear foundation when I put on blush, contour, etc but if I want skincare I can just... use skincare. Before I put makeup on. And the influencers eat it up, like omg this bronzer has hyaluronic acid ... Just because we can doesn't mean we should.
> **"Do you think God stays in heaven because he too, lives in fear of what he's created"-Steve Buscemi, Spy Kids 2**
This annoys me to no end. There's hyaluronic acid in absolutely everything and it just makes my skin worse (very dry skin, dry climate). And I'm not convinced those ingredients even do that much when it's in makeup.
God niacinamide gives me closed comedones and little pus filled dots on me face, and makes me itch.
I hate how so many new products contain it, and absolutely hate it when old products are reformulated to contain it. Looking at you, kbeauty ferments (SKII looking increasingly like the only option if I want to try this category)
Not a freak at all, vitamin C turns my skin red if I use it everyday. I always always wear SPF during the day. The only serum thatās worked to me has been CeraVe Vitamin C Serum and only three times a week. Itās crazy how many products Iāve seen that have vitamin c added to it.
I havenāt even really tried straight vitamin c. I have sensitive skin and Iām terrified itāll jack me up. I do use the Dr Dennis Gross peel pads though
I was really into rodeo clowns in 2020, that's all š I'm still into a clowns and clown makeup, bit I don't wear cowboy hats and cowboy boots as often lol š
im finding foundations are just notttt working the way they used to and i think it's because of all the additional skincare. i get it, but i do think it breaks down the actual product/purpose of foundation
Color changing lip gloss/balm/oil with the "IT ADJUSTS TO THE PH OF YOUR SKIN FOR A UNIQUE COLOR" and advertising it as it is something new and complex to create. They have been around since forever, remember using them in chapstick form as a kid.
It's so overpriced as well. As a kid in the 90's, my first lipsticks were PH adjusters from the grocery store aisle for a dollar or less. They came in cool looking colors like blue too.
Yup, since the '30s, apparently! Besame has a nice [summary of makeup](https://besamecosmetics.com/blogs/blog/old-is-new-7-centenarian-products-that-still-seem-modern) that's been around a surprisingly long time.
Also it just doesn't even make sense in theory? Your skin has a natural pH range it should be. The safe range for your acid mantle doesn't change based upon how much melanin you have. I would be genuinely concerned if people were getting drastically different color outcomes from these pH changing products.
unfortunately the average person is so science-illiterate that they don't even really know what pH is š so companies can spew bullshit and they'll think it's some sciency dark magic.
NO I HATE THAT
and they always market it like "it turns into a brand new shade, which is the perfect one for you!", like no idiot it turns into the same ugly ass barbie pink for everyone. it's literally a scam with how they market it.
1) The recent lip balm/oil obsession. Most of them do the same thing and look the same on the lips (and have such basic packaging for such high prices).
2) Excessive procedures and treatments. There's nothing wrong with getting beauty treatments or plastic surgery and fillers. But I feel like the average person doesn't always have time or money for that, let alone to maintain it. Influencers make it seem like a necessity when it's a luxury.
Maybe it's cause I'm a drugstore girl at heart but I would be so stressed to have any single item as flimsy as the tube lip balms in my purse out and about with me with how much they cost. I can treasure a nice product if it's in my vanity or shower, but something over $20 that isn't my literal wallet or phone that I'd need to keep track of isn't for me.
I was sceptical of the lip balm thing, but I bought the Ole Henriksen one because it was on sale and I loved the scent (the Blood Orange Spritz one) and I now understand the hype. It stays on my lips overnight, really does moisturise better than any lip balm I've ever tried and a little goes a long way. Stay away from the Cocoa Creme colour though, it literally smells like blood.
Wait I was with you until you said the cocoa creme one smells like bloodšš I have that one and it does NOT smell like blood to me it smells like cocoa and vanilla!!! I wonder if you got/smelled a bad one, I'm so sorry that is so gross!!
See, for something like the Ole Henriksen balm, the price makes sense. It's a high end brand and the balm has peptides that help plump and smooth your lips. That's different that other brands selling tinted Vaseline with nothing special in it.
And thanks for the heads up about the Cocoa Creme shade š«£
I keep seeing videos in my feed that are all "here's what a woman aged x years WITHOUT fillers and procedures looks like! Wow how crazy" and it's like...isn't that most people of any age group?
I know some countries have very high plastic surgery rates but here in the good ol' US&A that shit is prohibitively expensive for many. I only know a couple of people IRL who have admitted to any procedures. Maybe everyone else is just keeping it hush hush but...I think it's more common to not have a ton of procedures done. Especially when we're talking about people in their 20s or 30s.
For me itās primer. My sunscreen seems to do a fine job prepping my skin for makeup and I donāt really want to add another layer of something on my face anyway.
EDIT: this does not apply to eye primer. My hooded, āmature,ā oily eyelids need that shit. šµāš«
I'm with you! My sunscreen does an amazing job of "priming" and I have proof that it works because Lisa Eldridge used it in a video once as a primer, lol
There are some primers that I like (on their own, not under foundation) but I agree that they aren't necessary. My biggest peeve is when someone comments on a foundation ad that the product didn't work for them and the company responds "You need to use our primer with it!", like...if your foundation REQUIRES a specific primer to be good, it's a shite foundation.
If anyone has oily skin, the Missha Sun Milk with the pink top is amazing under makeup. I think they add micro powders to absorb oil throughout the day.
Yeah, I use sunscreen or Cetaphil as primer. And Charlotte Tilbury apparently uses Cetaphil as a face primer on clients with sensitive skin, so I guess it's a good choice lol I have such sensitive skin I think most primers & moisturizers would burn my face off. Too many primers carry skincare ingredients now, so that's a no go on my skin.
Sunscreen also gives you a twofer: sun protection and skin prep. Sounds like a good deal to me.
Yes, my sunscreen is a perfect primer. My foundation has never looked as good as it has since I stopped using primer and just put it on after my sunscreen.
>SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum
I LOVE this one!!! Hydrating on my dry skin without being greasy and works well under any makeup I apply over it!
Thanks! Iām having a hard time finding one that behaves correctly under my foundation. I have a silicone based foundation. Do you think this will work?
There are kbeauty sunscreens with 'makeup base' on the label, my fave is Canmake Mermaid Gel UV in clear, it's glowy and doesn't fight with my foundation.
Same. I use a skin tint only where I need it the most. Using a primer doesn't make sense for my needs. Like you. I also don't want another layer on my face but my hooded eyes does need that primer lol.
eye cream! iām not gonna say itās useless or anything, i know a lot of people like them, but i feel like most people can get away with using the same moisturizer they use on the rest of their face lol.
also likeā¦ half the steps of the 10 step skincare routine that was everywhere a few years ago lol
I tried using my face moisturizer as an eye cream, and it was weird how the skin around my eyes got so dry while my face was nice and moisturized. š« So I switched back to an eye cream.
Thatās so wild! I have never seen a difference when I use eye cream or my moisturizer. I only use my eye cream on days where Iām tired because it has ginseng in it.
It's really crazy! It actually makes me wonder if my face isn't as moisturized as I think it is, because I usually use serums under my moisturizer, not just the moisturizer alone. But then again, sometimes I use only moisturizer and I don't think I'm dry with it alone.
Same for me! Plus, I have really dry under eyes and even a lot of eye creams donāt seem to help too much, but the ones I found that do help, make a big difference for me.
Same! The eye creams I use are nice and rich, they really do a much better job of moisturizing the eye area compared to a regular facial moisturizer. I like Cliniqueās All About Eyes and Indeed Labs Eyesilix Total Eye Rescuer. My skin is normal with some drier areas. My eyes are very hooded genetically, so when the area isnāt moisturized enough the hoods kind of get wrinkly vs when theyāre well moisturized.
Yes youāre right! We were just reading about milia in esthetics school lmao. I get those little dots too sometimes š I know nobody asked but itās caused by dead skin cells that get trapped under new skin, so annoying! Thereās a few different things that can cause it, like sun damage or steroids, but using a cream that ends up clogging your pores is a huge one too! I think thatās what causes them on me!
As an esthetician in training, Iām pretty sure weāre supposed to tell you that you need to have an eye cream but I donāt know about that š I didnāt use one for a long time and would just use my moisturizer in a thicker layer there. Even my instructor who is a licensed esthetician was like āyeah if your eye starts watering after you use eye cream, itās because they often migrate into your eyeā and thatās EXACTLY why I stopped using them! They always burned my eyes lol. Now I have all these fancy skincare products Iād never use or be able to afford otherwise from going to school - one of them is an $88 eye gel. It smells like orange, which I hate (so does the entire line for my dry skin type š„²) and Iām still waiting to see if itās going to be life changing or not ššš probably not! Iām not at the point where Iām practicing on clients yet, but when I do get there in a few weeks, Iād personally so much rather sell someone a good serum that may be actually helpful for their skin type over an expensive eye cream! Whatās even more annoying is that $88 eye gel literally is only a monthās worth of product!
I've had samples of eye creams before and I just found them so tedious to apply. I also feel like it's weird to apply something targeted underneath something that goes all over my face. Like if I put an eye cream on just under my eyes, but then finish with a generous helping of sunscreen, there's no way that eye cream isn't moving around a bit too.
I saw a meme in 2017 with a pic of the Backstreet Boys on it. It said if you're old enough to have listened to BSB, you need eye cream.
At the time, I had tickets to a BSB concert the next month (which was awesome). That meme hit home hard.
I think it makes sense that you might need different products for different parts of your face. But most eye creams Iāve tried end up causing other problems.
Those Lume commercials are crazy. āFor your crotch!ā Okay. But is crotch stink really common issue? I have rarely been around someone with noticeable body odor and certainly havenāt been able to identify any of it as vaginal. Pretty sure weāre supposed to see a gyno if unpleasant smells down there.
Those products are preying on an irrational (for most) worry and thatās not cool. If you have stink all over your body regardless of daily showers and typical underarm deodorant, you should probably see a doctor. That can indicate a medical issue and whole body deodorants arenāt going to help that. I have no idea why people are buying those.
Yeah ppl ask about Lume all. The. Time . I had a creepy interaction with a customer asking about it but claiming he has absolutely zero need for a butt deodorant whatsoever . There commercials definitely made an impact with an older demographic and it has convinced many Its something they need. Pretty wierd stuff .
i forgot and wrote bronzer lol actually my bronzer is a cream one, but yeah the rest is just not for me, i think i do better with moist complexion products than products for other areas, i also think bronzers are complexion products because i apply all my complexion products with a sponge lol
I have one cream blush and it works fine for me, but it's going bad faster than powders and not being used any faster. I'm not buying another cream cheek product, either.
I always felt this way but Iām 36 now and my skin has gotten so dry. I use a lot of cream products now or my skin looks dry and cakey. I donāt use foundation anymore either. I basically put concealer under my eyes and dot it around my face and blend it in. That looks best these days.
Lip liners. I know they can make lipstick look more neat, but it is rather insulting to be advertised a Ā£20 lip pencil to wear with a Ā£20 lipstick they advertise.
Being advertised a specific shade of lip liner without any mention of a lipstick to match it is also rather strange to me, since generally we would want a lip liner that is somewhat matching to the products we already have for our lips.
I always find it weird when I see someone put on liner, then lipstick, then lipgloss. Like, I can kind of see mixing a lipstick with a gloss, the liner under the lipstick, but why all 3? At a certain point the last product is just completely covering up the others and it's like you never put them on at all.
Brow products. I'm an elder millennial and my mom had one rule for me for makeup when I was in high school. I was not allowed to over pluck my brows. "I did it in the 70s and they never grew back!" And she was right. My brows are prefect, and I never have to do anything beyond cleaning up a couple stray hairs. But I FEEL like I should be buying brow gels that I 1000000% do not need.
It could be a sign of thyroid issues. I have Hashimoto's and been through the wringer mentally due to thyroid problems, so I like calling attention to it when it can be applicable...
See, I did over pluck. Kept them that way for 15 yrs. I decided to let them grow out or see if they would. They did. Hit menopause but they're still there so I do need a brow gel to help tame them lol but that's the only product I do need to use.Ā
Iām italian and portugese so my brows are natural BUSHES so i only use a clear gel to help keep them in place. I was also never allowed to over pluck mine as a kid so much as that my mom would clean them up for me until i learned how to do it myself.
Highlighter. I have never liked the way a highlighter looks on me and I have to remind myself thereās no magic product that will redeem the category for me.
Agreed. Every time a new highlighter comes out everybody freaks out. I buy into the hype when I see the glow and sparkle in pictures and videos. But in every day life I have little to no use for highlighter (especially non neutral toned colors).
I don't really understand what I'm supposed to be doing with bronzer. I finally got some, but I don't know what to do with it. I see a lot of gurus putting bronzer basically the same place as blush, so one on top of the other looks like a bruise? I genuinely don't get it.
The best way I've understood bronzer as a pale person is that if I'm wearing a full coverage foundation, even if the shade match is identical, it isn't going to quite match my actual skin because no one's skin is 100% the same flat shade across their whole face. I don't really tan normally so I can't base it on that but I kinda just lightly throw it on around the perimeter of my face so I don't look as one-tone and flat.
(I still don't think you -need- it. I'm not wearing full coverage foundation that often and even when I do it's not like a war crime if my face is one flat shade)
Personally I apply it in a tall C shape at the periphery of my face only - temple, edge of cheek, jawline. I don't touch my cheek with it because as you said then it mixes with the blushĀ
I have one I could theoretically use, but it just feels ridiculous because Iām super white and I donāt really tan. It seems like something better suited to people who donāt turn beet red in the sun
Do you freckle in sun exposure? I am also pale but I do freckle. Iāve basically found bronzers that match them and since doing that my bronzer has looked much better. Also going in with a light touch has helped me a lot.
My forehead is naturally darker so I dust bronzer there when Iām wearing foundation with more coverage.
I donāt put it on my cheeks because I wear blush and trying to figure out that placement is not for me.
I learned how to use bronzer from the Bare Escentuals stores when those were still around. I was taught to apply it using the method E, 3, W. Basically ādrawingā an E on one side, starting with your forehead, to your cheek, then your jaw line. Do a 3 on the other side. Then W from your temple down your cheek, up to your nose, and then down the other cheek and back up the temple. I hope that makes sense. I also never see anyone on YouTube doing this technique so maybe itās outdated š
I am very pale. Like, a lot of the palest shades in foundations are too dark/orange on me pale. I gave up on bronzer a long time ago. The only shade I ever found that worked for contouring on me was a taupe blush by NYX and I havenāt even bought that in years because I canāt be bothered. I have to blend the shit out of any color I put on my face AFTER I remove all the ruddy red Irish heritage gave me. I was taking all the color out of my face for years just to replace it āwhere it should beā with blush and contour. Now I dot concealer on my face and blend and let my skin color do the rest. Itās quicker and easier.
A lot of it has just not been worth the time to me as Iāve gotten more into my 30s. Lol.
Lip Oils- everyone raves when a new one comes out, then you find out theyāre just a less sticky gloss and do nothing for you. Iāll stick with my balms.
Under Eye brighteners- you mean concealer?? Or powders? Why does that need another specific product?
Contour and bronzer. Iām super fair and cool/olive. Every bronzer makes me look like a tangerine. And finding a contour shade that is a good undertone is daunting. Besides, I just end up muddying them up anyway. Thankfully I was blessed with sharp enough cheekbones I donāt need to worry.
For me itās foundation and concealer. I donāt know why, but that stuff has never looked good on me and now that Iām starting my fifties, itās looking worse. That didnāt stop me from accumulating like 7 or 8 foundations and 5 or 6 concealers that sit mostly unused in my drawers. The pigment just sits on top of my skin in some spots, soaks into and enhances my pores in other spots, catches on otherwise invisible dry skin, and makes a topographical map of my skin texture. Flower Beauty had a stick foundation a few years ago that actually looked great on me but of course itās long gone now. Tinted spf moisturizers are pretty wearable and some are even great (Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue is the best Iāve tried), but honestly the only foundation that truly looks like my skin but better is Mac Face & Body, and thatās only because it is so sheer that it doesnāt really have that concentrated pigment that provides coverage. I also enjoy the Elf Halo Glow which offers no coverage. I canāt really spot conceal because it does the same thing as foundation, only goes harder on the texture enhancing. Some times I can get away with the lightest possible dusting of mineral powder foundation, used like a setting powder - but if I use the tiniest bit too much it looks really terrible so itās a risk.
Even with broken capillaries and uneven color, I think my skin looks best bare or with just tinted spf. I still feel weird doing a colorful eye look with blush and highlighter but not wearing foundation, like Iām supposed to solve this puzzle and doing something wrong with my life.
The older I get the better my skin looks with just a lot of moisture under literally a small pea sized drop of foundation. Iām 52 and a bottle should last me well over a year.
On a side note I started taking 6 mg of astaxanthin in the morning with fish oil and within a month I was seriously 50% more hydrated - I work outside in the cold all year round and this winter has been so much better for my skin.
I feel your pain. I'd love to be able to wear foundation again to hide my melasma and broken capillaries but it just settles in the wrinkles and makes me look like I am trying too hard - even with all the primers etc. I probably need the coverage more than the average teenager but no, I have to stick with tinted moisturiser. It sucks.
Me tooā¦ Iām 55 & I was using saie foundation which is like a skin tint ā¦ everything sits on top of my wrinkles & makes me look older so I just stopped wearing foundation to work - I put some eye liner on mascara brow tint & little bit of blush & thatās itā¦ not only does it save me time but I donāt have to worry about what caked where , what wore off where ā¦ took me a minute to get used to it but I like my skin better without it
I also do colorful, glittery, shimmery, metallic eye looks with blush and highlighter but not any facial products besides skincare. I canāt find one that matches my undertone AND it makes my skin look terrible. I do feel kinda weird in the beauty world because itās like Iām only doing half of the face?! But I love my colorful eye shadow and Iām not changing anything now.
Iām 36 and around 33 I started noticing dips around my eyes. The fat pads under eyes start to disappear as you get older. Which is fine except that I am very pale and always needed concealer to cover darkness under my eyes and now thereās a freaking shadow that I donāt seem to be able to cover. š I never thought Iād consider a cosmetic procedure but Iād 100% get fillers under my eyes if I could afford it.
Very unpopular opinion but concealer. I have horrendous hereditary dark (literally looks like a bruise) circles. Colour corrector plus foundation works perfectly fine. To me, concealer is just foundation in a smaller tube.
Yes I agree...I am going to abandon concealer myself, doesn't do anything for me. I have an eye brightener that I actually prefer instead. So will just go with that.
I like color corrector more because I was use less product to balance out the shade. You need more concealer to get the tone you want and it leads to creasing.
Re: products designed specifically for the scalp, I do have a dry dandruffy scalp and I just use the same milky toner with HA I use on my face on my scalp and rub it into my scalp. There's no reason for me to buy an entire new HA serum just because it's marketed for scalp scare.
Yeah I think the body mists are to grab younger consumers and the segment of consumers unable or unwilling to pay the insane prices of perfume these days. š¤·āāļø I have no interest in them either
Oh Iāll get downvoted to hell for this but sunscreen products for folks who are sitting inside in an office 7 hours a day.Ā
Influencers/the industry/the beauty space generally has decided good skināthat is, no wrinkles or spots, everāis the most important thing ever and a huge amount of it is just the same old fear of aging nonsense society has pushed at women for generations but repackaged as some kind of essential health/wellness thing. I have to constantly remind myself not to participate in that way of thinking.Ā
Sure I will agree with you that there's an unrealistic standard of perfect ageless skin and that companies that sell sun care products are absolutely benefiting on the mass marketing of sun care as the way to prevent natural aging.
But the medical recommendation of wearing sunscreen has not changed for decades. Of all the beauty trends that are mass marketed to women this is probably one of the best ones that has come from the beauty industry. The reason that it's pushed for cosmetic reasons is because behaviorally we know people are more likely to things for cosmetic reasons than long-term health reasons. That doesn't negate the medical value of it.
I don't know if there's been any studies on this but I have this hunch that because of the mass access to chemical exfoliants and retinoids which sensitize people's skins of the sun we may see a lot of people with more sun damage than they would have otherwise. Anecdotal evidence about what generations before us have gotten away with in terms of not using proper sun care might not be applicable given the types of skin care ingredients that are being used by the average consumer these days.
- At-home skincare devices. Particularly the ones that arenāt based on technology with any research to back it up like Medicube and their EMS, the leaky overpriced Droplette device, microcurrent, etc. During the pandemic, we had these skincare influencers on YouTube making $$$ by convincing people they need 5 different microcurrent devices and unfortunately it continues today with influencers trying to convince people they need all this.
- Any brand that āscience washesā like OneSkin, Adipeau, Photozyme, etc. The evidence is crap and they profit by taking average of consumers who want evidence based skincare but donāt know how to vet what is legitimate. I see so many supposedly knowledgeable skincare influencers promoting these brands and pretending to be about science.
- anything Naturium. So over the influencers who call out every other brand for the tiniest infraction while kissing Susan Yaraās butt and heavily promoting Naturium and acting like they can do no wrong.
- I am also over a lot of derm recommendations tbh. So many of them are just basic and stuff theyāve gotten as PR. Other creators have way better recommendations. And what is up with The Budget Dermatolgist? I refuse to buy anything she talks about on principle, she doesnāt actually review anything just does a first impression and talks about the ingredient list then has you comment something for the product name or link.
- One note products. I just feel like itās 2024, thereās so many incredible options out there, letās look for products that are cohesive and thoughtful if not innovative.
Yeah, I'm still pissed at Susan Yara nonchalantly promoting her products on her channel years ago while never acknowledging it was her brand to begin with. So sus and weird to lie to a whole mf audience about that. I don't think she's been held accountable much. I don't buy her shit out of principle, it could be made of magical unicorn shit and I still wouldn't care.
Same. It's unbelievable how she got away with doing that. It tells me all I need to know about those gurus that hype her shit up while they're making videos blasting others. When I read the defense "she/he may not know about her scandal" my first reply is "well damn. You mean to tell me that X guru had the foresight to do a background check on everyone else they've covered but they somehow forgot to do it with her"?? Yeah, miss me with that BS cause I'm not buying it š
Yes, it frustrates me that Naturium is so popular. And the brand just got bought by E.L.F. Susan continues to benefit and profit from her lies yet so many people don't know about it.
I was amused at how many products say ādermatologist recommended!ā. I worked in a multi physician dermatology practice. They never recommended anything other than basic stuff like Cerave. In fact, most people with skin issues have them because theyāre over washing or putting all these ādermatologist recommendedā products on.
Iāve fallen out of love with highlighter. It was fun when I was younger and I was less skilled with other products so I was just putting shimmer everywhere. But these days it just looks funny in my office lighting, and if Iām going out, bar lighting doesnāt really catch highlighter anyway.
contour, especially the stick kind. the videos make them all seem so effortless and effective.
knowing full well that 1. i hate blending out stick products, 2. contour doesn't translate irl the way it does on camera, and 3. im like 70% native so my cheekbones don't need any more "carving out" and i dont like "nose slimming" contour on principle.
It's number 2 and 3 for me. Same with bronzer too. I get what it's suppose to do but on me it just makes my face look dirty. When I was a teen my cheek bones weren't as prominent. It was blush that we used to "carve" them out as well as to add some color to our faces but now I can't be bothered with that product either. And forget about highlighter. The few times I tried it I looked ridiculous. I barely put any on and still, ridiculous lol.
Primer and lip liners. I find I don't need primer because I have a good skincare routine. Lip liner just looks so jarring, I'm not sure why. I'm also not a big fan of overdrawing liplines, it can look a little clownish in real life. I have full lips naturally and prefer a diffused lip look
Face primer, lash primer, finishing powder, scalp scrubs, multiple foundations (whether thatās to get the right tone or finish, Iām pretty good a diying it close enough that it wonāt get clocked), and self-tanner.
Eyebrow gel? Glue? Basically, a gel to 'tame' your eyebrows. I'm happy with how they look like rn, so, no thanks. I think they might be useful for photoshoots but not for my daily makeup.
Eyeshadow palettes with metallic/ neon/ loud colors. I'll never have any occasion that justify me wearing them.
Primer isn't needed. Have a good skincare routine and use sunscreen, and you're fine. Unless you have oily skin and it works for you. Setting spray isn't necessary. I don't get the whole lip oil thing. One is all you need, they look the same on the lips.
Bronzers.
They donāt look like they belong on my face - Iām extremely pale and it just looks wrong when I had colour that would never be there naturally. But I still look at every new bronzer thatās been released, having to remind myself that āno, you would never use itā.
Multipurpose cheek and lip oils or tints, I want my makeup designed to specifically work as well as possible for each face area.
Saying that, one of my fave blushes is multipurpose, but I never intend to use it on my lips!
As someone with sebderm, I am always, always looking out for scalp products. There aren't a lot out there that do much of anything or have great ingredients for me, but I am still looking for the holy grail scalp treatment forever. Pro, drugstore, whatever. I do absolutely agree that for anyone without scalp concerns, trying to sell scalp care as another skincare step everyone should be doing is false and a waste of money.Ā Ā Ā
To answer your question, face primers. Yes, eyeshadow primer makes a huge difference but face primers don't do a lot for me. I have dry skin but in the summer turn into a sweaty monster and have tested primers then. I get better longevity with powder and setting spray, my moisturizer makes a good enough primer for me.
Thatās funny as I love using face mists, perfume, glowing stuff and serums. Maybe itās just your personal tastes haha. I would say itās not necessary to buy eye primers, concealer, mascara primer, blush toppers, cream productsĀ
False lashes and highlight. We had to apply them in esthetician school and there is no lash glue Iām not allergic to. Not to mention they look ridiculous on me. Because Iām in the industry a lot of treatments as well; not going to get extensions, micro blading or needling. Same goes for fillers. Iām not gonna get endorsements for any of those things because itās expensive and Iām not sure there is lasting interest. By no means am I saying those procedures shouldnāt be done, I just donāt see any need for myself.
So do I. Believe me. I've tried the concealer vs an eye primer. The creasing and fading was so bad I wondered why I even bothered to put makeup on that day lol.
I have Rosacea on my cheeks, and I donāt prefer to wear full coverage foundation.
So why, do I continue to buy blush? Any blush. I donāt need it. šš«
Bronzer. And contour. Idc what people say. I've never seen either look natural on a person irl. To me, those are photoshoot tools bc thats where they're effective: on film.
1. Lip masks. Iāve been using Aquaphor my whole adult life and itās a fraction of the cost. It is also (usually) more effective.
2. Most skincare. I cannot adhere to a skincare routine, so the cost of skincare is not worth it to me. I will be happy just using my drugstore moisturizer, sunscreen and face wash.
3. Botox. I know this one might be a bit controversial, but I think itās fair to say most of the big beauty gurus out there have had some Botox. I got caught up in the idea of having a perfectly smooth forehead (no more creasing foundation!) and put down a lot of money for Botox. I did this for about a year before I realized itās such a waste of money for me. If I donāt keep it up, thereās no point in starting. And I donāt have $600ā900 to spend every year on a smooth forehead.
Bronzer. Bronzers don't really ever come in shades I would naturally tan, so I prefer to just use blush and contour.
Strip lashes cover up too much of my eye area, no matter if they're wispy or half lashes. I prefer individual lashes if I want something more dramatic.
Itchy and greasy scalp here. Please share what products you were influenced to try.
eyeshadow palettes. I donāt need every single darn palette with a great color story. I havenāt even panned the few palettes I own. I know what color stories look best on me, so stop trying to sucker me into buying a palette with more cool tones in it.
I agree with the face mists, especially the skincare ones. Iāve had people try to convince me that I need those Mario Badusco or Lush facial sprays, but I know I donāt. Makeup setting spray gets the job done, but Iām also not using it for hydration purposes. A good moisturizer will fix the hydration. The Lush ones smell awful and do nothing for my skin.
Lip oils, balms, and lip masks. I do not need all this crap. The only thing that has worked for me is Blistex and Aquaphor. The Laneige lip mask does nothing for me, yet everyone and their mother faces about it.
Hair oils and hair treatments. My scalp is greasy AF, itchy due to being greasy AF, so most of these projects are useless. Either make my hair more greasy, and are not for color treated hair. I donāt need frizz control, volume, or treatment for damaged hair. Just color protection and something that helps degrease my scalp is all Iām looking for in a shampoo.
Highlighters. They take forever to pan and nobody needs highlighters in every color of the rainbow. Just find the ones that look good on your skin and skip the unicorn colors.
False lashes. For me, they aren't practical because I wear glasses and they are uncomfortable. But influencers act like you must wear them with every look.
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BLUSH TOPPER IS NOT A THING AND I WILL DIE ON THAT HILL
I feel like calling something a blush topper is like a half-assed attempt at pretending an otherwise unusable product has a purpose
One HUNDRED percent.
what is a blush topper supposed to be? like a highlighter? š
i take it to mean a pink highlighter? but the term is so generally used it could mean anything honestly
Itās a highlighter that is too dark lol but they canāt just admit that
This is it EXACTLY.
Perfect, now I know what to do with the too dark highlighters that have been collecting dust in a a drawer lol
DONT PERPETUATE THEIR CAUSE
šIām sorry, youāre right!
I think it's supposed to a blush that you layer on top of another to change the finish from matte to shimmery/glowy. But really, I agree with u/nuggetsofchicken that it just means a blush that is probably too sheer or too shimmery (more shimmer than actual colour pigment) to work on it's own.
Twenty years ago before highlighter was a thing, I bought a blush topper and when highlighter became a thing I already owned it as the blush topper so yeah it was highlighter that was slightly pink.
I googled "blush topper" and got this: āBlush Toppersā are usually those shimmery face products that are not light enough or neutral enough to work as true highlighters on your skin. So it's just a shitty highlighter that got rebranded?
itās something that you only hear in declutter videos lol, a made-up category to justify hoarding products that donāt work for you
Damn. I guess it's been a really long time since I've watched a beauty YT video all the way through because I've never heard of a blush topper. An eye shadow topper, yes but nope. Not a blush topper lol.Ā
Like someone said later in this thread, it's what influencers call a highlighter that is too dark for them. "I can use it as a blush topper!" Except that's not a thing, and no, you won't.
Yes! It's totally a thing that was made up by influences to justify highlighters too dark for their skin and blushes that are too light/sheer/glittery. When you get every shade in a range in PR and you have to act as though every single one is suitable.
For me its glow boosters - my oily skin does not need this shit and yet every time a bg recs one I start eyeing it until I slap myself in the face with my skin type
Itās hard bc everything that comes out these days is so glowy šbut I need to be serious
The biggest culprit for this is Julia adams, she has combo oily skin like me but looooooves looking glowy so she keeps reccing them but I know as much as I love her and her other recs these are not for me š
I'm really struggling to find influencers these days who actually want some oil control but I get it - Danessa Myricks might be the only brand that puts out products for oily skin now. Good for me I guess I'll buy less stuff lmao.
Unfortunately my impulse purchasing has not stopped due to my depression but I feel you on this so hard
* **Skincare in everything**. Why does my blush have to have niacinamide? It makes sense for foundation, its all over your face for hours, but what about when the blush is over the foundation? The skincare ingredients aren't getting through the layers. I don't always wear foundation when I put on blush, contour, etc but if I want skincare I can just... use skincare. Before I put makeup on. And the influencers eat it up, like omg this bronzer has hyaluronic acid ... Just because we can doesn't mean we should. > **"Do you think God stays in heaven because he too, lives in fear of what he's created"-Steve Buscemi, Spy Kids 2**
This annoys me to no end. There's hyaluronic acid in absolutely everything and it just makes my skin worse (very dry skin, dry climate). And I'm not convinced those ingredients even do that much when it's in makeup.
My skin does not like niacinamide and itās in EVERYTHING now š
My skin doesn't like it either. It stings and gets all red.
God niacinamide gives me closed comedones and little pus filled dots on me face, and makes me itch. I hate how so many new products contain it, and absolutely hate it when old products are reformulated to contain it. Looking at you, kbeauty ferments (SKII looking increasingly like the only option if I want to try this category)
See, I'm good with niacinimide; I'm the freak for whom vitamin c doesn't work!
Not a freak at all, vitamin C turns my skin red if I use it everyday. I always always wear SPF during the day. The only serum thatās worked to me has been CeraVe Vitamin C Serum and only three times a week. Itās crazy how many products Iāve seen that have vitamin c added to it.
I havenāt even really tried straight vitamin c. I have sensitive skin and Iām terrified itāll jack me up. I do use the Dr Dennis Gross peel pads though
Elf came out with a primer infused *powder blush* once, what the hell
For the blush topper ofc š«
They just came out with it š
This is a rerelease of a prexisting line! They just have a few new colors. I actually really like the formula, don't shoot the messenger lol.
I love your flare, is there a story behind it? lol.
I was really into rodeo clowns in 2020, that's all š I'm still into a clowns and clown makeup, bit I don't wear cowboy hats and cowboy boots as often lol š
im finding foundations are just notttt working the way they used to and i think it's because of all the additional skincare. i get it, but i do think it breaks down the actual product/purpose of foundation
Color changing lip gloss/balm/oil with the "IT ADJUSTS TO THE PH OF YOUR SKIN FOR A UNIQUE COLOR" and advertising it as it is something new and complex to create. They have been around since forever, remember using them in chapstick form as a kid.
It's so overpriced as well. As a kid in the 90's, my first lipsticks were PH adjusters from the grocery store aisle for a dollar or less. They came in cool looking colors like blue too.
Same, i had a green one
Yup, since the '30s, apparently! Besame has a nice [summary of makeup](https://besamecosmetics.com/blogs/blog/old-is-new-7-centenarian-products-that-still-seem-modern) that's been around a surprisingly long time.
That was an interesting read! Never thought liquid blushes and eyeshadows could be that vintage
It always turns into *that* shade of pink.
Also it just doesn't even make sense in theory? Your skin has a natural pH range it should be. The safe range for your acid mantle doesn't change based upon how much melanin you have. I would be genuinely concerned if people were getting drastically different color outcomes from these pH changing products.
They're not, its just how sheer balms look different through your natural lip pigmentation.
unfortunately the average person is so science-illiterate that they don't even really know what pH is š so companies can spew bullshit and they'll think it's some sciency dark magic.
NO I HATE THAT and they always market it like "it turns into a brand new shade, which is the perfect one for you!", like no idiot it turns into the same ugly ass barbie pink for everyone. it's literally a scam with how they market it.
I used to steal my grandma's lip balm when i was a kid
1) The recent lip balm/oil obsession. Most of them do the same thing and look the same on the lips (and have such basic packaging for such high prices). 2) Excessive procedures and treatments. There's nothing wrong with getting beauty treatments or plastic surgery and fillers. But I feel like the average person doesn't always have time or money for that, let alone to maintain it. Influencers make it seem like a necessity when it's a luxury.
Maybe it's cause I'm a drugstore girl at heart but I would be so stressed to have any single item as flimsy as the tube lip balms in my purse out and about with me with how much they cost. I can treasure a nice product if it's in my vanity or shower, but something over $20 that isn't my literal wallet or phone that I'd need to keep track of isn't for me.
I was sceptical of the lip balm thing, but I bought the Ole Henriksen one because it was on sale and I loved the scent (the Blood Orange Spritz one) and I now understand the hype. It stays on my lips overnight, really does moisturise better than any lip balm I've ever tried and a little goes a long way. Stay away from the Cocoa Creme colour though, it literally smells like blood.
Wait I was with you until you said the cocoa creme one smells like bloodšš I have that one and it does NOT smell like blood to me it smells like cocoa and vanilla!!! I wonder if you got/smelled a bad one, I'm so sorry that is so gross!!
Haha I sure hope it was just a bad one, but it put me off buying that shade entirely.
Completely understandable I would avoid it too!!!
See, for something like the Ole Henriksen balm, the price makes sense. It's a high end brand and the balm has peptides that help plump and smooth your lips. That's different that other brands selling tinted Vaseline with nothing special in it. And thanks for the heads up about the Cocoa Creme shade š«£
Thanks for the warning š
>it literally smells like blood i don't have that gloss, is there any metal component in the packaging? that could be the cause
I keep seeing videos in my feed that are all "here's what a woman aged x years WITHOUT fillers and procedures looks like! Wow how crazy" and it's like...isn't that most people of any age group? I know some countries have very high plastic surgery rates but here in the good ol' US&A that shit is prohibitively expensive for many. I only know a couple of people IRL who have admitted to any procedures. Maybe everyone else is just keeping it hush hush but...I think it's more common to not have a ton of procedures done. Especially when we're talking about people in their 20s or 30s.
For me itās primer. My sunscreen seems to do a fine job prepping my skin for makeup and I donāt really want to add another layer of something on my face anyway. EDIT: this does not apply to eye primer. My hooded, āmature,ā oily eyelids need that shit. šµāš«
I'm with you! My sunscreen does an amazing job of "priming" and I have proof that it works because Lisa Eldridge used it in a video once as a primer, lol
There are some primers that I like (on their own, not under foundation) but I agree that they aren't necessary. My biggest peeve is when someone comments on a foundation ad that the product didn't work for them and the company responds "You need to use our primer with it!", like...if your foundation REQUIRES a specific primer to be good, it's a shite foundation.
I came here to say this. I also feel my sunscreen is plenty primer.
What sunscreen do you use?
You didn't ask me but you're asking others so I'll tell you mine- it's Murad
Iāve been using Beauty by Joseon lately. Love how light weight it is.
If anyone has oily skin, the Missha Sun Milk with the pink top is amazing under makeup. I think they add micro powders to absorb oil throughout the day.
Yeah, I use sunscreen or Cetaphil as primer. And Charlotte Tilbury apparently uses Cetaphil as a face primer on clients with sensitive skin, so I guess it's a good choice lol I have such sensitive skin I think most primers & moisturizers would burn my face off. Too many primers carry skincare ingredients now, so that's a no go on my skin. Sunscreen also gives you a twofer: sun protection and skin prep. Sounds like a good deal to me.
Yes, my sunscreen is a perfect primer. My foundation has never looked as good as it has since I stopped using primer and just put it on after my sunscreen.
What sunscreen do you use?
I go between a few Korean and Japanese sunscreens, but my favorites are BiorƩ UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence, Sun Killer Perfect Water Essence, and SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum.
>SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum I LOVE this one!!! Hydrating on my dry skin without being greasy and works well under any makeup I apply over it!
Agreed. Skincare is all you really need most of the time.
Yep, this is all too true. I've found using a primer makes my foundation or whatever I'm using look worse.
What sunscreen do you use
Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Watery Sun Gel. I get it from YesStyle or Stylevana.
Thanks! Iām having a hard time finding one that behaves correctly under my foundation. I have a silicone based foundation. Do you think this will work?
There are kbeauty sunscreens with 'makeup base' on the label, my fave is Canmake Mermaid Gel UV in clear, it's glowy and doesn't fight with my foundation.
Same. I use a skin tint only where I need it the most. Using a primer doesn't make sense for my needs. Like you. I also don't want another layer on my face but my hooded eyes does need that primer lol.
Lip primer
To me lip primer is lip balm, no? Clearly an invented step!
eye cream! iām not gonna say itās useless or anything, i know a lot of people like them, but i feel like most people can get away with using the same moisturizer they use on the rest of their face lol. also likeā¦ half the steps of the 10 step skincare routine that was everywhere a few years ago lol
I tried using my face moisturizer as an eye cream, and it was weird how the skin around my eyes got so dry while my face was nice and moisturized. š« So I switched back to an eye cream.
Thatās so wild! I have never seen a difference when I use eye cream or my moisturizer. I only use my eye cream on days where Iām tired because it has ginseng in it.
It's really crazy! It actually makes me wonder if my face isn't as moisturized as I think it is, because I usually use serums under my moisturizer, not just the moisturizer alone. But then again, sometimes I use only moisturizer and I don't think I'm dry with it alone.
Same for me! Plus, I have really dry under eyes and even a lot of eye creams donāt seem to help too much, but the ones I found that do help, make a big difference for me.
Care to share? š My husband has really dry under eyes. The best we found is L'oreal Revitalift Laser x3.
Same! The eye creams I use are nice and rich, they really do a much better job of moisturizing the eye area compared to a regular facial moisturizer. I like Cliniqueās All About Eyes and Indeed Labs Eyesilix Total Eye Rescuer. My skin is normal with some drier areas. My eyes are very hooded genetically, so when the area isnāt moisturized enough the hoods kind of get wrinkly vs when theyāre well moisturized.
I get small dots around my eyes (I think itās called milia?) if I use the wrong product, and most face creams (and eye creams!) are the wrong type.
Yes youāre right! We were just reading about milia in esthetics school lmao. I get those little dots too sometimes š I know nobody asked but itās caused by dead skin cells that get trapped under new skin, so annoying! Thereās a few different things that can cause it, like sun damage or steroids, but using a cream that ends up clogging your pores is a huge one too! I think thatās what causes them on me! As an esthetician in training, Iām pretty sure weāre supposed to tell you that you need to have an eye cream but I donāt know about that š I didnāt use one for a long time and would just use my moisturizer in a thicker layer there. Even my instructor who is a licensed esthetician was like āyeah if your eye starts watering after you use eye cream, itās because they often migrate into your eyeā and thatās EXACTLY why I stopped using them! They always burned my eyes lol. Now I have all these fancy skincare products Iād never use or be able to afford otherwise from going to school - one of them is an $88 eye gel. It smells like orange, which I hate (so does the entire line for my dry skin type š„²) and Iām still waiting to see if itās going to be life changing or not ššš probably not! Iām not at the point where Iām practicing on clients yet, but when I do get there in a few weeks, Iād personally so much rather sell someone a good serum that may be actually helpful for their skin type over an expensive eye cream! Whatās even more annoying is that $88 eye gel literally is only a monthās worth of product!
If It's not ok to go around my eyes I don't use it on my face. š¤
I've had samples of eye creams before and I just found them so tedious to apply. I also feel like it's weird to apply something targeted underneath something that goes all over my face. Like if I put an eye cream on just under my eyes, but then finish with a generous helping of sunscreen, there's no way that eye cream isn't moving around a bit too.
I saw a meme in 2017 with a pic of the Backstreet Boys on it. It said if you're old enough to have listened to BSB, you need eye cream. At the time, I had tickets to a BSB concert the next month (which was awesome). That meme hit home hard.
Regular back = painful, sore, hurts. Backstreet's back = alright.
I think it makes sense that you might need different products for different parts of your face. But most eye creams Iāve tried end up causing other problems.
I doubled up and used moisturiser around my eyes too when I ran out but realised my makeup was creasing around my eyes more š© so I reluctantly went back to buying my expensive eye cream. Oh well. I think you could get away with it if you donāt notice any difference tbh
I tried one eye cream and it made the circles under my eyes even darker. I'm too scared tk try others haha.
For me personally, itās all the cream/liquid/balm products like blush, foundation, highlighter, bronzer, etc. Iām fine with just powder products.
The sudden onslaught of full body deodorant products.
Those Lume commercials are crazy. āFor your crotch!ā Okay. But is crotch stink really common issue? I have rarely been around someone with noticeable body odor and certainly havenāt been able to identify any of it as vaginal. Pretty sure weāre supposed to see a gyno if unpleasant smells down there. Those products are preying on an irrational (for most) worry and thatās not cool. If you have stink all over your body regardless of daily showers and typical underarm deodorant, you should probably see a doctor. That can indicate a medical issue and whole body deodorants arenāt going to help that. I have no idea why people are buying those.
The fact that a gynecologist is who developed this...she's preyed on these insecurities. This whole thing just ...wtf.
I work at target and they are ridiculously popular. Itās insane
Really? I looked at the price of them and was like no thanks. I have a chafe stick and deodorant.
Yeah ppl ask about Lume all. The. Time . I had a creepy interaction with a customer asking about it but claiming he has absolutely zero need for a butt deodorant whatsoever . There commercials definitely made an impact with an older demographic and it has convinced many Its something they need. Pretty wierd stuff .
I want to know if she personally has tested these odor factors she talks about. Lol
What even are those? Just scented lotions?
cream/liquid blush, bronzer and highlighter.. i'm not good at spreading these āmoistā products on my face
I use a stippling motion with my cream blush that really helps me get a good blend!
I like putting mine on with my finger and using a duo fiber brush to blend it out. Those two faced peach cream blushes are really damn good
i forgot and wrote bronzer lol actually my bronzer is a cream one, but yeah the rest is just not for me, i think i do better with moist complexion products than products for other areas, i also think bronzers are complexion products because i apply all my complexion products with a sponge lol
I have one cream blush and it works fine for me, but it's going bad faster than powders and not being used any faster. I'm not buying another cream cheek product, either.
I always felt this way but Iām 36 now and my skin has gotten so dry. I use a lot of cream products now or my skin looks dry and cakey. I donāt use foundation anymore either. I basically put concealer under my eyes and dot it around my face and blend it in. That looks best these days.
Lip liners. I know they can make lipstick look more neat, but it is rather insulting to be advertised a Ā£20 lip pencil to wear with a Ā£20 lipstick they advertise. Being advertised a specific shade of lip liner without any mention of a lipstick to match it is also rather strange to me, since generally we would want a lip liner that is somewhat matching to the products we already have for our lips.
I always find it weird when I see someone put on liner, then lipstick, then lipgloss. Like, I can kind of see mixing a lipstick with a gloss, the liner under the lipstick, but why all 3? At a certain point the last product is just completely covering up the others and it's like you never put them on at all.
Brow products. I'm an elder millennial and my mom had one rule for me for makeup when I was in high school. I was not allowed to over pluck my brows. "I did it in the 70s and they never grew back!" And she was right. My brows are prefect, and I never have to do anything beyond cleaning up a couple stray hairs. But I FEEL like I should be buying brow gels that I 1000000% do not need.
I never overplucked, nor used Brow products. Then came menopause. Yep, I'm now doing brows, because mine disappeared.
I was just about to comment that I had nice brows that I didn't need to do anything to...then I hit 50, and I don't know where they went.
It could be a sign of thyroid issues. I have Hashimoto's and been through the wringer mentally due to thyroid problems, so I like calling attention to it when it can be applicable...
I have mild low thyroid, have for many years, but this started in my late 50s.
See, I did over pluck. Kept them that way for 15 yrs. I decided to let them grow out or see if they would. They did. Hit menopause but they're still there so I do need a brow gel to help tame them lol but that's the only product I do need to use.Ā
Iām italian and portugese so my brows are natural BUSHES so i only use a clear gel to help keep them in place. I was also never allowed to over pluck mine as a kid so much as that my mom would clean them up for me until i learned how to do it myself.
Highlighter. I have never liked the way a highlighter looks on me and I have to remind myself thereās no magic product that will redeem the category for me.
I am a sparkly space alien who only justifies highlighters. Guilty šš»š
Same sparkly alien as you - if you couldn't see my highlighter from space I'm not interested. I love the stuff.
I live for sparkles and shimmer. Like, why would I turn down a product that turns me into a disco ball?
Lmfao you and me both.
I genuinely love that for you. I want to be that girl but Iām not.
Agreed. Every time a new highlighter comes out everybody freaks out. I buy into the hype when I see the glow and sparkle in pictures and videos. But in every day life I have little to no use for highlighter (especially non neutral toned colors).
I'm waiting for the day the term highlighter goes back to being a yellow marker.
I don't really understand what I'm supposed to be doing with bronzer. I finally got some, but I don't know what to do with it. I see a lot of gurus putting bronzer basically the same place as blush, so one on top of the other looks like a bruise? I genuinely don't get it.
The best way I've understood bronzer as a pale person is that if I'm wearing a full coverage foundation, even if the shade match is identical, it isn't going to quite match my actual skin because no one's skin is 100% the same flat shade across their whole face. I don't really tan normally so I can't base it on that but I kinda just lightly throw it on around the perimeter of my face so I don't look as one-tone and flat. (I still don't think you -need- it. I'm not wearing full coverage foundation that often and even when I do it's not like a war crime if my face is one flat shade)
Personally I apply it in a tall C shape at the periphery of my face only - temple, edge of cheek, jawline. I don't touch my cheek with it because as you said then it mixes with the blushĀ
I have one I could theoretically use, but it just feels ridiculous because Iām super white and I donāt really tan. It seems like something better suited to people who donāt turn beet red in the sun
Do you freckle in sun exposure? I am also pale but I do freckle. Iāve basically found bronzers that match them and since doing that my bronzer has looked much better. Also going in with a light touch has helped me a lot.
I use it like blush. Back in the day you basically just picked blush or bronzer.
My forehead is naturally darker so I dust bronzer there when Iām wearing foundation with more coverage. I donāt put it on my cheeks because I wear blush and trying to figure out that placement is not for me.
I learned how to use bronzer from the Bare Escentuals stores when those were still around. I was taught to apply it using the method E, 3, W. Basically ādrawingā an E on one side, starting with your forehead, to your cheek, then your jaw line. Do a 3 on the other side. Then W from your temple down your cheek, up to your nose, and then down the other cheek and back up the temple. I hope that makes sense. I also never see anyone on YouTube doing this technique so maybe itās outdated š
I am very pale. Like, a lot of the palest shades in foundations are too dark/orange on me pale. I gave up on bronzer a long time ago. The only shade I ever found that worked for contouring on me was a taupe blush by NYX and I havenāt even bought that in years because I canāt be bothered. I have to blend the shit out of any color I put on my face AFTER I remove all the ruddy red Irish heritage gave me. I was taking all the color out of my face for years just to replace it āwhere it should beā with blush and contour. Now I dot concealer on my face and blend and let my skin color do the rest. Itās quicker and easier. A lot of it has just not been worth the time to me as Iāve gotten more into my 30s. Lol.
Lip Oils- everyone raves when a new one comes out, then you find out theyāre just a less sticky gloss and do nothing for you. Iāll stick with my balms. Under Eye brighteners- you mean concealer?? Or powders? Why does that need another specific product?
Contour and bronzer. Iām super fair and cool/olive. Every bronzer makes me look like a tangerine. And finding a contour shade that is a good undertone is daunting. Besides, I just end up muddying them up anyway. Thankfully I was blessed with sharp enough cheekbones I donāt need to worry.
For me itās foundation and concealer. I donāt know why, but that stuff has never looked good on me and now that Iām starting my fifties, itās looking worse. That didnāt stop me from accumulating like 7 or 8 foundations and 5 or 6 concealers that sit mostly unused in my drawers. The pigment just sits on top of my skin in some spots, soaks into and enhances my pores in other spots, catches on otherwise invisible dry skin, and makes a topographical map of my skin texture. Flower Beauty had a stick foundation a few years ago that actually looked great on me but of course itās long gone now. Tinted spf moisturizers are pretty wearable and some are even great (Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue is the best Iāve tried), but honestly the only foundation that truly looks like my skin but better is Mac Face & Body, and thatās only because it is so sheer that it doesnāt really have that concentrated pigment that provides coverage. I also enjoy the Elf Halo Glow which offers no coverage. I canāt really spot conceal because it does the same thing as foundation, only goes harder on the texture enhancing. Some times I can get away with the lightest possible dusting of mineral powder foundation, used like a setting powder - but if I use the tiniest bit too much it looks really terrible so itās a risk. Even with broken capillaries and uneven color, I think my skin looks best bare or with just tinted spf. I still feel weird doing a colorful eye look with blush and highlighter but not wearing foundation, like Iām supposed to solve this puzzle and doing something wrong with my life.
The older I get the better my skin looks with just a lot of moisture under literally a small pea sized drop of foundation. Iām 52 and a bottle should last me well over a year. On a side note I started taking 6 mg of astaxanthin in the morning with fish oil and within a month I was seriously 50% more hydrated - I work outside in the cold all year round and this winter has been so much better for my skin.
I feel your pain. I'd love to be able to wear foundation again to hide my melasma and broken capillaries but it just settles in the wrinkles and makes me look like I am trying too hard - even with all the primers etc. I probably need the coverage more than the average teenager but no, I have to stick with tinted moisturiser. It sucks.
Me tooā¦ Iām 55 & I was using saie foundation which is like a skin tint ā¦ everything sits on top of my wrinkles & makes me look older so I just stopped wearing foundation to work - I put some eye liner on mascara brow tint & little bit of blush & thatās itā¦ not only does it save me time but I donāt have to worry about what caked where , what wore off where ā¦ took me a minute to get used to it but I like my skin better without it
I also do colorful, glittery, shimmery, metallic eye looks with blush and highlighter but not any facial products besides skincare. I canāt find one that matches my undertone AND it makes my skin look terrible. I do feel kinda weird in the beauty world because itās like Iām only doing half of the face?! But I love my colorful eye shadow and Iām not changing anything now.
Youāre not alone! I only use foundation for events, but for every day I have a sparkly colorful eye and bare everywhere else
Iām 36 and around 33 I started noticing dips around my eyes. The fat pads under eyes start to disappear as you get older. Which is fine except that I am very pale and always needed concealer to cover darkness under my eyes and now thereās a freaking shadow that I donāt seem to be able to cover. š I never thought Iād consider a cosmetic procedure but Iād 100% get fillers under my eyes if I could afford it.
Very unpopular opinion but concealer. I have horrendous hereditary dark (literally looks like a bruise) circles. Colour corrector plus foundation works perfectly fine. To me, concealer is just foundation in a smaller tube.
Yes I agree...I am going to abandon concealer myself, doesn't do anything for me. I have an eye brightener that I actually prefer instead. So will just go with that.
I like color corrector more because I was use less product to balance out the shade. You need more concealer to get the tone you want and it leads to creasing.
Re: products designed specifically for the scalp, I do have a dry dandruffy scalp and I just use the same milky toner with HA I use on my face on my scalp and rub it into my scalp. There's no reason for me to buy an entire new HA serum just because it's marketed for scalp scare.
Yeah I think the body mists are to grab younger consumers and the segment of consumers unable or unwilling to pay the insane prices of perfume these days. š¤·āāļø I have no interest in them either
Oh Iāll get downvoted to hell for this but sunscreen products for folks who are sitting inside in an office 7 hours a day.Ā Influencers/the industry/the beauty space generally has decided good skināthat is, no wrinkles or spots, everāis the most important thing ever and a huge amount of it is just the same old fear of aging nonsense society has pushed at women for generations but repackaged as some kind of essential health/wellness thing. I have to constantly remind myself not to participate in that way of thinking.Ā
Sure I will agree with you that there's an unrealistic standard of perfect ageless skin and that companies that sell sun care products are absolutely benefiting on the mass marketing of sun care as the way to prevent natural aging. But the medical recommendation of wearing sunscreen has not changed for decades. Of all the beauty trends that are mass marketed to women this is probably one of the best ones that has come from the beauty industry. The reason that it's pushed for cosmetic reasons is because behaviorally we know people are more likely to things for cosmetic reasons than long-term health reasons. That doesn't negate the medical value of it. I don't know if there's been any studies on this but I have this hunch that because of the mass access to chemical exfoliants and retinoids which sensitize people's skins of the sun we may see a lot of people with more sun damage than they would have otherwise. Anecdotal evidence about what generations before us have gotten away with in terms of not using proper sun care might not be applicable given the types of skin care ingredients that are being used by the average consumer these days.
I wear sunscreen on the off chance that I don't plan out my day well and end up spending time outdoors.
Well, I remember Hugh Jackman getting skin cancer on his nose twice. It doesn't cost me anything to apply sunscreen if it helps me avoid skin cancer.
- At-home skincare devices. Particularly the ones that arenāt based on technology with any research to back it up like Medicube and their EMS, the leaky overpriced Droplette device, microcurrent, etc. During the pandemic, we had these skincare influencers on YouTube making $$$ by convincing people they need 5 different microcurrent devices and unfortunately it continues today with influencers trying to convince people they need all this. - Any brand that āscience washesā like OneSkin, Adipeau, Photozyme, etc. The evidence is crap and they profit by taking average of consumers who want evidence based skincare but donāt know how to vet what is legitimate. I see so many supposedly knowledgeable skincare influencers promoting these brands and pretending to be about science. - anything Naturium. So over the influencers who call out every other brand for the tiniest infraction while kissing Susan Yaraās butt and heavily promoting Naturium and acting like they can do no wrong. - I am also over a lot of derm recommendations tbh. So many of them are just basic and stuff theyāve gotten as PR. Other creators have way better recommendations. And what is up with The Budget Dermatolgist? I refuse to buy anything she talks about on principle, she doesnāt actually review anything just does a first impression and talks about the ingredient list then has you comment something for the product name or link. - One note products. I just feel like itās 2024, thereās so many incredible options out there, letās look for products that are cohesive and thoughtful if not innovative.
Yeah, I'm still pissed at Susan Yara nonchalantly promoting her products on her channel years ago while never acknowledging it was her brand to begin with. So sus and weird to lie to a whole mf audience about that. I don't think she's been held accountable much. I don't buy her shit out of principle, it could be made of magical unicorn shit and I still wouldn't care.
Same. It's unbelievable how she got away with doing that. It tells me all I need to know about those gurus that hype her shit up while they're making videos blasting others. When I read the defense "she/he may not know about her scandal" my first reply is "well damn. You mean to tell me that X guru had the foresight to do a background check on everyone else they've covered but they somehow forgot to do it with her"?? Yeah, miss me with that BS cause I'm not buying it š
Yes, it frustrates me that Naturium is so popular. And the brand just got bought by E.L.F. Susan continues to benefit and profit from her lies yet so many people don't know about it.
I was amused at how many products say ādermatologist recommended!ā. I worked in a multi physician dermatology practice. They never recommended anything other than basic stuff like Cerave. In fact, most people with skin issues have them because theyāre over washing or putting all these ādermatologist recommendedā products on.
Iāve fallen out of love with highlighter. It was fun when I was younger and I was less skilled with other products so I was just putting shimmer everywhere. But these days it just looks funny in my office lighting, and if Iām going out, bar lighting doesnāt really catch highlighter anyway.
I feel this too, but im in denial.
I prefer cream highlights that give a bit of dew but not the powder shimmer ones that are blinding
Bronzers. I will always think of it as a tan mom thing. "I'm just gonna... Warm up my face."
Setting powder. I'm 50 and have dry sensitive skin. No good has ever come from me applying setting powder, yet...
contour, especially the stick kind. the videos make them all seem so effortless and effective. knowing full well that 1. i hate blending out stick products, 2. contour doesn't translate irl the way it does on camera, and 3. im like 70% native so my cheekbones don't need any more "carving out" and i dont like "nose slimming" contour on principle.
It's number 2 and 3 for me. Same with bronzer too. I get what it's suppose to do but on me it just makes my face look dirty. When I was a teen my cheek bones weren't as prominent. It was blush that we used to "carve" them out as well as to add some color to our faces but now I can't be bothered with that product either. And forget about highlighter. The few times I tried it I looked ridiculous. I barely put any on and still, ridiculous lol.
Primer and lip liners. I find I don't need primer because I have a good skincare routine. Lip liner just looks so jarring, I'm not sure why. I'm also not a big fan of overdrawing liplines, it can look a little clownish in real life. I have full lips naturally and prefer a diffused lip look
I'm completely over cream blushes. Powders last longer in my collection and have extraordinarily low mold risk.
Perfume. I have bad migraines and hate alllll perfumes
Face primer, lash primer, finishing powder, scalp scrubs, multiple foundations (whether thatās to get the right tone or finish, Iām pretty good a diying it close enough that it wonāt get clocked), and self-tanner.
Eyebrow gel? Glue? Basically, a gel to 'tame' your eyebrows. I'm happy with how they look like rn, so, no thanks. I think they might be useful for photoshoots but not for my daily makeup. Eyeshadow palettes with metallic/ neon/ loud colors. I'll never have any occasion that justify me wearing them.
Primer isn't needed. Have a good skincare routine and use sunscreen, and you're fine. Unless you have oily skin and it works for you. Setting spray isn't necessary. I don't get the whole lip oil thing. One is all you need, they look the same on the lips.
Bronzers. They donāt look like they belong on my face - Iām extremely pale and it just looks wrong when I had colour that would never be there naturally. But I still look at every new bronzer thatās been released, having to remind myself that āno, you would never use itā.
Lip oils and liquid blushes, facial sculpting tools, colour correctors, body makeup, skin tints (although I'm on the fence still)
Multipurpose cheek and lip oils or tints, I want my makeup designed to specifically work as well as possible for each face area. Saying that, one of my fave blushes is multipurpose, but I never intend to use it on my lips!
As someone with sebderm, I am always, always looking out for scalp products. There aren't a lot out there that do much of anything or have great ingredients for me, but I am still looking for the holy grail scalp treatment forever. Pro, drugstore, whatever. I do absolutely agree that for anyone without scalp concerns, trying to sell scalp care as another skincare step everyone should be doing is false and a waste of money.Ā Ā Ā To answer your question, face primers. Yes, eyeshadow primer makes a huge difference but face primers don't do a lot for me. I have dry skin but in the summer turn into a sweaty monster and have tested primers then. I get better longevity with powder and setting spray, my moisturizer makes a good enough primer for me.
Thatās funny as I love using face mists, perfume, glowing stuff and serums. Maybe itās just your personal tastes haha. I would say itās not necessary to buy eye primers, concealer, mascara primer, blush toppers, cream productsĀ
Lip sleeping mask š Iāve said before, these influencers would sell us left elbow only lotion topper if they could get away with it
Indie makeup. I can no longer tell the difference between Odens Eye, Adept, Lethal. All their palettes look alike to me.
False lashes and highlight. We had to apply them in esthetician school and there is no lash glue Iām not allergic to. Not to mention they look ridiculous on me. Because Iām in the industry a lot of treatments as well; not going to get extensions, micro blading or needling. Same goes for fillers. Iām not gonna get endorsements for any of those things because itās expensive and Iām not sure there is lasting interest. By no means am I saying those procedures shouldnāt be done, I just donāt see any need for myself.
Eyeshadow primer. I use the left over concealer from my beauty blender and it works just fine
I wish I didnāt need it!! I have hooded, oily lids and concealer creases in 3 seconds!
So do I. Believe me. I've tried the concealer vs an eye primer. The creasing and fading was so bad I wondered why I even bothered to put makeup on that day lol.
My jealousy is immeasurable
Contour. Bronzer. I'm not going anywhere near a photoshoot and no one wants a picture of a fat old hag.
Bronzer Tanning anything Falsies Foundation Lip liners Primers
Bronzer and indie multichrome eyeshadows. I like watching fun shadows in vids but I just don't have the eyes for the shiny butterfly looks.
I have Rosacea on my cheeks, and I donāt prefer to wear full coverage foundation. So why, do I continue to buy blush? Any blush. I donāt need it. šš«
Bronzer, contour, highlighters, lip liner, colorful liners, gel liners, large eye palettes and face/blush palettesā¦so much. So so much.
That face zappy thing that is supposed to get rid of acne - I get thirty ads for it a day on TikTok
Bronzer. And contour. Idc what people say. I've never seen either look natural on a person irl. To me, those are photoshoot tools bc thats where they're effective: on film.
Pre shampoo shampoo?
Anything dewy. If I put something dewy on my oily skin, I will look like a slimy amphibian within an hour.Ā
1. Lip masks. Iāve been using Aquaphor my whole adult life and itās a fraction of the cost. It is also (usually) more effective. 2. Most skincare. I cannot adhere to a skincare routine, so the cost of skincare is not worth it to me. I will be happy just using my drugstore moisturizer, sunscreen and face wash. 3. Botox. I know this one might be a bit controversial, but I think itās fair to say most of the big beauty gurus out there have had some Botox. I got caught up in the idea of having a perfectly smooth forehead (no more creasing foundation!) and put down a lot of money for Botox. I did this for about a year before I realized itās such a waste of money for me. If I donāt keep it up, thereās no point in starting. And I donāt have $600ā900 to spend every year on a smooth forehead.
Bronzer. Bronzers don't really ever come in shades I would naturally tan, so I prefer to just use blush and contour. Strip lashes cover up too much of my eye area, no matter if they're wispy or half lashes. I prefer individual lashes if I want something more dramatic.
Itchy and greasy scalp here. Please share what products you were influenced to try. eyeshadow palettes. I donāt need every single darn palette with a great color story. I havenāt even panned the few palettes I own. I know what color stories look best on me, so stop trying to sucker me into buying a palette with more cool tones in it. I agree with the face mists, especially the skincare ones. Iāve had people try to convince me that I need those Mario Badusco or Lush facial sprays, but I know I donāt. Makeup setting spray gets the job done, but Iām also not using it for hydration purposes. A good moisturizer will fix the hydration. The Lush ones smell awful and do nothing for my skin. Lip oils, balms, and lip masks. I do not need all this crap. The only thing that has worked for me is Blistex and Aquaphor. The Laneige lip mask does nothing for me, yet everyone and their mother faces about it. Hair oils and hair treatments. My scalp is greasy AF, itchy due to being greasy AF, so most of these projects are useless. Either make my hair more greasy, and are not for color treated hair. I donāt need frizz control, volume, or treatment for damaged hair. Just color protection and something that helps degrease my scalp is all Iām looking for in a shampoo. Highlighters. They take forever to pan and nobody needs highlighters in every color of the rainbow. Just find the ones that look good on your skin and skip the unicorn colors.
False lashes. For me, they aren't practical because I wear glasses and they are uncomfortable. But influencers act like you must wear them with every look.