Korean beauty brand FWEE is one of my favorite indie companies. The products are cute, kitschy, and don’t take themselves too seriously. But more importantly — they work. The FWEE Glowy Jelly Pot give you a sheer, dewy, jelly-like glow on your cheeks, lips, lids, and browbones. You get a glossy shine without any unwanted stickiness, and a plumped up finish. Plus, there’s a keychain option so you can take a mini version with you for touchups when you are out and about being fabulous. The GJP is different from the brand’s Pudding Pots, which I’ve covered in this column! The Puddings are more opaque, more saturated, and more buildable with color. These Jellies are beyond fun to play with. Dip and tap a clean finger into the product and repeat, since the formula is super light and mega sheer. Let your body heat melt and activate the formula, and then swipe on your facial high points, Cupid’s Bow, lips, or wherever. There are sheer and creamy textures that you can mix and match. The more you apply, the glossier your features shall be. Go ahead and play with these babies, because that’s the fun of makeup, isn’t it?!
K-Beauty is having a resurgence. It never went away, but it was in its ebb and flow era after a pre-pandemic explosion! K-Beauty is known for having several steps in its skincare and makeup regimens, so it’s a process and a commitment. I have no issues with makeup maximalism, either! If you are totally cool with adding another step and product to your morning routine, then you must get your mitts on Hera’s Airy Primer Powder. It’s made with Innovative Clay Powder, which gives you a smooth, pore-free, and texture-less canvas on which to add your concealer and foundation, and other color products like bronzer or blush. The formula is light and thin, all the while locking in moisture. The Vanilla Cream shade evens tone, zaps oil, and lasts for 24 hours. The attached moon-shaped brush glides along the facial contours, too. You only need a swipe or two — be sure apply after moisturizer and sunscreen but before foundation and concealer.
Basma’s Blurring Gloss Balm is moisturizing like a balm, pigmented like lipstick, and shiny like gloss. Who else raised their hand at home and thought, “I’m iiiiin!”This comfortable-to-wear multi-tasker smooths lines and blurs them out, so it’s like lip injections without needles. It’s a 3-in-1 product with rich and saturated pigment and it does not live in that nebulous space between gloss, balms, and masks but in that nebulous space between liquid lipstick and high pigment lip gloss. The hot pink, square component with a thick-headed wand is luxe and feels strong in your hand when applying. The shades are not sheer, so pair with mascara and let your bold lip define your look.
I’ve never met a Sara Happ lip product I didn’t LOVE. And The Glow Balm isn’t breaking that streak. The brand’s sugar scrubs are gentle yet effective on the pucker and The Lip Slip is a glossy, rosy, sheer, and healing lip lover that can be worn day or night. The Glow Balm lives in a twist up stick and is a balm-to-oil hybrid that melts into a buttery glaze across your lips. Because who needs donuts? Well, I do, but that’s another convo for another day. The hint-of-pink hue is supple and sexy and the lip hugging formula will make you very Happ-y.
Urban Decay is sooooo in its rebound era. Not that the edgy brand had a flop era, but it’s surging as of late with its glowy products. The new Urban Decay Glaze-On Liquid Eye Shadow fits the season’s imperfect and blurred makeup trend. Blurred lips, blurred cheeks, and shimmery shadows that leave a wash of sparkle on the lid, such as this, are ALL the rage. Shimmer through spring and summer with these magic wands, which feature a built-in blending brush so you can limit your mess and blend and buff as the mega celestial formula dries down to a crease-free finish. Sparkling champagne, pink, and blue shades abound. You can swipe one layer on as a base for your winged liner or layer on several coasts for all the late-night, club scene drama. Yes, yes you can. And you SHOULD.
You can’t rock a shimmery liquid shadow such as Urban Decay’s Glaze-Ons without the proper mascara to finish the look and pull it all together with black-as-midnight, fluttery lashes! Plus, who isn’t annoyed by eyeshadow dust and fallout on lashes when using a sparkly product? Makeup By Mario’s eye-opening Master Mascara (https://www.makeupbymario.com/products/master-mascara?variant=42043708637249) in Super Black boasts a first-of-its-kind brush with a conical shape that delivers on its promise to coat every lash on all eye shapes with its lifting, clump-free formula that won’t transfer or give you spider-y lashes. It goes on and it stays put! Namesake Mario Dedivanovic is known for his technique of wiping his mascara brushes before applying mascara to his clients in order to get the precise, clean application he so desires, so he designed the brush to grab the product and apply the product without the additional step. So, he was thinking of YOU when he created this rich, jet black, thick, and velvety mascara. Two coats, some liner, and some gloss could be your hot weather makeup uniform this year.
Glazed donut makeup and beauty has been a thing for years — thanks Hailey Bieber and Rhode! Laneige’s Glaze Craze Tinted Lip Serums (https://us.laneige.com/products/glaze-craze-tinted-lip-serum) are life. Who needs to dive into a box of Dunkin’ or Duck Donuts when you can swipe and plump with these beauties? Peptides, ceramides, and more populate the ingredients list. So you get shine, barrier boosting moisture retention, and plumpness! Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Masks are lauded by beauty gurus and influencers for melting into lips and keeping them soft and healthy as an overnight repair. Their during-the-day lippies are just as high functioning. The squeeze tube with a squishy, rounded tip feels so plush, pillowy, and comfy when gliding back and forth across your pout. But more importantly, it allows for a “just right” amount of product deposited on your pucker with a “just right” amount of pigment to look glam… without doing much at all. There are LOTS o’ lippies on the market. This range is for you if you want more pigmentation with your blinding shine..
If you are looking for a budget mascara alternative for lazy summer days and humid nights, Rimmel’s Wonder Bond Mascara is all those things… and THEN SOME.The product features a biotin bonding complex which is like skincare for your lashes, nourishing the barrier, protecting the gentle lashes from breakage, and complete with a black or brown pigment boost! The brush will cover lashes from root to tip and gets in the corners. It’s inspired by bond repairing serums that I’ve been using on my split ends and which have been smoothing the s**t out of my flyaways and any dry areas. Wonder Bond offers lashes strength, length, volume, and protection. I love the Twiggy-like result of this mascara as much as I love the wallet-friendly price. Drugstore mascara is deffo a do here!
Barbie never, ever goes out of style. While the co-branded product collabs reached their apex when the film was released a few years ago, Barbie has maintained her high ponytail-ed status as the ULTIMATE influencer. Beauty Creations, a Latinx-launched, affordable indie brand, has dropped a download of Barbie-themed products. And over at Beauty News, We. Are. In. Love. From the hot pink packaging to the products themselves, it’s a hard yes for us. And yes, it’s a LOT of pink.
Some of our fave products from the extensive collection, all of which are under $20, are as follows:
Hello World Multi-Use Palette, with its blendable eyeshadows and highlighter; pH Lip Oils, which react to your body chemistry and respond with your own personal, Barbie-approved pink; Shimmer Lip Oils, which provide buttery sparkle; the Born to Lead Blush Trio, because blush’s moment is NOT over nor will it be anytime soon and you get three finishes (cream, matte, or shimmer); Malibu Way Setting Mist, so you can refresh skin when you hit the way mid-day and add a little dewy glow; and the Me + My BFFs 5-Piece Sponge Set, which applies creams and powder products with a pop of hot pink for your morning.
It’s a gorgeous nostalgia collection for the makeup noob and novice in your life. It’s also a MUST OWN for collectors and Barbie fanatics.
