It doesn’t matter how cold or what season we are in — my cuticles are always, always dry. Like parched. Like the desert. I moisturize my body twice a day, and I use excess body and hair oil or lip balm on my cuticles to try and keep them as nourished and as hydrated as possible. I even carry cuticle oils in my bag, in my car, and on my desk. But somehow, they are still drier than the Serengeti. I think it’s the constant exposure to the elements, from cold to water. I am currently combatting crusty cuticles with Margaret Dabbs The Nourishing Nail & Cuticle Serum Pen. The thick, milky white formula, which is unscented for those of you with sensitive noses, seeps into my skin on contact and helps moisturize flaky, ridged, or generally inflamed nails and cuticles. It also can help prevent infection. It’s an excellent assist or “add-on” to your daily moisturization routine…since multi-step makeup and skincare regiments look to keep being a thing in 2025! But if it works, it works. The squishy, flexible nib at the end of the squeeze tube looks like a pencil tip, allowing for precise application to get to driest parts of your cuticles that need the most TLC. I dot it on my nails twice a day and it doesn’t make my hands (or my keyboard or iPhone or anything else that comes in contact with my digits) feel greasy or leave marks or stains. You will get the best results if you use it multiple times a day, but a little goes a long way.
Tower 28 Beauty founder Amy Liu has celebrated her AAPI roots and the Lunar New Year with the Red Bean Mochi version of the brand’s LipSoftie Tinted Lip Treatment. It’s a sheer and rosy nude that offers a mask’s rich hydration, along with the supple shine of a gloss. It was designed for sensitive lips and has been approved by the National Eczema Association. I have pinkly pigmented lips, and this shade takes them up a notch! RBM is fragrance-free and made with food-grade flavoring, keeping things simple and sophisto! It’s juicy and sweet without being cloying. I’ve seen a lot of content creator complaints about the tube and the rounded tip — think of the classic, clear MAC Lip Glass tubes in the ’00s. The tip doesn’t curve to the contours and bend to the topography of your lips…but you can swipe it on and then buff it out with your finger or by smacking your lips together! It is NOT a deal breaker by any means. This shade is limited edition and it’ll be so pretty in spring and summer, so you’d be totally smart to scoop up two or five. Because “I have too many lip products” said NO ONE. EVER.
It’s time for your 2025 glow up and while it’s barely February, it’s never too soon to start planning for the ENTIRE year. Urban Decay Face Bond Luminizer is going to assert itself as a makeup bag “must,” regardless of season. It also lets you mimic, retain, or extend that “summery glow” no matter what the calendar says. This primo liquid highlighter, which comes in a squeeze tube with a thin, precision tip, like its miraculous, self-setting Face Bond Foundation, is so, so shimmery. You can swipe this highlighter x bronzer hybrid on your cheeks, face, arms, decolletage, or any place you want to sparkle and glow. It can be mixed with foundation or moisturizer for extra glimmer. The formula boasts mega fine shimmer, pearls, and 3% Niacinamide, so it’s good for skin while adding that sought-after, healthy ”n’ dewy flush. You won’t feel any glittery grit — who has time or desire for that?! — as you smooth onto skin. It’s multi-proof — that is, waterproof, sweatproof, and smudge-proof. Once it dries down, it stays put. No transfer to your hands, phone, chair, or clothes. Whew! There are silver, champagne, golden, and bronzy tones from which to choose — eight in total, to allow you to be a golden goddess.
Mario Dedivanovic‘s brand can do NO wrong. Makeup By Mario‘s latest innovation is SuperShine Lip Gloss. It’s not a balm, it’s not a mask. It’s a straight up effing lip gloss that coats lip in glass-like shine. Glass hair is a thing. Glass skin is a thing. And because of these chubby tubes of wet-look shine, glass lips are a thing. You apply with a doe-foot applicator that has a little divet in the center, so you drop a just right amount of product onto your lip. The formula features Pomegranate Extract and Jojoba Oil for max moisture and hella hydration. My lips were blindingly shiny but the formula isn’t sticky, thick, or heavy. It sits so cushy and comfortably on your lip. The shades go on pretty sheer so you can add more coats to intensify hue.
I love a good brow product. Show me a gel tamer or a crayon to fill on sparse spots or to shape and define brows and I’m in! But I also am ALL about a brow product that makes brows look natural, lush, and full — not those overly dramatic Instagram brows that were popular five years ago! If you prefer a longer-lasting, natural-looking tint instead of filling your brows in daily, Godefroy’s Instant Eyebrow Tint is a great option! It lasts for up to 4 weeks and comes in 6 different shades.” Dominique Cosmetics is disrupting the brow space with the 4-in-1 Brow Frame brow pencil. It does four things, obvi: Shapes, rills, combs, and mimics hair! It’s dual-ended with a pencil on one end and a spoolie on the other. There’s Vitamin E in the formula, which is said to encourage hair growth. It has a built-in sharpener, as well. You can fill in any spare areas, shape, arch, define, or thicken! I love it because it’s simple and easy to use. I am not looking for mega brows — just my brows, but better. I like to fill in the inner edges of my brows, comb through, and then finish with the brand’s Brow Blowout Clear Gel.
Speaking of Dominique Cosmetics, the brand’s Wide Awake Full Coverage Concealer basically erases my under eye dark circles. I tend to nix liquid foundation and full coverage concealer because I like my skin to breathe. But this is the first full coverage product that I’ve found that doesn’t feel cakey or heavy all the while doing its desired job of banishing under eye discoloration while melting into and mimicking my actual skin. And there’s a reason for that. The wand doesn’t have a plush doe foot tip; rather, it’s a metal cooling wand. I find that it helps to reduce any puffiness while evening out my skin tone and helps me to apply just the right amount of product. Later, cakey concealer! Hello, caffeine-infused concealer, which boosts circulation. I love that it doesn’t sit on my skin and LOOK like I’m trying to hide something. It’s truly a second skin product that melts.
A dewy glow is beholden to no season. If you are feeling pasty, blah, dull, or glow-less, then you need to get with LYS Beauty‘s Aim High Highlighter Stick. Packaged in a twist up tube in the brand’s signature triangle shape, a few swipes of this glow-getter on your nose, apples of your cheeks, or any of the high points of your face will banish gray, winter skin doldrums in favor of luminosity! If you fear glowy, dewy products since a heavy hand can make you look radioactive, then fear no longer. The stick allows you to control how much you apply and you can just blend with your fingers. I find that the heat from your fingertips allows it to melt even more beautifully into your skin. Fun Fact: LYS = Love Your Self and practicing self love through the art of makeup is always a DO!
I can’t get enough of LYS products, TBH, due to their efficacy and affordability. They are also clean and the brand is black-owned! The Speak Love Smooth Glide Lip Liner does just that. It’s matte, yet creamy, and glides onto your lips like a balm. Skipping? Nope. Tugging? No way. Pulling? Oh, hell no! You can line and define and let it take the place of your lipstick or you use it as a base for your fave matte or satin shade. You can also top with a gloss or balm for a sumptuously precise lip look. It requires a sharpener but it’s the softest lippie I’ve found as of late. Go-to, works-with-all-skintones-shades include Romantic (dusty rose) and Intentional (peachy pink).
Necessaire has become an internet favorite because of the simple effectiveness of its skin care products. Well, Necessaire The Lip Balm is a multi-ceramide barrier balm, meaning that it hydrates lips on contact and keeps them soft and supple.The squeeze tube applicator has a slanted metal tip, which has a subtle cooling effect. The Essential Mint Oil tingles without burning, especially when your lips are chapped, sensitive, or raw. Overall, it’s very low fi, no fuss, simple, and boasts shea butter in the formula, so it gets the job done while adding a little bit of sumptuous shine. Thank you, Necessaire, for an instant chapped, raw lip fix!
