Happy Monday, beauties!  This past month I have been trying so many different beauty products for Summer, and it was definitely time to share a Beauty Edit with you to give you some honest reviews of things I think are worth the money, and others you just probably just say, “No, thank you,” to in Sephora.

You can see the previous Beauty Edit post HERE.

A lot of the items I tried were to attempt replace current favorites with more suitable Summer options, but that I loved just as much.  You all know how much I love my tried-and-true Esteé Lauder Double Wear Foundation [see my everyday make-up post HERE], however it does have some downfalls for this time of year.  First and foremost, it’s missing a sunscreen.  Not that this is an end-all for summer foundations, but it is nice to be able to skip one step/product in your beauty routine.

I tried two different BB Creams/Tinted Moisturizers to give me a lighter coverage for the hot summer days, and both had SPF in them already.

 NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer [shade ‘Finland’] | Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer [shade ‘Light’]

The Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer was the first one I tried.  It is a true tinted moisturizer as far as coverage goes (very light), but I liked the consistency better than most.  Rather than being “liquidy” it had more of a cream feel like a typical foundation.  It would be perfect if you’re looking for something light for everyday and don’t have much to cancel, but are just looking to even out skin tone.

The NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer was my favorite of the two.  It has a little bit higher SPF (30) and more of a light foundation coverage than a tinted moisturizer, which conceals a lot more.  I was worried that the “radiant” part of the name meant it had a shimmer, but it definitely doesn’t; it just has more of a dewy finish.  It’s perfect if you have dry skin like me, but if you’re more oily, they have a matte version here as well.  I tried a sample and absolutely loved the coverage.  It left an airbrushed, true matte finish, but was just too dry for my skin type.

I always put on any foundation/tinted moisturizer after my skincare routine which you can find HERE.

BareMinerals BareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer [in shade ‘Light’] | Bare Minerals Well Rested

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer [shade ‘NW20’] has been my go-to for years, but this month I wanted to try something new to go with my lighter tinted moisturizers.  The Pro Longwear is great, but does not budge and is a bit heavy for summer days.  I tried BareMinerals BareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer and loved it!  It’s the perfect creamy consistency paired with a tinted moisturizer.

I had never used a correcting serum/brightener before because I never understood the reasoning if I was going to use a concealer under my eyes to brighten them anyways.  That was until I tried Bare Minerals Well Rested…HELLO 😍.  I am now besties with this little tube of heaven.  Seriously I have no idea how exactly it works because it seems to be a thin, creamy liquid that absorbs into the skin rather than sitting on top, but all that matters is it works!  You end up using way less concealer, and even could get away by wearing this with no concealer over top.  It’s perfect for me because I have dark circles around my eyes (eyelids included), and this brightens them up so I don’t feel like I have to wear makeup to even out my skin tone and look awake.

BECCA x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection Palette

It may be mean to even review this since you can’t get it anymore (seriously sold out in less than a week), but the BECCA x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection palette is all it’s cracked up to be.  I had never used a highlighter before this because I didn’t really want to add shimmer to my face, but I have learned my lesson: a highlighter is way more than shimmer!

It adds dimension and a summer glow that gives you a little extra something, and looks so pretty on the simplest of everyday makeup looks, to a glam, going-out look.  Luckily, my favorite highlighter of the entire palette is sold separately HERE.  All hail, Champagne Pop!

BareMinerals Serum Bronzer | Nars ‘Laguna’ Bronzer

Does anyone else ever have this happen to them?  I will have never heard of something before, and then I hear about it one time and all of a sudden it comes up all the time.  Serum/liquid bronzers were totally like this for me!  The first time someone told me about them, I thought, “Who would want to deal with that hassle?” but at the same time, it kind of made sense.  It’s like almost giving yourself a facial spray tan.

I applied this BareMinerals Serum Bronzer with my damp Beauty Blender around the edges of my face (my hairline, jawline, etc.) as well as under my check bones (like a contour).  This makes a “3” shape on either side of my face.  It’s the same way I usually apply my Nars ‘Laguna’ Bronzer, but with a brush since it’s a powder.

Overall I didn’t like the look of the serum broker as much as my typical powder bronzer, so it was a return.  It was much more work, and I felt like you had to use a lot of product to get the same result.  Let me know if you’ve tried a liquid bronzer in the comments and what you thought!

 t3 Whirl Trio Curling Wand

Fromm Square Thermal Rounder Brush | Fromm 1907 Hot Paddle Brush

Curling wands have never been something I have wanted to bite the bullet on and invest in.  I’ve been using this wand from Target for years now, and for $25 it does a decent job.  I’ve had to rebuy it once over the course of like 3 years, but still, not bad.

This t3 Whirl Trio Curling Wand has been on my radar since I have heard so many people rave about it.  The concept is really neat: three interchangeable wands that easily hook up to the base to give different looking curls.  The barrels are a 1″ straight barrel (spiral curls), a 1.25″-1.75″ tapered barrel (beachy waves), and a 1.5″ straight barrel (think big, glam waves).  

I finally got myself to try it out this month, and I was not impressed.  I feel horrible saying that because so many people swear by it, but it just wasn’t for me.  Both the smaller barrels gave me too tight of curls, and the big one was just too big.  Haha, I totally feel like Goldilocks, but true.

Needless to say, I’m kind of glad that I ended up not liking it because I just saved myself a ton of money!

The other hair product I tried this month were the 1907 by Fromm brushes.  The “round” one is actually a rounded square which I had never seen before.  It gives you the body of a round brush, without the awful “curling under like a puppy dog.”  You totally know what I’m talking about 😉

The paddle brush is my other favorite because of the aluminum backing.  This seriously cuts down on blow-dry time by at least 50% because it heats up both sides of the hair to dry faster, and it helps you get that spot in the back that takes  forever to dry.

Solid Brush Cleaner

While I was picking up all these new things to try, I asked the girl in Sephora if they had any Beauty Blender Solid Cleanser since I couldn’t find it, and it’s something I regularly use and was out of.  She told me they were sold out, but raved about the Sephora brand version that was only $14 and according to her, “even better.”

I’m totally a skeptic when it comes to brand name things (drives Daniel crazy!), but since I was totally out, I took it home.  Well, the Sephora lady was absolutely right!  It’s so good!  It comes with a little rubber mat (the hot pink circle in the photo) that has little bumps all over to help get your Beauty Blender/brushes clean.

That’s totally my favorite part: you can not only use it for your sponges, but for brushes!  I hate washing my make-up brushes, and so I wait an embarrassingly long time in between washes.  But, with this little solid, all you have to do it wet it, rub in on the cleansing solid, scrub it on the mat, and rinse!  Super easy and so quick.

Have you tried any of these products, or anything new from Sephora lately?

Shop the Post