BK Brushes Review

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Hi everyone! 

Today I wanted to do a review/ranking of my BK Beauty (affiliate) brushes, especially since they’re having an anniversary sale through August 10, 2025. I have managed to amass six different brushes and wanted to share my thoughts on each one and help guide any decisions you might make.

In the past I have preferred natural hair brushes since most of my collection consisted of powder makeup with only a few cream and liquid products. Over the years I have added more and more cream products, especially check products, which have necessitated good synthetic brushes. I was skeptical of shelling out money for synthetic bristle brushes but BK Beauty is one of the exceptions. I am much more willing to invest in their brushes because of their innovative shapes, brush density, and quality of the bristles and it was hard to overlook the immense number of positive reviews for their 101 and 109 brushes in particular. Like I am not that willing to pay high prices for a shape I could get from Real Techniques or Morphe you know? 

Half Caked Night Show Liquid Shadow Swatches and Review

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Hi everyone!

Today I wanted to share my video and my thoughts on the Half Caked Night Show Liquid Shadows (affiliate). These are a water based silicone-free liquid eyeshadow. Most of the range of Half Caked Makeup is silicone free so they're a great option for anyone who is sensitive to silicones. Anyway these liquid eyeshadows have been brilliant when I want a one shadow shimmery eye look.

Glossier Skywash Matte Eyeshadow: Swatches and Review

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Hey everyone!

Obviously it's been a long time since I've updated the blog. Life, being a parent, etc takes up a lot of time but I realized that I set myself up for failure by feeling like I have to post consistently vs. posting when I want to. So here I am to say I haven't abandoned the blog, but will just post when inspiration strikes. I have a backlog of half finished posts (including a bunch of Glossier reviews) so I hope my inspiration stays for a while.

For today I have a review and swatches of four Glossier Skywash Matte Eyeshadows. These are liquid-to-powder eyeshadows for a sheer matte finish on the eyes. I'll admit that I was enticed by these eyeshadows because I really wanted something similar to the Wet n Wild matte liquid eyeshadows. 

I picked up four of the seven, Echo, Palm, Terra, and Valley. The other three colors included a Lawn (grass-lime green), Pool (pale blue), and Pebble (taupe). I knew I wasn't going to wear the green or blue so I immediately passed on them and the taupe seemed a bit too light. These colors were inspired by the Southwestern landscapes and I totally see the inspiration.

Click through to continue reading my review and see swatches!

Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Lip Colours: Swatches and Review

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Today I have a long overdue review on the Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Lip Colours in Velvet Fawn and Velvet Muse. I've been watching Lisa Eldridge for many years now and I felt so keen to support her/her launch. I'll be honest with myself and admit that a majority of the appeal behind these lipsticks are because they're by Lisa, because they're rather expensive and can be harder to get since they only restock in Autumn/Winter so I wanted to get this post up before the restock/preorder (and new launches) tomorrow October 3rd at 1600 GMT (or 8am PST/11am EST if you're in the Americas) with both the lipstick and new Gloss Embrace shipping on the 19th.

I know talking about traditional lipsticks while we're still wearing face masks seems out of place but honestly the downtime from both the pandemic and my pregnancy gave me a ton more opportunity to wear makeup at home, even when I'm not going anywhere or needing to be on any kind of online meeting.

Still, I wanted to share my thoughts especially since they're an expensive purchase! 

EM Cosmetics True Gloss in Magic Hour and Secret Blush: Swatches and Review

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Today I have a review of the EM Cosmetics True Glosses in Magic Hour and Secret Blush. I first heard about these glosses from EmilyNoel83 and she absolutely raved about them. I mentioned recently that I'm way into glosses over liquid lipsticks (the comfort!!) and these seemed up my alley.

I had to chance to go to one of their Pop Up Shops so I was able to swatch the colors I was interested in in person and I got these two which are their more "neutral shades"; I'm hoping they will expand the range since it's really geared towards brighter reds and pinks. I feel like the brand interests me in the same way that Persona Cosmetics does; they do smaller releases on a slower schedule so the entire brand feels very curated.
 

I have more swatches and a review of the colors...

Glossier Brow Flick vs. Ardell Stroke a Brow: Review, Swatches, and Comparison

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Today I have a review and comparison of the Glossier Brow Flick to the Ardell Stroke a Brow. I learned about the Ardell Stroke a Brow from Katie Jane Hughes and seeing how well the product worked on her. Soon after I got the Ardell, I found out that Glossier was going to be coming out with their own liquid brow pen though it was unclear when it would actually launch. Considering Ardell Stroke a Brow was a staple product of Katie Jane Hughes and how she collaborated with Glossier with Brow Flick, I thought it'd be useful to compare it to the two.

I have the Ardell Stroke a Brow in Soft Black and the Glossier Brow Flick in Black.

I tried to be as in depth as possible and have included swatches, compared the packaging, pricing, and tested the wear. Continue for more information...

Persona Cosmetics Season One Lip Gloss: Swatches and Review

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Today I have a review of the Persona Cosmetics Season One Lip Glosses in Peach, Honey, and Toffee. Persona Cosmetics is a brand that was founded by Sona Gasparian, a Youtuber and Beauty Blogger. I remember being introduced to the brand by Mandy Everley after she praised their Identity Eyeshadow Palette. I thought the brand was particularly interesting because many of their products are geared to flatter brown eyes. Of course you can use their products regardless of your eye color but it's rather nice to think of a brand recognizing that brown eyes don't get as much love.

I rather like their release schedule and how they take their time between launches so it feels like a very curated brand. I think it's easy to get lost when brands are releasing a new product every week so seeing how Persona has adding and expanding their range is rather refreshing. The Season One Lip Glosses are the first set of lip glosses that the brand has released. I'm hoping that by calling it Season One that they'll release more colors in the future. 

I'm really feeling lip glosses lately and so many other brands are too. Gone is the popularity of long lasting but uncomfortable products, I'm happy to see a renaissance of lip gloss even if it's not long lasting. I was really drawn into the colors and the formula of these glosses.

Continue to read my review and see swatches!

Wet N Wild MegaLast Liquid Catsuit Creme Eyeshadow: Swatches and Review

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a review of Wet N Wild MegaLast Liquid Catsuit Creme Eyeshadows. I made a big purchase on Wet N Wild's website after seeing a whole bunch of their stuff reviewed by Bailey/DailyBaileyB on YouTube. I haven't been keeping up with Wet N Wild but their website makes it way easier for me than in the old days where you'd have to go to multiple stores to find the product range. This launch in particular really caught my eye because while there are lots of shimmery liquid eyeshadows out there, there aren't that many matte cream shadows at an affordable price.

Did these live up to my expectations? Click through to read my review and see swatches!

Glossier Play Niteshine Highlighter Concentrate in Pale Pearl: Swatch and Review

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Hey everyone!

Today is part two of my Glossier Play review with my thoughts on the Niteshine Highlighter Concentrate. I'm not surprised that they came out with a liquid highlighter yet I also feel like it was quite a safe decision for a brand that decided it had to create a whole new side brand for their brighter color cosmetics. I get a real 70s disco vibe from Glossier Play though I do feel like the type of products released seem boring despite how cool and colorful the brand imagery is.

Still, I wanted to see what the highlighter was all about so I picked up the lightest shade, Pale Pearl. I figured it'd be interesting to see how it compares their stick highlighter Haloscope.

Click through to read my review and see swatches on the highlighter!

Glossier Play Colorslide Technogel Eye Pencil: Swatches and Review

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Hey everyone!

If you're familiar with my blog, you'll know that I own and have reviewed a ton of Glossier products. Boy Brow is my staple brow gel and I've gone through more bottles of Milky Jelly Cleanser than I can even remember. Glossier is well known for their effortless no-makeup makeup vibe so it's not a huge surprise that they would create a side brand, Glossier Play, for their more adventurous makeup launches.

Glossier Play is described as a brand of "dialed up beauty extras". In hindsight, I should have realized they were planning to venture into brighter color cosmetics after they launched their Milky Oil makeup remover. After all, not much in the original Glossier line required heavy duty makeup removing but the Glossier Play line has more colorful products.

I have lots of thoughts on Glossier and Glossier Play as a concept but it would take up way too many words in this blog post so I'll keep my thoughts to myself for another time. Today I have a review on two Glossier Play Colorslide Technogel Eye Pencils. Let's get to it!

Click through to see swatches and read my review!

Glossier Generation G: New vs. Old Formula Swatches, Review, and Comparison

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Hey everyone!

As the title suggests, I'm going to be talking about Glossier's latest reformulation of their Glossier Generation G's, their sheer matte lipstick. This is the third formulation of the Generation G's and along with a tweak to one of the shades (Leo), there's been a long asked for update to the packaging and formula. I have the second formulation and packaging and got the new formula to compare.

Interested in reading the comparison? Click through to read more!

Cirque Colors Rose Quartz Nail Polish - Swatch and Review

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I hope you had a wonderful time during the holidays with your family! I wanted to share my thoughts on Cirque Colors Rose Quartz Nail Polish that I bought during Black Friday. I was growing out my nails for my wedding and during the process I started getting back into nail polish. I'd been following Cirque for a while but never bought anything so Black Friday seemed like perfect timing.

Cirque Rose Quartz. This is described as a "sheer milky pink nail polish with sparkling holographic flakes". Cirque says this is opaque in 2-3 coats. I have a longer free edge so I find it's mostly opaque at three coats due to the sheer formula, it'd probably be look more opaque if you have a shorter nail. The holographic flakes add a wonderful depth but some of the larger flakes don't always lay flat so you might need to use the brush to encourage it to lay down. The nail polish does dry semi matte so it benefits from a top coat to add back the shine. It's a thin formula that levels fairly well, I also get excellent wear time from it but I tend to with my longer nails.

I will admit that I didn't realize how much smaller the bottle is compared to other brands. Cirque doesn't list the size on their website (unless I'm not looking in the right place) so I assumed it was 15 mL/0.5 oz like most brands. It's actually about 3/4ths the size of your usual nail polish bottle (11 mL/0.37 oz). Regardless, it's a beautiful formula and I've already worn it for several weeks straight.

The polish is $12.00 from Cirque Colors. They do have other vendors if you don't want to buy directly from their website.

What nail polish have you been enjoying lately?

Colourpop Brow Boss Gel vs. Glossier Boy Brow: Comparison, Swatches, and Review

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Hey everyone!

Today I wanted to talk about Colourpop Brow Boss Gel. Colourpop has been expanding their brow range over the years, coming out with different brow pencils and brow pomades but they only had a clear brow gel for the longest time. Now they finally listened to consumers and released colored versions of their Brow Boss Gel. I love a good brow gel and given that they made one in the shade Soft Black, I was down to try it.

Given that the original Brow Boss Gel sounded like a dupe to Glossier's Boy Brow, I decided to compare it to the Boy Brow in Black and see how similar it really was.

Click through to see my review, see swatches, and a comparison of both!

Revolution x The Emily Edit - The Wants Eyeshadow Palette: Swatches, Review, and a Warning

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Today I'm going to be talking about the Revolution x The Emily Edit The Wants Eyeshadow Palette. I'm not even sure where I should start because I have so many feelings about this eyeshadow palette. EmilyNoel83 is a Youtuber I have been watching for years; she's a brilliant speaker, thorough reviewer, and has such an amazing work ethic. She's someone who's not afraid to speak her mind and tell you when something is not worth it and she's still a positive light in the community. She collaborated with Makeup Revolution for two palettes, an eyeshadow palette (The Wants) and an eye and face palette (The Needs). 

This palette looked wonderful and I'm always happy to get an opportunity to support someone who I've enjoyed watching the community. However, there is something that's coming up that's important to know before buying.

Click through to read my thoughts, see swatches, and my warning before purchasing.

BH Cosmetics x ItsMyRayeRaye Palette - Swatches, Review, and Photos

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Today I have a review of the BH Cosmetics x ItsMyRayeRaye Palette. This palette isn't a new release, launching about a year ago but I wasn't really tempted until I saw Nisipisa do a travel makeup look with this palette. After that, I saw it on sale at my local ULTA for 50% off so I figured it was a sign to try it.

I've only owned one BH Cosmetics palette before (their Foil Eyes palette) and none of the mattes so I wasn't sure what to expect. Click through to read my thoughts, see swatches, and more photos!

Bite Beauty French Press Lip Gloss in Dirty Chai - Swatch, Review, and Photos

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a review on the Bite Beauty French Press Lip Gloss in Dirty Chai. Though I'm not a coffee person, I can still appreciate the theme and fresh look behind the glosses. I saw swatches of the glosses online and really wanted to get Dirty Chai. I ended up getting it for my birthday and wanted to share my thoughts on the limited edition gloss before it went away.

Click through to read a review, see a swatch, and photos!

Darling Girl Glitter Potion Lip Toppers in Charmed, Divine, and Ritual - Swatches, Review, and Photos

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Hey everyone!

It's been a little while since I posted on the blog but I do have an explanation! I got my eyebrows microbladed and wanted to wait until my brows healed before taking any photos for the blog. I also went on vacation to see my family in France so I wasn't able to blog while overseas. I am back and I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things with more reviews/looks.

I hope you enjoy today's post, a review of the Darling Girl Glitter Potion Lip Toppers. Unlike brands that are marketing lipglosses as lip toppers (here's looking at you Jouer), these are actually water-based lip toppers meant to add glitter/shine to your favorite liquid lipsticks (without breaking them down). Though I don't always wear glitter in my everyday makeup, I still love the idea behind adding a little glitter to my lip products.

These could be a dupe for Lime Crime's Diamond Toppers or Urban Decay's Vice Special Effects Long-Lasting Water-Resistant Lip Topcoats, though I can't say if they're 100% identical since I haven't tried either. Regardless, I love finding a possible indie alternative to a mainstream product.

I got three colors in Charmed, Divine, and Ritual. There are eleven colors in total. 

Click through to read my thoughts, see swatches, and photos of each color when worn.

Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Burnished Copper - Swatch, Review, and Photos

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Hey everyone!

I'll admit, I'm someone who loves owning high end/luxury makeup but my inner voice still struggles with actually exchanging that amount of money for the goods. Whenever I do decide to get something high-end/luxury, the process ends up being finding a product, ruminating over it for a period of time, before finally purchasing it. The latest brand I started looking at was Tom Ford. 

Everything about Tom Ford products screams "luxury" (with a hint of inaccessibility). The packaging is simple yet on brand and the products are definitely aspirational. I had been going back and forth over the Cream and Powder Eye Colors vs. the Cream Color for Eyes and finally decided on the Cream Color for Eyes in Burnished Copper.

Click through to see a swatch, read my thoughts, and see photos.

Sonia Kashuk Makeup Brush Solid Bar Soap Cleanser Review

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Hey everyone!

This is a quickie review on the Sonia Kashuk Makeup Brush Solid Bar Soap Cleanser.

I got this brush soap after Target rebranded Sonia Kashuk, got rid of their makeup products, and refocused on makeup brushes and accessories. Sonia Kashuk left her brand and sold it in October 2015 but it still felt like a big shift to see some of her great makeup products and original brushes go.

In my mind, I figured that a brush focused brand would have a great brush soap. This is a brush soap that contains goat's milk, olive oil, coconut oil and has a rosewater scent. It also contains a small scrubby pad to help you clean your brush. It sounded so good on paper but how did it actually fare in practice?

Details/Where to Purchase: The brush soap contains 1.5 oz for $9.00. You can get these at Target stores and Target.com

Packaging: The soap comes in a black plastic jar with a scrubbing pad included. You can stick the pad in your sink to help clean your brushes.

Review:

Sonia Kashuk says: "This Sonia Kashuk Brush Cleansing Solid Bar Soap is the ultimate brush refresher with mess free results. Maintains the shape and beauty of any type of brush while removing makeup buildup. Leaves brushes clean and freshly scented."

I don't find it very effective in cleaning my makeup brushes. I have to go back and do a second pass with the soap even when it comes to cleaning powder off of my eyeshadow brushes. I can understand it taking two tries to clean creams or liquid foundation from my dense synthetic brushes but not for something like powders off of my small eyeshadow brushes. Even using my hand soap has been more effective on my brushes. I'm not into working harder to get the job done compared to using something like a liquid brush cleaner.

Conclusion:

If you're in your local Target or online, I'd pass when it comes to buying this as a brush cleanser. There are lots of better alternatives out there (might I suggest the Benjabelle Organic Brush Shampoo? I'm not too fond of the scent but it's an effective cleanser).

What are you currently using to clean your makeup brushes?

Disclaimer: I purchased this brush soap myself. All opinions are my own. There are affiliate links in this post which provide me with a commission based off your use of the link when making a purchase.

Darling Girl Wonder Wand Cream Eyeshadows - Swatches, Review, and Photos

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a review on some indie cream eyeshadows, Darling Girl's Wonder Wand Cream Eyeshadows in Dragon's Sickness and Honey Cake. It's been a long while since I've reviewed anything from indie cosmetics brands, especially since I used to blog about them a lot years ago. I'm a little out of the loop when it comes to indie cosmetics but I hope to get back into them and share some of the great handcrafted products from brands like Darling Girl.

I'm a lover of cream eyeshadows so I figured these cream eyeshadows would be a good place for me to start. Click though to read my review, see swatches, and photos!