Rediscovered and Redeemed Makeup
Rediscovered and Redeemed Makeup
Recent adventures in shopping my stash, retrying products that (I thought) didn't work for me, and rediscovering old favorites
I test new makeup products nearly every day and at this point if a product isn’t immediately promising or so offensive I need to warn everyone I know away from buying it, it will tend to get lost in the back of my makeup drawers. At some point I’ll make my way back to the products I wasn’t sure about and deliberately test it out some more, and that’s what today’s chat is all about.
What it comes down to is that I have a pretty short attention span and one of my recent sessions of shopping my stash inspired me to retry some (specifically, 6) products I moved on from before I even formed a full opinion. I also have a couple of products I rediscovered that I am devastated to report are discontinued, but I included them anyway in case you also have them in your collection and need a reminder to use products you already have.
The Rediscovered Loves
About Face The Performer Foundation
This foundation caught my eye when it launched earlier this year because of its shade range and inclusion of olive tones at all stages of their shade range, plus a very friendly $22 price point. I bought this foundation in April and in my testing phases, it seemed to go patchy on me and not blend into the ultra skinlike finish I kept hearing about, leaving me disappointed that a perfect shade match wouldn’t be the perfect formula match for me. Normally I wouldn’t give up testing so quickly but around that time I went on a 3 week vacation and by the time I got back, I had basically forgotten about it.
It stayed in my makeup closet until recently, and I’m not sure exactly what was happening with my skin in April because I absolutely adore it now. I’ve worn it for a couple of weeks and it gives me the undetectable finish I keep hearing about, wears beautifully in a range of mid 40s-mid 70s weather, and doesn't have any patchiness. The only difference I can think of is that I may have been applying too much product at once in my initial testing, because I find a little bit of product to go a very long way with this foundation.
The packaging comes with a large doe foot applicator and I just dot tiny little dots around my face like I would with a concealer and blend it all out with a sponge (though I’ve tried this with a brush and it works fine with that too). It blends seamlessly into my skin into a medium coverage finish that just kind of looks like my skin but better, and stays that way for the whole day. I’m finally a convert and this foundation has been redeemed for me, and the shade matches are on point for olive skin - L2 Olive is a perfect match for me in the winter and LM2 Olive is perfect for me right now with remnants of my summer tan still hanging on, and at $22 I can justify owning 2 shades.
Surratt Artiste Liquid Highlighter
I generally have an on and off relationship with highlighters, and I’m definitely off with it over the summer when my skin is shiny enough as it is. Now that it’s cooling down, I’m experimenting with them again and fully realizing how beautiful these highlighters are. Surratt always makes the most exquisite products with interesting but still elegant finishes, and these highlighters are no exception.
These liquid highlighters give a gorgeous glassy glow that has a bit of shimmer and the subtlest hint of glitter that isn’t chunky at all. The formula feels light and there’s a bit of sheerness to the formula so it’s easy to apply an ultra sheer layer, or build it up to something a little more intense, but even multiple layers of this won’t look like you’ll be visible from outer space. These just seem to amp up my skin’s natural radiance and give it a bit of extra oomph that lasts all day and also doesn’t transfer any glitter or shimmer to the rest of my face.. I have 2 shades and Lame is a Champagne Gold that doesn’t add a lot of additional color, while Froufrou has a bit of a pink flash to it that looks so pretty and ethereal. Bonus that these are 40% off right now and STEPH15, my affiliate code, stacks on top of this discount!
Jones Road Beauty Lip and Cheek Stick
This is not so much a redeemed product so much as a rediscovered product, since I initially raved about these in a Substack post 2 years ago and was also one of my favorite products of the year. I don’t know if you’ve noticed (note heavy sarcasm), but we’ve been absolutely barraged with blush releases over the past 2 years, and I just got distracted.
I’m happy to report that I am fully back into these again and it feels like seeing a friend I haven’t seen in awhile. The slightly translucent and radiant, but not slick or super dewy finish makes this perfect for an effortless and minimal look, and all 3 shades that I have all look like a natural flush that doesn’t look like obvious makeup. They are also truly fantastic to take on the go since they work beautifully as tinted lip balms that add some light moisture to my lips. This formula has decent lasting power on my cheeks, but will start to fade at the 6 or 7 hour mark unless I set them with a powder blush, but because they’re such a convenient product to have on the go, I don’t mind keeping this with me for touch ups.
I have 3 shades that work beautifully throughout the year: Chocolate Mocha for a brown with a hint of red (my current go-to shade!), Rosy Brown for a slightly rosy and fresh faced but still muted flush,, and Tawny Nude for a deep mauve that has a slight raisin hue.
Jones Road Beauty The Best Eyeshadow in So Pretty
I bought this along with my first lip and cheek purchase while on a Jones Road Beauty binge when they first launched, and surprise, surprise, it got lost in my shuffle of eyeshadows. But as soon as the temperatures hit below 70 degrees, I bring out all my cool toned products again, and in that big seasonal rotation, I’ve gone back to this perfectly silvery taupe eyeshadow.
This eyeshadow packs a punch and is absolutely one of those one and done eyeshadows that can go from day to night, and can be a little intimidating from the start because it’s so pigmented. However, a light wash with a dense but soft and fluffy brush gives the most beautiful soft shimmering finish that has a bit of that cool mushroomy taupey depth to it, but with a bit of silver shimmer on top.
It makes for one of those one and done looks that looks like I spent far more time on my makeup than I really did, and I can’t emphasize enough how quickly I can swipe on a sheer layer of this and be finished with my eyeshadow. For a more smoky evening look, I can add another layer and blend a bit into my crease and it takes on this magical depth that looks sultry and fun at the same time. This is truly a little taupey miracle in a pot.
Now for the discontinued products (sorry!!)
I’m so sorry to include products that aren’t available to purchase anymore, but maybe I’ve inspired you to pull out something you already have, and in my true encyclopedic beauty nature, I love to talk about products of the past that I fell deeply in love with at one point, and that still inspire joy today.
Bobbi Brown Stone Eyeshadow - After rediscovering So Pretty from Jones Road Beauty, I was inspired to pull out some of my other favorite taupe eyeshadows, and I came across this delightful gem before realizing that Bobbi Brown discontinued all of its powder eyeshadows?!?! This makes me extra thankful for Jones Road Beauty for its line of single eyeshadows (in case you didn’t know, the Bobbi Brown left the brand Bobbi Brown in 2016 and went on to start Jones Road Beauty). But in any case, Stone is one of the OG taupes when I and everyone in the budding makeup community were obsessed with taupes. It’s slightly brown, with a hint of both purple and gray that makes it an elusive and complicated shade that goes with everything. If anyone has a dupe, let me know (or I’ll go searching for it myself!)
Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerize Eyeshadow in Exaggereyes - I truly didn’t know this one was discontinued until I wrote this because why would you discontinue one of your best shades? The Exaggereyes quad is one of my staple eyeshadow quads with its perfect blend of neutral shades, so naturally, the Exaggereyes cream shadow had to be in my collection. There’s a slight warmth to this shade that isn’t as obvious in the quad that can throw off this shade for me during the wrong time of year, but lately I’ve been reaching for this on days I want some shimmer because this shade in particular has a soft glittering finish that none of the Eyes to Mesmerize shadows have. It works beautifully as a one and done, but the soft twinkly glitter also comes through under any powder eyeshadow I wear on top. I’m getting FOMO for you if you don’t have this shade, but the good news is that I’m a fan of this eyeshadow formula in general and the other shades in this line are also beautiful, even if they don’t have that soft glitter.
I hope you all enjoyed this little makeup archives moment with my recent stash shopping adventures. Now I want to know - what are the discontinued favorites you’re still savoring and treasuring? What products have you recently revisited and changed your opinion on?
As always, thanks for reading!
LOVE the aboutface foundation and was so surprised earlier this year when it didn’t work for you. So glad you’re loving it now. I also love the JRB the best eyeshadows- so simple, good formula, but can be sheer or beautifully built up. My fave is penny!