The March Beauty Roundup

a mini collection of beauty highlights from the past month with some usual suspects and surprise hits

Let’s talk about some of my favorite beauty products from the past month, and I’m particularly excited because there are some really surprising hits in addition to some exciting recent releases. We’ve got a little bit of fragrance, skincare, bodycare, and of course, makeup so let’s get to the good stuff. You’ll want to read to the end because this roundup starts good and ends on one of the best skincare products I’ve tried in a long time.

Fragrance 

Let’s start with fragrance because this scent combination is my current obsession that I can’t stop wearing. 

Snif Crumb Couture was kindly sent to me from the brand and I immediately fell in love with the scent, which on me smells exactly like a fresh croissant. It has the sweetness and richness of a pastry, but it has a savory buttery note that I haven’t come across in other pastry gourmand scents. It also lasts all day on my skin, which is a great thing and also means I’m constantly craving a croissant. I thought this fragrance was incredible enough on its own, until I purchased  Une Pistache by Obvious Parfums on a whim while killing time before meeting a friend one day.

I had never heard of Obvious Parfums but instantly loved how Une Pistache smelled because it smells exactly like how a pistachio perfume should smell in my head. It’s sweet, it’s nutty, it’s creamy, and a little earthy with notes like cardamom, heliotrope (which gives a slight almondy aroma), as well as pistachio milk. This smells delightful on its own, but is absolutely DIVINE layered with Crumb Couture. The combination of the 2 scents makes me smell like a pistachio croissant all day, which is as intoxicating and delicious a combo as it sounds. I’ve been wearing this combination basically nonstop since I got both of them so if you smell someone walking around town with a waft of pistachio croissant trailing them…it’s probably me but it could be you! Get the combo here.

Makeup 

It’s been a month of a lot of really great makeup launches, but matte lipsticks really ruled March. I already did a comparison and review of these formulas on my blog, but let’s recap a little bit here: 

• Chanel Velvet Nuit Blanc - this new collection of lipstick shades inspired by hours of the night in the sleek white packaging was absolutely irresistible to me. I got the shade 06:00, which is a very ‘me’ kind of berry-mauve-brown shade that is shockingly unique in my collection. However, the formula is just top-notch, as is to be expected with all Chanel lip formulas. It’s a super smooth and creamy matte formula that is comfortable to wear all day. The initial creaminess might fool you into thinking it’s a satin or even cream finish lipstick, but it settles down into a matte finish after a few minutes. This smooths exceptionally well over dry lip textures so it’s a great matte lipstick to wear if you usually find them drying. I have shade 06:00 and I’m tempted to get 00:00 as well…

• Merit Signature Lips Matte - Merit has one of my all time favorite lipstick formulas, so I was eagerly anticipating the matte formula, and it definitely doesn’t disappoint. It has a comfortable balm-lipstick hybrid that feels like nothing on the lips. Because of the matte nature of these lipsticks, they will accentuate dryness more than the original formula, but I find that it doesn’t actively dry out my lips. If I’m having an extra dry lip day I’ll moisturize a little extra beforehand, and I’m usually good to go after that. One of my favorite features about Merit lipsticks is how seamlessly they blend into the lips, and this matte formula keeps that same feature so it almost looks more like a natural lip tint, even when I build up the coverage. I now own 3 shades - Classic, a neutral pink; Court, a strawberry red shade; and Maison, a mauve shade. Don’t skip these lipsticks during the upcoming Sephora sale starting on Friday for Rouge members!

• Westman Atelier Lip Suede Matte - I was initially a little confused by this formula, but I find myself reaching for it more than I thought. It initially has a lightweight slippy suede formula with a velvety finish that can emphasize any dry texture - not great…but it gets good. The velvety texture settles down after 10-15 minutes and my lips end up looking smoother than they initially are. While I still wouldn’t reach for these on a dry lip day, I do find the formula pretty sophisticated to justify the $50 price tag. Though if you’re not totally convinced toward matte lipsticks, the Chanel Luminous Matte formula would still be my top choice.

Bodycare and Skincare

• Nerra Dry Body Oil - body oils are my favorite category of body products to try and I thought it couldn’t get better than the Osea Undaria Algae Body Oil or the Caudalie Fig Body Oil Elixir, but this one from Nerra has quickly become an everyday post-shower essential. From the convenient spray feature to the ultra light but super rich formula, just a few sprays, 3-4 on each arm and 5-6 on each leg, covers an impressive amount of skin. It just glides onto my skin and leaves a really lovely soft glow while absorbing quick enough that I can get dressed within minutes. I also love that it’s unscented so that it doesn’t interfere with any fragrances I wear on top. I’ve reached for this nearly every day since the brand kindly sent it to me and it’s one of those little indulgences I love to start my morning with.

• Iris and Romeo Weekend Skin SPF 50 - this dewy and luminous SPF is not what  I expected would end up in my monthly favorite. With combination skin in the winter and more oily skin in the summer, I tend to stay away from any spf that offers a dewy finish. However, something about this one has worked its way into my daily morning routine, and that something is its wonderfully healthy looking glow that looks more like fresh skin than an over-oiled shine. I skip moisturizer when I use this and it gives me just the right amount of glow and moisture. Bonus that it also has a really smoothing quality so it serves as a great skin prep product under makeup. Don’t sleep on this SPF for the Sephora sale!

• Matter of Fact Brightening and Firming Serum - I saved the best for last, since this is one of the few vitamin c serums that I’ve noticeably seen change my skin within the month that I’ve started using it. My skin is far from sensitive so it takes a potent vitamin c to really make a difference in brightening dark spots. My previous contender was the cult favorite but very expensive Skinceuticals C+E Ferulic Acid, but this one is half the price and just as effective on my skin. The biggest metric is that I’ve had a few stubborn acne scars and spots that were taking their sweet time to fade, and they have all nearly faded into nothing in the month I’ve used this serum - and this is all without adding any other treatment products in my routine in recent months. It also leaves a really lovely glow that isn’t oily or shiny at all. Take this and add the fact that it has way less of that hot dog water smell that comes with ferulic acid (but there is still some, because of the nature of ferulic acid), and I’m a convert to this. I’m also happy that this is now available at Sephora, too.

I want to know what your favorite products from the month were, as well. What new products have changed your routine? What were the surprise hits? Spill all the details! 

As always, thanks for reading.