MILK MAKEUP ODYSSEY LIP OIL GLOSS

Rating : 5/5

Price : $26.00

Size : 0.2 oz

Where to Buy : milkmakeup.com, Ulta, Sephora

Cruelty Free : Yes

If I'm spending more than $15 on a lip product, you gotta know its damn good. I was a bit perplexed at first when this product came out. I thought a lip gloss thats also an oil seemed to make zero sense. But, now that I've tried it, I'll never go back to a regular style gloss. This genius hybrid gives the deep hydration of an oil and the high shine of a gloss but WITHOUT the stickiness! When a guest comes into Sephora and wants to try a new gloss, almost all of them say they don't want anything sticky. That's when I take them to the Milk Makeup gondola and almost everytime they try it, they'll buy it! And that's because they are shocked by how incredible the formula is. This unique product is made with jojoba seed oil, cloudberry seed oil, and vitamin C & E. All of which help deeply moisturize. the lips. It comes in 12 shades which is a perfect mix of clears, nudes, pinks and even some fun colors as well! So there is truly a shade for everyone. This oil can be used on its own since it is so opaque or can be used as a topper on any lipstick. Whether you are a full glam girlie or a natural beauty, you NEED this in your bag!

AMIKA PERK UP DRY SHAMPOO

Rating : 4/5

Price : $28.00

Size : 1.8 oz

Where to Buy : loveamika.com, Sephora, Amazon

Cruelty Free : Yes

I had never heard of the haircare brand Amika until I began working at Sephora. But the fun, whimsical floral themed gondola made me curious to try. Their hero product is the iconic Perk Up Talc Free Dry Shampoo. According to their website, it was voted the #1 prestige dry shampoo in the U.S. in 2024. Which is certainly a big accomplishment considering all the prestige hair brands out there. What makes this product unique is that it is made without talc (a common powdery ingredient often used to mattify or absorb oil) but instead uses rice starch, a natural alternative making it a clean dry shampoo. Although other brands have created talc free dry shampoos in the past, several of them don't deliver the same boost of volume you get with Amika. For a while, this one of my favorite dry shampoos. I loved the fruity smell (which also helps to dimish odor), the insane volume it gave, and the fact that there was no white cast. I could seriously go up to four days without washing my hair when using this product. However, my one issue was the gritty feeling it left. This is VERY common for dry shampoos due to the composition of the formula itself. I have very fine hair and am also weird about certain textures so that part I struggled with. But, if that isn't something that bothers you, I say give it a try! It's also very reasonably priced for being a clean, prestige dry shampoo! I can't wait to try more stuff from Amika because I've been impressed with it all thus far!

NARS RADIANT CREAMY CONCEALER

Rating : 3/5

Price : $32.00

Size : 0.22 oz

Where to Buy : narscosmetics.com, Ulta, Sephora, Amazon, Nordstrom, Macy's

Cruelty Free : No

According to Nars.com, their Radiant Creamy Concealer is the #1 concealer in the U.S. and one is sold every five seconds. I'm not sure when this claim was originally made, but working at both Ulta and now Sephora we would definitely sell some, but I certainly wouldn't say it was the most popular concealer we had.....This bad boy has been around for ages and has been a staple in a lot of peoples routines for years. After hearing about this for years, I finally tried it. Hearing all those claims, I had very high hopes and was honestly a bit disappointed. It wasn't the worst concealer I'd ever tried, but I don't think it lived up to the hype. At first application, it looks beautiful on the skin and does a great job of covering dark circles as well as blemishes. However, within a few hours it starts to crease VERY badly. I ended up using the whole tube trying so hard to make it work. I tried different foundations underneath, using and not using an eye cream to prep, blending with a sponge vs. a brush. However, I got the same result each time. As I'm getting older, my under eye bags and crows feet are slowly getting more prominent and this product actually emphasized that. After trying so many concealers, I don't think I'll be using this one again because I know theres better out there. Also, another big issue I have with this is the applicator. For Nars being such a prestigious makeup line, the component of this product feels incredibly cheap. The sponge on the wand is very thin that you can feel the plastic underneath which is not ideal for such a sensitive area like the undereyes. Its also such a small sponge you have to go into the tube several times to get the right amount of product. Overall, I wasn't very impressed by this. Nars is such an incredible brand and I enjoy everything else I've tried from them, but this one just did not work for me.