Poundcake is a pro-fat, pro-queer, and pro-black brand that has created a gorgeous, creamy range of head-turning red lipsticks, called Cake Batter, that consider both your skin and lip tone — since lip hues can and do look different based on your natural lip color. What may look like a true crimson-y red on someone else’s lips may appear more orange-toned on yours. So Poundcake set about making lip shades that fully account for natural lip tones. The brand basically views lip product development the same way brands look view foundations and we love Poundcake for it! The brand’s new Cake Theory Lip Oil is absolutely luscious and truly understands that one gloss shade does not fit all! It comes in two shades and applies color theory principles and is designed to be more visible and glossier on darker lip tones than usual clear glosses. Nothing, not even clears, is universal. The yellow Melted Butter shade notes that yellow and violet are on opposite sides of the color spectrum and therefore neutralize on another and this product evens, rather than covers, your lip tone. The Browning hue adds a touch of color to anyone with pink, pale, or even dull tones. The formula filters out hyperpigmentation and dark spots, and reflects light so you can shine bright like a diamond. As someone with very pink lips, I’ve been living in Melted Butter since it landed on my desk.
Disney Princesses remain beloved in the beauty space and beyond, as they tap into nostalgia from a simpler time. And what’s more fun that plucking an errant eyebrow hair or a rando chin hair than plucking said errant eyebrow hair or rando chin hair with Tweezerman Slant Tweezers, festooned with images of Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Merida, Moana, Mulab, Pocahontas, Aurora, Jasmine, Tiana, Rapunzel, and/or Snow White? Tweezerman’s tweezers are truly best in class. They grab on even the tiniest hair with “eeze” and last forever and ever. It’s an affordable investment purchase. I’m a dedicated and disciplined threader when it comes to my eyebrows but I still have a few Tweezermans tucked in my medicine cabinet, desk drawers, in my car, and in my bag. Because you just never know when some annoying hair might sprout or show its head. So why not remove it in style?
MAKE UP FOREVER ARTIST TO GO MINI EYESHADOW PALETTE
If you travel a lot for work or funzies, you know the value of a portable eyeshadow palette that has six or so pans of color that can be mixed and matched for endless look options and that fits in your weekender. While MAC and Charlotte Tilbury may be more well-recognized these days, MUFE is another legacy brand known for its quality, so these shades are easy to blend, are better to build, and all hues are complimentary.
Eye blush is now a thing? Yes, yes it is, and courtesy of a legacy brand. Lancôme’s Idôle Tint Liquid Eye-Blushers are a hybrid of liquid eyeshadow and liner. You can build and blend a soft, diffused look or you can pile it on for pigment saturation. So light up your lids with a swipe of these neutrals… as if you were applying blush to the apples of your cheeks. Summer 2024 was all about blushed cheeks. Fall will be about blushed eyes.
Tower 28’s SOS Setting Spray isn’t just a setting spray or a makeup refresher. It’s an alcohol-free spray, powered by hypochlorous acid, a substance made naturally by the body to defend skin. So it’s both anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. That means it helps calm skin. In addition to stopping redness flare ups, since it can be used as a spray toner, it can be a post-sun exposure cooling treatment and can set and refresh makeup through the day. It has a LOT of jobs and does them all well. The brand’s chemist spent a whopping eight years working to stabilize this notoriously fickle ingredient. Science is on its side. The product does have a strong chemical-ly smell which sensitive noses might wrinkle in response to, but I didn’t find it overpowering or lingering past the first blast.
PENDRELL’s Vanilla Lip Balm is my morning go-to. It’s generously portioned — seriously, the pot is HUGE and it will take forever to hit the bottom — and smells like a slice of heavenly vanilla cake. It will take you from summer’s unforgiving sun through to fall’s crisp air to the dead of winter. It is your balm for all seasons and all hours of the day. Use it as a lip mask, a gloss, or a healer. Wipe the leftover balm on your cuticles to limit waste. It adds a subtle, supple sheen while providing ALL DAY AND NIGHT moisture.
