Monthly Beauty Favorites: May Hits and Misses

Happy June! I can’t believe yet another month has flown by. Today I’m rounding up the things I tested in May.

Base Products

There were a few new base launches that I really loved this month. I’ve been a huge fan of the Natasha Denona Hy-Glam Concealer and she launched a new Hy-Glam Powder Foundation which has an incredible formula. The packaging is beautifully designed with a compartment for a puff. I wear her concealer in Shades N5 through N9 depending on how much brightening I want vs spot concealing. In her Hy-Glam Powder Foundation I can pull off a few of the shades, right now I like NP7 or Y5-7. It’s a really nice blurring powder that looks like skin but has really good coverage. Even though it’s a powder foundation I prefer to use this as a setting powder.

Fenty added new complexion products. I really like the Soft’Lit Luminous Foundation in Shade 260 (see it in action here). It has nice medium to full coverage and the Foundation Brush 145 is a must-have for smooth streak-free application (although you can use any brush or sponge). If you want something more like a skin tint the Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint is a really nice one especially for summer. It’s lighter weight but still has pretty good coverage. I wear Shade 9 or 10 in the Skin Tint.

Makeup By Mario launched a new SoftSculpt Bronzing Shaping Serum and it took me a few tries to figure out how best to use it. As a liquid bronzer on top of foundation I found it a little too sheer but it does give the skin a very natural looking sunkissed glow. I like mixing it in with foundation to add warmth or using it as a base to warm up/tan the skin – kind of like a self tanner drop for the face. It is on the emollient side so I don’t know how those with oily skin will like it (I think it will be too dewy). There’s a new Double-Ended brush launched for this product and it’s a nice one to work with the liquid.

For a more traditional bronzer to add warmth I think the the SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Enhancer is better and easier to use/blend.

I really like the look of the new Bronzing Serum, but I’m not sure I’m quite hooked. I love the packaging style. It has a pump to dispense product but if you twist off the lid there’s also a sponge tip applicator to use. It has a similar effect to the Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Drops but the Makeup By Mario has a slightly thicker more emollient finish. I’ve added swatches to compare the undertone.

Bottom line, it’s not really a hit or miss for me. I’m still a bit undecided.

New SPF Formulas

I’ve put a few new sunscreens to the test. I really love the Origins Ginzing SPF 30 Daily Moisturizer Sunscreen for the texture and consistency. It’s white but does not leave a white cast and I love the moisturizing feel. It’s hydrating without being too thick or greasy feeling and it does not pill.

Peter Thomas Roth launched a tinted SPF called the Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Sheer Tint Moisturizer with SPF45. I really love this as a moisturizer with SPF. The tint is a beige but it’s really sheer so once blended it pretty much looks clear on my skin, but I like that they have a tinted option as so many white sunscreens end up having some kind of white cast even if they blend well. I like this under foundation. The coverage/pigment isn’t rich enough to wear as a tinted moisturizer.

Caudalie launched a sunscreen in the US called the Vinosun Protect Brightening Daily Mineral Sunscreen SPF50 and this is one of the first mineral sunscreens I truly love. It’s tinted but it’s pale so it does leave a very slight white cast. I love that it blends nicely without pilling on my skin and it has a semi-matte finish that adheres well to the skin.

Kosas DreamBeam is a formula I keep wanting to love and I keep trying. It has SPF 40 and the new color in Sunlit is a deeper tone than the original DreamBeam. Color-wise I think I would be somewhere in between the two shades, but even if they had more color options, I just don’t like the formula. It’s thick, doesn’t blend well and after putting it on, I really can’t wait to wash it all off. If you want a luminous glowy sunscreen the Supergoop! Glowscreen is a million times better.

Eye Makeup

I keep looking for a new eyeshadow palette to love these days but I keep going back to my staples like the Too Faced Born This Way, Patrick Ta Major Dimension, Natasha Denona everything. Something new that I did love were the new shades from Bobbi Brown. They added new shades of the Long-Wear Cream Shadows and I’ve been really loving Bronze for an iridescent bronze shade. Swatches below of the shades I love for summer. Bronze and Golden Light are new.

Coral Crush Lips + Cheeks

I love coral and peach tones and could not be more thrilled about all the colors that have come out this season! The Dior Poppy Coral tones are such great summer orange/corals. I shared a demo of the Rosy Glow Blush, Addict Lip Maximizer, Addict Lip Glow and Lip Glow Oil in action here and I’ll have swatches + review soon.

The Armani Luminous Silk Cheek Tints have been a hit with me. For peach tones they have two in 50.5 Rosy Peach and 31 Vivid Coral. I think they’re so pretty on the skin and easy to blend. Demo of Rosy Peach here.

NARS reformulated their blushes into a Talc-Free formula. I think Orgasm and Orgasm X have been such long-time cult classics, but I really love Orgasm Edge which is the same peachy undertone but without shimmer. You can see it in action here.

Coral Crush Nails

I love a good peachy coral bright polish for summer. OPI Infinite Shine in On a Mission is the perfect softer peach while Megawatt Hot is a brighter deeper coral. Both are opaque with a glossy finish.

Hermes does the best orange tones for summer. I have really loved Orange Poppy for a super bright electric orange red. They launched Orange Tonique earlier in the spring and it’s similar but pulls more orange.

For a more budget-friendly option I am obsessed with Olive and June, in particular the Quick Dry formulas in Cape and Picante.

Also wearing Cape below on the toes, outfit details here.

Lip Serum

I love Chanel skincare and lip care so I was really excited to try the new Hydra Beauty Micro Lip Serum. It’s packaged in a rubber squeeze tube similar to the L’Huile Camelia Nail Oil (love this). The Hydra Beauty Micro Lip Serum has tiny micro droplets just like the serums in the Hydra Beauty Line. I had high hopes unfortunately have to call this a miss. The formula is so thin it feels like water. It does absorb nicely for an ultra thin layer of moisture but for me it’s not enough to hydrate the lips and it feels like there is no added hydration after application.

Perfumes

I will have a perfume roundup soon, but there are three I really loved this month. I splurged on another Parfums de Marly in Valaya which is the perfect floral musk for hot summer months. I couldn’t stop thinking about it from the sampler set I bought and decided this was the one for me. I think this is my signature scent this year. Notes include: Bergamot, mandarin, white peach, orange flower, nymphea, vetiver, akigalawood, ambrofix musk.

Ouai St. Barts is one of the best tropical scents and I love it in the body wash and scrub. They launched a Hair and Body Mist which is a really nice lightweight fruity tropical kind of scent that isn’t too sweet or too strong.

Last but not least Chanel launched new body oils in a few of their Les Exclusifs perfume scents. These are quite the splurge priced higher than all of the other body oils in the Chanel lineup for $350 each. I shared a peek on stories and was overwhelmed by the response and questions! I had no idea so many of you were loyal fans of the Les Exclusifs line. I’ve owned and love Beige. I’ve always had my eye on Gardenia and 1957 but never splurged as my signature Chanel scents have been from the Les Eaux de Chanel lineup.

The Chanel beauty team generously gifted me the Les Exclusifs de Chanel Body Oil in Gardenia and it is heavenly. I layered it with the Beige perfume and the combination is the most luxurious combo I’ve ever tried. Scent lingers all day for me but it’s not as potent or as strong as the perfume.

I think if you have a special signature scent that you love from the Les Exclusifs line you will most likely find the body oil worth the splurge. Right now the oils is available in 1957, Beige, Gardenia and Coromandel.

That wraps up my May hits and misses! What did you love and try this past month?