Recently, I’ve found myself trying out products across both the high street and high end spectrums, and I’ve been thoroughly surprised about which products were gems. Here are some products I’ve tried recently, didn’t expect much of, but then fell in love with them!

PUR Cosmetics Festival Palette: I received this in my most recent BoxyCharm, and I honestly took one look at it and sighed. Another warm toned palette with a couple of obnoxiously vibrant color pops? I wasn’t feeling it, to be honest with you. But then I tried it, and holy hell… The formulation of these eye shadows is absolutely incredible! They’re buttery and smooth with strong color payoff and almost no fallout. I am officially obsessed with this palette. It’s gorgeous, and I’ve used it almost every day for two weeks (which for a girl with as much makeup as me is really saying something). Below, I’ve put a photo of a few warm, sunset-esque eye looks I did recently using this palette.


Also, the pineapple necklace was a gift! Before I get inundated with questions about it, I have no clue where it came from (sorry!)
L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Deep Burgundy: This mascara formula is a true classic. But I’ve never gotten on board with the colored mascara trend that has swept through the beauty world in the last few years. Until now. This burgundy mascara was a random grab at Walgreens last month, and I honestly wasn’t expecting to like it. In the last few weeks, it’s become a favorite! My eyes are a forest green color and my hair is a red-violet-burgundy color, so the Deep Burgundy variety of this mascara just makes everything pop! I will say, I’m personally not head over heels with the formula, but others seem to adore it. It just doesn’t give quite enough ‘oomph’ to my lashes for it to be my everyday. But when I’m doing less intense makeup looks (probably 3 or 4 days a week), this has been a staple!

Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser: I think I saw this product pop up in 50 beauty videos before I ever ordered it myself. And I wasn’t really super amped about it because I assumed it was over-hyped and under-performing for what really amounted to a Cetaphil-ish cleanser that had very mixed opinions on the web. However, the first time I used it, my face was in heaven. The short version of what could be an hour-long rant is that it is an incredibly hydrating, softening, gentle face cleanser that makes my sensitive skin feel like I’m motorboating a cloud when I use it. I’m on my second bottle and just ordered a third. Enough said. If you’re curious about my current skin care routine, you can read all about it here.

Revlon Photoready Candid Natural Finish Anti-Pollution Foundation: This product struck me immediately as interesting, but nothing special when I saw it while browsing CVS. This foundation was packaged simply and wasn’t too pricey, which is what I’ve come to expect as the norm from Revlon. Let’s not forget that Revlon makes ColorStay, one of my all-time holy grail foundations! But I wasn’t sold on this one. But since I picked it up, I can’t really put it down. It’s a beautiful, smooth formula that doesn’t cling to dry patches or draw attention to imperfections. It is glides over the skin and blends away into nothing while offering light to medium coverage that lasts gorgeously throughout the day. I don’t see myself taking this out of my makeup bag any time soon.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about these hidden jewels that are floating around the beauty world right now. Let me know what products have surprised you in a comment below!
Cheers,
Gwyn
The cleansing firm performs cleansing of rooms of various sizes and also arrangements. Lark Ryon Faith