What I'm Not Buying: Too Faced Natural Love Palette

In a move that surprised absolutely no one, Too Faced has come out with another palette. And not only that, but it's a giant 30-shadow palette. Adding insult to injury, it's a palette that is filled with shadows found all throughout Too Faced's other palettes. 

And, shockingly, I won't be buying. 

(Deep breath.)

I have really, really had it with Too Faced and their bullshit. And yes, I'd say this palette is bullshit. 

This is the least-inspired, so transparently money-grabbing palette I've seen from Too Faced this year, which is really saying something since pretty much every single release they have done has been that. This palette is not only filled with colors that we have seen done twenty times over, but Too Faced is flat-out acknowledging that this palette is filled with colors already in their palettes. So that means that all the people who are diehard Too Faced lovers will be buying and gushing over shadows that they already own. And all the bloggers and YouTube personalities who will rave over it and say that you "must" have it are saying that about shadows they already own and have already told you that you "must" have. 

This is seriously getting out of control. 

But, on the positive side of all of this, this palette did not tempt me whatsoever. Not even a tiny bit. As soon as I saw it, I rolled my eyes and watched as so many people talked about how they had to have it even though they already owned all of these colors. 

So, here are the reasons I won't be buying:

There is nothing interesting whatsoever about these colors. 

In addition to several of these being repeat shadows from Too Faced's line, there is nothing interesting or new here. The palette is huge, which is the gimmick Too Faced is playing. We all know by this point that Too Faced is primarily gimmick and packaging, so in lieu of this smelling like a bakery, it's a huge palette. That drives the false sense of value. This is also a marketing ploy for people who have wanted to buy some of their other palettes but never did. Because now they are thinking they can get parts of all of those palettes in this one giant palette, and WOW! What a deal! Nope. 

These are colors that we have seen so many times over. Let me show you some examples.

Lorac Mega Pro 3:

Photo: Temptalia 

Marc Jacobs Holiday 2016:

Urban Decay Naked 3:

Lorac Pro 3:

Photo: Temptalia

Lorac Unzipped:

Photo: Temptalia

The quality is very likely to be poor

I can't remember the last time Too Faced came out with a palette where everyone was gushing over the formula. I think it might be the original Chocolate Bar. I know a lot of people (myself included) were fans of Chocolate Bon Bons, but I also know that many people thought that was their worst palette. Too Faced has released more palettes than any other brand that I know of in the last two years, and the quality has steadily declined. 

It is so blatantly obvious that Too Faced does not care to come out with a great formula or anything innovative. They care about gimmicks. In my opinion, they put the least effort possible into many of their products because they know they are at a place now that people will buy whatever they put out. Following the harsh reviews of the White Chocolate Chip and Matte Chocolate Chip palettes, the Peanut Butter and Honey palette, and all of their terrible holiday releases, one would think that Too Faced would take a break from pumping out new releases and really evaluate their formula. I haven't liked all of Kat Von D's releases and how her brand hypes her products years in advance, but I respect the fact that when her blushes received awful reviews she pulled the product from shelves. She has not rereleased blushes, but the quality of her holiday palette, Pastel Goth, and Alchemist have all been solid. 

Too Faced, however, doesn't seem to have the same respect for their customers. They keep throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. And I think that is really despicable. 

Here are some swatches of Natural Love:

Photos: A World of Beaty Blog

It looks to me like the above swatches have been swatched heavily and have been built up quite a bit. Other swatches of this palette that I have seen that have looked somewhat promising had a disclaimer that the shadows were swatched over primer (which always makes swatches look better) and were applied wet. These shadows are not promoted as wet shadows, so the fact that the bloggers had to wet the swatches to make them look semi-decent tells me that the quality is similar to the other releases that Too Faced has been coming out with—the formula that people are disappointed with. 

This palette is not a value

If you've seen my weekend posts, you would know that I am going through a singles kick right now. And this is something that I strongly encourage everyone to do. If you have a strong singles collection, or even any singles at all, spend a bit using them. The are the colors that you have picked out yourself for one reason or another. You didn't acquire them because they were a part of a palette that you liked the color scheme of and so you bought it. You went out of your way to select these shadows. And I think what you'll find using them is that it is so much more satisfying using singles than palettes because you love the colors so much more. They are all hand-selected. What I have also found is that my single shadows are way more interesting than most of everything in my palettes. I have specially been using indie shadows from Fyrinnae recently, and I have been utterly blown away by how intricate and gorgeous the shadows are. Looking at those shadows, I just can't fathom getting this huge, uninteresting, uninspired palette. And if you would not buy every single shadow in this palette individually, then this palette isn't really a value. If you went through the palette and honestly asked yourself if you had duplicate shadows already in your collection and then asked yourself if you would go out of your way to purchase all the shadows you don't already have, I think you would find that you would maybe buy a couple of shadows. Maybe. Maybe you would buy none. And if that's the case, why would you want to buy this entire thing?

Giant palettes very rarely get used

This is something that happens every holiday season. Brands come out with their holiday palettes (most of which are huge), people buy them, and then in declutter videos later that year or the next, the big palettes are always the ones to go because people never reach for them. And that is likely to be the case with this as well. It's so big and inconvenient and my guess is that it will likely not get used much after the first month of owning it. 

This is an "of the moment" palette

This is such a big point to consider. This palette was made to be of the moment, not to withstand years of use. Colourpop's entire business model of having cheap eyeshadows with little product (I'm not talking about the pressed shadows) is so that people can buy something that is trendy and not spend a ton of money on it. The products are made to be of the moment and then tossed or moved on from, which is also why they don't have a ton of product. This palette is the same, but is a whopping $59. This palette is just another thing Too Faced wants you to buy until they come out with something else. And at $59, that's insulting. 

Too Faced doesn't care about you, so why give them your money?

This is my final point, but I feel it might be the most important. Too Faced has been churning out subpar products for a very long time at this point, cranking the hype, and hoping that people who shill shit on YouTube will continue carrying them. They created hysteria with their Sweet Peach release intentionally so that people would have fear of missing out and would immediately buy all of their releases in the future—before reviews—so that they won't miss out again. It's gross, and I'm not impressed with it. I have purchased so many things from Too Faced in the past, and all I have left are five depotted shadows from Chocolate Bon Bons. Too Faced has made zero efforts to be innovative or to address their poor quality and instead churn out monthly gimmicks. This tells me that they do not care about their customers, only their customers' money. That's just not a brand that I can support. This palette is ridiculous and a transparent money grab, and I'm not buying into it. I'm not buying into any of Too Faced's bullshit. And they're not getting my money. 

What I'm Not Buying: Anastasia Beverly Hills Nicole Guerriero Glow Kit

Anastasia Beverly Hills collaborated with popular YouTube personality Nicole Guerriero on a new six-pan glow kit. 

And I won't be buying. 

I have been an active participant in the cosmetics/beauty community for many years, and have also read blogs/watched videos from many different "influencers." However, I've never watched Nicole Guerriero. From my understanding, she is hugely popular and has been involved in the community for a very long time. 

Because of this collaboration alone, I think this is a really hyped product at the moment. If you took Nicole Guerrero's name off of it, I doubt most people would bat an eye. And that is because it is a highlighter palette filled with shades that are similar to each other and incredibly similar to what is already available and in most people's collections. 

We all know my thoughts on highlighters—once you have one or two, you really have them all. And I think that for almost everyone, this palette will be completely unnecessary. 

Let's look at swatches:

These swatches are, as always incredibly heavy. No one would ever apply this kind of product that intensely on the face for highlight. And even when swatched heavily and unrealistically, the colors STILL look very similar to each other and not very unique. I absolutely think Kitty Kat, Forever Young, Glo Getter, and 143 will look essentially the same when applied onto the face. Daydream and Forever Lit might look a little different, but it will be nominal. 

It's also important to keep in mind that not all of these colors will flatter every skin tone. And on the one hand, I think it's great for a makeup artist, for example, to be able to have colors that work for several skin tones. And I also think it's great that there is at least one color in here that could work for everyone. I think when a popular personality collaborates on a product it's good that the product can work in some way for all people so that no one feels entirely left out. But on the other hand, the people the product is targeted at—Nicole Guerriero supporters—are very likely not makeup artists. And if you're only going to be using this product on yourself, there will definitely be shades in it that don't work for you. 

This Glow Kit, like the other ones from ABH, is $40. That is a lot of money to pay when not every shade is going to work for your skin tone. I've talked about this before, but this palette is a good example of the false value idea. And that's the thinking that this palette is $40 for six highlighters, which is seen as a "good deal."

And I'm sure the buying process for most people will be: "I like Nicole and want to support her and I really like Glo Getter (or Daydream, etc.). Kitty Kat and Forever Young are pretty too. I'm sure I'd wear those. 143 is nice, that will totally get some use. Forever Lit is different, and if it's too light for me, I can probably put it in the inner corner of my eyes. And Daydream is so pretty. If it doesn't work for me, I can always use it as an eyeshadow."

And this is why I think that reasoning is flawed:

• Nicole Guerriero is doing very well for herself. You watch her videos, which directly supports her. You don't need to shell out $40 to buy a product you don't need to "support her" further. 
• If you find one shade in this palette that you really like and that will work for your skin tone, you are better off buying a single of a duplicate highlighter than buying everything in this palette. 
• Just because you can convince yourself that you will use the other highlighters doesn't mean that you actually want them. 
• You very likely will not pull this palette out to use that one shade as an inner corner highlight. 
• Similarly, you are likely not going to use any of these colors as eyeshadow, especially if you already own a lot of eyeshadow. 
• If you would not buy every single color in this palette individually at "full price," this is not a "good deal."

This palette also isn't very unique, even when compared to ABH's other glow kits. 

Nicole Guerriero Glow Kit:

Looks like the Gleam Glow Kit:

And the Sweets Glow Kit:

And remember, when most colors are sheered out onto the skin, most of them just look like a shine. That's it. Most of the color is gone. 

Personally, I have the Gleam Glow Kit, so I really have zero use for the Nicole Guerriero iteration. But also, I just don't want any more highlighters in my collection. I regularly rotate through all of mine, and most days, the difference between each of them is nominal. And when I see people who have entire drawers full of highlighters who say that they just cannot stop buying them, I have to wonder if they are in denial about how they really look when applied onto the face. It's one thing to be a collector or have an affinity for elegant or special packaging (I've discussed this before, and while I am not someone who wants to collect makeup, I don't judge those who do), but it's something else entirely to own a ton of highlighters just because you want to have the latest thing that everyone is talking about. 

For everyone who was dying to get Becca Champagne Pop or Prosecco Pop or Opal or Pearl or MAC Whisper of Gilt or Laura Geller Gilded Honey—do you think that they feel completely satisfied now that they own those products? Or do you think the newness and sparkle has worn off and now they want the next new thing that everyone is talking about?

This will be an endless cycle unless you decide to stop it. Highlighters to me are one of the easiest things to resist. The most "special" one I have in my collection is Estee Lauder Modern Mercury. And while I do feel that highlighter is just a little more sparkly, interesting, and beautiful than the others in my collection, it is not hugely different. And I'm sure that almost everyone who interacts with me won't notice a difference between that and another highlighter, if they notice my highlighter at all. 

Finally, something else to consider is that in collaborations, since the makeup brand and the collaborator are being paid, typically something has to give in terms of price or quality. Meaning, most of the time you can't expect to get the same quality and size of products in the permanent line for the same price. Since the price is $40, like the other Glow Kits, I would not be surprised to find that the formula on these highlighters is different. The Nicole Guerriero Glow Kit has 4.5 grams of product for six shades, and while the Moonchild Glow Kit has 4.2 grams of product for six shades, the Gleam Glow Kit has 7.4 grams of product for four shades. And all Glow Kits are $40. 

There are just way too many highlighters on the market for me to want to add six more that will likely look identical on the skin. And I have too many highlighters in my collection to ever want more. So I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Benefit Dandelion Twinkle

Benefit has released Dandelion Twinkle, what I assume is a highlighter inspired by their Dandelion blush. 

I won't be buying. 

I've written before about how I am not a fan of Benefit boxed powders, and this is potentially the most egregious of all of them. As far as I can tell, Dandelion Twinkle is Dandelion blush:

Except somehow even less pigmented and with glitter:

Photo: Temptalia

 My biggest gripe with Dandelion is that I have never seen it actually show up on any skin tone. It definitely doesn't show up on my skin, which is light to medium with warm olive undertones. I have friends who have significantly paler skin than me and who would absolutely be considered "fair" with cool undertones. And still, Dandelion barely shows up on them, if at all.

I understand that it is next to impossible to have products that are universal and work for everyone, however, I think Dandelion may work for too few people. I find a similar problem with Benefit's other boxed powders, like Coralista:

Sugarbomb:

And Hervana:

These powders all look relatively similar and seem to me that they will primarily work for the lightest of skin tones. And, I don't know, that is just really off-putting for me. The cosmetics industry already skews so heavily toward light skin tones that to skew further into the lightest of skin tones is just kind of tacky? It would be different if Benefit offered a range of boxed powders that will work for all skin tones, but since they don't, I find them to be a difficult brand to support. 

Looking at Dandelion Twinkle as a highlighter, Benefit is, like many brands, just so far behind in the game. If it provides a light sheen to the skin, I can see that being pretty, but how it is different than any other highlighter? 

I'm sure I sound like a broken record at this point, but on the skin, sheered out, almost all highlighters will look exactly the same. Highlighters typically come in huge pans, and even with everyday use, one highlighter will likely last over a year. Because of that there is just little point in owning multiple highlighters. 

The highlighters Dandelion Twinkle most remind me of are Becca Rose Quartz:

And Becca Amethyst:

And honestly, there is little difference in color from more inexpensive highlighters as well, like those from Makeup Revolution:

Photo: Maklina Makeup

Dandelion Twinkle brings absolutely nothing new to the table as a highlighter, full stop. 

I've heard Dandelion Twinkle mentioned as a blush topper, and that concept in general makes me roll my eyes hard. A blush topper, in my opinion, is something unnecessary that was made up to add an extra step in the makeup process and to get people to buy more crap. No one needs a blush topper. If you have a great blush, you don't need anything else. The concept of blush toppers are also used to justify keeping (or buying) a blush that in no way works for someone. If it's too light and shimmery, instead of getting rid of it, people will say they can use it as a blush topper. If the blush is way too dark for them, they'll say they can use it lightly as a blush topper. What? Why?

If you want to add sparkle to your blush, use the highlighter you already own or, if it's that important to you that you would shell out $29 for a "blush topper," instead spend the money on a shimmery blush that you will love and use. 

Personally, I have no use for a product like Dandelion Twinkle. If I want a pink blush that actually shows up on my skin, I have theBalm Frat Boy:

If I want a highlighter, I have ones I love from Becca, Laura Mercier and Estee Lauder.

The biggest thing Dandelion Twinkle has to offer is that Benefit boxed powders are perfumed. And I know that might sound crazy, but that is a justification I've heard from many people as to why they want to buy these powders: because they smell good. And you know, I'd rather spend twice as much and buy an actual perfume than to buy a product that will barely show up on my skin so that I can, what? Sniff the box when I use it? That's not worth $29 to me!

The hard truth is that this is just another "right now" product. This product, I highly doubt, is made up of much more than hype. In a few months—or even weeks—another highlighter will come out that everyone turns their attention to. And the reason for that is because the people who talk about these products—those on YouTube and Instagram—are being paid in one way or another to talk about and hype the latest things that come out. And yeah, it's really easy to say, "Oh my goddddd. I LOVE this product! It's so great, you have to go out and buy it!" when you are either 1.) Receiving the product as PR and therefore don't have to actually buy it. 2.) Being actively paid to say those things. 3.) Able to deduct all those purchases off your taxes as a "business expense."

I'd like to see someone who buys all their own products and gets no financial gain from it actually tell people that every single one of these highlighters is legitimately "worth it." 

Fact is, these products aren't made in super small quantities. They contain a ton of product that will take a long time to go through. Based on size, they are not intended to be one of 10 in someone's collection. The size is intended to be the ONLY ONE. And the reason the products aren't smaller is because companies want to change a huge markup. Even with a lot of product, makeup items are still ridiculously overpriced. If companies scaled them down, they would have to also lower prices. And they don't want to do that. 

And since the sizes of most products cannot be used up in a month or two, it makes NO sense to buy every single new product that gets five minutes of hype. Because after those five minutes are up, you are out (in this case) $29 and are likely not using the product as you are on to the next thing. But if you can resist the hype for the five minutes and actually find a product you enjoy, the only one who looses is the company that wants your money. You're not the one missing out. 

Dandelion Twinkle offers absolutely nothing that I don't already own, and I have zero use for it. So I won't be buying. 

Weekend Looks: Fyrinnae and Dior

My intentions were to do two very colorful looks this weekend, but today, I found myself itching for a shadow that has become a fast ultimate favorite. So, I have one colorful look and one neutral look. And I'm happy with that. 

Here are the looks I did this weekend. 

Look 1: Fyrinnae The Alchemist and Viseart Dark Matte

Fyrinnae The Alchemist on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy) and Viseart 10, 11, and 12 blended into the crease.

Look 2: Dior Cosmopolite, Zoeva Substitute for Love, and Anastasia Beverly Hills Fudge

Cosmopolite on the lid and Substitute for Love and Fudge blended into the crease.

Fyrinnae The Alchemist

Status: Love

This is one of the coolest shadows I have seen. The Alchemist is a part of Fyrinnae's Arcane Magic line, which means (as I've explained a lot) that the color will look different depending on how close it is to light. The Alchemist looked teal on the lid and in the picture, but when I was in different lighting, it looked purple. It was really cool! I paired the shadow with shades in Viseart Dark Matte, and I think it was a perfect combination. I used the last three shades in the palette, which range from teal to a green-brown, and I thought the look was really pretty. I could have also paired it with purples or blues from this palette, but I was happy to use some of the shades that don't get as much use as others. 

Dior Cosmopolite

Status: Favorite

I've talked about Cosmopolite before, so I won't spend too much time on this shade. I love it. It is easily one of my favorite shadows in my entire collection. Yes, it is a bronze (sort of), but it is incredibly special and unique, in my opinion. It's like a bronze mixed with taupe and glitter/sparkle, except the sparkle is completely contained in the shadow and does not fall out whatsoever. I've been craving Cosmopolite since I last wore it (not that long ago), and just couldn't bring myself to wear something else today. 

Zoeva Substitute for Love

Status: Love

I've also talked about this a lot, so I'll be brief again. This is one of the best matte browns I have ever used. The tone is perfect for my skin tone, it offers great pigment, and it blends so easily. That I know of, this color is only available in the Cocoa Blend palette, but I have depotted mine.  

Anastasia Beverly Hills Fudge

Staus: Really enjoy

At the end of the day this is a brown shadow, so it's challenging for me to be overly enthusiastic about it. With that said, it's a great shadow and darkens up any gold/bronze look really beautifully. I'm a much bigger fan of ABH singles than the shadows in their palettes, and I get that I am in the minority there. Fudge is a perfect shade for me because it's darker than colors like Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear (one of my favorites) and lighter than matte black shades or browns that are dark enough to look black. This gives me the depth that I enjoy without being too dark. 

What I'm Not Buying: Zoeva Matte Spectrum Palette

Zoeva's latest release is a colorful, all matte palette that looks, honestly, very beautiful. 

But I won't be buying. 

This post is going to be a little different for me. I usually give you all the reasons why I personally am not going to buy a new product so that it might curb the hype or help you make a more informed decision on purchasing a product or not. 

And it's true that I am not going to buy this palette. The reason I am not going to buy it is because I already own Viseart Dark Matte:

As you can see, there are a LOT of similarities between the Matte Spectrum and Dark Matte palettes. The major difference is that Matte Spectrum offers more colors and includes the light end of the spectrum. 

When I write anti-haul posts about all matte palettes, I usually acknowledge that they are very similar to most everything on the market, are not unique, and bring little to the table. And I use Dark Matte as a reference point because this is one of the most unique and beautiful selections of matte colors I have seen. Dark Matte is also a perfect matte palette for people who have dark and deep skin tones, and I support the fact that this is a palette inclusive of everyone. 

I would not be surprised at all if Zoeva was inspired by Dark Matte in creating the Matte Spectrum palette. The similarities are too close for it to be a coincidence, in my opinion. 

Here's the thing. I've had a lot of people comment that they are lusting after Dark Matte, especially because I rave about it. Dark Matte was once a palette that I regretted purchasing and one that I seriously considered decluttering from my collection because I never used it. Because of my one week, one palette project where I forced myself to use color (and subsequently fell in love with it), I found Dark Matte to be an "essential" palette for me. I use quotes because, come one, this is makeup. Nothing is essential. But to put it into perspective, I use Dark Matte way more than I use Viseart Neutral Matte. 

And the main reason people hesitate purchasing Dark Matte is because it is a hefty $80. That is a ton of money to spend on a palette no matter your budget. And because I knew how little I once used Dark Matte, I hesitate to tell anyone that this palette is worth spending $80. I'm so glad I have this palette now (I used it today, in fact), but for a long while, I very much regretted spending the money on this. 

To be fair, I have no idea how the quality is for the Zoeva palette. I have only owned one Zoeva palette, and it was Cocoa Blend. The mattes in that palette are incredible, and they are absolutely shadows that I wouldn't part with. I ended up depotting Cocoa Blend into my singles palette and I decluttered some of the redundant shades and the shadows that I knew I wouldn't use much, but I kept all but one of the matte shades.

The Matte Spectrum palette is $40 USD. According to the Zoeva website, shipping to the US starts at $9. I know when I ordered Cocoa Blend last year shipping was around $13 to New York City. I have no idea if shipping rates have gone down at all. With that being said, Matte Spectrum is not a cheap palette. It is as expensive as palettes in the mid-range, like the Naked palettes or Chocolate Bar palettes. So, it is not as though this is drug store pricing, meaning $20 or less. But, without shipping, this palette is half the cost of Dark Matte. With shipping, it's still around $30 less than Dark Matte. And there are more shadows.

So, if the quality of the Matte Spectrum palette is the same as the Cocoa Blend palette, I would not hesitate to recommend Matte Spectrum if you have been wanting Dark Matte but don't want to pull the trigger because of price.

Here are swatches of Matte Spectrum:

Photo: ConMdeMiriam Makeup

And swatches of Dark Matte:

It's important to keep in mind that both photos show heavy, unrealistic swatches. But you can still tell that the colors are incredibly similar. 

Switching back to my normal anti-haul format, in all honestly, I was tempted by Matte Spectrum. And that is so hilarious to me because I so obviously already own literally all of the colors. As I've said, I really love my Zoeva mattes and this is clearly a color scheme that I like, and because of that, I was tempted. 

But, in all honesty, if both palettes were the same price, I would still choose Viseart. And the reason is because I prefer the tones of the Dark Matte shadows. I feel like they all have almost a brown tone in them that I feel makes them incredibly wearable. The Zoeva colors look much more bright and "true" to color. 

And I realize that I said I prefer Viseart when I just said I think Matte Spectrum would be a great alternative for those who don't want to spend $80 on Dark Matte. But I am also being honest with the fact that I prefer what I already own. And that's great for me because there really isn't any temptation once that is realized. 

Matte Spectrum is also a good reminder for me that sometimes brands come out with "new" products that are just repackaging old products that I already own. Sometimes brands will put it in really pretty packaging so that it tempts us or they will rearrange the colors so that it tricks our brains into thinking that it is something new. And, truthfully, Matte Spectrum is somewhat different. It has lighter colors that I might use as transition colors and cream shades that I would use under the brow bone. Dark Matte doesn't have those, so I had a moment where I thought maybe it was different. But it's not. Not really. It's just a new way of looking at colors that I've had in my collection for over a year. So while I can certainly see why people will be drawn to this palette, it's not unique to my collection, and I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Too Faced Love Light Highlighters

Too Faced has released "new" highlighters, which means that they are releasing a totally run-of-the-mill product that everyone already has in new packaging. 

And I won't be buying. 

Let me share something. If you've read my blog at all, you'll know that Too Faced is pretty much my most disliked mainstream brand. I don't appreciate their hype/hysteria marketing tactics or that they value presentation and gimmick so much more than quality of product. 

And it pains me to say this, but when I first saw photos of these highlighters months ago, I had a moment of, "I have to have that."

And while that moment is embarrassing to me, I'm glad it happened because I feel I can relate so much more to everyone out there thinking, "I have to have that."

But here is the brutal truth: No, you don't. 

You see, there is absolutely nothing special about this product at all except for the fact that it is in a shiny heart-shaped compact and that the powder itself is diamond cut. That's it, folks. There is literally nothing else exciting about this product. 

Let me show you what I mean. Here is the product everyone is drooling over:

And here is the reality:

After looking at the above photo, do you still feel the same "I have to have it" urge?

My guess is not. 

If you need more convincing, here are some swatches of the Too Faced Love Light highlighters:

Photo: Makeup and Beauty Blog

And here are swatches of Makeup Revolution highlighters:

Both of these pictures have swatches that are heavily applied, much more than would ever be on the face. And while the colors are not exact, the tones are so similar. 

I've mentioned this before, but a highlighter is a highlighter is a highlighter. And this is coming from someone who has quite a few highlighters. This is one product that I really do not understand why people continue to buy. Personally, I have four highlighters plus the Anastasia Beverly Hills Gleam and Moonchild Glow Kits. That's a ton of highlighter! And what I can tell you from owning so many is that they are not all that different. I have decluttered even more highlighters, and the ones that I've kept are different enough and there are things I like about each. But at the end of the day, even though they are different enough, for the exception of Moonchild, for the most part, they all look like a sheen on my face. That's it. And when I discovered that, I decided I would not buy another highlighter. 

To bring this point home even more, I want to share a fantastic photo I found:

Photo: Juliasallure

If you look closely at the names of each swatch, you'll see that there are some very hyped highlighters here: Laura Geller Gilded Honey, Becca Champagne Pop, MAC Whisper of Gilt, Becca Opal, etc. Even applied heavily, they all look the same!

We all know that Too Faced relies solely on their packaging and gimmicks, and I honestly think they may be trying to copy Becca with the diamond-cut design:

So even that—the thing that's making people feel they need this product—isn't even unique. 

In the weeks leading up to the release of the Love Light highlighters, I read about so many people freaking out that they had to have them. And, like I said, I understand the initial feeling of wanting the shiny pretty heart-shaped thing, but at this point, what does a plain highlighter bring to the table? Nothing. What does it bring to people's collection who already have at least one highlighter? Nothing. 

And when these released, I saw people counting down the seconds before they could purchase. Guys, I try not to judge as everyone is different and for some people makeup is a very serious and passionate hobby. But I just don't want to be the type of person who stalks a makeup launch. Especially for a product that's not even unique or new. 

From my own collection, I have plenty to satisfy any and all cravings for a new highlighter. Too Faced isn't a company that I like to support, and I no longer trust that their new releases are high quality. They know the products don't have to be. Consumerism is so rampant that people will stalk a makeup release and spend $30 on a heart-shaped compact of powder that they likely already have. Throw in some artificial smell and it will be a best-seller. Pretend that it's limited edition and the website will crash. For me, my Becca highlighters still work great even though they are now "old news." I love mine (I've even hit the pan on Moonstone), and I have no need to buy hype power. So I won't. 

Weekend Looks: Fyrinnae

I like to think of the weekend as "tryout" time. I know a lot of people who are much more talented with makeup than me use the weekend or evenings to practice techniques or be creative with color combinations. With me, I use the weekend to wear colors that I'm not quite sure I can pull off for work. It's always nice when a look comes out neutral enough, but then I think that I could have worn something bolder on my two free days a week.

Here are the looks I did over the weekend.

Look 1: Fyrinnae Fire Opal

Fire Opal on the lid, Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear blended into the crease, and Anastasia Beverly Hills Fudge padded onto the outer corner. 

Look 2: Fyrinnae Mystical Hedgehog

Mystical Hedgehog on the lid and Viseart Dark Matte (purple and blue) blended into the crease. 

Fyrinnae Fire Opal

Status: Keep

I bought this shadow because the Fyrinnae website said something like the shadow really needed to be seen in person to appreciate its beauty. And I agree with that. However, I have a lot of orangey/copper shadows that don't look too different from this shadow. I suppose the difference is that this shadow has more brass to it and less orange, but I have similar shadows. It's different enough that I am happy to keep it and use it, but this was the one Fyrinnae shadow that wasn't totally unique to my collection. 

Fyrinnae Mystical Hedgehog

Status: Keep

This is one of Fyrinnae's Arcane Magic shadows. And what that means is that the shadow looks different depending on how close or far it is to light. At least that's my understanding. So, it is not a duochrome and won't look different if I tilt my head side to side, but someone far away may think it looks like one color while someone closer may think it looks like another. When I took a picture of the product, for example, I think it looks quite blue. But when I look a picture of my eye (the flash was much closer), it looks purple. 

I thought this was a really pretty color, and I enjoyed wearing it. It was quite a bit darker and vampier than I thought it would be, so it's not a shadow I can see myself reaching for to go to work, but I really like it for an evening look. It also paired perfectly with my Viseart Dark Matte palette, and I was really excited to use the blue shade and have it pair so nicely and look complementary.