087. I Shopped The Makeup and Skincare Products On Your Wishlist
Reviewing Every Product I Paid For In 2024
First, a small personal update.
I was really touched by the excitement shared about the last newsletter, ‘Why Someone Else’s Wardrobe Essentials Won’t Get You Far’. I have temporarily lifted the paywall so that anyone who missed it can read it. I’m so grateful for the support of this community, and every person who sits reading Every Body Gets Dressed every Sunday. I always picture it finding you in a peaceful place and being consumed with a cup of good peppermint tea.
You may have noticed that the newsletter has dropped more sporadically in the past month. I missed a few Sundays after my life partner and I parted ways a few days short of our ninth anniversary. Writing about it has been cathartic, and I will share some of these personal essays in the coming months. Ending the relationship was one of the best decisions I have made and one I am really proud of, yet the aftermath has been far from simple. Mainly self-inflicted by my incapacity to sit still and let my brain process - I started a full refurb the day after he moved out since no amount of saging would cut it - I have grappled with more anxiety than ever. I have spent a lot of time with a feeling similar to watching a movie scene where a vehicle is submerged in water, and its occupant breathes through a small pocket of air. This coincided with the incandescent rage I felt at the news of women’s rights and safety taking a giant regressive leap. Suddenly, my personal struggles felt very indulgent.
In the past month, the 'pocket of air’ has come from the women in my life. As usual, my girlfriends were the steady buoy I could hold on to. I am grateful. To the one who hosted me in her apartment for weeks on end. The one who showed up at 8 AM on a Sunday, with her seven-month-old in tow, when I had an nth breakdown. The one who spends her kids’ nap times making furniture mood boards for my new home. The one who showed up to dinner with the sweetest care package. The one who cried with me about what I have been lacking. The ones who kept messaging daily, even though I couldn’t bring myself to reply. The women who read this newsletter have, unknowingly, brought me so much comfort, like the subscriber who DM-ed last week to thank me for helping her feel sexy again since breastfeeding her two babies after reading this newsletter and buying herself lingerie. I am also grateful to the extraordinary women amongst my peers who are relentless cheerleaders and whose writing brings me so much joy -
and , I am looking at you.I put ‘Writer’ on the dating apps (Yeah, I know. There will be more on this later, too). Yesterday, a guy asked me, ‘What do you write about?’, and in the moment, neither Fashion, Style, nor Shopping Writer felt quite right. ‘I write for women’, I finally answered. I’m constantly fine-tuning this newsletter's trajectory to ensure it always brings you the most valuable content possible. Whenever I do this, I check that it aligns with my most deeply rooted sense of purpose. This goes beyond celebrating style individuality or giving consumers back their agency in an over-influenced world. It distils down to ‘For Women’. No verb. I really sense that this is why I’m around.
In light of all this, this week, I wanted to tackle something light and oh-so-fun: A newsletter I have been looking to write all year - my 2024 Beauty roundup. I also knew my talented peers have already got you amply covered with excellent Black Friday roundups and Gift Guides. Today, I am reviewing every makeup and skincare product I bought this year. There is a lot, so I’m keeping haircare, fragrance, body, tools, and treatments (including injectables) for a Part 2 that will drop later this week. This two-part newsletter only includes products and services I have paid full-price for. As you already know, I am someone who finds negative reviews just as helpful as positive ones to help me not buy overhyped products, so I included everything. I’m letting my feminism float away from my body for a minute and not over-qualifying at every corner - it goes without saying that you don’t need any of this stuff. This one is for the girls, the gays, and any one person who knows that spending a little money towards feeling pretty and sexy can feel damn great.
I hope y’all are looking after yourselves and each other out there.
With love, L x
Every Makeup Product I Bought In 2024
The Excellent Stuff I Can’t Live Without
Tom Ford Traceless Foundation Stick (shade 1.3 Nude Ivory), $90 - I bought this because TikTok and I’m afraid to report it is worth the hype. My skin didn’t agree with the product initially as it has a very matte formula, and I have dehydrated skin. But then I figured it out - unless you have very oily skin, you’ll want to combine it with a hydrating primer. It blends best with a beauty sponge (I pay for the Beauty Blender one). The coverage is natural yet phenomenal at blurring pores and covering uneven skin tones. I don’t see myself buying a different foundation for a while. In fact, I have not used or bought a new concealer either since buying this.
Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, $35. Why is this product in the makeup section, you ask? I stopped using acids in my skincare routine when I realised they were the culprit behind my adult acne. [I wrote about this extensively and shared what worked for me here]. However, I still use this product on rare days when I do a full face of makeup. I use it to prep my skin as it tightens it better than anything else I have tried. The key is to apply it after cleansing and letting it sit for at least twenty minutes; it leaves my skin looking and feeling incredibly taut. I couldn’t always afford Botox and would buy this to get a similar (temporary) effect. I still never use this more than once or twice a month to avoid disturbing my barrier, but people with different skin types use it as part of their daily skincare routine.
Rare Beauty Melting Cream Blush (shade Nearly Neutral), $22. I am madly in love with this product. When Rare Beauty launched a few years ago, I bought their Illuminating Primer and found it dreadful. I have since walked past the brand in every department store until I recently needed a new blush. I had watched hundreds of TikToks about their viral Liquid Blush, but my complex of individuality said no, and I went for this cream compact version instead. The