Emily Johnson

Bag charms are making a huge comeback for Summer and Tatcha understands the assignment. They recently launched a cute Tatcha The Let’s Kissu Kit with an adorable Kissu Keychain or Bag Charm that held your Kissu Lip Mask and now we have a new Tatcha Silk Sunscreen Key Chain/Bag Charm as well! To celebrate the launch of their new Silk Sunscreen SPF 50 ($25) available for the first time in a smaller size they are giving you a Silk Sunscreen Key Chain free with purchases of a $100. Use code TRAVELSPF to grab your free key chain! I have the Kissu one and it’s adorable. I really wish they’d sell these as individual purchases!

Enjoy!

Where to buy

Tatcha

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There’s something so satisfying about an easy to apply foundation. I find that satisfaction in stick foundations because they are so easy to swipe on, blend out, and just go! I think my love affair began with sticks when I purchased my first Benefit Play Stick. I wish I could tell you how long ago it was that Benefit Cosmetics introduced them but it must be a dinosaur’s age now. Later on in life Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Sticks became a fav! Since that time a lot of new foundation sticks have come and gone through my life and to this day they still remain my very favorite way to apply foundation.

Here are a few worth looking into.

LYS Beauty Triple Fix Blurring and Hydrating Skin Tint Foundation Stick $25 (Available at Sephora.com and LYSbeauty.com)
The absolute best foundation stick on the market. Creamy, dreamy, easy to apply, easy to blend, perfect for drier skin, and pigmented as hell. This one has EVERYTHING! You need it. Trust me.

ILIA Skin Rewind Blurring Foundation and Concealer Complexion Stick $48
This is slightly controversial for some folks as it isn’t really that creamy a formula. It does tug a little bit when swiping on but it blends very easily and the amazing thing about is the fact it wears ALL damn DAY! Seriously, one you have this on your skin it does not budge AT ALL.

Dior Forever Skin Perfect 24H Multi-Use Foundation Stick $52
A debated grabbing this for a long time as all the reviews I read said it was pretty matte. But I’m glad I got it because not only is it creamy and long-wearing but it brightens up my entire complexion and has a very smooth, seamless finish that didn’t feel or look dry, matte, or flat. It’s my skin but better.

Fenty Eaze Drop Stick Blur + Smooth Tint Stick Foundation $38
Fenty’s formula is an absolute no experience needed for application. This is one of the easiest foundations you’ll ever apply and a perfect one for natural, no nonsense days you want to look like yourself but better. It’s got just the right amount of tint to give you natural skin enhancing coverage so it takes your own skin and just makes it look better.

Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick $49
Hourglass rivals LYS in terms of creamiest. Granted LYS still holds first place but Hourglass is no quitter. She comes in strong with a creamy consistency that glides on like butter, blends like a dream, and leaves your skin looking flawless.

What are some of your favorite foundation sticks?

Do share!

I admit I have a lot of makeup brushes and they can be challenging to store so the hairs don’t split or become damaged. There are certain ones that I use daily so I store those separate from my other brush and sometimes I’ll rotate them. It’s a little too expensive to store ALL my makeup brushes with this particular makeup brush storage solution but for those I use daily it’s a perfectly aesthetically pleasing way to do so.

Check out this makeup brush holder for your regular round of brushes.

I picked up this Acrylic Bamboo Brush Holder Organizer from amazon.com and I regret nothing. It holds 29 brushes and keeps them standing up and separated so no split or damaged brush hairs. It’s also quite nice looking and slides easily open and closed to access the brushes. The only issue with it is if you have super long handles on some of your powder or blush brushes they might not fit in here. But aside from that it’s the perfect solution to easily store some of your most used brushes easily!

You can snag it at Amazon!

Where to buy

Amazon

We went to the movies this weekend to see The Encampments and of course, I had to sneak into Sephora while my boyfriend got us some snacks. I wasn’t planning on purchasing the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Beauty Soulmates Face Palette but here we are. This new Sailor Moon-like Face Palette is a dual compact that contains Airbrush Flawless Finish Brightening and Blush Powder Palette in either Flawless Pink or Pillow Talk Flawless Peach. I wasn’t planning on purchasing this and I typically fail to get excited about packaging anymore but as a Sailor Moon fan I was drawn to this and ended up purchasing it using my Rouge discount. Did I need it? No. Did I want it. Sadly, yes.

When these originally popped up online I only glanced at them casually and I instantly though they were similar to the Charlotte Tilbury Mini Hollywood Blush & Glow Palette but they aren’t at all. I actually would recommend checking out the Mini Hollywood Blush Palettes as I like them a lot more than I do these new Pillow Talk Beauty Soulmates Face Palettes. The fact these are LE did mean they sold out fast at sephora.com. But if you really want them kohls.com and charlottetilbury.com still has them readily available.

This is a very silly purchase for me as I don’t really like matte blushes but the packaging did get me. Here are my thoughts, review, and swatches of the new Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Beauty Soulmates Face Palette.

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Beauty Soulmates Face Palette ($52) is heart-shaped split compact featuring a Airbrush Flawless Finish Brightening and Blush Powder that a generously-sized mirror. I’m wasn’t really sure how I felt about having a face powder and a blush in one palette. I don’t really use powder as a dry skin girlie but when I saw the video I noticed that it was being applied under the eye area and decided I’d give it a whirl. I got the Flawless Peach Palette because I prefer peach shades of blushes over pink. Also, the pink looked a bit sheerer and the peach was much deeper.

Let’s chat packaging first…!

Of course, the main reason for this purchase was the packaging. I really do fail to get too excited about packaging anymore. But I still have my fandoms and one of them is Sailor Moon so of course, I was here to haul this. Granted, I actually have a lot of different compacts like this from Japan but Charlotte’s just seemed extra pretty! The compact is a large rose gold compact featuring a pink diamond heart in the center of the compact with CT’s initials. Inside is a huge mirror with a quote that reads, “Beauty is a feeling!” Once the powders are gone still be a great little item to carry around for touchups since the mirror is so big. Or if you’re anything like me, you might want to just display it on your vanity. The palette is 0.45 oz and I assume it’s split evenly between the two powders making each one a little over 0.22 oz each. It’ll set you back $52 but I got it for a little less than $42 with my Rouge discount. That wasn’t too bad for such a nicely sized, luxury palette.

Both the blush and powder are super duper smooth. They have a silky formula and my brush loaded up with each one easily without a ton of powdery kick up. The formula is silky, finely milled, and very pigmented. A little goes a very long way. The blush applies very smoothly on my drier skin and had a smooth, even finish. The powder was equally easy to apply with a silky, smooth finish. Unfortunately, it didn’t work under my eyes which makes it a little bit of a bust for me. I had plans to set my concealer with it but I thought it looked bad under my eyes and did fall into my finer lines and looked drier. It worked best on my face but as someone who doesn’t use face powder all that much it’s a little wasteful. It is a nice powder though with a beautiful texture and finish on my skin not to mention does offer a nice brightening finish. The blush was particularly outstanding as it lasted all day without fading. I wore it all day Saturday and all day Sunday and it didn’t move the entire time I had it on (around ten plus hours). One thing I wasn’t huge on was the finish. It’s just too flat for me. You can obviously add your own highlighter for more pop but I’m just not a matte blush girl and this had that flat, dull matte finish I don’t like. This and the fact that I won’t make much use of the powder make this a frivolous little purchase on my part. However, if you love matte blushes and you do use face powder this is an outstanding palette to have around.

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Beauty Soulmates Face Palette is a gorgeous little compact with two great powder products inside. It’s not for everyone and you may need to question if you’ll use what’s inside. Also, sometimes your inner fan girl (like mine!) will do the talking for you and the packaging may be what catches your eye in the end.

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Beauty Soulmates Face Palette is available now for a limited time.

Where to buy

Kohl’s Charlotte Tilbury Sephora

Yes, I caved and I purchased the new Sol de Janeiro Dança Mística Hair and Body Fragrance Mist. As you know the Sol de Janeiro Danca Mistica Fragrance Mist is one of three, limited-edition Summer 2025 fragrances that are now available. I wasn’t planning on buying any of the new mists because I just feel like I’m a little over them. Don’t get me wrong, the original OG Sol de Janeiro mists are awesome but the LEs just aren’t as special as they once were and I wasn’t sure I really needed these new ones. But of course, I was tempted and did end up grabbing all three of them as I used my 20% at Sephora to grab them.

One thing I really do wish Sol de Janeiro would do is have the option to purchase larger bottles. If you end up loving one of these scents the 3 oz bottle is going to go fast. Granted, Sol de Janeiro has a knack for bring these back or renaming them and they become permanent but if you do like one that doesn’t return it kind of stinks you only have the 3 oz option to choose from.

Sol de Janeiro Danca Mistica Fragrance Mist is described as a green floral inspired by dancing on the beaches of Búzios. I’ve been to Búzios and it’s non-stop partying on the beach so don’t think romantic dancing it’s more like back to back sweating bodies dancing. I dunno if Danca Mistica Fragrance Mist reminds me of that but ok…!

I’ve listed the notes below.

Top Notes: Fig and Champagn
Middle Notes: Green Anjou Pears, Lily of the Valley and Orris
Base Notes: Sandalwood, Vanilla and Amber

I’m not really sure what I’m smelling with this one. I’m not terribly good at describing these notes as it feels like they all mix up together to create a warm, woodsy and slightly sweet scent. Does it smell tropical? Not really. It’s just warm and sultry with a smooth amber and a green woodiness as it dries down with bit of muskiness. I don’t want to use the word earthy with this but it does lean towards being a little earthy and green.

This is pretty different from what Sol de Janeiro has done in the past which can be seen as a good thing or a bad thing. I think people buy into these fragrances with expectations and those expectations can be high when comparing a new fragrance to past ones like the legendary ’62. It could be seen as a good thing if you’ve wanted something new and interesting from the brand.

Personally, I didn’t really like this one. It’s ok, I’ll use it, but not really a scent I’d reach for daily. I don’t recommend a blind buy on this one. Smell it in store, walking around a little, see how it goes!

Sol de Janeiro Danca Mistica Fragrance Mist is available now!

Where to buy

Sephora

Ulta’s Spring Haul Sale ends TODAY! You can snag up to 40% off a variety of skincare, makeup, fragrance, and more! Pick up new drugstore picks like Revlon Super Lustrous Glimmer Gloss and Milani Keep It Full Glossy Plumping Balm at up to 30% off! Or stock up on essentials from Tree Hut, Cerave, and more!

Here’s some of what’s on sale:
Up to 40% Off Powder, Blushes, Concealers, and Foundations
Up to 30% Off Mascaras, Eyeshadows, Eyeliners, and Other Eye Essentials
Up to 30% Off Lipsticks, Lipglosses, and More Lip Essentials
Up to 30% Off Real Techniques and Ecotools
30% Off Pixi’s Entire Line
30% Off Revlon
30% Off Neutrogena
25% Off Cerave
30% Off Select Fragrances
30% Off Tree Hut
20% Off Touchland
30% Off Select Saltair
30% Off Byoma
30% Off Bubble

There are hundreds more deals on the site. This is a great sale if you want to stock on stapes before potential increases in makeup and beauty (let’s hope not!).

Enjoy!

Where to buy

Ulta

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I feel like I’ve seen everything there is to see in the beauty world after nearly twenty years of being a beauty blogger. Crazy trends, unusual beauty products, tons of new products, etc…etc….! It’s been a wild ride that I’m grateful for everyday of my life because not only do I get to speak to all of you everyday but also, I just love beauty and I love doing this even after all this time. I dunno how long I’ll be doing this but I can’t imagine a time I won’t be doing or don’t want to do it. The beauty world and community has changed so much over the years and it’ll only change further in the years ahead but I do hope no matter what happens they’ll I’ll be here for it and hopefully, you’ll be here with me too.

I know I’ve learned a lot over the years. I mean, I still don’t know how to apply makeup correctly LOL! But I think I learned a lot about people and why they love makeup, about products and how to use them and what they do, about ingredients, and I also, learned how to love myself and not to be so critical about myself. With growth, experience, and a little self love I also find myself not caring or sweating the small stuff.

In nearly twenty years of beauty blogging these are the things I don’t about anymore.

Packaging
I used to gush over packaging. It was a massive factor in my beauty purchases. I admit, I’d make a purchase if the packaging was good and the product inside wasn’t even all that special. Beautiful packaging was something I adored. But I’ve found in recent years it’s really not as important to me as it once was. I’m really more concerned about the color, the formula, and how the product performs. Does it come in a cheap plastic compact but has the smoothest, most beautiful finish? Sign me up! Does in come in a fancy, heavy gold compact with beautiful diamonds accenting it but the formula is sheer and applies patchy? I’ll skip thanks every so much. On a rare day, I’ll get excited about packaging but it’s very, very rare I do. It’s just not something that I look for in beauty anymore.

Critical comments under the guise of being helpful
Thank you for your help but telling me I look old because of my blush shade or some other backhanded comment under the guise you’re helping me out isn’t something I care about anymore. I used to take comments to heart but I find myself caring less and less about them nowadays. If you want to help me out I’ll happily accept your criticism but not if it’s in a backhanded way. I just feel like there’s a way to offer help without being a d*ck about it.

Ok, Say What You Want
I don’t get this one a lot anymore because I’m surrounded by so much love on this website but occasionally I’ll get a snarky, mean spirited comment. And of course, I’ve been Reddit famous a time or two with plenty of hate coming at me for how I do my makeup, to how I swatch, to the way I do my hair, or dress, etc… When I first started blogging this would upset me and I was sort of shocked anyone would want to direct to much hate to someone they didn’t know. A lot of it was excused with, “Well, she puts herself out there so she deserves this hate!” I understand it a little bit better now that I’m older and I even sort of get it to some extent. Do I like it? No. Who wants anyone to hate on them but hey, it is what it is and as you get older I find that you care a lot less what people are saying about you particularly ones that are either strangers or just not apart of your life. I just don’t care anymore and I focus on the good not the bad.

Boxes
This one probably should be grouped in with packaging but I do think it deserves a separate discussion. No one told me that when I got older I’d want things to be simpler. I remember as a makeup lover and collector that I’d say every single box and most times I was even storing stuff in the boxes. I’m talking about even the most basic of basic boxes like my MAC Eyeshadows I’d have them all in the boxes. It was a little absurd and perhaps OCDish of me. The last several years I simply don’t care about boxes anymore. SOMETIMES I’ll keep a box but even my LE boxes are just tossed out. I don’t need all these boxes and it’s absurd I ever thought I did. I don’t care about boxes and keeping makeup in their boxes anymore.

No Concealer? No Problem!
There was a time in my life I wouldn’t leave the house without makeup on. It made me feel confident and happy. The older I get the less I wear and sometimes I even go out without any at all. Why am I hiding my skin? I have good skin why am I piling foundation, concealer, blush, and more on when I look perfectly fine (and even younger) without it all? I just don’t care about having a face full of makeup on when I go out anymore.

Brand Pleasing.
I say what I want when I want about who I want. I’m not here to spare the feelings of beauty brands. At one point, in my blogging life I felt like I was being to brand pleasing and I regret that terribly because it did my readers a disservice. I’m not here to brand please. I speak my truth and my mind and if brands don’t like that too bad. This blog is about being honest, telling reader’s what I really think and feel, and not about saying great things about a mediocre product. I simply don’t care about brand pleasing.

This is my beauty life and I just don’t care about certain things anymore and that’s ok because I feel better about things. When you are dwelling on the weird or bad stuff you have more time to embrace the good. And that’s how life should be!

Thank you for being with me here for this journey. I appreciate you all!

We should probably form a circle group, hold hands, and try to meditate on how any of us are even Sephora Rouge again. I BARELY shop at Sephora. I’ve been an Ulta girl 100%. Sephora could never! The cashback rewards at Ulta are far more superior. No Sephora, I don’t want ninety nine cents off my order in exchange for 10,000 points. In all seriousness, about 95% of my beauty purchases are done at Ulta. They’ve added so many brands to their line up not to mention have so many amazing coupons, sales, and deals and great rewards on top of that why bother shopping anywhere else? The only thing Ulta is lacking is a good fragrance department. They’re very mainstream where as Sephora does have a few niche brands under their belt and Ulta is busy selling bottles of Clinique Happy.

Nonetheless, somehow, someway I made it to Rouge. I haven’t the time but I should go back and see what it is I purchased at Sephora the past several months to get here because I can’t recall doing that much shopping there. Well, good news, I can shop the Sephora Sales Event today and I did a smallish order. I’m not sure if I’ll go back for anything else. Yeah, the tariffs are coming and maybe I should considering stocking up on skincare but I have so much to get through right now I’m not really bothered to do any backups right now. I may regret that if prices get really insane but let’s hope things don’t get to insane in the next few months and years ahead. I live in New York so I’m used to paying high everything over here. Once you see eggs at $17.99 a carton you become immune to anything else that gets a crazy dollar amount slapped on it.

My Sephora Savings Event cart was small but mighty. There are things in it I didn’t need but I ended up purchasing them. Let’s start there. I didn’t need both of the new Fenty Beauty Hot Cheeks Velour Blushlighters. I have a feeling Cherry Pop is going to be too dark on me 1. I love this formula and 2. I feel like maybe I can use it an eyeshadow if it doesn’t work as a blush. So yes, guilty of buying both!

I told myself I WOULD not buy the new Sol de Janeiro Body Mists. I think some of the recent LEs have been a little uneventful but sadly, they got me. I ended up hauling Flor Mística, Dança Mística, and Água Mística. It’s an absurd purchase on my part because I have a feeling they aren’t going to be all that special but let’s see how it goes…!

I had to refrain myself from doing three bottles but I did get two bottles of the Quai St Bart’s Leave-In Conditioner. They’re killing me with the damn, “THIS IS LE!” I know it’ll probably be back and permanent at some point but I’m illogically think, “Oh my god it may disappear!”

I also, snagged a bottle of The Ordinary Saccharomyces Ferment 30% Milky Toner! It’s an affordable pick up and I thought I could use it after a cleanse!

I got a small mist of Ellis Brooklyn MARSHMALLOWS Hair and Body Fragrance Mist. I’m not an idiot. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me! I’ve learned my lesson about overhyped fragrances. Thanks for educating me Tiktokers because you guys overhype things to the max in the perfume community and the dishonesty is out of control about how certain fragrances smell. I’ve blind purchased a bit too many bottles thanks to Tiktokers and many were not what was described. Marshmallows is one of those OH MY GOD IF YOU DON’T BUY THIS YOU’LL DIE fragrances. This is one that comes across my feed and my curiosity got the best of me. I decided I’d purchase a smaller bottle and thanks to the sale it’ll be a better price so if I am disappointed it’ll be my own fault but at least it wasn’t a terribly expensive mistake.

Speaking of fragrance I got the new Brown Girl Jane Perfume. I went with a Travel Spray for now! It’s getting some rave reviews and the notes of Espresso Affogato, Golden Rum Cake, and Almond Foam sound delicious!

I also grabbed a Rare Beauty Brown Harmony Flexible Lifting Gel to keep these brows in place and and of course, I caved, I got a Soft Pinch Matte Bouncy Blush because everyone keeps asking how the formula is!

And that’s it…! I’ll probably do another order at some point if something else pops up that looks good but I don’t really need a lot at the moment. What did you get?

Where to buy

Sephora

I wasn’t sure how this year’s Sephora Spring 2025 Savings Event was going to go. We all the news, we all hear day in and day out how people aren’t spending, how inflated prices are, etc…etc…you’d think you’d see that trickle into brick and mortar stores but I can’t see I’ve seen that.

I went to Home Sense last night and I was convinced it was Christmas. It was literally out the door with people having packed carts. I just don’t see the whole “people are saving money” that the news keeps going on and on about. Restaurants are packed, stores seem to be thriving, and life is going on as normal.

As for the Sephora sale I keep seeing all these Tiktok posts about how much are spending. One girl, who didn’t have a huge following, proceeded to say it was her birthday and she’d be doing a $1000 haul because of that. Hey, I dunno her income situation and if she wants to treat herself that’s none of my business. However, I do think when the Sephora Savings Event rolls around they aren’t hurting for business. Somedays I think to myself, “gee the beauty industry must be hurting right now” but I see all these social media posts and it appears they’re thriving.

Of course, tariffs have been an ongoing debate the last several months and it finally seems to be happening. I do wonder how this will effect the Sephora Savings Event. Is everyone out there stocking up like mad demons before their favorite moisturizer goes from $30 to $60 bucks or people being even more reserved about spending.

I gotta say this might work out in Sephora’s favor. We’ll have to see what sells out! Who knows? Maybe this will be a bust for them! But I doubt it. The beauty is still spinning no matter how bad things are or how bad they get.

What do you think? Are the traffis going to make the Sephora Savings Event a great success or will makeup lovers be too scared to spend?

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