THE BRAND IS RELEASING THE PERFECT PRODUCT JUST IN TIME FOR VALENTINE’S DAY.
Popular clean skincare brand, Glow Recipe has just dropped their newest watermelon-inspired beauty product: Watermelon Glow Lip Pop. The new lip product is a hybrid 3-in-1 lip balm, scrub, and tint; that is intended to smooth and hydrate the lips, with a versatile pink tint. The product is half makeup, half skincare, and everything your current lip balm isn’t.
Fruit is the muse for this fun brand, but not in a juvenile Lip Smacker sort of way. Glow Recipe is proving to the beauty industry that fruity flavors and colors can indeed be chic by focusing on the produce’s many skin-benefitting properties. Its moisturizers, masks, and mists are inspired by power ingredients like blueberry, banana, pineapple, and avocado.
The balm is designed to help with uneven texture and dryness on the lips. It is formulated with watermelon seed oil, watermelon extract, coconut oil, coconut flower sugar (hence the exfoliation) , and AHA extracts derived from hibiscus, wild pansy, and hawthorn. The formulation of the lip product has an exfoliating sugar texture, that melts upon application. The balm is also designed to react with the pH of the lips, and give off a customized pink lip tint. The lip balm is infused with Coconut oil and jojoba esters that deliver long-lasting moisture (because unlike the rest of the skin on your face, your lips don’t have oil glands, which makes them extra-prone to chapping).
The scrub-slash-balm leaves you with a glossy, light-pink pout. It can be used on its own or as a primer for richer lip color. The Watermelon Glow Lip Pop is Glow Recipe’s first-ever lip product. It’s joined in the fruit basket by a watermelon sleep mask, a moisturizer, and a mist. The lip balm is vegan, cruelty-free, and ‘Clean at Sephora’ (formulated without blacklist of 50 harmful ingredients). The balm is also free of parabens, mineral oil, sulfates, phthalates, and drying alcohol. Who knew that a summer melon could be so useful for curing winter chapped lips?
The 3-in-1 lip hybrid comes in a twist-up stick form package. It is priced at $22.
You can now view and shop the new Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Lip Pop at GlowRecipe.com and Sephora.com.
Societal standards of beauty are ever-changing and have come a long, interesting way from the ideals of ghostly white powdered skin, strong Roman noses, and tiny, pinched pouts of ladies painted with love and lust in Renaissance imagery. The past several decades have shifted toward ample lips that practically beg to be kissed.
We tend to think of beauty as an ownable entity, and that everyone’s unique look is what makes the beauty spectrum subjective and exciting. Besides, confidence outshines and outlasts any societal beauty expectations, so we say start there. The root of feeling confident starts with a healthy dose of self-love, and your lips’ fullness potential comes from a little TLC—so treat your kisser to a little extra care.
Exfoliate.
A dry, pale, shriveled lip is no canvas for lip color, nor exactly a beckoning call for a smooch. Exfoliation will rid your lips of any dry, scaly flakes and bring circulation to the area. This extra blood flow naturally fills a few cracks for an instant plump, and brings a flushed and rosy tint to your natural lips for a little color on their own. A lip scrub is perfect for the task, and most of them on the market are sugar-based, so if a little gets in your mouth (and it will), it’s perfectly safe and probably a little sweet. Try our DIY lip scrub recipe here.
$20.00
$26.00
$1.00-$4.00
$8.99
$8.99
Strategically line.
And, never forget a plump pout’s best friend, lip liner. Not only does this help keep your lip color contained in the right perimeters (aka not bleed out for a Joker-style grin), but it also lends you a little creativity about where you want to define your lip line. We definitely suggest that subtlety is key here—going too far outside your lips toes the line of drag or even clown makeup. Both of which have their time and place, though it might not be at your office job or out on a casual date.
A very impactful difference can be made by penciling in just barely outside your lip line, mostly at the center edges of your lip and coming in closer to your true, natural lip at the corners of your mouth. Exaggerating just the cupid’s bow can make a world of change in the shape of your final look. It’s doll-like with reds, deep pinks, and berry hues, or sultry with a spectrum of nude shades.
Add a gloss.
The same way that exfoliation smooths things out, a gloss will help your lips reflect light for a larger look, too. If glossy isn’t really your thing, try just applying it to the center of your lips, so the shine is contained but creates a serious highlight.
Subtle contour.
A little bit of bronzer at the bottom part of your lower lip—right where a natural shadow occurs—can help. Use an eyeshadow brush to create a thin line just at the center point beneath your lower lip to exaggerate the shadow and make your lip appear more voluminous.
Try a stimulating balm.
If you prefer to go completely natural and want your full plump potential sans lip color or makeup, a stimulating ingredient in a balm or lip oil can help bring that coveted circulation back to your lips for easy reapplication all day. Peppermint and cinnamon are both incredibly stimulating—you can even feel the tingle. Look for products that already have them in the formula, or simply add a drop of the essential oil to your favorite lip balm. If you’re not sure of any sensitivities you may have to either oil, test on a small patch of skin on your arm, first.
When Rihanna launched her makeup line almost two years ago, it’s pretty fair to say Fenty Beauty shook up the beauty industry. In her first launch, RiRi served up a 40-shade foundation range (now extended to 50), the Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, which quickly became a beauty fave among editors and beauty lovers everywhere.
The original formula was a godsend for those with combo and oily skin – finally, a formula designed to keep midday shine at bay! Now, Fenty is broadening their range with a new formula designed for dry, normal and combo skin types, the Pro Filt’r Hydrating Longwear Foundation, $35, also in a whopping 50-shade range. We tried it for a week to give you guys the full DL…
This foundation is HYDRATING, MEDIUM TO FULL COVERAGE FOR ALL SKIN TONES. A hydrating, medium to full-coverage foundation packed with sodium hyaluronate and grapeseed oil that delivers long-lasting wear for normal to dry skin types. The formula is also designed to be humidity and sweat resistant like the Pro Filt’r Matte Foundation.
Rihanna’s groundbreaking 50 shade foundation is the first of its kind. The Pro Filt’r Hydrating Foundation offers serious staying power, comfortable coverage, and the perfect natural finish for normal to dry skin.
Why Did Rihanna Do It?
Recognizing Fenty Beauty needed a hydrating Pro Filt’r formula that normal to dry skin types will love, Rihanna created this foundation with Grape Seed Oil and Sodium Hyaluronate to give skin the nourishing hydration it needs to stay comfortable all day.
Fenty describe the finish as ‘natural – not dewy,’ and we would have to agree; it’s not super luminous and it’s not matte, and we really like the way it makes our skin look. Just like the original Pro Filt’r, Pro Filt’r Hydrating Long-wear Foundation has a sweat and humidity resistant formula that easily builds to medium to full coverage, instantly evening out skin without clogging pores or settling into fine lines. Plus, the long-wearing, light-as-air texture is undetectable on skin—so you always look like you.
The Wear
The formula wears really well throughout the day and we’re super impressed with its staying power. We tested it on different skin types to see how it wore:
On dry/normal skin: The formula felt really hydrating on and didn’t cake up or emphasize any dry patches like some foundations can. It settled into smile lines a little (we tried setting it with powder and without) but it still looked good around our nose and eyes.
On oily skin: In case you’re a big Fenty fan and wanted to try this hydrating formula, then we can tell you that this foundation also held up really well on oily skin. We applied our usual skin routine, and then a mineral sunscreen, and it didn’t settle into our large pores or break up on our nose at all (v.impressive!), however, it did slightly gather in our smile lines a little more than we’ve seen from some other foundations. Our face did get a little shiny through the day, but much less so than with many other foundations.
Overall we were super impressed with how great this looked from morning till night!
Fenty Beauty Shade Finding Tips:
Pro Filt’r Hydrating Longwear Foundation comes in the same 50 shades as the original Pro Filt’r, so if you already know your shade #, you’re good to go!
Don’t know your shade #? Start with your shade range (Light, Medium, Tan, Deep), then narrow down your skin’s undertone. For more help, try Fenty Face Shade Finder.
Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation vs Pro Filt’r Hydrating Longwear Foundation
We did a wear test with the new and old foundations (half a face of each) and the matte formula definitely has a more matte finish and was also much more effective at keeping shine at bay throughout the day. The colors we tried were also a direct match, so if you’re shade 380 in the matte formula, you should also be shade 380 in the new hydrating formula. Both formulas gave very similar coverage, but the hydrating formula looked slightly more airbrushed.
Application
The hydrating foundation blended out beautifully, although it doesn’t melt into skin like some other foundation, so you do have to apply a little pressure to work it out across your face. For this reason, try dotting it across your face and stippling the formula on with a brush.
Application tips:
For maximum coverage: Apply two pumps and use a stippling brush or densely-packed foundation brush, then finish with a damp beauty sponge. Use a concealer to target any problem areas and blend again with a sponge.
For a natural finish: Apply one to two pumps and blend out using a damp makeup sponge.
To finish: If you have oily skin, set with a powder. For normal and combo skin types, set your T-zone with a dusting of powder. If you have dry or normal skin, you can get away with not setting this, as the formula does dry down.
What we liked: Other than being impressed with the formula’s shade range, finish, and wear, we would note that the foundation definitely has a scent to it – it’s hard to pinpoint the scent (maybe a little spiced?!) but we did like it and didn’t find it too intense.
What we didn’t like: The only thing we didn’t love was the new plastic packaging, which feels a little drugstore, although it is more convenient for travel. The original matte foundation formula comes in a glass bottle and we would have loved to see a return of the same glass packaging.
The Verdict
Overall, we’re super impressed with the new hydrating formula. It looked beautiful on the skin and held up really well on both dry and oily skin types – it even looked good after a sweaty spin class! The shade range is also amazing, so if you’re looking for a new foundation, we definitely recommend trying it out at the store no matter what your skin type.
Fenty Beauty Pro Kiss’r Lip-Loving Scrubstick + Luscious Lip Balm
1. Pro Kiss’r Lip-Loving Scrubstick: A fuss-free lip scrub in a twist-up stick, packed with apricot seed scrubbers to gently exfoliate and nourish for instantly smooth, soft kissable lips with every swipe.
2. Pro Kiss’r Luscious Lip Balm: A creamy moisture-lock lip balm with a plush doe-foot applicator that smooths, softens, and preps your pout for instantly luscious, kiss-worthy lips that last.
Beauties tell us all about your excitement for these new products and all that they can do for your makeup collection. We will definitely be making a Sephora run to update you guys on these products and let you know if they need to become staples in your collection.Â
Exfoliation is easily one of the most important parts of your weekly skincare routine – it helps buff away dead skin to keep blackheads under control and keep your skin feeling smooth and soft. That being said, you need to be careful, because if done too often or too hard, you’ll risk over-exfoliating, which can lead to breakouts and general redness and sensitivity.
Our latest drugstore discovery is the L’oreal Smooth Sugars Scrubs, and we unexpectedly fell in love with them. The thing is, sugar scrubs can be notoriously harsh, which is why we often recommend them for body-only exfoliation. However, the new offering from L’oreal is exfoliating without being too harsh, and we were seriously impressed with the results. The three formulas that we tried combine three types of pure sugar – brown, blonde, and white – and each is concocted with cleverly-chosen ingredients to target different skin concerns.
With real kiwi seeds to smooth skin and reduce blackheads, the gel-like texture of this scrub doesn’t feel harsh as the sugars gently melt into the skin. The addition of peppermint essential oil, a natural antibacterial and anti-fungal, soothes the skin and helps control bacteria that can lead to breakouts, while lemongrass essential oil helps purify the skin.
The formula smells amazing and feels gentle on the skin – be sure to be light-handed with any exfoliators as the harder you scrub, the more you’re likely to damage your skin and the fragile skin barrier. We recommend using this a maximum of three times a week.
This divine, chocolaty-scented scrub is ideal for those with dry patches or normal skin. Mixed with the trio of sugars is finely-crushed, antioxidant-rich cocoa, antibacterial and hydrating coconut oil, and nourishing cocoa butter. Post-scrub, your skin will feel moisturized and smooth as a baby’s bottom, without that tight or itchy feeling that some exfoliators can leave.
Add warm water to soften the sugar particles for a buttery texture that melts into the skin (don’t forget to do your lips as well), then admire how bright your skin looks after. Follow with a hydrating toner to remove any residue.
Packed with vitamin E to protect and promote even tone, grapeseed oil nourishes and soothes your skin while moisturizing monoi oil protects the skin. The addition of acai powder, and the fact it smells so good may make you want to eat it, but the vitamins and minerals are just as good topically for your skin as they are for your tummy.
Again, be gentle when you’re massaging this into your skin. As you add warm water, you’ll feel the sugars dissolve while the natural oils soften the skin and give a major post-exfoliating glow. We love that you can use this on your lips as well.
Primp Tip: We recommend using a gentle cleanser before using your preferred scrub and then following with a hydrating toner on a cotton pad. Continue with your essences, serums and moisturizers to ensure your skin stays hydrated, but avoid using any other exfoliating products, like toners that contain AHAs or retinol. Use these scrubs a maximum of three times a week and be prepared to see your skin glow.
Have you guys tried these scrubs? Let us know in the comments below!
