September Favorites - liana desu

best makeup september 2019 featured photo

Best Makeup Products of September 2019

It’s crazy that it’s already October! I swear I was just writing my last favorites post, and now here I am writing another!

September was a crazy month for me as I moved into a new role at work, which includes much more responsibility (and more pay YAY). But, that didn’t stop me from trying out a bunch of new makeup products!

Last month, a few products from my Sephora Summer Bonus sale haul made my monthly favorites’ list, even after just a few days of being able to try out the products.

Now, after having over a month to try out the products of my haul, even more of them made it into this month’s list!

I’m super excited to share with you each and every product I’ve been loving over the last month, so let’s just get to it!

If you missed any of my previous Monthly Favorites posts, be sure to check them out!

Without further ado, let’s get started!

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Best Makeup Products – September 2019 Favorites

best makeup september 2019 photo of all products

Fenty Beauty – Pro Filt’r Hydrating Longwear Foundation

Saying I was excited when I saw the release of this foundation is an absolute understatement.

I can’t even describe how happy I was to see Fenty release a hydrating formula of the Pro Filt’r Foundation!

I really enjoy the original formula because it looks great on my skin and is super long-wearing. But, for someone with dry skin, I have to admit that it’s a bit too matte for my liking.

Which is why I instantly added the new Pro Filt’r Hydrating foundation to my shopping cart as soon as I saw it was available online at Sephora!

But, guess what…When my box of Sephora goodies arrived, this foundation was the only product that was missing. Of course they would forget to pack the one product I was most excited about!

Sephora has awesome customer service, though, and I received it only a few days after I told them it was missing.

And once I was able to try it out, I was definitely not disappointed!

It is everything I thought it would be – skin perfecting and long-wearing just like the original, but with more of a natural finish.

I wouldn’t say it has a dewy finish – it’s definitely more on the natural side than dewy.

If you have the NARS Natural Radiant Foundation, the finish is just slightly more radiant than that one.

It might be because of the more hydrating formula, but the coverage isn’t as full as the original Pro Filt’r foundation.

I’d categorize it as a medium coverage foundation, but I had no problem building it up to full. It layers really nicely without taking off the product that’s already applied on the skin.

I’ve been wearing it almost every day since I received it and I’m almost at the point of calling it one of my holy grail foundations. YES, it’s that good.

The only thing I’m not a fan of is the squeeze tube packaging. It does have a pump dispenser, but I just prefer a nice glass bottle when it comes to foundations.

Shop now: Sephora

Natasha Denona – Sunset Eyeshadow Palette

I’ve been wanting to buy a Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palette for ages, especially with how everyone raves about how amazing the formula of the shadows is!

Natasha Denona is just such an expensive brand that I could never bring myself to spend that much (over $100) on one eyeshadow palette. But, I finally just splurged on it!

It was on sale at Sephora (luckily!) and I picked it up during the Sephora Summer sale, so double savings! I got a really good deal on it!

And all the hype surrounding Natasha Denona shadows is totally warranted. I was definitely not let down once I tried this palette!

Out of all the eyeshadows I’ve tried, I can honestly say that these shadows are among the best in terms of quality.

They apply so smoothly, have so much color payoff (without a ton of fallout), and they blend out effortlessly.

Now I want to buy all of the other Natasha Denona palettes and my wallet is going to hate me for it LOL.

Shop now: Sephora

Kaja – Beauty Bento Bouncy Shimmer Eyeshadow Trio

In Rosewater, Orange Blossom, and Toasted Caramel

I was really on the fence about trying this brand at all, to be honest…

If you don’t know, Kaja is a Korean-beauty inspired brand created by Sephora in partnership with K-beauty retailer Memebox.

So, it’s not technically Korean makeup, but at least Memebox was founded in Korea.

The reason I wasn’t thrilled to try this brand at first was not because the products don’t look great – because they really do. But, I had a huge mental block.

I’m really sensitive to all Asian cultures (especially since I’m Japanese) and understand that each culture is unique (and that goes for all cultures – not only Asian cultures).

So, I’m really turned off by statements like, “all Asians are the same.”

And although Kaja never said that out loud, that’s the feeling I initially got from this brand.

The irony of me mentioning it now is that the one particular product that made me feel that way most is the one I’m now including in my favorites post LOL.

To explain, “kaja” means “let’s go” in Korean. Cool – that’s all fine and dandy since it’s a K-beauty inspired brand. But, “bento” means boxed lunch/meal in JAPANESE.

I mean… it’s not that big of a deal, but I feel like they could’ve at least done their research well enough to use the same language consistently throughout their product names.

They use “mochi” in another product name, which is also Japanese…

It just made me think twice about supporting a brand that is clearly using the rise in popularity of Korean-beauty products in their favor, but couldn’t even have the common sense to use the Korean language instead of Japanese…

Okay, end rant. Because I actually really love these shadows.

Once I just decided to buy these shadows (I’ve been eyeing them literally since they were released) and not care about the brand behind them, I couldn’t decide on just one!

I just HAD to buy 3 of them. And all three sets are GORGEOUS.

The three that I bought are three of the four available all-shimmer sets. I had all four in my cart, but I had to cut myself back just a little LOL.

From the description of these shadows being creamy, powder shadows with a bouncy texture, I instantly thought they would be similar to the ColourPop Super Shock Shadows. And I LOVE the formula of those.

These Kaja shadows are a tad bit more powdery than the ColourPop Super Shock shadows are, so you do experience a bit of glitter fallout with these shimmer shades.

A little fallout never turns me off though, as it’s super easy to sweep away with a fluffy brush.

I’ve been using these as lid shades almost every day and they are stunning! The glitter is very visible and it stays there all day.

I was very impressed that these shadows didn’t crease on my lids at all!

Powder shimmer shadows normally always crease on my hooded lids, but these always make it through the day without creasing or fading at all.

Rosewater:

Orange Blossom:

Toasted Caramel:

Shop now: Sephora

Stila – Glitter & Glow Liquid Eyeshadow

stila glitter and glow liquid eyeshadow wanderlust

In Wanderlust

It’s no secret that I absolutely love the Stila Glitter & Glow Liquid Eyeshadow, as I’ve mentioned it many times on this blog before.

But, this shade is new to me!

I remember Tati mentioning it in one of her older videos ages ago and I’ve always put off buying it because the cost is a little much for just one shadow.

During my last Ulta haul, I finally just bought it and I’m so mad at myself for waiting so long because it’s SO GORGEOUS.

Wanderlust is a sheer gold shade with pink sparkle and I don’t know how I’ve lived this long without it.

I’ve been using it all over my lids and on my inner corner/tear duct with as many looks as I can and it’s just TO DIE FOR.

My go-to shade in the Stila Glitter & Glow shadows has been Kitten Karma for a long time, but I never liked how much glitter fallout happened whenever I used it all over my lids.

Wanderlust has less chunky glitter in it, so I experience almost no glitter fallout with this shade.

There are TONS of affordable dupes for the Stila Glitter & Glow shadows, but if I’m being honest, nothing really is as good.

Shop now: Sephora | Ulta

Makeup Revolution – Eye Glisten

In Adored By You (rose gold, pink), Yours Truly (pink rose, muted pink), and It’s Fate (champagne, cool gold)

I kind of just ruined this product for you by saying that nothing is as good as the Stila Glitter & Glow shadows above LOL.

BUT, of all the liquid glitter shadows I’ve tried, the Makeup Revolution Eye Glisten is definitely one of the best affordable dupes for the Stila Glitter & Glow shadows.

And you get two shades in each one! One is more of a shimmer finish and one is a glitter finish.

The total net weight is 0.14 oz, so each shade is 0.07 oz. And one Stila Glitter & Glow shadow is 0.15 oz.

This one is less than half of the price of the Stila shadows, though… so, I’ll let you decide on what’s best for you!

Even though I said this is one of the best affordable dupes (it really is) and each of the shades are stunning, I do have to be honest and say that it definitely is not the same.

It takes longer for it to dry, so applying it all over the lids is pretty uncomfortable since you have to make sure not to open your eyes until it’s completely dry.

And since it doesn’t dry quickly, layering can be difficult. I’ve experienced product coming off of my lid when I try to add more on top of it before it’s completely dry.

A trick I’ve been doing is patting on a pressed shimmer shadow in a similar shade on top of the Makeup Revolution Eye Glisten to speed up the drying process. The Kaja shadows I mentioned above work really well for this!

Shop now: Ulta | Revolution Beauty

Makeup Revolution – Conceal & Hydrate Concealer

makeup revolution conceal and hydrate concealer

c/o Makeup Revolution

I was SO excited to see that Makeup Revolution released a hydrating version of their popular Conceal & Define Concealer.

That concealer is definitely one of the best drugstore concealers, but as someone with dry skin, I’m very happy to see a hydrating formula!

It’s everything the Conceal & Define Concealer is – full-coverage, smooth to apply, easy to blend out – just more hydrating and I absolutely love it!

My under-eye area can get extremely dry and it’s hard to find a full-coverage concealer that’s hydrating, so the Conceal & Hydrate Concealer is quickly becoming one of my go-tos.

Shop now: Ulta | Revolution Beauty