Beauty Unhyped Field Notes #1

Welcome to Field Notes, where I share my latest (and always unfiltered) thoughts from my beauty shopping outings – aka hunting down new releases and swatching everything I can get my hands on. While Sephora is my most oft frequented store, I’ll be bringing you to all the other fun stores I stop into where I swatch the newest products, play with textures, and test fragrances on myself. Most of the time these are fact finding missions – how do new products feel? How do they compare to other products that already exist? What am I immediately drawn to? 

This is the most unfiltered and raw beauty content, because the swatches are usually in terrible Sephora lighting and they are the very first of first impressions that help me decide if I’m interested in trying something more. I usually share these on my Instagram stories ((btw if you don’t follow me on Instagram you’re really missing out on my haphazard swatching and story posts) in close to real time. 

Field reports pick up in the fall because of the avalanche of new releases and sales. Holiday sales are already upon us and I’ve started my field research for the season, and even though I just wrote in a previous post that beauty is boring right now, there are a few new releases that I’m curious to touch and play with to see how they feel and look compared to products I already love. 

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On my most recent trip, I completely fell in love with this perfect alternative to Black Honey that is 1000x more flattering on me. It looks like a deep vampy red in the tube, but applies in a sheer blackened red. I wanted to wait until the Sephora sale to pick it up but as soon as I swatched it. I decided to pick it up then and I’ve been wearing it nonstop ever since. If Black Honey was as weirdly unflattering and drying for you as it was for me, give this Dior balm a shot. It’s a lighter and thinner formula, and also not quite as glossy, but most importantly, it doesn’t dry my lips out. See it in action in this reel.

I’m starting to see some sets of products I already love trickling out, and this lip gloss set from Haus Labs has a mini of one of their permanent shades and a new limited edition holiday shades. I bought the shade Fig last year and absolutely love the slick formula and light pigment. The shades in the permanent line are all really pretty olive-skintone friendly shades so I’m excited to try more. 

However, the most exciting holiday release I’ve seen so far is this lipstick set that I consider to be perfection, which is very very high praise considering the half-assed releases I’ve seen this year. All 3 shades are new, with one shade in a completely new lip blush formula, and all are already in heavy rotation in my daily routine.  (Bespoke has already become one of the everyday shades that goes with everything that I can’t put down and I’m BEGGING Merit to make this permanent!) They are versatile from day to night, from a coffee run to a special event and night out and this set will truly take you through the holiday season and more. 

This is a rare example of a thoughtful release I want to see more from brands, with approachable and wearable colors across a wide range of skintones in new shades that aren’t immediate dupes of what the brand already has. And at $58, this makes each lipstick under $20, making this a great value for the quality of lipstick and packaging that you’re getting. If you’re looking into one holiday release to pick up, this set is the one to get. Also available at Sephora and see it in action in this reel!

Other things that caught my eye that didn’t make it home with me this time but went straight to my Sephora sale wishlist (starting 11/1 for Rouge!) are this new sparkly glittery eyeshadow from Kulfi Beauty that’s perfect for holiday looks or a bit of everyday sparkle. Speaking of sparkle, this new highlighter from Gucci is absolutely stunning and has the thinnest but still pigmented gel-powder formula. I love the look of the lilac shade but am not sure I could make that work in my routine enough to justify owning it. But next time I might go back for that Opal Pink pinky bronze shade….

There are also some new releases that I’m curious about, including this blush set from Danessa Myricks that comes in 2 new shades and is one of my favorite oily-skin friendly formulas, as well as this new cool toned palette from Makeup by Mario. You all know I’m a huge fan of cool neutrals but straight cool tones like the navy blue can be tricky on me, so we’ll see how this looks in real life.

Everything else that caught my eye was a fragrance, and is confirmation of what we all already already know. We’re in a…

Fragrances are everywhere! It’s becoming a very dangerous new hobby for me because it’s so much more expensive than makeup and I’m really enjoying the complexity and unique experience everyone has with fragrance. On my recent shopping trip I also tried out some newer fragrance launches and I now have a very long wishlist….

Maison Margiela Replica Afternoon Delight – The notes of this are delicious: vanilla, madeleine accord, and sandalwood. I’m not a fan of the gourmand scents that smell like cake or cookies, but you’re telling me I can smell like a buttery madeleine? SIGN ME UP. Maison Margiela scents can tend to lean on the lighter side since their EDT’s and they’re hit and miss on me in terms of lasting power so I need to try this on my skin before I commit to a full size, but I am so intrigued.

Diptyque Bois Corse – When Les Essences des Diptyque came out, I was unsure of all 5 fragrances. I couldn’t imagine how all the notes of each fragrance would mesh together, but unfortunately for my wallet, I fell in love with all 5 fragrances. To me they’re fresh, unique, unexpected, and complex, but the one that most caught my nose was Bois Corse. It has notes of black coffee, sandalwood, and tonka bean. It’s reach and comforting, and I much prefer black coffee as a drink and as a fragrance over the synthetically sweet and creamy notes that many coffee scents tend to have. I’m hardcore eyeing the full size bottle but I’m also very tempted by the mini set of all 5 fragrances. Holiday gifts, anyone?

Glossier Doux and Reve – Glossier You has never worked for me, since anything with pink pepper notes can trigger my migraines, so the You branding has never quite piqued my curiosity…until now. The notes of these intrigued me enough to actually spray both on my skin in store and well, I’m impressed. 

I imagined I would like Reve better, with notes of buttercream, plum, almond, and sandalwood, but I actually love the way Doux settles on my skin, which has violet, palo santo, and ambrox. Doux turns into the soft and slightly woody smoky scent that feels soft and comforting and grounding all at once, whereas my skin pulls out all the buttercream notes of Reve for the first couple hours of wear before the plummy almond notes come in. As a dairy hater, smelling like sweet cream isn’t really what I want but I can’t deny that the way the scent settles into a plummy almond smell is really lovely and complex. I’m definitely curious to try this more so I have a couple samples coming way (free with any Glossier purchase, and they have a fun little sale on some of their products right now! Doux and Reve are also at Sephora already)

Ineke Field Notes from Paris

A few weeks ago, I finally got to visit Arielle Shoshanna, which is a delightful fragrance store in the suburbs of DC that has some of the best niche fragrances I’ve been dying to try in person. I think I smelled half of the selection in the store, but Field Notes from Paris frome Ineke stopped me in my tracks. I sprayed it on myself, left the store, and went back half an hour later to purchase the fragrance. This is complete autumn vibes, but like an evening after a jazz club in autumn. It’s a little spicy, a little smoky, a little leathery, and very addictive. The main notes I smell are coriander, bergamot, tobacco, tonka, leather, and vanilla. So basically, if you smash together all of my favorite notes, this is the fragrance you get. It was sadly out of stock but I pre-ordered a bottle so I will (hopefully) eventually have it in my hands as soon as it’s back.  If you’re impatient, you can also buy it straight from Ineke.

Finally, I’m sure that by now you’ve all seen the news of the new Merit fragrance, Restrospect. True to Merit’s nature, it looks effortlessly beautiful and modern and with notes like bergamot, jasmine, rose, musk, and sandalwood, this has the potential be that soft and sweet kind of skin scent that I love. I’m waiting with bated breath for this to be released. More to come in my next edition of Field Notes.

I hope you all enjoyed the first edition of Field Notes. Now I want to know – what else do you want me to report on? What swatches are you looking for? What fragrances do you have your eye on? I want to know all your requests! 

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