Let’s go (virtual) window shopping

I’m currently in my makeup austerity era, where I’m trying my hardest to not buy and beauty products for a couple months, and it’s not just because of the impending threat of tariffs and recessions – though those are still enough of a threat that I’m dialing back my spending everywhere.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ll know the reason for my recent self-imposed ban on makeup spending because you’ll have probably been forced to read continual updates about my cat’s health issues – first a fallen fang that led to 8 additional teeth extractions due to dental disease, and then kidney issues. He’s fine and pretty much back to his normal annoying self, but multiple vet visits and procedures have basically eaten through my “fun” spending for the next few months.

Add that to winter being a pretty slow period for makeup launches and spring collections generally not being in my preferred color palettes (pastels and corals and pinks are basically the worst shades for me), and it has actually been pretty easy to avoid buying anything.

That being said, there have been a few releases that have caught my eye and instead of hyper-fixating on them like I normally would, I’ve been writing them down in a list and it helps me not hyperfixate on them until I feel good about shopping for fun things again.

Let’s do some makeup window shopping, shall we?

I cannot explain how excited I am that MAC is making a comeback. I’ve been a MAC fan since the day I got into makeup – in fact, MAC was the brand that largely got me excited about makeup – and I’ve never strayed from them even when they weren’t the “it” brand for the past few years. But MAC is so back, baby, and so are their iconic nudes, and then some.

I’ve been through the old days when shades like Fleshpot, Blankety, and Myth were popular the first time, and while I still have makeup trauma around those particular shades making me look unalive, they’ve brought in some newer shades that I cannot get out of my head.

Signature Move is the one shade in the collection that immediately caught my eye. It’s a muted shade with purple brown tones that I am practically salivating over. It’s described as greige on the MAC website but I think the purplish tones make it look like the muted lipstick shade I’ve been looking for.

Alone Time is this muted mauve beige brown that looks so interesting because the swatches all make it look like it has quite a bit of gray in it. The shade could be a little too pale for me, but I would also wear this with a deeper lip liner like Greige or Stone, or as a tone adjuster for brighter shades. Both shades are currently sold out at MAC but available at Ulta.

Black cherry toned makeup has been living rent free in my head since MAC’s 2008 Cult of Cherry Collection. I mean, just look at these shades, and the promo image!!!!

This is still the collection I think about as the only collection to ever make me want every single product in the release, and I ended up buying multiple products, including several of the lip glosses and an eyeshadow quad:

Clearly this collection still lives on in my head, but back to black cherry in 2025:

I recently just showcased some of my favorite sheer black cherry shades in a reel, but I also can’t stop thinking about this new shade from Glossier. The overall collection with the Cloud Paint and lip liner are a little more red than what I’d consider black cherry, but the black cherry Balm Dot Com shade has much more of that deepened burgundy red shade that I look for. I’m so glad the brand brought back their original formula because it really worked for me as a nourishing balm.

I’m holding off for now because at this point I’m starting to drown in all of my tinted lip balms, but I definitely have my eye on these for when I manage to finish one or two of my current open balms.

Victoria Beckham Beauty is just the epitome of effortless sultry elegant makeup, and her newly reformulated and packaged quads have become the star subject of my mind lately. I only owned one of her previous quads – the all shimmer Silk quad – because the all matte color schemes weren’t quite for me. But these new ones, with a mix of matte and shimmer, come in such deliciously sultry tones that I’m so drawn to.

I have my eye on Victoria, a quad of smoky neutrals and a taupe gray shimmer that are just the kind of tones I love. I definitely want to swatch this first because there’s a chance the shades will be a little too deep for everyday wear for me, but I’m not ruling it out for when I want a slightly deeper and more defined look.

Night Flash also has the potential to be the classic smoky quad I’ve been searching for – full of deep gunmetal and black tones but with a hint of warmth from that type of taupey-concrete kind of shade that I love.

Honestly, I think it’s only a matter of time before I get one of these. In the mindset of conscious consumerism, I’d want to start with just one so the only question now is…which one???

This Vietnamese fragrance brand has been on my radar for awhile, and I first got to smell some of their fragrances at Arielle Shoshanna, a fabulous niche perfume store in northern Virginia. While their famous Vietnamese Coffee fragrance has been making waves and is indeed delicious and sweet and coffee-like, their newer collection of Japanese-inspired scents has me hooked just from the descriptions.

The collection includes delicious fragrances like Matcha Soft Serve, Strawberry Mochi (yum!!!), but the other fragrances in the collection all have notes that I am typically drawn to. A few highlights include:

• Tokyo Nights: Umeshu / Japanese Plum Wine, Tobacco, Osmanthus, Amber, Soft Smoke

• Hinoki Meditation: Hinoki Cypress, Forest Leaves, Incense, Spices, Japanese Cedar, Sandalwood

There’s 9 scents total and honestly all 9 of them sound like scents I’d be into, which means that the discovery set is the perfect place to start.

I expected myself to be the last person to love Rhode lip products, but I can’t deny that she makes some really fantastic products (the Lip Tints and Pocket Blushes are some of my 2024 favorites!).

The newly released Lip Shapes are not quite lip liners, but more of a lip contour with a velvety creamy formula. The real advantage of these is how seamless they look on my lips, in addition to the fabulous range of neutrals. I’m not much of an overliner due to the shape of my lips, but I am really impressed with how they really softly define my lips in a really soft lived in kind of way without having to spend much time blending and blurring the edges like I usually do. There are absolutely no harsh lines or edges here, so if you like a really defined lip look, these may not be the greatest product for you.

I’ve read some complaints that these don’t have a great wear time, and I only get about 2 hours of wear out of these, but that doesn’t both me for the type of soft creamy formula that these have. And to be fair, these are advertised as being creamy and hydrating without any claims of long wear time. I have the shade Twist, which is a neutral-warm taupe brown that makes for a perfect soft contour for my lips, and I also have my eye on Lunge and Lean.

If I wanted something with longer wear time, I could easily reach for another long wear lip liner, but I am appreciating these for what they are – something soft and smudgy that has the effortless lived in effect that I tend to gravitate towards most days. If that’s a look that you’re into as well, I recommend giving these a try, but if you want something with a more defined effect and longer lasting wear, you can probably skip these.

The LipSoftie formula is one of my favorite lip treatment formulas because while there are many lip tints and treatments that are hydrating and moisturizing, the LipSofties are exceptional for their ability to actually heal my dry and cracked lips (already reviewed in this post!).

I have been waiting for this Red Bean Mochi shade and flavor to be released in time for Lunar New Year. Not only is red bean one of my favorite dessert flavors and mochi one of my all time favorite foods, the shade is the most ideal type of rosy beige shade I can imagine for myself. The scent is also just the right amount of sweet and slightly nutty earthy scent of red bean that brings me right back to my childhood.

While it’s hard to go wrong with any of the flavors or shades, Red Bean Mochi might just be my favorite one yet (followed closely by Ube Vanilla). They also released the most adorable set of all the shades in a set that honestly looks more tempting than a box of chocolates…

Have you tried any of these already? Are there any products that I can safely be talked out of, or am I destined to buy all of these?

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