It’s been a bit since I’ve written a Test Drives article! So, let’s kick off March with a few great finds that I made in the last few weeks. I’m always on the hunt for great dupes, must have moisturizers and effective foundations, and that’s exactly what I’m covering in today’s post. I’ll be reviewing Tatcha’s Luminous Dewy Skin Mist, IT Cosmetics’ newest release Confidence in a Foundation, and Sephora Collection’s Golden Hour highlight. As usual, I’ll outline whether an item was purchased or gifted. So let’s get to it!

Tatcha Dewy Skin Mist (purchased)

I picked up this travel friendly version at Sephora while I was in San Francisco because I felt like my skin was getting dry while I was out one day. The premise is that this can help to instantly infuse the skin with moisture thanks to the mist’s natural botanical ingredients. To use, simply shake the bottle, hold it two to three inches from your face and mist. This can be used under makeup or as a refresh throughout the day.

What I liked

This is a truly hydrating spray which evaporates fairly quickly. That’s not to say that you don’t get the moisturizing benefits. It’s more like saying it doesn’t take forever for the mist to absorb into the skin. While this mist has a more natural/essential oil style scent, it’s not offensive. Of course, the small size makes this ideal for traveling.

What could be better

This isn’t so much a complaint as an honest observation. Most people who review this product rave about how it instantly improves the condition of their skin. While I like this product and definitely use it fairly regularly, I can’t say that I get better results using this either as a refresh or pre-makeup step as opposed to some of my other facial mists or even oils that I typically use.

Sephora Collection Golden Hour Highlight in Twilight (purchased)

This is yet another item I picked up while I was in SF. I can honestly say it was an impulse buy because I saw the purple pan on the gondola and instantly thought it could be a dupe for my personal favorite highlighter, Kevyn Aucoin’s Neo-Limelight in Ibiza.

What I liked

I was right, this is most definitely a dupe for Kevyn Aucoin. In the pic above, you can see that I have two swatches on my wrist. The top swipe is from the upper half of Kevyn Aucoin’s Ibiza pan on the left, and the bottom swipe is from Sephora’s pan on the right. If you say that you can tell a difference on my arm (not in the pan because clearly they look different in the pan), you’re full of it! I’ve always been a fan of Sephora’s powders, and this is no different. This particular highlight is finely milled which means you get minimal fallout. More importantly, you have great color pigmentation with this and don’t need to use a lot of product to get strong color payoff.

And something in particular that I actually prefer with Sephora’s Golden Hour is that the shimmer is uniform rather than an obvious gradient. As much as I love Kevyn Aucoin’s Ibiza, as you see in the pic above, I clearly don’t use the paler half of the pan, mainly because that paler portion can end up making me look frosty. So, technically speaking, half of the pan is wasted on me. In contrast, since Sephora’s version is more uniform, I can use the entire pan—making this a very cost effective product.

What could be better:

Nothing, I really like this product and didn’t find any issues with it.

IT Cosmetics Confidence in a Foundation in Rich Warm (gifted)

If you followed my IG stories or checked out my IG Beauty Events Highlight, you know that last week I attended IT Cosmetics’ Spring product launch. Those of us who came out went home with a goodie bag full of skincare products and more importantly, a 10-bottle sampling of their newest color cosmetics launch, Confidence in a Foundation, as well as an additional bottle that we received at their shade match station during the event. These 10 shades are considered their most popular hues that testers gravitated towards during the R&D stage.  This particular foundation comes in 48 hues, with plenty of options for darker skin tones. Confidence in a Foundation is meant to be full coverage with a velvet matte finish.

If you notice that I have 12 rather than 11 bottles (10 + 1 for my shade) in this pic, that’s because when I was at the event, the lighting wasn’t the best and I felt like I was falling between shades. So the MUA who helped me test colors sent me home with two shades.

What I like:

I’m really glad that IT has finally come out with a foundation that’s truly accessible for all skin tones. As much as I’ve appreciated some of their other CC creams, their color options were usually fairly limited with only two or three options for the #teambrownskin or #teamdarkskin crowd. Their previous brown hues would always have a bit too much orange or red in them, meaning that I’d have to limit their wear until the summer when I’m tan and can better match the shades. But this time, I have a shade that matches my “late Fall to Spring” shade.

That aside, I also like that even though this is a full coverage it didn’t feel heavy. Full disclosure, I typically avoid full coverage foundations because I don’t need that level of coverage. Normally I find this coverage level to be too intense, like I’m wearing a mask. That definitely wasn’t the case with Confidence in a Foundation. However to make sure that it didn’t feel or look too heavy, I applied the foundation sparingly and blended with a damp brush.

Today wasn’t my first time trying this product as I’ve probably rocked it a time or two before. I’ve currently been wearing it for just about six hours and it’s still wearing fairly well. More importantly, it plays well with other products too. So, if you’re layering via contour or highlight, it doesn’t slide around or fade away throughout the day.

What could be better:

So, as much as I think this product is great, there is one thing that is somewhat questionable to me. IT Cosmetics claims that Confidence in a Foundation offers a velvet matte finish. No. As compared to their Matte CC+ Cream which is a favorite of mine in warmer weather, this is not matte. Even during the time it took for me to apply my makeup (about 15 – 20 min), this foundation never “dried down” to a soft matte finish like the CC cream did. And I applied my foundation first since I wasn’t doing eye shadow today. At 6 hours out right now, I definitely have shine and would need to touch up with my setting powder to mute that sheen. Mind you, I wasn’t doing anything intense today unless you consider driving to LaGuardia to pick up the hubby and going to dinner afterwards a hefty day of activities.

My Verdict:

Honestly, everything was a winner for me this time. While I did question a few of the claims of Tatcha’s Luminous Dewy Skin Mist and IT Cosmetics’ Confidence in a Foundation, they’re both still great products that I would use.

Check out more of my Test Drives here.

Full Makeup Details:

Primer: E.L.F. Cosmetics Antioxidant Booster Drops
Foundation: IT Cosmetics Confidence in a Foundation in Rich Warm
Brows: NYX Cosmetics Love Contours All Palette Dark Eyeshadow Pan
Eye Liner: Wet n Wild Pro Line Felt Tip Liner
Lashes: Kawaii Girl Cosmetics Ebisu
Concealer: Tarte Cosmetics Shape Tape Concealer in medium-sand
Setting Powder: Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder in Deep
Blush: Kevyn Aucoin Neo-Blush in Sunset
Highlight/Bronzer: Kevyn Aucoin Flash from Contour Book Volume III + Sephora Collection Golden Hour in Twilight
Lips: Sara Happ The Pink Slip Gloss

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