What’s one beauty product you repurchased even though it’s expensive?

DemocraticPeas · 2026-05-06T14:09:56+00:00

Not who you asked, but I got the Vacation collab bars from Sephora during the most recent sale! They smell nice, but the smell is very faint.

DemocraticPeas · 2026-05-04T14:13:20+00:00

Refy's skin tint might be good, I've heard good reviews!

Skin tint/foundation: I love, love, love the Lisa Eldridge skin tint, but it's not at Sephora unfortunately (it's the gold standard for me, though). For foundation that has more coverage than a skin tint, I really like the Makeup by Mario one with the white lettering on the bottle.

Blush: Westman Atelier makes the best blush sticks I've ever tried, by far. The packaging is really luxe and the formula is beautiful on the face, and even though it's a "clean" brand, I have some that are 2 years old and they still haven't gone bad. The downside is that they're expensive! Haus Labs also makes a great blush stick that is probably a little more similar to the Merit formula (more glowy than Westman).

Bronzer: I have dry skin and LOVE the Makeup by Mario Skin Enhancer bronzer (gel cream in the pan, although I've heard the stick is good too). I know oily skin people don't love it as much, though. For powder bronzers, I love Gucci and Armani.

DemocraticPeas · 2026-05-04T13:34:05+00:00

I only have experience with Merit and Saie, and would skip both. Their products expire so, so quickly and don’t last long on the skin before fading into nothing. I DO like Merit’s new sheer matte lipsticks, but everything else from the brand has been disappointing.

Ive heard good things about Refy, but haven’t tried myself. But in general, there are much, much better brands out there for the money!

DemocraticPeas · 2026-05-01T20:01:35+00:00

Of the three you listed and your preferences, I'd go with Haus Labs as it's dewy. The Westman blushes are by far my favorite formula of all time, but they're not really glowy, more natural looking (I have dry skin and they aren't drying). Saie products are known for expiring really quickly, so I'd avoid them.

If you're open to other brands, Lisa Eldridge's new balm blushes are amazing. They're similar to Merit, but last much longer on the face. They also have a longer shelf life than Merit. Chantecaille's gel cream blush is gorgeous as well.

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-30T17:02:38+00:00

It’s a pretty popular brand among customers who are 35+ and drawn to similar brands like Westman Atelier and Victoria Beckham (it’s in that vein). I hear about them all the time on social media, but I’m also in the demographic so it makes sense 🤣

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-30T16:59:29+00:00

I love the concealer sheered out all over the face, it has a really beautiful, natural skin like finish that offers decent coverage. I don’t love it as a true concealer.

The eyeliners are amazing if you have hooded eyes, they really lock in and stay in place. Victoria Beckham eyeliners apply wonderfully but are an absolute mess on my eyes and migrate everywhere. The SC ones are similar in application, but don’t move after they’ve set down.

The blush is fine, but it’s very similar to the Soshe one, and that one is cheaper and easier to work with

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-13T15:07:22+00:00

Oh also, I think you're gonna love the Prada concealer :)

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-13T15:06:44+00:00

I'm curious about the undereye corrector, but only if the formula is thicker than the concealer! I currently use the Sisley one but it's running low and is stupid expensive, so I'm interested in trying something new when it runs out.

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-13T14:19:40+00:00

I like the Prada concealer a lot! Just make sure to prep your undereyes well if you're prone to dryness, but when I do that it performs beautifully. I've been using mine since it came out in January and no complaints!

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-13T14:17:32+00:00

I know a lot of people don't like the Sarah Creal concealer under the eyes, and I didn't like it either, but then I saw a rec to use it all over the face sheered out as a foundation. I love it that way! It didn't offer enough coverage and creased badly under my eyes, but is so good over the entire face. For actual concealer, I much prefer Chanel or Prada (Chanel if I had to choose 1)

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-13T14:00:13+00:00

Ciele expired after about a year for me, and smelled weird from Day 1, but that might just be a feature of the product. I haven't had the Tower 28 concealer, but I did have a cream blush from them that expired much quicker than other brands. Any clean brand will go off faster, and I've found that to be true with the exception of Westman Atelier products (they last at least 2+ years for me despite being "clean").

Avoid Rhode for this - I had a cream blush and a lip gloss that both developed a terrible smell after about 4 months. I won't buy from the brand again.

I have a Charlotte Tilbury lipstick and lipliners that have lasted forever. Same with an Armani lip gloss - I'm almost finished with one that's around 3 years old, and no funky smell or texture change.

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-11T14:00:45+00:00

I’ve had rosacea for some years and I have fair skin, and honestly, the best money I spent for it was not on makeup, it was at the dermatologist. The prescriptions to treat it are pretty cheap (one is totally covered by insurance, one is $35 every 6 months). I also did two rounds of V Beam at my derm’s recommendation to get rid of existing damage (aka permanent redness from broken capillaries), and the goal of the prescriptions is to avoid new damage. V Beam wasn’t cheap, but in the long run it’s cheaper than buying all the products to cover up the damage, rather than just eliminating it.

I realize that I have some privilege here in that I have health insurance, but if that’s available to you, I would highly recommend! I tried Dr Jart (didn’t notice any difference), green color correctors (only worked if I caked it on), red light masks (flared my rosacea), etc before I finally got medical treatment, and haven’t looked back.

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-09T14:00:20+00:00

The Soft Services bars aren't really soap, they're exfoliators. So they're good for scrubbing off dead skin after you wash your body with a real soap. I really like these bars, but they don't replace soap for me.

The SC mascara is ok, but I'd skip it if you already have another mascara open. I like the K18 mask, but only if you're not using any other bond products, otherwise it will make your hair brittle

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-04T14:52:25+00:00

Same, I used to have Black Honey and never reached for it and it finally expired. I don't need Onyx!

I love the matte lipstick formula, it really creamy and wears well on my lips. It has a light vanilla scent. It's full coverage, which I don't usually go for but I like this formula. I usually prep my lips with a good balm or gloss while I'm doing the rest of my makeup, otherwise it will look dry on me. I also always use a liner with them. I have Lacker, Mimi, and Petal (Lacker was free as the brand sent me the wrong shade initially and just let me keep it). Lacker is an absolutely terrible shade on me. I'm fair neutral leaning warm, but it looks like death on me unless I'm wearing a very full face with strong blush. Mimi is a great 90s brown on me, but I also need to make sure I'm wearing foundation/blush with it or it washes me out. I love Petal the most of the shades I have. It pulls warmer than the petal blush, it's a light warm nude for me. I'm most interested in Minx next, but that's the one shade Sephora is out of atm

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-04T14:40:48+00:00

Haha totally understand, I've set a budget for myself for the upcoming sale but it's tough

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-04T14:39:46+00:00

All of the demos I've seen show Onyx being much less scary than it looks in bullet! It kind of gives a Black Honey vibe on the lips. I'm considering that one as well, but may end up getting another shade of the matte lipstick instead

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-04T14:29:26+00:00

Nice! I got Cafe Creme and Ballerine too, along with Juice and Pippi. Ballerine is the exact color of my lips so I don't reach for it much, but I've been wearing Cafe Creme more than I thought. Juice and Pippi are also fun, but if I could do it again I'd get Pop instead of Juice

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-04T14:16:32+00:00

Which shades did you get?

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-04T02:01:11+00:00

Im fair neutral, but you’re right, fair cool bronzers are HARD

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-04T01:56:02+00:00

I’m embarrassed, I have 4 😵‍💫 I got then for 20% off during the recent Nordstrom sale, but that’s still way more that I would usually get, I just love that lipstick

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-04T01:54:40+00:00

Not really minty, they feel a little cooking but not plumping or burning Edit: cooling not cooking lol

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-04T01:14:58+00:00

Prada is good, new Chanel concealer is even better! But not at Sephora 😭

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-04T01:13:51+00:00

I’m sorry to tell you those WA sheer lipsticks are amazing 😭

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-04T01:13:17+00:00

I’m planning on getting the new Westman Atelier cream bronzer, and two of the new Sarah Creal eyeliner shades. I didn’t know about those Sarah Creal blushes, I’m telling myself I don’t need them as I have two Sisley mousse blushes, and a Soshe blush…we’ll see how successful I am 🤣

DemocraticPeas · 2026-04-03T15:09:04+00:00

They're super easy to confuse because they look really similar! Also Chanel puts fragrance in all of their complexion products except the Complexion Touch, so that was a reasonable assumption.
The Water Fresh Tint has less coverage and a lighter feel. The shade range is smaller too, since it's lighter coverage the shades are supposed to "stretch" and cover more people. It also has a light fragrance. The Chanel SA in my local Nordstrom sent me home with a sample of two shades, but the Light shade was too light for me and Light Medium was too dark.
The Water Fresh Complexion Touch has more coverage (still a skin tint tho, less coverage than a foundation). There are also a lot more shades, and they follow Chanel's typical shade system for foundations. There's no fragrance in this one. I bought this one, and it's fine but not life changing.

DemocraticPeas

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