Emily Johnson

Laneige Matcha and Taro Bubble Tea Lip Sleeping Masks are two new, limited-edition drops that are part of the Laneige Bubble Tea Collection. There’s a good chance we’ll see these launching in the USA very shortly perhaps late Summer but for now we have a Peach Iced Tea and Grapefruit flavor for Spring 2025. I’m actually a big Bubble Tea drinker and you’d think I’d be excited about these but even Kong and Thomas couldn’t sell me a new Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask.

The two of them, sitting on a bed, sharing a pot of Laneige Pink Lemonade Swirl Lip Sleeping Mask are my shipped dreams come true but it’s not tempting me enough to haul another flavor of Laneige Lip Mask not even if it’s Bubble Tea flavored.

I really hate to say this but I really don’t need another pot of Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask. Some side of me is like, damn, these sound so good and another part of me is like you have fifty of them you don’t more. Just this once I’m going to listen to my logical side and not buy these if they launch state side. Listen, Laneige, did some kind of wonderful with that Glaze Craze Tinted Polypeptide Lip Serum launch. If you haven’t tried that formula I strongly urge you to give it a try. It’s amazing. But as for another sleeping lip mask? I just don’t need it. Growing up and being mature is saying no to a product you already have like ten pots of.

I think the formula on the mask is one you either really love or you’re not into. I’ve been into them for a spell. I actually really like what they do for my lips but I understand some people find them not moisturizing enough or are occasionally disappointed with the lighter flavor and fragrance. That’s actually another reason I can probably say no as the flavor is really never strong. It’s typically very light and barely there at all. You can see that as either a good thing or a bad one. I know a lot of people don’t love fragranced lip products and maybe appreciate the flavor is lighter here. Where as others, might feel disappointed that it isn’t as flavored and fragranced as they hoped. So,

So, it comes down to something like this. Years ago, Fresh was releasing a new Sugar Lip Balm ever five seconds and I was purchasing every one of their drops. Remember those days? They were fun but I got tired of them after a while because not only were they sheer but I had a ton of them and it was utterly wasteful to continue to buy a new shade every season. The moral of the story is I’m starting to feel the same about Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Masks. I love the formula but I have a ton of pots and don’t really need more. So, I’m going to an adult about this and say that if the Bubble Tea Lip Sleeping Mask makes it out of Asia and into the US market I’ll be safely skipping both.

How about you? Buying or skipping?

Where to buy

Sephora Laneige

I think we really need to discuss the fact that cushion foundation has been absent from the US market for a while now. Remember when drugstores were dropping cushions left and right several years ago. We had Maybelline Dream Cushion, L’Oreal True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation, and so many more. If I could bring back one cushion though it would have to be Sephora Wonderful Cushion Foundation. I have yet to find a formula as smoothing, natural, or as beautiful nd brightening as that one.

But cushions were a fleeting trend in the US makeup market. They are incredibly popular throughout Asia but here in the US it was a 2015 in and a 2016 out with these formulas. Not everyone was a fan I guess because they never quite made a reappearance. Until now…!

The Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Beautifying Cushion Foundation just dropped in Asia and I have hopes that it’ll make an appearance in the US but I have my doubts. (yeah, I know she’s abusing that Pillow Talk name but I’ll forgive her if she decides to launch this stateside). This is a smoothing and blurring cushion that applies sheer but can be built with a “pillowy” finish. This is more of a liquid foundation with micro mesh compact much like you’d see in launches like the Unleashia Babe Skin Baby Blue Cushion. It’s not a traditional cushion saturated foundation. It basically has a micro mesh over the cream and you can gently press on it with a sponge to release the foundation. As much as I hope they’ll release this in the US chances are they may not. It’s a very limited shade range for the Asian market versus bringing it here to the USA and having to do way more larger range of shades.

NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Cushion Foundation has been out a while now and I think our Brit family already got their hands on this a while ago as well but it never did quite make it’s way to the US market. Someone posted the Xiao Zhan commercial with it and I suddenly had a lightbulb going off in my head remembering how much I wanted this. It also, made me realize that a US drop of Charlotte Tilbury’s cushion might be unlikely considering we never got the NARS version.

I’ll never understand why cushions aren’t as popular here as they are in Asia. I just love how natural they are and how smooth they apply. Perhaps Charlotte Tilbury’s drop will stir up the market again and we’ll see some new cushions coming our way at some point. One can hope!

Are you a cushion fan?

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Good Morning, friends! I hope you’re having a good week. I volunteered at the dog shelter the other day and guys, I dunno how I came home without a hundred new pets! I wanted to take them all home. We all know my Queen at home would never accept new additions to our family though. She won’t even look the cat in the eye. Haha…! But seriously, it’s always a sort bittersweet volunteering there! Anyway, what’s your week like? Do anything interesting? Has it been productive? I hope you find your calm this week and turn off the background noise of the world and enjoy some peace. I wanted to thank you all so much for your e-mails, comments, and DMs. Some of you really make me bust out laughing sometimes (Lacey, if you’re reading this, it’s you. YOU, make me laugh with the comments on my dog’s pics LOL!). I’m glad we get to talk one on one sometimes.

Speaking of talking I reached out to Ulta Customer Care yesterday because Ulta sent this interesting e-mail that said, “YES, YOUR DISCOUNT IS STACKABLE!” and I was all like, “Eh? What? Tell me more!” Turns out they were talking about the 20% Off Ulta Credit Card discount. When you sign up for an Ulta Credit Card you’ll get 20% off your first purchase as you may know. Since it isn’t technically a code and automatically comes off the purchase that means you can stack it with the 20% Off coupon you may have gotten this week (or the $10 off $40), I was skeptical it would work so I reached out to customer service and they said, yup, that’ll work. I don’t have an Ulta Credit Card as I don’t really use credit cards all that much. But if you’re on my Instagram group chat you probably heard me saying that if we got this offer around the Holidays it would be a great time to sign up for the card. I don’t really need anything from Ulta at the moment so stacking the two discounts would probably be wasteful but around the Holidays when there are lots of newer releases and they do send 20% off around October/November so what a great time to enjoy nearly 40% off.

So yes, you can stack the 20% coupons and enjoy a rather huge discount. Unfortunately, this is for new credit card users only as if you already have an Ulta Credit Card you likely used the discount already! But if you don’t have a card when a 20% off coupon pops up that would be a good time to sign up for me!

Where to buy

Ulta

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Well, I did it. I gave in to the Tiktok hype and ordered a very small tube of Skinn DermAppeal Microdermabrasion Treatment. Lucifer, the Evening Star, the Prince of Darkness, himself forged this in the fiery pits of hell while Hades watched on manically laughing. Pretty sure what happened was when Dante and Virgil crawled up the back of Lucifer to escape hell he noticed a tube of this sitting on Lucifer’s wing, grabbed it up during his ascent, and somehow, someway, it ended up on HSN and Tiktok Shop. I’m 100% positive confirming this as truth (or I may have made it up!).

This stuff is diabolical. Pure evil. And I kind of oddly love it but trust me, don’t do this to your skin. And I think I just purchased it for the plot…!

I have literally watched people using a silicone brush to work DermAppeal Microdermabrasion Treatment vigorously. They were scrubbing their faces like their very lives depended on it. I cannot, ahem, let me repeat myself for effect, I CANNOT believe how hard people are scrubbing with this. It’s extremely potent, extremely harsh, and using that much force to work it into your skin has to be doing major damage. MAJOR damage. I have to laugh when I see the founder saying he uses it for “decrustification”. I get it. I really do. I have dry skin! I get little flaky bits here and there so yeah, I guess I’m sort of crusty LOL!

In all seriousness, this stuff is the old school Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask but on crack. For whatever reason, we all thought Sea Breeze, Queen Helene, and St Ives Apricot Scrub were doing some kind of miracles to our face several hundred years ago. How times have changed.

So yeah, I feel like Skinn DermAppeal Microdermabrasion Treatment is absolutely a nod to the good old days of skincare when we had absolutely no sense. This stuff takes minty fresh to some new level. It’s super minty, super cooling, and it stings a bit too. I put it on in the shower and I literally couldn’t open my eyes. They scent was making my eyes sting and tear up. It’s that strong. I never ever endorse putting mint on my skin. Have I done in the past? Sure! But I know better now but here we are…! I was curious enough to give it a go.

I’m not recommending this stuff by any means (it would be hell on sensitive skin) but guys, my skin actually does look some kind of wonderful after using it. I hate saying that because it’s the worst possible thing I can do for my skin but yeah, it does have sort of a glass skin-like effect and I don’t hate that. It’s a harsher, grainier scrub and def whisks away any and ever dry area on your skin. Surprise, surprise! I didn’t come out of the experience feeling tight either. And my skincare absorbs like a sponge after the scrub. Oh god, I do not want to be into this the way I am. I may just sneak it in once a month for a really good scrub.

Have you tried Skinn DermAppeal Microdermabrasion Treatment?

Where to buy

Amazon HSN

Ulta Beauty is pausing expansion of its Target stores this year according to a variety of reports. As you well know Ulta struck a deal with Target in 2020 to create Ulta stores within the department store. At the moment there are over 600 Target stores that have and Ulta inside them and the plan was for 800 to be opened but at this time Ulta has decided to halt their expansion into Target stores. The idea was to provide a way to expose more customers to the Ulta experience and also, to make it convenient for current Ulta customers to grab their favorite items easily during a Target visit. According to reports more than 4 million Ulta shoppers have linked loyalty accounts to their Target store account.

There was no clear information why Ulta has made this decision but CEO Kecia Steelman stated, “In joint partnership with Target, we’ve made the decision to really lean into the 600-plus stores that are open this next year and really look at ‘How do we continue to drive efficiencies and leverage the learnings that we’ve had to really unlock value for both of us collectively together?” In March, Steelman also discussed sales decline amid “intense” competition and her plan to jump start sales going forward. It’s not officially addressed if declining sales is a factor in the halting of the store openings nor is the fact that Target is in the middle of some drama due to diversity issues. Target faced some major losses and boycotts after making the drastic chose to scale back its DEI program. That can’t be a good look for Ulta. Again, this wasn’t addresses in the statement about to pause in store openings but one wonders if any of it attributes to their decision.

Curiously, Sephora faces an interesting issue as well as Kohl’s is closing stores as well. According to reports none of the Kohl’s with Sephora inside will be closing but Kohl’s locations are closing none the less. 27 locations will be shutting their doors due to underperformance. I always felt the Sephora Kohl’s deal was an odd one but I felt the same about JCPenny. Sephora is very protective of their image and I just never felt either of those two stores was a proper fit for the image Sephora was so desperately protecting.

I’ll update you in further info as Ulta releases it about their choice to halt their Target store openings.

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Wakey, wakey friends! It’s a new week! It’s been a cold and rainy in New York (we got snow Saturday and yesterday). My boyfriend left for CA last week and he was supposed to be back already but sadly, his stay got extended and he’ll be back tomorrow (it was supposed to be today but sigh not happening). I miss him rather badly but it’s ok because I had a lot of ME time. Actually, I’ve sort of been lazy which is unusual for me as I tend to have 1000 things going on at once. I think the rain and cold just made me enjoy the time I took out for myself last week. I’ve been watching a few old dramas I love and discovering some new unhinged ones as you may know if you follow me on Insta. I realize I have a type because all the male leads have glasses. Sniff insert clingy girl here: I miss my boyfriend (he wears glasses as well). My recap is above because I know you need it LOL! I can’t remember the last time I actually sort of binged watched anything. I never have the time for it. So, it’s been fun being a fangirl again.

I’ve also been overdoing the self care! The cold is making my skin dry so I’ve been moisturizing, masking, and exfoliating. Speaking of moisture I did discover two a new eye cream and eye serum duo I’m loving at the moment and they’ve been working out well for me! Plus did I mention they aren’t too badly priced?

BYOMA just released a new Barrier Repair Eye Cream ($14.99) that I’m loving. I use it in conjunction with the Byoma De-puff and Brightening Eye Gel which I’ve been using for a few months now and really enjoy. I thought Byoma’s Barrier Cream felt a lot like Drunk Elephant’s Ceramighty. They don’t have the same ingredients but for some reason the textures seem similar and they have the same sort of emollient texture. For such a thin eye cream it’s a very hydrating formula. I apply the eye gel first thing out of the shower on my damp skin. I let that absorb and I follow up with the Barrier Repair Eye Cream after. This combo seems to do a nice job depuffing and moisturizing my under eye area. Best part these are priced at $13.99-$14.99. Can’t beat that! I realize I’m not BYOMA’s demographic but I can’t complain about the moisture levels of the Barrier Repair Eye Cream! I’ll do a more detailed review soon as haven’t been using the formula that long but so far so good!

Where to buy

Ulta

Barrier Repair Eye Cream Ingredients:
Aqua (Carrier), Glycerin (Skin-Conditioner), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (Skin-Conditioner), Dipropylene Glycol (humectant), Caprylic/Capric/Succinic Triglyceride (thickener), Butylene Glycol (humectant), Phenyl Trimethicone (Skin-Conditioner), Cetyl Ethylhexanoate (Skin-Conditioner), Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate (emulsifier), Cetearyl Alcohol (viscosity controller), Glyceryl Stearate (emulsifier), Stearyl Alcohol (emulsifier), Hyaluronic Acid (Skin-Conditioner), Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid (Skin-Conditioner), Sodium Hyaluronate (Skin-Conditioner), Ectoin (emollient), Propanediol (Skin-Conditioner), Copper Tripeptide-1 (Skin-Conditioner), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter (Skin-Conditioner), Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract (antioxidant), Glycereth-26 (emulsifier), Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate (film former), Thamnolia Vermicularis Leaf Extract (antioxidant), Vinyl Dimethicone (thickener), Coptis Japonica Root Extract (antioxidant), Hydroxyacetophenone (antioxidant), Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer (thickener), Dextrin (film former), Sphingolipids (Skin-Conditioner), Tromethamine (pH adjuster), Ethylhexylglycerin (Skin-Conditioner), Ceramide NP (Skin-Conditioner), Disodium EDTA (chelating agent), Xanthan Gum (thickener), 1,2-Hexanediol (emollient), Glycine (emollient).

Drunk Elephant Ceramighty AF Eye Balm Ingredients:
Water/Aqua/Eau, Octyldodecanol, Glycerin, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Butter, Linoleic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Palmitic Acid, Pentylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Oil, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Oil, Salvia Hispanica Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Ceramide AP, Ceramide NP, Ceramide EOP, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Panthenol, Linolenic Acid, Adenosine, Beta-Glucan, Quercetin, Allantoin, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Xanthan Gum, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Propanediol, Citric Acid, Ceteareth-20, Sodium Carbonate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Chloride, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide, Chlorphenesin, Carbomer, Ethylhexylglycerin.

I have some odd hope that corals and peaches will make a come back for Summer 2025 in the makeup world. I remember the year it was all corals! Bobbi Brown Cabana Corals dropped in 2010 as an early Spring Collection and I remember how much I adored it at the time. It also, sort of paved the way for a Summer of peaches and corals from other brands!

I do know the Dior Summer 2025 Makeup Collection made my coral dreams come true. I’m starting to see swatches and videos on Instagram of the collection and one of the main items that popped out at me was the Dior Coral Glow Dior Forever Glow Luminizer. It looks stunning!

I have hopes I’ll be able to use this as a blush and a highlighter! Let’s hope it’s as pigmented as it appears. I really like the looks of the Dior Summer 2025 Diorshow 5 Couleurs as well but couldn’t see myself dropping $71 on them. It’s just a little too much for a five pan palette. I do recall a time these were $58-$60 but $71 seems too much to pay for a palette that I could probably dupe a hundred times over with shades I already own. It would be incredibly wasteful to spend that kind of money on this. I honestly didn’t mind dishing out on the highlighter than. My girl math is illogical but it just felt a little better spending $50 something versus $70 something.

I also, thought the highlighter was the prettiest part of the collection! At least for me it was as a girl who loves shimmering, radiant corals! I’m actually somewhat surprised it isn’t sold out as I feel like everything sells out so fast nowadays.

I’ll review the Dior Forever Glow Luminizer from Dior’s Summer 2025 Makeup Collection shortly. Do you want to see what this one looks like swatches?

It’s available now, for a limited time, on Dior’s website.

Where to buy

Dior