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$10 off $50 non-prestige coupon up for grabs. Expires 4/1/23. Please comment if used. Spoiler132REODZ4D7S5B132REODZ4D7S5B

Yay, I'm glad to see you're enjoying your Glossier Cloud Paint shades, @GeorginaBT! Cloud Paints are still my favorite cream blushes. 🙂 And wow, it's been a looong time since I last posted in a monthly faves thread. Here's what I loved most in March: Showing the empty Abib box because the cleanser bar was wet—because I did my PM skincare routine before taking this photo.Swatches and details: SpoilerI keep forgetting to post in monthly faves threads lately. Abib Calming Facial Soap Heartleaf Stone - I tested this fragrance-free cleanser nightly all month long and I'm 100% in love with it. First time I used it, my face felt almost too clean—nearing that dangerous “squeaky clean” feel—while I rinsed the cleanser off (it rinses off easily), so I was worried. But immediately after, my skin felt soft and lightly moisturized, not coated with a film or residue but also not dry or tight at all. It costs more than my usual PM cleanser (CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser Bar) but I'll have to repurchase it, lest my facial skin rebel. 😄 I’m tracking how long this bar lasts; there’s a chance it’ll outlast the CeraVe bar, despite being smaller (100g vs 128g), and that could help justify the extra cost. Meanwhile, I’ll still use the CeraVe bar on the rest of my body. Ingredient nerd-out: SpoilerMy skin LOVES houttuynia cordata, aka heartleaf plant. I discovered that the first time I used Abib’s Heartleaf Fit mask, which is still my favorite sheet mask ever. That ingredient’s also in this cleanser bar, in 2 forms: powder and extract. Heartleaf is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, humectant, and antibacterial. This powerhouse ingredient calms my skin nicely. This cleanser bar contains several other skin soothers: purslane (also an excellent antioxidant), honeysuckle, marshmallow leaf, rosemary extract, and yerba mate. It also contains 3 oils (jojoba, linseed, and sweet almond) and several surfactants—which isn’t bad since none of those surfactants are very harsh. The oils make this bar emollient and rather slippery when wet; don’t ask how many times I’ve dropped it. 😄 It creates a richly emollient lather, making it a joy to use. I know some folks need fragrance to make a cleanser enjoyable; for me, texture and rinsability matter more. Abib’s Heartleaf Stone knocks that outta the park. I hope they never discontinue or drastically reformulate this cleanser bar. It’s perfect for me. Laura Mercier High Vibe Lip Color, shade Pop - in the March hauls thread, I called this the perfect substitute for Urban Decay Vice bullet shade Firebird—one of my favorite lipstick shades that didn’t carry over to UD’s Vice reformulation. I think I like Pop even more than Firebird: Pop has a stronger blurple flip and doesn’t bleed/feather at all. Here's the swatch photo I posted in the March hauls thread: Lipstick swatches, including my old UD Vice Firebird to compare with LM Pop.Sonia G. Mini Keyaki Buffer - Sonia wasn’t exaggerating when she called this saikoho goat brush magical. I use it to apply the next 2 items on this list, especially when I want to tone down a too-shiny sunscreen or mask a zinc oxide SPF white cast. I don’t need to worry about this buffer brush moving my sunscreen around: it has just the right density to fluffiness ratio to make buffing powders a breeze. If/when I restart travel, this brush will always accompany me. But I’ll also keep using it at home, along with my other Mini Keyaki brushes. Using these brushes always reminds me of taiko drums and Japanese temples, 2 things keyaki wood’s often used to build. That connection makes using the brushes very calming and peaceful to me. SEPHORA COLLECTION MicroSmooth Baked Powder Foundation 40 Tan - a mineral powder foundation that gives me sheer coverage and a natural skin finish, without caking up on my face. It blurs the lines between my skin tones, but I use it mostly to mask a sunscreen cast or shiny finish. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, shade Medium Deep - another mineral powder foundation offering sheer to medium coverage. I use it the same way as the Sephora MicroSmooth foundation. Swatch comparison of both powder foundations, for the heck of it: I’d swatch ‘em on my hand but, um, you wouldn’t be able to see them. 😄Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder 7 - I use this on and around my nose to tone down surface redness and help control oil. My favorite application method is to tap and gently press-blend it onto my skin with a finger since I don’t cover my whole face with it. This balm is better than cream/liquid foundation, concealer, and powder foundation for this part of my face (my oily zone) and needs no setting powder. Laura Geller Baked Blush-n-Brighten Marbleized Blush, shade Sunswept - completely forgot I had this until March, when I randomly found it and tried it as a perimeter hyperpigmentation warmer. It’s been quite good at that for my specific skin tones. Since it’s shimmery (but not what I’d call straight-up highlighter shimmery), it also brightens that skin. Butter London - I use 1 of these 3 products + a top coat on my “bare nails” days (when I’m giving my nails a break from nail polish or too tired to give myself a full manicure): Jelly Preserve, shades Victoria Plum and Strawberry Rhubarb - sheer washes of color that can also act as color-tweaking base coats. Mellow the Yellow Nail Brightening Treatment - moderately color-corrects yellowing. Also, its sheer iridescent pearl + violet looks very pretty on its own. Boy Smells Violet Ends - the first Boy Smells fragrance I ever bought. On me, it’s a peppery tobacco spiced leather + iris + violet, with some bergamot, a fruity sweetness (probably the rhubarb Boy Smells says is in there), a wood note (not cedar or sandalwood), some olibanum, and a hint of black tea. It begins as your favorite sassy aunt or uncle, wearing their decades-old leather jacket and filling their tobacco pipe, handing you an open tin of loose leaf bergamot black tea and telling you to take a slice of the freshly baked rhubarb pie on their kitchen table beside a pepper grinder and a vase of violets and irises. It dries down to you and that same relative swapping “remember when" stories while lounging on an old leather sofa in front of a lit fireplace after sunset, warm pipe smoke in the air, more violets and irises on the coffee table, crickets chirping somewhere in the night. I keep forgetting to post in monthly faves threads lately. Abib Calming Facial Soap Heartleaf Stone - I tested this fragrance-free cleanser nightly all month long and I'm 100% in love with it. First time I used it, my face felt almost too clean—nearing that dangerous “squeaky clean” feel—while I rinsed the cleanser off (it rinses off easily), so I was worried. But immediately after, my skin felt soft and lightly moisturized, not coated with a film or residue but also not dry or tight at all. It costs more than my usual PM cleanser (CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser Bar) but I'll have to repurchase it, lest my facial skin rebel. I’m tracking how long this bar lasts; there’s a chance it’ll outlast the CeraVe bar, despite being smaller (100g vs 128g), and that could help justify the extra cost. Meanwhile, I’ll still use the CeraVe bar on the rest of my body. Ingredient nerd-out: My skin LOVES houttuynia cordata, aka heartleaf plant. I discovered that the first time I used Abib’s Heartleaf Fit mask, which is still my favorite sheet mask ever. That ingredient’s also in this cleanser bar, in 2 forms: powder and extract. Heartleaf is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, humectant, and antibacterial. This powerhouse ingredient calms my skin nicely. This cleanser bar contains several other skin soothers: purslane (also an excellent antioxidant), honeysuckle, marshmallow leaf, rosemary extract, and yerba mate. It also contains 3 oils (jojoba, linseed, and sweet almond) and several surfactants—which isn’t bad since none of those surfactants are very harsh. The oils make this bar emollient and rather slippery when wet; don’t ask how many times I’ve dropped it. It creates a richly emollient lather, making it a joy to use. I know some folks need fragrance to make a cleanser enjoyable; for me, texture and rinsability matter more. Abib’s Heartleaf Stone knocks that outta the park. I hope they never discontinue or drastically reformulate this cleanser bar. It’s perfect for me. Laura Mercier High Vibe Lip Color, shade Pop - in the March hauls thread, I called this the perfect substitute for Urban Decay Vice bullet shade Firebird—one of my favorite lipstick shades that didn’t carry over to UD’s Vice reformulation. I think I like Pop even more than Firebird: Pop has a stronger blurple flip and doesn’t bleed/feather at all. Here's the swatch photo I posted in the March hauls thread: Lipstick swatches, including my old UD Vice Firebird to compare with LM Pop.Sonia G. Mini Keyaki Buffer - Sonia wasn’t exaggerating when she called this saikoho goat brush magical. I use it to apply the next 2 items on this list, especially when I want to tone down a too-shiny sunscreen or mask a zinc oxide SPF white cast. I don’t need to worry about this buffer brush moving my sunscreen around: it has just the right density to fluffiness ratio to make buffing powders a breeze. If/when I restart travel, this brush will always accompany me. But I’ll also keep using it at home, along with my other Mini Keyaki brushes. Using these brushes always reminds me of taiko drums and Japanese temples, 2 things keyaki wood’s often used to build. That connection makes using the brushes very calming and peaceful to me. - a mineral powder foundation that gives me sheer coverage and a natural skin finish, without caking up on my face. It blurs the lines between my skin tones, but I use it mostly to mask a sunscreen cast or shiny finish. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, shade Medium Deep - another mineral powder foundation offering sheer to medium coverage. I use it the same way as the Sephora MicroSmooth foundation. Swatch comparison of both powder foundations, for the heck of it: I’d swatch ‘em on my hand but, um, you wouldn’t be able to see them. 😄 - I use this on and around my nose to tone down surface redness and help control oil. My favorite application method is to tap and gently press-blend it onto my skin with a finger since I don’t cover my whole face with it. This balm is better than cream/liquid foundation, concealer, and powder foundation for this part of my face (my oily zone) and needs no setting powder. Laura Geller Baked Blush-n-Brighten Marbleized Blush, shade Sunswept - completely forgot I had this until March, when I randomly found it and tried it as a perimeter hyperpigmentation warmer. It’s been quite good at that for my specific skin tones. Since it’s shimmery (but not what I’d call straight-up highlighter shimmery), it also brightens that skin. Butter London - I use 1 of these 3 products + a top coat on my “bare nails” days (when I’m giving my nails a break from nail polish or too tired to give myself a full manicure): Jelly Preserve, shades Victoria Plum and Strawberry Rhubarb - sheer washes of color that can also act as color-tweaking base coats. Mellow the Yellow Nail Brightening Treatment - moderately color-corrects yellowing. Also, its sheer iridescent pearl + violet looks very pretty on its own. Boy Smells Violet Ends - the first Boy Smells fragrance I ever bought. On me, it’s a peppery tobacco spiced leather + iris + violet, with some bergamot, a fruity sweetness (probably the rhubarb Boy Smells says is in there), a wood note (not cedar or sandalwood), some olibanum, and a hint of black tea. It begins as your favorite sassy aunt or uncle, wearing their decades-old leather jacket and filling their tobacco pipe, handing you an open tin of loose leaf bergamot black tea and telling you to take a slice of the freshly baked rhubarb pie on their kitchen table beside a pepper grinder and a vase of violets and irises. It dries down to you and that same relative swapping “remember when" stories while lounging on an old leather sofa in front of a lit fireplace after sunset, warm pipe smoke in the air, more violets and irises on the coffee table, crickets chirping somewhere in the night.

@CorgiMommy ,This looks so interesting! Especially since it has Taco in the name!

Hopefully you will luck out. I didn’t take the chance and went ahead and ordered it 💋

I have more polishes on the way, @ather, and I'm impatiently waiting for them to get here!

@CynthieLu I love the Farmacy balms! I think that the only scents that I haven't liked as much were the apple and cherry and those weren't bad--just not my favs. The pear scent was more subtle but still lovely and I have an orange one, a blueberry one, and a peach one in my backup stash 😄.

@lmaster heck yes. And if you stumble on the chocolate scented one you need that one, too.

I'm a little impressed, @WinglessOne. Thassa LOT of polishes at once, lol.

@Titian06 At first I was a bit sorry that I didn't buy 19-69's discovery set but then I tried Naked and really loved it on my skin so that made it better. I was really waffling at purchase time because I've had a couple different discovery sets on my list for quite awhile and passed them up to try this set. I have enjoyed two out of three but wasn't convinced Wild was worth the hefty price tag. They seem less complex than the perfumes I normally go for but they are pretty and I do enjoy fragrances that give sensations like a silk slip falling away (Wild) or champagne bubbles on your nose (Marc Jacobs Daisy Intense) or comforting fragrances like Naked. There are maybe three I would deem a bit masculine just a first whiff, at least definitely unisex. A couple more feminine. There are a couple I haven't officially tested that with a little test I am kinda like, ah, shoot. So the overall impression remains to be seen.

My thoughts exactly 💯