PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with our pals over at Set For Life to guide you through the lush world that is cult beauty products. FYI, if you’re a bit tight on cash atm why not give entering our comp with these guys a whirl? You could find yourself with a cool $20k in your pocket. Get entering at the end of this article (after you’ve read it, of course).
Jump on any beauty blog, vlog or subreddit and you’ll come across something on cult beauty products. These are more than fancy things that just do a bang-up job. They’re the superstars – rave reviews just flow in on the daily about how bloody marvellous/transformative/miraculous they are.
But are they right for you? Are these babies all hype no action, or are they’re really, truly as amazing as they’re touted to be. PEDESTRIAN.TV staffers took the test and tried out some of the most hyped products on counters rn.
ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS DIPBROW
This was such a stunning product – I cleaned the hell out of my brush before even going near the pot because I didn’t want to offend it with my grot brow brush.
I only had to use the smallest scrape, which I realised is kinda tricky to do because it’s pretty soft, and that filled my brows in brilliantly. I normally use a coloured pomade for my brows but it can also get a bit heavy, so the Anastasia was a nice move away from bulkier products.
It sat nicely on my brows all day and let my brow hairs still be visible, which helped to maintain that noice natural look. It came out really easily – as in I didn’t have to scrub at my brows with cleanser and hot water in the shower – and didn’t feel heavy on my face at all, like some pomades do.
Oh, and even though I really need to go get my brows waxed, this somehow managed to make my brows look tidy? That’s pure sorcery, I swear it. – Courtney
If the reviews of Every Beauty Editor Ever are to be believed, slathering your skin with any product from cult French beauty brand La Mer is akin to having the baby-soft hands of angels massage your face.
At $365 a bottle, I was expecting big things from the Moisturising Soft Lotion – the new and lighter-in-consistency little sister of the original Moisturising Cream – and applied it every morning for three weeks as per the exact instructions of the skin specialist who gave it to me.
Oh yes – one does not simply *apply* La Mer; you pat a small amount between warm fingertips to release the Miracle Broth (a patented formula of hand-harvested and fermented sea kelp) and press it gently into your face, thank you very much.
I’m happy to report the dry spots I get when the weather is inconsistent faded into non-existence after a week of use and my combination skin stayed balanced all day: not too dry, not too oily. It’s an investment, sure – but if it helps stave off the signs of ageing for a few more years, I’d say it’s a worthwhile one. Bonus points for looking so damn schmick on my nightstand. – Vanessa
KAT VON D TATTOO LINER
I am extremely late to the liquid eyeliner game, mostly because at 26 I’m still really bad at makeup and rely on the forgiveness of pencils. But tbh, either I’m getting better or Tattoo Liner is really easy to use. Ideal for Sydney‘s current heatwave hell. – Alex
PHILOSOPHY RENEWED HOPE IN A JAR
The tagline for Philosophy‘s ‘Renewed Hope In A Jar‘ is “refreshing and refining”, and that’s pretty faultless, tbh. My skin is combination normally, but this summer has been brutal and has stripped my skin of any radiance whatsoever. Thankfully, RHIAJ actually returned my skin to looking fresh and revitalised.
The only negative is that it is reasonably thick, so using it during the humid heatwave over the past few days left my skin feeling sticky quite quickly. I blame the weather though – it’d be absolutely perfect to use in cooler months, or if you live somewhere where summer isn’t a humid deathtrap.
On days that weren’t meltingly hot, RHIAJ gave me a fresh radiant glow. Make-up glided nicely over the top, and my skin felt noticeably more hydrated. I’d absolutely use again.- Chloe
GIORGIO ARMANI LUMINOUS SILK FOUNDATION
Ooft. This foundation. I’ve wanted to try this for so, so long – basically, I’m obsessed with anything that illuminates. Like, turn me into a living disco ball, I am here for it. Luminous Silk has a rep for being one of the glowiest (not a word, totally not a word), dewy foundations on market.
Obviously, it’s a bit more subtle than a disco ball but the point is – my belief in life is all foundation should be dewy and luminous, and you just add some powder on top of any spots that might get oily to keep things from getting out of control (hot tip for you there, don’t say I never gave you anything).
What really surprised me was the longevity of this product. Dewy foundations often disappear on my skin – they rub off easily or just aren’t thick enough in the first place. This had the medium coverage I wanted out of my base product but never looked unnatural or mask-like. – Mel
MAC LIPSTICK IN VELVET TEDDY
I bloody loved this lipstick. I’ve always been the biggest fan of MAC lipstick in general, and nudes are my favourite. I’ve been repping their Jubilee shade for the past couple of years… but I have to say that Velvet Teddy might be my new fave. The colour worked really well with my skin tone, and I found I didn’t need to re-apply too much. Plus, like all MAC lipsticks, it never felt dry and lasted for ages. – Lucy
URBAN DECAY ALL NIGHTER SETTING SPRAY
I thought I would really give this product a run for it’s money at a music festival in the middle of summer (ballsy, i know). I think we can all agree sweat is – in no way, shape or form – makeups best friend.
The results were impressive. No smudgy mascara around the eyes and best of all, no foundation separating into fine lines. It also feels like you are using a hydrating mist when applying and dries relatively fast. It also had no impact on the look and feel of my makeup, which I think is really great for a finishing product. Overall, a yes-please-I-will-take-4 outcome here. – Nat
ORIBE DRY TEXTURISING SPRAY
I’m not usually a fan of texturising sprays, I like to wash my hair once a week and putting any product into it after washing will only kill my vibe by making it heavy and greasy. But, in true hypocritical style, I also love that lived-in, sexy mess look when it comes to my hair.
This definitely gets you there if you spray at the roots in random sections. I also added some into my ends because my hair is long and this gives a bit of texture there. But what was really fantastic about it was that the next day, I could brush my hair and de-knot it, but when I scrunched the roots the texture was still there. What is this black magic? I’ve never found a texture spray that could give you that grit for styling and also brush out with zero fuss. – Melissa
NARS BLUSH IN ORGASM
This blush is the real MVP. The tone was perfect both underneath my bronzer to help it pop, and when I wore it on it’s own for a subtle highlight. I didn’t even know I had bone structure until this lil’ guy (which is the perfect size for anyone on the go, mind you) and I’ll definitely be whipping it out on the daily. – Chantelle
BUMBLE AND BUMBLE SURF SPRAY
I used to use this product I loved for getting that beachy wave look, but it was discontinued a year or so ago and I’ve never found anything quite like it again. So I was pretty skeptical that this spray would live up to my high standard.
But I was honestly wrong, it nails the summer hair look, definitely. It gave the salty texture I wanted, without the weight and ocean-smell of actual salt water. Safe to say I’ve found a new favourite. – Kristy
CLINIQUE ALMOST LIPSTICK IN BLACK HONEY
This lipstick looks scary. Well, it does if you’re after a gentle, baby-tint level of colour, because the stick shade is such a deep purple it’s almost black. Like Black Honey, geddit? I’d read so many stories covering how low-maintenance this product is, that you could swipe it on mirror-less and never screw it up. And while I looked at the shade like “hooooo boy, how though?” everyone was right – the colour that comes out on your lips is like a just-bitten natural lip look.
It’s buildable, so the more you swipe the darker it gets, but never deeper than a sort of plum-ruby-red balm effect. I have like, no colour to my lips naturally so it’s a hands down winner for me. – Natalie
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Images: Supplied.
