(Image credit: @itsmayalala)
Welcome to Deep Reviews—your one-stop destination to discover the absolute best products and brands the beauty industry has to offer. The Who What Wear staffers you already know and trust will research, test, and review the market’s most sought-after and buzzed-about products to see which formulas (of the hundreds up for consideration) are worth your hard-earned money and attention. You can expect honest, uncensored feedback and no-BS recommendations our hard-to-please testers endorse without reservations.
The majority of our Deep Reviews will feature our editors’ honest, ultra-hot takes on entire product categories or multiple products from a particular beauty brand, but every so often, we’ll sprinkle in a special single-product format called Honestly, I Love It. As the name suggests, these reviews will hone in on one standout beauty formula our editors can’t shut up about. This time, I’m highlighting my favorite new product from the iconic makeup brand Anastasia Beverly Hills.
(Image credit: @itsmayalala)
Prior to becoming a beauty editor, my interest in makeup was limited to products that promised easy, every day application and didn’t require extra time spent in front of a mirror. I was always on the move and reaching into my bag for quick touch-ups while I was out about with a strong preference for time-saving tips and tricks. Today, I posses a similar point of view: my everyday makeup routine remains quick and simple, but I dedicate a good chunk of my time learning how to improve my makeup skills rather than cutting corners.
With that being said, I’ve never gravitated towards balms when selecting which new products I’d like to add to my lineup. I’m picky when it comes to my formulas and pay special attention to the way my skin feels minutes and hours after initial application before I form my opinion. And as a darker-skinned individual, I have high expectations for the shade availability. My days of mixing together various foundation and concealer shades to create ones that match mine are long gone! It’s up to beauty brands to deliver shade offerings for everyone.
Anastasia Beverly Hills
Beauty Balm Serum Boosted Skin Tint
So, when I saw the skin-loving ingredients and shade availability of Anastasia Beverley Hills’ new Beauty Balm; I was in a state of sheer bliss. Described by the brand as, “a first-of-its-kind tinted solid serum boosted formula providing sheer-to-light coverage for glowy skin,” the Beauty Balm has all the right things to deliver the best results for all skin tones and types. Versatile and easy-to-apply; it’s the stuff of dreams for anyone who needs a trustworthy complexion product. Luckily, its compact size and nearly endless shade availability isn’t where the benefits of this one ends.
The product’s nourishing formula is packed with eight skin-loving ingredients that allow for a weightless, creamy texture and ability to seamlessly blend into the skin. The Beauty Balm offers a smooth and flawless base for the rest of my makeup while matching my skin tone perfectly. In fact, it was such a great match that it almost looked completely clear when swiped directly onto the back of my hand and my cheek before I ever started to blend. That’s right—it does wonders for the skin without every having to come into contact with a beauty blender or brush. The warmth from your hands is all you’ll need!
(Image credit: Courtesy of Anastasia Beverly Hills)
To learn more about what makes this product an instant hit, I reached out to the brand’s president, Claudia Soare. “Initially, I started working on a standard BB cream, my goal was to create a sheer to light coverage with skin care benefits,” Soare begins. “While I was reviewing how I will bring this product to marketI realized that there are a lot of BB creams, skin tints, and serum tints on the market and it could get lost in the shuffle if we didn’t provide a point of difference.” From there Soare and her team pivoted to product taking the form of a BB cream in a stick.
Its nourishing formula is crafted from a blend of collagen stabilizer, coconut oil, marula oil, jojoba seed oil and shea butter as well as HA+microsphere (a super boosted hyaluronic complex and a Peptide Complex) to address fine lines and wrinkles. So, it enhances the skin while nourishing and protecting it for a flawless finish. “We wanted to create the perfect Saturday makeup. Anastasia Beverly Hills is well known for a soft glam or full glam look, its crucial to branch out into other categories particularly ones that are so popular these days like natural effortless makeup,” says Soare.
(Image credit: @itsmayalala)
For best results, Soare recommends applying the Beauty Balm directly to your face and blending out with your fingers. I’ll admit, I was a little wary of using my fingers to work the product into my skin; but one swipe of this was enough to make me fall in love with its even application and dewy finish. It took me less than a minute to cover my entire face and a matter of seconds to remove what little product remained from my hands with a gentle cleansing balm. Shade 14, the first color I picked up to test, ended up being the perfect match.
I decided to put it to the test by spending a full day wearing it from writing at my desk to a breezy afternoon walk at the waterfront. It stayed in place, never transferred, and stopped my T-zone from getting as oily as it usually does. By the end of the day, my makeup still looked flawless. Soare also attests to the Beauty Balm’s performance. “My mornings are always chaotic, I wake up to 30 emails, three dogs, zoom meetings, texts from people on the east coast or overseas needing answers before their end of day,” she explains. “There’s no time to get myself together until later in the day, so I use Beauty Balm right away all over my face to cover my redness and discoloration, apply Brow Freeze Gel; and Lash Sculpt Mascara and I’m ready for the first zoom.”
(Image credit: @itsmayalala)
Could I imagine going back to my old routine of a full-coverage foundation, glowy concealer, and powder for a base? After getting my hands on the Beauty Balm, I’m thinking my routine may be better off for more nighttime looks when I want to pump up the glam. I’ve used it every morning since my first initial test and fall more and more in love with it whenever I catch a glimpse of my even, glowy complexion in the mirror. So, yes—if my review along with the hype it’s been earning via social media has convinced you to give it a try; then you’re majorly missing out.
Shop More Favorites From Anastasia Beverly Hills
Anastasia Beverly Hills
Lip Liner in Raisin
This is the holy grail product that officially converted me into a lip liner lover and I’ve yet to find any dusty rose shade that compliments by dual-toned lips better than it. This lip liner delivers precise shaping, contouring and payoff with a creamy formula for a velvet-matte finish.
Anastasia Beverly Hills in Parchment
Lip Velvet Liquid Lipstick
I’m usually not one for liquid lipstick, but the Lip Velvet Liquid Lipstick is one of my longtime favorites. Its a velvet-smooth lip mousse that’s weightless, cushioned, and comfortable for all day wear. Its multifunctional teardrop-shaped wand allows for precise and even application every time.
Anastasia Beverly Hills
Glow Seeker Highlighter
If you know me, then you’re aware of how obsessed I am with ultra-glowy makeup makeup looks that give my complexion a gorgeous glow. Anastasia Beverly Hills’ The Glow Seeker Highlighter is one of my go-to’s to pull them of since it achieves the perfect glow and has an ultra-smooth formula that’s blendable and buildable.
Anastasia Beverly Hills
Brow Wiz Ultra-Slim Precision Brow Pencil
I’ve always been known for my big, bold eyebrows. To help keep them in check I use the brand’s Brow Wiz Ultra-Slim Precision Brow Pencil An ultra-slim, retractable eyebrow pencil that works wonders for shaping, carving, and detailing brows by mimicking hairlike strokes in more sparse areas.
Anastasia Beverly Hills
Brow Freeze Extreme Hold Laminated-Look Sculpting Wax
My brows also majorly benefit from this easy-to-use and extremely effective sculpting wax. It sets every hair in place without a stiff feel, residue, or flaking and dries completely clear for gorgeous, full-bodied brows that last all day without needing any touchups.