Welcome to my annual tightly edited list of the very best beauty products. The ones that not only impressed me as a consumer but as someone who has lived, breathed, and worked in beauty for nearly two decades.

I’ve been coloring and crafting long enough to consider myself an artist. And being an artist has taught me that rules are not real. How to use certain colors how to use certain shapes in certain ways Only? It's mostly bull. Everything can be everything if you know how to bend it.

If you’re trying to reduce the environmental toxic load in your life—something all of us should be doing—then one area you should definitely focus on is the products you are putting on your skin.

Welcome back to The Beauty Altar.

“Our country had become a consumer nation, but it is strange that this sad, greedy noun we chose for ourselves did not instantly make clear that beauty is our problem, our lack, even in an introverted sense, our obsession.” — Patricia Hampl, The Beauty Disease: From "A Romantic Education"

I love a favorites list, youtube video, TikTok - you name it, I’m consuming it. I’m also a serial tryer-outer when it comes to beauty and skincare. Sharing all the top spots from my 2025 makeup routine!

i wear makeup. i like how it makes me look and i feel better when i look, well, better. or what we’ve come to understand is “better.” older (or if you’re already old: younger), livelier, glowier. more stereotypically feminine. more like how a woman “should” look. and yes, there are parts of it that are fun and can be artistic — i like blue eyeshadow, i …

But first… welcome to The Beauty Altar.

Hello and welcome to another edition of THE DON’T BUY LIST! Last week I received a press release from fragrance brand MAISON d’ETTO offering me a sample of its latest scent and proclaiming, “All MAISON d’ETTO fragrances are gender neutral and are inspired by horses.” An incredible statement. I couldn’t resist. I got the sample yesterday. Does not smell …

The internet loves a good beauty haul, but only a few viral products actually deliver IRL glow, not just TikTok filters. From peptide-packed lip shields to next-gen blurring powders, these are the 10 internet-famous formulas that truly earn their hype, converting skeptics into loyalists one swipe, spritz, or blend at a time.

Vanity Fair last week published an unflattering profile of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. The piece was accompanied by unflattering photographs of various members of the Trump administration. Award-winning photographer Christopher Anderson…

Winter skin can make even your best foundations turn on you…I’m talking about the ones you usually love, the ones that make your skin look healthy, bouncy and flawless. But in the Winter, the same foundations can make everything look drier, patchier, and a little too obvious.

Hi, I’m Ranti Adeyemi, and I’m a makeup artist who really doesn’t have much of a life outside makeup 😂 — and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wanted to share a few of my current beauty favourites — the products that have been keeping both my kit and my clients glowing.

I’m often asked what actually changed my appearance in a noticeable, lasting way—not what I bookmarked, not what I tried once, but the products that became part of my routine.

If you caught our last post, then you already know: we are launching a setting spray called CitySet™ on December 26th. Consider this your reminder to mark the calendar.

For years, beauty has insisted it’s “for everyone,” while quietly signaling who was actually invited to participate. But as we head into 2026, something feels kinda different, especially for men.

To close out the year, I surveyed close to 25 women (read: my friends) — ages 30 to 37, scattered across major U.S. cities from Brooklyn to LA and Portland — to create my first-ever beauty trend report, and what I found was quite interesting.

Last weekend, I decided to give my sister an early Christmas gift: organizing her beauty drawers. You know… the drawers that turn into a graveyard of half-used lipsticks and dusty barely used eye shadow palettes.

When I look back at the past year, my makeup routine really settled into its own kind of flow. I naturally reached for the same products over and over…the ones that made my skin look healthy without effort, the formulas that never made texture feel difficult, and the tools that basically guaranteed a good makeup day.

You may have seen her already — strolling down a block on YouTube, moving at an unhurried pace, letting color and light do their thing. A presence that makes you realize how rarely you actually look at your surroundings. The kind that brings people back to places they haven’t been in years.

Welcome back to The Beauty Altar.

2026: makeup that looks alive (and unhinged)

You’re probably in a Christmas frenzy so I’m going to keep this short. If you need to stock up on hostessing supplies click here, if you’re still looking for stocking stuffers click here and if you w…