the 26th journal
coloured mascaras, influencer brands and even more new products
Hello, hi there and a very warm welcome to the 26th edition of the journal! Thank you for coming back, we have some super fun beauty talk ahead of us.
If you thought the beauty market was already over saturated, 2025 feels like a whole new wave of releases and launches and even new brands. We of course touch on Mikayla Nogueira’s announcement about her own brand as well as some of the incredible new launches that came out of House of Sephora.
I also tried some coloured mascaras, an exciting new essence and of course some recommendations for you including an excellent vitamin C serum.
Enough chit chat; let’s talk beauty!
What I Tried This Week
Glossier Lash Slick in Brown
I am beyond shocked that someone as fair as myself has not yet tried a proper chocolate brown mascara - honestly, it’s a little criminal. Which is exactly why I had to change that and what better formula to try than the Glossier Lash Slick. This has been a mainstay in my makeup bag since I first tried it way back in 2019 and for good reason. It’s a tubing style formula that gives you the every day definition and length you want without any fall out. I already knew I liked the formula, so switching up the shade seemed like an easy step and oh my was I impressed. For someone with pale skin and blue eyes, it felt like it added a bit of definition and drama but without being too intense or overpowering my features.
The Ordinary Multi-Active Delivery Essence
There is some serious skincare science and innovation happening over at The Ordinary (are we even surprised?) and the latest result of that is the Multi-Active Delivery Essence. As the name suggests, it’s an essence, so very lightweight and has been specifically designed to help your other skincare products absorb better and be more effective. They’ve tested it with their iconic Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% formula and found it doubles the delivery of niacinamide in just an hour - very impressive stuff!
Here’s me yapping a bit more about it and showing off that ultra lightweight texture:
Maybelline Sky High Mascara in Burgundy Haze
Ok yes it’s another coloured mascara but it’s a gorgeous burgundy so it’s not really the same thing at all. I thought burgundy would be a weird shade and perhaps even introduce red in a way that was more ‘just cried’ than ‘sultry and sexy’ but I think I may have been very, very wrong. The burgundy really works and is actually quite fun. Straight on you get more of the classic mascara look - defined and lengthened lashes - but as you change the angle you get to see the difference in the shade and it gives a really pretty effect. The Maybelline Sky High mascara is also just such a winner, so you know it’s going to perform no matter what shade you’re using.
See it in action here:
Are Influencer Beauty Brands Over?
Mikayla Nogueira is the latest but by no means the first content creator to make the cross from reviewing other people’s brands to launching her own. Her brand POV (or Point Of View) Beauty is launching soon and seems to be skincare designed specifically as a priming skin prep routine. All of this sounds fine and I have no issue with it but it did make me wonder how much space there really is left in the beauty space, especially from “influencer” brands?
Merely labelling Mikayla as an influencer when she has built such a platform is a little flattening but it is the lens through which most people view the creator space - that these people that make videos talking about makeup are silly and wouldn’t know anything about building a brand or running a business. It certainly doesn’t help this argument when you look at the influencer brand space and its very rocky history. Launches have come and gone with a disproportionate amount of drama, viral review videos, angry online mobs and the inevitable apology video. Few have *actually* found proper success and thrived beyond the initial sales and support that a large social following gives them.
It also doesn’t help that in a particularly crowded retail space brands and products are already fighting for every bit of consumer attention online and shelf space in store. No matter what the angle or hero ingredient or apparent miracle claims, it feels like there is little left that is new or can add to the market.
I think with this one, only time will really tell whether the products live up to their claims or the hype, but I think the influencer fatigue is getting very real in 2025 and only truly excellent products are going to break through.
Hello New!
And the new releases just keep on coming!
It feels like the first two months of this year has just been non stop new releases in the beauty space and there’s absolutely no sign it’s going to slow down anytime soon. Now this makes me happy because we get to talk about it and I love talking all things beauty - plus one of the biggest beauty events of the year (House of Sephora) was last week and we know that brings lots of exciting sneak peeks.
Laneige Bouncy & Firm Serum
Expanding on their successful Bouncy & Firm range is the new serum from Laneige. It’s a lush looking serum that is obviously a continuation of the plump and firm results you expect from the Bouncy & Firm formulas. This one features a peony and collagen complex, along with the SmoothTech™ capsules (the little bubbles you see in the bottle) which all sounds very interesting and is designed to be quite lightweight.
Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Gel Tint
Whilst Milk Makeup have a very exciting range of products, their Hydro Grip line is probably their most well known and loved, which means it’s extra exciting to see them come out with a skin tint in the line. It’s promising what feels like the impossible - a combination of a dewy, skin-like finish with a super long-lasting, stay in place grip. I for one am quite interested to see how this goes and may just have to pick one up to try.
New Nudestix Nudies Shades
If there is one thing that never fails to get me excited, it’s new Nudies shades. This time we have super soft and feminine lilac shades, such as Lilac Love in their dewy finish Bloom range, the I Dew pink toned and Bubba in a matte finish.
Sephora Collection Lift & Firm Line
In the last edition of the journal we spoke about peptides; what they do and their popularity in skincare. That’s why it’s really exciting to see the Sephora Collection expand their product offering to prominently feature the ingredient in some very budget friendly formulas. It has 6 products for just about every step of your routine and features peptides and hyaluronic acid for a hydrating, smoothing and firming effect.
Haus Labs is Coming to Sephora Australia!
Perhaps the biggest news to come out of the House at Sephora event was that we are finally getting Haus Labs on Australian shores! That’s right, the very popular brand from Lady Gaga herself will be available soon and I personally can’t wait to get my hands on it. Their website does currently ship to Australia btw but obviously it makes a big difference to swatch shades and formulas IRL. Personally I’d be keeping an eye out for the Tri-Clone foundation, Glassy Blush Balm stick and the Hybrid Lip oils.
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The Ordinary Serum Foundation
Two years ago, the deeply sad news that The Ordinary were discontinuing their serum foundation formula was met with crying around the world. Dramatic? Absolutely not. In better news though, it is in fact back but unfortunately only for a limited time (sad again). It looks like they’re teasing a future reformulation with this launch, so if you’ve ever been keen to try it or have some thoughts to share on the original, now is the time.
The Big Three
Ok, you know how you have your big three in astrology? This is just the beauty product version of that, and yes I think I’m pretty clever thank you very much. The Sun will be something that’s going on my face on the daily, Moon is for the nighttime routine heroes and Rising is for the newcomer or rising favourite of the week.
SUN: GLOW RECIPE WATERMELON GLOW NIACINAMIDE DEWY FLUSH
As part of my campaign to beat the work uglies, I’ve been going for a super light and fresh makeup look during the day that gives me a bit of something but also holds up well against sweat. This blush is the perfect answer for that because it’s this beautiful shade in a dewy finish that doesn’t look too makeup-y, so it wears really naturally throughout the day.
The formula itself is so easy to work with because it is that gel-serum - you are definitely getting pigment but it does feel like a skincare product that they’ve just added a bit of pigment to. The end result is something that looks really pretty and feels very comfortable on the skin.
Shop it here.
MOON: CURRENT BODY LED MASK SERIES 2
If you’ve read this newsletter before, there’s a good chance you’ve already heard me rave about my experience using the Current Body LED mask, so of course I was absolutely thrilled to received their new and improved series 2 version in the mail. It’s everything I loved about the original but taken to a new a level - more LED bulbs, a second wavelength for even better penetration, a new shape and strap to help it sit more comfortably whilst also targeting more of your face.
Honestly, this is one of those moments where a brand has listened to customer feedback whilst also continuing to innovate and the end result is a mask I love using even more than the original. If you’ve been unsure about whether or not an LED mask could be for you, trust me when I say this one is absolutely worth the investment.
Shop it here. You can also use MORGANSKIN to save you some $$ while you shop.
RISING: FUTURE BRIGHT VITAMIN C SERUM
Vitamin C is a mainstay in many skincare routines and has become one for me as well. It has always been something I’m a little hesitant about or even just generally cautious because it can be quite active and feel a little spicy on my very easily irritated skin. My product of choice in the second half of 2024 was the Dr Lara Devgan and then this one from Sibling Skincare came in as the replacement for that.
It’s packed with a potent but stable form of vitamin C that my skin really tolerates well and I enjoy the almost light lotion texture of the serum. It’s become a vital part of my morning routine and sits well with the other products to give me a solid base for everyday. I’ve also had a few comments on how even my skin tone is looking and I put a lot of that down to being consistent with this.
Shop it here.
And with that, we’ve reached the end of the 26th edition of Morgan’s Skin Journal! if you’re made it this far, I hope that means you’ve enjoyed it and would consider sharing it with a friend who might enjoy it. There’s so much beauty goodness to come in 2025 and I hope you join me for it. I’ll play myself out with a little song recommendation for your week 💚