There are more makeup tutorials than the human mind can fully conceptualize on TikTok, but the one beauty creator I can’t stop watching is Bobbi Brown. Her videos are simple, informative, and refreshingly direct. As she has since the beginning of her decades-long makeup career, Brown continues to tout a no-makeup makeup ethos of beauty in which makeup is used to enhance your natural beauty, not change what you actually look like. As a fan of no-makeup-makeup myself, it’s nice to see tutorials with solid advice on how to cover up a red spot or add a little bit of summertime glow as opposed to a full face that needs a dozen products and every kind of contouring imaginable.
Before the pandemic, I was a full-foundation face every day kind of woman, but these days, I hardly wear makeup at all. But there are definitely days when I feel like I could use a little something extra, whether I have a Zoom call or am meeting up with friends after work. And for those occasions, a simple concealer, a lick of mascara, and perhaps a dash of sparkle are the quick and easy makeup steps I love to add to my routine. That’s why I was excited to try Jones Road, Brown’s new makeup company that makes deceptively simple, skin-care focused products that emphasize that a little bit of makeup can go a long way. I tried out three products — The Face Pencil ($25), the Hippie Stick ($32), and The Miracle Balm ($38) — to see how well they would fit into my relatively laissez-faire beauty routine.
When the products arrived, I couldn’t wait to tear into them. The packaging is simple, light pink with a bold font that looks perfectly minimalistic and slightly whimsical at the same time. I started off with The Face Pencil, which comes in 25 shades (there’s an online quiz to help you find your perfect shade if the idea of narrowing down from 25 feels intimidating). The Face Pencil is super easy to use, does exactly what it says it’s going to do, and blends with ease. I love how simple it feels and how natural the pencil feels in your hand as you apply it. The formula feels creamy, and it’s easy to dab a little dot on any problem areas around your face and quickly blend with a finger. It’s perfect because it can give you that little boost in confidence without needing to wear any foundation.
They say the Hippie Stick can be used anywhere, and they’re not kidding. It feels almost wax-like in its thickness — you have to swirl your fingers on the top to melt it down a bit to use — but it’s been saving my dry hands this cold winter, and it feels really nourishing as a lip balm. I’ve also found that it works incredibly well as a sort of primer when I have specific blemishes I’m trying to cover. If I dab a tiny amount of the Hippie Stick over a blemish before drawing on a dash of The Face Pencil, it tends to go on smoother and not have as much texture as it does when I use it directly on my skin. One problem I often have with concealers is that they make any sort of texture or dryness even more pronounced, so I think the Hippie Stick might be my new go-to step before applying a concealer. It also feels like you’re healing the blemish with a bunch of moisture before covering with makeup, which is ideal.
The Miracle Balm was the product I was most excited to try. It is all over Brown’s TikTok, and it seems to be her one-stop shop for looking more alive, which after a couple years of being mostly inside was quite appealing to me. It comes in seven different shades and can be used on your cheeks, eyelids, lips, or wherever you want a little bit of glowiness. The first important thing to note is that you have to break the seal of the product by gently pushing your fingertip into it and then swirling it around a little to activate the color; without breaking the seal, you won’t get the full effects of the product. I tried the shade Magic Hour, which is a light golden, shimmery color. The product felt a bit tacky on my skin, and though with time it absorbed into my face a bit better, I found that there was a huge amount of transfer. Anytime throughout the day when I would reach up absentmindedly to touch my face, I pulled my hand away covered in tiny iridescent sparkles. It might sit better over a foundation or with a bit of powder, but going the extra step of applying power takes away from the simplicity that I was seeking in Jones Road to begin with. I want to have fewer steps in my routine, not more, and between the greasy feeling of the Miracle Balm on my skin and the sparkles winding up everywhere, I’m not sure this product will become one of my go-tos. Of course, I can’t deny how much I loved the glow that it gave to my skin. The slight bit of shimmer and golden hue made me look a bit more alive and vibrant, and to achieve a glow in under a minute is no small feat.
After testing the products, I was happy overall with the results. The Face Pencil is something I plan to always keep in my makeup bag (and probably even throw in my purse in case I need a touch up on the go), and the Hippie Stick left my hands feeling soft and soothed when nothing else has worked this winter. I plan to keep playing around with the Miracle Balm to see if there’s a way to achieve the glow I love about the product without the thick feeling on my skin or the transfer, and I might try it in a darker, bronzier shade to have a deeper glow in the summer. I appreciate that everything is cruelty-free and has a major focus on being “clean” — no phthalates, sulfates, petrolatum, PEGs, cyclic silicones, and more. With Jones Road, Bobbi Brown continues to champion natural beauty and no-makeup makeup, providing easy-to-use products that can make you feel put-together in five minutes. For someone who cut out makeup cold turkey during the depths of the pandemic and is trying to add in a little bit to spice things up as the world reopens, these products provide a happy medium between nothing and something and can provide the little boost in morale that makeup is best for.
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