Loading ⏳Our #DamnGood Hot Girl Summer 2025 Faves. Plus! SPF “Doping” On Blast

0:00The following podcast is a Dear Media Production.

0:07Welcome to Breaking Beauty, the podcast all about the breakthrough people, products, and moments in beauty. We're your hosts, Jill Dunn and Carlene Higgins.

0:20Welcome back to another episode of Breaking Beauty podcast, everyone. I'm your co-host, Jill Dunn. I'm here with Carlene Higgins. We are in studio to film our summer damn good special. So I love doing these in studio with you, Carlene, because it's just so much more fun. And we get to show the people, the products. We're going to be lifting them up. Yeah, we've got the good lights, so you can actually see what we're talking about. So much fun. All of it. And I love doing it in New York as well, because especially with this summer episode, it's always a bit warmer here. Yeah, I love it. So I'm really in the mood for summer.

0:55People are wearing shorts outside. It's officially summer. And of course, if you're new to our show, welcome. We are Jill and Carlene two longtime magazine beauty editors turned beauty podcasters. And every single Wednesday, we are in your feed, whether we're talking to a makeup artist, skincare expert, putting our editor hats on, reviewing products and telling you what's really like worth the money. That's right. And if you fall in love with any of the products that we're talking about, we list every single product over on our website at breakingbeautypodcast.com. And if you didn't catch our drift before, we are also on YouTube.

1:27So you can watch this episode on YouTube. It's Breaking Beauty Podcast. And I would like to do a little call out for some reviews, please. And thank you. If you've been listening for a while and you haven't had a chance to write us a review on Apple Podcasts, we would really love it if you did. And thank you for the support, whether it's following us on Instagram, watching this on YouTube, coming to our live event, buying through our affiliate links. Yes. Doing all of it. Thank you for supporting our show. And we do it for you. So we're actually already recording our fall episodes. Can you believe it?

1:58Because we have these incredible guests coming up. We're always trying to do new topics that we haven't covered before in the eight years that we've been doing the show. So that's getting harder and harder, but we really want to respond to what you want to hear about. So please do drop into our DMs or leave us a comment or come and chat with us in our Facebook chat room, our private group, and let us know if there are certain guests that you really want to hear from or just certain topics and we'll fill in the guests. Just let us know what is on your mind right now. What are your burning skincare or beauty questions?

2:33We will get to the bottom of it for you. I love it. Now, before we dive into today's episode to review all of these wonderful summer products, I need to do a little bit of a rant here because it's June, it's Pride Month. And I just have to say, Carlene, I am a little shocked at how few beauty brands have been out there supporting Pride this year. It seems like far less. Yes, that's true. And we have our staples since 1984, MAC Cosmetics still doing it. They just did an amazing campaign with Jamie, who's a trans influencer in Toronto. Latex, red catsuit, like phenomenal photos. And so like, they're always going to support.

3:13I know that Sephora has been as well. They did a partnership with Lady Gaga and her Born This Way Foundation and donating proceeds. But I have to be honest, there's a lot of other brands that are very quiet. You know what? I am going to agree with you completely. And I think that just goes to show how fickle some of these campaigns have been in the past. Yeah. Whereas you look at a company like Mac, where that has been part of their, literally their tagline. Their identity, yeah. Their identity since the beginning of time. And then kind of the bandwagoners, I would say, who have just jumped on board.

3:47and now suddenly they're quiet. And I agree with you. Like I actually saw a post, Happy Pride. I think it was Cara Delevingne on Instagram just a couple of days ago. And I was like, oh yeah, it's Pride Month. Like I forgot. That's how little fanfare there was in my inbox when it comes to the beauty messaging. So it's a happy Pride Month from us to you. That's right. With all of that being said, we have our great episode ahead. Carlene, let's share a little bit about what we're gonna be showcasing. I'm going to be talking about the poppy new colors that I've been noticing in the makeup sphere. I'm also going to be going a little bit deeper than usual on sunscreen.

4:26I'm not a chemist, but I have noticed some of the kind of sunscreen washing, the doping that we've been hearing about. Right, SPF doping. SPF doping. So I'm going to dive into that just a little bit. We've got some great travel essentials. And Jill, you're going to give us your POV on POV Beauty, which you got a chance to try by Michaela Makeup. That's right. And we finally have a chance to talk about it today. And I think it just got restocked and I have some epic makeup. The lips keep lipping. There is just no end. To the glosses and the oils. Yeah. And then you have a very fun, fresh take on a cult favorite skincare product.

5:07Yes. That I, when I saw it, I was like, I was surprised it took them that long to get into it. Yes. All right. We will reveal all just ahead. Let's do it.

5:30Shout out to Mara for supporting our show this week. I'm all about less is more when it comes to skincare in the summer. And that's why I'm excited to introduce you to Mara's best-selling, award-winning algae enzyme cleansing oil. and it's the only way to wash your face. So what makes this special is that it's powered by fruit enzymes like pineapple and pumpkin to gently exfoliate the skin. And so it's gentle on skin and eyes and really tough on that long-wearing makeup and SPF. And it gets rid of all of that grime, but leaves behind super hydrated, clean skin that's never dry or stripped. And I'm a big fan of enzymatic cleansers because the enzymes are able to kind of act like Pac-Man and get rid of all the dead skin cells that you have on your face.

6:16So you're left with radiant glowing skin, but you're never scrubbing. You're never harsh. It's never aggressive. It's just a very gentle way to exfoliate. I especially love it in the summertime. And the algae enzyme cleansing oil, it's actually multi-purpose. You can use it on damp skin or dry skin. You can leave it on as a light peel, leave it on for five minutes, rinse it away. You can use it to gua sha and sculpt your skin. You can use it to dermaplane. The uses are endless. And how I like to use this for myself is I put it on dry skin. I emulsify it with a little bit of water. And I'm making sure that it's in contact with my skin for at least 60 seconds.

6:52So you're getting that gentle exfoliation action. And Mara, they're all about transformative, algae-infused skincare designed to minimize your routine into three steps or less. It's beloved by celebrities, this cleanser. and they're really all about see the glow. Get it? S-E-A, see the glow with that algae. So exclusively for Breaking Beauty listeners, Mara is offering 20 % off the entire Mara website with the code BREAKINGBEAUTY. Visit www.themarabeauty.com for more information.

7:32That's themarabeauty.com for more to get 20 % off site wide. We'll link to this offer in our show notes and on our website. Now back to the show. What's up everyone. I'm Sheena Shea. You may know me from nine seasons of Bravo's Vanderpump Rules, but I'm here to tell you about my podcast called Shenanigans. We talk about everything from reality TV, pop culture, relationships, parenting, and invite you to join the conversations with Q &A sessions where nothing is off the table. There's so much more I want to share with you. Thanks for listening and make sure to subscribe to Shenanigans to stay up to date with new episodes every Friday.

8:16Okay, Jill, I need to know what your opinion is on POV Beauty by Michaela Makeup because I saw a TikTok of her recently talking about how it is just selling out nonstop. Yeah. And she was actually much more transparent than typical brands that say that. She's like, I'm not talking about 500 units. I'm talking about, I can't remember what she said, but the numbers were astronomical. Yeah. Like this stuff is flying off the shelves. So is it the price point? Is it the formulas? You tell me. So I think what would surprise, and we talked about this briefly on another episode, but the fact that she came out with skincare and not with makeup.

8:52Absolutely. Was I think a curveball for a lot of people. And I would say the same thing about Haley Bieber when she came out with Rode. A lot of people were surprised it was skincare and that it wasn't like glazed donut highlighter or whatever. She's still my, like she's obviously tiptoeing into makeup now with the lip liners and the blushes and stuff. But the outset, it was not. Who knows where Elf will take her. That's right. I know. Congratulations. But with Point of View, I have tried everything in the range and I'm going to tell you about my favorite product. Please do. So it's called Drench It and it is the soothing priming milk, which is perfect for summer.

9:28And it's 35 US dollars. Not bad. Right now it is sold out. So I'm hoping that it will come back. Now, what I love about this is that it is feels very K-beauty inspired. It has it's like a watery consistency. I would say it leans more water than milk. Really? Yeah. And you put it in your hand, put in the palm of your hand. You pat your palms together. And then you like prime your skin that way. So it's very, very hydrating. And it's got potent blend. That's their wording of a two-step fermentation process that intensely moisturizes, brightens, and even skin tone. It has peptides in there. And I just found that my skin definitely looked plump and I do love it under makeup.

10:16Okay, so do you put your moisturizer over top then or not? You can, and I have. Okay. She has a whole range. She has like a whipped cream moisturizer and she has a primer. I was just I just thought they were OK. Like there's other ones in my routine that I prefer. But this is something that if I was like going to do, I do this for hydration and then probably an SPF on top. That's what I was doing. And then my makeup on top of that. But the whole reason that she created this line was so your skincare wears perfectly under makeup. Got it. That's the POV. Yeah. I think that's genius as well. Because a lot of people are like, what moisturizer isn't going to mess up my makeup?

10:56You know, what skincare products? Right. But I'm still confused. Okay. First of all, I just want to say that having tried this, you're absolutely right. It's called milk, but it really comes out more like a water. Yes. And actually, funny enough, on my sub stack, I'm going to send everyone to my sub stack, the 11s. Just last week, I wrote about the favorite step in my beauty routine and it's softening lotions, which a lot of people don't really understand what that is, but it's really a hydrating essence. It's a little bit thicker than a regular essence that's just like water. And its primary purpose is hydration.

11:33Like it just soaks the skin in hydration. And I love it. It's like the essential step in my beauty routine. And I think it's such an unsung hero, this type of product. So it's interesting to me that I had no idea this was in her line. And I love the feel of it. It really is. It's really good. She nailed it. It's softening lotion. It's like it conditions your skin. It makes it softer. And I just turned it over and noticed it is made in Korea. That doesn't surprise me because this whole category is definitely Japanese beauty, J beauty, and K beauty. Everything that she made in this line is made in Korea, all the skincare, or if it's not made there, it is formulated there and the product is made in the United States.

12:19Probably she's dealing with tariffs and all that. I have no idea. But to answer your question about when you would use this in your routine, they say it's Drench It followed by what they call Drip It, which is their serum, followed by their cream, which is called Whip It. And those are fine. But this I thought was the star of the bunch and the makeup. She also has a primer and I liked it, but I did find that it had a faint smell and it wasn't like my fave. Like I said, there's other ones out there. I was only confused. I know that's the step you would do a hydrating toner, but I was confused because it said priming lotion, is it?

13:00Sorry. Soothing priming milk. Priming milk. So that's what confused me is because normally when I think of a primer, I think after that you're putting your makeup on. So I guess the idea though, is this whole system is a priming system. That's right. And if you can put all those steps on and your makeup isn't going to pill, that's her whole idea is that it's skincare that is never going to fuck with your makeup. Okay. Right. And then glaze it is the name of the glazy tack primer, which I think she was kind of going after the elf grip or the milk makeup because she first went viral for the milk makeup primer to cover her acne.

13:37And it's like got a bit of a blurring effect. I think I'm going to revisit that now that I'm talking out loud about it. I do think I need to give it another shot to give it a longer wear test. Right. I think maybe I was a bit too quick to judge. I'll do it and I'll do it whenever it's like a little hotter out. OK. You know, to see if it grips everything. If she loves it, guys. We also have a Breaking Beauty newsletter that we send out every month where we have our favorites that maybe didn't make the episode. So if it makes the grade with Jill, you might find it on there. Yeah. And Michaela, come back.

14:08We want to talk to you. I saw she just moved house. She just bought like, of course, people on TikTok already know how much she paid. They're like, this house is$4.6 million. I'm like, get it, queen. Yeah. You know? Well, it's funny. I remember the first time we interviewed Michaela Makeup, she had 6.5 million followers at that time. Yeah. And she probably has, I don't know how many she has now. It's like 16 million or something. But I remember her saying that she said something about wanting to be an esthetician. Yes. This was, and this was years ago. I think that was actually the second time.

14:40Was it? Yes. You know, you're right. It was the second time we had her on the show. Yeah. And she said that. So I wonder if this was a twinkle in her eye at that point, because she, she indicated we, we did ask about a makeup line and it didn't sound. Anyway. Yeah. I I wonder if there was some foreshadowing there. So that's my review of POV. From what I understand, they're coming out with even more in the coming months. So we will stay tuned. But for me, that's a thumbs up. And I mean, I wonder if makeup could be in the cards down the road. Of course. I could see it. Of course. But it's the robbing Peter paying Paul at the moment.

15:12Like right now, she's probably like, OK, I can still take all the brand deals from Tarte, Rare Beauty, get the bag and funnel it right into her own skincare. Absolutely. is the trend. Now, milk in general with skincare seems to be a trend right now. I see that on your tabletop of favorite summer goodies, you've got the Tatcha Dewy, what's it called? Dewy Milk Moisturizer. So this is actually a moisturizer. And if, so I'm going to give you, it just dropped. It's the Tatcha Dewy Milk Moisturizer. It's 59 US dollars and 80 in Canada. and so we've learned before on the show that the Tatcha Dewy Skin Moisturizer is like the number one best-selling moisturizer at Sephora.

16:02So it's a little bit surprising it took them this long to come out with kind of a sister product to it. So I would say the difference between this product and the one I just talked about, this is a proper moisturizer, but it's a milky moisturizer. Yes, you could actually use them together if you wanted to cherry pick. Yeah. So did you try this yet? I'll give this to you. Okay. This probably isn't for your skin type, I'm thinking. I have it at home. I mean, it would be for my skin type. I mean, I like an emulsion. I only would use a heavier cream at night. Yeah. And so I do like the texture, how lightweight it was, but it was a bit too scented for me.

16:41Oh, interesting. Yeah. Because I have very sensitive skin. It's quite fragranced, I find. Interesting. I love this. It's going to to be, I'll definitely finish this this summer. I've finished multiple of the dewy skin cream pots. It's got Japanese purple rice in there, which is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect against free radicals. It also has green tea extract, which is of course very powerful as an antioxidant. And it has zinc hyaluronate, which is formulated with combination to oily skin in mind. So it's moisture locking hyaluronic acid and oil balancing zinc, which I think zinc isn't used enough in traditional skincare products.

17:19You think of it a lot as a sunscreen ingredient, but like The Ordinary has a niacinamide and zinc serum that I love. Yeah. It's said to be an anti-inflammatory as well. So yeah, it would be good for acneic skin. I could see that. Yeah. And I will just say though, I really wish that they would like, I'm just over the purple. I'm just going to say it. Well, that's the other thing I have to say is that the fluid itself is purple, like quite purple. It's the same color as the outer package, the lilac. So I did clock that as well, Jill. I noticed quite a scent and I also noticed the purple. I don't really need the artificial dyes and the artificial fragrance.

18:01It feels a bit dated. Interesting. That was my take. So I kind of put it to the side. I like the texture. I think the ingredients are cool, but I just think that's just my opinion. What do you guys think? Drop into our - That's my opinion. No, I agree with you. Drop into our Instagram. Let us know. And by the way, we discovered when we talked to Daniel Martin on our show a few months ago that he used all Tatcha skincare on Megan Markle on her wedding day. There you have it. So if you're a bride or you're a bridal makeup artist or what have you, you're going to be in a wedding. I think that this would be a good moisturizer for the day.

18:37Just saying. All right.

18:48Quince is supporting our show this week. It's going to be officially summer, everyone, in a couple of days. And I'm having that familiar urge to refresh my closet. But I don't want to waste money on pieces that only just wear once or one season. And really, Quince changes all of that because their clothes are timeless. they're lightweight and they're far more elevated than anything else at this price point. It finally feels like my wardrobe matches my standards. So they have essentials like 100 % European linen shorts. I'm on their website right now looking at them. Those start at just$30. They also have the perfect linen dresses.

19:26Once again, 100 % European linen dresses that are buttoned down. They just look easy breezy like you would wear them every day with flat sandals. They look so timeless and effortless. They have Lux swimwear. They have Italian leather platform sandals. And what's in my cart right now is the Italian leather hand woven tote. It's$149. I swear it looks designer that would cost a lot more. So they really have those essential timeless pieces on lock for a great price. And everything with Quince is half the cost of similar brands. And they're able to do that because they work directly with top artisans and they cut out the middleman.

20:05So Quince gives you luxury without the markup. And they only work with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. So give your summer closet an upgrade with Quince. Go to quince.com slash breakingbeauty for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash Breaking Beauty to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Once again, quince.com slash Breaking Beauty will link to this offer in our show notes and on our website. Now back to the show.

20:43Well, I'm going to hit you guys with that tease that we talked about at the beginning of the show. Jill was surprised to see this on my tabletop of favorites. This is the Paula's Choice limited edition biodegradable 2 % BHA exfoliating toner pads. They are$16 in the US, 20 in Canada, and you get 10 in a box. So in a nutshell, Jill, this is your favorite 2 % BHA exfoliating toner pads from Paula's Choice in a travel pack. These little packets. They're individual sachets. Yes. Much like the Dr. Dennis Gross peel pads. That's right. They look exactly like that, but they're dark gray branded. And of course, it has, they're pre-soaked with the cult favorite salicylic acid formula that's going to give you that clear skin, that exfoliating that's so great for unclogging pores and for acne skin.

21:41And for anybody who doesn't know, there's green tea in there as well. That's meant to like calm and give you a soothing benefit, which is why I think so many people love the product because it doesn't strip their face so badly that it's like dry and irritated. So yeah, I agree with you. It's been a long time coming. And unlike the Dr. Dennis Gross pads, it's not a two-step, right? You don't need to have that. You're not neutralizing. The neutralizing stuff after. So this is literally you just swipe it. You can use it at the gym after you've worked out, or these will be going to Italy with my daughter.

22:19Nice. For sure. So much easier to pack. And I love that it's in little biodegradable sachets as well. I'm going to call bullshit on that. I'm sorry. I think they said biodegradable. They didn't say the sachets are biodegradable. I think they're trying to say that the towelette or the pad is biodegradable. But even if it has a little bit of your trace makeup left on there after you've washed your face, I think that that then is ineligible to be biodegraded. I'm just like, they're not the only ones that do it. There's plenty. But it's like, I'm so conflicted when I see single use products because I love them.

22:57But I am like, are we not past that? Or is there no better way to package them? Anyway. I'm on their website now and it does say that the pre-soaked pad is biodegradable. I'm not sure about the sachets because it doesn't specifically say, but they're at least recyclable. I personally believe that these single-use type of toning pads have made a comeback. I mean, they have. We've seen the micellar pads. We've seen the toner pads that are all coming out of Asia. Yes, like the Metacube and whatnot. Yeah, like they're not, they don't come in the individual sachets. Yeah, that's my beef. But they do come on an individual pad versus the reusable pads that you might use.

23:44So, I mean, they have made a comeback. and for better, for worse. Yeah, no, for sure. And then if you ask my husband, he'll say it's all going to the landfill. You're not separating anything anyway. So we're just doing it all for our conscious. Well, we might as well have clear pores if we're all going down. So enjoy. Another one that I will be using all summer long is the ultraviolet SPF 50. this one's called the Future Fluid Super Light Mineral Sunscreen, but it actually has a different name in the U.S. Let me just find it. In the U.S., it's called Ultraviolet Future Screen SPF 50 Plus Modern Mineral Sunscreen.