Cosmetic blogs are often an unmatched source of tips and tricks and they really help narrowing the target when looking for new make up products. Honestly, if you are looking for new color items, checking out reviews by fellow beauty lovers is a step you really should not miss; with skincare however, you can almost always skip it.
It is no secret that beauty scene as a whole suffers from a big “luxury brand” fixation: fashion, trend and brand are so deeply intertwined the relationship between them would easily fill out a book on their own, if it hasn’t already. And there is nothing wrong with that per se as long as we stick to the beautifying / adornment aspect because it is all subjective and subject to… well… trends. And truth be told, luxury brand make up is good: colours are pretty and trendy, packaging is chic and usually friendly to use and they do stay put.