5 New Beauty Products I Tried
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I can’t be the only one bombarded with Jones Road ads in my Instagram feed, can I? They’ve effectively targeted all of the middle-aged women I know, or so it seems. I decided to give it a try. For the most part, I wear ILIA makeup, to give you a sense of the bar Jones Road was up against.
I was excited to try the products, especially the Miracle Balm, even though I’d read mixed reviews. I also ordered the What the Foundation and The Face Pencil. My biggest challenge was figuring out which shades to order. For the most part, I either buy makeup I’ve used before and know what shade I need, or I physically go into a store to try the shades but since I’m sadly nowhere near any of Jones Road’s handful of stores, I had to wing it (the brand is not sold anywhere else).
I ordered the Miracle Balm in the shade, Happy Hour and wildly underestimated what they meant by “silver shimmer” in the product description. For whatever reason, I took that to mean shimmery and glowy but whoa. It’s full-on silver sparkles! It took me back to college days when we wore that body glitter on our faces… It was 100% a no-go for me, but, I really liked the formula. It felt very hydrating.
The Face Pencil is nice. It glides on smoothly and blends in well. I’ve used both my finger and my Beautyblender sponge to apply it and both work well. I haven’t decided if I prefer the pencil to ILIA’s True Skin Serum Concealer which is my daily go-to, but it’s a solid contender. I would buy The Face Pencil again, for sure. I also learned that they have The Neutralizer Pencil which is intended for under the eye use, and that’s probably what I need to try as that’s typically the only place I use concealer. Still, The Face Pencil does a fine job for under-eye.
Now, in addition to just loving the name, What the Foundation, I really love the product. It’s easily my favorite of the three products I tried. It’s lightweight and incredibly moisturizing. Really moisturizing. Seriously. This is key for me as my skin has gotten much drier as I’ve aged. (Side note: all of the advertising I see on Instagram for Jones Road talks about the products being geared towards middle-aged skin but their website states that their products are for all ages.) I think I could’ve gone a shade darker than I chose, but again, this is the downside to being unable to shop in person. A little product goes a long way so I feel like it will last a long time. It offers light coverage, but more than a tinted moisturizer. I’ve applied it in multiple ways—with my fingers, with a Beautyblender and with a makeup brush. I prefer using my fingers as it feels like I’m putting on moisturizer and I have more control. I’ve also mixed in Drunk Elephant’s D-Bronzi™ Bronzing Drops for a little glow and they play well together. What the Foundation won’t replace ILIA True Skin Serum Foundation in my makeup drawer, but I will keep both on-hand for different uses/occasions.
I hate to say I didn’t have the best customer service experience with Jones Road. When I went online to exchange the Miracle Balm, I saw that I could send in photos to have a professional match the best shade for my skin tone. So I went through the process and even reached out to Jones Road via Instagram, but it was nearly three weeks by the time I received a reply. I did get the seemingly standard, “we’ve had an influx of emails…” auto-reply. Because I assumed they weren’t going to reply, I went through the return process on their website and the silver lining is that they refunded my order and told me not to bother shipping back the Miracle Balm but to gift or donate it. I appreciate not having to hassle with that. I share this mainly to say, that if you want to try the products but really aren’t sure about which shade(s) to use, I suggest reaching out to them first before placing your order.
Something else I recently tried is the COSRX snail mucin, although the hype around this product seems to have died down—and for good reason, in my opinion. I heard about it everywhere towards the end of last year and early this year, and given its reasonable under $20 price tag, I decided to try it. I’ve been using it religiously (once, sometimes twice, a day) for over a month and I have noticed absolutely no difference whatsoever in my skin. It’s said to “repair and rejuvenate the skin from dryness and aging” as well as reduce dullness and hydrating. I haven’t experienced any of that. It isn’t hurting my skin, but it isn’t doing anything to improve it, either. This will be a one and done for me.
Lastly, I swapped my high-ticket hyaluronic acid for Cerave’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum for Face with Vitamin B5 and Ceramides. I haven’t been using it for quite a month but I instantly found it to be hydrating. The format is thicker than serums I’m accustomed to using as it feels more like a very light moisturizer to me, but it seems to do the job. I’ll keep using this one.
If you have any questions about these five products, drop them in the comments below. I’m always interested in checking out new skincare and beauty products, so if you’ve seen something interesting, let me know!
