We Tested the 6 Most-Hyped Beauty Products From August

Following is a transcript of the video.

Nico Reyes: There are so many new beauty releases happening all the time, so we gathered some of the most-hyped products from August to test for ourselves.

These Chameleon Flakes from Kaima Cosmetics have been everywhere lately. They’re definitely a unique product, because they’re like little shavings of pigment that shift color. I wanted to try these mixed with the Glistening Pigment Mix, which is how I saw it being used all over TikTok, but I could not get this to look good no matter what I did — adding more of the mix, using less, mixing it for longer. It honestly doesn’t look that bad on camera, but nothing was making it look like what I saw in so many videos. I finally decided to use it how it’s recommended on the product page: just apply a thin layer of glitter adhesive and tap the flakes on, and it worked amazingly. These look so beautiful on the eyes, they really do, but they come with a bit of a learning curve.

I am so into no-makeup makeup right now, and I had to try out L’Oréal’s new tinted serum with hyaluronic acid. I’m usually very skeptical of products that combine skin care and makeup, but I’m a huge fan of this. The coverage is light but does a great job of evening the skin out and giving a very glowy, hydrated finish, and it claims to smooth your skin over time. I don’t know how true that is, but if you’re looking for a great skin tint at the drugstore, this is one of the best I’ve ever tried.

Coley Cosmetics is a new brand for me. These eye-shadow bases were all over social media, and I was very intrigued because I’ve never used a colored base before. So to see what the difference was, I applied the base to just one eye and then applied shadow to both eyes. This shadow is super pigmented on its own, but I could immediately see the difference in the eye with the base versus without. The color was more pigmented, vibrant, it even felt more neon to me, and I didn’t use that much, so I was super impressed with this. Even the inner corner on the eye with the base was brighter. They sell every color you’ll ever need, and you get so much product for $14.

Next, I tried these little cotton-swab lipsticks from Fomomy. You basically snap its neck, and the lipstick inside the stick drains to the bottom end, and then you apply. This … worked. I mean, I can’t say that it didn’t work. The actual lipstick itself feels like a very thin liquid. Once it dries, it really doesn’t budge, and it lasted on me all day. The color was definitely there, but the stain looked patchy because I had some dry patches on my lips. I don’t really see the point in a product like this. Maybe if you’re always on the go or something, or if applying regular lipstick has just gotten too boring for you, but this seems like a lot of waste for just an OK lip stain. It was fun to snap them open, though.

And, finally, we have an interesting product from Pat McGrath, the IntensifEyes Artistry Wand. I was confused as to what this was at first, because it just looks like a fancy $32 Chapstick, but it’s essentially a mixing liquid in a convenient pen form that intensifies eye shadow. So I applied it to just one eye to see what the difference would be. To make things even more difficult, I used a patchy eye shadow from E.l.f. and also one of my dustiest, crustiest shimmers. This shimmer is literally four years old and pretty dried out, but I have to say that this stuff did make these shadows look more vibrant and surprisingly easy to blend without getting patchy. Look at how different these eyes look. It mainly seems like one of those products that’s made for a makeup-artist kit and not an everyday consumer.