It’s not a surprise beauty editors get a lot of samples. It’s important for us to try a product before we’re going to recommend you spend your hard-earned dollars on. Not every item that hits our desk (or, right now, our apartment floor), delivers the way we wish it would. But many do! Some of the best new beauty products for 2020 get us excited enough to want to tell all our friends and even replace them when we run out.

That’s why we started this new series, to give you a peek at what we can’t put down this week—and the week after that and the week after that. These range from at-home peeling masks to self-tanners to even dandruff shampoo and lip balm. You can shop them at Amazon, Sephora, Ulta or your next Target run. We get our beauty products anywhere and everywhere.

Shop some of our favorites this week and check back here for more reviews and new products you need to know about.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Image: Virtue.

Virtue Exfoliating Scalp Treatment

I’ve always liked the idea of scalp scrubs but sugar-based ones often left my dry hair feeling even more brittle. But this whipped cream actually conditions strands while detoxifying the scalp. It contains BHAs to slough off dead skin cells on the scalp, as well as coconut, jojoba and Kalahari melon oils for allover hydration.

Image: Tarte.

Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip Trio

According to Tarte, these new lip trios sold out completely of their first shipment on QVC—a whopping 20,000 units. I can totally see why. This formula is equal parts lipstick and gloss and leaves lips feeling hydrated for hours. There’s a surprising amount of pigment and they even plump the lips temporarily. 

Image: Algenist.

Algenist Blue Algae Vitamin C Dark Spot Correcting Peel

If you suffer from dark spots and hyperpigmentation, you know how tough it can be to lighten those areas. This resurfacing at-home peel features a unique blend of AHA, BHAs and PHAs, vitamin C and the brand’s Alguronic acid to reduce the appearance of acne scars and dark spots. Using just once a week, I found my skin looked brighter and smoother already.

Image: Ciate.

Ciaté London Dewy Blush

There are a bunch of blushes in tubes like this but I’m especially into Ciaté’s vegan and cruelty-free ones lately. The gel-like tinted balm makes cheeks looked flushed and natural—not overly made up. Even better, each shade smells like fruit.

Image: Jupiter.

Jupiter The “Gotta Get” Set

It’s so often that dandruff shampoo helps get rid of scalp flakes but isn’t so great for your hair—especially the color. This new line not only takes care of your scalp but also your strands, too. Zinc pyrithione is the active ingredient to banish flaking and irritation and decylene glycol helps control oil. The addition of coconut oil helps hydrate the hair and scalp. It’s sulfate-free and safe for color-treated hair.

Image: Haus Labs.

Haus Laboratories By Lady Gaga: Le Riot Lip Gloss

Lady Gaga came out with nine more shades of her Le Riot Lip Gloss, including this Barbie-pink in Diamond Heart that I cannot stop wearing.

Image: Kinship.

Kinship Mint Mud Deep Pore Detox Mask

This vegan and cruelty-free mask isn’t one of those mud masks that reduces oil by drying out your entire face. Instead, it uses Bentonite and Kaolin clays to clear pores, as well as lactic acid to exfoliate, Moringa to soften skin and Kinbiome to promote a strong moisture barrier. My skin felt clean and smooth with one use—not tight and overly dry.

Image: Dermstore.

SkinMedica TNS Advanced+ Serum

Stylecaster Deputy Editor Alana Peden has seen serious results with this serum that encourages skin cell turnover and helps boost collagen and elastin levels. “If you can mentally overcome the sticker shock of this anti-ager, do so,” she says. “It’s worth every penny. A combination of growth factors and peptides provide a powerhouse of rejuvenation to your skin. It’s the closest thing to Botox in a bottle that I’ve tried, and let’s just say that strangers assume I was born in the ‘90s. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t.”

Image: Fresh.

Fresh Sugar Lime Mint Hydrating Lip Balm

Peden also calls this newbie a “refreshing summer cocktail in lip balm form.” Make someone smile in these trying times and gift them this chic hydrator, or indulge yourself.

Dorinda Medley’s Crystal Fringe Confessional Earrings

Real Housewives of New York Season 12 Fashion

Dorinda Medley decided to dress up her very comfy-looking, “quarantine” confessional lewk that was debuted on last night’s episode of RHONY with a pair of super glam crystal fringe earrings (that we previously reported on being worn by Kelly Dodd, Kameron Westcott and Sonja Morgan). Which we’re assuming was the only part of her outfit she had to change out of before jumping directly into bed, just going to prove that working from home definitely comes with some serious fringe benefits.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Area Earrings Sold Out at Barneys New York

Click Here to Shop Them in Gold on Sale

Click Here to Shop Them in Silver on Sale

Photo #3: @KameronWestcott

Originally posted at: Dorinda Medley’s Crystal Fringe Confessional Earrings

A man named Randy Scott (not his real name), requested to ‘friend me’ on Facebook. I often get military men, middle-aged and older men, requesting to be friends. I delete them since my rule of thumb is, “Don’t accept friend requests from people I don’t know.”

But this man had the same name as my step-daughter’s high school sweetheart. Plus, her mother was his only follower. I accepted the request and forgot about it.

A short time later I got a ‘wave’ from him. I ignored it because I was too busy. Then the next day another wave and “Are you there?”

It was Sunday, my day off. I answered.

I asked him if he had a nickname, trying to determine if he was Scooter from the past. He wrote, “No, just Randy.” I knew then he wasn’t who I thought he was.

Curiosity Led Me On

After all these men’s friend requests, I got curious how this works. Randy started asking me the usual getting-to-know-you questions, and I was careful not to give too much information.

Then he asked where I was, and, after I told him I lived in Indonesia, he said he owned a small oil drilling business in Texas and traveled worldwide.

So now my curiosity was piqued. I wondered what else he would write to keep me interested.

He asked what I did for fun. I replied, “My life is fun! I love my work. I’m a jewelry designer, writer and an old hippy. How about you?”

He replied, “I love to cook, dance and sometimes I go to the gym when I’m free.”

By this point I’m really intrigued how this all works. Has he tapped into some algorithm, some data base, that has my details? Because I love to cook – in fact, I write a recipe column for the Bali Advertiser.

I met my current partner at a dance party and we dance as often as we can. I also try to go to the gym three times a week but often fall short so it’s a ‘sometimes’ too.

Does this guy have a page with personal details, so he can make himself look too good to be true?

He Avoided Answering My Questions

When he asked what I did for a living, I thought, “This man hasn’t a clue about me. He has obviously not even read my Facebook page. Is this a form of phishing?”

Other women friends my age tell me they also get men’s requests. How do our names come up?

I decided to ask him. I told him about military men trying to friend me and asked him if it’s boredom, loneliness or just a game. He replied, “I’m not military.” But he didn’t answer my question.

I continued inquiring how this all works. I asked him how he got my name. He said he was searching for friends and my name came up.

I asked, “But HOW does this work? Do you put in any parameters?” He avoided answering my questions and said if he was bothering me, to let him know. He also asked if I thought he was a bad man.

Then I noticed his English had some serious flaws and wondered if he was even who he said he was, or from Texas.

My final response to him was “I need to take the dog for a walk. Bye.” Then I deleted the conversation and unfriended him. But I worry, did I reveal too much?

I could see how enticing this could be. It was fun to banter about for a bit with someone I didn’t know. It was like wearing a mask at a party, allowing you to be different than you usually are. I could see how single older women needing attention might get sucked into this.

What Are Fake Friend Requests All About?

After doing some research, I found that such fake friend requests often come from scammers. One of the articles said that they want your identity, your money, or both.

Some of these fake friends want to post malicious links to malware that can end up in your Facebook newsfeed, if you accept them as a friend.

The Better Business Bureau says, “If you happen to add a scammer, they have access to information that could lead to identity theft or other fraudulent activity.” And having accepted a friend request allows them to contact you via messenger, as happened in my case.

How to Tell a Fake and What to Do

These posts are often riddled with typos and poor English – another red flag that you’re not connecting with who you think you are.

They may use pictures of visually attractive and younger individuals. And it’s not just women who are targeted. Men get fake friend requests from beautiful model-like women. If it’s too good to be true, it usually is.

Check out the profile of anyone who tries to friend you. If there is little content other than photos of them, it is probably a fake friend request. If they have few friends or have only been on Facebook a short time this could also indicate a false profile.

The Better Business Bureau suggests that you keep information like your birthdate, address and phone number out of your profile.

Do you have experience with fake friend requests? What do you think are the keys to staying social after 60? Please share with the community how you dealt with it.

Leah McSweeney’s Lip Liner on Instagram

Real Housewives of New York 2020 Instagram Beauty

We are all reading Leah McSweeney’s lips and they are saying that we need her liner. It’s the perfect barely there color that still catches your eye. And it certainly did for all of her IG followers because they were alllll asking what she had on in this photo. Thank goodness she didn’t keep her perfectly lined lips sealed and she shared the deets.

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Click Here To Shop Her Sisley Paris Beige Nature Lip Pencil

Outfit: Married to the Mob

Photo & ID Credit: @leahmob

Originally posted at: Leah McSweeney’s Lip Liner

Lately, my friends have been decluttering their places and spaces. Good for them! Breaking FREE from our old stuff isn’t easy but it feels great when we do. It feels like a slice of freedom.

Everything from closets and garages to our smart phones needs to be reorganized and minimized from time to time. I have a stockpile of flash drives that makes me cringe when I think about sorting through the old photos and documents stored on them.

What Does Freedom Mean?

There’s an often quoted lyric that Kris Kristofferson wrote and Janis Joplin sings: “Freedom’s just another word for nothing else to lose.” It means that giving up our attachments to people and things would free us from the responsibilities they place on us.

I think a better description of freedom comes from Apostle Paul, “Although we’re able to have everything, we must not become slaves to anything.” I don’t think freedom comes from having nothing. It’s won when we know what to keep in our lives and what to let go of.

Freedom asks of us, “Why am I hanging on to this?” Our answer is largely about our memories. We look to our memories for the reason we first became attracted to something (or someone).

We depend on our memories to determine if we want to live with or without it going forward. This is a search through more than our belongings. It searches our hearts and souls, too.

The Power of Memories

Memories of what we’ve been through, what we’ve been taught, and what we believe determine what and why we hold on to things. Depending on what we remember, we choose things that protect us from harm or promise us happiness.

And our choices are about much more than what meets the eye. They represent what we remember about our faith, values, and our purpose in this world. They show the world if we feel worthy of love and respect. Our “stuff” even shows the world if we are sad, mad, or glad.

Good memories show up and get shared in our lives as special photos, precious jewelry, antiques, and sentimental souvenirs. It’s hard to part with things that remind us of being loved or loving another.

But when our memories spoil, we toss things out, like photos that no longer stir up a good feeling, or clothes that are no longer attached to a special occasion. Likewise, we let go of relationships when they aren’t fondly remembered.

Is There Garbage in Your Head and Heart?

I lived in Kalamazoo for 355 days. It was one of the worst years of my life. I remember tyrannical bosses, 105 days of rain and snow, a very tiny apartment, loss of family and friendships. I threw out every photo I took of that city.

I can’t even look at celery because Kalamazoo is the celery capital of America. And I switch the TV channel when the MI chamber of commerce slogan proclaims, “Say yes to Michigan.” But even when I got rid of the tangible items attached to Kalamazoo, I was still imprisoned by my memories.

Our bad memories are hard to shake. Memories of schoolyard bullies, senseless death, or painful divorce clutter up our heads and hearts with anger, hurt, or shame. Sometimes they are stored deep in the cellars of our minds and hard to access. Sometimes we don’t even want to go through them.

We take them out only to be reminded of our pain – to reinforce our vow to never be hurt again. Or we try to forget and bury them like forgotten garbage, growing more toxic every day.

But I’m learning that our memories can distort the truth. I’m clawing my way through painful memories to uncover the proverbial rest of the story. (Kalamazoo had some happy days if I’m just willing to remember them.)

Sorting through our past stuff will certainly stir up grief. Like cleaning out a closet, it gets messier first.

Freedom Is Choosing What to Hold on to, and Loving What You Choose

Uncovering our happier memories allows us to appreciate what we have in our lives, differently. We accept what seems too painful to hold on to, but too painful to let go.

If your painful past is taking up too much room in your present, try this:

Pay Attention

The word memory comes from the 13th century Latin word, mindful. No one can make you practice mindfulness – which is really just paying attention. It’s your choice. But I promise you, when you pay attention to the connection between your memories and your belongings, your life will change.

You might even begin to find the freedom that comes from rediscovering happier memories buried deep below the bad ones. You will begin to let go of your sad and bad stories and hold on, for dear life, to what makes you and the world happy.

Find a Purpose

There will be times you ask, “What do I need?” Try following up with the question, “And where am I needed?” It feels good to be needed.

Being needed isn’t a burden – it creates the kind of freedom that we will remember as purposeful and wonderful. Sort through your heart and soul and hold on to each other. That’s really why we’re here. Remember, having each other is truly having it all.

What memories are shaping your life today? Do you keep any of your belongings just because of their attachment to a specific memory? Have you thrown stuff out because of a memory? Do you think your memories burden you or free you? Please share your thoughts with our community!