Beauty Buzz: The 3 best beauty products we tried this week from Rare Beauty, Annabelle, and ILIA

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We try dozens of beauty products each month. These were our testers’ three favourite launches this week: 

ILIA Soft Focus Blurring Blush

They say: A new blush formula from the brand ILIA that offers buildable, lightweight colour, while also promising to blur the appearance of pores and smooth skin’s texture. Skin care-focused ingredients such as edelweiss extract and wing kelp extract address hydration and firmness.

We say: This may be one of the best blush formulas that we’ve tried in a while. The product has a lot of colour payoff, but still blends nicely for a perfectly natural look. Additional sweeps of the powder blush yield a more dramatic effect. Our tester found the formulas blended nicely, both with other hues of the same formula for a custom colour effect, or worn over a cream blush too. Try it!

$49 | Sephora

Annabelle Brow Fixing Gel

They say: A new line of eyebrow gels from the Canadian makeup brand Annabelle, the brow-taming formula tints, controls and even strengthens (thanks to ingredients such as niacinamide and provitamin B5) brows for up to 12 hours.

We say: As far as brow gels go, this one is as easy as they come. The small packaging and petite applicator wand mean it’s both simple to apply and highly portable. (We love midday brow touch-ups!) Available in a few shade-matching tints, our tester preferred the clear gel, which offers a no-muss-no-fuss brow gel grooming option.

$13.49 | Shoppers Drug Mart

Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Rare Eau de Parfum

They say: The new eau de parfum release from the Selena Gomez-founded brand Rare. A “warm and spicy” scent, the sweet fragrance plays with delicious notes such as caramel, vanilla, sandalwood, pistachio and more. To support the fragrance launch, the company has also released a line of Rare Fragrance Layering Balms that allow you to boost the notes you’re most into, to both help make them more prominent — and to create a just-for-you take on the scent.

We say: This fragrance sits firmly in the gourmand category, according to our tester. Its warm notes of vanilla and caramel proved the most prominent on her skin, while the slightly spicier elements such as sandalwood came across as more subdued. Boasting decent staying power, it’s a wearable, likable day-to-night addition.

$104 for 50 mL | Sephora