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Reality star Bethenny Frankel wants to help you save your money as you’re ambling the physical or virtual aisles of the beauty store or drugstore in search of that perfect foundation or skincare product. And the solution doesn’t lie in the former Real Housewife of New York launching her own beauty brand, as many celebrities have done over the past several years.
Instead, Frankel took to TikTok to share her insights on the “thousands of dollars” of cosmetics that she’s personally tried to help her 783,000-plus followers determine which ones are worth putting their money toward. Ahead, you’ll find a small fraction—14, to be exact—of the products that Frankel recommends on her TikTok channel.
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1. This luminous primer-highlighter: L’Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Glotion
Glowy, dewy skin is in, and according to Frankel, you can achieve a radiant complexion with the L’Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Glotion. In a TikTok video from April 4, the former reality star pits the drugstore find against two others, the Coppertone Glow Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 and the Revlon Photo Ready Rose Glow Face Gloss. Ultimately, Frankel named the Lumi Glotion as her favorite.
In addition to providing a beaming glow, the primer also claims to hydrate the skin. It comes in four shades: “Fair” (pearlescent pink), “Light” (rose gold), “Medium” (light beige) and “Deep” (gold bronze).
2. This luxury concealer: Clé De Peau Beauté Concealer SPF 27
In another TikTok video from April 2022, Frankel puts several concealers to the test alongside her 12-year-old daughter Bryn, who she jokingly says “needs makeup desperately…not.” She starts off by testing the $75 Clé De Peau Beauté Concealer, noting “it’s the one that people say is the hype.” After applying it to her under-eyes with a brush, she takes a look at the coverage. “Looks good to me,” she confirms, concluding she preferred it to the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Concealer she also tried.
Even though Frankel demonstrates how to use it on her under eyes, the brand asserts it can minimize the appearance of dark spots and blemishes as well. The cream-based stick formula promises to impart a “beautiful, radiant finish” and can go without “creasing or fading for up to 16 hours.” It also contains SPF 27 to protect the skin from the sun’s rays (but remember, SPF in your makeup is never enough). It’s available in 12 shades, ranging from “Ivory” (light fair) to “Espresso” (deep dark).
3. This creamy drugstore foundation: Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Eraser Treatment
Despite having some beloved luxury brands in her arsenal, Frankel says in her “Glam or Sham: Affordable Foundations” video that the $11 Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Eraser Treatment is “every bit as good as the expensive ones.”
This liquid foundation comes with a sponge applicator to disperse the product on the skin while “fill[ing] and smooth[ing] imperfections on the skin’s surface,” according to the brand. It also claims to blur the appearance of fine lines and to supply the skin with hydration. Finally, the formula is designed to protect the skin from sun damage thanks to the inclusion of antioxidants and SPF 18 (but again, wear your sunscreen, too). The foundation is available at Target in six (unfortunately not all that inclusive) shades, ranging from “Creamy Ivory” (light beige) to “Medium Beige” (dark tan).
4. This mineral-based tinted sunscreen: Tower 28 Beauty Sunny Days SPF 30 Tinted Sunscreen Foundation
For a complexion product that fulfills the role of both a sunscreen and foundation, Frankel declared the Tower 28 Beauty Sunny Days Tinted Sunscreen Foundation to be “the best tinted SPF.” “I’m talking…glides into your skin, matches your skin tone,” she says, regarding its wear experience.
According to the brand, the multitasking product is fragrance-free, contains SPF 30 from zinc oxide and provides “light-medium buildable coverage that’s safe for sensitive or problem skin.” It aims to curb redness, safeguard skin from the sun and relieve “UV-stressed skin.” You have your pick of 14 shades, from “Fairfax” (“fair with pink undertones”) to “Venice” (“dark with cooler undertones”). If you’ll be spending a lot of time outside, just remember to reapply either this or some other SPF-containing product.
5. This bright blush quartet: E.L.F. Cosmetics Powder Blush Palette
You can never go wrong with adding a dusting of blush to your look, and one of Frankel’s picks, the E.L.F. Cosmetics Powder Blush Palette, has four vibrant shades to choose from. In fact, Frankel noticed throughout her blush testing process that “a lot of the less expensive products have more pigment,” which means you’re getting a good bargain with this product.
Indeed, the $9 powder blush quad purports to be “long-lasting” and any of the four shades—coral orange, bubblegum pink, cherry red and terracotta crimson—can serve as eyeshadows as well.
6. This curling mascara: Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara
When it came to finding the mascara for her, Frankel discovered that it’s already holding real estate in her makeup drawer. “What…look at the difference in my two eyelashes—that was one coat,” she exclaims after applying the Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara in a TikTok video from April 5. “It’s an A++ mascara,” she says.
Per the brand’s description of the product, the formula creates a “35% increase in curl while also lengthening, volumizing and conditioning lashes for 24-hour smudge-proof, flake-free wear.” The major volume and curl is all thanks to rice bran wax and carnauba wax, which the brand claims lengthen lashes and help create a smudge-free application process, respectively. It’s offered in black in two tube sizes, mini and standard, and in brown in only the larger, standard size.
7. This double-ended brow stick: Maybelline New York Tattoo Studio Brow Lift Stick
Once again, Frankel maintains that you don’t need to spend a lot on luxury-branded makeup, as evidenced by her test of the $13 Maybelline New York Tattoo Studio Brow Lift Stick against the $23 Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer. She immediately declares the brush on the Maybelline brow stick to be the better of the two, and she also raves over the pencil’s creamy texture. Ultimately, she awards the Tattoo Studio product an “A++.”
For its part, the brand affirms that “lifted and sculpted brows” are only a swipe away with the stick’s wax tip applicator and “lifter brush,” which is meant to help comb the hairs upwards. The Brow Lift Stick is offered in four shades, ranging from “Clear” to “Deep Brown.”
8. This lightweight powder: CoverGirl Professional Loose Powder
Frankel felt it was time to declare the “winners in certain [makeup] categories” in a TikTok video on April 19, and one of her all-time top picks is the CoverGirl Professional Loose Powder.
This “lightweight powder” promises to lock your makeup in place “for a flawless finish” and to stop oil from emitting its shiny sheen. It comes in only three light-to-medium colors: “Translucent Fair” (light), “Translucent Light” (beige) and “Translucent Medium” (tan).
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9. This effective cleanser: Eminence Organic Skin Care Monoi Age Corrective Exfoliating Cleanser
At $42 for 8 ounces, this face wash may be on the pricier side of Frankel’s recommendations, but the former reality star says that the Eminence Organic Skin Care Monoi Age Corrective Exfoliating Cleanser is worth it. “[It feels] a little stronger, and I like it,” Frankel explains. “It feels very clean,” she says of the Eminence cleanser.
The cleanser claims to help rid the skin of its “impurities for a deep clean and smoother, softer skin,” using olive seeds to physically exfoliate, monoi oil to hydrate and a blend of alpha hydroxy acids—lemon, passion fruit, grape and pineapple extracts—to chemically exfoliate by promoting the turnover of dead skin cells.
10. This skin-enhancing serum: Bliss Bright Idea Vitamin C + Tri-Peptide Collagen Protecting & Brightening Serum
In her vitamin C serum roundup, Frankel called out the $25 Bliss Bright Idea Vitamin C + Tri-Peptide Collagen Protecting & Brightening Serum as a product she swears by.
Per the brand, the serum helps minimize dark spots while brightening the complexion and improving the skin’s elasticity. The active ingredient vitamin C “brightens” and “visibly plumps” while glycerin helps introduce moisture in order to “retain and enhance hydration.”
11. This hydrating face scrub: Mario Badescu Botanical Exfoliating Scrub
For one video, Frankel got her hands on some face scrubs, and she didn’t favor one over another deeming them all “good.” One of her picks was the Mario Badescu Botanical Exfoliating Scrub, which she noted felt “hydrating” on the skin.
This scrub insists that it “banishes dullness and works to unveil a softer, smoother, more youthful-looking complexion” with all skin types in mind. Ecuadorian ivory palm seeds help to overturn “uneven skin tone and texture” and aloe vera “hydrates and smooths.”
12. This calming under-eye serum: L’Oréal Paris Revitalift 2.5% Hyaluronic Acid + Caffeine Under Eye Serum
Frankel’s followers were itching for eye product recommendations, and she took to TikTok on May 20 to give her stamp of approval for the L’Oréal Paris Revitalift 2.5% Hyaluronic Acid + Caffeine Under Eye Serum. “It’s cooling. It’s not like one of those rich, rich, hydrating [serums]… it almost feels like an eye primer for under makeup,” she says. “I can’t tell you how good this is. It really is stimulating [the under eyes].”
L’Oréal says that the serum is designed “to visibly replump [and] brighten eyes.” It uses hyaluronic acid to smooth and “re-energize” and “caffeine to minimize dark circles and puffiness.” The serum’s handle includes a roller to provide “a full-eye contour massage.”
13. This rich face cream: Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré
Once again, Frankel pitted some high-end products against some drugstore fixtures, but the category this time was moisturizers. The Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré ended up with an “A” from Frankel.
This moisturizer claims to do the job of three in one by acting as a face cream, face primer and face mask. To accomplish this, its formula includes aloe vera and soy proteins to moisturize, shea butter to “nourish and soften” and beeswax to “protect.”
14. This hair-perfecting treatment: Tresemmé Keratin Smooth Keratin Infusing Smoothing Serum
Frankel may be partial to skincare and makeup, but she shares one of her favorite hair care products, the Tresemmé Keratin Smooth Keratin Infusing Smoothing Serum, in a short TikTok video dated April 4. After feeling happy with her pre-blow dry hair, Frankel suggests that the serum from Tresemmé is behind “how she wants [her hair] to look all the time.”
This marula oil-infused hair treatment’s “non-greasy formula calms unruly hair for a look that’s perfectly polished and full of natural movement.” You can apply it to damp hair from mid-length ends before air- or blow-drying (like Frankel planned to) or use sparingly on dry hair to add shine.
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