December 26, 2024

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Photo Credit: Kitty Guo. Writer Kitty Guo wearing her favorite Bobbi Brown red lipstick.

Think of this send as our Strategist Beauty Team year-in-review: Our writers are looking back at all they’ve done and shouting out their favorite stories. This year in the Beauty Brief we’ve … found an AirWrap dupe, doubled up on retinoids, and recommended a once-weekly deodorant plus a whole lot more. We hope you enjoy this reminder of some of the testing, duping, and researching we’ve taken on this year! We’ll be off next week for the holiday, so you’ll see us back in your inbox on January 8 in our regular format. 

I’m Face Basting With Butt Paste, Thanks to TikTok

I don't feel too conceited mentioning a story that I wrote, as the initial idea came from Dr. Shereene Idriss. “Face basting with butt paste” — that is, sleeping in a mask of zinc-oxide-rich diaper cream — has transformed my skin. My acne scars fade faster, my skin looks glassy when I wake up, and the bits of my face that usually go flaky in the winter just … haven't. I know that for some skin types this won't work, but for me it's been transformative, and months later I've figured out that not overdoing it (only ever twice a week and never on back-to-back days) has been key to avoiding breakouts. This is the kind of reporting that makes me love working on the Beauty Brief: interrogating an online trend to see if it's a fad and being able to recommend a drugstore product to those with similar skin problems to mine. —Rachael Griffiths 

In a year full of beauty trends I'd be happy to leave behind — retinol for tweens, the morning shed routine — face-basting with butt paste is one I will look back on fondly for its low-cost silliness (and surprising efficacy) —Dominique Pariso

Rachael had me with the words, “I’m Face Basting With Butt Paste.” Apparently, diaper cream after the steps in your skin-care routine will make you wake up with skin “as smooth as you know what.” (There’s a lot of science behind the main ingredient, zinc oxide.) It’s one instance of TikTok getting it right. —Ambar Pardilla

I’ve Tried 5 Brow Gels, and This Oil One Is the Best

Brenley’s story about Kulfi’s brow product introduced me to the brand. After reading her review, I tried the brow gel out for myself and have used it nearly every day since. Not only is it easy to use, but my brows seem thicker since using it (I think because of its nourishing ingredients). It also led me to try its non-drying lip stain, which has also become a staple in my beauty routine. (I wrote a review about it here, in case you missed it.) —Arielle Avila

The Best Lip Balms With SPF

I tried literally every single lip balm with SPF I could find for this, which was fun and also exhausting. It was my most ambitious testing project this year, and I've become a true SPF lip-balm expert in the process. I loved discovering new ones and figuring out my own standard of what made a good SPF lip balm —Tembe Denton-Hurst

A Beauty Brief Blush Roundtable

I love our roundtables. I love hearing the conversations between all the writers on these topics because we’re all so in the weeds but also have different opinions and experiences. I always walk away from them having learned something new. And during Blush, I found out that popping color on the bridge of my nose was a thing and have been doing it ever since. —Crystal Martin

The 23 Very Best Red Lipsticks

I really enjoyed working on this “Best in Class” red-lipsticks story. I'm actually not a red-lipstick person at all, so it's a category that I didn't know very much about beforehand. But it's arguably the most iconic makeup product out there, so there was a lot of information and plenty of passionate opinions to sift through. I feel much more knowledgeable now after my deep dive and possibly even a bit more inclined to experiment with a bold lip every now and then. —Kitty Guo