In the world of beauty, when a new brand launches, there's a good chance it's founded by a celebrity or influencer. And that goes for Point of View (or POV) Beauty, the brainchild of Mikayla Nogueira. The Ulta employee turned COVID comfort creator took her beauty knowledge and created a brand completely revolved around skin prep (think: longwear primers and makeup-friendly moisturizer). And we can't lie, we were skeptical, but also intrigued! I mean, you never know what's *actually* a good product and what secretly has an #ad hashtag buried in the video.
Mikayla worked on the launch for years—sourcing her ingredients and formulations from South Korea, and perfecting all the packaging to be as user-friendly as possible. So, we did what beauty editors do best and tested the products for months to give our honest thoughts. The kicker, though? The Cosmo beauty team is all acne-prone, so our standards are a little more nuanced.
FYI: When POV Beauty first launched back in March, every single product sold out in mere minutes. Since then, more than 110,000 people signed up for the waitlist, and the products have already amassed more than 1,000 five-star reviews on POV Beauty’s site. BUT! The products are finally back in stock today at 12 p.m. EST. Not sure what to pick up? Read our full reviews:
About Point of View:
- What it is: A skin prep line founded on the belief that great makeup starts with great skin. Each face-first formula is packed with moisture-boosting and skin-soothing ingredients.
- The products: Drench It priming milk, Drip It serum, Whip It cream, Glaze It primer, and Amp It lip gloss
- What it costs: Starts at $22 for the Amp It lip gloss and goes up to $38 for the Whip It cream
- Where to buy: Only available on povbeauty.com
Shop POV Beauty:
POV Beauty Drench It Soothing Priming Milk
POV Beauty Drip It Moisturizing Glow Serum
POV Beauty Whip It Hydrating Whipped Cream
POV Beauty Amp It Amplifying Lip Ampoule
Jasmine Hyman, assistant beauty editor
When I first heard that Mikayla was launching a brand, I assumed it would be something like an eyeshadow palette or another collab. But honestly, I think she tapped into a unique space. Skin prep is inherently skincare, so while the formulas aren’t groundbreaking, the brand concept—focusing on skin-first formulas while positioning itself as a makeup brand—is super unique. Skin prep is usually an afterthought; it's not usually in the starting lineup of a new makeup brand. But the canvas (your face) seriously affects how the art (your makeup) looks and lasts. And Mikayla is a huge proponent of that.
After a two-year love-hate relationship with spironolactone and endless facial experiments, I’m not putting anything with more than two pore-clogging ingredients on my skin. So I turned to my go-to Sofie Pavitt Ingredient Checker when I got my hands on the lineup. Based on that, I only tried Drip It (the glow serum), Glaze It (the primer), and Amp It (the lip gloss). The priming milk and moisturizer weren’t acne-friendly, so I wasn’t willing to take the risk. But I want to give a shoutout to the packaging of the Whip It moisturizer, because the lid conceals a little spatula that appears once you twist the cap open, and that gets an extra point for innovation.
The Drip It serum and Glaze It primer were incredible on my skin. They made my face feel supple and plump, and I looked super glowy. Plus, my glam stayed put throughout a long sweaty night of bar hopping and dancing. I’d definitely recommend this skin prep combo to any glow-obsessed makeup lover, whether you're opting for minimalist glam or a full beat.
And I've been using Amp It for weeks—especially on no-makeup days, I swipe it on for a dose of lip nourishment. The applicator and packaging are super functional and well thought out. It's been a staple lip gloss in my bag ever since trying it out before the initial launch.
Beth Gillette, beauty editor
As a Mikayla watcher, I knew about her famous concealer/skin prep technique. Basically, she dots concealer wherever she needs coverage, then pats on all her skin prep (milky toner, moisturizer, serum, primer, etc.) right on top. Then she blends it all together with a brush. She says it makes her makeup go on smoother and look hella natural. So, obvi, I had to test it when I got my hands on these products.
But! Here's the thing: I have extremely acne-prone skin that breaks out from anything remotely pore-clogging. Seriously, every time a product crosses my desk, I run it through a pore-clogger checker before slathering it on. Unfortunately, a lot of this lineup made me a lil nervous—mostly because of soybean oil. It’s not a dealbreaker, but I was wary and avoided the shea butter-infused moisturizer (though it felt so good on the back of my hand—devastated). Glaze It, the tacky primer, was totally safe, though. I also tried the milk because it felt lightweight enough, and hey, I was willing to risk a breakout in the name of a proper review. The things I do for y’all!
First, I tried the milk alone. It added hydration and glow under my usual foundation (currently, I'm loving the Armani Beauty Luminous Silk). It didn’t seem to break me out—bonus. But paired with Glaze It? Wowowow. My makeup went on so smooth. I wore this combo to queer prom, and everyone said my skin looked amazing. (Were they flirting???) On its own, Glaze It definitely extends my makeup by a few extra hours. I even tested it with a skin tint that usually fades after four hours, and it lasted nearly a full workday.
I don’t think anyone needs all of these products to prep their skin—unless you’re swapping them out for some of your typical skincare serums—your makeup should also be doing some work to keep your skin looking hydrated and plump. But incorporating one or two of these based on your needs could totally level things up.
Lauren Balsamo, beauty director
I’m not going to lie, I was initially so skeptical of these products. I think Mikayla is a brilliant creator but she’s known for makeup—not skincare—and the world just does not need another half-baked skincare brand from someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. After assessing the lineup, I decided to try the priming milk, glazy tack primer, and lip balm (the moisturizer is a lil too thick for my liking and I already have too many serums in my routine so I skipped those).
At first look, the priming milk is very similar to another popular option that begins with R and ends with E (makes sense, this product is a TikTok fave). I am a religious user of P50, so I didn’t want to use this as a traditional toner. Instead, I mixed a few drops with my skin tint to sheer it out and give it an extra hydrating effect, and then stippled it across my face with a makeup brush. All in all, a lovely albeit not necessary addition to my skincare prep routine.
Now for the Glaze It tacky primer, which I fully consider a necessary step after using it to prep my skin before foundation. I rubbed two pumps allover my face before going in with a few swipes of my Dior foundation stick. I love the Dior foundation stick, but it typically disappears from my face by the end of the day and if I don’t take my time really blending it into my skin it can sometimes highlight the dry patches around my cheeks and nose. But when I prepped with Glaze It? My makeup stayed for a full 13 hours and my skin looked genuinely smoother and more hydrated at the end of the day. It also made my foundation easier to blend too. No notes here.
And then there’s the lip balm, which is super thick and juicy like a gloss but not sticky or gooey. I probably won’t use this to prep for any sort of lip moment, but as conditioning and smoother I love it. Ultimately if you're not a big makeup wearer or you already have a comprehensive skincare routine you probably don't need to run out and buy the whole POV Beauty set, but if you wear some sort of base makeup regularly I would 1000 percent check out the primers. And who doesn't need another lip balm? I'd go buy that one too.
Final Thoughts:
Point of View Beauty definitely impressed us. We’re obsessed with the glowy formulas that we tried—but we do wish the entire line was acne-friendly. If you’re blessed with clear skin, the brand is amazing for all your skin-prep needs. The products layer so well together and are packed with skincare perks, so you don't need to worry about using your go-to skincare steps that run the risk of pilling under your makeup. Grab them while they're still in stock, because we have a feeling they'll def sell out again.
Jasmine Hyman is the Assistant Beauty Editor at Cosmopolitan, where she writes about the latest beauty trends and must-have products. Her most prized beauty possessions are a meticulous skincare routine and salon blowouts. You’ll also likely find her in bed reading a good book or endlessly scrolling TikTok (spoiler: it’s usually the latter) while listening to Harry Styles’ entire discography on repeat. Follow her on Insta to be inundated with pictures of her meals.
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