Hello hello hello!
Today I have a bit of a long form haul post. It was my birthday a couple of days ago and I did pick up a couple of things beauty and skin care related. Part of this post is to keep all these products straight in my mind, and part of it is just to talk about my thoughts.
Before I get into it I should say that I did not buy any eyeshadow. It's really surprising for me because I love eyeshadow most of all, but I am finding myself looking for really unique duochrome and affordable pressed options and there are none. Touch of Glam Beauty is a potential place to look at, but nothing really jumped out at me. The shipping for Clionadh Cosmetics is way too much, as they are a Canada-based brand, and I really don't like the set-up of Devinah's website. I feel like I am not getting any idea of what the colors will actually look like on the skin. So overall I am just giving eyeshadow a pause and enjoying what I do have in my collection.
Moving on, I did go out to Sephora and swatch a couple of things because I needed to! So while this post will be ruminations on what I did buy, let's start with the things I did not buy:
1.) Fenty:
- Glitter Puff: I knew reviews on this were mixed but...I just had to touch it. It was super soft, and super, super glittery. The glitter particles were almost silvery, and were finely milled.
- Gloss Bomb: I have been sorely tempted to buy this one. It is always in my Sephora loves list or cart. But after swatching it and smelling it on my hand....I just wasn't blown away. I was not about to actually try it on my lips, but from swatching it alone I was not impressed. The scent had a lemon tang to it, and I just could not justify purchasing it when I currently have three lipglosses that I need to use more of.
- Duo Mimosa Sunrise: You can tell how hyped people are for a product and how interested in it they are going by how they were swatched in the stores. For example, this duo was swatched to death at my local Sephora. The metallic magenta side is gorgeous, and the orange-gold side is also very pretty, but after swatching it, I realized I already have the orange side. While a lot of people surmised that the new Wet 'n Wild Humming Bird collection would be similar to this release- specifically the orange and magenta colors, a closer "dupe" could be the Colourpop eyeshadow Chauffeur, which I also have. Both are bright oranges with a strong gold reflect. That being said, there was no need for me to buy this duo.
2.) Pat McGrath Bronze Ambitions Palette. I knew I was not going to pick it up because it is palette with brown eyeshadows in it for $55. Still, I wanted to get a sense of the formula of the shimmer shades, and see what exactly is all the fuss is about. And well.....I swatched the coppery shimmer shade and was blown away. One small swatch and it was vibrant, high shine, and did not move around on my skin. It lasted even when I tried to rub it off. That is what a person is paying for. As I use up more eyeshadows, I probably will consider buying one of her smaller palettes in the future based on the quality of the shadows, but only if the palette has enough shade variation and interesting colors. I want her to do more duochromes, pretty please.
3.) Huda Electric Obsessions: I swatched one magenta matte shade and that did not budge. I am not sure how easy it would be to blend out but it was definitely intimidating. Incredibly rich in pigment and vibrant color, though.
4.) Natasha Denonana Tropics Palette: I did not actually swatch this because after opening the palette, it just looked..gross. Hard pan everywhere, and the shimmers actually just looked like flaky glitters/mica tightly pressed. I would never pay for this.
And finally, a brand I did not get to swatch even though they are sold in Sephora: Viseart. Are they online only? I would have loved to get a look in person at those.
Okay, let's get into what I actually bought:
1.) Fenty Pro'Filtr Matte Foundation. I bought this because in the summer my face tends to get greasy and I wanted a more matte option. I should have gotten a shade darker, though. While I love the lightweight formula and lack of fragrance or any smell, I do need to mix it with my Physician's Formula Healthy Foundation to get a perfect color, which I am not mad at, because I do like that foundation too. I think this foundation will be better for me in the winter, by itself.
2.) Bite Beauty Gift for June. I am counting this in my haul because these are things I am going to use. It was a nice little kit- one lipstick in Chai, which is this really bright red-brown, a matte crayon in Glace, and a little sample of the agave lip balm and sugar scrub.
3.) Saturday Skin No Bad Days Set. This is coming in the mail today and I am super excited. It was a pretty pricey set but I liked the packaging and ingredients and variety. So we'll see.
4.) First Aid Beauty Set. A long time ago, I got a small lotion sample from Ipsy, and have been obsessed with this brand ever since. I used up their Eye Gel completely, and liked it a lot. So as a set I got the two jars of their Ultra Repair Cream, in regular and Vanilla Citron. These also come in today.
And at Lush:
1.) Ultrabland Face Cleanser. Everything I hoped it would be. Love it!
2.) a sample of Cosmetic Catastrophe. I have not used it yet, but currently it is in the skin care drawer of my fridge. The salesperson at Lush said to use this only two times a week, so I want to be judicious about when I decide to use this.
and a random Target purchase:
1.) Cerave Eye Repair Cream. So, I don't have dark circles so I can't comment on the veracity of that claim. However, this is a great cream that absorbs quickly, is not greasy, and improves the look of my skin around my eyes, especially fine lines. I really do think this is a great product for my specific purposes.
...So that's my haul! A lot more skin care this year. Like tons more. I hope this post was helpful, and you can definitely expect more reviews on the products included here!
Thanks for reading.
