It has been quite a while since I've blogged, so forgive me if I'm rusty! If you didn't already read it, you can check out my previous post explaining where I've been for so long. But I'm trying to hop right back into it, so bear with me.
I've accumulated a lot of products from the holiday season. I wish I had kept track of all the purchases I've made since I've been gone, but frankly I have no idea what things I've bought since August (which, when I really think about it, probably is sort of a problem..). Maybe I'll find some of my favorite recent purchases and do some product reviews/tutorials using them. But for now, these are the items that I've picked up within the last two months or so:
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| Look at what my coffee table looks like after I blog... |
(As always, click the photos to enlarge them!)
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So I went to Benefit Cosmetics with some amazing friends of mine, and we spent a few hours browsing, drinking wine, and getting our brows groomed (well.. not mine, of course. I'm too paranoid to have anyone touch them!). Since it was approaching the holiday season, Benefit had these great "value packages" available for gifts and such. Clearly I just bought them for gifts for myself, but whatever, right? This one is dubbed the "Get your Party On Contour Kit."
I only spent $46 on this bad boy, and it comes with FOUR full sized Benefit products. This kit comes with the Gimme Brow (in dark), Hoola Bronzer, They're Real mascara, and High Beam highlight. If you add up the price of all these products individually -- Gimme Brow at $24, Hoola at $29, They're Real at $24, and High Beam at $26 -- it adds up to a $103 total. That's a $57 saving.. which is pretty amazing in my book.
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| They're Real! mascara wand close-up -- I love the little round, spiky top of the brush to get all the fine eyelashes |
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| The Gimme Brow brush is teensy tiny, and perfect for defining, setting, and adding volume to your brows |
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| Hoola comes with a little contour brush -- the bronzer itself is the perfect matte contour shade |
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| High Beam comes packaged like a nail polish bottle and brush |
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| It's a gorgeous, subtle sheen on the skin when blended in |
All in all, this kit is such a great deal. Even if you only want two or three of the products, it's such a good value that it's hard to pass up getting the whole thing.
5. // 6. // 7. // 8.
I also picked up a skin care kit from Benefit while I was there. This one is the "Your B.Right to Party! Skin Care Set." I was in need of some new face lotions, and the Benefit set only put me back $49. It is definitely not as amazing of a deal, money-wise, but it's still totally worth it.
It comes with a full sized version of their It's Potent! eye cream, a full sized Triple Performing face moisturizer, and a "fun sized" portion of Instant Comeback facial serum and the Pore-fessional face primer. It's an $84 value, which still saved me $35. And I'm glad I got this! I'm already obsessed with both the eye cream and the moisturizer. The smell is strong, which may be off putting to a lot of people, but I loooove it.
9. // 10. // 11. // 12.
Alright. These are the goodies that I picked up from Sephora (after my entire family decided to inundate me with gift cards for Christmas -- so thankful!). These were all products that I have been eyeing for a while, but was hesitant to purchase (mostly because a lot of it is pretty frivolous for me). But since I had the gift cards, it was just sort of meant to be.
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| Like a literal spray can |
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| What it looks like when wet and unblended |
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| After it's blended in and dried to a skin-like finish |
First up, the Sephora Collection Perfection Mist Airbrush Foundation. I am OBSESSED WITH THIS FOUNDATION. Let me write this disclaimer first though, as I don't really wear a lot of medium-full coverage foundations. I have to admit that I've been #blessed with quite nice skin, so I don't have many blemishes or any redness to cover up -- plus I'm a big fan of freckles, so I like to let my natural skin and freckles show through any foundation I wear. I'm sure this could be built up, combined with concealer, and/or set with a powder foundation, but I wear this as more of a light-medium wash of color/coverage all over my face. And let me tell you.. it is amaaaazing. It doesn't even feel like you're wearing anything at all, and has the most beautiful, natural, skin-like finish.
The application can be somewhat daunting, as it is in a spray can.. which is sort of unusual for makeup. But there's something about the formula that just glides on the face and sets perfectly. You can either spray it directly onto your face -- which, to me, is way too messy, and is such a waste of so much product -- or you can spray it onto a foundation brush and buff it into your face -- which is my preferred method. I tried both, and definitely think the brush works best.
AND the best part of all.. it's only $28! There is clearly the high-end alternative to this foundation (ahem, Dior Airflash for $60+!) which I know is a cult favorite, and yes, it's amazing. But this is seriously such a good foundation, I can't see myself dropping that $60 if this Sephora foundation is still around.
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| All these swatches are on top of one layer of foundation |
The next product I was eyeing was this gorgeous Tarte Cosmetics Tartlette In Bloom palette, for $45. I already own the original Tartlette palette (see below) and definitely needed to try out this new one. The OG palette is strictly matte shades -- which I love -- but the new shimmery shades in the In Bloom palette looked to die for. The colors are also a tad bit warmer, and I could wear a warm smokey eye every day for the rest of my life, so naturally I just had to get it.
I had a few issues with the original Tartlette, to be honest. The pigmentation of the lighter shades isn't the greatest, and the formula is somewhat powdery and loose. I end up with a lot of fallout and a lot of wasted product when I dip my brushes into the pans. But the Tartlette In Bloom palette doesn't seem to have these issues! You can see in my swatch photo how pigmented and creamy these shadows are. This was just one swipe with my finger, and the color payoff is amaaazing. I'm such a big fan of this palette. It's the right mix of matte and shimmer shades, and you can virtually create any eye look using only these twelve shadows.
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| OG Tartlette on the left; Tartlette In Bloom on the right |
I know it's sort of hard to tell in this photo, but the original Tartlette palette is slightly cooler in tone, and all matte.
The next uh-maze-ing palette I picked up is the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette, which prices at $46 -- a good deal, in my opinion. I had been eyeing this since it was released, but never felt like it was absolutely necessary. I was between getting this and the Shade + Light face contour palette, but I felt like this one was a bit more versatile.
It's soooooo goooooood. Just LOOK at those shades. I'm such a sucker for neutrals, and this is one of the best I've ever seen/used. It's technically laid out in three sets of three shadows, plus the three large pans of contour shades. I'm obsessed with it. There are cool tones on the left, warm tones on the right, and the neutral ones in the middle. For matte, lighter-colored shades, the pigmentation is pretty nice. I think it's a bit silly that companies now are trying to pass a palette of eyeshadows off as an "eye contour" kit.. as if it's somehow a different product..? Newsflash: it's not. But I still love it regardless. It'll be a great go-to, throw-in-my-bag, on-the-go, travel palette.
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| Will my monroe piercing hole ever close? We'll never know.. |
I mean.. this is Kat Von D's Lolita liquid lipstick. What else do I have to say about it? Everyone and their mother has Lolita or knows about Lolita. When I was in Sephora, I swatched Lolita next to Lolita II and Bow n Arrow, but I honestly liked the OG Lolita better than the others. What's strange about this shade is that it looks different on literally everyone. If you run a Google image search for this ever-so-popular lipstick shade, all the photos will show a slightly different color. On my lips -- which are very naturally pigmented -- it shows up a more mauve-y, deeper brown shade.. a little darker than my natural lip color. There are so many reviews of this shit, I don't even feel the need to say any more. I just haaaaaad to get it to try it for myself, and I'm not disappointed.
13. // 14. // 15. // 16. // 17.
Okay. Even though most of you probably know that I tend to dabble in the high end cosmetics arena quite often, I'm never one to shy away from good ol' drug store products. I was recently searching for some good quality loose glitters, and stumbled upon the brand Hard Candy -- sold pretty exclusively at Wal-Mart, of all places. I didn't want to drop a ton of money on something I wouldn't use frequently -- like loose glitters -- but I didn't want to buy something shady (and potentially unsafe) from eBay or any other private sellers.
So after some research, I found a good option and decided I'd make a stop at Wal-Mart to look at what Hard Candy had to offer. And I'm not sorry I did!
First up: Take Me Out Eyeliner in "Treasure Chest." This liner is only $4! And for a regular old pencil-style eyeliner, it's not too shabby. I love the color of this -- a smokey black with small gold flecks of glitter. Sure, it's not super creamy or buttery in texture, but it's a standard pencil liner. (It's very similar to a NYX pencil liner.) But for $4, this is a great deal. Instead of as an actual eyeliner, I'll probably end up using this type of pencil underneath a powder eyeshadow to create a dark base, or to add some subtle glitter to my lids for a more daytime-yet-glitzy look.
Second: Fierce Effects Duo Eyeshadow in "Slow & Steady." Alright, this is an amazing find. These shadows are $2.50 A PIECE. The two come together for only $5. I've reviewed another drug store eyeshadow on my blog -- the L'Oreal Infalliable Eye Shadow -- which are extremely similar.. but those are even $6-$9 a piece. I mean, that's obviously a great price compared to something you'd find in Sephora, but how can you beat $2.50? Ya can't. I obviously chose the gold and brown shades, because, gold. The texture of these shadows are incredible. It's not really a powder, but it's not a cream. Calling them pigmented and "buttery" doesn't even begin to explain it. You just need to try these for yourself. Literally cheaper than a Starbucks grande latte.. so you have no excuse.
Next: Eye Def Glitter Eyeshadow in "Ditch." I've never actually seen or owned a product quite like this before. It's not a glitter gel, but it's not a glitter-less shimmer cream, either. It's sort of a mixture of the two -- like a metallic cream eyeshadow with flecks of glitter in it? No matter what you call it, it's AMAZING. It's almost like the consistency of a NYX matte lip creme, which is odd to put on your eyes, but guys.. it works. It comes in a very lipgloss-esque tube, complete with a doe-foot applicator. And it's a whopping $6. It's actually the priciest of the Hard Candy makeup that I picked up, but it's totally worth it. I will definitely get a lot of use out of this, whether it's for an all-over lid color, as a base for loose glitter (see swatches below), or as a cream base for powder shadows. It was such a steal, and such a good find.
Lastly: Poppin' Pigments in "City Chic" and "Lock & Key." Finally, the glitters I had been searching for. For only $6 a pair, aka $3 a vial, buying these even to try and dislike them is no skin off my nose. But I love them, so, hah. This is such a fine glitter. (Not "fine" like "eh okay," or "fine" like "dayum he's fine," but "fine" like really, really small pieces.) It's a little messy to work with, as it tends to sort of fly everywhere when you open the vials to use the glitter, but it's not annoying enough that I wouldn't want to use them.
They come with a little seasoning-container-like shaker top, which I find super convenient. It's much better than an open pot of glitter with no sifter (see: NYX pigments), so I'm very impressed with this packaging. And because it's not like I'll be using such flashy glitter on a regular basis, I don't mind anything about this product. The glitter itself is beautiful in the vial, and doesn't disappoint when it's on the skin. Of course you'd be using this over top some sort of sticky base (like a cream or a glitter glue), so the swatches of the loose glitter below are just to show how pretty they are on their own.
Totally worth the trip to Wal-Mart, no question. And I'm glad I went, because I found other great products to use, for, like, less than a meal at Chipotle.
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| Gold loose glitter over top the "Ditch" cream shadow.. gorgeous |
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All in all, I'm super satisfied with everything I bought recently. Hopefully I'll be able to do a tutorial using some of these goodies in the near future. Until then.. Cheers!
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