The Beauty Haul

August 15, 2015 in Makeup, Skincare, Nails

I don't know what it is about the past few weeks, but I've been on a roll with the hauls. I've picked up so many new beauty bits and bobs, unfortunately for my wallet, but it's all in the name of the blog, people! Trying out new products and finding new favorites is one of my favorite and most satisfying things, so it's a little hard to not get carried away with the spending sometimes! Don't worry though, after my latest splurge I'm going to be a lot more careful about spending money. Sorry for such a disclaimer-y intro - it's my hard-earned money used on stuff that makes me happy, so I guess I don't need to make excuses.

I'll start off with a couple new skincare additions - two masks, to be exact. I've actually used sample sizes of each of these and fell in love, so I just had to get the full size of each. The first is the Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask - it's perfect for me because traditional purifying clay masks really dry my skin out, but this one has more hydrating elements so it doesn't leave my skin uncomfortably tight. The other is the Fresh Rose Face Mask, which I just had to pick up when I saw the new limited edition packaging - how beautiful is it, seriously? This one really helps soothe my skin after a long day and feels excellent in the hot weather.

I've also picked up a few affordable makeup bits too. I've been wanting to start trying to wear gel liner more often, so I pulled out the Maybelline one I had lying around to use a couple weeks ago. It completely smudged all over my eyes - it was under my eyes, it was in the crease, it was not a good look. It immediately went in the trash when I got home that day (it was close to expiring anyway). I remembered hearing about a lot of people preferring the L'Oreal version (called their Infallible Lacquer Eyeliner), so I decided to try it out. So far, it's been great, and I actually really like the brush it comes with. I got evenly-shaped (tiny) wings on my first try yesterday! My other drugstore purchase was the Maybelline Full 'n Soft Waterproof Mascara. I really didn't have a need for this - I've got three other drugstore mascaras I rotate through, but I just loved the sound of this one. It really does make your lashes full & soft - very fluttery and perfect for everyday.

You may have seen that last weekend I went to Providence with my boyfriend for our anniversary (I wrote about what beauty bits I packed here), and there was a huge mall near our hotel. While waiting to be able to check into our hotel we decided to pop in and look around (I wanted to see if the Macy's inside stocked the Anastasia Liquid Lipsticks because the one at home doesn't - and this one didn't either). We stumbled upon a Kiko store, so I just had to go in. I came out with three Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadows (only two are pictured because I gifted one, shade 36, to my sister). I kept shades 05, a purple-y taupe-y bronze (which looks identical to By Terry's Misty Rock once on the eyes) and 37, a sheeny burgundy color that will be great for fall. I've been wearing 05 nonstop so far, and as long as I use primer underneath it it won't crease throughout the day. I also picked up the Unlimited Stylo Lipstick in shade 13 - it's one of those brown/pink neutral colors that I just can't get enough of. When I was looking at this shade one of the women working told me it was what she was wearing, and it looked awesome on her so I had to get it. It's really creamy and comfortable on the lips but seems to have good longevity as well. And it smells like a MAC lipstick.

My last three purchases are evidence that I should probably stop just wandering around Sephora when I don't really need anything. I picked up two products from Sephora's own line - the Formula X Nail Polish in Thrilling, and the Cream Lip Stain in Marvelous Mauve. I was fully enabled by Jasmine's review on her Formula X Nail Polish and felt like I needed to get one myself. Thrilling is such a pretty color - a bit hard to describe, but it's like a pale dusty rosy lilac color. I posted a picture of it on my nails on my instagram here. And you may remember my review of the Sephora Cream Lip Stains (here), but it's one of my favorite liquid lipstick formulas. I've wanted to get my hands on Marvelous Mauve for ages, but it's always been sold out. I finally caught it in stock, and it's just a perfect mauve-y neutral that feels really comfortable on the lips and isn't overly drying. My last unnecessary Sephora purchase was the Marc Jacobs New Nudes Sheer Lip Gel in Role Play. I don't know why I thought I needed this, but it's an impulse purchase I have no regrets over. I love the packaging and think it looks beautiful in photos (expect to see this one popping up in many blog and instagram photos), and it's such a lovely formula. It really is a "gel" consistency, rather than something creamy, but it's still incredibly comfortable on the lips. The color is a lovely darker pinky nude and it actually goes perfectly with the Marc Jacobs (P)Outliner in Prim(rose).

Have you picked up any new bits lately?

The Charlotte Tilbury Collection

August 13, 2015 in Makeup

I’m sure I’m not the only one who will say that Charlotte Tilbury is one of my favorite makeup brands. From the quality of the products to the beautiful packaging, there’s not one thing missing from her collection. I’ve managed to pick up a fair few bits from the brand over time, so I thought I’d go through and tell you my thoughts on them.

Let’s start with the base. I picked up the Light Wonder Youth Boosting Perfect Skin Foundation in a blog sale a few months ago, and it quickly became one of my favorite foundations. It feels incredibly lightweight on the skin, but still gives a good amount of coverage for me - I’d say it’s light to medium. It gives the skin such a beautiful, lit-from-within glow that just makes you look like the portrait of health and happiness.

Eyes are where I’ve tried the most products. I’ve written about her Luxury Palettes many times before - I’ve got the Dolce Vita and Fallen Angel palettes. These haven’t gotten much wear lately but that’s because I stick mostly to cream products in the summertime. I can’t wait to start wearing these babies again. They have such creamy consistencies, and I like that the pigment is buildable rather than intense right away. The eye products that have gotten tons of wear this summer are the Eyes to Mesmerise Cream Eyeshadows in Marie Antoinette and Mona Lisa. I spent ages lusting after these, and I finally bit the bullet and picked them up off of Beautylish (where I've gotten most of these products) and never looked back. These are my favorite cream eyeshadow formula - they’re quite moussey and wet in texture, leaving a brilliant metallic sheen on the eye, but once they set they don’t budge at all. I wrote about these in my Cream Eyeshadow Trio post.

The newest product to my Charlotte Tilbury Collection is the Colour of Youth Lip & Cheek Glow from the Norman Parkinson Collection. I had such a hard time not adding the whole collection to my basket; everything just looks so, so beautiful. I may not be able to resist the highlighter much longer though. The Lip & Cheek Glow is an incredibly creamy, almost balmy-feeling product that just melts into the skin beautifully. Some cream products aren’t so long-wearing, but this one lasts and lasts. It’s a lovely coral-pink color which adds the most natural flush I’ve ever seen - it packs a bit more color than my usual neutral pink blushes, but it really is the exact color that my face will flush. I haven’t used it much on the lips yet, but I adore it for the cheeks. Another plus: it smells absolutely divine.

I’ve only tried a couple of her lip products, which I got in a set when the Matte Revolution Lipsticks were available in the US for a short time. I had always been lusting after the Matte Revolution Lipstick in Amazing Grace, so I picked it up in a set that came with the Lip Cheat in Crazy in Love. I’ve got a review and how they look together on my lips here. The lipstick formula is so lovely, the creamiest matte lipstick I’ve ever tried. It doesn’t last quite as long as other matte lipsticks, but it’s nowhere near as drying. The bullet is so beautiful that I really don’t mind taking it out to reapply. The Lip Cheat is a beautiful formula as well - it’s quite waxy, so it feels softer than the MAC Lip Pencils, but it lasts just as well. The shade I have is a berry color, so I can’t wait to wear it more in the fall. I also really need to get my hands on the Pillow Talk shade like, now.

So that’s what I’ve got for now, but I see a splurge or two in the near-ish future. I really want to try her Goddess Skin Clay Mask, the blushes, and her regular lipstick formula (Bitch Perfect is calling my name). Are there any must-haves missing from my collection? What are your favorite Charlotte Tilbury products?

ColourPop Ultra Matte Lips

August 11, 2015 in Makeup

When I first heard that ColourPop was coming out with matte liquid lipsticks, I was way too excited. So imagine my disappointment when they launched while I was at work and every single color sold out in a matter of hours. When I caught wind that they had been restocked, I hopped on their website as fast as I could and managed to snap up four shades: Trap, Solow, Bumble, and Tulle.

Trap is a cool-toned, grayish nude. This was the one I figured would be most difficult to pull off, but I absolutely love it. Since my skin is really cool-toned, it works really well and comes off more brown on me than gray (my dad still asked me if I was cold though, so it still must pull cool-toned on me). Of the four shades I got, I think it's my favorite.

Solow is a neutral pink color. This one is taking me a little getting used to because it's slightly lighter than my natural lip color. So far I've really been liking wearing it over MAC's Soar Lip Pencil as it just darkens it up a tiny bit and adds a cool gradient effect.

Bumble is described as a "dusty warm terracotta." I bought it before reading the description because the swatches looked so pretty, but I was afraid it would pull too orange on me. I've seen this look like a really pretty neutral on some people, but for me it's actually a really wearable red. It's got some brown in it that makes it less in-your-face and really does make it look a lot more neutral.

Tulle is a deep burgundy color that actually looks quite brown on me, and I dig it. I can't wait to wear this one when the weather cools down - I think it will look awesome with a gold or copper eye look.

Now, what about the formula? If you saw my previous post about Colourpop products (my first haul and first impressions here), you'll know I've been blown away by the quality. Keeping in mind that these are only $6 each, they're an amazing liquid lipstick. Because they dry down very matte, they are quite a bit drying on the lips, as all matte liquid lipsticks tend to be. But as someone with extremely (and randomly) sensitive lips, these haven't given me any problems. They're much thinner and more "liquid-y" than some others that I've tried - the Kat Von D and Sephora Collection ones are more creamy in my opinion. Even though they do dry my lips out after a time, they're still quite comfortable because you can't even feel them there - they're really lightweight because of the thinner formula. Despite the thin formula they're really nicely pigmented, with the lighter colors only needing one swipe to be opaque, and only needing some layering with the darker Tulle. They don't wear quite as long as others I've tried, but they reapply nicely without crumbling or flaking off. I can get around 4 hours of wear if I'm eating and drinking and around 6 if I'm not. When they do wear off, they just gradually fade rather than smudging everywhere. Another thing about these is that once they set, they don't transfer at all - this is something I've found that even the Kat Von D liquid lipsticks don't completely do. To keep my lips from drying out longer I like applying these over a lip balm and giving them extra time to set. And when my lips do start drying out, I like to dab a little lip balm over the top to curb that as well.

Have you tried the ColourPop Ultra Matte Lips? What did you think of them?