I've decided that I really need to start updating my blog more frequently. I feel like I'm slacking off big-time. My last blog was two days before Christmas and that is just crazy! If you're reading this, comment down below giving me suggestions of what I should write about/do next here.
Warning: This post might be a little long. When you're still looking at this and/or reading this three days later, don't say I didn't warn you.
This weekend, I went shopping and picked up a lot of beauty products, so I decided to do a collective beauty haul. Mind you, this is not all from one visit to the drugstore.
Not pictured: Revlon Nearly Naked pressed powder. (Oops.)
I'm going to post some more detailed pictures of the products and some details on why I may have picked them up.
EcoTools 6-Piece Brush Set
This is the first item that I saw at the store, and I immediately knew that I had to have it. I've heard so many great reviews and raves about these brushes, but I've never really seen them until just then when I picked them up. Maybe they were there the whole time and I just passed over the bottom shelves without looking! This set includes a nice fluffy blush/powder brush, a flat eye shading brush, a flat concealer brush, and a lash/brow groomer brush/comb. EcoTools is an Earth-friendly company that is 100% cruelty-free. Is that not amazing? Not to mention that the brushes are very high-quality for being so inexpensive. The brushes also come with a natural cotton and hemp cosmetic bag, plus the bag that it comes in, that is reusable. The brushes are made from bamboo, recycled aluminum, and soft taklon bristles. They feel very sturdy, yet lightweight in my hand. Overall, I'm very excited about this product and I have very high expectations for it.
Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream for Normal-Combo skin.
I picked this up because I have very oily/acne-prone skin and I realised that even under those circumstances, you need to moisturise your skin on a daily basis. This was actually a recommendation from BudgetBeautiful, or Claire, on YouTube. She's one of my favourite YT'ers and says this is her "holy grail". I really hope this works to control the oil on my skin. It is an oil-free product and it smells great! (Grape Water Extract). It's a very light-weight gel. It kind of reminds me of the Mario Badescu Botanical Facial Gel that I have a sample of.
Monistat Chafing Relief Powder-Gel
Weirdly enough, a lot of people use this product as a makeup primer. I bought two tubes of it to try out. The active ingredient in this is dimethicone, which is also in Smashbox's Photo Finish Primer, so this is considered a great drugstore dupe for that. It's about 1/4 of the cost of SB's, so I figured, why not? I'd rather pay $8 per tube for Monistat than $36 for a high-end primer. I'm just kind of wondering who the first person who actually tried to put this on their face was thinking. "Hmm... chafing gel. I should put this on my face because it has a similar ingredient to a different primer." Haha, so weird.
Revlon Nearly Naked Pressed Powder
I bought this product because I have the Nearly Naked foundation and I absolutely love it. I wanted to try this with that since they go together. I got it in 0.10 Fair. It is a super soft powder, so I suggest using a soft-bristled brush with it. I think the EcoTools powder brush would be perfect to use with this! The compact is a bit bulky for the product, but that hardly matters. Inside the compact, you have a nice mirror, the powder (duh), and a little powder sponge. Now, I'm not one to use sponges for my powder (anymore), but I guess if you're on the run and don't have a brush, this could be extra convenient for you.
Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder
Okay. They changed the packaging and the shade names are also different. I was a bit confused as to which shade I should get, so I got two just in case one is too dark. I picked up 001 Transparent and 011 Creamy Natural. Honestly, the two shades are almost the same, so transparent isn't really "transparent" if that's what you're actually looking for. The powder is my favourite powder right now to set my foundation and I just hit pan on my first one. The new packaging is so much better than the old one, in my opinion. It's not much different, but the lid actually will stay on these new ones. I couldn't keep the lid from falling off my old one for the life of me and that was so frustrating for me. This just proves that the little changes mean the most.
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser (Dark Circles)
I've seen a lot of hype about this product between YouTube and Instagram, so I finally picked it up this weekend to include in my haul. It's both a concealer and a brightener. As the title suggests, it's meant more for eyes, but I think that it will be absolutely fine to use it anywhere else on your face as well. You have to be kind of careful about using the sponge completely for this product because you might get too much concealer in one area and no one wants that. I think one of the coolest aspects of this product is that you can actually tell how much of it is left in the tube/bottle/thing because the product generally settles at the bottom of it instead of being on the outer walls of it.
Rimmel London Match Perfection Concealer
This is a 2-in-1 concealer and highlighter. It doesn't work as a highlighter for me at all because my skin is just so fair, but it works great as a concealer. This is actually my third tube of this product and I had to buy more because my second tube is getting really low. For two months, this and powder together saved me from having to put on foundation in the morning for a lightweight face, The consistency of this product is so awesome! It's smooth, but not thick, making it super easy to blend and use even over foundation without it looking cakey.
Wet 'n' Wild Color Icon Bronzer
I don't intend to use this product as a bronzer because it's not really a dark enough colour to classify as that. I bought the shade Reserve Your Cabana and it's an amazing, creamy beige colour. It would look awesome as a highlighter. I found out about this product by watching a video by EmilyNoel83 on YouTube. Now, you're probably thinking "man, she watches a lot of YouTube." You are exactly right. Anyway. As usual, I love Wet 'n' Wild products. Every product that I've gotten the chance to use/buy has not disappointed me. This bronzer/highlighter is extremely pigmented (sounds like a familiar phrase used with all WNW products). It also comes in a HUGE compact. I don't think I'll ever run out of this because it's so large.
Revlon Powder Blush
I bought the shade Berry Rich. It's a beautiful light pink colour. There's not too much shimmer in this product. It's a very subtle shimmer My only complaint about this is that it's a very light colour in my experience, therefore takes forever to show up on my skin. I think this would look beautiful over a Maybelline Dream Bouncy blush to give it a little bit of colour oomf, if ya know what I mean. The packaging is also really pretty. It kind of reminds me of Burberry blushes because they basically have the same format. It comes with a nice mirror and a small brush (which I'll probably never use.)
Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush
Hard Candy is just a good brand. It's sold exclusively at Walmart and it has a lot of great products in the line. This is no exception. I bought the baked blush in Honeymoon, a gorgeous pink that's very subtle, yet glowy-looking. It looks very natural on skin and could actually work as a highlighter if you wanted it to. Must I even talk about the packaging? It's adorable. All Hard Candy products have adorable packaging. Another thing that I love about the brand is that they do not test any of their products on animals! The directions on the back say "Apply dry for a soft & delicate look. Use wet for intense, dramatic color." I can't wait to use this as a highlighter or a soft blush!
Revlon Photoready Cream Blush
This is a very smooth and creamy cream blush. Wow, that sounded kind of redundant. It's in the colour Pinched. It's a gorgeous, matte-looking cream that is a very peachy-pink look to it. I don't usually buy and/or use cream blushes, but this was just so pretty (and made by Revlon, aka I am biased about brands sometimes), so I couldn't pass it up. It seems like it would make your cheeks glowy and I love that about this product. Revlon is actually my second favourite brand (to none other than MAYBELLINE), so I have high hopes for this!
Physician's Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Blush
First of all, take a gander at this adorable packaging. How could you say no to this possibly overpriced-for-drugstore blush? Hearts, hearts, and more hearts. I actually picked this product up on Friday, the day after Valentine's Day because I was in such a cheery mood and this is just so cute. This is in the colour Rose (they didn't have Natural, boooooo.) and it features different shades of pink. The colour shouldn't be too obnoxious if you use the product correctly. If you swirl your brush around all of the hearts, then the lighter colours should balance out the hot pinks. This product also has awesome colour payoff. I'm sure that this will last all day. Now, I'm not one for paying so much for one product (ahem, Physician's Formula) that's supposedly "drugstore", but there are times when you just can't pass something up. I think this was on sale as well, which is half the reason why I bought it when I did.
Covergirl EyeEnhancers Eyeshadow Quad
I was at the store and I said, "what the heck?" I could always go for more neutral eyeshadows (as if I don't already have enough eyeshadow.) So, I picked these three quads up because I thought that they were the prettiest. Swatches below and some first impressions/thoughts.
Coffee Shop
This quad is my absolutely favourite of the three I picked up. It's SO pigmented and comes with an almost-matte brown, a bronze-y colour, a gold-y colour, and a white. I was in love at first swatch. I literally only had to swipe the shadow on my hand twice to achieve this level of drama (and that's on camera). It's so much prettier in person. I cannot wait to use this! (Tomorrow morning? I think so.)
Primadonna
My first impression of this one started out as "I hate black eyeshadow." Then, it turned to "oh. my. gosh." I love how subtle these colours are without being way to subtle. The black isn't overpowering at all and this picture actually shows it being swiped twice. I'm really impressed. Once again, this works with bronze and gold, but way more subtle colours than Coffee Shop.
Urban Basics
I don't know if I'm really feeling this one. It might look better on my eyes, but it's super sheer on my hand after three swipes of each colour. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I used my finger as opposed to a brush? The top shadow is actually kind of a lavender-y grey, then there's two shades of gold, and a white. I really want to love this. I do. But I'm not sure if it's visible enough on an eye yet to count as an eyeshadow look.
L'Oreal Infallible Pressed Pigment Eyeshadow
If you follow me on Instagram, well, first of all: You are awesome and I love you. Secondly, you know how much I love these shadows. I have like fourteen, probably. The one on the left is Bronzed Taupe and I actually already have this shade, but it's for a gift I'm putting together for my best friend. These eyeshadows are amazing. Hands down one of my favourite collections. They're super pigmented and a little goes a long way. These are also super soft. Like silk. Silk eyeshadow is what I think they should call it. I don't know if you can tell, but the Blinged & Brilliant looks as if it's been through hell. I lost the little flat insert that goes in it and it basically went everywhere. Here's my advice to you: Never, ever lose that little thing. Long live the eyeshadow that's been through hell and back.
Blinged & Brilliant on top, Bronzed Taupe on bottom.
Blinged & Brilliant is a wonderful shade of amber/gold. Bronzed Taupe is, of course, bronze. Like I said already, a little bit of product goes a long way with these. You don't want to go overboard. I guess I should now mention that I never really use a brush with these. My ELF brush doesn't really pick them up well (maybe if I wet it?) and cotton swabs just don't work well at all, so I usually just use my finger for these.
Maybelline 24 HR Color Tattoo by EyeStudio
Once again, if you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that these are the love of my life. Seriously. If I could only use one line of makeup for the rest of my life, I would choose these little babes. These four are also part of a gift to my best friend. I actually have all of these and Bad to the Bronze is my absolute favourite. The first picture shows the four eyeshadows sealed for her, and the second picture are mine, so I could show you their beauty. (This Bad to the Bronze is my brand new backup!) These are super creamy (cream eyeshadow, duuuuh). No, seriously. In my experience, some cream eyeshadows can be kind of chunky from glitter (eeeewww). They have great colour payoff and they are so worth buying.
Top to bottom: Tenacious Teal, Inked in Pink, Silver Strike, Bad to the Bronze
Are you seeing this? These are just great. Must I say more?
Maybelline MasterDuo by EyeStudio Glossy Liquid Liner
Once again, the one in the packaging still is for my friend. I picked up the Violet Luster and the Polished Green because I'm having such great luck with the Black Lacquer. The black one is the blackest liquid liner I've ever used. Swoon! These dry very glossy-looking (as the name suggests), but by no means are they sticky. Something else that you should probably know: these are 2-in-1. If you turn the cap ninety degrees, you will either have a much thicker, dramatic applicator, or a really thin, precise applicator. That is so cool! I always use the thinner side so I can build my liner up without it being too dramatic.
Covergirl Clump Crusher by LashBlast Mascara
Gosh, where should I start? It all started when this was a new product in the drugstore. All beauty gurus everywhere were fighting over the last ones to come home and blog/vlog about them... Just kidding. I have heard a TON of hype about this Clump Crusher mascara. I had to get it. The brush is so great and I love the scent of it (does that sound too weird?). I can't wait to dive in.
L'Oreal Color Riche Wet Shine Stain
I bought two of the Pink Resistance ones because I plan on sending one to my friend (am I getting repetitive yet?). These have a nice, lovely floral scent. The little plastic things that show when the caps are screwed on are actually the colour of the gloss/stain, not just a sticker or a piece of plastic to show the "colour" which is never really right. You can perfectly see how the colour looks through the packaging and that is awesome. A lot of people say these are extremely comparable to YSL's glossy stains. Who would'a thought considering L'Oreal owns Yves Saint Laurent? (At least I think so.) These are a fraction of the cost of the YSL ones, which is awesome. When you first apply this to your lips, it feels super slippery and (as the name suggests) wet. I read somewhere that you should apply one, even-as-you-can-get-it coat of this, then pat it in a bit with your finger, and THEN add a second coat to make the colour more true. I think that the only flaw with this product (so far) is that if you have more pigmented (darker) lips, then you should stick with the darker colours because the lighter ones may not even show up on your lips.
Top to bottom: Pink Resistance, Endless Red, Berry Persistent, Coral Tattoo, and Lilac Ever After
I've only used one of these so far (Lilac Ever After) and it was a very wearable, every day colour. I think that Endless Red is also lovely.
Burt's Bees Hand Salve and Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream
I'm not really sure about what I should say about these two products other than one is huge container with a waxy-type substance used for hands and the other smells like lemons but is also waxy. Burt's Bees is a great brand and I love their lip balms, so I wanted to try these out. The lemon butter also has Vitamin E and a lot of different oils that are supposed to keep your cuticles looking fresh. Both of these things are 100% natural, woo! Have any of you tried these? If so, how did you like them?
Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail "Gloss" (Polish)
I'm not really sure of the staying power of these nail polishes yet, but they're super pretty and I've been eyeing them for a while. Um... I may or may not have accidentally peeled off the stickers that may have had the names of these polishes on them. Whoops! Was not expecting that. So, I have no idea what these are called. The first one is a sparkly maroon, the second one is a sheer pink "creme", and the last one is a goldy-bronze that I am in love with.
THE END!
Questions? Don't hesitate to ask.
My beauty-related Instagram is @amethystlights! Are you following me? ;)
Visit my beauty-related Pinterest board here.
Did you enjoy my haul or was it absolutely the most boring thing you've ever sat through reading? Hopefully not the latter. I hope this was enjoyable and maybe it even helped you choose some products or find information about them! It would mean a ton to me if you would just comment below your thoughts or even something as simple as "I read this" because this took me forever to execute! Do you have any suggestions of a blog post that I should do next? Also comment that below! Thanks for reading this! (if you weren't too exhausted to finish it!)
Much love,
Amber ♡
Disclaimer: I purchased all of these products myself with my money. I am not being compensated for making this post and all of these opinions are my own.
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