Haul Archives - The Beauty Look Book

Summer Haul with Bluemercury

June 7, 2022

Bluemercury is having their Summer Party Event now through 6/8 with some great savings. You can save with code SUMMER:

Save 10% off purchases $100+
Save 15% off purchases $175+
Save 20% off purchases $250+

And they’re also providing a complimentary Summer Beauty Gift that contains 9 deluxe samples with your purchase of $250 or more. While supplies last!

I’m excited to partner with them to share a look at some things I think will be perfect for summer! I have a mix of everything from skincare, body care, lips, hair care and more. Here’s what I hauled.

Skincare / Body Care

For skincare I ordered the M-61 PowerGlow Peel 10 Treatments and am completely obsessed. They’re a quick and easy way to exfoliate the skin in a peel pad with glycolic acid, salicylic acid, vitamin K, bilberry and chamomile. Each treatment is individually packaged which makes them perfect for travel. I found them very gentle on the skin and they help with texture and clarity. I’m definitely ordering more!

Corpus No Green Natural Deodorant is a new to me brand, I decided to try their deodorant and love it. It has a fresh natural kind of scent with bergamot, pink lemon, orange blossom and cardamom.

I love a good sunscreen oil for summer and the Supergoop! Glow Oil SPF 50 is one of my favorites. It absorbs nicely into the skin, has a high SPF, leaves the skin glowing and hydrates too.

Effortless Lip Look

For the lips there are so many great tinted lip products for an effortless glow, but my favorite for years has been the NARS Afterglow Lip Balm. I have this in all the colors but my favorite is Orgasm for a really natural flushed pink glow. It’s hydrating, easy to apply, lasts long for a tinted balm and great to apply for on-the-go.

If you want a nice shine I highly recommend the NARS Afterglow Lip Shine for one of the smoothest gloss formulas you’ll find these days. Shade shown is A-Lister which is a pale gold shimmer.

Glowing Complexion

Two summer bases I love for a glowing complexion include a mix of the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Light Revealer Natural Skin Illuminator + the Kosas Revealer Concealer. When I layer both I can create the exact coverage I want: a sheer glowy base with extra coverage in just the areas I need with the concealer. Both are creamy, dewy and look natural. Just set with your favorite powder to lock it into place.

For a glowing warm bronze look the Sisley Paris Phyto-Touche Illusion Bronzer is a favorite I just restocked. It has a gel-powder formula that glides onto the skin. It has a subtle shimmer to it which gives the complexion a glow without looking too shimmery.

I also love layering the Chantecaille Cheek Gelee for a natural wash of color or the Radiance Gel Bronzer for a natural bronzed glow.

Hair Care

For summer hair I really love the Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo. It’s actually great for year round but I especially love it during the spring to summer months for a hair refresh in between washes. I also love the Sisley Hair Rituel Protective Hair Fluid to help protect hair from UVA and UVB rays. It’s a lightweight hair spray I spritz on damp hair before heat styling or air drying. It also helps protect from the sea or pool water.

I’ve been looking for a good travel sized hair dryer and ordered the T3 Afar Travel Dryer + Case and it’s just what I’ve been looking for. It has 3 heat settings, 2 speed settings, concentrator, cool shot option and a travel case. The top folds down for storage and it’s powerful even though it’s compact. Can’t wait to bring this on my next trip!

For the Home

Last I have a look at three things I bought for the home. I’ve been super curious about the LARQ Bottle PureVis which is a self-cleaning and purifying bottle. I ordered it in Granite White. It has UV-C LED Light Technology to eliminate viruses and bacteria. It’s also double-wall insulated to keep water hot or cold. It’s easy to use and rechargeable.

I picked up the Resore Face Wash Set for a nice gentle face cloth. They’re fluffy, plush and antibacterial. I love the case it comes in too! Comes with a set of two.

I’ve had the Vitruvi Stone Diffuser on my wishlist for some time and am finally glad to own one. I ordered it in White and added some of my own essential oils to it (they also carry some, but you can use any one). Simply fill to the water line and add about 20 drops of your oil. There are different time settings where you can have them on. If you’re looking for continuous scent throughout the home I think this is great.

That wraps up my Bluemercury Summer Haul! If you’re looking for some luxury items to refresh your routine or home I hope you found this helpful for ideas! There are tons of great brands at Bluemercury and now is a great time to stock up and save!

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Sponsored by Bluemercury.

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Hauls Sephora

Spring Beauty Newness at Sephora

February 24, 2022

There are lots of new beauty launches at Sephora and I have a haul roundup review of what I’ve tried and loved. If you’re not a Beauty Insider yet I highly recommend doing so! It’s free to sign up and opens access to a lot of benefits like free samples, early access to new launches and events and more! You can sign up here. You can also receive free shipping on all orders with code FREESHIP.

New Kosas

Kosas Revealer Skin Improving Foundation ($42, available in 36 colors) is a new foundation with skincare and SPF25. It has medium natural looking coverage with a dewy finish. It has ingredients to improve and brighten skin tone over time. My match is Medium Neutral Warm 230. I pair it with the Revealer Super Creamy Concealer ($28) in Tone 05 for concealing and brightening and top it with the Cloud Set Baked Setting Powder in Comfy to set. So far I love the finish, coverage and wear!

Rare Beauty

The Rare Beauty Always an Optimist Soft Radiance Setting Powder ($22) in Light Medium is one of my favorite purchases this year. It’s a great soft setting powder that looks natural and lasts all day. I also ordered the Always An Optimist Powder Brush ($28) and love how soft it is! Highly recommend!

The Rare Beauty Warm Wishes Effortless Bronzer Stick ($23) are 100% worth tracking down (they keep selling out, but you can add your email to their website for the restock alert). I have two shades in Happy Sol and Always Sunny and love these. They have an easy to blend creamy texture and look natural on the skin. Below wearing Always Sunny. I use these as a bronzer or contour.

Patrick Ta Beauty Newness

Next we have some newness from Patrick Ta. The Major Beauty Headlines Double-Take Crème and Powder Blush ($34 each) are really good! I picked two to try in She’s Blushing (beige pink brown) and She’s That Girl (pink tones). I love the formula and packaging (cream has a cover protector inside)! Colors are super flattering, texture is divine, I want to check out more colors.

Another new launch is the Patrick Ta Major Volume Plumping Lip Gloss ($24 each). These are beautiful plumping glosses without the sharp tingle (I feel like the tingle is mild on these). The shine is really pretty. They have a cinnamon almost ginger like scent to them. I like 2 CC’s the best (warm pink) but they’re really all good.

Left to right: Pouty (clear sheer pale pink), Superficial (beige), 2 CCs (warm pink)

Tom Ford Bitter Peach

Always excited for Tom Ford Beauty newness so I had to try the Bitter Peach Eyeshadow Quad in Belle de Peche ($89) and Bitter Peach Lip Color Matte ($58) in Cherie. The quad has a unique texture, almost like a stiff creme-matte formula. It’s different from any of their other quads so formula might not be everyone’s cup of tea. I love it though. The peach tones are soft and muted but pigment definitely shows up on the eyes. The look is tied together with a dark brown liner for me.

The Lip Color in Cherie couldn’t be more perfect for me. I love the neutral peach pink tones!

Lawless Plumping Lip Gloses

The Lawless Forget the Filler Lip Plumping Line Smoothing Glosses have been on my radar for a while so I decided to give them a try. These are thick high shine glosses with a plumping effect. My favorite so far is George which a pretty cool-toned brown mauve, I also love Glazed.

New Hair Care Loves

Last a look at some hair care and skin care items I’ve tried and loved. dpHUE launched an entire line of Color Fresh styling products and I’ve been slowly working my way through testing them. So far I like the Color Fresh Leave-In Conditioner Mist ($28) the best. It’s a lightweight spray on conditioner treatment you leave on. Multitasks to detangle, protect and prime the hair. Leaves my hair smooth and fresh looking after a blow out. Also smells amazing!

My favorite dry shampoo of the moment is the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Advanced Clean Dry Shampoo ($30) to absorb excess oil and refresh the hair in between washes.

Oribe’s Hair Alchemy Line is a new launch and I love it to strengthen the hair. I’ve been loving the Hair Alchemy Strengthening Treatment Serum* ($64) for a good styling product that doesn’t weigh down the hair. I use it on damp hair before using heat tools to smooth and protect the hair.

The Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray ($12 to $58) is one of the best anti-frizz treatments I’ve tried. I plan on ordering the mini to take on travel with me. It coats the hair evenly to help smooth out the hair and block humidity. They recommend using every 3-4 shampoos (I’ll use it once a week). 100% lives up to the hype for me.

Skincare Highlights

I love a good clarifying cleanser and the Glamglow Supersmooth Acne Clearing Mask to Scrub ($34) is a newer one I really love. It’s a great detox cleanser to clear out pores without stripping the skin. Contains salicylic acid, charcoal, kaolin clay and silica beads. It reminds me of the Jack Black Deep Dive Glycolic Facial Cleanser where you can also leave it on to use as a mask (just with different ingredients).

The Supergoop! Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost SPF 40* ($46) is another winner for me. I use it in place of moisturizer and apply to clean skin. My makeup layered well on top and you can also layer their Unseen Sunscreen on top as well if you want. I used the oil on my recent getaway trip every day we were away and it was effective and didn’t irritate my skin.

That wraps up my Sephora haul! If you’ve been curious about any of these new launches I hope this roundup review helps you decide on what to try!

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Sponsored by Sephora. As always all opinions my own. Press samples have a * next to them, all other items purchased by me.

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Hauls Nordstrom

Fall Beauty Staples + New Finds

October 21, 2020

I’m excited to share a roundup of my fall beauty staples with some new finds from Nordstrom! I am thrilled to report that I have found a new holy grail hydration duo for hands and lips. Also by popular request I ordered a few of the new YSL lip stains to swatch and try for the season. I’ve partnered with Nordstrom today to share some new favorites along with a few staples that are going to be versatile throughout the year.

Foundation, Concealer and Powder

For my foundation I’ve been reaching for three things recently. For a minimalist natural glow the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer is the best I’ve tried and one I’ve repurchased multiple times. For extra coverage or a long-wear formula I love the Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion (I wear Dusk 3W1) or the Tom Ford Traceless Soft Matte Foundation (I wear Natural 6.0 and Sable 6.5). These three are my no-fail go-to’s I think will suit a wide range of skin types.

Concealer-wise I think the Cle de Peau Concealer Stick is the best for full coverage. I currently wear Buff to spot conceal because it’s an exact match for my skin. If I want brightening I’ll go with Ocher. For under eyes the Cle de Peau Corrector for Eyes is an opaque but easy to blend formula with a brush applicator. This is what I’ve been using under eyes recently to conceal dark circles and brighten the under eye area. I think it’s 100% worth the splurge. If you want something more affordable you can’t go wrong with the ones from Laura Mercier and NARS – they’re versatile and have a nice shade range.

For powder long-time readers know that the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish in Medium is my holy grail and I still love it. I’m also a huge fan of the Sisley Blur Expert to give the skin a soft diffused evened out finish. This is my second compact and although spendy I think it’s a great product to give the skin a luminous matte look.

For touch-ups I think the Charlotte Tilbury Air-Brush is one of the softest retractable powder brushes I’ve ever tried. You can use it for bronzer or powder. I like that it has a protective cap.

The Best Cheek Palette

I’ve been really loving the Hourglass Sculpture Ambient Lighting Edit Palette. It’s the one cheek palette I brought with me on a recent trip and I used it the entire time. It has everything I need in one compact! I love how natural and flattering the glow is. I’ve been pairing it with the No 28 Lip Treatment Oil in Bare (also love Adorn and Cameo) for a healthy pink glow.

Eye Makeup Staples

For eye makeup I get so many requests for a good all-matte neutral-cool palette recommendation. This can be harder to find these days as most palettes have warm shades or something with shimmer. The Tom Ford Eyeshadow Quad in Mink Mirage is the best neutral-cool matte quad. It has classic colors that you can wear everyday. Colors are smooth, opaque and easy to blend. I find myself reaching for this a lot! You can dress it up by adding more of the deep brown or black for a smokey look.

For mascara I’ve been really impressed with the NARS Climax Extreme – it gives length, volume and holds the curl with no smudging on me. It has an extreme dark pigment which coats the lashes in a bolder look.

Another product I use weekly is the Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Stick in Rosegold. It’s my go-to all over base color to add a bit of glow. They just launched a Mini Caviar Stick Set for holiday with Au Naturel (cool-neutral beige), Rosegold (shimmery champagne, the color I use almost daily as a base), Intense Moonlight (sparkling taupe) and Magnetic Pink (metallic pale pink). If you’re new to the formula I think the minis are a nice way to try different colors.

New YSL Lips

YSL launched new Water Glow Lip Stains which are a gloss/stain hybrid that lasts long and leaves a glow. I picked four shades to try and think they’re lovely! They do darken and deepen once they set for a bolder color. I am wearing 207 Illegal Rosy Nude in the opening photo of this blog post. Other colors I picked include 203 Restricted Pink (healthy brighter pink), 202 Insurgent Red (brown red) and 211 Transgressive Cacao (plum mauve). They leave a stain on the lips but it’s not impossible to remove at the end of the day. Overall look to me is more glossy than a traditional stain but I really like these. They have that signature sweet YSL lip scent.

While at the counter one of the beauty stylists recommended the Lip Pencil in 04 Rose Fume which is the most perfect pink mauve I think I have ever seen. It’s creamy and smooth and I can’t wait to use it more this season.

Cozy Scents for Fall

The weather has definitely shifted and fall has arrived although it’s still warm here. My go-to citrus scents seem a bit out of place so I’ve been wearing the new Jo Malone Fig and Lotus Flower Cologne (perfect fig scent) and started wearing my Byredo Bal D’Afrique again (mix of bergamot, vetiver and cedar). I think both are unique and long-lasting.

My top two candles for the home are Diptyque Santal (soft creamy sandalwood) and Baies (blackcurrant and rose). They make the home smell cozy and they both brighten the mood in different ways! Holiday sets just launched and the Mini 5 Piece Set is always a great way to sample them if you haven’t tried them before! It also makes the cutest gift.

Must-Have Skincare Treats

I picked up two sets from La Mer and am in LOVE! The Rejuvenating Hydration Set has a mini Hand Treatment which is super silky and hydrating and a full sized Lip Volumizer which is a hydrating lip serum. The Lip Volumizer is more of a plumping product versus a balm but it feels smooth and softens my lips. You can use it under balm or lip color, but for me it feels smooth enough to use as a balm. I have been a huge fan of the La Mer Hand Serum and decided to give this set a try because it has a mini of the Hand Treatment. I think once this is used up I’ll splurge on the full size.

The Mini Miracle Broth Set is another one I picked up, mainly for a recent vacation as it has 4 minis of the Cleansing Foam, Treatment Lotion, Regenerating Serum and Moisturizing Soft Cream. It worked well for our trip and I think it’s a great starter set to try their products. There are different variations during the holiday, so I’d recommend finding one with the lotion or moisturizer formula you prefer. I really like the Soft Cream or Soft Lotion so this one was perfect for me.

That wraps up my fall beauty staples post! I have quite a bit in rotation right now but wanted to put together an edited roundup of the things I’ve been reaching for the most. As always I’d love to hear what you have in rotation right now! Or if you have any new beauty finds let me know in the comments! If you’re shopping online don’t forget to check out the Gift With Purchase page.

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Many thanks to Nordstrom for partnering to sponsor this post. All items purchased by me. As always all opinions are my own.

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Hauls Nordstrom

Spring Makeup Haul

March 6, 2020

I’m excited to share another makeup haul with you today! I picked up some new beauty launches recently and discovered quite a few hits. I’ve found the perfect spring cheek palette and my new holy grail nude lip gloss. I’ve partnered with Nordstrom to share my favorite beauty finds.

Foundation + Concealer

The spring beauty season always brings us new bases to try. I’m still in the process of testing several out but two I wanted to mention include the new Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Soft Radiance Foundation and Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Concealer. Both are quite the splurge and I stopped by my local counters to swatch them.

The Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Soft Radiance Foundation has SPF 50 and offers medium to full coverage with a dewy finish. It is light reflecting and suitable for my normal skin type. I tested with both a brush and sponge, both work great! It evens out the skin with impressive coverage while still looking natural. I set with a powder to counter the dewy finish and it leaves the skin looking plump and evened out. My match is Natural 06 but I can also wear Dune 5.7 (more neutral in tone). It stays put all day, doesn’t separate, looks great and feels really nice! To me it’s like a more opaque and richer feeling Armani Luminous Silk Foundation.

Below with bare skin and applying Natural 06:

The Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Concealer is a super opaque concealer. My shade is Beech for under the eye or spot concealing. A little goes a VERY long way so I recommend applying sparingly. Three small dots under each eye is more than enough to conceal dark circles and brighten. I also set with a powder (any of my powders work, I love the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural or Laura Mercier Translucent Loose) and it stays put all day. If you’re dry you may need to add some eye cream underneath.

Below Beech applied under the eyes on just one side so you can see with vs without:

Dior Rosewood

From Dior I repurchased the Lip Maximizer in Rosewood. They recently added the Lip Glow Oil and Lip Glow in the same shade and I love the natural rosy flush it gives the lips. The Lip Maximizer gives the lips a super lush glossy look and hydrates all day. The Lip Glow variation will give you more color as it transforms on the lips. The Lip Oil will give you an almost clear shine.

NARS Cool Crush

Nordstrom has a NARS Exclusive Collection called Cool Crush. I hauled the Hot Fix Cheek Palette which has one champagne highlighter and three neutral pink/peach blushes. This has medium to rich pigment but is easy to blend. As a lover of neutral blushes this one is perfect for spring to summer. It’s very natural and easy to wear. There are also new Loaded Lip Lacquers which are full coverage high shine lip glosses. I bought three of the four colors available and they’re all wearable. Playin’ Around is a creamy pale nude, Young Hearts is my new holy grail nude and Foxy is a warmer brown neutral.

Charlotte Tilbury

Also new this year are more Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk extensions. I will have a separate post on everything I hauled but for now the stand outs are the Pillow Talk Medium Lipstick and Lip Cheat Lip Pencil. They’re darker than the original color for a really flattering medium brown rose. I also picked up the Pillow Talk Eyeliner which is a reddish brown and a nice alternative to black or brown when you want something different.

Bobbi Brown Makeup Remover

Last but not least as a fan of the Bobbi Brown Soothing Cleansing Oil I decided to try the Instant Long-Wear Makeup Remover for eyes. It’s a bi-phase makeup remover to remover waterproof makeup with I really like it! It’s gentle and not greasy, doesn’t sting my eyes and is effective.

That wraps up my favorites from my recent Nordstrom Beauty haul! My favorites are the NARS palette and lip glosses which I think are great everyday kind of neutrals. I really love the new Tom Ford foundation. The formula wears really well and I like that it has SPF in it.

You can find all my picks available at Nordstrom. If you’re shopping online don’t forget to check out their Gift With Purchase section (they update it regularly).

Have you picked up anything new recently? What did you think?

Many thanks to Nordstrom for partnering to sponsor this post. All items featured purchased by me.

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Hauls Sephora

Sephora Haul Picks

August 28, 2018

I have a roundup of my Sephora haul picks from the Beauty Insider Appreciation Event for Rouge. I ended up purchasing a little bit from every category for makeup, skincare and hair care. I still have a few things sitting in my online cart but since I did a massive haul I will probably not be purchasing anymore items for the event. I just hauled everything on Friday so I haven’t had time to test everything. Notes and first impressions on the items I have been able to test.

Makeup Base Picks

There were a few new bases I wanted to try out. Foundation shopping kinda stresses me out with the matching process. Some oxidize to different levels and in store lighting isn’t the best, so it can be a little tricky. There are a few other formulas I’ve been meaning to try but testers weren’t available so I’m going to have to guess sight unseen. Ones I did pick up:

beautyblender Bounce Liquid Whip Long Wear Foundation in 3.50 and 3.60, they only had a tester of 3.50 and while it looked good in store it did apply a little on the light side. I bought 3.60 and tried it at home which is a perfect match. I am getting tan though with regular outdoor runs. The next shades up look like a big jump so I may have to mix when I get darker. First impressions are really good, I like the coverage, it lasts all day, it’s not irritating and didn’t oxidize too much. A more detailed review to follow.
It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream Oil-Free Matte in Medium Tan – I’ve yet to try any of the It Cosmetics bases even though they’re extremely popular! Medium looked too light in store but after swatching Medium Tan at home I think it may be too dark. I will report back after I give it a test.
Natasha Denona Transformatte Pore Vanishing Matte Foundation samples in 27WY, 30W and 31W. These oxidized like crazy in store on my hand, but when I tried this on the face at home they did not. I still need to do more testing, but this is a full coverage true matte. I think my best match is 31W which is more yellow/olive.
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer (mini, beauty insider perk) – excited to try this!

Swatches below. Also included MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC30 and NC35 for reference.

Also not a haul item but since some of you have asked, I wanted to share some swatches of the new First Aid Beauty Concealer. It’s available in 7 shades. I received press samples of this formula but haven’t had a chance to test this out. I will keep you posted. I think my shade match is going to be #3.

Skincare Picks

I have mostly skincare in my online shopping cart, so many things are either online only or not available in my local store. It’s tempting to stock up but for now I picked up:

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Jelly Sheet (x2), these sell at $8 per sheet, I love the moisturizer and night mask so I’m excited for this!
Glow Recipe Watermelon Pink Juice Moisturizer Mini – I have the full size but love this for travel
Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream and Hydra-Gel Eye Patches, will keep you posted! The online reviews make these both look very promising.
Glamglow Supermud Mask and Supercleanse restock because they’re must-haves for me
Sunday Riley Today Brightening Enzyme Water Cream beauty insider minis

Hair Care Picks

I’m in need of a curling iron and had the T3 1.25″ Iron on my list. Part of me wants to wait until holiday to see if there are any sets. Part of me wants to take advantage of the discount and buy it now. Decisions, decisions! I hauled 3 items:

Eye Makeup Picks

I already reviewed and swatched the five Hourglass Scattered Light Eyeshadows a few days ago. I wore Smoke yesterday and loved it! In addition I bought the Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette and Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Amplifying Eye Primer. I didn’t have time to swatch or test the palette or primer but I did give them a quick look in store and the shadows are super soft and pigmented!

Lipstick Haul

I’m always a sucker for a good lip. I actually bought the Fenty Beauty Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipsticks before but they were lost in all our moving last year. I repurchased S1ngle and Spanked, both are ultra smooth with full coverage and aren’t dry looking. I need to try more of these! I also picked up two of the Bite Beauty French Press Lip Glosses in Salted Caramel and Dirty Chai. Both are perfect neutrals. I tried Salted Caramel and think it’s the perfect pink beige. I also bought one of the new Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Glosses in Estrella which is so sparkly I don’t recommend it. It’s not chunky, it’s very smooth but the shimmer is a little too much (it was an impulse buy). Last but not least the sparkles got the best of me and I picked up the Pat McGrath Lip Fetish in Gold Astral to try.

That wraps up my Sephora haul! If there are any items you want reviewed first let me know in the comments and I’ll try to prioritize those!

Have you bought anything yet for the Sephora Beauty Insider Appreciation Event? What did you haul? You can use the Sephora Beauty Insider Appreciate promo code once online and unlimited times in store. Valid in both US and Canada, dates for each tier:

Rouge Members: 20% off with code YESROUGE, valid 8/24 through 9/3
VIB Members: 15% off with code YESVIB, valid 8/30 through 9/3
Beauty Insiders: 10% off with code YESINSIDER, valid 8/30 through 9/3

First Aid Beauty concealers provided for review. Other items purchased by me.

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Hauls Sales Sephora

Sephora Sale Haul First Impressions, Hits and Misses

November 12, 2017

I have my huge Sephora sale haul with some first impressions on items I was able to test in a few days. I stocked up on a few favorites and also ordered some things I had been curious about for quite some time. This haul is a pretty hefty one and as the first round of the sale was just a little bit ago I haven’t been able to test everything. I did swatch all the color items as makeup is easier get an idea of with the first application. I had quite a few misses. Everything is going to take some time to work my way through. Let me know if you want a more detailed review on anything in particular and I’ll try to do one at a later date. The sale runs through November 15th. If you’re shopping online don’t forget to use the code for your Beauty Insider tier!

Rouge Members get 20% off with code 20FORROUGE
VIB Members get 20% off with code 20FORVIB
Beauty Insider Members get 15% off with INSIDER15

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Lip Picks

Up first are the lip items. By now I think I’ve been pretty good at picking things online and sight unseen but having misses is bound to happen. Thank goodness Sephora has a pretty good return policy because 3 of these are going back.

Kopari Coconut Kiss Kit – hit! The set lives up to the raves. These are sheer tinted balms with a nice coconut scent. They have an emollient feel with fun colors. All the shades are bright but sheer so they are very wearable.
Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme in Purr-Fect! – hit! this is a really pretty soft nude, it’s sold out online but check your local store to see if they have it in stock.
Bite Beauty Champagne Discover Lip Set – this was a miss on everything except the lipliner in Cashew. I’ve tried the Multisticks before and found them incredibly dry for the lips. I decided to give it another try and it’s still a solid miss for me. The Prismatic Pearl Creme Lip Gloss in Champagne is thick and so metallic it’s not flattering on my skin tone. I know many people love these formulas so it may be a hit for you. For me just not my thing.
Kevyn Aucoin Molton Liquid Lipstick in Copper – this was a huge miss because it’s also not flattering on my skintone. I had high hopes because I love and adore the same formula in Rose Gold.
Tom Ford Patent Finish Lip Color in Casablanca – I’m undecided, it’s a lot darker than I had anticipated. This is the first in the formula I’ve tried and it took over 50 clicks to get any product out. The color is rich and pretty but it settled a tiny bit into lip lines. I think it’s a great color for fall. I’ll need to test it out longer to decide.
Burberry Lip Color Contour in Medium – huge miss, I’ve swatched this on my hand at the stores numerous times over the past year, on my lips it just makes my whole complexion look dead and lifeless. It’s one I’ll have to layer with other shades to get to work. I’m going to try and make it work for me as the formula is smooth and feels nice on the lips – alone it just doesn’t look so great.

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Face and Eye Picks

For face and eyes, I bought a few foundations in darker colors because I’ve gotten even more color from the sun. To me this is a little puzzling as I’ve really made a conscious effort to stay out of the sun with the heat. Apparently I haven’t tried enough because I’ve gone a full shade darker:

Tom Ford Waterproof Foundation and Concealer in Tawny is a perfect match! I don’t know why I ever stray from Tom Ford foundations because their colors work the best for me.
Hourglass Vanish Seamless Foundation Stick in Golden I guessed my shade because Nude was a bit too light. Golden works ok but alone all over my face it’s a bit too yellowish. If I use it on areas I just need more coverage it works just fine.
beautyblender in Nude restock for me
Anastasia Beverly Hills Blush Kit in Radiant – undecided on this, I tried it and found the pigment beautiful with smooth texture. It’s easy to blend and layer but the colors are a lot darker than I had anticipated. They also oxidize and deepen on my skin without getting muddy, but as my skin warms up they get deeper/darker so I have to experiment more with application. If you have deeper skin tone and struggle finding blushes pigmented or dark enough to show up on you, definitely give this a look. I think the pigment is excellent!
Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Sticks in Sugar Frost and Moonlight (repurchase), I’ve swatched all my current Caviar Eye Sticks and Matte Caviar Eye Sticks below
Marc Jacobs Eye-Conic in Scandalust is a palette I received as a press sample months ago but it arrived completely shattered. I was able to test the broken bits and fell in love with the colors. I decided to buy one to replace it. It pulls warm but it’s so pretty for the season.
Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara – I actually meant to get the waterproof version, but I do remember liking the original so I’ll keep this one!

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For fragrance and hair:

Atelier Cologne Set – LOVE! there are several Atelier Cologne sets online, it was hard to pick one, but I decided on the Necessaire Curated by Sylvie Ganter and Christophe Cervasel. It has Sud Magnolia, Pomelo Paradis, Orange Sanguine, Vanille Insensee, Bois Blonds, Cedre Atlas. Orange Sanguine is one of the best citrus scents I’ve smelled. Vanille Insensee is one of two vanilla scents I’ve found that I can actually wear. Bois Blonds is already a favorite. I’m trying to wait until I can visit a free standing store again before I buy full size bottles. I stopped by one in San Francisco over the fall and had the best time exploring there.
Elizabeth and James Choose Your Nirvana Coffret Warm and Spicy has generously sized minis of the Amethyst, Black and Bourbon. I like them for fall but don’t know that I can pull them off in Florida’s kind of fall/winter. I felt the minis were the best way to enjoy them without committing to the full sizes just in case.
Verb Ghost Shampoo and Conditioner – LOVE! I actually bought both of these weeks ago and they are both my newest shampoo/conditioner obsession. Many of you want something that’s sulfate free and these are great options for a good clean rinse that leaves hair shiny and bouncy. They are back in my cart for round 2 so I can stock up on the larger size that comes with a pump.
Verb Hydrating Mask – LOVE! I tried a sample packet before and fell in love, it’s really hydrating, but I still favor the Ouai Mask (just hate the packaging of those packets).

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Skincare Restocks and Splurges

Skincare is where I spent the most, I restocked on staples and also picked new things to try:

Restocks and replenishment on the Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Gentle Treatment, EradiKate Cleanser, Omorovicza Moor Cream Cleanser
Caudalie Glow Activating Trio – this line has been on my radar for the fine lines and wrinkles, I have those forming on my forehead area and have high hopes this will help with those!
Caudalie Deep Cleansing Exfoliator has really high ratings with the customer reviews and as I’ve really liked a lot of their skincare decided to give this a try, I have high hopes!
Glamglow Glowsetter Makeup Spray has also been on my radar, will keep you posted on how this compares to my favorite MAC Fix+
SK-II Pitera Mid-Day Essence – excited to try this one, although I have a feeling this may be too moisturizing for me. I gave it a quick mid-day test the day I received it and it felt a bit too rich for my skintype me. I’ll have to test it more before I can say how well it works.
Drunk Elephant Baby Facial – also excited to try this as it has really promising reviews online!
Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Glow Moisturizer is something I bought months ago, in our multiple moves it has been buried in one of our moving boxes, I repurchased it and hope it’s as good as the rest of her ExfoliKate line.
Kate Somerville Anti-Bac Clearing Lotion is something I also have high hopes for. It appears MAC discontinued my favorite Prep+Prime Blemish Control Gel which was one of the few that worked for me and did not turn my face red. I’ve been in search of a replacement and hope this will be the one!
Farmacy Green Screen Daily Environmental Protector with SPF30 is a mineral sunscreen with impressive rave reviews. People say it doesn’t have a white cast on the skin and is non-greasy. The description says it has solutions for fine lines and wrinkles so I’m going to give it a try.
Lancome BiFacil Face is something I’ve been so curious about. I really love their Micellar Water so it will be interesting to see how this compares. In the bottle I find it interesting that a very very small portion at the top is suspended (the oil portion).

In summary I still have a lot of testing for these items before I can make a proper assessment. For makeup I find it easier to judge on color and application alone. Three of my lip purchases were definitely misses. The Hourglass foundation could be a better match but I find there are often gaps in their color lineup for bases so I’ll have to go to the store and see. The Anastasia Beverly Hills blush kit is lovely, but is just a lot darker than I expected. I think the SK-II mist may be too rich for my skin type.

That wraps it up for my haul! Did you pick up or stock up on anything during the sale? This time of year there are lots of sales going on and with the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday events approaching there’s definitely plenty of time to find good deals. Oftentimes I wish these sales were spread out a little more. In case you missed it, my top recommendations in this post here (e-gift card giveaway has ended and winners have been e-mailed!).

The Sephora Beauty Insider Sale runs through November 15th. If you’re shopping online don’t forget to use the code for your Beauty Insider tier!

Rouge Members get 20% off with code 20FORROUGE
VIB Members get 20% off with code 20FORVIB
Beauty Insider Members get 15% off with INSIDER15

Did you get anything from the Sephora sale yet? Or are you waiting for other sales? I’ll be covering some holiday launches from Tatcha soon as their Friends and Family sale is also happening and many of you have asked me for a review on their lip launches.

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Hauls

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Beauty Exclusives Nude Lip Haul

July 17, 2017

Today I’m reviewing and swatching my lip haul from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. I bought three sets in store from MAC, YSL and Dior for Early Access. After browsing some more online I decided to stick with what I bought for the most part (I ordered a couple more items) as most of the sets consist of existing colors this year. As usual my picks are all in the neutral category. Also since I already have some colors from other sets offered in the sale, check back later today and I’ll have swatches of those up for reference.

Up first is my favorite, the MAC Look in a Box Saint No Angel Mini Lip Kit ($26.50 for a $40 value). Every year the neutral lip sets sell out first so I’m hoping they stocked more this year in anticipation of that. This year has minis which is why the set is less expensive. I love these colors so much I wish they had made them full size instead – I wouldn’t have minded if it were double the price for bigger ones. There are two lipsticks and two lipglasses:

Love Me Lots Matte Lipstick is a medium nude pink
Dandy Apple Satin Lipstick is nude peach-pink
Saint No Angel Lipglass is a sheer shimmering light pearly pink
Totally Buff Lipglass is a neutral pink with a slight hint of mauve

The Dior Addicted to Nude Lip Set ($70) has existing shades and after I got home I realized I already owned one of the colors. There is another option Addicted to Pink (with Baby Dior and Lazy) but my local store did not have it. The price of the individual lipsticks is $35 each so with this one you’re getting the mini Lip Maximizer and bag for free. For the nude lip set option I believe you can get both separately. Inside the Addicted to Nude Lip Set:

Dior Addict Lipstick in Bobo is the perfect coral shimmer, the formula is just so pretty and smooth
Dior Addict Lacquer Stick in Underground is the perfect neutral-cool everyday mauve pink (also wearing it in this beauty look here)
Dior Lip Maximizer mini is a plumping lip product

Last but not least is the YSL Lip Set in Nude ($74 for a $106 value). I don’t own any of the colors in this set, one is a Nordstrom Exclusive for the sale:

Rouge Volupte Shine Oil-in-Stick in Decadent Nude 61 is a shimmery nude pink mauve, the shimmer doesn’t really show up on the lips (Nordstrom Exclusive Shade)
Rouge Pur Couture in Le Nu 70 is a peachy nude
Volupte Tint in Oil in Make Me Nude 9 is a sheer nude with a hint of shimmer that makes the lips look full and voluptous

Swatches of the Nude Lip Set compared to individual existing shades, it appears the Rouge Volupte Shine Oil in Stick 44 and 47 (reviewed here) are sold out almost everywhere online now except for Neiman Marcus and YSL Beauty (in store stock may vary).

Upate: As promised swatches of the Charlotte Tilbury, Chanel and Chantecaille Lip offerings from the sale. I didn’t buy the sets as I already own the colors, for reference in case your store doesn’t have these or if you can’t get to a store I hope this helps!

Chanel has two gloss sets in the Chanel Rouge Nude Mood Coco Gloss Moisturizing Trio with 774, 714 and119 and the Bright on Brights Trio has shades 728, 738 and 172. I’ve put the stock photo next to photos I took of the real live product for reference and swatched them below.

Chantecaille Touch-Up Essentials has a full size Brilliant Lip Gloss in Charm which is pretty much clear on my lips along with the Faux Cils Longest Lash Mascara and a mini eye makeup remover.

Charlotte Tilbury has two lip sets. Day to Night Lip Set in Hot Lips Nude has KISSING Lipstick in KKW and Matte Revolution Lipstick in Super Cindy along with Pillow Talk Lip Liner. Day to Night Perfect Pink Lip Set has KISSING Lipstick in Kiss Chase and Matte Revolution in Between the Sheets (previously limited-edition and relaunched for the sale) along with Pink Venus Lip Liner.

For additional reference, the nude lips swatched in this post here. Pink lipstick shades are in this post here.

FYI, in all the swatch photos I’m wearing a mix of MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC25 and NC37 set with the Mineralize Skin Finish in Medium Plus. To sum up the lip options – there are lots of repeats for existing shades. I picked two I could find that have exclusive or new colors. I’m really happy with all my purchases even though it turns out I already own one of the Dior lipsticks. If you’re a beauty junkie like me you might already own a lot of the colors as well and find this year’s offerings repetitive. I found some interesting sets and think a lot of these could make for great gifts later on in the year. I stocked up on some of the MAC ones.

Early Access runs through the 20th and opens up to the public on the 21st. If you’re shopping online don’t forget to check their Gift With Purchase page – it gets updated frequently!

Did you shop the sale yet? Any lip sets catch your eye?

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