Products I'm Excited About

Products I Can't Wait to Try (Ulta Haul!)

With so many new beauty and makeup products rolling out constantly, it's easy to forget about older ones that you never got around to trying. I recently made a trip to Ulta and I spent a good 2 hours there deciding on new things to try. Instead of gravitating to the brand-new releases like I usually do, I went for some of the things that I've been dying to try for months (or even over a year!). I plan to review most, if not all, of these things in the future, so let me know which ones you want to see first!

The only newer thing I got was an Urban Decay Vice lipstick in F-Bomb. I wanted to try out the new formula, and even though I absolutely do not need another red lipstick, I got another red lipstick. They had the same shade in their Revolution lipstick line and I always thought it was pretty. The Urban Decay website claims that "Just one swipe provides an unbelievable laydown of color," which sounds fantastic to me since I always want a highly pigmented lipstick.

I surprised myself by only getting three lip products - these two and the Vice lipstick. Lipsticks are my weakness, so that's pretty good for me (I know, I have a problem). NYX's Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick and Suede Matte Lip Liner in Little Denim Dress have been on my wishlist for quite a while now, so I can barely wait to start trying them out! Blue lipstick is a trend I'm intrigued by, and I've had good experiences with NYX lip products in the past, so I'm hoping this will be as good as I'm expecting.

Ever since I dyed my hair hot pink a couple months ago, I've been using hot pink eyeshadow to fill in my brows. The issue with that is I only have clear and blonde brow mascaras, so my natural eyebrows peek through a bit. I'm planning to use these NYX Color Mascaras in Pink Perfect and Coral Reef (it says Coral Reef on the tube, but the Ulta listing just says Reef) as brow mascaras to remedy that problem. Once I find a good white lash primer to make them pop, I'll probably use them like regular mascaras as well.

It seems that every blog post and YouTube video I see about brushes includes at least one from IT Cosmetics. I was in need of a new blending brush (then again, when am I not?) and this one, the #105 Blending Crease Brush, looked promising. I haven't gotten the chance to wash it and try it out yet, so I don't know if it will shed, but it does feel very soft. I've heard nothing but good things about the IT Cosmetics brushes, so I have high expectations.

Mini things are my weakness in every aspect of life, from makeup to animals (like have you SEEN a mini pony?), and I've wanted to try this for so long. I didn't realize it came with a mini brush until I got home and opened it and I almost cried (I'm serious about mini things). Since it's hard for me to get the right bronzer shade, I'm glad I got the Mini Hoola Bronzer to try before purchasing a full size.

How I haven't even tried the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray until now is beyond me. It seems like this is everybody's holy grail setting spray. I've always hesitated because of the $30 price tag, especially since I love the Hard Candy Fast & Fabulous Setting Spray which is only $6. But I've finally given into the hype, and I'm hoping it ends up being as good as everyone says.

Until now, I didn't have an actual face moisturizer, I was using a body moisturizer that I liked (see my previous skincare routine here). Burt's Bees is a great brand to get skincare with mostly natural ingredients for a drugstore price. I got the Sensitive Daily Moisturizer even though my skin hasn't been sensitive in years because I hate the feeling of heavy moisturizers. My skin is normal to dry though, so I may end up needing something a bit more moisturizing once it starts to get cold.

I've been curious about the Biore Baking Soda Liquid Pore Cleanser ever since it came out, so I finally decided to get it. I've used the Biore pore strips for years and love them, so it's a brand I trust when it comes to skincare. Baking soda cleans things pretty well in my experience, so it'll be interesting in skincare.

I broke my rule and got a high-end cleanser. I only buy drugstore cleansers because unlike things such as eye cream and moisturizer, the product washes down the drain instead of absorbing into your skin. If I'm paying more for skincare, I want the extra money I'm paying for better ingredients to be as beneficial as possible. But everyone raved about this when I was starting to get into makeup, and I've always been curious. So I gave in and got the Purity Made Simple Cleanser in the 8oz bottle. I almost hope I don't fall in love with it because then I'll want to repurchase it, and it's more expensive than any of my drugstore cleansers.

So many people have talked about how good these smell, so I decided to try them out. The Breakfast Scrub smells literally just like maple syrup, which makes my Canadian side very happy. And the Sugar Crush Body Buttercream smells exactly like a lime. They aren't scents I would have picked on my own, but now that I have them, they're definitely growing on me!

I'm so excited to try all of these out! If you want to share your thoughts on these products or tell me about beauty items you're excited to try, feel free to leave a comment underneath this post, or check out the Contact Me page! Also let me know which of these things you want to see a review on first!

Ulta Haul

Oh My God, ANOTHER Ulta Haul Because I Shop Too Much

I went to Ulta. Again. I went to pick up a new self tanner to try since the last one was awful (more on that in an upcoming post) and I ended up getting more, including four lipsticks, despite the fact that my lipstick drawer is overflowing. I would say I have a problem, but I'm not hurting anybody, and it's my money to spend how I like, so I don't feel a huge need to justify it. Without further ado, here is the haul!

This is the main reason I went to Ulta - the Nivea Sun-Kissed Radiance Gradual Tanner and Body Lotion for fair to medium skin. I've heard mixed reviews on this, but since I love every other Nivea product I've ever tried, I decided to give it a go. I've used it twice so far and I don't see anything yet, but I wasn't expecting to until day 3 or 4 anyways. I'll post a review once I've tried it out thoroughly.

Next I got the NYX HD Studio Finishing Powder, since if I'm going to be self tanning I'll need a powder that matches me when I'm darker, and I don't want to be mixing different powders when I'm in between, so I got a translucent one. I have yet to try it out but I will probably post a review once I have.

I also bought this foundation to mix with my normal foundation when I'm tan to get the right shade. I went a few shades darker so that I for sure have a dark enough color. If it's too dark, I can just mix more of my lighter foundation with it and get the perfect shade.

The last non-lip product I got was another Essence eyebrow pencil in Blonde. I have plenty of my other one left, but I want to have an extra one just in case.

I love my other Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in the shade In Love With Ginger, but since it's an orange, I rarely wear it. So I decided to get something more wearable, and I ended up getting the shade 730 Nude And The City. It came a bit smashed, but it's usable, so I'll just sanitize it in case it's been used and deal with it because my nearest Ulta is far enough away that it wouldn't be worth making a trip just to return something. It's a gorgeous brownish nude that I can see myself wearing often.

I've wanted to try the Rimmel Provacalips for a while now, and the shade 120 Pucker Up was on sale, so I got it. It's pretty sheer and not a shade I would normally get, but I'm keeping it around for review purposes and to see if I like the product itself. I didn't notice until after I got it that the seal was broken, which is a bummer, but I'm going to have to risk it since there's no way to really sanitize this type of item.

In my head I justified getting this lipstick by telling myself that this isn't a color I have anything like in my collection, which is true. Its a NYX Extra Creamy Round Lipstick in the shade Castle. It's a very pretty shimmery light purple, which is quite unique. I have a couple medium and dark purples, but no light ones.

The last thing I bought was an Essence Longlasting Lipstick in the shade 11 Nude Love. It's a pretty nude that I can see myself wearing a lot.

Another Ulta Haul?

Another Ulta Haul!

I know that my last post was an Ulta haul, but an actual Ulta just opened up near me, and I've never been inside an Ulta before, so of course I had to do some shopping. I also got some makeup wipes at Ross, but I decided not to include pictures of those. If they end up working well (or terribly) then I'll do a review.

The first thing I picked up was the Covergirl Ultra Smooth foundation in 805 Ivory. It's a little bit dark for me, but if I blend it well and only apply a sheer layer it still works. I got it because I thought the applicator was interesting. It's a silicon-feeling oval, and the directions say to apply product onto the applicator first, then the face. I'll probably do a first impressions and review of it because it's so interesting to me. It cost $6.99 USD.

The next thing I got was the Maybelline Dream Wonder Fluid-Touch foundation in 10 Porcelain Ivory. It looks too dark and too yellow for me in the swatch, but it's actually not bad on my face once it's blended out. I've been wanting to try it for a while now, and it was on sale for $4.99 USD, so I decided to finally get it. It feels like it's not there at all while still providing decent coverage, but I have yet to wear it for a full day.

The last face product I got was the NYX HD Concealer in 10 Porcelain. It was $4.99 USD. I've heard a lot of good things about it, so I'm glad I found it in a shade that matches me pretty well. Almost all of the foundations and concealers I swatched in the store were too dark for me, even though I always went for the lightest shade. There wasn't a tester for this one, but it looked light enough, so I got it anyways.

Next up is a NYX Love in Rio eyeshadow trio in Nighttime in Rio. I got it for $2.99 USD (I believe it was on sale) and the colors are lovely. They aren't super pigmented, but they aren't so bad that I can't easily work with them. They had a lot of eyeshadow trios but this is the one that appealed to me the most.

Next, I got an Essence Eyebrow Designer pencil in 04 Blonde. I find it difficult to find the right eyebrow products because my eyebrows are rather greyish, and the majority of eyebrow products are reddish or brownish. Since this was only $1.99 USD, I decided to just go for it and hope it works.

Moving on to lip products, I got an Ulta Matte Lip Cream in the shade Artistic. It's a pretty nudeish pink and I got it for $4.00 USD because it was on sale. I'm not huge on liquid lipsticks, and this claims to dry matte, but it didn't seem to do that when I swatched it in the store, so I decided to get it. I find most liquid lipsticks too drying for my already easily-chapped lips, so hopefully this one won't be.

Next I got a NYX Butter Lipstick in Pops. It's a pretty pinky-brown nude that I thought looked nice on my skin color and tone. Most nudes wash me out, but this one actually looks nice, and I got it for just $3.99 USD.

Lastly, I got this Essence clear Lash and Brow gel mascara for $2.99 USD. I need a brow mascara, and I'm never sure what color to get, so I went for clear instead.

Ulta Haul

A Very Spooky Ulta Haul

Just kidding, it's not spooky. I just happened to get it on Halloween. Nothing is Halloween related - in fact, some of it is technically Christmas or holiday season related! Without further ado, here is the haul.

First I got the Makeup Revolution Iconic 1 (top) and Iconic 2 (bottom) palettes. I already have the Iconic 3, and I absolutely love it, so I wanted to try the Iconic 1 and 2. I have used the Iconic 1 a little bit, and it's just as quality as the Iconic 3. The Iconic 3 is still my favorite, though.

Next I got two NYX Hot Singles eyeshadows in Bad Seed (left) and Dank (right). I got them to use in Christmas tutorials.

Then I got the NYX Wonder Stick in light/medium. I've tried this out a bit and so far I really like it. I almost wish I had gotten a shade darker, since I wanted to use it for more dramatic contouring, but I got this shade because I'm usually the lightest shade a product line has, especially when it comes to foundation, and this was the lightest shade it came in.

After that I got two EOS lip balms in blackberry nectar (left) and coconut milk (right). I'm not the biggest fan of EOS - I like the Nivea lip butters better - but these were cute and I thought they would look nice displayed on my Alex 9 drawers from Ikea when I finally get them.

Next I got the smooth kiss Nivea lip butter. I already have Raspberry Rose Kiss and Caramel Cream Kiss, and I absolutely love them, so I got this one. They are by far some of the most moisturizing lip balm type products I've ever tried, and I haven't had chapped or cracked or dry lips once since I started using them.

After that I got a set of two holiday lip balms in very vanilla and holiday cookie. I know they probably won't be very good, but I thought they were pretty cute and they were only $3.00 USD.

Next I got a cute body spray. I mostly got it because I thought it would be cute to display somewhere. I love owls and the face on the front appears to be an owl, so that's a bonus. I sniffed it and honestly it mostly just smells like rubbing alcohol but it was only $3.00 USD and I mostly got it for the cuteness anyways.

Lastly, I got some Ulta sheer fragrance mists. They were buy two get two free, so I got four.

Here are the other two. I've been really into perfumes and body mists lately, so I decided to use the buy two get two free and get the four I was most interested in.