A Small ULTA Haul Ft. NYX & Essence Products

I ran into ULTA today to pick up a couple of things I've had on my list for a while and lucky, most everything was in stock aside from the Essence Gel Liner which I hear is fantastic and only like $2.99! The last time I tried to buy it, I saw that it was tampered with and had to put it back. Someone put their grubby fingers in it which made me sick. But luckily my new purchases appeared to be mostly germ free. I picked up the Essie polish in DJ Play That Song, finally! I can't find any of the neon collection anymore at the drugstores. I also picked up an NYX Butter Gloss in Eclair. I would have gotten more but it was the first time ever that NYX was NOT buy 1 get 1 50% off. Figures. I also bought NYX True Taupe eyeshadow and Essence Silky Touch blush in Adorable. I must say, this blush is ridiculously silky. They weren't lying. It's so smooth and delicious and CHEAP! The shade is mostly matte with a slight sheen to it, a pale pinky color. The weird thing is there was another one that was way more pale, almost ivory and it was also labeled the same shade. Hmm.. not sure if what I bought is the true "Adorable" or not but it's an amazing blush and only $2.99. Go Essence. 

I have to put this out there. If you haven't tried NYX Butter Gloss, you must run to your local ULTA or order some online. Wow. The best texture of any lipgloss I've tried. It's not too much of anything, not too sticky and not too greasy. It feels amazing and looks amazing and the color selection is great. I bought "Eclair" which is just a pale pink neutral but I wanted every single color. I forgot my coupon and will also wait for another Buy 1 Get 1 sale before I go clean out their supply. I ventured over to the higher-end side but didn't have much time to look around and plus I was trying to avoid being asked 101 times if I needed help. I rarely, if ever, need help finding or buying makeup. That's one area I've got covered. 

Why are you still reading this? I told you, go buy you some NYX Butter Glosses!

Add caption

Collective Makeup Haul Ft. Drugstore & Sephora Products + Mini Reviews!

I have acquired a few new goodies over the past week from the drugstore and one product from Sephora and Ebay. I have used all of these things because I have no patience and usually open products immediately when they first meet my hands, so I've included swatches as well + mini reviews. 

L'Oreal True Match Blush C1-2 Baby Blossom: A really pretty pale pink with very fine particles of shimmer. This product is very smooth to the touch and goes on sheer but I really like it and am glad I found it finally because it is always sold out! 

Rimmel Lipstick Let's Get Naked: This is part of their new collection of lipsticks in the purple tubes. It's not exactly a "naked" color though. It's a really pretty shade of pinky coral. I can't quite put my finger on it but it whatever it is, it isn't nude. 

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss Pink Pop: The Super Lustrous lip glosses have been around a while but Revlon has repackaged them and edited the shade selection. By editing I mean getting rid of some shades (Peach Petal, this doesn't make me happy) and adding a couple new ones. They kept the shade Pink Pop but I'm not sure if it's the exact same as the old Pink Pop because I don't own the old Pink Pop packaging. I will say, it's a beautiful bright pink that looks really bright in the tube but goes on more sheer. It's a color anyone could wear. I will also say that the Super Lustrous gloss formula is one of the best gloss formulas out of any high-end or drugstore brand. Seriously. It's perfect and smooth and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. 

NYC Sparkle Eye Dust Smoky Topaz: I'm not sure if anyone remembers but the NYC Eye Dust used to be sold in this really weird packaging with a screw top that I can't even explain. But now they are sold in tubes with a doe foot applicator. The colors are the same though and absolutely gorgeous! Smoky Topaz is the most beautiful shimmering taupe. It seriously looks like MAC Satin Taupe on steroids. The drawback is that it's kind of messy and you will almost be guaranteed to have fall-out. I really suggest putting some on your hand and working with a flat shader brush, pressing it on the lid rather than using the doe-foot that draws out way too much product that flies everywhere. It may work better with some sort of tacky base. But it's worth the $3 just to be able to stare at the swatch, it's that pretty.

Eminence Bronzer Mocha Berry: One of the only pressed powder bronzers on the planet that does not include silicone or Talc. This is 100% organic and it's really pretty. It's shimmery, yes, but it doesn't look that shimmery on the face. It gives a really pretty tanned look to the skin and nice highlighted effect on the cheekbones. Very impressed! 

Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel Glow Pads: This is a cool product. It's a self-tanner and a skin treatment all in one. It comes with individually packaged towelettes for your face and you apply it like you would any face wipe only you are left with a nice bronzed glow. The drawback is your skin will smell like self tanner and since you apply it right next to your nose, you will smell it a lot. I bought the small package to try them out. So far, I'm liking it but not sure I will repurchase.

L'Oreal True Match Blush C1-2 (Top), Eminence Mocha Berry Bronzer

Rimmel Let's Get Naked (Top), Revlon Super Lustrous Pink Pop Lip Gloss

NYC Sparkling Eye Dust Smoky Topaz (above)

Looking for a Drugstore Dupe for Dior Contour Lip Liner Pencil in Linen?

I absolutely love Dior Lip Liners. They are the best in my opinion because they last a long time, glide on smoothly, and really have a beautiful color selection. My favorite Dior Lip Liner, hands down, is Linen. Linen is a neutral nude-y brown tone that makes the lips appear fuller when its blended in and worn with a nude or nude-pink color. The Dior liners are around $30 which is pricy so I thought I'd show you what I think is a good dupe for Linen that can be found in the drugstore. It is the L'Oreal Colour Riche Lip Liner in Toffee. I think this shade is very close but slightly cooler than Linen which I actually really love. Please note, the Linen is photographing a bit warmer than it actually looks. 

Now, the consistency of the L'Oreal is much different than Dior. It is much more slick and doesn't wear as long but it's a great color. The tip is to apply this on and slightly outside of the natural lip liner very carefully, apply your lipstick in a nude shade over the lip liner and then blend out the liner into the lipstick so that it doesn't look harsh. A lip brush works great to blend but you can also use your finger. If your skin tone is darker, you won't have to blend much. You know what I'm talking about when I say harsh, think of really bad 90's lips when girls would wear a burgundy lip liner and then a really light pink frosty lipstick. Ugh. That visual is too much to bear. The L'Oreal Toffee can be found where the Color Riche lipsticks are in the drugstore. Sometimes they pair the liners with the shade of lipsticks they go with so this one is found in the "browns". 

Please note: fair skinned and lighter complexions CAN wear these colors. It's all in how you apply them and what you pair them with. These shades work best when you are trying to make your lips appear fuller but I wouldn't necessarily use this type of color to fill in my entire lip or anything unless I had a much darker complexion. **I'm MAC NW 25.

Lipsticks that I like pairing these liners with: Dior Rouge Dior in #123, Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Charmed (you need to blend that liner to make this work if you're fair/light!), Dior Rouge Dior #298 Beige Indecise, Tom Ford Lipstick Nude Vanill, L'Oreal Caresse Lipstick in Sheer Linen (absolutely beautiful shade on anyone). 

L'Oreal Colour Riche Lip Liner Toffee (Top), Dior Contour Lip Liner Linen (Bottom)