Who doesn't love a big ol' beauty haul?
I wasn't very creative with the title of this post but I wasn't sure what else to call it? Anyway, I think a beauty haul is welllll overdue on my blog don't you? I have tried to be limited with my beauty haul spending over the past few months as I have far more makeup than I can manage, but sometimes a girl just needs to treat herself am I right?! Here are some bits I've picked up lately, as well as a few bits that I've received from brands. I've thrown it all together to show you what's new in my stash, soooooo let's get into the good stuff!
Tarte
I finally made my first Tarte order the other week, I took full advantage of the free shipping and no customs and ordered myself some bits to try. I don't know if this is a permanent thing now or if it was a deal - but it's a damn good one! I got three products and some free samples all totalling at about £50 and it arrived within a week all the way from the US. The first product on my list was the Shape Tape Concealer which has been on my wish list for so, so long. I've only used it once so far but it's so creamy and a tiny bit goes such a long way so I can see this lasting me ages. I also picked up their Busy Gals Brows Tinted Brow Gel which has the teeniest spoolie ever and I love it. It's amazing if you have very fine brows like I do as it really gets the product in between the hairs, I've only used this a couple of times but I love it so far! The last product I had my eye on was one of their blushes, after googling swatches, I went for the Amazonian Clay Blush in the shade risque which is described as a peachy nude - my favourite kind of shade! The colour is gorgeous for everyday wear, I will definitely be doing a look/full review soon.
Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder
I've lusted after the Laura Mercier Loose Powder for absolutely ages. I had it on my wish list initially when I had oily skin but as most of you will know by now, it went super dry after my pregnancy so anything like this that would be too drying/cakey was off the cards. My skin is back to normal now, two years PP so with my oiliness driving me mad lately, I thought I'd finally pick this up! So far I think it's amazing, I haven't used it an awful lot but it's been setting my under eye concealer like a dream and I've definitely noticed a difference in my oiliness. I will carry on using this and let you know my full thoughts soon.
Elf Baked Highlighter
I picked up the Elf Baked Highlight in Apricot Glow as it's only £5 and I saw swatches online that looked beaut. It's a lot more subtle applied on the face than it swatches, but it's a gorgeous golden glow for everyday wear if you don't like something too overpowering. For a fiver you can't go wrong!
NYX Micro Brow Pencil
I've been going through the ABH Brow Wiz like crazy and can't justify the price tag for how quickly I'm getting through them, so after being told the NYX Micro Brow Pencil was a good dupe, I decided to give it a whirl. I'm SO impressed with this, it's less than half the price of brow wiz and it's an amazing dupe. I would say that brow wiz is definitely more creamy and easier to apply for a more natural look but with a bit of practice the NYX one can be almost as good. I'm saving my brow wiz for days when I want my makeup to look on point and just using the NYX one for everyday wear but so far I'm very happy with this purchase!
Skincare
New in skincare wise, I was kindly sent a couple of Fresh bits from Purple PR. The first thing is their Umbrian Clay Purifying Mask which comes with a little spoon applicator and I think it's so cute! I've used this once so far and it's one of the nicest face masks I've used, It wasn't drying in the slightest and left my face feeling so cleansed and refreshed afterwards. I'm looking forward to using it some more and seeing more benefits. The other product they sent over was the Sugar Coconut Hydrating Lip Balm which smells incredible. I love anything sweet scented, particularly things like coconut and vanilla so this is 100% something I would buy myself. My lips are so dry at the moment, the skin was so rough two days ago, they have been that dehydrated and this has genuinely sorted them out within a couple of days. They're still a bit dry but the rough skin has completely gone and they're back to being soft so I would say the lip balm is well worth having in your stash! I was also kindly sent the Clinique Moisture Surge 72 Hour Auto Replenishing Hydrator which was included in a PR package from Twinings. The Clinique moisture surge range is my absolute go-to for dry skin so I'm very happy to have another moisturiser in my skincare basket, this will come in so handy over the winter months. The last skincare item I have in store is the Origins Original Skin Matte Moisturiser which I picked up myself on a whim. I hadn't heard anything about this but when I saw it on the LF website, I thought it would be worth a try for controlling my oiliness and what a gem I have discovered! If you have dry skin I really wouldn't recommend this as I'm unable to use it when mine is more on the dry side. But for when my skin is super oily it's incredible and I haven't even needed to use a matte primer with it on an everyday basis when I've only got makeup on for a few hours. It's saving me a fortune in primer as I swear by the UD one which is more on the pricey side! Definitely worth a go for you oily gals.
Drugstore Dupes
I've been picking up a few products lately that are supposedly dupes for some of my favourite high end products. The first thing I bought was the Revlon Colorstay Foundation for oily/combination skin, which is supposed to be a cheaper alternative to the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. I love ELDW but I do find it to be a bit heavy for everyday wear and the Revlon Colorstay offering is a lot lighter which I love! I will be doing a roundup of my favourite drugstore dupes so I won't say too much, but so far so good. I also picked up the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in French Fries on the off chance it might be a close alternative to the BB Sparkle Stick in Molten Bronze. I won't lie, it's far from it but it's still a nice and easy bronze eyeshadow stick for everyday wear and for £5.50 you can't really go wrong. I then came across a dupe for MAC Rubywoo which is the Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick in Kiss of Life - I don't wear rubywoo very often as I find it really drying but I do love a bold red so I grabbed the Rimmel Kate one in the hopes it's more hydrating. I haven't tried it yet but the colour looks a great match, it's only £2.50 from Fragrance Direct so well worth picking up if you love rubywoo!
Morphe
Morphe has relaunched at Cult Beauty and to celebrate, they've sent me over some of the bits that are exclusive to their site. I love how affordable Morphe is as a brand so I'm really excited to have some new goodies to try. These include the Warm Master Blush Palette which is so gorgeous, just look at those shades! It's such fab value for money, it reminds me of the NARS blush palettes. There's also the Dare to Create Artistry Palette which is even more value for money, this is perfect for those that love experimenting with makeup or want an all in one! I also received the Setting Mist, Lip Gloss in Shimmy and High Impact Highlighter in Lit, both of which I haven't tried yet. Three brushes in the package that I'm super excited to try out include the Under Eye Bullet Brush, Pro Firm Blending Crease Brush and the Pro Firm Blending Fluff Brush. I already own a few Morphe brushes and they're amazing quality for the price, they're always so soft and never shed so I know these will be new staples in my brush collection! The last product in the collection is the Eyelid Primer in Translucent which I've been using daily since it arrived, it's amazing and it's only £10! It's almost as good as my high end eyeshadow primers which is saying something as they're a tad more pricey than this. This one is definitely worth picking up, take it from someone with mega oily eyelids and swears by eyeshadow primer.
So that's a wrap for this big ol' beauty haul, I will have more in-depth reviews for the products that I've briefly reviewed and reviews of the products I haven't tried yet coming up within the next few weeks. I've found myself getting into a routine of using the same products so I'm excited to have an excuse to play around a bit more with my makeup, especially as it's now Autumn!
Have you picked up anything new lately?
This post contains PR samples.
