Beauty Haul

So, I have gone on a bit of a beauty haul the past couple days; not that I have money to be doing this with Christmas quickly approaching.  However, it all started yesterday when I realized that I don't even own a proper concealer.  I have been using my M.A.C. paint pot in painterly for all my concealing needs.  Paint pots are meant to be used as eye shadows and primers, and not concealers.  I started using it as a concealer under my eyes to cover up dark circles, but recently I have been finding that it has really been settling into those fine lines in the under eye area, and it's not a pretty sight.  So I took a trip to Ulta yesterday, (against my better judgement because I usually have terrible customer service there) I had done some research and I had a list all ready of the products I wanted to try.  I brought home four different concealers:

Maybelline Cover Stick Corrective Concealer $4.79

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser in Brightener $7.19

NYX HD Photogenic Concealer in Yellow $4.99

Rimmel Hide the Blemish in Soft Honey $4.19

Ulta Beauty Blender $4.99

So I haven't had the chance to really try all of these yet, but so far I am really liking them.  I used the two Maybelline products this morning and so far I'm happy.  The Dark Circle Eraser may be my new favorite product.  This is probably the first time in my entire life that I don't have dark circles under my eyes, its incredible.  I am not completely sold on the green corrective concealer yet.  Green is the opposite of red, so it should hide any redness in your skin.  I will try it out for a few more days and let you know.  I have also used the beauty blender to blend in the concealers; it worked well, but I'm not sure what all the fuss is about them.  I was really pleased with the service I got at this Ulta.  It is a pretty new store, I think it has only been open for a month or so now, and the woman who helped me was the store manager, and also a makeup artist and invited me back to pick her brain about makeup for the blog, so expect that coming soon!

Then I made another trip to Ulta today after I discovered that I had forgotten my entire makeup kit at my apartment and I am staying at Tad's for the weekend.  I had been meaning to pick up some new products to try anyways, but it was a little earlier timing that I expected.  I picked up a couple different foundations: Palladio Herbal Foundation in Nude and Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse in Light.  I got a cleanser/mask called Philosophy Total Matteness, some new Japonesque brush cleaner, a Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings kit, and finally some OPI nail polish: a top coat, a matte top coat, and You Don't Know Jacques!  A lot, I know, and I spent way more than I intended, but so far I am really liking everything I have gotten.

I haven't had the chance to try the Maybelline foundation yet, but the Palladio foundation exceded my expectations.  It was more of a medium-full coverage foundation which I was not expecting, and it stayed on all day long.  And I mean, ALL day, I wore it to work, and then out to dinner and a 10:20 movie and when I got home after 1am it still looked great.  I did use a primer from the Too Faced kit underneath it; I have never used a face primer before, and since they were both new products I will have to try them individually again and see how the foundation holds up.  The Palladio foundation did feel a little tacky on my skin, even after I set it with powder.  I wasn't sure how my bronzer/blush would go on on top of it because of that, but they went on smoothly.  Its definitely not a foundation I personally would wear every day because I personally prefer a more light-medium coverage, but for work when I need to have perfect looking skin, or a date night it would be great.

Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse in Light $8.99

Palladio Herbal Foundation in Nude $9.99

The Too Faced kit is probably the best buy I have had.  It is by far one of my favorite makeup buys I have every had.  I haven't used Too Faced brand before, but when I was in the checkout line and saw they had a beauty blogger kit I knew I had to get it.  It came with Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer, Primed and Poreless Skin Smoothing Primer, Better Than Sex mascara, and Shadow Insurance eye shadow primer.  I used all of these products yesterday while getting ready and I LOVE them.  At first the primer I wasn't thrilled with, but then after I finished my makeup my pores looked nearly invisible.  The eye primer was incredible too...ten times better than M.A.C. paint pot.  While my paint pot gives better color payoff, after hours it does start to crease.  This primer had no creasing whatsoever.  Everything was exactly how I had put it that morning.  Next is the bronzer, OMG it is the bomb!  I have been using the same Bare Essentials bronzer since high school, while I like it, this Too Faced bronzer is incredible!  I opened the case and it smells sooooo good.  It has incredible color pay off, you only need a tiny bit, and it is a beautiful perfect shade to give warmth to the skin.  I really liked the mascara as well.  While I am still partial to my M.A.C. Haute and Naughty mascara, this is a great backup.

Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings $20

The last few items I got were the Philosophy Total Matteness cleanser/mask, the Japonesque brush cleaner, and the OPI nail polish.  I tried the mask yesterday morning, but I will have to use it for a few weeks before I see any true results, so far so good (I think it will be a pretty good dupe for the Origins Out of Trouble mask that is being discontinued).  The brush cleaner was great, but it is a spray for quick changes and I still think I need a shampoo for a deep clean.  OPI is OPI.  I love it, I own over 100 bottles (some good, some not so good).  It is usually the only polish that stays on for me.  I have even tried other brands like Essie and found it chipped pretty quick.  I'm pretty rough on my hands though, so my polish usually doesn't last too long.

Philosophy Total Matteness $25

Japonesque Brush Cleaner $12.50

OPI You Don't Know Jacques! $9
(at Ulta OPI is buy two, get a top or base coat free!)

I hope this is helpful!  I will get reviews up of the products I haven't used yet as soon as I get to try them out.  I hope this was helpful.  I am just trying to give you some pretty inexpensive options for makeup.  Let me know if this was helpful, and any other questions you may have!

**as always the photos are from Google**