Hi all!
I’m currently in Sausalito, California all snugged up by the fireplace and overlooking the sea as I write up this post.
Life. Is. Good.
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| My new “corner” 🙂 |
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| Breakfast by the sea! |
Anyway, if you follow me on Instagram, you’d know I had a pretty crazy haul a few days ago. I’m back in the States to spend Christmas with my family and while I’m here, of course I have to go crazy in the drugstores.
I scored some amazing deals in CVS and Walgreens for being a member, and snatched some amazing goodies that I’ve been eyeing for a while at Sephora too. (Will be covering my Sephora haul in my next post!)
So far, I’ve been loving most of the stuff I got but there are some things that I actually returned.
Here are snaps of my haul:
Read on to see which of these I ended up loving, and which ones I returned!
Milani
Milani “Bella Eyes” Gel Powder Eyeshadows
I can’t believe I waited this long to finally get these. These are the most buttery and crazy pigmented drugstore eyeshadows I’ve tried. I nabbed 7 shadows in my first purchase, and got 5 more in my next drugstore-visit. Aaand I got an additional 2 along the way. So I have 14 in total now. I can’t stop getting them, they’re THAT good!
So, they’re basically powder eyeshadows with the texture and finish of a gel (or cream?) eyeshadow, meaning they’d be buttery and soft.
There are 30 shades in total with a wide range of colors and finishes from matte to shimmery and everything in between.
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| Clockwise L-R: Bella Copper, Bella Rouge, Bella Khaki, Bella Rose |
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| From top to bottom L-R: Bella Chiffon, Bella Caffe, Bella Sand, Bella Navy, Bella Teal, Bella Emerald |
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| Bella Purple |
These retail for ONLY $3.99 but I got some of them for buy 1, get 2nd 50%, and some for less than $2 each. How insane is that?
They swatch beautifully with fingers, but they’re just as pigmented when applied with a brush. I’ve only tried Chiffon, Copper and Sand so far and I LOVE them, they last all day and didn’t crease. The colors also remained vibrant throughout the day.
I will experiment with them more when I’m in Melbourne!
Meanwhile, here are the swatches:
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| Milani Bella Eyes Swatches |
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| Milani Bella Eyes Swatches |
My favorite colors would actually have to be Bella Chiffon, Bella Khaki, Bella Copper and Bella Rouge. I can’t wait to try Rouge and Khaki on my eyes!
Illuminating Face Powder
This is one of the items that I haven’t actually tried yet. I’ve swatched it and it looks amazing!
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| Milani Illuminating Face Powder |
It claims to be a combination of bronzer, blush and highlighter/illuminator, but it seems to be more of a tinted highlighter.
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| Milani Illuminating Face Powder |
For a drugstore highlighter, this is pretty amazing. How beautiful is that glow?
L’Oreal
Visible Lift Blur Blush in Soft Pink
I forgot to swatch this and take pictures of it, what was I thinking?!
But trust me, this cream blush is amazing! Although I find that this is a hit-or-miss type of product, some people really dislike this for various reasons.
Everything in the “Visible Lift” line is silicone based, targeted to diminish the look of pores and fine lines, so this blush that comes in a tube is a silicone based blush with soft of a silicone-ey/gel texture, which comes out to be a bit clumpy. Weird, I know, but it glides on the skin smoothly when blended.
I love how this looked on my skin – my cheeks look airbrushed! The shade Soft Pink has got tiny specks of gold shimmer and it adds a nice glow to the skin.
If you like silicone based primers, you would definitely enjoy this product, but if you don’t, you might want to look into their Color Lift Blushes instead.
Some people complain that the blending of this product is pretty difficult, but I personally didn’t have a problem with blending it – maybe coz I dabbed it on the skin instead of swirling it around?
However, I do have one problem with this blush, which is its longevity – it doesn’t last past the 4 or 5-hour mark. So I’d sometimes top this off with a powder blush of a similar shade and it’ll help make the color last a bit longer.
I liked the Soft Pink so much that I recently purchased another one, in Soft Berry!
Visible Lift Blur Concealer in Medium
My skin has been terribly dry this past week (basically ever since I got here) and my Cle de Peau concealer hasn’t been all that helpful in keeping my dark circles concealed and moisturized. I needed something much more moisturizing, and I’m so glad I came across this drugstore gem.
I got this in the shade Medium and it is a bit on the yellower side, but works well on top of the Tarte salmon-based color corrector I’ve been using under my eyes.
As you can see below, it worked well to diminish my blue veins although a bit too yellow. Plus, I love how it feels on the skin!
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| L’Oreal Visible Lift Blur Concealer in Medium |
This has been my go-to concealer over the past week and I’m sure it’ll be in my favorites for this month!
Infallible Eye Crayons
L’Oreal Infallible eyeshadows are seriously one of the best products available in the drugstores, and when I saw these eye crayons in the stands, of course I couldn’t resist. I loved the pressed pigments so much, and had high expectations for these crayons!
They all swatched beautifully on my hand as seen below.
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| L’Oreal Infallible Eye Crayons |
I’ve only tried the taupe shade on my eyes (bottom swatch), but unfortunately it (1) is pigmented only when first applied, the pigmentation fades to almost nothing when blended out, (2) it creased on my lids after only 2-3 hours of wear, and (3) almost completely disappeared by the 5th hour.
I was so disappointed! I immediately returned the taupe shade, and have yet to try the other two. I’ve kept them aside for later use but I really hope they won’t turn out to be as bad as the taupe!
Maybelline
24 Hr Color Tattoo Leather in Chocolate Suede
This was another one I had high expectations of. I loved the original color tattoo line, especially the shade Bad To The Bronze, my favorite cream eye shadow of all time.
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| Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather in Chocolate Suede |
Sad to report that the texture is SO WEIRD! See the swatch below:
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| Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather in Chocolate Suede |
It’s runny, feels almost like water, and I can’t blend it at all. It’s very patchy, no matter how many times I try to blend it out, it always ends up patchy. It seriously has the weirdest texture ever.
Of course I had to return this one too.
Physicians Formula
Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Trio in Warm Nude Eyes
This was another product that disappointed me.
The packaging looked so eye catching, I love how warm and vibrant the shades look.
When I first swatched them, I was so impressed because they were pigmented and so buttery soft and creamy.
However, after leaving them on for about 4-5 minutes, I did the “swipe” test and swiped a finger across the liners.
And this happened:
How much longer should I have waited to let them “set”? After five minutes they should have dried up already, but these were still a bit wet and easily budged.
I was tempted to return this but decided to keep it anyway because the colors are so pretty – I really want to keep them, and I might find it useful as an eyeshadow base.
So, although they disappointed me, I will keep trying to make them work!
Physicians Formula Super CC+ Cream SPF 30
Words can’t express how in love I am with this CC cream. I never thought I’d get sucked in into the whole BB/CC cream bandwagon, but I just did, and I love this one. Probably the only “CC Cream” I’d ever like. I’ve swatched so many other CC creams and never ended up liking any of them, but this one’s different. It has a much lighter feel to it and feels so soft on the skin, not tacky at all unlike most other BBs and CC creams out there.
Will do a more thorough review of this one later as I plan on getting the whole range of products!
Wet n Wild
Color Icon 8-Pan Eyeshadow Palette in Poster Child
This was one of the purchases I was most excited about – I’ve always loved Wet n Wild palettes (I even have two of the Comfort Zone palette) and getting new ones just excite me! I got these for buy 1, get 2nd 50% off!
The first one I had an eye on was this colorful one called Poster Child but I was honestly a bit skeptical about the pigmentation of the lighter colors, especially the yellow.
Boy, was I wrong. The yellow shade turned out to have a slight satin finish and looks so beautiful! It isn’t completely opaque but was definitely buildable.
The turquoise had the most obvious satin/metallic finish, the rest were a combination of satin matte and matte with shimmer. These tend to have a bit of fallout and do crumble a bit when picked up with a brush, especially the matter shades, but as long as you dab it on the lids – not swiping it across – you should be fine.
My favorite shades out of this palette would be the yellow, turquoise, and the coral pink crease color.
It is worth nothing, though, that these eyeshadows will look so much more vibrant on top of primer. All these swatches are swatched on bare skin, without primer. Just imagine how much more vibrant the colors would be with primer!
Wet n Wild Color Icon 5-Pan Eyeshadow Palette in Floral Values
The second one I got was this beautiful purpley-pink palette called Floral Values. It has a very romantic feel to it, doesn’t it? I think this would be perfect for a date night look or for Valentine’s day!
My favorite shade is the pink eyelid color, which has got a satin finish. The light lavender browbone shade is a shimmer, the base shade and purple definer shade are mattes, and the dark purple crease color is a matte with shimmer.
I’m so, so obsessed with the pink shade! I can’t wait to wear this!
Color Icon Trio in Spoiled Brat & I’m Getting Sunburned
These trios are the most eye catching ones on the stand. Spoiled Brat (left) gives off a badass sort of vibe, and the I’m Getting Sunburned (right) literally reminds me of getting sunburned from sunbathing on the beach.
These also have great pigmentation and aren’t too powdery/crumbly.
These shades are all shimmery/frosty, especially the browbone colors. The silver browbone color of the Spoiled Brat trio is amazingly vibrant, isn’t it!
My favorite shades would have to be the eyelid colors, though. I just love the burned golden color of the I’m Getting Sunburned trio, it’s a very neutral shade that will go with any type of look. The hot pink eyelid color from the Spoiled Brat trio is so vibrant and pigmented, and is very wearable although very unique and unconventional for an eyelid color.
Wet n Wild Mega Last Matte Lip Colors in Think Pink, Just Peachy & Wine Room
I’ve been eyeing these lipsticks for FOREVER! I don’t know why I waited this long to finally get my hands on them. Guess I’ve always been distracted by lipsticks with glossier finishes!
The three shades I got were 901B Think Pink (pale, nude pink), 903C Just Peachy (nude peach), and 906D Wine Room.
These were unbelievably cheap, I got them for about $2 each after tax – isn’t that nuts?
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| Wet n Wild Mega Last Matte Lip Colors in 901B Think Pink, 903C Just Peachy & 906D Wine Room |
These weren’t as matte as I expected, they were a bit satiny. The color payoff is remarkable for a lipstick that is only $2!
The only downside would probably be the fact that it kind of drags on the skin when being applied, but I personally don’t have a problem with this. As long as it ends up looking great, I really don’t care! Oh, and they lasted for a good 5 hours even after meals. Pretty darn good for $2! Can’t complain.
Here are lip swatches of the shades I got, but please excuse the quality of the pictures! Taken with iPhone under bad lighting, so, bare with me 🙂
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| Wet n Wild Mega Last Matte Lip Colors in 901B Think Pink |
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| Wet n Wild Mega Last Matte Lip Colors in 903C Just Peachy |
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| Wet n Wild Mega Last Matte Lip Colors in 906D Wine Room |
I recently got Lancome’s lipgloss in the shde On Fire, and it looks amazing on top of Wine Room.
So I hope you guys enjoyed browsing through my haul! I know I didn’t mention the lipbalms (Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue and EOS lipbalm in Coconut Milk) and It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Plus Keratin spray in the post, but that’s because I haven’t tried them at all, but I’m sure they’ll be great!
Will be posting a breakdown of my Sephora haul next, and my travel diary too!
Hope you’re all having a great holiday. I’m sorry I haven’t had time to reply to comments lately, will try though!
Happy holidays, my loves! XO
