A Haul to End All Hauls

This is the most collective of hauls.
Over the course of the summer and fall, I've picked up a couple of new products here and there. There have been many-a-shopping excursion over the past few months aside from my recent Sephora Friends & Family Haul.
I picked up a lot of great stuff that I am absolutely loving, and some other things that I probably could have forgone. 

The product I am loving the most are these MAC Pro Sculpting Creams, part of the Face & Body collection they released this fall. 

Top: Pure Sculpture & Coffee Walnut
Bottom, right: [top] Coffee Walnut, [bottom] Pure Sculpture

I first got the colour "Pure Sculpture" (left) which is the more reddish/orange tone. This product is actually very comparable in colour and texture to my beloved Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel. However, for sculpting this was not a good colour match for me and I'm a little peeved that the MAC lady sold me on this. That being said, the second colour I picked up, Coffee Walnut (right), is an absolute dream! I also about this particular shade in my most recent Current Product Loves post. Coffee Walnut is a brownish/greenish shade and when applied to the hollows of the cheeks it just gives the most natural looking shadow. It's really a fantastic product and it was well worth all the hunting I did for it.

Another MAC product I've picked up is the 116 brush. 

I was looking for the 109 brush, but they didn't have it in stock and the MAC lady (a different one than the evil lady who sold me pure sculpture) offered up the 116 in replacement. I really like that it's a stiff, domed blush brush and I've gotten a lot of use out of it thus far. Happy purchase!

I had been dying to try the Too Faced Better Than False Lashes system, and in July, I finally picked it up for myself. 

This lash system is a 3 step process: first and third involved using the bigger gold tube of mascara to coat the lashes, and the second step is the "nylon lash extension." The application is simple and not too time consuming, it also doesn't take a lot of effort to get the desired look. My lashes definitely did look longer, so it worked! However, because of the fibres, my top and bottom lashes had a tendency to get stuck together when I blinked. It wasn't uncomfortable, per se, but it was definitely a strange sensation.

Too Faced Better Than False Lashes: this is the wand for the "nylon lash extensions" - you can see the fibres coating the wand

Two random baubles that I picked up were the Wet n' Wild Idol Eyes eye shadow pencil in the shade Pixi and MAC Studio Finish concealer in the shade NC20. 

I like them both, that's all I can really say about these. They're both pretty generic products. The WnW shadow pencil is really easy to apply to the eyes, and it blends easily, although I do recommend using a base and topping it with a shadow because it won't last long on its own. The MAC concealer is also really creamy and easy to blend and I have been using it mostly as an under eye concealer to help preserve the longevity of my beloved Bobbi Brown corrector. 

I've been a slave to my eyebrows lately and I wanted to try some drugstore eyebrow pencils. For days when I don't have time or don't want to spend the time filling in my eyebrows with powder (MAC Omega) I wanted a pencil for quick and easy touch ups. 

I picked the Rimmel professional Eyebrow Pencil in the shade Hazel and the Wet n' Wild Coloricon pencil in the shade Taupe. I won't be getting a lot of use out of the Rimmel pencil because it is way too orange for my brows/complexion. Unfortunately, Hazel is the lightest shade they have and the next shade up is way too dark. I do love the Wet n' Wild pencil though. Taupe is an ashy blonde colour and it works really well with my eyebrows. The texture of the pencil is very creamy/waxy (because these pencils are also meant to be eyeliners) so I find that it tames my brows along with filling them in. I wish that it came with a spooly on the end, but whatever.

I guess you can say I went a little blush crazy over the past few months.

I purchased my first two ever Topshop cosmetic products. I went for two cream blushes because I've heard the best things about those. I picked up the shades Head over Heels, which is a coral shade (definitely super easy to blend it out and make it more muted) and High Five, which is a bright pink shade. Both of these cream blushes are easily blended to create a flawless flush on your cheeks. I also finally caved and bought my first Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in the shade Tipsy. Tipsy is the most orangey/coral shade offered in the range, and I bought it on recommendation from Vivianna Does Makeup (as per usual). These blushes are super pigmented and definitely worth all the hype they get, in my opinion. I don't think I'll be able to get a lot of use out of this blush during the winter months because I get super pale in the winter I don't think I'll be able to pull off such a bright coral. But for summer, this blush was lovely.

REVLON KISSABLE BALM STAINS!!! I know, I'm probably more excited about these than any normal person should be.

bottom swatches: Charms, Honey, Cherish, Rendezvous, Adore

I was so stoked when these finally showed up in Canadian drugstores. Right off the bat, I purchased Charm, Cherish, Honey, and Rendezvous - brighter colours for summer, and Honey and Charm being more neutral/everyday shades that would have the most wear. Most recently, I picked up Adore, a deep red tube but the colour of the product itself is a lot more orangey/red, but still really nice. Here's a picture of me wearing it that I posted to my instagram:

As you can see, it's not the deepest red, but it's still wearable, especially this season.

Last up, L'Oreal Colour Riche by Colour Caresse (unnecessary long name)

The swatches are flipped
swatches [right pic]: Sunset Angora, Pink Cashmere

I picked up two shades: 171 Pink Cashmere and 176 Sunset Angora. I don't get as much use out of these as the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains, but I still do like these lip products. They are very creamy and they have better pigmentation than Revlon Lip Butters. They don't wear too long, maybe only an hour or two before they need reapplication. These are not to be confused with a tinted lip balm because they are not moisturizing nor are they forigiving on dry lips. The square gold packaging is very chic and I want to look into some of the deeper colours from this range for fall/winter.

WHAT A DOOZY

That was a long ass post for a big ass haul.
So that's a pretty good overview of the products that I've purchased throughout the summer, some that I'm loving and some not so much.

xoxoDarlingBuds

Anxiously Awaiting...

A lot of beauty blogs based in the UK and the United States have really been really teasing me lately. It seems that all other countries except Canada have already released these awesome new products...

The Revlon "Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains" resemble the Clinique Chubby Sticks. According to many sources, they are even better than the oh-so-loved Revlon Lip Butters. Revlon has really been stepping up their game lately, and these balm stains look so cute! I can't wait to try them

Another lip product that has been tickling my fancy are the L'Oreal Caresse lipsticks. They are supposed to be L'Oreal's answer to the Revlon Lip Butters -- AGAIN, another lip butter "dupe". Obviously the head honchos behind new beauty products have discovered that people are super into sheerer lip products that still offer good colour payoff, à la Chanel Rouge Coco Shine.

Once these products finally hit Canadian shelves, the next problem I'll be facing is which colours to get. Until then...

xoxoDarlingBuds

Mascara of the Week: L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes

WEEK #1

This past week, I've been using L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara. This mascara is pretty neat. It's a dual-ended mascara; the first wand is a primer, while the second is the actual mascara. L'Oreal claims that using the two formulas in tandem extends the body of your lashes. Not only are you supposedly going to get super long lashes, but the other super neat thing about this mascara is that to take it off at the end of the day, you just hold a warm water soaked compress to your eyes and the mascara just slides off in 'tubes' - hence the "beauty tubes" aspect of this mascara. 

wand #1 - the lash primer

wand #2 - the mascara

no mascara!

According to the packaging, this mascara claims to give "80% visibly longer lashes." On the packaging, it also promises that the benefits of tube mascara is that it's long wearing, smudge proof, flake proof, and clump-free. Let's test those claims...

one coat step #1 - the primer

one coat step #2 - the mascara

I have to admit, this masacara wears really well throughout the whole day. I didn't have any problems whatsoever with smudging or flaking. However, I did notice that on a couple days, this mascara applied a little clumpy, which I do not like at all! It also looks really hard and spikey AND it does not hold a curl very well at all. In fact, I noticed that after applying the primer, I still had a semblance of a curl to my lashes, but after applying the second step to the mascara, the curl was completely gone. I don't know if this mascara formula is heavier because of the "beauty tube" aspect but it definitely didn't hold a curl and that is something that I'm looking for in my perfect mascara. 

The wand itself was okay - it was a on the big-ish side, and awkward to get to the lashes in the inner corner but it wasn't overly difficult to use. It's your basic typical, spooley mascara wand. 

People may think that the dual-ended primer + mascara aspect of this product is probably just a gimmick. I honestly think that using the mascara in conjunction with the primer did add a bit of length to my lashes. And the primer also plays a role in the ease of taking the mascara off. Other primers may be a waste of time and packaging, but in this case, it's the purpose of this product.

after being removed with water - the mascara comes off in "tubes"

I'm going to rate the mascara now based on the categories initially mapped out in my "How I'll Conduct a Mascara Review" post

1. Lash separation: 4 out of 5
2. Lash volume: 3 out of 5

3. Lash length: 4 out of 5
4. Holds curl: 1 out of 5 
5. Staying power: 5 out of 5
6. Mascara wand: 3 out of 5
7. Taking it off: 5 out of 5

8. Overall appearance: 3 out of 5

9. Overall score 28 out of 40

I think this mascara is really good if you need a mascara that you know will last throughout the whole day without flaking or smudging. For staying power alone I would repurchase this mascara. The fact that it doesn't move until you soak your eye with water is also a plus. It's a tried and true stay put mascara, but the hard, spiky appearance and its poor performance in holding a curl is a big disappointment. For a night out or a long day, I would wear this, but it's not a go-to everyday favourite.

The search continues...

xoxoDarlingBuds

A Beauty Haul for Y'all

I've been shopping. These products are not all from one shopping trip. What kind of person do you think I am?? Haha...but seriously, I could do so much more damage in one day. But I'm getting better.

I'm starting a new little series type thing. My Mascara Problems post hinted at this new idea. I'm going to start a series on my quest for the best mascara. I'm starting with drugstore brands first. So when I was at Walmart and Shopper's Drug Mart, I picked up some mascaras to help me dive into this new endeavour that I will be taking on. I've heard good things about all the mascaras pictured above and I can't wait to try them out and see how they wear. Stay tuned for full reviews of these mascaras coming soon...

Also from Walmart, I picked up this random blending brush I found in the cosmetics section. It's from a brand from SOHO London and it was under $10. I've used it a couple times already and so far I really like it. I mean, it blends...so it does its job accordingly. I wasn't about to fork out over $30 for the MAC 224 blending brush, and this one suits me just fine for now. 

I couldn't go to a drugstore without getting some nail polish. I HAVE A PROBLEM! But look how pretty they are...I picked up: (from left to right) Essie "Sand Tropez"/ Essie "Tart Deco" and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Lacey Lilac". Look for these coming to a NOTD post near you!

I also made a stop into Sally's Beauty Supply a little while back and picked up this donut hair thingy. You use it to create the perfect high fashion bun, or I guess you could use it for a  chignon like the label says. Comme ci, comme ça! Maybe I'll post it in a HOTD post (hair of the day)!


And now for the grand finale!

So many beauty gurus on youtube, especially Tanya Burr, or pixi2woo, RAVE about this highlighting powder from Dior. When Shopper's was having their 20X the Optimum Points event, I jumped at the chance and finally got this product. I feel as though, if I'm going to buy this product at some point eventually, I might as well collect a bunch of Optimum Points in the process. 
I haven't had the chance to use it yet, nor have I wanted to make that first sweep into the product because it's just so beautiful and glamorous!

High-end cosmetics are such a luxury, I know. The packaging on this is beautiful! It comes with a little velvet pouch to keep the compact in, to avoid fingerprint and scratches I guess. It just seems like such a beautiful little item to have in my possession. I'm treasuring it like a baby!

The product itself is an absolutely beautiful array of golds, peaches, and whites. I can't wait to actually use this product for the first time. And y'all know that I'll be using it for a makeup look sometime soon :)

That's the end of my haul! Until next time...

xoxoDarlingBuds