collective haul, part one: cosmetics (w/swatches & reviews)

I have so many new fun things to share with you girls from the past month!  Some of these things were birthday gifts, and the rest were purchased myself. I'm going to split this into two posts so I don't freeze your computer/phone with image overload!

I love packaging... <3  

Betsey Johnson Too Too rollerball (this scent is amazing - I need the full-size bottle, stat!!)

(I love the bags they give you at the Betsey Johnson store!)

MAC Orange Tempera lipglass, Laura Mercier Nude Lip Glace in Bare Naked

Laura Mercier Bare Naked on left, MAC Orange Tempera on right

Both of these glosses are HG material.  Orange Tempera, which is not at ALL orange, and more peachy pink, is right up my alley.  Bare Naked is the perfect formulation and shade.  I love it on top of (surprise!) nude lipsticks.  It doesn't settle into lip lines or gather in the center of the lips either. Love! Only downside for the Laura Mercier is the scent/flavor - the lip glaces have an artificial vanilla scent that I don't really like.  MAC, on the other hand, always gets the vanilla scent right.

Honeybee Gardens Karma, YSL Volupte Sheer Candy #9 Cool Guava, Tom Ford Spanish Pink

(swatched in the same order)

Honeybee Gardens lipstick in Karma

YSL Volupte Sheer Candy #9 Cool Guava

Tom Ford Spanish Pink

Karma was a totally unplanned purchase, and a really pleasant surprise. I found it when strolling through Whole Foods Market (I wanted to use my LivingSocial voucher!). I was prepared to be disappointed, as it was a brand I'd never tried. I was so happy to see this color looked as pretty on my lips as it did when I swatched the tester on my hand. A great peachy nude that's highly pigmented.  It's on the dry side, so a balm or gloss wouldn't be a bad idea.

I recently saw a post on Best Things in Beauty about the four new YSL Volupte Sheer Candy shades.  Um, what?? I am a self-proclaimed YSL Cosmetics junkie, but I had no idea about this! Sure enough, Neiman Marcus had the new shades in stock.  I only picked up #9 Cool Guava, but I'm sure I'll be back at some point for #10 Tangy Mandarine (a sheer peach). If you like Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine in Chance, I think you'll love Cool Guava.  Honestly, I'm not as in love with the RCS range as I was in the beginning, and I prefer Cool Guava over Chance. 

Believe me, I tried to restrain myself to only one Tom Ford lipstick.  Nude Vanille. That's all.  And then I saw The Beauty Lookbook's post on Spanish Pink... and the Gloss Goss' Tom Ford haul... and I was done for.  And I don't regret it at all.  I'd say of the three Tom Ford lipsticks I own (Blush Nude is the other), this one definitely is the best consistency.  It's creamy but not at all drying (Blush Nude and Nude Vanille's downfall).  It's glossy even! I've worn it several times already (hence the almost-vanished TF logo on the bullet!) and I love it.

    

YSL Shocking gel liner in Ashy Black

swatches of all the YSL Shocking Liners (Ashy Black is in the bottom row, second from left)

If you read my September Favorites post, you already know I love this eyeliner.  It's just as versatile as your standard black or brown, but a lot more fun! I've used it on my lower lashline as well, and it didn't irritate my eyes. This is why I love YSL so much - they're constantly coming out with high-quality products that I never regret purchasing! (Okay, aside from Volupte Sheer Candy in #3 Juicy Grapefruit, which I hated and returned, but I like to forget that ever happened...)

Essence Metropolitan e/s, L'Oreal Watchful Owl's Blush

(swatched in the same order)

I was scouring the Essence racks at Ulta because I had a coupon for $5 off $10 and the L'Oreal blush was $9.99 - I just needed something cheap to take it over the $10 mark! Imagine my surprise when I swatched this shadow.  So pretty, and under $2! There was another that I loved, too, but it reminded me of lots of others I already have.  

Drugstore & Ulta*:

Revlon Diamond Lust e/s in Night Sky (CVS - birthday gift)

Revlon Buffest Beige liquid lipstick (Walgreens, BOGO - also bought an e/s for Mom)

Revlon Super Lustrous lip gloss in Nude Lustre (Ulta, BOGO)

Revlon Cream Blush in Rosy Glow (Ulta, BOGO)

Sally Hansen Salon Effects ghost print nail strips (another birthday gift)

L'Oreal Owl's Night nail polish (Walgreens, BOGO)

L'Oreal Sultry Raven's Pout lipstick (Walgreens, BOGO)

Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss & Cherry Me (Ulta)

Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes mascara (Ulta)

elf blushes in Pink Passion and Fuchsia Fusion (Target, birthday gifts)

*I also used $4 from my Ulta rewards bank, and coupons! 

Maybelline Lots of Lashes applied - not too shabby!

left column: Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss, Cherry Me

right column: Revlon Buffest Beige liquid lipstick, Revlon Nude Lustre gloss (the two of them work perfectly together!), L'Oreal Sultry Raven's Pout

top: Revlon Rosy Glow cream blush, Revlon Diamond Lust e/s in Night Sky

bottom: elf Pink Passion, elf Fuchsia Fusion

L'Oreal Sultry Raven's Pout

Some thoughts on the drugstore stuff...

Unfortunately not too impressed with the Maybelline Baby Lips range, the shades or the flavors (the Cherry tastes like medicine, gross!). Pleasantly surprised by the Lots of Lashes mascara, though - Maybelline really knows how to do mascara lately, don't they?? I'd say they make the best drugstore mascaras by far (sorry, L'Oreal).

I hate the stickiness of the Revlon liquid lipstick, but Buffest Beige is a really nice color, and a very unique shade for a liquid lipstick formulation.  It definitely needs a gloss on top (way too sticky otherwise!), and Nude Lustre is a great pick. The Rosy Glow cream blush is like the broke girl's MAC Something Special cremeblend blush. The color is very similar when applied.  Sadly, the staying power isn't so great, though. The packaging is weird, too, with a mirror that slides out on the side.  Wouldn't it make more sense for that compartment to hold an application sponge?

L'Oreal's really blown my mind with the limited edition Project Runway range.  I've never really been that impressed with L'Oreal cosmetics, but I bought three things from this collection and they've all blown me away! Still hate the "flavor" of their lipsticks, but I can deal with it in the case of Sultry Raven's Pout.  It's a beautiful my-lips-but-better type of shade. No wonder it's hard to find it stocked - it's the best lipstick L'Oreal's come out with yet, in my opinion. The formula is great, too.

I haven't tried the elf blushes yet, so no thoughts on those yet!

To be continued in part two...

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

<3 Jess