I wrote at the end of last year that I wanted to work towards doing away with haul posts this year - I'm hoping to curb my spending and therefore eliminate the ability to write haul posts. As one last hurrah though, I picked up a bunch of beauty things with Sephora giftcards and other Christmas money and I've been having such a great time trying it all. I think I got a nice mix of things, from new releases to old favorites, and from face to lip products.
THE PRIMERS | I used to never wear a primer until I tried the Marc Jacobs Under(cover) Perfecting Coconut Primer, and now I'm kind of hooked. I've been super intrigued by Cover FX lately after trying one of their new powder highlighters, so I ended up grabbing their Calming Primer. This is an incredibly soothing primer with skincare ingredients to reduce redness and calm the skin. And it really, really works. Any redness is instantly knocked out of my skin, so I'm really impressed. Amelia has a great rundown of all of Cover FX's primers, too, if you're interested. I also ended up ordering the Milk Makeup Blur Stick last week when a few people had their own early access links, though it is out for everyone now. I typically can't use smoothing primers because they break me out, so seeing that this one is silicone- and oil-free made me unable to resist. I really like it so far - I'm going to have a more detailed review with before and afters up sometime in the next week or two, but so far it is really doing what it says, and despite being mattifying, it doesn't leave my skin looking dry or cakey.
THE FOUNDATION | I've wanted the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation for the longest time, so I figured it was now or never while I had some giftcards to spend. This is such a beautiful foundation and really deserves all the hype it gets, in my opinion. I've started thinking about what makeup I'm going to wear when I get married next year, and I'm sure this will be my foundation of choice. It looks so skin-like and luminous and stays looking perfect on me all day without getting greasy or cakey.
THE BLUSH | I've been so in love with the Marc Jacobs Air Blush Soft Glow Duo since trying it last year, and given my love of neutral blushes I'm surprised it took me so long to get my hands on Flesh & Fantasy. This is just the perfect bronze-y blush with just a hint of sheen, so it really adds a healthy glow to the face. The formula of these blushes is unreal, too.
THE LIP BALMS | When I saw that Bite Beauty were releasing an Agave Lip Balm to go with their Agave Lip Mask (which is my holy grail lip balm - I can't go a night without it!), I knew I needed it. I love that it comes in a stick so I don't have to use my fingers to apply it when I'm out and about. It's of course not as hydrating as the original mask, but it is still so nicely nourishing throughout the day. It's a super smooth formula that doesn't feel sticky, too. For a tinted option, I finally got my hands on the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Honey. I had such a moment with the Petal shade last year, so I wanted to try this more brown-y nude shade. So far, it's all love.
THE LIPSTICKS | I've also been having a moment with more dramatic lipsticks, wearing a different one every weekend. I finally decided to bite the bullet and get the NARS Lipstick in Scarlet Empress. It's a beautiful berry red shade with a satin finish. It's not the most pigmented lipstick I've ever tried, but I love the soft flushed stain it brings to the lips. It isn't patchy at all, and it builds up to an opaque finish super nicely. I'm in love. I also had to get one of the new shades of the Sephora Cream Lip Stains, seeing as they're still one of my favorite liquid lipstick formulas. I went for the shade Vintage Rosewood (41), which actually upon swatching I realized was sort of similar to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Allison. It's just a nice deep rosy brown shade. I also had to get my hands on one of the new Marc Jacobs Le Marc Liquid Lip Cremes in the shade Shush, Blush (456). I'm surprised I didn't go for Slow Burn, the dusty pink shade, but again, I've been into a slightly bolder lip. This is a lovely deep pink shade that looks a bit coral-y on me - normally warm shades look odd, but I love this one. The formula is beautiful and comfortable as well - it doesn't fully set, but it still lasts quite well.
Did you pick up any beauty products after the holidays?