BEAUTY HAUL

I have been so slack lately that I have way too much to catch up on now.  But that's the procrastinator in me!  So over the last month or so, I have acquired quite a bit of cosmetics and hair products that I absolutely adore... And, some not so much.  I am sorry that I do not have swatches but I will try to update at a later time with those.

Starting off with nails (my fave if you haven't noticed)... I am so in love with dark but not black nails.  I have been looking for a pretty dark blue and I found that in Orly's 'Star of Bombay'.  Ooooh, this is a gorgeous navy blue that's to die for!

That same day, I purchased Orly's 'Oh Cabana Boy' that is super bright pink... probably on the side of neon almost.  I like to do bright colors in the winter from time to time because it gives me that happy feeling amidst the dark, cold and gloomy winter weather.  Need something to brighten your day?  This is definitely it!

To protect the nails,  I purchased Orly's 'Nail Armour' which is stated to be a 'liquid nail wrap' with Orly's patented 'Ridgefiller' technology.  I can't say if this item is a must but my nails actually do feel better when I take my polish off after using this as a base coat.  In addition to the 'Nail Armour', I bought a mini bottle of Orly's 'Nailtrition' which is to help with peeling or splitting nails.  I  bit my nails for 23 years or so, so believe me when I say my nails are NOT in the best of shape!

 

And, most recently I purchased Essie's 'Chinchilla' which is more along the lines of my dark winter shades.  It is a really pretty gray but not nearly as dark as OPI's 'You Dont' Know Jacques'.  I absolutely adore how this color makes my engagement ring stand out even more!

 

So thats it for nails... At least its all I can remember.  My nail polish collection has gotten ridiculously large and now I need to find a new way to store them so that they are more organized.  Currently, I just use a plastic bin which takes me forever to find a specific color.  Or most times I completely forget I have certain colors because they are at the very bottom!

Moving on to make up with Make Up Forever's HD foundation.  I purchased this because of all the hype and I must say, it does live up to it.  The application is actually quite light for it to be a full coverage foundation.  MAC's equivalent in the Studio Fix is definitely much thicker.  While it is on the pricey side, I don't see myself using it as my daily foundation so I see it lasting me a while.

 

Applying MUFE's HD foundation was extra easy using my new Sigma Flat Top Kabuki Brush.  I've been using a Sonia Kashuk kabuki brush and let me just say, these brushes are not even in the same league.  The Sigma Kabuki brush is well constructed and has had very minimal bristle fall out.  It spreads the foundation well and evenly... I really don't know how I lived without it!  I would definitely have to thank my fellow bloggers for putting me on to that one.

 

Staying with foundation application, I might as well mention Smashbox's Photo Finish Foundation Primer.  This stuff is great as well!  It goes on quite smooth and a little goes a long way so don't over use which is quite easy to do.  I did buy the travel size because I only wanted to try it out so I am pretty frugal when it comes to dispensing it.  Prior to using this, I was using a primer from Victoria's Secret which I actually love.  I have nothing bad to say about that one and the price was phenomenal for the size!  Smashbox' Primer has just been the popular kid in school lately so I thought I would give it a try.  I can't say I am in love or even that it is all that its cracked up to be.  Its a decent primer, period.

 

For my cheeks, I treated myself to MAC's 'Gingerly' blush which is what I've been needing for my more toned down days.  Its a little hard to pull off the barely there make up look with dark bronzed or plum colored cheeks.  This blush is VERY neutral and is so slight that it probably does look like its the natural color of my cheeks.  Perfect, lets just hope the people I run into in the public agree with me! Lol.

 

I absolutely adore The Fancy Face's brows and I noticed one of her staples was Nars' Coconut Grove eyeshadow to fill in her brows.  Whenever I go to the MAC counter, they always recommend this dark brown, which to me really isn't dark enough.  But the Nars' Coconut Grove does the trick!  I don't even use nearly as much as I use to with the MAC because I don't have to pack it on to achieve the color I desire.  The Coconut Grove is super dark and a few swipes is all I need.

 

I feel like I am being so cliche by saying that I've been on the hunt for the perfect nude lipstick because almost every girl seems to be on that same hunt.  But, I must say I have found the one.  And, no I am not talking about my dear fiancee Steven! Lol.  I am talking about Nars' 'Little Darling' nude lipstick.  First of all, I want to start off by saying this lipstick feel like chapstick on.  It is really moisturizing and not drying at all like most lipsticks are.  But the color itself is what won me over.  When I tested the 'tester' in Sephora I knew I had to have it but of course they were sold out.  It was a limited edition shade and they were not getting more in.  This may have stopped a rookie but no siree, I went home and googled my ass off until I found it at Drugstore.com.  I know, how odd that they sell it right?!  But hey, I can care less where it came from (well thats not completely true! Lol) as long as I got my lips on it!

 

I'm going to end this post with one of my biggest splurges but most wanted "toys".  My HAIR STEAMER!  I ordered mine from Huetiful which has some super fast standard shipping!  I ordered it on a Friday and it was delivered the very next Tuesday.  I was able to use it on Wednesday and I can't tell the difference quite yet.  I expect to see changes over time so I will definitely update you guys as necessary.

 

So thats the end of my beauty haul and I probably won't be buying much else anytime soon.  All these items were things I've wanted for quite some time and have finally been able to cross off my list.