I had a really hard time naming this post...but yes my makeup buying ban/challenge is over and I am so happy, proud and excited! I actually cut my ban short by a month, it was initially supposed to be 8 months altogether and end on my birthday (25th of May). However I decided to cut it short, mainly due to the sheer amount of stress I was under with University (sometimes the only thing that helps is spending money, we've all been there!). I'm so happy I set myself the challenge and I'm even more happy that I carried it through for so long. Whilst looking back at my posts, there does seem to be this theme of 'spending bans' and 'opps I spent some money' and I realised I'm slightly hard on myself...so Iqra, when you're reading this in the future, remember that - you work hard, so don't feel so bad about spending your money pls, tysm.
Anyways I'll have a post about this whole not buying makeup thing, up on my blog soon, because as a self-confessed beauty addict and beauty blogger too, of course buying makeup is something I LOVE doing on the regular! However I learnt a lot from this experience and I'm pretty excited to share it with you all too. Yes treat yoself sometimes, but also sometimes just using up the lovely makeup you already own is the better option...Anyways I feel like this is the most rambliest intro ever.. let's get stuck into the first haul of the month!! (and there are a good couple more to come later on hehehe).
I am insanely excited about everything in this haul, because after not buying makeup for such a long time, of course new makeup is SUPER CALA-FRAGALISTICALLY-EXCITING. However my new (and almost finish collection) of Makeup Geek shadows definitely tops the list. Since purchasing the first six shadows back in March, from my work gift card (post here) I have fully understood the hype behind the brand. Of course once you purchase more than a couple of shadows it does add up, and I never thought I'd start my own collection of single shadows because of this, but the quality is SO good. I will say now that they aren't all a solid 5/5, but they're all between a 4-5/5 from what I have tried so far and that is incredible!! There is something very satisfying about selecting colours you want for your own palette, especially as the majority of palettes I've purchased have a couple of shades I just don't bother using, or there are are one or two dud shades which aren't on par with the others. I am in LOVE with my MUG palette, srsly one of my newest hobbies is propping the palette open and just gazing at it haha. Once I've got the last of the shades filled up, I'll be doing a massive post with swatches and reviews. I purchased the rest of the shadows in multiple orders, but for one of the larger orders I actually got In the spotlight for free. This was such a lovely perk, especially since it's a foiled shadow and costs £7.95, plus the formula and shine is SO BEAUTIFUL! The standard eyeshadows costs £4.95 per pan and contain 1.8g of eyeshadow.
And lets just take a moment for VENOM, the only non-matte shade from these four and that swatch up there, is only one swipe how utterly gorgeous. A khaki shade (which is my favourite colour of LIFE) mixed with the flecks of gold...from the moment I saw Marlena swatch this in her video, I knew it had to be mine and for real you guys..it's everything I wanted it to be and more. The formula of ALL of these are amazing, MUG do mattes so well, not just shimmer/sheen/non-mattes. Since purchasing these eyeshadows, I've been comparing them to other palette's I have, especially the high end ones and the matte shades from makeup geek, blow palette mattes out of the water. I am so thrilled, which you might be able to tell already from the amount I own!
I also purchased the Large MUFE Empty Metal Palette (£8.00) after I had ordered a couple more shades. I've had my Z palette for almost two years and it's looking pretty battered. Although I liked the clear window on that palette, firstly it didn't fit enough shades and secondly I just didn't think it was secure enough to hold my precious shadows. Yes, I said precious haha, I just couldn't risk dropping the palette and having them all shattered to smithereens, so after doing a bit of research I found the MUFE one, which is not only larger but cheaper too. This palette fits 32 shadows in...for a moment I was tempted to purchase the extra large one, but realistically I only want 32 single shadows and I certainly don't need more than that, so this size was precautionary haha. You can get smaller sizes of this palette too, in case you don't want quite as many as I do. Another thing I love about this palette aside from the value for money, is the fact that it comes with a thick layer of a foam sheet which goes just over the shadows and literally cushions them from any falls. The magnet is extremely strong, which is mostly a good thing, but you do need to be careful when lifting up the pans as my finger slipped trying to lift up that gorgeous pink shade (Tuscan Sun) and made a dent in it *overly dramatic sad moment here please* Despite this sad situation it could be worse but still, I'd much rather have a strong makeup palette which I can trust to hold a hefty amount of shadows, than a weak flimsy one. Anyway if you're starting your own MUG collection of shadows, I highly recommend you pick on of these up! MUFE Palette > Z Palette for sure.
As I have gotten into eyeshadows SOOO much, I thought it was only fitting to purchase a couple more brushes. I did want to purchase a Zoeva brush set, but personally I don't have the money to blow on one since their large price increase (£65 in one go, for some eyeshadow brushes is just not cool, maybe when I get my first real adult job salary then I'll be able to justify it). I opted for morphe brushes instead and the Morphe M330 is what I purchased first - I 10000% recommend this to you all! I actully haven't photographed it here, it was hiding in my room somewhere, but seriously It is one of the best blending brushes out there and I'll be picking up a couple more. The others I own are: E18, M135, M139, E21 and the MB23. I won't go into these here as I'm planning on doing a full post just focused on these brushes so keep an eye out for that.
I decided to purchase the Morphe E6 (£11.95) brush too, as I had watched a couple of videos and people said it's a great brush for the bases you don't use a beauty blender with. So the more water based or lower coverage foundations. This has been described as similar to the famous Sigma F80, (which is double the price!) but just a little smaller. I've been using it for about a week consistently and I do like it, but I'm such a beauty-blender lover that it's just a little odd to be using a brush again.
Moving on to lips, let me just give you a heads up readers, I am FINALLY able to jump on the liquid lipstick bandwagon and the excitement is very real! I was actually lucky enough to receive one of the Stila mini xmas gift sets back in December and I LOVED the formula so much. I reviewed the shade Baci (here) and I recently picked up the shade Caramello (£16.00) when ASOS had a 20% student discount running - I'm not sure if I'll be getting another year of discounts so I took advantage heh. The formula of the Stila LLs are very creamy and quite thick. I don't LOVE the shade Caramello, which I have swatched below, I was hoping it would be the ideal nude liquid lipstick for me, however it does wash me out. So I've been using it with deeper lipliners or mixing it with other colours.
I also purchased two of the new shades from the Gerard Cosmetics hydra matte liquid lipstick line (£9.50), which is a totally new brand to me. Of course I had seen all the hype of the 1995 lipstick a couple of years back, but the brand was a hassle to get a hold of. Thank goodness for beautybay because we have so many more brands, accessible from one easy place yaaaas. Anyway I picked up 'Everything Nice' which is literally the most perfect shade for me EVER. I feel like they bottled my perfect colour and I will 100% be picking up a back up or two when it's back in stock. I do wish it wouldn't dry darker than it does when first applied, but still it's a beautifully flattering colour which I just can't explain so I hope the swatch does the talking. I've been reaching for 'everything nice' almost everyday - obsessed. The second shade I picked up is '1995' which is the liquid version of their famous lipstick. If you didn't know, I was actually born in 1995 so I simply had to have this shade - especially when I saw how beautiful it was for the colder months. So far I really like the formula of these liquid lipsticks, they're lightweight, fairly pigmented and not super drying either. Look out for them in future LOTW posts!
Also from the U.S I did a little shopping on my favourite online site, where I always purchase my L.A girl concealers - some of my favourites! The site is BeautyJoint and as long as I spend less than £20 I never get charged customs. I picked up the Coty Airspun powder in Translucent ($8.99) after seeing it on a couple of YouTube videos. I was hoping to purchase the RMCA No Colour Powder, but alas twas out of stock, when I picked up the MUFE palette. So instead I purchased this and it certainly does have a strong scent, however first impressions are fantastic! It really is translucent and keeps my concealer from creasing too (although remember, if you have fine lines, your concealer will always crease a little regardless!). I also picked up the L.A Girl Pro Conceal Concealer in 'Pure Beige' ($2.99) which is my closest match to my skin-tone. I use the shade creamy beige for brightening up the area by the way - reviewed here. I also purchased the Milani Nude Primer ($6.99), and although I've not had the chance to try it on the lids yet, swatching it on my hand and comparing without and with - it is AMAZING! I've heard that this is a dupe for the urban decay and too faced versions, just a lot cheaper and I have a feeling I'll be loving this and mentioning it in several posts. Especially with my new eyeshadow obsession, I know having a primer this good will go a long way.
Last but certainly not least, I purchased the NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint in Stromboli (£30.00) again in the 20% ASOS sale - such a bargain! Since my dissertation and exam stress, my skin has been an absolute mess, breakouts, dry patches, the whole shebang. However I was desperate to try this base and first impressions are, the staying power is fantastic, but it's better for normal/oily skin as it does highlight and cling to dry patches. I am slowly healing my skin back to normal now, so I will keep you posted!
And that is the end of my first haul, I have to admit I've really missed sharing my new purchases...and purchasing new makeup full stop haha! It's inspired me to write a bunch of new posts and I hope to get back to a consistent amount now I have more spare time. ^_^
