It's been a while since I've done a beauty haul. I've been trying to use up my products and not add to my already-huge stash. While it's been going well, I have picked up a few things here and there, mostly when I need to replace a product or when it's time to switch to a cruelty free alternative. In this video, I show a whole bunch of stuff I purchased or received over the past few months... a couple Sephora orders, Optimum points redemption, birthday gifts, and more. :)
In case you don't feel like watching the video, I took some photos for the blog! I'm like a whole new person (for now).
To start off, just a few little foil packets and bonuses I received with my 2 Sephora orders. I am careful what I order online from Sephora now because of the duties but I believe everything I ordered below was duty free (perhaps because they are made in the U.S.?). Also, if you order online, check your points because they automatically credit your account based on the U.S. price and you have to email them or send them a Twitter/Facebook message to give you the difference based on the higher Canadian price. One final note, I usually wait until there's a decent bonus before ordering from Sephora - the freebies are not necessarily cruelty free but everything that I purchased is.
Here are the items I purchased. The Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Brown was a recommendation from one of my YouTube viewers (thank you, Zookeeper123) and I am loving it!
I also purchased a bunch of overpriced hair products. I am looking for a less expensive (preferably drug store) cruelty free hairspray in an aerosol format - if you have any recommendations, please let me know as the two bottles of hairspray below cost me $60 and I don't think I can justify paying those prices on an ongoing basis. Yikes!
Bonus redemption weekend is always a fun time at Shoppers Drug Mart when you have points to spend. I selected a lot of necessities but splurged on two makeup items. I finally picked up the original Naked palette - I felt a little guilty afterward since I've been so good about not buying unnecessary makeup and I was actually going to exchange the palette for something else; however, one of my friends on YouTube so highly recommended it that I decided to keep it after all. I've been using the Naked foundation on weekends and it's been pretty good - it's very runny and light in terms of coverage but it feels like nothing on my skin and I like the finish (not dewy but not matte). I was matched to shade 3.0 but I might also pick up 3.5 now that I'm a little darker from the sun.
This next set is a gift from my sisters. The set is called Pardon My French and it comes with the cutest little makeup bag! I've started using some of the products and I've been loving the eyeshadow palette in particular. It's a beautiful collectable tin and the eyeshadows inside are nice and buttery. The set also comes with a sample of the Shadow Insurance, a sample of the Lash Injection Extreme Volume Tubing Mascara, and a full size Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black. I brought the entire set (minus the mascara since I'm trying to get through a couple of other tubes at the moment) to New York with me and had so much fun trying the products. The Shadow Insurance was a little slicker/oilier than some of the other eyeshadow primers I've tried but it seemed to work at keeping my eyeshadow on my eyes. The eyeliner was super easy to glide on - I expected a harder texture - it wasn't exactly smudge proof but it seemed to stay in place a little better than the other eyeliners I've been using to tightline.
My mother-in-law gave me a huge Dove gift set (she doesn't know I'm going cruelty free) and this set is chock-full of full size products. It comes with a large faux leather cosmetic case and a small pouf white, which is already in my shower. It also came with 2 beauty bars, which I happen to love - and again, one of the beauty bars is already in my shower.
I recently attended a Pelle Beauty event at BlushPretty and it was fun to chat with Marnie (the owner) again. She gave goodie bags to everyone at the event, which contained a full size Vanilla Lip Balm, a sample of the new Bloom Facial Mist, and a sample of the Luxe Beauty Oil. I can't wait to try all three products! I also purchased some more of the Stellar Multitasking Facial Oil because I love the stuff (the scent is strong but so appealing to me - it's a mix of neroli and sandalwood) and the Eye Balm, which is another new product.
Finally, I picked up a bunch of stuff from a 40% off site wide sale at The Body Shop. The Aloe Calming Toner and Satsuma Body Puree are a couple of favourites, which I repurchased. I also picked up the Banana Shampoo - I've tried this before and loved the scent but I couldn't remember if it worked well to cleanse my hair so I will give it another try. New to me products are the Vitamin C Daily Moisture SPF 30 (since my new favourite Julep SPF 30 is discontinued... boo!) and the Vitamin E Sink-In Moisture Mask. I also received the Moisture White Shiso Brightening Serum as a PR sample recently but I haven't tried it yet because I'm not a fan of products with whitening properties - perhaps I'll give it a try towards the end of summer when I have a bit of a tan.
That is basically it for my haul! As a side note, I will not be doing a June empties video or blog post because most of my June empties were inadvertently thrown out... waaaaaaah!!! :( I was very upset at first but I guess it's just garbage after all. I am diligently gathering my July empties and I will have something to share in August.
