A tale of two hauls
I have been shopping, dipping in and out of Sephora and Bloomingdale’s, to pick up beauty “essentials” like err, cream eyeshadows?
Embarrassed face
There is a nice mix of the good, bad and the sublime in this little stash so I thought it would be nice to share my latest acquisitions with the group.
Haul 1
Location: Sephora and MAC/Marina Mall/Dubai Justification: “I was on the way to Waitrose”
Philosophy Purity Face Oil Do I rate it? Yes Now I swear by coconut oil purchased from the aisles of my supermarket but every now and then I need to mix it up so I thought I would go all high end and purchase this. It’s nothing special really – it works as efficiently as a coconut oil/any oil would and smells identical to the Dermalogica Pre-Cleanse (at least in my mind) but it’s a good mineral-oil free commercial cleanser.
Philosophy Microdelivery Exfoliating Facial Wash Do I rate it? No There is something very generic about this – one of those bog standard facial washes with gritty little “bits” that are meant to gently scrub away dry skin day-after-day. Nice idea but for me it’s all a bit “St Ives Apricot Scrub” at a far higher price point.
Make Up For Ever Aqua Shadow Do I rate it? Yes I saw
Philosophy Microdelivery Exfoliating Facial Wash Do I rate it? No There is something very generic about this – one of those bog standard facial washes with gritty little “bits” that are meant to gently scrub away dry skin day-after-day. Nice idea but for me it’s all a bit “St Ives Apricot Scrub” at a far higher price point.
Make Up For Ever Aqua Shadow Do I rate it? Yes I saw
Vanessa and Stacey’s haul and I immediately planned a purchase of one of these. I got 20E (seriously, MUFE could you be less clinical with the name?), a pearlized taupe (Jessica has great swatches here – Link!). These are magnificent. Really they are. They don’t budge and deposit a nice amount of pigment. I don’t find them as creamy as the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick I refer to below but I also find that they last a lot longer than that brand when worn over the lid.
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Underground Do I rate it?Yes/No What a delicious colour this is. It’s basically like MAC Sable in liner form when swatched. Sadly this does not translate well on my eyes. Barely anything reveals itself on the waterline and a rigorous application anywhere else around the eye barely shows up.
MAC Cheeky Bugger blusher from the Osborne collection Do I rate it? Yes Oh yes, a little MAC pick-me-up was had.
Cheeky Bugger is a gorgeous yellow-based pink, encased in pretty lilac packaging, and with a great name. I can see why this sold out so quickly elsewhere around the world.
Did I need it? What do you think…?
Haul 2
Location: Bloomingdale’s/Dubai Mall Justification: “I just need to pop in and buy a new Extra Comfort at the Clarins counter”
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Underground Do I rate it?Yes/No What a delicious colour this is. It’s basically like MAC Sable in liner form when swatched. Sadly this does not translate well on my eyes. Barely anything reveals itself on the waterline and a rigorous application anywhere else around the eye barely shows up.
MAC Cheeky Bugger blusher from the Osborne collection Do I rate it? Yes Oh yes, a little MAC pick-me-up was had.
Cheeky Bugger is a gorgeous yellow-based pink, encased in pretty lilac packaging, and with a great name. I can see why this sold out so quickly elsewhere around the world.
Did I need it? What do you think…?
Haul 2
Location: Bloomingdale’s/Dubai Mall Justification: “I just need to pop in and buy a new Extra Comfort at the Clarins counter”
This purchase constitutes pot number 3 and for reference I got it in the shade Sand. I would recommend this to anyone with dry, dehydrated, normal or mildly combination skin and only for those that like a dewy full coverage finish. Think MAC Studio Sculpt or Laura Mercier Silk Crème, but better – full on perfect plastic skin. This is also now available in the US - Link!
Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Amethyst Do I rate it? Yes Another YouTube related purchase, I saw
Monika’s tutorialand loved the look so much that I convinced myself I needed this. It’s smokey mauve with a subtle gold shimmer running through it. I wear this on the lower lash line and in the outer corner over the top of Mythology.
I have yet to wear it on it’s own all over the lid and my reticence is partly explained by the reviews that talk about it’s creasing ability. We’ll see but the creaminess has me impressed and out of all the “stick” products out there, this might be my favourite formula for it’s soft deposit of colour.
Laura Mercier Crème Eyeliner in Envy Do I rate it? Yes /No You may remember me talking about this in a recent wishlist post. Well here it is and the colour is strongly reminiscent of MAC’s Shade fluidline and that make me very happy. My only whinge is the formula of the Crème eyeliner – it’s really is just too creamy. Previous experience has taught me that this is just a few weeks away from being perfect – like some mascaras, this needs a dedicated Drying Out Period and then we will be the best of friends.
Phew! I quite enjoyed doing that round up. Thank you for reading! Hope you are all having a great Saturday!
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