Review: Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Sultry

I've been checking my local Priceline for these for the past three weeks since their stand appeared, and yet still it sits empty, but that's okay my local Target got them in first (sadly at a low point in my pay cycle hence i only got one to start with). I picked up the color I thought would be the most wearable for me - a slightly dark pink with slightly brown tones which goes by the name "Sultry".

Having tried it a few times now I'm quite pleased with this purchase as I was a big fan of the balm stains which have very similar packaging to these, but keep in mind these are not stains and will just fade away leaving you with bare lips.

The formula is amazing, it is actually still a balm meaning your lips do not dry out like the majority of matte lip products, my lips are left feeling as if i was wearing a thin but hydrating lip balm and the color stays around for upwards of 6 hrs and fades beautifully leaving no dry patches and no cracked lips at the end of the day. I will certainly be picking up more of these next pay. (Wish they were a little cheaper though).

Base Compare

Well, first things first. I have too many makeup bases. I didn't used to, in fact i'm not quite sure what happened.. I used to use one up then go buy another but now I hear something or see something talking about a shiny new foundation or a cult fav and somehow here it is... Well in  attempt to stop this I thought I would take the time to compare some of these for you and also try to control my own base-addiction so I won't be buying anymore until I finish at least 6 of these. I'll note how much has already been used in the post below too.

Foundations

So my collection of Foundations includes; Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum (bought start of this year), Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation, Illamasqua Skin Base, L'Oreal Eau De Teint, NYX Matte but not Flat Foundation, Korres Vitamin Foundation, and Rimmel Stay Mate Foundation.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum - This have been my everyday foundation since the start of the year when I found it on special, it's a great match for me once it's buffed out even though on the swatch below it looks quite dark. I would repurchase this but probably wait till there was a sale again as it was good but not the amazing foundation that people had raved about.

Texture: Liquid 

Finish : Dewy

Opacity: Sheer, buildable

Wear: 6- 8 Hrs

Rebuy: Only on sale

Why I haven't finished it:  It's nearing on empty, maybe a month use left

Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation - I got a sample of this once and it was so god damn amazing I went and bought the full product full price and then tried it at home and was...deeply disappointed, it was not the smooth flawless coverage from the sample. it was thick, heavy and cake-y and I hated it but never threw it away because I still hoped one day I would find that one thing that could make it work. I would take it out every few months and try again and no luck, until last week! I finally found the one way this can be applied and look amazing - a damp beauty blender! With it you can get a very covered look but it won't feel heavy or look like you have a face full of foundation on. Success!

Texture: Liquid 

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Very Heavy

Wear: 8- 12 Hrs

Rebuy: No, too difficult to work with

Why I haven't finished it: Stopped using it due to difficulty of use.

Illamasqua Skin Base - shade SB02 - I love this foundation, it's amazingly pigmented for very little product. It's very pale and a little hard to use  if i get a but of sunlight but that's not usually a concern. But the biggest problem is the packaging which is so hard that it's very difficult to actually get any product out as it's more cream then liquid. 

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 5- 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes, if the packaging was changed

Why I haven't finished it: I save it for special occasions and the packaging is hard to use on a daily basis

L'Oreal Eau De Teint - shade 120 Pure Ivory - I've been keeping an eye on the advertised space in Priceline for weeks and lucky me it showed up just the Priceline 40% off sale came around so I snatched it up. Been using it everyday since then and I'm very much in love, it's so light and feels like there is nothing on my face. It's so effortlessly easy to blend and feels lovley, soft , and smooth to the touch.

Texture: Super Liquid

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Sheer, buildable

Wear: 6-8 Hrs , wears away well

Rebuy: yes

Why I haven't finished it: I just bought it

NYX Matte but not Flat Foundation - 04 Creamy Neutral , I picked this up last November when NYX first arrived at my local Target. I wanted to like this as the color match for me was quite spectacular however it did something no other foundation or bb or cc or any other kind of base ever has - it found dry patches on my normal/oily skin. Madness!

Texture: Cream/Mousse

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 4- 6 Hrs 

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It's the first and onyl foundation to ever cling to supposed dry bits on my screen so it doesn't look good. Might try the beauty blender on this.

Korres Vitamin Foundation - I got this is a special package along with a few Korres lip balms which are also awesome and for most of last year this was my go-to-foundation and was the one I picked to take with me to Melbourne. It's very good and long lasting foundation that is great at controlling shine and it's too bad that it's been discontinued as I do feel that it made my skin look better.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 6- 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes, but discontinued

Why I haven't finished it: I got new foundation (Illamasqua) that I was eager to try and this fell to the back of the drawer.

Rimmel Stay Mate Foundation - I picked this one up at the Priceline 40% off last November and it was probably a mistake since it's quite similar to the NYX Stay matte but not flat, it feels heavy and although the coverage is great I don't really feel comfortable in it. This one however does not stick to apparent dry patches like the NYX.

Texture: Mousse

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Medium/Heavy

Wear: 4 - 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It turned out to be si thick and heavy it didn't feel comfortable on the skin, another one for the beauty blender.

BB & CC Creams 

This collection of Foundations includes; Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream, Ponds Flawless Whitening BB Cream, Nivea BB Cream, Garnier Oil Free BB Cream, Revlon Photoready BB Cream and the Watsons Collagen BB Cream.

Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream - I saw on this some blogs and various youtube channels and it seemed to get a lot of love, I got shade 33 which is a smidgen too dark and I have worn this twice since purchase because I fell in love with the L'Oreal Eau De Taint.

Texture: Liquid

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Medium

Wear:  4-6 Hrs

Rebuy: probably not, it's nice but I still like my Ponds BB cream better.

Why I haven't finished it: Just bought it

Ponds Flawless Whitening BB Cream- This is my favorite bb cream as it's a great match, it's a little thicker and ashy like an asian bb cream but is so much more easily available. I've gone through 2 of these and will almost certainly repurchase it again and again.

Texture: Liquid/Cream 

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Medium, buildable

Wear: 8- 12 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes, have before

Why I haven't finished it: This one has been in rotation between the Bourjois health mix and is almost finished, maybe a week or two left.

Nivea BB Cream - A gift from mum when she went to Poland hence the crazy unreadable text, and i love the smell of it as it has that comforting Nivea smell but oh gosh the color is so wrong, it might as well be bright orange!  I tried it on a stay at home day to see how it lasted and it did okay, the texture reminds me of the Dove tinted moisturizer I used to use as a teenager.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 4-6 Hrs

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It's the wrong color, probably going to give this away.

Garnier Oil Free BB Cream - This was my first ever brand of bb creams, I used the regular before the oil control version came out and then switched over, it's cheap and works quite well. There is really nothing wrong with this bb cream but for my skin the Ponds bb cream is much better for basically the same price.

Texture: Liquid 

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Sheer, buildable

Wear: 6- 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: No, have found better matches since but I have re bought it in the past and gone through at least 3.

Why I haven't finished it: Found better color matches and better lasting products.

Revlon Photoready BB Cream - This was largely a purchase made at the spur of the moment due to excitement at seeing a new BB cream (when i bought this there was maybe 3-4 or the maker, not like 30 that there are now) and I probably didn't need it but id recently finished another bb cream and obviously felt that there a gap of some sort. It's not horrible but it;s very sheer and doesn't control oil at all, so this would be amazing on someone with dry or normal skin and a good complexion. While my complexion is much improved since I was a teen my forehead can get a bit oily especially on hot summer days.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Sheer

Wear: 4- 6 Hrs 

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It's so sheer and hardly build-able and terrible at oil control so it fell to the back of the drawer.

Watsons Collagen BB Cream - Another present from mum, this one from Singapore and it;s amazing. Probably better then my Ponds bb cream but it is almost impossible for me to get, it's a better texture and coverage but does harden a little in cold weather and needs some heating in your hands but is perfect in summer. If it was easily available I would get this BB cream and no others.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 8- 12 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes

Why I haven't finished it: I'm so close to finishing it, if i do it will be gone and I will never find it again. That makes me sad. Has maybe a month or so left in it.

February Favorites

It's been a pretty good month for me makeup wise as I found quite a few products and grew to love a couple that were already in my stash. Let's start with the new items this month:

L'Oreal  Studio Secrets Professional Eye Shadow Quad in Desert Sands - I'm loving this color combination, it's perfectly neutral but also a little bit special. The colors are pigmented enough that I don't feel bad using this over something else and the small size makes it easy to travel with and store. Since my place is tiny I can only keep a few things near my mirror and this is a bit easier then my beloved Naked 2.

L'Oreal Glam Bronze in Blond Harmony - Finally a bronzer I can actually use, I've never been a huge fan of bronzer because it's so hard to find one for pale girls, I originally wanted to pick one up from Body Shop but it was sold out and the next day I saw this at 30% off and snatched it up. I like the little highlighter part as well, another great one for travel!

Revlon Scented Perfumerie Nail Polishes - in Apricot Nectar, Spun Sugar, Autumn Spice, and Watermint

I got two and then couldn't resist getting more, I love them for their amazing color application and surprisingly not terrible and overwhelming scents. Their subtle so your not smelling it every time your hand goes past your face but it's there if you stick your nails near your nose. Also these are the only polishes in a long time that have lasted more then 3 days on me (without top coat!). I only wish they were a tad less expensive!

I also fell in love (or more deeply in love?) with a few things that were already in my stash, these were:

Revlon Nearly Naked Mineral Powder in 010 Fair - I love the ease of using this, so much faster then a liquid or mousse foundation, just brush it one, add a bit of powder blush and your good to go! It's a little messy but it's too easy to use for that to be a big problem.

MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque - My favorite base lately, the L'Oreal quad looks great over this as it really brings out the shimmer and helps it last, plus it's so soft compared to some of my Maybelline Eye Tattoos some of which kind of dried out despite being closed.

Benefit They're Real mini mascara -  I picked this up from a Lust Have It box a few months back and really liked it, this month i started using it again as I got new contact lenses and to begin with was a bit weirded out by the possibly of mascara gunk in my eyes that tends to come of larger brushes. 

Real Techniques Buffing Brush - I've loved this brush since the moment I got it and if I had to give all my brushes away and was only allowed to keep one it would be this one. It's so soft and dense there is very little you can't do with it; I've used it for liquid and powder foundation, blush and recently as a bronzer brush. It's amazing!

Review: Revlon Scented Prefumerie Nail Polishes

On a recent trip to Priceline I was immediately drawn to the shiny new Revlon Prefumerie Nail Polishes, their unique square bottles and round tops really made this collection stand out. There are 16 scents/polishes all together divided into three sections; fresh, fruits & florals, and sweets & spices. Priceline  has an introductory offer of 2 for $20, plus if you spend over $30 on Revlon products you get a gift worth $45. I picked out two that looked particularly interesting; watermint and autumn spice, but based on these two it's going to be hard to resist getting a few more.

Autumn Spice -  This one was a super eye catching polish right in the bottle, and the scent sounded was really amazing. It's a shimmery brown based duo chrome with flecks of gold, red, copper and the color shift is somewhere between green and bronze. The scent is a mix of Pumpkin, Cinnamon and Nutmeg. Super yummy. A must have for any collection.

Watermint - This was the first one I spotted and could not put it down, literally could not take my eyes of it. A dupe for Debborah Lippmann's Mermaid Dream, it's a light green-blue base with round sky blue glitter that dries a little gritty but oh gosh does it smell amazing. It's a light sweet mint that's much more spearmint then peppermint. 4 days of wear and I can still smell it faintly and there is not a crack , scratch, or even tip wear. I'm incredibly impressed that without a base coat or top coat it's lasted so long,  it's amazing.

These are amazing, and I hope that the price drops down a little so I can get more of these babies.

Review: Revlon Nearly Naked Mineral Powder Foundation

I've been a little interested in trying some mineral powders after my first foray into them years ago left me with a bit of a diastase for it, but it's been a while and I thought I would give it another try, hence I picked up the Nearly Naked Mineral Powder Foundation during the Priceline 40% off sale in November. I've since been using it on and off, every other day either with my Ponds BB cream or by itself when it's warmer and I need less coverage.

This powder is supposed to be paraben free, fragrance free and and talc free while being SPF 15 and containing  vitamins and minerals. The powder comes in 5 shades; fair, light, medium, medium deep and deep. I picked up fair, the lightest shade as light seemed a little too dusky for my skin tone. This isn't a high coverage foundation, it is very light and if that's what you need it for then it's amazing but don't expect it to be more then that. The spf is nice but i think it's the reason why this foundation has a slightly metallic scent which is the one thing I don't enjoy about it.

 I find the powder brush that comes with it is okay for application but i perfer using my Real Techniques expert face brush as I feel it does a much better job of buffing the powder into the skin rather then just applying a powder layer on the face.

It's also okay over a cream or liquid foundation or a bb cream but if used t quickly over a wet surface it will tend to absorb some of the liquid and cause streaks or patches so care needs to be taken. Plus it's not transparent so it might not be great as a setting powder. It is after all a foundation. I would repurchase this but I think I still enjoy bb cream + setting powder much better.

Review Revlon Whimsical

A polish many of you have no doubt seen many times, but this is the first time I have gotten to wear it since my terrible nailpocalypse which took place over the past few months. So feeling a bit braver i decided i could wait no longer to wear this beauty. So if nail polish isn't your thing or you've been living on the moon this polish "Whimsical" is a dupe of Deborah Lippmann's Glitter in the Air. It was for a long while unavailable here while it's companion polishes "Popular", "Scandalous", "Radiant"  and "Stunning" were easily found leading many to think that for whatever reason this one would not be making it';s way to our shores. Luckily this is not the case as it appeared maybe two - three months ago at basically every Revlon stand, happily so.

It's a very sheer blue base with a hint of green and sparse pink and blue hexagonal and round glitters. In the pictures here I'm wearing it over two coats of China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint which is very close if a little more green. This is one that really need a solid base coat underneath as it's so very sheer that it would take about 4-5 layers to get it to show up solid (trust me i tried). The glitter spreads evenly and doesn't clump but does have a bit of a tendency to bubble a bit so use thin layers. Wonderful for layering and a beautiful and delicate polish.

Have you tried it?

Priceline 40% Haul

The last 2 days Priceline has been having a 40% off all cosmetics sale at which I couldn't quite help picking up a few things I've been wanting for a little while now but have thus far resisted. Well so much for that. Here are the products I piked up:

Physician's Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls (Translucent Pearls)

This a highlighter type powder, it looks quite frosty. As you can see the product looks super cute and ever since these were released I've always had an eye for this and the Happy Blusher but could never quite bring myself to pay the money for them.

Physician's Formula  Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Pearls (Natural)

Another super cute product, I've heard a lot of love and praise for these "happy" blushes but since I had my 2 NARS and 2 Illamasqua blushes i didn't feel right spending the money on a drugstore blush when i could get another one of those for an extra $15.

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation (081 Fair Ivory)

I would have picked this up much earlier if I had not been detracted my the NYX Stay Matte but Not Flat liquid foundation which turned out to be a bit disappointing but I've managed to make it work a little better. The texture on this is amazing and it literally just disappears on my skin and looks like skin! I'm so happy to have this now and plan to use it everyday.

Revlon Nearly Naked Mineral Powder Foundation (010 Fair)

I've been interested in trying a powder foundation for a little while and this one seemed like a nice one to try, what with the SPF 15. I usually only use powders which are translucent as setting powders. i'm interested in seeing if this will work for me.

Essence Studio Nails Ultra Strong Nail Hardener 

I would have picked this up regardless of sale, lately I haven't been able to wear much in the way of nail polish because after several months extended every day wear my nails were completely wrecked; peeling, breaking, cracking. It was nasty, these last two - three months or so I haven't worn anything but my nail polish collection has been calling my name and I can't hold out much longer but I also don't want my nails to go through the same terror. So hopefully this will do the job.

So how did you guys go with the 40% off sale?

BB Cream Comparison

Today we are comparing 4 BB creams, 3 o which are available in Australia plus an Asian style BB cream, the contenders are:

Revlon Photoready BB Cream $24.99

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector with oil control $13.99

Watsons Collagen BB Cream $18.99

Pond's Flawless white BB+ $13.99

Each of the four have fairly similar "spouts" for getting the product out, with the Ponds and Garnier having a more elongated tube which in terms of the Ponds makes it easy to control product but it little more then a drip top in term of the Garnier as it's consistency is far more liquid. The Watsons is thick and creamy simmiliar to the Ponds where as the Revlon lies somewhere in between. All have squeezable cases so you should be able to get the last of the product out.

In the above photo you can quite easily see the diffrence between the texture and color of each, with the Garnier being the thinnest and the most yellow toned, followed by the Revlon, Ponds and finally the Watsons which simmiliar to other Asian bb's has a ashy cast to it which does not show up on the face.

The Watson is the thickest and takes a little muscle to blend where s the others all blend very easily though the ponds needs a bit of extra product.

For me the Ponds is the closest match in terms of color as it has pink cool undertones, as does the Watsons while both the other two have yellow undertones. The more liquid creams blend easier with the Watsons being the most difficult, although the Garnier can be a bit hard to control how much product you get from the case.

You can see the Ponds and Watsons basically appearer and blend perfectly into my skin while the other two leave a yellow toned cast which can be covered with powder or some more blending.

(see black paper test at labmuffin's blog)

Putting some of the bb on black card shows you a good gage on how pigmented each of the  bb creams in, it's a little surprising as i was sure the Revlon would be the thinest of all but it seems that the Garnier is the sheerest of them all. The Ponds and Watsons are quite similar although the Ponds is a tad more pigmented.The Garnier gets almost entirely absorbed.

Overall i think the  Ponds is the winner, in terms of other benefits however the Revlon probably wins due to it's SPF 30, while Ponds only has 15, it does however also have a slight brightening effect. The Garnier wins are controlling oil while the Watsons seems to have no such benefits, although it's called Collagen BB I'm not sure exactly what it's supposed to do about the collagen? 

When it comes to packaging i like the consistency thicker and for it to not spill out. When it came to scent i did not fund any to particularly strong, the Watsons smelled vaguely creamy and the Ponds a little sweet but it wouldn't effect my decision to buy. 

What is your go to BB?

Top Six Winter Lipsticks

Now that Winter is beginning to wrap up (in Australia that is) i thought it was a good time to share with you some of my favorite lipsticks that i have been wearing a lot in these colder months, they are great Autumn and Winter shades though i must admit that personally I am drawn to these sorts of colors all year round.

The contenders are (from left to right) NYX Saturn, Revlon Liptember Berry, Australis Go Long Glam, Illamasqua Growl, Australis Color Inject in Foxtrot, and the Australis Color Inject in Boogie Woogie. As you can see the NYX Saturn has probably gotten the most use

all of them have nice packaging though my two favorites would have to be the Illamasqua (it's luxe) and the Color Injects; both of these feel a bit heavier so i feel like I'm getting my money's worth and i believe that they are the most attractive of the bunch.

NYX - SATURN

I've tried about three of the NYX round lipsticks and i have to say that Saturn has to rank in my favorite NYX lipsticks, but would also be in the top three favorite lipsticks of all time. It's a great shimmery golden berry color. It's clearly not a particularly dark shade but it gives a lot of dimension to the lips and is great in warmer weather too. Lasts a good 4 hours if i don't eat or drink.

9/10

REVLON - LIPTEMBER BERRY

I initially bought this in mid-August to support the cause, as such i haven't had it as long as the others and it hasn't seen as much use. Having said that i picked it up because the shimmer effect reminded me a lot of the same shimmer i can see Saturn although in this case it's a much deeper red/plum color. It's a little more dry then Saturn but because of that it has better staying power and with a little effort lasts up to 4 hours.

7/10

AUSTRALIS GO LONG - GLAM

I choose to pick up Glam after trying the Color Injects from Australis and being very pleased with the results, this color seemed to look great on every blog i saw and it called to me. It's a matte warm toned berry that is indeed quite long lasting, it is however quite dry on the lips so you will want to exfoliate before using this. That said it's not as bad as some matte lipsticks i have tried as it doesn't pull on your lips quite as much. Lasts around 6 hours but is a bit drying. I have also noticed that it can stain your lips sometimes.

7/10

ILLAMASQUA - GROWL

This one looks much scarier in the tube then on the lips, it's actually nowhere near as dark as it first appears to be, it is a bit dry being a matte shade but not as much as Glam. I find it's best to apply this one with a lip brush to get the best coverage otherwise it tends to stick to dry parts of your lips and not cover very evenly. Lasts a good 7+ hours.

9/10

AUSTRALIS COLOR INJECT - FOXTROT

It was a long time before i tried any lip shades from Australis but boy am i glad i did, they are incredibly smooth and nourishing and feel so amazing on the lips i feel like I'm using a lip butter not a lipstick, they have good staying power and don't stain at all. The only downside i can think of is the smell is a very old school lipstick scent which. Foxtrot is my absolute favorite color. It's similar to my all time (now discontinued) Lancome Color Fever in Rose Defile. It's a brown leaning mauve but it has pink undertones that your lips don't look dead or too dark for a normal day out. Love! It might not last as long as the matte colors but it looks more natural, I've has this last around 4-5 hours.

10/10

AUSTRALIS COLOR INJECT - BOOGIE WOOGIE

After my successful foray into the Color Inject line with Foxtrot i could hardly stop there and picked up Boogie Woogie as a more pink but still mauve tones lipstick to wear to work as if i had darker eyshadows on then Foxtrot tended to look much darker against my skin tone then usual. Boogie Woogie is just as amazing and has the same qualities as Foxtrot, but all in all i like the color of Foxtrot better. This however is a great pink and a good work color.

These were taken a little later in the day so they are a little bit darker then the lip swatches and you can't see the shimmer in Saturn or Liptember Berry, they do however give you a good idea of the consistency with Foxtrot and Boogie Woogie being particularly creamy and moisturizing.

(pre) Birthday Haul

So my birthday is coming in about a week and i decided to treat myself to a little gift, last year i brave the Mecca store for the first time and this year i went to the MAC counter and did my hardest to not think about the price inflation and just enjoy so birthday makeup. 

After much umm-ing and ahhh-ing over which eyeshadow i wanted, i narrowed it down to Shroom, Satin 

Taupe, and Wedge. However since i have been in the mood for matte eye shadows lately I decided to go with Wedge to use as a base brown and a crease or transition color. 

The other thing i got has been on my radar for a while, since i started getting into makeup three years ago now i also started watching makeup gurus on youtube, most of which are American and it would make fairly regular appearances and i always thought the color was absolutely beautiful but could not really justify the purchase, but now...well birthday justification. The product is of course the MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque, the precursor to the Maybelline eye tattoos though the texture seems smoother.

Speaking of the Maybelline eye tattoos, well you may or may not have heard that a few new colors were recently released, since i already had picked up Barley Branded and Iced in Pink on the web-a-nets the other two colors that seemed much more interesting in person then on-line was electric blue and silver strike so i picked those up too. (BTW has anyone seen the maybelline pigments on line? they look awesome).

I then headed to Target to find that Target in Joondalup is doing a lot of clean up in their beauty section and there was about 6 bargain bins full of makeup stuffs including Burjois, Australis, Revlon, Set, CHI CHI, and L'Oreal amongst others. After digging around some i found L'Oreal infallible eye shadows in 036 Naughty Strawberry and 021 Sahara Treasure. I was  really surprised to see Naughty Strawberry in the pile because there was a display right next to it with the same color but those were marked as being $14.95 while i got these two for $4.80 each. This is pretty amazing as these regularly fluctuate between $21.95 down to around $12.95 so they were a total steel and i love both shades. The only downside is that now that i have finally tried these i might need to get more...

The other shadow i picked out was a Revlon satin eyeshadow in Polished bronze for $2.40, I'm not sure why it was even there as it's quite pigmented and very smooth, at least what i was able to  tell from when i swatched it at home.

I also came to the realization that i do like loose powders, I've been using a Ben Nye loose powder to set my makeup but it just gets everywhere and is so hard to use that despite the quality of the actual makeup i really don't like using it, so i picked up the Rimmel Stay Matte powder as my All about Matte from essence shattered completely when i dropped it a little while back and this one seems very well loved.

Last but not least, i along with every other blogger out there got the Olay Regenerist Advanced Cleansing System which i really like, and since it was the day my Priceline voucher came i, it only ended up costing me $8.  I will keep using it and it really works great but in addition to that my boyfriend totally fell in love with it and is considering finding a stronger one to use.

So that's my pre-birthday haul and i hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you want for your birthday ?