Collective Haul: Kat von D, Stila, Elf, Buxom and more!

Since I started working full time, it seems that every time I go into a shop I leave with a few products. I spent most of the school year being frugal and now all I want to do is splurge! While it’s not great for my bank account, I have been doing a ton of haul posts lately and this one is even bigger than usual.

I didn’t purchase everything at once so most of these items I’ve had a chance to try out and there are definitely some winners!

If you live in the US I highly recommend going into TJ Maxx or Marshalls and checking out their make-up selection. You never know what you’ll find and the prices are amazing! I picked up one of the Kat von D shade and light blushes in Mickey and Mallory, a Buxom lipstick in Dolly, and a Stila highlighter.

 Mickey and Mallory is a two-tone blush with a pale peach on one side and a darker peach shade on the other. The light side is a slightly pinker version of my skin tone so I can be as liberal as I want when applying it, and the darker side is absolutely gorgeous. I like to mix the two shades together. I like the formula of the blush, it’s very smooth and nicely pigmented, but I don’t think I would have paid full price for the product. I’ve been meaning to try Kat von D for ages though so I’m glad I found it on sale!

Buxom’s Dolly is a shimmery mauve which applies somewhat sheer and feels very comfortable on the lips. I’ve only worn it once so I can’t attest to the longevity of it, but the color is really nice and I like the formula. It isn’t too shimmery on the lips and it provides a nice amount of color, but it isn’t full opaque.

The Stila highlighter came without a label so I don’t know what shade it is, which might be why it was at TJ Maxx in the first place. It’s a white powder highlight with tiny specks of gold glitter! It looks really pretty in the pan and the packaging is cute, too. However, it’s quite powdery and I find that it doesn’t last long on the skin. Even when I swatch it the shimmer disappears quickly. This might be good for those that like a subtle highlight, but for me if I’m going to put in the effort to wear a highlight I like it to be more intense.

Of course you can never have too much glow, so I bought another highlighter from Elf that I’m much happier with! I saw this in a ReadySetGlamour video where she did one half of her face with high-end products and the other with drugstore dupes. This Elf Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal was, of course, on the drugstore side and it looked much nicer than the high end product she had used! I found it at the drugstore for only a dollar and I’m so impressed with it. The pale pink shade reminds me of Benefit’s High Beam but the glow is more intense. There’s little to no shimmer in this, just a beautiful sheen.

Another Elf product I purchased was the High DefinitionTranslucent powder. I have never used a translucent powder before. My skin is on the drier/normal side and doesn’t usually require to be set. However, I wanted to try baking so I decided to pick this up. I haven’t noticed my skin looking better or worse with this powder but it feels very smooth!

Everyone and their mother raves about the Maybelline Color Tattoos so I decided to try one for myself! I considered Bad to the Bronze, which is the shade many people swear by, but I decided to go with Creamy Beige instead because I wanted to use it as a base shade. I’ve only used it once or twice but it seems like a nice product. I’m wishing that I would have gotten a different shade as I always forget to use this one as a base when I’m using other palettes or shadows.

Tanya Burr mentioned this Rimmel gel eyeliner in her recent May Favorites video so I immediately wanted to try it out! I must say that I’m impressed with this so far. The brush that it comes with is alright, but I prefer using my Elf angled eyeliner brush to get a winged look. The formula of this is creamy, thick, and applies very very black. Once it sets it’s practically smudge-proof. I took a shower with this on the other day and my wings stayed in place perfectly! If you’re looking for a new gel liner I recommend this, I haven’t seen many people talking about it but it deserves some hype.

I’ve been using up lip balm like crazy these past few months so I bought two new ones that I like so far. One is the Nivea Milk and Honeylip care, which I keep beside my bed, and the other is the Burt’s Beesmoisturizing lip balm in Coconut and Pear, which I keep in my purse. The Burt’s Bees one has been a long time favorite of mine, it isn’t sticky or tacky whatsoever and it gives so much hydration. It also smells like summer! I love the scent of the Nivea one, as it smells like honey, but it seems to sit on top of the lips rather than moisturize them. I still like it but I prefer the Burt’s Bees!

My final item was another TJ Maxx purchase (someone needs to chase me out of that store) and it’s a sugar scrub from a brand that I think is called Island Paradise. It’s in the scent Fijian Coconut, one of the most tropical scents I’ve ever come across. I really like this so far, I’ve been using it right after I shave my legs.

   From left to right: Mickey and Mallory (both sides), Dolly, Stila highlighter, Rimmel eyeliner                                      (applied with Rimmel brush), Creamy Beige, Lilac Petal

What have you purchased recently?

Xx Katie