Mini Reviews of Past Hauls

I felt bad that I have made many hauls but with no update on what I think about the product. So here are my selected hauls of products that I've tried and my quick review of them!

BareMinerals Value Set

This kit was definitely worth the price of $25, allowing you to try their original formula, matte formula, a warmth all over colour, mineral veil, and a mini kabuki brush. I definitely love the way all the products felt on my skin, however, I really did not love it. It made my face oily quick. The mineral foundation coverage was sheer but I didn't mind that. I just felt like the products did nothing for my complexion, and I thought it had to do with the kabuki brush or technique but I did my research on both and it shouldn't have been the problem. The brush was also stiff and felt scratchy on my skin. I know a lot of people love this brand, but this is probably a brand I wouldn't go back to.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish and Highlight Powder in Rose Ole

I really wanted to love both, especially the Skinfinish because I've heard so many good things about it. The Skinfinish was so silky smooth on the skin and I loved how it was pressed and in a compact because it would be less messy than loose mineral foundation. However, this again made my face oily within an hour or less. I was very disappointed! I tried to make this work many times, but every time - same result! Rose Ole is LE from the ChamPale collection and I was so happy when I found it long after the collection came out. I love the colour in the pan, but when I tried it out, it hardly even showed on my skin. And if I intensified the colour, the colour just didn't work with my skin colour. I thought I could use it as a highlight, but that didn't work too well either. Both of them were returned back to MAC :(

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer

Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer is an amazing product! I used my fingers to apply this at first, but I felt a lot of tug and couldn't spread it easily. I stopped using it for a while and then decided later on to use my E.L.F flat top brush and it worked amazingly! The finish looked airbrushed and it felt light on my skin. It also helps to control oil pretty well. One touch-up/blot session a day was all I needed and so I use this for my long days at school. My tube also had no SPF in it but I think they only come with SPF 20 in it now? Anyways, my tube without SPF also looks great in flash photos. This is a must-have in my books!!

Well.ca Haul

I love both the Revlon lipglosses - Pink Pop and Coral Reef with the latter being my favourite out of the two :) They are nicely pigmented and just enough sticky for good staying power. The Milani concealer is one of my favourite concealers now for covering under eye circles. It's really creamy and easy to apply under the eyes and does not cake up. Burt's Bee Baby Oil is amazing right after a shower, it smells like ripe apricots and feels nice really nice just out of the shower skin. Revlon cream shadows in Not Just Nudes is also very nice. Very creamy and easy to apply. Staying power is also thumbs up! Overall, I was really impressed with everything in this haul :) Milani concealer is a must-have!

Sonia Kashuk

The flat top Sonia Kashuk brush is super soft and I thought I could use this with my Laura Mercier TM, but it turns out that the top is much smaller and the wider E.L.F flat top brush actually works much better. The Sonia Kashuk cheek tint applies much better than the Benefit tints but I feel like the colour is a tad too sheer, and if more is applied it looks like my face is heating up from an allergic reaction! Thought I would love these products, but I actually don't reach for them as much as I thought I would.

Origins VitaZing

Great great concept. One word - allergic reaction. MakeupbyTiffanyD recommended and raved about this product and I really thought it was a great concept but after I applied this, I thought nothing about it until I took it off at the end of the day and patches of my face were red. It was nothing severe and I didn't even know at that point if it was this product. I thought it something I ate that day. I tried it again another time for a couple of hours and same thing happened, my face felt uncomfortably warm and so I had to wash it off right away. The coverage is actually quite nice and it really does change to the colour of your skintone, the reviews on this is very positive. However, it just did not work for me and was returned.

L'Occitane Red Rice Line

As some of you may recall, I actually bought this quite recently at Murale but I looked at the ingredients shortly after and realized why this line is cheap. The ingredients are not very skin friendly (uses cheap ingredients) and I'm trying to purchase more natural and organic products due to the ugly truth about safety of cosmetics. I returned this and I am currently trying a more safe and friendly skincare line. However, for those of you who are interested. I used this for a week and the smell of these products are really nice. Very light and clean (but also bad because of the use of artificial perfume). The foaming cleanser felt nice on the face, however, with the foam also meant the use of a sodium laureth sulfate that is a cheap foaming agent that is actually very harsh for your skin. The toner was a bit harsh for me, it gave me an uncomfortable tingly feeling. The Ultra Matte Face Fluid really does keep your face matte for a while (half a day for me) but it clearly states on the packaging that it only moisturizes your upper skin layer. This was a major turn off because oily skin can actually be controlled by providing your skin with enough moisture that your skin will not produce even more oil. Sure enough, I felt like my skin was not being moisturized enough and although my skin would be matte, my skin was craving for some hydration. This was also returned back to the store.

5 Lessons Learned:

1) I have super sensitive skin.

2) It's okay to be skeptical of what beauty brands claim. Most claims are exaggerated anyways.

3) Learn about bad ingredients for your skin (sodium laureth sulfate, perfume, polyethylene glycol). In general, if the chemical names are not understandable, complicated, and scary, they probably are bad for you.

4) Get samples whenever you can. If this is not available, find out about their return policy.

5) A product that works for someone else, or even 80% of the population just might not work for you.

If you have any further questions on any of these products, or other purchases I've made, please let me know!

Until next time xoxo!