Mini-Haul: Target & Ulta

 What time is it?! IT'S HAUL TIME!!!

It's been a while since my last haul. I've been refraining myself from buying more makeup... It is a really unhealthy obsession but what to do! Since I bought more than five items today, thought I should share 'em with y'all because some of these items I picked up, I have been waiting anxiously for, like The Nudes.

FACE

Sonia Kashuk Concealer Palette in Hidden Agenda - Light
Sonia Kashuk All Covered Up Concealer in Porcelain

Y'all know how much I love my Sonia Kashuk Concealer Palette, I love it so much that I almost used up my current palette. I love that the palette has three different shades for different areas and blemishes. This is my second time repurchasing this palette, the first since Sonia Kashuk revamp her products, er, packaging. I hope the formula didn't change or anything.

I couldn't stop myself from also picking up the full coverage concealer. I wonder if Porcelain is a little too light for my skin tone though, I was contemplating between Porcelain and Ivory. Although Porcelain is lighter, it has a yellow undertone whereas Ivory has a pinkish undertone. If anything, I'll exchange it for a different shade.

EYES

Maybelline The Nudes
Wet N Wild Mega Liner Liquid Eyeliner in Dark Brown

YES! Finally got my hands on The Nudes!! It took me a good while but here it is. The colors look gorgeous. If this is anything like the other Maybelline shadows, then it is nothing short of amazing. Cannot wait to play around with 'em. For those who already tried them out, how are they?

Did not have time to stop by Walgreens to pick up a new brown liquid liner, luckily Target now has a Wet N Wild section. The section is still missing quite a few products but I'll give it time.

LIPS

Pixi by Petra Succulent Lip Twin Lip & Cheek  Tint in Pink Peony
Maybelline Baby Lips Crystal in:
- Crystal Kiss
- Gleaming Coral
- Pink Quartz
- Beam of Blush
- Mirrored Mauve

This Succulent Lip Twin was also in the clearance section. I picked it up for $5.40, but the original price was $18, later reduced to $9. I just dove right in as soon as I saw the pretty shade. It says this is a lip and cheek tint but also says it is a lip balm... Hmm. The way the product is designed is also interesting.

And finally... I caved in and bought the new Baby Lips. I held out for as long as I could but they just kept taunting me. LOL. I picked up five shades, all the shades that were available at Ulta. I am unsure if there are more shades available, but I gotta tr these first. The sparkle, sparkle glitter looks sooo pretty!

NAILS

Pixi Nail Color in Lime Lustre
Sally Hansen Kwik Off  Moisturizing Nail Polish Remover

I was lucky enough to spot this gorgeous nail color from the clearance section, this was the last bottle of this shade. There were a few others, but I didn't need anymore black and yellow. This was originally priced for $8 I believe, but I snatched it for $2.40. Still not the cheapest polish I've ever scored but I don't mind. Such a pretty green that I have yet to have in my collection.

For more info on this Pixi nail color, visit yesterday's manicure post called The Lone Strawberry. :)

This is what I use to remove my nail polish; this must be the hundredth one I went through. It strips of the polish within seconds yet very gentle on the skin and nails. It comes in a little jar with a sponge with three slits inside; I have not had any spillage accident in the longest while.

BEAUTY TOOLS

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge
Up & Up Cosmetic Wedges (latex foam)
Ardell Brow Precision Shaper

Woohoo! Real Techniques came out with their own beauty sponge. It's so firm, yet soft, with a slight bounce to it. I haven't tested it yet so there is no way to tell how great it'll work but considering how all of my favorite brushes are Real Techniques so...

Applying BB Creams with a damp sponge has become my new favorite way of application. Sometimes, using disposable sponges are better than using beauty sponges. Since I am running low on them at home, I bought another pack from Target, 32 sponges for less than $2.

Yeah, I needed new brow shapers. I have the other type right now and thought I should give these a try to see which one works better.

That's all for now guys. Thank you for visiting and thanks for reading all! Come back soon!! :)

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SONG OF THE DAY/MOMENT

Real Techniques Duo Fiber Collection - Limited Edition

Happy Hump Day everybody! How are you guys today? I am running on no sleep and lots of coffee today... Ow the headache. One night of tossing and turning and up sprouted a biggo, red pimple, right smack on the side of my face!

I stopped by Ulta earlier to redeem my coupon before it expired. I was originally gonna pick up some NYX products but apparently they're not on sale this week. I can wait for their buy one, get one half off sale. So I browsed around and came across a couple of new products. It was soooo hard not to pick up everything. I promised myself I would ease off in purchasing more makeup for the time being.

I saw that Maybelline came out with four or five new Baby Lips, this time, they're called Baby Lips Crystal. The Crystal refers to the shimmery specks of glitter in the lip balm. There was a light pink, coral, hot pink, mauve and berry I believe... er..  or it might have been nude. Either way, I am not too crazy about this collection. I'm not one to wear glittery or shimmery lip products. I will eventually purchase one to give it a try and we'll see where that goes.

What I did buy though, are the limited edition Duo Fiber  brushes from Real Techniques and another Expert Face Brush as a backup. Cause ya know.. who doesn't need a backup brush? LOL.



This limited edition set has three duo fiber brushes labeled: duo fiber face brush, duo fiber contour brush and duo fiber eye brush. According to Real Techniques, the duo fiber is a "true multitasker" because the "duo-fiber bristles work with cream, liquid or powder for an unbelievably air-brushed finish". The brushes are incredibly soft, dare I say softer than their normal brush?

Most of my brushes are Real Techniques, two of my go-to face brushes are also Real Techniques so even though this set was almost an impulse buy, I don't think I'll regret it. Real Techniques made my makeup application experience so much more enjoyable and for that, I appreciate it so much more. I will definitely give these brushes a try as soon as I can and will let ya'll know ASAP.

On another note, has anyone tried the new L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara yet? I was this close ---> || of picking it up but then decided not to.. So if you already gave it a try, how was it? Thoughts?

Well that concludes today's rambling. Thank you for joining me yet again. Thank you for visiting and thanks for reading. Come back soon! :)

Meet My Clean, Happy Brushes

brushes I use most often

Hello everybody, happy Hump Day! We're one day closer to the glorious weekend.

***Before I start today's post, I want to thank those who messaged me, which gave me an idea for today's post. Only you can tell me what you want to see. Please continue to message me, you guys are always an inspiration. I sincerely thank you.

Today, I want to share with you the brushes that I use most often, on a daily basis, both face and eyes. All of the brushes I mention are all drug store brand, very affordable but so very durable. 

Top: Face Brushes
Bottom: Eye Brushes

Face Brushes:
Real Techniques Expert Face Brush
Real Techniques Stippling Brush
Essence Powder Brush
ELF Essential Eyeshadow Brush
ELF Studio Small Stipple Brush
ELF Studio Complexion Brush
ELF Studio Blush Brush
ELF Studio Angled Blush Brush
ELF Studio Fan Brush

Eye Brushes:
Sigma E25 Blending Brush
Essence Smokey Eyes Brush
Essence Eyeshadow Brush
ELF Studio Contour Brush
EcoTools Spoolie Brush

You probably noticed that most of my brushes are from the ELF (Eyes, Face, Lips) Studio line. I bought all of mine at Target or from their site for $3 each. ELF is one of those brands that people usually overlook in my opinion. Their Studio products, packaged in black are usually sold for $3 or sometimes $5. The Essential products, packaged in white, are $1 each. Both lines include brushes, eyeshadows, lip sticks, foundation, you name it. For such prices, one would think that the quality would match the prices. Not in ELF's case. With that said, my ELF brushes are super durable with qualities worth matching to those like Japonesque. I have used these same exact brushes for the past years; they survived my bi-weekly cleaning sessions with all of their bristles still intact. The brush is sooooooo, soooooo soft, words cannot merely describe how incredible they feel. I feel that ELF has an adequate selection of brushes to choose from, from both Studio and Essential. Although I do 100%  recommend any brushes from their Studio line, I have to warn you that the brushes from the Essential is slightly under par compared to Studio brushes. Essential brushes tends to shed a lot. The longer bristle brushes like powder or blush brushes are the worst. They shed when you clean them, use them, touch them. I do however enjoy their shorter bristles brush like the eyeshadow; shorter bristles don't shed as much. Maybe just the first few times of cleaning.

First off, you're probably wondering why I have the ELF Essential eyeshadow brush with my other face brushes. Well, I use it to contour my nose, which works surprisingly well. As for the small stipple brush, I like to use it around my nose region. No matter what method I use to apply my foundation, I will always stipple my nose area, I feel that it looks more flawless that way. I will also use the small stipple brush to apply liquid or cream blush like ELF HD Blush. I use the complexion brush to apply powder, the blush brush to apply my highlight and the angled blush brush to apply my blush and bronzer (I have two angled brushes, one for blush the other for bronzer but only one is pictured). The fan brush is just to dust off any eyeshadow fall outs at the end.

The stippling brush was the first Real Technique brush I ever bought. On days that I want a flawless, air brush face, I will use the stipple brush, otherwise I will just continue using my expert face brush. Those two brushes are my must have recommendation. They will make your make up experience more enjoyable and easier. I love that Real Techniques brushes are made from a synthetic type bristle, nothing like the traditional bristle we see on your brushes. I have tried a few stipple brushes from different brands, none can compare to Real Techniques. Their stipple brush's bristles are a little shorter, courser and less bendable when touched. The point of a stipple brush is to stipple, if the brush easily bends, you're just swiping it back and forth like a regular foundation brush, no stippling there.

Last brush from the face category, the Essence Power brush that I use to apply my bronzer. I mentioned above that I use an angle blush brush to apply my bronzer, yes, to sculpt my face because the brush is more dense, While this powder brush is less dense and more bendy. I use this to lightly dust my forehead and hairline; it's less harsh in my opinion.

Eyes...one lonely ELF Studio brush in this category. I use the contour brush to pack the outer corner of my eyes while I use the smokey eye brush on my crease and the eyeshadow brush to pack my lids. I use my Sigma E25 Blending brush to blend everything together. This one that I show here is a special gift when I ordered the eye brush kit a couple of years ago. I think that's why it's shorter than the regular one. With my four trusty eye brushes, I can do a natural look to a full out smokey eye; it really just depends how you use them, with a light or heavy hand. Lastly, I would like to mention that my EcoTools Spoolie brush was bought with a kit that has four other brushes. I don't think they're sold separately, I might be wrong. However, if you're interested in buying a spoolie brush, I recommend Sonia Kashuk Spoolie Brush No 127, it works just as great.

All of the brush pictured were freshly cleaned and dried. They smell good and look good, that's why they're happy. On how I clean my brushes, you can check out that post here.

Enjoy your night. Thanks for reading guys. :)

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Woman Crush Wednesday, Korean Edition

Yoon Eun Hye - Actress, Singer, Entertainer, Model ; 29 Years Old