Hi there lovelies! Today we’re back with another haul featuring mainly makeup products and a couple skincare items, so let’s get started!

HOURGLASS MINERAL VEIL PRIMER

Even though this isn’t marketed towards oily skin, this has been my holy grail primer for a while. It keeps my makeup in place all day long and my skin feels super soft and smooth after applying it. The only thing I can’t justify is the price (I used a gift card to purchase the full-size bottle and I’ve always purchased the smaller version on my own). It’s a lot to pay for a primer, so I’ve currently stopped using this to test out other primers, but I’ll probably come back to it in the future.

MILANI BLUSH IN ROSE D’ORO

I’ve had my eye on this blush for literally years but couldn’t bring myself to buy it because I’m not a huge blush person. However, I finally caved and got it because I really love the color and Milani’s blush formulations are always great. I expected a deeper color, but it’s a bit lighter than I expected. Luminoso is more of a natural peach color whereas Rose D’Oro is just a bit more pigmented. I didn’t use it much at first, but now it’s become an everyday product for me.

NARS MINI LIPSTICK IN POUR TOUJOURS

I’ve always liked Nars products but never purchased them because they’re a bit expensive so I’m glad I finally own something from them. I received this lipstick a while ago as a free birthday gift but I still haven’t used it because I was too obsessed with my Innisfree lip balms. But now that I’m writing this post, I’ll probably start using it soon and let you know what I think of it!

FLOWER BEAUTY EYESHADOW PALETTE IN SUN’S BLAZING

I’ve had an obsession with yellow eyeshadow for years and I’ve been looking for the perfect single shadow that wouldn’t be too expensive because knowing me, I probably would love it but not wear it enough. However, when I saw this yellow in such a pretty palette, I decided to get the palette instead of the single shadow. 

But to be honest, I don’t really wear eyeshadow anymore, especially when I was working a lot and didn’t have a lot of extra time to get ready. I’ve ended up finding my everyday work and casual makeup looks, and neither of them include eyeshadow. 🙁 But with that being said, I’ve started missing eyeshadow lately so I’ll definitely give this palette a try and join the many people who are doing their makeup without having anywhere to go during this social distancing period, haha.

REAL TECHNIQUES REMEDY SPONGES

So I’ve been on the hunt for mini travel makeup brushes. But for some odd reason, I haven’t been able to find any in the size I want (at least affordable ones)?? But then I came across these and thought they would be great to use as well. The idea was that I would just throw it in my purse and I could use it to touch up my makeup. 

So far, I haven’t loved them. I find that when I’m already too oily, this removes my makeup instead of blending it out. I’ve had slightly better luck when my skin’s less oily, but touching up is still a bit more difficult than I anticipated. I haven’t tried wetting the sponge though, so I’ll make sure to try that out next time and update on my results after practicing with it more!

PEACE OUT ACNE HEALING DOTS

Another product I’ve been trying out are pimple patches. So far, I’ve tested a couple brands and I was curious to see how these work. They’re fairly pricy (I paid $19 for 20 patches, which is almost $1 a patch) and there’s a lot of unnecessary packaging. There’s only 2 slim pouches inside a bulky box and each of them has 10 patches. However, I think these are probably the best patches I’ve tried so far. 

I find that pimple patches in general work the best when the pimple is already popped; this way, it’s easier for it to suck out the rest of the gunk from the spot. When I use this on my blemishes (that I’ve already popped), I wake up the next morning to a flat pimple and the patch clearly showing how much it removed. I think it’s a pretty strong patch, but it has its pros and cons which I’ll discuss in a future blog post!

KAT VON D TATTOO LINER, POWDER, & LIPSTICK SAMPLE SET

I’ve had this lying around for a long while (it was Sephora’s birthday gift from last year if that tells you anything) and I finally got around to trying them. To be fair though, I was really busy working 3 jobs around this time, so I didn’t have the luxury of trying out new products because I was always using my go-to products.

The powder is nice, but I don’t think it keeps my oils at bay all day long. As for the liner, I’ve never tried a liquid liner before and I found it more difficult than using a gel liner. I had to go over the line a couple times to make it dark enough and I found it hard to make a wing (but that’s probably because I’m inexperienced with liquid liner). Lastly, I ended up not using the lipstick samples because I don’t like it when they come packaged in plastic squares; I would prefer a mini lipstick bullet instead.

L’OREAL INFALLIBLE MECHANICAL EYELINER

I used to use a different pencil liner from L’Oreal that I really liked; however, it was hard to sharpen and I didn’t want to repurchase it so I got this one instead. It’s a mechanical pencil so you can twist it up and it also comes with a smudger on the other end. I liked this liner, but I feel like it smudges onto my lower lashline sometimes, so I probably won’t repurchase.

MAYBELLINE DREAM URBAN COVER FOUNDATION

I purchased this shortly after its release and this foundation was more than I expected. It doesn’t keep my skin looking matte all day long, but it looks really good on my skin! When I want it to last through a 8-hour workday, I’ll mix it with my L’Oreal Infallible Pro Matte foundation but whenever I wear it alone, I love how natural it looks! I plan on doing a full review of this product, so be on the lookout for that!

CLINIQUE TAKE THE DAY OFF CLEANSING BALM

And of course I had to repurchase this cleansing balm once again. This has been my go-to for a long time now and I really love how this melts into your skin to remove your makeup without tugging. I’ve reviewed this in comparison to the Ponds Cold Cream and it’s also made an appearance in my first empties post! The only quip I have about this cleansing balm is that it doesn’t completely remove my eyelash glue (I use a Duo lash glue) so I also use micellar water whenever I wear lashes.

E.L.F. LIP PLUMPING GLOSS IN SPARKLING ROSE

I can’t remember if someone recommended this gloss or I just felt like getting it, but I thought it’d be nice to have a nude pink gloss without shimmers in it like my Buxom one. This one is smooth and has a nice shine to it. It does tingle a little because it’s a plumping gloss but I don’t really see a difference in my lips and the tingling doesn’t last for long. Overall, it’s a nice gloss that goes well with most lip colors and I enjoy using it.

DUO 2-IN-1 LASH ADHESIVE

This has become my new favorite lash glue. I’ve been using it for a while now and I’ve even repurchased it. I used to use the glue that came in a tube but didn’t like it because it would squirt out random amounts and I wanted more control over the application. I also got talked into using this one by a random person I talked to at Ulta and she said she liked clear lash glue, whereas I’ve always used black glue. After using this, I’ve learned that I like both clear and black lash glue, so this is a great product for me and I plan to keep using it.

MAYBELLINE FIT ME DEWY & SMOOTH FOUNDATION

This has been out for a long time now and it’s been a while since I purchased this but I don’t think I’ve ever talked about it on my blog. I decided to get this foundation because I wanted a product for short days or on days when I want a more natural makeup look. It does make me oilier faster than other foundations as expected but if I’m just running errands, I prefer makeup that looks dewy instead of matte because it looks more lived in. Overall, it’s a light to medium coverage foundation that matches my skin pretty well and I’ll probably repurchase it.

MAYBELLINE INSTANT AGE REWIND CONCEALER IN NEUTRALIZER

I’ve used this concealer for years and I’ve repurchased it many times. I used to use it to cover my dark circles and breakouts but now it seems a bit too light so I only use it under my eyes. I like the slightly different packaging though!

SMASHBOX ALWAYS ON LIQUID LIPSTICK IN STEPPING OUT

I got this for free with my purchase a while ago because I used my points at Sephora. I still haven’t used it because I’ve been using my other lip products, but I assume it’s probably a matte liquid lipstick so I’ll try this out soon and let you know what I think of it in a product review post!

NYX ANGEL VEIL SKIN PERFECTING PRIMER 

I bought this because of recommendations I saw and I think this is supposed to smooth out your skin. It also mattifies your face and I’m still testing it out to see if it keeps my oils from coming through. So far, I think it works for an 8-hour workday with my oily skin but I still have to do a good job with touching up if I want it to look good by the end of the day.

NYX MATTE BLOTTING PAPER

I’ve been on a hunt to find the best affordable blotting sheets so I’ve been buying from different brands and testing them out. I’ve used these a few times and what I noticed so far is that it really mattifies the skin, but almost leaves it looking a little dry? I’ll keep testing it out though and update on my thoughts!

REAL TECHNIQUES SPONGE CASE

Since I usually tend to stay over at friends’ places when I hang out with them (but not since social distancing started!), I thought this would be a good purchase to store my sponge for those instances and for future travels. I like this one because it’s gray (I think the original case is pink), I like the marbled color, the silicone construction (it won’t break on you!), and the holes to let air in. 

The only downside is that they recommend for the sponge to dry completely before storing it and we all know how long these take to dry, haha. Because of that, I usually let it dry as much as I can but if it’s still a bit damp I’ll keep the top open and let it dry while I’m driving to my friend’s place or make sure I take it out after I arrive at my destination and unpack.

AVEENO PROTECT & HYDRATE SUNSCREEN WITH SPF 50

After researching how to fade hyperpigmentation, I learned that it not only takes time for it to fade no matter what, but that sunscreen is super important to protect acne scars and dark spots from getting darker and that it’s one of the most important steps in your skincare routine to prevent signs of aging and skin cancer. I never really took sunscreen seriously until now, so I finally decided to start investing in sunscreen with higher levels of SPF.

This one is very hydrating so I don’t really recommend it for oily skin, but I got too lazy to return it so I’ve been getting by with it. It gives a softer look when used under matte foundations, but it does make me oily faster. I probably won’t repurchase this but since it doesn’t break me out or have an overly strong scent, I would recommend this to those with drier skin than mine.

SHISEIDO EYELASH CURLER

After seeing good reviews and wanting it for so long, I decided to invest in this eyelash curler. Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s better than my Tweezerman curler but I’ve seen many people recommending it for Asian eye shapes. For now, I’ve only been using this Shiseido curler so I’ll try to alternate between the two so I can see how they perform and I can do a comparison post in the future!

SEPHORA BLOTTING PAPERS IN ROSE

When I thought I lost my Sephora blotting sheets in Tea Tree, I immediately went to repurchase it (I then found them approximately a year later *facepalm*) but I only found this rose one and didn’t think I would like them. Fast forward to now, and I actually do like the scent of this more than the tea tree one. This was one of the first blotting sheets I ever tried and I like how they don’t remove my makeup. However, if you’re too oily it will start to take your foundation off along with the oil, so that’s something to be wary of.

If you made it to the end of this haul, I’d like to thank you for reading this lengthy post! As you can see, I’ve tried out most of the products in this haul and while I like most of them, there are some that I’m unsure about and others that I wouldn’t repurchase. I hope you found this post helpful and I’ll see you lovelies soon!

[P.S: As I’ve mentioned before in a different post, this is from a backlog of photos I’ve had so I actually haven’t bought any makeup in the month of March! Just thought I should let you know since I challenged myself on my Twitter to not buy any makeup or clothes in March, haha.]