Collective Beauty Haul 2015-2016


New school year, new makeup! I've been meaning to post this since last September (long overdue, I know) since that's when I officially started fall quarter at UCI, but I've been so busy with midterms/finals/holidays that I ended up pushing this back quite a few months. Anyway, I went a little overboard with this one yet again, but a lot of these products were actually sent to me by various brands so I didn't spend too much. All excuses aside, read more for everything I got during fall and winter!
Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Bumble - $6
Starting off with one of my current holy grail lipsticks that I've talked about a ton already, I immediately fell in love with this one by Colourpop because it's exactly my kind of shade. I have a full review on it here, so make sure to check it out if you're a liquid lippie junkie! I also recently purchased a reformulated version of it, which is pretty much less drying than before.
Colourpop Highlighter in Lunch Money - $8
Colourpop makes some of the best highlighters out there, if not the best among drugstore products. This gives me the most beautiful J-Lo glow and it almost feels like a wet formula, which makes it look all the more radiant on the skin.
e.l.f. Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in Fiji - $3
I pretty much bought this for the contour shade, but I was pleasantly surprised with how great the blush is, too! It's extremely pigmented, so it'll surely last me months. The contour needs a bit more work for the color to really show up, but it's a stunning shade nonetheless.
e.l.f. Ultimate Blending Brush - $6
Ever since I bought this blending brush, I've completely stopped using beauty sponges to apply my foundation. This is definitely a game-changer so I doubt I'll be straying from it anytime soon.

Batiste Dry Shampoo - $5.99
I've heard tons of rave reviews on the Batiste dry shampoos, so I thought I'd try it out especially when I found it at a much cheaper price at TJ Maxx. I'm definitely impressed with it and it smells much better than the previous ones I've had.
EOS Bedazzled Lip Balm
There's not much to say about this bedazzled eos lip balm other than the fact that I won it from an Instagram giveaway. I believe it's mint-flavored, which I've had previously, and I always keep it on my vanity to use it as a lip primer.

Soho Beauty Sponge - $6
As much as I love the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, I wanted to try something that was less porous and soft because that tends to absorb and thin out my foundation a lot more. This one's much less bouncy and more firm which I think is perfect for full coverage. I love using it for my undereye concealer since I recently switched to using a brush for my foundation.
Panda's Dream Brightening Eye Base
Since this is a collective haul, these are some of the products that Memebox sent to me as an ambassador for the past few months. I haven't really gotten around to using them much, but they're super adorable as always. Here's a brightening eye base with the cutest panda packaging!

Oops My Lip Tint Pack Bubble Pink - $8
The first time I tried these lip tints, I was completely confused because the moment I smacked my lips together, it became disgustingly tacky but little did I know that you're supposed to apply a thick layer first, wait for it to dry for 5-10 minutes, and peel it off, which I found rather unique and innovative!
Pony x Memebox Shine Easy Glam Eyeshadow Palette - $30
It's been a while since Memebox sent me a palette, so this was quite an exciting package to receive. It's another neutral one which I can never complain about!

Pony Shine Easy Glam 3 Eyeshadow Quad #01 Brown Bloom - $18
The latest one they sent me is yet another Pony eyeshadow palette that is essentially the same as the previous one I received - just with slightly different shades. It's definitely going to come in handy for spring though!

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Concealer + Treatment in Neutralizer - $7
My all-time favorite undereye concealer is the highly acclaimed Maybelline Age Rewind, particularly in the the shade Neutral just because it has stronger yellow undertones, which is perfect for my skin tone.
LA Splash Lip Couture in Latte Confession - $14
Perhaps one of the most disappointing purchases I've ever made in 2015 is this liquid lipstick mainly because everyone has been raving like crazy about it, but it just didn't work for me at all. The color is absolutely stunning, I'll give it that, but the formula is so incredibly drying and tacky that it forms little clumps and never seems to set completely. I'm not sure if I got a faulty product since I have yet to see a review that shares my experience, but in any case, this was a no-go. 

L'Oréal Paris Infallible Matte Foundation in 104 Golden Beige - $12
I'm always trying to venture out with drugstore foundations because I'm constantly looking for the perfect one for my skin type and tone. This one's probably the best drugstore foundation I've tried so far, but it only lasted me a couple months which would mean that I'd have to keep repurchasing frequently. Nonetheless, it's a great product as it matches my skin perfectly and keeps it pretty matte yet natural-looking throughout the day.

L'Oréal® Paris Voluminous Miss Manga Rock Mascara in Waterproof Blackest Black - $7
One of my favorite mascaras is L'Oreal's Miss Manga Rock, which I've already gone through two tubes of, so I repurchased it in waterproof form. There's not much else to say about it other than the fact that it's ten times harder to remove than the original formula, which I guess is the whole purpose of it being waterproof.
NYX Tinted Brow Mascara in Chocolate - $7
Since I dyed my hair a more ash brown color prior to going pastel, my Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade has been a tad too dark, so I picked up this tinted eyebrow gel from NYX. It does a great job of keeping my eyebrows in place, but it doesn't really lighten them as much as I'd hoped.
NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Burgundy - $3.49 
I've heard great things about NYX's lip liners, so I picked this up to layer underneath my lipsticks to make them last longer. It's a little more plum than desired, but it gets the job done.
Kleancolor Nail Lacquer in Brown - $1.50
If this isn't the perfect fall nail color, I don't know what is! When I look at my nails in this shade, I think of pumpkin spice lattes, Halloween, and deep orange suede clothing pieces! This was definitely my go-to color last fall because it just went seamlessly with everything.

Bath & Body Works Travel Size Fine Fragrance Mist in Love & Sunshine - $6
Bath & Body Works had a huge holiday sale, so I stocked up on my favorite fragrance mist from their store. I bring this with me everywhere even though touch-ups aren't really necessary because this actually lasts for quite a long time on me.
As you may have known, I did a two-part collaboration with Remington in 2015, which was a pretty huge deal for me since it's the first major brand I've worked with and I've been using Remington hair tools for as long as I can remember. Here's a really cool product they came out with, which you can read about on my blog post here.

Remington Ultimate Finish Straightener - $25
The second part of the collaboration included a fun holiday campaign I took part in, which included a quick hair & makeup tutorial with their newest flat iron. More on that here!

Measurable Difference Eyeshadow - $14
Chrislie sent me this palette in exchange for sharing a giveaway they were doing a while back. It's definitely not up to par with my other eyeshadow palettes, but it's decent enough for a novice.
imPRESS Press-On Manicure - $8
I did a collab with imPRESS to show you guys this gorgeous nail kit that I absolutely loved. You can read more about it here and see additional photos and whatnot!

MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC25 - $27
I decided to invest in a new MAC foundation just to try out more high end products, and the Studio Fix ended up being one of my holy grails. It matches my skin tone perfectly and keeps the oils at bay. The only annoying part is that it has no pump!

Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in Obsession - $5
This is probably my 10th repurchase of this lip liner. It's creamy, long-lasting, and super pigmented, so I can never go wrong with this little gem.
Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes+ - $29
I've been all about big eyelashes last year, and to have Younique send me this kit to review was super exciting. I wrote all about it and posted pictures of the dramatic result, so check it out here!
Ofra Cosmetics Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Miami Fever - $20
As much as I worship Kathleenlights, I was a bit hesitant to buy her product in collaboration with Ofra Cosmetics solely because it's not my usual red-brown shade, but I felt like I should step outside my comfort zone for once and try something new for fall. Turns out that this particular shade easily became one of my all-time faves! Here's a quick review on this overall amazing product.
Ofra Cosmetics Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Santa Ana - $20
I loved Miami Fever so much that I repurchased it even though I still have plenty left, but it is still limited edition so I might as well stock up - and since I loved the formula of the product itself as well, I purchased Santa Ana, which is that classic rosy mauve shade that I always gravitate towards.
Maybelline Volum' Express The Falsies Mascara in Blackest Black Waterproof - $6
If you haven't seen my 2015 favorites roundup, you probably wouldn't know how much I love this mascara. It gives the most volume and length out of all the mascaras I've used and for such an affordable price!

MATCHCo Custom Tinted Hydrating Foundation - $50
Among the many gems in my 2015 beauty favorites was this incredible foundation that seriously needs to get the recognition it deserves already. It's a super new makeup line, so I'll give it some time to be recognized by other beauty bloggers, but it has such an amazing, lightweight formula and a really cool concept behind it. I love that it's completely customizable for every person and you get to have your name imprinted on the pretty bottle! I'm definitely grateful to be among the few bloggers who got to try it out first.

MATCHCo Custom Tinted Hydrating Foundation - $50
A month and a half later, MATCHCo reached out to me again and offered another free bottle but in a shade that's even more accurate. The previous one was already really close to my actual skin tone but it had just a tiny hint of pink undertones, but this one is absolutely on point.

Billion Dollar Brows Best Seller Kit - $42
Billion Dollar Brows sent me these two kits to try out, and while some of the products could go unnoticed, most of these made their way to my everyday eyebrow routine - especially the brushes and brow duo! Here's my review if you're interested in knowing more.
NYX in Bloom Look Set
As you may have seen on my November/December 2015 favorites, my sister got me this palette in a holiday set for Christmas, and it's been such a great one for special occasions and holiday makeup looks.

Firming DMAE Eye Lift - $20
I got to work with Derma-e and Target to announce the launch of the brand in stores, and in addition, they sent me some cool skin care products that I got to try out. I also did a quick review of this eye cream, which you can check out here.

Covergirl LashBlast Plumpify Mascara - $12
I know I've been talking about a lot of collaborations in this post, but I did say that quite a handful of these were sent to me and I'm not just a crazy makeup hoarder. Here are some products I received from Influenster last month to review and share with you guys. I have yet to write a review on them, but for now here's a little preview!

Infiniti Pro by Conair Nano Tourmaline Ceramic 1-1/4-Inch Curling Iron - $19.97
You may have noticed that I dyed my hair pastel right when the new year began. When my hairstylist finished the whole hair coloring session, she curled my hair with a 1 1/4 inch barrel and the result was so stunning that it instantly convinced me to buy one of my own. I have a curling wand that's a little smaller than this, but it didn't give the same voluminous effect, so I'm super happy with this purchase. The only thing is that it's really hard to resist curling my hair every day now!

Tigi Catwalk Fashionista Violet Shampoo & Conditioner for Unisex, 25.36 Ounce - $12.99 each
Going pastel is obviously a lot of maintenance as you can tell from my super lengthy blog post, so I had to get a whole new set of shampoo and conditioner, and these products are the two hairstylist-approved ones that I got. Purple shampoo is essential in maintaining the tone of my platinum blonde locks underneath the pastel, so these have definitely come in handy for that reason. Plus, they smell incredible!

It's A 10 Leave-In Conditioner Plus Keratin, 4 Ounce - $15.81
I also needed something to keep my hair from getting fried and damaged from all the bleaching, so I got this other hair-stylist approved product that's gotten tons of rave reviews. Hopefully, it'll do exactly what it's supposed to in the long-run.

Soft 'N Style Hail Coloring Tool Kit - $8.41
Since pastel colors fade quite fast, I got a hair dye kit for when I need to touch up at home. This one comes with everything I need for a quick and easy DIY hair coloring session!

Pravana Chromasilk Vivids in Violet ($10) and Silver ($16)
As recommended by tons of my fellow unicorn beauty bloggers, I went for the ever so famous Pravana Vivids to touch up my unicorn locks. I got the ones in Violet and Silver, which I intend to mix together and play around with for the next few months.
Viva Labs The Finest Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, 16 Ounce - $10.79
To try to counteract the damage that bleaching caused after getting my hair done, I bought this huge jar of coconut oil that's so worth every penny, not that it's even expensive to begin with. This stuff has so many other uses as well!

Maybelline Lash Sensational Luscious Mascara - $6.99
I'm not sure why I bought this new one when I literally just found my holy grail drugstore mascara (Maybelline Falsies) last month. I guess seeing all the rave reviews made it really hard for me to resist.

LA Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealers in 991 Yellow Corrector, 992 Green Corrector, 972 Natural, & 973 Creamy Beige - 4 for $10
Kathleenlights and a couple other Youtubers swear by these concealers, so I thought it was time for me to try them out since I'm running out of mine anyway. I found an amazing deal on eBay in which I got to choose 4 shades for $10, making each concealer only $2.50! 
RCMA No Color Powder - $9.99
Whenever Kathleenlights swears by a certain product and says that it's the best one in the market, it's always so easy to give in to buying it because she's one of the most honest Youtube gurus out there, so I ended up purchasing her #1 holy grail setting powder to give it a shot.
Wet n Wild Contouring Palette in Dulce de Leche - $6 @ Target
I've heard about this contouring palette a few months back, and I finally found one in stock at my local Target, so I picked up the one that was least warm-toned. 

Wet n Wild 1-Step Wonder Gel in Stay Classy - $5
I also got yet another nude nail polish to add to my collection. This is actually the first gel formula I got to try, which definitely sold me!

Batiste Dry Shampoo - $5.99
I stopped by Ulta to grab another bottle of my trustee dry shampoo because I ran out of the earlier one I showed (this should give you an idea of how overdue this post really is). I got a scented one this time since they didn't have the original, but I don't see that much of a difference with the performance.
Essence All About Eyeshadow in Vintage - $5.49
During one of my weekly trips to Target, I found out that they're now carrying Essence, which was super exciting because it's one of those incredibly inexpensive yet underrated brands. Naturally, I had to pick up some stuff, and the first thing I gravitated towards was the eyeshadow section. I ended up picking up the most unique one just because all of my other eyeshadows are warm/neutral. 

e.l.f. Blending Brush - $6
I also ended up buying this fluffy contour brush from e.l.f. because I've seen rave reviews about it and I was in need of a new one that blends my contour a little more seamlessly. Also, it was super exciting to see that Target now carries more of their studio brushes and other products that were previously online-exclusive!

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in Lumière 2  -$6
Just a few weeks ago on Kathleen's birthday (can you tell how much I love her?), Colourpop had a surprise release of Lumière 2, which is pretty much a liquid lipstick version of Kathleen's Lumière lippy stix. Since I absolutely loved this mauve color and the formula of Colourpop's liquid lippies in general, I had to buy it!

NYX Lip Lingerie in Exotic ($7) and NYX Full Throttle Lipstick in Locked ($7)
NYX released a whole new set of nude liquid lipsticks that included my exact kind of shade (Exotic), so I immediately jumped on the bandwagon and purchased this gem in addition to another lipstick from a new line they also came out with.

Wet n Wild MegaLast Salon Nail Color in On a Trip - $1.99
I typically go for neutral nail colors, but having dyed my hair a bold color recently, I've been leaning a lot more towards electric shades like this one.  
Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette - $36
My sister got me this stunning Too Faced palette for my birthday, and it's pretty much all I've been using since then. The formula is significantly better than Naked eyeshadows and the colors are perfect everyday neutrals. Not to mention that the packaging is absolutely gorgeous!

Sephora Beauty Insider Birthday Gift 2016
Some of the things I look forward to the most on the month of my birthday are the free gifts from Sephora, which are typically of amazing quality. This year happened to be this sleek set from Marc Jacobs that includes a gel eyeliner that I've been using nonstop and a nice natural lipstick that I have yet to try. 

Benefit Roller Lash Deluxe Size
I was also super excited to receive Ulta's birthday gift because lucky for me, my birth-month includes a deluxe sample of the Benefit Roller Lash, which is one of their most acclaimed mascaras.


Nars has always been way too high-end for my limited college budget, but thanks to my cousin, I now own something from the brand and it's this gorgeous set of crayon lipsticks! 

Beyond the Beauty 3P Volume - $350
Last but not least, I was contacted by Beyond the Beauty just a couple days ago and they ended up sending me a hair tool of my choice, and clearly I went all out by choosing the 3P Volume set that contains three interchangeable barrels. I'm extremely excited to try these out and to review for you guys and the best part is that there's going to be a giveaway, so stay tuned! 

If you went through all of that, you're the real MVP because this was definitely an exhausting read and putting it all together clearly took months! Hopefully, I've convinced you to venture out and give some of these incredible products a try. I'll try my best to get back on that full-length reviewing grind, so be on the lookout! 

Thanks for stopping by as usual. 'Til my next one!
xoxo,
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1 comments:

  1. What an amazing haul! Seriously, you have enough to last you the entire year. (Although you and I know that that's not true ;) ) Awesome selection of makeup, hair and nail products~! Wish we could get Memebox in Aus :( those palettes though!
    ~Weng wengiful

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