SEPHORA SALE HAUL

Crown Affair The Air Dry Ritual Set // EADEM LeChouChou Peptide Lip Balm // Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer // Caliray Under Eye Color Corrector // MAKEUP BY MARIO F4 Dual-ended Brush // MAKEUP BY MARIO Cream Contour + Bronzer Stick // HAUS LABS Lip + Cheek Balm Stick 

This post is overdue but I had to share the new goodies I picked up during the Sephora Fall Savings event a few weeks back! I'm so excited to refresh my makeup bag and try out some things I've had on my wish list! I always prioritize complexion and skin above all else now. That's definitely a flip from when I was younger- I use to be obsessed with the eyes! I still have all of my old eyeshadow palettes from back when all of the Naked/Chocolate palettes were all the rage. They're all undoubtably way past their expiration dates now but I don't know if I can ever part with them. Too sentimental, ya'll. 

Nowadays I pretty much just alternate between paint pots and the mini palettes from Natasha Denona, lol. Not too much going on there which is why there are zero eye products in this haul, hehe. For under the eyes, I did pick up this Caliray Under Eye Color Correcting Concealer in Dawn. This product has been on my wish list for FOREVER because it's always sold out. By some miracle, it was back in stock during the sale. The shade Dawn is a super pale pink tone to help cancel out dark circles and brighten underneath the eye. I've only tried it out once so far but I'll keep you posted. 

Makeup by Mario is killing it in the complexion game. I loveeee the Skin Enhancer so I wanted to try out the Cream Contour stick too. I also finally snagged the F4 brush- I'm not sure if I've ever seen a Sephora recommendations or wish list video on TikTok that doesn't feature this brush, lol. So far, I like both! I'm happy with the Fair shade in the contour stick- it's not too orange or muddy. 

The Haus Labs Lip + Cheek Balm Stick was an impulse buy- I picked up the shade "Glassy Ginger." How could I not....? Hehe, it's beautiful too. The perfect peachy tone I love. Last for the face is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Luminous Bronze Light. I haven't purchased a new powder bronzer in the longest time so I was itching to try something new! I also love Hourglass products but can you believe I've never tried any of the Ambient Lighting powders? This one is super silky and blends well. 

The last few items are the Crown Affair The Air Dry Ritual Set and the Le ChouChou Peptide Lip Balm in Burnt Malai from Eadem. I was definitely influenced on the Crown Affair by all of the hair towel hype- I'll keep ya'll posted. I've always wanted to try out some of their products so this seemed like a good kit to start with. I already love the lippie! It feels hydrating and smooth on + the applicator is great! They also have some great shades!

What products are you loving at the moment?

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I love sharing my picks + hauls with you all! Should you make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)

NEW YEAR, NEW SKIN | AUGUSTINUS BADER HAUL

I've decided that we're kicking 2024 off not only with a new year but with a new glow up. It's time to start being that b*tch, if you know what I mean. I'm excited to start doing a little re-vamp on both my beauty routines + wardrobe this year. Everything has just been feeling a little lackluster lately so I think a little refresh is only fitting. I've always been a big beauty gal, especially when it comes to skincare. I firmly believe that taking care of your skin is vital- most importantly for your overall health- but also to better enhance makeup and your overall look.

It's also probably no secret that I'm willing to get a little boujee when it comes to my skin. While you definitely don't have or need to buy expensive products, I have fun splurging a little bit here and there. I tend to look for products that are both effective + that have relatively "clean" ingredients. One brand (and product in particular) that I've had on my wish list for over a year now is the Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream. It's very highly rated but very expensive. I went down a rabbit hole on Tik-tok to essentially justify why I shouldn't buy it. I've yet to decide if any products are actually worth this price point, however the reviews didn't exactly do what I wanted. Of course there were some negatives, however the overall consensus I gathered is that it's nice, a little too expensive but no other creams compare or work exactly the same. We'll definitely see about that! 

I decided to bite the bullet but if I'm going to splurge, I'm going to splurge smart. Augustinus Bader offers some various "value" sets and this one called the Skin Renewal System caught my eye. It includes three AB products-- 1 x 1oz. of The Rich Cream, 1 x 1oz. The Essence and 1 x 1oz. of The Cream Cleansing Gel. The entire set retails for $185 which is what just the 1oz. of The Rich Cream sells for by itself. I always love a good set + the idea of essentially getting the other two products "for free" seemed like a good way to test out the brand. I was also able to purchase the set during the December Sephora sale for 20% off which ended up dropping the price down to $148. Here's a little more info on each product: 

AUGUSTINUS BADER THE SKIN RENEWAL SYSTEM

+The Rich Cream: Suitable for normal-to-dry skin, described as "intensely hydrating" to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles + hyperpigmentation. 

+The Essence: Suitable normal, dry, oily + combination skin, described as a three-in-one mild chemical exfoliant, toner + essence for smooth, soft + hydrated skin. 

+The Cream Cleansing Gel: Suitable for normal, dry, oily + combination skin, described as a daily cleanser to cleanse, purify + renew skin. 

I've only tried everything out a few times so far so I don't have much to report yet. I will say that the overall design, look + feel of the packaging is nice (as it should be). I have seen some videos that show the polarity between how much product you're getting versus the size of the bottle, but that isn't really new to the beauty industry. That seems to be very common, especially when it comes to foundation + complexion products. Logically we all know that a 1oz. product isn't very much, however when packaged in larger bottles you feel as if you're purchasing more than you really are. I'd be willing to bet that most of us would think a little harder about our purchases if everything was packaged in a container perfectly sized for the actual amount of product. I also think while not ideal, it's understandable from a business perspective. Even more so on higher end, luxury products. Keeping my fingers crossed that a little bit goes a long way! 

If you've had a chance to try out anything from Augustinus Bader, I'd love to know your thoughts. I'm excited to see how the products work and I'm also half wishing they do and don't live up to the hype! 

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Spendy or affordable- what's your favorite skincare product?

 I love sharing my picks + hauls with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :) 

SEPHORA HAUL

No vacation is complete without a lil' shopping! If you missed Monday's post, I took a spontaneous trip to Charleston, SC this past weekend. Charleston is a great place to visit with an amazing history, coastal beaches, lots of sight-seeing and lots of shopping. One of the best and most popular places to go is King Street, a 100-block street full of retail shops and restaurants. It has a mix of moderate and higher end boutiques and stores. I had to visit Sephora while I was there + picked up a few new goodies! Mine was previously inside of JC Penney's which always offered a much smaller selection than the main stores. 

I've been on the hunt for a new shampoo + conditioner to try. All of the ones I've tried lately haven't really wowed me or made much of a difference in my hair. I've also been feeling like my hair has been more on the frizzy side lately so I decided to try out the dae Monsoon collection. This line is designed to hydrate, tame frizz and smooth. All the things I need!! It has great reviews and is "clean," so I picked up both the shampoo + conditioner. I've also heard great things about the K18 Leave-in Mask. It's hella pricey though so I grabbed this mini size to try. 

I didn't do too much makeup this time around but I have been dying to get my hands on the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm. It's constantly sold out online so I was really excited that they had several in store! I chose "Vanilla." I've also been wanting to venture into the feather brows trend which this Charlotte Tilbury Tinted Brow Gel looked like it would be good for. 

THE GOODS:

+ DAE MONSOON MOISTURE MILK HYDRATING SHAMPOO 

+ DAE MONSOON MOISTURE MILK HYDRATING CONDITIONER 

+ K18 LEAVE-IN MOLECULAR REPAIR HAIR MASK 

+ SUMMER FRIDAYS VANILLA LIP BUTTER BALM 

+ CHARLOTTE TILBURY LEGENDARY BROWS TINTED EYEBROW GEL 

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What products have you been loving lately?

I love sharing my picks with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)