April Low-Buy

Today’s post is a haul/check-in of my 2016 low-buy. Originally, I had intended to post my Sephora haul last week, which did not end up happening. Since it’s now the end of the month, so I thought I might as well just lump my Sephora haul with the rest of my purchases and do my monthly low buy check-in post. I’ve gotten the chance to test out most of these products, so this post does include a brief first impressions of each product.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup in Shade 3.25 (Original price $35, $29.75 after discount)

Sheesh, that’s a long name. Anyways, I ended up getting this foundation, which was on my Sephora wish list. I haven’t owned foundation for a while now because I don’t use it on a daily basis and because I find the colour-matching process very frustrating, but I thought that maybe it was time to start investing in a decent one. A coworker recommended this foundation to me, and I’m really, really liking it so far. True to its name, it feels natural and weightless on my skin, and I’ve also never owned a foundation that matched my skin tone so well! I am having issues with super dry skin in my chin area lately, and I’ve realized that while it doesn’t completely sit well on this part of my face, it doesn’t accentuate the problem as much as other foundations have in the past, either.

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder (Original price $47, $39.95 after 15% discount – not included in my budget since this was purchased to replace a used-up product)

I bought this because I ran out of my go-to loose setting powder, the Shiseido Translucent Loose Powder. I feel like I’ve never used a setting powder that was amazing before – they always just get the job done, and this powder is no different. So far, I feel like it’s pretty similar to the Shiseido powder. I think I need to use it more to figure out whether I like one more than the other, or both the same.

 

Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector (Original price $36, $30.60 after 15% discount)

This was the most exciting purchase I made this month. Originally, the corrector that I was going to pick up in the sale was the Urban Decay Naked Skin Color Correcting Fluid. I ended up buying the Becca corrector on a whim instead, after reading Stashy’s review of it. I didn’t even try this product out before buying it, as they didn’t carry Becca products at the Sephora that I went to and I had to buy it online. It does a really good job brightening up my under eye area and correcting my dark circles, but I haven’t completely decided what I think about this product yet. I’ve been using this every day since I bought it – some days this works for me beautifully, other days I have issues because of it. I think I just haven’t found the right combination of products to use with it. I am thinking of doing a blog post of my experience with this product once I get a better feel for it.

 

 NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard (Original price $36, $30.60 after 15% off – not included in my budget since this is technically a repurchase)

This was originally not on my shopping list. Long story short, I was colour matched to the shade Ginger when I first bought it in the winter last year, and it’s the wrong shade for me in the winter. I used it with no issues in the summer when I had a tan, and in the winter I’ve been mixing it with the Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil Concealer in FBI, which is a lighter shade. However, I’ve been having a bout of dry skin and FBI looks cakey on top of my skin, so I bought this.

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper (Original price $23, $19.55 after 15% discount – not included in budget since this was purchased to replace a used-up product)

I’ve been loyal to my Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner for the last two years, but I found that the tip wears down quite quickly. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the KVD liner, and since I finished my Stila liner back in December, I bought this one to replace it. I don’t wear liquid liner every day so I’ve only used it a handful of times, but so far I’m enjoying it. The tip creates a very precise winged liner look, but it’s not quite as pigmented as the Stila liner. Sometimes it takes a few uses for the “ink” to really flow, so we’ll see!

Batiste Dry Shampoo – Tropical (coconut and exotic fragrance) ($6.99 – not included in budget since this was purchased to replace a used-up product))

Last month, I finished my bottle of Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo. They always have a huge stock of the much-loved Batiste Dry Shampoos at Winners, so I decided to test it out. So far, I’m enjoying it. It’s able to create some volume and takes away the greasy feeling in my roots. A lot of people with dark hair complain that the Batiste dry shampoos leave them with white residue in their hair, but I don’t seem to have this problem at all, even though it isn’t the version for dark hair. I find the scent is just okay. I love coconut/tropical scents, but this is too strong and artificial for me. If I end up wanting to repurchase this, I think I’ll try a different fragrance next time.

 

W7 In The Night Eye Shadow Palette ($9.99)

I bought this palette at Winners at the same time as the Batiste Dry Shampoo. This purple-based palette looked really interesting to me, so I quickly looked up reviews while I was at the store, and I bought it because it seemed like it had generally good ratings. When I got home and swatched all of the shades, I immediately regretted buying it. There are a couple of shades that are buttery and pigmented, but most of the colours are chalky and dry. Oh well, at least it was only $10. I haven’t worked up the courage to try this on my eyes yet. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised by how well they work on the lids…hopeful thinking, perhaps?

Sinful Colours Nail Polish in Cherry Blossom and Cinderella ($3.98 total)

Okay, I failed and forgot to take closeups of these. Most of my nail polishes are old and I’m getting really bored of the shades, so I’m thinking of doing a nail polish collection overhaul. I’m starting my new collection off with these two shades. Cherry Blossom is a medium pink with silver microshimmers, and Cinderella is a milky baby blue with pink shimmers. I don’t own many pinks and blues, so I’m excited to try these out!

Total April spending (before taxes): $74.32
March Carry-Over Budget: $5.00
April Low-Buy Budget: $100
Total Budget Allocation for April : $105
Leftover Budget: $30.68

Technically, I spent $171.41 before taxes, which means I went WAY over my budget. However, I didn’t include the Laura Mercier setting powder, the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer, the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, or the Batiste Dry Shampoo into my spending because I bought these to replace products I had used up. I don’t know, is that cheating? Because I would totally own up to overspending my budget!

For May, I had allocated $10 to my beauty budget. With my leftover budget from this month plus May’s budget allocation, I’ll have a total  of $40.68 to spend. I’m 95% sure I’m going to go over this budget, but challenge accepted anyways!