Most of the time when I buy makeup it’s just because I see something pretty that I want and then it belongs to me, just like magic! On the other hand, there are situations where makeup is my therapy. This haul is a good healthy mix of both of these acquisition methods. I managed to get into an Ulta which only happens every couple of years, but I also recently had a dental procedure done that in the grand scheme of things, was relatively minor but it still induced a bit of anxiety before hand and a bit of wallowing in self pity afterwards and when I’m wallowing, I’m online shopping. Isn’t that how everyone wallows? No?

Anyway…I placed my first order with Beautylish and before we get into the actual products, I wanted to mention how nice the whole process was. I ordered from Beautylish and Sephora on the same day, with Sephora VIB Rouge status (yep. That happened. I was simultaneously HORRIFIED and kind of impressed with myself) you get free 3 day shipping on all orders. With Beautylish, I got free 2 day shipping on my first ever order. So take that Sephora! Also, the package I received from Beautylish was completely lovely. There was a stamp inside the box with the signature of the person that packaged my order, there was a personalized note in the package, every item was wrapped in bubble wrap, and wrapped with paper and tied with string and in general, the whole package was just wonderful and securely packaged. Sephora…had some bubble wrap in the box. So again…maybe Sephora should step up their game right?!

Let’s start with the products that I ordered from Beautylish.

Sugarpill Burning Heart Quad – I have quite literally been lusting after this quad for years but just never purchased it. This palette is basically all of my favorite colors so really, I NEEDED this in my life. The consistency of the shadows is fairly stiff, these aren’t buttery or soft shadows and when you swirl your fingers in the pan they really feel like the kind of shadows that are going to have zero pigmentation but just look at how much product gets picked up initially! Now, these swatch…like shit. But swatches aren’t always indicative of product performance so I’m holding out hope that these will be my new favorite things. Also, check out how much color is left on my finger tips after swatching. Crazy right?! These baby’s don’t rinse off easily either. (As always, all swatches are done with 3 “swirls” in the pan, and a single swipe over no primer).

Lit Cosmetics Glitters – I ran out of daylight and patience before swatching these so I’ll try to do a separate post on these at some point. I purchased Vitamin C, Northern Lights and Lemon Tart (which I did wear over a spring green eyeliner and holy crap…it was awesome! The boy thought it was weird but that’s because he’s wrong a lot). When ordering three or more glitters (at least on Beautylish) you receive the glitter glue kit as well which was nice.

From Sephora:

Thing Cat is supervising all blogging operations.

Kat Von D Shade & Light Contour Palette – I wanted to place an order for more Shiseido Facial Cotton squares and while I love those, they’re not very exciting (technically they’re part of this haul but I didn’t photograph them) so I purchased this palette as the “fun” addition to my order. All of the powders in this palette are very finely milled and pigmented but they do vary in consistency. Sombre, for example, is very powdery and kicks up a ton of product in the pan but Subconscious is a little bit more stiff. The whole idea of a contour palette is something I kind of think is geared more towards actual makeup artists but this is a lovely palette. I think Kat Von D would have done better to release 2-3 palettes in varying depth ranges, but that’s just me.  This palette isn’t going to be ideal for the very fair or the deep skin tones. I think medium-medium light will like this the best. That’s not to say that you won’t love it if you’re at the edges of the depth spectrum, but just know that the shades may not provide the contrast you’re looking for. I would say I’m light skinned but not quite fair and I can use all of these shades but I have to use a very light hand unless I’m feeling in a ghoulish kind of mood (hey, it happens).

From the wonderful world that is Ulta:

Revlon Photoready Kajal in Matte Lemon – Yellow. Eyeliner. That is all. I haven’t used this yet but I love it. A lot. Yellow eyeshadow tends to present a pigmentation problem most of the time but this eyeliner is insanely pigmented and creamy enough that I’m hoping it will work as an awesome base for yellow shadows that need help. Plus, YELLOW EYELINER DUDE!

Physician’s Formula Powder Palette Multi-Coloured Custom Blush Blondes – Seriously Physicians Formula? Your company name isn’t already long enough on it’s own, so you have to give a product a SEVEN WORD NAME?! What the heck?! I think that may bother me more than it should o_o I saw hapagurl8 use this blush and it was stunning on her. I’m not sure if it’s because I have a fair bit of redness in my cheeks or if my freckles are the culprit, but blush just doesn’t show up on me. If I pack this on it’s still really pretty but it’s just not as pigmented on me as it is on Laura so your mileage may vary with this. Overall, the blush is soft and smooth and has just a tiny bit of sparkle and is generally very pretty. I haven’t used it enough really to form a solid opinion on it.

Not pictured – Laura Geller powder foundation that I dropped and shattered within 3 days of buying. Much sadness ensued. It’s an interesting product though and I can’t quite decide if I love it or hate it. I also picked up the Laura Geller highlighter duo and it is amazing and also currently MIA. I blame the cats but that’s probably not fair.

From MAC…where the lovely ladies are starting to actually recognize me which I think is a sign that I need to reign it in a little. How exactly I will do that I don’t know, because they keep coming out with things like this:

MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus Lipstick – MAC picks an odd smattering of people for the Viva Glam campaigns right? I’m just going to leave it at that. But this lipstick! JUST LOOK AT IT! (I’m very shouty today, I apologize. I’m using nicotine patches at the moment and they get me all riled up). This is an amplified finish and is just amazing. Hot pink is generally a little out of my comfort zone but I’m going to make it my comfort zone because this shade is gorgeous.

MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus Tinted Lipglass – I love a good sheer hot pink lip gloss. They just look fresh and bright and give that “just ate a popsicle” look. Plus this one has glitter (as in the kind that sticks around on the lips so if that bothers you, you’ve been warned) and we all know that you just can’t say no to glitter.

MAC Lip Pencil in Talking Points – This is from the recently released Pencilled In collection (is that a typo on the website or is that actually how they spelled it?) and I believe this is the companion pencil to Candy Yum Yum but it is perfect with the Viva Glam shades too. I’m always a little torn on MAC lip pencils, they’re not a creamy formula but they do last fairly well on the lips. I just find them a little drying and they tug a bit but that’s generally the trade off for a long wearing lip product.

Random drugstore purchases:

Flower Beauty Powder-to-Creme Blush in Tickled Pink – Yes you read that right. Powder to creme…not creme to powder. You guys, this is some sort of black magic. Seriously. I don’t even know how this works but no joke, it’s a super finely milled powder and you pick it up on your brush or finger…still a powder but then as soon as it touches your face (or the back of your hand) IT TURNS INTO A CREAM. What. Yeah. This took a little fiddling to figure out the best way to blend it and for me, I think it blends out the best when I use my fingers. I can apply it with a brush or my fingers but to get a good blend around the edges, using my fingers helps a lot. There was a deep coral shade available in this formula as well so if you’re not into the neon cool toned baby pink thing (I am but I shouldn’t be…cool blush is just not that flattering on me but I don’t care, I love it) there’s another shade option available.

Flower Beauty Shadow Play Eyeshadow Quad in Dusk ‘Til Dawn – Another new offering from Flower Beauty. I really love the formula of Flower eyeshadows. They are soft, finely milled, pigmented, easy to blend and they don’t really crease or do anything alarming throughout the day. If you haven’t tried them I really strongly recommend them. Most of the shade selections don’t particularly appeal to me but this one is perfection. I’m working on a full review so I won’t get too carried away here but suffice it to say that I love this quad.

Wet n Wild Velvet Matte Lip Color in The Stand Out and Fashion Darling – These are…interesting. I have only worn The Stand Out so far so I can only offer my first impressions. This product feels very slick, like it has a LOT of silicone in it (I could google I suppose but I’m way lazy) and it seems to have a propensity for sliding around the lips. Now that may have something to do with the lip products I had worn previously that day but it was strange. They initially apply quite sheer but can be built up. I’ll have to play around with them to get a better handle on what they’re actually like.

Wet n Wild Vicious Varnish High Shine Lip Stain in Throwing Shade – I haven’t used this yet but in this initial swatch…there was a…I don’t know exactly. A slimy clump of product? It made me think of lots of unpleasant things (like boogers) so I’m a little loathe to actually try this on my face. Have you tried these before? Did I just get a bad one? It doesn’t smell weird but I’m a little skeptical.

Whew! That was a long one! If you hung in there, you are the bomb diggity and I’m sorry that you’re having such a boring day, but thank you!

What have you picked up lately? Have you ordered from Beautylish before? Have you tried any of these products? If so, what did you think?

Bonus cute cat photo:

Gray Cat got through Thing Cat’s defenses and basically rained terror on the lipstick situation.