USA Make-up Haul 2015

Hi all! I apologize for the lack of posts last week. As some of you guys know, I’ve been to the USA last week, completely unexpected! I had one week to prepare to go to Bethesda (near Washington DC) for work at the National Institute of Health. This was the first time ever that I visited the USA! Luckily, there was enough time to explore and go shopping.  I did not bring any make-up to the USA so I could purchase everything that I need over there. I want to show you all the stuff that I’ve purchased during my visit in this USA Make-up Haul featuring products from Sephora, Ulta, Bath & Bodyworks and more!

Sephora

Let’s start with my favorite store, Sephora. I really wanted to try out new foundations. An Artist did a Color ID scan on me so I would find the perfect matching foundation. I’ve purchased the Make Up Forever Ultra HD Foundation in Y375 and Too Faced Born This Way Foundation in Sand. I LOVE the MUFE Foundation, it photographs so beautifully. Not so fond of the Too Faced Foundation because it looks a bit cakey on me, but I’m going to try it out more using a beauty blender. I  was also very curious about the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder, which is perfect for the under eyes. I purchased a miniature version since this will probably last for quite some time. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light is my favorite finishing powder ever. I’ve got the set of three Ambient Lighting Powders, Dim Light has run out in that set so I’ve purchased a full-sized one. It makes my skin look very radiant.   I once received a sample of the Fresh Rose Hydrating Eye Gel Cream and fell in love. Unfortunately, Fresh product do not ship to the Netherlands, so this was the perfect opportunity to buy this eye cream. It makes the skin around my eyes so soft and it smells deliciously like roses and cucumber.

I’ve heard so many great things about the Benefit Roller Lash Macara that I also had to try it so I purchased a miniature version. I’m in love with this mascara. It’s my favorite one at the moment. It can go to any corner of my eye and makes my lashes look long and separated. The Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette is one of my all-time favorite eyeshadow palettes, so I had to get the Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette. I don’t know for sure but this one smells ever stronger like sweet chocolate goodness compared to the first palette. I can’t stop smelling this palette it’s just amazeballs. I’ve also gotten a small bottle of the Philosphy Purity Made Simple Facial Cleanser, I can never go anywhere without this amazing cleanser. My go-to lipstick, the Kat von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Lovecraft is almost running out so I purchased a new one. Since I’ve purchased so many things, I became a VIB Rouge until the end of 2016! I got a miniature  Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme in So Rouge as a gift. 

Ulta Beauty

I’ve ran into an Ulta Beauty Store and became very excited, since they have a lot of brands that are not available in the Netherlands. I had to try one of the Lorac paletes so I’ve chosen the Lorac Unzipped Palette. Man.. I’ve wished I bought the other Unzipped palette too, because I really adore this palette. I have used this every day since I have it. The pigmentation is just out of this world, the colors are gorgeous and blend very well into each other. They do have a bit of fall out but I just do my foundation routine after applying eyeshadow. The palette also includes a miniature Lorac Behind The Scenes Eye Primer. This primer is also very good. It has been over 30°C every day in Washington DC/Bethesda, and the primer made my eyeshadow last, which is amazing since I have very greasy eyelids. I was curious about the It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye Concealer in Neutral Medium, the saleswoman was praising this concealer, which made me want to try it out even more. It is the most full-coverage concealer that I’ve ever tried, it makes my under eye area look flawless. She also gave me a miniature It Cosmetics  CC+ Cream in Medium, which is supposed to be a full-coverage Color Correcting cream. I haven’t been able to try this out yet!

The NYX assortment is also much more expanded compared to here in the Netherlands. I’m in to setting/finishing sprays lately so I wanted to try the NYX Long Lasting Dewy Finish Setting Spray. It has a subtle smell which reminds me of hair spray, it does set my make-up nicely. Of course I had to get the NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Spice Cake. It is like a full-coverage gloss that smells sooooooo good, like a cake frosting or something. I’m not a typical gloss-type person but this one is just beautiful and feels great on my lips, I will definitely get more whenever I get the chance. I’ve also heard great things about the NYX Lip Liners so I’ve gotten them in the shades Peekaboo Neutral and Pale Pink. Honestly, I’m not so fond of these lip liners, I expected them to be more soft and buttery, they are comparable to the MAC lip liners, but I’m not so fond of those either (except for the Pro Longwear Versions). NYX also has a Anastasia Brow Wiz dupe so I’ve gotten the NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Ash Brown. I haven’t been able to try this yet but it looks very promising.

Macy’s

Macy’s had a great assortment of brands to look into. I had to get some brow products because I love me some brows. Anastasia has the best brow products on the market. I have bought these products many times and I will for the rest of my life. I’ve purchased the Anastasia Brow Wiz in Taupe, Anastasia Clear Brow Gel and the Anastasia #12 Brow Eyebrow Brush, since my old one is falling apart. I was looking forward in purchasing more Anastasia Liquid Lipsticks, but most of them were sold out, so I only got the Anastasia Liquid Lipstick in Paint which is blue, something very new to me and I’m curious how it will turn out!

When I was at the store, I saw a cute miniature Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick in #350 Empowered. I’m a sucker for miniature lipsticks so of course I needed to have this one. I had six empty MAC products (after de-potting some things) which you can trade in at a MAC counter using their Back-2-MAC program for a new eyeshadow or lipstick. Too bad they don’t have that program in the Netherlands! I didn’t really look into what kind of lipstick I wanted, so I just got MAC Velvet Teddy. It does look nice but I’m not very excited for it, since I own so many shades like this one. I was excited for the OPI Color Paints Nail Lacquer Set. I loved the set they came up last year, which also had some tinted see-through nail polishes. I can’t wait to play with these. A saleswoman at Macy’s was so kind. She saw me with a lot of swatches on my hand and offered to clean it up. She used Philosphy products, which I told her that I adore so she gave me a very nice set of samples of different Philosphy Products.

CVS, Walgreens, Bed Bath & Beyond

I went to a few stores like CVS, Walgreens and Bed, Bath & Beyond to get some cool drugstore products. I love using (peel-off) masks so I’ve gotten the Montagne Jeunesse Manuka Honey Peel Off Masks, because it sounds so luxurious. The Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge is much cheaper in the USA, so I’ve gotten an extra one of those.  I always see Youtubers use the Maybelline Instand Age Rewind Dark Circle Erasers so I’ve purchased two in the shades Neutralizer and Brightener. I do like the Brightener but I don’t like the Neutralizer that much, going to try it out some more. I grabbed the Revlon Matte Balm in Passionate because it looked nice. It is mint scented, opaque and easy to use. Since my hair is so damaged, I was curious about the OGX Beauty Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Weightless Healing Dry Oil. I haven’t tried this yet because I want to finish some other Hair Oils first. Who doesn’t know about the EOS Lip Balms, I’ve never tried them, there are so many different scents, but I of course had to get the Coconut Milk scent. I’m a huge fan of Milani Luminoso, so I had to get Milani Baked Blush in Delizioso Pink. The finish is just like Luminoso so I like it. Physicians Formula has some very nice packaging so I got the Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light to Medium. I did not pay attention if there were multiple shades. This one is a bit too light for me so I hope this will look beter during the winter period. I got two different stick deodorants, I was familiar with the Lady Speed Stick Deodorant in Powder Fresh, which is ok. Then I saw the Secret Invisible Solid Deodorant in Coconut Splash. I love all Coconut Scented things and this smells just very fresh and the scent stays on like a pro all day. I will definitely buy more of the Secret one and stop purchasing the Lady Speed Stick when my stash is empty.

Bath & Bodyworks

I’m addicted to scented candles and hand sanitizers, so I was so happy when I ran into a Bath & Bodyworks store. I’ve gotten several Bath & Bodyworks Hand Sanitizer Scents. I’ve gotten them in the scents Beautiful Day, Happy Halloween, #TGIF, Dazzling Diamond, Ghoul Friend, Pretty in Pink and Vampire Blood. My favorite ones are #TGIF an Pretty in Pink. I’m also a huge fan of Pumpkin scented things, so I gotten three small Bath & Bodyworks Scented Candles, two in Pumpkin Pecan Waffles and one in Pumpkin Cupcake. 

CVS

Finally, I also want to share some US Candy! They always have things in so many different cool flavors, like many types of M&M’s, I’ve purchased the flavors Dark Chocolate, Mint, Birthday Cake and Peanut Butter. I like everything except for the Mint one, I purchased that one for my boyfriend, which is obsessed with chocolate minty stuff. So I also got the Dove Mint & Dark Chocolate Swirl for him.  I’m bringing the Jelly Belly Jelly Beans in 30 Flavors to work, I really like these so I will definitely try as many flavors as possible before my colleagues will gobble them up!

I really hope you like my USA Make-up Haul! I feel so lucky to be able to go there for my job. I definitely had a blast and I’m so happy with all my new stuff. I will surely review some of the things (that are also available in the Netherlands). Let me know what is in your wishlist if you would go to the USA. I would love to hear it!