Targets in Canada are no more, but I was able to get a few last minute deals on some beauty items before they closed their doors. I also made a trip over to London Drug’s last week.

I have tried most of these items by now so this will be a haul and a first impressions.

 

Maybelline New York Color Tattoo 24hr (leather) in 90 – Vintage Plum, 85 – Deep Forest, 100 – Dramatic Black: I picked up these bad boys at Target for 70% off. I have been hesitating to tries these pots out because I am so in love with my Makeup Geek eyeshawdows that I didn’t want to mess with a good thing. I apply them with my small concealer brush that has been going unused for quite some time. I figured that it would work decently with the cream formula. I find that the formula is a little thick. I am curious if that will change once i get further down into the pot. If anyone knows, please let me know. I like the colors that they have, they are great to dress up or down. I imagine that I will use the Dramatic Black more for a liner than shadow and I am interrested to see how it compares to the gel liner that I have.  I would like for the colour to be a little more pigmented, I feel that I need to add a few layers to really be able to see what the color is. Perhaps this wouldn’t be necessairy if I primed my eyes.

Maybelline New York Color Tattoo in 30 – Pomegranate Punk: This is not one from the leather line. I like this colour and have been wanting to get something like it for a while now. I found this guy at London Drugs. I tried it as soon as I got home. I love the color but found similar things as with the leather ones. I needed to put on a few coats for the color to be apparent. It was more of a light wash otherwise. I can see myself reaching for this color often to pair with my traditional eye shadows.

 

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush: I have heard wonderful things about the real techniques brand. London Drugs carries their line and I decided it was about time that I made my own opinion about it. I can see this brush being for multiuse. If I needed to buff out my foundation, apply some bronzer, contour, highlight… This brush would be useful for all those functions. the bristles are quite soft but I still feel that I prefer my sigma brushes. The price difference isn’t huge between Sigma and Real Techniques, although there is no shipping cost with Real Techniques. I have not decided yet if I will purchase more of their brushes. I do think that it will be great during the summer to throw in my bag to touch up and minimal makeup that I may wear. As for the build of the brush, I enjoy the feel of the handle in my hand. I would prefer if it had a little more weight to it though. From what I understand, they have come out with a metal line that is heavier but more expensive. I am curious as to how those compare. I did not see those in London Drugs though.

 

NYX Infinite Shadow Stick in ISS04 Silk: I swatched this stick in the store (London Drugs) and picked this colour above the others. It felt pretty creamy when applied to the back of my hand, so I was very excited to try it once I got home. When I went to apply it near the tear ducts, I found that it was not as creamy as I initially thought. It pulled on the skin when i tried to drag it across. I am not sure how much i will be reaching for this because of that. I find that the colour payoff isn’t great on it either so I was needing to do quite a few coats. My thought when I got this was that it would be quicker than pulling out my eye shawdows, brush, etc. At this point, I think I am wrong. It is way easier to swipe my Makeup Geek shadow in Shimma Shimma in that area and have much better colour payoff. I do not encourage others to purchase this. Especially for the cost. Save your money!

 

L’Oreal Paris True Match Super Blendable Powder in N1 – Soft Ivory: I have a translucent powder by Bare Minerals that I love for under my eyes. I got it from my Sephora Favorites box and I was hoping to find something comparable from the drug store – especially when i saw the cost to buy the full sized version of that powder. The color of this powder was not overwhelming which i like. The texture isn’t bad,  but it does not make my skin feel as silky as the Bare Mineral powder. Does that really matter though? Probably not. I do like the packaging and how the mirrow has its own compartments. I hate opening compacts for their mirror and ending up with the products off over my hands. This is a nice solution to that. I will continue to use this powder, even just to slightly even out my skin on “no makeup” days.

 

Sonia Kashuk Lip Definer Pencil in 02 – Pink Whisper: Target had a giant bin full of these lip liners. It made me a little hesitant to buy it, being that there were probably over a hundred left and they had been on clearance for over a month. This color looked closest to my natural lips of those that were in the bin. When i got home and swatched it on my hand, I thought the same thing. i will be honest, this is the first lip pencil/liner that i have had, so i have nothing to compare it to. When applied to my lips, it did not pull which was nice. I however couldn’t really see it. Maybe this had to do with the lip balm that I had applied prior? I do not know. I am going to continue to experiment with this but I do not think that it will make much of a difference with my lip products.

 

Sonia Kashuk Brow Gel: I have been trying to avoid buying high end clear brow gel. I love my Anastasia Brow Wiz so have no desire to buy a tinted gel. The applicator brush is huge. Even if it were for lashes it would be on the big side. On the bright side, it did not make my brows looks glossy like the other brow gel that I have tried. I feel    like this product will not last very long. With the giant applicator and the small tube, it looks half  empty after just one use. I am glad that I got this at 70% off. We will see how long it lasts!

All in all, there is nothing breath taking in these shopping trips. The temptation to try new and different products will always be there, but I think the lesson to be learnt is that you shouldn’t mess with a good thing. If you have products that work well for you, don’t worry about trying to find something better – leave that to the folks who get paid to do reviews 😉

 

 

 

UPDATE: It has been almost 6 months since I posted this haul. I must say that I feel like I waste too much money with this haul!

The Sonia Kashuk brow gel was awful. It would flake off by mid morning, making my brows look full of dandruff. Eww!

I do still have the Sonia Kashuk lip pencil. there is either the exact colour of my lips or there is no colour transfer onto my lips. I have hardly used it because I haven’t seen the point of doing so.

The colour tattoos are now in my Project 10 Pan. The leather formulas are much dryer and do not apply as nicely as the standard formula. I have been trying to use them more and more but don’t anticipate repurchasing them once they are emptied or completely dried out.

The NYX shadow stick pulled on my eyelids so I was quick to get that out of my collection.

There are not only negatives to this update! I do like the Real Techniques brush and the L’Oreal Powder is great. I could see myself using those for much time to come.