Christmas Haul

Better late than never right? Sorry about disappearing off the face of the planet. Between work and the holidays i have had little time for blogging. Well there is one other thing that had been taking up a lot of my time to but that is a surprise. Here is just a haul post of all my Christmas goodies. I'll post a short review of each here but i'll be posting proper reviews and swatches later. Also i'll warn you now this post is going to be rather long. I didn't realize till after i was nearly finished just how many beauty related products i got this year.

• Jerdon Tri-Fold Lighted Mirror

•  I have to say i'm a fan of this mirror though i dont normally like lighted mirrors. The center mirror rotates allowing you to chose between a normal mirror and a 5X magnification mirror. There are two florescent lights alongside the center mirror. While the mirror has different settings for day, office, evening and home it is simply a colored film that is rotated into place over the lights. I will be sticking with the day time setting as the colors for the different settings are a little too intense. Somehow i dont think it matters where i will be for the day. If i do my make up in green light it is going to look weird.

• Make-Up Master Class by Jemma Kidd

• This one was a gift from my awesome little sister. In the forward Jemma Kidd admits that her goal in creating this book was to create a beauty bible of sorts and i think she hit the nail on the head. Though i have yet to read this cover to cover from what i can tell it is full of make up tips and ideas as well as explanations of different skin tones and types. Not only have i learned new facts about my skin type and how to manage it but i have learned what sort of color palettes are most effective on different skin types. 

• Eco Tools Bamboo 5 Piece Brush Set and 6 Piece Eye Shadow Brush Set
• While i am not normally a fan of travel sized brushes i am willing to make an exception for the Eco Tools brand. These brushes are incredibly soft. I have never noticed any fallout even after multiple washes. At first i over looked this brand thinking that drug store make up brushes couldn't compare to the higher end brushes but i was more than wrong.
• Ulta Super Shiny Lip Gloss in Whisper
•  This gloss is really on the sheer side. Though it isn't on the pigmented side it does give the lips a nice shimmer. I'm happy to say that this gloss is neither to slick or to thick. It almost feels strange to be wearing a gloss that is the perfect balance between the too.
• Ulta Eye Shadow in Toast
•  The packaging on this shadow it too cute. Though i am not a fan of sponge tip applicators and probably wont use the one provided i still love the fact that it is attached to the lid. I dont know why but i honestly thought this little eye shadow was cooler than sliced bread. As for the shadow itself it is a rather pretty copper color that goes on rather nicely.
• Ulta Nail Lacquer

•  While at first glance i thought this polish was purple when i applied it i discovered that in fact it is a beautiful dark burgundy shade with a slight red shimmer to it. It is not a color i would have purchased myself but i must admit to liking it. It was rather opaque with one coat though a little on the streaky side. With two coats it was perfect. Sorry i cant provide a name. There is no indicator on the bottle as the name of the product.  

• Sinful Colors Nail Art in Sour Grapes, Orange Alert, Worn Before, and Jungle
•  So i'm starting to think i might be some sort of make up snob thinking that only expensive high end products are the best and the more affordable products cant compare quality wise. I dont mean to be that way but i've been burned before by cheaper make up. I suppose sometimes you get what you pay for and other times you get a product like these polishes. They are designed for nail art so they have a striper brush as opposed to a regular brush. All four polishes are opaque right off the bat which is a must for polishes like this.
• The Color Workshop Beauty Book in Drama Queen
•  This palette was sort of a let down right out of the box. One of the eye shadows was broken and got every where. Despite the poor packaging i still wanted to make this palette work. I dont think that will be happening anytime soon. Though i have only swatched a few of the shadows so far i'm not really happy with any of them. Who knows though maybe i just picked the wrong ones to swatch and the rest will be better, i guess we'll find out.
• Profusion Color Me Glow 05 Palette
•  My first thought about this palette was that is was a glitter filled version of the Naked Palette. Thankfully the glitter seems to be just an overlay that doesn't transfer to the eye. While the colors aren't quite as pigmented as i would like when swatching i'm still willing to give them a shot on the eye. I've seen way to many eye shadows that for whatever reason swatched terribly but looked beautiful on the eye.
• Profusion Beauty Wallet
•  I like to think of this cute little palette as the trickster palette. It is filled with beautiful metallic shades. The odd thing about them is that when i went to swatch them they seemed much darker than they looked in the pan. I feel like my explanation is a little lacking but you'll see what i mean when i post product pictures and swatches.
• Urban Decay Naked Palette

•  I feel like anything i could possibly have to say about this palette has already been said. I find it funny how late i am to be jumping on the Naked Palette bandwagon seeing as Naked 2 recently came out. I feel like i like this palette more than i would the newer version. Apart from not having a matte black like the new palette this palette is perfect for me.
• Ulta Ultimate Moisture Restoring Shampoo and Conditioner
•  While this combo does not leave my hair feeling as silky smooth as my normal routine it works well enough. While i doubt i'll buy more once i've used up these bottles i do have to give the duo points for how they treated my hair. My hair is currently dyed red and black and nothing is worse than finding a shampoo or conditioner that leave my hair feeling great but washes out the color. I need the best of both worlds.
• Ulta Oil Free Eye Make Up Remover
• I really like this make up remover. For starters the style of the bottle makes for easy dispensing. Major win in my book, i cant stand wasting product. This make up remover is very gentle. I dont need to scrub at my face to get my make up off and it doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy of oily. Guess that is just a perk off being oil free though.
• Philosophy Purity One-Step Facial Cleanser

• I can not tell you how much i love this facial cleanser. I first received it as a sample in my Birch Box a few months back. It did wonders for clearing up my skin while leaving it unbelievable soft. As much as i loved the product i had trouble bringing myself to pay for a full sized bottle. Honestly if you haven't noticed yet i'm a little on the cheap side. That's why getting it for Christmas just about made my day.