recent beauty buys

December/ the end of November was a time of many, many, beauty sales. As a result I got the chance to try a bunch of different products without feeling too guilty about indulging. I haven't even gotten around to playing with all of the products yet, but here are the ones that I've used enough to be able to form an opinion on them.

Products as pictured below: Klorane dry shampoo with oat milk, Maybelline clean express waterproof makeup remover, Philosophy purity made simple, Mario Badescu facial spray with aloe, herb, and rose water, Make Up For Ever HD invisible cover foundation in 160 golden beige, Wet n' Wild nail polish in black creme, Butter London nail polish in la moss, Nuxe reve de miel lip balm, Anastasia brow wiz in dark brown, Wet n' Wild lipstick in dark wine, Nars audacious lipstick in Audrey, Tweezerman lash comb, Sephora oil-free instant moisturizer, Nars velvet matte lip pencil in bahama, Jordana best lash extreme volumizing mascara, Anastasia tinted brown gel in espresso, Phyto 9 ultra-dry hair nourishing day cream

Klorane dry shampoo with oat milk: The hype is definitely worth it for this product. It's a lot pricier than any other dry shampoo I've tried, but I find it worth the price. In comparison to Batiste, I use a significantly less amount of this product to get similar results. This also means that my hair doesn't feel as weighed down with product. 

Wet n' Wild nail polish in black creme: Wet n' wild reformulated their polish for 2015, so I decided to give it a try. I own 1 black polish by Orly, and this $1 guy blows it out of the park. I've only worn it once, but I'm already impressed. Paired with my Orly bonder base coat and Seche Vite top coat, my nails were almost chip free for a week. 

Butter London polish in la moss: One word to describe this polish: disappointed. The color, a deep, deep, wine colored red, is gorgeous, and when I first painted my nails, I spent a decent chunk of time staring at my nails and admiring them. But sadly, its lasting power is laughable.

Make Up For Ever HD invisible cover foundation: The verdict still isn't out for this foundation. On one hand, they have a really expansive color range and the shade I have really matches my skin tone. When my skin is dry, it doesn't cling onto any nasty dry patches. On the other hand, at the first sight of oily skin it oxidizes into an awful pinkish color that makes me look like my entire face is flushed. It isn't described as long wearing, but nevertheless I wish it had better staying power. 

Phyto 9 ultra-dry hair nourishing day cream: The ends of my hair tend to get really dry, specially when I get too lazy to properly take care of it. After I wash my hair, I run this through the bottom half of my hair to add in that extra bit of moisture. When I do use it, as opposed to the times where I simply forget, I notice the difference as my ends feel less brittle and don't tangle as much.

Sephora oil-free instant moisturizer: This is the best oil-free moisturizer for dry skin I've tried so far. The price for this teeny tube is more than what I would pay at the drugstore, but still significantly less than most of the brand names carried at Sephora. It's effective in keeping my skin hydrated, is oil free, doesn't have a strong scent, and doesn't break me out. I just wish it came in bigger size tubes since I used this up in less than a month.

Philosophy purity made simple: Basically, this is a face wash that hits the sweet spot of being able to properly clean my face but not strip it of all moisture. 

Mario Badescu facial spray with aloe, herb, and rose water: This is another helping hand in remediating my dry skin problems. On its own it doesn't do much. Some use it as a setting spray, which I find doesn't do much for me. But if it's the middle of the day and my skin is feeling a little dry under my makeup, a few spritzes of this stuff helps bring in some moisture. 

Maybelline clean express waterproof makeup remover: Removing waterproof eye makeup can be a real b*tch so I prefer using a product specifically made for eye makeup removal.  I like this product because a) it's cheap b) it's effective c) it doesn't leave any sort of stickiness or residue behind. 

Nars audacious lipstick in Audrey (center swatch): The audacious lipsticks were probably the most talked about lip product in the end of 2014. In my eyes they deserve all the hype. I think Nars hands down makes the best high end lip products, and the audacious line is the best of the best. It's hydrating, long-wearing, and has the prettiest matte packaging with a magnetic lid. In price it's comparable to Chanel or YSL, but superior in quality in my humble opinion. The color I got, Audrey, is a dark purpley-pink.

Wet N' Wild silk finish lipstick in dark wine (right swatch): I bought a few wet n wild lipsticks a few months ago and hated every single one of them. I saw that they had reformulated and repackaged their lipsticks, and while the packaging is bland and cheapo looking, the new formula is awesome. I do have to wear this lipstick with a lip liner since it does bleed, but if that's the only con for a $1 lipstick I'm not going to complain. 

Nars velvet matte lip pencil in bahama (left swatch): This is the perfect nudish mauve, my lips-but-better lipstick for someone with brown lips (aka me.) I don't like flesh toned lipsticks (because concealor lips are a no no) and I don't like light colored lipsticks (on myself), and this color is about as close to a light, flesh toned color as I would get.

Nuxe reve de miel lip balm: This is the dream lip balm. I didn't know that lip balm could be so moisturizing until I bought this product. When I slather this on before I go to sleep, the cracks in my lips vanish by morning.

Jordana best lash extreme volumizing mascara: In comparison to most people, I think I have a conservative taste in mascara. What many see as omg so long and voluptuous, (do people describe eyelashes as voluptuous?) I consider clumpy and reminiscent of spider legs. This mascara is not only ridiculously affordable, but also works in adding length without the clumps.

Tweezerman lash comb: I don't usually wear a lot of mascara, but on the days I happen to, I run this through my lashes after to de-clump so I can avoid falling into the "clumpy and reminiscent of spider legs" category.

Anastasia brow wiz in dark brown: I'm a brows noob so this pencil makes shaping my brows and filling them in easier. The spooly comes in handy to direct all my hairs in the right direction. The pencil end isn't that pigmented so if you don't have the lightest of hands, like me, it makes doing your brows more feasible. The softness of the pencil helps in avoiding noticeable, drawn in lines.

Anastasia tinted brow gel in espresso: As mentioned above, I'm a brows noob. Buuuut this brow gel gives me an easy way to fill in my brows in a jiffy. No matter how many times I swipe it across my brows, no harsh lines are made.