Last Year's Holiday Buys: Faves and Forgotten

[Kim888]

Now that the Holidays are upon us again and there’s tons of new product and gift sets and all the sales are coming up I thought it would be interesting to look back at last year's friends & family sale and November VIB Sale purchases!

What are you still loving/using that you purchased during holidays 2020 and what has been long forgotten!?

[Kim888]

I'm reusing the previous year's threads - before I do anymore spending haha I feel like it's a good moment to think about what I used from last year's sale hauls! 

I am still loving the Drunk Elephant F-Balm™ Electrolyte Waterfacial Mask 1.69 oz/ 50 mL ! It's a super great extra for dry days and I have become fully in love with the Gucci Sheer Lipstick !!!

Still  liking the Drybar Super Lemon Drop  - though I do find it a bit difficult to clean, it's very linty. I also enjoyed the Alpyn Melt Moisturizer with Bakuchiol and Squalane though I would not repurchase. 

Did not like and decluttered the Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask - I loved the sample when I tried it originally but I didn't find the full size as good as some other hydrating  masks. 

[lmaster]

@Kim888 I know I bought more last year,,, but I can't remember the dates of the sale 🤔 but these for sure we're during the sale,,I still use the bkr balm and the fresh nectar mask,,,I actually used it this morning 😆 my daughter snagged the lip scrub from me 🙄

[Kim888]

I'm bumping this thread from last year in anticipation of the upcoming sale! It can be really hard to avoid just buying because things are on sale so I definitely find it helpful to review what I'm still using from last years buys! 

Here are my faves and forgotten from the 2018 holiday season!

Faves: Natasha Denona Duo Glow 02 Rayo , ARTIS - Elite Mirror Oval 8 Brush , FARMACY - Honey Potion Renewing Antioxidant Hydration Mask, Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow Contour Duo Fair/Medium

Forgotten: Grande Cosmetics GrandeLASH-MD Lash Enhancing Serum Mini .033 oz / 1 mL , NEOGEN DERMALOGY - Real Flower Cleansing Water - Calendula, SATURDAY SKIN - Waterfall Glacier Water Cream

[scott1201]

Okay, so first of all, it is alarming how far I needed to scroll back to get to last year’s holiday orders.... 🤭

Second of all, I didn’t have as many duds as I thought I would!

Loves: PHILOSOPHY - Purity Made Simple Cleanser, Maison Margiela 'REPLICA' By the Fireplace 3.4 oz/ 100 mL, Becca Apres Ski Glow eye shadow palette, 

Duds / forgotten : BITE BEAUTY - Champagne Discovery Lip Set which is still available!!!! One entire year later!!! Thankfully I purchased on sale but I honestly have only used the lip pencil. Ugh

[SpaceLlama]

I did end up buying a bunch of holiday sets last year. I usually love them since I can take a risk on trying new products or brands without have to spend a bunch of money. 

The UD and Moschino palettes are still in my little organiser where I keep my everyday makeup 😊 They're both great. 

I love the OH moisturiser and the Nest perfumes. 

Unfortunately, the BM powders are way too sparkly to be finishing powders and I forget to use the other products I bought quite often 😬 I've learned to stop buying 8474884 cleansers because they look nice. 

I've also realised over the summer that I need to stop buying as much lipstick and eyeshadow. I used nearly the same makeup every day for the past months and I still haven't hit pan on most of my products. 

[Nickelliebear1]

Apparently I didn't do a whole lot of "me" shopping last year around holiday.

Favorites: 

Drunk Elephant Hot Date Vol I- this was the TLC set that they came out with last year.  It was one of my first years being super into skincare so I was super pumped to get the treatment and a few minis for a few dollars more.  Probably won't do the same set this year, just because I've found (vegan) alternatives that I like more. 

Sephora Favorites Give Me More Lip - I love the sephora favorites sets, because I'm a hoarder and I naturally need every single thing to be in my collection.  Last years had a huge variety and I loved testing out the formulas.  

Forgotten:

ABH Prism Palette - I literally opened this today, looked over the pans and thought to myself "Hey, it looks like you may have used this once" and put it back.  The colors are just not colors I often gravitate towards.  I'll try to challenge myself to use it at some point.

ABH Subculture - This one looks like I did much more damage, but I used it a few times for some Halloween looks last year.  Nothing that wow'd me but I definitely didn't feel as strongly against it as others did.

[Seymore3]

The items I like most from 2017 are my Natasha Denona 5 pan palettes Joya and Aeris and I use them quite bit.

The item I was so excited about at the time haven't used very much is Guerlain gold holiday palette.

This thread was a good idea and made me think about how much of what I bought last year I can't even remember or haven't used much.

[Danzie89]

Favorites:
SEPHORA COLLECTION - Foot Mask - Almond

Tarte holiday artful accessories brush set from 2017

Taste holiday Magic Star set from 2017

Absolute failure:

Bite Beauty agave kisses set— I wanted to love this because I love all things Bite Beauty, but something in the lip mask horribly reacted with my lips. I think it’s the high concentration of lanolin. My lips were inflamed, the outermost layer of skin peeled off, and my lips were in horrendous shape for 5-6 months after. Whenever I tried the mask again, my lips returned to their horrible state. Since then, I’ve had much better luck with 

any and all products without lanolin. 

[courtneyinsea]

Love this thread topic! It's such a good reminder to not go overboard with my spending, because I want to love every purchase I make, and if I buy on impulse I often end up not using things.

FAILS:

1. Etat Libre D'Orange and Histoires de Parfums fragrances: I snapped these up because they were on sale, but it turns out that I didn't actually like the scents. It was a good lesson not to buy fragrances just because the description online sounds good.
2. URBAN DECAY - Moondust Eyeshadow Palette: I bought this on sale, but ended up returning it because I didn't love the multiple layers needed to get the pigmentation payoff I wanted.
3. ATELIER COLOGNE - Advent Calendar: Add another to the list of "don't buy fragrance online."
4. PAT MCGRATH LABS - Mothership II Eyeshadow Palette – Sublime: I wanted to love this one so much, but I found it too difficult to apply and blend without fallout and patchiness.

FORGOTTEN:

1. Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencils: These were OK, but I found it difficult to get the precision I wanted, and it seemed silly to use both a liner pencil and a filler pencil in execution.
2. BRIOGEO - Scalp Revival Charcoal + Coconut Oil Micro-exfoliating Shampoo: This is sitting in my bathroom and I still haven't even opened it. Impulse shopping fail on me.
3. LANCÔME - Énergie de Vie The Smoothing & Purifying Cleansing Oil
4. BITE BEAUTY - Champagne Discovery Lip Set: I have no idea where these products are, but they are not in the regular rotation because I found the stick to be too stiff and difficult to apply, and I prefer automatic pencils that don't need sharpening
5. SEPHORA FAVORITES - Beauty Sleep: Some of these products were too harsh for me (Drunk Elephant Glycolic Night Serum, Glamglow, Sunday Riley Luna, Kate Somerville Retinol), but I loved the Origins High Potency Night-a-Mins and Living Proof Nightcap.
6. TARTE - Aquacealer Concealer and COVER FX - The Perfect Light Highlighting Powder: I think these were both Weekly Wow impulse purchases, but I didn't end up using either much.

FAVES:

1. PAT MCGRATH LABS - MatteTrance™ Lipstick in Unfaithful and 1995: Love this formulation for how creamy it is, how intense the pigmentation is, and how it doesn't feather.
2. NATASHA DENONA - Eyeshadow Palette 5 in Color 11: This was my first Natasha Denona purchase, and these eye shadows lived up to the hype! It's not something I've used a lot on a daily basis, but I love it for special occasions.
3. STILA - Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow in Gold Goddess: Like the Natasha Denona, I love this for special occasions. I've been wanting to get more colors, but I'm not sure that I can justify it, given how infrequently I have special occasions to get fully glammed for.
4. BECCA - Light Chaser Highlighter in Pearl Flashes Gold: Limited edition, but I would buy more if I could.
5. DRYBAR - Buttercup Fully Loaded Set: Limited edition, and well worth the money because I use the dryer and clips every time I do my hair.
6. KOH GEN DO - Aqua Foundation: Lightweight but good coverage, and doesn't irritate my skin.
7. ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS - Mini Liquid Lipstick Set and full-size Liquid Lipsticks in Allison and Veronica: One of my all-time favorite liquid lip formulations.
8. BITE BEAUTY - Amuse Bouche Liquified Lipstick - Mauvember: Sadly, also limited edition.
9. TARTE - Color Splash Lipstick - Rainforest of the Sea™ Collection - Set Sail: I loved this one so much from mini size that I bought full size.
10. HOURGLASS - Ambient® Lighting Powder - Dim Light: Glorious. Makes my skin look fresh and healthy... even when I'm a mess.
11. YVES SAINT LAURENT - All Hours Longwear Natural Matte Foundation: I'm obsessed with the liquid-to-powder finish, and this has great lasting power for chaotic workdays.

Links to products mentioned:

PAT McGRATH LABS MatteTrance™ Lipstick 1995 108

Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palette 5 11

stila Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow Gold Goddess

URBAN DECAY - Moondust Eyeshadow Palette

Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Coconut Oil Micro-exfoliating Scalp Scrub Shampoo 8 oz/ 236 mL

KOH GEN DO - Aqua Foundation

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS - Mini Liquid Lipstick Set

Anastasia Beverly Hills Smudge-Proof Matte Liquid Lipstick Allison

Anastasia Beverly Hills Smudge-Proof Matte Liquid Lipstick Veronica

BITE BEAUTY - Champagne Discovery Lip Set

Origins High-Potency Night-a-Mins™ Resurfacing Cream with Fruit-Derived AHAs 1.7 oz/ 50 mL

TARTE - Color Splash Lipstick - Rainforest of the Sea™ Collection - Set Sail

HOURGLASS - Ambient® Lighting Powder - Dim Light

PAT McGRATH LABS Mothership II Eyeshadow Palette – Sublime

YVES SAINT LAURENT - All Hours Longwear Natural Matte Foundation - BR30 Cool Almond

TARTE - Aquacealer Concealer - Rainforest of the Sea™ Collection - Light

COVER FX - The Perfect Light Highlighting Powder

[quspork]

I ended up not buying a ton from Sephora last holiday season, but my favorite from the items I did pick up was the Nars X Man Ray Kiss Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Set. The colors are absolutely lovely and I wore them a ton last winter. This reminds me, I need to break those back out! 

[RebeccaBT]

Hi @quspork,

That was one of my favorites as well. The colors were beautiful and were perfect for fall and winter. I have one of the four left. This reminds me I will also have to break mine out. Thanks for the reminder!

Best,

Rebecca 

[gonerogue]

Just went through my purchase history and it looks like I didn’t do too much holiday purchasing last year. I usually like to pick up single LE items like Guerlain Meteorities rather than whole sets because I know the odds of me using an entire set are very slim. Here are the favs and forgottens of last year:

Favs:

This lip set was used quite a bit late last year and this year as well. I am a fan of the Burberry Lip Velvet formula so it was hard to pass this set up and I’m glad I got it!

Forgotten:

While I used the Burberry Eye Contour stick often, I can honestly say I haven’t reached for it in several months now so I’m going to consider it forgotten (same goes for the Bite Mauvember). As for the Burberry highlight, Guerlain Meteorites and Givenchy lippie- it’s safe to say I’ve never touched them and only wanted them for collection purposes 🙈

[Kim888]

@gonerogue that burberry lip set is something I totally regret NOT buying last year. I still think it looks great haha 

[blackkitty2014]

@gonerogue, I missed out the Burberry lippie set and the Givenchy lippies. Honestly, I’m kinda glad I did because I know they will just sit in my drawer and looking pretty;) 

[gonerogue]

@blackkitty2014 yes, you’re right. They are all gorgeous but most of us like to just stare at them and not actually use them 🙄

[blackkitty2014]

Because we overhoarding stuffs @gonerogue? 😉

[gonerogue]

@blackkitty2014 Guilty 🙈 I’ll buy LE items and hoard them for their beauty.... it’s a bad habit 😢

[Aaliaa]

Thanks for starting this thread @Kim888! I've been thinking about this the last two weeks and it helped me streamline my F&F purchases too which is great. I decided to outline ALL my Sephora purchases over the last 15 months and see which ones I use regularly, have finished or completely ignored. I'm justifying the excessive number of items by saying I was building a collection/skincare routine but about 10% were never shown any love. 

Clinique Crayola Chubby Stick - bought it because it was sale and forgot

Hourglass Luminous Light Ambient Powder - I think I just can never figure out how to use this and so I never do

YSL Vinyl Cream Rose Mix - Colours too light and never reach for it

Bite Beauty Agave Kisses Set - Tried all three and didn't like the scrub or balm and just kinda forgot about it

Bite High Pigment Pencil - Bought it because it was sale but don't love them

Sephora Collection 12hr Eyeliner in Cappuccino - Bought on a whim and forgot

Farmacy Dew It All Eye Cream - Still have as a backup (6 months later!)

Caudalie Lip Conditioner - Forgot I even owned this!

Stila Shimmer & Glow - Played with it like twice and then haven't used it since

Sephora Collection Snakeskin Dress Eyeshadow - Bought on a whim and forgot

Kate Somerville Retasphere - Haven't even opened it yet

This really helped me decide against some big ticket items I don't really need and would not use enough to justify a purchase. I'm also planning on making note of ALL future beauty related purchases so I have a better idea of how much money I am spending and where I can reduce spending. 

[Shelbstirr]

I'm a sucker for mini lippie sets, but I've learned to stop buying the giant ones. Last year I bought the Buxum gloss set, 15 mini glosses that are awesome but all look the same on the lips. I guess I have a lifetime supply at least lol. The year before that I got a large Tarte liquid lip set without doing any swatches, all of the colors pull very dark brown and gray on me, and the formula is dry. I'm pretty sure they have all gone bad by now, need to declutter.

[ShortErica]

Faves:

Bite Agave Kisses - well the lip mask was the real winner for me. I liked being able to try the 3 different products. I agree with @CC3616 that the scrub did leak if it was on its side. So this time around I'm looking forward to the Agave Treat Trio of lip masks.

Tarte Blush Bazaar - between this and the Paaarty birthday gift, I think my blush supply is fine through 2020. I've tried most of the shades but stick to a few favorites and I'm nowhere close to hitting pan. Definitely a hit for me!

Sephora Lashstash To Go - I purchased the 2 different sets available last fall and have just started my 2nd set. I really enjoy being able to try new mascaras. The minis last a while and if I find something decent I wear it for a while and if its no good then I try it out for a few weeks and then move on to a new one. I am itching to get the latest one at SiJCP but also trying to realize I still need to finish the others in the 2nd kit and redeem my vouchers for two full size mascaras. There will always be a new kit next year so I should wait, right?

Dr. Jart Magical Potions - I like trying things (haven't I said this in every fave - oops!) and this kit was nice for getting a variety. I was able to learn the BB cream is a bit dark/pink for me but I could still wear it with a sheer layer. The cicapair serum, dermaclear micro water, and water fuse gel were all fine but I don't know that the cost/benefit is quite worth it to me to purchase them. I want to be wowed if I'm dishing out money for skincare. The Dr. Jart+ Cicapair™ Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30 1.7 fl. oz/ 50 mLI'm still working on using. I like it but I'm still determining if it may be slightly dark for my skin.

Neglected:

Tarte Pout Pleasures - I liked being able to try different colors and the formula was fine but I guess I'm just not a lip girl. I want to find a my lips but better shade so my lips contrast with my face when I wear makeup but I'm still on the hunt.

***Also lesson learned, tag products as you go or else it adds them at the end of the paragraph. So here they are:

BITE BEAUTY - Agave Treat Trio Mini Agave Lip Mask Set

DR. JART+ - Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45

DR. JART+ - Cicapair™ Tiger Grass Re.Pair Serum

DR. JART+ - Dermaclear™ Micro Water

DR. JART+ - Water Fuse Ultimate Hydro Gel