Must Have May Hauls 2023

[SportyGirly125]

Please share your hauls for this month whether it be for yourself or for your lovely Mother/Mother figure. 

Happy Birthday to all the May babies and Happy Mother’s Day (May 14th) to all the Gorgeous and hardworking Mamas/Mamas to be!!!

Mother’s Day gift ideas 2023  

[curlychiquita]

Gorgeous new eyeshadow palettes, @AznAngelLiz! I'm interested in the Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder Flushed - Matte Color for Cheek & Lip Bellini , as well.

[WinglessOne]

Natasha Denona sale and 2 Target items: 

Buying Star reminded me I haven’t used my ND 28s in a long time. Note to self!

Swatches and notes: 

Spoiler

Natasha Denona Star palette always seemed too neutral nude for my tastes. I’ve had Mini Star for a while and I started warming up to maybe getting the full palette. I caved during Natasha’s last sale. Despite having heard from folks that the full Star shadows perform better than the mini Star's, I was genuinely surprised by the texture and payoff differences between both palettes while swatching Star. The overall color story still reads too neutral nude to me, but the different finishes make up for that so I’m glad to finally have Star in my paws. 

Natasha Denona Love Glow Cheek Palette was released during that time I was super fed up with every brand’s pink palette obsession. No swatches yet because I might gift it to someone… I haven’t decided if I’m keeping it for myself or not. I can tell that in terms of colors that work best for my skin tone(s), Natasha’s Bloom cheek palette blows Love Glow outta the water. In fact, I almost bought a backup of Bloom during the ND sale. 😅 I do think Love Glow is pretty. I’m just not sure it’ll work for me. 

The Lip Bar Soft Kiss Lipstick, shade Good Side - my second ever Lip Bar product. Good Side is a deep plummy brown in person. Haven’t tried it on my lips yet, but the swatch felt creamy and comfy. 

Beauty Bakerie Snackaroons Blush, shade Freshly Baked - I think this is the first time I’ve seen BB’s Target-sold products available in-store. I had to buy a blush to test, especially after reading a few reviews about blending issues. It was very boldly pigmented and opaque when I swatched it on my hand, but I was still able to diffuse it a bit with my finger. I’ll have to see how it performs with a brush on my cheeks. I do think anyone who prefers sheer buildable blush won’t like this particular one, especially if NARS Exhibit A blush is too much for you to handle. 

Stylevana and my continuing quest for a new favorite hybrid sunscreen: 

Happy National Sunscreen Day (May 27, 2023)!

Brief notes: 

Spoiler

An old version of OMI Verdio was my favorite hybrid sunscreen. Japanese skincare brands tend to reformulate on a nearly annual basis, and my former fave fell victim to that: it was reformulated with ingredients my facial skin hates. This current version looks like something I can safely use; hopefully it’ll perform at least as well as that old version did. 

While I was at it, I ordered 3 more sunscreens (chemical, not hybrid) I've been meaning to try: 1 Japanese and 2 Korean. I've liked or loved almost every Abib product I’ve ever tried, so I have faith in this sunscreen (which I think was recently reformulated; “Calming Drop" is the older version)—especially since I like their sunscreen stick for on-the-go reapplication throughout the day. 

Oh, and the green Abib tube is a moisturizer, not a sunscreen. My skin's a big fan of heartleaf extract. 

Cirque Colors, aka that time I said I didn’t need any more bright neon colors yet how the heck did these sneak into my cart: 

Pride Month's just around the corner!The real reason I placed this order. 😄 I needed these stickers in my life.

Closeup photos of Moodstone:

Spoiler

[Saradestin]

Great picks @WinglessOne ! You have to take advantage of a good sale! I am loving those polishes so much! We can’t ever have enough neons, you know that, don’t you? 😁

Thank you for the swatches and insightful notes!! 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Saradestin ! My main polish addictions are duo/multichromes, plain jellies, ocean/sea colors, and very sparkly shimmery polishes—and some of those just happen to also be neon (or dang near neon). 😂 

[Sunnysmom]

You did so well @WinglessOne ! Wonderful new treats and your pics are so clear! Wow! Is that the same Beauty Bakerie that Ulta used to sell or maybe still does? Cute packaging on the powder if I recall! Enjoy it all! 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Sunnysmom ! Ulta still sells Beauty Bakerie. BB also has a line of products they're selling at drugstores and Target. BB hasn't gone anywhere and still uses their bakery theme on all their products. 😉 

[Sunnysmom]

Oh fun thanks @WinglessOne ! I’ve not noticed it before from Target! 💞

[lmaster]

That close up is breathtakingly ( is that a word lol!!) beautiful @WinglessOne 😲

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @lmaster ! And yep, "breathtakingly" is a word! Though even if it wasn't in English dictionaries, it'd still be a word. Languages constantly evolve as people invent new words and manners of speech. 🙂 Otherwise we'd have no trouble reading Beowulf and earlier works. And now I wonder if teachers still make kids read parts of Beowulf in its original text... I remember doing that in English Lit class in either middle or high school back in the '80s. Those were a fun few days. 😂 

[lmaster]

@WinglessOne we read those as well! I'm thinking in middle school, I'm thinking early 90 s

[faeriegirl]

Excellent haul @WinglessOne! Moodstone is gorgeous!

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @faeriegirl !

[tsavorite]

@WinglessOne ,

Of course you have a great May Haul!  Your Natasha Denona items  are wonderful, so that's a great start! 

[WinglessOne]

Thank you @tsavorite ! 

[CookieGirl1]

@WinglessOne hope one of the sunscreens works out for you!  I have the one from Skin1004 but hardly use it; you'll have to let me know how you like it.  And between you and @RGbrown I'm having serious FOMO for not buying Cirque C.R.E.A.M.  It's calling me very loudly 🙄

[RGbrown]

@CookieGirl1 

I'm blanking on the name at the moment, but you got the green from last year, yes? I think fomo finally caught up with me (I skipped the whole collection), so I had to get this year's green instead 🤣 

@WinglessOne 

Gorgeous haul! We'll be twinsies with C.R.E.A.M. and Game Over, and Saffron Jelly is on my "find a deal stat" list ❤️🧡💚 I didn't pay any attention to the stickers though, and now I'm super sad to know that I won't be going through life with little Pac-Mans on my nails 😢

[CookieGirl1]

@RGbrown @WinglessOne those stickers really are cute...

[WinglessOne]

@CookieGirl1 @RGbrown  I'm sure the stickers are meant to appeal to all ages but, to me, they scream gen x so I had to have 'em. I'm sure they'll be restocked at some point. 

C.R.E.A.M. is still available, and it comes with a wide brush... I mean, should you decide you reeeally need it. 😉 

I think the Skin1004 sunscreen is the next new-to-me one I'll test, so I'll have feedback soon! 

[CookieGirl1]

@WinglessOne Uggghhh, you're making me want C.R.E.A.M.!  It's still available but I'm trying to tell myself that I have Electric Daisy (definitely a true yellow but somewhat similar) and I just got Sour Apple Rings from Atomic Polish in last month's PPU which is basically a slightly shimmery version of C.R.E.A.M.  That being said, I'm a sucker for Cirque's formula...

[CynthieLu]

This order is full of fantastic-ness @WinglessOne 🤩

You pick gorgeous polishes, moonstone looks intriguing! 💙💚 Have fun with your new items, testing out your sunscreen and playing with those cool stickers. 😄

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @CynthieLu ! Moodstone is one of Cirque's "Do Good" polishes, in support of the Jed Foundation (mental and emotional health wellness for teens and young adults in the US). I was gonna buy it anyway because I love the color(s) and am passionate about mental health awareness. Cirque's offer of bonus reward program points for buying Moodstone was icing on the cake.