Neoteric & Necessary November Hauls 2024

[danielledanielle]

It's the time for the haul of fall

Sephora Savings event, y'all
Show us your giftin'
Credit card limits be a-liftin'
As you're sifting through
And shifting to
The end of the year
Show us what you find dear.

Happy Birthday to the November BIC babes

Photo cred: little, brown young readers

[peculiarzmakeup]

Fantastic haul! I love the set you got, also love hearing more about the subtle stack I always see that ad where she’s drinking coffee then sets it down to do a tutorial the shades look amazing what a fun experience to share with your mom, amazing hearing your thoughts on it. Enjoy your beautiful haul @ChickenGurlie 

[WinglessOne]

@ChickenGurlie  Thanks for the Subtl feedback, and I’m glad you (and your mom) are enjoying the stack you bought! And you got some nice goodies at Target! 

[AMK721]

November is notorious for taking my money 💰 lol. I do the majority of my shopping this month so I have to budget for it. Stores I have shopped in or placed orders with are:

• Sephora 
• Ulta 
• Amazon 
• Macy's 
• Nordstrom 
• Amazon 
• Erin Condren 
• Amazon 

[WinglessOne]

Various store orders jumbled together in photos - more Sephora Savings Event batches (including a Sephora at Kohls order), Ulta, and a month-early birthday gift. 

That brush cleaner’s still my fave to remove excess product from squirrel (and other delicate) brushes between true lather-up washings.

Notes:

Spoiler

amika Bust Your Brass Blonde Purple Shampoo - giving this a shot against other purple shampoos I’ve used on my salt & pepper coils. It contains lavender, my facial skin’s nemesis, so I’ll have to remember to keep it off my face. 

SEPHORA COLLECTION Dry Shampoo Brush Cleaner - restock. I buy at least 2 cans each Holiday Savings Event.

SEPHORA COLLECTION Essential Brush - 05 Highlighter - bought a second one because I love my first one. These brushes are dedicated to my Phytosurgence blush pots. 

COSRX: 

• Alpha-Arbutin 2 Discoloration Care Serum - a very recent release that caught my eye in COSRX’s promo emails. It may be a promising hyperpigmentation-fighting option for folks whose skin won’t tolerate ascorbic acid. I couldn’t resist buying a bottle to test. 
  
  
• Low pH Niacinamide Micellar Cleansing Water - a restock—eh, more like a stockpile since I now have several bottles. My skin and I love this stuff. 

Fenty Icon lipsticks, L to R: She A CEO, Flaunty Auntie, and Loud Speak’r.

Swatches & notes: 

Spoiler

NATASHA DENONA Hy-Glam Brightening & Hydrating Medium to Full Coverage Crease Proof Serum Concealer RN7 - many of Natasha’s medium-deep concealer shades are orange toned on me—not just yellow warm but straight-up orange. 😬 And none of the rosy undertone shades match my favorite concealer (Live Tinted Hueskin shade 7). That’s why I’ve never tried ND’s concealer on my face. But an intense in-store (Ulta) swatch comparison did reveal a good “next shade up” candidate: RN7’s too light to use on its own (it’d look too ashy under my eyes), but it might work well over my Live Tinted concealer as a hollow tear trough brightener. I wish ND had RN7 just one level deeper; I’d be able to use that solo.

LYS Beauty Mini Higher Standard 3-Piece Cream Glow Blush Stick Set - another Holiday Savings Event tradition that started with LYS’s first mini blush trio 3 years ago. Interesting that this year’s trio is in stick form instead of compact. I hope this doesn’t mean LYS plans to discontinue their blush compacts in favor of sticks. I mean, I like the sticks a lot, but I also like the compacts and they’re easier (for me) to travel with. Then again, this mini stick size is also travel-friendly.

NARS Talc-Free Powder Blush Orgasm Rush – 775 - I’m still not sure about this reformulation—still find it harder to blend than the old formula—but I wanted to try this shimmer shade. It’s probably close to old-formula shade Savage, which I have and love. Maybe I’ll compare the 2 later.

Gucci Luminous Matte Beauty Blush 10 Intense Ruby - finally caved and bought it. I expect it to behave/perform as well as my other Gucci powder blush (Soft Red). 

I see a 2025 blush low-buy in my future.

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Fenty Icon The Fill Semi-Matte Refillable Lipstick, Flaunty Auntie, and Loud Speak’r -  the last shade’s a restock/backup. The additional discount off the sale price made me finally buy the other 2 shades I didn’t already have. Good thing I like this lipstick formula, eh? 

Lancôme L’Absolu Diamond Glitter Gloss Sheer LE - I’m returning this to Ulta. I was hoping it might be the same or similar to my beloved discontinued L’Absolu Lacquer formula, but it’s not. It’s also barely sparkly. This is a “diamond” gloss for people who either hate shimmer or want the most subtle sparkle possible on their lips. (Not exaggerating there. I didn’t bother taking a lip swatch photo because you’d hardly see it on my lips.) I am neither of those people. One positive: this gloss doesn’t feather or bleed at all. But it’s about as sticky as the regular L’Absolu glosses are. REALLY wish Lancôme would bring back the far superior L’Absolu Lacquer glosses. 😭

Chanel Rouge Allure Liquid Velvet shade 236 Ensorcelante - I told @Sunnysmom I wasn’t gonna buy this because I already have a similar deep purple liquid matte and thus can’t justify the cost. Welp, a friend gifted it to me as a month-early birthday present, oh darn, what a shame. 😍 It’s a liquid texture instead of a mousse, so it’s easier (for me) to apply. As with many liquid purples, this one was fairly streaky and patchy at first. Here’s my lip swatch of 1 coat vs. 2.5 coats:

Top: 1 coat. Bottom: 2.5 coats, around 5 minutes after application.
Even with the streaks, I can see wearing it as a one-coat tint. It wasn’t too hard to even out and deepen the color with an additional 1.5 coats. It takes a long time to fully dry down to a matte finish that looks more demi-matte (which I love):

2 hours after application and frequently drinking water through a straw.
This is such a comfy formula! Pretty lightweight, too. And the varying opacity lets me achieve a rose petal effect similar to Violette_FR’s liquid matte. I haven’t swatch-compared it to the 2 other deep purple liquid mattes in my hoard… maybe I’ll post that later. 

I did not plan all the greens in this photo. 😄

Notes: 

Spoiler

Montale Eau de Parfum Discovery Set - bought this whole set just to try one fragrance. 😅 I haven’t tried any of ‘em yet but will this week. 

SEPHORA COLLECTION Booster Eye Mask Smooth + Peptides 1 pair / pack - can’t resist curiosity about a reasonably priced eye mask I’ve never used before.

MAC Pro Locked Brow Gel - 100% curiosity purchase, mostly for the neon green paddle brush applicator. I do have a couple often unruly brow hairs that other gels struggle to tame (without leaving a flaky white mess behind), so I’ll see what MAC’s can do.

Half Magic Eyelectric Mascara shade Teal Widdit - seeing it in-store reminded me it’s been on my Ulta favorites list for a while. To really make that color pop, I’ll probably need to wear it over a lash primer. Eh, that’s plenty doable. I should probably compare it to my Pat McGrath Dark Star ColourBlitz turquoise mascara sometime.

I have one more Holiday Savings Event order en route, plus my latest Rouge Reward purchase—if the item I bought with the RR ever actually ships. I don’t mind waiting. I’m just worried it’s out of stock: I could’ve bought this item at 2 of my local Sephora stores but noooo, I decided to buy it online instead. Hoping to get an “item shipped” email this month! Same goes for anyone else awaiting Sephora sale orders! 

[ather]

@WinglessOne  Great haul! Hmm I didn’t know there was lavender in the Amikia I hope it doesn’t cause you troubles. Everything’s so beautiful. I love the green picture! 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @ather ! Yeah, it’s surprising how many hair products contain some form of lavender. I always read product INCI lists to check for that, and then decide if I think I can keep the product off my face to avoid a skin reaction. 😅 My scalp and body seem less sensitive to lavender than my face is. 

[curlychiquita]

Great selection of items, @WinglessOne! I like how the colors look in the Lys starter set.

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @curlychiquita ! All 3 of the LYS mini shades exist in their full size blush sticks, so one of ‘em (Bubbly) is a repeat for me. Now I have that shade in full and mini sizes. 😄 I wish LYS had put a new or LE shade in the mini trio, like they did for their mini compact trios. But these 3 shades are good ones. 

[danielledanielle]

I'm going to ignore this Chanel lipstick.... It's perfect on you... Never saw it!!!

@WinglessOneanother Fab haul!

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @danielledanielle ! Pretend that Chanel purple’s not available to get with Ulta points, nope. 😈 (I’m telling myself that about other shades of Chanel’s liquid matte, now that I know I love this formula.) 

I think I forgot to note that this formula never dries down 100% so it’s not transfer-proof. It does last a long time and can handle lots of coffee drinking, but a meal will remove a lot of it. Anyone who wants a no-transfer matte will be disappointed in Chanel’s. I’m glad it’s more of a demi-matte finish that’s long-wearing; makes it super comfy on my lips. 

[lmaster]

Sounds like you love the chanel!! It's gorgeous 🤩 great haul @WinglessOne 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @lmaster ! The Chanel’s definitely one of my favorite lipsticks of 2024. 💜

[Ispend2much6]

@WinglessOne   So, what you're telling me, is, because I love the new Gucci highlighter I should get the red blush?  Is it strongly scented?

I'm sorry ND doesn't have your shade.  I love it for using on my face (not under my eye; it creases.)

[WinglessOne]

@Ispend2much6  You might as well give the highlighter a playmate, right? 😅 The blush does have fragrance, but it’s very soft and subtle. I barely notice it during application and can’t smell it on my face. 

I already have other concealers to use elsewhere on my face (spot concealing; I never use concealer to highlight the center of my face), so I’m good there. And I expect ALL concealers to crease; that’s simply the nature of concealer. Some crease worse than others, but I can prevent or reduce the damage during application and setting. It’s kind of annoying that so many ND concealer shades are so orange—kinda like how several NARS concealer shades are too yellow toned for me. I might go swatch a couple other ND shades and see if they oxidize to something workable. Meanwhile, RN7 is good for tear trough brightening atop another concealer, so it’s not at all useless. 👍

[Ispend2much6]

@WinglessOne  That is annoying.  I can never find stuff pink enough for me, except for ND!  Her powder foundation is truly pink, as is the concealer shade I use.  But, too bad she didn't follow through with that all the way down the shade line.

[CynthieLu]

These are Amazing hauls! @WinglessOne 

I see a 2025 blush low-buy in my future. I can relate to feelings like this after the sale 💸💸😅

I haven't tried Sephora's new makeup brushes or thier recent face mask releases. I hope you enjoy the one you picked up. 

[WinglessOne]

Thank you @CynthieLu ! Heh, this weekend I was rearranging/expanding my beauty space and realized I might possibly have too much blush. 😅 Not as many blushes as lipsticks (not by a long shot), but still: for me, yeah, too many. I need to slow my roll on blushes next year. I definitely empathize with you on needing to go into low-buy mode. 

I happen to be wearing the eye mask right now. They seem smaller than Sephora’s old eye masks, but still cover my whole undereye area. And they have a fragrance I can’t quite place… kinda vanilla + cocoa butter + something almost fruity? My nose is too stuffy right now, but I swear I smell something Now & Later-esque in this mask serum. 😂 Hopefully my skin will be okay when I remove these patches in a few minutes. 

[PrettyPaint]

Those are some beautiful blush swatches @WinglessOne. I just remembered the product I forgot to purchase during the sale - brush cleaner! 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @PrettyPaint ! Normally I’d also buy Beautyblender’s solid unscented cleanser during this sale (that’s what I use most often to thoroughly wash all my brushes), but Sephora doesn’t carry it anymore. Hope you catch a good deal on your usual brush cleaner(s), possibly even in a few days as retailers ramp up their Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Cyber Week/Whatever We’re Calling It Now sales. 🙂 

[PrettyPaint]

@WinglessOneI know! There are so many sales already, and it's hard to judge whether there will be better prices on Black Friday or during the pre-sales. 

[CorgiMommy]

You did it again, great hauls!  That lip color is really lively on you.  @WinglessOne