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

[danielledanielle]

Heh, at least I'm in good company.  Happy to see you get Blue Moon though.  It sounds lovely @WinglessOne 

[curlychiquita]

Congrats on the beautiful Dior reward gap, @danielledanielle!

[Cissy63]

@danielledanielle  Dior J’Adore is a wonderful scent! Enjoy all of your new products 🥰

[WinglessOne]

Last Sephora Savings Event batch, plus a separate Rouge Reward purchase:

The fragrance was a Rouge Reward purchase.

Notes (all swatches will be in a separate spoiler further down this post): 

Spoiler

Kulfi Zari Eyes Long-Lasting Crease-Proof Cream Eyeshadow Auburn Aura - daaaang is this pretty! Photos don’t do it justice: it’s sparkly with a rich base color. Last year I bought shade Chammak Challo (the color-shifty citron one) and I’ve loved using it, so I’m finally expanding the family.

Kulfi Lassi Lips Staining Long-Lasting Moisturizing Lip Oil Lucky Lotus and Black Cherry - haven’t tried either of these on my lips yet, but I like how they swatched on my hand. Using a makeup wipe on the swatches did leave matte stains behind, and I had to scrub a bit to fully remove ‘em. I’d still rather have both shades in an opaque longwearing gloss formula, but hopefully they’ll perform well as lip stains. (Let’s just pretend I don’t already have similar shades in my favorite gloss formula.)

Givenchy Le Rouge Interdit Satin Hydrating Lipstick 231 Rose Désinvolte - I’m not sure why I bought this. 🤔 While very pretty, it’s not a color I need more of in bullet form. When it comes to Givenchy, I usually choose their less conventional lip shades (they’ve not done many of those in the last couple years). Rose Désinvolte isn’t really one of those. Plus, the inner casing’s a bit loose/rattly. Eh, I should test drive it for a day before deciding to return it.

KILIAN Paris Blue Moon Ginger Dash 1.7 oz / 50 mL eau de parfum spray - the Rouge Reward was a better discount than the Savings Event 20%, so I paired the RR with a gift card to get this for nearly nothing OOP. I had to wait til I was able to spray a tester on my wrist a few different days—which meant visiting a couple local Sephora stores a few times. Those on-skin tests were worth the effort: Blue Moon smells citrusy and gingery without going overboard; those notes are well balanced and melded by a persistently fresh sparkling note. When my nose is back to full strength, I’ll jot down more detailed notes of what I smell. 

Phytosurgence sale:

Wish I could say this was my last 2024 brush buy, but nope. 😄

Notes: 

Spoiler

Skin Spark Blush Balm shades Fume and Simmer - adding 2 more shades to my Phytosurgence blush collection. Fume is what I bought instead of Condensate, which was OOS by the time I shopped. But now I think Fume is the better option for me anyway: it’s a very pretty neutral pink.

Spectral Sunlight Cream Bronzer shade 8 Rosy Heatwave - looks too deep a shade for me in the pan, but it brush-swatched as a lovely reddish brown with enough translucence to not look overdone. (I did build it up a lot on my hand for photo purposes.) Phytosurgence’s bronzers come in gold and rosy undertones that don’t stray far from neutral, with pigmentation increased or reduced per skin tone depth. The point, according to the brand, is to provide sun-kissed bronzers that truly work on all skin tones and won’t look orange on anyone. I bought one because I wanted a cream-to-powder bronzer to warm up the hyperpigmented sides of my face. (As temperatures drop here in Chicago, I usually switch from powders to creams to keep my skin happy.)

Softquill Brush - bought this synthetic brush to use with the bronzer, but also to use with other things since it’s a fluffy stippling brush. True to marketing claim, it picks up the right amount of Phytosurgence bronzer for me. The ferrule’s slightly loose though; I “fixed” that by twisting it hard to one side, and it’s stayed put so far. Not sure how it’ll hold up over time though, especially after several lathered washes. When I used it tonight and then removed product from it with BeautySoClean spray, the ferrule didn’t move and I had no shedding bristles. Those are good signs. 🤞

Nordstrom:

D’oh, just realized I haven’t swatched that nail polish yet… note to self!

Notes: 

Spoiler

Dolce & Gabbana:

• My Comfy Matte Instant Rich Color & Hydration Lip Stylo shade 1004 - phew, how’s that for a long product name? This formula kinda reminds me of Pat McGrath’s MatteTrance lipsticks, except Pat’s are more evenly opaque in my opinion. I do really like this D&G matte though. It’s fragrance-free and very comfy on my lips, plus I love the rusty orange shade I chose. The slim insert makes the lipstick a little challenging to hold and apply at first: I kept thinking I’d accidentally break the casing, it’s so skinny. 😅 Someone with low hand dexterity/strength might have trouble using this lipstick, even though the inner casing’s textured. I wish D&G had used a more traditional component (even for stylos) than this. Form over function again. 
  
  
• My Juicy Sheer Lip Stylo shade 1.08 - “juicy” is a good descriptor: I didn’t expect this lipstick to be as glossy as it is, and it made my lips look plumply hydrated. One coat is sheer, and I can easily build up to demi-sheer. To me, this lipstick’s not lightweight. Not heavy or smothering either, but I definitely feel it on my lips. It felt mildly tacky right after application; I need to wear it longer to see if it stays a bit sticky (hopefully not). It has no discernible fragrance or scent, but it does weirdly have a mild smaste (smell-taste) that’s kinda like… lavender hand soap? I can’t smell it, and it’s not a directly tangible taste—licking my lips yields nothing—but drawing in air through my mouth creates that flavor. I‘ll give it a full day wear test and see if that smaste goes away after a while, or how long I can handle it. 
  
  
• Nailed It! Quick-Dry Lasting Nail Lacquer shade 02 Idol - a sparkly abalone duochrome. No I did not need this; yes I already have enough abalone-esque nail polishes. Blame curiosity for this one: I’ve never tried a D&G polish so you know, scientific research. I still need to swatch it, but I’ve opened the cap and discovered it’s fragranced. I’m almost positive this is an existing D&G floral fragrance but can’t put my finger/nose on exactly which one. Hopefully it’s not too strongly scented. It’s a very pretty polish, and even the bottle is very pretty. 

I also ordered a D&G satin stylo lipstick, but it went OOS and I forgot to reorder it. I might still try to get a satin shade so I can test all 3 stylo formulas. 

Hermès Plein Air 24 Faubourg Face & Eye Illuminating Powder shade 02 Or Rose - ooooh look what Nordstrom restocked, just in time for me to spend more Nordy Notes! 😂 I gotta say, I am extremely impressed by this highlighter. Lemme get the one con outta the way: it’s fragranced. But it’s a rather mild rose scent that’s unlikely to trigger my migraines or a headache. Still, were it fragrance-free, it’d be perfect for me. This is the level of highlight I often prefer on myself: neither space beacon nor near-dead LED bulb. (Don’t get me wrong, there are times & places for both those types of highlighters. They’re just not my daily drivers.) It’s a GORGEOUS rose gold on me. GORGEOUS. And the only other powder highlighter that melts into my skin as beautifully as this one is Pat McGrath’s limited edition Lunar Nude, which is not this color. I’m super excited to give this Hermès highlighter a wear test soon!

Swatches of everything mentioned so far: 

Spoiler

This week I upgraded from my trusty old iPhone XS to an iPhone 15 Pro (hooray for the new 16 making all the 15 models to go on sale). I’m still getting to know my new phone, including its camera and lenses. I took those lip swatch photos with the rear camera, but it must’ve automatically gone into portrait mode because I probably didn’t hold the camera far away enough from my face—and then it had a little trouble focusing as sharply as I expected. Gotta experiment more with that. 

Beautylish:

Okay, THIS is my last brush purchase of 2024. Yep. Probably maybe. 😄

Closeup photos and notes: 

Spoiler

Sonia G. Japanese Gardens Brush Set - I hoped this would sell out quickly so I couldn’t buy it. 😅 Buuut fated insisted I need these brushes to remind me of a particular long-ago summer half moon night, winding past glowing lanterns in a Japanese garden, calmed by frog songs and a gently flowing stream while deeply missing a loved one’s company and almost feeling his arm around my shoulders. That memory and loss are still bitter, but they’ve sweetened over the years, so using these brushes won’t feel like a mourning exercise. He’d tease me for being so dang sentimental but wouldn’t fault me for it. 🖤

Spinning a brush to show all sides of the handle design.
This is the 3rd of Sonia’s 2023-24 limited edition boxed sets. She originally planned to release all 3 sets at the same time last December. 😲 I’m so glad they wound up staggered instead, so I didn’t end up dropping all that money at once. 🙃 Of the 3 sets, I use the Summer Koi brushes the most. I felt the most emotionally attached to the Sunset Cranes brushes until this Japanese Gardens set came along, and now I’m forever tied to both sets. The Summer Koi brush design is also personally special to me, in a way that jibes with how extremely useful I find those 4 brushes—to the point where I’ve barely reached for any other eye brushes since October. I suspect I’ll get lots of use out of this newest set, too. I’ll probably share thoughts on each brush in the Love for Brushes thread after I’ve used them a few times. 

Now I really REALLY wish the Sunset Cranes box was printed like this one and the Summer Koi box.

Ensley Reign:

So happy! So bright!So deep and mysterious, but still fun!

The Flourish Palette is what I almost bought (instead of Cold Moon) as my first Ensley Reign product. Thanks again to @makeitup305 for letting me know it was on sale! The Underland Palette was still regular price, but I’d had my eye on it and couldn’t leave it behind. No swatches of either palette yet because I’m trying to catch good natural daylight for those photos (to really show off the shimmers, especially the holochromes).

Happy Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving/Anygiving to anyone in the US celebrating this year! And to those who aren’t celebrating for various reasons: I feel you, and I’d hug you in person if I could. ❤️

[faeriegirl]

Awesome hauls @WinglessOne ! The Hermes highlighter is gorgeous!

[WinglessOne]

Thank you @faeriegirl & @Titian06 !

[Titian06]

Gorgeous hauls, @WinglessOne ! 💖💖💖  I wondered how you liked your D&G lipsticks.  They're both lovely on you! 😍  Looking forward to swatches of the eyeshadow palettes.  I'm not familiar with this brand.

[PrettyPaint]

@WinglessOne This is such an amazing haul, and beautiful pics with your new phone. I haven't smelled Killian's Blue Moon, but the ginger and lemon notes sound incredible. Just looking at those palettes makes me so happy. I don't know that brand, but I'm going to look it up. The Underland Palette looks quite unique.  

[WinglessOne]

Thank you @PrettyPaint ! Ensley Reign’s having a Black Friday 20% off sale right now (though newer things like the Underland palette are excluded), so this may be a good time to try something from the brand if you’re interested. If you’ve ever tried Clionadh’s multichrome shadows, some of ER’s shadows have a similar loose flakey texture. But some shadows are also foils that have an almost wet feel, and some are drier toppers (think Pat McGrath’s Astral formula shadows). The mattes are fine: not buttery smooth like Viseart, but not chalky dry like some Urban Decay mattes. (Eh, it’s been many years since I tried a UD palette so maybe their mattes have improved.) But ER’s mattes do tend to kick up a lot during use. The shimmers are gorgeous in person though, especially the holochromes. 

[PrettyPaint]

@WinglessOne Thanks for this description. I may be bad and check out their website. I do like Clionadh’s multichrome shadows, so I think I would likely be a fan of these as well. I think the UD mattes are still pretty similar to how you remember them.

[ather]

@WinglessOne  Wow! Amazing haul!!! And wow you got the Killian Blue Moon almost free. Wow!!! 🤯 the colour in the container really looks beautiful! You really went out of your way to make sure it would work! Smart idea. Nothing worse than getting it and it not working for you! 

The rest are beautiful! 😍 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @ather ! I sometimes wonder how suspicious I look when I keep revisiting the same store locations and spraying the same fragrance tester on myself. 😂 I’m laughing about it now, but a Sephora sales associate at one location decided to follow me—and only me—around the store after she saw me rearranging the obnoxious mess of travel sized fragrances. You know how people never put testers back in the right slot, so anyone who comes after them has to pick up each tester to find the shade (or scent) they wanna try? Drives me nuts. But not as nuts as being treated as a potential thief when I’m just trying to put Sephora’s house back in order. And in this case, it wasn’t testers; it was the boxed/packaged fragrances themselves, and none of them were in the correct slot according to the rack labels. I know Sephora locked down full size fragrances and tethered testers due to thefts, but sheesh. That’ll learn me. 🙄

ANYWAY, at least I did confirm Blue Moon works for me. 👍 Also glad I had a gift card to make up most of the price difference. 

[ather]

@WinglessOne  Aww that’s awful they did that to you. And you are just helping them out with their shelf. Rude!!! They didn’t always lock down their perfumes? It’s been so long since I have been in a store. I remember back in the day I would go in and I must be invisible because no one helped me. 

Im glad you got to figure out if it worked for you. I guess it’s good you have multiple stores to go to! 

[WinglessOne]

@ather  On a more positive note, that experience will remind me to stop doing other people’s jobs for them. 😅 

All the full size fragrance testers at Sephora stores are now security-tethered to shelves. You can pick them up to use, but the tether’s not very long so it’s kinda awkward if you’re, say, 5’0” and the tester’s on a high shelf. 🫠 I guess they had lots testers being stolen or damaged. And there aren’t any unopened full sizes on shelves anymore; you need a sales associate to grab one for you. Unopened full sizes used to be on shelves; I remember the day I filled a basket with as many Commodity boxes as possible, back when the brand closed. 😂

[curlychiquita]

Beautiful, @WinglessOne! I’m glad you love the KILIAN Paris Blue Moon Ginger Dash 1.7 oz / 50 mL eau de parfum spray! I so envious of the Hermes highlighter. It looks so beautiful on you. Maybe I’ll be somewhere where I can try it on soon!

[WinglessOne]

Thank you @curlychiquita ! Hope you can get your hands on a tester of that Hermès highlighter; it’s worth trying! 

[CookieGirl1]

@WinglessOne tell me about the Phytosurgence bronzer!  Does it have any kind of sheen to it or is it relatively matte?  Can you compare it (in terms of formula) to any other cream bronzers?

[WinglessOne]

@CookieGirl1  That bronzer has a natural (eh, matte-leaning) skin finish. It’s a cream-to-powder formula, so it won’t look dewy/glowy on skin. The brand warns customers their bronzer’s not meant to be used with fingers—not because you can’t possibly apply it that way, but more because of how sticking your fingers in the pan may affect the bronzer formula. Swirling the stippling brush around the pan a few times with slight pressure worked fine for me. In my hand swatch photo, I built up the bronzer in 4 or 5 buffed-on coats. 

The only other cream bronzer I have is one of Danessa Myricks’s… either the Danessa Myricks Beauty Power Bronzer Cream Bronzer or the other one that came in a rectangular compact. (Heck, I might even have both.) I looked for it a few minutes ago so I could show you a comparison, but I can’t find it. It must be sharing a hiding place with a few other items I haven’t found since I began moving all my makeup out of the bathroom and temporarily storing it in various places. 🙄 I’m pretty sure both those bronzers are straight-up cream formulas (no transforming to a powder-like finish on skin) though. Oh, and I’m not counting Danessa Myricks Beauty Groundwork: Defining Neutrals - Palette For Eyes, Brows, Face & Lips which can be used as a bronzer. 

[CookieGirl1]

@WinglessOne thanks for the info.  Phytosurgence is one of those brands that I keep telling myself that I need to try...and somehow I still haven't, for no particular reason.

[makeitup305]

@WinglessOne I love how all those colors swatched on you and I hope the ER show up just as beautifully. I'm keeping an eye on ER on Friday for their sale and their newest palette release, which is really neutral. Can't wait to see swatches of the palettes!

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @makeitup305 ! Did you order any ER today? 

I’ll probably swatch Flourish and Underland this weekend, whether or not I manage to catch sunlight for photos. The days are getting too short to keep holding out for daylight photos. 😅