Sizzlin September 2024 hauls

[sonnydee]

Spoiler

Knock, knock

Who's there???

SIZZLIN

Sizzlin who?

SIZZLIN SEPTEMBER Hauls y'all!!!!🤣🥰

Yes, fall is right around the corner & with that the holidays & SALES!!!!

Please share with all of us what you picked up, but also for a lil September twist 🖤 put something you passed on...I'm nosy, I can't help myself.  🥰🤗

Even though its tempting...please continue to use the August thread till September 1.

As always, happy haulin' y'all!💙💙💙💙💙

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[caitbird]

@CookieGirl1  thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, that is great to know! I will definitely have to take a closer look at their offerings (not that I need any more eyeshadow palettes, but you know how it is 😅)!

[CookieGirl1]

@caitbird I don't think that you'd be disappointed in the quality 🙂

[CorgiMommy]

@CookieGirl1 fabulous!!

[WinglessOne]

@CookieGirl1  Okay, you’ll have to tell me what you think about those Olay Cleansing Melts. They’re on my test list. LOVE your polish color choices, and those palettes look very interesting! 

[CookieGirl1]

@WinglessOne skip the cleansing melts.  Great in theory, poorly executed.  They don't emulsify well so you end up with a handful of semi-chunky cleanser.  I mean, it's possible to make them work but for the price and the effort of using them I wouldn't repurchase them.

As for the polishes, I'm evidently in a pink/berry mood lately and it's starting to become a problem because I've discovered that I'm ending up with some near dupes in my collection as a result of buying so many 😅.

All three of the palettes have become instant loves.  I really enjoy Ensley Reign and Cosmic Brushes in general and the little Girlcult palette exceeded my expectations in terms of quality.

[WinglessOne]

@CookieGirl1  Ugh, bummer about the cleansing melts. They could’ve been nice for travel, but you just saved me some frustration. And your pink/berry dupe problem sounds like my blue/teal dupe problem when it comes to polish. I mean, near dupes (SIMILAR, NOT SAME). 😅

I very recently bought an Ensley Reign palette, mostly for the holochrome shadows and thanks to @makeitup305‘s swatches a while back. That palette will be my intro to the brand. I’ve been on the fence about trying Girlcult, so good to know you like the palette you bought! 

[CookieGirl1]

@WinglessOneyeah, I was disappointed about the melts.  I mean, they're usable but they're not exactly cheap and for the price I honestly don't think that they're worth it.
Out of curiosity, which palette from Ensley Reign did you buy?

[WinglessOne]

@CookieGirl1  I bought Cold Moon, mostly for the holochromes, especially one I wish was available as a single. The mattes on their own read kinda ND I Need A Nude or Retro to me, but they seem to balance all the chromes well so I went with this overall color story instead of a more colorful palette. I did also buy a more colorful single. 

Which other ER palettes do you have? 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Gorgeous haul! Those pallets are stunning 🤩 @CookieGirl1 

[CookieGirl1]

@peculiarzmakeup thank you!

[Samtian]

@CookieGirl1 Oh is that the Undergrowth palette?! It looks so beautiful, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. 

[CookieGirl1]

@Samtian yup, it is the Undergrowth palette and it's beautiful!  I mean, you obviously have to enjoy green but the shadows perform beautifully and I feel like despite the largely green color story there isn't really overlap in the shades so it's possible to get a wide variety of looks out of the palette.

[Samtian]

@CookieGirl1 That is good to know, those colors are stunning!

[CookieGirl1]

@Samtian I've definitely had a lot of fun playing with it so far.

[CynthieLu]

Oooh your Ensley Reign palette looks so good!! @CookieGirl1 May I ask about the other palette's? The compact looks so pretty! 

[CookieGirl1]

@CynthieLu I'm LOVING the Ensley Reign palette!  I wanted that one since it launched but I held off for a bit and I'm happy to finally have it.  While I wish that a couple of the shimmers/duochromes were less green-based the palette as a whole performs incredibly well and I feel like it's a perfect Fall color story.

The largely green palette is the Cosmic Brushes Undergrowth palette and it's the newest in my collection.  I really enjoy all of my palettes from Cosmic Brushes and while I didn't pick up the palettes from their previous launch I knew that I wanted this one (again, those Fall colors were speaking to me!).

Isn't the little compact cute?!  Don't be fooled--not only is it cute (and I should have shown the outer packaging) but the shadows inside are BOMB.  They're all shimmers with an included multichrome and it's from the Chinese brand "Girlcult".  I follow several Asian beauty brands and influencer accounts on IG and this brand repeatedly kept popping up on my feed, to the point that I got completely sucked in and had to try something from them.  I've been having a lot of fun exploring Asian beauty over the last year and while Korean eyeshadows are typically more muted and subtle, it seems that Chinese eyeshadows are generally more vibrant and colorful.  At any rate, I grabbed this in a Yesstyle haul and I'd do it again in a heartbeat; it's a perfect little companion palette and the quality inside is fabulous.

[CynthieLu]

Thank you so much for that little breakdown 💞 @CookieGirl1 I've admired Ensley Reign's palette from a far, I'm so thrilled to hear your loving yours and the feedback is very appreciated. 

Oooh I haven't dipped my toes in shadows from from Korea or China, I could see that being a really fun adventure! I can see why you had to try something from GirlCult, I'm drawn to that packaging too. 😍 ( I'm going to go search IG for them now 😜)

[lmaster]

Everything is gorgeous!! @CookieGirl1 

[WinglessOne]

Part 2 of my September damage: the (Almost) Besides Makeup roundup. Oh, and I think it was @peculiarzmakeup who asked for photos of makeup storage ideas… at the end of this post, you’ll see one of my new makeup brush displays. 😉 

“I’M ON A BRUSH LOW-BUY,” SHE SAID. (sigh…)

Details: 

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Fude Beauty tried to kill me with their summer sale but haHA, I kept my spree to just 4 brushes:

• Koyudo Y-8 Small Eyeshadow Brush, Yoshiki Superior Series - it’s the little black pencil brush in the photo. 
• Tanseido Large Eyeshadow Brush, Take Bamboo Series - I should’ve jumped on the other handle design when it was available, but this one will do. Not crazy about how the black cap on the handle bottom looks. But I do love how lightweight the overall handle is. 
• Hakuhodo S111 Blush Brush Round & Flat, Vermillion Series - finally, my first Hakuhodo! 😂 Not sure why I’ve resisted buying any of their brushes all this time, aside from my strong Chikuhodo bias. I chose the S111 because it might be delicate enough to soft-wash the reformulated NARS powder blushes, which are much more pigmented (and in my opinion, less easy to blend) than the old formula blushes. 
• Mizuho MB113 Foundation brush - curiosity’s 100% to blame for this one, as Mizuho’s a new-to-me brush maker. I’m interested to see how many ways I can use this angled brush, and how it compares to a few others I own. 
• Not pictured: several packs of Bisyodo Makeup Brush Cleaning Wipes, for travel purposes. 

SEPHORA COLLECTION Essential Brush - 05 Highlighter - been testing this with my Phytosurgence cream blushes all month. It’s small enough to dip in the blush jars. The synthetic hair picks up product well. And it’s just dense enough, with enough splay (but not floppy) to easily blend out those potent blushes. I reeeally like this brush! 

SEPHORA COLLECTION PRO Highlight Brush #90 - another test subject for my Phytosurgence cream blushes. Haven’t tried it yet because I can’t stop reaching for the above brush. 

Melanie Mills Hollywood MM09 X Omnia Crease Brush - another Macy’s Star Rewards buy. I’ve never tried any of Melanie’s brushes. Something about this flat fluffy brush spoke to me. Hopefully it performs well. 

Lisa Eldridge Liquid Silk Liquid Eyeshadow shades Irene and Thalia - the new matte version of Lisa’s liquid shadows. She claims these shadows can double as primer, so I tested that one day: used Irene as full lid base (it’s a light taupe tone on me), then added a NARS Eyeshadow Stick (shade Faded, which creases and transfers on my lids without a primer) for a deepened lash line and some outer corner smoke. Faded stayed put on my hooded eyes all day, so Irene must have a bit of grip after drying down. 

The other shade, Thalia, is a beautiful rosy brown. I’ve also worn this one with Faded, with good results. Both shades are easy to apply and blend with either finger or brush, though I prefer a brush. They don’t dry down as quickly as a matte Colorfix, but they do set faster than a NARS shadow stick. Can’t speak to the skincare claims yet, though I’ll say my lids did seem smoother after application. 


For the heck of it, here’s another photo of all that stuff. Only difference is the light source placement. I actually prefer this photo, though it skews the LE eyeshadow shades: 

Someone asked me how to change the lighting of their photos. This one’s main light source is a magnetic LED light held in the bottom right corner. In the first photo, that same light’s held above the brushes, somewhere left of center.

How about a little skincare, Scarecrow?

Details: 

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Skinfix Eczema+ Hand Repair Cream 3 oz/ 89 mL - @faeriegirl was right about this being a great replacement/upgrade of the old Skinfix hand cream. 100% worthy of backups. 👍

Abib: did they really discontinue my beloved Heartleaf Stone solid cleanser?! Luckily I still have 2 stockpiled. But I also need a new cleanser option that works as well as the Heartleaf Stone, and this’ll be hard to find because my skin LOVES that cleanser and—oh hey wait a minute… 

• Acne Foam Cleanser Heartleaf Foam - well dang, this stuff’s pretty awesome! I’ve always avoided it because I wasn’t sure wintergreen extract would play nice with my skin (peppermint oil usually doesn’t). But I used this cleanser 3 nights ago with no immediate irritation or delayed temper tantrum, hooray! It’s a very thick cream. Like, L’Occitane shea butter hand cream thick. A little goes a very long way. And just like the Heartleaf Stone, it doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry or stripped at all. Seems to almost be the solid cleanser in cream form, with salicylic acid (and wintergreen) added to the mix. I should order a couple more in case it disappears. 
  
  
• Heartleaf Calming Toner - because why not try even more of the heartleaf product line? I think I used a sample of this toner and liked it. Haven’t opened this bottle yet because I’ve got a couple other products to get through first. 
  
  
• Heartleaf Creme - did I ever mention my skin’s a big fan of houttuynia cordata (heartleaf) extract? It’s one of my favorite anti-inflammation ingredients, plus it’s hydrating and antioxidant. So I have high expectations of this cream. I’ll open it sometime in October. 
  
  
• Glutathiosome Dark Spot Serum - this is half of a duo set Abib had on sale. It uses exosomes, which aren’t the same thing as spicules (the trendy VT Reedle serum uses spicules)—but I’m not quite sure if Abib’s actually using spicules and just calling them exosomes instead, since spicules are so trendy in K-beauty right now. 🤔 I’ll know the first time I rub this into my skin; I’ll probably patch test it this week. 

1 new-to-me item + 3 restocks.

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Abib Glutathiosome Dark Spot Pad - the other half of the duo I mentioned in the previous spoiler tag. Not sure when I’ll start testing these… not right away, since I’ve got several other products on deck to try first. 

Goshi Exfoliating Shower Towel - time to replace my old black Goshi towel with a marigold one. I buy these oversized scrubby towels at Amazon. Many brands make exfoliating towels, but Goshi’s is my favorite. It’s scrubby enough to work well for me, but not aggressive enough to make my reactive skin welt up in angry red rebellion. 

Vanicream Antiperspirant - IT’S FINALLY BACK! It was discontinued for a long time. After trying other brands’ kinda similar products, I settled on one unavailable in the US (had to order it from Europe) and it works, but not as well (for me) as Vanicream’s. This is the only unscented antiperspirant that keeps me stink-free all day without irritating my armpits. Plus, it’s a solid, not a liquid or gel that takes forever to dry down. I was crushed when Vanicream stopped making it, and OVERJOYED to see it available again at Amazon—and sold by Amazon, not some other retailer with an insanely high markup. I wish Vanicream would sell this antiperspirant via Target. 

amika Reset Cleansing Oil 6.7 oz / 200 mL - adding another backup since I can’t stop using this stuff. It’s changed my hair wash routine for the better. As long as I don’t overuse it, my scalp’s very happy with it. 

A reminder that Kohl’s sometimes has things in stock that Sephora doesn’t anymore. The blueberry mask is from Sephora.

Polish Pickup August (order arrived in September)
Color shift photos: 

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LynBDesigns Drawn To You and DRK Nails The Cat Who Saved Books are magnetic polishes. The other 2 aren’t, but I swatched their sticks below the nail anyway because I was on autopilot. August’s PPU theme was book titles, IIRC. 

This reminds me: I passed on LynB’s Halloween mystery bag this year, after much self-debate. Instead I bought Bluebird’s “Boobird” Halloween mystery bag, and I can hardly wait to swatch those since I’ve already seen 2 of the polishes therein. 

And now for something completely different. (Showing 1 of 3 toothbrush holders I bought at Amazon.)

“How the heck are toothbrush holders a beauty item, beyond basic hygiene needs?” Well… 

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Makeup brush displays! No really, that’s why I bought these. I really wanted bamboo holders for aesthetics, but I couldn’t find any that meet my needs. Clear acrylic’s the next best option. These holders have slots big enough to hold large electric toothbrushes—or you know, Chikuhodo powder brushes. These holders will let me see the beautiful brush handles without letting the brush heads crowd together in a cup, which can lead to misshaping. Behold! 

I just grabbed 3 random thick-handled brushes for this photo, but I’ll definitely display my Chikuhodo Lunar New Year brushes in one of these holders.Everything in its right place.
The divots in the base are meant to keep toothbrushes from sliding around. They work kinda okay for makeup brushes, but I’m gonna try making the base more non-slip. Self-adhesive felt might be enough, especially if it’s thin enough to mold to the divots. Or I could try non-slip tape or liner. We’ll see! 

I’m also going to add some small (2” diameter) turntables to the bottoms of each holder. Because maybe I’ll wanna easily spin these holders sometimes to grab a brush. I’ve got some of those coming from Amazon. 

I see these toothbrush holders cost more now than they did when I bought ‘em. I’m surprised clear ones aren’t more prevalent, even with small manual toothbrush slots. Huh. There are lots of metal ones, but I don’t wanna risk chipping/scraping my brush ferrules on those. 

[makeitup305]

@WinglessOne adding the SC highlighter brush to my holiday sale list. I have a couple of the Phytosurgence blushes and usually swirl with my finger then swipe on my hand before using a stippling brush but this sounds like a nice option. Glad to know the Skinfix hand cream is better. I really liked the old one so I'm adding this one to my list, too. The Abib stone still seems to be available at Olive Young. Is that the one you mean? It's also possible that they are going to "renew" it. It sounds like you got some good options for now, though.

[WinglessOne]

@makeitup305  Yeah, the Heartleaf Stone at Olive Young is my beloved cleanser. Abib tends to completely discontinue products as they add new ones, so I assume that solid cleanser’s not coming back, at least not in the foreseeable future. I’ll probably reserve my 2 backups for travel: I like to slice a chunk off a solid cleanser so I have one less liquid/cream to worry about in my quart-sized TSA bag. 

I was applying Phytosurgence blushes the way you usually do. I needed a “no hand cleanup required” option for times I’m in a big rush. I hope the Sephora highlighter brush works well for you! I know Phytosurgence sells their own brush for their blushes but, eh, I prefer something closer to my favorite shape of cheek brush (flat round). That highlighter brush is kinda like a baby cheek brush.