For $28, I could have picked up Ulta's Summer Glam Beauty Essentials. It's a beautifully packaged seven piece look kit.
Contents of this kit are enough to cover your face, eyes, lips and even your nails.
I can cover this in a semi-logical order starting with your bases on the face.
Benefit The POREfessional. (.1 fl. oz.)
To be honest, it's a really small sample. 0.1 oz is not generous by any stretch of the imagination, but it's really fine. In my possession is an identical sample, plus and additional larger sample of the product. It's use is somewhat lost on me at this juncture, as I have not quite mastered the use of a pore concealing primer. We can call it safe that this was the least exiting member of the new family that moved into my bathroom.
Anastasia Lash Genius. (0.11 oz.)
On first glance, it appeared I was saddled with two mascaras. For a pretty diverse package, that redundancy seemed very silly. Instead though, I guess this is a waterproofing top coat. This is handy and I guarantee I will use it, but at the moment I am using Bare Minerals Locked and Coated. As much as I love my Perversion mascara, it does tend to smudge a bit at the end of the day unless I have a top coat. Great item, I just have no use for it at the moment.
Butter London Nail Lacquer in Snog. (0.2 oz)
Alright, this one I am flipping excited for! Using Essie and O.P.I., I can see that there is some value to using more than just the free Sinful Colors and Wet n Wild. Generally less coats, somewhat quicker dry time (thanks to a better formula), and a nicer, longer lasting finish. Butter London is a brand I have wanted to try, but have not wanted to spend $15 on. The color on this one is a lovely hot pink, which is fantastic because my arsenal lacks one of those. In fact, this was a color I long sought out after my friends sister in law painted our fingernails in a tent, during an annual Cedar Point excursion. For reals this shade was the only color to break the monotony of my black nail polish (monotony is not used in a negative context EVER in regards to black lacquer.) The proof of the making is still in the works, as I have yet to repaint my nails. They still look fine. Pending further review.
ETA. Gorgeous color, and one coat is definitely passable and opaque enough. I would buy from this brand for sure! (if it were on steep discount.)
Laura Geller Beauty Cool Lids Cream Eyeshadow in Rose Gold Goddess. (0.26 fl. oz)
I do not have a swatch up yet, but of course I squeezed a little coriander sized blop on my finger and worked it onto the back of my hand. Oh my gosh what a gorgeous foiled finish. This is of course a liquid eyeshadow that is in a girly neutral. Used by itself it would be lovely, but I imagine it shines the best as somewhat of a base. Though if you are sweating in the summer, you likely could get away with treating this as a wash and wearing it by itself. Pending further review.
ETA. Beautiful color, does provide a pleasant temperature effect and can be worn by itself with blending. I love this and will use it when I am lazy, or in a full look.
Stila Lip Glaze in Strawberry Lemonade. (0.05 fl. oz.)
Would it be crazy of me to make a claim that this smells exactly like strawberry lemonade? Non? Okay because it does. Lip Glaze instead of lip gloss, this feels much thicker to me. The color is very sheer, but just enough to give a pop. In brighter lighting it resembles it's namesake with a passion. Ultimately, I would say this is comfortable to wear. It's not sticky per se, but it's slightly tacky. Applicators such as Stila's Lip Glaze are definitely something - I don't know what kind of something, but they are. This is an item I have been dying to swatch in Ulta, and I finally did last week. It's interesting that there is a squeezie brush apparatus. I do like it, but I am not sure if the thickness of the product really spreads gives coverage perfectly with a brush. There was a hanging worry that I was just brushing away the color I applied. At the end of the day, the whole unit reminded me of a set of crayons I had once. Push up crayons that clicked exactly the same way these do.
Tarte Lights, Camera, Splashes Waterproof Mascara. (0.16 fl. oz.)
Good old mascara. I have nothing exactly to say, since I have well over a years worth supply of mascara. One thing I am thankful of, is that this is not in the normal Tarte mascara container I see. You know that one where it's like the faux snakeskin pouch looking thing? It looks terrible to me. The packaging on this is sleek, and purple and gold is very regal. I look forward to trying this next century.
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer. (0.14 oz.)
This I was very thrilled with. Most of my bronzers happen to be shimmery, with exception of the Too Faced bronzer inside the Candy Bar palette. That one is just too light though to use for any real contouring. If I am not mistaken, Too Face has a counterpart to Chocolate Soleil which is a Milk Chocolate version and it is much lighter. Seeing this one, I am pretty thrilled that it's the darker. Correct me if I am wrong, as I am new to a lot of these descriptors, but this bronzer leans more neutral to cool as opposed to a warm sunny orange. That coupled with it's matte texture allowed me the ability to work my zygomatic bones into well sculpted, glowing, awesome hunks of face. The shimmery look is great for me to work into my blusher, but for the contouring I would prefer not to have shimmer framing my face.
How close is this to Benefit's Hoola? One may be a little warmer, but I have to compare.
OH! And finally on this product, you certainly gotta love the uber chocolate aroma wafting through the air while buffing this into your face.
Overall, the products I loved the most from this box were the Bronzer, Polish, Eyeshadow and then the Lip Glaze. At just under $3 for each product, I would chalk this up as a win.
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