Welcome back to Makeup By Makena! I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! Since the start of 2016, I have done some serious shopping not only at Sephora, but also at MAC and Lush. I had a little beauty shopping spree for my birthday a while back and I went to the mall with my bestie the day before yesterday since I had some gift cards that I got for the holidays. So if you’re interested in hearing about my collective haul of high-end beauty products, then let’s hop right into it together!

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in “Soft Brown” ($21): I mentioned this in my January Favorites since I like it so much, however, I don’t want to talk about it too much right now, since I will do a full review on it in the future!

• Tarte Poppy Picnic Limited-Edition Amazonian Clay Eye and Cheek Palette (38): I have been debating wether or not to get this ever since it came out, but I ended up ordering it from Sephora along with some gifts for my best friend’s birthday when I saw that it was on sale for around $25! Let’s be real… the packaging is the main thing that attracted me to it, but I also love how all the shades are beautiful neautral mattes with a sparkly pink blush, too! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find this one the Sephora website so I think they stopped selling it since it was limited edition, which is really sad because I already had a review ready for you guys:(

• NARS Eyeshadow Duo in “St. Paul de Vence” ($35): This has been at the top of my wishlist (literally) for several months and every time I swatch it, I am always so pleased with the pigmentations, finish, and colors. I finally decided to pull the trigger and buy it even though it’s super expensive, and honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about it. I will do a review on this once I decide what my opinion actually is.

• Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Foundation ($40): I know this may seem suprising, but I have never really owned I high-end foundation, despite owning countless other types of items from Sephora. For me, acheiving a “flawless yet natural” base with a good quality foundation is the most important of the entire makeup process, but I’ve been so happy with my L’Oreal True Match and True Match Lumi foundations, that I didn’t think spending four times the price on an expensive one from Sephora was necessary. However, my acne has been improving thanks to my dermatoligist and I want to keep it that way, so I finally decided it was time to go all out and buy my first high-end foundation! I have researched different ones for about a year and in the end I decided on this one. I’ve tried several samples of it and gotten my color matched two different times in order to ensure that I would be 110% happy with it and so far I am!

• NARS Travel Size Radiant Creamy Concealer ($12): While hanging out at Sephora, on Friday afternoon, my friend and I had our makeup done. The woman who did my makeup was amazing and super helpful and honest! She tested the color IQ of my skin, picked out the correct shade of Naked Skin foundation, applied it to my face, gave me several free samples, re-did the rest of my face makeup since she had to take it all off, and recommended different products that would all work well together for every day use. I asked her whether she would recommend this NARS concealer, or the matching Naked Skin concealer for under my eyes and highlighting and she recommended this one in the shade “Custard”, so I bought the mini one to try it out!

• Urban Decay Mini All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray ($14): I’ve already raved about this in a review on my blog, but I repurchased the mini size since I ran out of my original bottle. I was planning on buying the larger bottle for $30 since I use it so much and it’s a better deal when you consider the ounces, but I realized I’ll be using this on vacation a lot, so for me, the smaller bottle works out better.

• MAC Travel-Size Prep + Prime Fix + ($10): I’ve seen Jaclyn Hill spray this on herself hundreds of time, but I just can’t justify spending over $20 on a botle of fancy water, so I ended up getting the adorably tiny (and overly-priced) bottle instead to see if I like it.  Unfortunately for my wallet, I love it a little too much! I hate how much I love it, but it’s honestly just perfection and can be used for so many different things, it almost justifies the price. Almost.

• Sephora Collection “Baby” Z Palette ($10): I’ve been depotting some of my MAC eyeshadows in hopes of making my own customized MAC palette, but when I saw this on the Sephora website, I knew this was a much better option for me. They have lots of different sizes that all come with magnets and tools, and now all I have to do, is pick out and buy the rest of the shades I want to fill it up with!

• MAC Pro Palette Refill Pans ($10 each): I bought three of these babies to pop into my new Z-Pallette in beautiful colors that I’ve been wanting forever!

• LUSH “Bubble Gum” Lip Scrub ($9.95): I’ve tried this before and loved it, but it was out of stock, so I picked one up the other day. It is a little pricey considering you could easily make one yourself, but I’m not much of a DIYer, and for me, there’s nothing worse than dry, chapped lips, so I didn’t mind spening the extra cash. The bubble gum flavor is sweet and yummy, and it effectively gets rid of dead skin on your lips without being painful or uncomfortable. A winter must-have for sure!

• Buxom Full-Bodied Lip Gloss in “Dolly” ($20): When I was looking around in Sephora with my Mom, I was telling her that this brand called Buxom had a very popular lip gloss shade called “Dolly” and how I would love to buy it if I had enough money since I am obsessed with one of my role models, Dolly Parton. After I swatched it, stared at it with awe, dissapointedly put it back on the shelf, and then bought all of the other items except this one, my Mom was kind enough to sneak back into Sephora and buy me this amazing lip gloss as a little birthday present! To be honest, I didn’t know Buxom had three different gloss formulas so I just randomly picked this one, but I am glad I did because it’s perfect for me! It’s a stunning shiny mauve color perfect for everyday and for layering with my neutral lipsticks. Plus, who could resist the name? Obviously not me!

• Too Faced Kabuki Brush ($34): This has also been on my Sephora Loves List ever since I started getting into makeup, falling in love with the Too Faced brand, and breaking my old retractable brush! This is ridiculously priced considering you can get other retractable brush for under $10, but for me, it was worth it. I consider this a little luxury because I set it out on my vanity to look pretty, but I also plan to use it when I go on vacations since it’s so versatile. Plus, the bristles are cruelty-free and literally the softest I have ever felt in my life. Ever!

Disclaimer: I am not trying to show off or brag in any way, shape or form. I have purchased all of these products by myself with my own money or with gift cards that family members have given me for Christmas and my birthday. It is very rare that I spend so much money on luxury products and I am very blessed and grateful.

XOXO,
Makena

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