Sephora Haul & First Impressions | 12 Days of Christmas

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I’m Makena, the creator and editor of Makeup By Makena — a beauty blog dedicated to empowering others through the art of makeup.

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This 32-page magazine is a guide to my all-time favorite beauty products.

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I have recently added a few shiny, new makeup products to my collection so I thought I would take the time to share my purchases with you!

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF 15 in ‘Petal’: Every time I have gone into Sephora for the past few years I always eyed this luxurious lip balm in my signature rosy-tan color, but I have only now decided to buy it. It feels so creamy with a sheer but buildable tint that never enhances any dryness on my lips. Unfortunately, mine arrived a little melted, so I am planning on exchanging it for a new one, but I a can already tell I will be getting a lot of use out of it this Winter because of the lovely shade and the moisturizing texture.

Too Faced Born This Way Foundation: Although I have several incredible base products that I love for everyday use, I recently realized that I still have not found my perfect foundation for special occasions. After researching the best high-end full coverage foundations for dry skin, I was not surprised when practically all of my favorite YouTubers were raving about this one from none other than my favorite brand! It is safe to say my expectations for this were extremely high and even though I loved the sample I was given, I have to admit I am disappointed after testing this out a few times. The buildable medium coverage is really nice and I love that this lasts all day, but as soon as I applied it, the foundation really emphasized all of my dry patches. It looked too matte and even a little cakey, but I am desperate to love this product, so I will spend the next few days testing different things out. Hopefully I will be reviewing this soon, but if you have tried this product before, I would love to know your thoughts!

First Aid Beauty Eye Duty Triple Remedy Overnight Balm: Lately, my eye lids and under0eye area have been extra dry — so much so that even when I moisturize and use my favorite dewy concealer, I still look like I have scales! Since the delicate skin around the eyes is the first area to show signs of aging, I decided it was time to invest in this anti-aging eye cream. I simply dab the smallest amount all around my eyes before I go to bed, and then I wake up with hydrated skin. This never irritates my highly sensitive eyes and I already notice a slight difference in how smoothly my makeup wears over the top. Hopefully it will prevent me from getting wrinkles one day too!

Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick in ‘Bombshell’: I have never owned a traditional, completely matte liquid lipstick before, but on a whim I tried this out in the store and instantly fell in lov with the beautiful pinky nude shade of ‘Bombshell’! This formula lasts forever without being too drying on the lips and I love the sweet vanilla scent. I am looking forward to using this for a long time and I already want to try more of her neutral shades!

Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Eyeshadow Palette: Ever since this hyped-up eyeshadow palette launched, I have been drooling over swatches and photos of it as I scroll through Instagram, but I could never buy it because it is way out of my price range. However, once I added the previous four items to my shopping cart, I realized that because of Sephora VIB Sale, I saved 20% off of my entire order, making this ridiculously expensive $65 product only $25! I thought that with the array of purples, peaches, and rose golds, this color scheme would be like an amplified version of my favorite Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette and I was right. The colors look very dramatic and bold and are perfect for warm-toned evening looks, but I also appreciate how surprisingly easy it is to create a natural daytime look, as well. There is some kickback with the mattes and fallout with the shimmers and metallics, but so far, the formula is absolutely amazing and I am so happy and excited to now own this!

What makeup products have you recently added to your collection?

XOXO,
Makena

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  1. I sadly had the same experience with the Too Faced Born This Way foundation and concealer! I think I only tried it twice before exchanging it for something else, but I feel like a good exfoliating and a hydrating primer like their Hangover one might help the issue at least a little. I’m glad to see the First Aid Beauty Eye Duty getting more appreciation, it’s a wonderful eye cream and the formula is unlike any others I’ve tried! And the Huda palette

    • I’m so glad I’m not the only one! Literally all the youTuber s with super dry skin love it and it just looked so matte! I’m going to keep trying it though because lately my skin has been so dry none of my foundation looks good lol. I’m really excited to keep using the eye cream and I’m so excited about the palette! I hope you have an amazingly big Christmas!!!

      • I hope you have an awesome Christmas as well! Make sure you report back if the foundation improves for you, I would be curious to see if/how you made it work!

        • Thanks! I’ve been mixing it with moisturizer which makes it less drying and cakes but obviously that reduces coverage as well. I’m gonna keep trying though, maybe it will be good for summer. Do you have a holy grail full coverage and dewy foundation????

      • Nars Sheer Glow is one of my holy grails, but I would say it’s more of a medium but buildable! The struggle to find a foundation for dry skin is so real but the Nars is really good for a bit more coverage than some of my other favorites and their shade range is huge! By the way I sent you a DM on Twitter, I know we both aren’t on Twitter often so I thought I’d let you know

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Hey, I'm Makena.

I’m Makena, the creator and editor of Makeup By Makena — a beauty blog dedicated to empowering others through the art of makeup.

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