recent purchases - nyc & more

i didnt announce it on here, but recently i took a trip to nyc for a week just to visit the city and be a total tourist. pics of my trip will be featured in a few upcoming posts in the future, so be prepared for lots of food porn :P

although i spent most of my money on food (total food junkie here) i managed to spend a bit on beauty products. i promised myself i would only get products i cant find back at home so i only got a couple things.

inglot freedom system eye shadow quad
of course i had to go to inglot. there are only a few locations in the USA, i couldnt pass up the opportunity. this one was in times square. the selection wasnt in its prime surprisingly. i tried to pick a couple shades and they were out of stock! disappointing but i managed with other shades.

i wanted to pick unique shades that werent brown (seriously need to expand my e/s color range) but nothing too crazy that it would just sit collecting dust. i also wanted to pick mostly matte shades since i have more shimmery than matte shades in my collection overall.

i spent so much time swatching! there were so many shades to chose from and i am an over thinker.

i ended up choosing a couple grey shades (i have no matte greys in my collection), a beautiful burnt sienna color, and one fun purple color since i have brown eyes and i thought it would be easy to incorporate into everyday looks by smudging it on my bottom lash line.

swatches:
#349 #363 #335 #491

#349 is a beautiful light dove grey. i was worried this was going to be too similar to mac copperplate, but copperplate is lighter and leans more blue.

#363 is a matte taupe. this definitely has a purple tinge to it. its such an interesting shade because sometimes i think it looks brown and other times i think it looks grey.

#335, like i mentioned above, is a burnt sienna color. it is safe to say i have NOTHING like this shade.

#491 is a bright purple with gold flecks. i couldnt NOT get this shade. i swatched it multiple times and gawked at the beauty of the gold flecks. this shade looks better in person.

inglot eye shadows are pretty impressive in quality. the texture and pigmentation are wonderful. however, it is really finely milled and powdery so whenever press my brushes against them a lot of loose pigment is brought up. not a deal breaker though...especially at such a cheap price! i got this quad for around $30 i believe.

la roche posay effaclar & effaclar duo
i was surprised to see this at a cvs since i have never seen it in any drugstores in my area. i originally only wanted the effaclar duo but there was a special box that gave a free mini effaclar cleanser so i got that instead. ive been using it ever since i bought it so if you guys want a review of it, let me know.

that is all for my nyc goods (see, not a lot!) now onto the items i got back home...

mac lightscapade
the highly coveted lightscapade MSF. i dont know if it was just my area or if mac did it on purpose, but when i went to get one they only had 2 available! i was the first to purchase it at the counter.

closer look
lightscapade is a marbleized mix of white, pale pink, blue, yellow, and lime. it is very finely milled with no glitter particles.

swatches and comparison:
from left to right: mac vanilla pigment, theBalm mary lou-manizer, lightscapade, stila rose gold illuminating finish powder, nars albatross

i would say the closest is mary lou, but mary lou is definitely more beige. lightscapade leans white. vanilla has more shimmers. rose gold is pinker and more shimmery. nars is much more gold.

all in all i am glad i own lightscapade but it isnt a must-have. if you like subtle products though, this is up your alley. it has a very beautiful effect on the skin by being more of a sheen (not sparkly.)

loreal LE night owl polish
if you can find this polish, grab it! it is so incredibly pretty for a drugstore polish. this polish is very elusive. i found mine at ulta, but the display only had 2 spots for it. but it was worth the search because...look at those flecks of gold!

oh you want to see a better picture of the flecks?

you're welcome.

also at ulta i picked up batiste dry shampoo. i use dry shampoo very often and have tried quite a few different brands. i hated tresemme (didnt volumize and the scent made me nauseous), bed head rockaholic wasnt impressive (no volume), oscar blandi wasnt extraordinary for the price (leaves the worst white residue)

ive heard nothing but good things from batiste so i figured it was time to try it out. this little travel size came with for free. so far im liking this the most out of all the brands i have tried. the smell is non-offensive, it is affordable, and it gives volume!

last but not least, a few essie shades.

wrapped in rubies, powerclutch

i have been eyeing powerclutch ever since i first saw the display and i finally caved and purchased it at cvs using some rewardbucks that were about to expire. i also picked up 'wrapped in rubies' because of the pretty burgundy shade as well as the gold veining...

close up of the gold veining. hopefully this transfers on the nail!

sorry for the long post. hopefully you made it this far :P what have you hauled lately?