Collective Hautelook Haul!

Good Morning, Hautelook

Hey Guys! A few weeks ago Hautelook had some really awesome brands float through so I wanted to post a quick collective haul of some of the things I picked up. Every item I got was on a really great deal! I want to say that everything I got was under or close to $10, which isn't bad for high end products! I haven't tried any of them out yet so this is just a haul, not a review =]

The first fun brand to go on sale was Urban Decay. It was a blowout sale of all their old products that they are redoing or have already redone. I took advantage of the 24/7 Glide On Eye Liners and got the colors Ransom and Binge. I really love both the colors; as always, the color payoff and lasting power of these is amazing, it took two showers to get the swatches off my hand! And I don't have any colors similar to this in my collection so I'm happy about the additions.

teeny-tiny swatches

Ransom is a bright purple and Binge is a bright navy blue color.

I also got their tinted moisturizer but have not tried it yet. The color is called Body Guard and it matches my skin pretty well. I like that it is paraben free and has SPF 20 in it. I pretty much hoard tinted face products so it's no surprise I wanted to purchase this. I'm excited to see how it holds up. 

The next brand to come through was theBalm; this one I was prepared for and was extremely excited about. In fact, I even made a post dedicated to what I was hoping would come through and what I recommend by the brand. I love when theBalm comes on Hautelook because everything is at least half off. 

I honestly haven't heard anything about their skin care line and when I saw it on Hautelook I was really intrigued because the products seemed really natural and quite nice. I decided to get this Vanilla Oil-Absorbing Face Moisturizer, which I thought may be a good dupe for the Bobbi Brown Oil-Control Moisturizer with sea weed extract and lavender. I really love the smell of this product and the packaging and beautiful and glass. I'm excited to break into this once I finish my Bobbi Brown moisturizer. 

I got this blush (their blushes are one of my absolute favorites!) in the shade Down Boy. It is a cool pink, but very subtle. It reminds me of how theBalm's Frat Boy blush doesn't look too exciting in the pan but once it is swatched on the skin is beautiful. I cannot wait to work with this color, I do not own any cool toned pinks that are quite like this one. 

Here is an image of Down Boy (bottom right) in comparison to Nars Gaitey (top right) which is extremely cool toned candy pink, and theBalm Frat Boy (bottom left), a matte peach color.

And I say it every time, how precious is the packaging?! 

also, if you do not follow my Instagram, I finally got a new desk that I can blog at home from! I am so excited about having space to spread out and blog at. I look forward to coming home and checking my blogs here at my new work station! The desk is from Ikea and I absolutely adore it!

Also, if you do not follow me on Instagram (or twitter) you should! 

Twitter: dakotaf13

Instagram: dakotasbeautyblog

theBalm on Hautelook on Thursday 8/1/13

Hi everyone!! I know I've mentioned the website Hautelook before and how I love it to purchase high end brands at discount prices. Well, this Thursday one of my favorite, online-exclusive (pretty much), cosmetic brands theBalm is coming to hautelook!! I know there are a few things I'm going to try to get my hands on given they are available but I thought I'd post about some of my favorites that I already have. 

Blush in "Frat Boy" is a beautiful muted matte peach color. It may not look to special but I love it and always get compliments when I wear it. It gives a nice glow to your face. It's very similar to MAC "Melba" blush, but I like this one much more. The formula is so opaque, it cannot be beat

Eyeshadow Palette in "Meet Matt(e) Nude" the best matte palette on the market. You get so much eyeshadow per each color that I doubt i'll ever run out of any of them. This palette is a great basic palette for beginners or experts. 

Eyeshadow Palette in "Nude 'tude" a great alternative (not dupe) for the Urban Decay Naked palettes. I feel that the textures of these are even nicer than Urban Decay and some of the colors are quite unique 

"Mary Lou-manizer" is the best highlighter/luminizer on the market. It is such a gorgeous color and I often wear it on my eyelids as well. It's seriously gorgeous, I'd recommend it to anyone. It may be my top 3 most used product in my whole collection. 

Bronzer in "Bahama Mama" it's a very deep, opaque powder. Great for contouring and defining, and also looks great in the crease of your eye. And it's super small, cute packaging which is great for travel. 

All of the packaging for theBalm is precious, it's similar to how Benefit's packaging is but maybe even cuter. 

Some things I'm going to try to get if they're on Hautelook sale tomorrow...

Blush in "Down Boy"

Any of the Instain Blushes 

Meet Matt(e) Palette (original) 

En Root Dry Shampoo 

Kit n' Caboodle-My Train Case Organization

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am on vacation right now with my best friend. We took our annual road trip to Los Angeles to spend a few days by the lake and to explore the city. Anytime you get the two of us together we go a little cosmetic crazy. We've been known to stop at every single Ulta that we see off the freeway...it's bad.
When we travel together by car, we both bring our Caboodle train cases to carry all the make-up we want to bring. Trust me, we pack those things to the brim. So today I thought I'd post about how I "organize" my extremely unorganized, overpacked Caboodle.
Warning: there is no method to my madness. 

This thing is literally stuffed full. I couldn't fit another lipstick in here if I tried. It's something about L.A. that makes you need to bring absolutely everything...

On the left stacked tier of my Caboodle:

Hair Ties

Clips

Highlighter

Setting Powder

Contour Powder

Pigments 

Blush

Face Powder

Lipsticks (some)

Nail Polishes 

In the right stacked tier:

BB Cream

Foundation

Primer

Concealer Assortment

Brow Kit

Eye Primer

Hand Sanitizer (this is key to alway have when traveling when you may not be near a sink)

Mascara

Eyeliner

Lipstick

In the center: 

This is where things get really crazy

Fake Eyelashes

Lash Glue

Setting Spray

All my Brushes

Eyelash Curlers

Palettes of Eyeshadow

That's pretty much the extent of my Caboodle. I love being able to see all my make up spread out in front of me so whenever I can travel with my train case, I love to. I will be the first to admit that I do not use all this stuff while on vacation and that I most definitely over pack, but I'd feel bad leaving any of these little beauties behind!

How do you organize your make up when you travel? Does anyone overpack as much as I do? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Favorite Nars products & MOTD (make-up of the day)

Today while getting ready and putting my face on, I realized that many of my everyday products are from my absolute favorite make-up brand, Nars.

Nars is a high end make-up line that has fantastically pigmented products that are very high quality. Anytime I walk into Sephora, the Nars counter is the first place I stop.

Many Nars products have cult followings. I'm sure most of you have heard of their blush "Orgasm" or their "Laguna Bronzer" or maybe ever their eyeshadow single in "Ashes to Ashes". An anyone who is a Kim Kardashian fan (which I'll admit, I most definitely am not), would know that she wears the Nars lipgloss in Turkish Delight when she wants to wear a nude lip look.

I obviously have not tried every product that Nars has to offer (but I hope to one day!), but I have tried many of their products and have definitely come up with a list of favorites. Through this process, I also have compiled a hand full of products that I do not think are that great, and some that are certainly not worth the hype. 

Favorites:

• Nars Sheer Glow Foundation (i'm shade Punjab). I especially love this foundation in the winter. I love to wear glowing skin all year round and the thicker consistency of this highly radiant foundation is perfect for winter time. 
• Nars Powder Eyeshadows. I have several of these in duos and trios, my favorite was from their Spring 2012 collection (I'm almost sure) called "Ramatuelle", which is a trio that includes a Silver, Icy Peach, and Apricot color. It looks stunning with black eyeliner, and the apricot shade is especially flattering in the crease. I also love the Trio in "Cap Ferrat" which is an assortment of bluish-green tones, which are fun to play with for a more colorful look. My favorite duo is "Cordura", which has a shimmering warm rich brown and a shimmering sooty dark brown. Anytime I go out and want to do a dark brown smokey eye, I always use this duo. 
• Nars "Laguna" Bronzer. Yes. Yes. Yes. this is DEFINITELY worth the hype. I have used this every single day since I bought it (as you can tell from the above picture, this product has gotten much love). I use it every day to warm up my face. It is not great for achieving a sharp contour, so if I am going to contour, I use a different product and dust "Laguna" over it. I am a bronzer freak, and I will continue to repurchase this one and will keep one in my collection forever. 
• Nars Cream Blush in "Penny Lane". I don't see nearly enough hype on the internet for this product. I use it if I want a neutral cheek look or if I am getting ready in a rush and don't have time to contour. This cream blush looks gorgeous placed in between the cheek bone and where one would usually apply blush. It also has a wonderful consistency, it is not sticky and it looks very radiant on the cheek. It's a very, very, soft peach color. 
• Nars Powder Blushes. I have many favorites of these, they just seem to be the best formula for blush on the Market. "Lovejoy" is my favorite winter shade, it is a shimmering bronzed rose shade and it looks amazing with a plum or deep red lip. I don't know how I survived the winter before I had this blush. "Gaiety" is another favorite, which is a bright candy pink color. I like this because it is very wearable and many people could get away with wearing this shade. Bright pinks like this look great in the summer with a tan and bronzed complexion. Also, this blush is perfect for a soft look, or to build up for a brighter pink. Plus, who doesn't love the sound of "bright candy pink"??
• Nars Pressed Powder (I wear the shade "Beach"). This is simply the best setting powder I have ever used. It makes my face look so flawless and keeps oil at bay. 

UnFavorites:

• (brace yourself) Nars Pressed Blush in "Orgasm". I know right? "Orgasm" is described as a peachy pink with golden shimmer. Everyone loves this blush and I don't like it. It's not even like "it isn't worth the hype" (which it isn't), I just simply do not like the color. The formula is fine, as with all Nars blushes, it's just the color is not great and I cannot get it to work on me, not with a tan, not pale. Just not at all. I would return this if I was able to and pick up a different blush in a second. I just simply do not like it. 
• Nars Eyeshadow Duo in "Kalahari". I like these shades and I use this palette often, I am just disappointed that the colors do not have more of a contrast with each other. Swatched, they look great, but on the lid they look like the same color. 
• Nars Multiple in "Maldives". This is a shimmering pink champagne multiple. A multiple implies that you can use it on your cheeks, as highlight, lip stick, eyeshadow, pretty much anything. I would only wear this as a highlight, and even as that I do not think it is very good, and certainly not for $40. I would say skip the multiples and buy yourself a nice Nars blush or bronzer instead. There are plenty of better highlight/multiple products out there. This just did not do it for me. 

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope this was helpful! It's always a hugh bummer picking up products that are expensive and high end and being less than enthused with the results you get from them. Also, just because a cosmetic brand is your favorite, does not mean that everything they make is great. And just because a bunch of people love a certain product and it basically has a cult following, doesn't mean that the product is the best. There are always other options that should be considered before making a purchase.