USA Haul - Sephora, Ulta & Macy's!

 I'd like to start off by apologising for the bad photo quality - my memory card has decided to give up on me and I haven't had a chance to grab a new one so my phone has had to suffice. Normal photos should return soon! Back to a far more exciting topic, as you can tell from the above photo I was feeling pretty spendy and may have placed a couple of orders for my mum to receive while she was out in the States. I didn't buy nearly as much as I thought I would from Sephora, instead preferring to buy more bits from Ulta and try out the products which just never seem to come over to the UK. Only two items I bought can actually be found here but the exchange rate made it hard to say no to them, saving substantial amounts. Read on to see the exciting goodies I got!

 To anyone who ever buys base products online, before you place your order please seek the advice of The Foundation Matrix or Findation. These have both saved me from ordering shades which are really wrong for my skin tone so I can't recommend them enough! I was really excited to try the Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous foundation, marketed as a full coverage primer, concealer and foundation in one! I've tried it a couple of times and really like how it feels, not nearly as heavy as you'd expect it to be, but I will report back after a while longer.

I absolutely love the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Under Eye Concealer but with such a limited shade range and being so difficult to find, whenever I'm somewhere that sells it I have to pick it up, in particular the non-skin tone shades. I bought this in the 'Neutraliser' shade in the hopes that it might be a dupe for my amazing but eye wateringly expensive Marc Jacobs Remedy Concealer in 'Bright Idea'. 

When I saw that Maybelline had released a new full coverage concealer, Master Conceal, I just had to try it out. I am a dedicated lover of the Makeup Forever Full Cover Concealer but I was intrigued by a drugstore version, claiming to offer camouflage style coverage.

Something that I really wish we had in the UK was purse sprays, just like this Daisy Dream one from Macy's. They're so much more convenient than lugging around full sized perfumes and I much prefer them to rollerballs because I would rather spritz myself than roll it on pulse points. I love this fragrance in particular because it's so light and floral but I couldn't justify buying the full size because of my already plentiful supply of perfume, making this size perfect!

The last time I made a purchase from Sephora I got a sample of this Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in 'Trooper' and fell head over heels in love with its thin nib making for easy application. I just had to buy the full size as well as use a promotional code for another mini sample, hopefully keeping me stocked up until the next time I have access to Kat Von D. 
A while ago I read on Into The Gloss (that enabling blog!) that the Physicians Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara is supposed to be great for short eyelashes, which is one of my biggest issues, so I'm really excited to try it out.

I was so excited to finally get my hands on the Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet lipstick in 'Mural' which I have been lusting after for the longest time! A splurge item it certainly is but I simply couldn't resist, seeing how much cheaper it is in the US. I was also lucky in that I placed my order during my birthday month so I was able to get Sephora's Beauty Insider Birthday Gift, this year being a duo of NARS Lip Pencils, with a Velvet one in 'Cruella' and a Satin one in 'Rikugien'. I have one of these in 'Dragon Girl' and love it so I'm glad to be able to expand my shade selection. 

When I saw that EOS had branched out from just spherical lip balms I had to try this stick on in the flavour 'Pomegranate Raspberry', a favourite of mine. Non-essential but I love the EOS formulation! 

Like most people I'm a huge fan of Origins' masks but I felt like I needed one more targeted at blemishes, rather than simply drawing out impurities as the Clear Improvement mask does. That's exactly why I bought the Out of Trouble mask, of which I've had a sample before and really enjoyed using, being a thick and refreshing mask, providing instant relief from bad breakouts. 

I've been intrigued about the haircare brand, Not Your Mother's, for a while now but their full range isn't available in the UK, hence why I jumped at the opportunity to sample some of their products. I decided that their Clean Freak range was best for me, what with summer coming on, and so I picked up the Cleansing Conditioner and the Purifying Shampoo in the hopes that they might prove to be refreshing and deeply cleansing, without being stripping, in preparation for the coming months. 

Finally, I completely forgot to take a photo of this (blogger fail) but I took advantage of Ulta's exclusive sets and picked up the Tarte Tartelette 101 Discovery Set for a mere $22! With mini sizes of the Maracuja Oil, Lights Camera Lashes mascara, Amazonian Clay 12 Hour blush, Park Ave Princess bronzer and Lipsurgence Lip Crème I just couldn't afford to let this one slip through my fingers. 

So that's it for my haul and I can certainly say that I am shocked at how quickly I could spend so much money on beauty! I'll start working through trying these products out and writing reviews for them but, considering the length of this blog post, it probably won't be for a while now!