Wishlist: Best of the Giftsets

October offers many things for beauty lovers to get excited about. 

Halloween makeup (obvs) upping your skincare stash for the cold, and last but not least the advent of ALL the Holiday gift sets. 

It's early yet but there are some really beautiful things floating out there in retail land and so you don't miss out I've compiled the best bang for your buck. 

Brows on a Budget

So it is a universally acknowledged fact that when it comes to brows Anastasia Beverly Hills has written the book for years. Her products are very often front runners when it comes to creating the perfect arch. 

After years of ruling the roost though many brands have thrown their hat into the ring and my newest brow addition is from Soap and Glory. 

Let's just cross our fingers that they bring the whole range to Ulta at some point down the line. 

Holding Out for $2 Perfection

I have spent nearly a year and a half with various postcards, posters and prints haphazardly taped to walls in a holding pattern just waiting for the perfect frames. 

Yes...yes I am a little bit picky I will admit but, the last place I anticipated finding the perfect addition to the collection was the new to New York Flying Tiger flagship.

The best part?

They were 2$.

Just a Dusting

 The one thing I seem to be able to successfully keep in my collection one at a time is face powder. I'm not sure if it's because it's less fun to buy than other base or color products or if it's because I go through it faster than any other product in my collection.

It's the one thing I always manage to show the most loyalty to as well. I find myself finding a formula I love, going back to it two or three times and then move on to something new. 

There were quite a few new to me formulas on my international "to buy" list so for the first time in months I have more than one compact to work my way through.

Catrice: First Impressions

 This is going to be an extraordinarily well timed post, especially for me.

While I was in Dublin with my family in the first few days of July I picked up a small selection of Catrice products because at the time they were only available across Europe. Since then (like in the last 2 weeks) they became available on the the Ulta website and in a few exclusive stores.

Let me tell you if you are a fan of good beauty on a budget this is GREAT news for you.

When Summer Brights Feel Right

Despite that fact that two weeks ago I was droning on about winter berry lips at the height of the Summer season I may have finally managed to find a set of "seasonal" lipsticks that are making me tick.

They are in a stellar formula that, better yet, is at the drugstore.

The Maybelline Creamy Mattes formula launched last fall and for the Spring they doubled the shade range.  As soon as I saw preliminary images of the colors I knew exactly the colors I would be aiming for.

Look Alive

 Organic and "all natural" makeup is a tricky thing. With brands constantly on the hunt to find ways of selling customers a more green angle it's hard to know what brands that claim to be organic are legit.

RMS Beauty has long been regarded as one of the forerunners in organic and green beauty products. While this isn't necessarily a huge concern for me when it comes to beauty (I'm an equal opportunity hoarder) when you hear enough about any given product it's hard not to cave and give it a try. 

So when a little coupon code incentive surfaced for DermStore last week I went ahead and finally picked up the RMS Living Luminizer. 

Come Correct

As a makeup junkie with hereditary dark under-eye circles and years of concealers and correctors under my belt it gets very hard to find things that do anything new for you. 

On my "to buy" list for this year's Spring VIB sale was a product I had heard so much about but just could not commit to the insane price tag.

It is so worth it.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Giorgio Armani Master Corrector.

Some Thoughts on Colourpop

I finally placed my first Colourpop order a couple of weeks ago and when it arrived on Monday I was beyond excited to crack them open. It was all I could do to get the photos before I stuck my grubby fingers in the product. 

For the uninitiated Colourpop is the latest in a line of fledgling beauty brands that are made in the USA and pedaled by the YouTube hierarchy. 

Not that there is anything wrong with that. As a business model it's pretty genius but, from a consumer perspective it does make me hesitate before parting with my cash. 

Now that I have had a chance to play with my goodies (I ordered eyeshadows and a blush) I'm all about telling you what I loved and what I didn't love.

The "Ready for Spring" Wishlist

The change of season means it is definitely wish list time!

Gotta love a wish list. 

On top of that the last two days have been sunny and 40 degrees here in NYC. You would think we'd all lost our minds. All of a sudden everyone is like WooHoo 40 degrees, it's summer! Let's wear shorts!

No joke. 

While I'm not quite there yet the few extra hours of sunshine certainly wants to make me add some springtime sass to my beauty wardrobe. 

These are the things on the list.

The New Nudes

There is always something so welcoming about discovering a new everyday shade that sings on your skin. One of those colors you can just reach for without thinking about or having to worry if it matches the rest of your makeup. 

I'm not sure what it is but I don't seek out colors like this too often. It may be because I am more inclined toward a bold lip and because I don't always give myself the time needed to do my eyes "properly" in the morning. (As I sit here makeup free at my desk.)

At any rate, this past weekend I plunked down for two new nudes that came highly recommended from two very reliable sources and I could not be happier with them.

A Fan-fucking-tastic Mascara (But It's Not Better Than Sex)

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara...

...Ok so the name of this mascara is such a huge load of marketing crap that I just cannot get behind. Which is really something coming from me. I am the definition of a marketing department's wet dream.

I'm all about cheeky names from the beauty industry (no matter how inappropriate I can get behind NARS 100%) but this is just kind of lame.

It's one of the reasons why I put off trying this mascara for such a long time. Despite the fact that it got positive reviews from the beauty community and rave reviews from my friends I just don't think the whole "sex sells" thing works here. 

No mascara is better than sex.

It does happen to be one really excellent mascara though.

A Limited Edition 8$ Worth Spending

There was a time when my beauty obsession was so intense that if something had a "Limited Edition" label you could guarantee I would spend my money on it. Especially if it happened to be at the drugstore. 

The thought process was something like "Well if I hate it, it's only 8$ and if I don't get it now I'll surely regret it." (Don't call me Shirley.)

The problem with that line of thinking is that you inevitably wind up with a lot of product you don't really love and a collection so out of control you don't know where to reach when doing your makeup. 

So since learning my limited edition lesson I've become much more decisive about which items I'll shell out for and which ones get to stay on the shelf for other hungry collectors.

This weekend when I spotted the new Maybelline Spring Rebel Bloom Limited Edition Color Tattoo in the shade Black Orchid I knew it was coming home with me. 

February Haul:The Post No Buy|TheUnanimousMolly

Today I'm excited to finally share all of the goodies I've picked up over the month of February. I've mentioned in a few posts (too many?) that I was nixing the beauty spending in the month of January and barring a single infraction it was a pretty wild success. 

So as a reward I went ahead and treated myself to a few things. Better yet? I didn't break the bank in my excitement to spend again. 

YAY!

Check out behind the cut to see all of the things I picked up this month.

The One I Broke My "No Buy" For

 So I decided that to kick off the new year I would reign in my beauty spending until after I did my beauty inventory (coming later this month) and got rid of some of the clutter taking up space in my Muji storage. 

I can tell you now in terms of what's lacking (HA!) in my collection lip products DO NOT qualify. 

Then this past Wednesday my apartment flooded. This is not the first time it's happened but I had thought the issue was behind me. Sadly it is not and I still have some work to do with my landlord (who is handling things wonderfully might I add) to get it squared away. 

This past Wednesday was also the launch of Bite Beauty's new Lip Lab Limited Release Creme Deluxe series for 2015. 12 Limited run shades released the first Wednesday of every month all year long.

What can I say? I'd had a rough morning and I'm weak.

In Defense of Exspensive Brushes

 I am a big believer in budget beauty tools.

I think more is gained by putting the money into the product rather than putting money into the tool if you are in a position where you have to choose. 

There are so many budget brushes out there that are an amazing value for money.

 There is more to come on that topic from me next week but, today I want to talk about putting extra money into unique tools that will give you the results that budget alternatives can't.

I bought my first Wayne Goss brush from Beautylish on Black Friday and I am seriously in love.

The Joy of Giving...To Yourself

Now this is of course the time of year to treat the ones you love to things that you know they'll love. 

Whether that means a plate of homemade cookies or an extravagant store bought item it always feels so nice to pass a little extra love around this time of year. 

...but I would be lying if I said I didn't treat myself to a few new things between gifts for others. 

With all of the sales, my inherent willingness to spend (amplified by Christmas music) and the convenience of getting things done from the comfort of my couch how is a girl supposed to resist?

On top of all that I have been eyeing up one of Charlotte Tilbury's eyeshadow palettes since her brand launched in the states back over the Summer.

This past weekend I bit the bullet and hit "checkout".

H&M Home Sings to my Soul

Since discovering H&M Home my wallet has wept. The only saving grace is that the only store in New York that carries home goods is not terribly convenient to my routine.

If it were I would be broke. 

In addition to a beautiful soap (or in my case lotion) dispenser I picked up this lovey, quirky, catchall eyelash dish for my bedside table.

HAUL:Sephora VIB Sale and More!|TheUnanimousMolly

Sunday Bonus Jonas!

If you haven't already seen it I posted my Sephora VIB sale haul today!

I definitely picked up some more fun things this time than I did in my Friends & Family haul especially with all of the Holiday goodies and gift sets lining the shelves at Sephora this time of year.

It was a hard one to resist!
Check out the footage behind the cut!

HAUL: Sephora F&F and More|TheUnanimousMolly

I did some serious damage this month.

 Serious.

Since it is sale season for all things makeup and beauty I thought a haul video might be a good idea.

This way you can see some of the things I've picked up and maybe narrow down some choices of your own!

Let me know what you picked up or, what you're planning on picking up! 

As of tonight I am done shopping for me until Christmas. 

I swear!