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Writer's pictureAnnie

Revisiting My Beauty Purchases #3

A reflection of my purchases from May to June of 2019 and a quick look at my project pan progress.


I haven't been wearing makeup as often as I usually do given the circumstances in connection to the global Covid-19 pandemic. My in-person social life has pretty much come to a halt so I've seen more of my supermarket check-out chick than I have my best friend. I've only ventured out a few times so while I am testing makeup and new brushes, it's mostly to parade around my house in. When I do manage to get out, I try to apply every bit of makeup to my face to get some use out of everything. I very recently went out to a restaurant with my close friends once restaurants were allowed to open with a 1 person per 4 square metre rule but I layered cream products and powders just so I could get use out of everything.

My project pan is going abysmally and my usage of items bought in 2019 is pretty low.


May and June 2019 Purchases


I only bought two makeup products in May of 2019 so my total amounted to AUD$114.55. I went into a Sephora to pick up my free birthday gift which was a handy little kit from Benefit that consisted of a mini They're Real mascara and a mini Watts Up highlighter. I used up that mascara and it was pretty nice. My strategy in the second half of 2019 was to just use up the sample mascaras I received and it's still my strategy moving forward. I haven't purchased a mascara for well over a year now and I only keep one open at a time now that I have minis that dry up faster.



While I was at Sephora I picked up the Pat McGrath MatteTrance Trio mini lipsticks for AUD$36. I thought they were absurdly priced for such a tiny amount of product but then after I purchased them, I noticed that the price jumped to AUD$42 which is ridiculous. The MatteTrance formula wasn't new to me but I wanted to be realistic about my capacity to finish red lipsticks. I love red lipsticks but I rarely pan any so a pack of 3 minis seemed to fit me just fine. I've since worn each lipstick a few times each so I'm getting my money's worth out of them. The bullets are really really flimsy though so you need to only roll up the tiniest amount before applying them. I wouldn't recommend the minis because the bullets do fall out from the packaging completely. I hate the Pat McGrath sequins and overall excessive plastic packaging.


Top to bottom: Pat McGrath MatteTrance lipstick in Obsessed, Full Panic, Elson


My best friend caught the Beauty Blender as part of a website glitch when she made an order so I scored a back up sponge that I only started using early this year.


I don't count skincare in my beauty reflections but I've since repurchased the full sized versions of the Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Face Cream and the Kora Organics Noni Face Oil multiple times. I still use both products on a daily basis. As for the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, I don't get the hype. It makes my lips drier so I refuse to wear this to bed because it doesn't give me moisture. It does fulfil the softening claim though so as long as I put a lip balm over the top, I can get some benefit from this. I've been using it as my daytime lip balm. Currently, I'm exactly at the half-way point on this large pot so it's been added to my 2020 project pan project.



My second makeup purchase of May 2019 was the Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser. I've since reviewed it on my blog here so you can read a more in depth piece on it if you're after more information. I really like it and it totally lives up to its name. On top of that, this light foundation is really photogenic. This foundation usually retails for AUD$119 but I managed to snag it for AUD$78.55 in a sale overseas then I had it brought to me from a visiting relative. It's worth the money and this is my foundation of choice if I'm going to an informal event like a breakfast or coffee catch up with a friend.


What I've hit pan on


I've hit pan on the highlighter in my Charlotte Tilbury Film Star Bronze and Glow palette. I've known that I would reach that point on both the bronzer and highlighter since the middle of last year so I stopped dipping my brush into the middle and instead worked my way around the edges. I won't finish both products this year but it'll definitely be gone next year.


Another highlighter that I've also hit pan on is the Signature Highlighter from The Face Shop that has been in my stash for a very long time now. I received this as a gift from my sister-in-law before she married my brother so I know this has product has been lingering around too long now. It was a tri-toned highlighter with a pink champagne, a pearly white and a pink powder combination. I used up the pearl completely and I will throw the rest out because the other colours don't appeal to me as a highlighter.

My last powder product is so old that the packaging should give you a hint to its age. I have the Too Faced Natural Eyes eyeshadow palette in its old tin packaging. I know I love boring neutral colours for my eyeshadows but my pans really show what I like. I've gotten a lot of use out of the brown Nudie, a nearly complete empty in the brown shimmer Push-Up and a tiny pan in the dark chocolate brown Sexpresso. I'm trying to be more adventurous with my eyeshadow so I've recently purchased the Pat McGrath Divine Rose palette as a slightly more interesting neutral replacement. I got in early when the Pat McGrath website glitches allowed the use of a 10% off code on top of the 20% off sale price so I bought it for AUD$148.50 (down from the full retail price of AUD$205) so the price wasn't as eyewatering as it typically is.


With regards to this year's buying, I originally gave myself a January to May no-buy which I broke once. I bought the Salt New York Palette and creme tints in February because they offered 50% off for pre-orders and free international shipping. As of July, 2020, I have yet to receive my order but I'm looking forward to trying out all the cream formulas. Right now I'm not on a no-buy but I'll be moving forward with an extreme low buy. I'm lucky that there are few releases out this year that appeal to me.




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