Birthday Beauty Haul

       Hey everyone! Today's blog post will be my birthday makeup haul. I have been so excited to get this up for you all! I went a littttttllle crazy when shopping the past couple weeks. Thankfully, I had a bunch of gift cards to use from Christmas, so it wasn't as bad as it could've been, haha. I'm going to show you close ups of each product, give reviews and and show swatches. So, let's get started!

First up are these nine MakeupGeek eyeshadows. If you have not heard of MakeupGeek, let me just show you the light, haha. These eyeshadows are comparable to MAC eyeshadows, but for about half the price. MAC shadows usually go for about $12-$15. MakeupGeek shadows are $5.99 for just the pans (like I have above), or $7.99 for the compact version. Let me just say, I absolutely LOOOOOVVEEE these eyeshadows. They are super soft, and have amazing pigment. I've used them almost everyday for the past week, and I can't say enough about how great they are! They go on so smooth, and blend out so well. I'm just sorry I didn't purchase them sooner.

Here are some swatches. From left to right: (1st row) Vanilla Bean, Shimma Shimma, Beaches & Cream; (2nd row) Creme Brulee, Hipster, Latte; (3rd row) Bitten, Twilight, Moondust. The swatches above are just one swipe of each shadow. They're amazing! You can find these at makeupgeek.com.

The next eyeshadow is this L'Oreal Infallible shadow in "Gilded Envy." I picked this up at CVS, and I think it may be limited edition, but I'm not positive. I have quite a few Infallible shadows and I just love them. I would consider them to be more like pressed pigments than regular shadows. I saw this color and immediately knew it had to be mine. This is a beautiful pewter color. Super soft, super pigmented and blends beautifully!

This is a swatch of the "Gilded Envy." Horrible picture, but beauuuuuuutiful eyeshadow!!

Next up is MAC - Brown Script. MakeupGeek has a similar color to this called "Cocoa-Bear," but they were out-of-stock when I purchased the other shadows and I was soooo sad, cause I love this color. However, when I was on vacation in Pigeon Forge this past weekend, I went to the Tanger Outlet mall. They have a store called "Cosmetic Company Outlet" and they have all sorts of mid-high end makeup there for a big discount. This particular one had tons of MAC makeup. As I was looking around, I found Brown Script and I got so excited!! Lucky find AND on sale? Can't beat that!

Again, a horrible picture that makes Brown Script look like actual dirt... but it's really a gorgeous color!

Next up is the Makeup Forever Mat Velvet + foundation. I have been eyeing this foundation for quite a while now, so when I got Sephora gift cards for Christmas, I knew this foundation would be one of my purchases. I have combination/oily skin. In the winter my cheeks get pretty dry, while my T-zone stays oily. In the summer, I'm a freakin' oil slick...it's disgusting. This foundation is perfect for people who have oily skin. It is a matte, full coverage foundation. It is absolutely gorgeous on. It feels light on the skin, and gives a flawless, airbrushed finish. I got this in the color "35." I've worn this foundation quite a few times since I got it, and I love it. It keeps me matte for a longer period of time, and when I set it with powder, it doesn't look cakey or feel heavy. It's just perfect.

I also got a different drugstore foundation. I have heard a lot about this Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous foundation on YouTube and other places. Most of the girls I watch on YouTube have the same skin type I do, and a lot of them use this foundation. So I decided to give it a try. I absolutely love it. I have been using the Revlon Colorstay foundation you all have seen in all of my posts for over a year. I thought that stuff was light-weight... uuumm, not compared to this! This foundation is a lot thinner than the Revlon Colorstay, and feels soooo much lighter on the skin. It gives me a completely matte finish before I even powder. I would say it's a light to medium coverage. Goes on smooth and blends out easily. I've actually had this for a few weeks now, and it has definitely replaced my Revlon Colorstay.

Another product I found at the Cosmetics Company Outlet in Pigeon Forge is the MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing powder. This was an impulse buy. I hadn't done any research on it, I just thought I'd like to try it. It's a super finely milled setting powder. Goes on very smooth, and feels silky and light on the skin. I don't think it keeps me as matte as the Rimmel Stay Matte though. I find that I keep reaching for my Rimmel powder more than this. I think it may be a learning curve thing, or maybe the brush I'm using? Not sure. I'll keep trying it. If you all have any tips, please let me know!

Next up, I got the Benefit Hoola bronzer. This is another product I've been eyeing for a while. This is an incredible bronzer. It's the perfect color - not too orange, not too pink. No shimmer. It's just awesome. It goes on smooth, and blends SO easily. I love it!

Here's the color. It picked up a little orange on camera, but in real life it is a nice, soft cool brown. It's gorgeous.

Another product I purchased from the drugstore is this L'Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur Instant Skin Smoother. I had heard so much about this product, and how it is comparable to the Benefit POREfessional face primer I use. I was walking around CVS and just happened to look on a random shelf and saw this small size. I haven't seen this size at any other store I've shopped at. I got excited because I had been wanting to try it, but I didn't want to get the big size just in case I didn't like it. I've been using it all this week, and I really like it! It's supposed to erase the look of wrinkles, lines and pores. I find that it doesn't really "erase" my pores, but it does smooth everything out and my makeup glides on smooth over top of it. It's thicker than the POREfessional, and doesn't feel as silky and light. But in my opinion, it is comparable to the POREfessional. Not an exact dupe, because I feel like the Benefit primer keeps my makeup on for a longer period of time. But I do like it a lot! A good drugstore alternative!

Lastly, I picked up a few of the Maybelline Color Elixir's. These have been out for a couple months already, and have been raved about all over the place. It took me forever to break down and get them though. From left to right, I got: Petal Plush, Signature Scarlet and Breathtaking Apircot. First off, I love the colors. They have tons of amazing colors. And the applicator is unlike any other I've ever seen/felt. It is seriously THE SOFTEST doe-foot applicator. They don't have a smell at all, but they have a verrrry perfume-y taste. It's awful. I thought maybe it was just me, but all the ones I purchased have that perfume-like taste. It makes me not want to eat or drink, or talk even, while I have this product on. Also, they're not very long wearing. I mean, they're lip glosses and glosses aren't usually long wearing, but the way people went on and on about these, I expected some crazy, long-wearing liquid lipstick type product. I like them, but I like the NYX Butter glosses SOOOOOOOO much better.

Like I said, they are beautiful colors. This is "Petal Plush."

"Petal Plush" and 'Signature Scarlet."

"Petal Plush," "Signature Scarlet" and "Breathtaking Apircot." Again, gorgeous colors.

       So, that's all of the makeup I got for my birthday. I got some skincare products that I will do a seperate post on next week. I want to use those for a bit longer, just so I can give you a true review on each product. I COMPLETELY switched up my skincare routine, and so far I reaallllllly like it. So, I'm excited to share that post with you all soon! I hope you all liked this post and the reviews. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below or on my Facebook page 'Beautymark." As always, thank you all SO much for reading, and I hope you have a fantastic weekend!!


                                       XOXO - Tabitha