Browsing Sephora.com in the middle of the night is a very dangerous thing. Especially when you’ve spent the bulk of the summer wearing little to no makeup and are just itching to get into fall beauty products! Low and behold, I fell in love at first sight with the Smashbox Cherry Smoke Eye Shadow Palette. It just happens that my daily and nightly moisturizers are limping by on their last legs, so I took the opportunity as a sign from the gods to take a trip to Sephora.

But the buggers didn’t have it! *gasp*

Oh the nerve of Sephora to only have it available online at this time. I was crushed! Heartbroken! Distraught! Obviously I had no other option than to drown my sadness by perusing items that they actually did have in-stock. AKA: the Givenchy counter.

Lord knows why, but I’ve never thought twice about Givenchy‘s makeup. Perhaps it’s related to Riccardo Tisci’s annoying infatuation with the Kardashians. Or, maybe I just haven’t heard much about it. While lingering over their counter, looking at some rather amazing creme eye shadow, a salesgirl literally gasped in excitement and ran across the store to greet me. Apparently, Givenchy is her holy grail makeup and she gave me a full run down on everything from eyes, to lips to face…and beyond. It was hard not to snatch everything up because she was right, it was quality stuff – but when she mentioned the promo of buying 2 items to receive a deluxe sample of their latest mascara – I decided I should be conservative in my purchases and narrow it down to two.

Givenchy Le Rouge Lipstick (Rose Boudoir)

I told the salesgirl that I am all about autumnal makeup at the moment and building my face for the months to come. She went off, swatching up a storm on her hand and arm to the point where she looked a bit clownish…I mean, this was full service guys. Normally I’m the one clowning-up myself 😉 …I settled on this beautiful berry shade. It’s ‘sensuously matte’ which, in a nut shell, means demi-matte. And I love it.

Obvs I had to snag one of the dreamy cream eyeshadows that initially seduced me to the counter. It was a huge internal debate picking a shade, but I settled for this purple. I wanted to steer clear of the browns and neutrals, because that’s where I normally go. In fall, purple is a favorite of mine – and this could be a one-stop eye product. It’s said to last 16 hours, which judging by the length of it staying on my hand – I solidly agree.

This was the sample I got. It weighs in at exactly half the size of a full-sized mascara, so I’m quite happy with that amount. It takes a lot for me to go through an entire tube of mascara. Haven’t tried this yet – but am excited to! I confessed to the salesgirl my obsession with YSL mascaras and she said that I should definitely be impressed with this as well. Time will tell! 😉

Hard to believe I’ve yet to try these. I just didn’t quite love any of the shades for summer and/or already had duplicative versions in my collection. This is quite fall-esque, so I won’t be wearing it just yet. But, I have HIGH HOPES!

I looked like a full on weirdo scaling the mini-aisles for this. Even when recruiting help from another salesgirl the hunt took a while. But, eventually my quest for the ultimate purse hand lotion came to an end – and I of course prevailed. I’m always big on hand lotion in my purse, and this is the best!

 

As stated in the beginning, I’m basically out of face creams. And even though I had been to Sephora, I spotted a ‘40% off the Entire Store’ sign hanging out at The Body Shop, and I thought 40% off skincare essentially NEVER happens, so it was the ideal time to test out their skincare products. Plus, I really wanted to finally pick up the honey bronzer people rave on about.

Vitamin E Moisture Cream Day and Night + Toner

I opted for the Vitamin E range – which is said to be good for all skin types. I don’t suffer from dry skin and I’m starting to wise up that my skin isn’t as sensitive as I have always considered it to be, so I moved into the ‘normal people’ range. All of these were a complete bargain compared to the prices I’m used to at Philosophy, plus at 40% off they were a steal!

Almond Body Butter

I picked this up in hopes it would be a cheaper supplement for the Laura Mercier Almond Coconut Milk Body Souffle I just to-die for. That’s gone up to $60 a pop, which is outrageous. (Not that $55 wasn’t already outrageous Laura!) This definitely isn’t remotely a dupe, but I do like the smell of it. Plus, the store had a promo and I snagged it for only $5 – basically another steal.

Honey Bronzing Powder in Deep Matte
I’m surprised I went with the darkest shade on this as I am quite fair, but the other shades were pretty light. I did swatch it in the store and find it looks really nice. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up looking like a freak – maybe not. I’ll definitely be trying this out asap because this receives so much attention I just have to see for myself.

 

I know, you were just weeping for me that I wasn’t able to get the Smashbox palette I so wanted. But, you can stop crying now because I did find it across the street at Ulta. Thank you makeup gods! You have been SO GOOD to me!

Smashbox Cherry Smoke Eyeshadow Palette

It’s been a really long LONG time since I’ve wanted and loved an eyeshadow palette so badly. I even was able to avoid picking up the Lorac Pro 2 palette that I had originally been itching to get. This beauty is so freaking gorgeous! To me, it’s also an excellent value when you consider everything and the quality of what you’re getting. The shadows are all super pigmented and blend like butter. Take that as a teaser for the full review coming up soon. (Ohmygod I used this today and ohmygod!!)

Stila Stay All Day Concealer in Light

My NARS Creamy Concealer has about a third left and I’ve already started to get in a bit of panic that I need to replace it asap. I somehow sidestepped the NARS counter at Sephora though (good girl!), and later found myself lusting over Stila figured why not give their concealer a go? I’m a huge fan of all their other products, so why not try something as basic as concealer? This is definitely much different in texture and consistency than the NARS option, but for under my eyes I think this will work beautifully.

Stila Convertible Color in Gerbera

Because why not pick up a cream blush to go with my concealer? What can I say, I was in a MOOD! 😉

Ulta Brush Cleanser

I’ve grown tired of paying for the MAC spot brush cleanser, so asked the Benefit counter girl what she uses to clean her brushes (particularly eye brushes) in a pinch. She said this. It’s definitely much cheaper than the one from MAC. I’m excited to see how it measures up!

Essie Chills and Thrills

This is of the Neon Collection, which apparently is on its way out because it was stashed over by the clearance. (Although I don’t think $8.50 qualifies as an exact Clearance price Ulta.) Regardless, I fell in love with the shade at first sight and had to make it mine. I’m kind of on the fence about Essie polishes but I figured I’d get it for the remaining weeks of summer.

 

 

Obviously any good I’ve done by not purchasing any makeup this summer went out the window! I mean, clearly some of these items were essential and cost-effective. As for the rest, I was due for a splurge I guess?

Also, there’s going to be a lot of reviewing of these items coming up, so stay tuned! Let me know if there’s something in particular you most want a review on. (I’m totally doing a review on the eyeshadow palette asap btw!)

 

What makeup are you looking forward to wearing this fall?