Collective Haul Part 2

Here it is!  The second part of my collective haul.  Just to refresh your memory, here was Part 1.  It took quite a while for all the other parcels to turn up (and then a little bit of time for me to type this up!)  Without any further ado, here are the newest additions to my beauty collection:

Alanna Renee:

As a mentioned in the first part of my haul, I went a little nail polish overboard.  However, I am completely happy with all of my nail polish purchases, especially these beauties from Alanna Renee.  I won't lie, I initially decided to purchase a couple because they were inspired by Harry Potter.  Then I saw if you spent $50, you got free shipping.  As a result, the following happened.  7 polishes (fitting number for Harry Potter though!)

L to R: Horcrux, Chocolate Frog, Butterbeer, Draught of Peace, Reptar, Hedwig, Patronus) 

These polishes are wonderful!  Depending on the shade, you can get away with one coat (Horcrux and Chocolate Frog), two coats (Butterbeer, Draught of Peace, Reptar) or three coats (Hedwig and Patronus).  They all apply smoothly; however, I will note that many of them dry quite rough.  This didn't bother me as I quite like the texture (similar to that of OPI Liquid Sand, but not as intense).  A topcoat would easily solve this issue though.

Swatches from Top to Bottom:

Horcrux- Love.  It's very intriguing, colour wise in direct sunlight.
Butterbeer- I wasn't too sure about this one, but oh wow!  I never thought I would like orange so much. This is one of those rough finish ones.
Chocolate Frog- Love the colours in this.  So easy to apply!
Hedwig- Another interesting polish.  It has white bar glitter, yellow glitter, brown glitter to break up the white base.  It does have a rough finish and I found it a bit hard to make the yellow glitter visible (and get on the brush)

Swatches from Top to Bottom:

Draught of Peace- If you've seen previous NotD from me, you know I love blues/aquas and this. is. stunning.  One of my favourite polishes full stop.
Patronus- I was a bit unsure whether to purchase this one, but I am so glad I did!  I was afraid it would be too white, but no! It is certainly a subtle light blue.
Reptar- Rugrats, a memory of my childhood.  I couldn't pass this up.  I wasn't aware until I bought it that the green colour is actually from the glitter.  The base is milky.  This looks pretty cool, but it does have a rough finish.

Mirenesse, Beauty Bay and Pretty Serious:

I had a $25 voucher from my VIP membership to use, so I had to take advantage of it.  I decided I was going to suspend my VIP membership for a couple months.  I'll have my final VIP kit for you soon.  I decided on the Magic Beads Cleanser.  It's so much fun and makes my skin feel and look great.  I also picked up the Beauty Call Touch Up Palette from their new collection.

Mirenesse Beauty Call Touch up Palette

The packaging is smaller and slimmer than I expected, but still quite practical if you aren't bothered about sticking a brush into the cream blushes.  There are creams and powders in this palette, but so far I haven't had any issues with that.  We'll see how it goes as I continue to use it.  Included in the palette (from left to right) is: concealer/foundation, three eyeshadows, a lip gloss, two lip/cheek creams and a 'contour powder.'  I personally consider the contour powder to be a highlighter.  It is shimmery and light, which I associate with highlighters.  I really enjoy everything in the palette.  The eyeshadows (as always with Mirenesse) are stunning.

From Beauty Bay, I needed to get another Mario Badescu Body Wash.  This is my holy grail body wash.  In summer especially, I get a few breakouts on my chest and back and this did wonders to clear them up.  Plus, it smells really clean!  My partner also loves it, which makes me feel better about spending $11 for body wash.

Edward Bess Back to Basics Palette

When I saw the Edward Bess Back to Basics palette, I had to add that to my cart.  After seeing reviews from Mishelle and Kate regarding this palette, I really wanted to have this.  This isn't the cheapest palette, but it is worth every penny.  All the components are of a superb quality and they work so well together (which you would expect from a palette).  My only issue was that bristles from the included brush got into some of the cream products which was annoying.  No fault of Edward Bess, just shipping.

Stila Convertible Color Blush L: Lilium, R: Gladiola

I have wanted some Convertible Color blushes from Stila.  After seeing numerous reviews on them and swatching them a few times in Mecca, I finally caved and bought two.  Both are fantastic, but I cannot praise Lilium enough.  It's the perfect, natural looking blush for my skin tone.  Love.

Femme Fatale:

To continue my nail polish obsession, I placed an order from Femme Fatale. Originally, I was only going to pick up the mineral blush in Velvet Cupcake.  I had a sample ages ago and decided I really needed it in my life.  However, I hate paying for postage and if I have to, I want to get my money's worth.  So naturally, I need to pick up a couple nail polishes as well.  I chose Noble Garden from FF, which is beautiful green with multicoloured glitter in it.  I don't have enough bright greens in my collection.  I also picked up Hare Polish in Afterglow.  I really want some more Hare polishes, just waiting for a restock.

L to R: Hare Polish Afterglow, FF Mineral Blush in Velvet Cupcake, FF Noble Garden

Bellabox:

I unsubscribed from Bellabox, but I wanted to use my points before I said goodbye. My partner still has his Bellobox, but I wasn't sure if I would lose my points (not worth the risk haha).  We both picked up an item, then I added an ELF eye shadow brush to get up over $20.  My partner picked the OP Therapy Sea Mineral Wash.  He received this in one of his belloboxes and really liked it.  Multi-use products are perfect for him.  I chose The Suigo Ultimate Control Shampoo after reading many positive reviews.

Have you picked up any new products recently?

Lust Have It Eco Box: Autumn Edition

It's that time of the year again when I receive my Lust Have it Eco Box.  In case you're unfamiliar with this particular subscription box, it is quarterly and cost $29.95.  I have never been disappointed with these and this is my third box (there have only been three boxes).

The bag

This box came in a hessian bag like the other two.  I'm still not a big fan of the bag.  In the summer feedback form it asked our opinions of the hessian bag, so maybe (I hope) they will change it for upcoming boxes.  However, the questionnaire also brought up the idea of increasing the number and quality of products as well as the price.  Since the regular LHI subscription box has recently increased, I think the same may happen to this box.

The contents

I really enjoyed the contents of the box.  I haven't had a chance to try out all of the products, but I'll give you my initial impressions.

I received some Wotnot Facial Wipes.  I received these in a previous (extremely disappointing) bellabox.  I don't mind these wipes.  I can't say they're my favourite, but they are really good quality.  I don't mind getting these again because I will use them.

There were two colour products in this edition.  Recently, I have seen a fair bit of love for Pretty Serious nail polish.  I was crossing my fingers for BSOD, but I was still very happy to see Mummy Mush.  It's a really lovely colour and I am thinking of getting another bottle for my bridesmaids.  The other colour product was ELF Mineral Eyeshadow in Socialite.  I'm not a big fan of mineral eyeshadow (though I surprisingly own quite a few) simply because it is so messy.  Does anyone have tips for using this type of product?  Socialite is a really pretty colour.  It's a dark grey with brown undertones.  It's complexity surprised me.

Next up is Alfaparf Milano Precious Oil Tradition products.  I received Anti-Frizz Oil Shampoo, Anti-Frizz Mask, and Absolute Oil.  I'm really excited to try these products.  I love getting hair samples because I don't like committing to full size hair products (especially pricey ones).

I really like getting skincare samples as well.  I know we can get to a point where we have too many (and after taking an inventory of my samples in an attempt to use them up, I am quickly approaching that point), but if they're great brands, I'm cool with it.  Apparently the McArthur Complete Skincare Cream is quite popular and well known.  My partner knew about it, but I must have been under a rock.  It's great to get such an expensive product that many people seem to love.  However, to be honest, I'm still a bit unsure how to use it.

Lastly, I received Savi Body Cream Wellbeing.  I love love love the smell of this cream.  I also love the consistency.  It's thin, but sinks into your skin so perfectly.  I will definitely consider purchasing this when this sample runs out.

Again, another LHI Eco success.  This box reminds me how much I love subscription boxes.