April 2018 Beauty Recap: Favourites, Hauls & Empties

Welcome to my new series! If you follow my blog, you know I usually do your typical monthly favourites post but lately I've been thinking of changing it to a monthly recap in beauty. This would still include favourites but also empties if I have them and anything I've bought that month. I like the idea of this a lot more than just a monthly 'I like this and I like this.' It will help me keep track of what I'm using and what is coming into my collection.

What I Loved

Lunatick Cosmetic Labs Pro Contour Book

I've wanted this palette for quite a few years but always put it off. I didn't wanted to justify it since it was expensive and I haven't had a lot of luck with the shade selection of most contour palettes. But this palette has become my holy grail honestly. The shade selection is just perfect for me and even though there are a higher number of shades than most contour palettes literally every shade works. I used to use the Australis Contour Kits which are nice but there were always shades I just never used. The formula for the Australis ones are also very powdery which meant I went through them really quickly so I was always rebuying them. The Lunatick powders are much firmer but aren't tough to pick up on your brush. You just get the perfect amount of product. It isn't super pigmented but I actually really like that because it allows you to blend easily and you can build up the colour for something more intense.

Juvia's Place The Magic Palette

I plan on doing a review of Juvia's Place palettes once I try another one so I'll keep this short. I really love this palette, there's so much you can do with it! So far I've done 4 different looks with it and I've loved every one. The palette is so easy to use and the quality is just amazing. My only real complaint with this palette is that there's no matte green. I feel like a matte green could really tie everything together for me personally. It's not a huge deal breaker but it would be nice if a shade like that was included. Stay tuned for a full review soon!

Life's Entropy Galaxy Glow Illuminators

Shades: Aurora and Light Year

Life's Entropy have killed it with this formula! I usually don't like liquid highlighters because most are very oily and just break down any product underneath them. But this formula is just perfect for me. It's a lot thicker, almost to the point I don't want to call it a liquid highlighter but it's also not a cream. It's kind of a hybrid of the two and I just love it! Both shades are super intense and metallic but can also be sheered out to give a more subtle highlight. I highly recommend you check out these highlighters if you haven't already!

What I Bought

So.... I broke my no buy. I know, I'm disappointed too! My goal was to be on a no buy for all of April but I caved and placed an order with Darling Clandestine. At the moment, Darling Clandestine only offers pre orders and usually only has two or three fragrances up at a time. I've heard such good things about her scent Inked and as soon as I saw it was up, I grabbed it plus a bitsy of Yellowjacket. But other than those two perfumes, I stayed strong on my no buy! I think I'm going to stretch it out for the first 2 weeks of May as well since I've had some big expenses come up that has eaten into my savings.

What I Used Up

Unfortunately I completely forgot to keep my empties so I have no photos. But for next month, I will definitely keep everything so I can document it! But for now here is a list of everything I used up

Skincare:

Oh Deer Sugar- Milkshake Chocolate Block Soap

The Body Shop- Anti Imperfection Night Mask (sample)

Obscurus- Coven Whip in The Fabled Horse

First Aid Beauty- Ultra Repair Cream (sample)

Acure- Facial Cleansing Gel

Zkin- Line Smoothing Serum (sample)

Zkin- Clarifying Exfoliator (sample)

Madara- Cleansing Milk (sample)

Yes To- Acne Fighting Paper Mask

Makeup:

Essence- Instant Matt Setting Spray

TheBalm- Put A Lid On It Eye Primer

Eye of Horus- Nile Brow Define

Other:

Hanami- Nail Polish Remover Pads

Desert Shadow- Hair Silk Oil Treatment

Can you tell I went on a sample purge? This month I wanted to focus on bringing my skincare collection down to just what I use often and actually does something for me. When I first got into skincare, I bought a lot of products to try and incorporate into a routine and I also received a lot of skincare products and samples from Flora and Fauna beauty boxes. It's just all too much now. I just don't want a huge collection of skincare products that I'm not using or don't do much for me. Because of this, I won't be buying anymore Flora and Fauna boxes. While I love the company and the boxes, I find that it's much more beneficial for me to just buy products I know will work for me rather than a random number of products chosen for me by someone else. I will continue to get the Femme Fatale box though as that box focuses mainly on makeup rather than skincare.

So that was my April Recap! I hope you enjoy the new format as I certainly do!