Girl, You Only Have One Face

From top left: Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation moisturizer (deluxe sample from Sephora Play): this was lightweight and didn't make me feel greasy. I would consider repurchasing this in the full size. Boscia charcoal sheet mask : it was relaxing to do a sheet mask. I guess my face felt softer afterwards? Might repurchase, but there are probably cheaper options out there. Elizabeth & James Nirvana bourbon sample: I love this scent. It's dark and sweet and kind of vanilla. I've already purchased a rollerball of this. Atelier cologne Sud Magnolia sample: this was nice at first. It's kind of an androgynous scent that was a little too strong for me after a while. I would not repurchase this in a larger size. Boscia makeup breakup cleansing oil sample: this was decent at taking off my eye makeup, but I wasn't a huge fan of the white cast it left over my eyes when it got in them. I probably would not purchase a larger size. Lancer face polish foil sample:...

In the month of October, I got a little too excited about holiday releases and value sets. So I spent more than I had planned to. In an effort to think more critically about my makeup purchases, let's talk about what I bought. ~ A "Sephora Favorites" set in "Trending: Beauty's Most Coveted" - this had a variety of popular items sold at Sephora, which I was excited to try. It contained a nude BeautyBlender , which I currently enjoy using to blend out my under-eye concealer; a mini Becca highlighter in Moonstone that I love; a mini Benefit Ka-Brow in "3" a brown shade, I haven't used this yet; a mini Cover FX Enhance Click in Bubbly, that I also haven't used yet; a full size Estee Edit shadow stick in Viper, a smudgy black eyeliner I plan to give to my sister; a Foreo Luna Play that I really need to use, good reminder; a mini Glamglow Supermud , haven't used yet since I'm still working on other masks; a full size Kat Von D tatt...

Starting with the Fresh packets, going clockwise: ~ Fresh soy face cleanser (foil sample): Meh. It was an okay cleanser, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the smell. I have a larger deluxe sample from the Sephora birthday gift to use up too... ~ Fresh lotus youth preserve face cream (foil sample): This felt nice going on at night, but I usually woke up feeling oily, so I would not purchase a full size of this. ~ Clinique liquid face soap (deluxe sample): I think this was the dry skin version, and I have combination/oily skin. It was fine, and I liked that it smelled like sleepytime tea. I would probably not purchase a full size. ~ Sephora outrageous volume mascara : I was able to use this for 4 months before it started looking clumpy. I really liked it at the beginning though! I would consider repurchasing once I work through my mascara samples. ~ Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black (Sephora sample): I love the dark, spicy, amber scent of this perfume. I have a Sephora favor...

Here are the products I used up last month : (from left to right) ~ Drunk Elephant C-firma Day Serum (sample from Sephora) - this leaked out of the sample container, hence the orange smudges everywhere. However, I liked it enough to repurchase the full size! It smells like honeysuckle, and I felt like my skin was more radiant when I used it regularly. ~ L'Oreal felt tip eyeliner - I wish I could say which one, but the writing rubbed off. It was my first liquid liner, and it worked decently well, but I found that my overly sensitive, blinky eyes do better with the lighter pressure of brush tips. I would not repurchase this. ~ Lancome Energie de Vie deluxe sample (from my August Sephora Play! box) - I'm not sure if this was a moisturizer? A serum? A moisturizing serum? Regardless, I put it on my face every night until it was gone. I didn't really notice any difference in my skin. I didn't really like how perfumey it was - I would not repurchase this. ~ Nest Citr...

"Come on, girl! You only have one face!" It's what I tell myself when I start aimlessly shopping for makeup. In the last year, I developed a bit of a shopping addiction, specifically makeup shopping.Writing a blog is my effort to keep myself accountable to start focusing less on buying. I'm going to focus more on using, first and foremost, and then on adding thoughtfully to my makeup wardrobe. This blog is most likely going to be my online makeup-focused diary. I don't have that many people to discuss this with in real life. And somehow posting a blog feels more anonymous than posting on reddit. (If you're interested in any makeup/usage discussion, head to r/makeuprehab or r/muacjdiscussion - some of those subreddit themes will likely influence my ramblings.) Here's a bit what to expect from me: empties posts, reviews, and random thoughts. The word "haul" is dangerous for me, but I might occasionally talk about items I've purchased recent...