My First Low Buy Month -What I Bought in February
Full disclosure: I almost didn’t write this post because well… I went over my allotted amount of items. I have no excuse. I mean, I do, I wasn’t planning on going over my five item limit but you know…shit happens. I will say that everyone of my purchases were thought out - with the exception of one - and were items I’d wanted for awhile.
Marigold Shadows Alver Quilted Coat
I have had this coat on my wish list since November of last year. I kept looking at it and looking at it and I’d saved it to my fashion wish list on my Instagram. But I held off because it was freezing here in Chicago and I couldn’t justify buying a coat I wouldn’t be wearing for awhile. But we are heading into Spring now and the coat was on sale and I decided it was time to grab it. It hasn’t arrived yet. And I am so excited to try it on and hopefully it looks as good in real life as it does online. I have a few other items from Marigold Shadows that I love and that I always get compliments on. They carry really unique and interesting items and it’s one of the things that attracted me to this coat - I won’t see it on a bunch of other people.
Pat McGrath LuxeTrance Lipstick in Donatella
This was one of my final purchases in February. Pat McGrath had a huge sale on her LuxeTrance lipsticks on Cyber Monday last year. They were all $10 (regularly they are $40) so you can imagine the pandemonium that ensued during that sale. I picked up five shades and was trying to be good but I have regretted not purchasing Donatella. Word on the street is that Pat is discontinuing the LuxeTrance line altogether (hence the clear out sale). Sephora still had a few shades available and so I went ahead and paid full price (cough, cough) to grab Donatella while I still could. I’m so sad about the LuxeTrance line being discontinued. Of her two formulas (MatteTrance being the other) Luxe was my favorite.
Pat McGrath Mothership VI Midnight Sun
This post is Pat McGrath heavy if the photo tile didn’t give that away. Pat was having a 20% off sale on all items and I had told myself that I wouldn’t purchase Midnight Sun UNLESS I could get it on sale. And so I felt comfortable making this purchase since it was longtime wish list item and I got a decent discount on it. And I added it to my “monthly makeup box” for March so I plan on playing it with quite bit. I’ve used it a handful of times already and I love it. Specifically the first three shades on the top and bottom rows.
Nars Afterglow Palette
This was my first purchase in February after my no-buy month. I’m on the fence about it. It’s a pretty palette but I’m not completely wowed by it. The formula of the mattes remind me a lot of the mattes in the Charlotte Tillbury Icon palette. Almost creamy. I need to play with it a bit more before I can form a full opinion on it. Right after I purchased this palette I had a reaction/eczema flare-up on my eyelids (this happens to me at least once a year during the winter months) and didn’t wear eyeshadow for the majority of February.
Stellar Limitless Foundation
This was the one purchase I would characterize as a true impulse buy. It’s been on sale on the Sephora site for awhile now and I kept scrolling past it. But I felt a genuine curiosity about it - like I do most foundations. I recently decluttered about 80% of my foundation collection and am slowly looking to build it up with foundations I truly love instead of a bunch of lackluster ones and only a handful of great ones. This foundation so far has blown me away. It’s so nice! It’s one of those foundations that has you checking yourself in the mirror and marveling at how good it looks hours later. I’ve been wearing it non stop since I got it the final week of February. I believe Stellar is leaving or has left Sephora and that makes me sad because now I feel the need to buy a backup of this foundation before it’s gone! This was definitely a successful impulse buy.
Lime Crime Prelude Chroma Palette
I ordered this on leap day as a final hurrah. It was on my Spring wish list and, like with Midnight Sun I told myself I wouldn’t buy it unless I could get it on sale. Which I did. 30% off. So I feel pretty good about that. I also replaced a few items that I use regularly (one of them being Lip Blaze in Fern which I wear constantly) when I ordered this (I’m not counting replacements in my low buy - only new items coming in). It hasn’t arrived yet but this color story is beautiful and unique and I have really been enjoying Lime Crime products lately.
Sonia G Sky Eye Brush Set
There were only 3 things that I had on my “must” purchase list in February: The new Pat McGrath concealer and powder, the Nars palette and this eye brush set from Sonia G. It sold out so quickly when it first launched and Sonia announced on her blog that it would be restocking in March. I was fully prepared to break my no-buy this month for it lol. But I didn’t need to because it restocked early. One of my makeup goals this year is to invest in good brushes. Every makeup artist I know talks about the importance of good brushes and how that can make all the difference in makeup application and technique. And so I have slowly started collecting high end brushes. This was my first full set and I started using it this week. And they are BEAUTIFUL. And they apply and blend eyeshadow like a dream. This particular set was created for people with hooded eyes - which I have. The brush shapes are similar to her Worker and Builder brushes but smaller. This was a major purchase but brushes like these can last for literally years if you take care of them properly so I consider them an investment.
Pat McGrath Skin Fetish Sublime Concealer and Blurring Under-eye Powder
This combo were the other items on my “must” list. I had the launch date on my calendar. I ordered two shades of the concealer because I wasn’t sure which one I would need, shades M15 and M17. I opted to keep M17 and return M15. This concealer is lovely. I have been pairing it with the Stellar Limitless foundation. The Stellar foundation is low medium to medium coverage and I prefer a fuller coverage look to cover some of my hyperpigmentation from acne scarring. What I have been doing is applying a bit of this concealer over the areas that I want more coverage, lightly setting it with powder and them applying the Stellar foundation. I have been wearing this under my eyes as well and while I like the way it looks initially, through the course of the day I feel like it starts to look a bit dry. And I don’t set my undereye concealer so it’s the concealer on it’s own. It’s a matte finish which I like on my face but no so much under my eyes. I may switch back to my Nars Radiant Creamy and use this for my face. As for the blurring powder, like I said I don’t powder my under eyes but the blurring effect of this powder looks ah-mazing on pores. I have been using it on on the pores around my nose as a finishing powder.
And that’s it folks. So yes- more than 5 items, but I don’t feel like I went crazy last month. I think for me the biggest struggle is missing out on things I want when I know I can buy them. April will be a test since that is usually when the Sephora VIB sale happens. Pray for me.
