[ANTI-HAUL] Vol. 5

Halloween is around the corner and soon or later, it will be Christmas. There are already Christmas sets being sold at Sephora. This can be a good thing or bad thing – Good thing if you like to get your gifts in advance and value sets that have a great value of content inside. Bad thing because it could potentially hurt your wallet. I know Christmas time is when I spend the most because of all the gifts I have to buy for family and friends. Alright, let’s hop in the list of products I will not be buying.

SUNDAY RILEY – ICE CERAMIDE CREAM 

I don’t get their prices and the sudden hype over ceramide. You do realize you can buy ceramide creams with minimal and fewer filler ingredients for a fraction of the cost? Cerave moisturizing cream, anyone? I mean, the ingredients are so-so in my eyes and 83 Canadian dollars for 50 ml? The Cerave moisturizing cream has 400 ml of product and it’s only 15 Canadian dollars. Goes to show you how crazy brands mark up their prices for eh/mediocre products. Yeah, I don’t think so. Next.

SUMMER FRIDAYS CC ME SERUM

Summer Fridays appear to become a really popular brand within a short period of time, they’re very well known for their jet lag mask. For me, during the time when I tried it, it wasn’t the best mask nor the worst – it was just okay and there are essential oils in it in case you are sensitive to that. The key ingredients look so good then when you look at the price, you’re almost shocked how expensive it is. This is very much like drunk elephant’s c-firma sister except with a heck lot of fragrance. If you’re interested in a really good brightening product, get the rohto melano cc, it works like a charm and it’s available on yesstyle & amazon.

There’s this whole crazy clean beauty movement going on and I’m not here for it. Yeah, that’s great you’ve found natural products that work for you but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for the skin; Not for all skin types at least. I would say my skin was pretty content with fragrance and essential oils in the past but I’ll tell you what – my skin has become very heavily sensitized after using essential oils for a long period of time. I used an all-natural essential oil-based brand for an entire month and it damaged my skin so badly, I was afraid that there was no way for me to repair my skin. My skin is currently alright as I am transitioning into an essential oil-free routine.

TOO FACED GINGERBREAD BRONZED & KISSED SET

I love cute stuff so much however, I never purchase Christmas collabs because they are not timeless pieces and will eventually lose their relevance. They’re for the short term and make great gifts. Of course, I find this adorable but at the same time, I’m not going to bomb 49 Canadian dollars to make this happen in my collection. There are so much better makeup pieces out there that have more worth in my collection and this one isn’t it for me. Too faced as a brand makes a lot of cute products but they’re not timeless and often seen as fast-beauty, like fast-fashion – pieces are not timeless and often go out of style. I love their eyeshadow palettes such as the chocolate series, especially bonbons but this one is no for me.

SEPHORA EYE SHADOW PALETTES IN GENERAL

Honestly… who buys these? I cannot take their palettes seriously because they truly look like children’s makeup, it looks like something you could find at Claire’s. I mean, if this works for you, great. I’ve had a few of their single eyeshadows and man, they were so powdery, it was an unfortunate scene. I’m really particular and picky with my eyeshadows, I prefer them to have a dense, rich, almost creamy formula and I find that the ABH ones are one of the best eyeshadows I have tried. I also really like the urban decay eyeshadows as well – both naked palettes and also their single + moondust eyeshadows.

That’s it for now, friends. Until next time – in the next Anti-Haul.

[ANTI-HAUL] Vol. 4

Hi! I feel like I should do one of these each month because there’s always such a high volume of new products in the market being released pretty much every week.

Beauty Blenders – In General

 

There’s better out there for a fraction of the cost. Now, before you @ me, I’ve purchased a large sum of beauty blenders in my life and to be quite frank with you all – it’s nice but it’s quite ridiculous when you hear the keywords “$20, beauty sponge”. Like, why? Listen, if you love the beauty blender and have the budget for it – continue to buy them. I’ve tried a handful of great dupes from the Sephora collection ones (specifically the pink pear one), Miss A sponges and also a Canadian brand called QUO makes great sponges. I did not like real technique sponges and I find the quality has definitely gone down throughout the years. As for the Eco Tools sponges, they’re alright, they absorb quite a bit of product.

Farsali – Lip Mask

I’m sure most of you know this brand for its iconic jelly highlighters and primer serums. I would never purchase anything from this brand simply because they’re stuff looks extremely gimmicky, not to mention the number of influencers on Instagram doing some cringey looking makeup videos with it. I don’t find any of the ingredients beneficial to my skin’s needs let alone how expensive their products are. It’s a big no or me.

Tarte brushes – In general

I don’t get it, I’ve owned a few of their brush sets in the past and to be quite frank with you all, Aliexpress and Yesstyle have the same quality as theirs for a fraction of the cost. They’re really overpriced and often tacky looking. I mean, if you enjoy this kind of style- by all means, continue to get them. I just wanted to share that there are a lot more affordable options out there and you can buy them in bunches if you want. I own quite a few brushes from Aliexpress and Yesstyle and they work perfectly fine and I’ve had them for years.

Nude Palettes – In general

They’re boring and how many do you already have? The next time you see another nude palette release, look at your collection first to see if you already have something like it or similar. Dodge these palettes if you own so many because they can quickly become excessive and it’s hoarding. If you love nudes and you use them every single day then go for it. I’m a person who does not wear eye makeup and sometimes even foundation every day because I’ve become lazy and also comfortable with my own skin so I don’t really invest my time applying makeup as I use to. However, that being said, I always wear SPF because it’s important to.

 

Sulwhasoo – In General

I love luxurious products if they’re worth my money. There’s a lot of unnecessary filler ingredients and fragrance in their products and that really turns me off about their products. I’ve tried a handful of their samples and they all smell really strong for my preference. I do prefer my skincare to be fragrance-free, simple and affordable. There’s a lot of hype on this brand too so I was iffy to share this or not but I did and I’m glad I did because we all have our preferences in what we want in our products and these just don’t fall into what I look for in skincare.

Be sure to check out my previous blog post:

Anti Haul Vol. 3
How To: Shop Online Smart
How To: Save Money

Well, that’s for now, friends. Until next time! Save your money for products you really want rather than just falling into the hype.

 

[ANTI-HAUL] Vol. 3

It’s been a long while since I’ve done one of these and well, I can tell you guys one thing – all the things I’ve said in my previous anti-hauls are things I still stand by. I’ve purchased a ton of things in the past simply because I fell into the hype of things and they turned out to be products I don’t care for nor reach so I think it’s important to share these sorts of things to remind ourselves and others that we just might not want it as much as we thought we do.

Disclaimer: Some of the products I will be mentioning are owned by controversial people however, I’m only speaking about the products themselves, not the people behind them.

KYLIE SKIN (ENTIRE LINE)

I’m not even sure why I’m listing her on my anti-haul but I’ve tried her lip products in the past and quite like them. Would I repurchase them? Absolutely not, I prefer Colour Pop lippies and they’re super affordable compared to hers. There’s so much controversy over her walnut scrub when people forgot that Ole Henricksen has one out as well and there doesn’t seem to be any negative/backlash on that scrub; makes me question if consumers are just biased and use to bashing on celebrities. I also find it quite odd that she doesn’t have an oil cleanser/cleansing balm or even an SPF product. Anyway. I wish her the best for this skincare line.

HUDA BEAUTY NEON OBSESSION PALETTES

I would be lying to all if I didn’t admit that I was going to purchase the Neon Pink one. That was the very first one that attracted me from this line however I already own one of her mini obsession palettes in gemstone and also her desert dusk palette. They’re both nice products however I just don’t reach for them and I’ve tried better shadows. I would not recommend anyone to get her standard palettes. You’re better off getting the mini palettes because there’s quite a bit of product and usually really fun, neutral colours to work with.

BODY SHIMMER PRODUCTS

There is way too much buzz on body shimmer products from Patrick Ta to ABH and Huda Beauty. Guess who’s not buying those products? -points at self- I get the whole idea of wanting to look like a shimmering, glowing goddess for summer but if anyone who knows me, I am pretty much anti-tanning. Although I respect those who enjoy tanning, I’m not a fan of it. You will likely see me hide under shades, wearing pants/mostly long sleeves and holding a UV umbrella. I know, I’m quite extreme but this is coming from someone who is a hermit and also doesn’t want to tan.

ANY COLOUR SPRAY TEMPORARY HAIR DYES

I know this is a fun concept, I get it, however, I don’t think it’s worth damaging your hair. Remember when hair chalking was a thing? I don’t think this is any different from hair chalking. What it is basically depositing pigment into the hair and it washes right off. Sounds harmless right? Wrong. The U.S. FDA announced that “the products may contain ingredients such as dyes or colorants, chemicals, and preservatives, which are not allowed and may cause allergies and adverse reaction on the scalp, head, eyes, and skin.” I’ve had my fair share of moments dying my hair whacky, bold and fun colours but those days are over for me. I think if you want something temporary, just wear a wig. I personally would never put an aerosol can with hair dye in it anywhere near me. It most certainly wouldn’t be healthy to breathe in.

If you liked any of the products that I mentioned in today’s anti-haul, please continue to enjoy them. This is just my personal take in what products that simply don’t interest me.

Anyway, that’s it for today, folks! Until next time. 🙂 Please feel free to share what things you will be anti-hauling this month/year.

 

 

Anti Haul: Chapter 2

Hello friends! Happy New Year ~ It’s been a while since I have been on here!

It’s that time again, time to anti haul some products I have been seeing on sale sections. I’ve learned one thing this year and that is not to buy things JUST because they’re on sale. I end up wasting money and I could have spent that money on something else.. Something I actually really want. I have a lot of enabler friends and they would give me excuses to buy stuff I don’t necessarily need. I never turn to their opinion anymore, I ask myself is this practical? Will I get use out of this? How many uses will I get out from this?

Tarte Life Of a Party Blush Palette: This palette looks kinda cute but tacky for the most part because who would travel with this? It’s too much to look at. As much as I love tarte blushers, I don’t see myself picking this up at all and the pans are narrow set so you have to have percise blush swiping to not hit the other pans.

Touch in Sold Metallist High Shine Cream Palette: No way in heck this palette is a cream formula. I’ve swatched this at multiple stores and it was this weird dry, play doh-like formula with no pigmentation. The glitters in it are chunky and just sad. I’m very disappointed with this product and was hoping for more pigmentation. Goes to show you that appearance of things can be quite deceiving.

I know, it looks like I’m a rampage about blush palettes and I really am. Initially, this was a palette I wanted prior to the launch because of trendmood. I love anything that has geometric, stained glass like designers however I own 2 narssist blush palettes and I do not use them. If I buy this one, this will be the 3rd one I am not reaching for. These don’t go cheap either so… thank you, next.

Silicone Sponges

Remember that crazy phase where the internet blew up with these things? I always laughed at them and thought they were ridiculous. There’s a whole bunch of brands that launched these such as sephora, milk, makeup revolution and etc. I remember seeing videos where people said there were more hygienic and easy to blend out makeup. I thought it was all a marketing scam and guess what? they still are in my eyes.

Welp, that’s it for now friends! Til next time 😉

Anti-Haul – First Chapter

Good morning, darlings! I hope we all are having a fantastic start to our week. Only 2 more days and the weekend will be here. I noticed there are quite a few blog posts and even youtube videos on this subject. I always talk about what I want but never really what I don’t want.

*Disclaimer: These are all my personal thoughts and opinions on these products. In no way or form am I shaming these brands or products.

Tony Moly x Samyang collaboration collection

I’m sure many of you know, I’m all about buying new collaborations with cute packaging. I like and dislike this collaboration for various reasons; the first would probably be I feel like cushion could look more cute and I question if whether Tony Moly and all these other korean brands are running out of ideas. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of iconic brands and things that Korea has and Samyang is one of them because the internet literally blew up with a whole bunch of fire hot noodle challenges. I just think the collaboration is weak and nothing special. It will quickly be forgotten because there wasn’t much thought put in it. When I think of Tony Moly, I think of fruit packaging and cute pandas – never have I thought that they would collaborate with an instant noodle brand. I think they should have made something dessert themed instead. Unfortunately, I will be skipping out on this collab.

Too Faced Gingerbread Spice Eyeshadow Palette

I own quite a few things from Too Faced and a lot of their eye shadow palettes are repeated shades or similar to one another. I was hoping they would go out of the box and release an eyeshadow palette with more pops of colour. The lucky clover collection was so adorable and I was hoping they would make more palettes like that. This gingerbread spice palette will be available during the holiday seasons and I believe this will be a limited edition release. If anyone knows me, I love anything fall/winter themed, hot chocolate and pumpkin/cinnamon spice scented products but I just don’t think I would get much use out of this palette for it’s shades therefore I don’t see any reason why I would pick this up other than for flatlay or reviewing purposes. I personally would not grab this palette on my own. I own way too many warm/cool tone red and brown shades to get anymore. At this point, I am hoarding a lot of palettes I don’t even use.

Etude House Lip Products *in general*

This may shock many of you because I know there’s a huge volume of kbeauty addicts/lovers who love Etude House’s lip products but hear me out… I own a lot of etude house products and they are very affordable with cute packaging. I feel like everytime I get their products it’s super hit or miss. The soda tints for example, I only find myself using the peach one the most and grape from time to time. The milk one I anticipated for turned out to be a clear gloss with a tiiiny bit of pink tint to it. Their popsicle collection was just awful, they were not tints by any means and just disappeared within one meal/hand wipe. I feel like because they produce cute packaging, they kind of half ass their formulation. This is just my personal experience with their lip products. Their cute interchangeable lipsticks are alright, I don’t find myself reaching for them either but they are better in formulation than the tints.

 

Pretty Vulgar The Powder Room – Translucent Powder

I am so done with all these high end brands releasing translucent powder and asking for outrageous amount of money. Let’s be real here, ladies & gents… It’s a POWDER, I’m sure it’s not mind blowing and it’s also TRANSLUCENT. It’s not something multi functional and be used alone. I purchased the Laura Mercier translucent powder when I first started on makeup and I have not touched it for 2 years. The only time I would ever use an expensive high end powder is if I was gifted it. Overall, it’s not worth my hard earning money to buy something to mattify or “bake” my face. I also don’t bake my face, I gently apply some pressed powder (with spf) ontop of my foundation or cushion and I’m good.

Josie Maran Vibrancy Argan Oil Full Coverage Concealer Fluid

No way in heck, I will pay 36 canadian dollars for a concealer. Concealers are just as expensive as foundations, I don’t have any heavy dark circles of blemishes to conceal so this would be absolutely pointless for me to buy or use. Also, I have purchased the Josie Maran Vibrancy Argan Oil Foundation because of Jaclyn Hill raving so much about it. I actually really hate it. Never have I felt my face so weighed down, sticky and oily. Even setting it, it still was oily and my hair would cling on to it. You know that sticky lip gloss feeling and you hair gets caught on it? yeah, exactly like that but with a foundation. You can imagine how annoying that was for me.

 

Well that is all for chapter one, friends! Have yourself a wonderful day and stay tuned for the next chapter on Dorki’s Anti-Haul.