So I just came back from retail therapy and holy smokes it was stressful to shop there because it was so crowded! (Side note: this is more like a mini haul considering how I've already bought a lot of makeup lmao).
Nude By Nature Essential Collection
After a month of wanting to buy this collection (and missing out the Chemist Warehouse sale ;-;) I finally bought the Essential Collection! It was also the last one there so I'm feel lucky lol. All of the brushes feel very soft and I like how each brush is labelled (for brush noobs like me). I've tried all of them except for the lip brush, eyeliner brush and the blending brush.
Starting with the concealer brush, I was a bit confused on how to use it because I was so used to using a beauty sponge. I think I just need to get used to not applying as much concealer since the brush doesn't absorb as much product. It felt a bit weird because I'm used to using a damp sponge so using it dry was a bit of an experience (was I even supposed to wet it lmao). Apart from my confusion, it did apply my concealer nicely and I'm surprised I don't see any streaks of concealer on my face.
The powder brush was nice and soft to use. I will say the brush is a lot smaller than my Elf Flawless Face Brush, so I guess it could also be used for a blush brush as well, but I think I'll just stick to using it for my pressed powder. The kabuki brush was a bit confusing since I thought the powder brush should be enough for my pressed powder but I guess I have another brush for some loose/pressed powder? I decided to use it as my blush brush. Even though it's small, it still does its job of applying blush to my cheeks. Then we have the eyeshadow brush. On the box it says to use it to put an eyeshadow base all over the lid but I'm using it as my highlighter brush.
And then we have the makeup bag itself. I was surprised to see those elastic brush holders in the bag- I thought it was just gonna be like a pencil case type bag. I'm also impressed that I can fit my face products in there. At the moment, it's carrying two pressed powders (I'll get to this in the next section lol), concealer, blush and highlighter. It also fits in my bag so now I can actually do my makeup on the train rather than rushing in the morning lol.
L'oreal Wake Up and Glow Melon Dollar Baby Blush
Before buying this, I was constantly tossing over Melon Dollar Baby and Life's A Peach. I saw a lot of good reviews of Life's A Peach and how they say it gives a warm glow (kinda like a blush + bronzer shade) and it's a buildable colour. But when I swatched it today, it looked a bit more of an orange colour. This was the first blush I've bought so I thought Melon Dollar Baby felt like the right shade for me. In the summer my cheeks can get naturally flushed so Melon Dollar Baby felt like the nice shade to wear, especially during the winter. One thing I'd like to point out is that because Life's A Peach had a mirror in it, I thought that Melon Dollar Baby would have a mirror as well. But when I got home, there was no mirror. I spent 30 minutes trying to pry it open there's no mirror. I was so excited because I'm desperate for a compact mirror which is why I'm carrying two pressed powders at the moment because one of them has a mirror in it (yes I'm that desperate).
Apart from the packaging issue, I do love the colour. It's light but it makes it easy for me to build it up. I can build up the colour during the winter and when it's summer, I can lightly apply it so my face doesn't look too pink. Plus, it smells like watermelon so that's a bonus. And once again, there was only one Melon Dollar Baby blush when I was there so lucky me!
Also, since when did Priceline sell Physician's Formula?! When I was waiting in line to pay, there was the discounted products near the cash registers and I stumbled across the Physician's Formula Butter Blush (although it doesn't look like a matte blush so I didn't get it).