Friends, its time to celebrate. Winter is finally, officially OVER! Apparently the changing seasons find me infected with Spring Cleaning fever. I've been organizing and decluttering like a madwoman, culminating this weekend with a ruthless clean out of my closet. Seriously. Every shoe, purse, and article of clothing came out, and only the most worthy pieces went back in. While I haven't gone to the extreme of creating a Capsule Wardrobe, I've definitely downsized significantly. Anything old, battered, or unworn is being consigned, donated, or trashed. Period. I was actually surprised at how easy it was for me to say goodbye to things I've had for ages. Perhaps its just that as we grow and our styles change and become more refined, we become less attached to the things that are no longer relevant to our tastes.
Makeup, on the other hand, is always more difficult to part ways with. I know anything old or unloved needs to go, but the process is sometimes a painful one. I may have been a bit less ruthless with decluttering my beauty stash, but I've definitely cleaned it up and made some room for new and fun things. Speaking of which, spring has got me lusting after all kinds of lovely products that are hitting the shelves. So to ring in this fresh, new season, let's swoon at these beautiful sights together.
1. Too Faced Sweet Peach Eyeshadow Palette ($49)
I am by far the only person who has their eyes on this gorgeous collection of eyeshadows. Sales of the Sweet Peach palette literally broke the Too Faced website on launch day from the sheer number of people trying to click "buy" after midnight. Even though it is currently sold out on Too Faced's site, the palette will slowly roll out over the next few weeks on other online retailers (like Ulta and Sephora), and eventually in their retail shops later next month. Personally, I'm not one to buy into the craze and will wait for the hype to die down before I consider making the purchase. It's not like I don't have more than enough eyeshadow options to pick from in the meantime.
Still, you have to agree that this palette is easy on the eyes. I love the combination of warm neutrals and juicy pops of color, which will be totally gorgeous on the eyes through spring and summer. And, in the spirit of Too Faced's cult classic Chocolate Bar Palettes, the Sweet Peach Palette adorns a sweet, peach-ring-esque fragrance that's bound to capture the hearts (or noses) of many a beauty lover.
2. Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Luminous Blush* ($34)
After the wildly popular launch of Jaclyn Hill's Champagne Pop Shimmering Skin Perfector, all eyes have been on Becca and their amazing range of super-glowy highlighters. It looks like all this hype has inspired the brand to launch a brand new blush formula that brings the best of a perfect flush and a luminous highlighter together in one. There are six shades available, all of which are formulated to work with any skin tone. One of the shades that stood out to me (pictured above) is Foxglove, a shimmering orchid that would be beautiful for spring and summer. This blush doesn't officially launch until April, but Sephora VIBs and VIB Rouge members have early access to the product now. I seriously can't wait to see swatches!
3. Nails Inc Nailpure in Mayfair Mansion Mews* ($14)
After getting the chance to try a few of the Nails Inc. NailKale polishes in the Why Not Stay In LE Birchbox, I've been dying to get my hands on some other shades. This beautifully springy pink shade is part of the NailPure line, which is formulated with a special resin complex that essentially keeps the polish "breatheable", allowing water and air to still permeate the nail bed and keep it healthy. It's also 6-free and enriched with a Regenerating Complex to promote stronger, longer nails. I'm all for making my nails look great with or without polish, so this formula sounds like it would be right up my alley. As long as its also relatively chip resistant and long wearing, I'm game.
4. Lancome Juicy Shaker ($21)
How cute is this lip product?! Seriously, I'm such a sucker for packaging. I've seen videos from a few big name bloggers that got to fly out to France to get the scoop from Lancôme on this product and I've been dying to get my hands on it ever since. While I do believe its already launched in Europe, it not available here in the states until April 21st. In the meantime you can check out Tati's awesome review and maybe your face will also turn into a heart-eyed emoji. In short, the Juicy Shakers are tinted lip oils that impart a ton of moisture and shine as well as a sheer wash of color. However, unlike the YSL Volupté Tint-in-Oil*, the pigment in the Juicy Shaker separates out from the oil base, which means you need to shake it up to mix the two together before each use. Hence the adorable cocktail shaker design. The price tag is also $10 lower than YSLs, which I can appreciate for a product that's designed to be a bit more casual and fun for the everyday. There are 14 shades available, all with appropriately adorable names and scents to match. Freedom of Peach and Wonder Melon in particular are calling my name.
5. Physician's Formula Butter Bronzer ($14.99)
I'm going to blame KathleenLights and her magical enabling powers for making me want this product. She's raved more than once about how beautiful and subtle the finish on this bronzer is, as well as how she can't get enough of its tantalizing Piña Colada inspired scent. As a fellow fair-skinned gal, I'm all about bronzers that don't make me look like an Oompa Loompa. I think this shade would would perfectly for me in the off seasons when my face is lacking any kind of a tan. The only down side is that, like all other Physician's Formula products, its kind of pricey for something found at the drugstore. I'll definitely be waiting for some kind of sale/coupon scenario before I consider making the splurge.
6. Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Fig* ($26)
I must be living under a rock, because I completely missed the fact that Bite was discontinuing their Luminous Cremé Lipstick Line until about a month after it all happened. At first I had a moment of panic. I've only ever owned the Luminous Cremé Lipstick duos, and have been wanting to purchase the full size of the shade Fig forever. I had been eyeing the display around Christmas time, but decided that I would maybe wait until the spring to buy it. After all, it wasn't a limited edition product I needed to worry about selling out.
YEAH. ABOUT THAT.
Fortunately, when Bite created the new Amuse Bouche Lipstick range, they decided to keep several of their most popular Luminous Cremé Lipstick shades around, Fig included. I haven't had a chance to swatch the new version yet to see if the color varies from the original, but I'm keeping a positive outlook. I snagged a deluxe sample of the Amuse Bouche formula in the shade Radish by redeeming 100 points for a perk at Sephora....and I have to say...this lipstick is legit. It packs a ton of pigmentation, is silky smooth, lasts forever, and smells AMAZING. Honestly, I think it gives the YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipsticks* a run for their money (sorry YSL, don't know why I'm picking on you so much today). Seriously, go to Sephora and swatch these two lipsticks and you'll see what I mean!
7. Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyeshadow Single in Macaroon* ($12)
After totally falling in love with the Self-Made Palette, I've got a new appreciation for the beauty that is Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadow. For the first time their single eyeshadow pans are being made available at large online retailers like Sephora and Ulta, with plans to roll them out in brick and mortar stores soon. As much as I'd like to own the entire collection, I think my wallet would appreciate it if I narrowed things down to a couple top choices. The standout shade to me right now is Macaroon, which is described as a pastel lavender with a Titanium finish. This super shimmery shade screams spring to me, and would be beautiful packed all over the lid. Apparently I'm not the only person who feels this way, since its sold out everywhere. But patience is a virtue, right?
8. Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Brilliant* ($38)
Much like Becca's wild success with their Shimmering Skin Perfectors, the phenomenon of the Ambient Lighting Powders has solidified Hourglass as a serious force in the beauty world. Since the then they've launched, blushes, bronzers, and now highlighting powders, all infused with the same skin-perfecting formula. While I tried not to buy into the hype with the blushes and bronzers, I have to admit that the new Strobe Lighting Powders look incredible. There are four shades available, meant to impart a glowing luminosity without a heavy metallic finish. The shade Brilliant, which has a lovely gold undertone, would probably best suit my complexion, although the pinky-peach sheen of Incandescent Light is also calling my name.
9. Tarte Tartist Lash Paint* ($23)
Once again, Lauren admits her weakness for beautiful packaging. This is quite possibly the most beautiful mascara tube I've ever seen in my life. Don't get me wrong, the formula sounds pretty great too - promising jet black lashes and a 2700% increase in lash volume. But I would be lying if I didn't say that a large part of the reason I want to try this is because it just looks so darn pretty. Right now this mascara is exclusively available on the Tarte website, but you can bet that I'll be all over it as soon as it hits the floor in Ulta or Sephora.
10. NYX Cosmetics Pro Blending Brush ($9.99)
I never realized that NYX made brushes, since they're typically only available online and not really talked about by the blogging community. Of course, now that I know they exist, I'm really curious to see how well they perform. Price-wise they are surprisingly expensive, ranging anywhere from $9 to $19 a pop, so I would highly recommend waiting for a sale before you put them in your shopping cart. I've been wanting to up my eyeshadow game as per late, so I'm really excited to try this blending brush as well as the crease brush, but both have been sold out every time I've tried to place an order. Hopefully one of these days I'll be able to add them to my collection!
11. Milani Amore Matte Lip Creme ($8.99)
Another online-only product that I've been dying to try are the Milani Amore Matte Lip Cremes. I've been loving the whole matte liquid lipstick trend, and am always on the hunt for a more affordable alternative to my favorite prestige formulas. I've been hoping that these would find their way to the in-store displays, but so far no luck. Mostly I'm just cranky about needing to spend over $25 to get free shipping, and also not being able to take advantage of any of the awesome sales I can find in the drugstore. If you've seen these in a drugstore display, I would love to hear where!
What's on your wish list this spring?
*Sephora Affiliate links. For more information about my affiliations and disclosures, click here.
