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Just like I shared my favorite clothes purchases of 2020 (Read about that HERE), I wanted to round up and review some of my beauty purchases of the year. I know that many people might think that 2020 wasn’t the best year to be buying many beauty products since most of us spent the year at home, but for me, 2020 was all about beauty products, especially makeup. Doing my makeup helped me get through the year. It made me feel good about myself and helped give me some normalcy in my life during all the chaos of 2020.
Over the years my makeup collection has changed. I went from buying inexpensive drug store products often, to buying more quality beauty products less often. As I age, I look for different qualities in makeup beyond the price tag. I do still care about price and that’s why you won’t see me splurging on a $60 bottle of foundation. When I look for higher-end quality beauty brands, I look for brands without an outrageous price tag that often go on sale.
This year I have learned a lot about how to buy beauty products at an affordable price. First of all, I find that the best sales are on the direct websites of the brands. It’s not impossible to find a good deal at stores like Sephora or Ulta, but I found that buying directly from the brand’s website is the best way to get a deal. In my personal experience this year I noticed that the sales were better and more frequent throughout the year on the brand’s websites. The second tip to save money on beauty products is to join their rewards programs. You will earn points when you make a purchase and also get free gifts and email updates on the sales.
It Cosmetics– CC+ cream oil-free matte with SPF 40- Color medium
If you follow me on Instagram I’m sure you have seen me share my It Cosmetics CC cream. This stuff is my favorite everyday foundation. I bought it in the spring when I saw a buy one get one free sale on the It Cosmetics website. I couldn’t pass up the deal. I picked the oil-free matte CC cream over the original CC cream because my skin is on the oily side. I’m glad I did, especially during the summer months because I felt the oil-free CC cream helped keep the oils and shine down on my face.
I highly recommend It Cosmetics to everyone that I come in contact with. What I like about it is that it’s so much more than a foundation. It’s a skincare product. It has sunscreen and anti-aging serums in it. It’s perfect for all skin types and especially great for aging skin. If you are someone who doesn’t like a heavy foundation or doesn’t wear a lot of makeup, this would be perfect for you too. I plan to try more products from It Cosmetics this year so I will let you know how I like them as I test them out.
Tarte Cosmetics– Amazonian clay matte waterproof bronzer- Color- hotel heiress
I was in need of a new bronzer during the LTK Day sale over this summer and Tarte had 30% off. I picked out this matte bronzer in the darker shade of hotel heiress. One thing that shouldn’t really matter, but it’s something that I always make a big deal about is the packaging. Tarte does an amazing job with its packaging and branding. I love the case that this bronzer comes in. It’s very pretty and well made. But don’t just judge this book only by its cover because it’s also the best bronzer I have ever used! It’s very pigmented and easy to blend out. It doesn’t leave any streaks. A little bit goes a long way, so even though it’s a more expensive bronzer for me to buy with a price tag of $30, it lasts so much longer than other drugstore bronzers I have used.
Tarte Cosmetics– Tarteist quick dry matte lip paint- color Salty
I know that 2020 probably wasn’t a big year for lipstick for most people because of having to wear a mask when you leave the house, but I still love wearing some color on my lips even if I have to wear a mask over it. This lip paint from Tarte is perfect for mask-wearing because it doesn’t rub off. It stays on my lips all day. It doesn’t ever feel cakey or thick. You also don’t have to worry about it getting on your teeth or all over the glass you are drinking out of. That’s why I’ve been raving about this lip paint all year.
ColourPop– Eye shadow palette- Blush Crush
Last year I bought an eye shadow palette from ColourPop and I loved it. An eye shadow palette is probably the last thing that I needed to buy this year, but I couldn’t help myself during cyber week. I bought this blush crush palette to mix up my eye shadow colors a bit.
What I really love about ColourPop eyeshadow palettes is that they have the best mix of colors. I love the mix of their pressed powder shadow and super shock shadows. It’s a mix of shimmery colors and glitter along with everyday matte finishes. What I love most is that you get such a high-quality product at an affordable price. Their palettes start around $14.
Tarte Cosmetics– Lights, camera, lashes 4-in-1-mascara
I had really high hopes for this mascara. I was able to try out a sample size of this mascara from Tarte as a birthday gift from their rewards program. I had heard so many great things about this mascara, but when I finally tried it out my verdict was that it was just an okay mascara. I didn’t dislike the mascara but I also didn’t love it. It is supposed to lift and lengthen your lashes, but when I used it on its own, I felt like I had to put a lot of coats of it on my lashes to achieve that look and I still felt like my lashes were left feeling lifeless. However, when I used the mascara with my L’Oreal voluminous primer it helped give me the look the mascara claims to give.
This is why I love testing out samples before I make a purchase. I probably won’t buy this mascara, but I’m not going to write it off just yet. I just think that this mascara wasn’t the right fit for me. I would still love to try some other mascara from Tarte, especially their Big Ego and Lash Paint mascaras.
Tarte Cosmetics– Amazonian clay 12-hour blush– color quirky
This blush also came with my birthday rewards gift and I’m such a fan of it. Just like the Amazonian clay bronzer, the blush didn’t disappoint. I’ve been using this one every day and because it’s so pigmented I feel like I haven’t even started using it yet. Sometimes when you get a really good product the travel size is all you need.
Tarte Cosmetics–Amazonian clay full coverage foundation SPF 15
I was looking for a good full coverage foundation to wear as an alternative to my CC cream. Because I really liked everything I had bought from the Amazonian clay collection at Tarte I decided to try this foundation out. As I mentioned before I have oily skin, so I almost always go with a matte finish. This foundation is great for oily skin, however, I wouldn’t recommend it if you have dry skin. It almost feels like a powder finish after it goes on. I feel like it dries quickly so you have to work quickly to blend it in. I do like the full-coverage matte finish I get from the foundation. Will I buy it again? I’m not sure. I feel like I would like to try out some other foundations first before I commit to this one again.
Olive & June nail polish- Color Obsessed
Olive & June is one of those brands that I was totally influenced to buy because of Instagram. I’m so glad I did because I love this nail polish brand. I consider myself to be a nail polish junky. I would buy a cheap bottle of nail polish on almost every grocery shopping trip I made. What I realized while cleaning out my nail polish this year is that I’ve wasted a lot of money on nail polish. $2 here and there adds up and then it all goes in the trash when it gets too gooky to use. That’s why this year I decided to stop buying the cheap nail polish that chips quickly and doesn’t last. Instead, I am allowing myself to buy 1 nail polish color per season at a higher price (nail polish isn’t that expensive, so spending $8 on a bottle of it isn’t really that big a deal.). During cyber week I bought the color-obsessed from Olive & June as my winter nail color and let’s just say I’m obsessed! I’ll probably buy another color from this brand for spring!
Olive & June nail polish- topcoat
The Olive & June topcoat is a must. Without it the topcoat, the nail polish is good, but with the topcoat the nail polish is amazing! I couldn’t believe that I was able to go a full week without chipping my nails. I do a lot of dishes (and forget to wear gloves) and I’m always washing my hands or bathing a baby. My nail polish always takes a beating, but this topcoat helps keep it in place. It also dries quickly which I really appreciate.
Olive & June Cuticle Serum
I wanted to try this cuticle serum for the longest time. During the winter my cuticles get rough, so I love having this cuticle serum to use whenever I need it. I think that the serum does a great job when I use it, but to be honest unless I’m doing my nails I forget to use it. I need to get better at using it. I like the little applicator sponge. It makes it easy to use with no mess. Will I buy it again? For $15, I will have to see how I like it after I use the whole bottle.
Tarte Cosmetics– Tartiest double take eyeliner- Color black
This eyeliner was both a hit and a miss for me. It’s a double-sided eyeliner with both a pencil and a liquid pen. The liquid pen liner is amazing! I don’t use liquid eyeliner often because I can never get it right, but this liquid liner makes me want to change that. It’s very pigmented and creates such a clean line that doesn’t flake like the other liquid eyeliners that I’ve tried. If you wear liquid eyeliner a lot, this one is a good one.
What I do use every day is an eyeliner pencil and this pencil was not my favorite. I felt like it lacked pigmentation. It stays on well, but it was just hard to put on. I’m not going to give up on using the eyeliner pencil. You never know, I could always change my mind, but as of right now I probably won’t buy this eyeliner again.
ColourPop–Creme gel liner
I may not of loved the Tarte eyeliner pencil, but the Colour Pop eyeliner did not disappoint. This gel liner goes on so smoothly and lasts all day. What I really love about this eyeliner is that it doesn’t cake up into the corner of my eye like other brands I’ve used in the past. It’s also very affordable at only $6. I will for sure buy this eyeliner again.
Tarte Cosmetics– Tartelette Flirt eyeshadow palette
To close out my year of buying Tarte products I had to try one of their eye shadow palettes. I went with the Flirt palette because it’s filled with colors that I use daily. I love the pigmentation of the eye shadow. The palette comes with a good mix of matte and shimmer colors that you can use every day. My only complaint is that there isn’t a light shimmer color for highlighting under your brows and in the corner of your eyelid. I do like the smaller eyeshadow palette. Whenever I buy a large eyeshadow palette with lots of different shades, I feel like I never finish using it. I get overwhelmed by the number of colors, so not only is it cheaper to buy a smaller eyeshadow palette, but I feel like I get more use out of the smaller palettes. I bought this eyeshadow palette as a combo with the eyeliner (HERE), which is a better value altogether.
Those are the beauty products I bought in 2020. Have you tried any of them yourself? What did you think? Be sure to follow with my over on Instagram @thriftywifehappylife, if you want to see more beauty product reviews!
Katie🤍
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