Tis the Season!

So now that summer has gone and Autumn is here, that can only mean one thing.....  HOLIDAY GIFT SETS! It's a great way to test out some brands that you otherwise might not choose to indulge in. Alt least, that's how I see it. I love high end brands, but sometimes their price tags turn me away\...enter in the holiday value sets.... So! I've always lived way too far to go pick these bad boys up, but this year, I was finally in shopping range. *squealllllll* I always do extensive research to figure out what I want to buy before I got to the store, it just helps a lot, because let's face it, makeup shopping can be so overwhelming....especially with all these stellar options!

UGH Benefit. They always get me. They always have one of the best deals around holiday season, and this year is definitely no disappointments! There are 3 different tins that you can pick up and all of them are priced differently and all come with different products, but the best part is that all of them come with a few full size products!  I got the "It's a Love Fest," set that came with a full size of They're Real, full size Porefessionals, sample size of sunbeam and a sample size of coralista; lip gloss edition. Unfortunately coralista blew up in shipping so I never got to try it, but from what I saw, it was a lovely color haha.

It was an easy decision for me, because I've been wanting full sizes of Porefessionals and They're Real for years, it feels like haha AND THE BEST PART, this whole set was only $36! How amazing is that?! They're real is one of my holy grail mascaras and I can't believe I finally have a full size, haha Porefessionals is UHMAYZING. I don't put it all over my face, just where my pores are larger, and it works wonders! I'm trying to figure out if I like sunbeam, do you guys use it? What's the best way to go about using it? 

Okay, okay. Hold the phone. I've wanted to try Smashbox for SO LONG, but that's one of those brands where the price tag allllwayyysss turned me away. And then I found this gem. I'm kind of glad that none of these are full sized, because if I would've gotten a full size of any of these products and hated it, I'd feel bad for wasting such highly priced products.... 

The main reason I bought this honestly is for the primer and the eyeliner, which is ironic, because I don't usually wear eyeliner haha Their primer is pretty good, it's what everyone says it is, BUT I wore this primer on half of my face and ELF's primer on the other half of my face and honestly.... I couldn't see major differences in the quality or appearance, so.....ELF's primer is a great alternative if you're looking for something a little less inexpensive. 

The eyelid primer is amazing, it's so creamy and it seriously lasts all day long, no creasing at all. 

The eyeliner is everything I  hoped it would be! tight line my upper lash line and it doesn't smudge, AT ALL. The mascara is okay, it's nothing out of this world. It separates really well and it doesn't clump, but mine was a little dry...I don't know if that's a normal thing or if I just got a dud product, but paired with Benefit's They're Real, it's a lovely combo. & as for the lip gloss, I don't normally wear things on my lips, but this color is gorgeous. I just don't like how shimmery it is. 

All in all for $19 this is a fabulous deal! Especially if you're looking to try Smashbox without having to empty out your wallet! 

& now the man of the hour.......THE TARTE GORGEOUS GETAWAYS! 

The amount of gold on this box...it was almost impossible to photograph haha 

Okay, I may be bias because I've loved Tarte for a while....All of their products are beyond five star, and their cruelty free, so you know, double win. Anyway, I've never tried Tarte eye shadows, primarily because I was waiting for a day like this to roll around haha So Sephora and Ulta both have their own version of this set essentially, and honestly I'm probably going to wind up having both of them ahha. I got this one first because, well, Sephora was sold out of this. But thank goodness I snagged the last one of this baby at my Ulta! 

So there's 16 full sized eye shadows in this palette, in which they're all inspired by some of the most gorgeous destinations around the world! It also has 4 full size blushes & lip glosses that are in limited edition shades specifically for this set. If you love neutral shades like I do, then this set is definitely for you! I live in neutral shades, so I was instantly won over. The eye shadows are very pigmented and they go on smoothly, I would suggest wearing a primer though, it helps the color stay vibrant longer. While these don't necessarily crease over time, the color itself does tend to fade slightly. 

Here's close ups of all the different palettes, in order from left to right of the above photo; 

So Taj Mahal is the only shade that has shimmer in this palette, which is great cause I love me some matte shades! But Taj Mahal is an amazing color for highlight! 

This is the only palette that actually is all shimmer shades, but Great Sphynx and Belgian Chocolate aren't as shimmery as Pacific Sunset & Santorini Bikini. and LET ME TELL YOU, Pacific Sunset has got to be my all time favorite from this whole set, it's such a flawless color, I love putting it on my lids for my smokey eye 

The two shadows on the left are matte and the two on the right are shimmery in this palette, and Buckingham Palace is purrrrrfect for smokey eye.....even though it is shimmery.

So for some reason these photographed really weird, because Space Needle is actually brownish and not blackish haha but anyway. Two left is shimmery Two right is matte. Gold Coast is my favorite here. I use it to highlight the middle of my lids to brighten up my eyes (smokey eyes are a little too dark for me some times hehe) 

THE BLUSH! Oh my goodness, I've been living in the dark ages, and I don't know why I never picked up more of thier blushes before....because they are perfect. Spontaneous does have a hint of shimmer in it, so if you're not into glitter this may not be the right shade for you, but none the less these are 

a m a z i n g

Lighthearted is probably my favorite, it's such a nice pink color! I love that these are so pigmented but when you apply them, they're not incredibly overpowering. 

I didn't even mention the best part! So you're probably wondering, "What's all those ribbons sticking out Angela?!" WELL MY LOVES, Let me tell you! The most wonderful thing about this palette is that they're all removable so that you can bring your favorite palette with you on your Gorgeous Getaway (see what I did there? hehe) 

So at first the drawer wouldn't open for me......until I basically ripped it out haha but the compact it comes with is adorable. I love gold & I love bows, so again, I may be bias haha

Next to the little compact are three lovely lip glosses!  Like I mentioned before, I don't normally wear products on my lips, but I did swatch these....but my camera decided to go on the fritz and I don't have photos of those anymore, but if you'd like me to add some swatches of them, just let me know! They're pretty tacky and they smell minty, but the colors are beautiful! 

So there's that! All in all, this is a great value set, especially if you love Tarte, know someone who loves Tarte, or you're looking to start your own collection. I especially love that these shades are toned down and everything, down the the lip gloss shades, are colors that can be worn every day and not just special occasions.

Sorry of my excessive rambling....like I said....holiday sets get me excited haha. What sets have you picked up or do you have your eye on? Let me know down below! 

 

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