Santa Baby... Was good to me!

Hi there dolls! I hope you all had a happy Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa! I hope that your holidays were spent surrounded with family and friends, and you got just what you wanted. Santa was very good to me this year and brought me some fabulous beauty treats. I asked for a few of my faves but also got some great new products that I have been wanting to try out. I got a lot of goodies from NYX and Stila that I love (my beloved Eyebrow Push-Up Bra and Stay All Day Liquid Liner among them) but I wanted to share with you some of my favorite newbies and some great kits!

Crown Infinity Brush Set

I had been eyeing this set on HauteLook months ago, but missed the opportunity to get them before they sold out. I picked the set of 8 synthetic duo-fiber kabuki on sale on Black Friday for $45 (this was a gift from my mom... I picked it out, she paid!). These brushes are ridiculously amazing. They are quite similar to Sigma's Sigmax Set (see side-by-side pics, my brushes are on top and to the left) and MAC's Duo Fibre brushes. The Sigmax set is priced at $146! I have been extremely impressed with the quality of these brushes. I did some research on these and found out that they come highly recommended by 3 time Oscar winning makeup artist Ve Neill (she has worked on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Spiderman, and The Hunger Games... just to name a few!).  They pick up product amazingly without absorbing and wasting it. The 8 brush set includes 4 large kabuki brushes (tapered, flat top, round top, and angled) and 4 small versions of the same for precision application.The large flat top kabuki applies liquid and cream foundation flawlessly! I use airbrush makeup and this is the closest I have ever encountered to an airbrush finish. I love the small angled kabuki for precise contouring (cheekbones and

nose) and then I blend out with the large angled kabuki. The large angled kabuki is especially amazing when contouring large areas of the face like the jawline and forehead. These quality brushes make my contouring/highlighting routine so much easier and blend out effortlessly! The small tapered kabuki is perfect for under-eye concealing. I like the large tapered kabuki for highlighting. I find the round top kabuki brushes (both large and small) to be best at buffing out powder products. I could not find the Infinity brushes sold as a set on the Crown website, so apparently they are a HauteLook exclusive. Keep checking the HauteLook website, they usually feature Crown every couple of months so you should be able to score them on sale again soon!


Lorac Close Up Red Carpet Pro Face Tutorial 

My love muffin got this for me after a few not-so-subtle hints, and this kit is an amazing value! I had been wanting to try the Lorac Pro Powder Cheek Stain for a hot minute. The blush is usually $20 but this kit is $42 and you get 3 full-size products and 2 deluxe-size products. The kit includes: Pro Powder Cheek Stain in Rosy Glow, Pro Mascara, Lip Lustre Lip Gloss in Peach Lustre, Mini Pro Palette (3 shades), and POREfection Mattifying Face Primer (0.85 oz.). I absolutely LOVE this cheek stain, it is a super pigmented and super long-lasting formula that goes on smooth and silky... but be forewarned that the formula sets quickly so blend out fast! The Mini Pro Palette contains 3 shades (shimmer beige, matte light brown, matte espresso). I prefer to use a wet brush (I spray my brush with water or UD De-Slick) to apply these shadows. They are very pigmented and the Lt. Brown and Espresso are much darker than they appear in the pan. The mascara is very similar to Make Up For Ever's Smoky Extravagant mascara with its extra large tapered cone-shaped wand. I did not have high expectations for this product since I basically purchased this kit just for the blush, but was quite surprised by the crazy volume and separation this mascara creates. The primer is almost one ounce, just 0.15 oz. shy of the full-size version. I am not completely convinced that this primer is mattifying. I am an oily gal and noticed a good bit of shine on my nose and forehead a few hours after applying my makeup. I don't love the Lip Lustre Lip Gloss, the color is beautiful but there is too much shimmer for my taste and it is a bit thick and sticky. Overall, if you can still get your hands on this kit (Ulta.com is sold out!) grab it! It's an awesome deal on high quality products!

Lancome Hypnose Drama Set
I was so happy to get this from my little sister! If you have ready any of my previous posts you know that Hypnose Drama is my all-time favorite mascara, and this kit also contains two other amazing products from Lancome: ArtLiner Liquid Liner in Noir and Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover (the best makeup remover EVER!). Hypnose Drama is $27 at the Lancome counter but this kit includes the mascara, full-size liner, and a deluxe-size makeup remover all for $33! This kit is till available on sephora.com, so jump on it!

Did you get any special beauty gifts over the holidays?! I would love to hear what you got, so feel free to share in the comments below!


Keep up with new blog posts by liking me on Facebook or following me on Instagram!
I will have a NYE tutorial posted tomorrow evening and then my 2013 Favorites will be posted on Tuesday!

xoxo,
Alicia