It's a new month, so that means it's time for a new Anti-Haul! If you're not familiar with Anti-Hauls, they're about all the products I'm not buying this month. These days, the makeup world is cranking out an insane amount of products and it can be really hard to keep up with every new release. Whether I'm reading other beauty blogs, watching YouTube hauls, or following makeup news accounts like Trendmood on Instagram, it can feel really overwhelming. Sometimes I have to just take a step back and ask myself if I really need that new lipstick or highlighter palette.
There's no doubt that I'm a beauty junkie and have more products than I'll ever use up, but at the same time I'm not about to go into debt (or drain my savings account) to have all the new makeup. There are other (more important) ways that my money can be spent, so I find anti-hauls to be a much needed part of beauty blogging. Not only do they help me keep myself in check, but hopefully they help you to feel like you don't have to go out and buy every new thing that launches.
This is not to say that I think any of these products are bad...I'm sure many of them are awesome! They're just not something that I'm personally looking for right now.
Highlighter Palettes (in general):
More new highlighter palettes are launching this month (or have already launched) and to be completely honest, I'm kind of over highlighters. Every brand has come out with one or more different versions and I just feel burnt out on them. Do you feel that way too? I also have so many in my collection, it doesn't make sense to add any more. Sorry Jeffree, Manny, Huda, Anastasia, and Casey...I'm sure these are all amazing palettes. I just can't justify any more high-end highlighting palettes (I still might buy a drugstore one here and there though if they catch my eye).
Marc Jacobs O!mega Bronze Coconut Perfect Tan ($49)
Usually I can't resist anything that has to do with coconuts, or anything Kathleen Lights recommends and this bronzer falls into both categories. It looks like a fantastic product...I just can't bring myself to spend almost $50 on a
bronzer.
bh Cosmetics Carli Bybel Deluxe Palette ($19.50)
I have the first Carli Bybel palette and love it, so you might be surprised that I decided not to get this one. When I first heard that it was launching I was
all about it
. But after some thought, I reminded myself that over half the shades in this palette are the exact same ones I already have. If this had been all brand new colors, I wouldn't have hesitated for a second. I just can't see spending even $20 to get the same shades over again. That being said, if you don't own the first one (or you do and you just want the additional shades), I would definitely recommend buying this one. The formula is great and the price can't be beat, honestly! It's just not practical for me.
Benefit Cheek Parade ($58)
I
really struggled with this one because it's an amazing deal. You're getting 5 full-sized blushes and bronzers (that normally cost $29 each), so you're only paying for two of them. I purchased last year's version which already contains Hoola, Dandelion, and Rockateur (plus Dallas and Coralista), and I purchased Hoola Lite separately when it came out a few months ago. Unfortunately, it just didn't make sense for me to buy this palette for one shade, so I ended up purchasing GALifornia on its own. However, if you don't own most of these shades, this palette is really a steal. I also like having these in palette form vs those chunky little boxes that are hard to store.
Urban Decay Vice Special Effects Lip Topcoat ($18)
I'm not really a metallic lips kinda girl and I'm not sure where I would wear them in my daily life. So I'm going to pass on these, even though I normally love Urban Decay's Lip Products.
Lorac Pirates of the Caribbean Collection
It hurts me to say this because I
love Lorac so much, but...I don't think I'll be getting any of the products in the new Pirates of the Caribbean collection. The shades just don't appeal to me when it comes to both the eyeshadow palette and the lipsticks. The face palette looks interesting and I
might purchase it once I see it in person, especially if it's different than others in my collection. But honestly, I just don't need any more palettes. The only ones I'll be buying for a while are those with a shade selection that I love and know I'll use.
Ofra On the Glow Highlighting Palette ($110)
I didn't include this one in the highlighter palette collage above but I had already started this post when I found out that the brand Ofra Cosmetics had just launched at Ulta. I had to add this one in because $110 for a highlighter palette? Really?? It might be amazing. It might be the most fantastic highlighter palette ever. I don't know, but even if it is, there's just no way I would spend that much on highlighter. Nope and nope.
So here's my question for you...what products are you not buying this month? I'd love to hear about your anti-hauls!
Great post, thank you! I completely agree with you about being burned out on highlighters. Besides there being a thousand ones that are gold, silver, pink, peach, or bronze, it's like companies realize the market is over-saturated so now they're pushing out weird colors like green. Nope nope nope. I have a few nice highlighters (Urban Decay's Afterglow in Aura is my favorite) and that's enough.
ReplyDeleteAlso agree about the Lorac PofC set. The eyeshadow palette looks boring, sorry. Almost half the shades are light ones that I feel would run together.
And I have GOT to stop buying new skin care items until I use up what I have! :-)
You're right Sue, that's what I was thinking also...the makeup companies are trying to keep interest in highlighters by making new and interesting shades but I think the majority of people just wear the colors you mentioned...gold, champagne, peach, silver, pink, or bronze. I also agree with the skincare. I keep buying new products and at this point I won't use some of them before they go bad (and skincare is so expensive!).
DeleteI so love the idea of an anti-haul and it does help curb my spending. I have such a massive collection, particularly eye shadow palettes, that I've been going through and down-sizing -- which would be a whole lot easier if I stopped buying more!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about the highlighters. Enough already! Same for bronzers and contour palettes. And, surprisingly, I don't find the Lorac POC palette appealing either and I love Lorac. My wallet can breathe a sigh of relief. -- Christina D.
I feel the same way Christina! Especially with the Lorac palettes...when I first saw that they were coming out with it I thought, oh great another palette I have to buy! But the colors are just "meh" for me. :)
DeleteYes. So tired of highlighters. How many does one really need if you already have all of the standards covered shade-wise? And boring, expensive eye shadow pallets? How many do we need? The colors are always the same as every other neutral palette.
ReplyDeleteI almost bought the Benefit Dandelion Twinkle this weekend and changed my mind. I also almost bought the Benefit Cheek Parade as well, but I already have Hoola and Hoola Light won't show up on me. If that pallet had contained the Dandelion Twinkle instead of the Hoola Light, I would have bought it.
There are so many items that either just came out or are getting ready to come out, but I am not inspired to buy any of it. I may have reached my saturation point with some makeup categories.
I am, however, on the hunt for the perfect foundation and I am concentrating on skin care. I think fresh skin is a bigger deal for spring and summer than just another eye palette.
I completely agree with you! I don't know if it's because I'm getting older but every year, skincare and creating a good base for my makeup becomes more important than the makeup itself. Most of the time, I feel like drugstore makeup has come such a long way that if I have a good base to apply them to, they look fantastic. Why spend more?
DeleteBeau (that's how I think of you, lol), I just saw a photo-heavy review of Anastasia's new glow palette that has blue and purple along with white, gold, etc. and... OMG every single one looks the same to me on the blogger's skin: shiny, no color. :-O I don't have $40 to throw away like that and don't know anyone else who does either! Love your honest opinions and reviews.
ReplyDeleteAw thank you so much Sue! I love ABH but I thought the same thing when I saw that palette. :)
DeleteAgreed on the highlighter palettes. And highlighters in general. Enough is enough! The Lorac collection is also a total pass, but I admit I am intrigued by the Carli Bybel palette. Wish there were more mattes though.
ReplyDeleteThe previous version of the Carli palette was awesome and I do think it's a really good deal for the new one. I just figured I don't really need it just for the few new shades it has. :)
DeleteJust a note or two about the MJ bronzer that may sway you :) I read several IG comments that it works well for fair to light skin tones. And although the price is high, I noticed it comes with the most amount I've ever seen in a bronzer, .80 oz/25g !! In comparison, that is less than half the price of Nars Laguna per oz/grams : $49 for 25g vs. $40 for 8g ~ Audrey
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that IS a lot of product! I was actually thinking about getting it because it did look really great for my fair-light skin. But then I discovered the bareMinerals Invisible Bronze (in the Fair-to-Light shade) and it completely won me over. It feels exactly like the Hourglass Ambient powders for half the cost and the color is so amazing. So now I'm not really looking for another one, haha. :)
DeleteGreat anti-haul! I feel you on the highlighter trend. How many do we really need once we have a few that work with our skin tone? The more "natural" highlights/colors that I gravitate to almost all look the same once applied anyway. More power to people who can rock a green highlighter on their face, but that's definitely not my aesthetic, haha.
ReplyDeleteThe Lorac/POTC collab is such a disappointment. Those colors are totally uninspiring, IMO. And, after giving it more thought, the packaging doesn't enchant me as much as it did when first revealed. (Imagine what Too Faced with a metal tin, or Tarte with their round gold palettes, could have done?)
I did pick up the Benefit Cheek Parade, only because I didn't have ANY of the colors and wanted several. For me, it was an excellent deal -- even a steal! But I would have hesitated even if I had just one color in my collection already, so I understand the pass. I love all the products in the palette, though, and I'm so glad I was able to finally try Benefit's blushes.
Oh definitely! If I didn't have the Cheekathon Palette (the one Benefit released last year) I totally would have gotten the Cheek Parade. Also I agree on the Lorac/POTC collab...I was thinking it would be different somehow. :/
DeleteI definitely agree with the decision to pass up Carli Bybel palettes (1-st and 2-nd). I don't need a bunch of warm toned shadows in various medium to deep shades of brown. I prefer my bronzers to be cool toned and matte. I'll pass. The other collection that's a pass is the entire Too Faced Sweet Peach collection and Natural Love eyeshadow palettes. How many peachy-pink blushes can one really need? Their eyeshadow palettes are hit or miss and these two are a miss for me. Dark colors and my deep set eyes just don't mix. Kat Von D pastel goth eyeshadow palette. How does one wear pastel blue eyeshadow to work? Even when it's mixed with more neutral colors from other eyeshadow palettes. Pass... Kat Von D alchemy highlighting palette and Anastasia Moonchild highlighting palettes...How does one make green, blue and purple highlighters wearable? IDK. A lot of people will disagree with me on this, but I'll say it anyways. ABH Modern Renaissance eyeshadow palette. While the pigmentation is superb, how does a non Youtuber pull off a fuschia and orange eyeshadow in every day life? Add bloodshot, tired eyes into the mix and you really got a situation. Also, there's too many dark colored shadows that simply don't work with my deep set eyes. LORAC POC palettes are also a pass. Marina D
ReplyDeleteHi Marina! I totally agree with everything you said, except in the case of the Modern Renaissance palette. I don't use the bright colors in it either but there are only a few of those, and the palette is mostly neutral shades. But to your point, a lot of those are deeper browns and if you're trying to stay away from dark colors, that makes total sense. I definitely enjoy it though! :)
DeleteWhat are your thoughts on Violet Voss Ride or Die? I'm white-knuckling not to buy it. Help!
ReplyDeleteHaha I almost bought that one too. But I have her Holy Grail palette and used that as an excuse since they have some similar shades. I think her palettes are really nice but nothing too groundbreaking. :)
DeleteGreat post. You said exactly what I've been thinking about all this new makeup coming out. I love highlighters but I can't even finish the 10 I already have! Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThanks Kristina! I'm so glad you liked it. I know right? I'll never finish my stash of highlighters...ever. :)
DeleteFunny, I'm in a debate with someone about whether or not the current thing of over-highlighting is a fad. I say yes. Look at some of the bloggers, vloggers, girls on FB (not you, of course, "Beau") -- they have big globs of shiny white stuff stuck on the end of their noses, on their chins, etc. Ka-razy. Best description I've read so far is that they look like glazed doughnuts. Stop the madness! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYES! I know exactly what you're talking about...it can almost make people look sweaty. Sometimes that effect works well for photos but in real life it probably looks a bit over the top. :)
DeleteWay too many highlighters out there now, yet I keep going back to MaryLou Manizer. Thanks for your honest reviews!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! I'm so glad you like them. :) And yes...Mary Lou was one of the first (if not THE first) and is still a staple for me also. :)
DeleteI totally agree with most of the items you've listed except the BH Cosmetics palette and the Huda Beauty highlighting palette. I do have the first Carli Bybel palette, but I was interested in comparing the 1st and 2nd releases to see if the formula is the same, or even better!
ReplyDeleteIm also getting the Huda Beauty highlighter, Im hoping it will be the LAST highlighter I buy this year. Im kinda over it too, but this one seems interesting with the whole "3D effect" idea.
I also love Lorac, but the Pirates collection seems really gimmacky and the shades in the eyeshadow palette look like little girls makeup to me.
You mentioned Urban Decay; I am definitely getting the Jean Michel-Basquiat collaboration they are releasing this month (I believe April 20th). Its a must have for me, I may even buy the vault. Egad!
Sorry for the long comment. Great post as always!
I'm pretty interested in that new UD collection too! Also, I just got an email that Lorac is sending me the Pirates Collection for review so I guess I'll be getting it anyway! I'm hoping I'll be pleasantly surprised...sometimes things don't look the same online as they do in person. I know I'm going to like the cheek palette because their Color Source Blushes and Illuminators are fantastic. I just wasn't going to buy it because I have too many. The eyeshadow palette colors didn't look too interesting online but you never know! I do love that PRO formula. :)
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