USA Haul - Sephora & Nordstrom

Last holiday season, my husband’s aunt was travelling to US. I did not let this opportunity wasted by asking a favor from her to bring back some goodies from US. I did the shopping online at Sephora and Nordstrom and asked them to deliver the goods to my aunt’s address in US. I had so much fun shopping online on both websites because it is something that we cannot find here in our country (Boo hoo hoo, I know). All of those brands to shop..made me drool all over the floor! Unfortunately I couldn’t shop them all or else my credit card would cut itself into two hahaha. 

These are the stuffs I managed to click away to the shopping cart. 

From top to bottom:

Dior Nail Polish in Massai

Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer

Givenchy Le Rouge in Corail Decolette

Aveda Dry Remedy Moisturizing Mask

Chloe Miniature Perfume

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette

Tom Ford Lipstick in Indian Rose

Eyeko Eye Do Liquid Eyeliner

The amazing thing when you shop for cosmetics in US, they are very generous in giving out samples. Sephora gave me 3 free samples to choose on my way out from the online store. I also got a small birthday present too to claim from Make Up Forever. That is not all, there were some promo code around, so I put one in and got myself another sample size of Fresh Black Tea Age Delay Eye Concentrate. Really happy because I have been wanting to try Fresh skincare line for quite sometime.

Nordstrom blew me off with their gift with purchase bonus. I got a whole bunch of samples which most of them are the best selling products in Nordstrom and also a small sample package from Bobbi Brown. Trust me when I said that I was beaming ear to ear when I finally got to open my package at home. I felt so ecstatic!  

So here I am as a true make up and beauty addict would like to share these gorgeous babies with all of you beauty lovers out there. Will do review on most of them, especially the ones that I actually bought. I finally got myself a Tom Ford lipstick!! Yeayyyyy!! Thank you for reading, darling!

The perfume vials

The skincare samples

Nordstrom also threw in a pretty burgundy faux leather clutch too

Cheers,

Stef

Hourglass Ambient Light Blush in Ethereal Glow and Diffused Heat

Hourglass has been one of the brands that people raving about lately (or at least I think it started around a year ago). Many beauty enthusiasts swear on their Veil Mineral Primer as the best primer ever. The Ambient Lighting Powder also get lots of love from the world due to its ability to recreate the most exquisitely flattering light—from ethereal moonlight to luminous candlelight, as what the website claimed. And then, there comes the Ambient Lighting Blush. They combine the Ambient Lighting Powder with cheek color in order to get that radiant and glowing cheek. It said that each pan is handmade to ensure its balance between the colors and the powder, that is why each blush is one of a kind and they will not have the same pattern on the pan. Wonderful, yes? The blush promised to give you a multidimensional glow that will illuminate your look.

They come in 6 different shades, which are Dim Infusion, Radiant Magenta, Diffused Heat, Ethereal Glow, Luminous Flush, and Mood Exposure. But as much as I wanted to have them all, I got to make my choice, so my picks are Ethereal Glow and Diffused Heat. They are so pretty that I spent some time to ooh and aah at them before collecting the courage to dip my brush on them.

Ethereal Glow has a beautiful cool soft baby pink color. I chose this because I think I need at least one light colored blush that can instantly brighten up my complexion but not in the bold brightening way that pops out your cheek. I want a subtle, soft, yet lighten up my face, giving it a fresh looking kind of face and that is what Ethereal Glow does for me. At first I was afraid that it is going to be too chalky and to pale for my skin (I have light medium skin), but when I swiped it on my cheeks, it gave me the color that I want. I did need to build it up around 3-4 swipes until I get the perfect color on my cheeks, so I think a dense brush will do a better job in applying this blush. 

As you can see in the picture, Ethereal Glow is perfect to pull an all pink theme makeup without making it too pinkish. Just the perfect hue for the whole complexion. You can use it when you want to put on a bright lip or bold eye makeup to balance the look.

Diffused Heat is said a vibrant poppy color, but I would like to call it a lovely coral pink blush. I need a blush that will give me a healthy looking cheek as if my cheeks are blossoming through the day. The color is pigmented, so an opposite of Ethereal Glow, it helps to use softer bristles so it will not pick too much color. I usually try to swipe it lightly and build it up to the color level that I want. The result was astounding! I love love it! Diffused Heat gave me a wonderful color that keeps my complexion looked fresh all day. Did I mention that these blushes last for quite a while, around 6-7 hours without touch up? They just sit there and make your cheeks look pretty all day.

Hourglass blushes also made without parabens, fragrance, talc, nanoparticles, gluten, and not tested on animals. Its perfect for those who concern about their makeup ingredients. 

Overall, I am truly in love with these blushes and definitely will repurchase after I hit the pan. The blush is a bit pricey but I assured you that you really get what you pay.