I first saw this idea on Sophie's (Born to Buy) blog; a dedication to those products that you've been influenced to purchase by beauty bloggers, vloggers and the like. I've been reading blogs and watching beauty gurus/obsessives for years now and can definitely say that my purchases are very much influenced by other peoples' reviews. From years of experience of buying products for the sake of it, for their pretty packaging or because they were on offer instore or online, I have gone through my fair share of disappointing products. Most of which have ended up elsewhere in good homes with my gal pals but a small portion have just been tossed in the bin. In more recent times I've made the conscious effort to review my products (for the most part) before actually making the purchase. Of course most products work differently for people so I've still ended up with some disappointing products and ones that have been more than disappointing but the failure margin is definitely much smaller.
So when I saw Sophie's tag I wanted to take part, even if I haven't officially been tagged I just loved the idea! On initial thought I was like errr but 99% of your purchases are blogger endorsed or influenced but there are definitely a fair few- favourites and less than, that have been purchased purely on so and so's recommendation. Here are my picks!
Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
First and foremost, the palettes that can be found in almost every beauty obsessives' stash. I waited to buy one of the Naked palettes when I was overseas so I could see them in person and decide instore. I went for Naked 2 but now I think I'd prefer the original. I'm not sure if it's because my taste has changed or whatever the reason, I just always feel these colours look better on other people when I've done their eyes. Don't get me wrong the quality is there so I don't regret buying this palette I'm just not sure about all the shades for me. In saying that there are a couple that I often reach for.
Make Up Store Matt Foundation in Ivory
I'd seen Chloe Morello using this in quite a few tutorials and from what she'd said, I thought we had a similar combination skin type. I went to their Paddington store, got colour matched and the lovely lady (Maria if I'm not wrong) did say that this would be good for me as someone with combination/oily skin. I bought it mainly for my 21st party because I didn't feel like I had a good matching foundation at the time. I don't love the finish it left especially in photos but it's an ok foundation. Light-medium coverage, buildable, colour match is perfect but I don't particularly like how this wears on my skin. I did wear it quite regularly when I bought it and since then but it's not one of my go-to favourites.
Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in 103 True Ivory
A combination of British bloggers are to blame for this one I think however as I mentioned before, I used to be extremely easily swayed by these beauty gurus. A foundation said to make your skin look fresh and 'awake' I was keen! In the uni days when sleep was scarce I thought this would be a good one for faking that I'd had a solid night's sleep. I did like the finish on my skin but one day I wore it and one of my friends remarked at how shimmery my face looked.. when someone tells you that you stop wearing it. My mind immediately went to disco ball shimmer and I was like nooooo thank you. This foundation does have a slight shimmer to it which is what brightens the complexion but the fact that it was that noticeable I wasn't a big fan of; much prefer the Wake Me Up concealer.
L'Oreal True Match Foundation in N2 Vanilla
First bought this on holiday in the UK when I realised I'd gone over without a good base product, anticipating that I'd buy one fairly soon after arriving apparently. So I popped to the nearest Boots chemist and went for something I'd heard good things about; so of course I opted for True Match. Matched myself as best I could which was actually a shade or two darker than Vanilla but perfect for summer holiday skin. I wore this all through my holiday and when I was home. I only stopped when my tan wore off so it no longer matched me but a repurchase in the shade Vanilla fixed that dilemma! I don't tend to wear this on super hot days because I don't find it lasts amazingly well on my combination skin but otherwise I really like the finish.
Jordana Best Lash Extreme Mascara
Lauren Curtis. Do I have to say anymore? The girl has lashes to envy so I bought this mascara that she swears by. I ordered it online and may have even ordered a backup hoping I would love it plus at under $5 you haven't got too much to lose. The wand is simple and straight, doesn't curve, doesn't flare out at the end which I prefer because I use my right hand to do both eyes so sometimes things can look a little uneven. I've heard mixed reviews on this mascara and the only thing I can say is have patience and let it dry out after a few days use; it will become a lot more user friendly and not such a wet formula as horrible as that sounds. I recently just opened another tube and remembered why people would struggle with it but trust me once it's a bit drier it works a treat!
YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick Number 3 NARS Eyeshadow Primer
This among maaaaaaaany other products is the result of Anna's (ViviannaDoesMakeup) raving review. She'd said she much preferred it to the Urban Decay Primer Potion which funnily enough I had just finished but I did like it. I had no reason not to repurchase it other than I wanted to try something new plus NARS is slightly more accessible for us Aussies. Not much to say about this one but it well and truly does it's job; my eyeshadow is still looking crease-free and fairly in tact by the time I'm ready to go to bed and fully remove my makeup.
MAC Lipstick in Brave
Or really just MAC lipsticks in general however Brave was much raved about by Sammi from thebeautycrush who is the complete opposite to me in terms of colouring but I thought it's not too nude so I can't go wrong.. right? RIGHT! Brave quickly became my absolute favourite for day or night, it's just a perfect your lips but better shade, super flattering, goes with all kinds of makeup looks and I just love it. On it's own or with a gloss over the top I can see myself repurchasing this lipstick many a time.
NARS Ita Brush
The brush that sculpts out your cheekbones as if you were born with a perfect bone structure. The shape of this brush really does it all, it may almost look like a paint brush but with this you can carve out the hollows of your cheeks seriously easily as well as defining the rest of your face- jawline, nose etc. whatever takes your fancy! I think this purchase was mostly influenced by makeup queen Jaclyn Hill who's makeup is always looking flawless. She's certainly not the only one to use it though, this brush can be seen firmly attached to many a bloggers' hand.
There we have some of my most influenced purchases! What are the products, favourite or not, that you were influenced to purchase? I wasn't tagged to do this so I unofficially tag anyone and everyone to do this, feel free to leave me a link if you do!
Click here to read Sophie's post!
