PHAMExpo Haul!

I know I'm dishing these PHAMExpo posts out fast, but I am just so excited about it still! I'm currently painting my nails with one of the polishes I bought and I've already used some of the products that I purchased at the show. I unfortunately didn't do any swatches (except one), but that's because I'm actually planning on doing a big review of some of these products!

Like I said in my last post, I did some damage...But I am so, so excited about these products! I'll first cover the products I didn't take photos of. 

At Real Techniques, they were practically throwing their accent brushes at us! They told us to take as many as we liked, so I grabbed 5 of them. Sam and Nic were absolutely lovely and took time to talk to every single person who came to their booth, and their crew was so funny! Unfortunately, they weren't selling their brushes at the show, which is a bummer because I was really hoping to pick up a second Expert Face Brush, as well as their Miracle Complexion Sponge.

From Morphe Brushes, I grabbed a pencil brush and a dual-ended brow/spoolie brush, both for $3. Their booth was absolutely packed, so I got in and out as quickly as I could.

Finally, I got a Beauty Blender + Solid Cleanser pack. The discount I got on this was absolutely crazy. Online, this pack retails for $32.95, but at the show, I got it for only $15.99! Of course, I used it as soon as I possibly could, so it's currently in my bathroom drying.

China Glaze, one of my favorite nail polish brands of all time, had the most amazing deals. The one I took advantage of was the 6 for $15 deal, which is insane, considering China Glaze polishes are usually $6 a pop! 

From left to right: "Black Diamond," a gorgeous dark slate gray color with a light shimmer; "Up All Night," which is like a cross between a deep navy and an electric blue; "Four Leaf Clover," a creamy, blue-based green that is right up my alley; "At Vase Value," almost a dupe for Essie's "Mint Candy Apple," although just a tad greener, and is the perfect minty blue-green color; "Sneaker Head," a vivid cross between a neon pink and a bright red; and finally, "Passion For Petals," a gorgeous dusty rose color. 

With the 6 for $15 deal, I got to choose between a top coat and a base coat, in which I chose the Strong Adhesion Base Coat. The lady was also super sweet and threw in their Matte Magic top coat!

Next, from Lime Crime, I got one of their opaque lipsticks and one of their Velvetine lip colors. Initially, when I saw the Velvetine lip color in "Salem," I thought "Why would anyone buy a brown like this?" But then the woman at the counter layered it with the opaque lipstick in "Poisonberry," and it created the most incredible oxblood color that I know I will be wearing nonstop this fall! Their opaque lipsticks were $16 as opposed to the original price of $18, while their Velvetines were full price.

I noticed the Model in a Bottle booth and had to stock up. They recently repackaged their product, and I much prefer this packaging. I always get the Sensitive Skin Formula, because there is less fragrance in this formula. This stuff is great because it really helps to keep your makeup in place! I believe their show price was around $15, as opposed to the full price of $21. 

From Anastasia Beverly Hills, I got two products. The Anastasia Clear Brow Gel, which is a repurchase, for $14, and the ever-so-coveted Contour Kit, with which I am absolutely OBSESSED. I used it for the first time in a tutorial that will be up later this week, and it works some serious magic! I am just so obsessed with this that I'm thinking about purchasing a second one and doing a giveaway. Let me know if you think I should in the comments below!

Finally (well, actually, it was the first booth I went to), I picked up 10 shadows and 4 pigments from Makeup Geek. Their prices were the same at the show as they were online, but of course, you actually got to swatch them and really get a feel for them before purchasing! Marlena's team is so sweet and she is without a doubt one of the sweetest people I have ever met.

From left to right: "Corrupt," the blackest black shadow I have ever had the opportunity to swatch. Seriously. You have to have this in your collection. "Envy," a gorgeous, deep blue-green color with some sparkle; "Sea Mist," essentially the lighter version of "Envy," but with less blue; "Simply Marlena," a super bright matte pink with just a hint of glitter. One of the less-creamy shades in the collection, but it makes up for it in pigmentation; "Cosmopolitan," a beautiful coppery shade that is one of the creamiest shadows I have ever touched; "Unexpected," a perfect taupey brown color that is fantastic for really defining the crease; "Cinderella," a very light, shimmering pearly pink that I couldn't resist getting despite having a million different shadows in my collection that look like this; "Beaches and Cream," a matte warm nude color that is fantastic for a brow highlight and probably the creamiest matte shade I have ever swatched; "Shimma Shimma," a frosty champagne color that looks absolutely stunning on the inner corner; and "Rockstar," a super shimmery silver shade that stays very neutral rather than blue, like many silvers tend to lean. 

These shadows are worth all the hype. That's all I have to say. I am going to do a full in-depth review with swatches and everything, but seriously, these are worth every penny, with quality that competes with the best and prices that are totally comparable to drugstore! 

The pigments: "Liquid Gold,"  the most insanely metallic and pigmented gold color I have ever seen, it runs a little bit olivey rather than yellow, which in my opinion makes it a bit more flattering than most golds; "Insomnia," this crazy cool color that I wish I knew how to describe is kind of brown but kind of teal but kind of blue and all kinds of unique that will guarantee you'll be asked, "What eyeshadow are you wearing?"; "Vegas Lights," another copper (because I love copper, what can I say), that is insanely metallic and smooth; and "Sweet Dreams," a pinky beige color with a satin finish that would be amazing as a brow highlight. 

And that's everything! I feel like I've been rambling on forever, but there were so many great deals at PHAMExpo that I couldn't resist so many of these items. Luckily, I told my boyfriend the most I was willing to spend for the entire day, and he kept the money safe in his wallet so I wouldn't start spending like a madwoman (even though you would think I did anyways)! 

- D.