Winter Beauty Wish List and Anti-Haul: What I Will - and Won't- Be Spending My Money On
It’s that time of the year where every makeup brand under the sun releases their winter and or Holiday collection. A lot of brands released their holiday collections back in September (I’m looking at YOU Too Faced). It’s all a bit excessive and doesn’t give a makeup lover time to breathe between summer and winter. As result, I- like a lot of others- has felt the need to pull back a bit on what I buy. I own a ton of makeup. Specifically eyeshadow palettes which are my favorite makeup items (followed closely by foundation and lip products). I only purchased one makeup item in the month of October and it wasn’t technically even a purchase since I used Ulta points to buy it. That felt good. I know that this will change when Black Friday rolls around but for now I am enjoying not purchasing anything unless I need to replace something. But I do have items on my wish list. Some I am in no rush to buy while others are limited edition and I will probably be picking up during Black Friday/Cyber Monday. I also have quite a few things that everyone is talking about that I…don’t want and have no interest in. Whether that be because I’m not a fan of the brand (more on that later) or the release feels boring or not my style.
Let’s start on what I do want to purchase this season. This list is actually pretty short for me which I’m happy about. There are of course other things that I would like to purchase overall but I am keeping this list to things I am interested in buying this season or are holiday-related items.
Chantecaille Luminescent Eye Shade Collection
This is technically a fall release but I am including it because I love it so much. These shadows are stunning and what’s even better is that a portion of the proceeds goes towards conservation of wildlife in danger of extinction. What’s not so great about these shadows? The price tag. A whopping $52 dollar a shadow. For one shadow. Chantecaille is a luxury brand so this price tag isn’t all that surprising but it’s still a tad too rich for me. So I continue to look at these beautiful shades from afar. I visit them on the Nordstrom website occasionally. The two shades that I really want are Rhinoceros (a cool-toned pearlescent smoky green taupe) and Elephant (a pearlescent taupe)
Pat McGrath released her holiday collection a few weeks ago with two quads featuring a collection of new colors in her “special formula”. Mother Pat (as she is known) is known for the four special shades she includes in all of her full sized palettes. The shades are high-shine unique metallic/glitters. I was really tempted by those two quads but talked myself out of them after comparing a few items I already own (for instance if you own the Linda Hallberg Metallic Mysteries II palette you probably don’t need the Iconic Illumination Quad - which is very similar. But then she released a third palette and mini collection and… I want. The quad is Ritualistic Rose and it’s so purrrtty. Beautiful rosey pinks and pinky-toned golds. She also released two liquid products called Chroma Luxe Hi-Lite Cream that can be used as highlighter or eyeshadow. One is a beautiful pale gold, aptly named Pale Gold 002 and the other, Astral Blue Star, is a blue-duochrome shade. I want the pale gold one. Last year I probably would have bought the entire collection. This year I only want two items. Growth.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette Vol 3
How do you solve a problem like Anastasia Beverly Hills? They have released SIX palettes in a three month time span. ABH used to release one palette PER SEASON. And we all looked forward to it. Those days are clearly gone as ABH tries to give Colourpop a run for their fast release money. Which is a shame. Because what it’s resulted in is over-saturation of their market. I really wish Norvina had released all three of the Norvina Collection palettes at once. She could have sold them individually and as a bundle. And they would have sold out. OR - simply released one per season. But as of now I am sensing fatigue with their brand. I am low-key salty about Volume 3. Why? Because I bought Vol 1 thinking that it would be a while before the other two would be released. If I had known I would have waited and only bought this one. And this one is “Limited Edition” - and the only one not sold at Ulta where I could have used rewards to purchase it. So yeah…salty. But I still want it.
Melt Cosmetics Amor Eterno Collection
I am very rarely truly wowed by makeup releases anymore. There are so many and very rarely is there anything interesting or groundbreaking. It still happens though. Melt is one of those brands that has releases that are actually exciting. The Gemini palette is my favorite palette of all time for a number of reasons but mostly for the fact that it’s a perfect color story (one that other brands promptly tried to recreate with varying success). And now Melt has sneak -peeked their new Holiday collection, Amor Eterno and I just…gah! It’s stunning. The entire collection is inspired by one of the brand’s owner’s (the company is owned by two women) Mexican heritage and is a Day of the Dead theme consisting of two palettes, three liquid lipsticks, and a highlighter with a sugar skull imprint. Also including in the collection are four bronze-handled burshes and four gel liners, Again - I don’t want the entire collection. But…I kind of want both palettes - definitely Muerte which is the darker of the two. Vida isn’t all that unique as far as colors go - I have all of those shades in my collection. But it’s still sooo pretty and I love how the two palettes together create the skull image. But…I’m going to try and be good and just get Muerte. And maybe the brushes…
Urban Decay Naked Honey Palette
This palette was released in September and when I first saw pictures of it, I talked sooo much shit about it. It looked dusty and boring and like it wouldn’t suit any skin tone darker than light. Then I saw it in person and swatched a few of the colors and watched a few reviews of it and now I want it. Photos do not do this palette justice at all. I have also heard that the formula of this one is better than previous Naked palettes. I only own Naked Heat and the formula for that one is pretty “meh” for me. It’s much more rich looking in real life. Naked Honey is a permanent addition to the UD Naked collection so I don’t feel a huge rush to buy it but if I can get a decent discount on it during the sales I will go for it.
Colourpop Smoke Show Palette
Colourpop has already released about 5-6 collections for Fall/WInter/Holiday and it’s not even November yet. And I’m sure they will release a bunch more before Thanksgiving rolls around. I really enjoy CP. there products are great quality and the price point is approachable. The Smokeshow palette is only $12. That’s cheaper than some drugstore palettes. And CP’s eyshadow formula is actually one of my favorites, but as you’ll see from my anti-haul list below. Their releases can be too much and can be repetitive. I advise anyone who buys CP to take a good long look at what CP palettes they already own. Chances are you have a palette- or two - with similar shades. Having said that - Smokeshow is the first truly unique palette they have released in awhile (minus their monochromatic palettes). An all grey, white and black palette with matte, shimmer, metallic and glitter textures. I don’t own anything like this and it would be a welcome addition to my collection. With CP I usually wait until they’ve released a bunch of things, pick what I want and place one bulk order. Which is what I will be doing with this palette. CP recently released a lipstick collab with YouTuber Safiya Nygard. It has a few shades I really want that are currently sold out. And so I will hold off until those are in stock and then order the Smokeshow palette.
Shiseido Synchro Self-Refreshing Foundation
This one of the items on my wish list that I want the most. Shiseido released this foundation in September and I have wanted ever since. I’ve heard only amazing things about it. Alas, it came along at the tale end of the 2019 foundation release extravaganza and I had already purchased the Anastasia Beverly Hills foundation, the Kevyn Aucoin Foundation Balm and the Pat McGrath Skin Fetish foundation . So I had a hard time justifying buying this one when I had these - on top of all the other foundations I own and rotate - to wear. I still kinda feel that way. But I also still really want this foundation. Insert shrug emoji.
Dominique Cosmetics Celestial Storm Palette
This is one of those palettes that intrigues me. I haven’t tried anything from Dominique Cosmetics before, but have heard great tings about her eyeshadow formula. None of her previous palettes intrigued me enough to make me want to purchase one. I found the color stories rather boring. Except for Celestial Storm. For some reason this one really catches my eye and a full two months after it’s release I still find myself loving the color story. Alas, the reviews on it have been fairly mixed. Some people have loved it while other feels it is not up to par with her previous releases. I tend to be the type who likes to try things for myself as eyeshadow formula is really all about personal preference. She recently had a sale on her site and I didn’t pull the trigger so to speak then. I still really like this but it isn’t high up on my list of things I want. It’s a “sure, some time” item on my wish list.
And now we come to my Anti-haul. If you don’t know what an anti-haul is, it’s a phrase YouTuber Kimberley Clark came up with in her anti-haul video series. It the opposite of the popular “haul” video trend. It is a a way of talking about all of the things you don’t want to buy. Kimberley Clark started her series to address consumerism and our desire to buy buy buy all the time. The trend has really taken off and it’s a great to have an honest conversation about how you spend your money and if the items you are spending it on are worth it or add something to your life. I am definitely a consumer and I admit that fully. We all are really. BUT. I have in recent months really tried to think about how I spend my money. Check out my Secondhand September post to see how I have incorporated this thinking into my shopping choices for clothing here. This list isn’t about avoiding shopping altogether, but talking about specific items that have been released recently that I don’t want for various reasons. Please note that if you’re into these items that’s fine. This is a matter of personal preference. Not a judgment on taste!
Huda Beauty Mercury Retrograde Palette
Sigh…I have so much to say about Huda Beauty. And most of it not good. She is one of those brands that I made a conscious choice to not give my money to for now. She has done some things that I felt were unethical and unprofessional. If you need more info on this I would suggest Googling Huda Beauty and Beauty Bakerie to see the details of what I am referring to. But I will say that I took serisou issue with her stealing the concept of another brand. Another independent brand run by a black woman. Which ties into the feeling of anti-blackness that Huda Kattan (the owner of Huda Beauty) has been accused of. As well as being anti-male makeup artists. For a very long time with the exception of a few larger influencers, Huda would not feature black or male makeup artists on her Instagram. After being called out for this - numerous times- she finally started to feature black and male artists. And then there was the drama surrounding her Rose Gold Reloaded palette. The original Rose Gold palette was advertised as limited edition and Huda put out advertising stating that it was going away and if anyone wanted to pick it up now was the time. And it sold out. And then she rereleased it less than six months later with a new and improved formula. Leaving all those people who dropped $54 on the OG palette with a subpar one with old packaging. All of it just rubs me the wrong way. Which is unfortunate because I actually think that a lot of the things that she releases are beautiful. I drooled over her Neon palettes from this past summer. But I still can’t bring myself to buy anything from her brand. That feeling may change but as of now it hasn’t. Having said all of that (it was a lot, I know) - I just don’t find this palette all that interesting. It’s essentially her Nudes mini palettes with three teal shades and a black thrown in. All of the shades look very light and outside of the glitters there isn’t a whole lot of variation. Not to mention that it feels more like a Spring release than a winter/holiday one. So it’s a pass for me.
Colourpop Limited Edition Ulta Exclusive Palettes Night Owl, Bird of Paradise, Love Bird
I will talk about all three of these since they are part of a collection. These palettes were recently released as Ulta exclusives as a Holiday collection. This is not to be confused with the other two palettes Colourpop recently released as Ulta exclusives, The Exes and Ohs palette and the Truly Madly Deeply palette. Those are different. LOL. Sigh…these palettes are pretty. If I didn’t already own a ton of CP palettes I would probably pick up Night Owl. But I do. And I own a bunch of other palettes that I can find these shades in. None of these palettes are groundbreaking and all of them look similar to things that CP has released in the not so distant past. Things that are still available for purchase on their site or even at Ulta. It’s just repetitive and unnecessary. I get why they are releasing these palettes. In all likelihood their contract with Ulta requires them to release a set number of exclusive products per year. I get that. But I also don’t have to buy them.
Too Faced Hot Buttered Rum Mini Palette
I almost bought this. But then I came to my senses and remembered how disappointed I was in last year’s mini tin palette, the Sugar Cookie mini palette. That palette had no pigmentation to it. I still have it and I pull it out sometimes and attempt to use it but…the quality just isn’t there. And that is the dirty secret about holiday releases from brands. Brands like Too Faced that release a ton of Holiday gift sets and mini palettes and things for people to buy as gifts for someone who isn’t that experienced with makeup with quality that isn’t up to the standards of their normal releases. If you are experienced with makeup these palettes leave a lot to be desired. They are adorable though. And scented. The Sugar Cookie one smells sugary and yummy and this one I’m sure smells exactly like hot buttered rum. But I can’t justify spending $25 on a palette that I will probably only open to up to smell occasionally.
Dominique Cosmetics Sweater Weather Palette
Yes there is a DC palette on my wish and one on my anti-haul list lol. This one is just flat out boring to me. I was intrigued by the packaging and I was hoping that they would really lean into the “sweater weather” theme and maybe emboss a knit print on the shadows and it would be full of cozy “sweater” like shades. But nope. It’s a palette full of disparate pastels. So disappointing. But clearly I’m in the minority in my feelings since this palette is currently sold out on the Dominique Cosmetics website.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Carli Bybel Palette
Yup…another one. This is their Holiday release in collaboration with YouTuber, Carli Bybel. And sorry, but it’s a snoozefest for me. Let me say that I think this palette will sell well. It’s not intimidating and has colors that people who aren’t that into color will find easy to use. And it probably has the fantastic ABH formula as well. But it’s boring. Sorry. Not to mention that the colors are not deeper skintone friendly. Most of these shades will show up on my medium deep skin fine but anyone deeper than me? Not so much. I have seen this palette reviewed by a deeper skin toned influencer and the only shades that showed up on her eyes was the red and the shimmers. Some of which simply looked icy with no tone variation showing up. Some releases simply aren’t for me and as a WOC I am used to that. There are fortunately now lots of other palettes for me and my deeper skin toned sisters to choose from.
Too Faced Gingerbread Extra Spicy Palette
Yes BOTH of Too Faced’s Holiday palettes have ended up on my anti-haul, what can I say? The funny part about this is that The OG Gingerbread Spice palette was one of my favorite palettes of 2018. I love that palette and still reach for it. That palette was a huge hit for Too Faced. SO huge that they brought it back temporarily in July for a July in Christmas re-release. But they honestly should have let the concept go. OR at the very least made this palette to live up to it’s “Extra Spicy” name. There is nothing extra spicy about this “50 shades of beige and a blue” palette. Where are the berry and red tones the greens and golds?? It’s boring and uninspired. It’s not half as interesting as it’s sister palette. Reviews for it have been really good. Some people have said they prefer the more sedate shades of this one. Which is fine. But again- what’s extra spicy about a sedate palette??
And there is my very long wish list and anti-haul list. What are you excited about picking up this winter/holiday season? And what are you definitely not interested in? Let me know in the comments!
