HAUL| Skincare and Makeup + Mini-Reviews! ♡

My skin has breaking out a lot more than usual lately. I've been wanting to change up my skincare routine for a while now because it didn't seem to be doing much for me anymore. Since I never switch it up much, I decided to just buy a lot of things and see what works best for me. As usual, I couldn't stop myself from buying some makeup products as well >.<

Clockwise from left: The Body Shop Tea Tree 4-Piece Set,  Etude House AC Clinic Intense Trial Kit, and The Body Shop Seaweed Travel Size Kit

I've been looking for some new skincare products since my current routine isn't helping with blemish and oil control. These were highly recommended by some Youtubers that I love watching (fashionista804 and sunnydahye). I've been having a lot of tiny little bumps on my chin and sides of my nose that don't get bigger or anything. I don't know what to do to get rid of them but hopefully, these products will be able to help.

As you all know, I have a combination skin type, with oily t-zone and normal cheeks. It makes it hard for me to find products that control the oil and breakouts without overdrying my cheeks. The Tea Tree Set from the Body Shop is geared towards blemished/ oily skin. It contains the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash (8.4 oz) which will help prevent blemishes and remove excess oil with a refreshing gel-based facial wash that won't over-dry your skin and is gentle enough for daily use. It also comes in a mini size (2.0 oz). The Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner (8.4 oz) will tone your skin with The Body Shop's "shake to activate" refreshing toner that removes traces of cleanser, make-up and impurities while leaving skin looking matte. The Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion (1.69 oz) will moisturize with a light, mattifying lotion that hydrates skin and controls oil while helping to prevent blemishes. Finally, the Tea Tree Oil (.33 oz) is a natural, targeted solution to help with the appearance of blemishes quickly and effectively without over drying the skin. 

It is a good value (you can see from the price sticker I forgot to take off) for the amount of products you get. All are full-sized which is great! It is a pretty complete skincare set. All I had to add was a scrub, day moisturizer and mask. The Body Shop does make these products as well. I haven't tried it on myself yet but will definitely update when I do! I bought my set at Ulta but you can also find it at the Body Shop, though theirs is the travel size version.

 *UPDATE 10/29/14*: Currently using the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash. Have a HUUUGE blemish on my face so it's a good time to test this. It does remove lightweight makeup, like tinted moisturizer and sunscreen, very well (toner pads don't show residue on them) without drying out my skin. Tastes gross and stings your eyes. (Clarisonic + shower + cleanser) x Cindy = recipe for disaster. 

I have been getting these weird bumps on my skin around my nose and chin area and whatever I do, they seem to not go away. I think they're really deep blemishes and so it will take a lot of work to get rid of them. Some of them have gotten bigger but they had no head so it was hard for the treatments I've been applying to get to them. One of them actually grew really big and white in a matter of hours, making me all panicky since I had a Thanksgiving party to attend in two days! I hurriedly opened this up and applied all of the products inside like dictated, and lo and behold, the blemishes look drastically different the next morning! The newest one on my temple rapidly shrunk and looks like it's going to be gone soon. The crazy white yucky looking one on my upper lip shrunk dramatically and looks like it's going to pop out soon. The one on my chin that has been there for like two weeks now finally came to a head and it'll hopefully vanish soon too! (I forgot to include before and after pictures--sorry! But I'm sure I'll break out again soon and hopefully I'll remember to take pictures!) This is totally amazing and I'll definitely be giving an in-depth review on all the products soon!

Sophia Chang from fashionista804 uses a lot of these products so I decided to give it a try as well. The Body Shop Seaweed Skincare Travel Kit contains:

• 2.0 fl oz Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash
• 2.0 fl oz Seaweed Clarifying Toner
• .51 oz Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream
• .51 fl oz Seaweed Clarifying Night Treatment
• Re-usable blue mesh bag with zip closure

I have a full-sized Seaweed Clarifying Toner that I haven't used yet as well as the Seaweed Mattifying Moisture Lotion SPF 15 for combination/oily skin. This line is geared towards combination/oily skin so I am very excited to try this out! I like how small the products are because it's easier to to carry around (I'll be doing some holiday traveling in a couple of days!) The mesh bag is also well-made and is great for carry on luggage because it's see-through. I have used the Seaweed Mattifying Lotion once and did notice that it didn't make my face oilier after application. It kept the oil at bay for maybe two hours tops before I had to blot again. Combined with other oil control products, I think it'll be really great! I got my set at Ulta but you can find it at the Body Shop as well. I recommend buying the set on Ulta's website because they offer free shipping on orders over $25 at this moment with code Jingle13. If you are looking for individual products, the Body Shop is having a buy 2 get 2 or buy 3, get 3 sale right now on their site! 

*UPDATE 10/29/14* I have used up the Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash and Clarifying Toner. The facial wash is a gentle enough cleanser for my combination skin. It didn't dry out my skin but it felt clean afterwards. The toner was good at removing any residue that the cleanser didn't take off. Both products are lightly scented. I use the mesh bag all the time to hold my skincare items when I travel. Doesn't look dirty or beat up, so it's pretty durable. I talk more about the cleanser and toner in this empties post.

From left to right: Vitamin b6 Infused Complexion Prep Spray, Original and Anti-Aging Primer Duo, Travel Sized Eye Primer in Original, and Eden and Sin Travel Sized Duo

Urban Decay has been a very popular brand, known for their amazing primers and even more stunning eyeshadows. I'm a huge eye primer hoarder and so could not pass these up when I saw them. I now have each of the five formulas, which is excessive, I know, but I just wanted to see what the big deal was with these eye primers. (─‿‿─)

The Vitamin Infused Complexion Prep Spray* is formulated with Vitamin B6, which absorbs oil, minimizes pore and reduces redness. It also contains a multitude of other skin beneficial ingredients such as Vitamin E and willow bark. It is for all skin types.

You shake it well and spray it on clean skin before you apply moisturizer or makeup. It can also be used anytime to refresh skin or at night before your treatment.

This seems really interesting since Urban Decay's setting sprays are very popular. I can't wait to try this one out! You can find it at Urban Decay, Ulta, or Sephora.

Below are the swatches for the eye primers. I have the swatch for Greed in my Sephora Goodies post. I swatched kinda heavily so you can see them better.

From left to right: Anti Aging, Eden, Sin, and Original

The Anti-Aging and Original Primer Potions kind of just blend into my skin tone and I couldn't get them to show up.  They are matte and perfect for any kind of eye look. These can be worn alone on low makeup days to just control the oil there. I got the duo from Ulta but you can also grab them from Urban Decay. They are full sized products so it's a great deal since the Original is $20 and the Anti-Aging is $24.

The Eden and Sin Primer Potions are lovely. Eden is a nude matte primer while Sin is a shimmery champagne color. Eden is really good at neutralizing dark eyelids, evening out the skin tone, and covering up veins. Sin is really pretty on its own. You can get a really easy eye look using Sin and maybe darker color on the lash line or crease for those says where you don't have a lot of time. The duo is in travel-size but you can pick up the individual, full-sized versions from Urban Decay, Ulta (Eden here and Sin here), or Sephora (Eden here and Sin here).

After giving them time to set, I rubbed really hard and none of them moved. I even tried washing them off with water and soap and they are still very visible on my arm (except for the Original but I didn't apply as much). I think I gotta break out my oil makeup remover to get these off--which is amazing. I'm hoping that they'll performing this amazingly on my very oily eyelids.

I'm a huge sucker for packaging and this Holika Holika Midnight Owl highlighter is sooooo divine! Owls are one of my favorite birds ever and so I had to have it. The one pictured above is in 01 Shining Owl.

Holika Holika usually goes with a cutesy witch theme and this is no different.  I just can't get over how pretty it looks! The colors and design are so elegant and girly. Holika Holika definitely hit it big with this! The packaging itself is also very pretty. It is housed in a sturdy compact whose top design mirrors the outer box packaging. I'm going to have to be really gentle with this as I don't want to rub off the outer design. It comes with a plastic cover to protect the product inside. It also functions as a storage container for the included brush, which is a nice touch. Some pieces got broken from the edges but that's okay as the main piece is intact.

This swatch above is done by swirling my finger very gently over all the colors. I got a pinky orange color that is very pretty. You could concentrate in one or other sections for endless color combinations. I almost didn't even want to do the swatch since I was afraid of messing up the design but I did it for y'all! ͼ(ݓ_ݓ)ͽ It is very shimmery but I blended it out a little on the swatch below. In real life, it isn't as glittery. 

You can also use this as a blush if you get more of the pink and orange sides (unless you want blue blush--there are no rules in makeup!). I think it could also double up as an eyeshadow palette but I haven't tried it yet. Each of the color sections is big enough to swirl a small eyeshadow brush in but I'll let y'all know how that attempt goes!

I also got in in shade 02 Shy Owl! It's practically identical to Shade 01 but the colors in this compact is a lot more vibrant--definitely not shy. I think this is more practical as a blush than a highlighter. It has a shimmery pink overcoat. I'm not sure if it's just a overcoat or if it goes through the entire compact but I really don't want to dig into it to find out >.< This compact is also on the warmer tone. The brush is included as well like with Shade 01. The brush hairs feel soft and are dense.

I went a little crazy and ordered 4 other cheek compacts from Holika Holika with the same kind of theme but with different animals. The ones I got are Hello Holika! (kittens) and Fly Holika (butterflies).

I've got both Hello Holika! Blusher and Highlighter in Shade 01 Breeze Kitten and Shade 02 Twinkle Kitten. Let me just say that the outer packaging is a gorgeous metallic gold with a nice cat design on it! The compacts are identical to one another and are black and sleek looking. They are slightly wider and thinner than the Midnight Owl compacts. These don't come with a brush, so I'm slightly disappointed. Since it is slightly thinner than the Midnight Owl compacts, I couldn't fit the brush inside. Maybe I could try squishing a puff inside. There are plastic sheets inside to prevent the powder from dirtying the mirror but it isn't attached to the actual compact like in the Midnight Owl.

O1 Breeze Kitten (left) and 02 Twinkle Kitten (right)

The Shade 01 Breeze Kitten is a warm, pinky coral blusher. There are light silver shimmers all over the compact. It comes off a bright orange color. It's very sparkly.

Shade 01 Breeze Kitten

Shade 02 Twinkle Kitten is a multi-colored pastel highlighter with small silver sparkles. It comes off as a shimmery white.

Shade 02 Twinkle Kitten

I also picked up Fly Holika Blushers in Shade 01 Blooming Butterfly and Shade 02 Twinkle Butterfly. These can be used as eyeshadow, blush, and highlighter depending on where you swirl your brush!

These come with a brush inside of a reusable plastic bag, which is a nice touch. You can fit it inside the compact though so you'd have to be careful not to lose the brush! The brushes with the Fly Holika compacts are bigger than the ones in the Midnight Owl. These hairs are soft and dense as well. The compact itself is a nice dark purple with butterflies all over it. It is the same in size as the Hello Holika! compacts.

Blooming Butterfly (left) and Twinkle Butterfly (right)

The sparkles in shade 01 are orange and lean towards a warm coral-y orange color whereas shade 02 is more on the browny side with silver sparkles. Shade 01 is a orange color with gold sparkles. It's very sparkly. Shade 02 is a beige-champagne color with silver sparkles.

Shade 01 Blooming Butterfly

Shade 02 Twinkle Butterfly

From left to right: Dual Eyes, Sculpting, Powder, and Blending

If these brushes look familiar, that's because they are! These are the Bubbi Brushes from popular Youtuber Bubzbeauty. I have been a fan of her for almost 5 years now and I'm so happy to see her progress from making beauty videos to having her own line of brushes. I miss the original white and red packaging but these pink and black ones look sleek too. They don't look as distinct and unique as they used to. I picked up four of them because the brushes I've been using are getting old and scratchy.

Sorry they look a bit dirty--I couldn't stop myself from using them >.<

These are the softest brushes ever! I love rubbing them all over my face and touching them. They are very dense and good quality. I'm very glad I picked them up. I have the Bubbi Powder Brush, Sculpting Brush, Dual Eyes Brush, and Blending Brush. She has a ton more individual brushes as well as two kits: the Essential and the Complete Range. I will try washing them tonight and see if they shed but I'm super excited to add these to my collection! If they end up doing well, I'll definitely look forward to purchasing more.

So that's a wrap for this post! If some of the pictures didn't come out very nice, I took them while the sun was setting. I tried to edit some of them but that was the best I could do with my limited photography skillz (╥﹏╥) I'll definitely try to update this post when I use these products a bit more. I'm so excited to try these out some more! Take care everyone--the weather has been getting colder and windier lately in the Northern Hemisphere .☃

XOXO,

MWAH ♡

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Disclosure Statement: All products mentioned were purchased with my own money. I am not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned above and was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own. Links are not affiliate links and are provided for the readers' convenience. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were either given to me as a sample or gift with purchase or given to me by my friends and family.