SEPHORA GRATIS HAUL: OCTOBER

As I've mentioned more than once now (I'm quite good at beating a dead horse, if I do say so myself), in the beginning of October I started working at Sephora. One of the perks of working there, aside from being surrounded by makeup (which is simultaneously quite dangerous) and receiving a discount, is that you get sweet, sweet gratis. Theoretically, the idea is to give the employees a chance to try out products and be able to speak with experience, but also, how can I put this elegantly?... we likes the stuffs. So I wanted to show you guys the stuffs that I received in October's gratis. I shant go into too much detail because that'd be a monster post. I'm spoiled rotten, I know.

First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser
Woops, forgot to include the First Aid Beauty stuff in the pictures. Ah well. I've actually owned this cleanser before. For a foaming cleanser, it's decent. If you want a really good cleanse that'll leave you with a clean slate, then this will do it without irritating your skin. However, for daily use, I can't use this, as it's too drying for me.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream
So far so good with this moisturizer. It is indeed very moisturizing and not irritating for my skin.

Origins Skin Renewal Serum
I've only tried this once. I can't speak to the long term effects, but upon first use I can say it feels lightweight and smoothing and smells delicious.

Algenist Genius Anti-Aging Cream
I haven't even touched this tiny pot yet, but I'm curious to do so as Algenist is on the pricier end of the scale.

Caudalie Eye Lifting Balm
I never thought I'd think twice about an eye cream, but I've really been enjoying this one. It feels very lightweight, but hydrating at the same time and I like that Caudalie is a fairly natural brand.

Benefit Air Patrol
I was also surprised at how much I liked this product. It's marketed as an eye primer, but I haven't used it for that at all. I've actually been using it under my under eye concealer because it has great colour correcting properties and it helps my concealer go on my smoothly and stay put.

Tarte Opening Act Lash Primer
I don't really know what to think of lash primers. I guess they're good. They do build up the lashes without leaving them feeling crusty. I'm probably too lazy to use one most of the time. If you are looking for a lash primer though, this one is a nice option – it builds volume well.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
Okay, so I've been wanting to try this mascara for SO long. Alas, I'm left a bit disappointed. It does give loads of volume, I'll give it that, buuutttt, it smudges like crazy on me. I do have very oily eyelids, but even so, other mascaras don't smudge that badly on me.

Lancome Colour Design in Coral Crush
I haven't had the chance to use this palette yet either. The colours are beautiful. I should get on it.

NARS Eye Primer
I love this stuff. It's amazing. I'm happy to have a tiny little backup.

NARS Velvet Shadow Stick in Flibuste
I had been meaning to pick up a black base for ages. It's handy that this one comes in stick form. It's nice and creamy and when I sported it on “vampire themed day” it stayed in place nicely all day.

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Mysterious Red
I already know I love these pencils. I have an insane amount already, so this one will be gifted to a friend.

Tarte Amazonian Butter Lipstick in Park Ave Princess
Possibly the best surprise of the bunch, the Park Ave Princess lipstick is a beaut! It's darn tootin' hydrating and a gorgeous nude colour. It's hyper glossy, to the point that it almost looks like a gloss, but with better longevity and no stickiness. Plus it smells minty. Mmmmm. What a winner.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Fearless
I've heard great things about the Tarte blushes for ages. I can confirm they are a beautiful, long lasting formula. I love the colour range too.

NARS Dual Intensity Blush in Adoration
So perdy. These is a beautifully glowy products that can be used wet or dry. It almost feels like the new Make Up For Ever Bronzers in that it has no detectable powdery feeling to them. The highlighter shade reminds me of Copacabana in powder form.

Lancome Artliner in Brown
I don't usually like liquid liners, but this one is great. The nib is easy to control and the chocolately brown shade is a good one to have in the stash.

Living Proof Dry Shampoo
Yup, yup yup yup. That'll do. Probably the best dry shampoo I've tried yet. It doesn't leave any ashy residue, it smells good and it really absorbs excess oil, leaving hair looking nice and spruced.