August 2021 Collective Haul – Ulta and Alora Cosmetics

Hey doll hey!! How’s your day/night going? Great I hope. I’m doing pretty good. I forgot to haul some stuff I ordered from Ulta and I just received another order today so I figured I would haul the order today.

For the month of August I am going to concentrate mostly on small business and indie brands….

Now on to the haul, swatches and first impressions…..

*As always… All products listed I purchased myself, all links provided are purely for convenience purposes to help you find the product quickly and are in no way affiliate links. The swatches are done on clean bare skin with no primer and are done in 1 swipe, pictures to the left/top are taking without flash and the right/bottom with flash*

1. Good Molecules Hyaluronic Acid Serum ($6 for 1 fl oz / 30 mL of product at Ulta, on the Beautylish website and on the Good Molecules website) is billed as being formulated with hyaluronic acid, this water-light serum draws moisture to the skin for long-lasting hydration. With just one use, skin appears smooth, supple, and well-hydrated.

No first impressions needed here: I’ve been using this serum for well over 3 years. I get great hydration with it. I think the whole Good Molecules line is amazing and for such a great price point too.

2. Anastasia Beverly Hills Luminous Foundation ($38 for 1 fl oz / 30 mL of product at Ulta and Sephora) is billed as a long-wearing, breathable, weightless, moisturizing formula helps to instantly mask imperfections, uneven texture and discoloration while letting your natural radiance come through – so all they see is you.

It comes in 50 shades with plenty of variations for fair, light, medium and deep skin tones.

This shade is 140N (fair skin neutral peach undertones).

First Impressions: The formula is thin and has the perfect coverage. It has a skin like finish and lasts all day. This foundation does not oxidize and it does not break down in the humid Florida weather.

2. L’Oréal True Match Nude Hyaluronic Tinted Serum ($19.99 for 1 fl oz / 30 mL of product at Ulta) is billed as the 1st tinted serum with 1 percent Hyaluronic Acid. Instantly brightens, evens and hydrates all in one.

It comes in an abysmal 10 shades with hardly any wiggle room.

I chose the shade Light 2-3.

First Impression: I could have used it just a slightly bit lighter… The first shade is way too light and this shade is just a tad too dark so in order to get the perfect shade I would have to combine the 2 shades… Now, with that aside this is a super thin serum that (with the exception of the shade) is undetectable. It is a light to low medium coverage and does not oxidize.

3. L’Oréal Infallible Tinted Loose Setting Powder ($12.99 for 0.28 oz / 7.94 g of product at Ulta) is billed as up to 24 hour glow finish, medium-coverage, ideal for normal to dry skin with lightweight and hydrating formula minimizes imperfections revealing a smooth and even complexion.

On Ulta it’s offered in 2 shades Translucent Light (the shade I chose) and Translucent Medium.

First Impressions: The powder is very lovely, it gives a silky finish to the skin. There is a light white cast with high flash. It’s high levitation which means it’s good for under the eyes… however there is so little product for such a high price point.

4. Anastasia Micro-Stroking Detailing Brow Pen ($22 for 0.017 fl oz / 0.50 mL at Ulta) is billed as a waterproof, superfine-tipped pen ideal for defining brows by micro-stroking with precision application. The sharp, flexible brush tip easily builds dimension and creates a micro-bladed look, mimicking the appearance and texture of natural hair throughout the brow. The formula glides on effortlessly with a featherlight feel and mimics the appearance of natural hair for a fuller-looking finish.

This shade is called Ebony (for black hair with neutral undertones).

First Impressions: I like that I can create hair like strokes and that it’s a deep brown. I’ll be testing it out next week as this week I am currently testing out it’s dupe by Milani.

5. Alora Cosmetics 30 pan palette – I Dream in Color (retails for $38.99 but currently on sale for $32.99 making it $1.30 per shade at retail price and $1.10 per shade on sale on their website) is billed as everything you can ever want in a pallet. I Dream in Color has it all! 30 beautiful colors. 17 mattes 11 shimmers and 2 pressed glitters.

First Impressions: This palette is STUNNING!!! Super pigmented, very finely milled and I love every shade in the palette.

The shades from left to right are: Stupid Cupid (lilac – metallic with a silver flip), Baked (dusty orange – matte), Glitter Queen (true 24 k gold – pressed glitter in a clear gel base), Dirty Martini (dirty lime green – matte), No Cap (pastel powder blue – matte), Feeling Myself (light purple – metallic with a silver flip), Pink Moscato (strawberry pink – matte), Party Girl (a coral based orange – metallic with a rosy flip), Spot Light (true yellow – metallic), Drama Queen (deep true green – metallic with a silver and green flip), Diva (true blue – pressed glitter in a clear gel base) and Single (pastel true purple – matte).

The shades from left to right are: Flawed and Beautiful (raspberry pink – metallic), Wasted (dusty orange – matte), Dreams (gold – metallic), Ivy (moss green – matte), Bad Seed (cadet blue – metallic with a silver and pale blue flip), Snatched (royal purple – matte), DBL Tap (true pink – matte), Burn (coral – metallic with a silver and orange flip), Cat (dusty cannery yellow – matte) and Miami Grill (deep green – metallic with a silver flip).

The shades from left to right are: Pool Side (light vibrant blue – matte), Wild Child (true purple – metallic with a light purple flip), Wicked (true red matte), Triggered (red orange – matte), Bee-Hive (true yellow – matte), Enchanted (true green – matte), Nova (true vibrant blue – matte) and Liar Liar (deep dark purple – matte).

6. Alora Cosmetics 9 Pot Glitter Bundle ($27 for all 9 shades on their website).

No first impressions needed: I have already purchased the shade Pixie Dust and absolutely love it… I know I use to hate glitter but ever since trying out different glitters I love them now. Whilst I do prefer glitters in a base of some sort this glitter is stunning and I find myself reaching for it constantly.

❗ I typically swatch on clean bare skin with no primer and in 1 pass only, however… I learned from my last swatch of loose glitter that you truly do need a base for it to stick to or you will have glitter everywhere. So the swatches bellow are on a base of NYX Glitter Glue… because the glue is so strong I did have to do 2 passes to complete my swatches… when I laid down the glitter at the top of the swatch it all stuck right where I placed it so I needed to dip into the product a second time to complete the bottom 1/2 of the swatch. This is not the fault of the product, it’s just a testament to the strength of NYX Glitter Glue.❗

The shades from left to right are: Black Widow (black holographic glitter), Galaxy (midnight blue holographic glitter), Pixie Dust (silver holographic glitter), Rose Gold (coral pink holographic glitter), Red Queen (red glitter), Mary Jane (green glitter), Mad Hatter (peridot green holographic glitter), Cheshire Cat (purple glitter) and Lavender (light purple glitter).

One thing I can honestly say is that Alora cosmetics does pigmentation expertly. They also know what a true holographic glitter is meant to be… for a glitter, lip gloss or shadow to be truly holographic it must shift every shade in the rainbow… some companies will claim a glitter to be holographic however the product doesn’t shift all the colors of the rainbow and so at best those products are duo or tri chrome or just super reflective… I am happy to have 2 shades that are stunning and holographic to add a bit more dazzle to the shade. I also truly love Pixie Dust and Galaxy.

I will be placing 1 more order on the Alora website because I really want the 3 shades that were not included in the bundle and a few more items… Then I will be moving on to another small business brand.

And with that this haul is done… I hope you enjoy the rest of your day/night and that you are in great spirits and health.

👄 Remember, Save a spoon for a bit of lipstick 👄

❌💘⭕💘❌💘⭕💘, Nita