Chicago Beauty Haul

Hi lovelies! Today I wanted to share with you what I picked up on my recent trip! I know I sound like a broken record but if you are new around here my boyfriend Jerome and I took a little 4 day trip to explore the Windy City. We had a blast and ate our weight in deep dish pizza but I made sure to check out a couple beauty brands that aren't available here in Ohio while we were there!

As soon as I knew that we would be visiting this amazing city I thought of Inglot. I have wanted to actually see the eyeshadows in person ever since hearing about the brand a few years ago and I have LOVED the look of their packaging from day one. I ended up finding the address to a Macy's located in the Water Tower Place mall where they carried this brand and luckily it was only about a 5 minute walk from our hotel! I stopped by there the very first day and picked up this amazing palette!

Let me just start by saying that deciding on these shadows was the hardest thing I have ever done! Due to the lack of shade names I was literally going off a wall full of colors and packaging configurations. I kept going back to one 10 pan neutral palette and to make it easy I asked for that exact set up. Of course they were out of the 10 shadow palettes so after eliminating 2 of the shades (which took about 15 minutes) I went home with what you see above!

With all of that being said I am incredibly impressed with the quality. I can't even express how smooth, pigmented, and easy to blend these shadows are. The palette I ended up with has 5 matte and 5 shimmery colors that are all very wearable neutral shades. As you can see though the right side of the palette plays with some very subtle plum undertones. All in all I love this configuration and am really happy with the few looks I have already put together!

While searching for the Inglot display the Shiseido counter caught my eye. This is yet another brand that isn't available in stores where I am from so I knew I'd have to check it out before we headed home. On our second day there I was able to stop by and the nicest guy helped me pick out some great products!

As some of you may know Fleur DeForce on YouTube has raved about a certain foundation from this brand in the past. Of course I couldn't remember the exact one she loves so I ended up asking the associates opinion of what formula would work best for my skin. He recommended this very hydrating cream compact foundation in 120 Natural Light Ivory. Even though I am not head over heals for this product yet I am still working on getting a feel for it and it is pretty hydrating. It has light coverage that is said to be very buildable but on it's own it hasn't provided enough for me thus far. It's also not the longest lasting formulation out there but like I said I am still working with it and trying to find the best application method. Any recommendations?

I am most impressed with the 2 skincare products I picked up from Shiseido. The same guy walked me though their Benefiance skincare line and I fell in love with these 2 unique items!

Starting with the Creamy Cleansing Emulsion. I don't know about you but I have personally never seen or tried something like this. It is essentially a lotion that breaks down your makeup while supplying your skin with lots of moisture! It can be wiped or rinsed off and he even said that if I'm feeling lazy my skin would be clean enough to head straight to bed without cleansing after using this. I can honestly say that I have already seen my skin improving after using this for about a week. I use it every night after removing my eye makeup with a makeup wipe and all of the dry, flaky skin around my forehead and chin is completely smooth and unnoticeable! Plus the product itself feels so luxurious on the skin- it's a great way to wind down at night.

Rounding out this haul is this Balancing Softener. Even though I don't love this stuff as much as that lotion right off the bat I do think it's a great addition to my current skincare routine. For once it is truly a toner that doesn't dry out my skin in the slightest! I apply about 6 drops to a cotton pad and gently wipe it across my entire face after cleansing. My skin doesn't feel too different after applying this but it is supposed to help my skin absorb my moisturizer better.

Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this post! If you are interested in seeing when I picked up these products or what else we did while in Chicago check out the vlog I filmed below!

I hope you enjoyed reading about these recent beauty purchases! Have you ever tried any of these?

Love, Lacey