Real Techniques + Hard Candy Haul

That's right, you read correctly- Real Techniques!! You might be wondering why the extreme exclamation (since every blogger and their dog has been talking about the line for months now), but Real Techniques brushes have just hit Toronto shelves and I couldn't have been more excited to snatch some up!

Fellow Toronto-based blogger Christine at Little Red Bow gave me the heads up that our local Wal-Mart was now stocking a few of the Real Techniques brush sets, so I was quick to head over to check them out! I don't shop at Wal-Mart all that often, but these brushes were enough to get me there. Another reason I'm occasionally lured to Wal-Mart is that they're the only store that sells Hard Candy cosmetics here in Toronto. So while peeking at the new brush kits, I snagged a couple of goodies from Hard Candy as well.

Here's what I picked up:

 

In stock were Real Techniques' three brush sets: the Starter Set, the Core Collection, and the Travel Essentials. Though tempted to bring all three of them home, I opted for the Core Collection, as it included 4 incredible face brushes. Thought it was a good place to start! I'll be posting a full review of the set shortly, but I'll briefly say that the Core Collection features the Contour Brush, Pointed Foundation Brush, the Detailer Brush, and the Buffing Brush. It also comes with a handy black case!

After settling slightly from the Real Techniques encounter, I was drawn to the Hard Candy display, which was highlighting some new releases for spring. Given my recent love of the Illamasqua Speckled Nail Varnishes, my eyes quickly fixated on Hard Candy's Candy Sprinkles range, which features pastel and fruity colours with multi-coloured, multi-sized glitter dispersed throughout. I ended up choosing Gummy Green, a minty aqua shade with black, white, and navy shimmer. Can't wait to do a manicure with it soon to see if it lives up to its' Illamasqua counterpart. Either way, at $3, this was definitely a score!

If you spotted my recent Wishlist, you would have seen that I've been a bit smitten with coloured mascara lately. Because I was on the hunt for a version more affordable than the Chanel mascara that originally inspired me to coat my lashes in non-black hues, I was happy to see that Hard Candy offered some coloured options in their Ginormous Mascara range. I was quickly drawn to Purple Haze, a vibrant violet. Hard Candy promises that the formula will instantly "fatten your flutter" (best metaphor or plumping lashes ever), so I can't wait to give it a go!

Overall, I'm pretty pumped about everything I picked up at Wal-Mart last week. I paid about $30 in total for all of the lovely goodies I featured here, so my newly budget-conscious self felt quite satisfied!

Will be writing more thorough reviews of each item in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled!

And yes, Sadie just can't help herself! :)

Thanks for reading! xo