Drugstore Love! (Haul featuring Hard Candy, Wet N' Wild, NYX, Real Techniques, and more!)

Hi, everyone! I've been on a bit of a makeup-buying spree lately (surprise, surprise), however the bulk of my new-found goodies have been snagged at the drugstore for quite reasonable prices. Yay for being frugal! As much as I swoon over high-end treats, I also get a self-indulgent sense of satisfaction from knowing that I've picked up 10 goodies for the price of one single Sephora item. Can't go wrong with that!

The lovely products below are the result of a few separate shopping trips to Wal-Mart here in Toronto and CVS and Ulta (my first-ever Ulta experience!) while visiting a friend in Michigan last week. Here are the spoils:

(L-R, Top to Bottom): Real Techniques Blush Brush, Real Techniques Stippling Brush, NYX Wonder Pencil in Light, Hard Candy All Glossed Up Hydrating Lip Stain in Mauveous, Wet N' Wild Megalast Lip Colour in Purty Persimmon, Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya, Milani Colour Statement Lipstick in Flirty Fuchsia, NYX Love in Florence Gelato for Two Palette, Wet N' Wild Megalast Liquid Lip Colour in Back to the Fuchsia, Hard Candy Top Ten Eye Shadow Collection Naturally Gorgeous Palette

And some closer-up shots:

Real Techniques Blush Brush, Real Techniques Stippling Brush, NYX Wonder Pencil in Light

All Glossed Up Hydrating Lip Stain in Mauveous, Wet N' Wild Megalast Lip Colour in Purty Persimmon, Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya, Milani Colour Statement Lipstick in Flirty Fuchsia, NYX Love in Florence Gelato for Two Palette, Wet N' Wild Megalast Liquid Lip Colour in Back to the Fuchsia, Hard Candy Top Ten Eye Shadow Collection Naturally Gorgeous Palette

I won't provide full reviews here (as I haven't taken them all for a spin yet; more reviews to come!), but I'll do my best to provide a brief description of each below!

Wet N' Wild Megalast Lip Colour in Purty Persimmon is a striking orange-red long-wearing lipstick. I've seen it featured on a couple other blogs and I knew I had to have it, especially for only $3!

Milani Colour Statement Lipstick in Flirty Fuchsia is a richly pigmented, shimmery blue-based fuchsia. Bold, but totally wearable. Have sported this a few times since I purchased it and I'm definitely smitten :)

Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya is a new summertime shade in the Lip Butter range. Like Purty Persimmon above, I saw this featured by a few lovely bloggers and was swayed to give it a go. It really is a lovely, soft peachy coral for the warmer months!

Wet N' Wild MegaLast Liquid Lip Colour in Back to the Fuchsia definitely wins in the cheeky shade name category- one of the reasons I couldn't pass it up (in addition to the amazing price)! It's a deep, cool-toned fuchsia that dries down uber-matte (without parching lips) and truly lasts!

Hard Candy All Glossed Up Hydrating Lip Stain in Mauveous reminded me of my beloved Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey, so at only $4, I was tempted to make the comparison. Haven't given this pinky-mauve shade a go yet, but am looking forward to it!

Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Collection Naturally Gorgeous Palette has made me glad that I never caved and bought the Urban Decay Nakeds. Though I love Urban Decay deeply, I've resisted their ever-popular palettes because I couldn't justify the $60 price tag given that I own a plethora of neutral shadows already. But at only $5, I couldn't resist this Hard Candy offering! Can't wait to test this out; I have high hopes!

NYX Love in Florence Gelato for Two Palette is another eye shadow palette that I couldn't pass up. It features a selection of both shimmery and matte pink and purple-toned shades that are right up my alley. And the Italian-inspired name is super appealing!

Real Techniques Stippling Brush is one that I've heard raves about again and again. Ulta had all RT brushes at Buy 1, Get 1 50% off and I couldn't resist. I have a feeling this brush will make me want to use cream blush every day!

Real Techniques Blush Brush is currently in a friend's daily rotation; when I did her makeup I used this for setting powder and bronzer and was instantly impressed. So soft and fluffy! Will be using this with my MAC Blot Powder from now on!

NYX Wonder Pencil in Light was featured on my giant wishlist  a couple months ago, so I was ecstatic when I spotted it at Ulta. This pencil is incredibly versatile, but I'm planning to use it primarily on my waterline to brighten up my eyes. It's a lovely, natural-looking alternative to a stark-white shade!

And one final jumbo-sized shot of all the goodies:

Adding things up, the total for all 10 of these items came to about $60, which, when put in perspective, equals one Urban Decay Naked Palette or one higher-end face brush. So no complaints here!

I plan on reviewing some of these products separately, but would love your input on which reviews you'd like to see! Let me know which of these is catching your eye or making you curious!

What have you bought from the drugstore lately? Favourite new budget finds?

Thanks for reading! xo