New York City Beauty Haul!

Happy weekend, everyone! I've finished sharing with you my Photo Diaries from my recent trip to New York City, which I hope you enjoyed! Times to get to the ultra fun stuff- all of the beauty goodies I brought home with me! In December, I did some research on which brands I could find in NYC that aren't super easy to get here in Toronto. I complied quite a posh Wishlist and then went on the hunt! I obviously couldn't pick up everything on my list (I think my wallet would have run away from home), but I was able to treat myself to some beautiful products that I'm happy to gush about here!

I've broken down my haul by store, to give you a sense of what brands each shop has to offer. I'll provide a bit of detail about each item, but will keep it relatively short, as I'm sure some full-blown reviews will be coming down the pipeline soon!

Space NK Soho
On my final day in the Big Apple, I popped into the wonderful Space.NK (a UK-based shop) in SoHo where I got a little pamper, a lot of advice, and a bevy of samples to go along with my purchases. I got to sit down with Roberto, a makeup artist from By Terry for a makeup touch up and some tips and tricks (to check out his website, click here!). It was super fun and helpful! I also chatted for a while with one of the store's facialists, who gave me a great sense of what products my skin might like. Here's what I picked up:

By Terry Blush Terrybly Ultimate Radiance Blush in Sexy Plum
Roberto used this blush on me to add warmth to my skin and a bit of contour. It added the loveliest sheer wash of colour that imparted a radiant glow. I didn't realize until I got home that the shade was called Sexy Plum, which made it even more fun! It's a neutral to warm tawny plum with subtle pink shimmer. Ultra pretty!

By Terry Gelee de Rose Intensive Multi-Active Moisturizer
On the day I visited the shop, my skin was quite parched from the frigid weather. Roberto used some of this beautiful rose-scented gel cream over my foundation (who knew?) to get rid of any unsightly flakies while soothing my complexion. It was lovely and it worked wonderfully!

Eve Lom Rescue Mask
I hadn't been able to track down the Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask on my travels, so I asked the facialist's recommendation for an effective clarifying treat. She recommended this wonder mask from Eve Lom and I was sold! Had been wanting to try the brand for some time and this seemed like the perfect introduction.

The facialist at Space.NK was also quite generous with samples, which was a nice extra treat! She gave me several from Zelens, a brand I'd been curious to try! I was especially excited about the Transformer Instant Renewal Mask, which Ruth from A Model Recommends has raved so much about! She also made me up a little tub of the Sara Chapman Overnight Facial, which I've tried twice already and is absolute heaven for my skin! She also introduced me to a line I hadn't heard of, Colbert MD, which is a NYC exclusive. She gave me a couple of packets of his famous Stimulate serum- can't wait to give it a go!

Barney's New York
Day 3 in NYC brought me to Barney's where I eagerly sought out goodies from Sunday Riley and By Terry. Barney's is always one of my favourite shopping stops in New York, as the cosmetics department is ultra chic and luxurious and the sales associates are wonderfully friendly and knowledgeable. A perfect combination!

Sunday Riley Effortless Breathable Tinted Primer in Light
This was one of the items on my wishlist because I'd read that it was a pretty high-tech, effective primer that also adds a touch of coverage and radiance. I'm pretty loyal to my Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation Primer, but I think this one will be perfect for those "no makeup makeup" days or when my complexion needs an extra boost!

By Terry Cover Expert Perfecting Fluid Foundation in Shade #1
I'd heard nothing but good things about By Terry foundation, so I was excited to bring this one home! While it was the Sheer Expert that was on my wishlist, I opted for the Cover Expert in the end because I know that I reach for fuller coverage foundations way more often. This one covers amazingly and feels ultra light on the skin. A true winner!

I also picked up a few samples at Barney's, which look a bit ghastly in the first shot but are hopefully clarified above. I'd been ultra curious about Kevin Aucoin's multi-tasking Sensual Skin Enhancer, so I snagged a little bit of it in shade #5. By Terry's Hyaluronic Blush had been on my wishlist as well, so I was lucky to grab a little pot of it in the super fun neon shade Bubble Glow. I also was given a very generous sample of Sunday Riley's Good Genes, a brightening wonder treatment that I've been testing over the past several nights. The jury's still out, but it does give a lovely instant glow. My boyfriend even commented that I was glowing after using it, which is something!


Inglot Times Square
Everyone had been telling me that I had to stop by Inglot during my trip and I eagerly agreed! Most appealing was Inglot's Freedom System, which lets you create custom palettes from their hundreds of unique and stunning shades. Their goodies are actually quite affordable and also cruelty-free. What's not to love?

Inglot 5-Shadow Custom Freedom Palette
Putting together my custom eye shadow palette was incredibly fun (a makeup lover's dream, really!). I opted for a mix of cool and warm tones with a pop of purple. I chose shades Pearl 434 (a deep purple grey), Shine 152 (a light silvery taupe), Pearl 446 (a shimmery eggplant), Shine 31 (a light, shimmery bronze), and Shine 08 (a luminous golden champagne). Love the way they look together!

Inglot AMC Eyeliner Gel # 89
I also picked up one of Inglot's gel liners in shade #89 (a mid-to-deep neutral brown). I chose this one because my collection was lacking a brown cream liner and because I thought it would make a wonderful base for the shades in my palette if I wanted to create a smokey eye!

Duane Reade
Finally, to balance out all the pricey treats I picked up, I snagged a couple of my very favourite drugstore lipsticks! There were Duane Reade pharmacies on nearly every corner, all of which offered Milani, one of the fun, frugal brands that we can't find here in Toronto.

I chose two of their amazingly rich and pigmented Colour Statement Lipsticks, which pack a great colour punch for under $7 each. Flamingo Pose (love the shade name!) is a vibrant, cheery slightly coral hot pink and Naturally Chic is a neutral, slightly peachy brown. Both are fab!

And there you have it! A shopping tour of my trip to NYC. I'm super pleased with all of the goodies I picked up, the generous samples I scored, and all of the fun and friendly sales associates and makeup artists that I chatted with along the way!

Here's one final jumbo-sized shot:

You can definitely look out for some more in-depth reviews of the goodies above in coming posts. Inglot's will be next!

Have you tried any of the items featured in this post? Have I tempted you with anything?

Thanks for reading! xo