Halloween is around the corner and soon or later, it will be Christmas. There are already Christmas sets being sold at Sephora. This can be a good thing or bad thing – Good thing if you like to get your gifts in advance and value sets that have a great value of content inside. Bad thing because it could potentially hurt your wallet. I know Christmas time is when I spend the most because of all the gifts I have to buy for family and friends. Alright, let’s hop in the list of products I will not be buying.

SUNDAY RILEY – ICE CERAMIDE CREAM 

I don’t get their prices and the sudden hype over ceramide. You do realize you can buy ceramide creams with minimal and fewer filler ingredients for a fraction of the cost? Cerave moisturizing cream, anyone? I mean, the ingredients are so-so in my eyes and 83 Canadian dollars for 50 ml? The Cerave moisturizing cream has 400 ml of product and it’s only 15 Canadian dollars. Goes to show you how crazy brands mark up their prices for eh/mediocre products. Yeah, I don’t think so. Next.

SUMMER FRIDAYS CC ME SERUM

Summer Fridays appear to become a really popular brand within a short period of time, they’re very well known for their jet lag mask. For me, during the time when I tried it, it wasn’t the best mask nor the worst – it was just okay and there are essential oils in it in case you are sensitive to that. The key ingredients look so good then when you look at the price, you’re almost shocked how expensive it is. This is very much like drunk elephant’s c-firma sister except with a heck lot of fragrance. If you’re interested in a really good brightening product, get the rohto melano cc, it works like a charm and it’s available on yesstyle & amazon.

There’s this whole crazy clean beauty movement going on and I’m not here for it. Yeah, that’s great you’ve found natural products that work for you but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for the skin; Not for all skin types at least. I would say my skin was pretty content with fragrance and essential oils in the past but I’ll tell you what – my skin has become very heavily sensitized after using essential oils for a long period of time. I used an all-natural essential oil-based brand for an entire month and it damaged my skin so badly, I was afraid that there was no way for me to repair my skin. My skin is currently alright as I am transitioning into an essential oil-free routine.

TOO FACED GINGERBREAD BRONZED & KISSED SET

I love cute stuff so much however, I never purchase Christmas collabs because they are not timeless pieces and will eventually lose their relevance. They’re for the short term and make great gifts. Of course, I find this adorable but at the same time, I’m not going to bomb 49 Canadian dollars to make this happen in my collection. There are so much better makeup pieces out there that have more worth in my collection and this one isn’t it for me. Too faced as a brand makes a lot of cute products but they’re not timeless and often seen as fast-beauty, like fast-fashion – pieces are not timeless and often go out of style. I love their eyeshadow palettes such as the chocolate series, especially bonbons but this one is no for me.

SEPHORA EYE SHADOW PALETTES IN GENERAL

Honestly… who buys these? I cannot take their palettes seriously because they truly look like children’s makeup, it looks like something you could find at Claire’s. I mean, if this works for you, great. I’ve had a few of their single eyeshadows and man, they were so powdery, it was an unfortunate scene. I’m really particular and picky with my eyeshadows, I prefer them to have a dense, rich, almost creamy formula and I find that the ABH ones are one of the best eyeshadows I have tried. I also really like the urban decay eyeshadows as well – both naked palettes and also their single + moondust eyeshadows.

That’s it for now, friends. Until next time – in the next Anti-Haul.