What was your last impulse beauty purchase? Share!
Burberry Trench Eyeshadow… since it was discontinued, and I’m not sure it was brought back in the reformulated range! So… mass hysteria ensued! I know I can easily replace it without a bajillion brow bone shades, but I really like it!
Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Nars Turkish Delight lipgloss. Did not need a new lipgloss at all, but since Nars just came to town, I could not pass on an opportunity to start exploring the brand 🙂 BTW, the taste of this thing is awful, not like smth is spoiled or off, but sooo cheap plastic that it’s almost unbearable.
Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick 🙂
Wayne Goss Holiday Brush. Everyone grabbed it up quickly and it was also a limited edition item so I joined in. I’ve only used it once so far and whie the construction + shape of the brush is pretty good I’m not sure if it was worth the splurge lol.
Guerlain Meteroites, the beads and brush. Always wondered what they were really like. Because of price, I was hesitant but love them. Impossible to show in a picture but so perfecting with a very soft glow. I’m 65 so don’t want major glow. These are perfect as a final touch.
I also have that brush. Wonderful.
YSL polish in Bleu Cobalt and Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadow in #21 Obsidian Grey. I was so surprised to see that Neiman Marcus still had limited edition Armani eyeshadows from a 2012 collection in stock!
MAC Syrup lipstick.
Cherry Bomb lipstick from Wet & Wild! I had been looking for it for a few months and it seemed to be sold out everywhere. I remembered to check when I was at the drug store the other day and they had it. At least it didn’t hurt my wallet- only $3 and it’s fantastic!
Some Sephora bobby pins so I could try the Marc Jacobs 100 point perk lipstick and Clinque primer.
FYI – Sephora will let you redeem reward points in store without purpchase. Unless you needed a few points to get to 100, but I’ve cashed out points a few times with no purchase. Just did it a week ago for the Marc Jacobs lipstick!
I just impulse bought the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette. I got a Sephora makeup session (coupon for hitting VIB) and the MUA used the powder on me. I LOVED it, I just had to have the palette and I had a gift card! So double score, I’ve worn it every day. I can actually contour a bit with it (I’m SUPER pale). Definitely an awesome purchase.
I am embarrased to ask this — but do you use all 3 of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette colors at the same time?
Hi Deborah, please don’t ever be embarrassed to ask a question!
I also have the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette. I’m fair/light cool pink undertones MAC 15W/20W, and I sometimes use all three at the same time. Dim Light – the shade on the left is the least shimmery (though none are at all over-the-top shimmery) and is great for all over the face. The Incandescent Light (middle shade) I use on the high planes of the face where you would use a highlighter, and Radiant Light (the shade on the right) I use where I would use a bronzer to give a little warmth and dimension to the face. Fortunately it’s not too warm-toned for me. The effects are very subtle as these are considered finishing powders, not really setting/bronzer/highlighter powders. HTH! (Hope that helps)
Thank You! I’m a Sephora addict so that is very helpful!
ABH Liquid Lipstick in Party Pink. I saw your review and pictures on here, and I had to have it. It was love at first sight.
Why, just an hour ago I bought some Pixi shadow pencils that were on sale impulsively.
Hmm, I very rarely buy makeup on impulse. I usually buy only after reading several positive reviews, seeing online swatches and/or swatching in person. If I do buy on impulse, it’s usually a drugstore lippie that was on sale.
MAC 3D Lavender Glitter haha I hope I wear it as much as I think I will
I hate it when they discontinue a good shade or product……such as Chanel Dragon.
The Burberry Gold palette. I’m super happy with it and it looks great on! Beautiful colors and textures.
By the way Christine, you should totally do an empties post. Just list your empties from the last month or two months or something.
Shiseido Satin Eye Color Trio in 304.. I was craving purple things that day.. and that happened. I do really enjoy the formula of the shadows though, and laveneder shades are my favorite color so, could’ve been worse!! 😀
A mini version of Benefit’s They’re Real Push Up Liner. I love it.
Mac blush in “pinch me” 🙂
My impulse buys are not all that impulsive, I usually impulse buy things I’m planning on buying but at a later date. So today, I “impulsively” bought Dolce and Gabanna’s blush in Tan.
I’m the same. I’ll have a list, and I will constantly “group” things depending on budget, availability, and/or if I’m only able to buy online, I’ll do as much as possible.
On my last shopping day, I wanted both MAC 15-pan neutral palettes, but only Cool was available in-store (apparently, someone stole an entire drawer of the Warm…), so I ended up with Painterly Paint Pot, and a mini Rose Pigment. I wanted both at some point, but I figured I had “extra” cash in the budget, I may as well pick up a few smaller items… I also grabbed the Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Glow #4, as I went to Nordstrom in hopes of nabbing the St. Lucia Multiple (which is permanent!), but they were out, and as I was leaving, I passed the KA counter… I love the formula, and the color is amazing, but I can’t stand how small the contour pan is!
I honestly can’t remember. I’ve been doing a lot of research before buying lately.
Sephora Double Contouring Cream Blush in Golden Spice …. oh how I wanted to like it because the color was different from the rest of the blushes that I own. It swatches well, but when I went to put it on my face and blend it out, all I had was glitter and no color. So, returning that and getting the one I really wanted instead, Rose Glow.
It’s a toss-up between Naked on the Run (I barely even looked at it, though I’d seen it here, but when I went into Sephora, I just GRABBED it) and Nars Dual Intensity eyeshadow palette…they hadn’t even put one out on display yet and had to dig around to find them “in the back” (honestly, I seem to be more “au courant” with new products and launch dates than some of the staff there!). I didn’t even swatch the shadows….just bought the beautiful thing and left!
My local Sephora is like that, too. I’m always going in and asking about something new. Then I have to show them on my phone that it’s listed in stock at their store, and that prompts them to say, “…uh…maybe it’s in the back?” And one of the managers didn’t know they were carrying Armani now. Super nice and helpful guy otherwise, though.
My local store gets shipments in, and while they say “in stock” online, it’s because they were scanned in, but haven’t been put on the floor yet, often because they aren’t scheduled yet for in-store release. It’s not that the staff isn’t “knowledgeable”, rather they are doing things correctly. That said, there have been many times they’ve pulled things early for me, mainly because I took the initiative to ask.
Yes, I shouldn’t be so harsh on them. Very often, they will very nicely look for a new item and pull it for me.
Three LA Splash glitter nail polishes I found on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond. They were worth the less than a dollar each I paid for them, definitely!
Bobbi Brown Scotch on the Rocks Highlight Powder (LE) in Bronze Glow! It’s also the most expensive product that I have in my collection.
I bought three more nailpolishes from Hautelook than I had intended to on Friday. I planned to buy Illamasqua Fire Rose, Raindrops, and Pink Raindrops, but also bought Creator, Trilliant, and Matte Top Coat.
Burberry eyeshadows, since you freaked me out with them being discontinued. Great job Christine!!! 🙂
Giorgio Armani Master Corrector in Orange. Sephora finally has Armani beauty online so i finally purchased this longtime lemming! I have blue circles under my eyes and everyone raves about how magical this corrector is, hopefully i will love it!
Ooh, I will need to check that out! Thanks for the tip.
the colourpop blushes that just went on sale today!!
Wait, what? Trench has been discontinued? I totally missed that! Noooooo! The last impulse item I bought was Bite Beauty LLLR 002…I had read all the terrible reviews of 001, but 002 was still in stock several hours after being released and I really liked the colour, so I pulled the trigger and I’m glad I did!
$2.50 drugstore lip pencil 🙂
I bought the NYX matte lip cream’s in San Paulo & Stockholm and the Jordana Matte lipstick in Matte Classy. I have to say for all the hype these are not good products like people say they are.
Well that’s good to know! I was considering purchasing Stockholm myself. If you don’t mind my asking, what was wrong with them?
I agree! I bought a bunch while they were buy one get one half at Ulta. They are like powder on your lips! So ridiculously drying in my opinion. I returned them,even though they were only $3-4 each..I couldn’t even think of anyone to try to make take them!
Yeah I want to know too… The only Soft Matte Lip Cream I have is Transylvannia and I kinda like it… I was considering to buy more, but instead went with the new Sephora Lip Creams which are AMAZING! The Nyx ones are cheaper and I wanted to buy more
I bought a couple, and I love them. They remind me a lot of TF Melted lipsticks. They aren’t drying to me at all.
stackholm is my favorite lipstick right now. it is not drying on me (as opossed to chanel coco shine wich i can not wear for more than 1 hour) nor does it moisturise. i love how it looks.
I know I’m kind of late to the party, but for the NYX matte lip creams I think it kind of depends on the shade too. I have Abu Dhabi and I ADORE it, it goes on so smooth and opaque and creamy. And then I have two others, Tokyo and San Paolo, and neither are as nice as Abu Dhabi. They apply a little bit patchier on my dry lips.
Marc Jacobs Contour Powder duo. The highlight powder felt so silky and looked so nice (on my wrist 🙂 ), then I just grabbed it. Hope it’s as nice at home!
Opera lipstick from the MAC Toledo Collection. It’s a pretty red, but I already have both Ruby/RiRi Woo, so was it necessary…nope! But I got caught up in the frenzy that is a MAC Collection release lol! BTW, I also bought Oxblood lipstick and lipglass and the Barbecue lipglass, but those were planned purchases 🙂
Hi Christine,
Just wanted to mention that Stone in the new formula is supposed to be the exact same colour as Trench. The SA said some colours changed a bit, but they just renamed Trench. I know the texture feels even softer than Trench, but it appears to be the same colour once you blend it out onto the skin (at least it is on my skin). I hope that helps!
Thanks, Christina! More info than I got out of Burberry directly 🙁 I don’t know why they’d rename it, though… that makes… no sense (given how iconic the Burberry trench is, period).
I know! It’s very weird. When I swatched Stone, it looked a bit more yellow, so the differences might show up on your skintone, but seeming as I’m fair, they’re all just creamy yellow on me.
I do think the reformulated shades look a little different from the original, so heads up to anyone who loves the original shades might want to purchase a backup. I tried to buy Trench, but it is sold out everywhere. 🙂
During my last implies buy, I purchased a few Sephora Pro brushes, a Sugar lip scrub, Boscia black face cleanser, Becca highlighters in Opal and Rose Gold, and Laura Mercier satin liquid lipsticks.
Sunday Riley Luna oil. A very spendy splurge!
OPI Hawaii collection 4 piece mini set…I’d set myself on a nail polish ban (I can only buy 5 bottles of polish for the year and I still haven’t made my mind up about how I’m going to consider these in terms of my ban haha) The colors were so pretty, I couldn’t leave them at the store
Jennifer- from one addict to another, you should only count the mini set as one 🙂
The Physicians Formula City Glow bronzer. It was just too pretty to leave in the store lol
I pre-ordered the ripe plum and raw jade Tom Ford spring duos prior to any reviews. I am still pretty happy with Raw jade. But , the Ripe Plum..not sure. They don’t look like the promo pics. Still pretty. I am not sure about $60 pretty for 2 shadows though! Prior to that I went hog wild on the Anastasia liquid lipsticks and bought 18 upon release. I will never do something so stupid again! I should have known the hype was too good to be true. I am in the process of prepping all but about 5-6 ..maybe more to return. They are not at all “moisturizing”! Otherwise, I have gotten pretty good about doing my research after spending my youth with many products that sat!
Went to MAC a few weeks ago to Back 2 Mac for 3 lipsticks and walked out with 6. I just threw them all in the bag
I just placed an order for a few things I’ve been eyeing for a while, so I won’t call those an impulse…but last night I picked up two Maybelline Rebel Bloom lipsticks for spring, and a Physicians Formula Argan bronzer….those were totally impulsive 🙂
Some Femme Fatale eyeshadows.
Gosh, I haven’t bought anything in forever. I guess the last beauty related purchase was a travel jar of Pond’s wrinkle reducing cream to try as a moisturizer. I do like it a lot, doesn’t break me out and my skin feels smoother.
Last make-up was MAC A Novel Romance quad which I’d honestly completely forgotten about. I’ll have to go dig it out and use it.
I went to Target the day after Target Canada announced they would be closing, with the intention of getting only a Sonia Kashuk lipstick and brush/bronzer duo, as we don’t get that brand in Canada otherwise, but ended up getting an eyeshadow duo and nail polish from the same brand and a Pixi eyeshadow palette as well. Otherwise, I tend to have a wishlist of items I want in order to avoid impulse purchases!
I was browsing in a Cosmetics Company store on Tuesday and I picked up a MAC blush: Blush All Day. I also grabbed two Bobbi Brown eyeshadows: Cement and Khaki. Certainly don’t need any of these things but the Cement is a backup. All discontinued products, of course.
Whaaa??? How did I miss it being discontinued? Trench is my pretty much the ONLY brow bone shade I use! And I’ve hit pan! Off to Googling I go!
Crisis averted! Two trenches and a pale barley ordered from Saks! 🙂
YSL Glossy Stain in Fuchsia Dore. My divorce was finalized Tuesday and I wanted something fun to mark the occasion!
The Givenchy Le Prisme Blush in Vogue Orange. I’ve been lusting after Honey Jasmine from the MAC All About Orange collection forever, but eBay can be too ridiculous. I saw it was a dupe, and decided to treat myself (birthday month excuses…)! I also bought Becca Mineral Blush in Wild Honey, because YouTube’s Jaclyn Hill was talking it up. It looks right up my alley!
Yesterday at sephora for my birthday I impulse bought urdban decay deslick, and TFSI, and a melted lipstick!
I did 2 impulse beauty purchases last week, and i am SO GLAD i did ! My new favorite mascara: Maxi Lash by Guerlain. Exquisite perfume, i can’t get enough of it! : Jour d’Hermes l’absolu
NARS eyeshadow primer. I was getting a small tube as a gift with purchase so I don’t know why I got another one. They last FOREVER!
Almost all of my purchases are impulse because of pretty shiny things I see here and other places on the internet! The last one arrived today – Benefit “Skinny Jeans” creaseless eyeshadow because of a few of you liking it. I’m not sure I have owned anything by Benefit before. : )
The new Tom Ford cream shadow, Spring 2015.
yesterday…MAC…6 nude lipsticks…cherish, kinda sexy, honeylove, half & half & velvet teddy. would’ve had Yash & Faux too but they were sold out. good thing LOL
Laura Geller Baked Liquid Radiance Foundation w ith Brush /Fair I went to QVC to buy the new Tarte set that I got an email about. After I checked out I saw this product listed with a video, and I made the mistake of watching it! I am addicted to the new serum foundations and after watching the video I had to get it, because it came with a nice brush and both were less than forty dollars together :O I need help! :)))
Eight bottles of Illamasqua nail polish from the Haute Look flash sale last week.
One of the new Max Factor blushes, I think the colour name is Dusty Mauve or similar. It’s so pretty!
Makeup for ever HD foundation
125 sand
&
Mac Sin lipstick
I just now bought the Bite Butter Cream lipstick in Rosewood and it’s all your fault. And I mean that in a good way; It looks like it’ll be a good color and good formula for me. It’s also your fault that I got the Guerlain Meteorites, but I’ve been sitting on that for a while, so it’s not an impulse buy.
Soap&Glory archery for brows ……and Elle magazine because it carries the new Benefit mascara – mini size- roller lash….ah and a new Dove nourishing body oil that was very strategically situated by the self checkouts.
Impulse purchase(s) from Sephora this week: Urban Decay Optical Blurring Brush, the Fresh Sugar Sweeties Mini Lip Duo, and the Sephora Precision Pore Cleanser thing.
Vice III and Lorac Gold palettes
The Too Faced Heart Bronzer and Blush palette. I went to a J.C. Penny/Sephroa event to check out the new NARS foundation (which is fabulous) and fell in love with the Too Faced Heart palette, and got both the foundation and the bronzer. I love both and they work well together, so not sorry about the purchase but gads, I really didn’t need either!
Ulta recently had a 20% off sale so I bought the new UD Naked Skin concealer in dark neutral, the UD 24/7 velvet eyeliner in Minx and I finally decided to try the original Too Faced chocolate bar palette since it’s generally gotten good reviews in the blogosphere. Everything swatched really nicely so far and I’m ready to test drive everything at work next week.
A Clinique chubby stick lip thing. It has carmel in the name. I only got it to qualify for gwp.
Ohhh. 3 Makeupforever shadoWs.
Morello cherry , light redwood and pinky beige.
very expensive impulse buy. Lol
Mudglow? Glamour glow mud mask sounds better lol. Think that’s it. Bought it just after finishing my purchase, another impulse buy of Nars radiant concealer (love) I just had to try it out.
I also wanted to just try colour pop cosmetics and buy 1 eyeshadow and 1 lippie stick but I ended up buying 4 lippies and 6 eyeshadows. Yikes that 30$ free shipping will get you!
I tend to not buy makeup on impulse without checking the reviews – especially if it is eyeshadow palettes and I tend to buy them online because we cannot get them in Australia at a fairly reasonable price.
If I do buy on impulse it is usually a “drugstore” lipstick – the last one was Maybelline’s Colour Sensational lipstick in Revival Red – which turns out to be stunning. It was half price.
a chanel highlighter. they had some le stuff out on display, and I got the second to last one on a whim so that was cool.
Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Rose Extreme — The packaging looked so gorgeous I couldn’t resist. While it does smell and taste like roses, it doesn’t seem to be as pigmented as the regular Rose version. Also feels less hydrating. Overall, not the phenomenal “reformulation” I was hoping for, but I’m still going to keep it because the packaging is stunning.
Kelley quan makeup brushes! She makes vegan brushes with synthetics that mimics mink,squirrel,goat and badger hair… think i even saw “tiger”….lol
Melt Cosmetics eyeshadow stacks in both Dark Matter and Lovesick. I went on the site to order one and ended up with both. They are just so beautiful and big!
YSL Couture Variation Ten-Color Expert Eye Palette, just this afternoon. Totally love it!
I have been swaying back and forth on this all week to get at barneys while they were having their beauty event and I’m kicking myself for not getting it because I couldn’t find any good reviews online. On my wish list now for sure!
The Nars Dual Intensity palette. I got the last one at my local Sephora 🙂 I’ve had it for a week and I have been having a great time trying different looks. The colors and quality of these shadows is amazing. It was splurge for me (and I need another eye shadow palette like I need a hole in the head) but I’m so glad I picked it up.
Three Nyx Intense Butter Glosses and five High Voltage Lipsticks. Loving them so far, for the most part!
Armani Lip Maestros in 504 and 400! I bought ’em to recreate the “Jupiter Ascending” wedding look.
Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara. I hope i love it because I don’t prefer spending a lot money on things that don’t last more than 3 months.
My skin has been so dry form this winter so I went online to research foundations and ended up buying Armani LSF, Laura mercier tinted moustirezer and chanel vitaluminere and LSF highlighted my dry patches, VL color was really off way too yellow so waiting to return and Laura mercier is a great Tinted moustirezer but not enough coverage for winter months. My search continues…