Beauty in the Breakdown: Birthday Haul!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to show some of the beauty items I received for my birthday this year. Once I've had more time with these products, I will do reviews and swatches. For now, I'll just do an overload of pictures because hey, pictures are awesome. I had such a great birthday, and wanted to especially thank my mom, dad, brother, Billy, the Putnam family, Kimberli, and Jamie for celebrating it with me! You all are the BEST!

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

First Impressions

So far, so good! I love UD's Naked 1 palette, so loving this one so far isn't a big surprise.
The formula of these eyeshadows is even better than the old formula (featured in previous single eyeshadows and eyeshadow palettes, including Naked 1). UD's been raving about the quality of their new formula, so we'll see if it "pans" out (how "puny" of me).
Haven't used the brush yet, but the lip gloss is rather nice. Not wonderful enough to buy full size, but nice enough to enjoy the mini version.

Eyeshadow shades from left to right are Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout. Also comes with doubled sided eye brush & lip junkie.

Mini Lip Junkie Lip Gloss in Naked

Too Faced Summer Eye Palette

First Impressions

Though I've been loving neutrals this year, it's such a breath of fresh air to play with color again!
I've already created two different looks from this palette that I adore.
So far, my favorite shades are Sugar Sand, Coral Crush (so gorgeous!), & Toasted Coconut.

The outer case

The palette "cover"

Inside the palette!

The "look" cards

Close-up! I'll try & take a better close-up when I review the palette!

Benefit Boi-ing in 01

First Impressions

I've been trying to find a new under eye concealer that is long-wearing, doesn't crease, has good coverage, and doesn't look cakey. I've been using Boi-ing everyday since I received it, and I'm loving it so far. We'll see if it meets all of my expectations in the long haul!
Works great on under eyes, redness, and blemishes.

Sephora Free Birthday Gift-Fresh Sugar Kisses Mini Lip Duo

First Impressions

Well, these were free, so I'm quite happy about it! All you have to do is sign up for Sephora's rewards program, which is free of charge. Every time a purchase is made, points add up to eventually give customers free samples & gifts (specifically, 100 pts for a deluxe sample & 500 pts for a gift). $1=1 point. The birthday gift, which changes every year, is free and can be picked up in store or online. The pick-up time is a week before and a week after your birthday.
The gift comes with two mini lip balms, one regular and one tinted. These are very small, but the two together almost equal one full size lip balm, so I can't complain.
These are very moisturizing and have a lovely texture. However, Fresh lip balms retail for $22 each, which is outrageously priced for any chapstick-like product (in my opinion).

Rose on left, Original on right

EOS Lip Balms in Strawberry Sorbet & Honeysuckle Honeydew

First Impressions

Well unlike the Fresh Lip balms, these are very affordable at approximately $3-4, depending on where you go.
These smell soooooooooo amazing and yummy!
I love the cute egg-shaped packaging. I think these will be an easy find in a purse.

i on Beauty 7-piece Travel Set

First Impressions

I already own this brush set, but I really wanted a duplicate set. I don't own many brushes, so this set was an affordable way to add to my growing collection.
Brush Breakdown/Mini Review:

Powder brush: It's a small size, so I like using it to apply powder over an under eye concealer. I also like it for travel, and I use it for quick pressed powder touch ups. This is probably an unconventional use, but the powder brush works well for contouring.
Blush brush: Even though it's tiny, I actually use this everyday. It disperses blush well, and I actually prefer the small size for allowing a precise area of application (such as the apples of the cheek).
Flat Eyeshadow brush: This eyeshadow brush is my absolute favorite brush to apply powder eyeshadow all over the lid. The texture is so soft, and easily disperses product. It's particularly great for packing on eyeshadow, and is my go to brush!
Slanted Eyeliner brush: This brush is a bit too thick to apply gel/cream eyeliner, but works great for applying powder eyeshadow as an eyeliner or as an eyebrow filler. I mostly use this brush to fill in my eyebrows, and it gives a very natural look.
Eyebrow/Eyelash Comb: The comb is just okay. It works just fine, but my old one has already started to see some abuse (I think the plastic comb part will eventually break. So far, one little comb piece/strip/thingy has already broken).
Eye Smudger: This one is also just okay. It works, but the sponge part on my old one has already come loose. Maybe the new one will be better.
Case: Haven't used the old one, to be perfectly honest.

These were purchased on sale for about $10. Strangely enough, I have never been able to find these brushes in any place other than Marshalls or TJ Max. The website doesn't state what retailer sells "i on beauty" products, but I did find it on Amazon for $19.99.

Conair Double-Sided Make-up Mirror

First Impressions

My old make-up mirror from my Freshmen year of college sadly broke while I was moving out, and 4 years later I've finally gotten around to replacing it. My old one was Conair, and since I loved it so much, I figured I should stick with what works!

Hello there, beautiful mirror. Hopefully no one will shatter you this time around!

The NYX products below were all ordered from Cherry Culture. All products were received promptly, in full, and in good condition. These products were all discounted (compared to prices at Ulta & Nyx.com). I also had free shipping and a 20% discount on top of that. While this specific promo is no longer going on, Cherry Culture has frequent sales and discounts to look out for. Sweeeet! Slowly (but hopefully steadily) I will get to reviewing all my NYX products. Until then, take a look:

NYX 3-Color and 5-Color Palettes