Beauty haul: Sephora, EOS, Sleek, Lancome, elf and lots of samples

Sephora. EOS. Lancome. Sleek. e.l.f. They're all in this box that arrived today. Along with fabulous samples from Murad, Josie Maran, Philosophy, Lancome, Marc Jacobs, Sephora, OCC, Nars, Kat von D, Elemis and so on. Okay, so only three products in this haul are for me!

This lovely box of goodies is from beauty entrepreneur - and friend - Shivani, whose maiden venture, Order Makeup UK delivers makeup or skin care products from anywhere in the world right at your doorstep. Since I haven't managed to travel much since 2012, I replenished my stock with her help (though I'll be travelling in December). Add postage, customs and other hassles to the mix and it's a lot easier to order from her and sit back. I had already ordered from her once (see here) and have already placed another whopping order which I expect in early December. Oh, and she had enclosed a cute note.

Here are the contents of the box:

1. Lancome Rouge in Love 353M. You can read my review of Rouge in Love lipsticks and swatches here and here. This shade, Rose Pitimini, has been out of stock each time I visit the Lancome counter here, so it's great that I could finally get it. Gorgeous shade as usual; will swatch and review along with more Rouge in Love lipsticks on the way.
2. Sleek iDivine Palette in Vintage Romance. This has to be my favourite Sleek palette so far (See review of Sunset here and a look here). I'll do a look with this one and swatch it next week.
3. EOS Lip Balms in Honeysuckle Honeydew and Pomegranate Raspberry. The Honeysuckle is for me. The other is part of my Mum's birthday prezzie-package, along with the Sephora items below.
4. Sephora Lip Cream Stain in 04 Endless Purple. Nope, this is more of a beautiful fuchsia than purple. Stays on insanely, through meals and drinks, without drying. While this shade and I aren't friends, I can't wait to swatch and buy some of the other shades in December.
5. Sephora Mattifying Compact Foundation. They've changed the packaging! These used to come in round containers and are great to use wet. My Mum prefers these compacts over the Lancome Teint Miracle compacts so I got these for her birthday. 
6. e.l.f. Stippling Brushes - large and small. These are ordered for my family as well, though I have permission to photograph and even review lol. They wanted Sonia Kashuk but Shivani told me Ulta ran out the previous day.

What I love about ordering from her is that she sends a good bit of lovely samples that you can play with, and that are customised for you. And, apart from the Sephora sample tubs I had asked for, she actually PAYS for the samples in bulk - out of her pocket - so she can surprise everyone who ordered from her. Compare that with some of the beauty box subscriptions in this country where you pay and receive a handful of foil sachets which you can barely use up on your pinkie. And when she knew I was getting a couple of things for my Mum's birthday, she even enclosed a little extra for my Mum -  Honey from Marc Jacobs, a Sephora age-reversal eye cream and a deluxe container of Lancome High Resolution Refill. (see picture to the right).
 Here are my samples:

1. Murad Oil Control Mattifier. Deluxe sample, plus there's a sachet. I can't wait to try this on my super-oily skin. Murad is one of the giants of skin care!
2. Burberry Lip Mist sampler. W.o.w. There are four shades here of which the lighter ones and I will get along just fine. Let's see if I can mix up the darker shades with something else. 
3. Philosophy Eye Hope. I hate sachets but there are two of them here, which means I'll cut them up and transfer them to a little pot and use them over a week. This is another goodie I can't wait to try, since it promises to address dark circles, puffiness and lines!
4. BVLGARI Lip Balm. I've just tried this and it is surprisingly creamy and hydrating! Yay!
5. Honey by Marc Jacobs. At first "whiff", it is intensely sweet. I'm putting it into my travel bag for now.
6. Sephora primer. Oh good, I love trying different kinds of primers as you can see from previous posts. 
7. Kat von D Lock It foundation samples. I had requested samples of two shades and both are way too dark for me :( Remind me NEVER to judge shades based on online photographs.
8. NARS Sheer Matte Foundation sample. Shivani had picked out the shade for me - Santa Fe - and it's perfect. Beats me how she did that lol.
9. Korres Vitamin E Primer. Another primer to play with is always good!
10. Amore Pacific Enzyme Peel. She has sent me two vials and I'm going to see if they help with post-acne spots.
11. Philosophy Take A Deep Breath Moisturiser. Handed to Mum since sachets and I have a traumatic history involving my swallowing shampoo in Brussels....
12. Algenist Moisturiser. As above.
13. Josie Maran Argan Oil. Woot! I was wondering how I would cartload my Moroccanoil abroad and this turns up. She has been generous, there's enough for 20-25 applications in here. You only need a couple of drops.
14. OCC Lip Tar in Grandma. Very generous quantity here as well; I don't need to buy the full size for a long time ahead. But I will definitely get more lip tar shades if this works well for me.
15. Elemis Revitalise Me Hand Cream. Ideal for travel. Off to my travel bag.

 

Unfortunately, they are not taking more orders for now. I look forward to her next beauty venture and am sure it will be equally awesome. 
I can't wait for my December order (products for me alone haha). There's Burt's Bees, Kat von D, Sephora and US-exclusive Chanel (an HG product of mine) in there. I'm also looking forward to the surprise samples. Watch out for the post.