The Anti-Haul : New Releases I Am Not Buying And Why

[Some of these photos were taken from the Instagram account of @trendmood1]

Many of you who know me in real life and if you follow me on Instagram, Twitter and this blog that as much as I love beauty and skincare items, I do not purchase all items that are released.  When I make my purchases (no matter what they are), I want to make sure I can put them to good use.  For beauty and skincare products, I want to get my money's worth by being able to use every shade, every drop of a moisturizer to the bitter end.  This is also why I do not invest as much on lip products because no matter how long-wearing they are, they will fade (to this day, I still do not own any MAC Lipstick!).  They will not have the longevity of a foundation, blush, powder or eyeshadows.  Also, purchasing every single product release is costly.  I have a separate funding or budget (however you want to call it) for my beauty + skincare purchases.  At the end of the day,  as much as I want it all I choose to be financially responsible.  This is not a hater post.  This is a post about being a smart consumer as to why I am not buying these products.

1.  Violet Voss Rose Gold Highlighter Palette ($45, Available on May 4th)

Highlighters are my jam, however, this is a pass for me.  Highlighters seem to have been coming out of nowhere left and right this past fall and early this year.  This palette reminds me a little bit of the Nicole Guerriero collaboration with Anastasia Beverly Hills with regards to the shades/tones, which I also passed on (nothing against Nicole and ABH - the peach/rose gold tones are just not my thing, at least not for an entire palette).  If anything, the only shades I love on this palette is the first one on the top row and the second shade on the bottom row, which I already have similar tones to those (swatches are available on @trendmood1's Instagram account).  For me, the only highlighting palette I think is really worth getting is the Anastasia Beverly Hills (ABH) Original Glow Kits, which comes in four large pans for $40.

2.  Kim Kardashian West X Kylie Cosmetics Nude Lip Set ($45, Available on April 25th)

There is mad hate out there for Kylie Cosmetics especially after the release of the Kylighters and the fiasco about it.  I am not passing on this product release because I hate the brand. I actually own three Kylighters and one of the newly released Kylie Blush.  I have way too many nude lip colors even though I swear they are all different.  That is all.

3.  Too Faced Hangover Rx 3-in-1 Replenishing Primer and Setting Spray ($32, Available in June)

I have heard so many great things about the original Too Faced Hangover Rx Primer especially from one of my all-time fave YouTuber, Kathleen Lights.  However, I still do not own the product because I have something similar from First Aid Beauty which is $4 cheaper, but based on reviews and the lady at Sephora told me works just the same.  My thing with this product, and many other products, trying to be great is overdoing what already is a great product.  I would have been happy to try just the primer.  Now with its multi-tasking effort of making it a setting spray as well has actually deterred me from buying this.  I am already happy with my Smashbox Primer Spray and Skindinavia Makeup Primer Spray (which is my favorite of the two).

4.  Natasha Denona Sculpt and Glow Palette ($89, Available online at Sephora on April 25th   and May 12th online)

Highlight and contouring has been very popular the past couple of years.  And guess what? I still do not own the infamous Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit that has six pans of highlighting powder and three pans of contour powder all for $40.  So, why then would I spend $89 for this? Find yourself a good under eye highlighting powder such as the NYX Color Correcting Powder in Banana and a good contour powder such as the The Balm's Bahama Mama or the ever famous Benefit Hoola Bronzer (which to this day I still do not own) and call it good.

5.  Chrissy Teigen X Becca Cosmetics  Collaboration Palette ($46, Limited Edition.  Available early May)

I love Chrissy and Becca Cosmetics but this palette does not seem anything special in terms of what products are included, so I am passing on this.  This reminds me of a simpler version of last year's collaboration with Jaclyn Hill's Champagne Pop Collection with two highlighters and three blushes.  With this collaboration with Chrissy, they included a blush, a new highlighter shade, the Rose Gold highlighter (from the regular collection, I think) and a bronzer.  Personally, I have a bronzer similar to this palette along with the bright pink/coral blush (The Jaclyn Hill palette has a similar shade called Pamplemousse and the Blushed With Light palette has a similar shade with Snapdragon, which is permanent to Becca's line), which I do not normally care for and probably the less used blushed on my Jaclyn Hill and Blushed With Light palette, which are both from Becca.

6.  Kandee Johnson "I Want Kandee" X Too Faced Cosmetics Collaboration Palette (Available online on September 3rd at Ulta and Too Faced website. Price TBA)

Kandee Johnson is one of my favorite YouTubers and one of the few realest ones out there to this day but the shades on this palette are just not speaking to me.  For that simple reason, this is not something I will purchase (Truth be told, I do not own any Too Faced Eyeshadow Palettes).

Are you getting (or not) any of these items? Do you have other items that are not on this list that you are not purchasing?  Do share!