2018 so far has been a really weird year for me! My life has changed so much this year: I started a new job, which meant a complete change of mindset and of my overall routine, since I have to dedicate so much more of my time to a (six days a week) full time job rather than having a simple part time. It wasn't a negative change, per sei, but it definitely has helped/forced me to mature a whole lot quicker than what I'm used to. It also meant I no longer had as much free time as before, so finding time to sit down and write blog posts became harder and harder for me, to the point where writing was starting to feel like a chore, rather than something I'd take comfort in doing. That was the main reason why I avoided posting more on Amaze In Style, because everything I wrote always sounded very forced and, in the end, I didn't feel comfortable putting content out there I wouldn't be proud of, so I didn't.

Now, two whole months later, I'm finally semi accustomed to my new job/life, to the point where I was able to sit down this weekend and seriously enjoy my time taking pictures and writing out a post. Mind you, things are still not perfect, something I'll talk more about in a chatty post someday, so I won't put on a brave face and promise you to post every week, because I really don't know if I will. I will, however, dedicate some of my time to my little corner on the internet, that much I can assure you. If I manage to schedule tons of posts to keep the blog updated weekly, I will. Then again, I am now dealing with a lot more stress than usual, so I may hit some slumps along the way and I apologise now whenever that happens. But hey! This was not how I planned to start this post, but this was what I really wanted to get off my chest before we got into the good stuff, so at least that's out of the way ;)

Now onto what you all came for, the haul! As you all know if you've been keeping up with the blog for a while now, last year I sort of went on a makeup spending ban for a good few months up until the end of 2017, which helped me really think over my spending habits as both a beauty lover and a beauty blogger (you can read all about it here). So as I stepped into 2018, I decided I'd allow myself to splurge a little on makeup every month, but it would no longer be my main focus. Although I invested a ton on skin care (something I'll talk about in an upcoming updated skin care routine post!) and clothes this year, I wanted to start by talking about the little makeup bits I purchased and my first thoughts on them today.

I purchased Too Faced's Sweet Peach palette (46,95€) a couple of days ago, making it my most recent purchase in this entire post, but also one I've been talking about for months now. I've always hesitated on spending so much on a palette, when I already had Makeup Revolution's Beyond Flawless to keep me content. But recently I found that one was losing its shine after almost two years, so it was time for a change. I was initially keeping an eye on the Zoeva Nude Spectrum palette, which was cheaper, but since it was sold out in store and I didn't want to wait for it to arrive via post, I decided to go with Sweet Peach instead (which I managed to get a 10% discount on, mind you!). Now, of course, I can't really give you nothing beyond a first impression on this little gem, since I've only had it for a couple of days now, but from what I could tell, the shimmery shades are the star of the show, while the mattes are nice, but nothing special. It's still a good palette and I'm happy I bought it, because it makes me so excited to do my makeup everyday, so keep an eye out for a full review after I'm done playing around with it a little more.

 Back in the beginning of 2018, when Kiko was still having its Christmas/New Years sales, I was looking for an everyday shimmery lid shade when I spotted Kiko's Smart Colour Eyeshadow in #12 Metallic Rosy Sand for less than 3€. I swatched it in store on the back of my hand and it looked beautiful! I was so happy up until the moment I got home and attempted to apply it on my lid and literally nothing showed up. I tried using my fingers, a flat brush, I even tried applying it on top of primed lids to see if it would make any difference, but nothing I did managed to make the colour show up on my lids. So, the moral of this story is: don't just buy things because they're ridiculously affordable.

  

 On that same trip to Kiko, I also picked up one of their Smart Nail Polishes, for 2€, in the shade #13 Ruby Red. Now, I was a massive fan of the old Smart nail polishes from Kiko, they were incredibly pigmented, easy to use and quite long lasting. I don't know why they decided to mess with something that wasn't broken in the first place, because honestly I don't think there were any improvements in this new version. Actually, I think it lost some of its staying power, even. I'm still a fan of their nail polishes, especially considering how affordable they are and the shades are all stunning, but I do wish they could go back to their old formula!

Of course, I also had to buy a couple of new lippies. You all know I'm a big hoarder of three things: foundation, highlighter and lipstick. I've managed to cut my collection back down to only three foundations, three highlighters and .... an embarrassing number of lip products, but I'm honestly always looking to expand! Since I've recently been a big fan of matte lips, I've decided to buy one of Kiko's Velvet Passion Matte Lipsticks (6,95€) in the shade #302 Beige Rose. I'm still unsure what I think about this one, to be honest. I love the colour and the colour payoff, but I do find that it tends to cling to any dry patches on my lips, so I prefer to apply it on top of other products, be it a lip balm of a liquid lipstick. I'll let you know more about it in an upcoming post when I've made up my mind about it!

I also bought one of Huda Beauty's Liquid Matte Lipsticks (22,55€) in the shade Venus. I've been meaning to try these liquid lippies ever since they first popped up on Sephora last year, but since I was in the middle of my spending ban, I refrained from doing so. Now that I finally got around to try it, I think it's one of the best liquid lipstick formulas I've come across so far. Still not as good as my beloved Nyx Lip Lingeries, but they're a very close second, along with my Sephora Lip Creams! Venus is also a great peachy pink shade, something I actually didn't already had in my collection, especially not matte. It was a nice change of pace from all of the mauve/brown pinks everyone's been obsessing over for the past couple of years and it's been an everyday favourite of mine. In fact, I'm already planning to buy the mini set next month to try out more shades!

As you can see, there's definitely a colour pattern in this haul, something I didn't actually realise up until the moment I put everything together to take the picture. Seems like I'm currently obsessing over peachy tones, not that I'm complaining. If anything, I blame my current hair colour! I also might already have plans to buy some peachy blushes in the not so distant future, so it looks like the peachy shades are here to stay for a little while!

I hope you enjoyed my little haul and do let me know if you've tried any of these products already, I'd love to hear your thoughts on them!