This year, I was consumed by the hype and hysteria of the Fourth of July sales. Mood wise: I feel a mix of excited, anxious, and guilty. I spent way beyond my means this month. Nevertheless, I chronicle my spending journey on my blog. Keep reading to see what I picked up during my 2019 Fourth of July Indie Beauty haul.
Indie Beauty Haul
NudeStix
At one point, I swore that I would never order directly from the Nudestix website ever again. I had a horrible experience with poor/non-existant customer service and *extremely* delayed shipping. However, the allure of a 30% off sale tempted me enough to give the brand’s site another try.
Nudestix Nudies Blushes – In the Nude & Tiger Lilly Queen
Nudies Bloom & Matte Blush- Tiger Lily Queen & In The Nude | $32.00 ($22.40 on sale)
Who says oily-skinned girls can’t love creme products? The dewy Nudies Bloom creme blush in Tiger Lily Queen* looks vibrant and fresh on the cheeks, while the Nudies matte blush, In the Nude,* appears to give the cheeks a natural flush without the shine. Not only am I excited to compare these two formulas to each other, but I’m planning to compare the formula to the new Blush Stix from ColourPop. See how these blushes compare to the ColourPop Blush Stix in my ultimate blush ranking.
Tinted Blur Stick – Light 2 | $30.00 ($20.00 on sale)
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to embrace my natural skin more and more. The Tinted Blur Stick* promises to blur and even out the skin with a lightweight formula and sheer coverage. Read my feelings on this foundation in my foundation ranking for oily skin.
Melt Cosmetics
Melt’s sale was up to 80% off select items site-wide. Also, the brand lowered the shipping minimum from $75.00 to $25.00 during the sale.
Melt Cosmetics Stargazer Digital Dust Highlighter, Pin, and Pro Palette Case
Digital Dust Highlight – Stargazer | $39.00 ($25.00 on sale)
Although I love Melt Cosmetics, I would never spend $39.00 on a highlighter regardless of the design or packaging. However, when I saw that the Digital Dust Highlight in the shade Stargazer highlighter was on sale, I jumped at the chance to try this formula. See where it lands in my highlighter ranking.
Mellon Collie Pin | $15.00 ($1.00 on sale) – now discontinued
I’ve been loving pins lately. This watermelon pin was such a steal at the $1.00.
Melt Stack Pro Palette | $15.00 ($5.00 on sale)
I decided to pick up the Pro Palette during the sale given the steep discount. I wanted the option to store my stacks in a more traditional, flat format.
Suva Beauty
Suva’s 20% off sale was technically for a Canadian holiday. However, given the timing of the sale I’m lumping it in with all of my Fourth of July buys.
Suva Beauty Hydra FX Eyeliners
Hydra Liners – Aztec, Badmash & My Jam| $14.00 ($11.20 on sale)
Suva Beauty has been on my list of brands to try for quite some time, so I jumped at the opportunity to try their famous cake liners at a discounted price. I picked up one of the FX liners (Aztec) and two of the traditional liners (Badmash & My Jam).
Metal Spatula & Six-Ten Brush | 16.00 ($12.80 on sale)
Given that I’ve never tried a cake liner, I purchased two tools to help me better mix and apply the product.
Indie Beauty Haul | Uoma Beauty
Uoma Beauty is a new, black-owned brand that sells exclusively Ulta Beauty in the U.S. This is the only brand I purchased from that wasn’t running any holiday promos.
Uoma Beauty Black Magic Palette in Savage & Badass Icon Matte Lipsticks
Black Magic – Savage Palette | $44.00
The Black Magic Palette Savage* is stunning, both from a packaging and color story perspective. I struggled to find reviews, swatches or demos of this particular palette but purchased it anyway. Read my detailed Uoma Beauty Savage Black Magic Palette review.
Badass Icon Matte Lipstick – Angela, Eartha, Maya | $24.00
The Badass Icon Matte Lipsticks are named after iconic, badass black women who have made their mark in US culture, entertainment, and politics. I picked up the shades Angela,* Eartha,* and Maya* However, I wanted to grab some other shades, too! If I like the formula I will 100% pick up more from the line. (p.s. I purchased more in 2020.). See where these landed in my nude lipstick ranking.
Drugstore Haul
Milani Cosmetics
Even though Milani is a drugstore brand, many Milani products are not stocked in stores close by. In fact, I typically need to find a Walmart to see a wider selection of their products.
This Fourth of July, Milani ran a BOGO 50% Sale, as well as provided free gifts with purchase.
Milani Cosmetics Celestial Highlighting Palette, Mini Rose Brush, and Conceal + Perfect Concealer
Celestial Highlighting Palette | $19.99
The Celestial Highlighting Palette is a visually interesting, luxurious looking highlighter palette that appears to give the skin a wet-looking shine.
Conceal + Perfect 2-in-1 Foundation – 01A Creamy Nude | $9.99
I’ve wanted to try the Conceal + Perfect 2-in-1 Foundation* ever since I saw Tati Westbrook rave about the formula. The original line had no matches for my skin tone, but I’m hoping one of the newer shades (Creamy Nude) will work for me.
Conceal + Perfect Longwear Concealer – 125 Light Natural | $8.99 ($4.50 on sale)
The Conceal + Perfect Longer Concealer is a newer concealer at the drug store that I’ve been itching to try. Currently, I don’t have any Cruelty-Free drug store concealers I can recommend, so I’m hoping that I enjoy this formula. See where this landed in my concealer ranking for dark circles.
Mini Rose Blush & Highly Rated Mascara Duo | Free with Purchase (now discontinued)
In complete candor, I would not have purchased the Mini Rose Blush or Highly Rated Mascara on my own. I received this duo free with my online purchase, but I’m still trying to decide whether I want to keep this or put it in a giveaway.
Silky Matte Bronzing Powder – 01 Sun Light |$9.99 ($5.00 on sale)
Rather than repurchasing my beloved Physician’s Formula Butter Bronzer, I wanted to give the Silky Matte Bronzing Powder* a try. Knowing Milani makes high-quality cheek products, I’m hoping to love this bronzer. See where this bronzer landed in my bronzer ranking for fair skin.
Final Thoughts on my Fourth of July Indie Beauty Haul
It wasn’t until I started drafting this roundup that I realized this is the first time I’ve written a multi-brand haul of exclusively Cruelty-Free products. Although I am not a Cruelty-Free consumer, I love supporting indie and Cruelty-Free brands. It is my sincere hope that all personal care and beauty brands will be Cruelty-Free in the future.
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Did you enjoy my Fourth of July indie beauty haul? Check out my indie beauty roundups (volume I, volume II, and volume III) featuring indie brands that I love and want to try more of this year. Indie beauty, not your thing? Check out my review of the Milani Soft & Sultry Eyeshadow Palette or ColourPop Sweet Talk Palette.
Have you tried any of the products included in my Fourth of July indie beauty haul? What is your favorite thing in this roundup? Please let me know in the comments below.
beauty cosmetic haul cruelty free beauty indie beauty indie brands makeup Melt Cosmetics milani nudestix Suva Beauty Uoma Beauty
Nice article. This article helps for the makeup lover
I am loving what you bought, LP. I am especially intrigued by the Nudestix products. I like a natural look more and more too. I know I bought something from that brand, but I haven’t tried it, and I need to find it! I hope your enjoy your new goodies.
Thanks Jennifer! Quite embarrassed by this haul (and the haul to come) because I purchased all this in a bad bout of exam anxiety, BUT I will say that I tried the Blur Stick and was really impressed by how natural this looked on the skin / how it wore throughout the day! The blushes have been quite nice too, but I’m always most critical of base products give how oily my skin is.
That is great to know because my skin is oily, too. Even with it looking natural, does it offer decent coverage?
I fall into the same thing with “rewarding” myself with spending when I’m anxious, but then it just serves to make more anxious because I’ve overspent. I totally understand. ♥️
I would say it is about the same coverage as a tinted moisturizer, maybe slightly less? But great for no makeup makeup days… I would say though, if you do grab this you should still set it with a light dusting of powder if you have oily skin.
I really love this haul, you scored some very nice products! 🙂
LOL I’m a little embarrassed by this, BUT my big Seed Beauty Haul goes up tomorrow!!
Hahaha no need to be embarrassed! I’m excited for your haul blog post yay!!!
I don’t know why but I always get excited to see your hauls! major GOALS, haha! All these products are a dream, but I especially loved the digital dust highlight in that shade! So stunning!
Much love always,
GABBY | http://www.gabbyabigaill.com
Aw thank you girl, when I purchased less makeup, I felt better about sharing hauls but now I feel a little sense of shame / embarrassment when I show them. ☹️ Really gotta get my spending in check!
That melt cosmetics highlighter looks amazing! I need to see if they’re vegan and cruelty free!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
All Melt Cosmetics products are 💯 Cruelty Free and many (if not all) are vegan! The digital dust highlighters from Melt are Vegan! 💜
That Black Magic – Savage palette is STUNNING!!! Great post!!
Thank you so much – it really is beautiful! 💜 and I’m excited to support the brand.
The Milani highlighter looks so pretty!!
Love the haul x
I had no idea that 4th July sales were a thing! I’ve never heard of them before.
I’m loving the colours in the Savage Eye Palette 🙂
It’s become a big phenomenon in the US the past couple of years and is often referred to as “Christmas in July” – I both love and hate it. The deals are great, but it really does entice me to spend way too much!
I love a good haul!
Me too! ☺️ I gotta reign in the spending though lol
Lol same, I just did a Haul too!
It is always nice to see indie products being mentioned. I like that you spread yourself between different brands to see how they work. The palette looks gorgeous with the sparkles! You can’t go wrong with makeup when they’re really nice on the $$$ too. I am the same as you – I try to go cruelty-free when I can but sometimes, it is hard since there are a few brands that works with my skin type.
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
Wow! So many great buys! I may have to pick up that Milani highlighter trio, I’ve been wanting a wet looking formula. So curious to know how the concealer has worked for you!
The Nudestix blushes are so pretty. I’ve never tried a cream stick like that on my face before! & I’m still mad about the Suva liners lol. I wish it said on the instructions how to mix it properly & make it work…
Uoma is a brand I’ve never even heard of. Their products look gorgeous!!
Milani is such a crazy brand, right? Like they bring such quality to the drugstore!! So far, I’ve been enjoying the Nudestix blushes, but I do think they are a bit expensive. ColourPop makes cream blushes/highlights now, too!
Uoma is a newer brand, but I love what they stand for!!
I’m not sure I’ve tried anything by Milani before & I still need to jump on that CP bandwagon. I’ll add the cream blushes & highlights to my list!
Def gonna check out Uoma, too!! Thanks for sharing, babe. <3
INDIE, INDIE, INDIE – THAT’S ME! AND CREAM BLUSH – ALWAYS BETTER THAN POWDER, IMO.
GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE – WILL BE A GO-TO FOR ME.