It’s my absolutely favourite time of the makeup year because the holiday collections are coming at us hard and fast! There’s always so much to choose from, and I usually end up making a shortlist (errr something longlist…) of things I want and what I’m going to pass on. Here’s how my list stacks up so far.

The “To Buy” List

KAT VON D Everlasting Mini Liquid Lipstick Set

Starting off with the set I’ve already purchased – the Kat Von D Everlasting Mini Liquid Lipstick Set! I *loved* this set last year and was so, so excited to see that they’ve brought it back again this year. What’s even more amazing is that there isn’t a single duplicated shade from the previous year! I prefer minis because there’s no chance in hell I’ll be finishing a full sized tube any time soon. If you want to see swatches from this year’s line up, I’ll have a full video posted to my YouTube channel tomorrow.

Sigma Creme de Couture Eyeshadow Palette

This is another item I’ve already purchased and it’s currently in transit to me. The Sigma Creme de Couture palette will be my first foray into Sigma products, and it’s long overdue! This palette is actually a re-release from about five years ago. Back then, I had seen Leesha of xsparkage rave about this palette in multiple videos, but I had never pulled the trigger on purchasing it. Since it was limited edition, the palette eventually sold out before I decided to buy it. AND I WAS SO REGRETFUL! Several years passed, and they never restocked it, so it truly felt like one of the ones that got away. Imagine my surprise when, five or six years later, they’ve decided to re-release it! I couldn’t believe it – I’ve never seen a brand do something like this half a decade later! Of course I snatched it up and am eagerly awaiting it in the mail.

Too Faced Unicorn Survival Kit

This one is causing me a little bit of panic because I haven’t seen any kind of release date advertised anywhere AND the Too Faced Unicorn Tears lipstick is an Ulta exclusive item. So does that mean this will only be available at Ulta?? Either way, the Too Faced It’s available on Ulta.com now MUST BE MINE. I’ve been itching to get the Unicorn Melted Latex (which was only recently released on Too Faced‘s web site) and I’m dyyyying to see what that blue-ish-purple highlighter looks like!

UPDATE: It’s available on Ulta.com now! Go get it quickly because I don’t know how much stock they have and they sold out REALLY fast on TooFaced.com!

Too Faced Gingerbread Melted Matte

Ohhh yes! Last year Too Faced released a specially scented Candy Cane Melted Matte with pretty packaging, and this year they’re bringing it back in a Gingerbread version. I really love that they’re creating one new shade and throwing some scent and pretty packaging on it. It feels like a makeup Christmas ritual to me now, and I will be really happy to add this to my collection!

Too Faced White Chocolate Bar Palette

This one isn’t actually released yet, but I did receive press information to indicate that this would be released with part of their holiday 2017 lineup. Does the makeup world need another chocolate bar palette? No, probably not. Am I going to get it anyway? Yes, absolutely. I’ll admit the colour assortment in this palette is very odd. I felt like it could’ve done with more pastel brights, but I’ll wait to reserve complete judgement until I’ve tried it out myself. Still, I have to keep my Too Faced Chocolate Bar family together right??

Stila Glitter & Glow Set

I’m about thirty seconds away from screaming bloody murder at this set. I WANT IT SO FREAKING BAD, and yet Sephora Canada has had it out of stock on their web site for going on three weeks now. Although it’s never actually shown up on the Canadian site, it’s readily available on the US side. I freaking LOVE the Stila liquid glitters and I have about four of them in the full size tubes. This set is great because it’s got six shades in mini format so you get a lot of bang for your buck. NOW IF ONLY IT WOULD COME IN STOCK ON SEPHORA.CA! ARGH!

Tarte Tartelette Toasted

Oh man, I want to get my hands on this one so badly too! The tarte Tartelette in Bloom came out of nowhere and slapped me in the face with how good it was, so I cannot wait to see how the Toasted palette is! The shades in this one are a bit more up my alley (although very similar to Urban Decay’s Naked Heat) so I’m super anxious to play around with them! This one should be out fairly soon!

MAC Snowball Collection

It’s been a long time since a MAC collection really drew me in, but holy smokes the packaging on the Snowball collection is beautiful! I’m not entirely sure what I’ll be picking up yet, but you can check out the entire colour story over on Temptalia.

The “Pass” List

Kat Von D Saint & Sinner Eyeshadow Palette

I can’t quite put my finger on why I’m passing on this palette. I love the crazy ornate packaging, I love KVD‘s eyeshadow formula… and I’ve seen swatches of this palette and it looks hella pigmented and gorgeous. BUT… there’s something about the eyeshadow layout that just isn’t speaking to me. I don’t feel especially inspired about this combination of colours, so I think I’ll just take a pass on it… for now.

Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops Set

So while I’m passing on this set because I already have two of the shades (Halo and Celestial), I actually think you should pick up this set if you have none of the shades. I freaking LOVE the Cover FX liquid highlighter formula – it has one of the most beautiful finishes I’ve ever seen and the colours are absolutely gorgeous.I’m so glad Cover FX has put out this set because it’s a great way to get access to several shades at once since the cost of this set is equivalent to the price of a single full size bottle!

Too Faced Bossy Lady + all of the items with agendas

I found the whole Too Faced Holiday 2017 collection kinda meh to be honest (which really saddened me). I’m not a paper planner person and I’m so not interested in planner decorating either, so this entire range of products just left me feeling deflated. Although it seems they’ve started manufacturing their holiday palettes in the US again and I believe the quality is markedly better, I just don’t see the point in picking up these sets when I’m super not into the planners. There is, of course, repetition amongst the eyeshadow shades year over year, and since I own the last three years of holiday sets, I don’t really feel like these have anything new to offer me. Instead, I’ll dump my money on the Unicorn Survival Kit and the other items that seem unique to me!

Tarte Blush Bliss Palette

There’s a few things with the palette I’m a bit iffy on. First of, I love the colour selection – those shares are right up my alley… BUT – they’re all too similar. They are way too same samey and I’d like some variety if I’m going to be purchasing a blush palette. Number two… there’s no bronzer. And I realize Tarte hasn’t put in a bronzer since the Off The Cuff palette (which is my freaking favourite), but ever since they did that, I now expect them to put in a bronzer. I bring my Off The Cuff palette with me everywhere I travel, and a large part of that is the variety of shades plus the bronzer it houses. Number three… I think Tarte is still outsourcing their holiday products to China and I’m a bit tired of the quality inconsistencies… so this is just a pass for me.

The “I’m Not Sure” List

Anastasia Beverly Hills Prism Palette

Oh man, I do not know what to do about this one. I have a few ABH palettes that I absolutely love, and there have been a few times where I’ve really kicked myself for not getting some of their limited edition items. However, if this palette is made with the same formula as the Subculture palette (which I did not like and promptly returned), then I want nothing to do with it. So yeah… not sure about this one.

And that’s about it! Phew, that was a long list. Of course, there’s other things I’ve considered, but I think this post was long enough and was really focused on the items that caught my eye the most this holiday season. I’d love to hear what you’re going to be picking up or ignoring this holiday makeup season!

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