Red Raider Runway

My very first post on this website was a haul on random beauty things my grandma likes to give me every time I go home to visit. Since I took a trip home recently, she had collected a lot of stuff over the year for me to take back with me. I'm particularly happy with this haul because there are quite a few new things I have never tried before. Whenever my grandma offers me some of her old clothes or things I'm not familiar with, I always try to say yes and accept it because it challenges me step out of my comfort zone and try new things. Here are some of the things from this grandma haul.

Balm Shelter Tinted Moisturizer - $25

I had never tried tinted moisturizer before but always wanted to. I thought this was going to be really thick and creamy and smell like sunscreen, but it is surprisingly a lot thinner and smoother than I thought. Having a product like this is especially perfect for the summer so I'm glad I have it now. So far I seem to like it a lot.

MAC Prep & Prime Color Correcting Cream - $31

I. love. this. stuff! This is such a good primer for me, it's so light so when I'm applying the rest of my makeup over this, it doesn't feel like I'm caking on layers. But truly, the reason I love this product is because of its oil control properties. I only applied a little over the most oily part of my face because I'm always afraid that more products=more oil. But I was quite surprised over how well it worked! Next time I'll apply a bit more to see if the results improve. I haven't noticed any change in the color correcting just yet, but I'll keep an eye out to see the differences between that as well. 

Benefit's Lemon Aid Eyelid Primer - $20

 I've been holding off on buying eyelid primer for the longest time because to me it was a luxury I couldn't afford. So when my grandma gave me Benefit's Lemon Aid, I was so happy and excited to try it. I don't have very big eyelids and they're slightly oily (not all the time, but they can get oily), so whenever I do my eyeliner a bit too thick, it starts to smear on my lids. From the few times I've used this already since I got it, it has already helped my eyeliner not make a crease on the upper half of my eyelid. It's the perfect consistency to combat the oils of my lid and keep my makeup in place from creasing!

Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Gel Mascara - $8

I've mentioned before that your preference in eyebrow products lies all in the amount of time you're willing to spend on doing your brows. Well, brow gels with tint have become my new lazy method of doing my eyebrows. Instead of meticulously filling in my brows with pomade or a pencil, I just brush over them a few times and I'm good to go! I think this is one of my favorite gels I've tried because it's really pigmented so it does give more definition to my eyebrows as I'm sculpting them. Plus it has a weirdly shaped brush that actually helps me be more precise in my strokes so I can get to every hair perfectly.

Benefit's Erase Paste Concealer - $34

I think Benefit must have discontinued this product because I had a hard time finding it online, however, I do really like this concealer. It works great for under eye bags which I know will definitely come in handy once the school year starts up for me. It has a thicker, pasty consistency but it spreads really well so just a tiny bit of product goes a long way. Because of its consistency, you have to be careful not to get too close under your eyes at first and smooth your way up under the eyes otherwise you may get creases and make the look worse. But it's really not that bad. I used a powder over it to set it and it worked fine all day. I really like it because it covered my dark circles without making it look like I was compensating too much!

Ready to Wear New York Glam Blush Stick - $21

Every time I go shopping with my grandma, it feels like we are always looking for just the right blush and so far we have yet to find it. She usually ends up giving me the ones she didn't like to see if I'll like them. (So far I haven't found just the right shade either). So when she handed me this blush stick, I was intrigued because I've never used a cream blush before! I have only ever tried powdered ones and the color of this one looks promising. So far I've only tried it once, and I think my inexperience with cream blush made me a little heavy handed, but I'm looking forward to trying this out more to see if I can find the right balance and hopefully find a new blush to wear!

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked2 - $22 (on sale for $10)

When it comes to make up, the biggest hurdle I have to get over is lipstick. For the longest time I never wore lipstick. But I am finally coming around and trying to get out of my comfort zone. So when my grandma offered me these lipsticks, I tried not to shy away from them. This Urban Decay one is a nude color, and even though I have lots of nude lipsticks and neutral shades, it's still a shade I am still getting used to wearing, so I'm not quite confident in wearing it yet but I'm trying! 

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick in Tumultuous Pink - $32

This lip color seemed so pretty to me, especially for the summer. It's bright pink but not so in your face, and it's not too pale. My only complaint about this lipstick is that it's not matte, but I think with a little light dabbing over it I can make it less shiny. However, this is the type of shade I am most uncomfortable wearing! Something about how bright it is makes me uneasy, but as I said, I am trying to take risks in wearing shades I'm not used to, so I'm going to give this a try!

Bite Matte Cream Lip Crayon in Cognac - $22

Of all the lip colors I received, I was rather surprised that I ended up liking this one the most. It is such a dark brown color that I didn't think I would feel comfortable in such a loud, bold color. But I ended up really liking it. It instantly elevates any look I try and makes a casual outfit much dressier. However, my biggest complaint is how easily it comes off, it doesn't seem to be long lasting when I try to drink or eat, so re-applying it often is a setback of this product.


Overall, I am extremely pleased with all the products my grandma gave me this year! I'm really excited to keep trying out all the new products I have and hopefully finding some new all time faves. My grandma also gave me some new clothing items (lots of super cute shorts!) and things like a Double T scentsy (so cute!), and lots of candles (I am obsessed with candles!) And of course, a new makeup bag (she gives me one every time I visit, I swear), among other things. For this post I decided to just stick to the beauty products but perhaps I'll make a post showing the other things sometime like how I pair the shorts or something. Let me know what other types of posts you'd like to see from me!


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It never fails: every time I go home to visit my family, I always come back with more than I left with. That is largely because my grandma is a shopaholic but half the time she doesn't keep the things she buys and ends up giving them to us. But hey, I'm not complaining! No matter the case, she always manages to give them to me right after I've packed my suitcase to its max capacity and I have to struggle to squeeze them in somehow or fit it all into my carry on. On one of my last trips, my grandma kept handing me things right until the exact minute I boarded my bus, from a pen that "writes really well," to gum, to disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer - straight out of her own purse. It must just be in her nature as a grandma to give everything she possibly has to offer.

So I've decided to start a series of "grandma hauls" so I can show you the various things my grandma gives me, from the essentials to things I never knew I needed until she gave them to me, like some sort of grandma's intuition. Some of the following items are from my last two trips home.




I cannot count the number of makeup bags my grandma has given me. For some reason she has an obsession with collecting them and then giving them to me. At one point she even gave me two identical ones on two different trips home (seriously). I used as many of them as I could, one to throw in a few products when I'm going to a friend's to get ready (so I won't take my entire collection), one for when I'm traveling (and I need to take my entire makeup collection), a separate one for brushes when I travel, one for my travel toiletries, etc., until I couldn't figure out what to use them for. I even used one as a pencil case. But one day my bathroom sink broke and leaked water in the cabinet underneath and completely ruined all the makeup bags I had collected. So thankfully, when I went to visit, my grandma had ordered me a new one! It's from the Clever Carriage Company and I don't know much about them, but their website had some positive women-empowering quotes so I really liked that. My grandma said she got me this particular bag because it's turquoise and she knew it was my favorite color. Now that my makeup bag collection has depleted again, it looks like I'll be using this one frequently.

So those are some of the type of things my grandma gives me on a regular basis. A lot of the things she gives me are hand-me-downs or things she didn't want anymore, but I'm never one to turn them down. Once I expressed that I thought a pair of her shoes were so cute, so she just handed them over to me and let me keep them - no questions asked - and now they're one of my favorite pairs to wear. I'll be going home again soon so I expect to be coming back with more things! Be on the look out for more "grandma hauls!"

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