The Sephora sale feels like it happened a hundred years ago, and I’ve been meaning to write a post about the few new things I snagged and am currently loving. Then Alexis gave me my birthday gift and I knew I had a current crushes post in the works for sure — so many new things to talk about!

So first, the Sephora stuff. I am a lover of black liquid eyeliner, but haven’t really had the guts (or the skill) to tackle the original liquid liner that you have to like, “paint” on, so I’ve been using the pen versions for a long time. Up until recently I was using the Marc Jacobs Magic Marc’er, which I liked for its pigment and staying power, but sort of hated due to how quickly it would set and the thickness of the tip. I decided to try the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, which everyone raved about, and while I liked the control I got with the thinner tip, I didn’t think it had the pigment or the staying power of the Marc Jacobs pen. After much online browsing, I finally ordered a new liquid liner on a whim, since I had a discount code that was eating a hole in my email inbox.

The Ardency Inn Punker liner. You guys, this liner is everything I’ve been looking for: it’s pigmented, easy to apply, sets well but not too quickly, and the tip is the perfect thickness for a thin or thick line. LOVE! Honestly, I can’t recommend this enough if you’re searching for a good liquid liner in pen form.

^^shoutout to Snapchat for the faux flower crown and for making my skin look way more flawless than it actually is^^

Next on my wish list was mascara. You might remember awhile back that I asked if anyone had mascara recommendations, because I’ve been searching for-e-ver for a mascara I like enough to be loyal to. I’ve tried tons of “cult-favorites,” high-end, low-end, you name it, aaaaand… nothing. Nothing has really stuck with me. The problem is that I like big, fat lashes, but hate it when they feel too stiff or goopy. I also don’t like wearing waterproof mascara, but don’t want my mascara to smudge or run. So, basically I’m a marketers worst nightmare.

Up until recently I had been using Benefit’s They’re Real, and before that, Kevyn Aucoin’s The Volume, but the Benefit brush drove me nuts (it was so pokey!), and while I loved the stay-all-day power of The Volume, I didn’t actually think it was, um, volumizing enough. Oh yeah, and I ordered Milk’s Ubame mascara because I loved that it was made without garbage ingredients, but it was so smudgy I actually returned it (which I never do with makeup! But holy raccoon eyes, Batman. No bueno.)

I purchased the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara as a sort of last-ditch, since I’d heard good things about it recently. I did sort of assume that it would be decent enough to keep using for the coming months, but likely wouldn’t hold my interest beyond that (as most mascaras go). But guys, I love it. It’s everything I’ve been looking for! It’s inky black and you can go light for a natural look, or do multiple swipes for big volume. It has great staying power and minimal smudging (I’m not going to tell you it doesn’t smudge, because it does a tiny bit — but not enough that it’s really a problem, in my opinion.)

Ok, non-makeup faves! Alexis, being the telepathic, amazing sister that she is, got me a travel-size version of the Bumble and Bumble Pret-a-Powder dry shampoo, and uh, life-changer. I don’t know why it’s taken me so damn long to get on the dry shampoo train. I mean, I was like made for dry shampoo. I hate washing my hair! And I don’t know about you guys, but my hair can go a looong time between washes, but my freaking bangs always give me away (those greasy bastards). The dry shampoo changes all that. Sprinkle a little on the roots and it’s like, brand-new bangs!

Plus, it smells good, which is a plus for people like me who refuse to wash their hair. (KC is so lucky.)

in addition to the amazing dry shampoo, Alexis also got me some adorable mix-and-match earrings from Madewell:

Something you probably don’t know about me is that my ears are pierced six times. It’s been ages since I’ve worn more than one set of earrings at a time, but these little earrings have totally inspired me to start wearing multiple pairs at once. So cute!

So, what are you loving right now? Any Sephora finds you can’t live without? Tell me!