Origins Skincare VoxBox

April 20, 2017Leave a comment

Influenster’s at it again!

A wise person once said, “Free things are the best things” (surely someone has said that) and I personally couldn’t agree more. If you have lots of Facebook friends, a blog, a strong Instagram following, or a combination of everything then you can totally get free things too. Sign up here!

Back to the Origins Skincare VoxBox. I received the following products:

Origins High Potency Nigh-A-Mins – I have never used this night cream before and am very excited to give this a shot!

Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask – This is a new-to-me mask as well, but the charcoal trend is going strong and I plan to do a full review on this later.

Origins GinZing Eye Cream – While the GinZing line is something I have tried out, I have not ever used the eye cream. I am really pumped about getting this stuff on m’bags.

Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash – I pretty much love that the word “frothy” is part of the name of this stuff. I have used this before and absolutely love it! The consistency is super thick which gives me the feeling its really pulling everything off my face. I also love the way it rinses off and leaves my skin feeling nourished.

Origins GinZing Moisturizer – I have been a longtime fan of Origins VitaZing Moisturizer, which has a very subtle tint-release and SPF so I am really excited to try this one!

Have YOU tried any of these products from Origins?

*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Vacation Haul

March 23, 20174 Comments

Aloha little babies!

We leave for leave for Maui today! I COULD NOT be readier. Haha readier. I’ts just this GD weather in Portland has just been soooo dreary. I might pee a little when I see a palm tree…and it won’t be the first time.

With that being said – ONTO THE HAUL!

I purchased the above selections from Target. I got the swimsuits when they were doing a BOGO and the dress was only about $20. Its a super soft jersey knit and (as you can probably tell) I really like black and white stripes these days.

Side-note: I am totally on board with getting a one-piece swimsuit, in fact, there are countless styles I have been in love with. But each time I have tried one on, it’s the same issue I run into with bodysuits. The length of these puppies just won’t cut it when you’re pushing 6 feet. And unless you’re fond of the CT it just aint pretty. So until I pony up the cash to get a one piece built for amazons, I’ll stick to my two-piecers. #tallgirlproblems

Speaking of swimsuits, we also picked out this little tankini for E. I MEAN.

I also picked out a couple new things from the makeup dept because duh.

I wanted to find an illuminating makeup primer with SPF that I could wear under makeup or by itself. After doing a little research, I decided against a high-end brand and decided on this Maybelline Master Prime with SPF 30. Anyone heard a’this?

I picked up the Buxom Full-On Lip Cream in Bellini on a recent trip to Ulta. They were doing their “21 Days of Beauty” sale and I scored this for just $10 (normally $18)! These glosses are my absolute favorite because of the gentle plumping effect and super shiny finish. I also LOVE this in the shade White Russian.

This Wet’n’Wild Megalength Waterproof Mascara is just $2.99 from the drugstore and I actually think it’s pretty decent. It definitely is lengthening, but not super volumizing. I find you can build it up pretty easily and even though it is waterproof, it’s not a little B to get off.

This isn’t necessarily for Hawaii, but I did pickup this Maybelline Master Precise Eyeliner at Ulta as my Stila Stay All Day is starting to dry up. Anyone used this before? Is it any good?

Buying Beauty Products from T.J Maxx?

March 21, 2017March 20, 20176 Comments

Those who know me best, know I’m a Maxxinista through and through.

Not just because I love TJ Maxx, but because I’ve become extremely knowledgeable about the products to hoard from there, but also the ones to steer clear of.

As an example, here are great things to BUY at TJ Maxx:

Obviously clothes, shoes
Towels, bath mats, etc.
Candles!
Greeting cards/wrapping paper (really good quality for CHEAP)
Wall decor (just try not to buy too many of the quotes signs. I say 2-3 per home is acceptable)

However, there are few things to def NOT get at TJ Maxx:

Hair products
Headphones, electronics
Sometimes candy
Sometimes perfume

Also, historically I have been super wary of makeup/skincare from TJ Maxx. I always see brands like Elizabeth Arden, Shiseido and Bliss but more recently they’ve added Estee Lauder, Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Erno Lazlo etc. And when a Clinique eye serum is selling for $16.99 I always wonder…what’s the catch?

Is it expired? Discontinued? Is it from a bad batch? In my wildest fantasies, these products are all just overstock, fresh and just a SWEET DEAL. But then I wonder why errrone isn’t snapping these things up right and left.

Needless to say, I rarely buy anything from the bath & body section of T.J Maxx except the odd hand soap, Body Shop Body Butter or nail polish. I am scared to death of wasting my money on products that simply don’t work.

So the other day at lunch when I spotted two lowly GIANT bottles of St.Tropez Dark Tanning Mousse for $14.99, just in time for our trip to Hawaii – I squealed inside my mouth a little. I inspected the bottle from top to bottom, looking for signs it had been in a fire, damaged or used, to no avail. I even googled all the random numbers on the bottom of the bottle to see if anything fishy turned up. Nothin.

So I bought ‘er and took ‘er home.

The next day, I took a pre- self tanner shower (exfoliated, scrubbed, etc) and excitedly jumped out in anticipation of applying my new tan! I shook it up generously and pumped it out into my tanning mitt.

It. Was. GREEN.

Just, completely Shrek green.

I know lots of self tanners have an olive undertone so I wasn’t that surprised and thought maybe this was just the color of the product, not the tan. So I rubbed a tiny bit into my forearm and it dried just straight-up green. Then I google imaged the product to see what color it is supposed to be…

Definitely NOT green!

I figure it must have just been expired. So. Yeah. I wiped the green right off my arm and plopped the bottle back in the T.J Maxx bag to be returned. I guess the moral of this story is…

Do not buy tanning products from T.J Maxx 🙂

The Cheapest Makeup Ever

February 23, 2017February 22, 20173 Comments

I feel juuuust fine writing this post and calling out this brand on their sh*t because they are discontinuing it. Just a disclaimer.

Am I rubbing salt in the wound? um YISS.

It all started on a rainy lunch break, where I haphazardly wandered into the downtown H&M. I thought I’d get another 20-pack of pearl earrings, maybe a $5 clearance scarf I’ll never wear, you know – the usual suspects. But then I noticed that H&M’s complete line of makeup was marked down with big red stickers for just DOLLARS.

I asked the two long-haired young men working about the sale. Was it all on sale? Or just certain items? They told me that it was “all like 1 or 2 bucks” so of course I mozied over for a closer looksie.

Like a moth to the flame, I was instantly pulled in. Decent packaging, wide color selection and price tags upwards of $9.99, I thought I had hit the proverbial mother-load. I stuffed maybe 10 items in my claws and dumped them out on the counter to see what the prices would be. Long-haired boy no.1 looked down at the mess of products I was inquiring about and said “I’m just gonna charge you a dollar each for everything”. FINE BY ME YOUNG MAN.

So I walked out with a big ol’ bag a’makeup for $11. Total score. I whipped out my phone once I got back to work to snap a pic and send a braggy text to Megan about my deal of the day.

Later that night when David was putting E to bed, I excitedly dumped out all the packages on our bed and got to work taking pics for lé blog and swatching.

This is when my mistake was realized. Pretty much all of it is total crap. Like, worse than crap. Actual ka-ka.

The “sheer lip color” caught like crazy against my skin and the color was patchy and dry. It also wasn’t really that sheer.

The concealer’s consistency was as if someone took a crappy $1 foundation from Dollar Tree, mixed it with some mineral oil, and stuck it in a tube. I couldn’t even get a proper swatch.

The blue liner (while a beautiful sparkly blue color) completely flaked after 22 seconds.

This nail polish color is super pretty! It actually lasted for about 3 days before chipping.

And then there’s the lashes. I bought three packs of these. And I can happily report, they weren’t bad! Not the easiest to work with and I had to do ALOT of trimming and sculpting but they look aight (see below).

All of the brushes are SUPER wonderful considering the fact that they were $1. I wouldn’t have spent much more on them, though. They are decently soft and do the job.

The only thing I have not used (and may never use) are these babies:

The real victims here are anyone who paid full asking price for this stuff. I mean, $9.99 for the lipstick? I would rather buy a Homer Simpson Chia Pet.

So what did we learn today?

Do not go hog wild for discontinued, $1 makeup. Or if you’re like me, DO. Because you’ll get a kick out of it.

Things I Got for Christmaukkah and My B-Day

January 13, 2017January 12, 2017Leave a comment

You knew this was coming.

Each year, I am flooded with gifts within a two day span because Nan and Gare idiotically (love you guys!) decided it was a good idea to conceive a child (gross) exactly 9 months before CHRISTMAS #amateurhour.

So here are some things I got this year, commemorating my grand, yule-tide entrance into this world.

A Disney Swarovski Crystal Bracelet from David! He secretly snapped this up while we were in Disney a while back. I love it so much and have barely taken it off because MICKEY GOES WITH EVERYTHING.

Obviously, I got quite a bit of makeup this year. I mean DUH.

Sister Megan got me this Kat Von D duo-toned blush and so far I really like it!

She also got me this highlighting palette which is surprisingly not half bad for L.A Colors. Swatches below:

The whitest shade is DEFINITELY glittery so beware.

Meg also gave me this Benefit lipgloss in the color nookie nookie. It is gorgeous and slightly iridescent which is totes on trend rn.

She also gave me this LOVE-ly (get it?) palette from Too Faced. The colors are all shimmery and super buttery and pigmented. Also the eyeliner that came with this bad boy is AMAZING. SUPER DUPER soft and VERY VERY black. I might end up re-purchasing the eyeliner by itself.

And David got me a Velvet Teddy! Probably not the kind you’re thinking of tho…

I’ve wanted this color for awhile now

haha

Nan and Gare gifted me the perfume I wanted so badly and it smells just as good as the 53937 other times I put it on in Sephora on my lunch break.

If you don’t know Sailor Moon, then ~~I don’t know you~~ you obviously don’t ever go to Hot Topic. Nor were you a pre-pubescent girl in the early 2000’s. Amy and Shan totally surprised me with these amazing Sailor Moon tube socks and tank!

David’s Dad and Lisa got me the Lush box I so desperately wanted! I CANNOT WAIT to try these products out (listed below):

David also got me the Astronomical Lush box, which comes with some amazing goodies! I have already tried The Experimenter and realllly loved it.

Ah yisss. The Tory Burch nylon backpack I wanted! I squealed with delight and surprise when my Mom gave me this. I am going to be the most chic commuter EVERRRR.

And last but CERTAINLY not least, Shannon got me the Wet Brush PRO! I have the regular Wet Brush and swear by it (great for kiddos too!) and I can tell you that the pro version is amazing. I love the feel of the handle too!

And that’s it folks. What did you get for xmas?

Sephora Beauty Insider Sale Haul

December 20, 2016December 19, 20163 Comments

That’s right folks. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a V.I.B Rouge, or even a V.I.B. I am but a humble Sephora Beauty Insider, who does not get the 20% off coupon or any of the other perks. However, they do send out a $15 of any $50 purchase once a year which I usually jump on.

Here’s what I got this year!

Of course I got the birthday gift which is comprised of the Marc Jacobs Highliner and lipstick.

I had previously bought a full-size highliner when the product first debuted and had issues with the formulation so I returned it. I was happy to discover that they included this lil’ guy in the b-day gift because I heard they improved the formula and lemme tell ya – it is awesome! I will definitely be buying this in the full size. It actually stays in the water line and tight line and is SO richly pigmented.

The lipstick formula is fine but the color is not for me.

Boscia Deep Hydration Sleeping Mask

I am on the last few uses of my L’Oreal Volume Filler Night Cream so I figured I should re-stock. This time, I decided to try Boscia after contemplating re-purchasing the First Aid Beauty Hydrafirm Sleeping Cream (which is awesome). I have heard good things about this brand and hello, the packaging is pink.

Clinique Exfoliating Scrub

The other day I realized I hardly EVER exfoliate my skin, which is NOT good. Aging skin needs to be exfoliated (gently) every so often to remove dead skin and help decrease skin shedding.

I decided to go with this one based on reviews that the actual scrubbies were quite small (and the smaller, the better). After I got this in the mail, I realized that Clinique markets it to people with oily skin (which I do not have), but so far I am really liking it, especially for the price.

Alterna Caviar Repair 500 Point Perk

I have been in the market for new shampoo and conditioner and have been really trying to steer clear of the crap from the drugstore. I also ran out of my Redken Anti-Snap leave-in treatment so I was overjoyed when I saw that this set came with shampoo, conditioner, as well as two leave-in treatments. I have used the entire set a couple of times now and I realllllly like this line.

Influenster Flawless VoxBox

October 25, 20162 Comments

Well, what do you know?

For me!?

I’ve mentioned Influenster a few times before… and I receive nothing from them except these fun (and free) Vox Boxes full of goodies. It is really easy to sign up and ANYONE can do it – check it out for yourself by clicking here!

This time, I got the following products to try out:

Obviously the snap peas went first. I brought them into work and was happily chomping away when one of my coworkers came up to me and said “you know those things are fried in like 1,000 gallons of oil?” BUZZ KILL.

Of these things, I will use everything but the Yogi tea. I truly wish I had a taste for tea, but it just tastes so flavorless to me and I don’t get the point.

I am very excited about the mascara and the nail polish. Covergil makes some slammin’ mascara and y’all know I love the staying power of Sinful colors polishes.

I have already tried the Dr.Teals epsom salts pictured here and they smell so great! I usually buy the detoxifying clay one, but the eucalyptus + spearmint is super dreamy.

And of course, the facial wipes will come in handy for those nights where 2 + glasses of wine, lifetime movies and birthday cake Teddy Grahams kick my ass.