Sephora and Drugstore Haul

March 25, 2016Leave a comment

Greetings dumpling-faces!

You guys are familiar with how I do things on here by now. I buy some crap from the drugstore or Sephora, or Ulta and I talk to y’all about it. Sometimes, (I’d say about 30% of the time) I end up returning things. I have begun to realize that lots of people have anxiety over returning things and I am here to tell you – IT’S OKAY! If you are spending over $1 on a meekup item and don’t like it, TAKE IT THE F BACK. Why keep a $9, $20, $38 lipstick that makes your teeth look yellow? Most drugstores, like Walgreens and Rite Aid have a money-back guarantee. Keep your receipt, take it back, tell them it made your teeth look yellow and you’re done. They don’t care about the reason if you have your receipt. Same thing at Ulta and Sephora. ALSO, the lovely thing about Sephora is YOU KEEP YOUR POINTS. Yes. I have racked up over 500 points in just 6 months because I buy things, try them out and return them if they aren’t exactly what I want. Nobody should pay over $20 for a sub-par makeup item that they’ll never use. It is a sacrilege, if you ask me.

Sorry for the rant and on to the haul!

Drugstore Items:

Covergirl Supersizer Mascara

Like, duh. You guys new this was coming after my not-so-good experience with the Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir. So happy to have the magic potion back on m’lashes.

Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Vacation Time

Sinful Colors NP is $1.99 and sticks around longer than OPI, Essie, Butter or Deborah Lippman. It stays chip-free for about 4 days which is NUTS. I have pretty much every color that suits me and I was delighted to discover this color, which is basically Kylie Jenner lips as a nail polish.

Eco Tools Deluxe Fan Brush and Custom Coverage Buffing Brush

These pups were buy one get one 50% off at Ulta and I have been DYING for a fan brush lately. I see everyone applying highlighter with a fan brush and while I would love to order one from Morphe, this one was $8 and right it front of me. So far, I really love the fan brush – it is super soft and applies highlight exactly how I want. The buffing brush is just aight tho – the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush is much better if you ask me.

Elf Blending Brush

download

I watched Kathleen Lights do a video where she used this brush and I immediately knew I wanted it. I looked at the Elf website and it was out of stock, so I tweeted the company as I usually do. NO REPLY. Then, I went to Target over the weekend and noticed a huge display of the new Elf skincare products and figured I would mozy over for a looksie. Elf did bring out a whole new range of things, all at $6 mark but sadly, I didn’t see the blending brush. I walked over to the Elf section and was just perusing the usual things when I spotted the brush in a weird, low location! I literally squealed in the makeup aisle.

Maybelline Better Skin Concealer

download (1)

If you read my recent post on my favorite concealers, you know this one takes top honors. This is my second tube and I am obsessed.

Sephora Items:

Sephora Gradual Self-Tanning Face Water

I found out about this stuff via the internets and am REALLY glad I found it, because it is awesome. During the winter months especially, I like to sport as much of a face-tan as I can get away with. Due to my ghastly complexion, this means most self tanners are totally out of the question because they are MUCH too dark. Also, applying a thicker self tanning lotion to the face always leaves me feeling gross. I LOVE this stuff because it is just like using a toner. I use a cotton round to dispense a tiny bit of product and apply it directly to the areas of my face that I would using bronzer (sides of the forehead, hollows of the cheeks, etc.). I use it in the morning and at night until the desired color is achieved, and for me, that took about 5-6 applications.

Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder

I have been wanting to try this stuff FOREVER but Sephora has been sold out FOREVER. Initially, I wanted to try the baking technique with it, but I really don’t think baking is for me…I am dry and have fine lines. I feel like we should leave the baking to the youngins. However, so far I reallllly like setting my under eye concealer with this, using a flat foundation brush. It really is brightening!

Christmas + B-Day Haul!

February 11, 2016Leave a comment

Yo yo yo!

If you guys have been around for awhile, you know these two dates are one and the FREAKING same. WEll, my birthday falls on Christmas Eve but like BFD, it’s the same day.

This year, people really ponied up and gave me some great things and welp – here they are!

Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette

YES. I own the Gwen Stefani palette from Urban Decay and lemmejustsay – this palette is amaaaazing. My initial reaction to this palette was that it had WAY too many beigy colors. But upon closer inspection, each one offers something totally different. I have used basically every color in this palette, and so far there is not a dud in the bunch. I LOVE the blue and the pink as well, because both colors make my baby blues POP majorlly. I now understand that Urban Decay has released the Gwen blush palette….and oh law, it looks GORGEOUS. Must. Resist.

The Balm In the Balm of Your Hand Palette

Sister Megan got me this palette for Christmas and I am SO glad she did. I wanted this palette because I realized I (horror of horrors) own NOTHING from The Balm. I have wanted to try their blushes, eyeshadows, bronzer and OF COURSE the Mary Lou-minizer for a while now. This palette contains ALL of those items, plus a lip color and a lip and cheek color. I have had a chance to use several of these colors and so far my favorites are ALLLLLL of the shadows, the Hot Mama blush, Mary Louminizer and the cream cheek color. Plus, how cute is this packaging!?

Lush Rosy Christmas Gift Set

I purchased two of these little suckers during the day after Christmas sale on the Lush website. This box contains a small bottle of Rose Jam shower gel and a small tub of my beloved Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner. Each box was $16.95 and it was buy one get one free, so I got both of these boxes for a helluva deal!

Lush Butterbear Bath Bomb

These little guys were also buy one get one free, and at $4.95 apiece I couldn’t resist. I reallllly like this bath bomb because it releases a vanilla-infused cocoa butter formula into the water and it leaves my skin feeling baby soft.

Lush Rosie Wrapped Gift Box

Big thanks to Nan for realizing how much I need Lush in my life! This gift box contains more of my favorite things, Rose Jam Shower Gel and Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner. It also contains a miniature size of the Ultrabalm, which is pretty great. It also contains my beloved Rose Jam Bubbleroon AND Amandopondo Bubble Bar. I am vurrry excited to use this all up and smell like roses!

That pretty much sums it up! What did you all get for Christmas?

Little Haul

December 11, 2015December 10, 20152 Comments

I grabbed a few things from Sephora and Macy’s that I am very excited about!

Ariana Grande Bubble Bath + Rollerball

I nabbed this duo on Thanksgiving Day at Macy’s for $25. It was a good deal, considering the rollerball alone is probably about $25 on it’s own. As I mentioned in my Christmas list post, this perfume isn’t exactly the classiest, but I love the way it smells (it has bottom notes of MARSHMALLOW) and am really excited to take a bubble bath!

Tory Burch Perfume Duo

Meg and I saw this at Sephora when we were shopping with sweet baby Tate and were pretty excited that this was only $18. The bottles are pretty legit and I am in LOVE with the standard Tory Burch original perfume.

Tony Moly Pocket Bunny Moist Mist

I feel like this whole Korean beauty fad is quickly taking over. One thing I LOVE about this trend is the cute packaging. And as we all well know, I judge books by their covers. I could not resist buying this moisturizing facial spray for $15. I meannnn, just look at it!

Sephora + Ulta Haul

October 28, 20151 Comment

Hello and g’day to you all!

I am back with a cheeky little haul that I just had to share with y’all (rhyming!).

Things from Sephora

So here’s the thing with eye-creams: Do ANY of these really work? As I looked through alllll the options at Sephora, I realized how much I didn’t want to spend the $60 on a super reputable eye cream with tons of great ingredients. Then again, I didn’t want the $10 option that is chalked full of straight-up glycerin.

I chatted with a Sephora girl for a bit and decided to try this one for $26 by the Sephora store brand. This particular one is for eyes AND lips and the girl assured with it had plumping properties for both. Lately (for whatever reason ~~Kylie Jenner~~), I have been craving fuller lips. mine are just so puny and boring. So we will see – I will report back on how this stuff fares.

Secondly, my beloved Marc Jacobs gel-liner has turned out to be a complete dud :(. It worked awesome for awhile but then it dried out and became completely useless to me. When I went into Sephora, I brought along this liner which was all banged up and scratched and not pretty as a lesson to anyone who is afraid to return things to Sephora. THEY WILL TAKE IT BACK. I have done this many times when I’ve been unhappy with a certain product and I have never had an issue. Heck, you pay $35 for a measly eyeliner – it should bloody work! <- why am I turning into a brit all of the sudden?

Anyways, the kind lady informed me this liner had been recalled due to it drying out on everyone! Fiddle dee dee! I opted to go for the Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes Waterproof in black and so far it has been great.

Things from Ulta

My dry shampoo stash from a prior haul had already run out so I was overdue for a couple bottles of Batiste. This time I opted for the “Strength & Shine” and “Exotic” formulas. I have already started using the exotic one and it smells like coconuts!! Man, am I an idiot for buying the pink one all this time! This one is probably my favorite of the bunch, based on smell alone!

I also picked up this one for strength and shine because DUH – I want strong, shiny hurrr.

And lastly, but certainly not leastly – I nabbed this body wash from Soap and Glory, which Ulta now stocks! I WISH they had the perfume but for now, I’ll have to wet my whistle with their insanely delectable scrubs and lotions.

I already own the “Clean on Me” body wash, which comes in the original S&G scent but when I sniffed this one in the store…OH LAW. I literally passed out from all that is good and holy. It smells absolutely AHHMAAZZZING you guys. Put this on your Christmas list. Your Hanukah list. Hell, pretend it’s your birthday and tell everyone to buy this for you. It smells THAT good. And after a couple a’showers under my belt with the stuff, I can confirm – it is a perfect body wash.

If this scent comes in any other product form – PLEASE do let me know. WHY doesn’t the U.S get the entire line!? It is a travesty.

But that is all my friends. What should I try next?

Drugstore Beauty Haul

October 6, 2015October 5, 20152 Comments

Hi ponies!

Lately ~~I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep~~ (MAN that song is stuck in my head) I have been aboard the money-saving train. In fact, I’ve been the conductor. I’ve been chugga-chuggin’ past the $30 lip balms at Sephora and beautiful wine-colored nail polishes at Nordy’s. Instead, this little engine has been making stops at Walgreens, Targs and of course Marshalls. My fuel? Items that satiate both my face AND wallet! And here’s what I’ve found:

Maybelline Better Skin Concealer in Light

I recently ran out of my beloved Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla, but decided to go with a cheaper option. This foundation gets really good reviews and I had also heard good things about the concealer. It provides pretty great coverage, is hydrating and doesn’t look cakey or settle into fine lines. I would highly suggest this stuff for undereye or brightening purposes only. I would NOT recommend this stuff for covering redness or breakouts. Also, there are only three shades but the lightest one seems to be a great match for me!

Maybelline Fit Me Pressed Powder in Porcelain

Apparently, this powder is a dupe for Mac Emphasize (a Jaclyn Hill fave). I have never tried Emphasize, as it is a pro-product and not available in regular Mac stores. So far, I do like this powder. It does have a very slight shimmery effect which is PERFECT for setting under-eye concealer.

Covergirl Supersizer Mascara in Very Black

I sung the praises of this mascara in my Summer Favorites post. I absolutely adore this mascara. It is hands down, the best drugstore mascara I have tried, especially as a stand-alone product. Usually, I combine 2-3 different mascaras to attain the look I want, but this mascara looks wonderful all on it’s own!

Calgon Bubble Bath in Hawaiian Ginger

Y’all KNOW I love me some Lush – but is that sh*t expensive or what? Shelling out $7 for a bubble bar is a fun treat every once in a while but I realized the prudent choice was to get a big ol’ bottle of honest-to-goodness bubble bath. And LEMME TELL YA, finding straight-up bubble bath was no easy feat. Sure, there was plenty of Mr. Bubble or Disney Princess bubble-gum options for kids (which I am not opposed to necessarily), but what about the adult options? I found plenty of bath gels but ZERO bubble-bath options. Then I went to Rite Aid and discovered a couple different options from the Calgon range. If you have known me for long then you are WELL aware of my affinity for cotton candy body splash. I kept a bottle at the end of the bench of every volleyball game. I was delighted to find this enormous bottle of bubble bath in hawaiian ginger for a mere $4.27. What a steal you guys!

The Body Shop Bathing Milk Polynesia Lotus & Frangipani

Before I went to Rite Aid, I first tried Marshalls for some bath-time products. ALL I FOUND was “bathing milk”. Which, like, is kinda gross, really. i don’t want to picture pouring milk into the bath…curdling…(gag). Anyweeeez, I found this one from the Body Shop for like $6 and figured I would give ‘er a go. It smells nice but I don’t think it is particularly moisturizing.

Summer Sephora Haul

July 27, 20153 Comments

G’Day Chickadees!

I have a few odd and ends recently purchased at Mecca and so I thought it was time I let you all in on what I got because well, I know you’re DYING to hear.

Sephora Summer Crushes Kit

I had to get this thing because it has SO many of products I have been dying to try. Just feast your eyes…

The Via Liberata tanning mousse alone was reason enough for me to purchase this set. Y’all know I am self-proclaimed tanning product whore and shelling out the $50 to buy the full size just can’t happen right now.

Everything else in the set I cannot WAIT to try. Especially the Lavanila Labratories fragrance, the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray (mermaid hair HERE I COME) and Caudalie Divine Oil which is a HUGE-ASS bottle.

Sephora Classic Mini-Multitasker Brush

Seriously just go to Sephora and feel this puppy. I feel like it could do anything. I plan to keep it in my purse and use it in the following situations:

I get to work and realize my blush def aint on fleek
my aging skin is making my foundation settle into my wrinkles
touch ups! Because duh.

Annnnd for the CROWN JEWEL of this haul….

THE BECCA SHIMMERING SKIN PERFECTOR IN CHAMPAGNE POP

You guys have no clue how excited I am to own this. Think of the most excited you’ve ever been in your life (acing an exam, jumping out of an airplane, etc.) and multiply that times 1,000 and you might begin to understand how freakin’ excited I am to dust this powder sent from baby Jesus on the tops of my cheekbones.

Jaclyn Hill collaborated with Becca on this stuff and she is def one of my all-time favorite YouTubers so this just adds to my excitement.

You guys, just loooooooooooooooooooooooook at the majesty.

I am so in love with this product that I am going to swaddle as if I would my own baby. I’ll sing to it. I’ll raise it to be an individual. This highlighter and I will have a long, loving relationship together.

Forever 31

June 19, 20157 Comments

HAHAHAHAHhahahaaaaa

Already laughing at my own joke per usual 🙂

But really, how great would Forever 31 be? A place where Anthropologie and Ross meet, fall in love, and produce a place where Sam Smith’s angelic voice fills the air. And the racks are stocked with tasteful and age-appropriate cheap sh*t that falls apart after 3 wears. Where a pair of cute shorts you know will only last one summer, but that DO NOT show the bottom of your ass-cheeks, will only set you back $9.80! Where is this place, my friends? WHERE.

So what, if I want a borderline slutty tank that I can wear to book club and drink red wine in (because in your thirties you drink red wine)? And don’t go sayin’ that us 31-year-olds shouldn’t HAVE to shop at F21 anymore because our mid-level jobs are providing us with the means to shop exclusively at Nordy’s. Honey. I don’t care if I make 200 GR a year, I will STILL crave that $24.90 maxi dress.

So until this obvious gap in the market is remedied, I will continue to spend time hunting the racks of my local F21 in hot pursuit of the few items that work for my sassy, 31-year-old self. And here’s what I found.

Embroidered Peasant Shirt

Contrast Button-Down

Textured Striped Skirt

I also found a flowy blush pink racerback tank top that is the perfect color. But I couldn’t find the picture online because there are 21897437 tank tops and aint nobody got time for that.