Month: January 2015
Son Torture Saturday
My husband was as shocked as I was that Lily wanted to go home with him after lunch and my son Logan wanted to go shopping with me…I am pretty sure it was because I mentioned that I might hit HEB on the way home to get guacamole – he loves all the free samples at HEB. Boy was he in for a surprise.
First we hit Ulta. I wanted to check out Zoya clearance polishes I’d been seeing online. (If ONLY my Ultas carried Deborah Lippman!) They had ALL of the special display polishes on clearance for $4.47 – since I have 3 polishes coming from the 3/$15 deal, I was conservative and only got Zoya “Dovima”, the matte black. I had my finger crossed that it would ring up at $.97, but it didn’t. I was pleasantly surprised that the Ulta “Mango Tango” Bath Smoothie I picked up for my husband DID ring up at $.97 – I was expecting $5.99. I didn’t even get to use my $3.50 off coupon. My poor son had to stand there for 20-30 minutes while I tried a few different foundations. I was bummed that they were out of the “Light” Urban Decay BB Cream. I tried the “Medium” on my wrist and I liked the texture…the hunt is on.
The second stop was Bath & Body Works for one more spin at the Semi Annual Sale. Again, I was looking for more of the Aromatherapy Stress Relief Bath Foam. They didn’t have any, but they did have the Stress Relief Hand Cream. I also stocked up on 5/$10 Scentportables for our cars, $4 candles, 2 $3 “Pacific Cool Breeze” Hand Soaps and 2 more “Dark Amber” Body Washes for my husband. I also got to whip out my $10 off $40 email – receipt said I saved $68.25.
Stop three – although we had already gone to Target as a family, I had to go to a SECOND Target to find one of my beloved Up & Up Dip-its. By now, my son was starting to be annoyed, so I bribed him with clearance Lindt Dark Chocolates.
The chocolate enabled us to power through to stop four – Big Lots. Big Lots always has the best prices on Pop Tarts. They had Raspberry Pop Tarts, which I confirmed this morning are the VERY best flavor of Pop Tarts ever made – even better than Pumpkin Pie or Red Velvet. I couldn’t resist digging through the nail polish bin – they had so much! I settled for just a single $1 bottle – Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in “Sage Smash”. He also talked me into buying Cherry filled, chocolate covered Twinkies. I’m such a pushover.
By this point, we were exhausted…so we just went home. My poor son had to go through all this – holding fingernail polish for me, watching me swatch foundation and search for bubble bath – and he didn’t even get his free HEB food. I’m a mean mommy…
Super Nails
After my spectacular Nail Fail, I had to think of something quick. While I was screwing around with nail caviar, I also did Lily’s nails – she is a fan of the 20 plan. The 20 plan is picking 20 polishes – 10 colors and 10 glitters – and doing a different combination on each nail. I had a pile of 20 polishes on my bedroom floor and picked the best combination she came up with…
I started with Sally Hansen Diamond Shine for the base coat (gotta use it up somehow). I then did two coats of Sally Hansen “Marine Scene” – I’ve had this polish for YEARS – long before my current obsession started. I then topped it with one coat of Sally Hansen Glitter Effect “Rogue Red” and Sally Hansen Diamond Flash to seal it. A fully Sally manicure…
I feel kind of like Superman…um, I mean Supergirl? Superwoman? Supersomeone…
January Ipsy Bag – Fresh Start
This is it – the last of my subscriptions for the month.
This might be the most cohesive Ipsy Bag that I’ve ever received – I could conceivably use all of these products together and not look like a clown! January’s theme is “Fresh Start” and includes Elizabeth Mott All Over Shadow Brush (I will never have to buy brushes again); Hikari Cosmetics Mechanical Eye Liner in “Storm”; (MALIN+GOETZ) Mojito Lip Balm (I’m wearing it now – I leaned over to give my husband a smooch and he didn’t gag, so that’s a good sign); Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow in “Ethereal”; and Velvet 59 Velvet Rose Lipgloss in “Noisette”.
I’ll be trying all these out tomorrow…
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
Nail Fail
Never EVER trust a $3 Nail Art Set from Walmart.
I thought I would have a little fun last night, trying out some different nail art from the set I picked up from Walmart a few weeks ago. I was most excited to try the “caviar” – tiny beads that stick to the nail to form a beaded finish.
Let me first explain how HORRIBLE the polish included in the set is – thin and streaky – I couldn’t get good coverage of the light colors with 3+ coats.
I did each nail individually – painted, then chose a dip or decal to go with it.
The polish was so horrible that none of the dips would stick all the way. As you can see from the index finger on my left hand – the caviar wouldn’t even stick. The index finger on my right hand was supposed to be covered in diamond glitter, but it flew off my fingers every time I moved…it flew off my fingers like I was casting fairy spells. When I washed my hands, it all peeled off…leaving a leprous white surface. As a matter of fact – polish began peeling off of several of my fingers – just like that Tinkerbell polish we all used as kids…well that explained a lot.
The one part I liked about the kit was the cute little mustache decals. I will actually use those again – they went on smoothly and stayed put. A coat of Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat helped the hideous streaky polish…a little.
After an hour or so of leaving various glitter trails all over the house, I finally gave up and took it all off. I was defeated…
January Beauty Box 5 – Hello!
My Beauty Box 5 and Ipsy Bag got to share the mailbox yesterday!
January’s Beauty Box 5 is “Hello!” this month. Inside are Hard Candy Kal-Eye-Descope Baked Eyeshadow Duo in “make believe” (I am getting addicted to wet/dry shadows!); Sally Hansen Salon Effects French Mani in “Gold Cabaret” (I’ve never tried these – this should be interesting); Ultraflesh The Gold Standard Mascara in “Blackout” (What an odd, filthy name for mascara!); Softsoap Nutri Serum Vitamin E Body Wash; and Garnier Fructis Daily Care Fortifying Shampoo (well, now I have to buy the matching conditioner for my travel bag…sneaky).
So glad to be getting makeup in my box again…
Big Citrine Taxi
I’m not a big fan of Joni Mitchell…but I sure am a fan of Julep “Joni” – Citrine for November!
The picture (hastily taken earlier today, in the last dying light filtering into my office parking garage) doesn’t do it justice. Along with the gold flecks in the citrine shimmer, there are also flashes of pink. PINK!
I used Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, but I didn’t use a top coat – I wanted to feel the texture. I was expecting a sandy texture like “Claudia”, but it was smoothly pebbled.
Coincidentally, “Joni” is what I expected NYC “Fashion Queen” to look like.
The Red Room
I’ve got loads of new polish to try out, but I keep coming back to the Twin Peaks Collection by Hare Polish. This is “The Red Room”, a red jelly base with hexes and squares in black and white, plus white flakies and shimmer. The Red Room is one of the most iconic locations in Twin Peaks, with the sweeping red velvet curtains and black & white floors. “Where we’re from, the birds sing a pretty song…”
I used Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat and Top Coat. The polish stuck quite well to the base coat and I don’t have any chips.
It kind of reminds me of this copycat paint job from a few months back, but a lot less work!
January Birchbox – Relax & Recharge
I got my Birchbox on Friday, but I’ve been so busy (and feeling a bot under the weather), that I haven’t had time to mess with it – I really need to relax and recharge!
A coincidence that January’s theme is “Relax & Recharge”? I think not…Inside my box: Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream (I need to start testing all the eye creams I receive); Briogeo “Don’t Despair! Repair” Deep Conditioning Mask (I actually used this today – I have been using the sample I received in my September Ipsy Bag about once a week for the past month – my hair is already fairly healthy, so I haven’t really noticed a difference); Manna Kadar Lip Locked priming gloss stain in “All of Me” (finally a Manna Kadar product I might try – I keep getting highlighters); Perlier Intensive Nurturing Body Balm in “Shea Lavender” (I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the Perlier Body Balm from my June Birchbox – it’s the reason I picked this curated box); When Travelmate Sheet Mask; and 2 teapigs tea temples (I assume that is a fancy name for a tea bag?) – “Liquorice and Peppermint” (gross) and “Chamomile Flowers” (maybe not gross).
I am committing to trying all these products within the next week – maybe they will make me feel less run down and snotty?
If you would like to try Birchbox, click on my referral link – https://www.birchbox.com/invite/5453f – I’ll get 50 points if you join.
I’m a Pepper!
Don’t you want to be a Pepper, too?
Julep “Maryam” (from this month’s “Chrysalis Collection”) looks like a Dr. Pepper Can. Julep may say its dark merlot shimmer, but I don’t drink merlot. Actually, I don’t drink Dr. Pepper either – it’s too sickly sweet for me. I actually steer clear of any dark maroon liquids. Ever since that incident with the Grape Mad Dog 20/20 in High School…blech.
You’ll notice that my thumb and ring finger are more mauve – I used Julep “Tilda” Metamorphic Top Coat on those nails. The result was very subtle – just a little lighter and more purpley. I’m thinking it will look good over blues.
Someday, I’ll actually find a quick dry top coat that plays nice with Julep polishes. Orly Bonder works with no issues, but Sally Diamond Flash seems to create bubbles no matter what. Grrrr…
January Julep Maven Box – The Chrysalis Collection
If Julep hadn’t given us the option of customizing our boxes, I probably would have quit by now. This last month, they added even more options to the boxes – they offer items from previous months now!
January starts anew with “The Chrysalis Collection”. Julep Luxe Lip Treatment is new this month – it’s a sheer, cooling lip tint. I chose “Sheer Fig”. I also chose one of their new shades of Gel Eye Glider – “Olive”. I picked one polish – Classic with a Twist “Maryam” – dark merlot shimmer. As a bonus, I received “Tyra” Metamorphic Top Coat – every one got one of the their three new top coats…the others are “Tilda” and “Bjork”. There was also a little box of Junior Mints…I already ate them. My mom loved Junior Mints. I can’t eat them without thinking of how that’s what she would always buy when we went to the movies…
This is one of the best boxes so far!
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