Month: August 2018
Neon Rainbow
My cousin Kelley wanted rainbow nails, so she got rainbow nails! Neon rainbow nails.
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I started with two coats of each neon color on each nail. I then used a dotting tool to dot them up with color of an adjoining nail. (I did a different order on each hand, swipe right to see the right hand.) I finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
The pink is a shimmery Barbie pink, named “Safari Not Sorry”.
The neon mango polish is growing on me – it’s called “Off Tropic”.
“Palm Down” is by far my favorite polish, a pearly, Kermit green. I also used this polish on my toes, no dots though.
Or is “Poison Arrow” my favorite polish, also named for the very dangerous frog.
I am not sure how I feel about “Amazon Woman”, the purple polish. It’s almost fuchsia, but it’s not. I forgive you, “Amazon Woman”.
Even though I’ve technically tried all of these polishes, I still want to try each of them alone on my nails, so keep an eye out for them – you ‘ll be seeing them again soon.
August 2018 Allure Beauty Box – Hot Spell
ZOMG! Nexxus Keraphix Damage Healing Shampoo and Conditioner! This is one of the top five shampoo/conditioner samples I’ve EVER received in a box. I absolutely LOVE it – this combo alone makes the box worth $15.
Also in this month’s “Hot Spell” box: Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet (another brand that I am starting to love); Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner; Laritzy Cosmetics Light Stix in “Halo”; and Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask (I know I have one of these in a drawer somewhere, but I’m opening up this puppy tonight – my lips are still fucked from Vegas.)
This month’s box also included a code for $30 off my next purchase at bredawatch.com. Never heard of it, but thanks. Do people even wear watches anymore?
The Allure Beauty Box is $15/month, but they give you $5 off your first box. They also offer an option for $150/year – a savings of $30. You can sign up at https://beautybox.allure.com.
About Dang Time!
6 months…6 months I’d been waiting for Sinful Colors to go on sale at Walgreens! The last sale was in February!
Finally, they went on sale this past week – 5/$5. I took this opportunity to get the whole Limited Edition Neon Collection: the pink is “Safari No Sorry”, the tangerine one is “Off Tropic”, the green one is “Palm Down”, the blue one is “Poison Arrow” (just like the frog!), and the violet one is “Amazon Woman”.
I found these on Monday. I also wanted to pick up some Halloween polishes, but the location by my work didn’t have many – I needed another 5! I stopped by two more on the way home from work – no Halloween displays.
On Wednesday, I had to stop by the Walgreens by my surgeon’s office for waterproof bandages, and again – no new polish displays.
On Friday, my son had a headache after Schlitterbahn, so we stopped at a Walgreen’s in Seguin. No new displays there either.
I swear, it’s a fucking conspiracy.
Petra
I saved the prettiest for last. This is Julep “Petra” – cranberry magenta shimmer – the last of the three polishes I received in my August Julep box.
I don’t know about magenta – all I see is FUCHSIA!
This was a difficult polish to work with. I thought it would be a similar formula to the others, but it was thicker and more viscous. It seemed to pull back from the edges as it dried – so annoying! It also left some weird edges around my cuticles – it didn’t clean up nicely. I felt personally victimized by this nail polish.
This is two coats over Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat (uh oh, my bottle is almost empty) and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. Despite all my whining about application – I ended up wearing a good six days – and it still looks pretty good, even after a trip to the waterpark.
August 2018 Ipsy Bag – Selfie with No Filter
For the record, ALL of my selfies are with no filter.
Even so, I appreciate any and all products that help me look my best with no filter, so thank you very much ipsy! Inside this month’s bright orange linen pouch: OUAI Volume Spray (I think I get this product in every single subscription box, every single month); SLSMISSGLAM Rose Gold Blusher Brush (rose gold, my favorite right now); MAC False Lashes Mascara in “Extreme Black” (I liked the last MAC mascara I received in an ipsy bag – I used it all up); Answer From Black Volume Gold Radiance Cream (what a weird brand name – Answer From); and Ofra Cosmetics Eye shadow in “Blue Jean” (another one for my Z Palette).
Not an exciting bag, but not a bad one either.
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
Rose Gold Haul
Sometimes, it is more satisfying to go shopping in person than placing an online order. Especially when it’s Friday, and work is pissing you off…off to Ulta for stress shopping!
The main product I’d been coveting is the new Ulta Beauty 24k Magic Metallic Peel Off Mask ($14). Of course I picked the rose gold version, instead of the regular gold. I tried it out that night and the mask was really nice – results similar to the GlamGlow GravityMud ($59), at a much cheaper price!
Since Ulta was offering a loaded makeup bag as a gift with $19.50 purchase, I rounded up my purchase with 2 additional single use $3 Ulta Beauty Masks (also on promo for Buy 2, Get 1 free) – “Detoxifying Charcoal” Deep Cleansing Clay Mask and “Strawberries & Champagne” Hydrating Glitter Peel Off Mask. I also added a pack of Exfoliating Cotton Pads and a 6-way Nail Buffer. I even got to use a $3.50 off coupon and still get the freebie.
Of course, I picked the Rose Gold version of the Makeup Bag. Inside this suspiciously familiar bag (which looks to be the same one as a gift with purchase I got in June 2017): On-the-Go Makeup Remover Facial Towelettes; a 6 shade eyeshadow palette; a bronzer/illuminator palette; Limitless Lashes Lengthening + Volumizing Mascara; Gel Eye Liner in “Black Out”; Lipstick in “Stay Fierce”; Brow Tint in “Medium”; Tinted Eye Primer in “Satin Blush”; Matte Metallic Liquid Lipstick (no shade name, but I LOVE the color on me); Matte Makeup Setting Spray; a blush brush, an eye shadow brush and a $5 off $15 Ulta Beauty Coupon. The colors in the shadow and lippies are sunset-y fall colors – I am SO ready for fall colors!
All this…for about $23 – not bad. Just $532.50 to Diamond Status…not likely!
Target Beauty Box – August 2018
So…does my box look a little…wilted…to you?
When I pulled this month’s box out of the mailbox, it was rather moist. I thought it was due to rain earlier in the day…I was wrong. The moist-ness was coming from inside the box! It was the Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Soft Waves Tropical Banana Sea Salt Spray. The bottle is now half empty and everything in is smells like fake bananas. Bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
I cannot stand banana scented crap. If Lily doesn’t want it, this shit is going into the trash.
Also in this month’s box: Simple Kind to Skin Cleansing Facial Wipes (great for correcting eye makeup); Acure Brilliant Brightening Day Cream (another great brand); bliss Fab Foaming Face Wash; Eden BodyWorks Coconut Shea Body Lotion; and Schick Intuition F.A.B. Razor (5 bi-directional blades that shave forward AND backward – sounds dangerous!).
Other than the leaky sea salt spray, this is a great value box for $7. As usual, free shipping, 5% off with my Red Card and a $3 off $15 coupon.
Cozette
“Cozette” is NOT “Cosette”, the character is Les Miz. I couldn’t find any famous Cozettes, but it is French for “little thing.”
Julep “Cozette” is no little thing – this is a BIG polish. It’s a peacock teal shimmer, but there is a bold hint of purple underneath that teal.
This is is two coats of “Cozette”, over Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. It’s lasting well so far, but the formula was a bit thick, so the polish pooled around the edges, combining with the top coat to make a few jagged edges. I hate it when that happens!
August 2018 Birchbox – Snapshots from Summer
Last month, it was the Silicone Makeup Applicator (that I still haven’t tried) that made me keep Birchbox. This month, it was the Birchbox Kabuki Brush…because I need a back-up kabuki brush. Don’t judge!
The rest of this month’s curated box is somewhat lackluster for me. The box included Doucce Cosmetics Cheek Blush in “RSVP” (color actually looks nice); Borghese Advanced Fango Active Mud Mask (What is Fango? Is it like Faygo?); Oribe Featherbalm Weightless Styler (Send me more Oribe Gold Lust Shampoo/Conditioner – if it wasn’t $45 each, I’d use it daily); and Amika Phantom Hydrating Dry Shampoo Foam (um…foam is not dry).
Birchbox…you live one more month.
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.
Texas Sunset
Doesn’t this polish remind you of a Texas Sunset?
WHAT? You’ve never seen a Texas Sunset? They are RED and AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL and UNIQUE…and intensified by dust and pollution. Yeah…all those crazy colors are due to red/orange wavelengths of light traveling more easily over the gas molecules (and dust and smog) than blue/violet wavelengths. And that’s your science lesson for today…
This beautiful polish is Julep “Saryn” – coral sunset iridescent shimmer – from this month’s Julep box. I am loving the gold/orange shimmer underneath the coral. This is two coats of “Saryn” over Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
“Saryn” is a unique name. I googled it and the only stuff that came up was about a character from a video game called Warframe. I’ve never ever heard of it – I am OLD.