Month: April 2019
Tranquil Taurus
Even though the Julep Maven program ended months ago, I still have a dozen…or maybe more…Julep polishes that I haven’t tried yet. Who knows – you could be still seeing “new” Julep polishes years from now.
This beautiful honey gold polish is Julep “Tranqil Taurus” from the Zodiac Collection. I’m not a Taurus, but my little sister is. I’m bummed that “Adventurous Aquarius” wasn’t an option when I picked my last box, but oh well.
This is two coats of “Tranquil Taurus” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. This was sadly the last use out of the Ridge Filling Base Coat – I like it more than the regular Glisten & Glow Base Coat and I will add some to my next order.
Fanny Pack Haul
I never thought I’d see the day that my children would be fighting over a fanny pack!
I really try NOT to buy things just for the “gift with purchase”, but there was a little bit of that in this purchase. A $20 NYX purchase gets you a Coachella hot pink NYX Fanny Pack with NYX Pore Filler and NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray. I was gonna use it myself, so I could be like my bestie Sally…but Lily is BEGGING to use it for Frightmare next weekend. My son says he wants it too, but I think he is just being annoying – I’ll probably let Lily “borrow” it. Good thing I am IN LOVE with all four lippies that I picked up – no guilt. The NYX Soft Matte Metallic Lip Creams were on sale for $5, down from $7. They are my absolute favorite NYX formula – I picked up “Rome” and “Budapest”. I’ve been alternating them the past few days. I also tried out two of the new lippies. NYX Glitter Goals Liquid Lipstick in “Cherry Quartz” was a bit pricey at $9, but worth it. It starts out matte, but turns to glitter with friction and wear. It lasts well. NYX Line & Load All-in-One Lippie in “Ride or Die” was $8 and a genius product. It’s a super thin doe-foot applicator that alllows you to line your lips with precision and it DOES NOT BLEED. I need this in red – ALL red lipstick bleed on me.
So…last week, I found out that my son was scrubbing his face with a toothbrush (not the one he uses in his mouth – ew). I freaked out and ordered him an Ulta Advanced Cleansing Rotating Facial Cleansing Brush ($12.50, on sale from $25) and replacement heads ($4, on sales from $8). I mean, if I was rich, I would’ve bought him a Clarisonic like mine – but he can rough it with the Ulta version. Lily was bugging me for some bobbie pins the other day, so I added some of those, too. All Ulta Skin was on sale, so I added a few Single Use Face Masks to my cart ($1.50 each, down from $3) – a Calming Rose Sheet Mask and a Soothing Calamine Mud Mask. I used the Calamine Mask yesterday and it was wonderful. It applied like a regular mud mask, but it didn’t dry down like a normal mud mask – it stayed flexible and felt almost hydrating.
Did I forget to mention a few bottles of Zoya Remove+? My Holy Grail…
No order is complete without a freebie bag. The coolest thing in the bag is the Real Techniques Travel Sponge Case – I’ve just been throwing my Beauty Blender into my makeup bag like a savage! Also in the freebie bag: Sun Bum Revitalizing Dry Shampoo; Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk; OGX Argan Oil of Morocco Dry Shampoo; Vichy Liftactiv Supreme Anti-wrinkle and Firming Correcting Cream; Wunder2 Wunderkiss Essential Lip Scrub; Tweezerman Browmousse (weird); Maybelline MasterPrecise All Day Liquid Liner; L’Oreal Pure-Clay Cleanser Detox-Brighten (m y favorite one); and wet n wild Megaglo Highlighting Powder in “Royal Calyx” (interesting – a blue highlighter).
On top of all the freebies and gifts with purchase, there was that 20% off coupon. I’ve just one or two more orders to get to Platinum status – $64. I’ve also managed to accrue another $33 in points. Diamond Status isn’t out of the question this year…
Easter Eggs
I tried to make delicate dotting tool flowers for Easter…but I ended up with Easter Eggs. Fried eggs.
The base of my manicure is one of my new Big Lots finds – Sinful Colors “Sassy Lassie”. It’s a metallic chartreuse. This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat.
For my “flowers”, I used Sinful Colors “Tokyo Pearl” for the white ones, Sinful Colors “Starfish” for the pink ones and Sinful Colors “Spellbound” for the purple ones. For the centers, I used Sinful Colors “Yellow Spotted”. I finished with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat.
I couldn’t find anything “Easter-y” to hold, all I could find was the lotion in my purse. It coordinates though? “Rose Quartz” is one of my new favorite scents from Bath & Body Works.
April 2019 Allure Beauty Box – A Masterful Selection
This month’s Allure Beauty Box is curated by Beauty YouTuber Carli Bybel. I’ll be honest – she is not really in my orbit. I’ve never watched her videos, nor could I pick her out of a lineup. Her selections are fairly generic – she one of those “Copper Eye, Nude Lips” gurus.
I cannot say that I am disappointed though – there’s a lot of value in this month’s box. I’ve been curious about Natasha Denona since I started seeing her $129 palettes at Sephora. No shit – $129 for a 15 pan palette. I received Natasha Denona Mono Shadow in “124k Bronzage” – and I admit, it applies beautifully and is very pigmented.
Also in this month’s box: Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in “Pure Hollywood” (a little light for my taste, but it looks pretty good combined with a slightly darker lip liner – I used Kat Von D “Lolita II”); Luxie 231 Small Tapered Blending Brush Rose Gold (I really like Luxie brushes); Laura Geller Inkcredible Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Pencil in “Brown” (looks good combined with the “Bronzage” eye shadow); and Briogeo Farewell Frizz Blow Dry Perfection & Heat Protectant Creme.
The one product I will NOT be using: Vita Liberata Phenomenal Organic Tan Infused Cloths. Nope.
This month’s box also included a scratch off card with a sneak peek of the brands included in next month’s box: AmorePacific, Laritzy, Lue by Jean Sea, No6, St. Tropez, Laneige and ModelCo.
Oh, and this month’s clutch is CLEAR. They sure do keep me guessing.
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. Sign up via my referral link.
Poison Apple
Sinful Colors SinfulShine “Poison Apple” may just have snuck itself into my shopping cart during a recent trip to HEB…Shhhhhhh…
While just as shiny as her sister “Shine Annie”, “Poison Apple” is different type of finish – more of a shimmer than a jelly with flakies. “Poison Apple” is also more of an apple color – a bit cooler than “Shine Annie”, which has a hint of orange and reminds me of Julep “Jacqueline”.
This is two coats of “Poison Apple” over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Which SinfulShine should I get next?
Target Beauty Boxes – April 2019
Two boxes for April – an “Au Naturel Beauty” box, with natural products and an “April Showers” box with rainy day products.
Inside the “Au Naturel Beauty Box”: SheaMoisture African Black Soap Clarifying Facial Wash & Scrub (I like this stuff, even though it smells odd); The Good Stuff Repair Balm (a no-rinse conditioner for hair); Schmidt’s Cedarwood-Juniper Bar Soap (hmmm); Love Beauty & Planet Muru Muru Mask Sachet (oh yeah, I love this scent); Love Beauty & Planet Coconut Water & Mimosa Flower Hand Cream (another scent I love); and Burt’s Bees Enamel Care Mountain Mint Toothpaste. I will try ALL of these, except maybe the conditioner.
The “April Showers” box is far less impressive: TIGI Bed Head After Party Smoothing Cream (a tiny ass little foil pack); Soap & Glory Puffy Eye Attack Under-Eye Brightening Hydrogel Patches; Dove Dry Shampoo Volume & Fullness (the lid was cracked); Crest 3D White Brilliance Toothpaste in “Vibrant Peppermint”; Degree for Women Black + White Dry Spray Antiperspirant; and Bliss That’s Incredi-peel (another damn foil pack).
The “Au Naturel Beauty” box is a good value for $7, but the “April Showers” box is kind of a rip-off for that much. As usual, free shipping, 5% off with my Red Card and both came with a $3 off $15 coupon. The weird thing is that one box had a bar code to scan the coupon into the app, but the other box had an old fashioned coupon. So weird. I did not manage to use my coupon last month either, but I have high hopes for this month’s coupons.
Xmas in April
When work gets stressful, the only cure is lunchtime retail therapy. Mama is on a budget right now, so that means a trip to Big Lots, my favorite dirt mall. I did spend 40 cents in tolls each way though – big spender.
I saw it was like Xmas in April because I loaded up on Sinful Colors Xmas polishes. There was a huge end cap of Xmas-y colors, so I indulged in 8 of them. Hell – only at only $1.95, why not? That is 3 cents cheaper than Walmart.
Starting from the top left: “Queen of Green” – forest green with gold shimmer, “Tealing Power” – from the “Stoned Crystal Shimmer” Collection, “That’s Elfed Up” – a Xmas-y glitter, “Sassy Lassie” – a bright green shimmer, “Santa Claws” – another Xmas glitter, “Mint Candy” – green jelly topper, “Candy Apple” – a red jelly topper, and “Rock Candy” – a blue/silver jelly topper.
Oh, I also cheated on Bath & Body Works by picking up a bottle of cheap-ass Simple Pleasures Hand Soap in “Rosewater Peony” – I couldn’t resist the scent. I doubt this $1 soap will replace my brand…but you never know…
Unicorn Princess
I consider myself a connoisseur of cheap nail polish, but somehow – I’ve never tried L.A. Colors. Very odd, because I know my daughter has some L.A. Colors sets from the grocery store.
I decided to check out Daiso, a Japanese dollar store that my fellow natural nail enthusiast, Angie, told me about. Technically, I guess it is a $1.50 store, since most things there are $1.50. Inflation, I guess? Anyway, I about died of cuteness overload – all the stationary and art supplies had me dying. I definitely need to bring the kids by here to stock up for the summer.
In addition to some cards and a shit-ton of Pocky, I came home with L.A. Colors Unicorn Sparkle “Flurry Shine”. It was $2, instead of $1.50 – fancy.
It took three thick coats of “Flurry Shine” to barely get full coverage. The polish was very, very thin – but I don’t know if that is true of all L.A. Colors, or just the Unicorn Sparkle collection. I started with Glisten & Glow Base Coat and topped with Glisten and Glow Top Coat – a nice thick layer.
It also did not wear as well as I am used to – I got major edge wear and chips after just two days. I am not impressed by this $2 polish. If I am gonna spend $2 on polish, it is gonna be Sinful Colors.
Shine Annie
Sooooo…For my first SinfulShine, I thought I was buying “Poison Apple”, but it turns out that I grabbed “Shine Annie” by accident. Oops. (I fixed that at HEB today – I made sure I picked the correct “Poison Apple”.)
I’ve never tried the SinfulShine formula before. I was a little scared of the “with Gel Tech” on the label – it’s sold as a two step system, with a special top coat…I was afraid it would be similar to the Sally Hansen Two Step Gels,. which I hated. I asked around and I was assured that it’s pretty much a regular polish and I can use any top coat I wanted. And then there was the price point – $2.98. Well, I can afford one or two…
I am in LOVE with the SInfulShine formula. It’s more like a jelly polish than a gel polish. I thought it would be too sheer after the first coat, but I got full coverage with the second coat. I am gonna have to control myself with these polishes!
This is two coats of Sinful Colors SinfulShine “Shine Annie” over Sinful Colors Top Coat (which I still have not figured out where to restock from) and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. It lasted FOREVER. I repainted after five days, only because I wanted to repaint my toenails – I feel like this is a good 10 day polish!
Fairy Princess
I’m a fairy princess!
Or, more accurately, I am a Unicorn Fairy Princess, since this is Funky Fingers “Unicorn Dust”. It’s a fantastic glitter topper, but you know me – I’ll go out with only a top on, Winnie the Pooh-ing my fingernails, so to speak…
This is two coats of “Unicorn Dust” on top of Glisten & Glow Base Coat and underneath Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat. I love a good matte glitter.
And yes, I chopped the hell out of my nails. I have not figured out if they each grow at different speeds, or if I wear them down at different speeds – but they all match now.