Month: August 2019
Astrolady
I LOVE being surprised by a polish! I had no idea that Formula X “Astrolady” was a textured polish!
I started with Glisten & Glow Base Coat and painted a single coat. The first coat was a bit streaky – it reminded me of crackle polish. The second coat smoothed it out, but it wasn’t until I started to apply Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat to my pinky that I noticed that it was a sandy texture. I was planning on using a glossy top coat on the other nails, but decided to skip it.
I LOVE “Astrolady” – it might be my favorite textured polish ever. I want to try it with the Zoya Leopard Print Topper!
August 2019 Sephora Play! – Your Beauty Sidekicks
This month’s Play! box is Superhero themed, full of killer sidekick products.
First off, I gotta point out that my REN Clean Skincare Evercalm Global Protection Day Cream was busted – the tube was slashed somehow! It looks like the plastic cracked? I am lucky that the content congealed and didn’t leak into the box…into the trash it goes.
I am normally excited about Glamglow, but I am not sure how I feel about Glamglow Supertoner Exfoliating Acid Solution Toner. It’s a thick gray liquid – it’s charcoal. Hmmmm…
Also in this month’s box: Laura Mercier Caviar Volume Panoramic Mascara; Buxom Full-On Plumping Lip Cream Gloss in “Hot Toddy”; Clinique Moisture Surge 72-hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator; and Alterna Haircare CAVIAR Ant-Aging Smoothing Anti-Frizz Blowout Butter (TWO caviar products – suspicious?).
Sephora Play gives you 5-6 prestige samples a month. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
Palm to Palm
I did not wear “Weekend Superpowers” very long – I did not feel glamorous wearing it.
I was happy to move on to July’s ipsy polish – Color Club “Palm to Palm”. A vibrant crelly, I was surprised that it dried so sheer – you can see my nail line. This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
I ended up with a lot of extra polish in the edges of my nails – the brush was all fucked up. It looked like a rooster’s tail…after a tussle with a weedeater. So, I am wondering if the brush being all fucked up was a fluke thing or if lower quality bottles were intentionally off-loaded on ipsy…hmmmm…Regardless, it is a lovely color and I’ll use it again.
OH! And it also stained a bit when I took it off – be careful with this polish!
Sephora SUMMER SAVE
It’s that time of year again…Sephora’s end-of-summer sale event – 20% off!
I had been keeping Rosebud Perfume Co. Rose & Mandarin Lip Balm ($8) in my cart for my next order, so I finally got it! It’s subtle scented and very slick – I’ve been using it before bedtime.
The email with my promo code showed me the new Moroccanoil Color Depositing Masks, so I ordered two Minis ($7) – “Aquamarine” and “Hibiscus” – I’ll have to wait another few weeks until my hair fades more, but I am excited to try them.
Not impressed by her latest launches, I did order one of the new Kat Von D Kitten Minis – Crush on Blush – Highlighter + Blush Duo ($22). The blush shade is “Nova” which matches my fave lipstick “Lolita” perfectly – it’s a better match than my actual “Lolita” blush. I’ve been using the highlighter, “Gammaray” for eyeshadow – I LOVE it.
I wasn’t planning on getting a new foundation, but I was poking around on the site and came across bareMinerals Blemish Rescue Skin-Clearing Loose Powder Foundation for Acne Prone Skin in “2N” ($29). When I opened it up, my first thought was FUCK, it’s too dark. That’s what I get for letting the site choose for me – I had them match the last foundation that I felt was a really good match for me, Fenty Beauty in “150”. Once I got it on my face, it wasn’t really too dark – darker than my usual, but not too dark. This is a full coverage powder – more full coverage than I am used to, so I may save it for special occasions and not wear it to work every day. It wears okay, but I feel like it oxidizes by the end of day – maybe not the best for summer sweating.
Again, I got neither of the two samples I picked. Instead of REPLICA Whispers in the Library, I got Lancome La vie est Belle. Instead of Glamglow Waterburst, I got Clinique iD Dramatically Different Hydrating Jelly. Boo.
I know if probably doesn’t seem like it, but I’ve really reduced my spending this year. This order doesn’t quite get me to VIB status for 2020 – my total spend year-to-date has been $338, believe it or not. Another $662 just isn’t in the cards this year, unless I win the lottery!
Nails on a Chalkboard
…or is it a chalkboard on my nails?
Honestly, that didn’t even cross my mind with this polish at first – I just kept thinking of of army/camo green. It wasn’t until I tested the matte top coat of my pinky that I saw it – it’s just like an old fashioned, dark green chalkboard.
This is Nails, Inc. “Weekend Superpowers” from this month’s ipsy bag. I groaned audibly when I saw the color – it’s just so…dull. It doesn’t make sense at all for summer – it is more of a fall/winter polish. A friend mentioned that she received a peach polish, so I guess not everyone received this funky color. Or maybe it makes sense, in a “Back to School” sorta way?
This is two coats of “Weekend Superpowers” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat, except for the pinky with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat.
August 2019 Allure Beauty Box – Summer Brights
Well this is a rather random assortment of summer-y products. Weird flex, but okay, Allure…
Inside this month’s neon yellow pouch: Benefit They’re Real Mascara (a solid mascara, but not as good as Rollerlash); Erno Lazlo Multi-Task Eye Serum Mask; Primera Alpine Berry Water Cream; Nuria Defend Triple Action Eye Cream; Cargo Cosmetics Essential Lip Color in “Bordeaux”; Laritzy Cosmetics Liquid Beam in “Topaz” (ugh, wet finish eye shadow – ewww); and Makeup Eraser The Mini in “Black” (I keep meaning to try one of these).
Confession…I haven’t sampled any of this month’s products – they just are not that interesting. Bummer of a box this month!
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.
$5 Friday
I know I said I’d use up what I had before I bought more…but $5!
Last Friday, I got that magical email from Bath & Body Works that “selected fragrances” were on sale for $5 – shower gel, body cream, even fine fragrance mist! When I got there, it was all the new scents! It was Friday – I had the beginnings of a migraine – so I treated myself to a full set of both “Midnight Peony” (the muskier sister to my old favorite “Peony”) and “Rose Water and Ivy” (maybe my new favorite – it’s very similar to the long discontinued “Delicate Petals” from Victoria’s Secret).
I also had a coupon for a free item up to $14, so I got a “Hello Beautiful” Shower Gel to fill up my travel size bottle. So that was 7 products for $30 – that’s a smoking deal!
I also sampled another new scent that I’m adding to my wishlist – “Kaleidoscope”. (It wasn’t on sale, or I would’ve gotten it.) The main note is pink pepper – I have no idea what that really is, but it’s spicy and I love it. I think Tory Burch also has Pink Pepper, because that’s what it reminds me of.
August 2019 Ipsy Bag – Bare Yourself
Oh, ipsy I knew I shouldn’t have mentioned how much I don’t want waterproof products last month – I got 2 of them this month!
Waterproof eye shadow? Ugh, like I am going to wear a full face to the pool? Regardless, the Suva Beauty Eyeshadow in “Turmeric” is a “water-resistant” gold foil. The Huda Beauty Lip Contour in “Trophy Wife” is also listed as waterproof, which makes a bit more sense for a longwear lip lip liner.
Also in this month’s shockingly weird dark green, pyramid studded vinyl bag: It Cosmetics Confidence in a Gel Lotion Moisturizer (my product selection for the month – looking forward to sampling this one); Nails Inc. Nail Polish in “Weekend Superpowers” (the same weird, flat dark green as the makeup bag); and Papa Recipe Bombee Honey Moisture Cleansing Foam.
I didn’t add on any products this month – nothing looked tempting.
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
The Spice Must Flow…
There are really so many different spice references I could have made – Pumpkin Spice, The Spice Girls, Sugar & Spice…but I decided to go with the obvious Dune reference, because this polish is a sandy rose gold, perfect for any sandworm to glide through!
I had to finish off my my trio of Sinful Shines – this is two coats of Sinful Colors Sinful Shine “Spice”. I used Sinful Colors Base Coat to start and finished with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat on my thumb and ring finger and regular Glisten & Glow Top Coat on the rest.
I checked HEB today to see if the 3/$5 coupon was still there, but it was gone. So, so sad!
Shimmarine
My husband has an odd way of judging nail polish. He judges my nail polish by how it would look on a car. I bring it up, because this polish literally reminds me of a friend’s car, back in college. He had this sparkly, blue Mustang 5.0 – Stacy named it ‘Crystal Blue Smurf’ – and it was this exact shade of sparkly blue. I wonder whatever happened to the ‘Crystal Blue Smurf’?
This smurfy shade is Sinful Colors Sinful Shine “Shimmarine”. I painted two coats, over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. Again, I got a few bubbles, but less than with “Magic Dragon”.
I googled “Shimmarine” and the only results were related to this fingernail polish – it’s a made up word, in case you were wondering.