Month: October 2019
Kat Von D Fire Sale
What can I say – I love a good sale.
It looks like Sephora is offloading lots and lots of Kat Von D’s old products. Most of last year’s palettes are half price (or less). I already have all of the ones on sale, except for the Vegan Palette – no thank you. I did, however, pick up the 4 remaining Everlasting Glimmer Veil Liquid Lipsticks for $5, down from $22. I got “Thunderstruck” – champagne with pink and gold glimmer, “Starflyer” – lavender with iridescent glimmer, “Reverb” – cobalt with blue glimmer, and “Televator” – bright grape with purple glimmer. I also picked up the Kitten Mini Studded Kiss Vampira Ombre Set for $7, down from $18. Two mini lipsticks, in “Vampira” and “White Out”. I’ve only used “Thunderstruck” and “Starflyer” so far – I need to get to work.
For samples, I picked (and received) Kate Somerville EradiKate Salicylic Acid Treatment and Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream. I also used a promo code to get a deluxe sample bottle of Kate Somerville Bio-mimicking Peptides Serum.
So, my total order was $27…$581 to Rouge in 2020.
Queen of Halloween
I am the QUEEN of HALLOWEEN.
I wanted to feel like a pumpkin, so I pulled out my favorite orange polish – Sinful Colors “Courtney Orange”. Technically, it is not even my polish, but my daughter’s – but it ended up in my polish stash. Besides, she’s already made clear that she is getting all my polish when I die, so…
I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat and then two coats of “Courtney Orange”. I forgot how sheer this polish is – you can see right through it, even with two coats. To jazz up my nails, I used a dotting tool in Sinful Colors “Call You Later”. I love the orange and green together – I guess it is just the UTD in me? That’s right, our school colors were a lovely combination of orange and green.
I topped with Glisten & Glow Top Coat, but in hindsight, I kind of wish that I had done a few of my nails matte so I could see how it looked.
Black Widow
It’s October, it’s getting chilly outside and I’m feeling ooky and spooky. How about some Halloween nails?
I had the idea to do Black Widow nails, but they didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped. Although I give myself an A for effort, I give a D for execution.
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I did two coats of Sinful Colors “Black on Black”, my basic black. For a little glitter, I used the black and red glitter, Sinful Colors “Unwrap Me”. I thought the black glitter would show up, but it melted into the background – you can only see a few scattered red glitters. For the hourglass on my ring finger, I used a dotting tool and Sinful Colors “Bitten” – I should’ve used a brush, I think, because it is bumpy and uneven.
I topped it with Glisten & Glow Top Coat, but for some reason, it looked oily and weird – I think it was the unevenness from the hidden black glitter. Hmmm…I’ll need to rethink these nails and try them again.
October 2019 Allure Beauty Box – On the Bright Side
Allure usually comes last each month, but this month it was first into my mailbox. I wonder why?
October’s theme – “On the Bright Side” – is glowy products. The stand-out product is Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream. I’ve repeatedly gotten samples of it and use it immediately – I love the way it smells, like a day at the beach.
Also in this month’s box: Sunday Riley ICE Ceramide Moisturizing Cream (such a tiny sample); M-61 Powerglow Peel; ModelCo Metallic Eyeshadow Trio in “St. Tropez” (I thought this was the same trio I received in my February box , but the colors are slightly different; I used it this morning and the colors lean brassy); ModelCo Eyelites in “Granite” (I received an Eyelites in my April box, too – have not tried the product); Kneipp Mineral Bath Salt in “Dream Away” (Will be giving to one of my kids); and Lumify Eye Drops (I’ve gotten a few times and they work well enough – they’re just too pricey for me to buy on my own).
I kind of feel that Allure is pushing a few brands repeatedly, month after month. I feel like they must have gotten a truckload of ModelCo and Sunday Riley and we’ll be getting it monthly, no matter what.
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.
Techno Violet
I got mostly purple nails to go with my mostly purple haul.
They look good from afar, but I totally botched these nails. After starting with Sinful Colors Base Coat, I painted two coats of Sinful Colors “Techno Violet” from the second Bebe Rexha Collaboration, “Wicked Neons”. So far, so good…I wanted a few accent nails, so I topped my index and middle fingers with Sinful Colors “Mystery Moonshine”. I had a Halloween vibe in mind, but it seemed a bit more Mardi Gras…it wasn’t bad though
But then I screwed up…I wanted to go to bed, so I immediately started applying Glisten & Glow Top Coat. Then I dinged my ring finger on my cup. I patched it with “Techno Violet” and then re-coated with my top coat…yeah, that nail turned into a thick chonky boi. I worked too quickly and I ended up with tiny bubbles on all of my nails, too.
I kept these botched nails several days longer than I intended, because as ugly as they were, the thick top coat kept them fresh.
Mostly Purple Haul
The fact that most of the products in this order were purple was entirely coincidental!
The intentional part of the order is the purple hair dye – I’m sampling a few different semi-permanent dyes to see if I can get my hair purple enough to claim the title of MEGA-MOM. I mean, dying my hair school colors would make me the MEGA-MOM of the year, right? I picked up a sample packet of Lime Crime Unicorn Hair in “Pony” for $2.50 (I have reservations about Lime Crime, but since they’ve sold out, I’m less concerned about supporting the questionable creator) and Keracolor Travel Size Color + Clenditioner in “Purple” for $8.99. I’ve only tried the Keracolor, but it did NOTHING to my hair. I only left it in 5 minutes in the shower, so I am going to try it again for 30 minutes before making a final verdict…but I’m not optimistic. I may have to break down and try Manic Panic – but I’m hesitant to stain every single thing I own.
The other purple products I picked up: Zoya Remove + (always needing this) and Nexxus Frizz Defy Active Frizz Control Shampoo and Conditioner. I’ve had a bad case of the frizzies lately, so decided to try these while they were 40% off. What I don’t understand is why the Conditioner is so much more than the Shampoo, $19.99 ($11.99 on sale) for the Conditioner, versus $13.99 ($8.39 on sale) for the Shampoo. Fingers crossed for smooth hair soon.
I also picked up some other 50% off products – my holy grail eyebrow pencil, Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” ($5, down from $10) and a wet n wild Megalast Liquid Catsuit Metallic Lipstick in “Life’s No Pink-Nic” ($2.49, down from $4.99). The lipstick looks reddish in the tube, but is a dusty rose/copper – neither of which are pink, as the name implies. So confuse.
I got two different sample bag with my order, a hair sample bag and a brow sample bag. Inside the hair sample bag: HASK Cactus Water Shampoo & Conditioner (excited to try this); Alterna Haircare Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture CC Cream; Wella Professional Invigo Volume Boost Crystal Mask; Seed Phytonutrients Scalp & Roots Oat Mask (WEIRD); System Professional Smoothen Shampoo Hair Structure Softener (WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN? This product scares me); Curlsmith Scalp Stimulating Booster; and Macadamia Professional Essential Repair Daily Deep Conditioner. Inside the brow sample bag: Urban Decay Brow Endowed Brow Volumizer in “Brown Betty”; Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil in “3.5 Neutral Medium Brown”; Tweezerman Micro Mini Tweezer (OMG, it’s miniscule); Covergirl Clear Brow Setting Gel; Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel; and essence lash & brow gel mascara style & comb. What am I going to do with all this clear brow gel???
No good coupons when I ordered, just the usual $3.50 off $15 coupon. $460 to Diamond status.
Azalea
Oh my fucking GAWD, Julep “Azalea” is fucking beautiful. I could just stare at my nails for HOURS.
Julep says it is pink sunrise holographic microglitter – there is A LOT of gold in the glitter, but really there are hints of every color in the rainbow.
I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat, then painted two coats of “Azalea”, and finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. There was a bit of texture to the microglitter, so it was a thick layer of top coat. It’s lasting FOREVER. I want to change polishes, but it still looks too good, even after 4-5 days and a shit ton of dishes.
W*tch Please
Time to try the Bebe Rexha “Wicked Neons” Collection!
So I never did find a blacklight – I know there’s one in this house somewhere, but it probably is in a mystery box that never got unpacked after the move…three years ago. Oop.
I’m just going to assume that Sinful Colors “W*tch Please” glows like a motherfucker under a blacklight. For a little extra, I added Sinful Colors “Glow for It” on accent nails.
I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat and did two THICK coats of “W*tch Please”. It’s a very thin polish, nearly a jelly. Three fingers got an extra coat of “Glow for It” and then I finished with a thick goat of Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
This combination of colors lasted very well on my nails. I really like the Neon formula, although I am fairly certain it is a dupe for Sinful Colors “Let Me Flamingo”.
September 2019 Allure Beauty Box – Best of Beauty Award Winners
What’s good, Allure? Did you give up on the clear clutches after only 8 months? Sephora Play went several YEARS before trading out the drawstring pouches for printed ziplocs…Just goes to show that no other Subscription Box has the gumption to stick with bags, except for Ipsy…I ain’t even mad though – like I need MORE pouches and makeup bags…
September’s box is filled with Allure’s Best of Beauty Award Winners…past winners. Like – not this year’s winners. Hmmm…
Far and away, my favorite product from this month’s box is 2018 winner NatureLab Perfect Smooth Shampoo and Conditioner. I’ve been searching for an amazing shampoo and conditioner and this may be the one. The scent is lightly citrus-y and the formula is cruelty-free. It looks like the only place to get these is Amazon ($14 each) – a bit pricey, but not out my price range for a great product.
Also in this month’s box: Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder, Ciate London Dewy Stix Luminous Highlighting Balm in “Gleam”; La Roche-Posay Lipikar Eczema Soothing Relief Cream (I’m not gonna jinx myself by saying I’m looking forward to trying this on my next flare-up, but…); and Acure Brightening Facial Scrub (I’ve gotten this before and LOVED it).
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.
Twisted Obsession
…and Sinful Colors “Twisted Obsession” is the last of Bebe’s Shades from the Velvet Obsession Collection. It’s a matte dark, dark purple with silver shimmer. I put it on to honor my son’s school colors, since I would be helping out with his Marching Band competition last weekend, but he haughtily responded that it’s NOT Charger purple. Whatever, kid. I got compliments from the other moms, so THERE.
This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat, with NO top coat. I got the best results with the Sinful Colors Base Coat, so I better figure out where to purchase more – my bottle is almost empty! There were hardly any streaks in the first coat and the second coat was perfect. I didn’t notice the polish lasting any longer with this base coat, but it was definitely smoother.