Author: Lara
CeraVe Ulta Haul
I know buying face wash is not very exciting, but 40% off CeraVe was a deal I couldn’t pass up…I got CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser with Ceramides and Hyaluronic Acid ($10.79, down from $17.99) for me and CeraVe Acne Control Face Cleanser, 2% Salicylic Acid Acne Treatment ($11.39, down from $18.99) for Lily.
Essence and Milani was also on sale, so I got Essence Electric Glow Color Changing Lipstick ($3.49, down from $4.99) – almost as good as Frog Prince, but not quite – and Milani Precision Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” ($7.69, down from $10.99). It’s a decent pencil – as good as Ulta’s!
Oh, there was definitely more stuff in this order…but Xmas is coming and Nailtopia was also 40% off.
$148 to Diamond in 2024.
Polish Pickup October 2023 – 90’s Grunge
I might be addicted to the Polish Pickup…I keep telling myself that I can stop any time…
October’s theme is 90’s Grunge, which is right up my alley. It was a struggle to pick just a few of these!
Lyn B Designs “Does it Get Eddie Vedder?” ($13) is inspired by her love of Weird Al parodies, Pearl Jam, and sweaters. It’s a grey crelly with a shocking blue to purple shimmer.
Rogue Lacquer “Urban Decay” ($13) is inspired by…90s Urban Decay nail polishes. I still have a few of them – I hope they’re not all dried up. “Urban Decay” is a brown toned purple jelly base loaded with purple, magenta and orange flakes as well as a subtle flash of gold glass flakes.
Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Raspberry Pop” ($10) is a scented top coat. I cannot wait to see how it smells!
Stay tuned to see these polishes…
Bugs ‘N Kisses
It’s the tenth day of November and I am JUST now getting around to talking about my actual Halloween nails…but Marching Band Season is over…just in time for Mariah Carey to thaw out and start telling us the only thing she wants for Christmas.
I purchased several spooky set from this Halloween’s drop, but Color Street “Bugs ‘N Kisses” is my favorite. What is there not to like about red glitter spiders and webs? This set is a good match for October’s ipsy bag, too!
Technically, spiders are NOT bugs – they are arachnids…but I’ll let it slide this time.
Haunted Forever
Halloween may be behind me, but I still have spooky nails to share…
Lilypad Lacquer “Haunted Forever” is the fourth polish I snagged from September’s Polish Pickup. I wasn’t expecting to LOVE it so much! I just thought it would be an interesting fuchsia polish…the depth on this polish is AMAZING. Lilypad might be one of my new favorite indie makers…
This is two coats of “Haunted Forever” over Vibrant Scents Double Bond Base Coat in “Island Petals”, topped with Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber and Vibrant Scents Top Coat in “Island Petals”.
Beetlejuice Nails
My sister-in-law posted some really groovy Beetlejuice Nails on her Color Street page, so I had to do my own version…a combination of Color Street and regular polish…
Beetlejuice means black and white, but also purple and green. For the purple, I used two coats of Danglefoot Lacquer “Hair Raising” – I was just dying for an excuse to use it again. I almost used Alchemy Lacquers “Oddities” again, too – but I wanted a brighter green. I went with three coats of Sinful Colors “Sour Apple Killer” for the green. I even got an ant-spider-baby-skull! I used Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat on the painted nails, topped the ant-spider-baby-skull with Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber, and topped the painted nails with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
I’ll never try to paint stripes again, as long as I have Color Street “Between the Lines”. I used Color Street “Swiss and Tell” for the white. One of the new sets I got was “Mi Cultura”, a floral overlay from the Hispanic Heritage Collection. I took a chance and placed “Mi Cultura” strips over a nail I had already painted with regular nail polish…it was ready to slide off my nail, but a thick coat of Glisten & Glow Top Coat glued that sucker down.
All in all, I think it turned out well…a few nails are a little sloppy and crooked, but would it be Beetlejuice without sloppy and crooked?
Oddities
Alchemy Lacquers “Oddities” is the third polish I’ve tried from September’s Polish Pickup. It’s inspired by the medicinal plant garden at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia.
There are not enough chartreuse nail polishes in my collection. This one is even better than the usual chartreuse ones, because there is a shifting shimmer that shifts from purple to red to orange. I tried several different angles and lightings, and this is the best pic I could capture of that shimmer.
This is two coats of “Oddities” between Vibrant Scents Double Bond Base Coat in “Island Petals” and Vibrant Scents Top Coat in “Island Petals”.
Hair Raising
It was so hard to choose which one to try, but I finally decided on Danglefoot Polish “Hair Raising” as the next polish to try from September’s Polish Pickup. “Hair Raising” is inspired by past hair disasters, and boy do I have a few! I love how the polish shifts from a fuchsia shimmer to bright blue in the sunlight!
This is two coats of “Hair Raising” over Vibrant Scents Double Bond Base Coat in “Island Petals” and under Vibrant Scents Top Coat in “Island Petals”.
I don’t think I’ll get to all five of them before Halloween…but it’s always a good time for spooky nails!
October 2023 Ipsy Bag – Glam-O-Ween
Glam-O-Ween sounds like a competition on RuPaul’s Drag Race…and I’m here for it!
This month’s product choice was Saturday Skin Rise + Shine Gentle Cleanser. I got a full size in a Glam Bag X last year and used it all, so I got it again. It makes my skin so clean it squeaks.
Also is this month’s glamtastic velour spider bag: ACE BEAUTÉ Effortless Radiance Loose Setting Powder; Avant Skincare Collagen Intense Radiance Activator Serum (I’ve been using before bed and it smells SO luxurious); ciate London Extraordinary BB Cream (I’ve also tried this one out – not bad and absorbs well); and Clinique Acne Solutions™ Clinical Clearing Gel (I’ll probably let me daughter have it).
A nice skincare centered bag this month…not a product will be wasted.
I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $13/month and Icon Box (formerly Glam Bag X) for an extra $43/quarterly. If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
Lilith
I had no idea that Zoya had a “Polish of the Month”, but October’s Polish of the Month is very special to me – it’s “Lilith”! (For those of you just joining us, my daughter’s full first name is Lilith.) I also have Julep “Lilith“, but it’s not as exciting as this one.
Zoya “Lilith” is a wearable black illuminated by rose gold flakes and delicate pink micro-glitter. This is two coats of Zoya “Lilith” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Metal Mania Ulta Haul
Urban Decay keeps making Naked Palettes and I keep buying them. Sigh.
I know, I know…I barely even wear eyeshadow anymore. But Naked Palettes – I just can’t quit you. So I added the new Urban Decay Cosmetics Naked Metal Mania Metallic Eyeshadow Palette ($59). Weren’t these $54 before? Hmmm…the colors are very nice, but I feel like they aren’t blending as well as the older palettes. I cannot tell if this is a change to my eye skin or the shadows themselves…I’ll continue working with them to figure it out.
I also got a free gift – my choice of Urban Decay x Smiley Naked Mini Eyeshadow Palette (regularly $33). I chose the “Mucho Happy” one, but I haven’t tried it out yet.
I also restocked on basics – Thayer’s Witch Hazel Toner in “Rose” ($10.95) and Got 2b Glued Spiking Glue ($7.99) for Lily’s Band Hair. I also add a Sweet & Shimmer Sheer Lilac Lip Oil ($2.99), but was disappointed that lilac is just the color – not the flavor or scent.
Oh, the reason I ordered when I did…to get the National Brow Day (October 2nd) Sampler with my $50 purchase. I got a Morphe Supreme Brow Dual-Ended Brush; Winky Lux Uni-Brow Mini Precision Brow Pencil; NYX Micro Brow Pencil in “Cool Ash Brown”; Benefit Fluff Up Brow Wax (no…just no); Benefit Gimme Brow Brow-Volumizing Fiber Gel (Another no); Anastasia Brow Wiz in “Medium Brown” (YES!); and Ulta Beauty Dual-Ended Brow Highlight in “Light to Medium”. Are we still saying “brows on fleek”? No?
I got to use a $15 off $50 coupon…just $202 to Diamond in 2024.