Category: Makeup

 
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My Sissy Loves Me

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I went over to my little sister’s house yesterday to hold her new baby – a little cutie named Evelyn – and I got to open my birthday present early!

I got excited as soon as I saw the Sephora bag. The first thing I pulled out was a Peter Thomas Roth Rose Anti-Aging Kit with Rose Stem Cell Bio-Repair Cleansing Gel, Pink Bombshell Lip Balm, Rose Stem Cell Bio-Repair Gel Mask and a Signature Rose Printed Bag. She knows me so well – almost every year, she gets me something rose scented – my absolute favorite flower scent on the planet. I have never heard of Peter Thomas Roth, but I am excited to try it. I also don’t know what the deal is with plant stem cells being in every product these days. All plants have stems, right?

I reached into the bag again and pulled out the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette – I literally squealed with delight! I had wanted this one so bad…and it smells like chocolate! She doesn’t pay much attention to my beauty product obsessions, but she knows that I like chocolate.

The last thing in the bag was Zoya “Leslie”. She had gotten it in her Allure Beauty Box and knew she wouldn’t use it. I don’t get the Allure Beauty Box, but I might have to start…

She couldn’t have picked more perfect presents for me – she is so thoughtful and picked out perfect presents for me. Good thing I have 3+ months to pick out presents for her that are just as thoughtful…

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Love/Hate/Ulta

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My 20% at Ulta coupon expires today, so of course I had to use it – I can’t let it go to waste!

After gymnastics, I carted Lily straight to Ulta. I sat her in a stool beside me and started in with the foundation. I knew that I wanted to get Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup – I just wanted to check the colors. I had sampled 3.5, but I wanted to check the lighter colors. Ultimately, I stuck with the 3.5 I also wanted the Good Karma Optical Blurring Blush, but they were out of stock. I went ahead and picked up Naked Skin Beauty Balm in “Light” as well – even though this Ulta still doesn’t have a sample of it out. I, too, like to live dangerously. (I washed my face as soon as I got home and put it on – I like it! It’s light coverage, but blends well and doesn’t accentuate my winter dryness too badly.)

I tried out their new powder foundation – Naked Skin Ultra Definition Powder Foundation, but my skin is too dry right now for a powder foundation. I wanted to get the Naked Skin Ultra Definition Pressed Finishing Powder in “Medium Light” – but of course, that was out of stock, too. That’s what I hate about the Copperfield Ulta – they are always out of stock! They didn’t have the Vice 3 when I wanted it either!

I checked the clearance polish, but nothing jumped out at me. There was another clearance kiosk by the checkout and I couldn’t resist a Revlon Electric Chrome Super Lustrous Lipgloss in “Killer-Watt”, from the Amazing Spider-Man Collection. It rang up $1.97. I tried it this afternoon and absolutely love it.

Luckily, I received another 20% off online only coupon today, so I didn’t bother driving across town – I just ordered the rest of what I wanted off the website. Grrrrrr…the Willowbrook Ulta always has what I want. Luckily, I’m moving offices within the next few weeks and it is just barely close enough to Willowbrook to be able to bop over during my lunch hour…

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HEB Enabler

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I love my enabler husband. All we needed was yogurt for smoothies, but he let me meander through the cosmetics department first…just in case there was a polish I missed.

Of course there was…I found Sally Hansen Sugar Shimmer “Work of Tart”. I also spied a Milani Runway Eyes wet/dry shadow in “Girls Luv Pink”. The sticker on the shadow said $3.34 – a good deal – but it rang up for $1, just like the polish. Score!

 

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Review – Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup

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I am *almost* 39 years old and I still haven’t found the perfect foundation. Most of the time, I just wear moisturizer and translucent powder, hoping for the best. I think I might be closer though…

My samples have started piling up, so I’ve been making a concerted effort to start trying more of them. Yesterday morning, I came across a sample of Urban Decay Naked Skin that I had gotten back in March. The description from Urban Decay’s site makes it sound like magic:

Naked Skin uses light-diffusing spheres to ‘blur’ imperfections for a luminous, demi-matte finish that feels invisible but looks professionally retouched.

I started with the Urban Decay Pore Perfecting Complexion Primer Potion ($31). I was very similar to Benefit The POREfessional – it made everything smooth and closed those pores right up. I then applied Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup in 3.5 ($39) – what a long name! I just used my fingers, but it glided on smoothly on top of the primer. Luckily, 3.5 was a pretty close match. It covered all the redness and didn’t stick to my peach fuzz too badly. I finished with Ulta Minerals Finishing Powder – it looked amazing! (I tried to take a few selfies, but my bathroom lighting is shit.)

$39 is a lot of money to spend on foundation – I have several other samples that I want to try before I make a final decision. Also, I’m not positive whether the success was from the foundation or the primer. I want to try the Naked Skin Beauty Balm, too. Within the next few weeks, I want to try to go to Sephora and try their Color IQ system to help me verify the color I need – it’s a computer that takes pictures of your skin and tells you what brands and shades will match. Science and shit!

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January Ipsy Bag – Fresh Start

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This is it – the last of my subscriptions for the month.

This might be the most cohesive Ipsy Bag that I’ve ever received – I could conceivably use all of these products together and not look like a clown! January’s theme is “Fresh Start” and includes Elizabeth Mott All Over Shadow Brush (I will never have to buy brushes again); Hikari Cosmetics Mechanical Eye Liner in “Storm”; (MALIN+GOETZ) Mojito Lip Balm (I’m wearing it now – I leaned over to give my husband a smooch and he didn’t gag, so that’s a good sign); Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow in “Ethereal”; and Velvet 59 Velvet Rose Lipgloss in “Noisette”.

I’ll be trying all these out tomorrow…

If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.

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January Beauty Box 5 – Hello!

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My Beauty Box 5 and Ipsy Bag got to share the mailbox yesterday!

January’s Beauty Box 5 is “Hello!” this month. Inside are Hard Candy Kal-Eye-Descope Baked Eyeshadow Duo in “make believe” (I am getting addicted to wet/dry shadows!); Sally Hansen Salon Effects French Mani in “Gold Cabaret” (I’ve never tried these – this should be interesting); Ultraflesh The Gold Standard Mascara in “Blackout” (What an odd, filthy name for mascara!); Softsoap Nutri Serum Vitamin E Body Wash; and Garnier Fructis Daily Care Fortifying Shampoo (well, now I have to buy the matching conditioner for my travel bag…sneaky).

So glad to be getting makeup in my box again…

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January Birchbox – Relax & Recharge

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I got my Birchbox on Friday, but I’ve been so busy (and feeling a bot under the weather), that I haven’t had time to mess with it – I really need to relax and recharge!

A coincidence that January’s theme is “Relax & Recharge”? I think not…Inside my box: Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream (I need to start testing all the eye creams I receive); Briogeo “Don’t Despair! Repair” Deep Conditioning Mask (I actually used this today – I have been using the sample I received in my September Ipsy Bag about once a week for the past month – my hair is already fairly healthy, so I haven’t really noticed a difference); Manna Kadar Lip Locked priming gloss stain in “All of Me” (finally a Manna Kadar product I might try – I keep getting highlighters); Perlier Intensive Nurturing Body Balm in “Shea Lavender” (I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the Perlier Body Balm from my June Birchbox – it’s the reason I picked this curated box); When Travelmate Sheet Mask; and 2 teapigs tea temples (I assume that is a fancy name for a tea bag?) – “Liquorice and Peppermint” (gross) and “Chamomile Flowers” (maybe not gross).

I am committing to trying all these products within the next week – maybe they will make me feel less run down and snotty?

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.

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January Julep Maven Box – The Chrysalis Collection

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If Julep hadn’t given us the option of customizing our boxes, I probably would have quit by now. This last month, they added even more options to the boxes – they offer items from previous months now!

January starts anew with “The Chrysalis Collection”. Julep Luxe Lip Treatment is new this month – it’s a sheer, cooling lip tint. I chose “Sheer Fig”. I also chose one of their new shades of Gel Eye Glider – “Olive”. I picked one polish – Classic with a Twist “Maryam”dark merlot shimmer. As a bonus, I received “Tyra” Metamorphic Top Coat – every one got one of the their three new top coats…the others are “Tilda” and “Bjork”. There was also a little box of Junior Mints…I already ate them. My mom loved Junior Mints. I can’t eat them without thinking of how that’s what she would always buy when we went to the movies…

This is one of the best boxes so far!

Not a Julep Maven? CLICK HERE to join! Get a FREE Snow Day Welcome Box with code HIFRIEND!

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After Xmas Haul

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You know what’s better than Xmas shopping? After Xmas shopping!

On Friday night, we hit Walmart, in search of 75% off beauty sets, as seen on Nouveau Cheap. Although I did spy a few sets from Flower, Hard Candy and e.l.f. – they were all atrocious eye shadow and I passed. I did, however, find a Scinti Countdown to Christmas Gift Set – it’s like a nail art advent calendar. I really just wanted the little mustache nail decals. It ended up being $3.72, so not bad, even if it is a brand I’ve never heard of.

On Saturday night, I talked my BFF into a trip to Walgreen’s, again in search of clearance Xmas. Along with a shit-ton of Gift Tags, I found a Conair Ultimate Style and Volume Gift set for $5. I really only bought it for the bun maker thingy. I also picked up a Red Velvet revo and the most awesome thing ever – a dancing Xmas Tree that sings “Feliz Navidad”!

I think I made my BFF sad when I carried that fucking tree down every aisle, making it serenade all of the other shoppers. Shenanigans!

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Goodbye Crater Pores!

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Whoever packed my box did a great job color-coordinating the tissue paper!

Birchbox has the best loyalty points system, hands down! I had $30 in points just a few months ago and here I am with $30 in points again!

After trying a sample of Benefit’s The POREfessional in Ulta’s Cyber Monday Bag, I had to have a full size. (This stuff is like the most magic nose spackle ever!) Also needed a back-up Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz. With a 20% off code, $30 in points and free Ace shipping, I only paid $11.60.

The free samples were so-so this time: Harvey Prince “Imperial Gardenia” (which I received in my June Box) and evologie Stay Clear Cleanser. Hit me up if you like Gardenia and you can have the perfume…