Category: Makeup
Target Beauty Boxes – December 2014
I wasn’t expecting another Target Beauty Box so soon – the last one came around just 2 months ago! This time, there were 3 boxes to choose from. Of course, I got the regular $10 Beauty Box for myself, but this time – they had a $5 Men’s box. My husband has been envious of all my subscription boxes, and now he finally got one! There was also a natural box, but none of the products interested me, so I skipped it.
Inside the Men’s box: Gillette ProGlide FlexBall Razor – we both use Mach3 and this looks similar; Dove Men+Care Dry Deodorant Spray; Old Spice Swagger 2in1 Shampoo and Conditioner – the last deodorant I bought him was Old Spice Swagger, so this will match; Neutrogena Men Invigorating Face Wash – I don’t think I have ever seem my husband wash his face…at least not like girls wash their face; Proraso Shaving Cream; and AXE Peace Shower Gel – yay for travel sizes!
The Women’s Beauty Box is a major score for $10. Inside: Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen – maybe this is THE ONE, the one that will give me the correct cat eye; Revlon HD Lacquer in “Petalite” – I am getting overloaded with Barbie pink lip gloss; Clairol Hair Food Thickening Solution – it’s a full size product, but it sounds like a pain in the ass to use, having to put in your wet hair, comb through and then rinse out; L’Oreal Butterfly Intenza Mascara – I love the original, so this one has to be twice as good; Cover Girl Eye Enhancers in “Daring Nudes” – no matter how many expensive palettes I get, I still use these Cover Girl quads weekly; ChapStick Total Hydration Lip Care in “Sweet Peach”; Laneige Water Sleeping Mask; and Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Advanced Serum.
As always, free shipping on these boxes and 5% off with my Red Card. You can’t beat this deal with a stick!
December Julep Maven Box – The Countdown Collection
Once again, I got my Julep Box on the 5th – they’re really getting really good at their shipping times. My Julep Box was buried among 8 packages yesterday – a Harry & David box from my boss (pears from Oregon – yum), my Shutterfly Calendars and the rest from Amazon! I only have a few more gifts to buy left…
“The Countdown Collection” stars Orbital Eye Shadow, a shimmery shadow that can be worn dry OR wet. I picked “airglow” – champagne with rose gold pearlescence. I love baked wet/dry shadows, so I hope it’s similar! I also customized the shadows in my box: It Girl “Sharna” – bronze-dipped full-coverage microglitter – and Boho Glam “Chatoya” – bright platinum glitter top coat. For a treat, there were 2 Red Bird Southern Refresh-mints.
Since I switched to the customizable box, I can no longer use my Jules to pay for boxes. I was sad, until I realized that I had so many Jules that I could use them on other stuff – like their new holiday line. I picked SWEEP – The Photogenic Palette. It a palette of 11 neutral shades – matte and shimmer. 11 is such an odd number, but whatever. Even though there’s a sea of naked/nude palettes on the market, I feel like I gotta get em all!
Not a Julep Maven? CLICK HERE to join! Get a FREE Jingle Bells Welcome Box with code TREAT!
Thanksgiving Ulta Haul
That’s right – at 7:30 AM, as we were driving to the in-laws’ place for Thanksgiving breakfast, I was Ulta shopping on my phone…
I cannot share my whole shipment, because again – there’s a gift. I can share the Ulta Nude Eye Shadow Palette that I gifted to myself. I couldn’t resist – it was $6 – half price! (If you haven’t noticed, I am HORRIBLE at Xmas shopping – I always end up buying more stuff for myself than anyone else!) I tried it this morning and was suitable impressed with the quality. It’s a bit odd that all of the shadows are pressed together in the same pan, but they are domed, so they don’t really infringe on each other. The palette didn’t come with a brush – it came with a foam applicator, which I actually prefer for my crease. I was underwhelmed with the applicator for the rest of my eye, so I;ll probably use one of my other brushes going forward.
I chose the variety sample pack and received L’Oreal Total Repair Extreme Reconstructing Shampoo, Conditioner and Emergency Recovery Mask; Biolage fiberstrong Intra-Cylane Fortifying Cream (huh?); and Amazing Cosmetics VelvetMineral Liquid Foundation in Medium-Beige (probably too dark). I’ll never need to steal hotel shampoo again!
Teensy Ulta Haul
This is the time of year with deals too good to pass up. A few weeks ago, Ulta was running a special that made most of their cosmetics $5 each. If you got 3 of them, you also got a free Ulta makeup brush. I decided to try Ulta Minerals Finishing Powder, Ulta Gel Eye Liner in “Peacock” and Ulta Double Duty Lip Stain and Balm in “Fantasy”. (I think I have ALL of the Double Duties now!) The free brush I picked was the large eye shadow brush.
There was also a Christmas gift in the order…shhhhh…
There was also a special $5 off $10 purchase coupon. On top of that – free shipping on ALL orders!
Even though I just got that huge sample set, I picked the free fragrance samples. I got another vial of Juicy Couture “Viva La Juicy Noir”, Gucci “Made to Measure” Pour Homme and Oscar de la Renta “Oscar”. I’m afraid to crack them open after yesterday;s migraine…
Le Poop and Le Barf
Puss has being absolutely BEGGING to be featured on my site and today, she wouldn’t take NO for an answer.
My son thinks he is a comedian. As I gleefully opened up my Ulta “Finishing Touches” Fragrance Collection, he asked if any of the perfumes were from France. So I started reading off where the perfumes were from and he says, “I thought so – it smells like Le Poop and Le Barf.” How can a 9 year old be so funny?
A few Saturdays ago, I was sitting at my daughter’s Gymnastics Class and got an Ulta email…The special of the day was 2/$40 on the “Finishing Touches” set, plus a free stainless steel 3 piece serving set. Why not? I can keep one and use the other for a white elephant gift. (I was a little perturbed when I saw that Ulta will have these for $14.99 on Black Friday, but then again – that would require leaving the house on the most dangerous day of the year.)
Inside the box: Bvulgari “Omnia Crystalline”, Calvin Klein “Endless Euphoria”, DKNY “MYNY”, Estée Lauder “Modern Muse”, Giorgio Armani “Acqua Di Gioia”, Jimmy Choo “Jimmy Choo”, Juicy Couture “Viva La Juicy”, Lancôme “La Vie est Belle”, Philosophy “Loveswept” (the only one of these that I already own – I got it for Valentine’s Day), Prada “Prada Candy”, Ralph Lauren “Midnight Romance”, and Vince Camuto “Femme”. The set also came with a refillable purse atomizer and a $5 off Fragrance Coupon.
I also picked the mystery sample pack – I got L’Oreal EverSleek Intense Smoothing Shampoo, Conditioner and Humidity Defying Leave-in Creme; Smashbox Camera Ready CC Cream and Redken Diamond Oil. Interesting…
I can’t wait to try all my new fragrances – I hope I like at least one of them…
Coming Up Roses
So I had $30 in Birchbox points burning a hole in my pocket…and a 20% off coupon code, so I HAD to place an order.
Ever since I discovered Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in “Soft Brown”, I have an almost pathological fear of running out and not having a back-up. Yeah, it’s $21…but it is the only eyebrow pencil I’ve found that doesn’t make me look like Cruella DeVille.
I am always looking for a good rose scent, so I decided to try Jurlique “Essence of Rose” Roll-on Fragrance Oil. It’s a traditional rose scent – my husband wrinkled his nose and said, “Grandma.” Well…tough shit. I also got Jurlique Love Balm in “Rose” – the cold weather is taking a toll on my cuticles and knuckles.
My free mystery add-on was 2 pouches from Hairkop Essences: Treatment Conditioner and Leave In Moisturizing Cream. They both contain Obliphica (Sea-Buckthorn) Fruit Extract. I have no idea what that is and it kind of scares me.
So I got $60 of loot for $10.80. I LOVE Birchbox so fucking much.
All By Myself…
I found myself shopping alone yesterday – Lily had a hot date with her BFF, which left me with an afternoon of opportunity.
After the not fun stuff like getting gas and picking up a prescription from Satan’s bunghole CVS, I hit up Nordstrom Rack. I was looking for some Too Faced palettes I saw people finding online, but nada. I did find Urban Decay polishes for $4.97, so I got “Zodiac” and “Addiction”. I also got a long sleeved yoga shirt with a hood, because I wanna look like I work out even though I never actually work out. Did you know that Nordstrom Rack offers a debit card like the Target Red Card now? It’s NOT a credit card, just linked to your bank account and you earn points – YES, please.
Next, I visited Marshall’s, still searching for more Kat Von D. All I found was an empty box for the eyeliner set I already have – someone had stolen all of the eyeliners. Rude. Since Lily wasn’t with me, I had the luxury of trying on clothes. The clearance at this location was REALLY good. I found a grandma sweater and two pairs of Michael Kors pants – terry cloth lounge pants for $20 and dress slacks for $25…in my size and long enough. $200 worth of pants for $45!
…One thing – it’s not even Thanksgiving yet and shopping is already retarded busy. People were about to shank each other for parking spaces, driving all crazy – I almost hit a rent-a-cop wandering around the parking lot. Be safe out there – people are dumbasses.
November Ipsy Bag – Girl Meets Glitter
I got my ipsy bag on Friday, so sorry for the delay!
November’s bag is “Girl Meets Glitter” and I totally LOVE the glittery plastic bag from Forever 21 Cosmetics. I haven’t stepped foot in a Forever 21 in over a decade…maybe not since the 90s?
Inside my bag: Be A Bombshell Cosmetics Eye Base in “Submission”, a creamy gold taupe; J. Cat Beauty Lip Paint in “Red Potion”; Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Volume Shine Hairspray; Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil in “Ultra Orchid”; and TEMPTU S/B Highlighter in “Pink Pearl” – and now I have 2 of these and have no idea what to do with them.
This is a pretty decent bag, but none of the products seem to go together. Gold eye shadow base with purple eye liner and red lipstick? Maybe if I was Lady Gaga…
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
November Birchbox – BuzzFeed Life
My Birchbox got here yesterday, but it was my night to cook dinner and frozen pizzas don’t magically cook themselves!
Instead of the regular box, I chose the special BuzzFeed Life curated box. Inside my box: amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo (I know, I know – I have a dozen of these and I never use it); Dr. Jart+ Pore Minimalist Mask (it has charcoal serum – I’ll be using this soon); Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips (Uhhhh…); Greenleaf Signature Candle in “Silver Spruce” (OMG, I could smell it THROUGH the box and outer shipping box – it’s like an entire 9 foot Xmas Tree); and Mirenesse iCurl Secret Weapon 24hr Mascara. There is also a cute sticker that says “cute” – cute!
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.
November Julep Maven Box – The Friendsgiving Collection
I got my Julep box yesterday – but I wanted to try the Length Matters Wow-Impact Mascara before writing the review.
Holy shit – this is absolutely the BEST mascara I’ve ever used. (Keep in mind that I’ve gotten over a dozen mascaras in the past few months – I’ve tried EVERYTHING.) The formula goes on smooth with no clumping and really does make your lashes look a zillion miles long. It’s very similar to my previous favorite mascara – Maybelline Lash Stiletto. The bottle designs is good, too – it doesn’t squish out of the top of the tube when you put the wand back in – I HATE that. This mascara is worth the $26 retail price.
Back to the rest of the box…November is “The Friendsgiving Collection”. I customized my box to get Bombshell “Fazia” – liquid garnet shimmer – and It Girl “Kiki” – oceanic silver shimmer, in addition to the Length Matters Wow-Impact Mascara.
Also included in my box were 2 of the best caramels I have ever had – Goetze’s Caramel Creams. I ate them immediately and did not share. They were more buttery than Paula Deen’s underpants!