Category: Makeup
April Birchbox – Rainy Days
Birchbox’s theme is “Rainy Days” and came with a dumb tip for how to spend a rainy day – go online and buy an umbrella. Really?
Other than that ridiculous tip, the box is really cool.
A little nail polish from Color Club, Gala’s Gems Collection – “Aquamarine Azulino“. (I have no idea who Gala Gonzalez is, but I guess she is famous enough to curate a set of nail polish.)
Silver Eyeliner from Cynthia Rowley Beauty. Birchbox let me pick between black and silver and since I have a dozen black eyeliners, I went for silver.
Keims Cleanshine Energizing Shampoo, which I may bring with me when I go to Chicago in a few weeks.
Kenyan Coffee Face Polish, Body Scrub and Hydrating Face Oil with Kola Nut by nyakio. I am guilty of over-exfoliating and am cutting back right now, but I am really anxious to try these. I’m going to force myself to wait until the weekend because of the caffeine content…I am SUPER sensitive to caffeine.
KIND Snacks Healthy Grains Bar in Maple Pumpkin Seeds with Sea Salt – breakfast tomorrow!
This might very well be the BEST Birchbox yet!
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.
April Ipsy Bag – Beauty Rocks
I get so excited when I see that key in my mailbox – it means that there’s something for me…and today it was that pretty fuchsia bubble mailer.
Ipsy’s April theme is “Beauty Rocks”. The makeup bag is brilliant purple nylon, with a record player on it. Inside my bag: Benefit lollitint in “Candy Orchid”, Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm, Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil Travel Size, City Color White Gold Shadow & Highlight Mousse and KISS Looks So Natural Lashes. Except for the fake lashes, I’m totally jazzed about everything in the bag. I am skeptical about Benefit, but I love lip stain. It’s unlikely that I’ll use it on my cheeks, but I’ll definitely use it on my lips.
All this for $10…the value of what I received is far more than $10, probably more like $25. I don’t really understand Ipsy’s business model, but I like it!
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
Big Lots is Cheap as Shit
I didn’t really expect to find anything good at Big Lots when I went looking for cheap gift bags…but of course I did.
I’m continuing to be an amateur and bought a tube of Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream for $5. I also picked up some Monster High Shampoo/Conditioner for my daughter. I hope it doesn’t give her a rash.
My best find was the lip balm I found for the kids – Bacon and Mac & Cheese. The Bacon lip balm smells like dog treats – but the Mac & Cheese lip balm is even worse…it smells like FEET. Straight up, dirty feet like my daughter’s gymnastics school. Yeah, my kids put that shit on their mouth. Ick.
I controlled myself from buying any fingernail polish. Mostly they had cheap, no-name shit…but they did have a bin of China Glaze, Revlon, Sinful Colors and stuff for $1-$2. All the colors were ugly though…
20% Off Ulta Haul
Send me a coupon…and I’m gonna use it.
Ulta has always been pretty free with their $3.50 off coupons, but they’re nothing special, since you can’t use them on “Prestige” brands. But the 20% off coupon they sent IS usable on “Prestige”. That’s kind of a big deal.
Since I had just ordered the Too Faced “Boudoir Eyes” Palette for my BFF, I decided I wanted it, too. (We don’t get all salty when we get the same products – we like buying the same makeup, carrying the same purses, wearing the same horsemask.) They were out of the free “Better Than Sex” mascara, but the clerk gave me a sample of Bare Minerals “Lash Domination”.
As I was testing Too Faced BB Cream, the stila makeup artist asked if I had any questions. I didn’t realize she was just stila, so she couldn’t answer any of my questions about the Too Faced stuff. For once, I didn’t have my kids with me, so I figured why not try the stila? (It’s funny how these makeup artists talk shit about other brands. I mentioned that I used to use Bare Minerals and she said it’s basically like rubbing dirt on my face.) I let her try out the stila Stay All Day Foundation on me. Honestly, it wasn’t bad, but too much work for me. I DID like the Set & Correct Baked Powder Trio and bought it. I also picked up 3 of the lip glazes from last month’s Birchbox – Red Velvet, Lychee and Banana Berry – they were 3 for $15!
Finally, I grabbed a Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz pencil in “Soft Brown”. I’ve heard good things about Anastasia Dip Brow, but again – too much work for me. I’ve already tried the pencil and I’m liking it so far…lighter than the normal cheapie pencils I use, but more natural.
My initial total was about $115, but with the 20% off coupon and $11 in Ulta Rewards, it was $79…this post should have been called “How to Make Your Husband Shit a Brick.”
I’m a Giver
It doesn’t matter that her birthday is still almost 3 weeks away…as soon as I got the last part of her gift in the mail, I had to give my BFF her birthday present. Mostly because I was afraid she might visit Ulta herself…
She wanted the Too Faced “Boudoir Eyes” Palette really bad…solely based on the fact that there is a color of eye shadow called “Sugar Walls”. I guess she wants to unleash her inner Sheena Easton. The palette came with a free “Better Than Sex” mascara and eye shadow primer.
She also wanted the Urban Decay Naked Palette. She already had Naked 3 and her daughter has Naked 2, so now her life is complete – she can die happy with fabulous eyes.
Ulta Mail
Sick of looking at my fingernails? Let me tell you about the Ulta mail that was in my mailbox today after I went shopping at Ulta…
I’m not sharing all of the items in my box yet – more gifts – but in addition to the gifts, I picked up my first essie polish – essie luxeffects “Set in Stones”. I also got Sparitual Luminary Top Effect “Opaline”. I saw it in the store over Spring Break and I’ve been thinking about it non-stop, so why not?
My gift with purchase was samples from it Cosmetics by Jamie Kern (never heard of them before) – Vitality Lip Blush Hydrating Lip Gloss Stain in “Naturally Flushed”, Bye Bye Under Eye Full Coverage Anti-Aging Waterproof Concealer and a tiny packet of Medium CC+ Cream – bummed that it will be WAY too dark for me.
My free samples were Biolage Exquisite Oil Shampoo and Conditioner, DevaCurl Ultra Defining Gel and Ouidad Climate Control Heat and Humidity Gel. I need to stop getting hair shit samples…
Late Ulta Post
I was so caught up in my fingernails, I didn’t do my Ulta post last week. As you’re reading this…pretend it’s last Friday…
After visiting Bath & Body Works and Bed, Bath & Beyond, I slunk over to Ulta. I was ready to spend some money! The first thing I hit was the nail polish. I wanted to try Zoya Pixie Dust. No dice. This location didn’t have a Pixie Dust display.
My next stop was back to the front to test high end BB Creams. First I tried Benefit “Big Easy,” which claims to be “Better than BB” right on the tube. It was shit and settled into every pore and crack on my wrist. I moved on to Smashbox BB. It was even grosser. Why do all these high end cosmetics company call their products BB Cream, when they’re plain old foundation? I tried a few more brands, but it was too late – I was devastated…
Then I tried to buy a gift for someone and this location was out of stock of what I was looking for. Fuck.
After aimlessly wandering down every aisle, I finally realized that I couldn’t find a single thing to buy. I think I have a mental block and was unable to buy anything without my bestie there with me. (She had the same thing happen to her at Ulta earlier this week – I wasn’t there and she couldn’t find anything to buy either!) I was sad until I got home and checked the mail…and found my Lucky Mystery Box AND a box of stuff I ordered from Ulta.com last week!
I used a $3.50 off coupon to try Physician’s Formula BB Cream. I freaked out at first when I saw I received “Light/Medium,” until I realized that it’s the lightest color available. I tried it on my face and it is actually a good match, maybe one tick too dark for me. By summertime, it will be perfect. It’s a lighter texture than the L’Oreal and blends more smoothly. It’s not white out of the tube, but it feels more like a BB Cream than the other products I tried that day.
See that cute makeup bag? It was a gift with purchase from Laura Geller. It had Spackle Primer, lip pops Lush Waterproof Lip Gloss in “Sunrise Rose” and Eye Rimz Baked Wet/Dry Eye Accents in “Supernatural Smoke” with a matching brush. Obviously, I needed more primer!
Since I had such bad luck with fragrance sample, I chose mystery samples this time. I got Butter London Scrubbers, Hempz Body Wash and Biolage Shampoo and Conditioner. Interesting…but I probably won’t try them until I travel…
Target Beauty Box
Did you know that Target has a “Beauty Box”? Luckily, it’s not a monthly subscription – just an occasional thing. Plus, it’s only $5! ($4.75 using my Target Card and free shipping.) All the products are either Deluxe Samples or full size products, so it’s a steal.
TONI&GUY Casual Sea Salt Texturizing Spray – I use the Bath & Body Works version, so I’ll actually use this.
L’Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara – I’m skeptical that what they call “butterfly lashes” really look like “tarantula lashes”, but I’ll give it a go.
Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo – I could’ve used this while I was camping…
Cover Girl Smoochies Sizzle Gloss in “Date Night” – It’s a clear gloss with silver glitter, barely visible while on. I’ll likely use this before I go to bed.
Jergens BB Body Cream Light – The same product I got in my Birchbox, but a larger size tube. Nice…
The box also came with a $3 off $15 coupon, so this box was really just $1.75. Even if I only use a few of the products, it was a great deal!
March Birchbox – Spring Forward
The best part about getting out of town for a few days (besides how good it feels to return home), is returning to find a mailbox full of boxes.
My 2nd Birchbox was waiting for me when I got home. It’s not quite as exciting as the first time, since I figured out that you can go online and see what products are coming your way. Who needs surprises anyway?
A minuscule tube of Air Repair Rescue Balm – A salve for dry, chapped skin – after camping for a few days, my skin is super dry – I really needed this!
A sample spray vial of DKNY Be Delicious Hydrating Eau de Toilette Spray – An apple-y scented body spray that is supposed to “hydrate and brighten” skin. I don’t know if I want to smell like an apple…
A full-size stila lip glaze in Candy Apple. I couldn’t wait – I’m wearing it right now! I love the little applicator brush. It’s more red than I usually wear, but I like the look. It’s thicker than gloss, but thinner than a lipstick.
A largish tube of Supergoop! City Suncreen Serum – anti-aging and UV protection in one! I am intrigued…
My box also included a sample tube of Jergens BB Body. I’m crazy about BB Creams right now, so the first thing I did after taking a picture of my box, was slather this stuff all over my decolletage. You’re welcome for the visual…
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.
My 1st Ipsy Bag
Once I get started…I keep going and going and going…
So I signed up for Ipsy – a monthly makeup bag subscription. It’s only $10 and you get a different makeup bag each month, with 4-5 products.
This month’s theme is “Destination Beauty”. I received an NYX Love in Rio 3 Color Shadow Palette “The Brazilian”, bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in “Get Ready”, Chella Eyeliner Pen in “Indigo”…and Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer. What the FUCK is up with primers? Send me some damn BB Cream!
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.