Target Beauty Boxes – January 2016
Target started out 2017 strong with two great Beauty Boxes for January. Both are themed as “Beauty Goals”.
Beauty Box 1 (on the left) was $10 and included L’Oreal Revitalift Volume Filler Serum & Cream (sample card, boo); Nexxus Comb Thru Finishing Mist (a repeat from my Advent Calendar); ChapStick Total Hydration Sugar Scrub (I am so excited to try this – I think it will work well to remove my liquid lippies); eb5 Facial Cream; Beautiful Nutrition Lemon Clarifying Treatment (I got this in a Beauty Box 5 a while back – never tried it); Burt’s Bees Intense Hydration Day Lotion; AmLactin Moisturizing Body Lotion; and Revlon Kiss Balm in “Sweet Cherry”. I feel like this box was definitely worth $10.
Beauty Box 2 (on the right) was $5 and a bit smaller, but much heavier. This box included Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner (smells good); Colgate Enamel Health Whitening Toothpaste (full size!); Mane ‘n Tail Shampoo (I would’ve preferred the conditioner); Vaseline Cocoa Butter; SheaMoisture Peace Rose Oil Shampoo & Conditioner (YASSSS); Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes (I used to hate getting these and now I LOVE getting wipes – they’re great for cleaning up shadow fallout); Palmer’s Coconut Oil Body Lotion and Miss Jessie’s Quick Curls (I have no curls.) I may not use as many of the products in this box – why so much cocoa butter – but still definitely worth $5.
EACH box came with a $3.50 off $15 coupon! I saved my 5% with my Red Card. Looking forward to next month’s box(es).
Darcy
Oh Julep, you got me this time. What color is this polish?
Their website describes Julep “Darcy” as Baja Sunrise Sheer Iridescent Shimmer. I’ve never been to Baja, but I’m really interested in going if that is what the sunrises look like – blue/purple/green/gold. It’s almost like Mardi Gras on my fingers! Inside, it looked more cloudy, but in direct sun, so many colors bounced off my nails.
This is two coats over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and under “HK Girl”. Like “Pacita”, I was able to get almost full coverage in two coats.
Whiteout…with Glitter in it
Look at this polish. Look closer. NO, closer.
Put your face up to the screen. Do you see that? No, it’s not whiteout with glitter in it. It might look white, but it is a pale purple with gold shimmer. This is beyond pastel – there’s the slightest bit of tint.
This is another one of those Kylie polishes – Sinful Colors “North Star” – from the “Trend Matters” Collection. I am inexplicably drawn to these matte polishes. The Sinful Colors matte polish formula is so good. It is the perfect consistency – not too thick and not too thin. Perfect, full coverage in just two coats. It sticks like glue to Sinful Colors Base Coat – I feel like I get a really long wear out of it.
I could have done a better job around the cuticle. Will I ever get better at dealing with my goddamn cuticles?
Allure Beauty Thrills – December 2016
I never did figure out who to call to change my address, so I had to wait for USPS to forward the box to me…and it wasn’t free – it cost me another $15.90 to get this last box.
The first thing I noticed is that this last box was TINY – about half the size of previous boxes. What the fuck, Allure? The boxes have gotten more expensive, but have less stuff. And the stuff is mostly weird brands I’ve never heard of.
Inside the TINY box: Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant Clean & Fresh Battery-Operated Spinbrush (No complaints – can always use a back-up); Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant Clean & Fresh Toothpaste (Also will be used); Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream; ChapStick Total Hydration Moisture + Tint in “Merlot” (another good inclusion); Dessange Professional Hair Luxury Oleo Miracle Replenishing Oil (my grandmother used to call margarine “oleo” – is this hair margarine?); Glov On-The-Go (I’ve been curious about these makeup removing mitts); an Invisibobble (looks like a telephone cord you put in your hair); imPress Gel Manicure (NO – I am NOT wearing press-on nails); KISS Salon Acrylic Nude French Nails (I guess my daughter gets two sets of fake nails); Not Your Mother’s Plump for Joy Thickening Hair Lifter (nope.); Redken Triple Take 32 Hairspray; Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick in “Crystal Mauve”; Rimmel London Moisture Renew Clear Lip Liner (I do not see the point); Rituals Happy Buddha Shower Foam in “Sweet Orange & Cedar” (I got this in the last box – using this sweet smelling stuff in my shower now); Simple Skincare Hydrating Cleansing Oil (I wish I wasn’t grossed out by Cleansing Oil); WEN Hair and Body Care by Chaz Dean SIXTHIRTEEN Ultra Nourishing Intensive Body Treatment (if this stuff made my body hair fall out like the shampoo allegedly does, I’d be all over it); and Unwash Bio-Cleansing Conditioner (again, skeptical of these co-washes).
What a dinky box! I won’t be blindly buying the next Allure box that comes out – I’ll be reviewing the contents closely. SO disappointed in this box!
Pacita
The anticipation of opening each month’s Julep box….even though I pick the contents each month, I manage to forget what polishes I picked in the 2 weeks or so before it arrives.
This month, the first polish that caught my eye was Julep Wonder Maven “Pacita”, Honey Ginger Sheer Iridescent Shimmer. Great – now I want Thai food. Even though it is a very sheer polish, I got fairly full coverage with two coats. I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat (my bottle is almost empty, but I have a back-up.) and topped with “HK Girl”.
The only shortcoming of the polish is that as it dried, it drew away from the edges of my nails, leaving a thin bare edge. This happened within an hour of drying, so it wasn’t normal edge wear. It didn’t look horrible, but it made my OCD flare up.
“Pacita” reminds me of Paquita, the heroine of Dead Alive. “Your mother ate my dog!”
Target Twelve Days of Beauty Faves
I’m playing a bit of catch up with December right now…or actually November. Yup, I ordered the Target Twelve Days of Beauty Faves Advent Calendar ($24.99) some time before Thanksgiving, although I waited until December 1st to start opening the windows. I meant to open one each day…but I kept forgetting and I had to hustle to open the very last window on December 31st.
Day 1: NYX Extreme Lip Cream in “Nude Peach Fuzz” (formula is great, but the color looks horrible on me – will be giving to my daughter)
Day 2: EcoTools Angled Kabuki Brush
Day 3: Sinful Colors “Silver Flash” (I don’t have this one!)
Day 4: Nexxus Comb Thru Finishing Mist
Day 5: ME! Bath Soap Bomb (I don’t have a bathtub in my new bathroom…meh.)
Day 6: Pacifica Kale Detox Deep Cleaning Face Wash (At least I don’t have to eat the Kale.)
Day 7: Burt’s Bees Lip Balm (I absolutely HATE sticking my finger in lip balm. I just won’t do it.)
Day 8: Mayfair Soap Foundry Body Creme in “Sea Lily Jasmine”
Day 9: Pixi Glow Tonic (Not sure how this oil “exfoliates”, but I’ll bite.)
Day 10: ACURE Day Cream Gotu Kola Stem Cell + CGF
Day 11: Umberto Dry Lifting Powder (Nope.)
Day 12: Laneige Sleeping Mask (This is MY JAM.)
As of this writing, the set is still available – at a discounted price of $14.99. I would have been much happier to have paid $14.99 for the set, as there are at least 4 products that I won’t use and plan to give away. I feel it was overpriced for what was in the set, although I was very happy about the Pacifica, Acure and Laneige products.
Alchemy
I thought I did not want the new Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette ($32)…I was wrong. I did want that palette – so very much.
I am also so very proud that I made it 6 days into the year before placing my first Sephora order. So, so proud.
I am still playing with the palette and it has been fun so far. Today at work, a co-worker stopped me mid-sentence, “Wait. Are you wearing green lipstick?” I corrected him – it wasn’t green lipstick, it was red with green on top. (Kat Von D “Plath” with “Green Emerald” layered on top.) It was very…witchy, so I can understand his concern. I need to figure out how to use them as highlighters, but I LOVE them over lipsticks.
I used 100 points to get a mini rollerball of the new Tory Burch fragrance – “Love Relentlessly” – which honestly smells a lot like the other two Tory Burch fragrances I have, but muskier. Oh well. I also used a code to get a deluxe sample of Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm.
I THOUGHT I was getting samples of the new Urban Decay Primers, but it turned out to be samples of the Primer and Ultra HD Foundation, of which I already have full sizes of…oh well. I also got samples of Too Faced Glitter Glue and Korres Greek Yoghurt Foaming Cream Cleanser (why do they spell “yogurt” like that?).
Not So Good Girl
I guess I am not so good of a girl…I was totally incapable of driving past the Bath & Body Works Outlet – in the middle of a 6 hour drive – without stopping.
I didn’t go crazy. I picked up 5 more Hand Soaps – 3 for me and 2 for Lily. I had to get “Very Merry Berry” after smelling it in Erin’s bathroom this past weekend.
Logan asked for a Wallflower for his room – how could I say no to a pre-teen who wants their room smelling good? I got that, plus 4 more refills.
I also couldn’t pass up “Sweet Cranberry Rose” at 75% off – it was only 50% during my last trip. I picked up the Fine Fragrance Mist, the Body Cream and Shower Gel. In retrospect, I should have gotten more shower gel – it smells wonderful.
Got to use my $10 off $40 again – at least that part was good.
Silver Synchronicity
What’s it called when several people, independent of each other, all come up with a similar idea? Synchronicity!
I was in a group text with my cousins, Jess and Beth, last week, and somehow, we all had gray nails on the brain. these are MY gray nails – Sinful Colors “Silver Slivers” from the “Luxe Fragments” Collection. The base is a pewter shimmer, with bright silver shards.
This is just two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under “HK Girl”. It lasted very well.
Do you like the background? It’s the sequined makeup bag that came with the Victoria’s Secret Black Friday Tote. I’m loving the rainbow sequins – I want a polish that looks like this!
January Julep Maven Box – Future Fresh
New year, new subscription boxes! Well, technically not new…I’ve been getting Julep boxes for over three years now and I still love them as much as ever.
January’s box is “Future Fresh”. Honestly, I haven’t jumped on the oil bandwagon, but I took a chance in selecting Julep’s Boost Your Radiance Reparative Rosehip Seed Facial Oil. I’ve been using it semi-consistently for the last 5-6 days. I don’t know that I’ve noticed a difference in my skin – was already in the middle of a mid-winter skin freakout. (I’m thinking that the breakout was overcompensation from trying to combat dry, winter skin.) I don’t know that my skin is more radiant, but I do feel like the oil has a skin blurring effect. Best of all, it smells absolutely DIVINE. I am in love with the romantic rose/bergamot scent, although it is almost too hippy for me.
For polishes, I chose It Girl “Darcy” – Baja Sunrise Sheer Iridescent Shimmer – and Wonder Maven “Pacita” – Honey Ginger Sheer Iridescent Shimmer. Yup, two sheer shimmer polishes – they’re radiant. Oh, and they sent me a Tootsie Roll Pop. Ugh, all that licking.
Not a Julep Maven? Click HERE to join – I’ll get a $15 credit and you’ll get your first box free!