Target Beauty Box – August 2016
I totally neglected the Target Beauty Box that arrived right before I left for Mexico…poor little beauty box, left all alone in my mail pile…
August’s box is “Make the Grade” and includes: Juice Organics Repairing Shampoo & Conditioner (more coconut – I am loving anything coconut in my hair right now); Secret Clinical Strength Smooth Solid Deodorant; Crest 3D Whitestrips Professional Effects; up & up Women’s 5-Blade Razor (I’m hairy as fuck – I can always use extra razors); Olay Makeup Remover Wipes; Laneige Water Sleeping Mask (this is my JAM); CoverGirl Katy Kat Eye Mascara (this might up being a collector’s item, since Katy and CoverGirl are being sued by Hard Candy for copyright infringement); and NYC Get It All Lip Color in “ExtraordiBERRY”.
This box is jam-packed with stuff – a good buy, for sure.
The box was $7 with free shipping and 5% off with my Red Card. As always, it included a $3 off $15 beauty purchase coupon.
Lock-It
That feeling when you come home from vacation to a Sephora box…
I just used up my pressed compact of Urban Decay Ultra Definition Finishing Powder and went to order another one from Sephora…and they don’t stock it anymore. What the fuck? It’s not discontinued, because Ulta and Nordstrom still have it…but I was already on the site and committed to ordering something…so I decided to take a chance with Kat Von D Lock-It Powder Foundation in Medium 52 (there wasn’t an exact match to my Color IQ, so I just took a wild guess). I’d been wearing my MAC Studio Fix lately and decided I needed a slightly darker shade to match my very slight tan…
I tried it out today with just a moisturizer underneath and was impressed at the coverage – very good coverage, but it didn’t cake up on me like the MAC Studio Fix. I think I may have found a new best friend for summer skin. I’m looking forward to trying it with a primer for even better coverage.
I used a code to get a free tarte Rainforest of the Sea Drench Lip Splash in “Cabana Boy” – it’s a beautiful matte mauve, but NOT drying. It felt like chapstick, but stayed almost all day! I did have to reapply after my Whopperito, but that goes without saying.
I used 100 points to try a Milk Makeup Gel Brow Pencil in “Pilsner”. A little of this baby goes a long way – it glides on and stays put. “Pilsner” is the perfect color for me – I got lucky. The full size comes with a spooly end, so I might be switching from Anastasia…if I ever use up all the brow pencils I already have…
I almost forgot my other free samples – Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation Mattifying Oil Free, Lancôme Energie de Vie Daily Aqua-Gel, and Dior Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet (my scent of the day – it wears wonderfully over B&BW Peony).
Only $41 to Rouge in 2017…
Pepto Monkey Nutz
Hands down, Nubar “Pinktober” is the most annoying polish I’ve ever worked with – an utter and complete pain in the ass.
It looks completely innocuous in the bottle, but don’t let that fool you…It’s ridiculously thick, but somehow streaky? It took three thick coats to get a somewhat opaque finish. It’s possible that it didn’t like the Sinful Colors Base Coat – it’s almost like it wanted to slide off. I also did three coats on my toes – it took nearly half the damn bottle to do both toes and fingers.
Even with three coats, I still had a few bald spots on my nails. Luckily, “HK Girl” made them less noticeable. As annoying as it was to apply, it last fairly well through four days of beach and pool action in Mexico – it didn’t look like utter shit until the very last day.
The only reason I picked this Pepto Bismol pink nail polish was to match the flamingos on my new flamingo swimsuit…but while on vacation in Playa del Carmen, I found something else that my nails matched…
Meet “King Monkey”.
The kids and I started calling him “King Monkey” because he is OBVIOUSLY the head monkey running this joint – I mean, look at his big, pink, swinging…gifts. My 11 year old son was utterly disgusted, while my 8 year old daughter was just confused by the “saggy skin bags”.
We were lucky enough to have “King Monkey” and his concubines visit our balcony several times during our stay in Mexico. Even though there were signs all over the resort warning us not to feed them, they delivered a fruit platter to our room – surely they had to know that we wouldn’t be able to resist “King Monkey”.
August Julep Maven Box – Endless Summer
I wish this really was an “Endless Summer” – I feel like this summer has gone by much too quickly. I can’t believe that school starts in less than three weeks!
I got a note from Julep last week that there would be a delay in sending out this month’s new product – No Excuses Invisible Sunscreen Gel – but they would go ahead and send out the rest of my box. That’s nice and all…but I am really bummed. I was hoping to bring it to Playa del Carmen with me next week. Oh well…
My other choices this month were two sparkly polishes – It Girl “Pam”, tigerlily holographic, and Classic with a Twist “Stephanie”, juicy cherry holographic. Funny, I have a sister named Pam and my husband has a sister named Stephanie. This month’s treat is a Lemonhead – a single solitary Lemonhead. Gross – my husband can have it.
Not a Julep Maven? Click HERE to join – I’ll get a $15 credit and you’ll get your first box free!
More Minty Fresh
There’s something about mint nail polish – I can’t not think of toothpaste. This is Jenna Hipp “Thin Mint”, a creme polish similar to the original Minty Fresh – Zoya “Dillon”.
I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat. The first coat of “Thin Mint” was streaky and blotchy, but the second coat smoothed everything out and self leveled to a beautiful finish. “HK Girl” was the finishing touch.
This polish needs silver glitter!
My nails are so short…I had to trim them all down again, after chipping my middle and pinky nail. I also mangled my ring finger – I cut the edge too close to the quick as I was rounding the edges…it’s all swollen and gross and pink. Ugh, I can’t wait to relax and be gentle to my hand again.
Magic Card Trick
Feeling like I needed something different…so I pulled out Sinful Colors “I’m All In”.
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I started with “I’m All In”. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get several glitters on my brush…except they were mostly diamonds. I had to dig for hearts, spades and clubs. Yup, this polish has glitters to match the suites on a deck of cards. I was able to get a few of the other glitters on my nails fairly easily.
Looking at the bottle, I was expecting a darker purple finish, but it came out sheer pink. This is two heavy coats.
I finished with “HK Girl”, which smoothed most of the edges, but I’m still catching a few glitters on things. Argh…
I think this polish would look really outstanding over a black or red. I’ll keep that in mind for the future…
Sephora Play! July 2016 – Effortless Summer
I feel a bit guilty that this month’s Sephora Play! bpx has been sitting my my counter – unopened – for a week. I’ve been so busy with…stuff…and life…and stuff…
I ripped open the box and found a bevy of perfect products to give me an “Effortless Summer”. Inside the adorable pink popsicle bag: NEST Fragrances Citrine (a clean citrus and freesia blend – it didn’t make my husband gag); First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser with Red Clay (I used it last night – it is the most beautiful shimmery rust colored gel); OUAI Wave Spray; Smashbox Photo Finish Pore Minimizing Primer (Yassssss queen – I need these crater pores minimized); Beauty Blender Blotterazzi (I’ve been curious about this – I usually use paper towels from the bathroom to blot); and Too Faced Soleil Matte Bronzer in “Chocolate” (LOVE the smell – I need to locate the other one of these that I have).
If you haven’t signed up yet – get off your can and DO IT! This is by far the best subscription box I get every month. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
Silly Putty
Doesn’t Trust Fund Beauty “No Filter” look just like silly putty? Grayish beige with a hint of pink/lavender. It’s almost dirty looking.
I don’t know what’s up with the Trust Fund Beauty polishes that ipsy keeps putting in their bags…the colors just are not normal.
After Orly Bonder, I slapped on two quick coats of this thick creme polish. So thick. I was fairly careful, but I still got a few crinkled edges. Luckily, it wasn’t streaky after the second coat. A coat of “HK Girl” was just what I needed to make it super shiny.
My poor middle fingernail was a casualty of house cleaning activities this weekend. I weep for my fallen fingernail.
July Ipsy Bag – Hot Summer Nights
July’s theme is “Hot Summer Nights”…and that’s pretty accurate here in Texas…it’s hot as fuck 24 hours a day. Oh, oh those summer nights…
Is the design on this ipsy bag a repeat? I swear I’ve seen it before…or am I just losing my mind?
Let’s see what i’ve received…Trust Fund Beauty Nail Polish in “No Filter” (a bizarre greyish lavender); theBalm Cosmetics Meet Matt(e) Trimony Eye Shadow in “Matt Moskowitz” (dark matte maroon – reminiscent of Manischewitz); J. Cat Beauty Perfect Duo Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” (YES – always ready to try new brow pencils…until someday I can scrape up enough cash for micro blading); Vasanti Cosemtics Eye Shadow Brush (meh); and Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre (I’ve gotten this before, but still haven’t tried it).
The products don’t seem all that summery, but they are definitely products for a night out, so I get it.
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
Nutcrackin’ Beaches
I just couldn’t stay away from Funky Fingers “Aloha Beaches” – I had to have more.
Actually, I wanted “Aloha Beaches” on my toes – to match my new Flamingo swimsuit. So after doing my toes, I decided to use it on my fingers. After Sinful Colors Base Coat and two coats of “Aloha Beaches”, I decided to get all fancy with a coat of Funky Fingers “Son of a Nutcracker”. Yes, I know it is a Xmas polish…but it’s green and pink and white and silver glitter – I had to do it. I finished with “HK Girl”. All the top coats changed the demi-matte finish of “Aloha Beaches”, but it’s still pretty, pretty.
This combination has lasted like a champ. I did it last Sunday night and I’ve been too busy to change it…I’ve got some edge wear, but that’s it. YASSSSS!