AntiBac is Back
It’s that time again…Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale.
Just as I expected, B&BW pulled out the old discontinued Antibacterial Soaps for the sale at $2.50 each. I controlled myself and only bought 4…mostly because I know I’m going back and didn’t want to go far over $40, so I could use another coupon later. I snagged “Dancing Waters”, “Peach Bellini”, “Aloha Orchid” and “Berry Sangria”.
They also had discontinued shower gels and lotions for $3, so I got 2 “Black Raspberry Vanilla” Shower Gels. The shower gel is strangely more vividly purple than usual – I wonder what that means??? I also got a bath scrubby and a Strawberry lip balm – both 50% off.
This may look like a lame haul, but I also got a bunch of gifts…and I cannot exactly share those, can I?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but several scents, including “Carried Away” and “Be Enchanted” were 50% off…which is a sure indicator of impending discontinuation. My BFF was devastated when I shared the news with her…she is already making plans to order in bulk…
You Shop with Me, You Shop Hard
If my husband is crazy enough to go to the grocery store with me, then it’s his own fault that he has to stand there in the makeup aisle, while I decide which polish I want.
This is Cover Girl Outlast Stay Brilliant Glosstinis “Violet Flicker”. (Why such a long name for a line of nail polish?) It was a movie tie-in with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which I have not seen and will probably never see. But the colors are awesome and it was on sale for $1.99. Of course, I had a $1 off coupon, so 99 cents is a pretty good deal, even if it is the smallest polish I have ever bought. I might be able to paint my nails with it 3-4 times, tops.
I’m thinking that this will be a good polish for my toes…
Dragonfly
If Julep “Jennine” is a blue butterfly, then Julep “Harlow” is a golden dragonfly with a hint of green iridescence.
I started with Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat, and then added 2 coats of “Harlow”. This may be a one coat polish. It was stunningly smooth when I went to sleep last night, but this morning the finish was riddled with tiny bubbles. So annoying!
Mother Daughter Salon Day
I don’t normally get pedicures – I’ve had maybe 2-3 in my entire life. The last time I got a pedicure, Lily was with me, too – because I was 8 months pregnant with her. But when my BFF suggested a salon day with her & her daughter and Lily & I, I jumped at the chance to have someone else scrape the dead skin off my feet.
My BFF and her daughter regularly get their nails done. I tried it once in high school and it was a horrifying experience. I slammed my thumb in a door during PE and the damn thing cracked in half, horizontally across my thumb. Never again.
I played it safe and chose OPI “You Only Live Twice” from the 2012 Skyfall Collection. It is an insane magenta/fuchsia shimmer. Lily surprised me and chose Color Club “Almost Famous” – bright yellow. The lady painting them asked if she wanted a design on her toes and of course, she picked the one thing the poor lady couldn’t do – a heart. She tried several times, but she kept having to repaint and start over. Eventually, another lady came over and did it and she had a hard time, too! NOTE TO SELF: Never tried to freehand paint a heart on a 6 year old’s toe.
My feet are as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Lily was spoiled rotten, getting to sit in a massage chair for an hour and get her toes done. We had a wonderful day.
Invisible Wiener
I hate posing my hand like this, without polishes. It looks like I am holding an invisible wiener…or sausage…or um, frankfurter…cylindrical meat product? There is just no good way to say it.
On top of Julep “Natalia”, I tried 5 different glitters to see which one looks the best – I cannot decide! They all look awesome!
Thumb – Julep “Oscar” – Multi-dimensional gold glitter
Index – essie Luxeffects “A Cut Above” – Shattered pink diamond glitz lacquer
Middle – Julep “Jane” – Full-coverage rose gold multi-dimensional glitter
Ring – essie Luxeffects “Set in Stones” – Disco mirror ball chaos
Pinky – Julep “Antonia” – Light pink holographic diamond glitter top coat
My 1st Birchbox Purchase
Don’t you love it when you get home and there is a stack of shipments? I came home to 3 today…some Victoria’s Secret Yoga Pants, some Julep polishes and a Birchbox order!
My Birchbox points had been adding up and I had $20 in credit, so after hemming and hawing for 3 days, I ordered the Cynthia Rowley Beauty Collection No. 2. It came with Cynthia Rowley’s Eye Shadow Palette – No. 2, Mini Creamy Lip Stain in “Valentine” and Mini Eyeliner in Black, all in a Neoprene Confetti Bag. List price was $35, but I got an email with a code for 20% off of my first purchase. With $20 in Birchbox points, my total was $8 – what a steal! I was supposed to get 2 free samples, but for some reason, I only got one…more StriVectin Night Cream with Retinol. That shit WORKS. In another 10 years, I’m really gonna need it…
Even though I’m excited to try out my Cynthia goodies, it’s bittersweet. I wish I had waited a few days to use my points…I want that Modern Mermaid box in the WORST way. I need more points! Click my referral link – https://www.birchbox.com/invite/5453f – I’ll get 50 points if you join!
Priscilla & Kathy
I am loving Julep’s Birthstone Collection. They’re like Pokémon – gotta catch em all.
“Priscilla” – Emerald for May is a full-coverage Emerald glitter. It’s named for Priscilla Presley. She hardly stacks up to Rosa Parks or Coretta Scott King, but they’ve got to be running out of names?
“Kathy” – Pearl for June is a pearl shimmer. It reminds me of mother-of-pearl, more than a regular pearl. It’s named for Kathy Bates, possibly the best thing about this past season of American Horror Story. I picked up 2 – one for me and one for my mother-in-law, also a “Kathy”.
I had already used my “BOGO” code, so I used “$10 off $30”.
Sinful Sickness
I couldn’t resist adding a few more Sinful Colors to my collection while they were still on sale…
“Green with Envy” doesn’t look green to me, it’s more of a teal jelly with holographic bar glitter.
“Mimosa” looks like a tasty alcoholic beverage…with red glitter floating in it.
“Nirvana” is a beigey, grayish creme. I had a poop this color once.
“Ice Dream” is ice blue and silver glitter.
I also had $1.00 of rewards on my Walgreen’s card, so my haul was $3 and tax…don’t hate the player, hate the game.
Penny, Penny, Penny
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Julep’s description of their polish “Natalia” is refined copper metallic. Well…that’s just fancy way of saying that the polish looks like a freshly minted penny.
Even more than a penny, “Natalia” reminds me of rose gold. (Rose Gold is a mix of gold and copper, usually 75%/25%.) Back in grade school, I won a $25 Zales gift certificate (Spelling Bee, I think) and picked out a rose pin made out of rose gold. At the time, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I wonder if I still have it?
Considering adding pink glitter to the rose gold…or maybe gold glitter. Or both.
Suck it, Chanel
I’ve been getting Consumer Reports for years and I can honestly say that they’ve never steered me wrong. I learn something new with every issue…that I get around to reading. This month’s issue, however, contained information that I already knew – expensive isn’t necessarily better when it comes to nail polish.
Consumer Reports tested 7 polishes, ranging from luxury brand Chanel at $27 to drugstore brand Sinful Colors at $2. Surprise! Sinful Colors won! Read the entire article on Consumer Reports site.
Since Walgreen’s has Sinful Colors on sale for 99 cents again…I decided to celebrate their victory. I picked up 6: “Tokyo Pearl” – pearly white, “Cinderella” – literally the color of Cinderella’s dress, iridescent baby blue, “Hot Chili” – rusty red shimmer with red holographic glitter, “Yellow Spotted” – bright yellow shimmer, “Green Ocean” – light green jelly with iridescent green glitter and “Pinky Glitter” – pink jelly with iridescent glitter. Are you sensing a theme? Lots of iridescence and glitter?