Tag: Atelier Cologne

 
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The Saga of “Give Me Some Nude Lip”

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I’m going to tell you a story…it’s a very scary story…but I can promise that it has a happy ending.

The Monday before last, Sephora released an all-nude version of their “Give Me Some Lip” Set – even though it was $28, I had to have it. Inside the all new “Give Me Some Nude Lip” Set: Laura Mercier Crème Smooth Lipstick in “Milky Way”; NARS Lipstick in “Dolce Vita”Marc Jacobs Beauty Mini (P)Outliner Longwear Lip Pencil in “Prim(Rose) (cocoa spice)”NUDESTIX Lip + Cheek Crayon in “Whisper”; and Tarte Deluxe Tarteist Lip Paint in “Namaste Nude”.

On Thursday…my box arrived. I gleefully opened the box, carefully peeled the sticker seals from the lip-shaped box…and the contents were FUCKED UP…Noooooooooooooo! There were two Marc Jacobs lip liners and no Tarte Lip Paint. A tragedy. I called Sephora Customer Service…and their computers were down and they couldn’t help me. I called an hour later…and the phone jockey hung up on me. I called right back…computers still down. Finally, a few hours after that – everything was back to normal and I got someone who could help me. She told me that she would send out another one immediately and I could just return this one to my closest store. YES.

So while I waited, at least I had other samples to play with. My order qualified for the free Beauty to Love Sample bag, which came with Becca Backlight Priming Filter (huh?); Atelier Cologne “Mandarine Glaciale” (I have so many samples of this, but I love it); Perricone MD Re:Firm Surface Recovery Treatment; Touch in Sol Feels Like Honey Moon Skin Base (I just tried the one I got in my last Allure Beauty Thrills – it’s ok, but not moisturizing enough for winter); BITE Beauty Agave Lip Masks (I tried the last sample I got a few days ago – feel nice at bedtime); First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Hydra-Firm Sleeping Cream; Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer; and Skin Inc Pure Deepsea Hydrating Mask. I’m glad I got these good samples, because I didn’t get ANY of the ones I picked at checkout. Instead I got Thierry Mugler “Alien” (Smells so gross); Clinique Moisture Surge (I like this stuff); and Dr. brandt Do Not Age Beauty Sleep Serum.

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On Saturday, I dutifully delivered my fucked up lip set to Sephora. The return was quick, but then the “Cast Member” decided I need skin stuff and showed me a bunch of skin care stuff and smears some Kate Somerville stuff on my hand. I thanked her and got the hell out of there without buying a thing.

Days passed…On Tuesday, my new box arrived.

I was holding my breath as I opened it…YES! Everything in this box was perfect. I also got three more samples – Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Makeup Stick (I feel like I keep getting Lancome stuff and I should be more excited about it…but I’m not); Prada “Candy” and DKNY “Be Desired”.

I’m going to be taking all these nude beauties with me to Vegas in a few days – I can’t wait to try them all! Good thing I ordered it on the first day it was available…it’s already out of stock! Yay – happy ending!

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Sephora Play! 02 – October 2015

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It’s only the second month, but Sephora Play! is quickly becoming my favorite subscription box. The samples are SOOOOO good.

This month’s theme is “Secrets to Dewy Skin.” I don’t know if I want dewy skin, but looks like I am gonna get it with these: boscia Detoxifying Black Cleanser & Konjac Cleansing Sponge with Bamboo Charcoal (I’ve been wanting a Konjac!); Sephora Pearl Mask (with real white pearl); Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Day Tint; Fresh Black Tea Age-Delay Instant Infusion Treatment Toner; belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb (this stuff IS the bomb – I love it & get samples of it whenever I can); and Atelier Cologne “Mandarine Glaciale” (I have a rollerball of this stuff already – I like it, but my husband thinks it smells like plastic).

The box comes with a card that gives 50 extra points with my next Sephora purchase.

Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can get on the wait list at sephora.com/play.

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Sephora Makes my Dreams Come True

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Remember just 2 weekends ago, when I spent the whole weekend looking for a dupe for “Lolita”? My search is over…

Sephora just came out with a new version of “Give Me Some Lip”, a Sephora Favorites Lipstick Set – literally just a few days after I started my search for a “Lolita” dupe. The star of the set is Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in “Lolita”! Also included in the set: Fresh Sugar Rosé Tinted Lip Treatment (I love the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment from the Sephora Sun Safety Kit); Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Creme de Je’taime; Make Up For Ever Artist Plexi-Gloss, Tarte Amazonian Butter Lipstick in “Coral Blossom”; and Sephora Collection Rouge Infusion The Neutrals in 19 – “Peony”.

There was finally something I wanted to use points for – I got Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in “Lovecraft” for 100 points. I also used an online code to get a free deluxe sample of belif The True Cream – Moisturizing Bomb. For my other three samples, I chose philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar Eye, GlamGlow YouthCleanse Daily Exfoliating Cleanser and Atelier Cologne “Sud Magnolia” (They’re like Pokemon – I gotta catch em all).

I guess I’m having a lipstick phase…

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Perfume Hoarder

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When I was a little girl and my mom would take us shopping at Foley’s, my favorite thing to do was visit all of the perfume counters and ask for samples. I would come home with my tiny vials of scented potions…and play. Realistically, I probably smelled horrible, but I felt beautiful.

Fast forward thirty or so years…and I’m still hoarding those tiny glass vials. I actually just cleaned out a drawer in my bureau – and entirely filled it with all those samples that had been cluttering the top. Now I have more to add to the collection…

I had been trying to resist, but I broke down and ordered a rollerball of Atelier Cologne “Mandarine Glaciale” – now my second favorite Atelier. For samples, I picked another Atelier – my first favorite, “Cedrat Enivrant”, and 2 Maison Martin Margiela Replica Samples – “Jazz Club” (I didn’t realize it’s a Men’s Fragrance; It’s strong and smoky – since it made my husband’s eyes water, my son claimed it – a suitable self-defense for jiu jitsu class?) and “Lazy Sunday Morning” (It smells like clean sheets – Mmmmmmm). I also got a deluxe sample of Too Faced Born This Way Foundation in “Vanilla” with my $25 purchase.

I think I’ve gotten my money’s worth of out the $10 Flash Shipping – and it’s only been 4 month. Plus, only $37 to go until I hit VIB status!

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Sephora Math

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Sometimes shopping at Sephora takes a bit of math to get the best deal.

I totally fell in love with the Tory Burch perfume I received a few weeks ago. Since they didn’t have it at Ulta, I decided to break down and order it from Sephora…but $28! Daaaaang, girl. But I also noticed that Tory Burch was one of the options in the Spray of Sunshine Perfume Sampler, which was only $24. Bingo! So I ordered the set online and it got here Friday. They were also offering a Fresh & Floral Perfume Sampler for free with each $25 purchase. So I added a $1 hair tie to my order to get more samples. (I’m pretty sure that’s what those hair ties are for…)

Also inside the Spray of Sunshine Perfume Sampler: Chloe “Love Story” (old ladyish, gardenia?); Elizabeth and James “Nirvana White” (Fuck you, Olsen Twins – although marginally better than “Nirvana Black”, it smells like a knockoff, like one of those designer impostors at the grocery store); Giorgio Armani “Si” (Spicy flowers, smells like the lobby of the Palazzo in Vegas); Marc Jacobs “Daisy Dream” (Reminds me of a Mother’s Day Bouquet – bright, but cheap); and “Stella” by Stella McCartney (Love this old fashioned rose scent – already own it). Inside the Fresh & Floral Sampler: another Tory Burch; another “Nirvana White”; another “Love Story”, Burberry “My Burberry” (smells like new leather shoes – why?); Dolce & Gabbana “Light Blue” (Douchey); philosophy “live joyously” (literally smells like nothingness); Dior “Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet” ( Citrus, but flowers – good job, Natalie Portman) and my personal favorite of the bunch – Atelier Cologne “Mandarine Glaciale” (The ultimate in unisex – like masculine & feminine at the same time – orange spray, but an underlying sexual scent that’s almost obscene). For my regular 3 samples, I picked Atelier Cologne “Orange Sanguine” (I lucked out and got 2 – I already own it, but so?); Buxom “Show Some Skin” Weightless Foundation”; and Urban Decay “Naked Skin” Ultra Definition Powder Foundation.

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I always have a trick up my sleeve. I volunteered for the monthly trip to Costco, knowing it would be a perfect opportunity to hit Ulta and Sephora first. Of course, I didn’t tell Logan this until we were almost to Ulta. Oh, the moaning! All I needed was more Zoya Remove+, but he also talked me into buying him a new eos lip balm in “Lemon Drop”. I must say, the kid’s got taste. We then zipped into Sephora to get my Tory Burch Rollerball. Nothing else caught my eye.

I was surprised that something did catch my eye at Costco – the Jenna Hipp “The New Candies” mini nail polish collection. I’ve never heard of Jenna Hipp, but it was only $7.99! It included 8 creme polishes in yummy sounding colors: “Marshmallow Fondant”, “Crème the Cantaloupe”, “Pink Lady Finger”, “Violet Éclair”, “Très Parfait”, “Thin Mint”, “Rose Tart” and “American Pie”.

So that’s Sephora Math – any questions?

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Review – Atelier Cologne Miniature Discovery Collection

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First impressions are important when it comes to fragrances – perfumes smell different from person to person and may even change on an individual person throughout the day. I am far from a trained professional – I cannot identify top, heart or base notes in a scent. I can only reliably identify a few perfumes at first sniff and most fragrances give me a headache. Even so, here I am…reviewing perfume.

My memory is like a sieve (I blame the 90s), so I realized that the best way to capture my first impressions of a fragrance is to quickly jot down notes on the package with a Sharpie. Here are my “first impression” reviews of the Atelier Cologne Miniature Discovery Collection ($50, Sephora), ranked from best to last [later thoughts in brackets]:

1. Cedrat Enivrant – My favorite – like lime & cedar – drinking a Cuba Libre on the deck of a pirate ship; The one that started it all…

2. Rose Anonyme – The inside of a long forgotten perfume atomizer; a love long dead, but not forgotten; Classic, a note of decay [It also reminded me of a months old bouquet of roses – I LOVE that smell]

3. Orange Sanguine – That first spray of citrus when you peel off the skin…Sharp

4. Vetiver Fatal – Most masculine; Hot sex on the forest floor – in a pile of pine needles

5. Vanille Insensee – Like a stripper, but a french, classy one; Burlesque [Later that day, I felt like I smelled like I applied Vanilla Extract to my pulse points]

These fragrances ALL lasted all day on me, which is rare. The Sephoras here do not carry in store and I’m too lazy to drive an hour to sample more of their scents at Neiman Marcus. Another option I may try is to order sample vials from their website – you can get all 17 for $25.

 

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150 Lean Cuisines

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150. That’s how many Lean Cuisines I had to eat to get a $25 Sephora Gift Card through their soon-to-be-discontinued Delicious Rewards Program.

It was SO worth it. I was able to add that $25 gift card to the $15 gift card that everyone got in their email to get the Atelier Cologne Miniature Discovery Set that I’ve been lusting over. I only paid $10 for this $50 set and STILL got free shipping!

Each flacon has a quarter ounce of pure perfume. Not cologne, not eau de parfum – the REAL stuff. The 5 included are Orange Sanguine, Cedrat Enivrant (my absolute favorite since receiving in the Birchbox Modern Mermaid Box), Vanille Insensee, Rose Anonyme and Vetiver Fatal.

I love that Sephora actually lets you select your own samples. I got Anthony High Performance Anti-Wrinkle Peptide Serum, Dr. Jart+ BB Dis-A-Pore Beauty Balm and Escada Joyful.

Next time I see you, I will force you to smell me.

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Following in My Footsteps…

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While the boyfriend is away…the BFFs will play.

We don’t usually go to the mall, but when we do – we Sephora. (And Nordstrom Rack and Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works and you get the picture…) I have been hearing about lots of Kat Von D on clearance lately, so I was ecstatic to find the Esperanza Palette on clearance for $19! To be honest, I am more in love with Kat Von D’s packaging than the actually makeup, but I keep buying it anyway. I used this palette this morning and it faded quite a bit by lunch, but there was nowhere near as much fallout as the Chrysalis Palette. I’m going to try it with a primer next time.

I asked a girl who worked there if they carried Atelier there or if it was only online and she looked at me as if I asked for Jean Nate. Seriously? I am not a fragrance snob by any means, but really? I guess I need to hit Neiman Marcus to get a sniff…

I was smelling rollerballs and I happened to pick up Stella by Stella McCartney. Holy Fucking Shit – it’s the rose I’ve been looking for. I had my BFF smell it and she said, “It smells like you.” (Notice that she did NOT say it smelled good.) Of course, they were out of the rollerball. I wasn’t smitten enough to blow $52 on the bigger size, so I figured I could just order it online…but the website is also out of stock. I guess I’ll keep looking…

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While I was rooting through the clearance bin, I wasn’t exactly paying attention to what my child was doing. I could see her right beside me in my peripheral vision, so I didn’t think anything of it. I grabbed 2 of the Esperanza Palettes and went to show my finds to my BFF. My child did not follow. I went back to get her and she was balls deep in applying makeup. To be fair, I think she was applying NARS blush when I found her, so she appears to have very expensive taste in cosmetics. I wonder where she got that from? I hope she didn’t get face cooties…

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Modern Mermaid in the Blue Lagoon

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I went full mermaid this morning.

Captain Blankenship “Mermaid Mane” Sea Salt Spray in my hair – in a loose, wavy bun. After showering with Bath & Body Works “White Citrus”, I tried Atelier Cologne “Cédrat Enivrant” Cologne Absolue. I played a tense game of “eyeliner chicken” with my Vasanti Kajal Extreme Intense Eye Pencil in “Electric Navy” – luckily I won. (“Eyeliner Chicken” is when you keep putting on more eyeliner, trying to get it even. You know you’ve lost when you look like a raccoon.) The most important part was my mermaid manicure…

This is RUFFIAN “Blue Lagoon”. As beautiful as it is, it is a very unforgiving polish. I got full coverage in one coat, but it shows every imperfection. I have a few peeled tips on my right hand and they show. I also gave Sally Hansen “Diamond Shine” another try as a top coat…it didn’t dry fast enough and I got a few bubbles. Next time, I’ll use a faster drying top coat to try to avoid the bubbles. “Diamond Shine” can kiss my ass.

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Modern Mermaid & More

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If Birchbox keeps sending me coupon codes for 20% off my first purchase, I’m going to keep using them. Is that unethical?

I finally got a product in one of my monthly boxes that I loved enough to purchase. If you had told me a month ago that I would spend $36 on moisturizer/sunscreen, I would have laughed in your face…but then I tried COOLA Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face. It goes on smooth – my face feel like velvet and stays matte and shine free all day. This is the holy grail of face products.

I had been lusting after the Limited Edition “Modern Mermaid” Box ($44) and I finally made the plunge. In the box: a deluxe sample of Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Genius Waterproof Topcoat (which I probably will never use); a travel size spray of Atelier Cologne “Cédrat Enivrant” Cologne Absolue (citrusy and woodsy – another scent my mother would have loved…and I love it too); Captain Blankenship “Mermaid Mane” Sea Salt Spray (I need to devote a post to all my sea salt sprays – I use them every day); COOLA Liplux SPF 30 Original FormulaRUFFIAN Endless Summer Collection – Nail Polish Trio“Blue Lagoon” – a metallic blue, “Endless Love” – a metallic pink and “Sahara” – a metallic nudeVasanti Kajal Extreme Intense Eye Pencil in “Electric Navy” (dunno about this one…); and a Stephanie Johnson Mermaid Round Snap Mirror, which is exceedingly cute. I think I will use everything in the box, except the waterproof mascara top coat – I don’t want all my eyelashes to fall out!

I also got 2 free samples in my box: another air repair “Rescue Balm” and eyeko “Skinny Mini” black liquid eyeliner, which I am excited to try out.

With my coupon and another $10 in Birchbox point, I only paid $54…sweet deal!

Click my referral link – https://www.birchbox.com/invite/5453f – I’ll get 50 points if you join!